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

A French town on Saturday hosted a special event inside a hexagonal cage normally used for mixed martial arts: duels between fully armoured warriors wielding medieval weapons.

Kyle Jamieson took three wickets as New Zealand pressed for a series-levelling win, despite another landmark day for Joe Root, after leaving England with a record-breaking run-chase at the Oval.

The Netherlands put one foot in the World Cup knockout rounds with a stylish 5-1 demolition of Sweden on Saturday as Germany prepared to take on the Ivory Coast with the winner guaranteed a place in the last 32.

Cody Gakpo and Brian Brobbey both scored twice as the rampant Netherlands thrashed Sweden 5-1 in a World Cup warning on Saturday in Houston.

Scottie Scheffler opened with two bogeys while Rory McIlroy saved a par from a greenside bunker to begin their third rounds on Saturday at the US Open.

Kyle Jamieson took three wickets as New Zealand pressed for a series-levelling win in the second Test after leaving England with a record-breaking run-chase at the Oval on Saturday.

Brazil eased the immediate pressure but remain some way from the finished article at the World Cup after closing in on a place in the last 32 with an improved performance against Haiti.

Former Ballon d'Or and World Cup winner Ronaldinho is set to come out of retirement aged 46 to play for Ravenna in the Italian third tier, according to reports in Italian daily Gazzetta dello Sport.

Francisco Cerundolo booked his place in the final at Queen's Club with a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 win over the American Brandon Nakashima on Saturday.

Spanish giants Real Madrid said Saturday they have not made any contact with Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise over a potential transfer.

Taylor Fritz came from a set down on Saturday to see off French Open champion Alexander Zverev 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-5 and book his place in the ATP final on the grass in Halle.

Almeraq broke Japanese racing hearts on Saturday as Satono Reve was runner-up for the second successive year in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes in a thrilling climax to the final day of Royal Ascot.

Winger George Hendy scored twice in three second-half minutes to help Northampton Saints edge Exeter Chiefs 26-17 on Saturday to clinch the English Prem crown at Twickenham.

Ireland will be without their captain Caelan Doris and wing Tommy O'Brien as they head off to Australia and New Zealand for the start of their Nations Championship campaign, Irish Rugby announced on Saturday.

Could the United States really win the World Cup?

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni fired back at US President Donald Trump on Saturday, saying his "constant, unprovoked attacks are senseless" after he escalated a diplomatic row by accusing her of repeatedly seeking a photograph with him.

Renowned try scorer Cheslin Kolbe kicked 18 points as South Africa beat the Barbarians 80-31 in a season-opening exhibition match in Gqeberha on Saturday.

Tadej Pogacar extended his Tour of Switzerland lead after sensationally pipping his one-day classics rival Mathieu van der Poel by just three tenths of a second in Saturday's individual time-trial.

Bolivia's president on Saturday declared a state of emergency and deployed police and bulldozers to clear anti-government roadblocks that have paralyzed the Andean nation.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his top officials said on Saturday they were returning Polish awards, in a spiralling row with key ally Poland over WWII massacres.

Seventh seed Francisco Cerundolo booked his place in the final at Queen's Club with a hard-fought 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 win over the American Brandon Nakashima on Saturday.

A Spanish judge on Saturday ordered the wife of Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, Begona Gomez, to stand trial by jury for corruption and banned her from leaving the country.

New Zealand fast bowler Kyle Jamieson took two wickets in five balls to leave England reeling at the start of their record run-chase in the second Test at the Oval on Saturday.

American Jessica Pegula rallied past world number one Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-7 (4/7), 6-0 to reach the final of the Berlin WTA grass-court tournament for the second time.

The funeral for David Hockney, the acclaimed British artist who died just over a week ago, has already been held in strict privacy, his publicist said Saturday.

Pace bowler Prasidh Krishna's 5-23 and an unbeaten 110 by Yashasvi Jaiswal powered India to a nine-wicket win over Afghanistan in the third ODI and sweep the series 3-0 on Saturday.

France issued a red heatwave alert across more than a third of the country for Sunday as a ferocious heatwave dug in and the government banned the consumption of alcohol during the annual Fete de la Musique festivities.

Italy's Francesco Bagnaia scorched to victory in the Czech MotoGP sprint in Brno on Saturday ahead of pole sitter Ai Ogura on an Aprilia and Ducati teammate Marc Marquez.

Iran said it was once again closing the vital Strait of Hormuz shipping lane on Saturday over Israel's attacks in Lebanon, calling them a violation of its deal with the United States to end the Middle East war.

US President Donald Trump escalated a diplomatic row with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Saturday, accusing her of repeatedly seeking a photograph with him and linking the dispute to tensions over Iran and NATO.

England were left with a record chase of 463 to win a Test match after bowling out New Zealand on the fourth day at the Oval on Saturday.

UK accident investigators were on Saturday probing the cause of a train collision north of London which killed a driver and injured scores of passengers, nine critically.