The Premier League kicks off this weekend and one of the most highly anticipated games of the opening weekend sees Chelsea host Liverpool – but not necessarily because of on-field matters.

The build-up to this game has been focused less on the teams’ first match of the new campaign and how they will do this season and more about which club might sign Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Moisés Caicedo.

In one of the most topsy-turvy transfer sagas of recent history, Caicedo is being pursued by Liverpool and reportedly by Chelsea with nobody seemingly knowing which the 21-year-old will play for.

Liverpool has made a £111 million ($141 million) bid for the midfielder, but whether the Ecuadorian international signs for the 2019 Premier League champion remains to be seen.

Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp confirmed in a press conference on Friday that the club had agreed a transfer fee with Brighton for Caicedo.

The BBC reported the fee for the Brighton star is $141 million, which would break the British and Premier League transfer record. The record is currently held by Chelsea after the London club paid Benfica £107m ($135 million) for Argentine midfielder Enzo Fernandez earlier this year.

Speaking earlier on Friday, Klopp said: “I got told I can confirm a deal with [Brighton] is agreed.

“What did change is that we are a club with not endless resources, so things we didn’t expect, a couple of things happening in the summer [Jordan Henderson and Fabinho leaving], stuff like this,” added Klopp, referring to the two former Liverpool midfielders, who have recently joined clubs in Saudi Arabia.

“We didn’t think about that before the summer, to be honest and when it happened, we gave it a go and obviously, the club was really stretched there, to be honest.”

However, in an extraordinary turn of events, Liverpool’s hopes of signing the 21-year-old midfielder appear premature with Caicedo reportedly, according to Sky Sports, favoring a move to Chelsea.

After arriving at Brighton from Independiente del Valle for £4.5 million ($5.7 million), Ecuadorian midfielder Caicedo has impressed during his time in the Premier League.

Following his performances, Caicedo has been highly sought after by some of England’s biggest clubs.

Arsenal reportedly bid for the 21-year-old midfielder in this year’s January transfer window, and Chelsea have long been linked with the Brighton star.

During the January transfer window Caicedo took to Instagram to plead for a move away. Caicedo was also reportedly told to steer clear of the Brighton training ground until the window closed, though he then signed a new-long term contract with the south coast club in March.

“I have already forgotten about Moises,” Brighton manager De Zerbi told a media conference on Friday. “I’m really proud of the players we have in the squad.

“We want to keep improving. The credit goes to the club. Bigger clubs can buy our players but they can’t buy our soul or spirit.

“We are Brighton, we achieved a big target last year – the same as Liverpool, better than Chelsea. I would like players who are proud to play in Brighton.”

The new Premier League season gets underway Friday with reigning champion Manchester City heading to newly promoted Burnley.

Golf’s debate around pace of play is showing no signs of slowing.

Two weeks after being disqualified from the Evian Championship for refusing to add a slow play penalty to her scorecard, Carlota Ciganda has upped the tempo at the Women’s Open – but is not conceding defeat in the defense of her game speed.

The Spanish golf star slammed the “very poor” performance of LPGA Tour rules officials after her early exit from the French major, claiming they did not “understand what professional golf is about” in an Instagram story.

Speaking to reporters after her opening round at Walton Heath Golf Club in Surrey, England, on Thursday, Ciganda admitted she had upped her pace around the greens but questioned the “subjective” nature of slow play penalties.

“You have to understand that it’s professional golf and we are playing for a living and sometimes majors, if you hit it in the rough or a bad situation, it’s going to take longer,” said Ciganda, who opened with a two-under 70, two shots short of the round-best score.

“If you make a bogey, it’s just a couple more minutes, so I think they should understand that a bit more.

“They always say the time starts when it’s your turn to play, but when is that? It’s just so subjective. I think in the end, if they put a referee in every group, a lot of girls, they will be penalized and I think sometimes it’s not fair.”

While Ciganda – who was also hit with a slow play penalty at a 2021 match play event – admitted she could play faster, the 33-year-old argued that other slower players on tour were not being penalized to the same extent.

“At the end of the day, I’m here to play golf and I’m trying to do my best. I think I am a nice person and I respect everyone when I play, so I just hope they can do the same with me,” Ciganda said.

“I know I’m not quick, I know that there are a lot of quicker players out there, but I think there are a lot of slow players and they don’t get penalized and they don’t get timed as much as I do, so I don’t think that’s fair.”

