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Japan opposition Democrats turn to familiar face to try to turn fortunes

TOKYO--Japan's opposition Democratic Party elected former foreign minister Katsuya Okada as its leader on Sunday, turning to a familiar face to try to persuade voters it can again become a viable alternative to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's ruling party.

Okada, 61, must try to repair the Democratic Party of Japan's (DPJ) battered image two years after Abe led his conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) to power pledging to revive the economy and strengthen defence policies.

"I want to make the DPJ a party that the people believe can take responsibility for a change in government, and fight fairly and firmly with Abe's LDP," Okada told a party convention after his election to the post he held a decade ago.

A mix of former LDP members, ex-socialists and centrists, the DPJ surged to power in 2009 on a promise to focus on consumers rather than big firms and other vested interests Read more

Middle class decline looms over final years of Obama presidency

DALTON, Georgia--Barack Obama enters the final two years of his presidency with a blemish on his legacy that looks impossible to erase: the decline of the middle class he has promised to rescue.
  The revival of middle-class jobs has been one of Obama's mantras since he took office in 2009 fighting the worst economic crisis in generations. It was a major theme of his last State of the Union address and is expected to feature in the one scheduled for Tuesday.
  Administration officials said on Saturday the president would propose higher capital gains taxes, new fees on large financial firms, and other measures to raise $320 billion for programs and tax breaks aimed at the middle class.
  Obama's administration can take credit for stabilizing the U.S Read more

Parliament starts budget handling this Thursday

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament will begin its handling of the draft 2015 budget in a Central Committee as of Thursday from 9:00am in Parliament House. Finance Minister Martin Hassink is expected to make a presentation on the budget to Parliament.

The draft budget stands at some NAf. 445 million with investments and capital expenditures set at some NAf Read more

Gumbs: Screening of ministers under Wescot-Williams’ watch

PHILIPSBURG--Minister-candidates who are now ministers in the Gumbs Cabinet were screened during the tenure of now-former Prime Minister/General Affairs Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, said Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs in response to questions posed by the same Wescot-Williams, now a Member of Parliament, about the screening and the involvement of the Dutch Secret Service in the process.

Wescot-Williams sent her questions about the screening to Gumbs on January 13 via Parliament Chairman Dr Read more

PM submits declarations of assets to Advisory Council

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has submitted to the Advisory Council his declarations and notifications of assets, holdings, secondary positions and interests, those of the other five new ministers and of ministers who served in the Wescot-Williams III Cabinet.

The submission is in accordance with the National Ordinance Promotion of the Integrity of Ministers.

The declarations were submitted on Friday, three days before the stipulated 30-day deadline for submission by new ministers and persons who have ceased to be ministers.

The submission to the Advisory Council followed a similar submission to the Electoral Council that was tied to the National Ordinance Registration and Finances of Political Parties Read more

‘Specialised structures for youth in difficulties needed’ says General

MARIGOT--General Bertrand Soubelet, Head of the Gendarmerie in the Overseas Territories has called for more specialised structures to assist youth in difficulties in the on-going quest to reduce delinquency, at a closed meeting held with President Aline Hanson on Friday.

"The Brigade for the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency (BPDJ) intervenes in the schools, but it is more important to create these specialised structures to prevent re-occurrences of crimes, which will also work on re-integrating these young offenders into society again," he suggested Read more

Sarah: Hassink has ‘no choice’

~But to release BTP report~

PHILIPSBURG--The recent call by Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) to government to make publicly available the Government Accountants Bureau SOAB report, appraisal reports and advice on the bureau to put an end to fraud allegations has left Finance Minister Martin Hassink "no choice" but to explain to Parliament the hierarchical structure of BTP, said Democratic Party (DP) Leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams in a statement Sunday.

"I eagerly await the Finance Minister's reaction to this sudden outburst by BTP," Wescot-Williams said.

