The Winter Olympics are in full swing, with the sports extravaganza set to run until Feb. 20. But it's been a bumpy ride on and off the slopes.
U.S. television ratings are on track to be the worst-ever for a Winter Olympics, while another doping scandal hits as a Russian teen skating sensation tests positive for a banned substance. Geopolitical tensions are also hanging over the sports showcase amid warnings that Russia is about to invade Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and a handful of allies launched a diplomatic boycott over China's rights record, and the highly transmissible omicron coronavirus variant tests Beijing's bid to put on a safe event.
For all our coverage, visit our Beijing Winter Olympics page.
Read our in-depth coverage:
-- Xi's Olympics diplomacy stumbles as leaders avoid Beijing Games
-- Indian skier from small Kashmir village reaches Beijing Olympics
-- Inconsistent COVID tests bedevil athletes at Beijing Olympics
-- Ayumu Hirano grabs Japan's first Olympic snowboarding gold
Entries include files from wire services and Nikkei Asia reporters.
Here are the latest developments:
Tuesday, Feb. 15 (Tokyo time)
10:21 a.m. Freezing temperatures are causing more problems for Olympic organizers. Tuesday's biathlon 4 x 7.5 km relay was brought forward by two and a half hours to avoid the evening chill which could see temperatures drop to a frigid minus 15 degrees Celsius (5 Fahrenheit).
10:08 a.m . The women's figure skating short program kicks off this evening and all eyes will be on Russian teen Kamila Valieva after she was cleared to compete, despite failing a drug test at a pre-Games competition. Valieva is a favorite in the women's singles, but she said being at the center of a doping case has taken a toll. "It's as if I don't have any emotions left. I am happy but at the same time I am emotionally tired," she told Russian television.
10:01 a.m . Keep your eyes on the women's slopestyle final today. Eileen Gu is going for another gold at the Games, where the San Francisco-born athlete is competing for host China. She's been a fan favorite and raking in endorsements. But will she match that success with a second top medal today?
5:58 a.m. The wife of Chinese film director Zhang Yimou says her husband's role overseeing the opening and closing ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics had pushed his health to the limit. Chen Ting took to China's Twitter-like Weibo to describe the 71-year-old Oscar-nominee's "self-harming" work rate. She said she was keen for the Feb. 20 conclusion of the Games.
3:27 a.m. Sprinter Sha'Carri Richardson questions why Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva is allowed to continue competing at the Beijing Games amid a doping charge, months after a positive test for cannabis derailed her own Olympic dreams.
Monday, Feb. 14 (Tokyo time)
10:49 p.m. China's Xu Mengtao finally claims her elusive Olympic gold medal as she triumphs in a dramatic final of the freestyle skiing women's aerials.
8:30 p.m. The IOC says that if Russia's Kamila Valieva finishes in the top three in the women's singles figure skating, "no flower ceremony and no medal ceremony will take place" during the Games. It adds that in the "interest of fairness" it would "not be appropriate" to hold the ceremony for the team event that Russia won, "as it would include an athlete who on the one hand has a positive A-sample, but whose violation of the anti-doping rules has not yet been established on the other hand."
7:30 p.m. Japanese superstar figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu tells reporters that he is not sure if the Beijing Games will be his last Olympics, after his disappointing fourth-place finish.
"I thought the Olympics are special and this is the stage worth standing up for even if you are injured," Hanyu says, referring to the ankle injury that has hampered him all season. "There is no other stage like this ... I have a desire to skate here again."
He also admits to feeling pressure to win a third consecutive gold medal. "Now I'm free from the pressure ... but I want to continue taking pride in being a two-time Olympic gold medalist," he says. "I want to live so that the me of tomorrow will be proud of me today."
3:42 p.m. The Russian figure skating federation is unsurprisingly happy about the decision to let Valieva skate, calling it a "triumph of common sense and justice."
3:41 p.m. U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee CEO Sarah Hirshland says the Valieva ruling sends a "disappointing message." "This appears to be another chapter in the systematic and pervasive disregard for clean sport by Russia," Hirshland adds.
3:20 p.m. It remains unclear if other members of the Russian team can receive their gold medals. The second-place Team USA and Japan in third are also waiting for news. The figure skating team event medals ceremony was postponed because of Valieva's case.
3:19 p.m. The sports court did not address Valieva's drug case -- she was found to have a banned angina drug in her system. But it flagged "serious issues of untimely notification of the results." No details are given on why her failed drug test was revealed more than a month after it was taken. "Such late notification was not her fault, in the middle of the Olympic Winter Games," the ruling said of the teen.
3:18 p.m. The International Olympic Committee, the World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Skating Union had appealed a decision by Russia's anti-doping agency to lift a provisional doping suspension of Valieva, which cleared the way for her to compete at the Olympics.
3:17 p.m. The result of the positive drug test was not revealed until Feb. 8 after Valieva had competed in the team event at the Winter Games, dazzling the world with the first quad jumps ever completed in the women's Olympic competition. Her gold medal was on the line before Monday's ruling in her favor.
3:15 p.m. Valieva's case is exceptional and not letting her compete would do the teen "irreparable damage," the court says. The three judges add it was not her fault that results from a pre-Games drug test were only disclosed during the Beijing Olympics. She is one of the youngest athletes to face a doping charge during the Olympics.
3:05 p.m. Russian skating sensation Kamila Valieva is cleared to compete despite failing a drug test linked to an event before the Games, multiple media outlets report, citing a decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The 15-year-old is a favorite in the women's singles event on Tuesday.
12:51 p.m. Two-time gold medalist Jamie Anderson's Olympic dreams are dashed as the American snowboarder fails to qualify for the Big Air finals.
12:39 p.m. The IOC spokesman says he "sincerely hopes" the Games are not remembered for the Valieva doping case. The teen Russian skater's positive test for a banned substance wasn't linked to Beijing 2022, but it has "ramifications" that must be dealt with now, he adds.
10:48 a.m. Winter sports powerhouse Norway sits at the top of the table with 9 gold medals. The Germans are hot on its heels with 8 golds while the Dutch squad has 6 in its pocket.
9:16 a.m . Athletes could face more blizzards and frigid temperatures, but the deteriorating conditions won't derail games, says Huang Shanjiang, director of Zhangjiakou Meteorological Station. "The Games are at most delayed or postponed, but not interrupted," he is quoted as saying.
5:54 a.m. The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) finishes its hearing on Russian figure skater Kamila Valieva. A final decision on the teenager, who tested positive for a banned drug, will be announced later Monday. The 15-year-old prodigy's gold medal is on the line. The situation presents another embarrassment for Russia, which was already competing without its flag and anthem owing to previous doping violations.
12:20 a.m . Japan Olympic team captain Miho Takagi on Sunday claims her second speedskating silver medal of these Beijing Games, finishing just behind new champion Erin Jackson of the United States in the women's 500 meters. Defending Olympic champion Nao Kodaira falls short in her bid to win a second straight 500 crown, finishing 17th
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To catch up on earlier developments, see the previous version of latest updates.