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Germany’s Kai Havertz attends a press conference Wednesday, ahead of the friendly against Switzerland in Herzogenaurach. (AFP) 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. Related Story Source link
The UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has unanimously ratified a resolution condemning the human rights implications of Iran’s missile and drone attacks on Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, and Jordan. The resolution, adopted without a vote, was co-sponsored by more than 100 countries.The decision followed an urgent debate convened by the Council in Geneva on Wednesday, during which Qatar’s Her Excellency Permanent Representative to the UN Office in Geneva, Dr Hind Abdulrahman al-Muftah, delivered a robust condemnation of the strikes on behalf of Doha.Qatar described the attacks as a flagrant violation of its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a direct breach of the UN Charter’s prohibition on the threat or use of force. Al-Muftah told the Council the debate had been convened under “extremely perilous circumstances,” warning that the ripple effects of Iran’s offensive threatened not only regional stability but the full enjoyment of human rights across the affected nations.She stressed that the strikes — targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure — were in clear violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. Critical facilities struck included airports, ports, energy installations, and water desalination plants. Qatar itself sustained ballistic missile and drone strikes that caused civilian casualties, injuries, and widespread disruption to basic services including water and energy supplies — breaches, she said, of the rights to life, health, education, and safety.HE Al Muftah further warned that attacks on energy and desalination infrastructure carried grave environmental consequences, undermining the right to a clean and sustainable environment. She noted that the most vulnerable — women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities — were disproportionately affected, in contravention of international conventions designed to protect them.The Qatari representative also raised alarm over strikes targeting maritime shipping lanes, including the Strait of Hormuz, cautioning that disruption to one of the world’s most critical waterways would have far-reaching consequences for global supply chains, energy security, and the socioeconomic rights of nations worldwide.HE Al-Muftah underscored that Qatar had played no part in the underlying conflict and had not permitted its territory or airspace to be used in any combat operations, making Iran’s targeting of Qatari soil a particularly egregious violation of international law. Qatar, she noted, had consistently pursued dialogue and mediation as its preferred approach to regional disputes.She welcomed UN Security Council Resolution 2817 (2026), which formally condemned Iran’s attacks and determined they constituted a serious threat to international peace and security, and called for effective remedies and full reparations for victims and affected states.Concluding her address, Al-Muftah urged an immediate halt to the escalation and called on all parties to prioritise diplomatic solutions. She appealed to Council member states to back the resolution and reaffirm the international community’s commitment to upholding human rights, halting violations, and ensuring such attacks are never repeated. Related Story Source link
France’s forward Kylian Mbappe signs autographs upon arriving at the hotel in Boston on March 24, 2026. France will play two friendly matches against Brazil on…
Qatar’s Bassem Mohammed delivered a strong performance to win the CSI5* Two Phases 140cm class on Wathnan Chaccball. The Doha Equestrian Tour resumed Wednesday with Al Shaqab Cup, while the Qatar Equestrian Federation Cup will be held from April 2 to 4.The competitions, which is being held at Al Shaqab Arena, feature elite international riders alongside competitors from across the region and Qatar, contesting multiple categories at varying heights.On the opening day of the Al Shaqab Cup Wednesday, American rider Kristen Vanderveen claimed victory in the CSI5* Faults and Time 150cm class, guiding Bull Run’s Jireh to a clear round in 66.77 seconds. Saudi Arabia’s Abdullah Alsharbatly finished second aboard Frenchy Vds with a time of 69.38 seconds, while Austria’s Gerfried Puck secured third place on Equitron Naxcel V in 73.48 seconds. American rider Kristen Vanderveen claimed victory in…
Trump reposts Pakistan talks tweet Iran and Israel traded fresh strikes yesterday even as a fragile diplomatic push gathered pace, with Pakistan emerging as a potential host for talks between Tehran and Washington — and the Pentagon preparing to send thousands of elite American troops to the region. Iran’s atomic energy organisation also accused the US and Israel yesterday of attacking its Bushehr nuclear power plant, saying a projectile had landed within its compound but caused no damage.“The American-Zionist enemy has attacked the Bushehr nuclear power plant site again,” the organisation said in a statement, adding that “a projectile hit inside the enclosure of the Bushehr power plant”. Meanwhile, the US military is expected to deploy soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division, currently stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to an unspecified location in the Middle East. The move follows last week’s deployment of thousands of Marines and sailors aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer. Officials, speaking anonymously, stressed that no decision had been taken to send troops into Iran itself, but that the build-up was intended to expand capacity for potential future operations. The three-week-old war, triggered by US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, has convulsed global energy markets and destabilised the wider region. — AFP, Reuters To Page 11Israel conducted a “large wave” of air strikes across Iran, including the central city of Isfahan, while Iranian missile fire wounded four people in Tel Aviv, leaving one three-storey building in ruins. Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all reported intercepting renewed Iranian drone and missile attacks. Against this backdrop, diplomatic efforts intensified. President Donald Trump said on Monday that his administration had held “productive” talks with an unidentified senior Iranian figure — a claim swiftly denied by Tehran. Iran’s parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf insisted that “no negotiations” were under way, accusing Trump of seeking to manipulate oil markets.Iran’s foreign ministry, however, acknowledged that messages had been relayed by “friendly countries” conveying a US request for negotiations. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif moved swiftly to position Islamabad as a peacemaker. After speaking with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Sharif announced that Pakistan stood “ready and honoured to host meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the conflict,” subject to agreement by both Washington and Tehran. Sharif’s tweet was later reposted by Trump. A Pakistani government source said discussions on a meeting were at an advanced stage and if it did happen, “a big ‘if’”, it would take place within a week. Pakistan has long-standing ties to neighbouring Iran and has built a steady relationship with Trump. The US outlet Axios reported that American negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner could meet an Iranian delegation in Pakistan as early as this week, with Vice-President J D Vance potentially joining.Oil prices, which had dipped on Trump’s initial diplomatic signals, rebounded with Brent crude back above $100 a barrel. Analysts remain deeply cautious. “Trust has been completely destroyed and the positions of the warring parties are further apart than ever,” said David Khalfa of the Jean-Jaurès Foundation in Paris. “The margin for manoeuvre on both sides is very limited.” Source link
A woman holds a child in a school turned into a shelter for displaced families, in Dekwaneh, Lebanon. – Reuters Israel will occupy southern Lebanon up to the Litani River to create a “defensive buffer”, Defence Minister Israel Katz said yesterday, spelling out for the first time Israel’s intent to seize territory amounting to nearly a tenth of Lebanon. At a meeting with the military chief of staff, Katz said Israeli forces would “control the remaining bridges and the security zone up to the Litani”, a river that meets the Mediterranean about 30km (20 miles) north of Israel’s border. Lebanese armed group Hezbollah said it would fight to prevent Israeli troops from occupying southern Lebanon, calling such a move an “existential threat” to the Lebanese state.Senior Hezbollah lawmaker Hassan Fadlallah said any Israeli occupation south of the Litani would be met with resistance. “We have no choice but to confront this aggression and cling to the land,” he told Reuters.Israel has destroyed five bridges over the river since March 13 and accelerated the demolition of homes in Lebanese villages near the border, part of what it says is a campaign against Hezbollah rather than civilians. Under international law, attacks on civilian infrastructure, including homes and bridges, are generally prohibited. Katz has previously warned Lebanon’s government that it would lose territory if it failed to disarm Hezbollah, the group backed by Tehran that drew Lebanon into the US-Israeli war on Iran when it fired into Israel on March 2. The Israeli military declined to comment on Katz’s remarks.It has previously said ground troops were carrying out limited, targeted raids near the border. Israel has repeatedly invaded Lebanon in recent decades, and occupied the south until 2000. There was no immediate comment from the Lebanese government. Residents who have fled the south decried the silence. “If our government isn’t standing with us, what is it we can do?” said Najib Hussein Halawi, who fled his hometown of Kfar Kila near the border weeks ago.He says the village is in ruins. Israel’s strikes across southern Lebanon and parts of Beirut have caused widespread destruction and killed more than 1,000 people, according to Lebanese authorities, with over 1mn residents forced from their homes. The UN human rights chief has criticised Israel’s actions, particularly its use of evacuation orders. Among those killed are almost 120 children, 80 women and 40 medical personnel, according to Lebanon’s health ministry, which does not otherwise distinguish between civilians and militants. Two Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting in Lebanon. Israel kept up strikes across Lebanon yesterday, with the state-run National News Agency (NNA) reporting attacks in the country’s south and east, as well as near Beirut, after a night of bombardment on the capital’s southern suburbs. In south Beirut, an AFP photographer saw vast destruction near the site of an Israeli strike overnight, with rubble piled up and debris covering the street. The Israeli army said that overnight its forces “struck Hezbollah terrorist infrastructure in Beirut and in additional areas in Lebanon”. In Bshamoun, a mixed town in the Aley region southeast of Beirut, outside of Hezbollah’s traditional strongholds, AFP correspondents saw destruction to an apartment building hit by an Israeli strike. “There’s nothing left. It’s all burned or destroyed… No walls, the windows are gone, the facade is gone, all my hard work has been lost,” said Abbas Qassem, 55, weeping at the damage to his unoccupied flat near the targeted apartment. “What have I done to have my home destroyed? I’m just a normal person,” said Qassem, who works for the state telecoms provider.Lebanon’s health ministry said three people were killed including a three-year-old girl, and reported five others killed in Israeli strikes in south Lebanon. Source link
The valuation of IPL franchises, with RCB at $1.78 billion and RR at $1.63 billion, shows their emergence as premium sports assets. Hindustan Times 25 March,…
