New Zealand's Ardern credits virus response for election win

A robot dog operating alongside ATVs in the southwest U.S. Photo: Courtesy Ghost Robotics.

Police in Windsor, Ont., commenced their enforcement Saturday of an injunction granted on Friday by an Ontario judge to allow for protesters at the Ambassador Bridge to be cleared out. Sean O’Shea has more details on how the enforcement proceeded, with protesters closest to the bridge seen moving back peacefully, while others drove their vehicles away from the area.

COVID-19 in Nova Scotia declined slightly since Friday, the province announced on Saturday.In an abbreviated weekend news release, the province said there were 79 people in hospital who were admitted due to COVID-19 and were receiving specialized care in a designated unit. That’s down by three since Friday.However, another three people were in intensive care, for a total of 14.

Wendy Williams is speaking out.

SALT LAKE CITY - Traffic deaths decreased in Utah after the state enacted the strictest drunken driving laws in the nation five years ago, new research published Friday by a U.S. government agency shows.The findings, which pertain to fatalities involving and not involving alcohol, provide initial validation for conservative lawmakers who passed the law over concerns from restaurant and tourism industry lobbyists.In the study published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, researchers wrote that, in the years after Utah changed the drunken driving threshold from .08% to .05% blood-alcohol content, the number of crashes and fatalities fell even though drivers logged more miles."Changing the law to .05% in Utah saved lives and motivated more drivers to take steps to avoid driving impaired," said Dr.

HARPER, Kan. - Rain on a wedding day can be upsetting for any couple, but a tornado can be downright frightening during the vows.In some cultures, rain is viewed as good luck, symbolizing various things from fertility to unity. It can also represent that your marriage will last a lifetime. Candra and Caleb Pence would agree.It was May 19, 2012, and the 21-year-old bride was ready to marry the man of her dreams.

MOSCOW - With the risk of war looming larger, Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Joe Biden held a high-stakes telephone call Saturday as a tense world watched and worried that an invasion of Ukraine could begin within days.Before talking to Biden, Putin had a telephone call with French President Emmanuel Macron, who met with him in Moscow earlier in the week to try to resolve the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War. A Kremlin summary of the call suggested that little progress was made toward cooling down the tensions.The closely watched call between Biden and Putin began shortly after 11 a.m.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Demonstrators in Afghanistan’s capital Saturday condemned President Joe Biden’s order freeing up $3.5 billion in Afghan assets held in the U.S. for families of America’s 9/11 victims — saying the money belongs to Afghans.Protesters who gathered outside Kabul's grand Eid Gah mosque asked America for financial compensation for the tens of thousands of Afghans killed during the last 20 years of war in Afghanistan.Biden's order, signed Friday, allocates another $3.5 billion in Afghan assets for humanitarian aid to a trust fund to be managed by the U.N.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM :

COVID-19 on Saturday.According to the provincial COVID-19 dashboard, the deaths involve a person in their 70s and two people in their 80s in Zone 1 and one person in their 90s in Zone 4.A total of 286 people with COVID-19 have now died in New Brunswick. Anti-mandate demonstration in Fredericton enters Day 2 Since Friday, hospitalizations have dropped by 13, for a total of 122 people in hospital.

Ottawa is seeing another influx of people in the downtown as the demonstrations against COVID-19 public health measures and vaccine mandates enters its third weekend. Reports say there was some sort of party or additional protest late Friday night.

WILLINGBORO, Pa. - Officials in Burlington County announced Saturday that a man was shot and killed in a parking lot in a Willingboro shopping center. The investigation began after officers were called to the Kennedy Plaza in the 400 block of John F. Kennedy Way just after 7:30 p.m.

