Basseterre, St. Kitts, Julyk 28, 2023 (ZIZ Newsroom): Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Terrance Drew says there is no indication that St. Kitts and Nevis is at risk of losing its visa-free access to the United Kingdom.
Recently the United Kingdom imposed visa requirements for Dominican nationals to enter the country. Some suggested this was in connection with the Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Programme and there has been speculation that St. Kitts and Nevis and other countries in the region will be next.
In an interview with ZIZ on Friday Prime Minister Drew said there has been no indication that this is the case.
“Nothing has been communicated to us with respect to that, so that article, wherever it comes from, is not speaking to what is happening presently,” he said. “However, I would say that, since we came in, we made sure that we started to change the regulations and strengthen them so that our partners, such as the UK and so forth, can have much more confidence in our program.”
He said through all of the changes and revisions to the CBI programme the federation has kept in contact with international partners such as the UK and the EU.
“We kept in communication with the UK. The UK visited our unit. The officials that did an audit met with the head of the CIO who is Mr. Michael Martin, and you know they shared all the information that is to be shared. So we are constantly in contact and when we…pursued the renewing of things, we communicated with the UK as to what we were doing,” he said.
Prime Minister Drew said the administration has taken all the steps it can to instill confidence in the country’s international partners about the CBI programme.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 16th 2021 (ZIZ News) The Government has further extended a previous travel advisory Applying to travellers from Brazil, the United Kingdom (UK) and South Africa.
Persons intending to travel from these aforementioned destinations are once again advised not to travel to St. Kitts and Nevis at this time.
The advisory which was originally issued on February 7, 2021 has been further extended for an additional 30 days, effective April 8, 2021.
The decision comes amid three new variants of Covid-19 – from Brazil, South Africa and the UK – being identified in a number of CARICOM territories since February.
According to a statement, these variants continue to be cause for concern for the Government of St. Kitts and Nevis, particularly as this UK mutation of the original virus is deemed to be far more transmissible and has a higher likelihood of death from the symptoms of Covid-19.
The statement advises that persons intending to travel from these aforementioned destinations must be approved by the Ministry of National Security, following the process stipulated on the online platform www.knatravelform.kn.
Citizens and legal residents returning from any of the aforementioned countries will not be denied reentry into the Country, but must also process their travel requests through the online platform www.knatravelform.kn.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 15, 2021 (SKNIS): Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, explained during the Tourism Stakeholders Meeting on Wednesday 14 that his Ministry is doing everything in its power to direct traffic to the hotels to keep them afloat at this difficult time in history with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Tourism in its efforts to further increase traffic to the hotels within the Federation has “just recently embarked upon a 5-day getaway promotion for our stay-over visitors who would stay in the various hotels,” said Minister Grant.
He continued, “We know that coming up to this summer period over the last several years they have had the opportunity of being the beneficiaries of a St. Kitts Music Festival and the traffic that that brings.”
“Of course we are in a different space in 2021 and so we won’t have any St. Kitts Music Festival and for that we want you to make sure that we direct some traffic to the hotel industry,” he said.
“We have opened the booking window for that portion of the industry beginning April 1st, 2021 going to July 31st, 2021,” he added. “And that travel window for the bookings will give persons the opportunity to use the travel window from April 1 to September 5th, 2021.”
He said, “This has already been loaded on the St. Kitts destination website and so we are expecting some fruits of that labor.”
“We will continue our PR exercise in our primary source markets of the United Kingdom, USA, Canada, etc. to ensure that we keep our industry re-energized, and of course waiting for the brighter day which we expect to come very soon,” the Minister of Tourism said.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 09, 2021 (SKNIS): Since the roll-out of its COVID-19 vaccination programme on February 22, less than two months ago, St. Kitts & Nevis has done better with its vaccination programme than many countries in the developed and developing world, continuing with its stellar management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The country has only recorded a meagre 44 confirmed cases of the coronavirus with all cases recovered and no serious hospitalization of persons, although its JNF General Hospital in St. Kitts and Alexandra Hospital in Nevis, have been prepared with several ventilators, pharmaceuticals, and specialist healthcare workers even before there were one positive case. On top of that, the country’s astute management of the virus has not resulted in one death, a rarity globally.
