SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China suspended dozens of international flights on Friday amid a global surge in Omicron cases, while the city of Shanghai curbed tourist activity as it rushed to head off local COVID-19 infections as imported cases rose. Cities ac…
China’s Tianjin outbreak grows as Omicron spreads to Dalian
BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s northern port city of Tianjin reported an increase in COVID-19 infections on Thursday as it stepped up efforts to rein in an outbreak that has spread the highly transmissible Omicron variant to another city. Omicron has broug…
In Beijing’s Olympic bubble: police escorts, daily COVID-19 tests, robot chefs
By Martin Quin Pollard and Pawel Kopczynski BEIJING (Reuters) – In a hived-off section of the Beijing airport, arrivals for next month’s Winter Olympics are met by staff in white protective suits and undergo COVID-19 tests and swabs of luggage before b…
Doping-U.S. charges man with giving illegal drugs to athletes for Tokyo Olympics
By Luc Cohen NEW YORK (Reuters) -U.S. prosecutors have charged a man with supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics, a first under a federal law allowing criminal charges against doping conspirators at events involving U.S…
Olympics-U.S. lawmakers ask IOC for assurances uniforms not made through forced labour
(Reuters) – The United States’ Congressional-Executive Commission on China (CECC) released a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Wednesday voicing concern over forced labour in the production of uniforms ahead of the Beijing Games. T…
How does a cougar cross a Washington freeway? Their future may depend on the answer
By Stephanie Keith OLYMPIC PENINSULA, Wash. (Reuters) – Howling hounds picked up a cougar’s scent and led researchers deep into the forest, where the steep hills were covered with cedars and ferns dusted with snow. The dogs chased Lilu, an 82-pound (37…
Baktash Abtin, dissident Iranian poet, dies of Covid on prison furlough
Abtin’s death was ‘aided and abetted’ by the Iran’s government, says US human rights group PEN AmericaThe dissident Iranian poet and filmmaker Baktash Abtin has died of Covid-19 in hospital after being released on a furlough from prison where he was in…
China warns hospitals against rejecting patients over COVID curbs as cases decline
BEIJING (Reuters) – China reported fewer COVID cases on Friday as several cities have curbed movements, while a top official warned hospitals not to turn away patients after a woman’s miscarriage during a lockdown in the city of Xian sparked outrage. C…
N.Korea says won’t attend Beijing Olympics, blames COVID-19 and ‘hostile forces’
By Josh Smith SEOUL (Reuters) – In a letter to China, North Korea blamed “hostile forces” and COVID-19 risks for not being able to attend the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing and accused the United States of trying to prevent the Games’ success, sta…
China’s Henan hit by COVID curbs after sporadic cases
BEIJING (Reuters) – Central Chinese cities including Yuzhou and Zhengzhou imposed varying degrees of travel curbs after sporadic COVID-19 cases, in line with a national strategy that has taken on extra urgency as the Winter Olympics and Lunar New Year …