'Need strong surveillance': Omicron BA.2 sub-variant contributing to majority of Covid cases: WHO

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Parliamentary Group of the government has passed a proposal to continue the governance structure with the leadership of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.The proposal was passed when the parliamentary group met on Thursday (21).The Prime Minister’s office said MP Sahan Pradeep had proposed that it was essential to form a government under the leadership of Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to address the issues in the country.The Prime Minister’s Office said the proposal was thereafter unanimously passed by the ruling party MPs.Ministers and Former Minister, including Basil Rajapaksa were present for the meeting, said the PMs Office.

COLOMBO (News 1st); The remains of the late Chaminda Lakshan who was killed in police fire during a protest in Rambukkana on the 19th of April, was handed over to his relatives on Friday (22).According to the Director of the Kegalle Hospital Dr.

Gautam Buddh Nagar stood at 467 while the total number of active infections in Uttar Pradesh was 856, the state health department data showed

COVID-19 who are at highest risk of developing severe disease and hospitalization, such as unvaccinated, older, or immunosuppressed patients.

NOTE: This story contains details some may find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.

Flair Airlines downplayed concerns Thursday that the ultra low-cost carrier could lose its licence to fly in Canada.Stephen Jones outlined steps the airline is taking to overhaul its board and refinance its debt to reduce foreign influence on the company.Flair is in the midst of a licence review from the Canadian Transportation Agency (CTA), which said in a preliminary finding last month that the Edmonton-based airline might not meet Canadian ownership requirements to fly in the country.The air industry watchdog said Flair’s Miami-based business partner, 777 Partners, might have “control in fact” over the airline, which would violate rules under the Canada Transportation Act. Flair Airlines could be grounded in Canada over foreign control concerns Flair has until May 3 to respond to the CTA’s concerns, or it risks having its licence suspended.Jones told reporters Thursday the company will meet that deadline to formally respond and added there is “zero chance” the company loses its licence on that day.May 3 is not a “drop dead date,” Jones said, but is rather a point at which the CTA is expecting a formal response.

Insignia air fryers and air fryer ovens are being recalled after the Government of Canada announced Thursday that the products can overheat, posing a potential burn and fire hazard.This recall involves the Insignia™ Digital Air Fryers, Insignia™ Analog Air Fryers and Insignia™ Digital Air Fryer Oven.The affected products were sold between November 2018 and April 2022. Kinder chocolates recalled due to possible salmonella contamination According to the government website, as of March 25th, the company has identified 36 reports of incidents including one report of minor injury in Canada caused by the now-recalled products.In the United States, the company has identified 68 reports of incidents including one report of minor injury.The recalled products were sold by Best Buy and online through eBay.ca and Amazon.ca., according to the government.“Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled air fryers and air fryer ovens, check to see if their model is included in the recall and return the product through the return process of the original place of purchase,” the government website said.Only certain model numbers are affected by this recall, which includes the 3.4qt Analog Air Fryer in Black (NS-AF32MBK9-C) and the 10 Qt.

Crime Beat: Arlene Westervelt – murder or misadventure? Jurisdiction has been assigned to another coroner who will review the entirety of the investigative material and evidence gathered in the case, according to the letter, including the findings of the initial autopsy and the autopsy review. Coroner Carolyn Maxwell has been assigned to complete that review.“The Coroners Act permits the chief coroner to reopen an investigation if new evidence arises or if the chief coroner considers it would be in the public interest,” a representative from the Coroner’s office said in an emailed statement.“In this case, the chief coroner has determined that it is in the public interest for another coroner to undertake a new investigation to include any new or additional information that may assist the public’s understanding of the circumstances of Arlene Westervelt’s death.”A coroner’s investigation is independent, impartial and objective, the representative continued.“The coroner does not have a vested interest in the outcome of an investigation but will endeavour to ensure that all relevant information is gathered and considered,” they said.

India on Friday reported 2,451 new COVID19 cases and with that, the active caseload in the country reached 14,241, as per Union Health Ministry data updated on Thursday.

WINSLOW TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A local community could soon be without some first responders, as a volunteer fire company is shutting down temporarily. The local fire chief says a firefighter shortage is to blame.Inside the Cedar Brook Volunteer Fire station, in Camden County, New Jersey, the hooks for helmets and turnout gear are empty. The fire engines and hoses that used to fill the bays are also gone.In the room just next door, Winslow Township Fire Department explaining to community members the tough decision to close the station that’s been serving the area since 1925."The community is growing.

https://t.co/C7vxJq2vmE

Paxlovid over remdesivir, as well as over Merck's molnupiravir pill and monoclonal antibodies.

