19,452 community cases; 971 hospitalisations; 21 in ICU; 24 deaths reported today

We are continuing to see a steady decline in case numbers in Auckland, while cases in other parts of the country fluctuate. Case numbers generally decline over the weekend, likely linked to a lower level of testing.

Holly Willoughby seems to be feeling a little better after stepping outside for the first time since it was revealed she had caught Covid. The This Morning star had to quit the ITV show this week and also missed hosting last weekend's Dancing on Ice after coming down with the virus and needing to self-isolate.

NORFOLK, Va. - A Virginia newspaper reporter was one of two people killed during a shooting early Saturday outside a restaurant and bar, authorities said.Sierra Jenkins, 25, who covered education and schools for The Virginian-Pilot of Norfolk, died at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital after the shooting outside Chicho’s Pizza Backstage, according to officials.Norfolk police detectives were investigating the shooting, which also resulted in injuries to three others. Jenkins was caught in the crossfire as she was leaving the bar, restaurant manager Rory Schindel told the newspaper.

There is a scandal brewing over on the set of Grey’s Anatomy!

Holly Willoughby has taken to Instagram to update her fans on her health after a recent positive Covid test left the star unable to present on ITV.In the serene snap, Holly can be seen relaxing in front of a lush green hedge as she basked in the sunlight. Her signature blonde locks were styled in a loose up do and she sported a bare face as she soaked up the sun.The presenter wore a white bathrobe and cupped her hand round her face as she closed her eyes, enjoying a moment of peace after her recent illness.Holly wrote in the caption: “Just what the doctor ordered,” and signed off with a sun emoji.Fans and friends alike were stunned by Holly’s natural beauty as she enjoyed the rare British sunshine and took to the comments to boost her confidence.Television personality Vanessa Feltz called her “sweetheart” and told the mother-of-three that she was “glad to see her up and about”.One envious fan asked: “Drop the skincare routine now, please.”Another said: “You are naturally beautiful, hope you’re feeling better,” while one kind follower wrote: “Sunshine is good for the soul, have a great weekend and keep on smiling”.Holly had posted hours before as a plug for her new brand Wylde Moon, but her makeup free snap was the first sign of the ITV star all week.Her bout of Covid left the ITV presenter unable to host both her usual slots, This Morning and the Dancing On Ice semi final, alongside her longtime pal Phillip Schofield.Phillip presented the ice-skating competition by himself and posted a sweet message on his Instagram before he was due on air.

were killed near Kyiv after identifying graphic photos on Twitter."I recognized the luggage and that is how I knew," Serhiy Perebyinis told The New York Times.Perebyinis was helping his sick mother in eastern Ukraine when his wife decided to flee their home in Irpin, near Kyiv, with their two children last week after their apartment was hit by Russian shelling, the New York Times reported."I told her, ‘Forgive me that I couldn’t defend you,’" Perebyinis recalled to the outlet of what he told his wife the night before she died. "I tried to care for one person, and it meant I cannot protect you.""She said, ‘Don’t worry, I will get out.’"RELATED: Russia-Ukraine war: Intense combat continues to hit MariupolA residential building damaged by a missile on February 25, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

BEIJING (AP) - China's health authorities reported two COVID-19 deaths on Saturday, the first since January 2021, as the country battles its worst outbreak in two years driven by a surge in the highly transmissible omicron variant.The deaths, both in northeastern Jilin province, bring the country's coronavirus death toll to 4,638.Both fatalities occurred in elderly patients and were the result of their underlying conditions, Jiao Yahui, an official with the National Health Commission, told a news briefing on Saturday. One of them had not been vaccinated for COVID-19, she said.The majority of new 2,157 community transmissions reported Saturday came from Jilin.

