SXMElections.com

Timeshare, The Sick Cousin Of The Tourism Industry

After many years, legislation remains in limbo

St. Maarten – Trouble in the timeshare industry probably dates back further than December 2010, when the controversial sale of the Pelican Resort caused uproar among employees and timeshare owners alike, but it is a good starting point for getting an impression of the state of this industry and the lack of action on the part of successive governments.

When the Pelican Resort changed ownership in December 2010, the jobs of 182 employees were suddenly on the line Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Caribbean Hotel And Tourism Association Urges United Nations Conference To Support Caricom Position On Climate Change

THE CARIBBEAN - The Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) is calling on the global community to support CARICOM's position advocating for a cap on the world's temperature rise at 1.5 degrees Centigrade as part of their deliberations during the United Nations Climate Change Conference, taking place in Paris from Nov. 30 - Dec. 11, 2015.

In a letter to the Hon. Dr. James Fletcher, Chairman of CARICOM Task Force on Climate Change, CHTA Acting President Karolin Troubetzkoy strongly supported CARICOM's call for a binding agreement on climate change.

"Considering the significant research conducted to demonstrate trend lines and forecasted impact of climate change on the world's most vulnerable countries, CHTA fully supports the position being advanced by the CARICOM Task Force," Troubetzkoy said.

Many developed and newly industrialized countries are prepared to settle for a 2025 climate change of a two-degree increase which would negatively impact CARICOM countries and the broader Caribbean basin.

CHTA cites research that points to the devastating consequences for the Caribbean from a two-degree rise in temperature Read more

Mp Johan Leonard About The Cause Of Ship Jumping: Our Party Leaders Blatantly Disrespect Their Members

MP Heyliger is still smiling after the severe criticism from his fellow-faction member Johan Leonard (left). Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – The attitude of party leaders is the main reason for ship jumping, United People’s party MP Johan Leonard said yesterday morning in an unexpected sharp attack on UP-leader Theo Heyliger Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Winners And Losers: Who Will Survive The Polls In February?

St. Maarten / By Hilbert Haar – February 9, 2016 is crunch day for politicians and those who aspire to become one. The parliamentary elections – for some mysterious reason perceived by some as ‘snap elections’, whatever that may be – will give voters the opportunity to speak their mind about the constitutional drama that concluded on Wednesday when the ministers of the Marcel Gumbs cabinet tendered their resignation and Governor Drs Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Entrepreneurs Get Ready For Entrepreneurship Week 721, International Speakers To Empower Students And Entrepreneurs In November

Great Bay, St. Maarten – Inspired by the Global Entrepreneurship Week, INFOBIZZ is hosting its very first Entrepreneurship Week 721 from November 16-21, 2015.

This week is aimed at helping entrepreneurs to reach new levels of success in their businesses and lives. International entrepreneurs from the US, Canada, and The Netherlands will be on St. Maarten sharing dynamic cutting-edge information to transform businesses alongside local experts.

INFOBIZZ is specifically designed at developing successful entrepreneurs and has reached approximately 700 entrepreneurs in the past 2 years predominantly through it premier networking activity, the POWER HOUR Read more

Editorial - Anybody’s guess

Governor Eugene Holiday has decided to seek legal clarity on the current constitutional impasse. That’s the gist of a press release from his cabinet at Harbour View on Friday evening.

He did so rather than either signing into law the Marcel Gumbs cabinet’s national decree to dissolve Parliament and call early elections, or sending it up to the Kingdom Council of Ministers for annulment, allowing the recently established NA/DP/USP/Matser/Lake coalition to form a new Government Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Heavy equipment’s were used early Wednesday morning to block the entrance of the Government Administration Building. The drivers of three heavy equipment arrived in the area of the Government Administration Building shortly before 5am where they parked their vehicles blocking the entrance towards the Government Administration Building and left.
Around 6:30 am the night watch- commander Officer Gomes along with some police officers walked towards the Government Administration and began questioning bystanders and the security guards as to who parked the heavy equipment’s that were blocking the streets Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Editorial - Deadlocked for now

Anybody expecting that the Parliament session on Tuesday to elect a new President and two Vice-Presidents might lead to some breakthrough in the current constitutional impasse between the new majority and the Gumbs cabinet was disappointed. Although both President Dr. Lloyd Richardson and First Vice-President Leona Marlin-Romeo had publicly made their positions available, they were not present and Second Vice-President Cornelius de Weever, part of the same former UP-led coalition, closed the proceedings as soon as they had begun, saying he needed legal clarification due to the Council of Ministers having passed a national decree to dissolve the legislature and hold snap elections.

