Egyptian, Saudi leaders to attend Olympics amid Western boycott over Uyghur persecution

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman are among over 20 foreign dignitaries who will attend next week's Winter Olympics in Beijing, Chinese state media said Friday.

The dignitaries will be present for the February 4 opening ceremony, a welcome banquet and talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, state broadcaster CCTV said.

The announcement comes weeks after the United States and other Western powers said they would be staging a diplomatic boycott of the games, over what Washington termed China's "genocide" of the Uyghur minority in the Xinjiang region and other human rights abuses.

Australia and Britain have also said that their officials would stay away.