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Thousands march in Indiana to protest law seen targeting gays

INDIANAPOLIS--Thousands of people marched in Indiana's largest city on Saturday to protest a state law that supporters contend promotes religious freedom but detractors see as a covert move to support discrimination against gay people.
  Waving signs reading "No hate in our state" and carrying rainbow flags, a crowd of at least 2,000 people including Democratic elected officials rallied the same day that business-rating website Angie's List Inc put on hold its plans to expand its Indianapolis operation with new offices, citing the new law.
  The Religious Freedom Restoration Act was passed overwhelmingly by the Republican led-state legislature and signed into law on Thursday by Indiana Governor Mike Pence Read more

Dominican nurse fired For having Haitian parents

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic--Anne Dimanche Saintil was born in the Dominican Republic, earned her nursing degree there and worked at a hospital in the capital, Santo Domingo. Then she was fired, because her parents were from Haiti.

Dimanche is among as many as 110,000 people living in the Dominican Republic without any legal status after the government, following a Supreme Court decision, began denying citizenship to Dominicano-born children of undocumented immigrants, almost all of whom came from neighbouring Haiti Read more

St. Maarten advised to object to Sanction Law

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations has been advised by legal expert Ralph Richardson to object to the draft kingdom law regulating sanctions imposed by the European Union.

Richardson gave his advice in a meeting of the committee in Parliament House on Monday morning. He said if St. Maarten agrees to the kingdom law, the country "will no longer have the possibility to say anything about sanctions imposed."

St. Maarten will just have to take over EU sanctions with "no freedom of choice." He used the example of a sanction being imposed on a country with which St Read more

>Fete to fitness Jump-up a success.
PHILIPSBURG:--- The yearly "Fete to fitness Jump around Town up" which was organized by the Sint Maarten Carnival Development Foundation which was held on Saturday March 21st was well attended by revelers and onlookers was a great success. The jump up started on time at 08.00 p.m. on the Sucker garden in the vicinity of Monchi's Bar and headed towards the Philipsburg area via the Freedom Fighters round about, down the Walter Nisbet road making a left turn via the Long wall road onto Front street and then making a circle around the town and ending in Front of the Festival Center Read more

Fete To Fitness Jump-Up A Success

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The yearly "Fete to fitness Jump around Town up" which was organized by the Sint Maarten Carnival Development Foundation which was held on Saturday March 21st was well attended by revelers and onlookers was a great success.

The jump up started on time at 08.00 p.m. on the Sucker garden in the vicinity of Monchi's Bar and headed towards the Philipsburg area via the Free Read more

More than 60 expect at NAGICO to NAGICO Cycle

PHILIPSBURG-- More than 60 riders including some children are registered to compete the third annual NAGICO to NAGICO (N2N) Cycling Race which starts this evening. There will be two races Saturday and a finale Sunday.

Thursday representatives from NAGICO Insurances, the title sponsor, in collaboration with the Velo Club de Grand Case (VCG) met with the police and Red Cross at the police station to go over the safety protocol and cycling route.

"Our highest priority at this time is the safety of our riders and road users during our NAGICO to NAGICO cycling races," said Lisa Brown Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- MPs  Silveria Jacobs, Christopher Emmanuel, George Pantophlet and Johan Janchi Read more

>NAGICO to NAGICO annual cycling race.
PHILIPSBURG:--- On Thursday March 19th representatives from NAGICO N.V., representatives from Sint Maarten/Sint Martin Cyclers Club Association and the Police Department held their final meeting for this upcoming weekend Third Annual NAGICO to NAGICO cycling competition Read more

Skerrit: Grenada revolution holds lessons for Caribbean development

ST. GEORGE'S, Grenada--Dominica's Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit says the 1979 Grenada revolution that brought Maurice Bishop to power marked the most decisive fracture in the Anglophone Caribbean with the political and constitutional status quo.

"The greatest tragedy of that historical episode is that we have failed to learn the lessons of that experience and even more disturbingly, succeeding generations seem to have no knowledge of what is without question the most significant historical episode in the Caribbean in the 20th Century," Skerrit said as he delivered the inaugural March 13th "Lecturer" Monday night organised by the Grenada Revolution Memorial Foundation Inc Read more

Jump-up road closure and traffic diversions

PHILIPSBURG--In connection with the upcoming "Fete to Fitness Jump-up" which is scheduled for March 21, the Police Department is taking the following traffic measures on the date mentioned, a press release stated.