The incoming NA/DP/UPS/Matser/Lake coalition did not appreciate this and called for an urgent new meeting about De Weever’s “illegal act” and its impact on the country’s democratic representation Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Tourism public relations firm’s contract in limbo

PHILIPSBURG--A tourism public relations (PR) company employed by St. Maarten Tourist Bureau has been caught in technical limbo during the ongoing political uncertainty.

However, despite the unwelcome news, its President Richard Kahn said it was still “actively representing the tourism interests of St. Maarten” and doing its “best to promote the destination.” This is despite also being owed money.

Kahn Travel Communications, or KTCpr, has not had its contract officially signed by Government and was told last week not to spend any money on behalf of the destination Read more

Brazil's new middle class struggles as economy plunges

SAO BERNARDO DO CAMPO, Brazil--Until recently, Lucinelia de Jesus Souza's future seemed bright, running a small coffee shop that caters to factory workers and other blue-collar customers in this industrial suburb of São Paulo. But the faded pink counters of her shoebox-sized business, which opened a decade ago and blossomed as Brazil's economy grew quickly, now see fewer customers stopping in for coffee or deep-fried pastries.
  Her income has fallen by half since 2012, forcing the 43-year-old to cut the sort of spending that once heralded an emerging new consumer class in Latin America's biggest country Read more

Parties disagree on course of action for Isla refinery

THE HAGUE--Curaçao’s Isla refinery makes people sick and is very bad for the environment. No disagreement on that during the handling of the draft 2016 Kingdom Relations budget earlier this week. However, parties in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament differ in opinion on the follow-up action.

The Democratic Party D66, the Socialist Party (SP) and the ChristianUnion pressed for quick, decisive action, and on Thursday presented two joint motions for a sustainable solution for the refinery Read more

Who will be paying for Minister Connor trip to the Dominican Republic? Minister got motion of no confidence he has no right spending tax payers monies.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister of VROMI who is also responsible for Government owned company GEBE Claret Connor is expected to travel to the Dominican Republic this weekend with a delegation from GEBE. According to information provided to SMN News GEBE was invited by Watsilla to travel to the Dominican Republic on a fact-finding mission on the waste to energy plant Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Thesis About Fraud And Corruption In The Netherlands: “No Major Interest In Fighting Corruption”

St. Maarten /By Hilbert Haar – “Dutch citizens consider themselves as the inhabitants of the least corrupt country in the world, while the many scandals show that this impression is not consistent with reality,” Jacqueline Bos writes in her doctoral thesis ‘Corruption in the Netherlands and Germany: Incidental or Embedded?’

Bos graduated at the Open University in Maastricht on Friday. Her thesis reads like a John Grisham novel and makes clear that the Netherlands is anything but free from corruption Read more

Kraft Foods Group Voluntarily Recalls Select Code Dates And Manufacturing Codes Of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Boxed Dinners Due To Possible Metal Pieces

NORTHFIELD, Ill – Kraft Foods Group is voluntarily recalling approximately 242,000 cases of select code dates and manufacturing codes of the Original flavor of Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Dinner – due to the possibility that some boxes may contain small pieces of metal.

The recalled product is limited to the 7.25-oz. size of the Original flavor of boxed dinner with the "Best When Used By" dates of September 18, 2015 through October 11, 2015, with the code "C2" directly below the date on each individual box Read more

Romny and Catalan win Cycling Club’s Night Race

PHILIPSBURG—Seven Romny won the Junior Division and Steve Catalan took top honours in the seniors at the St. Maarten St. Martin Cycling Club evening race Saturday.

The race had been schooled to be a 100 lap relay consisting of five rider teams.

"Several of the teams pulled out at the last minute." said Jean Paul Rousseau from the Cycling Club.

"We did not want to disappoint the riders that did show so we ran two races." The young riders did five laps of the one kilometre course and the seniors completed 30 laps.

The lap starts on Pond Island by the University, goes to the Salt Pickers Roundabout back to the landfill entrance and finishes back at the University.

Second in the juniors was Noel Kianny Read more

Israel undermines US peace effort, Abbas tells UN

UNITED NATIONS--Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday accused Israel of sabotaging U.S. efforts to broker peace and said Israeli security operations at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem could lead to a religious war.
  In an address to the United Nations General Assembly before a ceremony for the raising of the Palestinian flag at U.N. headquarters in New York, Abbas said the Palestinian Authority no longer considered itself bound by the accords signed with Israel in the mid-1990s.
  Reiterating what the Palestinian Authority has been saying for at least half a decade, Abbas said the agreements would not apply as long as Israel supports settlements of Israelis in the West Bank and refuses to release Palestinian prisoners.
  "You are all aware that Israel undermined the efforts made by the administration of President Barack Obama in past years, most recently the efforts of Secretary of State John Kerry aimed at reaching a peace agreement through negotiations," Abbas told the 193-nation General Assembly.
  A senior U.S Read more

Tax-Compliance Measures Are Not Working

Cft: “Structural overhaul personnel costs necessary”

St. Maarten – Measures the government has put in place to increase tax compliance are not working. This appears from the reaction from financial supervisor Cft to the second execution report 2015. In the first half year, tax revenue fell 8 million guilders below budget. For the whole year, St. Maarten expects to collect 8.6 million guilders less than budgeted.

