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Editorial - A word to the wise

It may seem like "the same old story," but a warning by the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT (see Thursday paper) against taking up too much debt should not go unheeded. After the Antillean debt relief by the Netherlands that accompanied the constitutional reforms per 10-10-10 Curaçao's debt again has reached 40 per cent of its gross domestic product (GDP), the norm internationally considered acceptable.

St Read more

Warner unravels

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad--Hard on the heels of his bizarre voluntary admission that he conspired to conceal the discovery of a quantity of marijuana in 2013, former Trinidad and Tobago national security minister Jack Warner, who is currently charged with multiple counts of racketeering, corruption and money-laundering in the United States, held a news conference on Tuesday afternoon to "reveal all the details" – this is according to a report from the Caribbean News Now.

However, many of those "details" appear to have no basis in fact or have been denied by the other individuals implicated by Warner in his admission of perverting the course of justice Read more

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

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

NASA responds to predictions of catastrophic asteroid impact and tsunami near Puerto Rico

LONDON, England--End-of-time predictors have claimed that a massive asteroid hurtling towards Earth will destroy civilisation as we know it in September.

They are predicting a cataclysmic event that will trigger a major earthquake and tsunami and will sound humanity’s death knell in just three months’ time, The Mirror reports.

The rapid proliferation of the prediction has now prompted the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to speak out and dismiss the theory as unfounded.

“NASA knows of no asteroid or comet currently on a collision course with Earth, so the probability of a major collision is quite small,” a NASA spokesperson said.

“In fact, as best as we can tell, no large object is likely to strike the Earth any time in the next several hundred years.”

Conspiracy theorists on numerous blogs and websites have come up with the period between September 22 and September 28 as the likely time frame for the “impending catastrophe.”

Some biblical theorists maintain that the events will initiate the Rapture and the start of the seven-year Tribulation.

Others believe the events will spark the emergence of the so-called Illuminati-sponsored New World Order (NWO), which will take charge of world affairs.

Despite NASA’s dismissal, the conspiracy theorists believe that governments of the world’s leading nations are aware of the “impending disaster” and are keeping the information secret to prevent mass panic.

Veterans Today reports that self-proclaimed prophet Reverend Efrain Rodriguez made the original prediction back in 2010 after getting a message from God.

According to Reverend Rodriguez, the asteroid will crash into the ocean off Puerto Rico during the night, triggering a massive earthquake and a tsunami that will advance at 400 miles per hour, destroying everything in its path.

The tsunami will go on to devastate the East Coast of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America, Rodriguez added, urging NASA to issue an alert “so people can be relocated from the areas that are to be affected.”

US-based Veterans Today noted that such a disaster was “not an end-of-the-world event, but one that would likely kill millions this side of the Atlantic and send the world economy into a tailspin.”

Meanwhile, although the latest claims of a killer asteroid are apparently unfounded, scientists have long said that these space rocks pose a major threat to Earth.

“There is an asteroid with our name on it and it will hit us,” Professor Brian Cox told Britain’s MailOnline.

Earth had a “near-miss” only a few months ago.

“We didn’t see it,” Professor Cox said Read more

France beat England 1-0 in World Cup opener

CANADA- - Speedy forward Eugenie Le Sommer struck with a superb long-range goal in the first half to set up a 1-0 victory for France over England in their Group F Women's World Cup opener in Moncton on Tuesday.
  Le Sommer, the French League's top player, took advantage of a defensive mix-up by Katie Chapman and Laura Bassett and fired in a thunderous shot from the edge of the Read more

A400M probe focuses on accidental data wipe

PARIS-- A tiny piece of data needed to run the West's largest turboprop engines is at the centre of a complex chain of events under scrutiny following an Airbus A400M military plane crash last month, several people familiar with the matter said.
  The troop and cargo carrier crashed outside Seville, Spain, on May 9 after three of its huge turboprop engines froze just minutes into a routine, pre-delivery test flight, killing four of its six crew members.
  At the heart of the investigation are crucial computer files that tell Europe's new military carrier, developed at a cost of 20 billion euros ($22.50-billion), how to control its four engines, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
  Computers operating each engine cannot work if this data, which is unique to each of the turboprops, is missing.
  Investigations are at an early stage but the key scenario being examined is that the data -- known as "torque calibration parameters" -- was accidentally wiped on three engines as the engine software was being installed at Airbus facilities.
  An Airbus spokeswoman said the investigation was continuing and it was too early draw conclusions.
  "Safety is our first priority and we will do all that is necessary to get the full picture of what could have led to this tragic accident and take the necessary action," she said, declining comment on any of the points in this article.
  European NATO buyers have now been instructed not to use the Airbus computer system that was used to conduct the software installation on the A400M, people familiar with the order said.
  Investigators are poring over maintenance records to see how safety procedures failed to notice the erased parameters.
  But the combination of lost data and incomplete checks may also have exposed a vulnerability in the amount of information provided to the pilots as they prepared for the maiden flight of the plane, which had been sold to Turkey.
  Under the A400M's design, the first warning pilots would receive of the engine data problem would be when the plane was 400 feet (120 metres) in the air, according to a safety document seen by Reuters Read more

