US announces diplomatic boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics

We start with the British papers, which are reporting on "Black Thursday", after four of Boris Johnson's closest aides resigned and the government warned of major price hikes. Also, a US pastor in Tennessee makes headlines by burning Harry Potter and other fantasy books that he says threaten his religious rights. Finally, we take a look at some of the athletes who will be gracing us with their talents in Beijing!

We take a look at the business of this year's Winter Olympics. A report suggests the true cost is 10 times more than the official $3.9 billion price tag, but Beijing is banking on other benefits. Also, Amazon reports another strong sales quarter, with its advertising business playing an increasingly significant role.

Posts on social media claim that US Olympic athletes received a poor welcome in China. In the video being shared on Twitter, you can see Chinese basketball fans racially insulting an athlete with the N-word. When did this incident actually take place?Then, did Justin Trudeau admit to a 600 million dollar bribe to the media?We tell you more in this edition of Truth or Fake.

In the past year authorities have used the law to close independent media and arrest or jail leaders of the pro-democracy protests. Many have left Hong Kong. Of those who remain, few are willing to speak out. DW's Phoebe Kong met one of them.

We look at a Russian doping scandal involving a budding ice skating champion at the Winter Olympics. Also in Russia, a teenager is sentenced to prison for trying to blow up the Russian intelligence agency in a video game. Plus, a woman says the viral word game Wordle saved her from a terrifying home invasion and finally, we bring you the darling of the US Olympic curling team!

The Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics are being held in a "closed-loop" system, where participants and visitors are separated from the public because of Covid-19. It's the perfect environment to push the limits of modern technology and Beijing is showcasing a whole host of innovations, from 5G to robots and from 8K broadcasting to its digital currency, the e-CNY. Peter O'Brien takes us through some of the breakthroughs and controversies surrounding tech at the Games.

He is the most famous Chinese dissident and one of the best-known contemporary artists in the world. Ai Weiwei was harassed by the Chinese authorities, who bulldozed his Shanghai studio, sent him to jail without charge and drove him out of his country. After the February 2 publication of the French translation of his memoir, "1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows", the artist sat with Eve Jackson to talk about the moment in a Chinese prison when he decided to write his life’s story for his son and what he learned growing up in a labour camp with his persecuted father, the poet Ai Qing.

In Day 12 at the Olympics, seven medals were up for grabs. A last-minute replacement helped Germany win gold in the cross-country team sprint, while Slovakia elimnated the United States in men's ice hockey.

Jamaica has a four-man bobsled team in the Olympics for the first time since 1998. Too young to witness the famous 1988 team but big fans of "Cool Runnings," this year's team wants to add to Jamaica's bobsled legacy.

The omicron variant is driving case numbers in parts of China to levels not seen since coronavirus first emerged. But keeping case numbers at near zero means continued disruptions and lockdowns.

Brussels is seeking to warn Beijing about supporting Russia's invasion of Ukraine — and to use its influence to stop the war. Some experts, however, are skeptical about what can be achieved during the EU-China summit.