The opening ceremony for the 24th Winter Olympics in Beijing started on Friday, a low key affair amid the coronavirus pandemic and political tensions. Chinese President Xi Jinping and International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach arrived wearing face masks, and a small number of foreign dignitaries led by Russian President Vladimir Putin and United Nations secretary general António Guterres were also expected at the approximately half-filled National Stadium. The same arena had also seen the glamorous opening of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics with countless heads of states including …