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by Rebecca BAILEY Hosts China claimed their first gold medal of the Beijing Winter Games on Saturday, winning the short track speed skating mixed relay on the event’s dramatic Olympic debut. On the first full day of competition, China, who were favourites going into the race, almost failed to reach the final but had a reprieve when the United States were penalised for blocking by an infield skater. Cheered on vociferously by a small but […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — The opening ceremony of the Beijing Winter Olympics began on Friday as China attempted to turn the page on a troubled build-up overshadowed by human rights concerns and Covid. The lattice-shaped “Bird’s Nest” stadium took centre stage, just as it did at the 2008 Games — seen as China’s coming-out party on the world stage — as Beijing becomes the first city to host both a Summer and Winter Olympics. The […]
by Michael O’HAGAN Agence France-Presse KAMPALA, Uganda (AFP) – Chinese and French oil giants finally sealed a $10-billion deal Tuesday to unlock Uganda’s energy resources and build a vast regional oil pipeline, a mega-project that has incensed environmental groups. The so-called Final Investment Decision should pave the way for the export of millions of barrels of black gold that was first discovered in 2006 in Uganda, one of the world’s most biodiverse regions. The decision […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — Beijing recorded its highest number of new Covid-19 cases for a year and a half on Sunday, as the Chinese capital gears up to host the Winter Olympics in five days. China will hold the Games in a strict “closed-loop” bubble as part of its zero-Covid strategy of targeted lockdowns, border restrictions and lengthy quarantines. The approach has helped the world’s second-largest economy keep new infections far lower than many other […]
TAIPEI, Taiwan (AFP) — Taiwan will not send an official delegation to the opening or closing of the Beijing Winter Olympics due to China’s strict pandemic controls and flight disruptions, the self-ruled island’s governing body for sport said. The decision comes at a time when relations between Beijing and Taipei are at their lowest in decades with China ramping up military and economic pressure under President Xi Jinping. Taiwan’s Sports Administration said late Friday […]
by Holmes CHAN HONG KONG, China (AFP) — Hong Kong’s U-turn on its mandatory three-week quarantine for arrivals follows growing scrutiny of the strict policy after a coronavirus outbreak was traced to a woman infected during her hotel stay. Like mainland China, Hong Kong is one of the few places left in the world still pursuing a zero-Covid strategy that has largely kept the virus at bay but left the finance hub internationally isolated. On […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – China’s top diplomat spoke with his US counterpart on Thursday, warning Washington to “stop interfering” in the Winter Olympics and stressing that Russia’s security concerns in Europe should be “taken seriously”. Beijing hopes to turn next week’s Games into a soft power triumph. But the lead-up has been clouded by a US-led diplomatic boycott over China’s human rights record, particularly towards its Uyghur Muslim minority in the Xinjiang region. “The most […]
LONDON, United Kingdom (AFP) – Climate change is threatening the future of the Winter Olympics, reducing the number of suitable venues for the event around the globe, a report warned ahead of the Beijing Games. The Olympics in China, which start on February 4, will be the first Winter Games to rely almost 100 percent on artificial snow, according to the study. “Slippery Slopes: How Climate Change is Threatening the Winter Olympics”, was produced by […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) – Beijing warned Monday that heavy air pollution is likely during the Winter Olympics, but said emergency plans were in place to ensure the Games are not disrupted by smog. The Chinese capital declared “war on pollution” after winning the Olympics bid in 2015, shutting down dozens of coal plants and relocating heavy industries to shed its status as one of the world’s most polluted cities. But air quality is still far […]
BEIJING, China (AFP) — One of China’s longest coronavirus lockdowns since the start of the pandemic came to an end on Monday as authorities announced the lifting of most restrictions in the northern megacity of Xi’an. The historic city’s 13 million residents had been confined to their homes since December 22 after the discovery of a Covid-19 cluster that grew to over 2,100 cases — China’s largest local outbreak in months. With the Winter Olympics […]
Beijing city officials on Sunday said all two million residents of a neighbourhood where a small cluster of coronavirus cases was detected will be tested, less than two weeks before the start of the Winter Olympics. China’s cases constitute a tiny fraction of the massive surge in countries around the globe, with the highly contagious Omicron variant driving a fresh spike in infections. Still, multiple small outbreaks around China — including in Beijing — have […]
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States announced Friday that it was suspending 44 Chinese passenger flights from America to the Asian giant in response to restrictive moves by Beijing on US carriers under its Covid-19 protocols. China maintains strict controls over border entry including slashed flights and a “circuit breaker” policy where routes are halted if too many infections are brought in on the flights. China’s aviation authority used the circuit breaker policy […]