While there are challenges in persuading citizens and residents in taking the jab, just like many countries around the world battling a ferocious misinformation and disinformation campaign, the country is doing well in vaccinating 10, 391 persons in just 47 days, reaching 31.45 percent of its target population of 33, 037 persons, who would make up the 70 percent required for herd immunity. The other 30 percent are under the age of 18 and not eligible to take the Oxford-AstraZeneca jab, which is the only vaccine being offered in the country through COVAX, a global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines led by UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and others.
As of April 7, 2021, the Health Emergency Operations Center (HEOC) Situation Report stated that Antigua & Barbuda had only vaccinated with one dose 27.4 percent of its population; Barbados 22.2; Dominica 24.6; Grenada 9.2; Montserrat 30.8; Saint Lucia 12.1; and St. Vincent and the Grenadines 9.7 percent. Canada had only vaccinated 16 percent of its population with one dose, the USA 33 percent, and the United Kingdom 48 percent. However, it must be noted that their vaccination roll-out programmes began weeks ahead of St. Kitts & Nevis’.
The Ministry of Health has been hosting Vaccination Information Sessions to address citizens and residents genuine concerns with respect to taking the vaccination especially over concerns seen in the news, the fact that the vaccines are new, and that the world had not seen a pandemic in a century.
However, an important milestone was achieved when the Ministry of Health not only met its target of vaccinating 10, 000 persons by April 16 but even surpassed it by almost 400 persons.
St. Kitts and Nevis is on the road to economic recovery and as the country continues with its vaccination programme, which is crucial to that recovery, business leaders, church leaders, and public sector officials are encouraged to persuade those in their charge to take the jab.
Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris, in speaking to a gathering of business executives and senior-level government officials at a forum at the Royal St. Kitts Hotel on April 9, 2021, to discuss the socio-economic recovery of the country, said that the road to that recovery relies heavily on the successful roll-out of the vaccination programme.
“The vaccines are now here but it is relying upon you and me to make the right decision if we are to get the [pandemic] behind us and that in itself poses a challenge. It poses a challenge for the overall trajectory of the country because the actions of one individual or a few individuals could determine whether or not we recover fast or we recover slowly. That is why we need to have all hands on deck, all involved and that is why the philosophy that we developed of an all-of-society response, which has kept us safe with the best record among independent countries in the hemisphere, that philosophy must continue even now,” he said.
“It’s a long journey but every step is an important one that gets us to the goal of herd immunity – the 70 percent target that we have set for ourselves and we need to commend each other and encourage each other for doing good. Taking the vaccination is not just about individual and individual rights. Taking the vaccination is an act of selflessness, in my view, it is an act of patriotism because the very act can determine how far we go, how soon we will get there, whether 2000-plus people in the tourism industry will be able to get to work again depends on whether or not the taxi drivers, those in our restaurants, those in our schools get themselves vaccinated,” Prime Minister Harris added.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, April 03, 2021 (SKNIS): St. Kitts and Nevis’ Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, sought to allay concerns about the time frame of the development of the COVID-19 vaccines, which has caused some hesitancy among individuals in getting the jab.
At the March 31, 2021, National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Briefing, Dr. Laws explained that efforts to develop a vaccine started many years ago.
“In 2003, if you recall, we had the SARS Outbreak in Eastern countries and then in 2012, we experienced the MERS Outbreak. Now the SARS and the MERS were all caused by coronaviruses and so the scientists started working with the coronaviruses way back then in an effort to develop an appropriate vaccine against this family of viruses,” the chief medical officer explained.
She said that the SARS CoV-2 virus, which was commonly referred to as the novel coronavirus back then, was isolated, decoded and the genetic information shared with scientists in January 2020 in an effort to develop a suitable vaccine.
The development of highly sophisticated technology, which did not exist decades ago, also improved the development and production of vaccines.
Medical Chief of Staff of the Joseph N. France General Hospital, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, also shared that the global outbreak fuelled greater investment in finding a vaccine.
“There are a number of first world countries that put millions or billions of dollars upfront to the drug companies so that they can help in the development of these vaccines,” he stated.
Persons also willingly stepped forward to be a part of clinical trials for the vaccine given the devastating impact of COVID-19 on populations in the United States, Europe, United Kingdom and other countries.
“These vaccines, they were tested in thousands of persons, more than any other vaccine in the past,” Dr. Wilkinson indicated. “… For all of those reasons, we know that the vaccine is safe so that is one of the reasons why I didn’t hesitate to roll up my sleeve and take the vaccine.”
