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

The number of foreign nationals living in Japan has hit a record high, according to official data released Wednesday that also showed the nation's largest-ever yearly drop in Japanese citizens.

Iga Swiatek is returning to a happy hunting ground as she seeks a first Olympic crown to add to her four French Open titles at Roland Garros.

Muhammad Ali, Floyd Mayweather and Lennox Lewis are among the boxing greats who have cut their teeth at the Olympics, with a new generation of fighters eager to follow in their footsteps in Paris.

Asian markets tumbled Thursday after a tech-fuelled sell-off saw Wall Street tank, as disappointing earnings caused traders to panic that a months-long rally in the sector may have been overdone.

Keita Suzuki leads a group of young analogue photography fans around a coastal city in Japan, stopping to snap pastel hydrangea blooms with bulky vintage film cameras.

Comic-Con returns in full force to San Diego this week, where a hugely anticipated Marvel superhero film event is among the draws for tens of thousands of hyped-up fans dressed as fantasy heroes and sci-fi villains.

Denmark's Viktor Axelsen lost his world number one ranking in June after 131 weeks at the top, but the reigning Olympic badminton champion is dead set on defending his gold medal in Paris.

Rebeca Andrade vaulted into Olympic history in Tokyo when she became the first Brazilian woman to win gymnastics gold.

Dina Asher-Smith once watched up close as Jessica Ennis-Hill won Olympic heptathlon gold and now Britain's greatest ever female sprinter hopes the roles will be reversed in Paris.

Typhoon Gaemi passed through Taiwan overnight and was headed towards eastern China on Thursday, leaving two dead as heavy rains and strong gusts continued to lash the island in its wake.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook and CEO of Meta, has become an unexpected evangelist for open source technology when it comes to developing artificial intelligence, pitting him against OpenAI and Google.

A week after ranting on the team radio in Budapest, Max Verstappen heads to the Belgian Grand Prix warned to take "nothing for granted" and advised by Red Bull to give up late-night simulation racing during race weekends.

US President Joe Biden told Americans Wednesday that he had dropped out of the 2024 election to unite his party and his country, saying in a historic Oval Office speech that it was time to pass the torch to "younger voices."

The world's richest one percent increased their fortunes by a total of $42 trillion over the past decade, Oxfam said Thursday, ahead of a G20 summit in Brazil where taxing the super-rich tops the agenda.

Boeing will plead guilty to fraud as part of a deal with the US Department of Justice over two fatal 737 MAX crashes, according to a court filing Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden will on Wednesday frame his exit from the 2024 election as a defense of democracy in what could be his last speech to the nation from the Oval Office.

Argentina's ex-president Alberto Fernandez said Wednesday he had been asked to cancel plans to observe Venezuelan elections Sunday after he publicly urged incumbent Nicolas Maduro to accept the outcome, even if he loses.

New 2025 US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley says Tiger Woods, who was in talks for the post, will be as involved with the US squad as he desires.

The gunman who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a campaign rally searched online for details about the November 1963 shooting of US president John F. Kennedy in the days before the attack, the FBI director said Wednesday.

US lawmakers voiced "concern" Wednesday over Meta's decision to shut down CrowdTangle -- a digital tool considered vital in monitoring falsehoods –- in a major election year, urging the tech giant to delay the move by six months.

The man accused of trying to kill the author Salman Rushdie has been charged with terrorism for allegedly acting on behalf of Hezbollah, according to documents unsealed Wednesday.

Ford shares tumbled Wednesday after the automaker reported lower than expected profits on higher costs connected to product launches and warranty repairs for older model vehicles.

The NBA announced 11-year global media rights deals with The Walt Disney Company, NBCUniversal and Amazon on Wednesday worth a reported $76 billion and running from the 2025-26 through 2035-36 season.

Around 1,000 French police officers were on duty Wednesday to provide security at Israel's football match against Mali at the Paris Olympics, a high-risk occasion which saw fans flying Palestinian and Israel flags.

Canada's central bank on Wednesday lowered its key lending rate to 4.5 percent, saying the second straight cut of 25 basis points was warranted due to slowing inflation.

Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu slammed Gaza ceasefire demonstrators Wednesday and called for a global alliance against the Iranian regime he accuses of funding the protests, as he addressed a US Congress divided by the war.

France booked their place in the Olympic rugby sevens knock-out phase Wednesday but struggled to live up to their pre-tournament favourites tag while powerhouse Fiji showed they will take some beating.

Venezuela's opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, barred by the regime from contesting Sunday's presidential election but tirelessly campaigning for her stand-in, gets mobbed by adoring supporters wherever she goes.

Argentina coach Javier Mascherano described the events that marred his team's 2-1 defeat by Morocco in the opening game of the men's Olympic football tournament on Wednesday as a "disgrace" and "a circus".

The sporting programme at the Paris Olympics endured a chaotic start on Wednesday as men's football kicked off and a huge police operation was put in place for Israel's first appearance at the Games.

Panama is working on a plan to clean up the Darien jungle, contaminated by the passage of hundreds of thousands of migrants heading towards the United States, the country's environment minister said Wednesday.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked for unity from lawmakers Wednesday as he addressed a US Congress divided by his military campaign in Gaza, with a rift between the nations deepening over the conflict's humanitarian toll.