The Ministry of Health’s Post Vaccine Symptom Check survey results show that most tamariki aged 5 to 11 did not experience a reaction after receiving the child Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. The majority of tamariki who experienced a reaction after receiving the vaccine only experienced a minor reaction. 

Today we are reporting 9,390 community cases, 522 hospitalisations and 13 deaths.

PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia officials, in an about-face, will drop the mask mandate implemented Monday.Mayor Jim Kenney’s office stated decreasing hospitalizations and a narrowing of coronavirus case numbers as reasons for the shift.The city will move to strongly recommend all people wear masks indoors, but will move away from a mask mandate.The mayor’s office did not specify when they intend to implement the change.

TALLAHASSEE - The Florida House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would dissolve Walt Disney World’s special governing power in the state.The bill will now head to the desk of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis who has been involved in a war of words with the company after it publicly opposed a bill he signed which prohibits classroom instruction on "sexual orientation" and "gender identity" with children in third grade or younger "or in a manner that is not age-appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards."RELATED: DeSantis vs. Disney: What happens if legislature eliminates Reedy Creek Improvement District?The passage in the Florida House comes the day after the Florida Senate passed the measure by a vote of 23-16 to dissolve Disney's special status that it was granted by the state over 50 years ago. Brevard County State Rep.

Police in Kensington investigate a shooting that killed a 23-year-old man. KENSINGTON - Philadelphia police are investigating a shooting in Kensington that killed a 23-year-old man.According to authorities, police were called to the 600 block of East Indiana Street Thursday, about 8:15 p.m., on the report of a shooting.Responding officers found the 23-year-old man with a gunshot wound to the head.He was rushed by police to Temple University Hospital, where he died.AdvertisementOfficials say an investigation is ongoing.

WEST PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia officials say a shooting between two vehicles on the Schuylkill Expressway shut the highway down Thursday evening.Authorities said the shooting began near Girard Avenue, on the Expressway, around 6:00 p.m.The shooting is being treated as a road rage investigation. Officials say no injuries have been reported.The eastbound side of the highway was closed for about a half hour while police investigated the incident.

Honduran police officers escort Juan Orlando Hernandez, Honduras' former president, center, to Toncontin International Airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, on Thursday, April 21, 2022. (Tomas Ayuso/Bloomberg via Getty Images) TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Honduras extradited former President Juan Orlando Hernández to the United States on Thursday to face drug trafficking and weapons charges in a dramatic reversal for a leader once touted by U.S. authorities as a key ally in the war on the drugs.Just three months after leaving office, Hernández boarded an airplane handcuffed with agents from the U.S.

DULUTH, Minn. (FOX 9) - Police have now identified the family killed in what investigators are now calling a murder-suicide in Duluth on Wednesday.Five people were found dead at a home in Duluth after police were called in for a welfare check.

Adele Roberts appeared on ITV's Lorraine to share an update on her cancer journey. The 42-year-old was diagnosed with bowel cancer last year and went public with this news in October 2021. She has since been undergoing chemotherapy including surgery to remove the tumour.

Philadelphia Police investigate a fatal stabbing on North 5th St in Hunting Park. HUNTING PARK - Philadelphia Police are investigating a fatal stabbing in the Hunting Park section.Officials said officers from the 25th District were dispatched to the 3900 block of North 5th Street Thursday, about 3:30 in the afternoon, on the report of a stabbing.Officers arrived to find a 50-year-old woman with stab wounds all over her body.MORE HEADLINES: Medics pronounced the woman dead at the scene.AdvertisementPolice say an active investigation is underway.

BILLINGS, Mont. - Emily Pennington is an avid sports fan and a cheerleader for Billings West High School in Montana. She loves basketball, volleyball, the Utah Jazz and Tom Brady.But the 18-year-old also has trisomy 21— a form of Down syndrome.

NORTHEAST PHILADELPHIA - One of two men sentence to life behind bars for the deaths of four people in a 2009 horrific crash is out of prison and back in Philadelphia.The District Attorney’s Office argues he was sentenced for a crime he did not commit, but the family of one of the victims, a seven-year-old girl, is devastated."What gives him the right to be out here, free as he is?" Sandra Elias lamented.Elias says as long as she lives in her North 3rd Street home, there will be a memorial for her seven-year-old granddaughter, Gina Marie Rosario, and the three others killed in June 2009.An indescribable pain, that’s only deeper today.Gina Marie Rosario, pictured with her mother, was killed in a 2009 accident in Philadelphia. "We will never see Gina Marie Rosario again in life, so why should he be able to see the streets and my granddaughter will never see her birthday? Her graduations? Her proms?" Elias questioned.Elias and her daughter say they were devastated to find out one of the two men sentenced to life behind bars for their deaths, Ivan Rodriguez, as of Wednesday, is out of prison and back in Philadelphia.Police say Donta Cradock and Rodriguez, 21 and 23 at the time, fled the scene of a robbery.

