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Germany forward Kai Havertz is close to his best form again after several injuries in the past 12 months, and a successful Arsenal run across three competitions ‌in the coming months will be the best preparation ​for the World Cup, ‌he said Wednesday. Havertz, who has been away from ‌the national team for more ‌than a year after missing ‌last year’s internationals through injury, is part of the Germany squad to face Switzerland on Friday and Ghana three days later. “I had a tough time. It was not easy for me,” Havertz told a press conference ahead of Germany’s friendly against hosts Switzerland. “I had my first injury in February last year, three and a half months out then comeback and then a setback ​with the knee injury,” he added. Havertz returned to action for the Premier League leaders Arsenal in January after being sidelined since August last year, but ‌the 26-year-old said he was ready for ​his club’s busy match schedule in the league, the FA ​Cup and the Champions League. “I now feel completely fit. I need the one or other game from the start to reach 100 percent but I feel fit to start lasting over 90 minutes,” he said. Havertz added that Arsenal’s busy schedule came just at the right time. “We have many matches in three competitions. I missed the first six months of the season and I will give it all for the club, and ‌to be able to go ‌with a lot of confidence to the World Cup. I want to be successful at this World Cup and lead the way,” he said. Germany have set their sights on winning the World Cup following shock group-stage exits in 2018 and 2022, determined to restore their reputation as a global football powerhouse. The tournament starts in June and is co-hosted by Mexico, the United States and ​Canada. The Germans, who have not reached a final in any major international tournament since winning their fourth World Cup in 2014 in Brazil, have been drawn in Group E with Ecuador, Curacao and Ivory Coast for the June 11-July 19 tournament. They play their opening World Cup match in Houston, Texas on June 14 against Curacao. Germany then travel to Toronto on June 20 to take on ‌Ivory Coast before ​their last group game against Ecuador in New York on June 25. 

Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson will take to the track in Torun, Poland, this weekend aiming to nab an elusive world indoor 800m title off the back of a new world record. Untimely injuries have prevented the 24-year-old from taking part in the past three editions of the world indoors.But the Briton, who earned Tokyo Olympic silver and Paris Olympic gold and who has two world outdoor silver medals and a bronze, now appears to be in perfect shape. Hodgkinson smashed the indoor 800m world record by almost a second last month and said Thursday she would have been "quite happy" had the outdoor season already kicked off. That would raise the mouth-watering possibility of her going after the oldest world record in athletics - the 1min 53.28sec for the outdoor 800m set by Jarmila Kratochvilova of the then-Czechoslovakia in 1983. There was no such talk of that in Torun, but Hodgkinson seemed in confident mood."I did think it was very much possible," she said of her indoor world record. "When I started my preparations for this indoor season, I didn't really actually set any goals or anything. I just wanted to enjoy the process of getting fit and seeing how far we could go in training. And the closer we got to the day, I was like, 'Yeah, this is on, I can do this'."'Chill time'Months on the sidelines in rehab for knee and hamstring injuries had allowed Hodgkinson to learn a lot about herself, she said."I had time off the track to just enjoy my life and just have some chill time, and I think it's made me a better athlete."It made competing for me that much more fun and exciting. So yeah, frustrating at the time, but I wouldn't change anything."Turning to the world indoor title, Hodgkinson said: "It's the one medal I don't have. So that would be really great to box that one off."Until I've crossed the finish line, I'm not going to jinx anything. But yeah, I'm excited to be here, excited to compete."Fast times are obviously really great, but championships are just completely different, and having three rounds in three days is another thing. That's really tough. I've done it before, but I'd quite like to have a day off!"Competition looks great, and we'll see what happens."Hodgkinson added that she was "very happy with where I am"."I'm looking forward to it, and this last month, it's been great. I couldn't ask to be in a better position, to be honest." 

Tiger Woods says he has no timetable for a return to golf, but the 15-time major champion hasn't ruled out the 2026 Masters even as he ponders the over-50s Champions Tour.Woods, who turned 50 on December 30, underwent disc replacement surgery in October, the latest in a series of operations and injuries that have kept him sidelined since the 2024 British Open."It's just one of those things where it's each and every day, I keep trying, I keep progressing," Woods said at The Riviera Country Club, where he hosts this week's PGA Tour Genesis Invitational."I keep working on it, trying to get stronger, trying to get more endurance in this body and trying to get it at a level at which I can play at the highest level again," Woods said, adding that he has progressed from chipping and putting practice to hitting full shots."I'm able to," he said. "Not well every day, but I can hit them."Despite the uncertainty, Woods said when asked that the Masters, April 9-12 at Augusta National, was not "off the table."Woods has won five Masters titles, the most recent an epic 2019 victory that ended his 11-year major championship drought.He suffered severe leg injuries in a 2021 car crash but returned at the 2022 Masters and finished 47th.The veteran superstar had a back operation in September 2024 and was rehabilitating from that setback when he announced in March of 2025 that he had suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon.Woods said the Achilles injury was no longer an issue, but the disc replacement - on top of multiple back surgeries over the years - was proving challenging to come back from.A new decade"I've had a fused back and now a disc replacement, so it's challenging," he said. "And now I entered a new decade, so that number is starting to sink in and has us thinking about the opportunity to be able to play in a cart."That's something that, as I said, I won't do out here on this (PGA) tour because I don't believe in it. But on the Champions Tour, that's certainly that opportunity."Even as he strives to ready himself for a return to competition, Woods said he has been devoting a tremendous amount of time as chair of the PGA Tour's Future Competition Committee created to help shape a new-look tour."I thought I spent a lot of hours practicing in my prime," Woods said. "It doesn't even compare to what we've done in the boardroom."Woods said he hopes to see the PGA Tour implement a revamped schedule in 2027, although he acknowledged it could take two years to roll out all of the changes.He envisions a more streamlined schedule, with "more top players playing" - all in a system that still offers opportunities to young talent and keeps sponsors engaged.The time-consuming work means Woods has yet to make up his mind about whether he'd be willing to captain the 2027 US Ryder Cup team, although he said the PGA of America had been in touch."They have asked me for my input on it, and I haven't made my decision yet," he said."I'm trying to figure out what we're trying to do with our tour. That's been driving me hours upon hours every day and trying to figure out if I can actually do our team, our Team USA and our players and everyone that's going to be involved in the Ryder Cup, if I can do it justice with my time." 

