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King Balang registers first win in St. Kitts National Domino tournament

Besroy Tata of Newcomers I was not taking any chances as his team successfully avoided being clawed by beating Eagle Claws 26-22.

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Having lost five games in a row in the first round of the St. Kitts National Domino Association (SKNDA) tournament currently taking place at the New Town Community Centre, the King Balang Domino Club turned the tide and won their first game on Thursday evening, February 4.

The King Balang Domino Club team rallied against Newcomers II Domino Club for a registered an empathic 26-12 win. They were the first team, out of the 12 teams taking part in the tournament, to register a win for the evening.

For King Balang, Vernon ‘Budgy’ Elliott, and Yazid Francis won eight game and lost one; while Charles Morton and Julian ‘King Balang’ Morton won four games without blemish.

Match of the evening saw Los Fuertes del Domino beat Spartans Fig Tree Domino Club 26-24 in a nail-biter. It was closely followed, in terms of excitement generated, by the game in which Newcomers I Domino Club edged out Eagle Claws Domino Club 26-22.

Coming from behind: Derrick Fyfield of King Balang in action.

In other results of the evening, current points standing leaders Terminal Boyz Domino Club defeated Til Ah Marnin Domino Club 26-20; Latecomers Domino Club handed Poor Man Pocket Domino Club their second straight loss, as they won 28-16; and Masters Domino Club beat Lodge Domino Club 26-20.

Points standing after six segments of play: Terminal Boyz, 31 points; Masters, 25 points; Poor Man Pocket, 21 points; Latecomers, 21 points; Newcomers I, 21 points; Til Ah Marnin, 16 points; Los Fuertes del Domino, 16 points; Lodge, 15 points; Newcomers II, 5 points; Spartans Fig Tree, 5 points; Eagle Claws, 5 points; and King Balang, 5 points.

The competition, which is sponsored by the Development Bank of St. Kitts and Nevis – Platinum Sponsor, First Federal Credit Union, Best For Less Trading Ltd, The Craft House, and NAGICO Insurances, will continue on Sunday, February 7, at the New Town Community Centre starting at 5:00 p.m. with the teams meeting in the seventh segment of play in the first round.

Order of play: King Balang will come up against Eagle Claws; Masters vs. Terminal Boyz; Spartans Fig Tree will face Til Ah Marnin; Los Fuertes del Domino vs. Latecomers; Poor Man Pocket vs. Lodge; and Newcomers I will battle it out with Newcomers II.

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Over 460 WA homes, businesses without power in fire impacted areas

The number of homes destroyed by a monster blaze burning north-east of Perth has risen to 86, Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan has confirmed.

"It shows how devastating this bushfire has been for the people involved," Mr McGowan said.

He sent his thoughts to those who had lost homes and thanked the firefighters who continued to work on the ground in harsh conditions to control the fire.

READ MORE: Relief for Perth businesses announced after lockdown

Emergency WA said the number of homes and businesses without power in fire impacted areas has risen to 465.

Perth community, volunteers and businesses have rallied to support the number of people displaced, as home after home is threatened or destroyed by the monster blaze.

Coles Swan View, in east Perth, has partnered with the Rapid Relief Team to donate hundreds of bags worth of groceries to fire evacuation centres.

WA Fire and Emergency Services Commissioner, Darren Klemm, said conditions remained "incredibly challenging" with strong winds to continue into the night.

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Emergency warnings are still in place for many areas.

"We've still got some difficult conditions to get to tonight and into tomorrow," he said.

"We are expecting incredibly strong winds, stronger than we've had.

"There is no letting up here."

There's a possibility of rain tomorrow afternoon, but the Commissioner said they were not relying on it.

He said the loss of 86 properties now was an "absolutely devastating outcome for the owners of those homes."

"Our thoughts are with them," he said.

Everywhere east of Toodyay Road is now open, and residents can return from 4pm.

He said he was aware residents needed to get back in to check on livestock in the rural area.

Some fires have broken out on the northern flank of the fire, with retardant dropped over the past few days helping crews tackle them.

