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Minister Teatt Connor Says Safe Food A Pre-Requisite For Tourism Sector In World Health Day Message

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – World Health Day is marked annually on April 7. This year the focus is on food safety.

New data on the harm caused by foodborne illnesses underscore the global threats posed by unsafe foods. World Health Day highlights the challenges and opportunities associated with food safety under the slogan "From farm to plate, make food safe."

Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (Ministry TEATT) Hon. Claret Connor would like to congratulate all those working in the food sector on the eve of World Health Day, for the very important role that they play on a daily basis in restaurants, supermarkets, food trucks, small grocers, road side food tables, food kiosks, soup kitchens, home-made for sale food, etc.

"We are in the tourism business Read more

Central Committee Meeting Scheduled For Wednesday About Draft National Ordinance To Establish Integrity Chamber

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The Central Committee of Parliament will meet in public session on April 8. The Minister of General Affairs Hon. Marcel Gumbs will be present for the House session.

The public Central Committee meeting is set for Wednesday at 3.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The three point agenda is: the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of a Integrity Chamber; second agenda point is approval of the travel schedule for the year 2015 in connection with Committee and Board of Directors meetings of the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino); and the third agenda point is approval of the composition of the delegation and provisions for General Assembly of Parlatino from May 15-16.

Members of the public are invited to the House of Parliament to attend parliamentary deliberations.

The House of Parliament is located across from the Court House in Philipsburg.

The parliamentary session will be carried live on St Read more

Harbor Security Contract Private Says Mp Frans Richardson

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The issue surrounding the security and the contract at the harbor is an internal one, and it is not my business or should it be anyone's affair, Member of Parliament and leader of the USP told talk show host Lloyd Richard Read more

Mp Wescot-Williams Call For Attention To Tertiary Education

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Tertiary education from a macro perspective should be given more attention on St. Maarten, Member of Parliament and leader of the Democratic Party, the Honorable Sarah Wescot-Williams told journalists at a press conference recently.

In addressing that subject she also commended the University of St Read more

Bosman’s statement about De Weever was illegitimate

~ Court rejects demand for rectification, compensation ~

THE HAGUE--The Court in The Hague has qualified the statement of Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party about Member of the St. Maarten Parliament Cornelius de Weever as "illegitimate." However, Bosman does not have to rectify his statement and does not have to pay damages.

The Court deemed a rectification in the newspapers no longer appropriate considering the time that has passed since Bosman's statement, which initially appeared in the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf on September 29, 2014, and was repeated in The Daily Herald, Today newspaper and Amigoe one day later.

In the De Telegraaf article Bosman was quoted as saying that De Weever had been "simply bought" by United People's (UP) party leader Theo Heyliger to leave the Democratic Party (DP) and support the UP Read more

Iran president views nuclear deal as start of new relationship with world

BEIRUT/JERUSALEM--Iran's president said on Friday that a framework for a nuclear deal was just the first step toward building a new relationship with the world, after Iranians greeted the announcement of the accord with celebrations in the streets.
  U.S. President Barack Obama also hailed what he called a "historic understanding," although diplomats cautioned that hard work lies ahead to strike a final deal. That work will include efforts by Obama to sell an eventual accord to critics at home, and to close ally Israel, which denounced the interim agreement and pressed for more safeguards in coming negotiations.
  The tentative agreement, struck on Thursday after eight days of talks between Iran and six world powers in Lausanne, Switzerland, clears the way for a settlement to allay Western fears that Iran could build an atomic bomb, with economic sanctions on Tehran being lifted in return Read more

Hurry Up Moore confident of convincing SXM victory

PHILIPSBURG--SUPER bantamweight Leon `Hurry Up’ Moore is in the best shape of his professional boxing career and is promising a convincing victory when he matches gloves with Dominican Manuel Gonzalez Garcia, in Eruption in Paradise  at L.B. Scott Sports Auditorium on May 30.
   â€œI feel good and I am in the best shape of my life. I have trained very hard and there is no doubt that I would be winning this fight convincingly,” Moore said from his training camp in New York Read more

