All posts by FreeNews

headline

Cause of Kobe Bryant helicopter crash to be announced

In the year since the helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant crashed into a hillside on a foggy morning, killing all nine aboard, there's been plenty of finger-pointing over the cause of the tragedy.

Mr Bryant's widow blamed the pilot.

She and families of other victims also faulted the companies that owned and operated the helicopter.

The brother of the pilot didn't blame Mr Bryant but said he knew the risks of flying.

The helicopter companies said the weather was an act of God and blamed air traffic controllers.

On Tuesday, US federal safety officials are expected to announce the long-awaited probable cause of the crash that unleashed worldwide grief for the retired basketball star, launched several lawsuits and prompted state and federal legislation.

"I think the whole world is watching because it's Kobe," said Ed Coleman, an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University professor and safety science expert.

Mr Bryant, his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, and six other passengers were flying from Orange County to a youth basketball tournament at his Mamba Sports Academy in Ventura County on January 26, 2020, when the helicopter encountered thick fog in the San Fernando Valley north of Los Angeles.

Pilot Ara Zobayan climbed sharply and had nearly broken through the clouds when the Sikorsky S-76 helicopter banked abruptly and plunged into the Calabasas hills below, killing all nine aboard instantly before flames engulfed the wreckage.

Firefighters and sheriffs work the scene of a helicopter crash that killed former NBA basketball player Kobe Bryant2009: Bryant led the Lakers to the fourth championship of his career, the first since he and O'Neal won three straight in the early 2000s.

There was no sign of mechanical failure, and it was believed to be an accident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has said.

The board is likely to make nonbinding recommendations to prevent future crashes when it meets remotely on Tuesday.

The NTSB is an independent federal agency that investigates crashes but has no enforcement powers. It can only submit suggestions to bodies like the Federal Aviation Administration or the Coast Guard, which have repeatedly rejected some of the board's safety recommendations after other disasters.

One recommendation could be for helicopters to have a Terrain Awareness and Warning System, a device that signals when an aircraft is in danger of crashing.

Kobe Vanessa Gigi Bryant

The helicopter didn't have the system, which the NTSB has recommended as mandatory for helicopters. The FAA only requires it for air ambulances.

Federal politicians have sponsored the Kobe Bryant and Gianna Bryant Helicopter Safety Act to mandate the devices on all helicopters carrying six or more passengers.

headline

Improving air, maritime transportation will advance regional integration

BASSWTERRE, St. Kitts — Improving regional air and maritime transportation is crucial to advancing regional integration if the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) is to operate optimally, said officials working in St. Kitts and Nevis’ Regional Integration and Diaspora Unit (RIDU).

“We can’t get the CSME operational to the optimal point without dealing with transportation,” said Samuel Berridge, Assistant Secretary in the RIDU in the Office of the Prime Minister.

Berridge said the issue of transportation has to be dealt with in earnest, however, there is a price tag attached.

“It is a cost, and somebody will have to bite the bullet – either the public or private sector,” said Berridge. “We would need a public-private partnership but then the public should not bear all the cost,” said Mr. Berridge.

His Excellency Lionel Sydney Osborne, Head of the RIDU head and Ambassador to the Caribbean Community and OECS Commissioner shared similar sentiments and raised a very important point concerning air transportation.

“Is it a public good, or is it a profit-making exercise?” asked Ambassador Osborne. “If it really is a public good then one has to understand subsidies that are going to be required if we really want to move persons effectively, quickly… from one point to another. I think it is something which will have to be discussed.”

In terms of rapid ferries, Ambassador Osborne, and Assistant Secretary Berridge shared similar sentiments noting that while some countries report success stories with sea transportation it has proven to be very difficult for others.

“The issue is public-private partnerships. The private sector wants to gain the profits, but they want to spread the cost,” said Berridge. “The same discussions which we have with LIAT in terms of spreading the cost now, Chapter six of the Revised Treaty of [Chaguaramas] speaks about transportation policy. You need to make it more effective, and then there are some less economic points.”

RIDU officials reiterated the importance of improving regional transportation and noted that it will require multi-sectoral support.

The post Improving air, maritime transportation will advance regional integration appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Sir Tapley sends Independence congratulations to Grenada

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — His Excellency The Governor-General Sir S. W. Tapley Seaton, GCMG, CVO, QC, JP, LL.D has dispatched the following message to Her Excellency Dame Cecile La Grenade, GCMG, OBE, Ph.D, D.Sc, Governor-General of Grenada.