COLOMBO (News 1st); President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said that the nature or extent of the challenges will not matter in fulfilling the promises made to the people.He noted that development activities continue in the country while taking necessary steps to control the COVID-19 pandemic.The President also pointed out that the economy, which had been collapsed for nearly two years, is gradually recovering.The President made these remarks participating in the first round of discussions in a series of sessions with professionals representing various fields, held at the President’s House on Friday (11).The professionals who participated in the discussion said that they are further committed to make the national programme a success by giving the necessary strength to achieve the goals desired by the President, said a statement.The professionals vehemently rejected the allegations spread by some sections with the objective of achieving narrow political agendas, the statement added.Experts in the field said that the new approach to agriculture initiated by the President is being continuously supported by the researchers and entrepreneurs who are engaged full time in these fields, further noted the statement.Representatives from a wide range of fields, including education, policy, sociology, agriculture, research, water and renewable energy, medical, engineering and innovation, were present at the discussion with the President.Ministers, State Ministers, Members of Parliament, the Governor of the Central Bank, the Secretary to the President, the Principal Advisor to the President and many others were also present.

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Ontario hospital on Saturday with COVID-19, as the province continues to battle the pandemic.New data released by the province on Feb. 12 suggests a drop in the number of people in hospital from the previous day.

Health Matters February 11: As the Alberta Diabetes Foundation’s 48 Hours to Stop Diabetes fundraiser continues, Su-Ling Goh explains how local researchers are aiming to find a pharmaceutical way to achieve Type 2 remission, by understanding the diabetes “dimmer switch.”

were discharged in the past twenty four hours taking the total to 10,31,304.

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GANDHINAGAR :

◾New cases in State: 3,202◾New cases in B'lore: 1,293◾Positivity rate: State - 2.95%; Blore - 2.49%◾Discharges: 8,988◾Active cases: State- 38,747; B'lore- 16k◾Deaths:38 (B'lore- 10)◾Tests: 1,08,534#COVID

has moved to bravely open up about an "embarrassing" chronic health problem. The reality TV star suffers from bronchiectasis, she has revealed in a new interview.

A post shared by RYLAN (@rylan)Rylan worried fans on Friday when he shared a photograph from a hospital bed.The snap only showed his stomach and his arm which was fitted with a cannula.He said: “Finally home after an extended trip to Costa del hospital.“Slowly on the mend. Won’t be on the wireless tomorrow.“Resting up.

The Windsor Police have commenced enforcement near the Ambassador Bridge, Windsor, Ont.

Nurses in Canada say working during the COVID-19 Omicron wave has left them burnt out, physically and mentally, and an increase in abuse directed at health-care workers has pushed them to breaking point. According to a report from the Ontario Science Table, pre-pandemic, 20 to 40 per cent of health-care workers reported severe burnout. By spring 2021, rates had climbed to more than 60 per cent.

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COLOMBO (News 1st); Sri Lanka all-rounder Wanindu Hasaranga was sold to Royal Challengers Bangalore on Saturday (12) for Indian Rs. 10.75 crores after a closely fought bidding war.The Sri Lankan pair of Hasaranga and Dushmantha Chameera, joined RCB for the second part of IPL 2021.Hasaranga took a hat-trick at last year’s T20 World Cup.

@DrAbdiMahamud pic.twitter.com/hI5Blz64ec

Corrections & Amplifications

After two weeks of the protest convoy occupying Ottawa, questions are rising over whether a better security response could have averted all the disruption sooner.

Norway has lifted its final Covid restrictions, scrapping social distancing and masks in crowded spaces despite a surge in Omicron infections.

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Bob Saget died from an accidental blow to the head, likely from a backwards fall.Saget was found dead Jan. 9 in a Florida hotel room.

Squire Barnes speaks with Toronto-born musician Paul Shaffer while in Vancouver to perform with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

It’s a case of buyer beware: read the fine print. An Edmonton man is sharing his experience trying to sell his SUV, hoping it will help others.

so-called “freedom convoy” that has snarled downtown Ottawa streets is widening its grip on the city, sprawling out in new, smaller encampments scattered around town.And while the police say they’ve negotiated movement of some trucks around the city, there are protesters in various encampments who continue to dig in their heels.“If trucks leave here, they’re going out on a convoy. They’re going to join the rest of the trucks,” said John Bancroft, a coordinator for the encampment site set up on Coventry Road — a short drive from downtown Ottawa.“No one’s leaving here until the mandates are lifted.” Trudeau calls on all parties to denounce ‘illegal’ trucker occupations, blockades But in the days since, that setup has shifted — and Global News has created a map of what the convoy protest’s encampments look like now.The original location of the convoy, Wellington Street, remains lined with trucks and regular vehicles.