Editorial - Held accountable

Although independent (former DP) parliamentarian Cornelius de Weever did not win his lawsuit against member of the Dutch Second Chamber André Bosman (see related story) in the sense of his demands for rectification and damage compensation, the verdict was nevertheless significant for the future Read more

Judge hammers Bosman for unfounded Statements –Denies De Weever retraction

>Netherlands/ Philipsburg:--- Member of Parliament Cornelius de Weever got a partial victory from the courts in the Netherlands where the judge ruled that MP Andre Bosman made unfounded statements against MP Cornelius de Weever whom he said was bought when he joined the United Peoples Party to form a coalition government Read more

Plenary Session of Parliament scheduled for Tuesday about the SCHDF.

>PHILIPSBURG:---  The House of Parliament will meet in a public plenary session on April 7. This session is the continuation of the initial session that was held on December 22, 2014. On March 24, the meeting was called, but was adjourned and is now being reconvened.

The plenary session is set for Tuesday at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is the request to the Governments Accountants Bureau SOAB to carry out a forensic investigation into the operations of the St Read more

Minister has not deviated from Good Friday business closures

PHILIPSBURG--Economic Affairs Minister Claret Connor says he has "not deviated" from the policies on business closures on Good Friday.

The minister was responding at the time to a query from The Daily Herald as to whether the holding of a wet T-shirt contest by a local nightclub was allowed on Good Friday evening. Connor said he had requested that the police "investigate the legality" of the event.

The law on shop closure states that business establishments must be closed on Good Friday, which is tomorrow, Friday, April 3 Read more

Community Recycling Collection Point Officially Opened

St. Maarten -The first organized community recycling collection point was officially opened this Saturday by Minister Claret Connor.

Learning Unlimited 11th grade student Bodine Beentjes took the initiative to organize the set up of such collection point for the Tamarind Hill Estates in the Red Pond area. In collaboration with Steve Hammond of St Read more

Firstborn Daughter Of Broadcaster Eddy Williams Speaks Out: “There Is No Excuse For Being A Deadbeat Dad”

By Hilbert Haar

GREAT BAY / COLORADO SPRINGS – It must have been near eight years ago that this newspaper received a letter from a lady in England that complained about how her husband – “a local celebrity in Sint Maarten” – had dumped her. The basic request was to hang him out to dry, but Today passed on the occasion, thinking that marital problems do not belong in the public domain.

Last week, Today received a cry for help and understanding from Louise Carr in Colorado Springs Read more

Tourism Minister Discusses Challenges And Opportunities With Partnering Airlines

St. Maarten – While attending the Seatrade Cruise Conference in Miami, Minister Claret Connor also took the opportunity while in the United States to meet with key airlift partners, American Airlines, Jet Blue and Delta Airlines.

Minister Connor stated yesterday that it was very important to understand the areas of business development, and how all stakeholders could further maximize on opportunities.  The Minister pointed out that the country is very busy during the high season (November to May) and the objective now is to stimulate more business during the off season (June to October).

“The airlines are willing to adjust schedules to accommodate business.  They can change an aircraft on short notice as well.  These are a plus for the destination.  You may have groups that would like to hold an event and also those who organize conferences during the off season, and if the airlines are willing to accommodate the additional travelers, this is where we all have to come together including the hotel sector and promote event/conference business that would benefit all in the long-run,” Minister Claret Connor pointed out Read more

Buhari wins historic landslide in Nigeria

ABUJA--Three decades after seizing power in a military coup, Muhammadu Buhari became the first Nigerian to oust a president through the ballot box, putting him in charge of Africa's biggest economy and one of its most turbulent democracies.
  As the scale of this weekend's electoral landslide became clear, President Goodluck Jonathan called Buhari on Tuesday to concede defeat to the opposition leader, Buhari's camp said, an unprecedented step that should help to defuse anger among Jonathan's supporters.
  In the religiously mixed northern city of Kaduna, where 800 people were killed in violence after the last elections in 2011, Buhari supporters streamed onto the streets, waving flags, dancing and singing in celebration.
  There was no word from Jonathan himself Read more

