The Chinese city of Tianjin ordered a second round of COVID-19 testing for all of its 14 million residents on Wednesday after an initial screening of the population found 97 positive cases. The port city is about 100 kilometers southeast of the Winter Olympics host city of Beijing.   Authorities locked down several of the port city's contaminated districts as epidemiologists warned that the spread might have begun earlier than detected in last week’s screening. Tianjin authorities began tightening anti-virus and travel measures on January 9, fearing a prolonged outbreak.   Analysts who spoke with VOA Mandarin said the Chinese government finds Tianjin’s new cases particularly alarming due to the city’s proximity to Beijing, the host city for the 24th Winter Olympics, scheduled to open February 4 and run through February 20. It takes less than 30 minutes to travel between the two cities by high-speed rail.     Health experts said the rigid disease control lockdowns will be unsustainable as the more contagious variant omicron spreads across the country, which has adopted a zero-tolerance policy to fight the deadly coronavirus first detected in humans in China in late 2019.    “With omicron, there’s a high proportion of asymptomatic cases, so I believe the number of confirmed cases will keep increasing in the next few days,” said Twu Shiing-jer, former minister of Taiwan’s Department of Health and chairman of the Development Center for Biotechnology in Taipei.    “There’s a high probability that omicron will be brought to the Olympic Village in Beijing, since all the food and other logistic supplies will be transported into the venue from other cities,” he added.   Tianjin is the latest city placed under strict controls by Chinese authorities eager to contain COVID-19 outbreaks. Xi’an, the capital of Shaanxi Province in central China and until now perhaps best known as the home of thousands of ancient terra cotta warriors, is locked down, as are Anyang and Yuzhou, in China’s central Henan province.   Huang Chun, an official with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2022 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, said in a briefing on January 11 that unless there are large-scale outbreaks in the competition zones, “we don’t plan to adjust the COVID-19 control measures yet.”    He said that judging from the current situation, there’s no need to impose a lockdown in Beijing.     Tianjin’s “soft lockdown”    Tianjin reported 33 domestically transmitted coronavirus infections with confirmed symptoms on Tuesday, up from 10 on Monday, according to national data, which did not specify how many of the infections were omicron.  For now, most of the cases were found in the southeast area of Tianjin.   City officials ordered a half-day off for all employees and other institutions on Wednesday and required all residents to stay home unless they have pressing needs, such as health workers conducting the second round of mass testing, according to Reuters. In the meantime, authorities have suspended most of the transportation services between Tianjin and other cities. People who want to leave Tianjin must show a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of travel as well as approval for travel from their employer or local government offices.  VOA Mandarin spoke to several Tianjin residents on January 11 and most said their day-to-day routines remain little affected by the lockdown.   Ms. Wu, 69, who asked that her full name not be used so she would not attract official attention, said she returned to Tianjin from Beijing on December 23. Since she lives far from the contaminated districts, she said she can still go out to get groceries.   “I’m not worried. I have enough food stocked at home, I made sure to purchase all necessities in advance, and everyone has got two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, including my 6-year-old grandson,” she told VOA Mandarin.   She said she hadn’t noticed any food shortages, even though the supermarket was busier than usual on Sunday.  Tianjin resident Mr. Sun, 70, said that other than venturing out for nucleic acid tests, he’s stayed home watching TV for the past two days. Mr. Sun requested that VOA Mandarin not use his full name for fear of attracting official attention as well.  Li Wenbo, an assistant professor of economics at Tianjin University in China, told VOA Mandarin that he expects the new wave of the COVID-19 variant will have a limited impact on Tianjin’s economy.   “The authorities have taken swift actions. All schools, from kindergarten to universities, suspended classes immediately. Taking my school for example, final exams have been pushed until the start of the next semester, and all faculties are working from home now,” he told VOA Mandarin.   Li said that while there’s enough food, some of the city’s sectors, such as restaurants and entertainment, will likely take a hit from the latest outbreak    Li said he believes that China’s zero-tolerance policy explains why the economy is relatively normal. “Since China has been keeping COVID numbers low for two years, it doesn’t have to choose between people’s health and economic activities like developed countries in Europe and America.”   Olympic challenge   Twu, Taiwan’s former minister of health, is less optimistic. He argued that since omicron is one of the most contagious pathogens health workers have seen, it will be impossible for China to maintain the zero-tolerance policy. "It’s exceptionally difficult to completely contain the virus, especially for omicron. First, it’s highly contagious. Second, there will be so many asymptomatic cases compared to previous variants,” Twu told VOA Mandarin.   Even if the Beijing Olympics take place in a “closed loop,” he continued, there will be so much movement of people and goods to and from the Olympic sites “that some of the spread is almost inevitable.”      “Therefore, there are only two situations if China were to insist on a zero-tolerance policy,” Twu said. “One is to ‘pretend’ there are no cases, and the other is to be so strict with pandemic control measures, to the point that it cancels the Winter Olympic Games.”  ...

"Go outside," French President Emmanuel Macron demanded in a melee with Israeli security men on Wednesday, demanding they leave a Jerusalem basilica that he visited before a Holocaust memorial conference. France views it as a provocation when Israeli police enter the church's sandstone complex, in a part of Jerusalem captured and annexed by Israel in 1967 war....

At least 50 women were abducted by Islamic extremists in Burkina Faso’s northern Sahel region last week, a local official said Monday. The kidnappings occurred January 12 and 13, approximately 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the town of Arbinda in Soum province, Lt. Col. P.F. Rodolphe Sorgho, the governor of Sahel, said in a statement. The women were kidnapped while in the countryside gathering wild fruit, he said. Jihadi violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group has overrun Burkina Faso, killing thousands and displacing nearly 2 million people in the West African nation. The failure of successive governments to stop the fighting has caused widespread discontent and triggered two military coups in 2022, the second against the first military regime to seize power. The military junta that seized power in September, vowing to restore security, is still struggling to stem the violence. During the second week of this month, 116 security incidents were recorded, according to an internal report for aid groups seen by The Associated Press. The number represents more than 60% increase compared to the last week of December. Extremists have besieged towns around the country, preventing people and goods from moving freely. The town of Arbinda has been under jihadi blockade for years, making women more vulnerable to attacks if they try to leave, rights groups say. Former Arbinda Mayor Boureima Werem said the large-scale abductions were a new strategy and could point to a shift in extremists’ tactics. Ousmane Diallo, a researcher at Amnesty International’s regional office for West and Central Africa, called the kidnappings “a very concerning and serious development in Burkina Faso that exposes the vulnerability of women in areas under blockade.” “The rights of civilians and their rights to their livelihoods must be protected by all parties to the conflict," Diallo said. "There needs to be more attention and more protection of civilians by the government in these besieged towns, but also [a] tailored approach to the protection of women and girls.” Laith Alkhouri, CEO of Intelonyx Intelligence Advisory, which provides intelligence analysis, said the jihadis are trying to add pressure to the Burkinabe government. “Abductions are an easy way to score points and a bargaining card,” Alkhouri said. “These tactics are meant to add pressure on the government to provide concessions, such [as] ransom money, as well as highlight the ruling body as unable to protect its citizens, in the process creating fear among the locals and distrust between the public and the government.” ...

Biden acknowledged the shortages that hit several states ahead of the holidays, conceding that he had not done enough to prepare for the rising demand. ...

Last year saw the monarch attend a ‘mini’ Trooping the Colour amid coronavirus restrictions ...

US prosecutors said that Dallas Pokornik even requested to sit in an extra seat in the cockpit ...

Paul takes to the ring for the second time as a professional this year ...