The Great Northern Highway is now open with speed restrictions in place, as the area west of the road has been downgraded to a Watch and Act.

Emergency WA said the cooler weather conditions means areas east of Reserve Road are no longer under immediate threat.

But people in or around the intersections of Clenton Road, O'Brien Road and Ewing Road have been warned there is still uncontained fire activity.

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A second bushfire which started in Perth's north-east late yesterday is being treated as suspicious.

There were fears overnight the fire, in Wilson Road in the eastern part of Bullsbrook, would merge with the nearby Wooroloo blaze.

Firefighters managed to contain and control the fire.

Anyone with information about the fire or dashcam footage is urged to contact Crime Stoppers.

READ MORE: Son's desperate dash through WA bushfire to help dad save home

A bushfire emergency warning is in place for Avon Valley National Park, Belhus, Brigadoon, Bullsbrook, Ellenbrook, Gidgegannup, The Vines, Upper Swan and Walyunga National Park in the shire of Mundaring and the City Of Swan.

WA Emergency said on their website: "Cooler weather conditions and progress of mopping up along containment lines means areas east of Reserve Road are no longer under immediate threat. People in or around the intersections of Clenton Road, O'Brien Road and Ewing Road need to be aware that there is still uncontained fire activity. The area east of Toodyay Road is expected to be open to the public from 4pm today. This will be confirmed in the community meeting currently underway.

"You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive. There is a threat to lives and homes," Emergency WA said.

A full list can be found on the Emergency WA website, on Facebook or by calling call 13DFES (13 33 37).

Firefighters battled windy conditions overnight, with more than 10,500 hectares burnt.

Hundreds protest Myanmar coup with 'Hunger Games sign'

Hundreds of students and teachers took to Myanmar's streets on Friday to demand the military hand power back to elected politicians, as resistance to a coup swelled with demonstrations in several parts of the country, even in the tightly controlled capital.

In the largest rallies since the takeover, protesters at two universities in Yangon flashed a three-fingered salute, a sign of resistance borrowed from The Hunger Games movies, that they adopted from anti-government protesters in neighbouring Thailand.

They chanted "Long live Mother Suu" – a reference to ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who has been detained, and "We don't want military dictatorship."

READ MORE: Myanmar blocks Facebook as resistance grows to coup

"We will never be together with them," lecturer Dr Nwe Thazin said of the military at a protest at the Yangon University of Education.

"We want that kind of government to collapse as soon as possible."

Resistance has been gathering steam since the military declared Monday that it would take power for one year – a shocking setback for the Southeast Asian country that had been making significant, if uneven progress, toward democracy after decades of military rule.

The opposition began with people banging pots and pans outside their windows in Yangon, the country's largest city, under the cover of darkness each evening to avoid being targeted.

But now people are beginning to take to the streets, including students and medical workers, some of whom are refusing to work.

READ MORE: People in Myanmar honk horns, bang on pots to protest coup

Students have been central to previous protest movements against military dictatorship.

The military has tried to quash the opposition with selective arrests and by blocking Facebook to prevent users from organising demonstrations.

Facebook is the primary tool for accessing information on the internet for most people in Myanmar, where traditional media is state-controlled or self-censored because of threats of legal action by the state.

The latest politician detained is Win Htein, a senior member of Suu Kyi's deposed National League for Democracy party (NLD)

Despite that pushback, on Friday, about 200 people joined the protest at the Yangon University of Education, and a similar number marched at the city's Dagon University, with many carrying papers printed with images of red ribbons – the symbol of the civil disobedience campaign that Suu Kyi's party has called for.

Leading that march were four students carrying the party's peacock-adorned red flag. At the student union, another held a sign saying, in English, "soldier back to barrack!"

"I believe we will have to lead this movement," a student at the protest Min Han Htet said.

"All the people, including the students, will have to bring down the military junta.

"We will have to make sure that juntas never appear again in the next generation."

READ MORE: Ousted Myanmar leader charged over 'illegally imported walkie-talkies'

The military's takeover on Monday began with the detention of senior government officials, including Suu Kyi, who was the country's de facto leader.