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NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (March 24, 2021) – – The efforts of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) to launch a film industry on Nevis continues to pay dividends as MSR Media has announced April 15, 2021 as the start date to begin filming a second successive movie on the island.
Premier Hon. Mark Brantley, Minister of Tourism and Foreign Investment in the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) welcomed the news.
“I am excited that MSR Media has completed its first film here on Nevis and is due to start its second film shortly. This is consistent with the commitment made by MSR Media to my government as we work together to diversify the Nevis economy and create a film industry for the island of Nevis and the wider Federation,” he said during an interview with the Department of Information on March 24, 2021.
Mr. Brantley, who is the Minister of Finance in the NIA, highlighted the economic boost to St. Kitts and Nevis and the transfer of skills for locals resulting from the government’s partnership with MR Media.
“I am also delighted that scenes for this movie will be shot on our sister island of St. Kitts so that our brothers and sisters on St Kitts can be a part of this incredible new industry, and witness first-hand the benefits to be derived from the film industry.
“This is a manifestation of the vision of this CCM-led government and I am delighted to spearhead this effort as Premier of our beloved Nevis,” he said.
According to Mr. Philippe Martinez, MSR Media producer and director, the UK-based company is wrapping up filming “One Year Off”, on Friday, March 26, 2021.
“This movie finishes on Friday and on April 15 we are starting to produce a new movie with Tom Paton.
“He is going to direct the movie “Assailant” which is a thriller,” he revealed at a media briefing on March 21, 2021.
Mr. Martinez told the Department of Information he is eager for cameras to roll on the second movie the company is filming on Nevis.
“I am very excited about “Assailant”, MSR Media’s next production.
“Tom Paton is a young, talented British director who has created a very suspenseful thriller, taking advantage of all of the natural cinematic beauty of Nevis,” he said.
As part of the NIA’s progressive agenda to diversify the Nevis economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, the government entered into a partnership with MSR Media in January 2021 for an initial two-movie production deal.
Soon after the cast and crew of the comedy “One Year Off” began filming on the island, Mr. Martinez announced that MSR Media would be filming a total of six movies on Nevis over the next year.
“So our plan is to make six movies. Actually I believe it has already been discussed with the government [NIA]…
“We only have one real problem, which is very challenging for a producer, the actors don’t want to leave [Nevis]; they want to stay here.
“We love it here, and that’s because you have made us feel very welcome,” he said.
“One Year Off”, the first movie to be produced entirely on Nevis was filmed at various locations on the island including Chrishi Beach Club, Golden Rock Inn, and the world renowned Sunshine’s Beach Bar and Grill on Pinneys Beach.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, March 22, 2021 (SKNIS): Minister of Tourism, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, welcomed Mr. Philippe Martinez and the MSR Media to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis to commence production of the international comedy film “One Year Off”.
A media briefing was hosted by MSR Media at Christophe Harbour Marina on Sunday, March 21, where government officials including Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris, the Honourable Lindsay Grant, the Honourable Mark Brantley, the Honourable Wendy Phipps, the Honourable Vincent Byron Jr, the Honourable Akilah Byron-Nisbett, members of the National COVID-19 Task Force, permanent secretaries, management and staff of St. Kitts Tourism Authority, and other invited guests including the President of St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Mrs. Giselle Matthews, were introduced to the cast and crew of the production team, led by producer Mr. Phillippe Martinez.
The film will be the first of a two-movie production deal between UK production and sales firm MSR Media and the Nevis Island Administration (NIA).
In speaking to MSR Media, the Honourable Minister said that “we are delighted to welcome you to the shores so that they can have the opportunity to capture the essence of both of the islands that make up our twin-island administration.
He continued, “As you travel our beautiful island, you will be struck by our authenticity, rooted in our flourishing culture and exemplified by our warm, genuine people.”
“You will be stirred by our history which once saw this island the epicentre of the sugar trade in the Americas … and you will be inspired by our natural beauty and excited by the potential these attributes represent as you discover what we are today and what we can be tomorrow,” said Minister Grant.
Minister Grant also said that “today, you will see a modern infrastructure behind our ‘Caribbean-of-50-years-ago’ charm.”
These modern infrastructures include, “a world-class airport capable of landing the largest jets from North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, daily service of FedEx, our KayanJet luxury FBO to service aircraft, a paved road system surrounding the island and a cruise port that can simultaneously accommodate two Oasis-class vessels,” Minister Grant said.
