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

Leaders Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin framed their nations' ties as a stabilising force in a chaotic world as they met Thursday in Beijing, where the Russian president is seeking greater Chinese support for his war effort in Ukraine and isolated economy.

European consumer groups on Thursday accused Chinese shopping app Temu of using "manipulative techniques" to force users to spend more and other violations of a landmark EU tech law.

FIFA is to consider allowing domestic leagues to play matches overseas, opening the door to money-spinning English Premier League or Spanish La Liga clashes being staged in the United States, the Middle East or Asia.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Thursday hailed ties with Russia as "conducive to peace" as he met with counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing.

The Boston Celtics overpowered the Cleveland Cavaliers 113-98 to reach a third straight Eastern Conference finals on Wednesday as Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City moved to the brink of elimination after crashing 104-92 at home to Dallas.

A Monet sold for nearly $35 million at auction Wednesday evening, Sotheby's said, marking a solid start to New York's spring art sales.

Russian President Vladimir Putin met Thursday with counterpart Xi Jinping in Beijing as he seeks greater support from China for his war effort in Ukraine and his isolated economy.

Asian equities rallied Thursday after US data showed inflation cooled last month, fuelling speculation that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice this year.

Like hundreds of other pro-Turkish fighters, Omar left northern Syria for mineral-rich Niger last year, joining Syrian mercenaries sent to the West African nation by a private Turkish military company.

Football's world governing body FIFA will decide the hosts for the 2027 Women's World Cup at its congress in Bangkok on Friday, where the war in Gaza will also rear its head.

When car bomb survivor Najlah Imad first took up table tennis, her relatives warned against it. But a decade later, the Iraqi teenager who lost three limbs is gunning for gold at the 2024 Paralympic Games.

Victory for either Oleksandr Usyk or Tyson Fury on Saturday will create the first undisputed heavyweight champion of the world in 24 years.

France deployed troops to New Caledonia's ports and international airport, banned TikTok and imposed a state of emergency Thursday after three nights of clashes that have left four dead and hundreds wounded.

Another masterpiece emerging from chaos, or just a chaotic mess? One of Hollywood's most mythologised directors, Francis Ford Coppola, returns Thursday to the Cannes Film Festival with the almost impossibly hyped "Megalopolis".

A motorway attack that claimed the lives of two prison officers in France this week marks a new level of violence by the latest generation of drug traffickers, police officers and experts told AFP.

Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will launch their bid for a third straight Super Bowl against the Baltimore Ravens when the 2024-2025 season kicks off, the league confirmed Wednesday.

Arab leaders are gathering Thursday in Bahrain for a summit dominated by the Israel-Hamas war which has been raging in the Gaza Strip without a ceasefire in sight.

Inter Miami's five-match winning run came to an end on Wednesday as, without the injured Lionel Messi, they were held to a 0-0 draw at Orlando City.

South Africa will ask the top UN court on Thursday to order an immediate halt to Israel's incursion in Rafah, describing it as a "genocidal" operation threatening the "very survival of Palestinians".

Jayson Tatum scored 25 points as the Boston Celtics overpowered the injury-hit Cleveland Cavaliers 113-198 on Wednesday to complete a 4-1 series victory and book their place in the Eastern Conference finals for the third straight year.

Being a forest firefighter in Canada means knowing how to handle a water mist lance but also pumps and axes: in Quebec as in the other provinces, hundreds of new recruits are training to beat down blazes ahead of another possibly harsh wildfire season.

Nestled in the Bolivian Amazon, the small, majority-Indigenous town of Urubicha has become an unexpected hub of violin makers, also known as luthiers.

US President Joe Biden unveiled steep tariff hikes on Chinese green tech this week, hitting imports like electric vehicles, chips and solar cells -- and adding stress to US-China ties.

Since announcing plans in late March to replace CEO Dave Calhoun at the end of 2024, Boeing's problems have seemingly gone from bad to worse, complicating an already daunting executive search.

A hole-in-the-wall taqueria is among the first restaurants in Mexico to be awarded a star by the prestigious Michelin Guide -- an accomplishment its owner credits to "love and effort."

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico fought for his life in hospital Wednesday after being shot multiple times in what the government called a "political assault".

Japan's economy suffered a worse-than-expected contraction in the first quarter, official data showed Thursday, in further bad news for its unpopular government.

A raccoon ran on the field and stopped play in the Major League Soccer match between the Philadelphia Union and New York City on Wednesday.

Max Verstappen will aim to recover and put his friend Lando Norris back in his place among the chasing pack this weekend as Formula One returns to Europe for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

Nearly a quarter-of-a-million families impacted by devastating floods in Brazil's south will receive about $1,000 each towards replacing what they lost, the government said Wednesday.

The father of British boxer Tyson Fury said he means "no harm to any Ukrainian" on Wednesday after an altercation ahead of this week's undisputed heavyweight clash with Oleksandr Usyk.

Antoine Griezmann secured Champions League qualification for Atletico Madrid with a hat-trick in a 3-0 triumph at Getafe on Wednesday in La Liga.