She is healthy and remains under house arrest at her official residence in the capital, Naypyitaw, party spokesman Kyi Toe said.

Win Htein, Suu Kyi's longtime confidant, meanwhile, was taken from his home in Yangon to Naypyitaw, on Friday, according to Kyi Toe.

The 79-year-old had publicly called for civil disobedience to oppose the coup.

He told Britain's BBC radio in a phone call early on Friday that he was being arrested for sedition, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.

There was also at least one demonstration on Friday in Naypyitaw which was purpose-built under the previous military government, has a heavy military presence and lacks the tradition of protest of the former capital, Yangon.

Medical staff at the city's biggest hospital gathered behind a big banner condemning the coup. Medical personnel have been at the forefront of the resistance.

Another protest was held in Myanmar's southern Tanintharyi Region, where about 50 chanting people marched, reported the online news agency Dawei Watch.

According to Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 133 officials or lawmakers and 14 civil society activists were detained by the military in connection with its takeover, though some have already been released.

The NLD has said Suu Kyi and ousted President Win Myint are being held on minor charges unrelated to their official duties, seen by many as merely providing a legal veneer for the military to detain them.

The takeover has been criticised by US President Joe Biden and others internationally who pushed for the elected government to be restored.

"The Burmese military should relinquish power they have seized, release the advocates and activists and officials they have detained, lift the restrictions on telecommunications, and refrain from violence," Biden said Thursday at the US State Department in Washington, using Myanmar's former name.

The UN Security Council, in its first statement on the matter, "stressed the need to uphold democratic institutions and processes, refrain from violence, and fully respect human rights, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law."

While the US and others have described the military's actions as a coup, the Security Council's unanimous statement did not.

Protests against the coup were also held on Friday in India, Indonesia and South Korea, sometimes led by people from Myanmar.

The military seized power shortly before a new session of Parliament was to convene, accusing Suu Kyi's government of refusing to address allegations of voting irregularities in the election her party won in a landslide.

The state election commission has said it found not evidence of fraud.

The military assumed all state powers and has formed a new election commission to investigate the fraud allegations.

It has said it will hold a new election in a year and turn over power to the winner.

Myanmar was under military rule for five decades after a 1962 coup, and Suu Kyi's five years as leader had been its most democratic period, despite continued use of repressive colonial-era laws.

Canadian Airlines Suspend Flights to Caribbean

by The Canadian Press

Four of Canada’s major airlines have suspended service to Mexico and the Caribbean as of today.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday that Air Canada, WestJet, Sunwing and Air Transat had agreed to the measure in an effort to slow the spread of COVID-19.

The restriction will last until April 30, and Trudeau says the airlines will help arrange the return of customers currently on a trip.

It’s one of a suite of new government measures aimed at preventing Canadians from travelling abroad in the doldrums of February and throughout spring break.

For instance, starting first thing Thursday, all international passenger flights must land at only four airports – in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Montreal.

And in the coming weeks, all air travellers arriving in Canada will have to stay at a government-approved hotel for three nights and take a COVID-19 test – all at their own cost which could total more than $2000.

When asked why it would cost so much, Trudeau said non-essential travellers would have to pay for the cost of testing from a private company, along with additional hotel expenses to ensure workers are safe.

“We will have to go to private tests, obviously we don’t want to prevent other Canadians from being tested because of these travellers. So travellers will pay for these tests and be required to wait up to three days to receive the results,” he explained.

Ontario is also moving move forward with passenger testing at Pearson Airport despite a similar federal program. Under the Ford government’s plan, all international travellers will take a COVID-19 test on arrival starting Monday, February 1 at 12:01 p.m.

As part of the province’s new a six-point plan – which was also announced Friday – the new testing measures will soon apply to the province’s land border crossings to the United States, however, no date has been set.

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UK to start hotel quarantine this month amid criticism of delay

Everyone arriving in the UK from countries identified as coronavirus hotspots will have to spend 10 days in hotel quarantine starting February 15 in a bid to stop new virus variants reaching the country, the government said on Friday.