A US Marine Corps MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft lands during a joint exercise with Japanese Self Defense Forces members at the Higashifuji training area in Gotemba, Shizuoka Prefecture on March 15, 2022. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo b HELSINKI (AP) - Four U.S. soldiers were killed when their Osprey aircraft crashed in a Norwegian town in the Arctic Circle during a NATO exercise unrelated to the Ukraine war, Norway's prime minister and defense officials said Saturday.Jonas Gahr Stoere tweeted that they were killed in the crash on Friday night.

Ontario hospital with COVID-19 as the province continues efforts to control the spread of the virus.That’s according to new data, released by the provincial government on Saturday. Studies show mask mandates ‘consistently’ reduce COVID transmission, Ontario science table says The data also said 185 people in Ontario were being treated for COVID-19 in an intensive care unit (ICU).Both the number of people in hospital and ICU dropped on Saturday compared to numbers reported a day earlier.On Friday, the province reported 615 people in hospital with 193 in intensive care.

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China reported two Covid-19 deaths today, its first in more than a year, underlining the threat posed by an omicron outbreak that has triggered the country's highest case counts since the pandemic's outset.

CNBC News reported.

The latest data from the Canadian Real Estate Association suggests record-breaking home prices for 2022. Managing editor at ‘Storeys’ Penelope Graham breaks down the report and looks at the reasons behind the housing boom.

Millions of innocent lives are suffering from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, including children. Mike Drolet reports on the hardships the youngest Ukrainian refugees face, and how their resilience is also inspiring hope.

home prices continue to soar alongside inflation and a higher cost of borrowing.Among frustrated prospective buyers is Mac Ross, an assistant professor at Western University’s School of Kinesiology in London, Ont. He tells Global News that he’s struggling to find a home big enough for his growing family, even on a professor’s salary.The family of four has been renting a two-bedroom home for the past few years, but the addition of a new baby pushed Ross and his wife to put together a down payment in search of a three-bedroom home five months ago.

One person was injured Friday after officials say Russian missiles targeted Lviv airport, in western Ukraine, and hit an aircraft repair facility. The person was reportedly taken to hospital in moderate condition. Mercedes Stephenson reports.

active cases shrink to 1,379. So far, 4.24 crore people have recovered from Covid -19 in the country since March 2020 while 5,16,352 have died due to respiratory infection. As many as 3,383 people got recovered from Covid-19 in the past day.

omicron -- few of those infected had been seriously sick since mid-2021. Many who developed severe symptoms survived, even patients above the age of 60 and those with other underlying diseases.

PHILADELPHIA - Authorities say two teenage girls were shot when they tried to drive away from a group of young men Friday night in North Philadelphia. Philadelphia Police Captain John Walker told reporters that four teenage girls between ages of 16 and 17 were driving in a car near the intersection of Cecil B. Moore Avenue and North Broad Street around 10 p.m. As they slowly drove down the street, Walker said the girls became engaged in a conversation with a group of young men standing on the corner.

COVID-19 in Alberta, the province’s chief medical officer of health tweeted on Friday afternoon.“My sympathy goes out to all who have lost a loved one,” Dr. Deena Hinshaw tweeted.The total number of COVID-19 fatalities since the virus arrived in the province a little over two years ago is now 4,023.Despite the latest deaths, the number of people with COVID-19 in Alberta hospitals continues to trend downwards.As of Friday afternoon, Alberta Health said there were 966 people with COVID-19 in hospitals, down one from a day earlier.

The clock is ticking for supporters and opponents of Premier Jason Kenney to sign up members in time for the leadership review. They have until Saturday at midnight to purchase a UCP membership so they can vote on April 9 in Red Deer.

We are reporting 18,514 community cases of COVID-19 today.

