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>PHILIPSBURG:---- Member of Parliament George Pantophlet has dispatched two letters to the Chairman of Parliament where he posed several questions regarding civil servants and other persons that currently working for the government of St. Maarten and those that have left. MP Pantophlet wants to know how many Ministries were filled in the last two years and by whom Read more

Family Reading Evening at the library

>PHILIPSBURG:---The Philipsburg Jubilee Library, in collaboration with the department of Social Services and Section Labor Market (SOD/SLM) have officially launched a new literacy program with a family reading evening that was held in the library. The family literacy evening was initiated to involve parents as well their children in a literacy event that is aimed toward promoting reading in general and encouraging parents to read to their children Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- Hon. Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs expresses his deepest sympathy on behalf of his family and the Government of Sint Maarten to his wife Irma Mulder-Beauperthuy, members of the family circle and friends of social/community-minded Frans Mulder who passed away over the weekend.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Mulder will be remembered for his contributions made to the Sint Maarten community especially to the While and Yellow Cross Foundation which he served for 35-years.

Mulder arrived on the island in the 1960s and established Sint Maarten as his home.

He built several businesses, and was a Managing Director of the former Spritzer and Fuhrman, and played a key role in the development of the former St Read more

Mp Lake Says Usm Has To Become National University For The Country

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – The University of St. Martin (USM) needs to become the national university of the country.

United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament (MP) Hon. Maurice Lake, who is a member of parliament's permanent Committee for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports Affairs (CECYSA), says, if Sint Maarten is really serious about education, priority has to be given to the development of USM as a national university.

During the CECYSA session in the House of Parliament on Wednesday, MP Lake posed a number of questions with respect to developments at USM and to the Minister of Education with respect to government's position regarding a number of areas.

"USM has developed very slowly, but not fast enough Read more

Delegation For Ipko Departs For The Netherlands On Friday

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – From May 27-29, 2015 delegations from the Parliaments of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten will be meeting in The Hague, the Netherlands for the Inter-parliamentary Kingdom Consultations (IPKO).

The four parliamentary delegations will be discussing a number of issues that include the following: feedback from workgroup education (especially where DUO-study financing and repayment is concerned), workgroup energy matters, health care and the Health Care Conference to take place in Aruba June 1-4, 2015, workgroup youth affairs, workgroup economic opportunities, workgroup integrity and workgroup discrimination.

Integrity, dispute regulation and the draft initiative Kingdom Law to amend articles 14 and 38 of the Kingdom Charter of (former) Second Chamber Member Van Oven are also on the agenda to be discussed Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs Expresses Condolences To The Families Of The Late Frans Mulder

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Hon. Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs expresses his deepest sympathy on behalf of his family and the Government of Sint Maarten to his wife Irma Mulder-Beauperthuy, members of the family circle and friends of social/community-minded Frans Mulder who passed away over the weekend.

The Prime Minister pointed out that Mulder will be remembered for his contributions made to the Sint Maarten community especially to the While and Yellow Cross Foundation which he served for 35-years.

Mulder arrived on the island in the 1960s and established Sint Maarten as his home.

He built several businesses, and was a Managing Director of the former Spritzer and Fuhrman, and played a key role in the development of the former St Read more

Putting people first focus of ICG/CARIBE EWS Meeting

 PHILIPSBURG--The need for a paradigm shift in disaster risk management to “put people at the centre” of preparedness, “instead of the last” was expounded on by Christa Hillebrandt-Andrade, Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Coordination Group for the Tsunami and Other Coastal Hazards Warning System for the Caribbean and Adjacent Regions ICG/CARIBE EWS-X.

Hillebrandt-Andrade, speaking Tuesday morning at the opening in the group’s three-day meeting at Sonesta Great Bay Beach Resort and Spa, added that the community must be kept “front and centre” in preparedness, especially with more and more people moving to coastal areas.

“Tsunami is no longer a forgotten danger in the Caribbean,” she said, calling for “the development of a culture of evacuation” to reduce risks in times of disaster Read more

Foster homes outline challenges to MPs

~Midwives withholding birth paper a concern~

PHILIPSBURG--Midwives withholding the birth certificates of babies, whose parents did not pay for the delivery was one of several concerns expressed by representatives of three children's homes during a meeting of Parliament's Permanent Committee of Justice on Tuesday morning.

