It has been a pretty tortuous week for rugby fans, particularly if your allegiance lies with Scotland. As Typhoon Hagibis approached Japan, threatening both widespread physical destruction and Scotland's hopes of staying in the World Cup, the sport's governing body faced some difficult questions and even the threat of a legal case from Scottish Rugby. With all the unknowns and speculation, it has been a bit like watching the Brexit negotiations as the October 31st deadline day looms large. At the start of the week, Boris Johnson's last ditch Brexit proposals "contained too much uncertainty" to allow a deal. By Thursday, the British and Irish Prime ministers spoke of "a pathway to a possible deal". And on Saturday, the "mood music" from the Brexit talks was positive. All we can say with any certainty is that the pound has surged to a 3-month high on renewed hopes of a deal, which means that for the poor rugby fans sheltering in their Japan hotel rooms this weekend, at least the beer is a fraction cheaper!

This week Extinction Rebellion once again demonstrated the disruptive power of direct action. The climate change protestors brought traffic around Trafalgar Square to a standstill, set up a barricade outside BBC's New Broadcasting House, and attempted a Hong-Kong style occupation of London City Airport. The image of ex-Paralympic cyclist, James Brown glued to the roof of a British Airways jet is one that is likely to inspire and frustrate in equal measure, depending on your standpoint (and whether you were booked on a flight out of City Airport on Thursday!). Andy Burnham's announcement that Manchester will be carbon neutral by 2038, twelve years before the rest of the country, therefore feels timely. The Greater Manchester Mayor has set out his stall to make Manchester the greenest city region in the UK. The biggest challenge is how to retro-fit existing buildings with cost efficient carbon reduction measures - like low carbon heating and cooling - yet still make it economically viable. As ever, the devil is in the detail, but the bar for Manchester has rightly been set high.

Yesterday morning, Kenyan athlete Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in under two hours. Sixty-five years after Roger Bannister ran the first sub four-minute mile - a barrier many thought could never be broken - Kipchoge has arguably achieved a similar feat. The attempt was meticulously planned and executed. A course in Vienna was chosen for the attempt due to its air quality and flat terrain; Kipchoge's coaches delivered him water and energy gels by bicycle; and he was assisted by a team of 42 dedicated pacemakers. There was even a pace car beaming green lasers onto the road to indicate the required speed. Kipchoge is not of course the only highly-tuned athlete who will be pushing the boundaries of physical exertion this weekend. As part of their Key Cities challenge to raise money for Boost Charitable Trust, two members of the St Bride's team are currently pounding the tarmac around Oxford and Manchester in their respective half marathons. The Weekly suspects that the 2 hour barrier may prove an equally challenging obstacle for their 13.1 miles, with or without a pace car! You just can't do enough high-altitude training in Surrey apparently....!