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PHILIPSBURG:---- The Ministry of VROMI has been working diligently on the cleanup of the car wrecks, household appliances etc. at the area where the company Bakker Recycling is located on the pond island in Philipsburg.
The debris has caused an eyesore for the area and it was crucial that it be cleaned up.

Residents are prohibited from dumping any waste in the vicinity of the Bakker Recycling area. For the dumping of car wrecks and household appliances, there is an area designated on the landfill for such Read more

President Of Parliament Extends Condolences To The Family And Friends Of The Late President Of The Collectivité, Mrs. Aline Hanson. “More Than Anything, She Believed In Our Island And Its People.”.

PHILIPSBURG:--- It is with immense sadness that I direct myself to you, the family and friends of the late Aline Hanson and the community of French St. Martin at large, extending my heartfelt condolences. Aline has left an indelible mark in the political, social and educational tapestries of our island and I am proud to call her my friend, one who believed in the uniqueness of our dual island and its people and went about her responsibilities is a humble and dedicated manner Read more

Students cried as board tried to sabotage their examination.

PHILIPSBURG:--- An RN teacher at NIPA Farrah Busby Richardson had to face police on Tuesday whose students were taking their final examinations in order to graduate.
Police showed up at the school when they were called by the chairman of the supervisory board Antonio Aventurin to escort the teacher out of the school because she submitted her resignation letter to the school stating that her resignation goes into effect as of July 8th after her students finalize their examination on July 7th.
According to information provided to SMN News when police reached the school, they met with Aventurin and was asked why he wanted the teacher removed, after given full explanation police informed Aventurin that he has no grounds to remove the teacher from the school and they left.
The situation on Tuesday created a huge turmoil for the students that were busy taking their examinations, some even called their parents, one parent even went to NIPA screaming saying that the board of NIPA is busy ruining her child’s examination Read more

Local Athlete Travels For Boxing Tournament

PHILIPSBURG – Eighteen-year-old Earl Stephan Duzong Jr. will be travelling with his coach and father Earl Duzong today, July 4, to participate in the “Creole Tournament” in St. Lucia, July 5-9.

Shawn Blair, President of the St. Maarten National Boxing Federation, told 721news that this is Duzong’s first tournament that he will participate in as a full member of AIBA Read more

THE HAGUE/PHILIPSBURG:--- Over the past weekend, scores of Sint Maarteners, attended the 1st of what will now be, yearly Emancipation Day celebrations, at the Cabinet of the Minister Plenipotentiary in The Hague. The packed programme event, started with words of encouragement and a prayer, by Rev. Dr. Keith Lewis of the Holland Methodist Church, the formal address by Minister Plenipotentiary Henrietta Doran-York, a genealogy presentation by former Minister Plenipotentiary Mathias Voges, song and dance by Ms Read more

MARIGOT:--- Former President Aline Hanson who passed away on June 29th at her Pic Paradis home will be laid to rest on Wednesday.
A wake will be held at the MJC in Sandy Ground on Tuesday night. The relatives of the former President will be holding a private ceremony which was arranged by her relatives. Viewing and tributes will begin at 1 pm at the Marigot Catholic Church, while the home going service will commence at 2 pm.
The Collectivity of St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- The St. Maarten Telecommunication Operating Company N.V. (TelEm Group), and its telecommunication vendor-partner MER Group, today announced the signing of a multi-million Guilder turnkey project to provide an Island-wide fiber optic telecommunication infrastructure for the Dutch Caribbean Island.

The NAF 28 Million Guilder Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Project is being financed with a loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB) along with a Bond Issue of the RBC Merchant Bank in Trinidad & Tobago.

Both signing companies expect work to begin on the main network components during the month of August, after a setup and mobilization of resources and equipment on-Island by the Israeli-based company MER Read more

NATO says a 'state actor' was behind the massive ransomware attack and could trigger military response

• NATO says a "state actor" was behind the recent cyber attack.
• The cyber attack could be interpreted as an act of war, triggering Article 5.
• The attack was designed to cause disruption, not to make financial gains, according to experts.

