The British Royal Family has come to terms with the decision of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and the Duchess of Sussex. This is coming after all parties sat on a table and talked about the announcement made by the Royal couple that they are stepping back from their roles as senior members of the royal institution.

At the break of the news, The Queen has appealed for calm and understanding as the family was trying to work things out with Harry and Meghan. The couple had announced that they will be living between North America and the UK in pursuant of independent life, but will keep the values of the Royal Family.

Part of the deal announced by the family is that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will drop their royal titles – HRH, and would be addressed henceforth as Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan Duchess of Sussex.

They will also repay the 2.4 million pounds spent in renovating the Frogmore Cottage home. They are allowed to make whatever commercial deals they want as long as the monarchy values are not compromised.

The following agreement marks the conclusion of talks with the royal couple. After outlining the dos and don’ts of the agreement, The Queen was pleased that they were able to work things out with the couple. The statement issued by Buckingham Palace reads:

“As agreed in this new arrangement, they understand that they are required to step back from Royal duties, including official military appointments. They will no longer receive public funds for Royal duties.

“With the Queen’s blessing, the Sussexes will continue to maintain their private patronages and associations. While they can no longer formally represent The Queen, the Sussexes have made clear that everything they do will continue to uphold the values of Her Majesty.

“The Sussexes will not use their HRH titles as they are no longer working members of the Royal Family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have shared their wish to repay Sovereign Grant expenditure for the refurbishment of Frogmore Cottage, which will remain their UK family home. This new model will take effect in the spring of 2020.”

Part of the agreement is that Harry and Meghan will henceforth pay 360,000 pounds for the use of the Frogmore Cottage.

In a personal statement, The Queen thanked the couple and wished them well as she respects their decision to pursue an independent life.

“Following many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive way forward for my grandson and his family.

“I recognize the challenges they have experienced as a result of intense scrutiny over the last two years and support their wish for a more independent life.

“I want to thank them for all their dedicated work across this country, the Commonwealth and beyond, and am particularly proud of how Meghan has so quickly become one of the family. It is my whole family’s hope that today’s agreement allows them to start building a happy and peaceful new life,” the Queen said.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry has issued his first statement on the matter since the announcement. At a dinner for Sentebale, the charity he started with Lesotho Prince Seeiso, in 2006 to help orphans with AIDS, he said the decision will not affect his family relationship, even though it’s a painful one.

“I’ve accepted this, knowing that it doesn’t change who I am or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step my family back from all I have ever known, to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life.

“I was born into this life, and it is a great honor to serve my country and the Queen. When I lost my mom 23 years ago, you took me under your wing. You’ve looked out for me for so long.” Harry added that media is formidable force that needs to be tamed with sincere care for each other.

“But the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful because this so much bigger than just us.

“I will always have the utmost respect for my grandmother, my commander in chief, and I am incredibly grateful to her and the rest of my family for the support they have shown Meghan and I over the last few months.”

However, there are yet some issues not included in the agreement, one of them, the security of the Sussexes. The cost of the couple’s security is at the tune of 7.6 million pounds, and it’s likely going to be funded by taxpayers’ money.

This is a turning point in the British Royalty and the British people are accusing Prince Harry of disrespecting the Institution just to please his wife.

A new list has emerged of countries that the Trump administration is considering adding to the already existing ones on its travel ban. The controversial travel ban came into play as soon as Trump assumed office, and it affected mainly Muslim countries.

It has been three years since the travel ban took effect and according to Politico, White House will announce the additions to the list on the third anniversary of the original order. The new list of countries cuts across three continents: Sudan, Tanzania, Eritrea, and Nigeria in Africa; Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar in Asia; Belarus in Europe.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “the administration plans to place visa restrictions on seven new countries: Belarus, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sudan and Tanzania. The countries wouldn’t all face blanket bans on travel to the US, but could have restrictions placed on specific types of visas.”

What is not clear is the reason behind the selection of the recent countries enlisted. The first list of countries under the travel ban has been made up majorly of Islamic nations on the basis that they foster and harbor terrorists who would eventually get to the United States and cause mayhem.

Trump signed the original travel ban on Jan. 27, 2017. But the order was met with severe opposition and court challenges, forcing the administration to modify the list. The Supreme Court eventually allowed a third iteration to go into effect, restricting Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen along with North Korea and Venezuela from entry into the US. The amendment removed Chad from the original list.

Trump administration has firmly defended the travel ban. White House spokesman, Hogan Gidley said the original ban has been to protect Americans from terrorists, but refrained from saying anything about the motive behind the new ban.

“The travel ban has been profoundly successful in protecting our country and raising the security baseline around the world. While there are no new announcements at this time, common sense and national security both dictate that if a country wants to fully participate in US immigration programs, they should also comply with all security and counter-terrorism measures – because we do not want to import terrorism or any other national security threat into the United States,” he said.

The new list is made up of countries that do not fall in the same category with the first; some of them are notably in good relationship with the US. The intriguing turn of events has raised some questions that its answers could be found outside the alibis of terrorism.

For instance, Politico noted that “Nigeria is a US counter-terrorism partner and the country has a large diaspora community in the United States.” Evidently, the faux behind the move has gone beyond terrorism and bilateral ties. Politico pointed out that in the past, Trump has made reference to Nigeria as a sh..hole country who he doesn’t want their citizens in the US.

The New York Times once quoted Trump saying: “If Nigerians come to the US, they will never go back to their huts in Africa.” There is an indication that the indictment of Nigeria is as a way of Trump getting back to Buhari for the excesses of his administration concerning human rights, free speech and religious tolerance. It could be recalled that in 2018, during a White House meeting between the two presidents, Trump has warned Buhari that if the religious persecution of Christians in Nigeria doesn’t stop, he will do something about it.

However, US travel ban is a development that Nigeria will find hard to cope with now. The country’s economy has been for long augmented by remittances from diaspora. According to data published by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), Nigeria received $96.5 billion in remittances from diaspora in 6 years. The highest volume came in 2018 at $25.08 billion, signifying 126% increase in 6 years.

The remittances represent 5.74% of Nigeria’s GDP as at 2018. Analysis  by PWC shows the inflow will like rise from $25.08 billion in 2018, to $34.89 billion in 2023. The inflow came mostly from Nigerian residents in the United States. The projected increase by 2023 was based on the number of Nigerians who are likely going to leave Nigeria in search of greener pastures in developed countries, mainly the US.

Although the restriction will make room for some types of visa applicants, with a travel ban in place, the future spells doom for dreamers whose hope for a better life depends on immigration to the United States, and for Nigerian Government whose economy is a beneficiary of Nigerian immigrants in the US.