Nov 30,2021:Barbados is set to become a republic, replacing Queen Elizabeth II as its head of state and severing centuries-old ties with the British crown on the 55th anniversary of the Caribbean nation’s independence from the United Kingdom.
Prince Charles, the UK’s heir to the throne, arrived in Barbados late on Sunday as the country prepares to replace the Queen with Sandra Mason, a former governor-general who will become the island’s first president.
The move will not have major effects on the country’s international relations, as the queen’s position as head of state has been symbolic.
The role that Mason, who was elected last month by a joint session of the country’s House of Assembly and Senate, takes up will also be largely ceremonial, behind Prime Minister Mia Mottley.
But supporters of the transition say removing the British queen as Barbados’s head of state sends a powerful message – and further distances the island from its colonial past.
“Tonight’s the night!” read the front-page headline of Barbados’ Daily Nation newspaper.
Mason is due to to be inaugurated just after midnight, coinciding with Barbados Independence Day on Tuesday.
“This is more of an emotional, historic, symbolic decision than a practical one,” said Al Jazeera’s Latin America Editor Lucia Newman, who is at the celebrations in the capital, Bridgetown.
The move to republicanism – which local leaders described as the “next logical step toward full sovereignty” – was announced last year during the annual Throne Speech.
“The time has come to fully leave our colonial past behind,” said Mason, who delivered the speech on behalf of Mottley in her then-role as governor-general. “Barbadians want a Barbadian head of state.”
In Bridgetown, Barbadians have been preparing celebrations for their new republic, with Prince Charles expected to deliver a speech stressing that warm relations between the island and the UK would continue despite the constitutional change.
Barbados will remain a republic within the Commonwealth, a grouping of 54 countries across Africa, Asia, the Americas and Europe.
But its withdrawal from the monarchy will bring the number of Commonwealth realms – countries that continue to have the queen as their head of state – to 15, including Jamaica, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea.
The last country to ditch the crown was the Indian Ocean island of Mauritius in 1992.
New Delhi, Nov 29,2021: Even as most countries began slapping travel bans on African countries, India on Monday offered support for Africa to combat the newly-emerged Omicron variant of the Covid-19 pandemic, including through supply of vaccines, life-saving drugs, PPE kits, gloves and ventilators.
“We have noted the emergence of a new variant of Covid-19, Omicron. We express our solidarity with the countries, particularly in Africa, who have so far been affected by the Omicron variant,” a late evening statement from the Ministry of External Affairs said.
The Government of India stands ready to support the countries affected in Africa in dealing with the Omicron variant, including by supplies of Made-in-India vaccines.
It said supplies can be undertaken through the COVAX facility or bilaterally.
“In this regard, the Government has cleared all orders placed so far by COVAX for supplies of Covishield vaccines including to African countries like Malawi, Ethiopia, Zambia, Mozambique, Guinea and Lesotho.
“We have also cleared supplies of Covaxin to Botswana.
“Any new requirement projected either bilaterally or through COVAX will be considered expeditiously,” it said.
India also stands ready to supply essential life-saving drugs, test kits, gloves, PPE kits and medical equipment such as ventilators, as may be required.
“Indian institutions would favourably consider cooperation in genomic surveillance and virus characterization related research work with their African counterparts,” the statement said.
It added that India has, so far, supplied more than 25 million doses of Made-in-India vaccines to 41 countries in Africa, including nearly 1 million doses as grant to 16 countries and more than 16 million doses under the COVAX facility to 33 countries.
Noc 29,2021:France is ready for a serious discussion with the UK on issues related to illegal immigration, but will not be held hostage by internal London policy, said the country’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
The two countries are already at odds over post-Brexit trade rules and fishing rights, and last week relations soured further after 27 people died trying to cross the English Channel.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote to President Emmanuel Macron outlining five steps the two countries could take to prevent immigrants from taking the perilous journey. One — the sending of illegal immigrants back to France — angered Paris.
France responded by canceling an invitation to British Interior Minister Priti Patel to attend a meeting on Sunday with its European counterparts to discuss the matter after Johnson posted the letter on Twitter.
“The UK has left Europe but not the world. We need to work seriously on these issues without being held hostage by British domestic politics,” Darmanin told reporters after meeting his Belgian, German and Dutch colleagues in Calais.
He added that the tone of London in private was not the same as in public.