BTP said in a press statement on Friday that neither its present supervisory board nor management "ever took a decision to purchase a building Read more

Camelia-Römer substitute for law review committee

WILLEMSTAD/PHILIPSBURG--Former Netherlands Antilles Prime Minister Suzy Camelia-Römer has been nominated as a substitute member for St. Maarten on the Committee for Evaluation of the Kingdom Laws. She will deputize for committee member Judge Jacob "Bob" Wit.

The office of Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs confirmed on Sunday evening that Camelia-Römer has been approached to substitute for Wit.

The committee will evaluate four consensus kingdom laws covering the police, the Prosecutor's Office, the Joint Court of Justice and the Council for Law Enforcement Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Parliament has been asked in an indirect way to give the Government of St. Maarten some time to get its feet wet, but events in rapid succession are demanding Parliament's attention, and government is called to respond with equal urgency.
How else can one explain the sudden outburst by the Bureau Telecommunication and Post (BTP) in the press of Saturday, January 17th?
To understand the anomaly of this and put this matter in perspective, we need to understand the organization of the institution BTP.
This institution is created by law to execute a public task Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs has submitted to the Council of Advice the written declarations and notifications (assets/holdings, secondary positions/interests) of the new Ministers as well as those of the Ministers of the former cabinet in accordance with the National Ordinance Promotion of the Integrity of Ministers (Landsverordening Integriteitbevordering Ministers).

The declarations were submitted on Friday, January 16, three days before the legally stipulated deadline of 30 from when the Ministers were sworn in and accepted the appointment as a minister and within 30 days of the date on which the former Ministers ceases to be a Minister Read more

PM Gumbs responds to Wescot-Williams on Dutch Secret Service.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister the Hon. Marcel Gumbs has responded, via official letter, to the questions by Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams as submitted to the Chairman of Parliament via letter dated January 13, 2015 Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Finance the Hon. Martin Hassink on Friday, January 16, presented the 2015 draft Country Budget to Parliament. Minister Hassink presented the budget to the Chairman of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson and the Presidium of Parliament in the persons of Member of Parliament Cornelius DeWeever and Member of Parliame Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Marcel Gumbs welcomed Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to St. Maarten on Sunday afternoon. Minister Plasterk is on a working visit to St. Maarten, Saba and Statia from January 18 until January 21. On Monday morning he will meet in a formal session with Prime Minister Gumbs Read more

style="text-align: center;">Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson to be replaced by Edward Kiridongo

PHILIPSBURG:--- Another shake up in the current coalition government will soon force Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson out of office. Last week Member of Parliament Frans Richardson confirmed to SMN News that he was approached by persons representing the coalition to join them as they move to strengthen the current government Read more

Draft 2015 Budget Present To President Of Parliament By Finance Minister

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Minister of Finance the Hon. Martin Hassink on Friday, January 16, presented the 2015 draft Country Budget to Parliament.

Minister Hassink presented the budget to the Chairman of Parliament Dr. Lloyd Richardson and the Presidium of Parliament in the persons of Member of Parliament Cornelius DeWeever and Read more

Minister Fleming-Artsen Meets With Dutch Minister Plasterk. Discusses Relations And Improved Communications

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister Plenipotentiary Hon. Josianne Fleming-Artsen recently met with Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Hon. Ronald Plasterk.

The meeting which took place at the Dutch Ministry for Interior and Kingdom Relations in The Hague, covered how the Kingdom partners can work better together and how relations can be strengthened.

The issue of "instructions" by the Kingdom Council of Ministers was also discussed and information was shared with respect to the basis of developing such for a particular country within the Kingdom.

One of the conclusions coming out of the meeting is to have quarterly sessions every two or three months between Minister Plenipotentiary and the Dutch Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations.

Minister Plasterk also discussed his working visit to Sint Maarten and how he was looking forward to meeting the new Council of Ministers and Prime Minister Hon Read more

Dutch Minister Welcomed To St. Maarten By Pm Gumbs Sunday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Prime Minister of St. Maarten the Honorable Marcel Gumbs welcomed Dutch Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to St. Maarten on Sunday afternoon.

