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

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israel's military attacks had "decimated" Iran and that the Middle East war could finish sooner than expected, even as the Islamic republic kept up attacks on Gulf oil and gas targets that have jolted global markets.

Jailed Salvadoran lawyer Ruth Lopez symbolizes the "decency" and "credible voice" that President Nayib Bukele's government only managed to silence with imprisonment, her husband Louis Benavides told AFP in an interview.

Lawmakers in California said Thursday they will rename the Cesar Chavez Day state holiday in the wake of disturbing allegations of sexual abuse by the late labor rights icon.

A Yazidi woman who was held as a sex slave by the Islamic State group testified Thursday before a French court, describing in stark detail the horrors she endured under jihadist captivity.

All teams participating in a women's tournament organised by FIFA will be required to have a female head coach or assistant after football's governing body passed ground-breaking regulations at its council meeting on Thursday.

Megan Jones will captain all-conquering world champions England in the upcoming Women's Six Nations, the Rugby Football Union announced Thursday.

US President Donald Trump said Thursday he had told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to strike any more Iranian gas fields, seeking to distance himself from an attack by a key ally that has shaken world energy markets.

Major League Soccer will play a February-to-May campaign in 2027 to transition into a season schedule that aligns with most football leagues worldwide, organisers announced on Thursday.

FIFA president Gianni Infantino on Thursday underlined the body's commitment to making sure the World Cup goes ahead "as scheduled" with "all teams" taking part amid doubts about Iran's presence at the tournament.

Atlanta Braves outfielder Jurickson Profar will miss the entire 2026 Major League Baseball season after his appeal of the 162-game doping ban failed, ESPN reported on Thursday.

The war in the Middle East has exposed Europe's reliance on Gulf companies for flights to Asia, Europe's airlines said on Thursday.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's parliament speaker and a veteran of the Revolutionary Guards, has emerged as the highest-profile political figure in the Islamic republic after the killing of its leaders.

The UN's maritime body called Thursday for the creation of a safe shipping "corridor" in the Gulf to evacuate stranded vessels and seafarers, after an emergency meeting that also condemned Iran.

Democrats and activists celebrated Thursday the release of a US high school student from Venezuela who spent 10 months in custody after his arrest by immigration officials enforcing President Donald Trump's mass deportation plans.

Iranian attacks on the world's largest LNG plant in Qatar and refineries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sent shock waves through energy markets Thursday as the United States said there was no deadline to end the Middle East war.

US President Donald Trump on Thursday startled Japan's prime minister by mentioning the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor, a seemingly light-hearted remark sure to elicit unease in a country now a firm US ally.

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that Washington might lift sanctions on Iranian oil that is already being shipped, as energy prices soar due to the war in the Middle East.

The International Monetary Fund said on Thursday it was monitoring the impacts of the war in Iran on global inflation and output, but that no countries had so far approached it for emergency assistance related to the conflict.

The Middle East war could weigh heavily on already slowing global trade, potentially threatening global food security, the World Trade Organization warned Thursday.

Cade Cunningham, who has sparked the Detroit Pistons to the NBA Eastern Conference lead, will miss at least two weeks with a collapsed left lung, the team announced on Thursday.

Belarus freed 250 political prisoners on Thursday following negotiations with the United States, while Washington agreed to remove sanctions on several Belarusian companies in return, a US official said.

Iranian attacks on the world's largest LNG plant in Qatar and refineries in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait sent shock waves through energy markets Thursday as the US said there was no time frame to end the Middle East war.

Enzo Fernandez has told Liam Rosenior he is happy at Chelsea and "how passionate he is for this football club" after the midfielder made comments earlier this week suggesting he may not be Stamford Bridge next season.

Former Nazi concentration camps should be added to the UNESCO World Heritage list, a group preserving the memorials urged Thursday, warning that "democracy can no longer be taken for granted".

English cricket chiefs Rob Key and Richard Gould will speak to the media at Lord's on Monday regarding a post-Ashes review into the team's series loss in Australia.

The European Space Agency announced Thursday it has re-established communication with a spacecraft that is part of its Proba-3 mission, after losing contact with the satellite a month ago.

Nigerian President Bola Tinubu talked of how his country is "challenged by terrorism" as he met Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday as part of his state visit to the UK.

Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann said out-of-form Newcastle striker Nick Woltemade's lack of goalscoring impact was because he is being played in the wrong position at club level.

Wimbledon's controversial expansion plan received a major boost Thursday after a judge at London's High Court ruled the proposed development of the current site is not subject to restrictions on how the land cam be used.

EU leaders failed to persuade Hungary's Viktor Orban to lift his block on a massive loan to support Ukraine's war effort at summit talks on Thursday, leaving the much-needed funding in limbo.

Morocco's new head coach Mohamed Ouahbi congratulated his country on Thursday on CAF's "well-deserved" decision to strip Senegal of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations title in favour of his new side.

The Senegalese Football Federation announced Thursday it has instructed its lawyers to lodge an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) after the national team were stripped of its Africa Cup of Nations title.