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>PHILIPSBURG:--- Postal Services St. Maarten (PSS) attended the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) and Universal Postal Union (UPU) 18th annual Postal Conference in the British Virgin island of Tortola.

The St. Maarten delegation arrived on Sunday in Tortola comprised of Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors (SBD) Stuart Johnson and interim-Managing Director Antonia Wilson Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  University of St. Martin (USM) announced on Friday that it received accreditation of its Hospitality and Tourism Management programme by Business and Technology Education Council in the United Kingdom (BTEC).

BTEC accredited degrees are recognized in the US and in Europe. This is the first programme under the USM to be accredited.

USM also received "recognition" from American Hotel and Lodging Association, and that USM will be the third institution in the Caribbean to offer courses from American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute, especially in the North Eastern Caribbean where personnel from American hotels can come to upgrade their skills.

“It's high time that our Government recognize USM in writing based on our Government Program Read more

Pss Attends Caribbean Postal Conference In Bvi

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Postal Services St. Maarten (PSS) attended the Caribbean Postal Union (CPU) and Universal Postal Union (UPU) 18th annual Postal Conference in the British Virgin island of Tortola.The St. Maarten delegation arrived on Sunday in Tortola comprised of Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Directors (SBD) Stuart Johnson and interim-Managing Director Antonia Wilson Read more

Mp Lake Commends Usm Management And Board On Reaching Milestone With First Accredited Program. Wants Governments Recognition

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – University of St. Martin (USM) announced on Friday that it received accreditation of its Hospitality and Tourism Management programme by Business and Technology Education Council in the United Kingdom (BTEC).

BTEC accredited degrees are recognized in the US and in Europe. This is the first programme under the USM to be accredited.

USM also received "recognition" from American Hotel and Lodging Association, and that USM will be the third institution in the Caribbean to offer courses from American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute, especially in the North Eastern Caribbean where personnel from American hotels can come to upgrade their skills.

“It's high time that our Government recognize USM in writing based on our Government Program Read more

GEBE marks its 55th anniversary

PHILIPSBURG--Utilities company GEBE marked its 55th anniversary on Friday with a celebration that included the unveiling of a portrait of long-time GEBE Managing Director the late Julius Lambert painted by artist Ruby Bute and the rewarding of five youngsters for their outstanding performance at the high school entrance exams.

Receiving laptops and praises were Collin Shigemoto and Jaidev Nainani of St. Dominic High School, Eshita Wadhwa and Oluwatoyin Aladejana of Methodist Agogic Centre (MAC) Browlia Maillard Campus and Sean Mitchell of MAC Rev Read more

Democratic donors call on Biden to challenge Clinton

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON--A group of prominent Democratic Party fundraisers on Friday began circulating a letter to encourage a hesitant Vice President Joe Biden to enter the 2016 race for U.S. president.
  The letter, signed by nearly 50 people, calls the Obama-Biden administration a "spectacular success." It cites job creation, a lower unemployment rate, new health insurance policies for nearly 9 million Americans and the end of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  "To finish the job, America needs a leader who is respected both home and abroad, and who understands the real challenges facing American families Read more

Urgent Plenary Session of Parliament scheduled for Monday about Settlement Agreement between Port St. Maarten and Zebec

>PHILIPSBURG:----  An urgent public Plenary sitting of the House of Parliament will take place on September 21.

The plenary session is set for Monday, at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the settlement between the Harbour Group of Companies and Zebec.

This parliamentary meeting was requested by the Democratic Party faction and the National Alliance, Members of Parliament (MP) Hon Read more

Disaster waiting to happen at Landfill --- MP’s express outrage at the current situation regarding Waste to Energy Plant and statements made by Prime Minister.

style="text-align: center;">MP Meyers and MP Marlin engaged in verbal war during live meeting of Parliament

PHILIPSBURG:--- Several Members of Parliament expressed outrage on Friday morning in Parliament while posing several questions regarding the dumpsite in the middle of Philipsburg. Recently Member of Parliament Christopher Emmanuel posted a video on Facebook on the current situation at the Landfill Read more