Minister Plasterk is on a working visit to St. Maarten, Saba and Statia from January 18 until January 21.

On Monday morning he will meet in a formal session with Prime Minister Gumbs.

Minister Plasterk will also meet with His Excellency the Governor Eugene Holiday, Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson, Minister of Finance Martin Hassink and with the Parliament of St Read more

For NBC chief, critical mass of accusers ended Cosby TV show

PASADENA, California--NBC canceled plans for a new television show with Bill Cosby because the number of women accusing the comedian of sexual assault reached a level that tainted the project, NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt said on Friday.

Greenblatt, speaking at a Television Critics Association meeting, said it was "safe to say" NBC would never pursue a future show with the comedian, who starred in the network's hit 1980s family sitcom "The Cosby Show".

"Fifteen women came out and accused him," Greenblatt said in response to questions about the network's decision in November to drop its development of Cosby's new show.

"While over the years we'd heard some of those accusations and knew there were a couple settlements, it didn't seem to be the sort of thing that was critical mass," he said, adding that it was a "tainted situation."

Over the last three months, more than a dozen women have come forward alleging that Cosby had sexually assaulted them Read more

Last year was Earth's hottest on record, US scientists say

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida--Last year was Earth's hottest on record in new evidence that people are disrupting the climate by burning fossil fuels that release greenhouse gases into the air, two U.S. government agencies said on Friday.

The White House said the studies, by the U.S. space agency NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), showed climate change was happening now and that action was needed to cut rising world greenhouse gas emissions.

The 10 warmest years since records began in the 19th century have all been since 1997, the data showed Read more

Sarah still awaits answers about housing foundation

PHILIPSBURG--It has been a month and Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament (MP) Sarah Wescot-Williams is still waiting on answers from government, in particular Public Housing Minister Marcel Gumbs, to her questions about whether St Read more

MPs emphasise need for information from govt

PHILIPSBURG--Parliament wants timely information from government when such is requested, especially on matters being handled in the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO. This need was highlighted by United St. Maarten Party Member of Parliament (MP) Frans Richardson on Friday.

His recommendation was supported by other MPs in the debriefing meeting of Parliament's Permanent Committee on Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations held in Parliament House Read more

Court issues eviction order of Caravanserai apartment

BEACON HILL--The Court of First Instance on Friday ordered two owners of a timeshare unit at Caravanserai Beach Resort in Beacon Hill to vacate the apartment and hand over the keys to Caravanserai's new owner, Alegria Real Estate BV.

Alegria had filed the injunction against the couple as they held no long-lease rights to the unit they were occupying. Alegria's claim was not contested in court.

The judge ordered the defendants to vacate their timeshare unit within two days upon receipt of the verdict, hand over the keys and make the property available to Alegria.

The new owner would be entitled to seek assistance of the "strong arm of police and justice" to enforce eviction, when necessary, the judge added Read more

BTP wants end to fraud allegations

PHILIPSBURG--The Supervisory Board of the St. Maarten Bureau Telecommunication and Post BTP SXM has issued a press release saying that after prior consultation with Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Claret Connor, it has decided to make a public statement that "it is evident that crucial available information within Government is not made available to all, or considered, which leads to the continued unfounded allegation of fraud at the BTP SXM."

"In an effort to address these unfounded allegations once and for all the Supervisory Board of BTP SXM wishes to inform all that the laws applicable to the functioning of BTP SXM are followed Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister, The Hon. Marcel Gumbs, officially introduced himself and members of the Council of Ministers to members of the Supervisory Board of Directors and Management of the Sint Maarten Telecommunication Holding Company N.V. (SMTHC) for the company's Annual General Shareholder's meeting in the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall, Thursday.
In attendance along with the Prime Minister were, Minister of Education, Sport and Culture, the Hon Read more