Representatives of the homes outlined the challenges that children in foster care, who are without the birth paper, face during the meeting. I Can Children's Home President Cassandra Gibbs said there were two undocumented children in I Can who do not have birth certificates, as these were withheld by the midwife for lack of payment for the delivery.

She said not having a birth certificate is an impediment to many things for these children Read more

Judge pressures State Dept. on Clinton emails release

WASHINGTON--A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the U.S. State Department to produce a plan to release batches of Hillary Clinton's emails from her time there, raising the prospect of months of drip-by-drip disclosures that could plague her presidential campaign.
  U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered the State Department to prepare a timetable by next week for the rolling release of the 55,000 pages of emails sent and received by Clinton, according to a court document. It was a rebuke to the State Department, which had said on Monday it might need until January 2016 to produce the emails.
  Republicans want the emails to be made public soon to cast more light on Clinton's term as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, a time when the United States struggled to reset relations with Russia and develop a strategy for Syria's civil war.
  The judge also told the State Department to present a schedule in the coming days for releasing 300 Clinton emails related to U.S Read more

Mindful moments on raging children

Dear Editor,

Be Kind; Everyone You Meet is Fighting a Hard Battle ~ Plato.

When one practices mindfulness, one practices feeling the body as it experiences emotions. Emotions are felt in its most miniscule form. Anxiety, for example, is a very uncomfortable emotion to bear; it is also a precursor to rage. Any outburst of a raging scene starts with the seed of anxiety, so fear.

In certain societies, rage is naturally accepted as response and reaction to situations that arise Read more

88 kids under court mandated protection

PHILIPSBURG--There are 88 minor children under court-mandated protection as of this month, according to the Court of Guardianship.

Of those 88 children, 34 are still living at home with their parents, but will receive regular protection checkups. Seven children are with foster families and 47 are in foster homes operated by a number of foundations.

Court of Guardianship head Richelda Emmanuel told Parliament’s Justice Committee on Tuesday afternoon that Government was responsible only for the upkeep of children under court-mandated protection.

Children placed in foster homes by parents or guardians are not covered and their upkeep remains the responsibility of their parent or legal guardian as outlined in the Civil Code of the country Read more

Court awards damages to SZV chief financial officer

PHILIPSBURG--The Court of First Instance has awarded damages to the tune of NAf. 62.052 to former Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Social and Health Care Insurance SZV John Mario Zaandam, it emerged Tuesday. Zaandam had filed a lawsuit against his former employer after SZV had decided not to renew his one-year contract, which expired November 1, 2014.

Zaandam contested the legality of his dismissal and requested the Court to order SZV to continue the labour agreement and reinstate him in permanent employment Read more

>Belair:---  The consensus among the over 200 attendees at Leadercast 2015 hosted by Victorious Living Foundation, was that Leadercast was inspiring, impressive, enlightening and rejuvenating. "It was really a pleasure and an inspiration to attend Leadercast once again. I was very impressed with the professional reception of the staff and the organization of the whole event. I am proud to see our local people so involved in professionalizing and upgrading in all fields of production and service Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--– Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, recently presented the I-CAN Foster Home a pumpkin that he received from the school garden at the Seventh Day Adventist School that he visited last week.

"I would like to thank the Seventh Day Adventist School for the donation of the pumpkin grown in their school garden Read more

Electoral Council may soon consider penalty for party

PHILIPSBURG--The Electoral Council may soon be forced to consider imposing a financial penalty on one of the eight political parties registered for the 2014 Parliamentary Election that has failed to submit its annual report to the Council.

All registered political parties had up to February 1 to submit all their donation registries and annual financial reports to the Council as required under the National Ordinance on the Registration and Financing of Political Parties. To date, one party is in default of its legal obligations.

Electoral Council Chairman Attorney Bert Hoffman told The Daily Herald the Council would inform the party via letter that it must get its financial business "in order or face penalties." The Council still has to decide on the exact amount of the penalty.

Hoffman declined to give the name of the defaulting party, only saying they know who they are Read more

Tourism organisations host taxi driver workshop

COLE BAY--The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau and Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) jointly launched a week-long training programme called “The successful taxi driver workshop” on Monday at the Carl & Sons conference facilities in Cole Bay.