“We are confident that what you will find in St. Kitts has the makings of an ideal filming destination,” he said.
]]>NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (March 22, 2021) – – Nevis’ burgeoning film industry is providing a boost not only to the economy on Nevis, where movie production is currently underway, but also to the sister island of St. Kitts.
Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis, said he was pleased that the effort of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA) to establish a film industry on the island, is benefitting both St. Kitts and Nevis.
“I am delighted that a film industry born from the urgent need of the Nevis Island Administration to diversify the Nevisian economy in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has now taken flight and expanded to our sister island of St. Kitts to equally assist in the diversification of the St. Kitts economy.
“When we are concerned about national development, we quickly recognize that positive development on either island benefits both islands,” he stated.
The Premier’s comments came against the backdrop of MSR Media filming scenes at Christophe Harbour on St. Kitts on March 21, 2021, for the comedy “One Year Off”. The movie, which started filming on Nevis late February 2021, is the first of a multi feature film production deal between the UK–based film and television production company and the NIA.
Hon. Brantley praised the efforts of key players on Nevis for their roles in jump-starting the new industry on the island.
“I publicly applaud and thank again the team at the Nevis Tourism Authority headed by Ms. Jadine Yarde, Chief Executive Officer; Mr. Colin Dore, Permanent Secretary in the NIA’s Ministry of Finance; and Mr. Jacob Katsman for their excellent negotiating skills in attracting MSR Media to Nevis.
“Their hard work and the vision of the NIA is now benefiting not only Nevis but our beloved sister St. Kitts as well.
“MSR Media and my dear friend Philippe Martinez have found a home here and we look forward to building out the architecture for a serious film industry on Nevis and in the wider Federation,” he told the Department of Information on March 22, 2021.
Mr. Philippe Martinez, MSR Media producer and director of the film “One Year Off”, recently indicated that the company is in negotiations with the NIA to film a total of six movies in Nevis over the next 12 months.
Mr. Martinez has credited Premier Brantley’s keen ambition to create a new industry on Nevis as the catalyst for MSR Media coming to the Federation.
“All of that has been possible because of Mark’s vision…
“I would like to thank Premier Mark Brantley. We spoke first right before Christmas [2020]. He told me about his vision to build a film industry in Nevis and I thought it was exciting, because sometimes politicians don’t see the bigger picture of the film industry,” he said in an interview in February 2021, while filming on location in Nevis.
]]>BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 22, 2021 (Press Unit in the Office of the Prime Minister) – Filming is set to commence soon in St. Kitts and Nevis on the international comedy film, “One Year Off”.
The film will be the first of a two-movie production deal between UK production and sales firm MSR Media and the Nevis Island Administration (NIA). A number of local actors/models will be featured in the movie, with several locals already being hired for the pre-production process. According to the Department of Information on Nevis, MSR Media is casting local persons with previous acting or modeling experience for three speaking roles in the movie. The production company is also casting for supporting actors or non-speaking roles as well.
A media briefing was hosted by MSR Media at Christophe Harbour Marina on Sunday, March 21, where Government officials including Prime Minister Dr. the Honourable Timothy Harris and other Cabinet ministers were introduced to the members of the production team, led by producer Mr. Phillippe Martinez.
Delivering brief remarks at the event, Prime Minister Harris said he is pleased to be witnessing the birth of the film industry in the twin island Federation – one that will provide real jobs, incomes, and real opportunities, especially for our young people involved in hospitality and the creative industries.
“It is opportunities like this from MSR Productions that will help our young people reach their full potential. Mr. Martinez, I recall you recently praised the local Nevisians as having ‘total efficiency and enthusiasm’ in making your production happen. I believe this is further proof, if we ever needed, of just how motivated we are as a people and how willing we are to make a real success of every opportunity,” Prime Minister Harris commented.
“This production is providing jobs for local people. It is also showing the world how ready St. Kitts and Nevis is for more productions and of course more business. It speaks well to our versatility and creativity as a people, and importantly it speaks well to our safety as a nation,” Dr. Harris continued.
The St. Kitts and Nevis prime minister said he expects the filming of these movie productions will inject excitement amongst the nation’s youth and inspire them to pursue careers in the film industry without even having to leave the country.
