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Rain Forest Adventures did not invite SXM Pride

Dear Editor,

I read with interest the article in Monday's paper stating that Rain Forest Adventures met with members of the heritage, culture and environmental groups to share its plans for the Plantations Industry and Golden Rock.

In the article it was stated that Jadira Veen and Rueben Thompson of SXM Pride were not present Read more

Europe unites for bicentenary of battle that made Napoleon history

WATERLOO, Belgium--Kings and commoners gather at Waterloo this week to mark the battle's bicentenary in a show of European unity not seen for a major anniversary at the site since history changed course there on June 18, 1815.

Days of official ceremony, a music-and-fireworks spectacular and re-enactments of the bloody summer day that finally ended Napoleon's French domination of the continent have been heralded by a flurry of academic reassessment of the conflict and renewed debate, and discomfort, over its meaning for Europe today.

At the site, 20 km (12 miles) south of the headquarters of the European Union in the Belgian capital Brussels, descendants of the British, Dutch, Belgian, German and French combatants will gather alongside state representatives in a spirit of unity.

It is a contrast not just to the 1915 centenary, under World War One German occupation, but also to 1965, when France snubbed British events for the 150th anniversary Read more

Dispute regulation top priority for St. Maarten

WILLEMSTAD--Establishing a dispute regulation (geschillenregeling) for the Kingdom will be the number one topic for the St. Maarten delegation today, Tuesday, at the Kingdom Conference in Curaçao, said St. Maarten Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on Monday.

"We think that the agreement that the Parliaments of the Kingdom reached on the dispute regulation during the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultations IPKO in The Hague last month was a good agreement and we hope that all parties at the Kingdom Conference will be ready and willing to reach a final settlement," Gumbs told The Daily Herald.

According to Gumbs, it was time for the Netherlands to show the willingness to work with the three other countries in the Kingdom, Aruba, Curaçao and St Read more

Trinidad PM dismisses Warner’s claim that ganja was found at her house

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad--Another allegation by Jack Warner – this time that marijuana was found at the home of Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar two years ago – has been dismissed.

Persad-Bissessar has told the embattled politician that if he has evidence of the ganja find and subsequent cover-up, he should take it not only to local police but to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) – the same agency that investigated him for alleged corruption at football's world governing body, FIFA.

"More lies and distractions which I have placed in the hands of my lawyers" was the prime minister's response after the Trinidad Express reported yesterday that Warner had submitted a statement to a Justice of the Peace claiming that on April 12, 2013, former deputy commissioner of police Mervyn Richardson came to Parliament and informed him that a packet containing four ounces of marijuana was found outside a window of Persad-Bissessar's private residence.

"Should Mr Warner have any information about any wrongdoing he should take it to the police and the FBI," the prime minister is quoted as saying in today's Trinidad Express.

Warner, who was national security minister at the time, claimed that he, Richardson, former national security adviser Gary Griffith, and Housing Minister Dr Read more

Supreme Court justices refuse to restore North Carolina abortion ultrasound law

WASHINGTON--The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a bid by the state of North Carolina to revive its law requiring women seeking an abortion to have an ultrasound of the fetus performed and described to them by a doctor.

The high court let stand a December appeals court ruling that struck down the 2011 law as unconstitutional because it forced doctors to voice the state's message discouraging abortion. The action does not impact similar measures in other states.

North Carolina lawmakers had argued that requiring narrated ultrasounds would provide crucial information to women making an irrevocable decision, even if they chose to avert their eyes and not listen to the explanation of the displayed fetus images Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Last week sixth grade students from the Seventh Day Adventist Primary School in Cole Bay visited the House of Parliament.

The 27 students and two teachers were given a tour of the House of Parliament besides receiving a power-point presentation from Parliament’s Administrative Assistant Cheryl Dangleben York with respect to the role of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers, and the purpose of the House of Parliament within society.

Students also get the opportunity of role playing where seven act as members of the Council of Ministers while another 15 as Members of Parliament Read more

style="text-align: center;">Is it really the signing of the Integrity protocol why Minister Richardson must go!
I can imagine all of those voters of last election holding their head and bawling with shame knowing that they put this government in place. Don’t blame the politicians, blame yourself. You knew that if you put the same leaders back in office you could not have expected different results than what we are getting today.