Some 22 taxi drivers were present for the start of the workshop, and will have to attend every eight-hour-daily course up to Friday in order to successfully complete the workshop.

The workshop provided is targeted to the workers because of their close and frequent contact with tourists, and their position to form a first impression Read more

Semsamar announces plans for its 30th anniversary celebration

MARIGOT--The Semsamar board announced a number of events will take place in June for its 30th anniversary celebration at a press conference Monday.

The mixed capital company was formed by public and private partnerships on June 20, 1985, and now operates in St. Martin, Guadeloupe, Martinique, and French Guiana.

The anniversary will not only highlight Semsamar’s achievements over 30 years in the development of St. Martin but also promote its social objectives. As President Wendel Cocks points out, the company is not only concerned with construction of housing but equally interested in enhancing the way of life for tenants and residents in housing through social programmes and activities Read more

Ministers to face MPs this week about missing info

PHILIPSBURG--Ministers of the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet are to be called before Parliament's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations to provide information the committee has requested for several months.

The committee became displeased two weeks ago with the sluggish pace of government's response and issued a 48-hour deadline for all information to be submitted Read more

Prosecutor’s Office Still Brain Storming on which Law Enforcement Agency will conduct SZV Card selling Investigation.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The Public Prosecutor's office is yet to take a decision as to which law enforcement agency will conduct the SZV card selling scam confirmed press prosecutor Tineke Kamps. Kamps told SMN News that they are at the beginning stages of the investigation. She said one of the set-backs the prosecution has was to  decide whether or not KPSM or the Landsrecherché would handle the investigation. Kamps said that at this point she could not divulge which of the justice department will conduct the investigation but she did say that some things are happening.
In the meantime, management of SZV filed a criminal complaint against the employee whom they suspended for allegedly selling SZV medical insurance cards Read more

GEBE Supervisory Board sends home COO for Irregularities and Mismanagement – Reliable Sources --- Allegations against Gartner Proven, No Sanctions Taken (UPDATED)

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The supervisory board of GEBE dismissed the Chief Operations Officer (COO)Romelio Maduro of the company on Tuesday. According to information coming from a board member they had to take the decision when they found gross irregularities and mismanagement of the company. Maduro became COO about three years ago. No details of the irregularies or mismanagement have been disclosed.
Ever since Maduro took office the company have been making the news almost every week in a negative light.
Another person the supervisory board is looking at is the Chief Financial Officer Rene Gartner whom they were investigating for the abuse of the company's credit card.
SMN News wrote that story some weeks ago when the board found out that Gartner bought airline tickets to the Netherlands with GEBE credit cards for his personal use.

SMN News learnt that Maduro was called in on Monday where  he attended a short meeting with the Human Resources Manager and then left,  The source said that Maduro was informed of the Board's decision on Tuesday and since then he did not return to work up until Monday morning when he attended a short meeting then left the premises Read more

>PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, endorses the upcoming Rotaract District 7020 Conference 2015 which will be taking place here under the banner, "Helping Hands, Touching Hearts, Changing Lives."

Rotaract is a service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30 who are dedicated to community and international service Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- SMN News received two phone calls on Monday  from two adults in Colombia who wanted to know if there is any restaurant or club by the name of "Lucky Shot" on St. Maarten. The two adults said that since the Minister of Foreign Relations of the Kingdom and Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs announced that they have decided to waive the visa requirements for Columbians travelling to Curacao and St Read more

Minister Connor To Be A Presenter At Rotaract District 7020 Conference 2015

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, endorses the upcoming Rotaract District 7020 Conference 2015 which will be taking place here under the banner, "Helping Hands, Touching Hearts, Changing Lives."

Rotaract is a service club for young men and women ages 18 to 30 who are dedicated to community and international service Read more

Minister Connor Presents School Garden Pumpkin To I-Can Foster Home

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor, recently presented the I-CAN Foster Home a pumpkin that he received from the school garden at the Seventh Day Adventist School that he visited last week.

"I would like to thank the Seventh Day Adventist School for the donation of the pumpkin grown in their school garden.

I am happy to have been able to present to I-CAN Foundation the pumpkin for their supper Read more