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Collectivité notes 198 cases of violence against children

MARIGOT--The Collectivité recorded 198 cases of violence or abuse against children in 2013, an increase of 141 cases compared to 2012, Second Vice-President Ramona Connor responsible for the Department of Solidarity and Families disclosed Thursday.

Connor disclosed the figures during the official opening ceremony to commemorate International Rights of the Child Day in the new public library in Concordia, adding the figures for 2014 will most likely be higher.

She was joined at the opening by President Aline Hanson, Préfet Philippe Chopin, Senator Guillaume Arnell, St Read more

Immigrants to lose medical aid under pending law amendment

PHILIPSBURG--Immigrants, whether they hold permanent residence or temporary residence, will see their possibility of accessing medical and financial aid disappear if Parliament passes the draft National Ordinance on improving financial management of social security and care. The ordinance's general goal is cost savings for government.

The draft law is not yet in Parliament's hands, but an overview of it was given to Members of Parliament (MPs) by representatives of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour VSA in a public Central Committee meeting on Friday.

The draft ordinance has as its motives introduction of measures to generate income for the Sickness Fund, protecting the country's budget, measures for improved management of health care-spending, improving the quality of care and a stepwise approach to National Health Reform.

To achieve those motives, changes are required to multiple existing legislations – Financial Assistance Ordinance, Medical Aid Ordinance, Social Health and Insurance SZV Ordinance and Sickness Insurance Ordinance.

Proposed change to the Financial Assistance Ordinance seeks to adjust the regulation to coincide with the ordinance regulating admittance and expulsion of immigrants LTU Read more

Japan PM seeks verdict on "Abenomics" in snap election

TOKYO--Prime Minister Shinzo Abe dissolved parliament's lower house on Friday for a snap election on Dec. 14, seeking a fresh mandate for his struggling "Abenomics" revival strategy just two years after he returned to power promising that "Japan is Back".

Abe had vowed to revive the economy with a mix of hyper-easy monetary policy, government spending and reforms, while moving ahead with plans to rein in Japan's massive public debt. But doubts have grown about his strategy, especially after data showed this week that the economy had surprisingly slipped into recession in the third quarter after an initial rise in the sales tax to 8 percent from April.

"This is an 'Abenomics' snap election Read more

Police substation opens in Maho

MAHO--Police officers joined Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson and invited guests at the opening of the new Police Substation in Maho Village. The substation will serve Maho and the Lowlands.

The new station, which was co-funded by Dutch Funding Agency USONA, will be the hub of Community Police Officer (CPO) Josepha, affectionately known in the community as Officer Jo, four officers with mountain bikes and Segways, and two dog handlers with their four-legged companions.

The exact opening times of the new substation have not yet been determined, but the aim is to keep the station open for as many hours as possible, and to be open at key times for the area.

An official ceremony marked the opening of the substation, with Inspector Ricardo Henson as Master of Ceremonies Read more

Minister Lake pleased with Ministry VROMI proactive preparations for possible rain event.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake is very pleased with his ministries pro-active preparations taken on Friday afternoon due to inclement weather that is east of the Caribbean island chain.

According to the Meteorological Department of St. Maarten (MDS), an upper level feature weather system combined with available moisture at the lower levels of the atmosphere is increasing instability across the Caribbean region.

In MDS 6:00pm Friday, November 21 forecast up until Saturday 6.00pm, November 22, cloudy skies with periods of showers and a risk of thunder can be expected during this forecast period.

Residents and motorists are advised to exercise caution as flooding is likely with additional showers.

On Monday at 2:00pm a meeting was held with contractor Windward Roads regarding the floodgate works at the A.Th Read more

Minister Lake Pleased With Ministry Vromi Proactive Preparations For Possible Rain Event

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake is very pleased with his ministries pro-active preparations taken on Friday afternoon due to inclement weather that is east of the Caribbean island chain.

According to the Meteorological Department of St Read more

The St. Maarten Parliamentary Election Of August 29, 2014 Julio R. Romney

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The parliamentary election in St. Maarten on 29th of August marked a turbulent beginning to the new constituent state's political history.

The substantial loss of electorate support for the more seasoned (political) party leaders to second tier/ number two party members, the failure of only but two contesting candidates to receive the necessary electoral quota to secure a seat in parliament outright.

The eleventh hour of the appointed formateur to realize the formation of a prospective coalition government, with the subsequent appointment of two informateurs to facilitate a renewed attempt to garner political parties that are willing to come together and form a new prospective coalition government are but a few of the unanticipated consequences of the election.

Added to these and more startling was the Royal Decree issued (October 21, 2014) by the de facto Head of State i.e., the Kingdom Government/ the Kingdom Council of Ministers instructing the Governor of St Read more

Young Dazzling Gems Jewelry Store Robbers Jailed For Quite Some Time

St. Maarten – The Court in First Instance sentenced two men who robbed the Dazzling Gems jewelry store on Front Street on July 11 to prison sentences of 54 and 42 months. The prosecution demanded slightly higher punishments of 5 and 4 years respectively.

