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

Iran warned the United States on Thursday that its naval blockade was doomed to fail, after President Donald Trump signalled it could be enforced for months to come, in a confrontation wreaking havoc on global energy markets.

Air France-KLM cut back its 2026 outlook as it said higher fuel prices caused by the Middle East war would weigh down its fuel bill by more than a third.

Oil prices soared more than seven percent to a four-year high above $126 Thursday after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months and a report said he would be briefed on potential fresh military strikes.

Thai authorities arrested a teenager at a Bangkok airport for allegedly smuggling 30 protected tortoises valued at about $9,000 that were taped under her clothing, wildlife officials said Wednesday.

There was a hero's welcome for marathon world record-breaker Sabastian Sawe as he returned to Kenya and was lauded by President William Ruto on Thursday.

Oil prices soared more than seven percent to a four-year high above $126 Thursday after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months and a report said he would be briefed on potential fresh military strikes.

Volkswagen's future is at risk without further cost-cuts, the ailing German auto giant warned Thursday after profits plunged more than feared as headwinds mount.

British engine-maker Rolls-Royce maintained its full-year profit guidance on Thursday, as it expects to "fully mitigate" disruption from the Middle East war.

France's economy recorded zero growth in the first quarter of this year due to "sluggish" domestic demand and a "strongly" negative contribution from foreign trade, the national statistics agency INSEE said Thursday.

Global automaker Stellantis -- owner of the Jeep and Fiat brands -- said Thursday it had swung back into profit in the first quarter on rising sales as it fixed manufacturing and operational problems.

President Donald Trump said a US naval blockade against Iran could last months, leading oil prices to spike to their highest level in more than four years, which held into Thursday.

Cade Cunningham kept top-seeded Detroit's NBA playoff run alive against the Orlando Magic, as the Los Angeles Lakers again failed to close out their series with Houston on Wednesday.

There was "no meaningful shift" away from big tech platforms like TikTok and Instagram in the immediate wake of Australia's world-leading teen social media ban, government documents obtained by AFP show.

Denmark's Soren Torpegaard Lund, one of the favourites in the upcoming Eurovision Song Contest, has sparked a homophobic backlash in his progressive country with his electro-pop track, but he's just trying to "stay true to myself", he told AFP in an interview.

Jordan Adams, who ran the London marathon with a 25-kilogram fridge on his back last weekend, is now running around Ireland in a race to find a cure for a form of dementia both he and his brother are near certain to contract.

Oil prices soared more than seven percent to a fresh four-year high Thursday while stocks fell after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months and a report said he would be briefed on potential fresh military strikes.

Japan's Naoya Inoue said he will face a "clever, serious" opponent in fellow unbeaten countryman Junto Nakatani when they clash in front of 55,000 at a sold-out Tokyo Dome on Saturday.

Oil prices soared more than five percent to a fresh four-year high Thursday while stocks fell after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months as peace talks remained stalled.

A Jewish community group warned police a terror attack was "likely" just days before two gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach, an inquiry said on Thursday.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani called for King Charles to "return" the prized Koh-i-Noor diamond, which the British Empire took from the Indian subcontinent in the 1800s, on the third day of the monarch's state visit on Wednesday.

White supremacist killer Brenton Tarrant lost on Thursday an appeal seeking to overturn his conviction and sentence for shooting dead 51 people at two New Zealand mosques in 2019, court documents showed.

Oil prices held around four-year highs Thursday while stocks fell after Donald Trump warned the US blockade of Iranian ports could last months as peace talks remained stalled.

The first global conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels wrapped up on Wednesday -- but what progress was made in Santa Marta, a coal port on the Caribbean coast?

A centuries-old festival that heralds spring drew hundreds of worshippers to a mountain in Tokyo on Wednesday, as robed Shinto priests led a procession to a sacred shrine at the summit.

Nearly 60 nations hailed progress in the fight to exit fossil fuels as a breakaway conference wrapped up in Colombia on Wednesday -- but now face the harder work of turning words into action.

Viral posts of an Australian street dubbed the country's "most beautiful" have enticed coachloads of visitors to a picturesque seaside town -- and locals have had enough of it.

An epic Cade Cunningham performance kept top-seeded Detroit's NBA playoff run alive in a crucial 116-109 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday.

Juan Jose Guilarte is like any other 10-year-old as he races around a park in Cuba's capital Havana.

Buckets of blooms adorn Yuvita Anggi Prinanda's sidewalk flower stall in Bali, but their perfume can't mask the stench of accumulating trash bespoiling parts of the resort island famed for its natural beauty.

A Jewish community group warned police a terror attack was "likely" just days before two gunmen killed 15 people in a mass shooting at Australia's Bondi Beach, an inquiry said on Thursday.

Beaming with excitement, Finnish violinist Linda Lampenius and singer Pete Parkkonen entered a studio in Helsinki for their final rehearsals, before departing to Vienna, where they are tipped to win Eurovision.

The European Central Bank is expected to hold interest rates steady again on Thursday as policymakers weigh concerns about higher inflation triggered by the Middle East war against worries about weakening growth.