“As Grenada celebrates the 47th Anniversary of its Independence, on behalf of the Government and People of Saint Kitts and Nevis and on my own behalf, I am pleased to extend to you and the Government and People of Grenada greetings and congratulations.

Please accept, Your Excellency, every good wish for your personal well-being and for the continued progress and prosperity of the People of Grenada.

The post Sir Tapley sends Independence congratulations to Grenada appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

St. Kitts & Nevis, India Ambassadors to UNESCO confer in Paris

PARIS — The Federation’s permanent delegate to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Ambassador H.E. David Doyle, conferred this week with his counterpart, H.E. Ambassador Vishal V. Sharma, representing the Republic of India, in an exchange of views on UNESCO activities of mutual interest.

Discussions focused on India’s quest to secure a seat on the influential UNESCO World Heritage Committee, a body on which St. Kitts and Nevis sat for the past four years, and now enjoys the privilege of being the only Small Island Developing States (SIDS) member.

Both envoys agreed that India’s accession to this committee would strengthen the Commonwealth presence on the committee, currently comprising Uganda, Australia, South Africa, and the Federation.

India, a member of UNESCO since 1946, “has much to offer the UNESCO heritage community,” noted Ambassador Doyle, with such world-renowned sites as the Taj Mahal, Agra Fort, and Jantar Mantar (Jaipur), making up its 28 world heritage monuments and sites.

The envoys discussed the latest information technology (IT) techniques pioneered by India in creating virtual museums tracing important historical events in the country’s past. Given St. Kitts and Nevis’ work in reconstructing its own historical legacy, and updating its federal world heritage tentative list, it was felt that certain best practices employed in India could be meaningfully used in the Federation.

Ambassador Sharma, who was accredited as India’s permanent delegate to UNESCO in October 2020, had previously worked as part of the Project Team implementing the Museum on Prime Ministers at Teen Murti Bhawan, New Delhi, under the Ministry of Culture.

Underlining the importance of both countries being a member of the Commonwealth, Ambassador Doyle noted “the renewed interest with India’s presence at UNESCO to strengthen the Commonwealth Group to UNESCO”, a dedicated UNESCO committee comprising permanent delegates of the 54 UNESCO member states making up the Commonwealth. A large proportion of this Group is small island developing states seeking to have their voice heard at UNESCO, and at other important international organizations, and representing 20 percent of the UN membership.

The envoys agreed to work together in re-energizing the Commonwealth Group to UNESCO.

The post St. Kitts & Nevis, India Ambassadors to UNESCO confer in Paris appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

headline

Boris Johnson confident on AstraZeneca vaccine

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was "very confident" in all the vaccines the UK is currently using to combat the coronavirus.

"We're very confident in all the vaccines that we're using and I think it's important for people to bear in mind that all of them, we think, are effective in delivering a high degree of protection against serious illness and death, which is the most important thing," Mr Johnson said.

READ MORE: Melbourne hotel quarantine worker may have been infectious during small weekend window

His comments come a day after South Africa paused its rollout of the Oxford-AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine after early data from a study showed that it offered "minimal protection" against mild or moderate illness caused by the more contagious virus variant first identified there, known as B.1.351.

The UK is currently administering the Pfizer/BioNTech and Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccines.

READ MORE: Hundreds queue in Wollongong as person tests positive two days after leaving hotel quarantine

According to the government's dashboard more than 12 million people have received a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine in the UK.

Mr Johnson said the government will continue to "study" the results and effectiveness of the vaccine rollout and will be "looking at the ways in which the population is starting to respond to the vaccines" ahead of setting out a strategy for the country to exit lockdown on February 22.

When asked about the UK's border controls, Mr Johnson responded that despite having "amongst the toughest border controls of anywhere in the world", border controls are "most effective" when you've got the infection rate down in your country."

READ MORE: Health Minister Greg Hunt downplays vaccine concerns, says rollout on track

"We've greatly reduced the rate of infection from the peak where it was a few weeks ago but it's still extremely high. And for border controls, to make that final difference so that you can isolate new variants as they come in, you need to have infections really much lower so you can track them as they spread," he continued.

"But that doesn't mean that we're not going to be relying very much on border controls, as we get the rates of infection down overall, stopping it coming in, tracking the people who have a new variants," Mr Johnson added.