France has been dealing with the issue of illegal immigration to the UK for 25 years and now is the time for London to wake up, said Darmanin.
“If immigrants are coming to Calais, Dunkirk or northern France, it’s because they’re attracted to England, especially the job market, which means you can work in England without any identification,” he said.
“The UK must accept its responsibility and limit its economic attractiveness.”
Geneva, Nov 29.2021: It is not yet clear whether the Omicron COVID-19 variant is more transmissible, or causes more severe disease compared to other variants including Delta, the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
WHO, on Sunday said that it’s not yet clear whether Omicron is more easily spread from person to person compared to other variants, even though the number of people testing positive has risen in South Africa where this variant was involved.
It’s also not yet clear whether Omicron causes more severe disease, but preliminary data suggests that there are increasing rates of hospitalization in South Africa, which however may be due to increasing overall numbers of people becoming infected.
WHO confirmed that there is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those from other variants, as understanding the level of severity of the Omicron variant will take days to several weeks.
All variants of COVID-19, including the Delta variant that is currently dominant worldwide, can cause severe disease or death, in particular for the most vulnerable people, and thus prevention is always key.
However, WHO said preliminary evidence suggests there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron, but information is limited. More information on this will become available in the coming days and weeks.
It added that current PCR tests continue to detect Omicron, while further studies are still going on to understand how the Omicron variant will impact on available vaccines and treatments to COVID-19.
WHO classified on Friday the latest variant B.1.1.529 of SARS-CoV-2 virus, now with the name Omicron, as a “Variant of Concern” (VOC).
According to WHO’s definition, a VOC, with a degree of global public health significance, demonstrates one or more of mutational changes, such as increase in transmissibility or detrimental change in COVID-19 epidemiology, increase in virulence or change in clinical disease presentation, and decrease in effectiveness of public health and social measures or available diagnostics, vaccines, therapeutics.
WHO has since called on countries to enhance surveillance and sequencing on circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants, submit complete genome sequences and metadata to a publicly available database, and report initial VOC cases or clusters to WHO.
It has also recommended field investigations and laboratory assessments to better understand potential impacts of the VOC on COVID-19 epidemiology, the effectiveness of public health and social measures and antibody neutralization.
London, Nov 29,2021: UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss and Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid say they will do everything to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear power.
Truss and Lapid wrote a joint article for The Daily Telegraph ahead of the Monday signing of a memorandum of understanding on deepening ties, particularly in what concerns cybersecurity, defense, and trade.
“We will also work night and day to prevent the Iranian regime from ever becoming a nuclear power. The clock is ticking, which heightens the need for close cooperation with our partners and friends to thwart Tehran’s ambitions,” Truss and Lapid said in their article.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on Friday that despite the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, Tehran will be seriously involved in the Vienna negotiations over the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) on the Iranian nuclear program on November 29.
In 2015, Iran signed the JCPOA (also known as the Iran nuclear deal) with the P5+1 group of countries (the United States, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom – plus Germany) and the European Union. It required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief, including lifting the arms embargo five years after the deal’s adoption. In 2018, the US abandoned its conciliatory stance on Iran, withdrawing from the JCPOA and implementing hard-line policies against Tehran, prompting Iran to largely abandon its obligations under the accord.
The sixth round of negotiations to restore the JCPOA and lift US sanctions ended in Vienna on June 20. The seventh round will begin on Monday. Permanent Representative of Russia to the International Organizations in Vienna Mikhail Ulyanov said the deal is almost sealed and only political issues regarding the US commitment to the agreement will be discussed.
Tawang (Arunachal Pradesh), November 27,2021: Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya on Friday said that about Rs 64,000 crore will be invested by the Centre in creating health infrastructure in the country over the next five years.
The Union Minister, who was on a day-long tour to Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh, while interacting with healthcare workers at Khandro Drowa Zangmo District Hospital, said that the central government is working to provide health security to all through various health welfare schemes.
“Never in the past was health considered as wealth. The present Union Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is working on these lines to provide health security to all through its various health welfare schemes,” Mandaviya said during the interaction, as quoted in an official statement.
Emphasizing on the benefits of the Centre’s Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission that will connect the digital health solutions of hospitals across the country with each other, the minister said, “We have to work with Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission. This will enable us to know the history of a patient and can provide them with quality health services. In the next five years, an investment of Rs 64,000 crore will be made in improving health infrastructure in the country.”
