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

Europe's main stock markets fell further following sharp losses across global equities this week, including a rout Friday in Asia on fears of a bursting AI bubble.

Mitchell Starc said Friday he was always confident in his ability to get wickets after bagging seven on the opening day of the first Ashes Test, with more of the same needed to keep Australia alive.

Armed gang members kidnapped pupils and teachers from a Catholic school in central Nigeria, officials said Friday, in the second such incident in less than a week.

Pep Guardiola said Friday that the "real season starts now" as Manchester City seek to hunt down Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.

Mercedes's team principal and chief executive officer Toto Wolff has sold 15 percent of his shareholding in the Formula One team for $300 million to American billionaire George Kurtz.

Shares in Ubisoft rose sharply as they resumed trading on the Paris stock exchange Friday, a week after the French video game company stunned investors by postponing its results announcement without an explanation.

Reigning Olympic Super-G champion Lara Gut-Behrami of Switzerland suffered a potentially serious knee injury while training in Copper Mountain, Colorado, Swiss Ski said on Friday.

Ukraine woke up Friday to a US proposal that would force it to essentially capitulate to Russia after almost four years of war, requiring Kyiv to give up land, cut its army and hold elections.

Nineteen wickets fell on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test on Friday, with England's attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172.

European Central Bank chief Christine Lagarde warned Friday the region was increasingly "vulnerable" to shocks like US tariffs and is lagging behind in areas that will drive growth such as AI.

Arne Slot said on Friday that Liverpool would never use their grief over the death of Diogo Jota "as an excuse" for bad results as he seeks to arrest a shocking run of five defeats in six Premier League games.

Australia captain Harry Wilson said on Friday that he was "devastated" after fly-half Carter Gordon was ruled out of this weekend's Autumn Nations Series game with France in Paris.

Despite a half-century career as one of the world's top-selling authors, 38 books and a bulging bank account, Ken Follett told AFP he still worries about one of his readers struggling with a "dull" page.

Wales take on New Zealand on Saturday and world champions South Africa a week later in full knowledge that a victory over either would be a monumental upset.

A self-portrait by celebrated Mexican artist Frida Kahlo sold for $54.66 million in New York on Thursday, setting a record for the price of a painting by a woman, the auction house Sotheby's said.

Deep in a Thai forest a young man sprints through the undergrowth, blowpipe in hand, before pumping a poisoned dart at a monkey.

Tech firms led stock losses on Friday as investors struggled to shake off fears about an AI bubble and after a sell-off on Wall Street sparked by jobs data dealt a further blow to hopes for a US interest rate cut.

Japanese local authorities approved the restart of the world's biggest nuclear plant on Friday for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.

India skipper Shubman Gill will miss the must-win second Test against South Africa on Saturday because of the neck injury he sustained in the opening match.

At an eel restaurant near Tokyo, four friends sit down to eat a Japanese delicacy now the subject of a heated international debate as its numbers decline.

A venomous Mitchell Starc took 7-58 as England were sent packing for just 172 on day one of the first Ashes Test against Australia on Friday, leaving them with a mountain to climb.

New York's incoming leftist mayor Zohran Mamdani will meet with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday, after an exchange of barbs that has seized national attention.

A breach, a blockade, and a blaze: tumultuous UN climate talks head into their final day Friday in the Brazilian Amazon, with countries still sharply split over fossil fuels.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi insisted that a $135 billion stimulus package approved Friday was fiscally responsible and that she would reduce the country's colossal debt burden.

McLaren's championship leader Lando Norris went fastest in Thursday's second practice for the Las Vegas Grand Prix, which featured two late red flags.

Miss Mexico was crowned Miss Universe in Thailand on Friday, strutting to victory after the beauty pageant's host had publicly chastised her, among several dramatic missteps in the run-up to the final stage.

Houston's Calen Bullock intercepted reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen twice and the league's top defensive unit powered the Texans over Buffalo 23-19 on Thursday.

Out-of-sorts France welcome out-of-form Australia to Paris in the Autumn Nations Series on Saturday with both sides mired in sticky patches.

Borussia Dortmund host German Cup holders Stuttgart on Saturday in the Bundesliga with yet another shot at a title slowly slipping away from the grasp of Niko Kovac's side.

South African head coach Rassie Erasmus may have quit Irish province Munster after just over a year in charge but he puts a lot of the success behind two consecutive Rugby World Cup triumphs down to "a life-changing experience" when he was there.

A venomous Mitchell Starc struck three times during an intimidating opening spell to leave England in trouble on day one of the first Ashes Test against Australia on Friday in Perth.

Taipei resident Jay Tsai hopes he never needs the crisis guide Taiwan is handing out to millions of households across the island, which faces threats of natural disasters and a Chinese invasion.