UK races to test, vaccinate as virus variant threatens plans

Police clear a roadway at the Ambassador Bridge US-Canada border crossing blocked by truckers as they protest anti-vaccine mandates in Windsor, Ontario. (Photo by GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images) Police moved in to clear and arrest the remaining protesters near the busiest U.S.-Canadian border crossing on Sunday, trying to end a demonstration against COVID-19 restrictions that has hurt the economy of both nations even as they held back from a crackdown on a larger protest in the capital, Ottawa.Local and national police formed a joint command center in Ottawa, where protests have paralyzed downtown, infuriated residents who are fed up with police inaction and turned up pressure on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.The protests have reverberated across the country and beyond, with similar convoys in France, New Zealand and the Netherlands.

Around 300 vehicles taking part in a Canada-style protest convoy against Covid regulations have arrived in Lille, northern France.

The UK has recorded another 41,270 coronavirus cases over the past 24 hours - down from 46,025 on Saturday.

PHILADELPHIA - Two people are dead after a late night shooting in the Kingsessing section of the city.The shooting happened shortly after midnight on the 5700 block of Belmar Street. When police arrived on the scene, they found two men shot and killed.

Travelers wait at the check-in counter ahead of their Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight to Kyiv at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in Lod near Tel Aviv on February 13, 2022. (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images) Some airlines have canceled or diverted flights to Ukraine amid warnings from the West that an invasion by Russia is imminent despite intensive weekend talks between Moscow and Washington.In an hourlong call Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Joe Biden said an invasion of Ukraine would cause "widespread human suffering" and that the West was committed to diplomacy to end the crisis but "equally prepared for other scenarios," the White House said.

PHILADELPHIA - A man is fighting for his life after he was shot in the back in the head in West Philadelphia. The shooting happened just after 1 a.m. Sunday on the 200 block of North Wanamaker Street. Police say they found the 40-year-old man suffering from the gunshot wound to the head and he was rushed to a local hospital.

Vladyslav Heraskevych of Team Ukraine looks on after sliding during the Men's Skeleton Heat 4 at the Winter Olympic Games. (Adam Pretty/Getty Images) The Ukrainian Olympic team has followed the lead of skeleton racer Vladyslav Heraskevych in calling for peace.Heraskevych held up a sign with a Ukrainian flag and the message "No War in Ukraine" after completing a run in the skeleton competition on Friday at the Beijing Games.

Gold medallist Erin Jackson of Team United States poses with a Bing Dwen Dwen mascot and the winning time during the Women's 500m at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games. (Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) Erin Jackson has become the first Black woman to win a speedskating medal at the Winter Olympics.And a gold one, at that.Jackson won the 500 meters Sunday with a time of 37.04 seconds, giving the American speedskating program its first speedskating medal of the Beijing Games and first individual medal since 2010.But this one meant much more than national pride.The 29-year-old Jackson, a former inline skater who switched to the ice shortly before the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics, joined fellow American Shani Davis as the only Black athletes to win speedskating medals at the Olympics.The silver went to Miho Takagi of Japan, while Angelina Golikova of the Russian team took the bronze.Jackson's gold came after the native of balmy Ocala, Florida, slipped at the U.S.

Dr. Dre will be front and center on one of the world’s biggest stages when he performs at the 2022 Super Bowl on Feb. 13. The rapper will be joined by some of his closest friends in the industry — Eminem, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg and Kendrick Lamar — for a Halftime Show performance that is sure to be remembered. It’s almost impossible to believe that just 13 months ago, Dre suffered an apparent brain aneurysm that left him hospitalized for nearly two weeks. Luckily, Dre was able to recover from the terrifying medical scare. Learn more about it below:

LONDON :

COVID-19, as the province continues to endure the pandemic.New data released by the province on Sunday suggests 402 people were receiving care in an intensive care unit (ICU), while 244 were on a ventilator. 1,704 people hospitalized in Ontario with COVID-19, 414 in intensive care The hospitalizations and ICU admissions on Sunday mark a drop from numbers reported the day earlier.On Saturday, the province said 1,704 people were hospitalized, with 414 in ICU.However, in a tweet, Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott noted that not all hospitals submit data on weekends.A total of 2,265 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Ontario on Sunday.

James Blunt in their latest effort to repel protesters who are camped outside of parliament.The demonstrators, who are angry at COVID-19 vaccine mandates, have been blocking the streets of the country’s capital, Wellington, since Tuesday (February 8).Tactics used by the local authorities to try and get rid of the protesters have included turning on the water sprinklers on the lawn where they camped. But protesters retaliated by digging trenches and building makeshift drainpipes to re-route the water, according to BBC News.When the sprinkler tactic proved ineffective, police turned to blasting out Barry Manilow‘s greatest hits, which include ‘Mandy’ and ‘Could It Be Magic’, on a 15-minute loop from one of parliament’s loudspeakers, as well as the ’90s Spanish hit ‘Macarena’ and a number of vaccine messages.After catching wind of what was happening, Blunt offered his services to New Zealand authorities via Twitter.

All this week anti-COVID-19 vaccine mandate protesters said that if police came they wouldn’t leave their blockade of the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ont., but when push came to shove that’s exactly what they did. Sean O’Shea reports.

coronavirus pandemic declaration, the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) said it will “improve and increase service” on several of its routes beginning Sunday.In a press release issued Wednesday, TTC said 17 routes would be improved “as the agency starts restoring service across the network to pre-pandemic levels.” Ontario on track to remove ‘almost all restrictions’ on businesses ‘very soon,’ Doug Ford says “Throughout the pandemic, the TTC has prioritized service delivery where it is needed the most, protecting service on the busiest routes at the busiest times of day,” the release reads. “Last November, overall service had to be adjusted based on reduced staff availability.”The TTC said it is planning to restore 100 per cent of pre-pandemic service hours over the coming months as ridership increases.“Schedules and service will continue to be based on demand,” the release said.According to the TTC, on Feb.