Prime Minister Harris added, “It will inject interest and curiosity in the global community, putting St. Kitts and Nevis on the map as a filming destination. I assure you Mr. Martinez that my Government is here to work with you as the Task Force has been doing over the last several weeks, as you work with us to build a world class film and creative industry right here in our beautiful Federation.”
It is estimated that four months of filming will inject roughly US$1 million into the St. Kitts and Nevis’ economy.
Moreover, the popular American reality television show, ‘Below Deck’, is also filming here in St. Kitts.
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Today, Monday, March 15th St. Kitts and Nevis joins the rest of the international community in observing World Consumer Rights Day, under the theme: “Tackling Plastic Pollution”. The theme is meant to raise awareness and effect positive consumer attitudes and practices insofar as sustainable development is concerned. In fact, the theme builds on the one for last year – “The Sustainable Consumer” and focuses on the key role of governments, consumer rights’ groups, civil society and the private sector in addressing the global plastic pollution crisis.
Each year, since March 15th 1983, the United Kingdom (UK) based Consumers International (CI) sets aside time to showcase the importance of protecting all of us as global citizens – since we are, by definition, the consumers of goods and services which the world produces. The 60-year old CI uses the annual celebration of World Consumer Rights Day to focus on its mandate of supporting the creation of, and mission of consumer advocacy groups and agencies in some 100 countries. The choice of March 15th is also not accidental, given that it was on this date in 1962 when former United States President, the late John F. Kennedy would have become the first global leader to highlight consumer rights, in an address to Congress. In that statement, President Kennedy stressed to lawmakers the imperative of protecting consumer interests by ensuring that consumers are not made victims of “fraudulent or misleading advertisements and labels”. President Kennedy also emphasized the needs to make every legislative effort to protect consumers “against unsafe or worthless drugs and other products”; and to safeguard the consumers’ rights to choose from a variety of products at competitive prices.
As St. Kitts and Nevis joins in the celebration of World Consumer Rights Day under the theme “Tackling Plastic Pollution”, it is an opportunity for us as consumers, business owners and as Government to place significant emphasis on the need for environmental protection from the harmful effects associated with the improper disposal of the plastic waste we generate on a daily basis. Governments and environmentalists alike are aware of the many benefits of plastic, particularly its usefulness in our daily lives. There is ample evidence to support the facts that plastic is cheap and relatively safe to use; that it is easily converted into any conceivable shape; that it is strong and durable; that it has been proven to be a game changing material in multiple production process since the 1950s; and that its pervasive use has brought countless benefits to industries such as health and wellness, engineering, food and beverage, agriculture, and information and communications technology (ICT). Research also supports the fact that since its introduction into production processes some 70 years ago, over 8.3 billion metric tonnes of the material have been produced.
Regrettably, in spite of its many uses, the manner in which we, as consumers, have mishandled plastic after use, is now cause for growing concern, given its negative impact on our environment and ecosystems. So grave is the urgency with which plastic pollution must be tackled in a sustainable manner, that every global citizen has a responsibility to implement measures that address the effective disposal and/or replacement of plastics in production. To do otherwise would result in detrimental and irreversible consequences for life on land and in water – given that the problems will transcend human, animal, plant and marine life as we know it – all of which are addressed in Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) #3: Good Health and Well-being; #6: Clean Water and Sanitation; #14: Life Below Water; and #15: Life of Land.
In Breaking the Plastic Wave, a report produced by The Pew Charitable Trusts & SYSTEMIQ in August 2020, it was strongly noted that in order to effectively address plastic pollution, a global response was warranted – one that requires well-coordinated, synchronized and international solutions that are sustainable in nature. The justification for this approach is based on the following facts that emerged from the report:
The Department of Consumer Affairs has planned an entire week of activities to showcase World Consumer Rights Day. Among the major events planned for Consumer Awareness Week are the following:
As Minister of International Trade, Industry, Commerce, Consumer Affairs and Labour I am happy to have been given the opportunity to address you on World Consumer Rights Day and to officially open Consumer Affairs Week 2021.
May God bless us all. Thank you for your attention.
LONDON
(AP News) — Prince Harry and Meghan’s explosive TV interview divided people around the world on Monday, rocking an institution that is struggling to modernize with claims of racism and callousness toward a woman struggling with suicidal thoughts.During the two-hour appearance with Oprah Winfrey, Harry also revealed the problems had ruptured relations with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, illuminating the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year.