But authorities are facing criticism for delays in implementing the policy, which was first announced in late January.

READ MORE: Diverse east London 'eye of the storm' as it grapples coronavirus

Under the plan, British citizens and residents returning from high-risk countries will have to quarantine in approved hotels near airports and sea ports, patrolled by security guards, and will be billed for their stay.

Most international travel is already banned under current restrictions to curb the spread of the virus, and arriving passengers must show a negative coronavirus test and self-isolate.

Enforcement of the quarantine has been uneven, however.

The UK says it has sought advice from Australia and New Zealand, where quarantine hotels have been used to contain COVID-19.

The main opposition Labour Party said it was "beyond comprehension" that the policy was only being introduced 50 days after a new, more transmissible strain of the virus from South Africa was first identified.

Labour borders spokesman Nick Thomas-Symonds said the government was doing "too little, too late."

Some hotel chains said they were in talks with the government about taking part, but Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said others were concerned about their brand reputation being "tarnished" if they became associated with pandemic quarantines.

READ MORE: New trial looks at efficacy of mixing COVID vaccines

Meher Nawab, chief executive of the London Hotel Group, questioned whether there was enough time to set the system up safely.

"To set all the processes up you need virologists to come and visit the property, you need to set up hygiene protocols — that can't all be done overnight," he told the BBC.

"The ventilation system has to be looked at very closely. I'm not sure what (the government) has set out can be done in this time."

Britain has experienced Europe's worst coronavirus outbreak with more than 110,000 confirmed deaths.

It also has one of the world's fastest-moving vaccination campaigns.

So far, almost 10.5 million people, 20 per cent of all adults, have received the first of two doses of a vaccine.

The government aims to give a shot to 15 million people by February 15, including everyone over 70 and those with underlying health conditions.

The government announced on Friday that everyone in the UK over 50 should have received at least one dose by May, a vaccination schedule that meant local elections across England could be held as planned on May 6.

"Democracy should not be cancelled because of COVID," Constitution Minister Chloe Smith said.

READ MORE: Australia secures additional 10 million Pfizer vaccine doses

The government said in-person voting could be held safely despite the pandemic, but voters would have to bring their own pencils or pens to mark their ballots.

Russian doctor who treated Navalny after poisoning has died

A top doctor at the Russian hospital where opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated immediately after his poisoning last summer has died, the hospital said on Thursday.

Sergey Maximishin, who was the deputy chief physician of the Omsk emergency hospital, "suddenly" died at the age of 55, according to a statement released by the hospital.

"With regret, we inform you that…the deputy chief physician for anaesthesiology and resuscitation of the emergency hospital №1, assistant of the department of Omsk State Medical University, PhD of medical sciences Maximishin Sergey Valentinovich suddenly passed away," the hospital said in a statement, which did not mention a cause of death.

Police patrol an area, as journalists gather at the Omsk Ambulance Hospital No. 1, intensive care unit where Alexei Navalny was hospitalised in Omsk, Russia (Photo: August 21, 2020)

A spokeswoman from Omsk's regional health ministry told CNN on Friday that according to "preliminary data" Maximishin had died as a result of a heart attack. She would not provide further details.

Navalny was initially admitted to the acute poisoning unit of Omsk emergency hospital No. 1 on August 20, after falling ill from exposure to military-grade Novichok on a plane heading from Siberia to Moscow. The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk.

RELATED: Russia's Navalny accuses Putin of being behind poisoning

Maximishin did not give any press briefings at the time of Navalny's hospitalisation. As the hospital's deputy chief physician for anaesthesiology and resuscitation, he was one of the most senior doctors at the hospital.

Navalny was put into a medically induced coma and eventually evacuated to the German capital of Berlin, where he spent five months recovering from the poisoning. After returning to Russia, he was arrested, and was sentenced to prison this week for violating probation terms of a previous sentence. The verdict sparked swift condemnation abroad, including the US.

