Sawt Falasteen - News from Ramallah, the political, economic and cultural centre of Palestine, as well as the West Bank and the whole world

Global experts will debate threats from artificial intelligence (AI) at a gathering in Paris on Thursday and Friday, ahead of a summit of world leaders on the fast-moving technology.

Wallabies head coach Joe Schmidt will step down at the end of this year's Rugby Championship, with Australia announcing Thursday they would immediately begin the search for his successor.

Indonesia's environment ministry has backed Jakarta's participation in the landmark Paris climate deal after the country's climate envoy suggested the agreement was irrelevant given Washington's withdrawal.

The commander of a crack South Korean special forces unit told a court Thursday he had been asked by a superior officer how to cut electricity to parliament during last year's failed martial law order by impeached president Yook Suk Yeol.

Cocaine "is no worse than whisky" and is only illegal because it comes from Latin America, said Colombian President Gustavo Petro during a live broadcast of a government meeting.

Australia all-rounder Marcus Stoinis on Thursday announced his immediate retirement from one-day international cricket, leaving Australia needing to replace the all-rounder in their Champions Trophy squad.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday he would skip Group of 20 talks this month in South Africa, accusing the host government of an "anti-American" agenda.

Nissan's board is in favour of abandoning merger talks with Honda but calling them off has yet to be officially decided by executives at the two Japanese carmakers, a source close to the matter told AFP on Thursday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping thanked Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra on Thursday for the "strong measures" her country has taken against scam centres targeting Chinese people from neighbouring Myanmar.

Asian markets rose Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street and following the US Postal Service's U-turn on a ban on parcels from China and Hong Kong, though trade war fears continue to dampen sentiment.

Tens of thousands of survivors held torchlit vigils across southern Turkey at 4:17 am Thursday, expressing pain and anger as they marked the exact moment two years ago when a devastating earthquake struck, claiming more than 53,000 lives in Turkey and some 6,000 in neighbouring Syria.

A 64-run stand for the second wicket enabled Sri Lanka to reach 87-1 at lunch on the opening day of the second Test against Australia on Thursday.

Hundreds of Bangladeshi protesters smashed down buildings connected to ousted former leader Sheikh Hasina on Thursday, hours after students with excavators began demolishing a museum to her father.

Artificial intelligence (AI) systems must come with "cast-iron guarantees" against mass harm to humans, especially as the likelihood of their integration into weapons grows, a leading expert has told AFP.

Darius Garland drilled a three-pointer from the half-court logo as time expired to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-115 NBA victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

The United States said Wednesday that its government vessels would sail for free through the Panama Canal following heavy pressure from President Donald Trump, but authorities at the waterway swiftly issued a denial.

Darius Garland drilled a three-pointer from the half-court logo as time expired to lift the Cleveland Cavaliers to a 118-115 NBA victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday.

Standing by his winter wheat field on a plot of land where tall electricity pylons are set to be built, John Stacey feels far from bright about the future.

The Bank of England was widely expected to cut its key interest rate on Thursday to help support weak British growth even if UK inflation stays elevated.

At an open-cast mine, Abdullahi Ibrahim Danjija carefully chisels away at a hunk of whitish rock before stuffing a sack with the pieces which break off the walls.

Last month was the hottest January on record, Europe's climate monitor said Thursday, despite expectations that cooler La Nina conditions might quell a streak of record-breaking global temperatures.

Chagos islanders still dream of returning home five decades after being expelled by Britain, but with Donald Trump in the White House they may have to wait a little longer.

South Korean ministries and police said Thursday they were blocking DeepSeek's access to work computers, after the Chinese AI startup did not respond to a data watchdog request about how it manages user information.

The United States said Wednesday that its government vessels would be allowed to sail for free through the Panama Canal, following heavy pressure from President Donald Trump.

At first glance, it's a happy image: hundreds of smiling faces torn from newspapers and pasted into a frame. But these are ghosts, victims of the 2023 earthquake in Turkey that claimed more than 53,000 lives.

Turkey on Thursday commemorates the second anniversary of the February 6, 2023 earthquake, which claimed nearly 60,000 lives including in neighbouring Syria and turned entire cities into ruins.

For millions of Hindu pilgrims at India's millennia-old vast Kumbh Mela festival, the culmination of their journey is ritual bathing in the holy waters where sacred rivers meet.

Growing up in the rugged northern reaches of Pakistan, Anita Karim honed her combat skills fighting with three older brothers who pulled no punches.

The saga of star forward Jimmy Butler's falling out with the Miami Heat has reportedly ended with his trade to the Golden State Warriors ahead of Thursday's NBA trade deadline.

Asian markets rose Thursday, tracking gains on Wall Street and following the US Postal Service's U-turn on a ban on parcels from China and Hong Kong, though trade war fears continue to keep sentiment at bay.

The sudden freezing of US aid to malaria projects comes as deadly new variants are spreading in Africa and could have a devastating impact, the head of a major NGO told AFP.

In Morocco's tourist hub of Marrakesh, a contemporary art fair has energised the local creative scene, drawing on the famed city's aesthetic legacy to propel emerging African artists into the global spotlight.