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The Tokyo Olympics – due to begin on Friday – could be cancelled at the last minute because of rising coronavirus cases, the Games’ chief has admitted.

Toshiro Muto said discussions are continuing because it is impossible to foresee what may happen with COVID-19 infections.

With cases rising in the Japanese capital and a state of emergency declared, it has already been decided to hold the various competitions in empty venues in and around the city.

Toshiro Muto says discussions will continue. File pic
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Toshiro Muto says discussions will continue. File pic

There have been 67 cases among those accredited to the Games since the start of the month, Reuters reported, and cases in Tokyo have been rising more generally.

“We can’t predict what will happen with the number of coronavirus cases,” Mr Muto, who heads the organising committee, said during a news conference.

“So we will continue discussions if there is a spike in cases.

“We have agreed that based on the coronavirus situation, we will convene five-party talks again. At this point, the coronavirus cases may rise or fall, so we will think about what we should do when the situation arises.”

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Major sponsors will not be present at the opening ceremony, it has been decided.

The Japanese public has been concerned about a spike in cases being triggered by athletes and other attendees arriving from abroad.

Events will be held behind closed doors
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Events will be held behind closed doors

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Organising committee president, Seiko Hashimoto, said she wanted to “apologise from my heart for the accumulation of frustrations and concerns that the public has been feeling towards the Olympics”.

Meanwhile, a Ugandan athlete reported missing from his hotel last week after missing a coronavirus test has been found and is being interviewed by police.

Julius Ssekitoleko, a 20-year-old weightlifter, went missing from his pre-Olympic training camp in Osaka Prefecture on Friday and left behind a note saying he did not want to return to his home country.

Officials said he expressed his desire to stay in Japan and work.

He has now been discovered in Mie Prefecture.

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Somalia truck bombing kills 15 people and wounds 40 others

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Somalia truck bombing kills 15 people and wounds 40 others

A bombing at a checkpoint in Somalia has killed at least 15 people and wounded 40 others, authorities have said.

Images on social media showed a damaged truck cab on fire and black smoke billowing from the scene in the central city of Beledweyne.

No one has immediately claimed responsibility, including Al Shabaab, which often carries out attacks and controls parts of Somalia.

Police officer Ahmed Aden said the dead included five police officers who fired on the truck in a failed attempt to stop it from ramming into the nearby checkpoint.

Shops nearby were reduced to rubble, with reports of people missing beneath the debris.

It was a truck loaded with explosive devices that forcefully passed through the government-manned checkpoint, and a pick-up vehicle belonging to security personnel was chasing it when it exploded,” said witness Abdikadir Arba, who said he was about 200 metres away and was one of the first responders.

Abdifatah Mohamed Yusuf, director-general of the Hirshabelle Ministry of Humanitarian and Disaster Management, confirmed the deaths.

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“Twenty of the wounded have been admitted to Beledweyne hospitals, while another 20 are in critical condition, prompting a request for their airlift to Mogadishu for advanced medical treatment,” he said.

Read more on Sky News:
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At least 20 killed in hotel attack
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Hirshabelle is a state that includes Beledweyne. It has been the centre of the Somali government’s latest military offensive against extremists from Al Shabaab.

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Al Shabaab has been battling Somalia’s central government for more than a decade, aiming to establish its rule based on strict interpretation of Islamic sharia law.

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Fugitive on run for more than 30 years laughs as he’s finally caught

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Fugitive on run for more than 30 years laughs as he's finally caught

A fugitive convicted of attempted murder who evaded police for more than 30 years has been caught.

Greg Lawson, who had been on the run for 32 years, laughed and asked officers “how are you doing?” as he was handcuffed in Huatulco, Mexico.

Lawson, 63, fled Louisiana, in the US, just before a jury found him guilty of shooting a man called Seth Garlington in 1991 – sparking an FBI manhunt in May that year.

In a video shared by FBI News Orelans on X, formerly known as Twitter, Lawson is seen wearing a short-sleeve shirt and camouflage cap.

With police officers in escort, he patted someone on the shoulder while laughing, before another officer turned to handcuff him.

Douglas Williams Jr, the agent in charge of FBI New Orleans, said the capture would not have been possible without the help of authorities in Mexico.

“We want to thank our partners and the public in this case, who never gave up hope that justice could be served for Mr Lawson’s victim,” he said.

“There is no doubt that Mr Lawson might still be in the wind if our partners in Mexico had not been willing to deal with this so swiftly.”

The FBI said they had always suspected Lawson was hiding out in Mexico, but a “tip” they received earlier this month appeared to confirm their theory.

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He was arrested on Tuesday, 19 September, and was taken into custody back in Louisiana.

According to a local Louisiana news channel, KTBS, Lawson had a “fistfight” with Mr Garlington in a car park at a petrol station.

Court documents, they added, claim Lawson forced Mr Garlington’s vehicle off the motorway, with Lawson then firing shots.

When the jury came back from deliberation to confirm the guilty verdict, Lawson had already run away.

The FBI had offered a $10,000 (£8,200) reward for his capture.

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Sweden: Chunk of motorway collapses in landslide – leaving three in hospital

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Sweden: Chunk of motorway collapses in landslide - leaving three in hospital

Three people have been taken to hospital after a large chunk of a motorway in Sweden collapsed in a landslide early on Saturday morning.

Police said at least four cars and a bus skidded off the E6 motorway – connecting Gothenburg in Sweden to Norway’s capital Oslo – near the small town of Stenungsund.

Several buildings were also damaged, including a Burger King restaurant.

The landslide has affected a total area of around 700 x 200 metres, which is roughly equivalent of 21 football pitches.

“The hardest hit parts of the landslide area measure around 150 x 100 metres,” the Gothenburg Rescue Services added in a statement.

“A number of people have been helped out of vehicles in the slide area with the help of fire personnel and a helicopter.”

The motorway was badly damaged. Pic: Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP
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The motorway was badly damaged. Pic: Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP

The cause of the landslide is not yet clear. Pic: Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP
Image:
The cause of the landslide is not yet clear. Pic: Adam Ihse/TT News Agency via AP

Rescue services say further landslides cannot be ruled out.

Police say nobody is suspected of a crime, but an investigation has been launched into whether a construction site nearby caused the landslide.

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Rescue services were on the scene in the early hours. Pic: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT News Agency via AP
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Rescue services were on the scene in the early hours. Pic: Björn Larsson Rosvall/TT News Agency via AP

There has also been heavy rainfall in the area over the past few days.

Swedish news agency TT reported several cars and one truck had fallen into cracks caused by the landslide, while rescue services told public broadcaster SVT all people have been helped out.

Specially trained dogs were on the scene to ensure no people had been overlooked among the debris.

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