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

The UN's climate chief on Monday told countries at the deadlocked COP29 summit to "cut the theatrics", as pressure mounts on G20 leaders to deliver a breakthrough.

The Kremlin accused US President Joe Biden on Monday of escalating the war in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles supplied by Washington to strike targets inside Russia.

UN climate conference host Azerbaijan has imprisoned activists and journalists merely due to their work and opposition to the authorities, the Council of Europe commissioner for human rights said in a letter published Monday.

Songwriter and singer Charles Dumont, who composed the song "Non, je ne regrette rien" ("No, I do not regret anything") made world famous by Edith Piaf, has died aged 95, his partner told AFP Monday.

Three members of South Africa's World Cup winning team -- Cheslin Kolbe, Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit -- were shortlisted Monday for World Rugby's player of the year award, while Antoine Dupont is in line for the Sevens prize.

Rafael Nadal hopes to save his emotions over his retirement until the end of the Davis Cup competition and says the focus remains on Spain's upcoming quarter-final tie against the Netherlands.

India's capital New Delhi switched schools to online classes Monday until further notice as worsening toxic smog surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

French farmers launched Monday a new wave of action to protest the adoption of a trade pact between the European Union and four South American countries they fear would threaten their livelihoods.

Floodwaters submerged hundreds of houses in the northern Philippines on Monday after water released from a dam following Typhoon Man-yi caused a major river to break its banks.

Aaron Hardie took three wickets as Pakistan crashed to a meagre 117 all out in the final game of their T20 series against Australia at Hobart's Bellerive Oval on Monday.

Schools in Beirut were closed on Monday after Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital killed six people including Hezbollah's spokesman, the latest in a string of top militant targets slain in the war.

Nottingham Forest's Chris Wood hit a hat-trick for New Zealand in an 8-0 thrashing of Samoa in World Cup qualifying Monday to extend his red-hot form for club and country.

Asian markets were mixed Monday following a sell-off on Wall Street as investors scale back their bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts owing to worries Donald Trump could reignite inflation.

US and Philippine defence chiefs signed an agreement Monday on sharing classified military information and technology, as the long-time treaty allies deepen cooperation in a bid to counter Chinese influence in the region.

Thirteen Bangladeshi former top government officials arrested after the revolution in August appeared in court Monday accused of "enabling massacres", with prosecutors repeating extradition demands for exiled ex-leader Sheikh Hasina.

Police in central Thailand said they barricaded themselves into their own station over the weekend, after a menacing mob of 200 escaped monkeys ran riot on the town.

The founder of a failed Singapore oil trading company was sentenced Monday to nearly 18 years in jail for cheating banking giant HSBC out of millions of dollars in one of the country's most serious cases of fraud.

Filipinos cleared fallen trees and repaired damaged houses on Monday after the sixth major storm to batter the Philippines in a month smashed flimsy buildings, knocked out power and claimed at least eight lives.

The late Quincy Jones was posthumously awarded an honorary Oscar at an emotional and star-packed Hollywood gala on Sunday that also handed golden statuettes to the producers of the James Bond movie franchise.

Mashudu Mashau says it takes about two minutes to catch a penguin, a task he does weekly to investigate sightings of injured or sickly seabirds.

India's capital New Delhi switched schools to online classes Monday until further notice as worsening toxic smog surged past 60 times the World Health Organization's recommended daily maximum.

Ukrainian studio GSC will on Wednesday release a long-awaited sequel to its hit S.T.A.L.K.E.R. video game, fine tuned during the Russian invasion which forced many of its staff to leave the country.

Famed Australian broadcaster and former Wallabies coach Alan Jones was charged Monday with a string of alleged historical sex crimes, police said, after an investigation into the conservative radio shock jock.

Filipinos cleared fallen trees and repaired damaged houses on Monday after the sixth major storm to batter the Philippines in a month smashed flimsy buildings, knocked out power and claimed at least one life.

In what claims to be the only woman-run cafe in the capital of Indonesia's most conservative province, owner Qurrata Ayuni says she and her baristas provide an alternative to rowdy, smoke-filled male haunts.

An Indigenous lawmaker was censured by Australia's parliament Monday for heckling King Charles about the legacy of European settlement during his October visit to Canberra.

Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal will cap his emotional farewell from tennis at the Davis Cup Finals in Malaga this week even if he admits he may not make it onto the courts.

US President-elect Donald Trump tapped Republican Brendan Carr, an Elon Musk-backed critic of big tech, to lead the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), calling him a "warrior for Free Speech" in a statement on Sunday.

The Cleveland Cavaliers, playing without top scorer Donovan Mitchell, matched the second-best start to a season in NBA history on Sunday, reaching 15-0 with a 128-114 victory over Charlotte.

Asian markets were mixed Monday following a sell-off on Wall Street as investors scale back their bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts owing to worries Donald Trump could reignite inflation.

India's capital New Delhi switched schools to online classes Monday until further notice because of worsening toxic smog, the latest bid to ease the sprawling megacity's health crisis.

With leaders from the world's biggest economies converging on Rio de Janeiro for a two-day G20 summit starting Monday, the usually relaxed seaside city is under a tight security blanket.