The jump-up will start at 8:00pm on Sucker Garden Road, in the vicinity of Monchi's Bar and will be taking the following route: Sucker Garden Road - Freedom Fighter's roundabout – Salt Picker's roundabout – Walter Nisbeth Road – Percy Labega Street – Long Wall Road – Front Street - Emma Plein – Welvaart Brug – W Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- As of March 1st 2015 several services within the Judicial Department have strongly intensified their cooperation in the field of border controls and human trafficking/human smuggling.
Under leadership of the Police Force the three above named services will cooperate on border controls in the 'Back office' team at the airport. The new 'Human trafficking/Human Smuggling' team is housed in the police substation in Cole Bay/Cay Bay. Because of this cooperation investigating so called 'migration crime' will get a huge impulse Read more

Road Closure And Traffic Diversions

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - In connection with upcoming "Fete to Fitness Jump-up" which is scheduled for March 21st 2015 the Police Department is taking the following traffic measures on the date mentioned.

The jump-up will start at 08.00 p.m. on the Sucker garden road in the vicinity of Monchi's Bar and will be taking the following route: Sucker garden road - Freedom Fighter round-about – Salt Picker's round-about – W.J.A Read more

Freedom Salsa Delivered To 18 Primary Schools

St. Maarten – The book delivering festivities at the Sint Maarten primary schools has come to an end. Between January and the first week of March the Beyond Writing Foundation has visited eighteen primary schools to present and delivered boxes containing 25 copies of the book Freedom Salsa.

The festivity was organized by school representatives together with the project manager of BWF, Ingrid Holaman.  Each school put another accent to the program Read more

Opstelten, Teeven resign over dubious deal with drug lord

THE HAGUE--Minister of Security and Justice Ivo Opstelten and State Secretary Fred Teeven both tendered their resignations Monday over the return of 4.7 million guilders to a convicted drug lord in 2001.

Speaking at a news conference on Monday evening, Opstelten said further investigation by his officials had led to the discovery of "digital confirmation" that showed Cees Helman had been paid 4.7 million guilders, not 1.25 million guilders as he consistently had told Parliament.

"There has been a lack of certainty about the facts surrounding that settlement and I have concluded that I must now resign," Opstelten said in a brief statement.

Teeven said his credibility had been damaged by the situation and he no longer could carry on in the job without Opstelten Read more

Women’s desk celebrates new identity, reveals logo

HOPE ESTATE--On Monday, March 9, the first working day after International Women's Day on March 8, the Women's Desk revealed its new logo and some significant developments for the future in a ceremony at the Gaston Boasman Help Desk in Hope Estate.

Master of Ceremonies for the celebration was Elencia Baptiste-Boasman who invited all those present, including Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs, Acting Secretary General Joy Arnell, Dr. Virginia Asin, Dr. Ellis and MP and former Minister of Health Cornelius de Weever.

The ceremony started with two talented students of Charlotte Brookson Academy who gave a touching rendition of the St Read more

My experience with AVA Airways (from Curaçao Chronicle)

Dear Editor,

When the new aviation company AVA Airways announced their intention and desire to enter into the commercial aviation environment on the Caribbean Dutch Kingdom Island Countries of St. Maarten and Curaçao, I was honestly hoping they could fill a void in the air transportation industry. I started out both excited and enthusiastic about the prospects of them reaching their goals in the long term and getting to see if the wheels of government were turning in the right direction in the short term towards handling the delicate process of bringing AVA goal to fruition.

Having personally made inquiry and seen that the AVA group including its co-founder Olivier Arrindell had done most of their homework, in lieu of aircraft purchases, such as meeting with Airbus regional representatives and aircraft certified mechanics, members of Parliaments and political parties, FAA advisors, the CCAA Director Mr Read more

22 NGOs got funding from SMDF in 2014

~ Much emphasis on children ~

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Development Fund (SMDF) provided grants to 22 non-governmental organisations in 2014 and twelve in the previous year. Beneficiaries of those grants total more than 2,168 as well as 180 full and part-time employees of the organisations that provide youth care, social and community activities.

As of December 31, 2014, SMDF, headed by Keith Franca, started to evaluate 20 funding requests, of which 14 were clients in 2013/2014 and six are new clients.

Belvedere Community Foundation was a recipient of a grant from SMDF for its after-school activities that cater to some 170 children of Belvedere, Dutch Quarter and Middle Region.

No Kidding with our Kids Foundation, operating in Sucker Garden and Retreat Estate and caters to 130 children, Alpha and Omega Projects Foundation on Long Wall Road with 40 children, and the SECEO after-school programme, catering to Regina Primary School with some 90 children, also received grants to continue their programmes.

More than 458 children, ages 4-15 are enrolled with these long established after-school programmes.

The four after-school activities foundations were funding recipients from July 2013 to present.

SMDF was established in May 2012 by government with the objective to mediate in the development and financing of projects that will contribute to the social and community development of St Read more