Canada Prepares For Olympics With Mock Terror Drill

Authorities in Vancouver Canada staged a mock terror attack Tuesday in an effort to prepare for the real thing during the 2010 Olympic Games.

The make-believe was part of the final formal security drill “to confirm that federal, provincial, regional, and municipal organizations are prepared to respond in a coordinated manner to any emergency that may occur during the 2010 Winter Games,” said Public Safety Canada.

The week-long exercise in this western Canadian metropolis also includes flyovers by Canadian and American military jets and an incident Thursday at a railway station.

The mock attack involved as many as 2,000 police officers, firefighters, government specialists and military, said Jaimie Tomlinson of Public Safety Canada.

The exercise played out like live theatre in a school playing field in the suburb of Richmond.

Actors pretended to have been poisoned by deadly radioactive isotopes and were rescued by firefighters dressed in hazardous-materials suits who hosed them down in the chilly autumnal air, removed their contaminated outer clothes, and wrapped them in emergency blankets.

“What we have here is a fictional terrorist group planning to disrupt the games in order to draw attention to their cause,” said federal spokesman Ted Sykes.

The script concerned a girlfriend reporting her terrorist boyfriend to police, which set in motion an attack in which deadly radioactive isotopes were released in some 20 public places, including a shopping mall and in the school field, where a rally was being held for Canada’s hockey team.

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Canada To Stage Mock Afghan IED Attack in Washington

The Taliban will attack an Afghan village set up in the heart of Washington courtesy of the Canadian Forces, who will send in a medic in a dramatic effort to save a civilian crippled by the explosion.

At least four times over two days this month, simulated IED blasts will bring the Afghan war – and Canada’s combat role in Kandahar – home to Americans if an elaborate scheme based on modern training realism attracts widespread attention, as is hoped.

“If this works the way I want it to, more Americans will know what Canada is doing in Afghanistan,” said Lieutenant-Colonel Douglas Martin, a military attaché at the Canadian embassy.

A clutch of top American generals, powerful Capitol Hill players and Afghan experts from both sides of the border are expected at the two-day conference hosted by the embassy.

But the highlight will be the explosive blasts, simulating the powerful improvised explosive devices wreaking havoc in Afghanistan, to be staged twice a day.

Whether they will send jumpy tourists and Washingtonians on Pennsylvania Avenue fleeing in fear remains unknown, but embassy officials say they have a green light from the Secret Service, the State Department and the D.C. fire marshal.

The mock village, complete with a small souk and peopled by nearly a dozen Afghan actors, will be created in the courtyard of the Canadian embassy, halfway between the Capitol and the White House. A handful of Canadian soldiers and, Col. Martin hopes, U.S. Marines will arrive to “see the village leader” just as the IED blows up, “critically injuring” at least one Afghan, who will get immediate first aid from a Canadian medic.

“It should provide the full flavour of hyper-realistic training,” said Col. Martin, adding: “Absolutely, you are going to hear it out on Pennsylvania Avenue.”

The dramatic recreation of combat, using sophisticated simulations developed by American companies and used to train U.S. and Canadian troops before they are sent to Afghanistan, is intended to garner attention for the often overlooked Canadian combat effort.

“Unfortunately there are still a lot of Americans … who don’t know about how great the Canadian commitment is,” Col. Martin said.

Along with the shock and awe of explosions ripping through a mock Afghan village, the two-day conference will feature an address by Lieutenant-General Andrew Leslie, commander of the Canadian army, who keeps chunks of shrapnel he has collected in Afghanistan on his desk and who has pushed hard for greater recognition of Canada’s war effort.

Between scheduled IED attacks at noon and 2 p.m. on Sept. 23, the first day of the conference, there will be an Afghan luncheon hosted by Kabul’s envoy to Washington, Ambassador Said Jawad.

A division of Lockheed Martin that specializes in combat-training simulations will construct the mock village of three buildings and a mini-souk and provide the role-players – Afghan actors who will play the defenceless civilians. Strategic Operations Inc., a California company that claims to bring the “magic of Hollywood” to hyper-realistic training, will provide the pyrotechnics for the IED explosions.

