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

When Heidi Tarr was a teenager, she used a tanning bed several times a week with her friends because they all wanted to glow like a celebrity.

Wilfried Nancy heads into Sunday's Scottish League Cup final against St Mirren desperate for a win that will ease the pressure following a rocky start to his reign in charge of the Glasgow giants.

Argentina international fly-half Tomas Albornoz has signed for French club Toulon until 2030, the Top 14 side announced on Friday.

US President Donald Trump said Friday that Thailand and Cambodia had agreed to halt fighting along their disputed border, which has killed at least 20 people this week.

Mohamed Salah has been included in Liverpool's squad for their Premier League match at home to Brighton on Saturday following talks with manager Arne Slot, according to several British media reports.

Marseille coach Roberto De Zerbi said Friday he believes English striker Mason Greenwood, who has already scored 13 goals this season, has "Ballon d'Or potential".

The first high-profile Canadian performance on the 2026 World Cup stage did not go smoothly: hockey legend Wayne Gretzky mispronounced several country names during the tournament draw -- including Jordan -- prompting widespread ridicule.

Thailand's prime minister said he told US President Donald Trump in a phone call Friday that Cambodia was to blame for deadly border clashes, stopping short of declaring Bangkok was willing to halt fire.

In the Nile Delta village of Nagrig, residents love local son Mohamed Salah from a distance, with ructions between the Egyptian super striker and long-time English club Liverpool doing little to dim his lustre at home.

Stock markets on both sides of the Atlantic pulled back Friday as pre-weekend profit-taking pared some, but not all, of the gains seen after the Federal Reserve bank delivered a much-anticipated rate easing this week.

Brazilian leftists, including iconic singer Caetano Veloso, called for nationwide protests this Sunday against efforts by Congress to reduce the jail term of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted over a botched coup plot.

For US President Donald Trump, speaking after the release of an American security strategy that warned Europe was on the verge of "civilisational erasure", the continent's immigration policy is a "disaster" that will result in many European countries no longer being "viable".

Ukraine could join the European Union as early as January 2027 under the latest US plan to end the war with Russia, a senior source familiar with the matter told AFP on Friday.

A raft of proposed measures from Israel's ruling coalition targeting the media has sparked outrage, with critics warning the planned reforms would deliver a blow to press freedom.

Iranian authorities have freed a woman who was condemned to hanging over the killing of her husband who she married while a child, in a case that sparked international concern over the plight of women sentenced to death in the Islamic republic, rights activists said on Friday.

Pep Guardiola is as passionate and enthused as he's ever been as he looks to regain the Premier League title, according to his Manchester City deputy Kolo Toure.

Two-time winners La Rochelle will go into their Champions Cup match against South African franchise Stormers on Saturday with a host of youngsters including 19-year-old Lucas Andjisseramatchi who will captain them at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.

Global stocks on Friday held on to gains seen after the Federal Reserve bank delivered a much-anticipated rate easing this week, but investors shied away from big bets on the future direction of US interest rates.

Bestselling author Joanna Trollope -- renowned for her so-called "Aga sagas" set in rural England -- has died at the age of 82, her family said on Friday.

Ruben Amorim says Manchester United are still unsure about whether Bryan Mbeumo, Noussair Mazraoui and Amad Diallo can face Bournemouth on Monday before they depart for the Africa Cup of Nations.

EU finance ministers agreed Friday to impose a three-euro duty on low-value imports into the bloc from July 2026 to help tackle a flood of small parcels ordered via the likes of Shein and Temu.

US pop star Taylor Swift breaks down in tears in her documentary released Friday as she recalls the murder of three girls in a stabbing spree in northern England at a dance class themed around her music.

Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca said he was "completely relaxed" about his side's dip in form as he seeks greater consistency ahead of Saturday's home match against Everton.

France released on Friday a revamped roadmap to become carbon neutral by 2050, with an ambitious plan to phase out oil and gas.

Almost two weeks on from devastating floods, Muslim worshippers in Indonesia's Sumatra who gathered at their local mosque on Friday for prayers were blocked from entering by a huge pile of thousands of uprooted trees.

YouTube has hit pause on a dating show that whisked eight men and women from deeply conservative Pakistan to a sun-soaked Istanbul villa, where the strangers mingled, flirted and searched for chemistry.

England Test great James Anderson has been named as Lancashire's captain for next season's County Championship at the age of 43.

Britain's King Charles III, who has broken royal taboos to talk openly about battling cancer, will Friday appear in a "personal message" filmed for a TV campaign raising funds for research into the devastating disease.

Mikel Arteta said Friday that Gabriel Jesus has the qualities to be Arsenal's first-choice striker following the return of the Brazil international after 11 months on the sidelines.

Spain's ruling Socialist party is facing sexual misconduct and prostitution allegations that threaten its reputation as a champion of gender equality, putting its crucial base of women voters at risk.

The European Commission is expected to announce on Tuesday measures relaxing a 2035 ban on new petrol and diesel car sales.

European and Asian stock markets rose Friday as investors tracked a record session on Wall Street in the wake of the Federal Reserve's latest interest rate cut.