. —— robyn rihanna fenty.stand and accept on behalf of a grateful nation. you can come, my dear. applause. on behalf of a grateful nation but an even prouder people. we therefore present to you the designee for national hero of barbados, ambassador robyn rihanna fenty. may you continue to shine like a diamond and bring honour to your nation by your words, by your nation by your words, by your actions and to do credit where ever you shall go. god bless you, my dear. thank you. we are watching events live in barbados and the singer rhianna hasjust awarded the barbados and the singer rhianna has just awarded the national hero of barbados status. you can see her there in the orange dress alongside the country's prime minister, mia mottley. it is 42 minutes past midnight in barbados. 42 minutes into the country's new life as a new republic after it removed queen elizabeth ii as its head of state. 55 years to the day since barbados gained independence in 1966. it has now formally cut ties with the british monarchy a

the artist, who's full name is robyn rihanna fenty, was named "ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary in 2018. the role involves promoting education, tourism and investment. this is the scene now live at national heroes square in the capital of bridgetown. despite the hour, it isjust capital of bridgetown. despite the hour, it is just after 1am there, the celebrations continue and i am sure they will continue for some time to come on this very historic day. let's get some of the day's other news. france has said it could consider taking back migrants who cross the channel to britain, if legal avenues are put in place to allow them to apply for asylum in the uk. the idea was put forward by the french interior minister during a news conference in paris. the head of britain's secret intelligence agency, mi6, will use a rare public address to say that the body needs to be more open. richard moore will also call for more collaboration with the private sector as he says that mi6's own experts cannot hope to replicate the global technology industry. in the philippines, senator christopher "b

. >> have ambassador robyn rihanna fenty shall have conferred upon her. you continue to shine upon her. >> reporter: critics say the royal family should have had no part in the commemoration. back in london, the royals facing a different public relations matter. the second installment of a bbc documentary, "the princes and the press" aired overnight, delving into the reported rift between princes harry and william and their wives and that duchess markle has been nicknamed "duchess difficult." >> williams and harry's relationship with the media was formed fundamentally with their mother's relationship with the media. but we've seen as they get older how it's manifested itself in different ways and the different paths that they have taken. >> reporter: the royal households releasing a statement, condemning unfounded claims from unnamed sources. back to barbados. royal watchers say the island's move to become a republic could signal other countries, perhaps even canada, to one day sever ties with the monarchy, andrew, mona? >> kristine, thank you. >>> golfer