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Bizarre Kidnap Warning Issued In Canada

This ranks among one of the strangest news stories I have seen. ~Martin

Mounties in the Vancouver suburb of Richmond, B.C., have issued an unusual warning about a potential child kidnapping plot.

Cpl. Jennifer Pound says they have information to believe an abduction may happen in the next several weeks.

She calls the information “minimal” but advises parents to be vigilant, urging them to tell their children to walk in groups in well lit, high-traffic areas.

“If approached, kids need to know that it is okay to misbehave,” Pound said.

“Talk to your kids and ensure them that it is important for them to draw attention to themselves. It is okay to yell and scream and do whatever they can do to get the attention of passer-bys.”

Pound would not specify how the RCMP received the information, but stresses the importance of the warning.

“We understand parents will be panicked about this,” Pound said.

“We don’t want them to be panicked but we want this information to get out there because it’s a child, and we need to get out that info to a large group.”

Bruce Beairsto, superintendent of the Richmond School District, says he was informed of the threat on Tuesday afternoon.

Beairsto says the Richmond School Board intends to take “prudent precautions around schools” and will also relay safety tips to students about the danger of strangers.

Linda McPhail of the Richmond School Board says a letter, translated into several languages, will be sent home to parents Wednesday.

“It will contain the notice by RCMP about a possible situation and how parents can take action,” McPhail said.

“And if they notice anything strange to contact both the school and the RCMP.”

The RCMP believes the potential victim is Asian and attends one of the Richmond elementary schools.

Pound says the potential perpetrator knows who the child is, but they have been unable to identify the potential victim.

The RCMP Serious Crimes Unit, as well as the Youth Section, General Duty, and Bike Sections have all been alerted, and are all participating in the joint investigation.

via CTV British Columbia- RCMP issue warning about child kidnapping plot – CTV News, Shows and Sports — Canadian Television.

Swine Flu Pandemic – WHO Preparing To Announce?

The World Health Organization is preparing to declare a swine flu pandemic, officials hinted Tuesday, saying that the goal now is to prevent countries and populations from panicking.

“One of the critical issues is that we do not want people to panic if they hear that we are in a pandemic situation,” Feiji Fukuda, WHO’s acting assistant director-general, said in a media call Tuesday.

“We know the virus is spreading and we are now seeing activity picking up in a number of countries. We know that we are getting closer to probably a pandemic situation,” Fukuda said.

The number of countries reporting lab confirmed cases of human swine flu stood at 73 Tuesday, with 26,563 cases, including 249 deaths.

Fukuda says WHO “has been working extremely hard in terms of preparing countries, preparing populations for what a potential move to Phase 6 would entail.” The virus continues to be sensitive to anti-viral drugs, he says. The majority of infections are occurring in younger people, under age 60, which is different than normal season flu.

WHO is concerned about the “disproportionate number” of serious cases occurring in the outbreak of HIN1 at St. Theresa Point, a remote First Nation in northern Manitoba, where hundreds of people have reported symptoms in the community of 3,200 and at least 20 have been treated in hospital.

These are observations of concern to us,” Fukuda said.

Source

WHO Says Swine Flu Verging on Pandemic

The World Health Organization said Tuesday it is “getting closer” to declaring a global outbreak of the swine flu virus as the infection appears to be taking hold outside of North America.

WHO flu chief Keiji Fukuda said the disease has reached 64 countries and infected 18,965 people, causing 117 deaths.

The overwhelming majority of cases and deaths have been reported in Mexico and the United States, but increasingly the virus is spreading from person to person in countries as far apart as Britain, Spain, Japan, Chile and Australia.

“We still are waiting for evidence of really widespread community activity in these countries, and so it’s fair to say that they are in transition and are not quite there yet, which is why we are not in phase 6 yet,” Fukuda said.

Phase 6 is the highest alert on WHO’s scale, signaling a pandemic _ a global epidemic. In terms of the geographic spread of swine flu, the world is “at phase 5 but getting closer to phase 6,” Fukuda said.

WHO is now debating whether to add a second measure that indicates how dangerous the virus is _ rather than just how widespread _ after several countries raised concerns that declaring a global pandemic could cause mass confusion and panic even though it is still unclear how dangerous the virus will be.

