bell ringing. the first seconds of a brand new republic as barbados welcomes its new era. we can see prime minister mia mottley there and the president elect, dame sandra mason. president-elect, dame sandra mason. ., ., ., mason. the installation of the president-elect mason. the installation of the president-elect of mason. the installation of the president-elect of barbados l mason. the installation of the i president-elect of barbados and president elect of barbados and that will be done by the chief justice of barbados, sir patterson cheltenham. 5ir patterson cheltenham. sir patterson patterson cheltenham. sir patterson cheltenham. sir patterson cheltenham there, the country s chiefjustice about country s chief justice about this country s chiefjustice about this where in the president elect. this where in the president-elect. this where in the -resident-elect. ., ., this where in the resident-elect. ., ., ., president-elect. the oath for the due execution preside
opportunity. strengthening and enriching us all. for my part, this is an occasion to reaffirm the relationship i have shared with barbados since i have visited the island over 50 years ago and then again while serving in the royal navy on the then west indies station. i have admired so much of what you have achieved and all you have come to represent. i ve heard your voice advocating with passion and authority on issues global significance. i have seen the power of the indomitable spirit both at home and overseas. including through the invaluable contribution to our public life of the barbadian diaspora in the united kingdom. this is and will remain such a special place for me. as the giant of barbadian literature george laming evokes so powerfully, the rhythm of the winds, the silence and the rover of the night, rocks, water, pebble and branch, animal and bird night, rocks, water, pebble and branch, animaland bird noise. the temper of the sea and the mornings arousing nature
on the eastern most island in the caribbean, this older woman, who you might recognize, will no longer be the head of state. as of the stroke of midnight tonight, queen elizabeth will no longer be, among her other titles, the queen of barbados, as of tonight at midnight, there will no longer be a head of barbados. there will be a president. she s on the right side of your screen. her name is dame sandra mason. she s currently the governor general. that means she s been the top representative of the queen there, but tonight that job goes away. barbados will cease of a king or queen for that matter. it will become tonight a republic, an independent republic with a president and a prime minster. it will no longer be a monarchy. and i should mention, this is a friendly transition. prince charles, who is next in line for the british throne when his mother s reign is over, prince charles is there tonight in barbados for the ceremony that will mark the transition. barbados will keep
no longer be, among her other titles, the queen of barbados. as of tonight, midnight, there will no longer be a queen of barbados. we will have a new head of state in that country. she will be the first ever president of barbados. she is here on the right side of your queen. her name is sandra mason. sandra mason is currently the governor general of barbados, that technically means she s been the top representative of the queen. but tonight, that job goes away, barbados will cease to have a queen, or a king for that matter, it will become as of tonight, a republican independent with the president and a prime minister, it will no longer be a monarchy. and, i should message, this is a friendly transition. prince charles, who is next in line for the british throne, when his mother s rain is, over he will be in there in barbados. for the ceremony that will mark the transition. barbados will keep its name, its flag and its dollar and its national anthem. there will be some changes
new york i m emit in for chris hayes. there is a new coronavirus variant raising questions and concerns around the globe. while scientists and public health experts are helping to answer questions and ease those concerns, the pro curled white in this country is meeting this challenge with the same old mix of misinformation and conspiracy theories. world health organization naming the new covid variant omicron. last week the south african government warned that the world should be aware of this variant. it was first detected there earlier this month. of course, this is far from the first variant we have seen emerge. quite honestly, it is not unexpected. this is what viruses do. they mutate. we have already cycled through the alpha variant that came out of the united kingdom late last year. beta first detected in south africa. gamma emerging from brazil. and of course delta, first documented in india. which has become the dominant strain worldwide. now we do not know yet how mu