The fossil remains of a Basilosaurus' skull found in Ocucaje, Peru, are displayed by paleontologists at a museum in Lima, on March 17, 2022.  Paleontologists recently discovered the origins of fossils from a fearsome aquatic predator that would make the terrifying shark from "Jaws" look adorable. The skull was dug up last year but scientists announced on Thursday the 36-million-year-old creature once lived in a prehistoric ocean that once covered what is now Peru, Reuters reported. The recovered skull may look like it came from a fire-breathing dragon, but scientists believe the mammal to be a basilosaurus, part of the aquatic cetacean family. Modern descendants of this animal include whales and dolphins. Scientists confirmed the ancient whale measured in at roughly 39 feet offering relief to readers of the creature’s extinction. "It was a marine monster," said Rodolfo Salas, chief of paleontology at Peru's National University of San Marcos, told reporters at a news conference.

Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans reacts to a touchdown during a game against the Tennessee Titans at NRG Stadium on January 03, 2021 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) Deshaun Watson changed his mind.

Then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows speaks to members of the press outside the West Wing of the White House on August 28, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) RALEIGH, N.C. - North Carolina state investigators are probing the voter registration of Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff to President Donald Trump, amid questions about him listing a home he never owned on voter records, the state attorney general’s office said Thursday.Attorney General Josh Stein's office asked the State Bureau of Investigation to look into Meadows' voter registration after a local prosecutor requested that state authorities oversee any probe of the matter, N.C.

Authorities say the suspect got into a silver Jeep Wrangler with a hardtop, tinted windows and either a Delaware or Maryland temporary license plate.  NEW CASTLE, Del. - Authorities in Delaware are searching for a man who they say tased and assaulted a woman as she was walking to a bus stop last week. Officers from the New Castle County Division of Police were called to the intersection of Buena Vista Drive and Liborio Lane on Tuesday for reports of an assault. A 31-year-old woman said she was walking to the bus stop when a man approached her and asked if her name is Alicia, according to police. When she said no, investigators say the man pushed a taser into her neck and forced her to the ground.

More than a third of local and state public health officials who resigned or were fired in the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic reported incidents of workplace violence such as threats, harassment, and intimidation, according to a mixed-methods US study yesterday in the American Journal of Managed Care.

COVID-19 have died as the number of hospitalizations linked to the virus continued to drop Friday.The latest deaths, reported on the province’s online COVID-19 dashboard, bring Manitoba’s COVID-19 death toll to 1,726. Manitoba goes mask-free, many businesses, people remain cautious The number of people hospitalized as a result of COVID-19 fell to 382 as of Friday morning, 13 fewer than had been reported 24 hours earlier.As of Friday, 13 people are in ICU with the virus, down four from Thursday.Numbers released by the province Thursday show COVID-19 hospitalizations dropped 15.6 per cent from the previous week and ICU admissions linked to the virus were down 68.2 per cent over the previous week.Manitoba lifted all remaining COVID-19 public health orders Tuesday, including a mask mandate that had required face coverings to be worn in public spaces.

Ontario rejects Waterloo board’s request to have mask mandate extended in schools Of the 23 inpatients with COVID-19, 13 are being treated for COVID-19 while 10 are being treated for something other than COVID-19 but were found to have an incidental infection.At least 167 staff cases are currently active at LHSC, unchanged from Thursday but up from 155 on Wednesday.At St. Joseph’s Health Care London, officials reported 64 cases among health-care workers and two cases among patients or residents, both of Parkwood Institute Main Building.

FILE-A Dairy Queen employee displays an ice cream cone at a DQ restaurant in New York. (Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images) WASHINGTON - With spring days away, Dairy Queen is giving customers a special treat with the return of their popular Free Cone Day giveaway.On Monday, March 21, customers can get a free, small vanilla ice cream cone at Dairy Queen locations nationwide — except locations inside malls. The free cones are limited to one per person while supplies last and may not be valid for delivery or mobile orders. RELATED: Dairy Queen giving away free ice cream on March 20Dairy Queen was among several companies in 2021 that changed or canceled their giveaway events based on the pandemic.

small asteroid struck the Earth’s atmosphere above Iceland last Friday, just two hours after it was spotted by an astronomer.On March 11, Hungarian astronomer Krisztián Sárneczky, from the Piszkéstető Observatory near Budapest, spotted a small asteroid headed toward our planet.Closer and closer, faster and faster. The impacted asteroid 2022 EB5 on 1 sec images taken at Piszkéstető Observatory with the 0.60m Schmidt telescope on Mar 11, 20:44, 20:50, 20:55, 21:05 and 21:11 UT (T-38, 32, 27, 17 and 11 min).

