Ukrainian president indicates he expects a response from his partners if Russia fails to move by this deadline

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is in Latvia today, and has been speaking to the media in the last few minutes.

Speaking alongside Latvia’s prime minister Evika Siliņa, she praised the country’s work on becoming “a true drone and anti drone powerhouse” in Europe, contributing to Nato’s security in the region bordering with Russia.

We know that Europe is only safe if the eastern border is safe.

“The risks your country and the other Baltic States warned us about, unfortunately, have materialised.

Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine is now in its fourth year, Putin is a predator, Putin’s proxies have been targeting our societies for years with hybrid attacks, with cyber-attacks, [and] the weaponising of migrants is another example.”

• Aston Villa’s opponents include Feyenoord and Maccabi Tel Aviv

• Rangers and Celtic will play Roma at home

Nottingham Forest will host a rerun of their 1979 European Cup final win over Malmö on their return to continental action after 20 years away.

The Swedish champions will visit the City Ground for one of Forest’s eight Europa League ties, evoking memories of Trevor Francis’s winning goal in the first of their back-to-back European titles. Forest will compete on this stage after swapping places with Crystal Palace, who were controversially demoted to the Conference League for breaching multi-club ownership rules. The pick of Palace’s ties are trips to face Dynamo Kyiv, probably to be staged in Poland, and the Ligue 1 club Strasbourg.

Stability has helped defending men’s champions while Southern Brave women have a 100% record to preserve

If we have learned anything about the Hundred as we near the end of its fifth season it is that people will see in it whatever they wish to. So Adam Zampa’s last-minute arrival in the Oval Invincibles squad from Australia, confirmed on Thursday, will be perceived by some as the welcome return of a global white-ball star, the leading wicket-taker in last season’s competition. Others will consider the very possibility of a team making a big, potentially decisive signing for just the final of a competition proof of its essential unseriousness. Another group might care about nothing but their own entertainment. Protest will be fuelled by the fact that the success of the Invincibles, who go into Sunday’s decider seeking a three-peat, and Oval-based teams in general, is perhaps starting to grate.

They are something of an anomaly. The Hundred is structurally designed to promote inconsistency across seasons, unpredictability generally being seen as a positive trait in sporting competition and particularly important in a tournament with only eight teams and no relegation, circumstances that might allow it to become very stale very quickly. So Trent Rockets men, runners-up in this year’s table, have now finished first, second, third and fifth twice; while the team they face in Saturday’s eliminator, third-placed Northern Superchargers, have never finished in the same position twice.

Study finds outdoor play has positive effect on children’s social and emotional skills

One in three children do not play outdoors after school and a fifth do not at the weekend, according to research that found outdoor play has a beneficial impact on young people’s developing social and emotional skills.

The University of Exeter study looked at data from 2,500 children between sevenand 12 from the multiethnic Born in Bradford research programme, which tracks the health, development and wellbeing of mothers and children from pregnancy onwards.

Fresh green flavours, mellow apple overtones and a late-summer sting in the tail

It’s the Chinese Year of the Snake, so I thought it would be fun to come up with a few snake-themed drinks throughout the seasons. This one is inspired by the green tree snake, which is a gorgeous emerald colour, and the chilli thread garnish imitates its tongue. I definitely knew what this drink would look like long before I developed it, because I found myself leaning towards green flavours that have a great affinity with a smoky, vegetal mezcal. Green pepper and shiso enhance those herbal, peppery notes, while the apple liqueur and manzanilla bring a crisp, sweet fruitiness that rounds things out. I had so much fun with this one that it’s one of my favourite recipes to date.

Aidan Rivett, bar manager, Noto, Edinburgh

He was never meant to be an actor – wary of comparisons with his late father Philip Seymour Hoffman. Now a rising star, he talks about growing up, embracing discomfort and forging his own path

When Cooper Hoffman was in his teens, he didn’t have any grand plans for the future, though there was one thing he knew for sure: he did not want to be an actor. Why? “I didn’t want to do it because my dad did it so well, and it felt like I’d be going up against him. It would feel like I was inherently stepping into something competitive.”

Given Hoffman’s father is Philip Seymour Hoffman, Oscar-winning star of Boogie Nights, Almost Famous, The Master and Capote, you can see why he would feel that way. But then Paul Thomas Anderson, the Boogie Nights director who is a friend of the family, and whose children Cooper played with when he was growing up, asked him if he would read for a part. It was the lead in the 2021 film Licorice Pizza, about a teenage boy smitten with a woman in her mid-20s. It would not just be his first starring role, but his first role in anything. Hoffman ended up taking the job and was nominated for a Golden Globe for his efforts. In the years since, he says, he’s come to realise he’s not in competition with his dad at all. “I’m just doing the same thing he did, but in my own way.”