Sarah says ‘didn’t know’ meeting lacked quorum

PHILIPSBURG--Democratic Party (DP) Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams says she "didn't know" Monday's aborted Central Committee meeting to deal with the draft law to establish the integrity chamber did not have a quorum Read more

PvdA proposal for Kingdom Integrity Committee at Kingdom Conference

THE HAGUE--Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk will pitch the proposal of Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA to install a Kingdom Integrity Committee, secured through a Kingdom Law, at the upcoming Kingdom Conference.

Plasterk promised members of the Second Chamber's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations during a debate on Tuesday that he would take up this idea with the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and St Read more

Indiana governor vows to 'fix' law lambasted for curbing gay rights

INDIANAPOLIS--Indiana's Republican Governor Mike Pence, responding to national outrage over the state's new Religious Freedom Restoration Act, said on Tuesday he will "fix" it to make clear businesses cannot use the law to deny services to same-sex couples.
  Pence, in a news conference, said the law he signed last week had been unfairly "smeared" but he called on the state's Republican-controlled General Assembly to come up with clarifications this week Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams along with the party's advisor Emil Lee stressed that the government of St Read more

Sol 'Fuel Up And Fly Out' Promotion Extended

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Great news for Sol customers looking for a chance to win a trip for four to Disney! Sol has announced that the company is extending the deadline of the Fuel Up and Fly out promotion.

The 2015 promotion, which offers one lucky customer the chance to fly to Disney for an all-inclusive vacation, was initially scheduled to close on March 30, 2015.

As excitement for the promotion continues to build, Sol's management team decided it was best to extend the promotion deadline in order to give as many of their customers a chance to win "this fantastic prize" being offered by Sol Read more

Sxm Girl's Night Out (Sxmgno) Donates Proceeds From "Shop For A Cause" To Le Manteau

PHILIPSBURG /MARIGOT, St Maarten/ St. Martin - SXM GIRLS Night out will present the proceeds of their action "SHOP for A CAUSE" to Le Manteau in honor of the opening of their center for Abused women.

SXMGNO is proud to associate themselves to such a worthy cause. According to Bernadette Davis, one of the organizers of the event, " growing up in SXM , we lived thru that and for an older generation many of us thought it was a part of life.

What is amazing is domestic violence has not abated and is rampant in our community and now we see our young women are also affected.

It can no longer be this little dirty secret Read more

Taking Eco-Tourism To The Next Level

ORANJESTAD, St. Eustatius - "Leave nothing but foot-prints" and "Take nothing but pictures" are phrases often heard in eco-tourism.

A group of Dutch eco-tourists, who visited the Windward Islands last week, do take these rules very serious, but have added as an objective that they want to leave the place they visit in a better state than how they found it. This is taking eco-tourism to the next level!

On St. Maarten the group of eco-tourists could be seen hiking along with heavy garbage bags... Read more

No Quorum For Integrity Meeting In Parliament Monday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Central Committee meeting of Parliament, which was scheduled to be held on Monday to discuss among other issues, the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of an Integrity Chamber, did not go ahead due to the lack of a quorum.

Seven members supporting the coalition government signed in for the meeting.

There were three MP's who were also off island namely MP's Meyers, Maurice Lake and Leona Marlin Read more

French, Dutch delegations on island for Quadri-partite talks

MARIGOT--High level delegations from France and The Netherlands have joined delegations from St. Martin and St. Maarten for the 2nd Quadri-partite Franco-Netherlands meeting held in the Préfecture on Monday.

This is the first time the meeting has been held in St. Martin. The first meeting took place in The Hague in January 21, 2014, and is held once a year.

A welcome reception and opening ceremony for the respective delegates and technicians were held Sunday evening in the Préfecture hosted by Préfet Philippe Chopin.

The heads of the four delegations are President of the Collectivité Aline Hanson, Prime Minister of St Read more