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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

Editorial - Its very existence

Wednesday's Central Committee of Parliament session to discuss a comprehensive approach to achieve short-term results against the current spate of crime is certainly timely in light of recent events (see related stories). Within the past week alone two armed robbers were shot dead by money transport security guards of whom one also was injured, someone fired several bullets into the cashier's window of a casino and made off with cash, while a man was gunned down at a pool bar in Cay Hill.

According to reports from Curaçao, the latter is believed to have been a gang member there of the No Limit Soldiers (NLS) in Koraal Specht who also was said to have been detained, but later released, for the fatal shooting of Jean-No Sanon in Cole Bay on October 27, 2014 Read more

BREAKING NEWS: At least one Minister Agreed to Resign on Tuesday to avoid Unrest – Reliable Sources.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- At least one of the eight Ministers that are part of the Gumbs cabinet has agreed to submit his resignation on Tuesday to the Governor of St. Maarten. SMN News learnt that Minister Claret Connor who was removed from the Ministry of TEATT and placed at the Ministry of VROMI has agreed to break the stand-off in order to avoid an unrest by the people of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, headed the Council of Ministers delegation that attended an Ecumenical Church Service in commemoration of Constitution Day, 12 October, which took place at St. Simon & St. Jude Anglican Church on Back Street, Philipsburg, on Monday.
Also in attendance was His Excellency Governor Eugene Holiday and Mrs Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:----- Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo, has notified the current President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson and Secretary Generals, that effective immediately, the position held as Vice Chair is made available.

MP Marlin-Romeo duly notes that there is a new majority in Parliament and therefore, the appointment of the new chairmanship must transpire.

In order to facilitate the process, notice was given to the respective persons in order for the new appointment to continue.

Press Release MP Leona Marlin Romeo

Editors note:- Now that the Independent Member of Parliament who jumped ship from the USP to support the UPP/ De Weever coalition has made her position as vice chair available citing that there is a new majority in Parliament, the Member of Parliament did not say if she will continue doing the honorable thing by having the Minister she appointed tender his resignation Read more

Where is PAR 1? Vehicle allegedly used to do Chairman of Parliament private work.

style="text-align: center;">Civil Servants may start go-slow on Tuesday.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Questions are now being asked as to where is the government owned vehicle with license plate PAR 1 that is assigned to the chairman of Parliament MP Lloyd Richardson. SMN News understands that ever since MP Richardson was appointed chairman of Parliament he was given the vehicle a black Viracruz that was special ordered by former chairlady of Parliament Gracita Arrindell.
SMN News further learned that the chairman of Parliament was allowed to hire his own driver which he did but that person never drove the Chairman of Parliament or even report to work.
That driver Frank Bruney who is on Parliament’s payroll never showed up to Parliament and does not drive around with MP Lloyd Richardson Read more

Gumbs cabinet has no authority to sign new LB’s, they are considered as demissionair cabinet that should submit their resignations --- Letter sent to Plasterk by Governor.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Council of Ministers got advices from four legal and constitutional experts. All of which SMN News managed to obtain. However, no one is speaking about the letter Governor Eugene Holiday sent to Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs and Minister of Interior and Overseas Affairs Ronald Plasterk where he informed both parties that he cannot honor the Landsbesluit sent to him by Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs asking that the Parliament of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- On September 25th and 26th a conference on elderly care was held for medical professionals. The conference was organized by a collaboration platform of the Ministry, Health Care institutions, the AUC and the NASKHO and hosted by the AUC in Cupecoy.
With an attendance of about 150 health care professionals, including participants from Statia and Saba, the conference was very successful Read more

Elderly Care Conference Very Succesful

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - On September 25th and 26th a conference on elderly care was held for medical professionals. The conference was organized by a collaboration platform of the Ministry, Health Care institutions, the AUC and the NASKHO and hosted by the AUC in Cupecoy.

With an attendance of about 150 health care professionals, including participants from Statia and Saba, the conference was very successful Read more

Mp Leona Marlin-Romeo Makes Vice President Of Parliament Position Available

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Independent Member of Parliament (MP) Leona Marlin-Romeo, has notified the current President of Parliament Hon. Dr. Lloyd Richardson and Secretary Generals, that effective immediately, the position held as Vice Chair is made available.

MP Marlin-Romeo duly notes that there is a new majority in Parliament and therefore, the appointment of the new chairmanship must transpire. 

In order to facilitate the process, notice was given to the respective persons in order for the new appointment to continue Read more

I Am Sxm, Education For Us All Foundation Launches Scholarship Project

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - A new opportunity for higher education is now available for the islands students.

Scholarships have been made available through the I Am SXM, Education for us all Foundation.

The project is the brain child of MP Tamara Leonard who gave an outline of the requirements which are to be met by the students who are desirous of obtaining a scholarship Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Several political parties met with their membership during the end of last week and even on Saturday evening to discuss a way forward in this political crisis facing St. Maarten. According to leader of the National Alliance who was on PJD-2 radio on Sunday said that the people of St. Maarten have decided to give the current Council of Ministers until Tuesday to tender their resignation and submit it to the governor of St Read more

PRESS RELEASE: NATIONAL ADDRESS BY PM GUMBS

My fellow St. Maarteners,

I want to address you now directly, after a week of political turmoil which has culminated in a constitutional crisis. The outcome of this crisis will determine the democratic future of St. Maarten. So it is extremely important that everyone, young and old, understand what it constitutes.

