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China warns Taiwan that 'independence means war'

China has warned Taiwan an attempt to pursue independence from Beijing "means war" as it defended heightened military drills around the island.

A Chinese military spokesman said its military exercises were needed "to safeguard national sovereignty".

Beijing is concerned about perceived growing close links between Taiwan and the US.

READ MORE: China stages naval drills in disputed sea

It also believes Taiwan's democratically-elected government wants to issue a formal declaration of independence, even though the island's president Tsai Ing-wen has insisted that it is already an independent country called the Republic of China – its formal name.

But China regards the island as a renegade province of the mainland and strongly opposes diplomatic attempts by other countries to engage with Taiwan.

Beijing dispatched military aircraft – including nuclear-capable bombers – on two patrols over Taiwan airspace last weekend.

The patrols coincided with the US aircraft carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, and other warships entering the disputed South China Sea for naval drills as the new Biden administration takes power.

READ MORE: Australia urges cooling of China-Taiwan tensions

Chinese defence ministry spokesman Colonel Wu Qian told a briefing yesterday that the patrols were needed to secure "national sovereignty".

"The military activities carried out by the Chinese People's Liberation Army in the Taiwan Strait are necessary actions to address the current security situation in the Taiwan Strait and to safeguard national sovereignty and security," he said.

Colonel Wu said a "handful" of people in Taiwan were seeking independence, Reuters reports.

"We warn those 'Taiwan independence' elements: those who play with fire will burn themselves, and 'Taiwan independence' means war," he said.

Taiwan's Defence Ministry said China on Saturday sent eight bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons and four fighter jets into its air defence identification zone just southwest of the island.

The ministry said China on Sunday sent another 16 military aircraft of various types into the same area.

The new Biden Administration has flagged it will follow former president Donald Trump's tough line against China.

Tony Blinken is Joe Biden's nominee to be Secretary of State.

"Let me just say that I also believe that President Trump was right in taking a tougher approach to China," Antony Blinken, Mr Biden's choice for Secretary of State, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his confirmation hearing last week.

"I disagreed very much with the way that he went about it in a number of areas, but the basic principle was the right one, and I think that's actually helpful to our foreign policy."

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Palaszczuk hits back at Frydenberg after JobKeeper snub

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has urged Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to go and visit Far North Queensland's struggling tourism operators after he rejected further federal assistance for the sector.

There are around 10,000 businesses in Tropical North Queensland relying on JobKeeper, which is scheduled to end in March.

The sector supports one in five jobs in the region and relies heavily on international tourists.

READ MORE: Treasurer rejects JobKeeper extension for struggling tourism sector, says states should cough up the cash

Ms Palaszczuk has just returned from a tour of Cairns and surrounds, where she announced a further $60 million in state assistance for local operators.

"I've been up there listening to the operators personally," Ms Palaszczuk said.

"Perhaps rather than Josh Frydenberg name-calling, he could go up there and listen as well.

"They are concerned they are going to fall off a cliff."

Earlier today Mr Frydenberg told Today states should "put their hands in their pockets" in response to Queensland's call to extend JobKeeper for the hardest-hit sectors.

"Our federal economic support has delivered more than three times what the Palaszczuk government has committed to," Mr Frydenberg said.

"We'd welcome the states putting their hands in their pockets and spending a little bit more in their own states as part of the economic recovery."

Ms Palaszczuk rejected the suggestion she hasn't offered enough economic support at a state level, saying her government had injected $11 billion into economic stimulus over the course of the pandemic, and was currently working on further ways to assist the Far North.

Queensland recorded no new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 today, and just one case in hotel quarantine – a woman in her 40s who has returned from Pakistan via Doha, Qatar.

https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1354937384211632136?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

The encouraging figures come as the state marks one year to the day since it became the first state in the country to decare a health emergency to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I can remember very clearly that I called a meeting of the Queensland disaster management committee to look at this issue and ministers had to come back from our caucus retreat to make sure that we were dealing with this issue," Ms Palaszczuk told this morning's press conference.

In that time, Queensland has conducted more than 1.7 million COVID-19 tests and recorded 1309 cases.