PHILIPSBURG:---- A "state actor" was behind the cyber attack that hit over 12,000 devices in around 65 countries on Tuesday hitting major industries from advertising to oil, according to NATO.
The "Petya" ransomware attack encrypted files on a computer and demanded $300 worth of the cryptocurrency bitcoin in order to unlock them Read more

Education For Us All Beneficiary Graduates From Usm

PHILIPSBURG – Through an intervention of sorts just two years ago by Member of Parliament (MP) Tamara Leonard, a concept was born to attempt to assist one student with a scholarship.

This led to a vision of trying to assist many more that suffered the same fate of that student. This vision eventually led to the establishment of the Education For Us All Foundation (E4UA), an organization whose initiative is to give St Read more

 Condoléances Du Président

SAINT MARTIN — « Je suis très peiné d’apprendre que la Présidente Aline Hanson nous a quittés aujourd’hui. Elle a tenu les rênes de la collectivité jusqu’à la fin de son mandat malgré la maladie. Elle s’est battue jusqu’au bout en faisant preuve d’un grand courage. Nous pouvons tous être fiers de son parcours et de son engagement pour Saint-Martin Read more

St. Martin Culture And Youth To Feature At Emancipation Day Lecture On July 1

GREAT BAY, St. Martin — Dr. Denzil L. Douglas arrived here on Friday to deliver the Emancipation Day Lecture at the University of St. Martin (USM) on Saturday, July 1, 2017, at 8 PM, said the Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF).

The Right Honorable Dr. Douglas, a former Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, will focus on “The Realities of Independence,” the title and theme of the lecture. The culture and youth of St. Martin are also part of the third annual Emancipation lecture program organized by ISMF.

“The moving song ‘St Read more

Prime Minister William Marlin Condolence Message On The Passing Of Aline Hanson 

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — It is with a heavy heart that I received the sad news of the passing of Aline Hanson, the first female president of the Territorial Collectivity of St. Martin. I have had the privilege of knowing her personally for many years. We both shared the same passion for education and politics. Her belief in and love for the whole island was unshakable. Madame President as she was fondly called represented the very best in St Read more

GREAT BAY:--- Dr. Denzil L. Douglas arrived here on Friday to deliver the Emancipation Day Lecture at the University of St. Martin (USM) on Saturday, July 1, 2017, at 8 PM, said the Independence for St. Martin Foundation (ISMF).
The Right Honorable Dr. Douglas, a former Prime Minister of St. Kitts and Nevis, will focus on “The Realities of Independence,” the title and theme of the lecture. The culture and youth of St. Martin are also part of the third annual Emancipation lecture program organized by ISMF.
“The moving song ‘St Read more

PHILIPSBURG/MARIGOT:---- It is with a heavy heart that I received the sad news of the passing of Aline Hanson, the first female president of the Territorial Collectivity of St. Martin. I have had the privilege of knowing her personally for many years. We both shared the same passion for education and politics. Her belief in and love for the whole island was unshakable Read more

Pond Island:---- TelEm Group recently donated 10 copies of Pen on Paper, a collection of articles covering politics, business, and life on St. Maarten/St. Martin, by noted writer and political commentator, Jose Lake Jr, to the University of St. Martin for its ongoing education program.

The books were donated by TelEm Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Kendall Dupersoy to Dean of Academics, Mrs Read more

Condolence Book Open At The Collectivity As Of Monday July 3Rd, 2017.

Flags to be flown at half mass until July 5th.

MARIGOT:--- The Collectivity of St. Martin will open a condolence book at the Collectivity Book as of Monday, July 3rd, 2017 for the general public in honor former President Mrs. Aline Hanson.
President of the Collectivity of St. Martin said in a press release that flags at the Colle Read more

MARIGOT:--- The people of St. Maarten was thrown into mourning late Thursday night when former President Aline Hanson passed away at her Pic Pardis home. Close relatives of the former president confirmed to SMN News that Aline Hanson who was ailing for some time now succumbed to her illness.
During the March COM elections, it was evident that the then President was ailing yet she went against the advice of her doctors to perform her civic duty to oversee the first round of the Territorial Elections Read more

Mp Tamara Leonard Queries Functioning Of Airport, And If There Is Any Truth To Board Member Johan “Alex” Dijkhoffz Threatening To Have Employees In Management Fired.

