China suspends ultramarathons after death of 21 runners

US President Joe Biden is set to ban Americans from investing in dozens of Chinese tech and defence firms with alleged military ties.

The new executive order will come into effect on 2 August, hitting 59 firms including communications giant Huawei. The list of firms will be updated on a rolling basis.

The move expands an order previously issued by ex-President Donald Trump.

Even before the official announcement, China suggested it would retaliate.

Under the new order, US investors will be banned from buying or selling publicly-traded securities for other companies including the China General Nuclear Power Corporation, China Mobile Limited and Costar Group.

It expands the previous list from 31 firms to include surveillance companies and is aimed at ensuring "US persons are not financing the military industrial complex of the People's Republic of China," one White House official said.

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US accuses China of acting more aggressively
"The prohibitions are intentionally targeted and scoped to maximise the impact on the targets while minimising harm to global markets," the official added.

Huawei recently said that sanctions imposed on it by the US in 2019 have had a major impact on its mobile phone business.

The US took action amid claims that the company posed a security risk and last July, and the UK said it would exclude the company from building its 5G network.

The new list of companies barred from US investment will update one from the Department of Defense.

"We fully expect that in the months ahead... we'll be adding additional companies to the new executive order's restrictions," the White House said.

It comes as the surveillance of citizens, including Uyghurs in the Xinjiang region in particular, has come under scrutiny.

The Biden administration has also accused China of acting more aggressively abroad and more repressively at home.

The China-US relationship is crucial to both sides and the wider world, with Beijing repeatedly calling on the new administration in Washington to improve relations which deteriorated under predecessor Donald Trump.

In their first meeting under the Biden presidency last month, the two countries' top trade negotiators held "candid, pragmatic" talks on their trading relationship.

President Biden has insisted, however, that existing tariffs will be kept in place for now as he looks to boost the US economy, which was hit hard early in the pandemic but is now recovering.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin suggested China would retaliate against the latest measures.

"China will take necessary measures to resolutely safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of Chinese enterprises and resolutely support Chinese enterprises in safeguarding their rights and interests in accordance with the law," he said.
China has suspended all ultramarathon and long-distance races after 21 runners died when extreme weather struck a race last month.

High winds and freezing rain hit participants in a 100km (60-mile) ultramarathon in Gansu province.

The race was halted when some of the 172 runners went missing, and a rescue operation was launched.

Now China is suspending all high-risk sports events that lack clear oversight, rules and safety standards.

Severe weather kills 21 runners in China ultramarathon
The suspended sports include trail running, desert trekking, wingsuit flying and ultra-long distance races, according to a statement by China's General Administration of Sport.

It is unclear how long the suspension will last.

According to the Chinese Athletic Association, 481 trail races and 25 ultra-marathons were held in 2019.

What happened in the race?
The ill-fated race took place in Yellow River Stone Forest, a tourist site in Gansu province, on 22 May.

Runners set off at 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT), with some wearing just shorts and T-shirts.
China has suspended all ultramarathon and long-distance races after 21 runners died when extreme weather struck a race last month.

High winds and freezing rain hit participants in a 100km (60-mile) ultramarathon in Gansu province.

The race was halted when some of the 172 runners went missing, and a rescue operation was launched.

Now China is suspending all high-risk sports events that lack clear oversight, rules and safety standards.

Severe weather kills 21 runners in China ultramarathon
The suspended sports include trail running, desert trekking, wingsuit flying and ultra-long distance races, according to a statement by China's General Administration of Sport.

It is unclear how long the suspension will last.

According to the Chinese Athletic Association, 481 trail races and 25 ultra-marathons were held in 2019.

What happened in the race?
The ill-fated race took place in Yellow River Stone Forest, a tourist site in Gansu province, on 22 May.

Runners set off at 09:00 local time (01:00 GMT), with some wearing just shorts and T-shirts.
Portugal will be removed from the UK's green travel list from Tuesday, amid rising coronavirus cases and concern over a "Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant".

