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

Israeli police entered the French-owned Eleona church compound in Jerusalem, on Thursday, briefly detaining two gendarmes and prompting French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot to abandon a scheduled visit, an AFP journalist reported.

More than a week after surging torrents of muddy water ravaged Spain, flooded cemeteries are making dignified burials for victims impossible and compounding the pain of bereaved survivors.

Major stock markets mostly rose Thursday following Donald Trump's election win that is set to see the returning president unveil US tax cuts and import tariffs.

A mother who smuggled her premature baby from a Paris hospital to the Netherlands was handed over to French authorities on Thursday, Dutch prosecutors said.

Former US national team coach Bruce Arena, the winningest coach in Major League Soccer history, was named the new coach and sporting director of the San Jose Earthquakes on Thursday.

Tommy Fleetwood equalled the course record with a 10-under-par 62 to take a one-stroke lead at the Abu Dhabi Championship while Rory McIlroy started strongly Thursday as he bids to seal another Race to Dubai title.

Alvaro Morata could miss AC Milan's Serie A match at Cagliari this weekend after his club said on Thursday that he had been hospitalised after hurting his head during training.

Jannik Sinner avoided his key rival Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Finals group draw on Thursday, as the Italian aims for his first title at the season-ending event on home soil.

The monumental Palace of Justice, a Brussels landmark covered in scaffolding for 40 years, has become more of a symbol of Belgian maladministration than the rule of law.

Rugby league convert Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii will make his Australia debut having yet to play a game of senior club rugby union after being named in the Wallabies team to play England at Twickenham on Saturday, with coach Joe Schmidt saying "if not not now, when?".

The carbon footprint from private jet travel grew 46 percent between 2019 and 2023 and will keep rising unless the ultra-luxury industry is regulated, according to new research published Thursday.

A Chinese rover has found new evidence to support the theory that Mars was once home to a vast ocean, including tracing some ancient coastline where water may once have lapped, a study said Thursday.

Joerg Kukies, Germany's new finance minister, is a former investment banker who has long been one of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's closest advisers, most recently as a state secretary.

Germany's embattled Olaf Scholz faced heavy pressure Thursday to quickly call elections after his unruly coalition collapsed just as Donald Trump celebrated his return to the White House.

After Donald Trump's re-election, Iran has projected indifference, officially stating it expects no fundamental shift in US policy, especially on sanctions or the Middle East's wars.

German big business groups demanded almost in unison Thursday that embattled Chancellor Olaf Scholz call elections soon to restore political stability in Europe's stuttering top economy.

European leaders gathered in Budapest Thursday in search of a joint response to the threats of a new Donald Trump presidency -- though the seat of powerhouse Germany was left empty by a deepening political crisis.

Five UN peacekeepers were wounded in an Israeli air strike in south Lebanon on Thursday, the United Nations said, in a raid that also killed three civilians.

Donald Trump's election victory spells immediate doubt for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, with President Joe Biden's administration expected to sprint in its final days to ensure -- insofar as possible -- long-term US support.

England interim manager Lee Carsley called up Newcastle left-back Lewis Hall and Southampton defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis for the first time on Thursday as he named his final squad.

The Lebanese army said an Israeli strike on a vehicle near a checkpoint in the southern city of Sidon on Thursday killed three people and wounded troops and UN peacekeepers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said it would be "suicidal" for Europe to offer the Kremlin concessions to halt its invasion of Ukraine, after Moscow demanded the West enter direct talks on ending the war.

London landmarks including the UK parliament could be warmed by low-carbon heat powered by the River Thames, the London Underground train system and even the sewer network under new government plans.

Police in Mozambique fired tear gas and deployed dogs to disperse protesters in the capital Maputo Thursday, after the opposition called a demonstration against the contested election results.

The disinformation inundating social media during Spain's catastrophic floods threatened the crucial work of emergency services and exploited fear, anger and grief, an AFP investigation has found.

Four UN peacekeepers were wounded in an Israeli air strike in southern Lebanon on Thursday that also killed three civilians, the Lebanese army said.

Unusual cross-party support is swelling in France behind a draft law meant to halt a looming "mexicanisation" of the country by a burgeoning drug trade, defying an otherwise riven political landscape.

Caelan Doris says his interest in psychology and his parents being psychotherapists were helping him as he prepares to captain Ireland in a blockbuster Test against New Zealand on Friday.

Kylian Mbappe has been left out of the France squad for their upcoming UEFA Nations League matches against Israel and Italy after coach Didier Deschamps omitted the Real Madrid superstar from his list of players named on Thursday.

A US military judge has reinstated plea agreements for 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two other defendants, an official said Thursday, three months after the deals were scrapped by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

Inter Milan have top spot in Serie A in their sights as they host league leaders Napoli this weekend boosted by a gritty win over Arsenal in the Champions League.

The Bank of England on Thursday said it was cutting its key interest further after UK inflation hit a three-year low and signalled more reductions, easing pressure on borrowers.