Shaquille Akeem Every entered the jewelry store on the day of the robbery with a small sledgehammer while another, yet unidentified robber, controlled the storeowner and his staff with a gun. Every smashed showcases and grabbed all the jewelry he could get his hands on.

In the meantime, co-defendant Raymison Railey Prescott blocked the traffic on Front Street with his motor bike, in front of the getaway car Read more

Former Police Officer Gregory Koeiman’S Extradition To The Usa On Hold

St. Maarten – The Common Court of Justice has retained a decision about the extradition of Gregory Koeiman to the United States. In a ‘decision preceding an advice to the governor of St. Maarten’ the court ruled yesterday that it reopens the investigation, awaiting a ruling by the Supreme Court on a similar extradition request in Curacao.

Koeiman, a former police officer and once upon a time the so-called body guard of former Member of Parliament Romain Laville, is wanted in the United states for several drugs transports.

The attorney-general filed the extradition request with the Common Court of Justice on July 22 against the 46-year-old Koeiman Read more

Ministry Vromi Set To Begin Expansion Of Floodgates

St. Maarten – “It’ll be an impressive site when it’s finished and it should serve us justice in the event of a hurricane or flood,” said Claudius Buncamper, Department Head of Infrastructure Management, during a presentation about the expansion of the A.T. Illidge Road floodgate, which is set to begin Friday, November 20, 2014 at 7:30 p.m. The project, which will be carried out by Windward Roads B.V. under the supervision of the Department of Infrastructure Management, costs approximately NAF 1.98 million Read more

Jamaica first to become member of US dental examination group

KINGSTON, Jamaica--Jamaica has become the first country outside of the US mainland to be a member of the American Board of Dental Examiners ADEX organisation.

Health Minister Dr. Fenton Ferguson witnessed the first trial run of dental examinations Thursday, for the qualification of local dentists held at the College of Oral Health Science in Kingston.

The process meets the highest international best practice in terms of standards and will ensure that locally trained dentists will be on par with their North American counterparts, the Health Minister said.

Members of the ADEX visited the College of Oral Health Science Thursday, where 11 of 24 students sat the "double-blind" exam Read more

Colombia rebels to release general, opening door to resume peace talks

HAVANA/BOGOTA--Colombian Marxist rebels agreed to release an army general captured by their comrades over the weekend, a move that may lead to a resumption of peace talks and defuse a crisis that threatened to extend five decades of war.
  The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) promised to free General Ruben Dario Alzate and four others captured in the past two weeks "as soon as possible" after reaching agreement on liberation terms with the government and guarantor nations Cuba and Norway Read more

Claire slams De Weever for Coliseum statement, says should protect workers

PHILIPSBURG--Windward Islands Chamber of Labour Unions (WICLU) First Vice President Claire Elshot has come out swinging at Labour Minister and Member of Parliament (MP) Cornelius de Weever, saying that he should "step up to the plate" and protect workers in the country.

She was responding to statements made by De Weever in a recent press release saying that it was "extremely important" for all parties including trade union leaders to be "honest and substantiate their statements made to the media" regarding the 12 workers who lost their jobs at Coliseum Casino recently Read more

Justice Academy’s graduates sworn in

Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson (back row, 10th from left) stands proudly with the graduates.

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Justice Dennis Richardson officiated the swearing in and graduation ceremonies of 13 Customs Officers, 15 Immigration and Border Protection Officers and six auxiliary officers from various governmental departments on Tuesday, November 18.

The ceremony was witnessed by Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams; Attorney General Taco Stein; Interim Secretary General of Justice Udo Aron; department heads of the various justice departments, department heads of the graduating auxiliary officers, and friends and family members of the graduating class of 2014.

In his presentation, Richardson congratulated all graduates and admonished them to carry out their duties in honour and humility, while respecting the uniform.

The Minister further instructed them to carry out their duties in the service of the people of St Read more

Central Committee Meeting of Parliament about August 29th parliament election discrepancies postponed until further notice.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The House of Parliament Central Committee session that was rescheduled for November 24th about election discrepancies has been postponed until further notice.
The agenda point for discussion was the Main Voting Bureau and the Civil Registry Department concerning discrepancies that occurred during and in preparation of the August 29th parliamentary elections.
The discrepancies noted are: at the Prison polling station; usage of foreign identification for voting purposes; discrepancies at specific polling stations in ballot counting; discrepancies of the lack of privacy during the supporting of the candidate list; discrepancies in the information given to political parties as it related to placement of campaign material.
Other points to be brought forward in the Central Committee meeting are: changes in the Electoral Law as it relates to having a structured chronological order; Increase of polling stations in 2014 in comparison to 2010; Implementation of electronic voting; If there any articles that are conflicting with each other?; and if there any articles wrongfully written?
This meeting was been requested by Members of Parliament (MP) Hon Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Public Housing, Environment, Spatial Planning and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Hon. Maurice Lake said on Thursday that Minister of Public Health Hon. Cornelius de Weever brought it to his attention about tilapia fish in the Rolandus Canal.