"Tragically, six people have passed away and we extend our condolences to those people and five were from cruise ships," Ms Palaszczuk said.

Other key statistics from the past year include:

  • 28,000 people joined Queensland's Care Army to look after the state's vulnerable
  • 1.2 million vehicles were processed at the state's borders
  • 878,392 passengers were processed at Queensland airports

Ms Palaszczuk thanked frontline emergency staff who have helped in the state's response to the pandemic.

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Authorities warn about growing sense of COVID-19 complacency

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — Authorities in St. Kitts and Nevis are sounding the alarm about the false sense of security that has seemingly set in with some members of the public letting down their guard with respect to the deadly novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Superintendent of Police Cromwell Henry said that the Police have observed a growing sense of complacency in some persons who attend public events without wearing a face covering. This has been witnessed in some businesses, and on public transportation in contravention of the COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Act.

“We want to remind you that provisions of the COVID-19 Act of 2020, which require persons to wear face masks when in public is still in effect,” said Superintendent Henry. “Penalties are still in effect, and we beseech persons to comply with this particular provision.”

Similar concerns were voiced by Abdias Samuel, Chairman of the National COVID-19 Task Force. He recalled going into a business place and being horrified that most persons were not wearing face masks.

“Those careless acts must not be the order of the day for any of us,” said Samuel. “Wearing face masks is one of the key things that will assist us in containing the spread of the virus and protecting you and others around you.”

He referred to current scenes playing out in some neighbouring islands, where some have returned to extended curfews and long shopping lines because of a spike in cases of the COVID-19.

“We remember in our early days in March 2020 when we had to go through that same process,” said Samuel. “We, have vowed that St. Kitts and Nevis will not go back into those. However, we need the citizens to enhance their surveillance and vigilance of our borders, and communities.”

He called for compliance with the laws of the land, saying there are several penalties for breaching the COVID-19 (Prevention and Control) Act of 2020 available to law enforcement and the COVID-19 Compliance Task Force. He warned that officials are prepared to act in the interest of public safety.

“Our population is very small, and we have to protect it at all costs,” said Samuel.

Health authorities strongly encourage all citizens and residents to wear face coverings in public spaces; maintain a distance of 3.5- to 6-feet from others; avoid large gatherings; frequently sanitize hands and boost their immune system.

The post Authorities warn about growing sense of COVID-19 complacency appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Four tablets donated to COVID-19 Task Force for Public Health Team

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — To assist in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in St. Kitts and Nevis, a generous family in London donated four Samsung tablets to the National COVID-19 Task Force to be used by the Public Health Team.

The Wallace family presented the tablets to the Office of the High Commissioner in London 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 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 Centre COVID-19 Weekly Briefing.

“These tablets were donated by the Wallace family, parents Robert and Mildred Wallace, and son Lionel Wallace,” said Dr. Wilkinson. “This donation is for the expressed purpose of distribution to the COVID-19 Task Force of St. Kitts and Nevis. 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,” said Dr. Wilkinson.

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 tablets will be donated to the Ministry of Health in Nevis.

The post Four tablets donated to COVID-19 Task Force for Public Health Team appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Public education campaign to illustrate safety of COVID-19 vaccinations

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — There is a need to begin the public education campaign on COVID-19 vaccinations in the country, according to Abdias Samuel, Chairman of the National COVID-19 Task Force in St. Kitts & Nevis. Samuel indicated that he will lead by example in taking the job.

Samuel welcomed the continued roll-out of vaccines designed to fight COVID-19 during a January 27 National Emergency Operations Centre Weekly COVID-19 Briefing.

“We need to begin the campaign to educate people that the vaccines are safe for us to take,” said Samuel. “We need to take the vaccine. For now, the vaccines and the non-pharmaceutical measures are the only things that will take us to a state of normalcy.”

Chief Medical Officer Dr. Hazel Laws, said at the briefing that the three main COVID-19 vaccines are being administered to populations around the world. These are the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, Moderna vaccine, and the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine.

Samuel encouraged persons to pay attention to the science and advice from credible experts and doctors, rather than myths circulating online about the vaccines.