It will join the amber list, meaning holidaymakers should not visit and returnees must isolate for 10 days.

Seven nations - including Egypt, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka - will join the red list, with the toughest travel rules.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the move was a "safety-first approach".

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have confirmed they will adopt the same changes.

Countries have their own rules about allowing visitors, so being on the UK's green list does not guarantee travellers can visit.

Travel sector voices dismay over rule changes
What are the rules for green, amber and red lists?
More than half of UK adults fully vaccinated
The red list will expand to include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago. People arriving in the UK from these destinations will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days at a fixed cost of £1,750 per adult.

The changes come into effect at 04:00 BST on Tuesday.

No new countries will be added to the green list, Mr Shapps said.

The removal of Portugal means the green list will, from Tuesday, consist of: Australia, Brunei, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

Portugal will be removed from the UK's green travel list from Tuesday, amid rising coronavirus cases and concern over a "Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant".

It will join the amber list, meaning holidaymakers should not visit and returnees must isolate for 10 days.

Seven nations - including Egypt, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka - will join the red list, with the toughest travel rules.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the move was a "safety-first approach".

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have confirmed they will adopt the same changes.

Countries have their own rules about allowing visitors, so being on the UK's green list does not guarantee travellers can visit.

Travel sector voices dismay over rule changes
What are the rules for green, amber and red lists?
More than half of UK adults fully vaccinated
The red list will expand to include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago. People arriving in the UK from these destinations will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days at a fixed cost of £1,750 per adult.

The changes come into effect at 04:00 BST on Tuesday.

No new countries will be added to the green list, Mr Shapps said.

The removal of Portugal means the green list will, from Tuesday, consist of: Australia, Brunei, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

Portugal will be removed from the UK's green travel list from Tuesday, amid rising coronavirus cases and concern over a "Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant".

It will join the amber list, meaning holidaymakers should not visit and returnees must isolate for 10 days.

Seven nations - including Egypt, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka - will join the red list, with the toughest travel rules.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the move was a "safety-first approach".

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have confirmed they will adopt the same changes.

Countries have their own rules about allowing visitors, so being on the UK's green list does not guarantee travellers can visit.

Travel sector voices dismay over rule changes
What are the rules for green, amber and red lists?
More than half of UK adults fully vaccinated
The red list will expand to include Afghanistan, Bahrain, Costa Rica, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Trinidad and Tobago. People arriving in the UK from these destinations will be required to stay in a quarantine hotel for 10 days at a fixed cost of £1,750 per adult.

The changes come into effect at 04:00 BST on Tuesday.

No new countries will be added to the green list, Mr Shapps said.

The removal of Portugal means the green list will, from Tuesday, consist of: Australia, Brunei, the Falkland Islands, the Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Singapore, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Portugal will be removed from the UK's green travel list from Tuesday, amid rising coronavirus cases and concern over a "Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant".

It will join the amber list, meaning holidaymakers should not visit and returnees must isolate for 10 days.

Seven nations - including Egypt, Costa Rica and Sri Lanka - will join the red list, with the toughest travel rules.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the move was a "safety-first approach".
A cruise ship has arrived in Venice for the first time since the Covid pandemic began, despite a ban on such vessels entering the city's historic centre.

The MSC Orchestra is due to pick-up about 650 passengers on Saturday for a Mediterranean voyage.

All of them must produce negative Covid tests before they are allowed to board.

But environmental protesters are planning a rally, saying cruise ships are eroding the foundations of the historic Italian city.

A rival demonstration is also expected on Saturday in support of the resumption of the tourist season.

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In a separate development, celebrities and cultural figures - including Mick Jagger and Francis Ford Coppola - have signed an open letter calling for a complete ban on large vessels docking in Venice.

In the letter to the Italian government, which was compiled by the Venetian Heritage Foundation, the celebrities said the city risked being "swept away" by cruise ships.

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