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

President Donald Trump ordered massive tariffs on Brazil Wednesday and sanctions against the judge overseeing a trial of his far-right ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is accused of attempting a coup in Latin America's biggest economy.

Former world 100m champion Fred Kerley has withdrawn from this week's US Track and Field Championships in Oregon, ruling him out of September's World Championships in Tokyo.

Ukraine will fix a controversial anti-graft law that sparked protests last week, its foreign minister told AFP ahead of a crucial parliamentary vote Thusday, but critics said some MPs might be reluctant to back the changes.

Tata Motors of India will buy Italy's Iveco Group for 3.8 billion euros ($4.4 billion) in a bid to create a "global champion" in the commercial vehicles sector, the two companies said Wednesday.

Aboard a Jordanian military plane, aid crates are parachuted into Gaza, where war and blockade have pushed more than two million Palestinians to the brink of famine.

One of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded struck Russia's sparsely populated Far East Wednesday, causing tsunamis that forced millions to evacuate homes across the Pacific rim, from Japan to Ecuador.

The US Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged for a fifth consecutive policy meeting Wednesday, defying strong political pressure from President Donald Trump to slash borrowing costs -- although divisions emerged among policymakers.

A single glittery sock that late pop superstar Michael Jackson wore during a concert in France in the 1990s sold for more than $8,000 on Wednesday, a French auctioneer said.

A choking heatwave left astonished locals in southeastern Turkey calling for state help to pay their air conditioning bills after the temperature surged past 50C.

French auto giant Renault said Wednesday that Francois Provost, currently in charge of procurement, would take over as chief executive following Luca de Meo's departure in June.

Mauritian Kim Le Court became the first African to win a stage on the women's Tour de France on Wednesday.

Canada's central bank held its key lending rate at 2.75 percent on Wednesday, as the major US trading partner confronts economic uncertainty two days before President Donald Trump's latest tariff deadline.

Matt Henry bowled New Zealand into a dominant position on the first day of the first Test against Zimbabwe at Queens Sports Club on Wednesday.

Stock markets saw mostly muted gains in Europe and on Wall Street on Wednesday as investors waited for earnings from US tech giants, while the dollar rose from recent lows ahead of an interest-rate call from the Federal Reserve.

The co-founder of pro-Palestinian activist group Palestine Action can launch a court bid to overturn the UK government's decision to ban the group under anti-terrorism laws, a judge ruled Wednesday.

The amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by European forests has reduced dramatically in recent years putting the EU's climate targets at risk, researchers said Wednesday, calling for urgent action to halt the decline.

India has recovered a set of relics linked to early Buddhism more than a century after they were removed from the country during the British colonial period, officials said Wednesday.

Ben Stokes is preparing himself for an "emotional" tribute to Graham Thorpe when the late former England batsman is honoured during this week's fifth and deciding Test against India at the Oval.

As a director with no affection for the horror genre, France's Luc Besson has made a new version of "Dracula" with American actor Caleb Landry Jones in the principal role as a lovelorn incarnation of the famous vampire.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that imports from India will face 25 percent tariffs, while also announcing an unspecified "penalty" over New Delhi's purchases of Russian weapons and energy.

A Chinese submersible has discovered thousands of worms and molluscs nearly 10 kilometres (six miles) below sea level in the Mariana Trench, the deepest colony of creatures ever observed, a study revealed on Wednesday.

Richard Kingscote said with a grin on his face he felt like a "villain" after the 2022 Epsom Derby winning jockey landed a massive shock in guiding 150/1 outsider Qirat to victory in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on Wednesday.

Six teams in English cricket's controversial Hundred competition have now been sold to private investors, with deals for the Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets still to be formally completed, officials announced Wednesday.

Florian Wirtz scored his first Liverpool goal as the Premier League champions beat Yokohama F. Marinos 3-1 in a pre-season friendly in Japan on Wednesday.

Leon Marchand smashed the 200m individual medley world record in Singapore on Wednesday with another breathtaking swim while Australia and the United States celebrated more gold.

Thousands lined the streets of UK city Birmingham on Wednesday to pay an emotional farewell to hometown hero Ozzy Osbourne as the heavy metal hellraiser was laid to rest.

The World Health Organization's chief said getting a continuous flow of medical supplies into Gaza was "critical", as WHO trucks carrying aid headed for the border on Wednesday.

Ukrainian oligarch Igor Kolomoisky and his former business partner are likely to be forced to repay $1.9 billion they "unlawfully" appropriated from a Ukrainian bank they owned, London's High Court ruled Wednesday.

England captain Ben Stokes has been ruled out of the fifth and deciding Test against India with a shoulder injury in a devastating blow for the home side.

Stock markets were mixed in Europe and on Wall Street on Wednesday while the dollar rose further from recent lows as investors took a cautious approach ahead of earnings from US tech giants and the latest interest-rate call from the Federal Reserve.

India captain Shubman Gill said the head groundsman at the Oval had sparked an "unnecessary" row with coach Gautam Gambhir following the latest flashpoint in a fractious series against England.

The theory of quantum mechanics has transformed daily life since being proposed a century ago, yet how it works remains a mystery -- and physicists are deeply divided about what is actually going on, a survey in the journal Nature said Wednesday.