London — The world of professional sumo wrestling stepped outside of Japan for only the second time in its centuries-long history on Wednesday night, as fighters clashed on a specially constructed ring in the middle of London’s Royal Albert Hall.

The iconic venue in the British capital is hosting the Grand Sumo Tournament —the roughly 1,500-year-old sport’s most important competition — for the second time, drawing more than 44 professional wrestlers, or Rikishi, to compete in 100 bouts over five days. The only other time the tournament was held outside Japan was in 1991, when it also came to the Royal Albert Hall.

There are unique challenges in bringing sumo to London, as the contemporary national sport of Japan is rooted in two millennia of tradition, interwoven with the Shinto religion, and thus treated with the utmost respect and protection to ensure adherence to its rituals and norms. 

“One of the things that we’ve worked really hard at is to make sure that we have a good understanding of the cultural and religious significance that sumo has,” Matthew Todd, the Royal Albert Hall’s programming director, told CBS News. 

He said attention to detail was “really critical to the authentic presentation that we’re able to make here.”

That meant shipping 11 tons of clay from Japan to construct the ring, or dohyo, in the center of the concert venue, where the wrestlers compete. Shipping containers were at sea for three months making the voyage. A big team of ring attendants (yobisdashi), also had to make the trip from Japan — alongside 11 interpreters to help them communicate with British workers.

The roof for the dohyo, now suspended from the Albert Hall ceiling, was built in Britain, but its design is taken straight from traditional Japanese Shinto shrines, which, according to Todd, “helps to show that this is a sacred area,” in which routines and holy ceremonies are conducted as part of the tournament. 

It’s a vital step, he said, to ensure the Shinto gods are paid their due respects before the fights.

Sumo is deeply intertwined with Japanese culture and religion in ways that many Western sports fans may find difficult to comprehend. According to legend, it originated as a ritual to ask the gods for a bountiful harvest, but it transformed over almost 2,000 years into the sport it is today, drawing competitors still primarily from Japan, but also from around the world.

Many of the most recent champions have been from Mongolia, and this year’s tournament features two rishiki from Ukraine. While Americans have competed successfully in past tournaments, there are no U.S. rishiki competing in this year’s event in London.

The nuance of the wrestling competition itself can also be difficult to fully grasp, with 82 winning techniques called kimirate, numerous ranks and divisions and a host of other rules. So to help translate all this for a largely Western audience, in-ear English language commentary is provided at the Royal Albert Hall, alongside video replay screens to describe and explain the bouts, which can sometimes end in just seconds when a competitor is forced out of the ring.

The wrestlers themselves live an incredibly regimented life. They are forbidden from driving cars and, somewhat counterintuitively, eating breakfast, and are normally required to take a long nap after their hefty lunch, to help them pack on the pounds. 

The average weight of a rikishi is about 330 pounds, but some tip the scales at 550.

They have been given some leave during their visit to the British capital to enjoy themselves, however — with organizers likely seeing the value in some degree of publicity. 

During the lead-up to the tournament, social media platforms were full of photos and videos of the traditionally kimono-clad wrestlers sightseeing around London.

The Albert Hall will also be graced this week by the presence of two yokozuna, the highest ranking of all sumo wrestlers. The word yokozuna is generally translated as grand champion, but it translates literally to “horizontal rope,” in a reference to the special rope worn around their waists to display their rank.

Once a rishiki is promoted to the rank of yokozuna, they keep it until retirement. In nearly 400 years of professional sumo, only 75 men have attained the vaunted grand champion status. The honor typically requires not only multiple consecutive championship wins, but approval by a dedicated council that judges rishiki on their wrestling skills, but also a range of other personal attributes.

The tournament is due to end on Sunday, when the wrestler with the most victories in the ring will be crowned this year’s champion.

The field is considered wide open this year, but many, especially back at home in Japan, will be hoping for 25-year-old Yokozuna Onasato, the country’s first grand champion in almost a decade, to emerge victorious.

• Punjab to take action against extremist party inciting violence, hate.
• Punjab govt to include Afghan citizens in tax net.
• Provincial govt proposes stricter laws for illegal weapons.

The Punjab government has decided to approach the Centre to impose a ban on an “extremist party” following the recent wave of violent protests orchestrated by the Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP).

At a high-level meeting on law and order, chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz in Lahore, the provincial leadership approved “historic” and “extraordinary” measures.

Without naming any party, the statement issued by the provincial government said those involved in inciting violence, spreading hatred and violating the law will be arrested “immediately”.

It further said that extremist party’s leaders and workers responsible for the deaths of law enforcement agencies’ personnel and involved in damaging public property will be tried in anti-terrorism courts.

The leadership of the party is also expected to be placed on the Fourth Schedule of the Anti-Terrorism Act, which places strict limits on their movement and activities.