Josh Hazlewood conceded just five runs in the Super Over as T20 World Cup champion Australia edged Sri Lanka on Sunday after the second game of their series finished in a tie.Australia Innings:Australia was sent in to bat in Sydney and posted 164 for 6, with Josh Inglis scoring 48 from 32 balls to lead the scoring.Dushmantha Chameera took 2 for 30, including wickets with consecutive balls in the 19th over to remove Steve Smith (14) and Marcus Stoinis (19), and Wanindu Hasaranga returned 2 for 33.Sri Lanka Innings:Sri Lanka was always behind in the run chase after losing wickets in the first, third and fifth overs to slip to 25 for 3, but opener Pathum Nissanka’s 73 from 53 deliveries kept the visiting team in contention.Sri Lanka needed 46 from the last 18 balls for victory and, when Hasaranga was run out for 34 on the last ball of the 19th over, still needed 19 off the last over from Stoinis to win the match and level the series.They scored 18 , with Maheesh Teekshana hitting the second ball he faced for six and Chameera hitting a four down the ground on the last ball to level the scores.Super Over :With the Super Over in play Hazlewood, who returned 3 for 22 in his four overs in regulation, bowled two dot balls and a bye, which resulted in Dinesh Chandimal being run out by a direct hit from Glenn Maxwell as Sri Lanka slipped to 1- 1. The Sri Lankans managed to get to 5 for 1 after six balls.Maxwell took a single off Hasaranga from the first ball of Australia’s Super Over and Stoinis did the rest, driving down the ground for consecutive boundaries to secure the victory with three balls to spare.

Ont.’s Ambassador Bridge.Dozens of trucks, cars, pickups and vans have blocked traffic in both directions at Canada’s busiest border crossing to the U.S. for several days.

The Scottish Government has confirmed 5,301 new cases of coronavirus have been identified overnight.

Kate Garraway has said she is discovering a 'new way to be in love' with her husband.

A Rutherglen man has praised a new NHS weight loss programme after shedding a staggering four stone in less than a year.

Active cases: 3,926Today's positivity rate: 1.50% pic.twitter.com/kqjBfJPSBgNever miss a story! Stay connected and informed with Mint. Download our App Now!!

Those opposed to vaccine mandates and other COVID-19 measures gathered near the Pacific Highway truck crossing Saturday – where police say convoy vehicles broke through RCMP barricades. Paul Johnson reports.

KATE Garraway has revealed the heartbreaking conversations she has with her husband Derek since Covid made him struggle to communicate. The Good Morning Britain presenter admits her other half is still unable to speak, but they still have a "deep connection" and have found a "new way" to love each other. Asked whether they can have conversations, Kate tells You: "Not really.

LONDON – For the first time in months, people across England are meeting indoors at pubs, restaurants, cinemas, gyms and elsewhere as coronavirus rules were relaxed this week.

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British ministers are pushing on with a major easing of restrictions on Monday despite concerns over the variant first detected in India, as they were criticised for allowing the strain's import.

Danger AheadIt is also a political headache for the premier, who is facing opposition from members of Parliament his own Conservative party to any moves to delay unlocking the economy. Johnson has defended his “cautious" approach to ensure that lifting restrictions, saying he wanted each step to be “irreversible," making the lockdown at the start of the year the country’s last.The number of confirmed infections of the India strain more than doubled in the past week to 1,313 from 520, according to Public Health England.

‘Cycle of Infection’“We have got to break the cycle of infection, because one of those big tests was infection rates have to be suppressed, and the other big test is variants," Zahawi told LBC radio. “If those cause a problem, then the tests will fail."Still, ministers are more likely to back a targeted surge in the vaccination program in areas where the India variant is more prevalent, rather than order local lockdowns, people familiar with the matter said.Prime Minister Boris Johnson would face resistance from within his ruling Conservative Party to any slowdown in lifting the lockdown.

Boris Johnson says the UK will continue to take the next step towards freedom on Monday despite the new Indian coronavirus variant threatening "serious disruption" to the roadmap. However he has not ruled out that the strain could prevent the UK from achieving its plan for a full reopening next month on June 21.

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Scotland within the last 24 hours while almost three million people have received at least one dose of a vaccine.Fresh data has been published this afternoon by the Scottish Government as part of its national COVID-19 daily briefing.And the figures come as Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed concern with regards to the so-called Indian variant while First Minister Nicola Sturgeon admitted an outbreak in Glasgow was also being monitored closely.Much of Scotland is set to move into Tier 2 status with the exception of Moray which is trying to get an outbreak back under control.According to Public Health Scotland's rolling seven-day infection rate per 100,000 population, Moray still has the highest infection rate in the country – at 98.1 as

Covid variant threatens to delay the end of lockdown. The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) is set to meet on Thursday amid rising fears the June 21 date for lockdown easing will be pushed back.Bolton was this week named the UK's "ground zero" for the B1617.2 strain which has become the dominant strain in four areas, figures show.Boris Johnson said it has become "of increasing concern" in Britain as data is set to show a worrying three fold increase in infections of the highly transmissible mutation.Experts advising the Government believe the final stage of Boris Johnson's road map out of lockdown -set for June 21 -could now be pushed back.

The number of people testing positive for coronavirus in Bolton is continuing to increase dramatically, the latest figures show.

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LONDON – In England, it's going to be time to hug again.