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

Tens of thousands of Indonesia's indigenous people are at risk of being expelled from their lands to make way for the construction of a new capital on jungle-clad Borneo island, a rights group warned on Friday.

Italian seventh seed Matteo Berrettini fought off exciting Spanish youngster Carlos Alcaraz and the effects of a heavy tumble to win a fifth-set tiebreaker and advance to the fourth round of the Australian Open on Friday.

Airbus has taken the extraordinary step of cancelling a multi-billion-dollar order of 50 planes from Qatar Airways, a major customer, in an escalating feud over the airline's grounding of A350 aircraft.

Malaysian badminton ace Lee Zii Jia, ranked seventh in the world, was Friday banned from tournaments for two years as a punishment for quitting his national team to go independent.

An air strike has destroyed a prison in the Huthi rebel stronghold of Saada in northern Yemen, leaving many dead or wounded, the insurgents said Friday as the Red Cross confirmed an attack.

Jessica Pegula revealed Friday the secret behind her run to the fourth round of the Australian Open -- spending every night down the casino.

With fish and turtles swimming around them, divers performed an underwater lion dance in a Malaysian aquarium on Friday, in a fresh take on the traditional Lunar New Year performance.

China condemned a French parliament resolution on Friday that accuses Beijing of carrying out a genocide against its Uyghur Muslim population, a move that has strained ties two weeks before the Winter Olympics.

A Taiwanese woman faces the death penalty for allegedly starting the island's deadliest fire in decades in an attempt to get back at a boyfriend she suspected was cheating on her.

South Korean tech giant Samsung has pulled an online advert in Singapore that featured a hijab-wearing Muslim woman hugging her drag queen son after it sparked a backlash from socially conservative corners.

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will have to put recent struggles behind them this weekend as they continue their scrap to finish in La Liga’s top four.

Booming sales of home self-test kits for Covid are prompting Indian authorities to tighten the rules around their sale and fuelling long-held fears of underreporting as cases surge.

Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria on Friday hunted down Islamic State group fighters after an IS attack on a Kurdish-run prison housing fellow jihadists, a war monitor and Kurdish forces said.

An "immersive" Princess Diana documentary offering an "origin story" for the British royal family's latest woes was among the opening night movies at the online Sundance film festival Thursday.

The United Nations said destruction caused by Typhoon Rai in the Philippines had been "badly underestimated" in initial assessments, tripling the number of people "seriously affected" to nine million.

The story of a Chinese migrant worker whose plight sparked a wave of online sympathy after he tested positive for the coronavirus took another sad twist Friday, as police said his missing son was long dead.

Serbia's 77th-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic emerged as a big winner from the Novak Djokovic saga -- and capitalised on his good fortune by reaching the fourth round at the Australian Open on Friday.

Dominican rookie Chris Duarte led the injury-hit Indiana Pacers to a 121-117 NBA overtime triumph over Stephen Curry and the Golden Warriors on Thursday.

Swimming Australia looks set to ban skin-fold tests and the term "physique" while unreservedly apologising Friday for the way women have been treated in the sport.

It's the tale of a boy who cheats on his fiancee -- one misdeed too many in a selfish life -- and in desperation turns to a genie for help.

Russia risks becoming embroiled in a "terrible quagmire" if it invades Ukraine, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss warned Friday, raising the spectre of a prolonged, bloody and sapping conflict for Moscow.

Italy's parliament begins voting for a new president Monday, with Prime Minister Mario Draghi tipped for election in a high-stakes version of musical chairs which threatens the survival of the government.

Vietnamese are paying hundreds of dollars for gold plated tiger models as gifts as Lunar New Year draws near, bucking a major economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.

French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova said her rivals should be "scared" after pulling off a gritty comeback win against Jelena Ostapenko on Friday at the Australian Open.

Hong Kong's government Friday warned local animal lovers not to obstruct its ongoing cull of small animals, a policy triggered when hamsters in a pet shop tested positive for the coronavirus.

India and Pakistan will lock horns in a blockbuster T20 World Cup group clash for the second year running after the fixtures for the October-November 2022 tournament in Australia were announced on Friday.

South Korea's short track speed skaters head to the Beijing Olympics next month hoping to leave behind high-profile scandals and bring glory to a country deeply passionate about the breakneck sport.

A missing World War II plane has been identified in India's remote Himalayas nearly 80 years after it crashed with no survivors, following a treacherous search that led to the deaths of three guides.

Victoria Azarenka compared her bid for a third Australian Open title to climbing a ladder on Friday -- now she needs to make sure she does not fall off.

The US Treasury on Thursday extended by one year a rule that shields Citgo, a US-based unit of Venezuela's state-owned oil company PDVSA, from being seized by creditors, the department said.

The United States and its allies have warned Moscow Thursday of grave consequences if "any" of the tens of thousands of troops massed on the border were to cross the border into Ukraine.

At least 17 people were killed and 59 injured Thursday in a devastating explosion in a western Ghana town after a truck carrying explosives intended for a mine collided with a motorcycle, the government said.