tokyo

The US women came to Tokyo as firm favourites but Biles admitted to feeling the pressure

In gymnastics, US superstar and defending champion Simone Biles produced a rusty performance in qualifying

Murray will continue playing doubles with Joe Salisbury

The build-up has been dogged by scandals ranging from corruption during the bidding process to plagiarism allegations over the design of the Tokyo 2020 logo.

The Delta variant has been in the headlines for weeks, but concerns on Wall Street grew after Los Angeles reimposed an indoor mask mandate over the weekend

British data showed unemployment dipped to 4.8 percent in the three months to the end of May from 5.0 percent in the three months to February.

Japan has so far recorded around 14,900 deaths, despite avoiding harsh lockdowns, but the government has been criticised over the slow start to its vaccination programme.

A new poll Sunday showed 86 percent of Japanese fear the Games will spark a rebound in virus cases.

It comes less than two months until the Games are set to begin, and days after the US State Department issued a travel warning for Japan over virus risks.

Tokyo on Thursday recorded 861 new infections, figures not seen since a last state of emergency in January.

The comments come as Tokyo marks 100 days until the virus-postponed 2020 Olympics open on July 23.

The relay launch will put the spotlight back on the region affected by the 2011 quake, tsunami and nuclear disaster.

Mori is reported to have said Wednesday that "board of directors meetings with many women take a lot of time."

The Games were postponed in March in the first peacetime delay of an Olympics, and are now scheduled to start on July 23, 2021.

The deal covers sectors from food to textiles and tech and largely replicates the existing EU-Japan arrangement.

The coronavirus pandemic may further affect the Olympics as scheduling conflicts continue to arise.

Uncertainty over the stimulus, rising US infections and the Fed's massive bond-buying has hurt the dollar.

There was also some cheer about Joe Biden's choice of Kamala Harris as his running mate for November's election.

Analysts said easing concerns about the future of the China-US trade pact and healthy China data also provided some cheer to investors.

The rapid spread of the disease around the world and fresh flare-ups have caused renewed lockdowns.

A spike in coronavirus infections has forced fresh lockdowns and sparked worries about the impact on the world economy.

With labour shortages brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, many have switched over to advanced machinery instead.

Officials warned that a return to normal would take time as overseas demand for exports remained limited.

Postponing the Games is an enormous logistical and financial challenge.

Japan is under a nationwide state of emergency.

Doctors in the capital warned this week that the city was already in "critical condition."

The Olympics have never faced this much disruption in peacetime.

IOC will make an announcement within four weeks.

Oriental Land said it currently hoped to resume operations from March 16.

Around 110,000 police, coast guard, firefighters and military troops are involved in the rescue operation in the aftermath of Typhoon Hagibis.