Welcome to NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Malegarde in Tokyo.
MILANO CORTINA OLYMPIC GAMES OPEN IN ITALY
The Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games have opened with rare simultaneous ceremonies and athlete parades at different sites.
The Games are the third Winter Olympics held in Italy.
The opening ceremony took place in the San Siro Stadium in Milan on Friday with the theme of Armonia, meaning harmony.
Athletes from 92 countries and territories have entered into competition at the Games.
Parades took place at 4 separate areas for the first time.
The Japanese team appeared as the 34th group during the parades.
Speed skater Morishige Wataru served as the flag bearer in Milan, while snowboarding half-pipe athlete Tomita Sena did the same in Valtellina.
Two Olympic cauldrons have been set up, one in Milan and one in Cortina.
Italian Olympic gold medalists Alberto Tomba and Deborah Compagnoni lit the cauldron in Milan. The other one in Cortina was also lit.
The event will run for 17 days through February 22.
MORE SNOW FORECAST ACROSS JAPAN THIS WEEKEND
Many parts of Japan are experiencing an especially snowy winter, and authorities are forecasting even more this weekend.
Meteorological agency officials say areas along the Sea of Japan coast will likely be affected most.
They also say snow could accumulate along the Pacific coast, including the Kanto and Kyushu regions.
The 24 hours through Sunday noon could see Niigata Prefecture and the Kinki and Chugoku regions get up to 70 centimeters of snow.
The Hokuriku
Region may see 60 centimeters and Hokkaido and the Tohoku regions could get 40 centimeters.
Snowfall in the northern city of Aomori reached more than 1.8 meters high earlier in the week. That's the most since 1986.
The Aomori prefectural government has deployed 4 snow plows to a logistics complex.
They started work on Friday night and will continue through Sunday.
00:02:26 話者 Abe Nobuki/Aomori Prefecture official
It's so heavy. We want to do all we can to support our Mori city.
00:02:34 (Ramin Mellegard)
Up to 10 centimeters of snow is expected to fall in flat areas of the southern Kanto region in the 24 hours to Sunday noon. 3 centimeters is expected in central Tokyo.
Authorities say traffic disruptions are possible and they say people should watch out for avalanches and snow falling from roofs.
HUNTERS TO PATROL HOKKAIDO POLL SITE AFTER BEAR TRACKS SEEN
Hunters in Hokkaido will patrol around a polling station for Sunday's election after bear tracks were discovered nearby. Voting will be held at a junior high school in Hakodate City.
Officials say paw prints were spotted Thursday on the school's grounds.
They say the tracks could have been made by a mother bear and her cub.
Signboards urging people to be on the alert have been posted at the site.
A local official said this is the first time Hakodate city has taken measures to protect voters from bears.
00:03:32 話者 Mikami Chitoshi/Hakodate City official
We took action quickly to ensure the safety of the people who will use the polling station.
00:03:39 (Ramin Mellegard)
Hunters will begin conducting patrols early in the morning on election day.
31 DIE IN PAKISTAN MOSQUE BLAST, ISIS CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY
The Islamic State militant group has claimed responsibility for Friday's deadly explosion at a mosque in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad.
Pakistani investigators believe a suicide bomber was responsible for the attack, which killed at least 31 people. Authorities say 169 others were injured.
The blast occurred on Friday afternoon when crowds gathered for prayers.
In a statement, the Islamic State said guards stopped one of its fighters as he tried to enter the mosque and he detonated his explosive vest at a spot where people assembled to pray.
Pakistan is a predominantly Sunni Muslim nation and minority Shia Muslims have frequently been attacked.
TRUMP DELETES RACIST VIDEO OF OBAMAS AFTER FIERCE PUSHBACK
US President Donald Trump has deleted a video from his social media site after it sparked widespread criticism for being racist.
The video included a clip depicting former US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as apes.
Trump posted the video on Thursday night, using it to reinforce his claims of irregularities in past elections.
The video contained imagery that lasted for roughly one second, showing the faces of the Obamas attached to bodies of what could be gorillas or orangutans.
The post sparked a fierce backlash even from Trump's fellow Republican lawmakers.
One called it the most racist thing he has ever seen out of the White House.
Trump told reporters he passed the video to his staff to upload and that he had only watched the first part.
00:05:26 話者 Donald Trump
I wouldn't like it either, but I didn't see it. I just, I looked at the first part.
Nobody knew that that was at the end.
00:05:33 (Ramin Mellegard)
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt initially said the post was part of an internet meme video and dismissed it as not being a problem.
But the White House later said a staff member had erroneously uploaded the video and that it was deleted about half a day later.
RUBIO: NEW NUCLEAR FRAMEWORK SHOULD INCLUDE CHINA
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called for creating a multilateral framework on nuclear arms controlling, including nuclear arms control, including China, following the expiration of a nuclear treaty between the US and Russia.
Rubio issued a statement on Friday, a day after the New START agreement ran out.
The pact required the US and Russia to cap their number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads at 1,550.
The statement says China's rapid and opaque expansion of its nuclear arsenal has rendered past arms control models based on US-Russia bilateral agreements obsolete.
It also says arms control can no longer be a bilateral issue between the United States and Russia.
It says other countries have a responsibility to help ensure strategic stability, none more so than China.
US-IRAN TALKS TO CONTINUE
Senior officials from the US and Iran have held talks in an effort to defuse tensions.
There are discussions in Oman centered on Tehran's nuclear program.
The Iranian side described the talks as a good start.
The US delegation included Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and President Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner. Foreign Minister Abbas Al-Aqshi represented Iran.
The talks had been suspended since last June after US forces struck Iran's nuclear facilities, but they resumed and were mediated by Oman's foreign minister.
00:07:22 話者 Abbas Araghchi/Iranian Foreign Minister
The views of both sides were heard, and it was agreed that the talks would continue.
00:07:28 (Ramin Mellegard)
The US has said it will push not only on the nuclear issue, but also for limits on Tehran's ballistic missile program, and it wants Iran to end support for regional proxies.
But Araghchi says this round is focused solely on the nuclear issue, and they didn't engage on any other subject.
It remains unclear how much progress the two sides have actually made.
The Trump administration has been stepping up threats of military action against Iran.
The key question is whether the two sides can find a path to easing tensions.
CANADA AND FRANCE OPEN CONSULATES IN GREENLAND
Officials from Canada and France have presided over the opening of new diplomatic consulates in Greenland.
Their move comes as President Trump has expressed interest in acquiring the Danish territory.
The countries are seeking to boost Arctic security and support for their NATO ally.
Canadian officials, including Foreign Minister Anita Anand and Governor General Mary Simon, attended the opening ceremony.
00:08:27 話者 Anita Anand/Canadian Foreign Minister
We will stand together with the people of Greenland and Denmark on many issues, on defence and security, on economic resilience and bilateral ties.
00:08:42 (Ramin Mellegard)
Officials announced plans to open the consulate before Trump's recent talk of taking control. Canada shares a 3,000-kilometer maritime border with Denmark.
Simon said earlier in the week that they must uphold the tradition of collaboration and respect.
00:08:58 話者 Mary Simon/Canadian Governor General
Canada stands firmly in support of the people of Greenland, who will determine their own future.
00:09:07 (Ramin Mellegard)
French officials opened their consulate on Friday as well.
It's reportedly the first such outpost for any country in the European Union.
And those are the top stories for this hour.
WEATHER
♫～ 3-DAY FORECAST ～♫
And that is a wrap for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Ramin Mellegard.
Thank you very much for joining us.
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