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Suspended Police Officer Gets 5-Years Sentence For Assault And Rape

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten The Court of First Instance has rendered its verdict in the case of suspended Sint Maarten Police Force officer R.J., sentencing him to five years in prison after finding him guilty of assault and rape of his stepdaughter. The verdict, delivered on Thursday, October 3, 2024, determined that the primary facts of the case were proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

The testimonies of the victim, her mother, her sister, and school staff members who reported significant behavioral changes in the victim following the incident were crucial to the case Read more

Fraud Case Suspect Released With Conditions, Remains Suspect

Lisa Alexander

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – A woman, with initials L.L.A., arrested on September 16, 2024, in a fraud investigation has been released by the Court with conditions to which she must comply. L.L.A., released today, September 20, remains a suspect in the ongoing investigations.

The conditions imposed by the Court require the suspect to report to the probation service regularly, she must be reachable and available to police/justice authorities at all times in the interest of the investigation.

On September 16, 2024, at approximately 6:00am, the Sint Maarten Police Force KPSM, in collaboration with personnel from the Prosecutors Office and other law enforcement agencies, arrested L.L.A Read more

Grisha Weighs In On Viral Taxi Driver Video, Invites Visitors Back To The Island

GREAT BAY, St. Maarten The video of an incident involving a taxi driver (Taxi 53) and some visitors, which went viral on several media platforms on Monday, September 2, 2024 was immediately brought to my attention, said Grisha Heyliger-Marten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT).

I instructed the relevant departments of my Ministry to investigate the matter thoroughly Read more

Pwas, Mlk Students To School On Tuesday,Lewis Hosts Motivation Session For Staff

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The Honorable Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport Lyndon Lewis announced on Thursday that students of the Prince Willem Alexander School (PWAS) and Martin Luther King School (MLK) will attend school at the Alma Fleming Care Center in Belvedere as of Tuesday, August 20. And, hopefully if all goes as planned, the MLK students (three classes) could even probably could at MLK campus.

The delay allows relevant authorities, school management and security providers to develop enhanced security arrangements following the recent break-ins at the schools Read more

Open Letter To Our Honorable Minister Of Justice Mr. Lyndon C.J. Lewis

It is with great admiration that the people of Sint Maarten are experiencing the vigor which you put in your work for this country and it is therefore that we believe that you have the courage to take eventual unpopular decisions if needed.

For the last few years Sint Maarten has experienced some brutal murder cases, most of which remain unsolved and as an officer of the law yourself, this is a disturbing factor. One reason for this might be the shortage of staff to conduct a proper investigation and the tools available for such Read more

Minister Lewis Meets With School Bus Operators

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Minister of Justice, Education, Culture, Youth and Sport the Honorable Lyndon Lewis described his meeting with school bus operators on Sunday as very fruitful and one of the final steps towards finalizing a Service Level Agreement (SLA) with the operators. The SLA is important to professionalize the school bus transport system up to improved and acceptable standards.

It also means the eventual realization of the school bus management system to streamline and optimize the management of the school transportation services Read more

Minister Jansen-Webster Calls For Adherence To International Labor Standards

Philipsburg The Honorable Minister of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor (VSA), Mrs. Veronica Jansen-Webster, has issued a compelling call to action, urging all employers in St. Maarten to fully recognize and uphold the rights stipulated in the International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 87. Known as the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize Convention, this critical international standard guarantees workers the right to form and join organizations of their choosing without fear of retaliation or punishment. Convention 87 is a cornerstone of international labor law, ratified by numerous countries, including St Read more

Mind-Boggling !!!

Dear Editor,

The article dated May 15th, 2024 from Saint Martin News Network titled Acting head of Landsrecherche removed from position pending investigation is mindboggling to say the least. That the position officially does not exist and that Ms. Lucy Gachette did not suffer any losses in terms of benefits or salaries, is one thing. But the mere fact that the Minister of Justice stated that there will be an in-depth investigation into matters threatening the countrys security, is a matter of serious concern.