NOTE:This story contains details and language some may find disturbing. Please read at your own discretion.

FILE - Hepatitis B virus (Hepadnavirid family). (BSIP/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)The U.S.

Earth Day and wedding season in full swing, many people are turning to eco-friendly ways to have a sustainable wedding in 2022. "Your wedding is meant to be the greatest day of your life, but with tossed paper goods, excess food thrown away, and leftover flowers dumped in the garbage, it can also be one of the most wasteful," Brides.com noted. Now, we're not saying you should skip hosting a party or forgo those beautiful details, but if you are an eco-conscious bride or groom and want to reduce your event’s effect on the environment, here are some sustainable methods that are shaping the bridal industry and can ultimately reduce your wedding carbon's footprint.A green wedding is any wedding where the couple plans to decrease the ecological impact of their special event on the planet."Today’s couples are concerned about the state of the planet and are passionate about lowering their carbon footprints as much as possible," photographer Nikk Nuygen told the blog Junebug Weddings. "Most modern couples don’t want a wedding full of excess waste and unnecessary items, especially with the increasing costs!" Wedding tablescape and decor (Credit: Something Borrowed Blooms) And these days, wedding experts say it’s not too hard to accomplish, with many more eco-friendly wedding decorations on the market and greener options for catering, invitations, and more.While you may want to invite everyone you know to your wedding, it can end up being more wasteful and ultimately more costly. RELATED: Learn Sustainable Wedding Planning with Detroit CultivatedSo, it’s simple: the smaller your guest list, the less waste you will end up producing. For most weddings, flowers are used for a few hours before being thrown away.

NORTH PHILADELPHIA - U.S. Representative Dwight Evans is proposing an expansive $51 billion program to fight violence in Philadelphia and across the country.Evans unveiled the program at a gathering of politicians, law enforcement and doctors outside Temple University Hospital Thursday.Evans said, If approved, the program would support police, fund local anti-violence efforts, link residents to health care, provide job training and pump-up federal law enforcement.MORE HEADLINES:He predicted the U.S.

RELATED: NASA's Perseverance rover beams back first images, audio recordings from MarsPerseverance filmed the video on its 397th day of the Mars mission, which hopes to find signs of ancient life. Scientists believe that if life ever flourished on Mars, it would have happened 3 billion to 4 billion years ago, when water still flowed on the planet.The rover’s arm drills down and collects rock samples containing possible signs of bygone microscopic life.

In its weekly snapshot of the pandemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) said yesterday that global cases dropped for the fourth straight week, with illness levels—as well as deaths—down in all regions.

Stephen Colbert has tested positive for COVID-19 but that won’t stop him from cracking the jokes.

Toronto Zoo says it has begun administering COVID-19 vaccines to its most susceptible animals.In a press release issued Thursday, the zoo said it has received COVID-19 vaccines for animals developed and donated by Zoetis.According to the zoo, it has received 320 doses of the vaccine. Each animal will need two doses, administered two-to-three weeks apart.

Former Philadelphia Police officer Darren Kardos, arrested in assault of woman during 2020 racial protest. PHILADELPHIA - Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced the arrest of former Philadelphia Police officer Darren Kardos due to the role he played, officials say, in the assault of a woman, her toddler and her teenage nephew who were pulled from their vehicle during protests in West Philadelphia after the 2020 fatal shooting of Walter Wallace, Jr.Kardos, in an official statement following the incident, stated things about the victim’s actions that did not match video evidence.

LOS ANGELES - Every year, one of the world’s leading dance competition companies sells the dream of Hollywood fame to hundreds of thousands of ambitious young dancers hoping to launch careers on television, in movies and on stage.But behind the bright lights and pulsing music, some dancers say they were sexually assaulted, harassed and manipulated by the company’s powerful founder and famous teachers and choreographers, according to a joint investigation by The Associated Press and the Toronto Star.The problems date back to the founding of Los Angeles-based Break The Floor Productions; as the company has grown into an industry powerhouse, its leaders perpetuated a culture of sex and silence, according to interviews with dozens of former and current staff and students.Break the Floor’s reach extends across the entertainment industry to some of the biggest names in music, television and social media. Alumni and faculty have danced on stage with Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, at the Oscars and the Super Bowl.