“I’m encouraging everyone to debunk all the negativity surrounding the vaccines, and let us prepare as a nation to take the vaccine when it comes and to support our health professionals in this regard,” said Samuel.

“It is expected that St. Kitts and Nevis will have access to the vaccines in the second quarter of 2021,” he said. “The Federation has signed on to the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility (COVAX) and will receive enough vaccines to cover 20 percent of the population in the initial stages.

Laws and Medical Chief of Staff at the Joseph N. France General Hospital, and Dr. Cameron Wilkinson, have indicated that they are willing to take the jab publicly to help put resident’s minds at ease about the vaccine.

The post Public education campaign to illustrate safety of COVID-19 vaccinations appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Albert Gordon to join NEVLEC in February as new GM

CHARLESTOWN, Nevis — Albert Gordon of Guyana has been named general manager of the Nevis Electricity Company Limited (NEVLEC). He will head the company from February 2021.

Hon. Mark Brantley, Premier of Nevis made the announcement at his monthly press conference in Cabinet Room at Pinney’s Estate on January 28.

“The NEVLEC Board of Directors is pleased to advise that Albert Gordon has been chosen as the new general manager of that company. Gordon holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering and an MBA in Finance, along with several other qualifications. He is trained not only in electricity but also in water.

“He is presently employed as chief executive officer of Guyana Power and Light Inc.,” said Hon. Brantley. “His contract ends of the January 31 and he will take up his position with us in February.”

Brantley, who is also the minister responsible for Public Utilities in the Nevis island Administration. He said the company’s board of directors had been searching for a new general manager, and at the end of a number of interviews made the decision to hire Gordon.

The post Albert Gordon to join NEVLEC in February as new GM appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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USAID-IAF holds virtual information session on grants to ESC countries

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs informs the general public that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Inter-American Foundation (IAF) will hold a Virtual Information Session to discuss the “Building Community Resilience in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean” Project.

This virtual information session will be held via Zoom on Thursday, February 4 at 11:00 a.m. (Barbados time.) This project is aimed at providing small grants to grassroots and community organizations in the Eastern and Southern Caribbean for community-led disaster mitigation and resilience.

Community groups interested in applying for one of these grants should visit the following website for more information http://www.iaf.gov/content/story/buildingcommunity-resilience-in-eastern-southern-caribbean/ and should attend the virtual information session by registering your group as soon as possible at www.docs.google.com/forms/d/1G1u7xXpL5JKffFUaotO20cjU_rbtEwCzfgQKPNl 8QR8/viewform?gxids=7628&edit_requested=true.

A two-page brochure explaining the grant programme and one-page Call for registration – Virtual Information Session can be found at:
https://mcusercontent.com/f9c18edcb5e81ee00df9977e6/files/34a229ec-7c39-4600-a39f-0b6d6082cfa6/USAID_IAF_holds_Virtual_Information_Session.pdf

The post USAID-IAF holds virtual information session on grants to ESC countries appeared first on The St Kitts Nevis Observer.

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Six people killed after liquid nitrogen leak at food processing plant

Six people have been killed and 10 taken to a hospital after a liquid nitrogen leak at a food processing plant near Gainesville in the US state of Georgia, officials said.

Fire crews from Hall County and Gainesville responded to a report of burns at Prime Pak Foods around 10.12 a.m. Thursday, Zachary Brackett from Hall County Fire Services said.

Units arrived and found a large group of employees that had evacuated, along with multiple people who were experiencing medical emergencies in and around the facility, Mr Brackett said.

Five people died at the scene. One person died after arriving at Northeast Georgia Health System, a hospital spokesman said.

At least nine patients were taken to the hospital in Gainesville. They include three Gainesville firefighters and one Hall County firefighter who had respiratory complaints.

Three patients are in the critical care unit, one is in the emergency department and the other five are in fair condition, the hospital spokesman said.

Mr Brackett said there was no explosion, and the cause of the leak remains under investigation.

The Hall County Sheriff's Office is managing the investigation, he said. Staff from the Georgia State Fire Marshal's Office and Occupational Safety and Health Administration are also on scene.

Gainesville is about 95 kilometres northeast of Atlanta.