The palace has not yet responded to the interview, in which Meghan described feeling so isolated and miserable inside the royal family that she had suicidal thoughts and said a member of the family had “concerns” about the color of her unborn child’s skin.
The family member was not Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip, according to Harry, sparking a flurry of speculation about who it could be.
Leaders around the world were asked about the interview, and citizens of many countries had an opinion.
In Accra, Ghana, Devinia Cudjoe said that hearing that a member of the royal family was worried about the color of the skin of an unborn child was insulting to people of the Commonwealth, the grouping of Britain and its former colonies that is headed by the queen.
“That is pure racism,” Cudjoe said. “(The) Commonwealth is supposed to foster unity, oneness amongst black people, amongst white people. But if we are hearing things like this … I think that is below the belt.”
In Nairobi, Kenya, Rebecca Wangare called Meghan “a 21st- century icon of a strong woman. She has faced racism head-on.”
Asma Sultan, a journalist in Karachi, Pakistan, said the interview “is going to tarnish the image of the royal family.”
“There is so much controversy ever since Diana’s death, so it is new Pandora box which is opened up,” she said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson refused to comment on the interview, praising the queen but saying that “when it comes to matters to do with the royal family the right thing for a prime minister to say is nothing.”
Asked whether U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill had any reaction to the interview, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki said Meghan’s decision to speak about her struggles with mental health “takes courage” and “that’s certainly something the president believes in.”
But she said she wouldn’t offer additional comment on the situation “given these are private citizens, sharing their own story and their own struggles.”
Former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the interview bolstered his argument for Australia severing its constitutional ties to the British monarchy. Turnbull met the couple in April 2018, four months before he was replaced by current Prime Minister Scott Morrison in an internal power struggle within the conservative government.
“It’s clearly an unhappy family, or at least Meghan and Harry are unhappy. It seems very sad,” Turnbull told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “After the end of the queen’s reign, that is the time for us to say: OK, we’ve passed that watershed. Do we really want to have whoever happens to be the head of state, the king or queen of the U.K., automatically our head of state?”
Britain’s monarch is Australia’s head of state. Turnbull was a leading advocate for Australia selecting an Australian citizen as its head of state when he was chairman of the Australian Republican Movement from 1993 to 2000.
News of the interview was reported in Chinese state media, including the overseas edition of the ruling Communist Party’s flagship newspaper, People’s Daily, and was widely discussed on the popular Weibo social media platform.
The allegations are especially damaging because many observers hoped Harry and Meghan, who is biracial, would help the tradition-bound monarchy relate to an increasingly multicultural nation. In the early days of their marriage, Harry and Meghan joined William and his wife, Catherine, in projecting a glamorous, energetic image for the young royals.
That partnership was severed when Harry and Meghan left the country, saying they wanted to earn their own living and escape what they called intrusive, racist coverage by the British media.
But the interview brought that criticism into the palace itself, with the couple directing allegations of racism at an unidentified member of the royal family.
Meghan said that when she was pregnant with her son, Archie, Harry told her that the royal family had had “concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.”
Harry confirmed the conversation, saying: “I was a bit shocked.” He said he wouldn’t reveal who made the comment. Winfrey later said Harry told her the comment didn’t come from Queen Elizabeth II or Prince Philip, his grandparents.
Meghan, 39, acknowledged she was naive at the start of her relationship with Harry and unprepared for the strictures of royal life. A successful actress before her marriage, she said she bridled at the controlling nature of being royal, squirming at the idea that she had to live on terms set by palace staff. This was compounded by the fact that the staff refused to help her when she faced racist attacks from the media and internet trolls, she said.
The situation became so difficult that at one point, “I just didn’t want to be alive anymore,” Meghan told Winfrey.
But when she sought help through the palace’s human resources department, she was told there was nothing it could do because she wasn’t an employee, Meghan said.
The implications for the interview — which was broadcast Sunday evening in the United States and will air in Britain on Monday night — are only beginning to be understood. Emily Nash, royal editor at Hello! Magazine, said the revelations had left her and many other viewers “shell-shocked.”
“I don’t see how the palace can ignore these allegations, they’re incredibly serious,” she said. “You have the racism allegations. Then you also have the claim that Meghan was not supported, and she sought help even from the HR team within the household and was told that she couldn’t seek help.”
The younger royals have made campaigning for support and awareness around mental health one of their priorities. But Harry said the royal family was completely unable to offer that support to its own members.
