SXMElections.com

Little Opposition To 2016 Draft Budget

MP Tamara Leonard: “I feel like we have to take a hit too.” Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten News – The parliament seemed to be going in record tempo through the debate about the draft 2016 budget yesterday. By 6.35 p.m. all speakers had put in their two cents in the first round; only nine MPs used their right to address the issue Read more

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Nature Foundation Assists Vsa With Mosquito Controls

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) Emil Lee approached the Nature Foundation of St. Maarten for advice on sustainable and environmentally friendly measures to reduce disease spreading mosquitos. Director Tadzio Bervoets responded immediately.

In addition to eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, Bervoets came out strongly in support of the lethal ovitraps that Minister Lee promptly ordered for a field trial Read more

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Second Confirmed Case Of Zika

PHILIPSBURG – On Sunday, February 21, a second case of Zika was confirmed on St. Maarten. This case involves a Dutch tourist from the Netherlands who arrived in St. Maarten on February 3 and departed on February 10.

The person was staying at the Dawn Beach Estates residence area. It wasn’t until February 13, three days after arriving in the Netherlands that the patient experienced symptoms. Similar to the first confirmed case, the person had also travelled to a neighboring island for the day prior to being diagnosed.

The first confirmed case concerns a person who was residing in the Saunders area Read more

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Nature Foundation Assists Vsa With Mosquito Controls

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA), Emil Lee approached the Nature Foundation St. Maarten for advice on sustainable and environmentally friendly measures to reduce disease spreading mosquitos and Director Tadzio Bervoets responded immediately.

In addition to eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, Mr Read more

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CFT pleased with government approach on preparing 2016 budget.

PHILIPSBURG:-- Minister of Finance Richard Gibson informed members of the media Friday afternoon that on Thursday he got a reaction from the CFT regarding the 2016 budget. The Minister had indicated earlier that he had sent the draft budget he sent to parliament to the CFT before parliament passed the budget because he did not want the CFT to disapprove the budget after it is passed by the parliament of St Read more

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Plasterk Waits For Official Reply To Dispute Regulation Proposal

THE HAGUE-Minister of Internal and Kingdom Affairs Ronald Plasterk said he is still waiting for an official reply to his recent proposal for a Dispute Regulation (Geschillenregeling). He is aware of the objections, but mostly from stories in the newspaper and not straight from the governments. Plasterk said this on Thursday during a meeting with the Second Chamber Committee for Kingdom Relations.

Plasterk notified the Second Chamber of his latest proposal two weeks ago. He sticks to his initial suggestion to have the Council of State of the Kingdom (Raad van State) act as the advisory authority Read more

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St. Maarten owed NAF 165M to both entities --- Parties agree to reduce the amount --- Building sold for NAF45M while another NAF15M have to spent on finishing it.

PHILIPSBURG:---Minister of Finance Richard Gibson Sr Read more

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Telcell Night Of The Hit Makers 2016 Featuring Tsunami, Control Band, Tanya St. Val, Mika Ben, Jean Marc Ferdinand & Kes The Band

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TelCell Night Of The Hit Makers 2016 Line-UpTelCell Night Of The Hit Makers 2016, St. Maarten’s Carnival Flagship Show featuring Tsunami, Control Band, Tanya St. Val, Mika Ben, Jean Marc Ferdinand & Kes The Band Read more

Delegations Content With Ipko-Results

By Today Newspaper

GREAT BAY – There were only happy faces at the conclusion of the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation yesterday. Desiree de Sousa-Croes left the Sonesta Maho Beach Resort & Casino on her way back to Aruba with a smile on her face and elsewhere, still in the building, Dutch delegation leader Jeroen Recourt was all satisfaction too.

“It is about working together and achieving results,” Zita Jesus-Leito from Curacao said. The time that delegations walked out of the Ipko-meetings in a huff is seemingly a thing of the past Read more

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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