As part of the broader clampdown, the provincial government plans to seize all of the party’s properties and assets, which will be handed over to the Auqaf Department. It’s also moving to ban the group’s posters, banners, and advertisements entirely. Their social media accounts will be shut down, and any associated bank accounts frozen. The statement has also signalled that any misuse of loudspeakers, in violation of the Loudspeaker Act, will be met with tough penalties.

The move comes as part of a broader crackdown aimed at restoring public order and reinforcing the writ of the state and rule of law after recent unrest across the province.

Earlier this week, the law enforcement agencies launched a crackdown on TLP protesters and dismantled their protest camp in Muridke, resulting in violent clashes and dozens of arrests.

According to the senior police official, one station house officer (SHO) on duty was martyred, and 48 police personnel sustained injuries, 17 of whom were wounded by gunfire during the clashes with TLP protesters.

TLP protesters tried marching towards the federal capital despite the ban on public gathering under Section 144, resulting in days of turmoil across

The TLP march also left at least 40 government and private vehicles burnt and several shops set ablaze.

At least three TLP workers and a passerby died in the violent clashes, while reports showed that at least 30 civilians were also wounded.

Inclusion of Afghan citizens in tax net

In the same meeting, the Punjab government has also decided to focus on undocumented Afghan nationals living in the province. It plans to include Afghan citizens in the tax net and start collecting real-time data on those staying illegally.

Meanwhile, a whistleblower system is being introduced to allow people to report illegal residents while keeping their identities confidential. 

The government will also carry out targeted operations against unregistered foreigners and their businesses, with deportations to follow under federal guidelines.

Stricter arms laws

Moreover, the provincial government is also coming down hard on those possessing illegal weapons. Citizens have been given one month to register their legal firearms at local service centres. Arms dealers across the province will have their inventories checked, and no new licences will be issued during this time. The province has also asked the federal government to step in and regulate weapons manufacturers and factories.

One of the most significant changes is the stiffening of penalties for possessing illegal weapons. From now on, offenders could face up to 14 years in prison and a fine of up to Rs2 million. The crime will now be considered non-bailable.

• About 4,100 workers have been notified of layoffs during shutdown.
• Two unions representing government employees brought case.
• Judge says explicit political motivation not allowed under law.

A federal judge in California on Wednesday ordered President Donald Trump’s administration to halt mass layoffs of federal workers during a partial government shutdown while she considers claims by unions that the job cuts are illegal.

During a hearing in San Francisco, US District Judge Susan Illston granted a request by two unions to block layoffs at more than 30 federal agencies while the case proceeds.

The decision is likely to be appealed quickly, but it offers a reprieve for federal workers facing a nearly year-long push by the Trump administration to slash their ranks.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The White House said last week that it had begun substantial layoffs across the US government, as Trump followed through on a threat to cut the federal workforce during the government shutdown, now in its 15th day. In an order on Wednesday, Trump extended an existing freeze on hiring new federal workers, with exceptions for military personnel and appointees to political roles.

About 4,100 workers at eight agencies have been notified that they are being laid off so far, according to a Tuesday court filing by the administration.

Illston’s ruling came shortly after White House Budget Director Russell Vought said on “The Charlie Kirk Show” that more than 10,000 federal workers could lose their jobs because of the shutdown.

Illston at the hearing cited a series of public statements by Trump and Vought that she said showed explicit political motivations for the layoffs, such as Trump saying that cuts would target “Democrat agencies.”

“You can’t do that in a nation of laws. And we have laws here, and the things that are being articulated here are not within the law,” said Illston, an appointee of Democratic former President Bill Clinton.

Judge demands details on layoffs

Democracy Forward, a legal group that represents the unions, said Illston made clear that the president’s targeting of federal workers was unlawful.

“Our civil servants do the work of the people, and playing games with their livelihoods is cruel and unlawful and a threat to everyone in our nation,” Skye Perryman, the group’s president and CEO, said in a statement.

Illston ordered the administration to provide by Friday an accounting of any “actual or imminent” layoffs and to outline the steps agencies are taking to comply with her ruling.

A US Department of Justice lawyer, Elizabeth Hedges, at the hearing said she was not prepared to address Illston’s concerns about the legality of the layoffs. She instead argued that the unions must bring their claims to a federal labour board before being able to sue over them in court.

Illston disagreed and chided the Justice Department for refusing to take a position on the unions’ legal claims.

“The hatchet is falling on the heads of employees all across the nation, and you’re not even prepared to address whether that’s legal,” she said.

The American Federation of Government Employees and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees claim that implementing layoffs is not an essential service that can be performed during a lapse in government funding, and that the shutdown does not justify mass job cuts because most federal workers have been furloughed without pay.

Trump’s Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress but need at least seven Democratic votes to pass a funding bill in the Senate, where Democrats are holding out for an extension of health-insurance subsidies. Democrats have said they will not cave to Trump’s pressure tactics, and a renewed bid to pass a spending bill failed on Wednesday.