Although questions were posed to the Minister, he correctly declined to provide more information then that the information had been classified and that those who needed to know, were officially notified Read more

Say One, Say Two, Say The Thing

Dear Editor,

The editorial in the Daily Herald newspaper of Friday, May 10th, 2024 titled Bad apples regarding what the editor considers a major decision of the new Minister of Justice, Lyndon Lewis (NOW) whereas he announced his decisive action to correct justice workers suspensions. In so doing the new Minister of Justice intends to alleviate staff shortages and ensure fair labor practices Read more

Counterfeit Naf. 100 Banknotes In Circulation

PHILIPSBURG WILLEMSTAD The Centrale Bank van Curaao en Sint Maarten (CBCS) has detected counterfeit NAf. 100 banknotes in circulation. The counterfeit NAf. 100 banknotes are of very good quality, making them challenging to distinguish from genuine NAf Read more

New Four-Party Coalition Ursm Dp Pfp Now Speaks Up And Speaks Out

Urges Public to Remain Aware and Be Critical of Agitators

PHILIPSBURG In a joint statement issued Thursday January 25, 2024 evening, the eight MP-elects of the announced 4-party coalition consisting of the URSM, DP, PFP and N.O.W. parties denounced repeated attempts to distract the public from ongoing political discussions.

We remain committed and focused on continuing the formation of this coalition, the statement reads Read more

Usp: National Alliance Lacks The Vision, Empathy And Common Courtesy To Lead

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The board of the USP in an invited comment did not mince words as it relates to the placement of an ostentatious group billboard of the National Alliance party erected blocking the view of a USPs group billboard in Cole bay.

President of the board, Mr Read more

United St. Maarten Party Unveils Ambitious 2024-2028 Agenda For National Improvement

PUBLISHED: on DECEMBER 22, 2023 The Daily Herald Newspapers

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — United St. Maarten Party (USP) has laid out its comprehensive plan of action for the year 2024 and beyond. The party already initiated the execution of the outlined restructuring plan in 2022, emphasizing its commitment to ongoing refinement and formulation in the subsequent years. The strategic execution and implementation of these plans are set to span the entirety of the party’s presence, whether as a coalition partner or in the opposition.

USPs primary objective is a collective pursuit of comprehensive improvement in social, financial, economic and infrastructural restructuring for all residents Read more

Mp Arrindell Urges Swift ActionOn Escalating Armed Robberies

PHILIPSBURG — In a recent correspondence to the Honorable Minister of Justice, Anna Richardson, Member of Parliament Akeem Arrindell has voiced his concerns regarding the alarming rise in armed robberies plaguing Sint Maarten Read more

Usp President Cecil Nicholas Officially Announces His Candidacy

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The USP established in 2014 has been a contender in every election since it was established, winning 2 seats in every election held since, with 3 seats being the highest awarded to the party in the 2016 election campaign.

Nicholas a founder and first president of the US Party first ran in 2016 at the bottom of the list as candidate number 19. In this upcoming election, he is running as the number 2 candidate behind his new leader Mrs Read more

Strong Correlation Between Homelessness, Poverty And Mental Illness

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — There is a strong correlation between homelessness, poverty and mental illness. For years, government has stated that it would create a country-wide plan of action for the prevention and treatment of mental health disorders.

This is just what we need for when we look around our beautiful island, so many people are walking the streets with hopelessness in their eyes, hoping for hope again. We need to stop the quick fixes and temporary remedies, and examine the role of society in preventing and responding to mental health problems beyond the health system.

To protect people’s mental health, we need a country plan that focuses on prevention in schools, and the lingering social issues that plague our communities leading up to intellectually disabled people.

We see homelessness, poverty and mentally disabled people highlighted right now in our communities Read more

Jubilee Library InsuranceSettlementMoney Disappears!

