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Ava Airways Representatives Meet With St. Maarten Civil Aviation

GREATBAY –  “St. Maarten needs airlift. The island cannot be dependent upon North American traffic anymore…” This is according to Olivier Arrindell, Chairman of AVA Airways.

Recently  Arrindell and The President of AVA Airways Giovanni Atalita presented AVA Airways plans to the Ministry of Transportation, Civil Aviation and Economic Development, “One of our main objectives is to learn from the past and to propose a bold new direction for commercial aviation in St. Maarten Read more

Top cyclists gathering for 3rd Nagico to Nagico Race

MARIGOT—The region's top cycling teams are set to contest this coming weekend's third edition of the Nagico to Nagico Cycling Race that starts Friday with a 2.5K time trial.

An overview of the race was provided Monday evening at a press conference convened by Velo Club de Grand Case (VCG) and attended by cycling fan Préfet Philippe Chopin, Vice-President Wendel Cocks, Territorial Councillor in charge of sports, Alain Gros-Desormeaux, as well as representatives from main sponsor Nagico.

Registration was not yet complete for the race but it was estimated some 60 riders would be competing from Guadeloupe, Martinique, Anguilla, French Guiana and St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo says statistics continue to show that Sint Maarten is still considered and favoured as the duty free shopping hub of the Caribbean.

"The time has come for the establishment of a Consumer Protection Agency. Consumer protection laws are in existence; however, there are no bodies to execute the said laws.

"Millions are spent in purchases on this island and yet both local consumers and transitional consumers purchasing goods are still not privy to the support of a consumer protection agency.

"In addition, many locals are subjected to questionable acts of financial institutions but are left hopeless because of the lack of support from such an agency Read more

Independent Mp Leona Marlin-Romeo Calls For Establishment Of Consumer Protection Agency

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo says statistics continue to show that Sint Maarten is still considered and favoured as the duty free shopping hub of the Caribbean.

"The time has come for the establishment of a Consumer Protection Agency. Consumer protection laws are in existence; however, there are no bodies to execute the said laws.

"Millions are spent in purchases on this island and yet both local consumers and transitional consumers purchasing goods are still not privy to the support of a consumer protection agency.

"In addition, many locals are subjected to questionable acts of financial institutions but are left hopeless because of the lack of support from such an agency Read more

Islands blamed for foiling cooperation in healthcare

~ Minister Schippers to attend Aruba health congress ~

THE HAGUE--Closer cooperation in healthcare in the Dutch Caribbean is possible and desirable, but is frustrated by developments in especially Curaçao and St. Maarten. The latter country is accused of obstructing the medical evacuations from St. Eustatius and Saba.

Dutch Minister of Public Health, Welfare and Science Edith Schippers sent a letter to the Dutch Parliament on Thursday, in which she confirmed her attendance to the Kingdom Health Congress which will be held in Aruba from June 1-4.

The letter was accompanied by a five-page paper on healthcare containing advice, an analysis and strategy for the Aruba congress as well as the Kingdom Congress, which will take place in Curaçao probably on June 16, where healthcare will be on the agenda as well Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  St. Maarten needs airlift. The island cannot be dependent upon North American traffic anymore..." This is according to Olivier Arrindell, Chairman of AVA Airways.
Recently Mr. Arrindell and The President of AVA Airways Mr. Giovanni Atalita presented AVA Airways plans to the Ministry of Transportation, Civil Aviation and Economic Development, "One of our main objectives is to learn from the past and to propose a bold new direction for commercial aviation in St. Maarten 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

Large Field For Soca Rumble

St. Maarten – The Soca Rumble “Battle of the Best” on April 25 will feature 24 soloists and three groups or bands that will be competing in Power Soca and Groovy Soca. The winner of each section takes home $10,000.

The deadline for participants to submit their music via email is Friday. “We are trying to raise the level of Soca music. St. Maarten by now should be included in the conversation of great Soca music in the Caribbean. We have some talented artists. We ho Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Prosecutor's Office in conjunction with KPSM will implement a new and stricter policy for this carnival season which kicks off on Saturday.
Chief Prosecutor Ton Maan told reporters at a press conference on Wednesday that persons who misbehave and are arrested by police for crimes committed during the carnival season will have an opportunity to pay a fine immediately at the Police Station or they will be indicted and prosecuted on June 3rd 2015 if they chose not to pay the fines.
Maan said he hopes that the new and stricter policy will serve as a deterrent this carnival season Read more

Editorial - No reason to doubt

Sometimes revelations raise more questions than they answer. A case in point was the announcement by Member of Parliament (MP) Franklin Meyers in Tuesday's edition that an investigation is underway at Social and Health Insurances SZV into the alleged selling of medical coverage cards.

The UP deputy fraction leader sought clarity on the reports during a parliamentary committee meeting with SZV and St Read more

Employee investigated for selling SZV cards

PHILIPSBURG--An investigation is being conducted at Social and Health Insurances SZV into allegations of an employee selling SZV cards to persons who are not properly registered or who are not actually paying premiums.

United People's (UP) party deputy leader Member of Parliament (MP) Franklin Meyers said Monday that he was awaiting the results of the investigation 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

>PHILIPSBURG:--- An investigation is currently on the way at the Social and Health Insurance Funds SZV into allegations of an employee selling SZV cards to people who are not properly registered or who are not actually paying premiums.
United People's (UP) party deputy leader Member of Parliament (MP) Franklin Meyers said Monday he is eagerly awaiting the results of the investigation.
"This situation, if proven as true, has severe consequences for the viability of SZV, for the country and for every hard working person on St Read more

Up Mp Meyers Awaits Finding In Szv Card Selling Scheme

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - An investigation is currently on the way at the Social and Health Insurance Funds SZV into allegations of an employee selling SZV cards to people who are not properly registered or who are not actually paying premiums.