Caught on video: A Burnaby business owner and his employee are pepper-sprayed by a man, the latest incident in what they say is an ongoing problem with crime in their neighbourhood. Rumina Daya reports.

Police could soon move in and end the Canada-U.S. border blockade in Windsor Ontario, after a court injunction was granted to remove protesters from the vital Ambassador Bridge crossing.

Covid-19 treatments have been prequalified by WHO, including the three presentations. A prequalification provides assurances to countries that they are purchasing quality health products.

One of Girvan’s most eagerly-anticipated events is set to make a comeback in 2022.

Beijing Winter Games on Saturday.The event made its Olympic debut in Beijing, with pairs of one man and one woman racing back-to-back for a spot on the medal podium.Grondin and O’Dine had already claimed the silver and bronze, respectively, in individual competition earlier in the week.As he was in his earlier event, Grondin was the fastest out of the gate in every round of mixed competition, creating big leads in the earlier rounds. Yet he was finally outpaced in the final and finished third behind American Nick Baumgartner and Italy’s Omar Visintin.That meant O’Dine lost the advantage she had in the quarterfinals and semifinals, as the women started staggered depending on the speed of their teammates.O’Dine battled for second position but fell halfway through her run after colliding with Italy’s Caterina Carpano, yet the Canadian still managed to cross in third position.Baumgartner’s teammate Lindsey Jacobellis brought home her second gold for the U.S.

Justin Trudeau says “everything” is on the table when it comes to ending the blockades paralyzing cross-border trade at multiple locations, and which remain encamped outside Parliament Hill.And he urged anyone still participating in the convoys, which are demanding an end to COVID-19 public health measures, to go home or face “severe” consequences.“Unfortunately, we are concerned about violence, so we’re taking every precaution,” he said.“It’s time to go home – especially if you have kids with you.”Make no mistake: The border cannot, and will not, remain closed. Every option is on the table.

New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern made history this weekend, winning a second term as prime minister Saturday in an election landslide.In a victory speech in front of hundreds of cheering supporters in Auckland, Ardern said her party had gotten more support from New Zealanders than at any time in at least 50 years.

New Zealand’s general election and said she would use her mandate to rebuild an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and tackle social inequality.“Over the next three years there is much work to do," she told supporters Saturday night in Auckland. “We will build back better from the Covid crisis.

Jacinda Ardern was on track to achieve an unprecedented outright majority in New Zealand's general election Saturday after campaigning on her success handling the Covid-19 pandemic.With 10 percent of the vote counted, Ardern's centre-left Labour Party was on 49.9 percent, which would give it 64 seats in the 120-member parliament.No leader of any political persuasion has achieved an outright majority since New Zealand adopted a proportional voting system in 1996, leading to a succession of multi-party governments.While the figures are early, they exceed pre-election opinion polls and, if they remain consistent, would represent Labour's strongest showing in decades.Opposition leader Judith Collins' centre-right National Party was on 26.0

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters mocked a coronavirus skeptic while taking questions on Monday, swiftly smacking down the man’s conspiratorial ideas about COVID-19.The incident was captured on video while Peters, head of the New Zealand First Party, was campaigning for re-election at a public meeting in Tauranga.The man, who spoke with a North American accent, stood up in the audience and challenged Peters to prove that the coronavirus exists.“Where is your evidence that there is a virus that causes this disease?” he demanded.“Sit down,” Peters interjected.

AUCKLAND – New Zealanders are poised to decide on two landmark social issues during an election Saturday: whether to legalize recreational marijuana and whether to legalize euthanasia.A “yes” vote on both referendums would arguably make the nation of 5 million one of the more liberal countries in the world. Polls indicate the euthanasia referendum is likely to pass while the result of the marijuana measure remains uncertain.The two referendums are being held at the same time as people cast votes for lawmakers and political parties.

WELLINGTON – In the final days of campaigning before New Zealand holds an election on Saturday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern is being greeted like a rock star.Hundreds of students are crammed into a common area at the Victoria University of Wellington to hear her speak, and her message of hope is being punctuated by thunderous applause. One student volunteer looks on the verge of tears while others are shrieking or singing.