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Gumbs cabinet seeking to dissolve Parliament and call new elections

~Gumbs: NAf. 150,000 available for new elections~

PHILIPSBURG--One day after Parliament passed a motion of no-confidence against the Gumbs Cabinet, the Council of Ministers is seeking to dissolve parliament and have new elections called on Tuesday, December 8.

  Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs announced at a press conference on Thursday that based on several legal advices received last night, the Council made a decision to use Article 59 of the constitution to dissolve parliament Read more

HURRICANE JOAQUIN ADVISORY NUMBER 15A

...JOAQUIN BECOMES AN EXTREMELY DANGEROUS CATEGORY 4 HURRICANE......CENTRAL BAHAMAS TO EXPERIENCE HURRICANE FORCE WINDS...STORMSURGE...AND HEAVY RAIN THROUGH TONIGHT...

SUMMARY OF 200 PM EDT...1800 UTC...INFORMATION

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LOCATION...23.0N 74.2W

ABOUT 70 MI...115 KM SSE OF SAN SALVADOR BAHAMAS

MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...130 MPH...210 KM/H

PRESENT MOVEMENT...SW OR 230 DEGREES AT 6 MPH...9 KM/H

MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...936 MB...27.64 INCHES

WATCHES AND WARNINGS

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CHANGES WITH THIS ADVISORY:
None.
SUMMARY OF WATCHES AND WARNINGS IN EFFECT:
A Hurricane Warning is in effect for...* Central Bahamas* Northwestern Bahamas including the Abacos, Berry Islands,Eleuthera, Grand Bahama Island, and New Providence* The Acklins, Crooked Island, and Mayaguana in the southeasternBahamas
A Hurricane Watch is in effect for...* Bimini* Andros Island
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for...* Remainder of the southeastern Bahamas including the Turks andCaicos Islands* Andros Island
A Hurricane Warning means that hurricane conditions are expectedsomewhere within the warning area Read more

Gumbs cabinet seeking to dissolve Parliament, call new election Dec. 8

~ PM: NAf. 150,000 available for new elections ~

PHILIPSBURG--One day after Parliament passed a motion of no confidence against the Gumbs Cabinet, the Council of Ministers is seeking to dissolve Parliament and have new elections called on Tuesday, December 8.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs announced at a press conference on Thursday that based on legal advice received the Council had decided to use Article 59 of the Constitution to dissolve Parliament by resolution and call new elections Read more

>PHILIPSBURG: --- Information reaching SMN News states that the eight members of parliament who voted a motion of no confidence against the current Gumbs cabinet already have candidates that will fill the Ministries.
SMN News learnt that Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin will become the next Prime Minister of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, who is also Minister of General Affairs and responsible for the Fire Department, commends the fire services for their Fire Prevention Month of activities that kicked off on October 1st under the theme: ‘Smoke Detectors Saves Lives.’
The month long activities includes a fire safety awareness workshop for all primary school third graders; installation of smoke detectors in selected houses in some districts; a lecture/workshop for architects and engineers; an open house and fire safety expo.
“Residents and homeowners should be familiar with ways to reduce the risk of fire, and also know how to respond in the event of a fire breaking out in your home Read more

New Elections will not solve the problems of Government Instability, instead it’s fighting fire with fire and would cost government unnecessary spending.

style="text-align: center;">Amending the constitution is the only solution, something government and parliamentarians will not do because its serves them best as is.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The notion that Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and the other members of the council of ministers gave reporters on Thursday is nothing but farce when he said that the only thing that would bring the stability to the country is new elections Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs Commends Fire Dept. On Fire Prevention Month Activities

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, who is also Minister of General Affairs and responsible for the Fire Department, commends the fire services for their Fire Prevention Month of activities that kicked off on October 1st under the theme: ‘Smoke Detectors Saves Lives.’

The month long activities includes a fire safety awareness workshop for all primary school third graders; installation of smoke detectors in selected houses in some districts; a lecture/workshop for architects and engineers; an open house and fire safety expo.

“Residents and homeowners should be familiar with ways to reduce the risk of fire, and also know how to respond in the event of a fire breaking out in your home.  There are many things that household owners can do to help keep their families and their possessions safe from fires.