United People's (UP) party deputy leader Member of Parliament (MP) Franklin Meyers said Monday he is eagerly awaiting the results of the investigation.

"This situation, if proven as true, has severe consequences for the viability of SZV, for the country and for every hard working person on St Read more

Independence referendum possible in less than 4 years

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten could possibly see a referendum on independence before the current Parliamentary term ends in 2018. At least this is the hope of staunch independence advocates such as activists Jose Lake Jr., Leo Friday Sr., Elton Jones and Drs. Rhoda Arrindell.

This hope was expressed by representatives of Independence for St Read more

Former tourism marketing head facing suspended prison sentence

~ Prosecutor: LaBega not off the hook ~

PHILIPSBURG--More than four years after criminal complaints were filed against him in his capacity as Head of Marketing of the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau Edward Dest finally had his day in court on Wednesday. He is facing charges of embezzlement in his capacity as civil servant.

Prosecutor Nanouk Lemmers found it proven that Dest had embezzled funds belonging to the St. Maarten Tourist Office in New York for promoting tourism to St. Maarten in North America and instead had used the money to pay for airfare, hotel rooms, daily allowances, the Tourist Bureau's Christmas dinner and Boardwalk Mas 2010 expenditures.

For these crimes, which allegedly were committed between June 1, 2009, and August 23, 2010, the Prosecutor requested a suspended sentence of two months, with two years' probation Read more

Editorial - Reassuring

That Arke will be flying to Princess Juliana International Airport SXM twice weekly from Schiphol in Amsterdam starting next winter (see related story) is obviously good news. After all, attracting more visitors from the Netherlands, but also the rest of Europe so far has proved a challenge for St. Maarten.

That is certainly the case compared to the ABC-islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao), which have been very successful in this regard. As a matter of fact, the alternative Arke provided to Royal Dutch airline KLM over there especially concerning fares no doubt played a big role in that development.

To be sure, St Read more

BlackBerry unveils new mid-market smartphone

BARCELONA/TORONTO--BlackBerry unveiled a new mid-market smartphone on Tuesday dubbed the BlackBerry Leap that is set to replace the Z3 device launched a year ago, in a move to woo buyers in certain emerging markets where BlackBerry still has a fairly large client base.
  The Waterloo, Ontario-based company said the phone, unveiled at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, would initially hit stores in U.S and European markets around April and be priced around $275.
  The company also said it planned to roll out two more models over the course of the next months, both with a keyboard Read more

Arke Airline returns to St. Maarten November

RIJSWIJK--After ceasing service to St. Maarten six years ago, Arkefly (Shortened to Arke in the current corporate design to match the travel agency) is resuming flights to St. Maarten per November this year, the Dutch airline announced on Tuesday.

Flights from Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport to St. Maarten will be carried out with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner at considerably lower fares, some twenty per cent cheaper at least, than competitors Royal Dutch Airline KLM and Air France.

Arke, a subsidiary of travel organisation TUI Netherlands, will be scheduling two flights per week, on Wednesdays and Sundays Read more

Cuba signals its readiness to fast-track US diplomatic ties

MIAMI/HAVANA--Cuba is willing to restore diplomatic relations with the United States as soon as the Obama administration declares its intent to take the country off a list of state sponsors of terrorism, according to a senior Cuban official.

That could take place before both sides are ready to open embassies, Josefina Vidal, the head of the United States division at the Cuban Foreign Ministry told state media Read more

Rand Paul wins Republican straw poll

NATIONAL HARBOR, Maryland--Senator Rand Paul won a straw poll of conservative activists on Saturday, giving his potential bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 a boost, and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came in second in a surprising show of strength.

Whether the victory for Paul will have long-lasting benefit is unclear since his libertarian views may not have broad appeal in the Republican Party.

Paul, a 52-year-old Kentucky Republican, outdistanced most other potential candidates by taking 25.7 percent of the vote at the Conservative Political Action Conference, a gathering of activists on Washington's outskirts of Washington Read more

Minville family in crisis over domain land debacle

MARIGOT--The Minville family of Sandy Ground is facing expulsion from their property. In addition, the Appeals Court of Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, has condemned the family to pay large sums of money to Société des Hôtels Caraïbes for occupying the land. The family insists the land rightfully belongs to them and has written to the Minister of Justice requesting that he intervene in the matter.

The penalties imposed include 135,000 euros for past occupation between May 25, 2000, and January 25, 2014, and 700 euros per month retroactive to December 25, 2013, until the property is evacuated, as well as 6,000 euros relating to Article 700 of the Civil Procedure Code.

A press conference was convened on Friday by a support committee that included True Hope for St 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

India finds itself in "sweet spot" of lower deficits, more growth

NEW DELHI--India can increase investment to drive economic growth without borrowing more, a key government report said on Friday, in an indication that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will stick to debt targets in his maiden full-year budget on Saturday.

The Economic Survey, the basis for Jaitley's budget for the fiscal year starting April 1, forecast growth of 8.1 percent to 8.5 percent under new calculations that make India the world's most dynamic big economy. The forecast marks an acceleration from growth of 7.4 percent in the current fiscal year.

"India has reached a sweet spot and .. Read more