Korda defends rules

On the eve of the tournament, world No. 1 Nelly Korda offered a defense of slow play penalties being imposed.

The American, regarded as one of the LPGA Tour’s faster players, said the R&A and USGA’s Rules of Golf guidelines – which maintain golfers should aim to play a shot within 40 seconds – were necessary.

“I really like Carlota. She’s a great person. I enjoy playing with her,” Korda told reporters.

“I am a fast player, but I would say at the end of the day, The Rules of Golf are The Rules of Golf, and it’s good that it’s being enforced.

“If I’m being honest, if I was a spectator and I was out here for five-and-a-half hours to six hours, it’s tough to watch. You want to watch a sport that’s continuously moving and not continuously stalling. I would say I think it’s really important for the rules officials to enforce The Rules of Golf.

“I would say that, sometimes, it does throw off your rhythm as a golfer to play with someone that’s a little slower. But you just kind of have to adapt and play your best with the situation at hand.”

Chasing a second major title, Korda opened with a frustrating one-over 73 that left her five shots adrift of compatriot and first round leader Ally Ewing.

Ewing surges clear

World no. 39 Ewing accelerated with a stunning Friday showing, a run of four consecutive birdies firing her towards a six-under 66 second round and lifting her to 10-under overall.

The 30-year-old has recorded top-20 finishes at all five majors but has never finished inside the top-five at any of the flagship events.

Yet Ewing is battling more than just a star-studded field in Surrey. The Mississippi-born golfer was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes shortly after gaining her LPGA Tour card in 2016 and carries a device with her on the course to monitor her blood sugar.

“It’s tough. Some days are tougher than others, but it’s manageable,” Ewing told reporters Friday.

“It’s something that I have to be aware of on a golf course, not just my golf, which can sometimes be a little distracting … I don’t feel spikes as much. The lows, I can feel pretty loopy. I can feel shaky. It honestly changes every time. Like I might not always feel like that. Sometimes, I just feel very fatigued all of a sudden.

“I keep Gatorade in my golf bag, take six ounces or so to get it to come back up and stay on top of my snacks and stuff.”

Eight additional criminal complaints were filed Thursday in connection with an investigation into alleged student-athlete gambling at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa, court records show.

Four more football players with Iowa State are facing aggravated misdemeanor charges of tampering with records for allegedly falsifying “personal electronic sports wagering records by concealing [their] personal identity,” according to the criminal complaints filed Thursday.

Four criminal complaints also were filed in connection with the University of Iowa’s football program, where a current player, two former players and a graduate assistant all now face aggravated misdemeanor charges of tampering with records.

None of the individuals named in the criminal complaints filed in Story and Johnson counties have attorneys listed at this time.

Authorities revealed last week that Hunter Dekkers, the starting quarterback for all 12 Iowa State football games last season, is among several athletes charged in Iowa district court in Story County in connection with an investigation into alleged student-athlete gambling at Iowa State University and the University of Iowa.

Dekkers faces a charge of tampering with records, with the state alleging Dekkers attempted to disguise his identity while betting on sports events. The criminal complaint alleges bets were made from Dekkers’ phone using a DraftKings account set up under the name of a family member. He has denied the accusations.

A former Iowa State football player who was recently suspended by the NFL, a current Iowa State player and a wrestler also were charged.

A record-breaking Norwegian climber has hit out at what she calls “misinformation and hatred” surrounding claims she and her team climbed over a dying porter on K2 to summit the deadly peak.

Last month, Kristin Harila and Nepalese Tenjin Sherpa – known as Lama – smashed the record for the fastest summit of all 14 of the world’s 8,000-meter (26,000-feet) mountains. They completed the feat in three months and one day after climbing Pakistan’s K2, the last peak on their quest and considered to be more technically challenging than Mount Everest.

But their achievement has now been overshadowed by shocking claims that dozens of climbers walked past a Pakistani porter who fell off a sheer edge, was hanging upside down in ropes and later died.

Austrian climber Wilhelm Steindl was on the mountain that day, according to an interview he did with the Austrian newspaper The Standard on Tuesday. But he decided to turn back when conditions became too dangerous, he said.

Steindl and Flämig said they later spoke with witnesses to confirm what had happened and ascertain the victim’s identity.

“Through the accounts of three different eyewitnesses, I can report that this man was still alive while about 50 people were walking past him,” Flämig told The Standard. “This is also visible in the drone footage. He is being treated by one person while everyone else is striving towards the summit.