“For the family, they very much have this mentality of ‘This is just how it is, this is how it’s meant to be, you can’t change it, we’ve all been through it,’” Harry said.
The couple had faced severe criticism in the United Kingdom before the interview. Prince Philip, 99, is in a London hospital recovering from a heart procedure, and critics saw the decision to go forward as being a burden on the queen — even though CBS, rather than Harry and Meghan, dictated the timing of the broadcast.
In the United States, sympathy for the couple poured in. Tennis star Serena Williams, a friend who attended Harry and Meghan’s wedding, said on Twitter that the duchess’s words “illustrate the pain and cruelty she’s experienced.”
“The mental health consequences of systemic oppression and victimization are devastating, isolating and all too often lethal,” Williams added.
Britain could be less forgiving once the full interview is broadcast, since some see the pair as putting personal happiness ahead of public duty.
Meghan — then known as Meghan Markle, who had starred on the American TV legal drama “Suits” — married Harry at Windsor Castle in May 2018.
But even that was not what it seemed: The couple revealed in the interview that they exchanged vows in front of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby three days before their spectacular wedding ceremony at the castle.
Archie was born the following year and in a rare positive moment in the interview, the couple revealed their second child, due in the summer, would be a girl.
Harry said he had lived in fear of a repeat of the fate of his mother, Princess Diana, who was covered constantly by the press and died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi.
“What I was seeing was history repeating itself, but definitely far more dangerous — because then you add race in, and you add social media in,” Harry said.
Both Meghan and Harry praised the support they had received from the monarch.
“The queen has always been wonderful to me,” Meghan said.
But Harry revealed he currently has a poor relationship with William and said things got so bad with his father that at one point Prince Charles stopped taking his calls.
“There is a lot to work through there,” Harry said of his father. “I feel really let down. He’s been through something similar. He knows what pain feels like. And Archie is his grandson. I will always love him, but there is a lot of hurt that has happened.”
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 26, 2021 (SKNNRC): Black History Month is celebrated in the month of February and is a time to reflect upon the struggles of enslaved Africans and those who have benefited greatly from their exploitation.
In speaking at the Black History Month Panel Discussion hosted by St. Kitts and Nevis’ Reparations Committee on February 22, 2021, Dr. Ahmed Reid, Associate Professor of Caribbean History at the City University of New York, said that Britain continues today to benefit from slavery.
He referenced a tweet sent out by Her Majesty’s Treasury on February 9, 2018, which revealed that “In February 2015, the British Government completed repaying the loan of 20 million pounds that it borrowed to compensate enslavers so that they would agree to the emancipation of the enslaved people in 1834.”
He continued, “Positioned as ‘Did you know,’ the tweet claimed that in 1833, Britain used 20 million pounds, 40 percent of its national debt to buy freedom for all slaves in the empire.”
Dr. Reid continued quoting Her Majesty’s Treasury saying that “The amount of money borrowed for the Slavery Abolition Act was so large that it wasn’t paid off until 2015, which means that living British citizens helped pay to end the slave trade.”
“Apart from its self-congratulatory tone, the tweet is troubling and distasteful on many levels,” he said.
“First, there is a shocking revelation that taxpayers in Britain including hundreds of thousands of Caribbean nationals whose ancestors were enslaved by the British and whose labour helped to build Britain, helped to pay the interest payments on the loan that paid the socially and politically connected enslavers,” Dr. Reid said.
He further said the tweet shows the intergenerational link with slavery saying that “This tweet is evidence of an incontrovertible truth that the descendants of enslavers continue to benefit today from slavery.”
He added, “According to a report in the British newspaper ‘The Guardian’, most of the bonds are owned by small investors. Of the 11,200 holders, 7,700 invested all less than 1000 nominal and 92 percent of holders owned less than 10,000 pounds each.”
“Britain and those who invested in slave abolition bonds, continue to benefit today,” said Dr. Reid.
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, February 11, 2021 (SKNIS): With the emergence of new variants of the Coronavirus and the possibility of them reaching the Federation, it is necessary for persons to continue adhering to the prevention and control measures, says Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws.
Dr. Laws was at the time speaking at the National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) Press Briefing on February 10. She said that wearing face masks is very important at this time.
“As a matter of fact, the latest information coming out is that wearing two masks is going to provide you that additional protection against the new variants,” she said. “So, prior to this we advocated one mask, but the science and the latest information are suggesting that with the emergence of these new variants you may have to wear two masks because these new variants are associated with increased transmissibility.”