Philipsburg:--- Many persons have not being paying much attention to the back and forth discussion regarding the establishment of an Integrity Chamber, especially not those ordinary citizens who are unemployed and those others who can’t make ends meet because of the high cost of living Read more

>PHILIPSBURG: --- The USP board will be holding a board meeting on Tuesday to determine whether or not they will continue to support the current coalition or if they will leave and go back to the opposition benches.
SMN News understands that Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson informed the Council of Ministers and members of the coalition on Friday during the coalition meeting of the letter he received from Member of Parliament Frans Richardson also on Friday who asked him to resign effective immediately.
According to information SMN News received it appears as though several members of the coalition will not be voting for the motion if MP Frans Richardson brings it to the floor of Parliament Read more

Seventh Day Adventist School Grade Six Students Visit Parliament

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Last week sixth grade students from the Seventh Day Adventist Primary School in Cole Bay visited the House of Parliament.

The 27 students and two teachers were given a tour of the House of Parliament besides receiving a power-point presentation from Parliament's Administrative Assistant Cheryl Dangleben York with respect to the role of Members of Parliament (MPs) and Ministers, and the purpose of the House of Parliament within society.

Students also get the opportunity of role playing where seven act as members of the Council of Ministers while another 15 as Members of Parliament Read more

Does USP know something?

Everyone may think of United St. Maarten Party (USP) leader Frans Richardson what they want. Elected into Parliament on the slate of National Alliance (NA) in 2010, he left the party and kept his seat.

Together with the other independent parliamentarians Romain Laville and Patrick Illidge who had broken with respectively United People's (UP) party and NA, he orchestrated the so-called "Carnival coup" of 2012 to bring about a change in government that lasted one year.

Richardson then established USP, which earned two seats in its first election of September 2014 Read more

Airport renovates departure lounge

AIRPORT--Outbound passengers using Princess Juliana International Airport SXM, would have noticed a significant change to the Departure Lounge, which has received a transformative face-lift as part of the airport's new retail strategy.

The new Departure Lounge will be officially opened on Wednesday, June 17, at a ceremony that will begin at 7:30pm. Governor Eugene Holiday and Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs are among the invited guests to the opening ceremony of the remodelled Departure Lounge.

All of the members of the Council of Ministers and of Parliament, as well as government leaders from all the hub partners are invited guests.

"The renovated Departure Lounge forms an integral part of SXM Airport's Capital Improvement Program Read more

RFA meets reps of culture & heritage

PHILIPSBURG--Rain Forest Adventures (RFA) recently shared its plans for the Plantations Industry and Golden Rock (commonly called Emilio Wilson Estate) with members of the heritage, culture and environmental groups as well as other stakeholders.

"The meeting ended in a commitment to continue working together and incorporating best ideas and practices as the project develops," John Dalton of Rain Forest Adventures told The Daily Herald via e-mail on Sunday.

Dalton shared with attendees' his company's objective to showcase St Read more

Law to ban tobacco use in public soon for Parliament

PHILIPSBURG--A law that seeks to ban the use of tobacco and tobacco products (cigarettes and cigars) in public spaces, workplaces and on public transportation will soon be before Parliament for debate and approval.

The draft amendment to the country's existing regulations in tobacco use is on the initiative of independent Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever Read more

Lorenzo cuts Rossi's MotoGP lead to one

BARCELONA-- Yamaha's Jorge Lorenzo slashed team mate Valentino Rossi's championship lead to a single point on Sunday with his fourth win in a row at an eventful Catalan Grand Prix.
  The victory on a scorching afternoon also handed the Spaniard a MotoGP record with 103 successive laps led, breaking Australian Casey Stoner's previous benchmark of 88.
  Rossi completed a one-two finish for Yamaha, the team's second of the season, while Honda's Dani Pedrosa was third.
  "The conditions were difficult as it was very hot," Lorenzo told reporters Read more

St. Maarten might be looking at new elections at the Expense of the People – Is there a stand off?

style="text-align: center;">St. Maarten has a Constitution that must be respected.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The current coalition government have a real problem on their hands to solve, now that MP Frans Richardson has asked the Minister of Justice by way of letter to resign effective immediately.
Political pundits says that MP Frans Richardson is getting ahead of himself and that he needs to know that St Read more

National Alliance Concerned About Dismissal Of Nipa Director

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - In light of the recent dismissal of the director of National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA), Vernon Richards, Deputy Leader of the National Alliance and chairperson of the committee for Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs of Parliament, the Honorable Read more

EXCLUSIVE: --- GEBE Board asked to Resign --- UP Leader called GEBE board members and asked them to make their positions Available.

>PHILIPSBURG: --- Reliable information reaching SMN News states that the leader of the United Peoples Party Theodore Heyliger contacted each of the members of the Supervisory Board of GEBE and asked them to make their positions available Read more

Editorial - The sooner the better

It seems the Gumbs cabinet has become embroiled in separate disputes (see Friday paper) with the boards of two public-sector entities on decisions regarding their directors.