“The fact is that there was no organized rescue operation, although there were Sherpas, but also mountain guides on site who could have taken action. No one can claim that they could have made the diagnosis there that the person can no longer be helped.”

Though the men did not identify those who passed Hassan, Flämig told The Standard that in addition to Harila, two other climbers were aiming for a record.

Steindl added: “What happened there is a disgrace. A living human being is left lying there so that records can be achieved.”

The Standard also cited a quote Harila gave to Germany’s Süddeutsche Zeitung in which she said a Pakistani porter had fallen “in front of” her group, and “after our descent, we learned that he had died.”

“We tried to save him for many hours,” she said, adding that it was a “very narrow” trail and the conditions this year were exceptionally bad. The incident had happened many hours before the video was filmed and in the middle of the night, she also said.

According to Harila, she and Lama were eventually forced to leave the scene to check on the rest of her team amid reports of an avalanche.

However, her cameraman Gabriel stayed behind and continued to provide the mountain porter with oxygen and warm water – trying to warm him up enough so that he could walk. Gabriel was eventually forced to leave the scene when his oxygen supplies started running low, Harila said.

Harila has also responded to the allegations at length on her website.

‘[We] did everything we could’

Reacting angrily to what she called the “insensitive” sharing of videos and photographs of the tragedy without consent, she relayed her account of what happened in the early hours of that day.

She gave a detailed account on Thursday of how she and her team spent 90 minutes trying to help Hassan, along with one of his friends, on the route.

“This was no one’s fault, you cannot comment when you do not understand the situation, and sending death threats is never okay,” she wrote, without elaborating on who sent death threats. “Lama, myself and especially Gabriel [her cameraman on the mountain], did everything we could for him at the time.”

Harila goes into lengthy detail about the efforts she said she and her team made to pull Hassan up after he fell about 5 meters (16.4 feet).

She said that when they came across Hassan, “he was not wearing a down suit, and his stomach was exposed to snow, wind and low temperature, making it extremely dangerous.”

They attempted to move him closer to the path, she said. However, “an avalanche went off around the corner” and some of the team had to split off to help other climbers.

“When we got in contact with the fixing team we realised they were okay. Lama continued to the front and I stayed behind and asked the Sherpas if they were turning around. They said yes, and as we understood it that meant there was more help going to Hassan. We decided to continue forward as too many people in the bottleneck would make it more dangerous for a rescue. Considering the amount of people that stayed behind and that had turned around, I believed Hassan would be getting all the help he could, and that he would be able to get down. We did not fully understand the gravity of everything that happened until later,” Harila added.

She said: “Back in Base Camp, we heard that people thought no one had helped him but we had. We had done our best, especially Gabriel. It is truly tragic what happened, and I feel very strongly for the family. If anything, I hope we can learn something from this tragedy. Everyone that goes up a summit needs proper training, proper equipment and proper guidance.”

Following the accident, Steindl set up an online fundraising page for the victim’s family, including his three young sons. It has since raised more than 100,000 euros ($110,000).

Ukraine has removed Soviet-era signage from a hilltop monument in Kyiv, amid a conflict that has seen the country fight to reassert its cultural identity in the face of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Kyiv last week replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol with a trident – the Ukrainian coat of arms – on the shield of the Motherland Monument, which dominates the capital’s skyline.

“We believe that this change will be the beginning of a new stage in the revival of our culture and identity, the final rejection of Soviet and Russian symbols and narratives,” the Ukrainian culture ministry said. The week-long operation to dismantle the Russian insignia was completed on August 6, according to the ministry.

The monument, a 102 meter-tall statue that towers over the surrounding area, is made of steel. Its construction began in 1979, and it depicted a woman holding a sword and a shield emblazoned with the Soviet hammer and sickle symbol.

The Russian Foreign Ministry insisted on Sunday that “mother cannot be renamed.”

“In Kiev, a trident was installed on the monument ‘Motherland,’” the ministry’s spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Telegram, using the Russian spelling of Kyiv. The Ukrainian government’s campaign to switch the international name from the Russian Kiev to Ukrainian Kyiv was part of pre-war efforts by the Ukrainian government to get rid of old Soviet names and establish a stronger sense of national identity.

“This is the whole essence of the Kiev regime and the cyborgs led by it. Mother cannot be renamed. She is one. And the only thing you can do with it is to love. And they don’t know how.”

Putin’s desire to undermine Ukrainian national identity and autonomy has remained a key motivation for the conflict.

