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

Underdog Madison Keys upset Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Australian Open final on Saturday to win her first Grand Slam crown at the age of 29.

A Ukrainian band is treating international audiences to their country's traditional folk music, spiced up with world music and some rap, with the stated aim of aiding the struggle against cultural "assimilation" of their country by its neighbour Russia.

Clutching Hamas-branded gift bags and wearing military fatigues, the four Israeli hostages handed over by Hamas on Saturday to the Red Cross waved and gave thumbs up as they were paraded on stage before dozens of militants and a huge crowd.

A drone attack on one of the last functioning hospitals in El-Fasher in Sudan's Darfur region killed 30 people and injured dozens, a medical source said Saturday.

Four freed Israeli women hostages were home in Israel Saturday, ending more than 15 months of captivity after Hamas militants handed them over to the Red Cross under a truce deal in the Gaza war.

Noman Ali took a hat trick as Pakistan dismissed the West Indies for 163 Saturday in the second Test in Multan, but the visitors replied strongly to have the home side at 70-4 at tea.

The Lebanese army on Saturday said it was ready to deploy its forces in the country's south, accusing Israel of "procrastination" in its withdrawal in time for a deadline the following day.

Hamas militants on Saturday handed over to the Red Cross four Israeli women hostages under a truce deal in the Gaza war that is also expected to see a second group of Palestinian prisoners freed.

The Israel-Hamas war has put back development in Gaza by 60 years and mobilising the tens of billions of dollars needed for reconstruction will be an uphill task, the United Nations said.

Dozens of masked, armed Palestinian militants arrived at a key square in Gaza City on Saturday, where four Israeli women hostages are expected to be handed over to the Red Cross.

The head of the Albanian Orthodox Church, who was airlifted to Athens due to complications from a virus earlier this month, has died aged 95, the hospital said Saturday.

Noman Ali became the first Pakistan spinner to register a hat trick as the West Indies were dismissed for 163 Saturday on the opening day of the second Test in Multan.

Henry Bernet achieved something Roger Federer failed to do by winning the Australian Open boys' title Saturday, with the young Swiss using comparisons to his illustrious compatriot as motivation.

Cars speeding along a smooth, black-coloured street in Nepal's Pokhara are also driving over heaps of discarded plastic, transformed into an ingredient in road construction.

Cambodia's government approved a draft law that will jail for five years anyone denying atrocities, including genocide, committed by the Khmer Rouge, a spokesman said Saturday.

Alexander Zverev has been trying for a decade to win a Grand Slam and has overcome an array of challenges to put himself on the brink of a breakthrough at the Australian Open.

Danish chef Sebastian Holberg Svendsgaard struggled at school as a child but loved competing -- a skill he'll put to the test when he goes for gold at gastronomy's Olympic Games, the Bocuse d'Or.

Jannik Sinner's reserved public persona belies a mature and steely 23-year-old who has shown supreme mental strength to put aside a doping scandal and make another Australian Open final.

Jannik Sinner is wary of "physical beast" Alexander Zverev as the Italian bids to join an elite group with back-to-back Australian Open titles in a final that pits the world's top two players.

Ecuador's Jhonatan Narvaez won a heart-pumping climb up Willunga Hill in one of the great finishes in the Tour Down Under to close in on the season-opening UCI World Tour race on Saturday.

Train stations and airports across China saw the biggest peak in travellers on Saturday ahead of the Lunar New Year, as millions of people returned home to spend the holidays with their families in an annual migration that is expected to be a record.

US military planes carrying dozens of expelled migrants arrived in Guatemala, authorities said Friday, as President Donald Trump moved to crack down on illegal immigration.

The US Senate narrowly confirmed former Fox News co-host Pete Hegseth as Pentagon chief on Friday, despite allegations of alcohol abuse, sexual misconduct and other fears about his ability to lead the world's most powerful military.

A$AP Rocky was carrying a harmless prop gun from a music video on the night he allegedly shot a former friend in Hollywood, his lawyer told court Friday, as his trial on assault charges got under way.

Hamas was set Saturday to release four Israeli women soldiers held hostage since its October 7, 2023 attack, under a truce deal in the Gaza war that is also expected to see a second group of Palestinian prisoners freed.

President Donald Trump took aim at abortion access in the United States and overseas Friday, after promising activists rallying in Washington that he would protect the "historic gains" of the anti-abortion movement.

Since being sworn in as president of the world's most powerful nation, Donald Trump has been sure to lavish the standard bearer of the conservative right Fox News with scoops, favors and an exclusive interview.

"Aida" has long epitomized opera at its most extravagant -- think sweeping sets, luxurious costumes and even real-live horses, an experience intended to transfix the audience with grandeur.

Sarah Jessica Parker slammed right-wing book bans and Jacinda Ardern called for more "empathy" from leaders as the worlds of entertainment and politics collided at the Sundance festival Friday.

Harris English rattled in a hat-trick of birdies on the closing three holes to grab a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines in southern California on Friday.

A replica of the annex where Jewish schoolgirl Anne Frank and her family hid from the Nazis will open in New York next week, targeting a new generation with the lessons of the Holocaust.

A German aerospace engineer celebrated setting a world record Friday for the longest time living underwater without depressurization -- 120 days in a submerged capsule off the coast of Panama.