Viktor Troicki returned from a one-year ban for a doping rules violation with victory in the Swiss Open first round on Monday.

Now ranked No. 847, the 28-year-old Serbian beat eighth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria 7-6 (4), 6-4.

England captain Steven Gerrard announced his retirement from international football on Monday to focus on playing for Liverpool.

The 34-year-old midfielder made 114 appearances for England over 14 years.

France left back Patrice Evra has completed a transfer from Manchester United to Italian champion Juventus.

Juventus says it is paying United 1.2 million pounds ($2 million) but that the transfer price will increase to 1.5 million pounds ($2.5 million) if Juventus qualifies for the 2015-16 Champions League.

World efforts to broker a ceasefire in war-torn Gaza gathered pace Monday as Israel pressed a blistering 14-day assault on the enclave, pushing the Palestinian death toll to 572.

As Washington and the United Nations demanded an "immediate ceasefire" in the battered Palestinian enclave, Israel announced that seven more of its soldiers had been killed during fighting in Gaza, raising the overall Israeli death toll to 27, all but two of them soldiers.

For the millions of Muslims abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset every day during Islam's holiest month of Ramadan, that first sip of water after a grueling fast is by far the most anticipated moment of the day.

In some corners of the world, Muslims are fasting for more than 20 hours a day, depending on when the sun rises and sets in their city. It is a physical and mental exercise meant to draw worshipers closer to God and increase empathy for the poor.

Shakhtar Donetsk's owner says six players have refused to return to Ukraine for the new season as conflict rages around the club's home city.

Five Brazilian and one Argentine player remained in France following a friendly against Olympique Lyon on Saturday.

A nonprofit group is taking a novel approach to helping the homeless in San Francisco with a new bus that allows them to take a shower.

The former public transit bus has been outfitted with two full private bathrooms and offers hot showers, clean toilets, shampoo, soap and towels free of charge. The founder of the nonprofit Lava Mae mobile shower bus said she wanted to return a sense of dignity to those living on the streets.

Malaysia Airlines is in uncharted territory after the disappearance of Flight 370 in March with 239 people aboard was followed this week by the downing of another of its jets, carrying 298 people, over Ukraine.

Before the disasters the carrier had among the worst financial performance of any airline. An even bigger question mark now hangs over the future of Malaysia Airlines, with its brand tied to two almost unfathomable tragedies.

Rising sales helped boost hiring and wages at U.S. businesses in the second quarter, and companies are optimistic that the trends will continue this fall, according to a new survey by the National Association for Business Economics.

Fifty-seven percent of the 85 respondents to the quarterly survey said sales at their companies rose in the April-June period. That was up from 53 percent in the first quarter and 35 percent in the same period a year ago. Just 5 percent of firms said sales fell during the second quarter.

Yes, the new Fox series "Gotham" will feature a young Bruce Wayne, but don't expect him to turn into the caped crusader.

Creator Bruno Heller told journalists Sunday at the Television Critics Association summer press tour that "If there is a superhero on this show, it's Gotham."