Page 3 - Winter Olympics

Winter Olympics: Rights group raises alarm as China warns athletes

The New York-based Human Rights Watch has raised concern about the veiled threats issued by Chinese authorities over freedom of speech ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022 next month

Covid-19: Beijing residents disappointed Olympics will be closed event

Residents of the Chinese capital say they're disappointed at not being able to attend events because of coronavirus restrictions that have seen parts of the city placed under lockdown.

Beijing Winter Olympics marred by rising Covid-19 cases in China: Report

Weeks ahead of the Winter Olympics, China is witnessing a rise in COVID-19 cases in its major cities including Beijing despite the strict lockdown, said a media report.

Chinese Olympic app has security flaws, could expose sensitive data: Report

A smartphone app for athletes and others attending next month's Winter Games in Beijing has glaring security problems that could expose sensitive data to interception, according to a report published

China abstains from selling tickets to general public for Beijing Olympics

China on Monday announced that it will restrain selling tickets to the general public for the Beijing Winter Olympics and Paralympics.As per the organizers, the move comes amid community infections of the highly contagious Omicron coronavirus variant that have been expanding in China, reported Kyodo News.Spectator tickets for the sporting event, slated to start February 4, are expected to be distributed to a limited number of people through government organizations and state-run companies to prevent the further outbreak of COVID-19 at home.The decision indicated that President Xi Jinping, who has been eager to cement his grip to secure a controversial third term as the leader at the Communist Party's twice-a-decade congress in fall, has given up hosting the Beijing Olympics in complete form, pundits said, reported Kyodo News.In a speech online Monday at a session of the World Economic Forum, Xi was quoted by the official Xinhua News Agency as expressing confidence that China will ...

Beijing Olympics tickets won't be publicly sold due to Covid-19 situation

Most participants will arrive on special charter planes

China anti-virus measures in full-force after Beijing reports Omicron case

Beijing's first reported case of the omicron variant has prompted stepped-up measures in the nation's capital, just weeks before it hosts the Winter Olympic Games. Following the positive test announced Saturday, more than 13,000 people and all places visited by the patient over the previous days have been tested, according to state media. The person's apartment complex and workplace have been sealed off. The infected person lives and works in the city's northwestern district of Haidian and had no travel history outside of Beijing for the past two weeks, according to state media. State media on Monday reported the capital, with its 20 million residents, was considering stronger restrictions on travel. All transit links with Tianjin have already been severed. International flights have been sharply reduced and domestic travellers have been barred if they transferred to a second location before arriving in Beijing. No new cases were reported in Beijing on Monday, although the nearby c

Beijing tightens Covid-19 entry rules ahead of Winter Olympics

A day after Beijing reported its first case of the Omicron variant and as it readies to host the Winter Olympics next month, strict new Covid-19 restrictions come into force in the city.

Beijing reports first local omicron case ahead of Winter Olympics

Beijing has reported its first local omicron infection, according to state media, weeks before the Winter Olympic Games are due to start. The infected person lives and works in the city's northwestern district of Haidian and had no travel history outside of Beijing for the past two weeks. The individual experienced symptoms on Thursday and was tested on Friday for COVID-19, officials said in a news conference Saturday during which they confirmed the infection. The infection comes less than three weeks before the Winter Olympic Games' opening ceremony on Feb 4., and around two weeks before the start of Lunar New Year celebrations in China. So far, multiple cities in China have reported omicron infections, including Shanghai, the western city of Xi'an, cities in southern Guangdong province such as Zhuhai and Zhongshan, and the city of Tianjin, which is 30 minutes from Beijing by high-speed rail. Officials across the country have urged residents to stay in their cities for the new yea

Russian President Putin to attend Beijing Olympics opening ceremony

Russian President Vladimir Putin will attend the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics in Beijing and hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on February 4

Surging Covid-19 cases in China spoil planning for Beijing Olympics

Corona caseload in China is spiking at a time when the organisers of the Beijing Winter Olympic Games have less than a month to finalise their preparations

Beijing Games organisers back Covid-19 controls despite Omicron concerns

China has reported some cases of the more infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus as it battles small-scale outbreaks in several regions, less than a month before the Games are due to kick off

Omicron takes off in China, inches closer to Beijing before winter Olympics

There have been 21 new locally confirmed Covid cases in the city of Tianjin, after two omicron infections were found on Saturday.

N Korea won't attend Beijing Olympics, blames Covid and 'hostile forces'

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

China's Henan imposes more Covid curbs as cases spike, though numbers small

China's national policy of stamping out clusters quickly as they appear has taken on extra urgency in the run up to the Winter Games, being hosted by Beijing and nearby Hebei starting Feb. 4

Iron ore rises on hopes of China demand pick-up after Beijing Olympics

Iron ore futures rose on Thursday, on expectations of a recovery in Chinese demand for the steelmaking raw material after the Beijing 2022 Olympics next month

Omicron, Winter Olympics could be on clash with China's zero-Covid strategy

Omicron and Winter Olympics could be on a collision course with China hoping to implement a zero-Covid strategy ahead of the games.Perhaps it was naive to expect that China's rigid approach to fighting Covid-19 complete with locking down millions of people and using invasive surveillance to keep tabs on citizens would not eventually cause problems for the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics amid an ongoing global pandemic, according to CNN.Meanwhile, China is battling one of its worst outbreaks of the year in Xi'an, a city 600 miles southwest of Beijing, where 13 million residents are currently on lockdown.However, the long-term strategy will continue to slow economic growth and potentially stir social unrest. Last week the World Bank cut growth forecasts for China, citing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and poor performance in the property sector.On the other hand, China Communist Party (CCP) remains very much present at home. The massive security apparatus installed over the ...

IOC president Bach confident of safe, secure Winter Olympics in Beijing

International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach expressed confidence in a successful Beijing 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

China tightens travel restrictions in Tibet ahead of Olympics: Report

Chinese officials have tightened travel curbs in the Tibet region ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics and deployed a large police force in the regional capital Lhasa, a media report said

US allies divided over Biden's diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

Ahead of Beijing's Winter Olympics starting February next year, allies and partners of the United States are reportedly divided over the Biden admin's decision to diplomatically boycott the games