When the Kremlin launched its invasion in February 2022 Putin suggested Ukraine had no right to exist as an independent state, identifying the eastern part of the country “ancient Russian lands.”

Shelling from Moscow has wiped out significant architectural landmarks in Ukraine over the past year, including most recently in the historic city center of Odesa, which UNESCO designated a World Heritage Site amid the threat of Russia’s invasion.

Asserting national identity

Kyiv has seen much change in recent years. The Moscow Bridge, a 816 meter-long structure over the Dnieper river, was renamed in 2018 as the Northern Bridge.

The quad that once celebrated Soviet statesmen Andrei Ivanov has been the Latvian Square since 2018. The triangular plaza is sandwiched between the Butyshiv Lane and Omelyanovich-Pavlenko Street, previously known as Andriy Ivanov Street and Susorov Suvorov Street.

Ukrainian flags feature prominently across the city, with a red star on top of the famous Hotel Ukraine being repainted blue and yellow.

A mile-long street stretching across one of Kyiv’s residential neighborhoods was once known as the Ivan Kudrya Street. In 2019, it was renamed John McCain Street, in honor of the former US presidential candidate.

“It’s a good thing. Kudryn was exploding our churches and historical objects, whereas McCain actually helped Ukraine,” he added.

McCain won the hearts of Ukrainians when he traveled to Kyiv in late 2013, meeting opposition leaders and even visiting the Maidan Square, the site of anti-government protests.

Kudrya, meanwhile, was a Soviet spy and a leader of a sabotage group in Kyiv during World War II. When the Kyiv city council announced the renaming of the street, it said his main task was “to fight Ukrainian nationalists.”

“McCain was the one who spoke to US senators and the US government so that sent help to Ukraine … meanwhile, Russia, our brother country, is now the aggressor towards us. So I think it’s the right thing,” Pobigay added.

Asylum-seekers have been removed from a controversial barge in southern England after Legionella bacteria was discovered in the water – days after experts warned of the risk of infection.

Thirty-nine asylum-seekers disembarked the Bibby Stockholm barge, a UK Home Office spokesperson said in a statement Friday – just days after they were first housed in it.

Legionella bacteria, which is commonly found in water, and can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a serious lung infection. The spokesperson said that no individuals on board the barge showed symptoms of Legionnaires’ and that the asylum-seekers were being provided with appropriate advice and support.

“The samples taken relate only to the water system on the vessel itself and therefore carry no direct risk indication for the wider community of Portland nor do they relate to fresh water entering the vessel,” the statement said adding that Legionnaires’ does not spread from person to person.

The discovery of the bacteria comes at the end of what the UK government had billed as “Small Boats Week” – a campaign hoping to demonstrate the action it had taken to limit the number of asylum-seekers arriving in the country via small vessels across the English Channel.

The government announced in April its plans to house around 500 single adult men on the Bibby Stockholm, which was meant to serve as a deterrent to those hoping to seek asylum in the UK. The barge was originally designed to house 222 people, but was retrofitted to increase its capacity.

On Tuesday, the first asylum seekers boarded the barge in Portland, on the Dorset coast, despite public health experts warning of the possible risk of infection in living conditions that campaigners branded as inhumane.

The UK’s Fire Brigades Union has also described the barge as a “death trap” and an “accident waiting to happen.”

Human rights campaign groups quickly responded to the discovery of Legionella in the barge’s water.

The UK government has made stemming the flow of asylum-seekers to Britain a priority, as the number of migrants arriving on small boats across the English Channel last year reached around 46,000 – a record level.

On Thursday, the number of Channel crossings hit a record daily high, with 755 people making the dangerous journey.

Collin Morikawa will donate $1,000 for every birdie he makes on the PGA Tour this month to support those affected by the devastating wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, the American golfer announced Thursday.

The two-time major champion will set aside the sum for each birdie holed across three FedEx Cup Playoff events, starting with the FedEx St. Jude Championship, which teed off in Memphis, Tennessee, on Thursday.

On course to be the “largest natural disaster in Hawaii’s state history,” according to Hawaii Governor Josh Green, catastrophic wildfires have decimated the island of Maui.

At least 55 people have died and thousands have been displaced amid widespread destruction, with the historic whaling village of Lahaina “burnt to the ground,” Mayor Richard Bissen said Thursday.

