Political issues
FILE - Britain's Katie Ormerod competes during the women's slopestyle qualifying at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Saturday, Feb. 5, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco, File)
Winter Olympians champion climate, peace amid muted activism

By Kelvin Chan Feb. 15, 2022 03:06 AM EST

Coach Eteri Tutberidze, left top, talks to Kamila Valieva, of the Russian Olympic Committee, during a training session at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Sunday, Feb. 13, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Olympic skater's entourage could face trouble under US law

By Eddie Pells Feb. 14, 2022 05:52 AM EST

China's athletes Dinigeer Yilamujian and Zhao Jiawen wave before lighting the cauldron during the opening ceremony of the 2022 Winter Olympics, Friday, Feb. 4, 2022, in Beijing. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
What message did China send by choosing Uyghur torchbearer?

By John Leicester Feb. 05, 2022 03:09 AM EST

In this image taken from video footage of an online press conference by Human Rights Watch on AP Video, Teng Biao, visiting professor at the University of Chicago, speaks about the upcoming Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. Human rights activists issued a call to action against the Beijing Olympics on Friday, Jan. 28, 2022 imploring athletes and sponsors to speak out against what they call the "genocide games." (AP Video via AP)
Activists urge athletes to speak out at Beijing Olympics

Jan. 28, 2022 05:06 AM EST

Drew Pavlou, left, and Max Mok show some of the 1,000 shirts they plan to hand out to patrons ahead of Saturday's women's singles final at the Australian Open tennis championships in Melbourne, Australia, Friday, Jan. 28, 2022. As he was being ejected for wearing a shirt with a Where is Peng Shuai? slogan, Max Mok saw an opportunity to amplify the message at the Australian Open. (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Where is Peng Shuai? Australian Open T-shirts grab attention

By John Pye Jan. 28, 2022 12:24 AM EST

FILE - A woman holds up a ligt candle and a phone showing the image of the 1989 tank man protester during a candle vigil to mark the anniversary of the military crackdown on a pro-democracy student movement in Beijing, outside Victoria Park in Hong Kong, Friday, June 4, 2021. As Beijing prepares to hold the Winter Olympics opening in February 2022, China's president and party leader Xi Jinping appears firmly in control. The party has made political stability paramount and says that has been the foundation for the economic growth that has bettered lives and put the nation on a path to becoming a regional if not global power. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
From Tiananmen to Hong Kong, China's crackdowns defy critics

By Ken Moritsugu Jan. 27, 2022 12:20 AM EST

A woman wearing a face mask to help protect from the coronavirus takes a selfie with her companion against a Beijing Winter Olympics Mascot and Olympic Tower in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022. China has locked down parts of Beijing's Haidian district following the detection of three cases, just weeks before the capital is to host the Winter Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Beijing residents disappointed Olympics will be closed event

Jan. 19, 2022 04:12 AM EST

A person speaks while gathering with others in front of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022 for a protest ralley against the Olympic games in Bejing 2022. A coalition of human rights organizations is calling on German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock to diplomatically boycott the Winter Olympics in and around Beijing. The World Uyghur Congress (WUC), the Society for Threatened Peoples (GfbV), the Tibet Initiative Germany (TID), the Ilham Tohti Initiative and the Association of Hongkongers in Germany e.V. cordially invited for a protest march from the Brandenburg Gate to the Foreign Office. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China

By Graham Dunbar Jan. 18, 2022 11:56 AM EST

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the European Council building in Brussels on Monday, Dec. 13, 2021. European Union foreign ministers met Monday to discuss how to thwart the threat of a possible new Russian invasion of Ukraine and what measures to take should Moscow decide to send its troops across the border. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
EU has little appetite to join US diplomatic Games boycott

By Raf Casert Dec. 13, 2021 07:08 AM EST

Protesters hold protest posters during a protest against Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics by activists of the Tibetan Youth Association in Europe front of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, Saturday, Dec. 11, 2021. (Jean-Guy Python/Keystone via AP)
Olympic leaders criticize FIFA as activists target meeting

By Graham Dunbar Dec. 11, 2021 10:12 AM EST

FILE - A police officer wearing a face mask and goggles to protect against COVID-19, stands near a poster of a skier on the wall at a train station in Zhangjiakou in northern China's Hebei Province, Friday, Nov. 26, 2021. China is threatening to take “firm countermeasures" if the U.S. proceeds with a diplomatic boycott of February's Beijing Winter Olympic Games. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian on Monday accused U.S. politicians of grandstanding over the issue of not sending dignitaries to attend the events that China hopes will showcase its economic development. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
US plans diplomatic boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