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Gromyko Wilson candidate on the USP party for the upcoming election January 11, 2024 is worried that the insurance settlement payout for the Public Library was spent on other things, instead of on rebuilding the library Read more

A Worrisome Justice Apparatus

Dear Editor,

In the Daily Herald of Thursday, August 12th, 2021 an elaborated article was dedicated to the Carbon Grove Estates in Cole Bay. The article with title Developer of Carbon Grove ordered to deliver apartments, mentioned two separate summary proceedings, whereby the Court of First Instance ordered Melbon Enterprises to deliver the rights to three apartments in Carbon Grove Estates in Cole Bay. The Judge describes the case as all time low, it reads. The Court stated that Carbons course of action resembles a so-called Ponzi scheme.

According to different media houses, on Wednesday, November 8th, 2023 searches were conducted at four locations connected to a suspect in a fraud and money laundering case named Koruna Read more

United Sint Maarten Party: Sint Maarten Day MessageOne People One Nation One Destiny

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — As we celebrate our unique qualities on this 64th St. Martin day, and in honor of the motivation of Dr. Claude Wathey and Dr. Hubert Petit, we implore our people to not only celebrate their strength and resilience, but in-vision a St. Martin that we can all be proud of. It is our responsibility to further create a history that our children and ancestors can be proud of.

For it is the blood and sweat of those same ancestors from which our freedoms and privileges are derived Read more

What Separates A Democracy From A Dictatorship?

Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs failed to get SER up and running as prescribed by law.

It is very unfortunate that our Minister of General Affairs, the Honorable Prime Minister
Jacobs, deemed it necessary to create such a burden on the employers and employees
associations to nominate people to the SER. However, after the nomination of members
to the SER by these organizations, there is still no clear indication on when the
appointments will take place.

In the past, the SER has been instrumental in giving advice to the government of St.
Maarten by keeping them in check with the positive and negative advice Read more

Us-Party Unprecedented Means Of Communication By Chris Is Deceitful

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The board of the US-Party in an invited comment expressed disappointment in an article released by the leader of the start-up political party NOW, but was not surprised.

President of the US Party board, Mr. Cecil Nicholas said, He was not surprised by the misleading content, and underlying tone of hypocrisy and deceitfulness that motivated the article.

The leader of the NOW party publicly reminded that, He has always stood by the USP and was supportive of the party joining any governing coalition he was a part of.

Chris further stated, When he was a member of the National Alliance, he did not sign the governing accord between the National Alliance and United People Party strictly out of principle and a sense of loyalty to the USP.

Nicholas, questioned Chris definition of the words, principle and loyalty Read more

Even If It Means Copying, Get It Done For The Right Reasons!

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — The board of the US party has taken note that all the issues that our leader Pamela Gordon-Carty has raised, and been championing have become common topics with other political parties playing the copy-cat game. They are unaware of the many pieces that must come together to form the whole topic in the USP plan.

USP has emphasized agriculture as another source of income; all of a sudden everyone has jumped on the bandwagon of agriculture without really having a plan in place, which the USP has made available, on many occasions, to this sitting government. USP has been training its candidates Read more

Stop The Patchwork! Address The Root Cause Or The Issue Will Continue To Arise

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Oliver Williams, USP Candidate # 7 said in a press released: There must be reform of the roads in St. Maarten! Too long have we watched as mediocre work is done and then not too long after, the same roads are back to their previous condition. All over, you see potholes, warped asphalt, water running in the roads, debris in the road and much more.

The last update to our infrastructure was the construction of the Causeway in 2013 (which was a decade ago) Read more

Integrity Chamber Releases 2022 Annual Report

The Integrity Chamber presented its 2022 Annual Report to the Honourable Prime Minister, Ms. Silveria Jacobs, on August 25, 2023. The report provides a summary of the activities of the Integrity Chamber and information on the history, structure, and statistics of the organization.

The Integrity Chamber spent its third operational year laying the groundwork for a government and society built on integrity Read more