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

Iran and the United States began indirect talks in Switzerland on Thursday, a last-ditch bid to avert war following the biggest American military build-up in the Middle East in decades.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ended his two-day visit to China on Thursday in the tech hub of Hangzhou, identifying "challenges that we must overcome together" after meeting President Xi Jinping and announcing an Airbus deal.

Troubled automaker Stellantis, behind brands like Jeep and Fiat, announced Thursday a net loss of 22.3 billion euros ($26.3 billion) for last year, blaming a lack of demand for electric vehicles.

US and Ukrainian officials were set to meet in Geneva on Thursday for fresh talks, hours after Russia launched a fresh barrage of missiles and drones at its neighbour overnight.

Seoul's Kospi index hit another record high Thursday on a mixed day for equities following a strong lead from Wall Street but with traders giving a tepid response to forecast-beating earnings from chip titan Nvidia.

A 22-metre robot arm will help remove a third sample of radioactive debris from inside Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant, its operator said Thursday, as it unveiled the snake-like device.

From a rise in arrests to online attacks, Senegal has been under an intensified crackdown on same-sex relations in recent weeks, prompting outcry from human rights groups and driving some in the LGBTQ+ community to consider exile.

A Hong Kong court sentenced the father of a wanted activist to eight months in prison Thursday under a national security law, after he attempted to terminate his daughter's insurance policy and withdraw funds.

Albanian actor Anila Bisha is renowned for playing complex women on the stage and screen, skills honed over a 30-year career, but now she lives in the shadow of her AI avatar and a performance she never gave.

Climate change may threaten the value of Bansko's prime ski slopes, but the Bulgarian resort has found an all-seasons solution to boost its economy, drawing in a cosmopolitan community of digital nomads.

A Thai political party that came second in this month's vote filed a criminal complaint Thursday against the nation's election commissioners, accusing them of violating election laws, the party's deputy told AFP.

Kim Jong Un said North Korea could "get along" with Washington if it accepted Pyongyang's nuclear status, state media said Thursday, but has dashed any hopes of mended ties with "deceptive" neighbour Seoul.

The San Antonio Spurs edged the Toronto Raptors 110-107 on Wednesday, pushing their NBA winning streak to 10 games and closing in on Western Conference leaders Oklahoma City Thunder, who fell to the Detroit Pistons.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz accompanied entrepreneurs to the Chinese tech hub of Hangzhou on Thursday, hoping to land new contracts a day after meeting President Xi Jinping and sealing an Airbus deal.

Nepal votes next week for the first time since deadly anti-corruption protests toppled the government, but analysts say any winner will likely maintain the delicate diplomatic balance between its two giant neighbours, India and China.

South Korean director Park Chan‑wook, renowned for his thriller "Oldboy", will preside over the 79th Cannes film festival jury in May, organisers announced Thursday.

Australia ditching the British monarchy is "more important than ever" and voters would likely back a head of state elected by its parliament, former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull told AFP on Thursday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un donned matching jackets with his daughter at a military parade, state media photos showed Thursday, stoking speculation she is being groomed as heir.

Kyiv and Washington were set to open a new round of talks in Geneva Thursday aimed at ending Moscow's four-year invasion of Ukraine, as Russia launched fresh strikes overnight.

Zimbabwe's ban on raw lithium exports is forcing Chinese miners to rethink their strategy, speeding up plans to process the metal locally instead of shipping it to China's vast rechargeable battery industry.

Sparks fly and metal groans in a cavernous workshop on the outskirts of Islamabad, where Pakistani artist Ehtisham Jadoon fuses discarded car parts into colossal pieces inspired by "Transformers" movies and dinosaurs.

Jeffrey Epstein built close ties with powerful figures in Senegal and Ivory Coast, files released by the US government last month show, detailing the late sex offender's influence network across Africa.

New data centres are springing up worldwide as demand soars for artificial intelligence and cloud computing, with Asia one of the sector's fastest growing regions.

Nonstop buzzing fills a windowless Microsoft data centre near Jakarta, part of a tech construction boom sweeping Southeast Asia that promises economic opportunities but is also hungry for resources.

Seoul's Kospi index hit another record high Thursday on a mixed day for Asian equities following a strong lead from Wall Street but with traders giving a tepid response to forecast-beating earnings from chip titan Nvidia.

When Russian strikes cut off the power, heating and water to swathes of the Ukrainian capital in -20C temperatures, Denys Biletsky was prepared.

Kim Jong Un said North Korea could "get along well" with the United States if Washington acknowledges its nuclear status, but dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, state media reported Thursday.

Cuba said it thwarted gunmen trying to infiltrate from the United States as its coastguard opened fire Wednesday at a Florida-registered speedboat near its shores, killing four people and wounding six.

Britain's ruling Labour party faces a crunch poll on Thursday that is expected to showcase growing support for the hard-right and leftists as the country's traditional two-party system fractures.

Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese apologised for any "misinterpretation" Thursday after describing a sexual assault survivor who became an advocate for women as "difficult".

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has spurned Seoul's efforts to mend diplomatic relations, saying Pyongyang has "absolutely no business dealing with" his nation's "most hostile" enemy, state media said Thursday.

The soft singing of workers rings out at daybreak in the Congolese village of Romee, whose wooded haven is threatened by a scramble for forest land that has sparked deadly violence.