Though Morikawa was born and raised in California, his family emigrated to Maui from Japan, with his grandparents owning a restaurant in Lahaina. The restaurant was burnt down in the fires, according to the PGA Tour.

Announcing his plans to donate via a post on Instagram, the 26-year-old posted a picture of a newspaper clipping that advertised the Morikawa Restaurant, adding that Maui has “always held a special place in my heart.”

“Homes have been destroyed, families displaced and it’s far from over,” he wrote. “The people of Hawaii are going to need all the support that we can give them.”

Morikawa said in the post that he had not yet determined the best place to send the funds raised, but told the PGA Tour later on Thursday that donations would be directed to Maui United Way and World Central Kitchen.

“I know I’m going to ask my sponsors, I’m going to ask people that I know just to help out,” Morikawa added. “Anything helps. Really anything. Per birdie I make, whatever you can afford, whatever you want to put in.

“I want to make a lot of birdies for them. One of our friends texted me, and they’re like, ‘Okay, $100,000.’ I’m like, ‘Shoot, 100 birdies in three tournaments?’ I don’t know if that’s ever been done. But it would be a great feat to say the least.

“It’s hard not to think about it, but at the end of the day, I’m here to win. It’s in the back of my mind for sure. It’s extra motivation and just perspective I think while we’re out there.”

The world No. 22 has already added $6,000 to the pot, having holed six birdies during an impressive opening round at the FedEx St. Jude Championship on Thursday.

Only compatriot Jordan Spieth and South Korea’s Tom Kim started better in the 70-player field at TPC Southwind. Ahead of the start of Friday’s round, Morikawa is two shots behind Spieth at five-under.

The 50 best performing players will progress to the BMW Championship, the second playoff event in Illinois, Chicago, which will determine the top-30 players to compete at the season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.

For more information on how to help relief efforts in Hawaii, click here.

Sweden will face Spain in the semifinals of the Women’s World Cup after beating Japan 2-1 in a thrilling encounter on Friday.

Defender Amanda Ilestedt continued her remarkable goalscoring run to break the deadlock in the first half with her fourth goal of the tournament, before Filippa Angeldal’s second-half penalty doubled Sweden’s lead.

Riko Ueki missed a penalty late on for Japan, but Honoka Hayashi’s goal with three minutes of regulation time remaining ensured a heart-pounding finish.

Despite sustained pressure throughout 10 minutes of stoppage time, Japan was unable to find a second goal as Sweden held on to reach a fifth Women’s World Cup semifinal.

It was certainly an underwhelming end to the tournament for a Japan team that had thrilled at this World Cup and one that many had down as the favorite to win this tie.

The disappointment of defeat was etched onto the faces of the Japan squad, many of them reduced to tears at the full-time whistle. Winners in 2011, the team’s performances in Australia and New Zealand had given fans hope of claiming a second World Cup title.

However, an experienced Sweden team proved to be a step too far and Japan’s elimination means there is will be a first-time winner of the competition, another indicator of the recent growth of the women’s game.

Two games from glory

This Sweden team has regularly had to deal with the pressure of being labeled the country’s ‘Golden Generation.’

The squad came so close to living up to that moniker two years ago, but lost to Canada in the gold medal match at the rescheduled 2020 Olympic Games.

Boasting experience and star names from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, Sweden was always going to be among the favorites to lift the trophy Down Under and the team has continued to improve with each game.

The penalty shootout win over the United States in the round of 16 would have given the Swedes a huge confidence boost – they certainly played that way against Japan, dominating their opponent from the opening minute.

Ilestedt gave Sweden the lead its early pressure merited just after the half hour mark, poking the ball home after pinball in the box following a corner kick.

Those attacking instincts have now helped the defender score four goals at this World Cup, putting her just one behind Japan’s Hinata Miyazawa in the race for the tournament’s Golden Boot award for the top goalscorer.

It had been all Sweden so far, with Japan – now trailing for the first time all tournament – unable to even register a shot after 30 minutes.

But rather than spark Japan into action, the team seemed to retreat further into its shell against a Sweden team that was now brimming with confidence.

Midfielder Kosovare Asllani was a whisker away from doubling Sweden’s lead just before half time, but her strike was tipped brilliantly onto the post by Japan goalkeeper Ayaka Yamashita, who strained every sinew to ensure the score remained 1-0.

For Japan, things went from bad to worse almost immediately after the break.

It was another corner kick that gave Japan trouble and again Ilestedt was involved, this time flicking a ball into the box that struck the outstretched arm of Fuka Nagano.

