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

Belgian rider Wout van Aert will miss the Tour de France with an elbow injury, his Visma team announced Wednesday.

Portugal midfielder Bernardo Silva has signed a two-year deal with Real Madrid, the La Liga giants announced Wednesday.

The Louvre museum is struggling to find funding to upgrade its ageing facilities, its new director said Wednesday, following a litany of problems that included a brazen $100-million jewellery heist.

A German electricity grid operator said Wednesday that it had awarded a major contract to two energy companies to connect offshore wind farms in the North Sea to the network.

G7 leaders on Wednesday hailed the US-Iran deal to end the Middle East war as a "historic opportunity" and agreed to increase pressure on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, ahead of an unusual summit session with AI bosses to discuss online security.

Europe's biggest tech trade fair Vivatech opened its doors Wednesday in Paris, putting American billionaire Jeff Bezos front and centre as enthusiasm for generative AI rubs shoulders with anxiety about the continent's technological dependence.

England begin their bid to end a 60-year wait for a trophy when they take on Croatia in their World Cup opener on Wednesday while Cristiano Ronaldo is set to play in a record-equalling sixth tournament.

US Marine Corps plans for a crisis-ready stockpile in Australia are part of a "growing US footprint" in the country and important for national security, Defence Minister Richard Marles said Wednesday.

France braced for another heat wave on Wednesday, with Paris allowing swimming in one of its canals so residents could cope with the heat.

Summer is coming, a boom time for ice cream makers, but Japanese authorities have raided six major firms on suspicion of colluding to raise prices.

Europe's biggest tech trade fair Vivatech opens Wednesday in Paris for a 10th-anniversary edition where enthusiasm for generative AI will rub shoulders with anxiety about the continent's technological dependence.

MEXC, a pioneer in 0-fee digital asset trading, has published its May 2026 Trading Highlights report. Crypto-native users moved aggressively into traditional asset exposure throughout the month. US equity futures volume jumped 85%, the SPACEX(PRE) Launchpad hit a record-breaking 15.5x oversubscription, and new token spot trading volume per user grew 36% as capital rotated from Meme assets into RWA and AI infrastructure. 

MEXC, a pioneer in 0-fee digital asset trading, has officially launched Combo, a new feature within its prediction markets ecosystem, in partnership with its collaborators. This marks the first time a centralized platform has introduced multi-event combination trading capabilities to prediction markets globally, through its partner.

In 1976, young Congolese doctor Jean-Jacques Muyembe was sent to a remote village to look into a mysterious illness and found himself confronting Ebola, a deadly virus the world did not yet know.

Lionel Messi savoured a "beautiful moment" after becoming the World Cup's joint all-time leading goalscorer on Tuesday but said "ultimately, it is just a statistic, nothing more".

The leader of Australia's ascendant far-right party assailed "radical Islam" and the media on Wednesday and vowed to pull the country out of international organisations in an address briefly interrupted by the unfurling of a protest banner.

Under a scorching sun in a Bangkok suburb, a whistle blows and shouts fill the air as dozens of shoppers rush into a warehouse bearing the sign "Japanese Second-Hand Store".

Lionel Messi saluted a "beautiful moment" after becoming the World Cup's joint all-time leading goalscorer in his record-breaking sixth finals appearance on Tuesday.

President Vladimir Putin hosts a summit of Southeast Asian leaders in the central Russian city of Kazan from Wednesday, as the West pressures Moscow to end its Ukraine offensive.

The first tankers carrying Iranian oil exited a US blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a tracking website said on Wednesday, two days before Washington and Tehran launch talks on an agreed peace deal still scant on details -- including Iran's nuclear programme and the lifting of sanctions.

A Tasmanian devil named Mary has been found in an "unstable condition" more than two weeks after escaping her enclosure, an Australian wildlife park said Wednesday.

Lionel Messi opened his record-breaking sixth World Cup with a hat-trick to become the tournament's joint all-time top scorer on Tuesday as holders Argentina launched their bid for back-to-back titles with a dazzling 3-0 rout of Algeria.

Lionel Messi scored a dazzling hat-trick for Argentina on Tuesday to equal Miroslav Klose's all-time record of 16 goals at World Cups as the defending champions swept Algeria aside 3-0.

A new political party called Restore Britain is threatening the rise of Nigel Farage's hard-right group, with a tougher anti-immigrant stance and the backing of tech trillionaire Elon Musk.

Three flea-riddled kittens frolic under the feet of a food vendor at a bustling train station in Jakarta, home to one of the biggest urban stray cat populations on Earth.

In Havana's old town, to walk on the pavement rather than the middle of the street is to take your life into your hands.

European lawmakers are to give final approval Wednesday to tougher migration rules that will grant authorities broader powers to detain irregular arrivals and allow for the creation of deportation centres outside the bloc.

Cristiano Ronaldo is preparing for his sixth World Cup as if it was his first, said Portugal coach Roberto Martinez as he hailed the 41-year-old as "an example and a reference for football."

G7 leaders will discuss on Wednesday the security risks posed by AI and social media on the last day of a summit dominated by Donald Trump, before host French President Emmanuel Macron dines with his US counterpart at the Palace of Versailles.

Norway coach Stale Solbakken said star striker Erling Haaland proved the World Cup "wasn't too big" for him as he scored two goals in the 4-1 win over Iraq on Tuesday.

The US Federal Reserve is expected to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday at Kevin Warsh's first meeting in charge of the central bank, with rate hikes potentially on the horizon to combat surging inflation.

Lionel Messi became the first man to play in six World Cup tournaments when he started for Argentina in their opening match against Algeria in Kansas City on Tuesday.