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

Europe's equity markets climbed Wednesday with traders boosted on the eve of an expected interest-rate cut by the European Central Bank, but Asia slid on renewed US economic worries.

The next-generation Ariane 6 rocket, a crucial programme for Europe's space ambitions, is due to lift off on July 9 following years of delays, the European Space Agency said Wednesday.

Former Chelsea and Tottenham coach Antonio Conte was hired by Napoli on Wednesday as the deposed Serie A champions try to bounce back from their disastrous league title defence.

Italy's competition authority on Wednesday fined global tech giant Meta 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) for a lack of transparency in its use of data and management of Instagram and Facebook accounts.

Heavy rain washed volcanic mud and debris through a village in the central Philippines on Wednesday, two days after a nearby volcano erupted.

Zhu Yangyang babbles away like a typical happy three-year-old, calling out for "mama" and "papa" and accurately naming colors -- a remarkable achievement considering he was completely deaf just months ago.

Israel's military pounded central Gaza with heavy air strikes on Wednesday as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators planned to resume talks on a truce and hostage release deal.

A campaign seeking to drive support for Indigenous tribes fighting palm oil plantations in eastern Indonesia is spreading widely online after taking inspiration from an AI-generated image of Gaza.

Palau's President Surangel Whipps on Wednesday said the tiny country, one of Taiwan's few diplomatic allies, had suffered a major cyberattack, pointing the finger at China.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party was in talks with key allies to form a government Wednesday, after failing to secure an outright majority for the first time since sweeping to power a decade ago.

With legs like a velociraptor and a striking neon blue neck, the southern cassowary cuts a fearsome figure in the rainforests of northeast Australia.

Equities were mixed Wednesday as building optimism that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates before the end of the year was offset by renewed worries about the US economy.

Italy's competition authority on Wednesday fined global tech giant Meta 3.5 million euros ($3.8 million) for data breaches and failures in managing Instagram and Facebook accounts.

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday began a state visit to France marking 80 years since the World War II D-Day landings, with a new war shadowing Europe as Ukraine battles Russian invasion.

Living on canned beans and meat, the 70-year-old Egyptian has been hiding out in a Mecca apartment for weeks, hoping to evade a Saudi dragnet and perform the hajj pilgrimage illegally.

Donald Trump faced Republican voters for the first time as a convicted felon on Tuesday during the final state primaries for the 2024 presidential nomination, where he continued to sweep up votes.

A year after one of Greece's worst wildfire seasons left over 20 people dead, a record-breaking warm winter and high spring temperatures are raising fears of another fierce summer.

Every year, nearly 800,000 tourists wander through the alleys of Binibeca Vell, a tiny whitewashed village nicknamed "the Spanish Mykonos" for its resemblance to the famous Greek island which attracts huge crowds of visitors.

Fiji's prime minister wound back the clock on Wednesday by winning a bronze medal at an international athletics championships, aged 75.

Tucked away in the basement of an old mall lies gleaming Singapore's only heavy metal bar, where music fans brush shoulder-to-shoulder with international rockers who helped pioneer the genre.

Claudia Sheinbaum's election as Mexico's first woman president has shored up the left's dominance of Latin America, a region more used to sometimes-dramatic political shifts in recent years.

Tournament hosts Germany face Hungary, Switzerland and Scotland, a set of talented if unpredictable rivals, in Group A as they bid for a record-breaking fourth Euros crown.

Indonesia's president has replaced the head of the country's new capital city, in a surprise shakeup just weeks before the controversial $32 billion project officially opens on Borneo island.

The bodies of hundreds of villagers feared buried in Papua New Guinea landslide will not be recovered, the military said Wednesday, describing recovery operations as "too dangerous".

Pop-culture powerhouse Japan wants to expand its overseas market for video games, manga and anime fourfold to $130 billion in about a decade, the government has said.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faced Wednesday the prospects of a far tougher-than-expected third term after his party failed to secure an outright majority for the first time since sweeping to power a decade ago.

Australia's online watchdog on Wednesday dropped a legal effort to force Elon Musk's X to remove posts depicting the violent stabbing of a Sydney priest.

The world has never had so many rich people and their investments in soaring stock markets have made them wealthier than ever recorded, according to a study published on Wednesday.

New Zealand high jumper Hamish Kerr aims to add Olympic gold in Paris to his world indoor title -- by deploying tactical toilet breaks to help him mentally reset.

India captain Rohit Sharma said Tuesday that he had unsuccessfully tried to get Rahul Dravid to stay on as coach, hailing him as "a big role model."

Equities mostly rose Wednesday on building optimism that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates before the end of the year after the latest batch of data indicated the long-resilient US jobs market was showing signs of easing.

Hundreds of villagers feared buried in Papua New Guinea landslide will not be recovered, the military told AFP Wednesday, describing the disaster zone as "too dangerous" to operate in.