“The smoke detector that is being promoted during this one month period is one device to alert homeowners to a possible fire within the home Read more

St. Maarten Government Falls Again: Fifth Cabinet In Five Years In The Making

UP-leader Theo Heyliger (left) and MP Silvio Matser on 10-10-14 when they were still political allies. Now the political marriage is over: “I cannot take the internal abuse anymore,” Matser said yesterday Read more

Lake Stays In Parliament, No Seat For Buncamper-Molanus

St. Maarten – Rumors about the makeup of the new cabinet and its possible consequences for seats in parliament spread rapidly yesterday after the fall of the Gumbs cabinet. One such rumor was that Maurice Lake, now independent, would return as the Minister of Vromi; that move would have opened a slot in parliament for Maria Buncamper-Molanus Read more

Parliament Demands That Ag Guus Schram Resigns

Attorney-General Guus Schram on an occasion when he was in St. Maarten. File photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – The parliament unanimously supported a motion that asks Attorney-General Guus Schram to resign and that urges the government to demand that the attorney-general of St. Maarten lives and works here. This newspaper asked the AG whether it is still possible for him to do his work on the island. “It is not up to the prosecutor’s office to react to this motion,” was the reaction.

The opposition National Alliance and Democratic Party had requested the meeting of parliament to discuss remarks Schram made on September 11 during the installation of Judge Sander van Rijen Read more

Parliament Goes All Out Against Attorney-General Schram “His Remarks Are As Bad As The Crimes He Fights”

MP William Marlin: “The AG insults everybody in St. Maarten.” Photo Today / Leo Brown

St. Maarten – Parliament unanimously make minced meat of the remarks Attorney-General Guus Schram made on September 11 during the installation of Judge Sander van Rijen and demanded his resignation (see related story on our front page).

“I do not want to get into a debate with the attorney-general,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said Read more

Editorial - Left in limbo

What had been rumoured for months finally took place (see related stories). Three members of the UP-led coalition supported a motion of no-confidence by the opposition against the Council of Ministers, leaving it without majority backing in Parliament.

This means that, based on commonly accepted democratic principles, the Gumbs cabinet will have little choice but to step down en masse unless one of the eight legislators who voted to send them home has a sudden change of heart, which is highly improbable.

The good news is that there won’t be too many financial implications because most of the current public administrators have not been in office a whole year, the minimum to receive a special pension as such, while – who knows – some might even return, as has happened in the recent past too.

There is nevertheless enough reason for concern, especially regarding much-needed continuity in governance Read more

MPs pass unanimous motion calling for Schram’s resignation

PHILIPSBURG--Members of Parliament (MPs) from across party lines on Wednesday voted unanimously in favour of a motion calling for the resignation of Attorney General (AG) Guus Schram over his “insulting, degrading and unacceptable” statements made during the swearing in of judge Sander van Rijen on September 11.

The motion tabled by National Alliance (NA) Leader MP William Marlin states that the remarks by Schram that the underworld and legitimate society in St Read more

Lake says effective leadership is lacking

PHILIPSBURG--United People’s party (UP) Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake said on Wednesday that the country lacked effective leadership when it needs it most and noted that he had never experienced anything in his 23 years in the civil service, like he has in the past year and a half of him being an MP with the UP-led coalition.

Lake made the statements during a parliamentary meeting on Tuesday in which he supported a motion to send home the Gumbs cabinet via a no-confidence motion that was passed Read more

New majority in Parliament to focus on ‘needs of residents’

~ Portfolios divided, NA gets PM ~

HARBOUR VIEW--The new eight-seat-majority coalition in Parliament formed on Wednesday plans to focus on the needs of residents and is prepared to make safety and security “a top priority” and to give the people of St. Maarten “an open Government that gives account on all levels.”

The new majority comprises former United People’s (UP) party Members of Parliament (MPs) Silvio Matser and Maurice Lake; National Alliance (NA) MPs William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs, Christophe Emmanuel and George Pantophlet; Democratic Party (DP) MP Sarah Wescot-Williams; and United St Read more

Silvio Matser to declare himself independent MP

~Lake not happy with UP~  

PHILIPSBURG--United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Silvio Matser announced on Wednesday that he will be “drawing a line in the sand” and will be declaring himself as an Independent MP.

