Japan dismisses Olympics cancellation report as teams back Games

The Nigerian Army fired live rounds at peaceful protesters at a toll gate in Lagos in October 2020, according to a leaked report into the incident seen by Reuters and verified by three sources close to the panel that drafted it. The report described the incident as a "massacre", said most of the army officers deployed to the Lekki Toll Gate were "not fit and proper to serve" and recommended prosecuting certain policemen for their actions.

In 2015, Shiori Ito was a young journalist who went to meet a would-be mentor for drinks, only for the night to end in him raping her. She won a civil case against him in 2019, but only after years of fighting a judicial system that seemed determined to look the other way. Ito's memoir "Black Box" is the story of one young woman's quest for justice in a country where talking about sexual assault, and even sex education, is still very much taboo. She joined us for Perspective and told us that things are gradually moving in the right direction, but that she still receives "threatening emails every day" for speaking out.

The report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution on the Lekki Tollgate shooting has indicted the Nigerian Army and the Police of complicity in the death of protesters at the Lekki Tollgate on 20 October 2020. ⁣⁣⁣ The report detailed how the Army and Police disregarded their rules of engagement during the protest.⁣⁣⁣

Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Friday.⁣ ⁣

Here are a few reasons to pick up a copy of The Guardian on Thursday. Find these stories and much more when you grab a copy of The Guardian on Thursday.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣

International travel picked up over the summer, but Covid-19 is still expected to cost the global tourism industry some €1.8 trillion in 2021. Also, French finance minister Bruno Le Maire remains optimistic about the recovery despite concerns over the Omicron variant, and farmers in India continue their protest movement despite concessions from the government.

Japan has stopped new bookings onto incoming flights after identifying the first cases of the Omicron strain of Covid-19. The country has also tightened its quarantine requirements for all arriving passengers, and extended a ban on non-citizens coming from ten countries in southern Africa. Travel companies have seen their shares tumble in recent days as governments tighten border rules in response to the new strain. Also today, Australia's economy feels the pinch from the recent lockdowns.

Authorities in Nigeria reject the conclusions of an independent report that found that security forces were behind the death of 11 people at an anti-police brutality protest last year. Also, South Africa's president calls for solidarity between countries in the face of travel bans following the discovery of the Omicron variant. And on World AIDS Day we take you to Kenya, where the prevalence of HIV has fallen drastically in the past two decades, but the fight against new infections remains a daily battle.

A video distributed by the International Olympic Committee is not enough to reassure the tennis world. The Women's Tennis Association is suspending all tournaments in China until it is sure that doubles star Peng Shuai is safe and sound, following the 35-year-old Peng's quickly deleted post on Chinese social media last month denouncing sexual assault by a former vice premier. How far will the ripple effects go?

Architects from Spain have completed a novel design for the upcoming FIFA 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Named the 974 Stadium, the 40,000-seater facility it's designed to be relatively easy to disassemble and rebuild, and was constructed using almost 1,000 shipping containers.⁣

A group with alleged ties to the "Islamic State" has "enslaved and sexually abused" hundreds of women and girls in Mozambique over the past three years, Human Rights Watch said.

For a wealthy nation, Japan has a high proportion of seniors who have jobs - from babysitters to gardeners. With an aging population, the country is encouraging the "silver generation” to go back to work. Many are reveling in the new challenge.