Voters in the Caribbean nation of St Vincent and the Grenadines were to decide yesterday whether to break their ties with Britain’s monarchy, even as Queen Elizabeth II was making a rare visit to the region.
A two-thirds majority in the referendum is needed to adopt a proposed constitution that would replace the charter in place since independence from Britain in 1979.
If the charter is approved, St Vincent and the Grenadines would join other Caribbean nations that have enacted new constitutions in recent months, including the Dominican Republic and the Cayman Islands.
The proposed constitution would remove the British monarch as the head of state and create a president nominated by the two political parties. Among other changes, it would establish a new court of appeals to replace Britain’s Privy Council, which is now the highest court of appeal for the island nation.
Both the governing Unity Labor Party and the opposition agree the islands should become a republic.
However, members of the opposition New Democratic Party are encouraging voters to reject the charter because they say it does not sufficiently reduce the powers of the prime minister, and they want the president to be elected by voters, not selected by parliament.
The country would remain a member of the Commonwealth, the organization of Britain’s former colonies.
Queen Elizabeth, who visited Bermuda on Tuesday, is in the region to attend a Commonwealth summit in Trinidad today.
‘INTRUSIONS’: The ‘Global Times’ reported that Thitu Island in the Spratlys group is ‘illegally occupied’ by the Philippines, which is expanding military infrastructure on it The Philippines could “stir up trouble” at yet another “Chinese” island in the South China Sea, China’s state-backed Global Times reported late on Thursday, after what it said were Manila’s “provocative intrusions” into waters at two other reefs in the region. The Philippines is expanding military infrastructure on Thitu Island (Jhongye Island, 中業島) in the Spratly Islands (Nansha Islands, 南沙群島), which Taiwan also claims, to potentially invite warships and warplanes from countries outside of the region such as the US and Japan, sabotaging peace and stability in the South China Sea, the newspaper reported, citing Chinese experts. Thitu Island is “illegally occupied”
A museum in southern French city Marseille is inviting visitors to discover Europe’s relationship to the naturist lifestyle by wandering its halls in the nude. “It’s not every day you get to walk around a museum naked,” said Julie Guegnolle, 38, who was celebrating her birthday at the “Naturist Paradises” exhibition in the Museum of Civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean (Mucem). Once a month, visitors to Mucem can explore the history of naturism in Europe in only their shoes — a precaution not for modesty’s sake but simply to “avoid getting splinters,” said Eric Stefanut, head of French naturist organization
‘SON OF GOD’: Quiboloy was in 2021 indicted by US prosecutors for allegedly having sex with women and underage girls who faced threats of abuse and ‘damnation’ Hundreds of police officers backed by riot squads yesterday raided a vast religious compound in a southern Philippine city in search of a local preacher accused of sexual abuse and human trafficking, police officials said. A supporter of the group, called Kingdom of Jesus Christ, reportedly died due to a heart attack during the massive police raid that started at dawn in the group’s compound in Davao City, livestreamed online by a local TV network owned by the group, police said, adding that the death was not related to the police operations. Officers brought equipment that could detect people behind cement walls,
They are the most fervent musicians no one has ever heard. Performers at this year’s Air Guitar World Championships in Finland on Friday tuned up at the Olympics of air guitar for the 27th time, featuring dedicated competitors like “Shred Lasso” and “Guitarantula.” This year’s challenge began on Wednesday with Airientation in Oulu, nearly 540km north of Helsinki, and was headlined by a class open to veterans and new guitarists alike. The Dark Horses Qualifications followed on Thursday, culminating with the World Championships Final on Friday night with the crowning of Canada’s Zachary “Ichabod Fame” Knowles as the 2024 Air Guitar World