Ombudsman Ducks Question About Uncaring Civil Servants

St. Maarten – “There is a group of civil servants that feels that the LMA protects them and that it is difficult to dismiss them. Is that part of the problem? Is there a sentiment that some civil servants just don’t care and that they don’t have to follow recommendations?” with that remark, independent MP Leona Marlin-Romeo, who worked as a civil servant at the census office, seemed to give a spark to a meeting of parliament where Ombudsman Dr Read more

Dutch Representative Screens Troonrede In Holland House: “We Have Shared Interests”

Dutch representative Gert Versluis (left) and Milton Peters College Director Wim de Visser at the presentation of the Troonrede by King Willem Alexander at Holland House. Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – The instruction of the Kingdom government to amend the 2015 budget is a “mega-challenge,” Dutch representative Gert Versluis said yesterday at an informal gathering at Holland House where his office screened the Troonrede of King Willem Alexander. “It is good that we have a very good minister of finance here who is qualified to tackle that problem Read more

Minister Richardson Criticizes Attorney-General Schram: “Justify Your Claims Or Shut The Hell Up”

Justice Minister Richardson is tired of accusations about corruption. Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – “My position has changed: it is put up or shut up. Justify your claims or shut the hell up. This has to stop,” Justice Minister Dennis Richardson said yesterday afternoon in parliament about the statements Attorney-General Guus Schram made last Friday about the interconnection between the underworld and the legitimate part of St. Maarten’s society.

“There are numerous indications showing that the underworld and the legitimate society in St Read more

Mp Leona Marlin-Romeo Donates To Primary Schools Sports Equipment As Part Of Give Back To The Community Program

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo on Thursday said that three public schools namely the Genieve De Weever School, Martin Luther King School, and Charles Leopold Bell School, were asked what they were in need of for their sports activities.

The schools indicated that sports ma Read more

Trinidad attorney general asks for more time for Warner extradition

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad--Trinidad and Tobago’s newly sworn-in attorney general, Faris Al-Rawi, has asked for more time to consider the United States’ extradition case against former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner to face multiple racketeering, corruption and money laundering charges in New York.

Shortly before an initial deadline expired at 4 pm on Wednesday, in a letter to Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers Caesar, counsel for the attorney general stated that Al-Rawi, who took up duties this week after being sworn in last Wednesday, needed additional time to consider a request from Warner’s attorneys that was refused by his predecessor Garvin Nicholas.

Ayers-Caesar was asked to extend the deadline to Monday morning, when Warner is scheduled to reappear before her Read more

Lake Powell's receding waters show risk of "megadrought"

ON THE SHORES OF LAKE POWELL, Utah/Arizona border--Where the Colorado River falls from the snow-capped Rocky Mountains into the arid U.S. Southwest, lies Lake Powell.
  More than 500 feet (150 meters) deep in places and with narrow side canyons, the shoreline of the lake is longer than the entire West Coast of the United States. It extends upstream into Utah from Arizona's Glen Canyon Dam and provides water for Nevada, Arizona and California.
  But a severe drought in recent years, combined with the tapping of the lake's water at what many consider to be an unsustainable level, has reduced its levels to only about 42 percent of its capacity, according to the U.S Read more

Chileans pick through debris after powerful quake, 11 dead

TONGOY, Chile--Residents sifted through rubble on Thursday and saved what they could from homes destroyed by a magnitude 8.3 earthquake in central Chile that killed 11 people, forced 1 million from their homes and sent giant waves crashing into coastal areas.
  Aftershocks shook the South American country following Wednesday's quake, the strongest in the world this year and the biggest to hit Chile since 2010. But some residents expressed relief that the destruction had not been greater.
  The northern port city of Coquimbo, where waves of up to 4.5 meters (15 feet) slammed into the shore, was declared an emergency area by the government Read more

Global economy prompts Fed to hold rates steady

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Thursday in a bow to worries about the global economy, financial market volatility and sluggish inflation at home, but left open the possibility of a modest policy tightening later this year.
  In what amounted to a tactical retreat, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said developments in a tightly linked global economy had in effect forced the U.S. central bank's hand. "The outlook abroad appears to have become less certain," Yellen told a news conference after the Fed's policy-setting committee released a statement following a two-day meeting.
  She added that a recent fall in U.S Read more

Editorial - Joint approach

Government is busy changing a national decree to make the entire cabinet rather than its individual members responsible for Government-owned companies, parliamentarians were told during a committee meeting with Finance Minister Martin Hassink (see Thursday paper). The intention had been announced in the governing programme of the UP-led coalition, but no further explanation was offered.