“There is a risk of spreading this virus to many other persons and these risks are associated with reinfection and the variant first identified in the United Kingdom is associated with an increased risk of death. So, those who are living in the countries where these variants were first identified I see pictures of them wearing double masks. What they do is wear the surgical mask as the first layer and then they put on a cloth mask over the surgical mask.”
Also vital is maintaining proper hand hygiene and sanitizing high touch areas, said Dr. Laws. Maintaining a physical distance of three to six feet between individuals and avoiding crowds were also listed as significant.
“These are the measures along with the vaccine that are going to help us to get through this pandemic and help us to get through 2021,” she said.
]]>WASHINGTON, D.C., January 28, 2021 (PAHO) Three new variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which are raising concerns about possible heightened spread and severity of COVID-19, have been detected in 14 countries in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) reported in a new Epidemiological Update.
“Mutations are an expected part of the spread of any virus,” said PAHO Incident Manager Sylvain Aldighieri. “That’s why we’re asking national and local authorities to continue to strengthen existing disease control activities, including monitoring COVID-19 closely. We need epidemiological surveillance, including expanding regional genomics surveillance, outbreak investigation, and contact tracing. Where appropriate, we need to adjust public health and social measures to reduce transmission.”
The PAHO update notes, “It has recently been documented that people infected with the VOC 202012/01 variant have a higher risk of death than people infected with other variants. Preliminary studies suggest that the 501Y.V2 variant is associated with a higher viral load, which could suggest a potential for greater transmissibility.”
Referring to the two variants detected in the United Kingdom and South Africa, Aldighieri said that so far, they do not appear to have generated community transmission in the region of the Americas. So far, cases appear to be limited to people travelling from the two countries or connected to people traveling from those countries.
The third variant, detected in the state of Amazonas, Brazil, is most prevalent locally and researchers have recently suggested a causal link with the increase observed during the last weeks in hospitalization in Manaus. “But it’s still early to conclude on the strength of the association between the emergence of the variant and the recent dynamics of transmission,” Aldighieri said.
Hitting a grim milestone, the number of deaths in the Americas due to COVID-19 reached 1,015,534 on Jan 26. The number of people infected with the disease in 56 countries and territories within the Americas reached 44,197,482.
During a recent press briefing, PAHO Director Carissa F. Etienne said, “The loss of one million people from this virus should serve as an urgent call that we must do more to protect ourselves and each other from getting sick. This includes strong calls to action to reinforce the public health measures that are needed now in each of the places that are seeing outbreaks.”
]]>Basseterre, St. Kitts, January 28, 2021 (SKNIS): To assist in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in St. Kitts & Nevis, a generous family in London donated four (4) Samsung tablets to the National COVID-19 Task Force to be used by the Public Health Team.
The Wallace family through the Office of the High Commissioner in London presented the electronic devices to High Commissioner His Excellency Dr. Kevin Isaac, who shipped them to the Federal Ministry of Health in St. Kitts & Nevis.
The tablets were presented to the Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hazel Laws, by Medical Chief of Staff at the Joseph N. France General Hospital, Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, during the National Emergency Operations Center (NEOC) COVID-19 Weekly Briefing at the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Conference Room on January 27, 2021.
“These tablets were donated by the Wallace family, parents Robert and Mildred Wallace, and son Lionel Wallace. This donation is said to be for the expressed purpose of distribution to the COVID-19 Task Force of St. Kitts and Nevis,” said Dr. Wilkinson. “They are to be used by the public health officers in the performance of their duties in COVID-19 testing and tabulation of information in the field with the ability to connect with the online laboratory information system.”
“We also want to thank Dr. Jeffers and NextGen Laboratories who were helpful in coordinating this venture and bore the cost of the shipment of these tablets from the United Kingdom,” he said.
“The all of society approach that we have emphasized continues to work and we are grateful to the citizens in the Diaspora and those locally who have stepped forward to the call for service,” Dr. Wilkinson added.
In receiving the tablets, Dr. Hazel Laws said, “It is with pleasure that I accept these four tablets from the donor in the United Kingdom. On behalf of St. Kitts and Nevis COVID-19 National Task Force and the Health Emergency Operations Committee, I want to say a hearty thank you for these four Samsung tablets.”
Two of the tablets are to be donated to the Ministry of Health in Nevis.
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