Hubert Hurkacz advanced to the second round of the ATP 500 tennis tournament on hard courts in Dubai. After an extremely close fight, he defeated German Jan-Lennard Struff 7:6 (7-5), 6:7 (4-7), 7:6 (8-6). The match lasted two hours and 42 minutes.more

For more than 10 years, the US has developed intelligence cooperation with Ukraine, which is now critical for both countries to counter Russia, writes the "New York Times" in a lengthy article.more

England should ditch its school calendar “stuck in place since Victorian times” and replace it with shorter summer holidays and longer half-term breaks to improve the lives of pupils and teachers, according to a new report.more

English Premier League football rivals Everton will have six points deducted rather than 10 for financial irregularities. The Premier League's governing body reduced the penalty after allowing the Liverpool club's appeal.more

Figures published by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) show the average rent for new tenants has increased to €1,598. The latest report from the RTB for Q3 2023 show the average rent for new tenants is higher than existing tenants, who are on average spending €1,357 per month. In Q3 2023 the standardised average rent in new tenancies grew by 11 per cent year-on-year and in existing tenanciesmore

A traveller from England was fined PLN 500 for trespassing on a border road lane, the Warmia and Mazury Border Guard reported yesterday. The man explained that he wanted to visit a girl he had met online in Russia.more

Oxford Street has begun to bounce back, with the proportion of vacant shops down by 40% and almost a fifth of its troublesome candy and souvenir shops now closed.more

The energy price cap in Great Britain will fall by £238 to £1,690 this spring thanks to a mild winter and lower gas prices, easing pressure on household finances. Set by energy regulator Ofgem, the cap reflects the average annual bill for 29 million households in England, and takes effect from April. It is a 12.3% reduction from £1,928 in the current quarter.more

Iga Swiatek continues to lead in the world women's tennis ranking. The Pole's lead over the runner-up, Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, is 1,380 points. Magdalena Fręch moved up to a career-best 42nd place and overtook Magda Linette, among others, 53rd on the list. Hubert Hurkacz remained at number eight in the world tennis ranking. He is still led by Serb Novak Djokovic. more

A Which? survey has named Wizz Air the worst short-haul airline for the second year in a row. In October 2023, the consumer champion’s annual airline satisfaction survey assessed 10,775 flights, with UK passengers asked to rate airlines on customer service, value for money, seat comfort, and food and drink.more

Real Madrid, thanks to a goal by experienced Croatian Luka Modric, beat Sevilla 1:0 at home in the 26th round of the Spanish football league and are eight points ahead of runner-up Barcelona. The defending champions won 4:0 against Getafe on Saturday.more

Waitrose was today crowned Britain's most expensive supermarket of the year - and Aldi the cheapest - in a price comparison of 43 shopping basket essentials. The news will boost sales at the German discounter which - along with rival Lidl - has seen a boom against the background of the cost of living crisis.more

'If Vladimir Putin really threatens us, we are ready to double our defence spending; we will never again be a Russian colony,' Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski announced in an interview with US television channel CNN broadcast yesterday.more

Russian agents may again use the warfare poison agent Novichok on UK soil, British Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has warned. Speaking to "The Sun on Sunday", he also stated that Vladimir Putin is one of the greatest threats to world peace since Adolf Hitler.more

In Sweden, 62,000 people have links to gangs, of which 14,000 are active members of criminal groups and 48,000 support them, including by enabling drug trafficking, according to a Swedish police report presented on Friday. This is more than twice as many as previously estimated.more

Marcin Bulka defended a penalty kick in his team Nice's 0:0 tied match against Clermont in the 23rd round of the French Football Premier League. In Paris, leaders PSG happily drew 1:1 with Rennes, saving a point in the final seconds.more

The Royal Mint has unveiled a new collectable coin featuring the late pop star George Michael. Michael, who grew up in Hertfordshire, formed Wham! with fellow Bushey Meads School pupil Andrew Ridgeley.more

The boss of Ryanair has said holidaymakers will face higher fares this summer due to new Boeing planes being delivered late. Chief executive Michael O'Leary said the delayed delivery of the planes will constrain capacity for passengers.more

People in their early 20s are more likely to be not working due to ill health than those in their early 40s, a report has found. This is "radically different" from the past, the Resolution Foundation said, when the older you were the more likely you were to not work due to sickness.more

Liverpool's footballers have won the Carabao Cup for the tenth time in their history. "The Reds" beat Chelsea London 1:0 in the final at Wembley after extra time, with Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk scoring the goal in the 118th minute.more

A record number of Russians applied for asylum in South Korea last year, US broadcaster CNN reported yesterday, citing a report published by the Korean Immigration Service.more

A number of London newspapers are raising questions about whether British politics has begun to be driven by fear of Islamists and the radical left, and where further appeasement due to concerns about MPs' physical safety will lead.more

Kamil Stoch finished 11th in the ski jumping World Cup competition on the mammoth facility in Oberstdorf, Germany. Austrian Stefan Kraft won, claiming his 40th career victory and consolidating his lead in the overall ranking of the series.more

28 percent Poles believe that Ukraine will win in the war with Russia - according to a survey published on the website of the weekly "Wprost". 33.2% of respondents have the opposite opinion.more

The West should be bolder in seizing Russian assets that were frozen after the invasion of Ukraine; this is necessary so that these assets can be used to rebuild Ukraine, wrote British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in The Sunday Times.more