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>GREAT BAY:---- 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.
Keynote speaker Dr Read more

Brilliant move by Heyliger & Marlin

Dear Editor,

There was a call by the leaders of the largest political parties in Parliament for independence. As could be expected, very little was carried on the subject in the local press, but be that as it may for us as a budding nation we have finally garnered enough courage to say we stand ready to do it for ourselves. However, this is but a small step, we would hope that all factions in Parliament would come together and approve a referendum in the coming year, where the people can give their blessings to the desire to make use of our right to self-determination, and put an end to the many colonial dictates insults and disrespect.

People choose for varying political systems depending on how they see their own development and their ability to govern themselves rather than be governed by anyone else Read more

Kentucky clerk in gay marriage dispute switches to Republican Party

WASHINGTON--A county clerk in Kentucky who was briefly jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples said on Friday that she and her family have switched to the Republican Party because the Democrats no longer represented them.
  Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, 50, who has said her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, said they had changed parties last week. She was a long-time Democrat in eastern Kentucky.
  "My husband and I had talked about it for quite a while and we came to the conclusion that the Democratic Party left us a long time ago, so why were we hanging on?" she told Reuters in an interview at a hotel in Washington, where she has traveled to be feted at a Family Research Council event later on Friday.
  Davis also said she did not foresee a problem with the current marriage licenses being issued by her office in Morehead, Kentucky Read more

Open letter to Parliament

Dear Editor,

Please allow me some space in your newspaper to address the chairman of the house of parliament, the honourable Lloyd Richardson and the honourable members of parliament of country Sint Maarten.

Ladies and gentlemen, please permit me to draw your kind attention to the following problem taking place here on this lovely twin island of St Read more

Colombia, FARC vow to end 50-year war within six months

HAVANA--Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos and the top FARC rebel commander pledged on Wednesday to end their 50-year war within the next six months, sealing their pact with a handshake likely to stand as a lasting image in the South American nation.
  Santos and FARC rebel leader Rodrigo Londono, better known by the nom de guerre Timochenko, also agreed the leftist guerrillas would lay down arms within 60 days of signing the deal, which now has an official deadline of March 23, 2016 Read more

Pope meets Fidel Castro, warns against ideology on Cuba trip

HAVANA--Pope Francis met Cuba's revolutionary leader Fidel Castro on Sunday hours after warning Cubans to beware the dangers of ideology and the lure of selfishness as their country enters a new era of closer ties with the United States.
  Latin America's first pope and Castro, the region's last surviving leftist icon of the 20th century, discussed religion and world affairs at the home of the 89-year-old retired president for about 40 minutes 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

Speech from the Throne 2015

Members of the States General,
The Dutch have always had the ability to set a new course if circumstances
require. During the crisis of the past few years that strength has once again
come to the fore. And it has produced results. The economy is growing again.
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of entrepreneurs, employees and many
others in society, the Netherlands is in relatively good socioeconomic shape.
The recovery is being driven not only by exports, but also by factors such as
growing consumption, rising business investment and a strong upturn in important
sectors like construction and the housing market Read more

Integrity mentioned in Throne Speech

~ 2016 Kingdom Relations budget presented ~

THE HAGUE--Integrity within the Kingdom was mentioned by King Willem-Alexander in his traditional Throne Speech on the occasion of Budget Day and the opening of the new Parliamentary year in The Hague on Tuesday.

“Government has to be an example where it comes to promoting shared values. The integrity of the public administration cannot be under discussion. Government sets rules and maintains these to keep public order and safety,” said the King in the Throne Speech, which is written by the Dutch Government.

“Action will be taken wherever the underworld and upper world are mixed Read more

Cuba's atheist Castro brothers open doors to Church and popes

HAVANA--Baptized as Roman Catholics and educated by Jesuits, Fidel and Raul Castro turned against the Church by declaring Cuba an atheist state, chasing out priests and shutting down religious schools after seizing power in a 1959 revolution.
  In their old age, however, they have brought the Church in from the cold and are gracious and experienced hosts for regular papal visits Read more

Venice film fest on a roll with Oscar-lucky openers

VENICE--The Venice Film Festival is having a good run with opening films winning Oscars, including best picture last year for "Birdman", and hopes to stay on a winning streak when the mountain disaster film "Everest" kicks off the 72nd edition on Wednesday.