By Aamer Madhani And Alexandra Jaffe Dec. 06, 2021 12:22 PM EST

FILE - Lamine Diack adjusts his headphones during a joint IOC and IAAF news conference on the site of the World Athletic Championships in Beijing on Aug. 21, 2015. Lamine Diack, the controversial former president of the International Athletics Federation, has died, his family said Friday, Dec. 3, 2021. He was 88. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)
Lamine Diack, ex IAAF chief convicted of corruption, dies

By Babacar Dione And Graham Dunbar Dec. 03, 2021 05:19 AM EST

Greek torch bearer Ioannis Melissanidis, left, Olympic gold medalist in Gymnastics , passes the flame to Christos Volikakis, world Champion in Cycling, in front of ancient Parthenon temple atop of the Acropolis Hill in Athens, Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021. The flame will be transported by torch relay to Beijing, China, which will host the Feb. 4-20, 2022 Winter Olympics.(AP Photo/Petros Giannakouris)
Rights activists urge boycott of Beijing Winter Olympics

By Nicholas Paphitis Oct. 19, 2021 03:45 AM EDT

Police officers detain protesters displaying a Tibetan flag and a banner disrupting the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece, Monday, Oct. 18, 2021. The flame will be transported by torch relay to Beijing, China, which will host the Feb. 4-20, 2022 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Protestors disrupt flame lighting for Beijing Winter Games

By Nicholas Paphitis And Thanassis Stavrakis Oct. 18, 2021 05:37 AM EDT

Skier Ioannis Antoniou, the first torch bearer, holds an olive branch during the final rehearsal for the lighting of the Olympic flame at Ancient Olympia site, birthplace of the ancient Olympics in southwestern Greece, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. The flame will be transported by torch relay to Beijing, China, which will host the Feb. 4-20, 2022 Winter Olympics. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)
Weather, protest cloud Beijing flame-lighting rehearsal

By Nicholas Paphitis Oct. 17, 2021 07:03 AM EDT

Protesters raise a Tibetan flag and a banner from scaffolding at the Acropolis hill, in Athens, Greece, Sunday, Oct. 17, 2021. Three people attempted to hang a banner from the Acropolis in Athens Sunday morning in protest at the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics but were arrested before completing their mission. (AP Photo/Yorgos Karahalis)
2 arrested in Athens for protesting Beijing Olympics

By Demetris Nellas Oct. 17, 2021 04:38 AM EDT

Ex-Kenya sports minister guilty in Olympic corruption case

Sep. 15, 2021 11:47 AM EDT
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya's former sports minister was convicted Wednesday of corruption and abuse of office relating to the misuse of more than $800,000...

FILE - In this file photo dated Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016, First Vice President of the International Swimming Federation, FINA, Husain Al Musallam, during the FINA World Aquatics Gala in Budapest, Hungary. Documents obtained by The Associated Press show two senior Olympic officials from Kuwait have been targeted by the U.S. Department of Justice for suspected racketeering and bribery related to FIFA and international soccer politics. Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah is reputed to be the “kingmaker” of IOC elections. Husain al-Musallam is president of swimming’s international governing body. The documents include details of the DOJ investigation and a formal request to Kuwaiti authorities in 2017 for help to secure evidence. (Attila Kovacs/MTI via AP, File)
Documents show US investigation of 2 Kuwaitis in FIFA case

By Graham Dunbar Sep. 02, 2021 11:43 AM EDT

FILE - In this Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2018 file photo, Sheikh Ahmad al Fahad al Sabah, president of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) delivers a speech during the ANOC general assembly in Tokyo. The trial opened Monday, Aug, 30, 2021 of an influential Olympic official accused of forgery in an alleged plot that implicated political rivals in Kuwait in a coup attempt. Sheikh Ahmad al-Fahad al-Sabah has been publicly sidelined as an IOC member and president of the global group of national Olympic bodies by the pending case. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, file)
Trial of Olympic sheikh on forgery charges opens in Geneva

By Graham Dunbar Aug. 30, 2021 08:06 AM EDT

FILE In this file photo taken on Friday, July 9, 2021, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, left, presents the national flag to the captain of Belarus National Olympic team Ivan Tikhon ahead of the Summer Olympics Games in Tokyo, Minsk, Belarus. Lukashenko, who has a keen interest in sports and served as the head of the Belarus National Olympic Committee for nearly a quarter-century before handing over the post to his older son in February, has sternly warned the country's Olympic athletes that they better show high performance. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA Pool Photo via AP, File)
EXPLAINER: What is behind Belarus athlete's Olympics crisis?

By Yuras Karmanau And Vladimir Isachenkov Aug. 04, 2021 03:47 AM EDT