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

Superstar Beyonce provided the latest shot of stardust to Kamala Harris's White House campaign on Friday, as the vice president and rival Donald Trump courted voters with just 11 days to go in a neck-and-neck election.

When Georgia's richest man first burst into politics 12 years ago, he vowed to "astonish Europe" with the democracy he would bring to the Black Sea nation.

On the outskirts of Mandalay, nervous Myanmar soldiers man a checkpoint just kilometres away from rebels who have set their sights on the former royal capital of 1.5 million people.

By pledging to revitalise depopulated rural areas, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba hopes to help his party retain its majority in Sunday's general election.

Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba were on target as Inter Miami made a winning start to the first MLS Cup playoff campaign of their Lionel Messi era with a 2-1 win over Atlanta United on Friday.

Turkish Cypriot activist Sude Dogan feels "trapped in northern Cyprus", a self-proclaimed statelet recognised only by Ankara, saying she cannot travel, study or work abroad because she cannot get a Cypriot passport.

Candidates in Japan's super-tight parliamentary election will make last-ditch appeals to voters on Saturday, with opinion polls suggesting the ruling coalition might fall short of a majority.

Aggrey Rwetsiba, a Ugandan delegate to the UN's biodiversity summit in Colombia, finds himself in unusual accommodations: a motel normally destined for trysts, with rooms featuring sex swings and stripper poles.

Three-time reigning world champion Kaori Sakamoto of Japan grabbed the lead over American comeback queen Alysa Liu after Friday's women's short programme at Skate Canada.

Carlos Sainz topped the times for Ferrari ahead of McLaren's Oscar Piastri in Friday’s crash-hit second free practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix.

King Charles III wrapped up an 11-day tour to Australia and Samoa on Saturday, his first major foreign trip since being diagnosed with cancer eight months ago.

The 56-nation Commonwealth announced Ghana's foreign minister Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey as the new secretary general of the organisation as a rancorous summit concluded in Samoa on Saturday.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza accused Israeli forces Friday of storming the last functioning hospital in the territory's north in a raid it said left two children dead, while the military told AFP it was unaware of live fire or strikes in the area.

Britain's King Charles III and his wife Queen Camilla departed Samoa Saturday, wrapping up a marathon 11-day tour that included a controversy-tinged stop in their Australian realm.

G7 leaders have finalized details surrounding a $50 billion loan to aid Kyiv, backed by profits from Russian sovereign assets frozen after its invasion of Ukraine, according to a statement released Friday.

The former chief executive of the Abercrombie and Fitch clothing giant has pleaded not guilty to trafficking male models for sex parties around the world, US prosecutors said Friday.

Fernando Alonso sets a record he had no ambition or desire to achieve this weekend when he takes part in his record 400th Grand Prix, 23 years on from his fresh-faced debut.

Pep Guardiola saluted his Manchester City stars' "incredible" mentality as he insisted his bond with the squad is as strong as ever.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has urged skipper Reece James to show more "leadership" as he looks to galvanise his team.

President Joe Biden delivered an impassioned, historic apology Friday for one of the United States' "most horrific chapters": ripping Native American children from their families and putting them in abusive boarding schools aimed at erasing their culture.

Ratings agency Moody's downgraded France's outlook Friday, opening the door to a potential credit rating cut as it cited concerns over the country's finances.

A Russian drone struck a high-rise residential building in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on Friday, killing a teenage girl and injuring five other people, authorities said.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Friday that two children died at the last functioning hospital in the territory's north after Israeli fire hit oxygen equipment, while the military told AFP it was unaware of strikes in the area.

Phil Lesh, an innovative bassist and founding member of The Grateful Dead, died Friday, according to a statement on his Instagram account. He was 84 years old.

Chris Wood struck twice in Nottingham Forest's 3-1 win at Leicester as the New Zealand striker condemned Foxes boss Steve Cooper to defeat against his former club on Friday.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are taking inspiration from late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant as they target World Series glory.

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump locked horns Friday over accusations that the Republican ex-president has been running as a "fascist" as the pair headed to dueling events in Texas with pop titan Beyonce and podcast star Joe Rogan.

Crunch UN talks on ways to "halt and reverse" species loss by 2030 have made "very good progress," officials said Friday, as the summit in Colombia marked its halfway point.

Warsaw's new modern art museum building opened on Friday, a minimalist white concrete structure meant to revitalise an abandoned area of the Polish capital long-defined by an imposing Stalin-era palace.

George Russell topped the times for Mercedes in Friday's twice interrupted and crash-hit opening practice at the Mexico City Grand Prix, the Briton finishing three-tenths of a lap faster than Ferrari's Carlos Sainz.

Arthur Fils made it through to the semi-finals of the indoor event in Basel with an impressive 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 win over third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas on Friday.

Mozambique's capital Maputo on Friday suffered a mobile internet blackout after protests against the re-election of the ruling Frelimo party descended into violence.