Some nations have already imposed costly trade and travel barriers, “drastic actions” that Fukuda said WHO would seek to prevent.

Source

Vials Used In Ebola Research Smuggled Into US – Scientist Arrested

A Canadian scientist has been arrested for smuggling 22 vials stolen from Canada’s National Microbiology Lab, used in Ebola and HIV research, into the United States, Canadian and US officials said Wednesday.

Konan Michel Yao, 42, “was taken into custody” while crossing the border from Manitoba province into the western US state of North Dakota on May 5, said a spokeswoman for the Public Health Agency of Canada, which operates the lab.

According to US prosecutor Lynn Jordheim, Yao was detained for carrying unidentified biological materials in vials wrapped in aluminium foil inside a glove and packaged in a plastic bag, along with electrical wires, in the trunk of his car.

Yao said in an affidavit he stole the vials, described as research vectors, from the Winnipeg lab on his last day of work there on January 21.

He told US border guards he was taking them to his new job with the National Institutes of Health at the Biodefense Research Laboratory in Bethesda, Maryland.

US authorities feared their contents could pose a terrorist threat. But tests later showed “they are not hazardous,” said Jordheim.

“This turned out not to be a terrorism-related case,” he said by telephone from North Dakota. “It appears to be exactly as he Yao said. However, he still faces possible charges for smuggling the vials into the United States.”

Yao, meanwhile, remains in US custody after waiving his right to bail and preliminary hearings, as he awaits a possible grand jury indictment for smuggling, he said.

A Public Health Agency of Canada spokeswoman told AFP Yao “was working on vaccines for the Ebola virus and HIV, among other things.”

“But he only had access to harmless and non-infectious materials, similar to what you’d find in a hospital or university lab. He did not have access to dangerous materials.”

via Source

Swine Flu – First U.S. Death Is Reported

American authorities confirmed the first death outside of Mexico from swine flu on Wednesday, as the number of confirmed cases of the disease continued to rise in Europe.

President Obama, in a morning news conference, called on local authorities to be vigilant in reporting new suspected cases, and called on schools to consider closing temporarily if a confirmed case was reported among its students.

[...]

Dr. Richard Besser, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday in an interview with CNN that the first American death of the disease was a 23-month-old child in Texas. He gave no other details about the child. The death was confirmed by President Obama, who said his “thoughts and prayers” were with the child’s family.

Source- NYTimes.com

Swine Flu News Updates

Swine Flu – World Counting Down To Pandemic Says Top Virologist

A Chinese virologist who helped fight SARS and bird flu warned on Monday of a possible swine flu pandemic that the most populous countries in Asia, China and India, would be ill-prepared to handle.

“We are counting down to a pandemic,” said Guan Yi, a professor at the University of Hong Kong who helped trace the outbreak of SARS in 2003 to the civet cat.

“I think the spread of this virus in humans cannot possibly be contained within a short time … there are already cases in almost every region. The picture is changing every moment.”

Guan, who has been studying and tracking the spread of the H5N1 bird flu virus ever since it was discovered in people in Hong Kong in 1997, said there would be “many problems” if swine flu reached China and India, “where populations are so dense and health infrastructure is still insufficient.”

The virus, which carries swine, avian and human DNA and the designation H1N1, has already killed up to 103 people in Mexico, infected 20 in the United States and six in Canada.

There are many questions surrounding this virus, such as why it appears milder in the United States and deadlier in Mexico.

“It may seem weaker for now in the United States, but we do not know if it will get more virulent when it goes to another place as it mutates constantly,” said Guan.

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Swine Flu News Updates

Mexico Swine Flu Death Toll Rises To 103

The probable death toll from a swine flu epidemic in Mexico has reached 103 people, Health Minister Jose Angel Cordova announced.

The minister said on national television that the number of those hospitalized due to the epidemic stood at about 400.

The previous probable death toll, announced Saturday, stood at 81 confirmed and suspected swine flu fatalities.

Meanwhile, the number of cases under observation has reached 1,614, up from 1,324, according to the minister.