"Everest" is directed by the relatively unknown Baltasar Kormakur from Iceland but boasts an all-star cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley and Josh Brolin re-enacting a real-life disaster that befell several expeditions on the world's highest mountain in 1996 -- filmed in 3D to boot.

It is not competing for the "Lion d'Or" top prize, but it is just the kind of film that Alberto Barbera, the festival's director, is looking for as an opener -- having scored a hit not only with "Birdman" but also with the space thriller "Gravity" the year before.

"The most difficult thing is to identify the film for the opening night because it's a sort of a special category of film," Barbera told Reuters in an interview Read more

Ukraine guardsman killed in protest outside parliament

KIEV--A Ukrainian national guardsman was killed and nearly 90 others wounded by grenades hurled from a crowd of nationalist protesters on Monday as they were guarding parliament where lawmakers backed giving more autonomy to rebel-held areas.
  The violence, which the government blamed on the main nationalist party, and division in the pro-Western camp in parliament suggested President Petro Poroshenko will struggle to push through key parts of a faltering peace agreement reached in February for eastern Ukraine.
  Poroshenko sprang to the defence of the constitutional reforms following the clashes outside parliament, where deputies loyal to him managed to push through a first reading of a "decentralisation" draft law - but only in the face of strong criticism from some of his political allies Read more

Two out of Three Cruise vessels cancel port calls for Wednesday and Thursday. Cargo operations normal.

>POINTE BLANCHE::----– Port St. Maarten management said on Monday that due to the approach of Tropical Storm Danny to the Leeward Islands during the past few days, this led cruise lines to review their port call itineraries, and out of the safety of passengers and crew, their visits to the destination were altered.

Oasis of the Seas has cancelled its port call for Wednesday, 26 August and Freedom of the Seas has done the same for Thursday, August 27 Read more

Steps Closer To Business Mobility In The Greater Caribbean

PORT OF SPAIN, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago - The movement of people within the Greater Caribbean Region has existed since time immemorial and has spanned centuries and generations.

Persons of our Region have always moved in search of greater opportunities and economic advancement.

Over the last few decades efforts have been made towards formalizing the movement of people and their economic activity Read more

Tzu Chi Volunteers Spruce Up Ace School For New Academic Year

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - All Children’s Education (ACE) Foundation teachers and pupils returned to school on Monday in a repaired, freshly painted, cleaned and decorated premises thanks to the efforts by Tzu Chi volunteers who worked over the vacation to spruce up the school just in time for the start of the new academic year.

The clean up efforts covered several days during the summer break in early August and focussed on bringing the school back up to par for teachers and pupils to educate and be educated in comfort.

The clean up efforts started on Saturday August 1 and continued until Thursday, August 6.  A total of 48 volunteers participated in the exercise Read more

Liberty of the Seas cancels port visit due to medical emergency and returns to Bermuda

PORT ST. MAARTEN – On Monday the cruise ship Liberty of the Seas canceled its port call due to a medical emergency. The vessel had to divert back to Bermuda where the person disembarked.

The newly renovated Liberty of the Seas is packed with all the phenomenal onboard experiences you’d expect from the innovative class type of vessel besides new offerings that would add to the cruising experience.

The vessel belongs to Royal Caribbean International and is part of the Freedom Class which also includes Freedom of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.

Liberty of the Seas carries over 3600 passengers’ double occupancy, and 1360 crew Read more

Liberty of the Seas cancels port visit due to medical emergency and returns to Bermuda

>PORT ST. MAARTEN:--- On Monday the cruise ship Liberty of the Seas canceled its port call due to a medical emergency. The vessel had to divert back to Bermuda where the person disembarked.

The newly renovated Liberty of the Seas is packed with all the phenomenal onboard experiences you’d expect from the innovative class type of vessel besides new offerings that would add to the cruising experience.