The legal nature of this crisis however is very complicated, although for some of us it seems to be so simple. You may have followed the discussions in the press Read more

DP proposes short-term cabinet, electoral reform, election in a year

DP members Giselle York, Sarah Wescot-Williams (leader and MP) and Emil Lee.

PHILIPSBURG--Because snap elections will not solve ship-jumping amongst Members of Parliament, the Democratic Party (DP) says that if it boils down to elections having to be held in the country, the current majority coalition should be given a chance to appoint a “serious” cabinet for 12 months and mandate Parliament to complete electoral reform in a year so that this can be incorporated in the next elections.

DP leader Sarah Wescot-Williams said the party recognised that Governor Eugene Holiday was faced with two basic decisions Read more

Editorial - No real change

As the constitutional impasse continues and people reflect on five years of country status, a remark made by NA leader William Marlin on Oral Gibbes Live caught the attention. He was talking about political instability and the phenomenon of “ship-jumping” that has been so prevalent since 10-10-10.

In his opinion a revision made to the electoral laws whereby seats – then in the Island Council and now in Parliament – are given out according to the number of individual votes and no longer according to positions on candidate lists has something to do with it Read more

MOU to bring second-chance tertiary education opportunity

PHILIPSBURG--An initiative by I Am SXM Foundation/Education For Us All that aims to bring education opportunities to the youth, in particular those who are hard workers but are disadvantaged through circumstance, achieved a milestone on Friday with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with University of St. Martin (USM).

The MOU was signed in the presence of Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs, the initiative’s first applicant Angela Brown and a number of representatives of each party.

The aim is to address a gap between students who may well be top performers and access to higher education, in particular when lack of the Dutch nationality gets in the way Read more

PM weighs in on ‘political turmoil’

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister (PM) Marcel Gumbs issued a statement on Friday in which he weighed in on the current “political turmoil” that has gripped the country for just over a week since he and his cabinet members refused to make their positions available after Parliament passed a no-confidence motion against them on September 30.

In an address to the nation, Gumbs said the legal nature of the “crisis” was “very complicated,” and he wanted to “explain what is going on in plain St 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

>PHILIPSBURG/PORT OF SPAIN:--- St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance For Equality (SAFE) Foundation President, Lysanne Charles-Arrindell and Treasurer, Nadjesca Gumbs are currently in Trinidad attending the 3rd annual Caribbean Women & Sexual Diversity Conference.
The conference, which runs from October 5 – October 11, 2015, brings together lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered (LBT) women from across the region and western hemisphere for advocacy training and networking.
This year the conference covers topics such as community grassroots organizing, negative stereotypes and violence, media and advocacy, creative activism, grassroots fundraising, self-care/financial health, UN mechanisms (CEDAW/Commission on the Status of Women), LBT Sisterhood, Women’s Sexual & Mental Health, Security for Human Rights Defenders, Afro-centric Activism, Presentation Skills, LBT Women’s Movement Building/Feminism, Focus Groups on Activism Against Gender-based Violence Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- The next generation of Artist are The Vanguards. This award honors those artist that preserver against all the odds creating and maintaing their craft in country that is still in its infancy, and no clear infra structure to support those artists creating their artistry in St.Maarten.

The Vanguard Award recipients are:
Evelyne Fleming
Isidore York

Every year new artists are born and embark on their artistic journey. There those that stand out for their level of excellence, dedication, and commitment to their craft.

This year Emerging Artist Award recipients are:
Keila Michelle Gumbs
David Colas better known as D.Kullus

The National Institute of Arts recognizes that Arts and Culture play vital roles in celebrating the story of our humanity 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.

style="text-align: center;">GEBE not paying for Minister’s ticket.

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

style="text-align: center;">My fellow St. Maarteners,

I want to address you now directly, after a week of political turmoil which has culminated in a constitutional crisis. The outcome of this crisis will determine the democratic future of St. Maarten. So it is extremely important that everyone, young and old, understand what it constitutes.

The legal nature of this crisis however is very complicated, although for some of us it seems to be so simple. You may have followed the discussions in the press Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  On this Constitution Day, we mark five years of St. Maarten having obtained country status within the Kingdom. As we reflect on the experiences that have helped to shape the country we are today, it is important that we all acknowledge our continued role in building a St. Maarten we can be proud of, a nation that is an example to the region. Building a nation is no simple task; there are countless factors to consider. There is a path that we travel on as our little country continues to grow Read more

Local Lgbt Activists At Cwsdc 2015

PHILIPSBURG/PORT OF SPAIN – St. Maarten/St. Martin Alliance For Equality (SAFE) Foundation President, Lysanne Charles-Arrindell and Treasurer, Nadjesca Gumbs are currently in Trinidad attending the 3rd annual Caribbean Women & Sexual Diversity Conference.

The conference, which runs from October 5 – October 11, 2015, brings together lesbian, bi-sexual and transgendered (LBT) women from across the region and western hemisphere for advocacy training and networking.

This year the conference covers topics such as community grassroots organizing, negative stereotypes and violence, media and advocacy, creative activism, grassroots fundraising, self-care/financial health, UN mechanisms (CEDAW/Commission on the Status of Women), LBT Sisterhood, Women’s Sexual & Mental Health, Security for Human Rights Defenders, Afro-centric Activism, Presentation Skills, LBT Women’s Movement Building/Feminism, Focus Groups on Activism Against Gender-based Violence Read more