Ministry VROMI officials met with the Nature Foundation to find a possible solution with respect to the fish in the canal Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- On Thursday the 20th of November representatives of the St. Maarten Nature Foundation met with the management of Clean St. Maarten and the Ministry of VROMI in order to come up with a plans of approach regarding the numerous tilapia that have been stuck in the Rolandus canal since the heavy rainfall of some weeks ago.

For some time the Nature Foundation has been monitoring the situation and has noticed that the water levels in the canal are of such low levels that the fish face a real danger of dying in the coming days Read more

Dutch Police Officers Surround French Immigration Officers at PJIAE. (UPDATED)

style="text-align: center;">Four PAF officers went to PJIAE with firearms and did not notify Dutch Authorities

AIRPORT:--- At least four French Police Aux Frontiers (PAF) officers got a taste of their own medicine on Wednesday morning when they showed up at the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) on Wednesday morning fully armed. SMN News learnt that the four PAF were surrounded by five Dutch police officers at PJIAE. At the scene was head of the Simpson Bay outpost Carlyle Rogers.  SMN  News further learnt that the police patrol from  Simpson Bay went to PJAIE after receiving a call from the central dispatch which is located in Phillipsburg Read more

Minister of Youth Affairs Lourens-Philip: November 20 is International Day on the Rights of the Child.

>GREAT BAY (DCOMM):-- The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports Hon. Patricia Lourens-Philip would like to wish every child and youth of the nation happy International Day on the Rights of the Child which is observed globally on November 20th.
The day 20 November marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.
Minister Lourens-Philip will be joining President of the Collectivite Saint Martin Aline Hanson on Thursday morning at the Multi-Media Library in Concordia for an official ceremony related to this universal day celebrating the rights of children.
"The world made a promise to children: that we would do everything in our power to protect and promote their rights to survive and thrive, to learn and grow, to make their voices heard and to reach their full potential, and as country, we are committed to this.
"On a global level, in spite of the overall gains, there are many children who have fallen even further behind Read more

Minister Of Youth Affairs Lourens-Philip: November 20 Is International Day On The Rights Of The Child

GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth & Sports Hon. Patricia Lourens-Philip would like to wish every child and youth of the nation happy International Day on the Rights of the Child which is observed globally on November 20th.

The day 20 November marks the day on which the Assembly adopted the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, in 1959, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in 1989.

Minister Lourens-Philip will be joining President of the Collectivite Saint Martin Aline Hanson on Thursday morning at the Multi-Media Library in Concordia for an official ceremony related to this universal day celebrating the rights of children.

"The world made a promise to children: that we would do everything in our power to protect and promote their rights to survive and thrive, to learn and grow, to make their voices heard and to reach their full potential, and as country, we are committed to this.

"On a global level, in spite of the overall gains, there are many children who have fallen even further behind Read more

Robbery Victim Speaks Out: “We Have To Stop These Guys.”

St. Maarten – “This guy is lurking around, looking for people to scam. We have to stop these guys, they have become a nuisance to society, and they are a growing criminal gang – from stealing bags to mugging workers to armed robberies,” said a night worker in the Maho area, who was recently robbed by three armed men. The robbery took place while he was giving an “acquaintance” of his a ride home.

The gentleman believes he was the victim of an elaborate and premeditated ploy organized by his acquaintance, who is said to go by the name of Jean, and is of Haitian descent Read more

André Bosman Fails To React – De Weever Takes Legal Action

St. Maarten – Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever will take legal action against VVD-MP André Bosman who did not react to a summons to retract “erroneous, slanderous and defaming statements” before the deadline of last Monday at 5 p.m. On September 30, four different newspapers quoted Bosman as saying, “Heyliger simply paid De Weever.”

The remark refers to De Weever’s decision to withdraw his support for a coalition of the National Alliance and the United St Read more

Silence Dominates Initiative To Ban Plastic Grocery Bags

Topic also on the agenda of European Commission

St. Maarten – The plans to ban single use plastic grocery bags has a long history in St. Maarten. Motions from MPs Frans Richardson and Johan Leonard date back to 2012, but the bottom line has not changed: there still is no legislation to take these plastic bags out of the equation Read more

Financial reports catch up

GREAT BAY – The Central Committee of Parliament met yesterday afternoon under peculiar circumstances. Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams, the former president of parliament and now sitting on her chair as an elected MP for the Democratic Party quizzed Finance Minister Martin Hassink – member of the outgoing cabinet – about the 2011 financial statement Read more