  Matser made the surprise announcement during a parliamentary meeting, in which a no-confidence motion was passed against the Gumbs-Cabinet, with his support Read more

Russia begins Syria air strikes in its biggest Mideast intervention in decades

MOSCOW/WASHINGTON--Russia launched air strikes in Syria on Wednesday in its biggest Middle East intervention in decades, plunging the four-year-old civil war into a volatile new phase as President Vladimir Putin moved forcefully to stake out influence in the unstable region.
  Moscow's assertion that it had hit Islamic State militants was immediately disputed by the United States and rebels on the ground. The attacks also raised the dangerous specter of Washington and Moscow running air strikes concurrently and in the same region, but without coordination.
  U.S Read more

Israel undermines US peace effort, Abbas tells UN

UNITED NATIONS--Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday accused Israel of sabotaging U.S. efforts to broker peace and said Israeli security operations at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem could lead to a religious war.
  In an address to the United Nations General Assembly before a ceremony for the raising of the Palestinian flag at U.N. headquarters in New York, Abbas said the Palestinian Authority no longer considered itself bound by the accords signed with Israel in the mid-1990s.
  Reiterating what the Palestinian Authority has been saying for at least half a decade, Abbas said the agreements would not apply as long as Israel supports settlements of Israelis in the West Bank and refuses to release Palestinian prisoners.
  "You are all aware that Israel undermined the efforts made by the administration of President Barack Obama in past years, most recently the efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry aimed at reaching a peace agreement through negotiations," Abbas told the 193-nation General Assembly.
  A senior U.S Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- All the Members of Parliament including those from the coalition government supported a motion presented by the National Alliance and Democratic Party on Monday to demand that Attorney General Guus Schram tender his resignation and also repudiate the statements he made on September 11th 2015 at the swearing in ceremony of a judge on St Read more

Chairman of Cft Age Bakker: ‘Curaçao remains on track with 2016 budget’

>Willemstad:--- The budget for 2016 is solid. The Cft had a number of recommendations on the draft 2016 budget, particularly focused on the downward revision of the budgeted economic growth figures and a more realistic capital service. The Government has taken the recommendations of the Cft and the Advisory Council into account and adjusted the budget accordingly, which resulted in a budget that is now in order.

The Board of financial supervision for Curaçao and Sint Maarten (Cft) visited Curaçao in the last week of September Read more

style="text-align: center;">Motion of No Confidence against Gumbs Cabinet passed, Eight MPs voted in favor --- UPP/ De Weever/LRM/USP Government falls

PHILIPSBURG:--- The government of St. Maarten is now in shambles. The UPP/ De Weever/ LRM and USP Government fell on Wednesday when three Members of Parliament supporting the current coalition voted in favor of a motion of no confidence against the Gumbs cabinet which was presented by MP Sarah Wescot Williams Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The eight members of Parliament who voted on a motion of no-confidence against the Gumbs cabinet on Wednesday did not waste any time on forming a new government.
According to information reaching SMN News as soon as the motion was passed in Parliament, two letters were dispatched to the Governor of St. Maarten, one informing him of the motion of no confidence along with a copy of the motion and another informing the Governor of St. Maarten that there is already a majority in Parliament that are ready to form a new government.
The source said the new government will consist of four Members of Parliament from the National Alliance, one from the Democratic Party, the USP and two Independent Members namely Silvio Matser and Maurice Lake.
SMN News further learnt that at least two MPs from the National Alliance faction will leave their seats in Parliament to go over to the executive branch Read more

Parliament Gives Council Of Ministers Vote Of No-Confidence Wednesday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The parliament of St. Maarten gave the Marcel Gumbs cabinet a motion of no-confidence on Wednesday afternoon.

The motion was read by the leader of the DP Sarah Wescot-Williams Read more

Dr. Verene Shepherd Lectures In St. Martin On Reparations; The Un’S Int’L. Decade For People Of African Descent

GREAT BAY, St. Martin —The new lecture organized by the Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF) is “Reparatory Justice and the Decade for People of African Descent: The CARICOM Case” by Dr. Verene Shepherd.

The lecture will take place at the University of St. Martin (USM) on Saturday, October 3, 2015, at 8 PM, said lecture coordinator Dr. Rhoda Arrindell Read more