Nevertheless, the government wants to increase income levels for 2015 to 470 million guilders but, as this newspaper already reported last week, this does not have the approval of the financial supervisor.

“By taking additional measures St Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Victorious Catalan separatists claim independence mandate

BARCELONA--Separatists on Sunday won a clear majority of seats in Catalonia's parliament in an election that sets the region on a collision course with Spain's central government over independence.
  "Catalans have voted yes to independence," acting regional government head Artur Mas told supporters, with secessionist parties securing 72 out of 135 seats in the powerful region of 7.5 million people that includes Barcelona.
  The strong pro-independence showing dealt a blow to Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy, three months before a national election Read more

Celta stun Barcelona 4-1, Real's Benzema hits double to sink Bilbao

BARCELONA-- A Karim Benzema brace gave Real Madrid a 2-1 victory at Athletic Bilbao and lifted them to the top of La Liga on goal difference ahead of Celta Vigo, who thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Wednesday with Iago Aspas hitting a double.
  The Frenchman took full advantage of a poor backpass by Mikel San Jose and fired home to put Real ahead after 19 minutes.
  Bilbao showed typical fighting spirit and a fine diving header from Sabin Merino ended Real keeper Keylor Navas' record unbeaten start to the season after 67 minutes, but they were only level for three minutes.
  Benzema, a threat all night to the Athletic rearguard, was quickest to an Isco cross and knocked it in from close range.
  Real and Celta now have 13 points after five games while Barcelona are a point behind.
  After disappointing spells at Liverpool and Sevilla, Aspas is back to his best this season having returned to Celta and struck clinical finishes in either half against a Barcelona side who were far from their normal dominant selves.
  Nolito, a former Barcelona youth player, fired his fifth goal in as many games to put Celta ahead after 25 minutes with a pinpoint curling drive from the left of the area Read more

Garbage Meeting Fizzles: Many Questions, No Answers And No Solutions

St. Maarten – At the end of a long meeting, finally there were some fireworks when opposition MP asked Vromi-Minister Claret Connor to answer one question: “Is there a contract with a company to build the waste-to-energy plant and how does this jive with your visit to a project in Miami?”

Minister Connor, who had just said that he would be able to inform the parliament on Monday when he would be able to answer the more than one hundred questions MPs had asked, did not bite Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Mp Heyliger: “The Dutch Keep Terrorizing Our Little Country” : Constitution Day Triggers Calls For Independence

St. Maarten – Parliament unanimously approved changes to several ordinances to establish the second Monday of October as Constitution Day, an official holiday. Under this legislation. Kingdom Day (December 15) will disappear from the local holiday-calendar. While approving the legislation was a formality, several MPs used the opportunity to express their sentiment about the country’s road towards independence.

“Moving towards the end goal – independence – it makes sense to move away from a day that celebrates that we are a part of the Kingdom,” National Alliance faction leader William Marlin said Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

Dutch boycott Statia, D66 questions move

THE HAGUE/STATIA--The Dutch Government is boycotting working visits to St. Eustatius since final instruction was given to the island’s government. Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Wassila Hachchi of the Democratic Party D66 is questioning the boycott.

Statia Commissioner of Constitutional Affairs Reginald Zaandam is fiercely objecting the stance by The Hague Read more

Your own conclusions

Dear Editor,

It has been a trying week – two major storms have passed us by without any damage or significant losses. Our Prime Minister, in taking charge made all the right moves in closing the country down avoiding possible loss of life in flooding and blowing projectiles. Even though some think the actions were unwarranted it still is better to err on the side of caution than to do nothing and wish you did.

The other decision taken by the PM was to declare or put a stop to our ministers meeting with Dutch civil servants Read more

---

Candidates in this article:

US Senate Democrats stake out both sides of Iran deal

WASHINGTON--Senator Robert Menendez blasted the U.S.-led international nuclear deal with Iran on Tuesday, vowing to oppose it in defiance of President Barack Obama, who picked up much-needed support for the deal from two other Senate Democrats.
  As September voting on the agreement in the U.S. Congress neared, Menendez, a former Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman, became the second senior lawmaker from Obama's own party to announce he would vote to kill the pact with Tehran.
  "I will vote to disapprove the agreement and, if called upon, would vote to override a veto" by the president, Menendez said in a speech in his home state of New Jersey.
  Shortly later, Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, both of Rhode Island, announced that they would support the agreement Read more