Stephen Colbert has called in sick to work. On Thursday, it was announced that the upcoming episode of  would be canceled because the late-night host tested positive for COVID-19.«As previously planned, the show will be airing repeats tomorrow through next week.

COVID-19.The latest data comes from the province’s weekly epidemiology update covering April 6-10, a week that saw 206 new COVID-19 patients hospitalized including 22 Manitobans admitted to ICU. Manitoba expands eligibility for 4th dose of COVID-19 vaccine Health officials say 12 Manitobans with COVID-19 died during the week covered in the report, the highest death toll reported since the province moved to weekly reporting March 31.Further details about the latest deaths like age, gender and health region are not included in the weekly updates.While the province reported 12 deaths linked to COVID-19 in Thursday’s update, Manitoba’s total COVID-19 death toll rose to 1,774, 15 more than had been reported last week.For the week ending April 9, health officials reported 177 new hospitalizations and five deaths.

A United Airlines flight takes off at Chicago OÃâHare International Airport on July 6, 2020, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images) Major airlines are allowing most passengers who were banned for violating mask rules back on planes after a federal judge struck down the national mask mandate on airplanes and mass transit this week.The mask mandate was issued by the U.S.

FILE - NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured this stunning view of the Americas on Earth Day, April 22, 2014. (NASA/NOAA/GOES Project)Google Earth has fascinated millions as it can show someone locations across the globe in great detail.

AstraZeneca's monoclonal antibody combination tixagevimab-cilgavimab (Evusheld) reduced the risk of symptomatic COVID-19 infection by 83% over placebo at a median follow-up of 6 months, finds a phase 3 randomized clinical trial published yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Thames Valley District School Board (TVDSB), even after its Board of Trustees voted to enact a masking requirement, TVDSB officials said on Thursday.Put forward in a motion from Trustee Corrine Rahman, trustees voted to approve the requirement during a special meeting held on Tuesday. It came in response to a growing number of staff absences at TVDSB that have been linked to illness amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.During Tuesday’s meeting, TVDSB general legal counsel Ali Chahbar told trustees that while they had the right to pass the motion, TVDSB would not be able to enforce a masking requirement.“When the government of Ontario decided to lift that mask requirement as of March 21 of this year, the end result of that was that it served to remove the enforcement mechanism that existed,” Chahbar said at the time.

PHILADELPHIA - A Philadelphia police officer who was fired amid accusations that he beat a woman in front of her toddler during unrest in 2020 is now facing charges in the incident, according to the District Attorney’s office. The incident occurred in Oct. 2020, during demonstrations in the days after Philadelphia police officers fatally shot Walter Wallace Jr. Officer Darren Kardos was suspended and later fired in relation to the encounter that left Rickia Young battered and bruised. On Thursday, Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner announced that Kardos has been arrested and charged with aggravated assault, simple assault, possession of an instrument of crime, reckless endangerment, and criminal mischief. Young has said she was watching the news when she saw that protests over Wallace’s death had broken out in West Philadelphia.

A 31-year-old woman from Spain contracted COVID-19 twice within 3 weeks, despite being fully vaccinated and recently receiving a booster shot, according to a case report that will be presented at the upcoming European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) meeting. The case provides evidence that the Omicron strain is able to evade previous immunity.The woman, a healthcare worker, first tested positive in December o

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Loretta Clayton-Treadwell, 30, is charged with threat of mass violence on school property after allegedly calling to say she would blow up an elementary school over her son’s missing backpack (Shelby County Jail)MEMPHIS, Tenn. - A Tennessee mother is accused of threatening to blow up her son’s elementary school over a missing backpack, allegedly telling school staff over the phone that "some kids will be missing." Loretta Clayton, 30, was arrested after placing calls to Getwell Elementary in Memphis Wednesday. Court documents allege that a teaching assistant told law enforcement she took a call from Clayton, who phoned asking about her son’s missing backpack before growing angry and threatening to blow up the school. The teacher claimed that Clayton stated, "some kids will be missing," an affidavit says. THIRD SOUTH CAROLINA MALL SHOOTING SUSPECT ARRESTED FOLLOWING 6-DAY MANHUNT The mother ended the conversation and called the school back, that time reaching the principal.

coronavirus vaccine immunity. Even World Health Organisation (WHO) has pointed out this will happen and that is why we take more than one dose of vaccine.

Also read: Omicron+Delta recombinant cases detected from 7 states in India

Covid-19 pandemic was a long way off, citing a rise in cases in its latest weekly data.