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UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s last-minute cancellation of a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis in London

Sri Lanka struck an in-principle deal with a committee of official creditors, including India and the Paris Club,

A video review official has been removed from his Champions League game on Wednesday, one day after having a key role in a disputed decision to award Paris Saint-Germain a stoppage-time penalty for handball against Newcastle which contradicted Uefa’s own advice to referees. The VAR specialist from Poland, Tomasz Kwiatkowski, is no longer listed to work at the Real Sociedad-Salzburg game and has been replaced by a German match official. In Paris on Tuesday, Kylian Mbappe scored in the eighth minute of stoppage time to salvage a 1-1 draw after a ball struck Newcastle defender Tino Livramento in the chest and then deflected off his arm, and a penalty was awarded by Polish referee Szymon Marciniak following a VAR review. Marciniak refereed the Champions League final last season and the 2022 World Cup final with Kwiatkowski in his team. Marciniak initially allowed play to continue Tuesday but awarded the penalty after he was advised by his video assistant to review the incident on the pitchside monitor. However, a Uefa panel of storied coaches and former players said in April that “no handball offense should be called on a player if the ball is previously deflected from his own body, and, in particular, when the ball does not go towards the goal.” The advice to be given to match officials this season was detailed by the panel, chaired by Uefa Chief of Football Zvonimir Boban, in an April 25 statement headlined “Uefa Football Board urges more clarity on handball rule.” “The handball rule, for example, will always be disputed, but we can make it more consistent and aligned with the game’s true nature,” Boban, the former Croatia and AC Milan great, said in April. Uefa declined to comment, in line with a policy not to discuss field of play decisions. The current laws of the game allow for handballs to be penalized even if the contact was not intentional and after a deflection if a defender’s arm is judged to be in an unnatural position. “But his hand is not in an unnatural position,” Newcastle manager Eddie Howe said after the game, “(his hands) are down by his side, but he is in a running motion.” The cross from Ousmane Dembele that struck Livramento was also going backward — and not towards goal. The penalty decision in the PSG game directly affected the standings in the tightly fought Group F, as it kept PSG two points clear of Newcastle in the second qualifying place for the round of 16 behind group leader Borussia Dortmund. “I feel it is a poor decision and it’s hugely frustrating for us as you know how little time there is left in the game,” Howe said. “There is nothing we can do about it now.” Newcastle must now win its home game against last-place AC Milan on Dec. 13 and hope PSG fails to win at Dortmund. The second-place team advances to the Champions League round of 16 and the third-place team goes to the Europa League knockout playoffs. Read More ‘He is the future’: Newcastle and Lewis Miley robbed of night to remember VAR the villain as late penalty call denies Newcastle rearguard win in Paris Newcastle fans attacked in Paris before Champions League match On this day in 2015: Jamie Vardy scores in 11th game in a row Football rumours: Victor Osimhen keen on making Chelsea move The sporting weekend in pictures

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Taylor Swift fans have expressed their disappointment at the singer branding her a "capitalist queen" following the announcement that her Eras Tour concert film will be available to rent next month. From 13 December - Swift’s 34th birthday - the recording-breaking box office film will be available to rent on Apple TV+, Vudu, Prime Video, Xfinity, Google Play and YouTube. It will also be an extended version of the movie and include three extra songs – “Wildest Dreams”, “The Archer” and “Long Live." "Hi! Well, so, basically I have a birthday coming up and I was thinking a fun way to celebrate the year we’ve had together would be to make The Eras Tour Concert Film available for you to watch at home!" Swift wrote on social media. "Very happy to be able to tell you that the extended version of the film including “Wildest Dreams,” “The Archer” and “Long Live” will be available to rent on demand in the US, Canada & additional countries to be announced soon starting on … you guessed it, December 13." To rent the film for 48 hours in the comfort of your own home will cost $19.89 - a 1989 reference and a price some Swifties and other social media users aren't too pleased with. This discussion comes after Swift hit billionaire status last month with a $1.1bn fortune according to Forbes. Though there were fans who were defending Swift and noted the rental prices of other popular movies this year such as Barbie.. It's not the first time Swift has come under fire, as she was previously criticised for her limited edition merchandise drops. During the release of Midnights, the Anti-Hero singer showed fans how they could create a clock if they bought four versions of the vinyl which each had a part of the clock face on the back of the jackets and also included fans needing to purchase of the clock hand separately. These different versions of the album also each had a different bonus track, so fans who wanted each extra song on vinyl would have to buy every version. Her most recent release, 1989 (Taylor's Version) saw the release of four different vinyl versions of the album - each with the same songs but with a different themed colour and cover photo of Swift. The first limited edition drop was the Sunrise Boulevard Yellow where fans were informed it would only be available for a limited time (48 hours) so many rushed to buy it. However, after those two days Swifties were surprised to hear about another limited drop - this time the Aquamarine Green version which again was available just for 48 hours. While the vinyls were $31.89 each, due to the rollout of the drops they couldn't be purchased together meaning they were have to pay separate shipping costs. “Why. So. Many. Version. Of. The. Same. Damn. Album. Taylor. Why. So. Many. Version. Of. The. Same. Damn. Album. Taylor. I cannot deal with the money grabbing feel," one fan asked on the Taylor Swift subreddit. "This is messy! messy dishonest sales tactics! every era it gets worse I swear! I don’t think taylor is directly responsible for this manufactured fomo-based sales strategy, but wow girlie. This is a piece of work," another fan wrote. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