The number of victims of the Israeli occupation's aggression against the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has soared to 71,660 fatalities and 171,419 injuries.The enclave's hospitals received three new fatalities, including a martyr whose body had been recovered, and 20 injuries in the past 24 hours, while several victims are still languishing under the rubble and on the streets, as paramedics and rescuers have been unable to reach them, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported in a statement Monday.The statement added that since last October, the fatality toll has reached 486 Palestinians, with 1,341 others wounded, while 714 bodies have been dug out from the rubble. 

A Palestinian citizen succumbed Saturday to injuries sustained from Israeli sniper fire in Gaza City. Local sources reported that Israeli snipers opened fire on the man on Friday in the Shuja'iyya neighborhood, east of Gaza City, wounding him. His death was confirmed today.This incident occurred as Israeli warplanes launched multiple airstrikes on Khan Younis in southern Gaza, demolishing homes in eastern Gaza City and Al Bureij refugee camp, in continued violations of the ceasefire agreement.Israel has repeatedly breached the ceasefire, which came into effect on Oct. 10. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Israeli forces carried out intense bombardments targeting homes and tents across the Gaza Strip, resulting in the deaths of over 100 Palestinians, including more than 46 children and 20 women.

The Gaza Center for Human Rights reported 129 Israeli attacks since the October 10 ceasefire, resulting in 34 Palestinian deaths and 122 injuries.In a statement issued Saturday, the Center said Israeli forces struck a civilian vehicle in Al-Zeitoun, killing 11 family members, including seven children and two women.It condemned the incident as a violation of international law and a continuation of what it described as Israel’s deadly policies against civilians.The Gaza Center for Human Rights said Israeli forces unnecessarily targeted a civilian vehicle, despite having surveillance tools to assess threats.It stressed that protecting civilians requires a complete end to hostilities and accountability through international law.Despite the ceasefire, Israeli forces continue airstrikes and gunfire against Palestinians returning to inspect their homes, while keeping the Rafah crossing closed.The truce between Hamas and Israel began last week, following troop withdrawals and the return of displaced residents, as part of the first phase of President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace initiative.

The toll of the war Israel has been waging on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, has hit 67,869 fatalities and 170,105 injuries. Hospitals in the enclave received 63 bodies, of which 60 were recovered in the past 24 hours, along with 39 wounded, the Gaza Ministry of Health reported in a statement on Monday. The statement added that several victims are still languishing under rubble and in the streets, as medics and civil defense rescuers have hitherto been unable to reach them. A ceasefire deal between the Hamas movement and Israel came into force last Friday after it had been reached in Egypt's Sharm El Sheikh, following the Israeli occupation's approval of the agreement. Since then, the occupation army has embarked on pulling back from sites and populated areas in the Strip, with displaced people starting to pour into the north of the Strip, as part of the first phase of the initiative laid out by US President Donald Trump to end the war on Gaza.

The number of casualties from the ongoing Israeli military offensive on the Gaza Strip, which began on October 7, 2023, has surged to 67,074 fatalities and 169,430 injuries, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. In a statement issued Saturday, the ministry confirmed that hospitals across the enclave received 66 bodies and 256 wounded individuals over the past 24 hours. An additional 720 fatalities were added to the cumulative death toll following verification and approval by the judicial committee overseeing missing persons and notification records. The ministry further noted that between March 18 and today, the death toll reached 13,486, with 57,384 injuries. It emphasized that many victims remain trapped under rubble or on roadways, inaccessible to emergency and civil defense teams due to ongoing hostilities. Regarding casualties among aid workers and civilians seeking sustenance, the ministry reported that six fatalities and 40 injuries were recorded in the past 24 hours. This brings the total number of aid-related deaths to 2,603 and injuries to 19,094. Tragically, two children died within the last 24 hours due to starvation and malnutrition, raising the total number of malnutrition-related deaths to 459, including 154 children. The Israeli military continues its systematic campaign against the Palestinian population in Gaza, amid worsening humanitarian conditions and widespread devastation.

The Israeli occupation continued relentless airstrikes across the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, causing more Palestinian deaths and injuries. According to Palestinian news agency (WAFA), four Palestinians were martyred and several more injured after Israeli warplanes struck a residential building in Gaza City. Reports also indicated that Israeli aircraft targeted the Shati Camp in Gaza City. Meanwhile, medical sources said a Palestinian woman was martyred when occupation forces shelled the Bureij Camp, while injuries were reported in several other areas across the Strip. WAFA further reported that two fishermen were martyred by Israeli gunfire south of Gaza City. The latest attacks have brought the death toll from the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip to 65,344, mostly women and children, with 166,795 others injured. The figures are expected to rise further as hundreds of victims remain trapped under the rubble or lying on the streets, beyond the reach of rescue teams.