Navalny blames his poisoning on Russian security services and on President Vladimir Putin himself, accusations that the Kremlin has repeatedly denied. A CNN-Bellingcat investigation in December has implicated the Russian Security Service (FSB) in the attack. Navalny also duped one of the agents into revealing that he was poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok applied to his underwear.

Leonid Volkov, Navalny's chief of staff, confirmed Maximishin was in charge of treating the opposition leader. "Sergey Maximishin was the head of department that treated Alexei Navalny and was in charge of his treatment — specifically his medically induced coma," Volkov told CNN.

"(Maximishin) knew more than anyone else about Alexei's condition so I can't dismiss possibility of foul play," he added.

"However Russia's health care system is very poor and it's not uncommon for doctors of his age to suddenly die. I doubt there will any investigation into his death," Volkov continued.

CNN is seeking additional comment from local health authorities into the cause of Maximishin's death. Deaths of Russian frontline medical workers, including whistleblowers, became a politically charged topic in the country amid the Covid-19 pandemic. CNN has no evidence that any foul play was involved.

The minister of health of the Omsk region said in statement that Maximishin had worked at the hospital for 28 years and saved thousands of lives.

"He brought people back to full reality. We will miss Dr. Maximishin very much. He left too early and because of this the pain of loss is especially bitter," Alexander Murakhovsky said in a statement.

US with Record 5,000 Virus Deaths as Hospitalizations Drop, World Stats

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STUDY: YOUNGER ADULTS ARE BIGGEST US CORONA SPREADERS

Adults age 20 to 49 are the biggest spreaders of COVID-19 in the US, according to British researchers who say targeting this age group for vaccination could hasten school reopenings.

team at Imperial College London used cellphone data from more than 10 million people to calculate that 65 of 100 infections originated from those ages 20 to 49 in the US.

A team at Imperial College London used cellphone data from more than 10 million people to calculate that 65 of 100 infections originated from those ages 20 to 49 in the US. (iStock)

A team at Imperial College London used cellphone data from more than 10 million people to calculate that 65 of 100 infections originated from those ages 20 to 49 in the US. (iStock)

They found that people in that age bracket accounted for about 72 percent of the cases after schools reopened in October. Less than 5 percent came from children, and less than 10 percent from teens.

Adults ages 35 to 49 accounted for 41 percent of new cases through mid-August, compared to 35 percent for adults ages 20 to 34, according to the peer-reviewed study published in Science.

FAUCI BACKS ‘DOUBLE-MASKING’ IN CORONAVIRUS FIGHT

“We find adults aged 20-49 are a main driver of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United State and are the only age groups contributing disproportionally to onward spread, relative to their population size,” Imperial College’s Dr. Melodie Monod said.

“While children and teens contribute more to COVID-19 spread since school closure mandates have been lifted in fall 2020, we find these dynamics have not changed substantially since school reopening,” she added.

The college’s Dr. Oliver Ratmann said: “We believe this study is important because we demonstrate that adults aged 20-49 are the only age groups that have consistently sustained COVID-19 spread across the US, despite large variations in the scale and timing of local epidemics.

“Thus, at least where highly transmissible variants have not established, additional interventions targeting the 20-49 age group could bring resurgent epidemics under control and avert deaths,” he added.

Meanwhile, a new study suggests that coronavirus antibodies last for at least six months after infection for the majority of people who contracted the bug.

CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE

The research from UK Biobank found that 99 percent of participants who had tested positive for previous infection retained antibodies for three months after being infected, while 88 percent did so for the full six months of the study, according to Sky News.

“This important study has revealed that the vast majority of people retain detectable antibodies for at least six months after infection with the coronavirus,” said Professor Naomi Allen, UK Biobank chief scientist.”Although we cannot be certain how this relates to immunity, the results suggest that people may be protected against subsequent infection for at least six months following natural infection,” Allen said.

“More prolonged follow-up will allow us to determine how long such protection is likely to last,” she added.

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Coronavirus Cases:

105,502,306

Deaths:

2,296,454

Recovered:

77,200,023

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