Same-Sex Marriage Ban in Japan Is 'Unconstitutional,' Rules Court

The landmark ruling has been hailed as "revolutionary" by lawyers for the plaintiffs

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  • Anthony Joshua could fight Tyson Fury without favoured trainer in his corner, Eddie Hearn reveals

    Eddie Hearn insists the world heavyweight unification will not be dictated by Rob McCracken’s potential involvement at the Olympics in Tokyo

  • India Added To UK's Covid Travel 'Red List', Announces Matt Hancock

    The restrictions will come into force from Friday morning.

  • Former prisoner told London Bridge victim she was 'beautiful and loved' as she lay dying - inquest

    A former prisoner was visibly moved as he described comforting Saskia Jones as she lay dying after being stabbed in the neck by terrorist Usman Khan, he told the inquest into her death. Giving evidence on the deaths of Ms Jones, 23, and Jack Merritt, 25, at Fishmongers' Hall near London Bridge on 29 November 2019, Gareth Evans recalled seeing her pale and holding her neck after being attacked.

  • SNP's plan to scrap NHS dental charges could see services cut

    The SNP’s plan to scrap charges for NHS dentistry could mean cuts to services and may see more patients forced to turn to the private sector for treatment, Anas Sarwar has warned. The Scottish Labour leader, who worked as an NHS dentist in Paisley before entering politics, said he supported the principle of free care but was concerned at a lack of detail announced by Nicola Sturgeon. A pledge to scrap dentistry charges, expected to cost £100 million a year initially, was one of a series of expensive giveaways included in the SNP manifesto last week. Mr Sarwar warned the policy could prove counterproductive if it was not implemented properly, and said the nationalists had a track record of failing to properly fund services. “The devil is in the detail,” said the Glasgow MSP. “What risks happening is, and this has happened too many times under this government already, is you reduce the number of treatments that are available on the NHS, meaning you're pushing more people to getting private treatments. "I think we need to see the detail of what this policy means in practice before we can make a wider comment on whether it is fit for purpose or not.

  • As Alexei Navalny is moved to hospital, a new approach to Russia is needed

    If the west is really not interested in pushing back at Russian aggression with equally bold moves, it should give up the pretence that it is serious about taming an increasingly feral Putin

  • Gay man’s house given rainbow makeover by neighbours after homophobes threatened to kill him

    Homophobic thugs threatened to kill a gay man for planning to paint his house rainbow colours – so his community rallied together to send an important message.

  • How Lady Louise's unique family bonds have seen her quietly become the favourite Royal granddaughter

    Over the past 10 days, as all eyes have been on Windsor following Prince Philip’s death, a sombre little face has cropped up again and again. Always in the background, poised and respectful, quietly allowing more senior members of the family to take centre stage, Lady Louise Mountbatten-Windsor seemed to grow into a fully fledged member of the Firm in front of our eyes. She accompanied her parents everywhere last week, standing between them as they viewed floral tributes to her grandfather outside St George’s Chapel, attending a church service, going with them to meet members of the Windsor Estate staff to share memories and condolences and, on Saturday, watching on as her father, uncles and aunts and older cousins followed her beloved grandpa’s coffin.

  • Latest weekly Covid-19 rates for local authority areas in England

    More than a third of local areas have seen a week-on-week rise in rates.

  • Vaccinations not lockdown caused 'sharper decline in coronavirus in over-60s'

    Vaccinations caused a "larger and earlier" decline in coronavirus cases and hospitalisations in over-60s than lockdown, the first real-world study comparing the two interventions has found. Last week, Boris Johnson said it was "very, very important" for the country to understand that the recent reductions in infections, admissions and deaths had "not been achieved by the vaccination programme" alone, arguing that lockdown had been "overwhelmingly important". There were just two deaths reported in England on Monday and four for Britain in total, with cases down by 10 per cent in a week and admissions down 12 per cent. However, real world data from the Israeli vaccination programme shows that cases and hospitalisations in over-60s fell far faster in January and February when a significant proportion of the population had been vaccinated, compared to when the country was placed in lockdown in September. A team from the Weizmann Institute of Science, in Rehovot, found that within 50 days of Israel’s third lockdown starting on January 8, there had been a 45 per cent decrease in positive cases in the over-60s compared to a 28 per cent decline in 20 to 39-year-olds.