The vessel belongs to Royal Caribbean International and is part of the Freedom Class which also includes Freedom of the Seas and Independence of the Seas.

Liberty of the Seas carries over 3600 passengers’ double occupancy, and 1360 crew Read more

Kerry urges "genuine democracy" at US flag ceremony in Cuba

HAVANA--U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry declared a new era in relations as he celebrated restored diplomatic ties in Havana on Friday, but he also urged political change in Cuba, telling Cubans they should be free to choose their own leaders.

The first U.S. secretary of state to visit the Caribbean island in 70 years, Kerry presided over a ceremony raising the U.S. flag over the newly reopened American embassy.

His comments drew a firm riposte from Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez, who defended his Communist government at a joint news conference and criticized the United States' own record on rights Read more

Gumbs apologises for suicide comments

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has issued an apology Friday for comments he made about suicide at the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday. The Cabinet's Press Secretariat attributed "his outburst to frustration with what he has called the ongoing destructive conduct of certain media and community elements."

An emotional Gumbs on Wednesday heavily condemned persons, who he believes continue to paint the island black with negative comments Read more

Emotional Pm Marcel Gumbs: “Don’T Destroy Our Country”: “If You’Re Suicidal Do It; Jump Off A Plane Or Something”

The Council of Ministers during yesterday’s press briefing. From left Ministers Connor, Gumbs, Richardson, Hassink and Bourne-Gumbs. Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – It was supposed to be a solemn press briefing by the Council of Ministers yesterday morning but in the end, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs turned up the heat and let all his frustrations fly Read more

Erna Mae Francis Contributes To “Amazing” Book: Success From The Heart Comes With Stunning Bonus Offer

Erna Mae Francis co-authored Success from the Heart. Photo contributed

St. Maarten – Success from the Heart is a book published by a company called New Peaks. It contains a chapter written by Erna Mae Francis-Cotton of the Victorious Living Foundation. In many ways this is, as the email we received about the publication described it, an “amazing book,” if only because the authors give away bonuses they claim to be worth a stunning $15,078. The book itself is for sale at amazon.com for just $18.95 Read more

Gumbs says Govt did not ask for crime meeting to be closed door

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs made it clear on Wednesday that no member of the Council of Ministers had requested that Parliament have the urgent Central Committee meeting on crime on Monday convened behind closed doors.

Gumbs told reporters at the biweekly Council of Ministers press briefing which resumed yesterday that Parliament invited the council to a closed door session Read more

Officer Benjamin’s funeral schedule released, road closures announced

PHILIPSBURG--Slain bike patrol Police Officer Gamali “Benji” Kwasi Benjamin will be laid to rest at the Methodist Cemetery in Philipsburg after a ceremony with honours tomorrow, Thursday.

At 10:30am his body will depart Royal Funeral Home to the Philipsburg police station.

At 10:45am a brief ceremony will be held at the Philipsburg police station while the uniformed departments will stand in front of the police station.

At 10:55pm the procession of uniformed departments will leave the police station and head to Front Street where it will stop for a brief moment in front of Oro Diamante, where the Benjamin shot on Wednesday, August 5.

At 11:30am, the procession will arrive at the Philipsburg Methodist Church.

At 12:00pm the official part of the ceremony will start at the church.

The viewing of the body will take place at the Methodist Church on Front Street from 12:00 to 1:45pm Read more

Kerry warns US will not accept restrictions in South China Sea

KUALA LUMPUR--U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Thursday accused China of restricting navigation and overflights in the disputed South China Sea, despite giving assurances that such movements would not be impeded.
  Addressing a regional meeting in Kuala Lumpur that has been dominated by the South China Sea, Kerry said China's construction of facilities for "military purposes" on man-made islands was raising tensions and risked "militarisation" by other claimant states.
  Kerry's blunt criticism of Beijing, in front of his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi, is likely to lift the South China Sea up the agenda when Chinese President Xi Jinping visits Washington next month, some experts said Read more