Haruki Murakami fans can marvel at a vast collection of the Japanese author's novels, scrapbooks and vinyl at a cavernous new library unveiled Wednesday at his old university in Tokyo.

The skateboarding tricks that made Rayssa Leal the youngest Olympic medalist in Brazil's history push girls from early childhood to teenagers onto the country's slopes, where until recently they were the exception.

The twin pandas born at Tokyo's Ueno zoo in June have been named Xiao Xiao for the male and Lei Lei for the female. There are an estimated 1,800 giant pandas left in the wild, mainly in bamboo forests in the mountains of China, according to environmental group WWF. Around 600 more live in zoos and breeding centres around the world.

A 24-year-old man dressed in Batman's Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring 17 people as many party-goers headed into the city center for Halloween gatherings, media reported.

At least 74 people were killed and dozens more were injured on Sunday after bombs ripped through two restaurants in the Ugandan capital of Kampala. Police said the bombs were targeting football fans who had gathered to watch the World Cup final.

At least three people have been killed and 33 others injured in twin suicide bombings in Uganda’s capital Kampala, police said, the latest in a string of attacks over the past month.

The Islamic State group claims responsibility for a twin suicide bombing in Kampala in which three people were killed. Ugandan police had blamed a "domestic terror group" linked to the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF). Also, the UN says at least 1,000 people have been arrested in Ethiopia since the state of emergency. Mostly people of Tigrayan origin have been detained, mainly in Addis Ababa and the northern cities of Gondar and Bahir Dar.

Dozens of people are killed in twin attacks in Somalia. Al Shabaab extremists claim responsibility, saying they were targeting politicians in a bid to disrupt already stalled elections. Also, Tunisian farmers take the law into their own hands in the midst of an ongoing water crisis. Poor planning, scarce water resources and the worsening impact of climate change have all hit the country's agricultural industry hard.

Mourners flocked to the site where Japan's former prime minister was shot. Shinzo Abe's body has been moved to Tokyo from Nara, where he was attacked while giving a speech.

Japan is the only G7 country which does not recognise same-sex unions. But this week, its capital Tokyo began rolling out a partnership certificate scheme. It allows same-sex couples to be treated as married couples for certain public services, this for the first time. Those services include housing, medicine and welfare.

The arrest of a mafia boss is making headlines in Italy. Meanwhile, tributes to Italian beauty Gina Lollobrigida are pouring in from papers across Europe. We also discover cartoonists' takes on the challenges facing French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. We then discuss the future for nuclear energy in France and, finally, how scientists have made a breakthrough on directing lightning.

Although Japan is the only G7 country where same-sex marriages are illegal, there have recently been some positive changes for the LGBT community. Last November, Tokyo's metropolitan government introduced partnership certificates that entitle gay couples to certain public services that were once reserved for straight couples.