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*** Breaking News *** Two Arrests In Fatal Shooting At Hope Estate

UPDATE Prosecutor’s Office Bulletin:

OVER THE BANK, Sint Maarten — Members of the St. Maarten Police Force and the Kingdom Detectives Cooperation Team (RST) led by the Prosecutor’s Office and in the presence of the investigative judge held two house searches in Pointe Blanche and in Belvedere on Tuesday afternoon, February 21, 2017.

Two suspects H.H.M. (22) and H.F.M Read more

PHILIPSBURG:---Utility provider GEBE and the St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) have partnered for Carnival 2017 to specifically highlight SCDF’s Culture Night and culture in general throughout Carnival. The two entities are no strangers, having partnered for well over three decades in various forms.

SCDF President Alston Lourens accepted GEBE’s contribution towards Carnival 2017 on Thursday from the company’s Chief Operations Office Veronica Jansen-Webster and the Chief Financial Officer Iris Arrindell.

Lourens expressed thanks on behalf of the board and volunteers of the SCDF and noted that it’s a perfect fit for GEBE to support Culture Night as it will feature the various national groups that make up St Read more

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Admitted that they have made several mistakes and are busy cleaning up to enhance their services.

PHILIPSBURG: --- Management of USZV have started a nationwide campaign in an effort to inform the general public of all their rights and obligation while being insured at USZV. The staff of USZV has embarked on a mass media campaign, they are also going door to door and are prepared to meet with every stakeholder including the SHTA, to inform them that workers on St. Maarten must be insured regardless of their legal status, besides that every insured person must know what they are entitled to and as such USZV is committed to taking all action to fully inform the population.
Managing Director of USZV Glen Carty admitted that the health insurance company does have lots of problems that needs fixing, which he said will take a few years before they are up to par Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- On Wednesday February 15th, Minister Plenipotentiary sat with her staff, to once again address the issue of rise in the unprepared “Free moving” students, (students that travel on their own, and not through the Bureau of Study financing), to The Netherlands, in an ambitious attempt to pursue their tertiary education.

For the past months, the cabinet of the Ministry Plenipotentiary in The Hague has been encountering numerous troubling situations with youngsters from Sint Maarten, who for whatever reason, have decided to take this route.

The Minister took note that while the students, making the choice to travel to the Netherlands on their own is on the rise, quite often the necessary preparations in terms of housing, the acceptance and enrolment into schools in particular, among other things, is not completed before these ambitious students leave Sint Maarten.

Being that they independently make contact with schools in The Netherlands, they are not in contact with the Study Financing Department on Sint Maarten, and therefore do not participate in the trainings offered that help the other students prepare for among other things, the change in the social and cultural landscape of the Netherlands to which they must adapt.

In most cases, this results in these students facing insurmountable issues, where they struggle to get a grip of the situation they are in Read more

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Is St. Maarten Against Refugees? A French Asylum Refugee Is Being Deported To Venezuela

1 in every 113 people on earth is an asylum-seeker, internally displaced, or a refugee. How many people do you know? Stand #WithRefugees pic.twitter.com/JAIhpGAMBu

— UN Refugee Agency (@Refugees) February 13, 2017

~Immigration is aware of 4 individuals who want to asked for asylum in St. Maarten~

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – About three weeks now Kleyber Jose Garcia-Arias (30) from Venezuela, has been incarcerated at the police station section of the Immigration Department, after he and his companion had a domestic dispute at an address on the Dutch Side Read more

Boasman: Priorities Are Very Clear On What Needs To Be Done

PHILIPSBURG – Acting Prime Minister Raphael Boasman updated the press and public in Wednesday’s, February 8, Press Briefing.

Last weekend, he had “discussions with the Chief of Police Mr. Carl John on the situation and early Monday morning I met with him, and the police management team to further discuss the situation. At that point I was presented with an immediate plan of action to deal with the situations with the robberies.”

Minister Boasman mentioned that there are other investigations that are taking place, and other actions that have been initiated like the search of the prison where a weapon was found.

“We discussed thoroughly the plan of action Read more

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Lost Bob Marley Tapes Restored After 40 Years In London Basement

KINGSTON, Jamaica  – Lost recordings by Bob Marley found in a damp hotel basement in London after more than 40 years have been restored.

The tapes are the original, high-quality live recordings of the reggae legend’s concerts in London and Paris between 1974 and 1978. Tracks include No Woman No Cry, Jamming and Exodus.

They were at first believed to be ruined beyond repair, largely because of water damage.

Marley, who died in 1981, would have been 72 on Monday.

The tapes were found in a run-down hotel in Kensal Rise, north-west London, where Bob Marley and the Wailers stayed during their European tours in the mid-1970s.

