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

World number three Jessica Pegula shook off a lackluster opening set to overcome Leylah Fernandez of Canada in three sets Friday, advancing to the US Open fourth round.

British hard-right leader Nigel Farage sought to play down a fresh donations scandal Friday sparked by an undercover sting operation that overshadowed his Reform UK party's annual conference.

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka out-gunned Kamilla Rakhimova to reach the US Open last 16, with men's defending champion Carlos Alcaraz aiming to follow on Friday.

A Nigerian oil refinery owned by Africa's richest man is preparing an initial public offering expecting to raise $1.6 billion, the company said Friday, in what could be one of the country's biggest-ever stock launches.

The British Museum on Friday insisted the Bayeux Tapestry's condition was "virtually unchanged" after France said two broken threads had been noticed following the centuries-old embroidery's move to London.

Portugal's government said Friday it would pursue talks with both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa on privatising a controlling stake in national airline TAP Air Portugal.

A major offensive by Yemen's Houthis to seize control of the gateway to the Red Sea has left more than 120 people dead, sources told AFP Friday, the country's deadliest clashes in years.

Brazil legend Formiga believes next year's Women's World Cup in the country will be "an opportunity to change the lives of countless" players in South America.

German authorities were Friday hunting a militant climate activist suspected of a spate of attacks on the power grid, the latest sabotage targeting critical infrastructure.

Fresh economic data on Friday brought US President Donald Trump's Republican Party good and bad news ahead of midterm elections, with the labor market showing strong growth but record-high diesel prices likely to further fuel inflation.

Five EU countries are seeking a deal with a country outside the bloc to host a "return hub" for migrants whose asylum applications have been rejected, with a targeted start date of January 1, a Danish minister said Friday.

Two-time defending champion Aryna Sabalenka out-gunned Kamilla Rakhimova 6-3, 6-4 to lead the way into the US Open round of 16 on Friday.

Argentina is set to return an 18th-century painting stolen by Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector to the rightful owner's heir, a judge said Friday.

The head of Memorial, Russia's Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group, has told AFP she fears a fresh crackdown after September's legislative elections, with more people arrested and sent to fight in Ukraine.

Australian Ben Simmons, who missed last season with nagging back injuries, has agreed on a one-year NBA comeback deal with the Sacramento Kings, according to multiple reports on Friday.

The World Health Organization said Friday that one of its main warehouses in Ukraine had been destroyed in air attack -- the third such incident in three months.

Two broken threads were observed on the Bayeux Tapestry after the centuries-old artefact was transported to London, but it was more or less "in the same state", France's culture minister said Friday.

Interim Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson hopes his drastically revamped squad can come through some all too familiar "chaos" with a much-improved showing against England in next week's third and final Test in Birmingham.

Giorgia Meloni on Friday celebrated her hard-right government becoming the longest-lasting in Italy's postwar history with a rally in the southern port of Bari, as she gears up for elections next year.

War criminal Ratko Mladic will be buried in Belgrade next week, his son told media Friday, as a European Union official cancelled a visit to Serbia over the "glorification" of the former Bosnian Serb military leader.

The United Nations warned Friday that Israel's forced displacement of the entire Palestinian populations of three West Bank refugee camps last year could amount to crimes against humanity.

Two women ex-employees of Spanish singer Julio Iglesias have filed another complaint against him for alleged sexual abuse and forced labour, the advocacy group representing them said on Friday, insisting Spain had jurisdiction to investigate.

Portugal's government said Friday it would pursue talks with both Air France-KLM and Lufthansa on privatising a controlling stake in national airline TAP Air Portugal.

Billionaire Mark Walter made an improper deal with business partner Earvin "Magic" Johnson after getting the NBA legend's help in purchasing baseball's Los Angeles Dodgers, according to a report on Friday.

CoinRabbit has been named Best Crypto Lending Platform 2026 by International Business Magazine, highlighting a lending product that has issued more than $1.45 billion in loans since 2020.

A Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine's SBU security services in Kyiv on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, accusing Moscow of aiming directly at the SBU head's personal office.

A judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the high-profile case of an American woman who killed her three children but put his decision on hold to allow the defense to appeal the decision.

Everton boss David Moyes expressed his disappointment at being left with a threadbare squad in the final days of the transfer window but is hopeful the Toffees have enough to avoid a relegation battle.

America's midterm elections opened Friday in a fog of confusion over mail voting, with ballots already going out as President Donald Trump presses courts to let him impose sweeping new restrictions on how they are handled.

Argentina must return an 18th-century painting stolen by Nazis from a Dutch Jewish art collector to the rightful owner's heir, a judge ruled Friday.

George Russell bounced back to beat his championship-leading Mercedes team-mate Kimi Antonelli and both Ferraris on their home turf on Friday when he topped the times in second practice for this weekend's Italian Grand Prix.

American actress and director Maggie Gyllenhaal said Friday she ditched AI-generated video planned for her latest film about Marilyn Monroe due to quality problems, offering a degree of reassurance to actors worried about their jobs -- for now.