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

Toulon entertain Castres in the French Top 14 play-offs on Saturday with centre Leicester Fainga'anuku hoping his time on the Cote d'Azur is extended for at least another week.

Wimbledon prize money will increase by seven percent to a record pot of £53.5 million ($72.6 million) for this year's championships as pressure grows from players for a greater slice of Grand Slam profits.

Sweden's Ludvig Aberg began with back-to-back birdies to grab the early lead at the 125th US Open on Thursday while Rory McIlroy started with a par and Bryson DeChambeau opened with a bogey.

Untouchable Olympic champion Kaylee McKeown completed the backstroke treble at the Australian trials Thursday while "King" Kyle Chalmers blitzed the 100m freestyle and Lani Pallister swam a sizzling 800m freestyle.

Air India's London-bound flight 171 that crashed on Thursday with 242 people on board was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, part of India's bold push to radically expand its air industry sector.

Temba Bavuma and David Bedingham revived South Africa in the World Test Championship final against Australia at Lord's on Thursday following a top-order collapse on the opening day.

Stock markets and the dollar retreated Thursday after US President Donald Trump threatened higher unilateral tariffs on partners in the coming weeks, reigniting trade war fears

Thick black plumes of acrid smoke towered high above India's Ahmedabad airport Thursday after a London-bound passenger jet with 242 people aboard crashed shortly after takeoff on Thursday.

Irish no-frills airline Ryanair said Thursday it will fine "disruptive passengers whose unruly behaviour" results in their removal from aircraft 500 euros ($580).

Sri Lanka counted more than seven million monkeys during a census of crop-destroying wildlife, authorities said Thursday, after a government minister called the figure "unbelievable".

South African giants Mamelodi Sundowns, a team used to dominating possession, may have their time with the ball considerably reduced at the Club World Cup, says coach Miguel Cardoso.

Iran on Thursday vowed to "significantly" increase its output of enriched uranium in defiance of US demands ahead of a new round of nuclear talks, and amid reports of an imminent Israeli attack.

Myanmar's economy is set to shrink 2.5 percent in the 2025/26 financial year, largely as a result of March's devastating magnitude-7.7 earthquake, the World Bank said on Thursday.

A London-bound passenger plane crashed Thursday in India's western city of Ahmedabad with 242 on board, aviation officials said in what the airline called a "tragic accident".

Communities across Asia's Himalayan Hindu Kush region face heightened disaster risks this monsoon season with temperatures and rainfall expected to exceed normal levels, experts warned on Thursday.

A Chinese woman was briefly detained in Seoul for allegedly attempting to enter the home of BTS idol Jungkook, who was released from his military service a day before, police said Thursday.

Oman said Thursday it would host a sixth round of nuclear talks between Washington and Tehran over the weekend, amid escalating tensions between the long-time foes and reports of an imminent Israeli attack on Iran.

Britain's economy shrank more than expected in April following a tax hike on UK businesses and a record drop in exports to the United States due to President Donald Trump's tariffs, official data showed Thursday.

Poland coach Michal Probierz, who had been feuding with star striker Robert Lewandowski, has resigned for "the good of the national team", the country's football federation said on Thursday.

Israel charged Thursday that Hamas was "weaponising suffering in Gaza" after a US and Israeli-backed charity accused the Palestinian militant group of killing five of its aid workers in the territory.

Eddie Jones said Thursday he wants Japan to "run Wales off their feet" in two Tests next month while conceding he had made mistakes in an underwhelming return to coaching the Brave Blossoms.

Investors were rattled on Thursday after Donald Trump said he would impose unilateral tariffs on partners in the next two weeks, reigniting trade war fears soon after reaching a deal with China to dial down tensions between the superpowers.

Beijing condemned on Thursday what it called "dangerous behaviour" by a Japanese military plane over the Pacific after Tokyo said Chinese fighter jets flew unusually close to its aircraft at the weekend.

The number of people forcibly displaced from their homes worldwide has dropped slightly from a record high but remains "untenably high", the United Nations said Thursday.

Nearly two years after Niger's military seized power and the border with Benin was shut, tensions over security, sovereignty and French influence have hardened into a stand-off throttling trade and paralysing ties between the west African neighbours.

There is a constant hum around Ethiopia's enormous Lake Dembel -- the sound of its water steadily being sucked out by pumps.

The first EU-wide cryptocurrency regulation was meant to impose some harmony, but disparities in implementation by member countries has allowed companies to exploit a flaw in the system.

Away from the heady rush to build ultra-capable, sci-fi style artificial intelligence in Silicon Valley, ambitious Nairobi-based startup Amini AI is betting on the technology addressing emerging countries' prosaic problems in the here and now.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's hard-right government survived an opposition bid to dissolve parliament on Thursday, as lawmakers rejected a bill that could have paved the way for snap elections.

A US- and Israeli-backed charity operating in Gaza accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of attacking aid workers en route to a distribution centre on Wednesday, saying at least five people were killed.

Bennedict Mathurin's game-changing performance in game three of the NBA Finals felt like a long time coming, but the 22-year-old Canadian made sure he was ready when the opportunity arrived.

Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler launches his bid for back-to-back major titles as the US Open gets under way on Thursday.