INTERNATIONAL: The Tokyo Paralympics begin next Tuesday and the torch relay is on its final stretch. It’s making its way through the last three of 47 prefectures on its way to the capital, but as with the Tokyo Olympics, the pandemic is playing havoc with planning.

Covid-19 restrictions meant a portion of Tuesday's relay was reduced to a ceremony at the Yotsuike Park Athletic Ground in the city of Hamamatsu. Torchbearers who were supposed to carry the torch from Atami to Shizuoka instead ran around a track before passing the flame on with a so-called "torch kiss". Other torch events took place as planned, albeit with reduced numbers of spectators.

The Paralympics, like the Olympics, will take place largely without spectators. The Japanese government is set to extend its Covid state of emergency, but only in the capital, but other regions of the country as well. Organisers say schoolchildren will still be able to attend some events as long as proper safety measures are in place.