  • Scotland's hospitality bosses in uproar after being told they need giant tables to seat customers

    Scotland’s hospitality bosses have hit out at "bombshell" SNP guidance for reopening which they say will force them to install giant tables to keep customers one metre apart. Senior figures within the industry said draft rules issued by the Scottish Government, which confirms distancing will apply to those within the same group in restaurants and pubs when they reopen next week, would mean some businesses would be unable to operate. They have been told they would need a table at least a metre wide and three-and-a-half metres long to accommodate a group of six, with the distancing rules applying to both indoor and outdoor areas.

  • Have your say: Should England's European Super League teams be expelled from the Premier League?

    Six English clubs have been condemned for joining the new European breakaway league.

  • Prince Harry ‘wants to stay in Britain for Queen’s 95th birthday and has not booked flight’

    Prince Harry has not booked his return flight to the United States but will return as soon as his pregnant wife Meghan needs him, a source close to the couple said today. The Duke of Sussex is believed to want to remain in Britain to mark the Queen’s 95th birthday this week if possible. Prince Philip’s funeral was the first time Prince Harry had met his relatives since the couple’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was broadcast last month.

  • ‘I don’t need lectures from you’, Keir Starmer tells anti-lockdown landlord sharing misinformation

    Pub owner tells Labour leader he has ‘failed to be the opposition’ on Covid-19

  • Boris Johnson says vaccine passports will ‘definitely’ be used when international travel resumes

    Prime Minister Boris Johnson has given his clearest hint yet that vaccine passports are likely to be required for international travel - while suggesting they will have a role to play at home as well. When asked if vaccine passports were un-British, Mr Johnson said that they would definitely have a role to play when international travel resumes. “On the issue of vaccine certification, there’s definitely going to be a world in which international travel will use vaccine passports", he said.

  • Mourning Queen to mark birthday without Philip for first time during reign

    The Queen is to mark the first birthday of her reign without her husband, as the royal family observes another week of mourning following the Duke of Edinburgh’s death. The Queen will turn 95 on Wednesday, four days after Philip’s funeral service in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle.

  • Damian Lewis explains wife Helen McCrory's last request to him

    The actress sadly passed away last week.

  • Matthew McConaughey is a viable candidate for Texas governor, poll reveals

    Hollywood actor has support of 45 per cent of Texans against incumbent governor’s 33 per cent

  • Quiz: Can you match the joke to the famous comedian?

    Can you tell which famous gag-merchants were behind these hilarious jokes?

  • BMW reveals new all-wheel-drive versions of the M3 and M4

    This is the first time BMW’s super saloon has had anything other than rear-wheel-drive.

  • Abrasive Max Verstappen will give Lewis Hamilton a title challenge like few others

    On Saturday, Max Verstappen was frustrated at missing out on pole position for the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. He should have been quickest but ended up third after putting a wheel on the grass on his final quick run. As he left his post-session interview, he brushed past Lewis Hamilton on the way to his. Hamilton looked back quizzically. Intentional or not? Impossible to say. On Sunday, the pair made contact again, but this time in the heat of battle. From third, Verstappen took the lead by Imola’s first corner, as he launched his Red Bull off the line to perfection, passing team-mate Sergio Pérez and up the inside of the Mercedes into the first chicane. In damp and tricky conditions he left Hamilton almost, but not quite, enough space as wheels touched, leaving his rival to ride roughly over the kerbs, damaging his front wing. Hamilton complained, but Verstappen kept the lead that he would never relinquish, leaving him just a single point off the championship lead. It was a move which not only highlighted the very fact that the threat Hamilton faces is a real one but also its very nature. In 2021, Hamilton could be facing his toughest competitor for some years. It is wrong to say that Hamilton has waltzed to all his six Mercedes championships because competition has been lacking. It is true of his last two titles in 2019 and 2020 but Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari took some beating – though they ultimately beat themselves – and team-mate Nico Rosberg was no pushover. The strength of the 36 year-old's rivals since Rosberg left F1 has not been as significant or as sustained as his talent warrants. Aside from Vettel, Valtteri Bottas is too compliant, and Verstappen and Charles Leclerc have so far posed only an occasional threat. This, really, is the main point frustration of his dominance in the last three seasons.