They were discovered when Joe Gatt, a Marley fan and London businessman, took a phone call from a friend, who had found them while doing a building refuse clearance.

From the 13 reel-to-reel analogue master tapes, 10 were fully restored, two were blank and one was beyond repair Read more

Jacobs: Ministry Is Systematically Looking To Prioritize All Challenges

PHILIPSBURG –  At Wednesday’s, February 1, Council of Minister Press Briefing, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth, and Sport Silveria Jacobs updated on the issues her Ministry was dealing with.

Agreements were finalized to get the works moving at the Leonald Connor School on “the critical upgrade, which we’ve been speaking about for quite some time.”

The company that won the contract was Hemco NV and Representative Henry Frederick signed an agreement Read more

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Haiti President-Elect Says Trump Business Background To Help Ties

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – Haiti’s incoming president said he believed U.S. President Donald Trump‘s business background would give him a better grasp of bilateral relations, as the impoverished Caribbean nation recovers from a devastating hurricane.

President-elect Jovenel Moise, a successful banana exporter, was declared winner this month of a vote initially held in 2015 that had to be rerun more than a year later, due to allegations of voter fraud. He is scheduled to be sworn in on Feb Read more

Sxm In The Whirlwind Of Dutch Politics

A lot of indignation reigned during the discussions on the appointment of a quartermaster by the Dutch government and rightfully so. The Dutch minister (Plasterk) has, however, remained undeterred and firm: “The quarter master will come, it was an agreement and SXM procrastinated.”

Did we?

The govt. of SXM learned of the appointment via the press, evoking a caution from the Finance Minister Gibson that newspapers can be wrong. True, in this world of “false news,” even newspapers can be tricked.

However, in the Netherlands, this news was an orchestrated part of simultaneous and official publications Read more

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Prime Minister: Relationship Within The Kingdom Is Not What It’S Supposed To Be

PHILIPSBURG – Prime Minister and Minister responsible for General affairs William Marlin, in Wednesday’s, January 25, Council of Minister press briefing updated on several matters pertaining to his Ministry.

He briefly mentioned the survivors of the fire that destroyed their home completely in the Cul-de-Sac area, who are staying temporarily at Paradise inn, and stated that the Department of Social Welfare along with the St Read more

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Minister Jacobs: Ministry Is Occupied With Synchronization Of This Govt’S Vision

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Silveria Jacobs gave an update in Wednesday’s, January 25, Council of Ministers press briefing, on a few matters pertaining to her Ministry.

Last Wednesday, a meeting was held with management and staff of the Leonald Conner School in order to update them. Staff and management were also given the opportunity to voice their concerns Read more

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Minister Gibson: My Aim Is To Improve Financial Basis Of Govt. Of St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG – In Wednesday’s, January 25, Council of Ministers press briefing Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr. shared provisional numbers for 2016.

“The provisional numbers that we have for 2016 is that we’ve managed the budget in such a manner notwithstanding all of the difficulties. We were confronted with, in 2016 and ended up with a provisional surplus of 1.1 million guilders for 2016,” Minister Gibson stated.

“Bear in mind at the budget 2016, we started with reserving 20 million guilders from revenues to be able to pay the debts off the past Read more

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Noticia De Ultima Hora: Asesinan A Tiros A Franky Brunache Frente A Su Residencia

Traducido por Máximo Castro

HOPE ESTATE, Sint Maarten.- Franklin “Franky” Brunache, fue asesinado a sangre fría el martes en la noche frente a su residencia en Hope Estate por un asaltante  aún desconocido.

La policía arribó a la escena después de las 11:00 pm y encontraron al joven en la entrada cerca del lado del conductor de su vehículo un todoterreno negro.

El jefe de la policía, Carl John, y un fiscal estuvieron en la escena del crimen el martes en la noche, mientras los investigadores procuraban hablar con cualquier posible testigo que les ayudara a reconstruir lo ocurrido Read more

Breaking News: Franky Brunache Shot In Cold Blood On Tuesday Night

721news Video

HOPE ESTATE, Sint Maarten — Franklin “Franky” Brunache was shot in cold blood late Tuesday evening by unknown assailant (s) in front of his home located in Hope Estate.

Police arrived on the scene after 11:00pm when they found the young man on the driveway near the driver’s side in a black SUV.

Police Chief Carl John and a Prosecutor were on scene late on Tuesday as investigators were speaking to any possible witnesses trying to piece together what took place Read more

Hope Party Officially Confirms Jules Charville As Presidential Candidate

MARIGOT--The Hope Party officially has confirmed the candidacy of Jules Charville for President of the Territorial Council of St. Martin at the elections on March 19 and 26, 2017.

