Tokyo, IOC Officials Reiterate That the Olympics Are On
Tokyo Olympic organizers reiterated their message on Thursday at the start of two days of meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC): The 2020 Games will not be waylaid by the coronavirus that is spreading from neighboring China. “I would like to make it clear again that we are not considering a cancellation or postponement of the games. Let me make that clear,” organizing committee president Yoshiro Mori said, speaking through an interpreter to dozens of top IOC officials gathered in Tokyo, Japan. The Olympics open in just over five months, and the torch relay begins next month in Japan—a clear signal the games are getting close. Japan reported its first death from the coronavirus on Thursday, a development that will add to the jitters among organizers and IOC officials.…
OTTAWA鈥擳he commander of North America鈥檚 aging early鈭抴arning system says the United States聽and Canada have lost their military advantage in the Arctic聽to Russia.
U.S. Gen. Terrence O鈥橲haughnessy shared his聽assessment聽with a聽U.S. Senate committee on Feb. 13,聽where聽the commander of the North American Aerospace Defence Command painted a gloomy picture about the growing number of threats to the continent.
O鈥橲haughnessy says Russia has steadily expanded its military presence in the Arctic, which includes upgrading its long鈭抮ange bombers, naval聽fleet,聽and fielding land鈭抌ased cruise missiles capable of striking the U.S. and Canada.
He says that means the Arctic is now an avenue through which Russia can quickly attack against North American targets, rather than a聽place to guard against that possibility.
O鈥橲haughnessy says China has also been developing more advanced weapons that put North America at risk and is increasingly flexing its muscles in the Arctic, while concerns remain about Iran and North Korea acquiring the technology capable of hitting the continent.
The Norad commander says the myriad threats underscore the need to modernize North America鈥檚 defensive systems, which聽were last upgraded in the 1980s,聽to properly detect and deter attacks from Russia and other potential adversaries.
This article is from the Internet:Canada, US Have Lost Military Edge Over Russia, China in the Arctic, Says Norad Commander
WHO Officials Rush to Figure Out Size of Coronavirus Epidemic
World Health Organization (WHO) officials are rushing to try to figure out how widespread the new coronavirus outbreak is after Chinese authorities reported a slew of new cases and deaths overnight. Figures from the Chinese Communist Party are widely considered to be unreliable, but the even the official numbers show a stark jump in the number of cases and deaths, prompting WHO officials to work on the scope of the outbreak. “How big is the iceberg?” Dr. Mike Ryan, head of the WHO’s emergencies program, told reporters at a press conference at the organization’s headquarters in Geneva. “We do know, and we all accept, that there is transmission occurring at some level in communities. We鈥檝e all seen those clusters, we鈥檝e all seen those super-spreading events,” he added. “The question mark…