BERLIN Germany's Bitcoin Group said on Wednesday it was taking measures to improve its internal control system, after

Tycoon Rene Benko’s Signa filed for insolvency after a last-ditch attempt to raise emergency funding failed, making the

The UK and Spain are close to agreeing a deal on the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar, the Spanish foreign minister has indicated. A spokesperson for the Foreign Office said Lord Cameron had underlined the UK’s desire to get “a UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar as soon as possible” during his discussion with counterpart Jose Manuel Albares. Mr Albares first revealed he had been in crunch talks with Rishi Sunak’s new foreign secretary David Cameron on resolving the long-running row over trade and immigration arrangements. He told Spanish media that he had spoken with Lord Cameron over the phone on Monday, and they had also agreed to meet in person during a Brussels summit on Tuesday. The Spanish minister suggested the outline of a deal was now in place for a “zone of shared prosperity” in the Spanish area next to the British territory to avoid a hard border on the flow of people and goods. “I would sign a deal with Britain over Gibraltar tomorrow,” Mr Albares told the television channel Telecinco – saying both sides “agree that we have to move forward as soon as possible”. A UK-EU deal on arrangements for Gibraltar’s border – primarily on trade and free movement – was not struck in time for the Brexit deal worked out by Boris Johnson’s government. Conservative ministers have been nervous about signing any bilateral deal that could be viewed as reducing British influence over the territory. The Spanish foreign ministry has said the deal would allow Spain to use the Schengen agreement – which allows for the free movement of EU citizens around the bloc – to ease controls on the movement of people. Spain, the UK and the EU have previously agreed to the principle that Gibraltar should remain part of EU agreements on free movement. Mr Albares suggested the UK was also now keen on a frictionless border when it comes to the movement of goods – something akin to the thorny arrangements for Northern Ireland His ministry said a “zone of shared prosperity” deal would see limited checks “without increasing the risks for the EU internal market” – meaning the UK would have to agree to alignment on Brussels regulations. The Spanish foreign minister told reporters in Brussels: “I think this deal … is better for everyone than the application of European legislation after British citizens democratically decided to leave the European Union.” “There’s already been political will on the part of the Spanish government for many months,” Mr Albares said on the “generous and balanced deal on the table”. He added: “What’s needed now is that political will on the part of the United Kingdom to move forward decisively, which is what I’ve seen so far. But we won’t know until the end. Nothing will be agreed until it’s all agreed.” Despite optimism that a deal is now close, there was no word from Lord Cameron’s team on the prospects of an agreement being signed within days. Britain’s decision to leave the EU was very unpopular in the British overseas territory, where thousands of people cross the border with Spain every day for work. Just over 95 per cent of the territory’s population voted to stay in the EU in the 2016 referendum. The territory’s business leaders have been keen for a deal to be struck. Brian Reyes, editor of the Gibraltar Chronicle wrote: “Seven years on [from the Brexit referendum], the Brexit levanter still hangs over our heads.” Meanwhile, Lord Cameron is expected to try to meet EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic during his Brussels summit visit – his first trip to the EU capital since his fateful Brexit referendum. The foreign secretary is reportedly ready to raise the issue of post-Brexit tariffs set to be imposed on the automobile industry into force in January if he meets Mr Sefcovic this week. Mr Sunak’s government is pushing the EU Commission to agree to delay the costly new “rules of origin” set to damage the electric vehicle (EV) market due to come in at the start of 2024 as part of Mr Johnson’s trade deal. The Independent has contacted Lord Cameron’s team and the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) for comment. Read More ‘History and justice’ on side of Greek claim to Elgin Marbles, says minister Brexit red tape risks extending inflation crisis, retailers warn ‘Terrible legacy’ left by death of Bloody Sunday Parachute Regiment commander Hamas to release more hostages as thousands set for Gaza ceasefire march Lord Cameron says UK needs to engage with China Israeli safety depends on long-term Palestinian ‘security’, warns Cameron

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Walt Disney Co.’s Wish was supposed to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the company that invented animated princess