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I Feel We Need To Have New People In Chamber Of Commerce And Industry

I been part of COCI over 10 years and as a small business I cannot say that opportunities were offered to me or others in any type of investments.

If the Government was not forcing you by law to be a member, I think a lot of those people who don’t care to vote would have abandoned the organization, because is clear to me that it is only for the rich boys and girls on the island, who enter to secure others and themselves.

The banks are giving a hell of a time to open a simple bank account by asking you for all types of documents, and don’t talk about a loan Read more

Island Gems Charity Foundation Donated A Large Freezer

Island Gems Charity Foundation recently donated a large freezer to the Hope Outreach Foster Home Foundation. Antonia Hodge of the home, was approached by Island Gems about the immediate needs of the foster home. A freezer was high on the list, and that was bought by the charity foundation.

Island Gems raises funds for projects such as this at its annual costume gala. This year’s gala is set for Saturday, April 8, at Captain Oliver’s restaurant. Tickets cost US $125 each and are available from all Island Gems members Read more

St. Lucia Making Slow, Steady Progress Towards Renewable Energy

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates  –  St. Lucia is making slow, but steady progress in its renewable energy transition plan, Minister for Infrastructure, Ports, Energy and Labour, Stepehenson King said.

The Caribbean island is hoping to achieve a target of 35 percent renewables by 2035.

“We are also hoping that by the year 2023, with the various components of renewable energy – wind, solar and geothermal – that we will be able to achieve at least 50 percent of the target set for 2035,” King told Caribbean News Service (CNS).

“We have done a fair amount Read more

My Person Of The Year 2016: The Ombudsman

Dear Editor,

I would like to congratulate all the person(s) who have been nominated by the different media houses on St. Maarten.

I believe any person(s) or organization that had been nominated as Person of the Year should play a key role within the public, private sectors and community in general.

As a Community Spirited person, if I had to vote for the Person(s) of the Year, I would have selected the Ombudsman and her team as the Person of the Year for 2016.

The Ombudsman was very active in all areas of the public by educating and explaining Government, Parliament and the general public of their roles within the community Read more

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Gibson Updates On Pearl Of China

PHILIPSBURG – During Wednesday’s, January 11, Press Briefing Minister of Finance Richard Gibson gave an update on his trip to Curaçao where he met with the Consul General of China to discuss the Pearl of China project.

He said during a lunch meeting in Curaçao, a letter sent by the Prime Minister to the Chinese government “expressing that we welcomed the entire project of Pearl of China, and that we’re moving forward to see how we can accommodate all that needs to get the project off the ground,” was discussed Read more

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Over 30 Homeless As Fire Rips Through Cummings Lodge Apartment Building

VIDEO by Gordon Moseley

GUYANA — It was just after 8:00pm when the Fire Service was summoned to the scene. The building housed more than 25 apartments, according to one tenant. Firemen faced several difficulties in dousing the blaze, although they arrived on the scene with two large fire tenders and over a dozen firemen.

A Friday night fire of unknown origin ripped through the “Off Campus Lodge” Apartment Complex in Cummings Lodge, leaving more than 30 persons homeless.

The Apartment complex which was located in Third Street, Cummings Lodge, housed mostly University students, including foreign nationals.

It was just after 8:00pm when the Fire Service was summoned to the scene Read more

New Year’S Address Of Prime Minister William Marlin

Fellow St. Maarteners,

Residents of our beautiful island,

The year 2016 is now bound for the history books as we enter 2017 with joy and hope, with excitement and enthusiasm, determined that this will be our best year ever!

And as we bid the Old Year goodbye, we cannot but realize that being alive to see the New Year is in itself a huge blessing, for so many who began 2016 with us did not make it this far. We remember them with affection and pray that the good Lord will have a place reserved for them at his right hand.

If one word could describe the year 2016 it probably would be “transition.” Not just because life itself is a transition, but also because transitions can be painful and shocking and even full of chaos Read more

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New Year’S Address Of Prime Minister William Marlin

Fellow St. Maarteners,

Residents of our beautiful island,

The year 2016 is now bound for the history books as we enter 2017 with joy and hope, with excitement and enthusiasm, determined that this will be our best year ever!

And as we bid the Old Year goodbye, we cannot but realize that being alive to see the New Year is in itself a huge blessing, for so many who began 2016 with us did not make it this far. We remember them with affection and pray that the good Lord will have a place reserved for them at his right hand.

If one word could describe the year 2016 it probably would be “transition.” Not just because life itself is a transition, but also because transitions can be painful and shocking and even full of chaos Read more

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