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

Eastern Europe, once seen as immune to the opioid crisis wreaking havoc across North America, has been ramping up its fight against the rise of the dangerous, synthetic drugs.

The mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, swam in the murky waters of the Seine on Wednesday to demonstrate the river is now clean enough for outdoor Olympic swimming events.

World eyewear leader EssilorLuxottica has agreed to buy Supreme, an American fashion and lifestyle brand focused on streetwear, by the end of the year, it said Wednesday.

The Swiss luxury group Richemont, which owns Cartier and other jewellery brands, is regularly the subject of takeover rumours which its founder, the South African billionaire Johann Rupert, always dismisses.

One of the six foreigners found dead from suspected cyanide poisoning in a luxury Bangkok hotel likely also carried out the crime, Thai police said on Wednesday.

Japan's Daiki Hashimoto is the good-natured farm boy from the Tokyo suburbs who is aiming to emulate gymnastics legend and countryman Kohei Uchimura by retaining his all-around Olympic title in Paris.

A little more than a year after her doctors told her she might never compete again, reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee will be chasing redemption in Paris.

US Senator J.D. Vance was set to debut on the national stage Wednesday in his first address as the Republican vice-presidential nominee -- completing a meteoric rise from humble midwestern beginnings to a coveted spot on Donald Trump's ticket.

On a hillside near Palestinian landowner Olayan Olayan's olive groves, young Israeli settlers are hammering out a new, illegal outpost in a UNESCO-protected zone.

Tens of thousands of Boeing hourly workers have been called Wednesday for a vote in Seattle expected to authorize a potential labor strike if ongoing contract negotiations stumble.

Equities were mixed Wednesday while gold hit a fresh record as expectations for a US interest rate cut played up against the prospect of another Donald Trump presidency that analysts say could see inflation-fuelling tax cuts and tariffs.

Alexandra Kulikova used to come across plenty of different European languages on the streets of Saint Petersburg, the iconic city founded by Peter the Great as Russia's "window to the West".

The world's biggest technology firms are investing billions in cloud storage facilities in the northeastern Spanish region of Aragon, drawn to its abundance of renewable energy sources.

One of the six foreigners found dead from suspected cyanide poisoning in a luxury Bangkok hotel likely also carried out the crime, Thai police said on Wednesday.

As questions swirl over how a would-be assassin managed to get anywhere near Donald Trump, some conservatives are blaming the Secret Service for hiring the women agents who threw themselves into the line of fire to protect the former president.

At the end of a small country road in Denmark is the "Enorm" factory, an insect farm set up by a Danish woman who wants to revolutionise livestock feed.

Donald Trump picked J.D. Vance -- a staunch opponent of aid for Kyiv who wants Washington to refocus on Asia -- as his running mate, signaling a potential shift away from Europe if the Republican candidate wins in November.

Climate change is little more than an afterthought for attendees at the Republican National Convention, who are gathered this week to crown Donald Trump as their party's nominee for this November's election.

One metre above the surface, a fully electric ferry is speeding across the waters of Stockholm as a Swedish company prepares to start taking its first regular passengers.

From forest fires to hurricanes and other natural disasters: climate change risk is increasingly influencing oil prices, just as the world is struggling to shift away from high-polluting fossil fuels.

In a warehouse in the lush humid farmlands of central Thailand, thousands of pythons lie coiled in containers, rearing and striking at the glass as people pass by.

Cut-price branded perfumes and fake high-end handbags line the ornate alleys of Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, with traditional merchants saying the luxury counterfeits are stripping the marketplace of its character.

HSBC on Wednesday named chief financial officer Georges Elhedery as the bank's next chief executive to drive "the next phase of development and growth".

As the rainclouds descend on Sierra Leone's tropical Kambui forest, a handful of khaki-clad rangers assemble for their daily patrol in the fight to preserve the West African country's dwindling wilderness.

As Republicans approved their policy platform at the party's national convention, a more radical shadow manifesto led by figures close to Donald Trump has raised fears for the future of American democracy.

One man's trash can very well become another man's treasure in the Colombian town of Muzo, the emerald capital of the world.

Boston Red Sox outfielder Jarren Duran belted a two-run home run in the fifth inning to lift the American League to a 5-3 victory over the National League in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Equities and the dollar were rangebound Wednesday while gold hit a fresh record as expectations for a US interest rate cut played up against the prospect of another Donald Trump presidency that analysts say could see inflation-fuelling tax cuts and tariffs.

Flipping his flailing judo sparring partner to the mat, Afghanistan's Mohammad Samim Faizad is the only Olympic athlete training for the Games inside his Taliban-controlled homeland.

Jaime Lozano was dropped as manager of Mexico's national football team after rejecting a plan that included a demotion for the upcoming World Cup cycle, the Mexican Football Federation said Tuesday.

Donald Trump returned to the Republican National Convention Tuesday for a night intended to unify the party, as his failed primary challengers displayed their fealty to the now official US presidential candidate.

Australia vowed Wednesday to hold Russia to account for the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 ten years ago that killed nearly 300 people.