After initially missing the incident, referee Esther Staubli awarded the penalty after a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review and Angeldal made no mistake from the spot.

Trailing by two goals, it took Japan until the 70th minute to finally come to life. Aoba Fujino found space in the box and fired a shot towards the bottom corner, but Zećira Mušović got down quickly to palm the ball away to safety.

But Japan’s pressure continued to build and the team was given a route back into the match when Madelen Janogy tripped Riko Ueki in the penalty area. Ueki took the penalty, but smashed her effort onto the crossbar.

Japan hit the woodwork again – the crossbar and post in one from Fujino’s free-kick – before finally breaking through Sweden’s defense as Honoka Hayashi pounced on a loose ball to fire past Mušović.

Hayashi’s goal ensured a grandstand finish, but Japan had left it far too late.

Spain edged past the Netherlands after extra time in a 2-1 win on Friday in Wellington, New Zealand to reach its first Women’s World Cup semifinals.

Mariona Caldentey’s penalty after a VAR-reviewed handball decision looked to have won the match for Spain with just nine minutes remaining, but Stefanie van der Gragt – whose handball had gifted La Roja its penalty – drilled home a brilliant effort in the first minute of added time.

In a tense period of extra time, teenage substitute Salma Paralluelo struck the winner after 111 minutes with a left-footed effort off the inside of the far post to make history for Spain.

Spain will play Sweden in the semifinals after the Swedes beat Japan 2-1 in the day’s other quarterfinal match.

China has lifted pandemic-era restrictions on group tours for more countries, including key markets such as the United States, Japan, South Korea and Australia, in a potential boon for their tourism industries.

The decision was announced by China’s culture and tourism ministry on Thursday, effective immediately.

Prior to the pandemic, mainland Chinese tourists spent more than any other country’s tourists when abroad, clocking up a combined $255 billion in 2019 with group tours estimated to account for roughly 60% of that.

Their absence since the pandemic has led to financial troubles for many tourism-dependent businesses around the globe.

US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo described the step as “a significant win” for the US tourism industry and said it was the result of “months of hard work” between the US Commerce Department and the Chinese culture and tourism ministry.

Germany and the UK were also among the countries for which restrictions were lifted but Canada, which has had especially politically fraught relations with China of late, was not reinstated.

It was China’s third list of countries to receive approvals. The first batch – approved in January – included 20 countries such as Thailand, Russia, Cuba and Argentina. The second batch in March included 40 countries, among them Nepal, France, Portugal and Brazil.

China has never explained its staggered approach to approvals but analysts have noted that the countries taking time to gain approval have had more political and/or trade tension with the world’s second-largest economy.

The move was also welcomed by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida as well as tourism ministers in South Korea and Australia, who said it would boost their economies.

“This is another positive step towards the stabilization of our relationship with China,” said Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell.

Just how much outbound Chinese tourism will bounce back for the latest group of countries remains to be seen. Expectations that demand would come roaring back after borders were re-opened have to date been largely unfulfilled.

International flights in and out of China have recovered to only 53% of 2019 levels as of July 2023.

That is in large part due to staffing issues for many global airlines that have limited the flying of more routes, slow visa issuance for Chinese travelers amid backlogs in many Western countries, and a sputtering domestic economy that is discouraging many holidaying Chinese from spending big.

In response to the news, some Chinese said online that they were less than enthusiastic about international trips.

“I don’t want to go; I feel domestic travel is pretty good, such as the beautiful scenery in Xinjiang and the Northeast and the food is cheap,” said one Weibo user with the handle @Chongshengshilangbushilang.

But others were more upbeat.

“Despite a cooling overall economy, 40% of (Chinese) people say they will spend more on travel,” said Steve Saxon, a partner at McKinsey & Co. “People want to spend the money they’ve saved during COVID on international travel.”

Trip.com, China’s largest travel agency, noted that the news had led to a spike in searches for destinations including Australia and Japan. Those countries, along with several other Asian nations and the United States, are among the most visited by Chinese travelers.

“The opening of group travel from China to the U.S. is a significant milestone,” said Adam Burke, head of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention Board. “It’s impossible to overstate the importance of Chinese tourism to Los Angeles.”

Two sources in South Korea’s travel industry told Reuters it was the first time group tours from China would be allowed on a large scale since a 2016 dispute over Seoul’s deployment of a U.S. missile defense system. China has never publicly acknowledged limiting group tours to South Korea.