Honiara, Nov 27,2021: More than 100 people have been arrested in the Solomon Islands after a wave of riots in the capital of Honiara, police said on Saturday.
The civil unrest in the Solomon Islands started on Wednesday with disturbance in Honiara and demands for Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s resignation. The government of Malaita Province in the Solomon Islands opposed the decision of the country’s central government to develop ties with China instead of Taiwan. The Solomon Islands requested the Australian government to assist in tackling the unrest.
“The Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) have arrested more than hundred suspects in relation to the current protest, riot and looting in Honiara,” police said in a statement.
Police Commissioner Mostyn Mangau called on people to stop the unrest.
“Please stop the looting and burning of infrastructures. Nothing will benefit you with such activities,” Mangau added.
On Thursday, Sogavare said that he blames foreign powers for civil unrest in the country prompted by his move to develop relations with China. He added that a switch between diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China is the main source of the conflict, as a populous region in the country has refused to follow the capital in favoring Beijing and severing ties with Taipei.
New Delhi, Nov 25,2021: The air quality in the national capital continued to remain in the ‘very poor’ category on Thursday, as the, air quality Index (AQI) stood at 362 according to the System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR).
The air quality Index (AQI) on Wednesday was recorded at 328.
According to the SAFAR bulletin, the effective farm fire count has reduced to 432 and its contribution to Delhi’s PM 2.5 on Thursday is 2 percent.
The concentration of PM 2.5 and PM 10 stood at 201, in the ‘very poor’ and 337 in the ‘poor’ category respectively around 11 am, as per the agency.
Earlier the agency said from November 27 onwards local surface winds are likely to increase which will result in improvement of air quality.
Several areas in the national capital including ITO, Lodhi Road, and Mathura Road recorded air quality in the ‘very poor’ category with an AQI of 411, 309, and 346 while the AQI at Anand Vihar and Jahangirpuri were in the ‘severe’ category with an AQI 436and 463 respectively.
According to data from Central Pollution Control Board the Air Quality Index in the neighbouring parts of Delhi, also was in the ‘very poor’ to ‘severe’ category including Faridabad (at 438), Ghaziabad (314), Gurugram (334) and Noida (414).
An AQI between zero and 50 is considered good, 51 and 100 is satisfactory, between 101 and 200 is moderate, 201 and 300 is poor, 301 and 400 is very poor, while AQI between 401 and 500 is severe.
Meanwhile the Delhi government on Wednesday said that schools, colleges and educational institutions in the national capital will reopen from Monday, November 29 onwards.
New Delhi, Nov 24: The Centre has approved construction of 3.61 lakh more houses in 17 states/UTs under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), a statement said on Wednesday.
“With this, the total number of sanctioned houses under the mission is now 1.14 crore, of which more than 89 lakh have been grounded for construction and 52.5 lakh completed and delivered to the beneficiaries,” the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) said in a release.
The total investment under the mission is Rs 7.52 lakh crore, with a central assistance of Rs 1.85 lakh crore. So far, Rs 1.13 lakh crore of funds have already been released, it added.
The decision was taken at the 56th meeting of Central Sanctioning and Monitoring Committee (CSMC) of PMAY(U), chaired by Durga Shanker Mishra, Secretary MoHUA, on Tuesday.
These 3.61 lakh houses will come up under that is part of the Affordable Housing in Partnership (AHP), Beneficiary-Led Construction (BLC), In-Situ Slum Redevelopment (ISSR) verticals of the PMAY (U).
The CSMC also accorded approval for revision of projects from 14 states/UTs translating into 3.74 lakh houses, the statement said.
In the meeting, Mishra took up the issues pertaining to the states/UTs regarding construction of houses under PMAY(U) and asked officials to resolve all issues without delay so construction can be expedited.
The MoHUA secretary stressed on the need for completion of the mission across the country within stipulated time under so that the goal of ‘Housing for All’ by 2022 could be achieved.
An ‘e-Finance’ module was also launched by Mishra with the objectives to provide unique platform to all stakeholders for disbursement of funds through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode and to validate beneficiaries.
The Secretary also approved proposals under Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) – Model 2 – in Telangana and Tamil Nadu, the Ministry said.
A total of 19,535 units, have been approved for urban migrants/poor, involving Technology Innovation Grant of Rs 39.11 crore, it said.