Swine flu news updates

Swine Flu – U.S. Declares Public Health Emergency

The United States has activated an emergency plan to combat swine flu as the Obama administration announced measures Sunday to contain the sometimes deadly virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has identified the strain of swine flu and is prepared to distribute a quarter of the U.S. stockpile of 50 million doses of anti-viral medications in places around the country where swine flu has been located or may be expected to spread, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said in a briefing at the White House.

Swine Flu News Updates

Travel advisories have not been issued by the State Department, Napolitano said, nor is the United States going to screen passengers on flights arriving from Mexico. She said funds have been freed up in case a larger response is needed.

Hand-washing, mask-wearing and other measures will help prevent the spread, Napolitano said explaining how the public can help slow potential contaminations.

“If you are sick, stay home,” Napolitano said. “Take all of those reasonable measures that will help us mitigate and contain” the illness.

People who are ill should not go on airplanes, to school or other places, added Dr. Richard Besser, the acting head of the CDC.

Besser said the United States is working with the World Health Organization, Canada and Mexico as well as other organizations to reduce the spread of the virus, which appears to have originated in Mexico and has resulted in up to 81 deaths there.

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Seven Stowaways Found Aboard Vessel In Halifax Being Interviewed

Officers with the Canada Border Services Agency are interviewing and examining the health of seven stowaways found aboard a vessel in Halifax.

Jennifer Morrison, a spokeswoman for the agency, says the males were discovered Thursday night after a search of the vessel at the Ceres container terminal. Morrison would not disclose the nationality of the stowaways, nor say whether they are seeking refugee status.

She says the agency’s foremost priority is ensuring the safety and security of the public.

Source

UK Crew Member In Hospital After Mexico Flight

A British Airways cabin crew member was taken to a London hospital as a precaution after developing flu-like symptoms on a flight from Mexico City, the airline said Saturday.

It was the first such reported precautionary measure in Britain since the emergence of a new flu strain that has killed up to 68 people in Mexico. It has also infected at least 11 people in the United States. The man has undergone tests, but the results are not expected back until Sunday. No other crew members or passengers on the BA242 flight into Heathrow airport were detained.

“He has flu-like symptoms and is responding well to treatment,” a hospital spokesman said in a statement.

“The patient was admitted directly to a side room and the hospital is scrupulously following infection control procedures to ensure there is no risk to any other individual in the hospital.”

Source

Outbreak at New York City School Likely Swine Flu

At least eight students at a New York City high school probably have human swine influenza, but health officials said Saturday they don’t know for sure whether they have the same virus that has killed scores of people in Mexico. At least two cases of the flu have been confirmed in Kansas.

A strain of the flu has killed as many as 68 people and sickened more than 1,000 across Mexico. The World Health Organization chief said Saturday the strain has “pandemic potential” and it may be too late to contain a sudden outbreak.

New York health officials said more than 100 students at the private St. Francis Preparatory School, in Queens, had come down with a fever, sore throat and other aches and pains in the past few days. Some of their relatives have also been ill.

New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden said nose and throat swabs had confirmed that eight students had influenza type A, indicating probable cases of swine flu, but the exact subtypes were still unknown.

Samples had been sent to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta for more testing. Results were expected on Sunday.

via Source

California Has Vigorous Swine Flu Plan – Schwarzenegger

California has made a “rigorous and thorough” response to a new strain of flu that has killed up to 60 people in Mexico and infected eight in the United States, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said on Friday.

California, home to six of the U.S. cases, was coordinating with federal and international health experts on its plan, which includes surveillance of patients with flu-like illness, Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Other steps the state has taken include requesting extra flu experts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and expanding lab testing and veterinary activities, he said.

California has also activated its Joint Emergency Operations Center with the Department of Public Health and been in communication with officials in Mexico.

The governor advised Californians to take “common-sense” steps to avoid contracting the flu, including covering the nose and mouth when sneezing, washing hands with soap and water often and avoiding close contact with others.

Four of Mexico’s suspected cases have been reported in Mexicali, which shares a border with California

via Reuters AlertNet – California has ‘rigorous’ flu plan -Schwarzenegger.

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