TOKYO -- The Tokyo Olympics are well underway after a long journey filled with controversy and an unprecedented one-year postponement because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The proceedings officially began with the opening ceremony at the National Stadium , a mostly subdued affair mixed with joyous moments like a high-tech drone show, and capped by tennis star Naomi Osaka lighting the Olympic cauldron.

We're tracking the latest medal count .

Read our breakdown of the events to watch .

Here are the latest developments:

Friday, Aug

VIENNA -- Poland has taken in Belarusian Olympic sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya, who sought to defect from her authoritarian home country, a move that earned Warsaw diplomatic points despite its own patchy human rights record.

Tsimanouskaya told reporters Thursday in Warsaw that she is "happy to be here, happy to be in safety," and expressed gratitude for the support provided by Poland. She said she plans to make a new life for herself there with her husband, who has also received a Polish visa, but is "willing to return

MUMBAI -- Shares of beleaguered Vodafone Idea, India's third-largest telecom, surged Friday as investors welcomed New Delhi's plan to scrap a retrospective tax law, a move that likely would benefit the British parent.

Vodafone Idea shares closed at 7.10 rupees, up 19%, on Friday on the Bombay Stock Exchange, extending gains from late Thursday. The stock has recovered from a 24% fall after the company's board said this week it accepted the resignation of Chairman Kumar

NEW DELHI -- Indian and Chinese forces have pulled back from the Gogra area, one of the friction points in their 15-month standoff in eastern Ladakh along the disputed Himalayan border, the Indian side said.

Military commanders held the 12th round of talks on July 31, during which "both sides agreed on disengagement in the area of Gogra," the Indian government said Friday evening. Troops in this area have been in "a face-off situation" since May 2020,

NEW YORK/SEOUL -- North Korea has evaded U.N. sanctions for the past three years with widespread smuggling operations, with the measures failing to bring Pyongyang back to the negotiating table for denuclearization talks, according to a draft U.N. report.

Heavy restrictions on energy exports and imports, as well as other measures, put in place in 2017 came in response to missile and nuclear tests by the regime. The sanctions were a bid by the international community to compel North Korea to dismantle

WASHINGTON/MEXICO CITY -- The assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise one month ago Saturday has potential repercussions as far away as China, which has played a diplomatic chess game of influence with the U.S. over the impoverished Caribbean nation.

Beijing has dangled coronavirus vaccines and other aid as it seeks to persuade Haiti, one of the 15 countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan, to cut those ties, critics say.

This has raised American concerns that the political turmoil after Moise's still-unresolved killing

TOKYO -- As Japan moves to limit COVID-19 hospitalizations to at-risk patients amid surging cases, medical equipment makers have ramped up output of oxygen concentrators and other at-home care products to ensure a steady supply.

The government announced Thursday that it plans to limit hospitalizations in hot spots to serious and high-risk cases, with others directed to recover at home. As even many people in the latter category are expected to develop breathing problems, municipalities are moving to secure necessary equipment.

Daikin Industries plans

TOKYO -- For decades, the internal combustion engine has powered cars and household incomes worldwide. Now, the future of jobs making thousands of engine components looks as murky as that of the technology itself.

The global shift to electric vehicles will affect hundreds of thousands of automotive jobs in the coming decades, according to estimates. In Japan alone, the rise of EVs threatens the loss of employment for 84,000 people by 2050, or more than 10% of the 686

TOKYO -- Dai-ichi Life Holdings is acquiring an insurance arm of Australia's financial services company Westpac Group for about 900 million Australian dollars ($664.8 million), Nikkei has learned.

The Japanese insurer will acquire Australia's sixth biggest insurance company through its Australian subsidiary TAL. The deal is expected to be complete as early as the end of 2022.

Westpac Group, one of the four major Australian banks, has a customer base of more than 14