PHILIPSBURG:--- MP Tamara Leonard claims that in the absence of an official Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs at the time, several questions were posed to the Minister of Justice, Mr. Rafael Boasman who also functioned as acting Minister of Tourism & Economic Affairs.

An attempt to answer these questions took place in the meeting regarding the affairs of the Princess Juliana International Airport, by Minister Mellissa Arrindell-Doncher on June 28th, 2017.

Member of Parliament Tamara Leonard requested the answers from the minister in written form during the adjournment which was not given before the meeting resumed Read more

GREAT BAY:--- Presentation copies of the new book Pen on Paper: St. Martin 1970 – 2001 by Joseph H. Lake, Jr. was recently purchased by NAGICO, said Nzinga Lake, the book’s publicist.
NAGICO’s CEO Imran Mcsood Amjad was also presented with an autographed copy of Pen on Paper by Author Lake, Jr Read more

Former Prosecutor Jailed For 17 Years

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – A former police prosecutor has been jailed for 17 years with hard labour after he was found guilty of raping a then 17-year-old girl who had gone to the police station to make a report 16 years ago.

Justice Althea Alexis-Windsor, sitting in the San Fernando Second Criminal Court on Wednesday, said aggravating factors in the case against Harry Ramlochan were that the accused was a person of trust being a police prosecutor and acting sergeant and there was a level of vulnerability as the girl and her mother had gone to make a report about domestic violence.

The judge said she considered the convict’s age and child’s age at the time of the attack, and the fact that it was her first sexual encounter.

Prosecutor Sabrina Dougdeen-Jaglal had told the court the attack had severely scarred the victim for the rest of her life, saying she hoped that through her resilience, the victim will be able to overcome the effects of the incident.

Jurors took 90 minutes to find Ramlochan, who was 50 years old at the time of the crime, guilty of the offence after a month-long trial.

The woman told the court that on Saturday May 5, 2001 she went with her mother to the San Fernando police station to make a report that her mother had been beaten by a relative.

Ramlochan took the mother inside to make the report and then said he wanted to take a statement from her daughter Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- National Institute of Arts is proud to announce Summer camp to 2017. This year our summer camp will be introducing the circus arts. As the main activity for children as young as 5 to 15.
Nia circus arts will feature aerial training, juggling, balancing acts, acrobatics, basic tumbling skills and many more fun activities for children and teens.

the classes will be conducted by Circus performing artists Olga Subbota and husband Alex Shilai world travelers who have chosen to make St Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Congratulations to His Excellency drs. Eugene Holiday for hosting a timely, well-organized, informative symposium entitled “ICT Governance: Shaping our Future”. The world of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is ever expanding and Sint Maarten needs to get on board before we are left behind. ICT is not only about having faster internet and more computers and smartphones in our society. Rather, it is more about planning, implementing and managing technology in order to promote and enhance the flow of information to and from citizens and to provide efficient service to citizens and to businesses.

Where does Parliament stand in terms of ICT? Very poorly! A few months ago, when reviewing Parliament’s website in terms of the information it provides and how it interacts with the people, it was obvious that in both instances Parliament failed dismally Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of VROMI Christopher Emmanuel sounded the alarm bell on Wednesday when he announced that companies that have been littering the roads with cement they transport will be fined.
The Minister said just recently he was on the streets at 1 am in the morning with the workers that were busy cleaning the roads to conduct repairs Read more

Graduation At The Pointe Blanche Prison

POINTE BLANCHE – On Friday, June 23, 40 inmates of the Pointe Blanche Prison received their certificates for the various courses they followed and successfully completed during a graduation ceremony held at the facility.

Certificates were awarded to the graduates in the fields of Music, Christian education, preparations for GED, Mathematics, Computer classes and the English and Dutch languages.

Among the invited guests were: Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman; representing the Minister of Education was Shermina Powell; members of the commission of supervision of the prison Johannes Schols, Ludwina Hodge and Wilfred Manning; coordinator of education at the Miss Lalie Center Lenrich Wilson; and Public Relations Officer for the Minister of Justice Fernando Clark.

The ceremony started at 9:30am with an opening prayer by Reverend Elfreda Lake followed by words of welcome and inspiration to the graduates by Prison Directors Steven Carty and Wilfred Williams.

Minister Boasman addressed the graduates, urging them to make the right choices in life Read more