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>PHILIPSBURG:---- In connection with the upcoming Junior and Grand Parade scheduled for Thursday April 30th, the Police Department is making the following announcement:
The gathering point for the Grand Parade is at the entrance of Sint Johns Estate on the L.B. Scot road. The gathering time is at 10.00 a.m.
Front Street including all streets and alleys leading to this street will be closed on that day from 07.00 a.m.
At 09.00 a.m. L.B. Scot road will be closed at Gladiola road. No traffic allowed towards Sint Peters area Read more

The Evolving View of Cannabis

~ Many opinions expressed at St. Maarten’s first open forum ~

By Lisa Davis-Burnett

Marijuana is seen as a gateway drug, partly because it is illegal, meaning that in order to get it, one must go into situations, where other illegal activities are taking place and associate with dealers of various illegal substances. “If it was structurally controlled and properly distributed, we would eliminate this discussion about it being a gateway to harder drugs.” This opinion was expressed by Dr Read more

The Evolving View of Cannabis

~ Many opinions expressed at St. Maarten’s first open forum ~

By Lisa Davis-Burnett

Marijuana is seen as a gateway drug, partly because it is illegal, meaning that in order to get it, one must go into situations, where other illegal activities are taking place and associate with dealers of various illegal substances. “If it was structurally controlled and properly distributed, we would eliminate this discussion about it being a gateway to harder drugs.” This opinion was expressed by Dr Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On Tuesday April 14th, the final meeting before the official opening of the Festival Village between the Sint Maarten Carnival Development Foundation, Department of VROMI, Department of Economic Affairs and the Police Department was held at the Philipsburg Police Station. The main topics of this meeting were the "Vending and No Vending" zones in the Philipsburg area, the road closure during all of the parades and the "Opening Jump-up."
Attached to this announcement is a digital color layout of Philipsburg and surrounding areas Read more

Guenter Grass, author of The Tin Drum, dies at 87

BERLIN--German novelist Guenter Grass, the Nobel Prize-winning author of "The Tin Drum", an epic treatment of the Nazi era, died on Monday at the age of 87, his publishers said.

A broad-shouldered man with a drooping moustache, Grass spurned the German tradition of keeping a cool intellectual distance, insisting that a writer's duty was to be at the frontline of moral and political debate. For many, he was the voice of a German generation that came of age in World War Two and bore the burden of their parents' guilt for the atrocities of the Nazis.

The independent German Cultural Council called him "more than a writer .. Read more

Public Notice For Sunday April 12 (Cycling Race)

In connection with the upcoming cycling race which is organized by Soualiga Riders and scheduled to take place on Sunday April 12th the police department is announcing the following:

The race will start at 01 p.m. on the Welfare road in the vicinity of Willy’s Restaurant and Mini Mart and head towards the Kruythoff round about and turning right on to A.J.C. Brouwers road, round about on the top of the hill, A.J.C. Brouwers road, Church hill round about, Bush road, Zagergut road, The Cottage round about, A Read more

Marijuana, Subject Of Panel Discussion Next Saturday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Marijuana will be the focus of a panel discussion organized by the Freedom Freighters Musical and Cultural Foundation.

The event, which will have as panelists among others, Dr. Ruth, Dr. Don Johnson of the USA and Jay Haviser is scheduled to be held at the Belair Community Center on Saturday, April 18th and will start at 7 pm.

According to the organ Read more

How the country running?

Dear Editor,

As we walk through the streets of our country, we encounter diverse groups with varied interests. Some are defending one position or the other from bits and pieces they picked up from our on again mostly off again parliamentary meetings, and depending on their colour they take their arguments to the hilt. While this might seem quite interesting as it portends to promote democracy and most importantly our God-given freedom of speech, and right to be part of any legal body established here Read more

Indiana governor vows to 'fix' law lambasted for curbing gay rights

INDIANAPOLIS--Indiana's Republican Governor Mike Pence, responding to national outrage over the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, said on Tuesday he will "fix" it to make clear businesses cannot use the law to deny services to same-sex couples.
  Pence, in a news conference, said the law he signed last week had been unfairly "smeared" but he called on the state's Republican-controlled General Assembly to come up with clarifications this week Read more

PvdA proposal for Kingdom Integrity Committee at Kingdom Conference

THE HAGUE--Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk will pitch the proposal of Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA to install a Kingdom Integrity Committee, secured through a Kingdom Law, at the upcoming Kingdom Conference.

Plasterk promised members of the Second Chamber's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations during a debate on Tuesday that he would take up this idea with the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and St Read more

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