At utilities provider GEBE Romelio Maduro was suspended, placed on non-active duty and said not to be legally appointed in any function, despite the fact that Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs on behalf of the shareholder had informed the Supervisory Board recently that he couldn’t honour their request not to extend Maduro’s contract and in fact had decided to extend such for another two years pending an investigation.

At National Institute for Professional Advancement (NIPA) Education Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs advised the board to reverse its earlier dismissal of director Vernon Richards for organising, allegedly without proper authorisation, an Open Day that the minister also attended.

The two cases are different in that GEBE is a state-owned company and NIPA a Government-subsidised foundation, but the similarity lies in the fact that their boards have a certain degree of statutory autonomy compared to, for example, Government departments Read more

Stakeholders reconvene on EVT Economic Framework

PHILIPSBURG--Stakeholders reconvened on Friday morning for a follow-up session on the draft National Economic Framework that was presented three weeks ago by the Department of Economic Affairs, Transportation and Telecommunication EVT.

The EVT team has been collecting and compiling feedback in the meantime and the goal of this second session was to share overall feedback and discuss goals, methods and avenues.

Along with taking additional feedback, one of the results of the meeting was the establishment of expert "sub-workgroups" for a number of sectors, with the aim of the groups being able to execute visions as outlined in an "holistic vision document" that would be preceded by sector-specific discussions and research between private and public bodies: telecommunications, tourism, marine, creative, agriculture, finance and real estate.

Through demand on the part of the audience, environment was also added to the list.

Robbie Ferron, one of the more vocal attendees, told Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor and the EVT team that he expected the "big hitters" in government as well as the private sector to join these groups.

"This is the chance to prove yourselves," he asserted, this sentiment in line with that of many stakeholders, of the private sector in particular, that the first session felt like a repeat of past, shelved initiatives.

The groups will be key to progress, according to TEATT Secretary-General Miguel De Weever, and will counteract the chance of the framework remaining unfulfilled as feared Read more

AUC wins tax appeal, NAf. 70 mil claim off

PHILIPSBURG--The former owner of American University of the Caribbean (AUC) at Cupecoy won its case against the Tax Inspectorate of St. Maarten before the Tax Court in Philipsburg on Thursday. The court ruled the appeal admissible and destroyed the decision to impose an additional profit tax assessment of 61.4 million guilders, plus 9.2 million in fines.

The additional assessment was issued on April 27, 2012, on 2011 profit tax of the company that is part of a group owned by a Cayman Islands-based holding Read more

Protests against cutting Statia Marine Park in half

~ Free-for-all in designated reserves ~

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE--The St. Eustatius National Marine Park has been reduced by a near 50 per cent through a decision of the St. Eustatius Government. Without the necessary control it basically means the end of the park which will now only consist of the Atlantic side of the island and the reserve at Gallows Bay to make way for the harbour. And, in absence of a legal status, local fishermen have started fishing in the reserves.

The Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) and affiliated nature organisations are extremely disappointed and had asked National Government Representative Gilbert Isabella earlier this week to annul the amendment to the local Maritime Environment Ordinance.

The reduction of the St Read more

Justice Minister asked to resign by US Party

PHILIPSBURG--United St. Maarten Party (USP) has requested that Justice Minister Dennis Richardson resign. The request was presented in a letter to the minister delivered on Friday afternoon.

Minister Richardson did not confirm to The Daily Herald whether he had received the letter. He said he was “not commenting” on internal coalition or political parties’ matters.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has indicated already that should the Justice Minister be faced with any vote of no confidence in Parliament the entire cabinet also would resign Read more

India's economic data bring cheer

NEW DELHI--India's industrial production output grew more than expected in April, reaching a two-month high, and retail inflation edged up in May, easing concern over an economy facing the worst drought since 2009.
  Output at factories, mines and utilities grew at an annual rate of 4.1 percent in April, the fastest pace since February. That was higher than March's 2.5 percent growth and the 1.6 percent economists forecast in a Reuters poll.
  Consumer inflation in May rose to 5.01 percent from 4.87 percent in the previous month on higher energy costs Read more

‘Excusez-moi?’ – Muppet time for Astrid on Statia

Dear Editor,

"Statia needs me and I am now heading home!" With these words, Statia Commissioner of Finance Astrid McKenzie-Tatem stormed out of her meeting with the Dutch Government because of the imposition of higher financial supervision. It was all rather reminiscent of a Miss Piggy fight with Kermit the frog!

However, whereas the Muppets are puppets and we expect them to behave like puppets, politicians are not. But they do have a political stage. How you say something and how you do something is just as important as what you say and what you do.

In the case of our new Commissioner of Finance, she has done very little Read more