This is the Global News Podcast from the BBC World Service.

I'm Andrew Peachan at 14 hours GMT on Tuesday,

10 January. These are our main stories.

China stops issuing visas to people from Japan and South Korea

in retaliation for anti-COVID restrictions imposed on its travellers.

Heavy casualties mount on both sides as Russian and Ukrainian troops

engage in fierce trench warfare in the eastern town of Solodar.

President Joe Biden's accused of keeping potentially classified documents in his private office.

And it looks to be a successful ignition of the Stage 1 engine

as we make our way to space.

It started so well, but the UK's first rocket taking satellites into space ends in failure.

Also in this podcast, flooding in California claims lives and leaves tens of thousands without

power and its publication day for Prince Harry's controversial autobiography.

China is getting tougher on countries it thinks are discriminating against its travellers

following its surge in COVID cases. It's now stopped issuing short-term visas to

individual some South Korea and Japan. Chinese citizens have been allowed to travel more

freely since the country's zero COVID policy was abandoned and that's led to dozens of countries

imposing testing and flight restrictions. The Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin

called on countries to base their COVID-19 prevention measures on scientific facts.

Regrettably, however, a small number of countries still insist on adopting discriminatory entry

restrictions against China, disregarding scientific facts and the actual situation of the epidemic

in their own countries. China firmly opposes this and will take reciprocal measures.

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