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

For the first time since 2004, the World Rally Championship, which celebrates its 50th anniversary by introducing hybrid cars, will have neither of the great French Sebastiens fighting for the title.

Two deposed captains, Virat Kohli and Quinton de Kock, could play significant roles in a three-match one-day international series between South Africa and India, starting at Boland Park in Paarl on Wednesday.

US President Joe Biden came in facing extraordinary challenges: a nation divided after the Donald Trump years, the Covid pandemic, and an economy in tumult.

Joe Biden 1.0 was a calming, grandfatherly figure, a low-key veteran coming out of retirement in 2020 to heal a nation deeply divided by Donald Trump. A year later, meet Biden 2.0 -- the frustrated, angry fighter.

Fourth doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines against Covid-19 are only "partially" effective for the Omicron variant of the virus, the authors of an Israeli trial said Monday.

The video game giant Activision Blizzard said Monday it has fired nearly 40 employees and disciplined more than 40 others since July as it deals with allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct.

Darius Garland scored 22 points and delivered 12 assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers stretched their winning streak to five games with a 114-107 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday.

Members of Martin Luther King Jr's family joined marchers Monday in Washington urging Congress to pass voting rights reform as the United States marked the holiday commemorating the slain civil rights leader.

A distress signal has been detected in a low-lying Tongan island following the volcanic eruption and tsunami, the United Nations said Tuesday as the first death was reported.

Burnley's match against relegation rivals Watford on Tuesday has been postponed after the Premier League accepted the Clarets' request for a delay on the grounds they had fewer than the required number of players available.

Bayern Munich's record-setting striker Robert Lewandowski retained FIFA's top men's player title Monday at "The Best" of 2021 ceremony as Barcelona captain Alexia Putellas collected the award for best women's player.

Japanese forward Daizen Maeda scored in just the fourth minutes of his debut as Celtic beat Hibernian 2-0 on Monday in a match that marked the resumption of the Scottish Premiership.

Kaillie Humphries, who won two Olympic gold medals for Canada before becoming an American citizen in December, was named to the US Olympic bobsled team.

Emmanuel Gyasi coolly finished a 96th minute counter-attack to give Spezia their first Serie A victory away to AC Milan, 2-1, on Monday night.

The chief executives of America's largest airlines warned ahead of Wednesday's 5G service rollout that the technology should be limited near US airports, or risk "significant operational disruption" to travel and shipping.

Ukrainian prosecutors on Monday requested $35 million in bail for former leader Petro Poroshenko after his return to the ex-Soviet country earlier in the day despite facing arrest on treason charges.

Yemen's Huthi rebels claimed attacks in Abu Dhabi that triggered a fuel tank blast killing three people Monday, and warned civilians and foreign firms in the UAE to avoid "vital installations".

North Korea fired two suspected ballistic missiles Monday, Seoul said, its fourth weapons test this month as Pyongyang flexes its military muscle while ignoring offers of talks from the United States.

A rare volcano-triggered tsunami sparked by the eruption of Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai in Tonga could have been caused by shock waves or shifting underwater land, experts said Monday.

Burnley manager Sean Dyche has said he feels no bitterness towards Chris Wood over the New Zealand striker's move to Premier League relegation rivals Newcastle.

The UK government came under fire on Monday for freezing the BBC licence fee, with critics accusing it of a politically motivated attack to save the prime minister's job.

The family of former US vice president Mike Pence has announced the death of Marlon Bundo, their pet rabbit who starred in a children's book series by the second family as well as a parody version supporting gay rights.

Nigeria's northern Zamfara state reopened schools on Monday four months after they were shut due to mass kidnappings of students by criminal gangs, the local government said.

The UK government on Monday announced a freeze of the BBC licence fee, arguing a new funding model was needed to ease cost of living pressures and reflect a transformed media landscape.

At least 26 people were killed after an earthquake hit western Afghanistan on Monday, an official said.

Community leaders in Blackburn, northwest England, on Monday voiced their shock after a local man took four people hostage more than 4,500 miles (7,400 kilometres) away at a Texas synagogue.

Former French cycling medical advisor Bernard Sainz, alias Dr Mabuse, was sentenced Monday to 12 months under house arrest with electronic monitoring for illegally practising medicine and pharmacology and inciting doping.

Former Spain international forward Diego Costa has quit Brazilian champions Atletico Mineiro just five months after returning to his country of birth.

Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar scored his fifth goal of the Africa Cup of Nations as his already qualified side were joined by Burkina Faso on Monday in the second round.

The chairman of Credit Suisse resigned Monday over Covid quarantine violations, leaving the bank's new risk committee chief holding the reins and tasked with trying to stabilise the scandal-hit institution.

The rabbi of a Texas synagogue that was the scene of a hostage stand-off recounted Monday how he threw a chair at the gunman, allowing those being held to escape.

European stock markets climbed on Monday as China's unexpectedly muted growth slowdown and optimism over the impact of the Omicron coronavirus variant boosted investor confidence.