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

Tokyo's Nikkei led Asian markets higher Thursday as the yen hit a two-week high after the Federal Reserve announced a bumper interest rate cut and pledged a series of further reductions that boosted sentiment.

An ambitious housing project in the northwestern French city of Caen has run aground over worries that rising waters driven by climate change could make the area unlivable within the century.

With its medieval church and picturesque village green, the tranquil hamlet of Friston in eastern England should be an unlikely place for a showdown with the UK government and an energy giant.

Tadej Pogacar heads into the cycling world championships, which get underway in Zurich this weekend, with the chance to emulate former luminaries Stephen Roche and Eddy Merckx as a triple crown champion in a single season.

A second deadly wave of unprecedented explosions in the strongholds of Lebanon's Hezbollah left it in disarray on Thursday, hours before a major speech by its beleaguered leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Cooking, cleaning, caring for the kids during the day, Chen Hualiang takes on household tasks many Chinese fathers tend to leave to their wives, bucking a deep-rooted patriarchal tradition and even inspiring a hit TV show.

Brazil is burning.

Elon Musk's X social network said on Wednesday that the restoration of its services in Brazil, where it had been shut down, was "inadvertent and temporary."

Extreme drought affecting large parts of South America has dramatically reduced the flow of the Amazon River where Colombia borders Peru and Brazil, choking food supplies and threatening residents' health.

Subsidized food, without which most Cubans would not eat at all, is becoming ever more scarce and expensive as the government, battling sanctions, struggles to pay for imports.

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler said Wednesday that the kingdom will not establish ties with Israel until a Palestinian state has been created, in a blow to US efforts to seal a normalisation deal.

Canada announced Wednesday it was slashing international student permits next year, and tightening foreign worker rules to further bring down the number of temporary residents in the country.

YouTube beefed up tools for creators on Wednesday as it competes with streaming rivals such as Netflix on the biggest screen in most homes: the television.

As perseverance fades into futility, the Chicago White Sox, enduring the most miserable campaign in modern Major League Baseball history, are struggling to avoid setting an MLB season loss record.

China presents the top challenge to the United States in all of its history, surpassing the Cold War, a top US official said Wednesday, as he urged Europe to get tougher on Beijing.

US lawmakers on Wednesday vowed to keep up pressure to free Hong Kong pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai, whose son warned that time was running out.

New, more expensive migraine drugs are no more effective against the throbbing headaches than traditional painkillers, and even performed worse than an older range of treatments called triptans, said a massive global analysis Thursday.

Rap mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs will remain imprisoned pending trial on racketeering and sex trafficking charges, after a judge denied his appeal Wednesday.

The Milwaukee Brewers became the first Major League Baseball team to clinch a division title on Wednesday, locking up the National League Central for the third time in four years.

Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi said the Italian champions produced a "giant performance" to leave Manchester City frustrated in a 0-0 draw to begin their Champions League campaign on Wednesday.

Wall Street stocks dipped Wednesday after the Federal Reserve announced a half a percentage-point interest rate cut and its chair promised a "careful" approach to lowering rates following progress in countering US inflation.

Manchester City made a sluggish start to their Champions League campaign as they drew 0-0 against Inter Milan on Wednesday, while Paris Saint-Germain needed a last-minute goal to beat tournament newcomers Girona.

Veteran Beauden Barrett was recalled to the New Zealand team named Thursday to face Australia in The Rugby Championship as All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson made four changes.

A second wave of device explosions killed 20 people and wounded more than 450 others on Wednesday in Hezbollah strongholds in Lebanon, officials said, stoking fears of an all-out war with Israel.

Tottenham needed two late goals from Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson to beat second-tier Coventry 2-1 and avoid a shock League Cup exit on Wednesday.

Paris Saint-Germain were grateful to a last-minute howler from goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga as they snatched a 1-0 win over European debutants Girona in their opening game of the new-look Champions League on Wednesday.

English winger Jamie Gittens scored twice in the final 15 minutes to seal Borussia Dortmund a 3-0 win at Club Brugge in their Champions League opener on Wednesday.

Manchester City's quest to reconquer the Champions League began with a whimper on Wednesday as Inter Milan held out for a 0-0 draw at the Etihad.

French Olympic swimming hero Leon Marchand said Wednesday his record-breaking exploits in the Paris pool have changed his life so much that he often needs to don a disguise to evade attention.

YouTuber MrBeast has been named in a lawsuit claiming participants in his $5 million jackpot game show were exploited.

Coco Gauff, last year's US Open champion, and coach Brad Gilbert announced on Wednesday they have split after 14 months together.

Senior United Nations officials warned on Wednesday that hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk in the besieged Sudanese town of El-Fasher, amid signs that the fighting could soon escalate.