Author: The Guardian

Rishi Sunak has rejected an EU offer to strike a post-Brexit deal to allow young Britons to live, study or work in the bloc for up to four years.The prime minister declined the European Commission’s surprise proposal of a youth mobility scheme for people aged between 18 and 30 on Friday, after Labour knocked back the suggestion on Thursday night – while noting it would “seek to improve the UK’s working relationship with the EU within our red lines”.The European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, suggested the scheme, which would have allowed young people from within the EU to…

FFor snooker purists, it’s a sight no one wants to see just days after the end of the most prestigious tournament on the sport’s calendar. Debate has raged for years over whether the world championship must finally leave the crucible of its spiritual home, but this week there was a monumental moment in the build-up to the 2024 World Cup.The world championships will be held in Sheffield until at least 2027, but Barry Hearn and Eddie Hearn, accompanied by seven-time world champion Ronnie O’Sullivan, traveled to Saudi Arabia to announce state-funded sports and entertainment projects in Riyadh The cancellation of…

An artist who was made homeless after being evicted by his private landlord in London has started effectively commuting from Argentina where the rent is so much cheaper that it covers the cost of air fare.Andy Leek, 38, whose Notes to Strangers works are pasted on to walls and junction boxes across more than 20 British and European cities, has moved to Buenos Aires where the rents are several times cheaper and he travels back to the UK roughly every two months for work. The flight costs less than a monthly train season ticket between Bristol and London.His move is…

With the 12 rounds now over and the final two rounds coming up on Saturday and Sunday, it’s hard to get any closer for the Candidates in Toronto. Three players are tied for the lead, with one player just half a point behind. The €500,000 tournament will determine which of the eight players will challenge China’s Ding Liren for the world crown later this year.The leaders after 12 rounds (14 in total) are: Ian Nepomniachtchi (Russia), Hikaru Nakanmura (USA) and Gukesh Dommaraju (India), all with 7.5; Fabiano Caruana (USA) 7; Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu (India) 6. Next are three more. The next…

The prosecution: Mina Confronting Tom’s toxic attitudes is good practice for my sister and will boost her confidence My younger sister, Layla, never gets involved in discussions between me and our brother, Tom, and I worry about the impact he has on her. I moved out years ago, but Layla and Tom still live with our parents. Whenever I visit them, I have to listen to Tom spouting crap. Everyone else seems immune to it. Layla often won’t back me up when I correct him. Maybe she thinks that, as the eldest, I’ve got it covered – but she needs…

Athletes who recorded inconclusive preliminary doping test results for synthetic EPO may be spared public humiliation following reforms to the World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) triggered by the Peter Boll saga.The Australian Olympian was temporarily suspended in January 2023 after out-of-competition tests showed he had elevated levels of synthetic EPO, a substance that stimulates the formation of bed blood cells and aids recovery. Subsequent tests cleared him.WADA has reviewed its processes following the Bol case and new EPO testing guidelines will come into effect in June. It expands the requirement for two experts to evaluate the results before a positive test…

US officials confirm Israel carried out operation against IranJulian BorgerUS officials have confirmed that Israel has carried out military operations against Iran but did not describe those operations.They said Israel warned the Biden administration earlier on Thursday that the strike was coming in the next 24 to 48 hours.According to CNN, the Israelis assured their US counterparts that Iran’s nuclear facilities would not be targeted.Iranian state media has confirmed only that air defence opened fire on drones in Isfahan province, bringing them down.There were also Iranian reports of air defences working around Tabriz.ShareKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript…

The difficult process of selecting a jury in the case against Donald Trump neared its conclusion on Thursday, with a jury of 12 people empaneled for the first criminal trial of a former president in US history.The jury is made up of seven men and five women who live in different parts of Manhattan, including the Upper East Side, Harlem, Hell’s Kitchen and the West Village. They come from a range of personal backgrounds and employment histories. Several jurors said they had no strong opinions on Trump, and a few said that they do not closely follow the news. The…

Michail Antonio slammed the referee after West Ham lost 3-1 on aggregate to Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League quarter-finals and said it was like “playing against 14 men” .David Moyes’ side made a positive start from a 2-0 defeat in the first leg and are dreaming of knocking out the newly crowned Bundesliga champions after Antonio scored early at the London Stadium.The game changed in the second half as West Ham missed chances before half-time. Jeremy Frimpong’s late equalizer sent Leverkusen into the semi-finals against Roma, but Antonio was unhappy with a series of penalties from Spanish referee Jose…

A Polish man has been arrested on allegations that he aided a plot by Russian intelligence services to assassinate the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, according to Polish and Ukrainian prosecutors.The office of Poland’s national prosecutor said in a statement that the man, identified only as Pawel K, was accused of being prepared to pass airport security information to Russian agents and that he was arrested in Poland on Wednesday.The man was seeking contact with Russians directly involved in the war in Ukraine and was expected to pass on detailed information about Rzeszów-Jasionka airport in south-eastern Poland, near the Ukrainian border,…