The document did say that the Finance Minister would be appointed for the execution of any decisions for the approval of the budgets and financials of public companies and foundations Read more

Registry to be made for access to ‘foreign’ birth certificates

PHILIPSBURG--One of the great hurdles faced by people born outside of St. Maarten – acquiring certified copies of birth and other certificates with vital statistics from their country of origin – may soon become a thing of the past thanks to a motion tabled by independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo that was accepted unanimously by Parliament on Thursday afternoon.

The motion sets the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet to work on the establishment of “an Integral Copy Registry.”

The registry not only will make life easier for Dutch citizens, but will generate additional funds for Government’s coffers Read more

MPs pass motion to make English ‘mother tongue’

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of General Affairs Marcel Gumbs and Minister of Education Rita Bourne-Gumbs have sixty days to present a plan to Parliament to establish English as "the first and mother tongue" of the country.

This was the instruction given to Government via a unanimously adopted motion that was tabled in Parliament on Thursday by Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams.

The motion also instructs government to develop "a plan of approach to gradually introduce the use of the mother tongue as the first official language of St Read more

Parliament adopts Constitution Day

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten officially has ditched Kingdom Day, December 15, as an official holiday and replaced with it Constitution Day, which is to be observed annually on the second Monday in October, starting this year.

Parliament unanimously adopted the law on Thursday to make the day official and strike Kingdom Day from the calendar. The establishment of this newest holiday comes ahead of the fifth anniversary of St. Maarten’s attainment of country-within-the-Dutch-Kingdom status and the coming into force of the St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo on Thursday said that three public schools namely the Genieve De Weever School, Martin Luther King School, and Charles Leopold Bell School, were asked what they were in need of for their sports activities.

The schools indicated that sports materials such as baseballs, and bats, soccer balls, and shin guards were a necessity and these were donated by Independent Member of Parliament Leona Marlin-Romeo on Thursday, September 10th 2015.

This is a mere fraction of the bigger picture on the adopting a school program where, certain needs of schools are met through donations from the private sector.

This is part of promoting social and community responsibility and is part of the MP’s give back to the community program Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Members of Parliament from the National Alliance Faction and Democratic Party dispatched a letter to the Chairman of Parliament requesting an urgent meeting to debate the statements made by Attorney General of St. Maarten Guus Schram on September 11th 2015.
The le Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- The Democratic Party said in a press release that the buzz word independence has been carried and dropped many times during parliamentary debates recently. The Faction of the Democratic Party considers it opportune at this time to reiterate its stance on the political future of our country.

Politically going forward, in our opinion there is only one way, as going back is not an option.
Our faction has remained steadfast over the years about the political future of our island.

Back in 1994, it was our belief that the Netherlands Antilles had served its time Read more

Dennis: Prosecutors need to do job without any bias

PHILIPSBURG--The Prosecutor’s Office on St. Maarten and the Attorney-General stationed in Curaçao must stick to their core responsibility to “find the truth” and not act on “perceived” political biases from The Hague or elsewhere, Justice Minister Dennis Richardson said on Wednesday.

The Prosecutor’s Officer “should distance itself” from any political statements or perceptions, said Richardson who was in Parliament for a second time this week to continue discussions with Members of Parliament (MPs) about the protocol he signed with The Hague that should result in a boost of manpower and finance for the justice service.

If the Prosecutor’s Office decides to work on political perceptions or decide to paint people as guilty without first seeking the truth, such an action would be like putting “a machete to the root of our system and cannot be accepted,” said Richardson, referring to the judicial position of being innocent until proven otherwise Read more