Human rights activists on Monday (October 19) urged governments and athletes world-wide to boycott the 2022 Winter Olympics in China as Athens prepared to hand over the Olympic flame to Beijing in a ceremony in the capital, saying that anything less would make the world complicit in what they called 'genocide' by Beijing. China's treatment of minorities has come under increased scrutiny in the run-up to the games, scheduled from Feb. 4-20. Activists protested at Ancient Olympia on Monday, where the flame lighting ceremony was held.

Tens of thousands of people in northern China have been placed under strict lockdown as officials seek to keep a lid on a growing COVID outbreak ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.

A 24-year-old man dressed in Batman's Joker costume attacked passengers on a Tokyo train line on Sunday evening, injuring 17 people as many party-goers headed into the city center for Halloween gatherings, media reported.

An official Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic venue held a test ice hockey match on Monday (November 8), with the Games just months away. The match, which was held without spectators and featured local teams Beijing Arcfox and Beijing Shougang, comes amid uncertainty over the participation status of China's men's national hockey team in next year's Games. China is guaranteed a spot in the ice hockey tournament due to its status as host nation, but International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) president Luc Tardif said in September that the men's team could be prevented from playing due to its "insufficient sporting standard".

A video distributed by the International Olympic Committee is not enough to reassure the tennis world. The Women's Tennis Association is suspending all tournaments in China until it is sure that doubles star Peng Shuai is safe and sound, following the 35-year-old Peng's quickly deleted post on Chinese social media last month denouncing sexual assault by a former vice premier. How far will the ripple effects go?

China warned Western nations on Thursday they would "pay the price" for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics.

IOC senior member Dick Pound told German radio that China would allow athletes to speak freely during news conferences. He said politics does not factor into decision-making on events.

Archery is becoming one of the interesting, competitive games and recreational activities in the country. Introduced officially in Nigeria in 1997 after the Nigerian Archery Federation was founded, it got affiliated to the World Archery in the same year. Since then, professional archers and team coaches in Nigeria have been training new archers in order to get the country represented at international championships. Currently, the organisation has its eye set on the 2024 Olympics game in Paris.

The United States has announced a diplomatic boycott of the upcoming Winter Olympics in Beijing over China’s “egregious” rights abuses, a move the Chinese government has said would be met with “resolute countermeasures”.

Six French police officers are set for a disciplinary hearing over a failure to prevent a horrific femicide last year. Meanwhile, The Times of India calls to "punish hatemongers" after the appearance of an app targeting Muslim women. The UK's Prince Andrew tries to avoid trial for sex trafficking thanks to a deal his accuser signed with Jeffrey Epstein. And a hockey fan alerts a team staff member to a cancerous mole – saving his life and earning a scholarship.

Call it an Olympic-sized gamble. Ahead of Chinese New Year holiday travel and the Winter Games, authorities there are sticking to their zero-Covid policy. As Omicron tears through much of the rest of the world, can the coronavirus really be barred from the Beijing Olympics?

Uyghurs say China's treatment of the Muslim minority group in the remote Xinjiang region amounts to "genocide." They are calling for a boycott of the upcoming Games.