A delivery man transports liquid petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders in Amritsar yesterday. (AFP) Soaring black-market prices of cooking gas in India’s capital are pushing poorer families back to wood and coal, raising health risks and worsening air quality in the highly polluted megacity.India is the world’s second-largest buyer of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which is used for cooking and predominantly sourced from the Middle East — and supplies have been strangled by the ongoing war. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged states to curb black marketing and avoid panic, stressing that India’s energy supplies remain stable. In the low-income Madanpur Khadar neighbourhood, 36-year-old domestic helper Sheela Kumari says she has been forced to abandon LPG cooking gas cylinders for cooking after prices more than doubled. “We used to buy cylinders for 1,800-2,000 rupees ($19-$21), but now on the black market it has gone up to 5,000 ($53),” she told AFP, nearly as much as she entire monthly salary of 6,000 rupees. “It is unimaginable for us,” she said. “The next best option for us was going back to wood and coal.”Kumari said a 14 kilogramme cylinder lasts only 15-20 days for her family of six, even when they stretch its use out. But she says a 10 kilogramme bundle of firewood, lasting several days, costs 30 rupees ($0.30).“There are health repercussions, and my children cough,” she said. “But tell me a way out?” Her neighbour, 45-year-old Munni Bai, who has asthma, had switched to using an electric cooker as well as biogas from cow dung, to help her breathing. But now she said she was being forced to resume use of alternative fuels. “Gas is too expensive,” she said. “We cannot depend on it — we moved from coal and wood, due to my health issue, but now it is difficult to sustain.” But activists say the problem is more about access.Many migrant workers lack documentation needed for subsidised LPG and rely on informal markets, where hoarding has pushed up prices. “There is no major shortage yet, but hoarding has increased,” said Deepak, who uses only one name, from the Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR). “Many migrants depend on black-market cylinders, and prices have gone up two to three times”. New Delhi, and its wider sprawling metropolitan region of 30mn residents, is regularly ranked among the world’s most polluted capitals, due to a deadly mix of emissions from power plants, heavy traffic, as well as the burning of rubbish and crops. For the past decades, India’s government has pushed its “Ujjwala” or “light” clean-energy scheme, to provide over 100mn LPG connections to poor households. Burning wood, coal and biomass indoors exposes families to high levels of smoke and toxic particles, increasing the risk of respiratory illnesses.Women and children, who spend more time near cooking areas, are especially vulnerable. Source link
In line with its commitment to public safety and based on the continuous assessment of the situation by relevant authorities, the Ministry of Interior announced that social events may be held in open spaces starting Wednesday, March 25, 2026.In a statement published on X, the Ministry stressed the importance of adhering to approved regulations and procedures, and coordinating with relevant authorities to ensure the safety of attendees and the conduct of these events in a safe and organized environment.The Ministry also emphasized the importance of complying with security and safety protocols, avoiding any practices that could pose risks to individuals or the community.The Ministry of Interior expressed its appreciation for public cooperation, affirming that this reflects strong community awareness and contributes to enhancing public safety and maintaining security and stability. Source link
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said yesterday that Islamabad is prepared to host negotiations to stop the US-Israeli war with Iran, after mounting speculation that it could act as a mediator. “Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the WAR in Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in (the) region and beyond,” he wrote on X. “Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.” Tehran’s foreign ministry suggested on Monday that messages had been received from “some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations at ending the war”, according to the official IRNA news agency.Sharif then said he had spoken with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising his government’s help in bringing peace to the region. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also said that he had been in touch with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi. Foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Hussain Andrabi told AFP earlier yesterday that Pakistan is “always willing to host talks” and had “consistently advocated for dialogue and diplomacy to promote peace and stability in the region”. Pakistan’s former ambassador to Oman, Imran Ali Chaudhry, told 92 News late on Monday that Pakistan’s army chief recently held talks with US negotiators in the Gulf. “Around two to two-and-a-half weeks ago, Field Marshal Asim Munir went to Oman on a trip that was not disclosed and he held a four-hour meeting with (Steve) Witkoff and (Jared) Kushner,” he said.Iran is a long-standing ally of Pakistan and Islamabad has condemned the killing of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. It also sent congratulations to his son and successor, Mojtaba. The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying that they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear programme, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made. Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host US bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, creating the worst energy supply shock in history. A Pakistani government source said that discussions on a meeting were at an advanced stage and that if it did happen, “a big ‘if’”, it would take place within a week. The war is already taking a toll on major economies around the world, according to business surveys yesterday which showed how a surge in energy prices and rising uncertainty were dampening activity and pushing inflation expectations higher. Source link