A 2020 Volkswagen Atlas Cross Sport is on display at a Volkswagen event in Los Angeles, California. (Erik Voake/Getty Images for Volkswagen) DETROIT - Volkswagen is recalling more than 246,000 SUVs in the U.S.

COVID-19 as hospital numbers continued to fall Friday.There was a total of 1,021 pandemic-related hospitalizations, a decrease of 13. This comes after 76 patients were admitted in the past day, while 89 were discharged.There were 45 intensive care unit cases, a drop of five.The province added 1,170 new novel coronavirus cases, though health authorities say the daily tally doesn’t represent the current situation since access to government-run screening sites remains limited.

Scientists have sounded the alarm on Long Covid's impact on concentration and memory.

Photo shows the condition of the coral on the Great Barrier Reef, off the coast of the Australian state of Queensland. - The Great Barrier Reef has been hit with "widespread" bleaching.

GENEVA :

FILE IMAGE - American Airlines planes parked at their gates in the Miami International Airport on Dec. 10, 2021 in Miami, Florida.

Central government also asked states and UTs to send adequate numbers of samples to INSACOG to ensure timely detection of new variants while maintaining adequate testing as per the protocols for testing laid by ICMR.

Covid-19 infections have suddenly shot up. The WHO weekly report on the pandemic issued late Tuesday, noted that there were more than 11 million new Covid-19 infections last week - about an 8% rise - and 43,000 new deaths, as per news agency PTI report.

A Lower Mainland woman says she was shoved by a complete stranger at one of the region’s busiest shopping centres. The woman was walking with a friend when she says she was attacked by a woman she’d never seen before.

#COVID19 cases, 3,997 recoveries, and 149 deaths in the last 24 hours.Active case: 29,181 (0.07%)Daily positivity rate: 0.40%Total recoveries: 4,24,58,543Death toll: 5,16,281Total vaccination: 1,80,97,94,58 pic.twitter.com/PhvoxNiXxV

PHILADELPHIA - Authorities say a young man was badly hurt when he answered a knock at his front door and was shot in the chest Tuesday night in East Germantown.Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to a property on the 5300 block of Magnolia Street around 9:30 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA - Authorities say a man was shot twice, including once in the face, Thursday night inside a South Philadelphia corner store. Officer from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to a grocery store on the 1900 block of Ringgold Street just before 7 p.m.

Today there are 14,128 cases to report and 943 people in hospital with COVID-19.

TAMPA, Fla. - Two Tampa men are among a group of suspects facing felony charges for allegedly tampering with gas pumps and stealing fuel. State officials are sounding the alarm about an uptick of this piracy at the pumps.It is a crime that is hard to spot when crooks illegally meddle with the parts inside fuel dispensers to steal gas."They're changing the pulsar, which reads how many gallons and how many dollars that you're paying for the fuel," explained Ned Bowman, Executive Director of the Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association.Instead of paying hundreds, it only costs dollars to fill up.

PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia engaged father of two was badly hurt when police say he was caught in the crossfire of a shootout between two cars.Officers from the Philadelphia Police Department were called to the intersection of Tulip Street and Allegheny Avenue around 5 p.m. Wednesday for reports of a shooting. Officers found 42-year-old Joseph Leipert with two gunshot wounds.

COVID-19 dropped again on Thursday, according to Alberta Health’s website.On Thursday, there were 967 in hospital with the virus. Of those people, 67 were receiving care in the ICU.