The dump’s smoke is killing us and no MP cares

Dear Editor,

The dump (aka Mount Garbage) caught fire on May 2nd, 2015, and since then it has been emitting toxic smoke every day. That is well over 1 month (!) ago. Like many persons living and working in the greater Philipsburg area, I have also been suffering from frequent headaches and sore throat since the big fire. Depending on the wind direction, it can affect the entire Philipsburg area. On bad days, the smoke can even be smelled as far away as Caribbean Cinemas in Cole Bay/Simpson Bay.

It's therefore mind-boggling (but very telling) that up to now, no MP has raised the issue in Parliament and earmarked it as priority number one, as the smoke is poisoning a large part of the St Read more

Editorial - Think big, start small

That emotions reportedly ran high during Thursday night’s meeting with local bus and taxi drivers may have had something to do with the recent special controls on public transportation operators (see Saturday paper). The Control Unit checked 14 buses and had two towed, while fines were issued for driving without a permit and even for being improperly dressed, among other things.

Legitimate operators actually should be happy with these actions. After all, there have been many complaints about illegal competition from so-called “gypsy drivers.”

Better regulating the industry and enforcing the rules also was a topic during the consultation with stakeholders by Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Minister Claret Connor and his team Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- Interpol St. Maarten as part of the St Maarten Police Force, in cooperation with the St. Maarten office of the Attorney General Mr. Taco Stein, made 2 arrests on Friday June 5th 2015 around 03.50 p.m. in the area of Cole Bay.
On request of the Department of Justice in Miami USA, two British citizens were arrested in a case of involuntary manslaughter and false official statements, committed in the period of 2011/2012.
The arrested suspects are a 50 year old man with initials C.J and a 47 year old woman with the initials A.G Read more

Editorial - Hands-off approach

It may not seem that important, but two Supervisory Board members at Curaçao’s ABC Bus Company were ordered to pay back an allowance they had given themselves to take over the daily management (see related article). They had done so after the director suddenly died in January, leaving the government-owned entity without a Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The duo reasoned that as a result of Corporate Governance it would take quite some time before a successor could be appointed and the work had to continue in the meantime Read more

Abattoir in Grand Case is finally inaugurated

MARIGOT--After false starts, debates and long periods of dormancy when the file was shelved, the long-awaited abattoir in Mill Run, Grand Case, finally reached the finish line and was inaugurated Tuesday in the presence of elected officials and the operators of the facility.

President of the Territorial Council Aline Hanson in her address noted the then Municipal Council in 2001 first voted in favour of the construction of an abattoir before chronicling a time-line of events where the project frequently stalled over the years.

Although the building was completed in 2009 one of the main setbacks was the delay in obtaining sanitation and hygiene certification and various modifications had to be made, particularly in terms of the building's proximity to the adjacent Central Kitchen, which in itself was a point of controversy.

The 1,070,000 euro cost of the building was financed by Europe, the State, the Region and the Department, and in part by the then Commune of St Read more

Sapphire will not be sold, resort to rebrand, renovate

CUPECOY--After a period of quiet following the news in late January that timeshare exchange network RCI had suspended its relationship with Sapphire Beach Club and Resort, some Sapphire timeshare owners were informed via newsletter over the weekend that the resort would be going through renovations and had signed a preliminary agreement at the end of 2014 "initiating the process of affiliation to a prestigious hotel chain" that remained unnamed.

The newsletter item also disclosed that the property would not be sold, which had been a subject for speculation by many.

RCI had not disclosed any reasoning for the suspension in its notice, but it was understood to be tied to the property's multiple maintenance issues Read more

Editorial - The last say

While concerns remain over the recent sudden announcement that St. Maarten Student Support Services S4 would be discontinued effective July 1, discussions on the move by Education Minister Rita-Bourne Gumbs with a group of those directly impacted and Members of Parliament (MPs) in the Netherlands (see related article) probably will have been at least somewhat reassuring. The intention apparently is to continue the adjustments as planned, so it's good that the person politically responsible for the decision was able to provide an explanation.

Perhaps it was the air in The Hague, because the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation IPKO turned out to be a positive encounter as well, leading to consensus among the four delegations on the framework for a kingdom dispute regulation Read more

Agreement is reached on dispute regulation format

THE HAGUE--Following intense discussions on Thursday and many years of delay, the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten finally reached an agreement on the dispute regulation (geschillenregeling) for the Kingdom. Rulings of the body in charge of the dispute regulation will be binding rather than a mere advice, which is a major victory for the islands.

Besides the aspect of a binding ruling, the delegations agreed to give several pointers for the four governments at the Kingdom Conference in Curaçao on June 16 Read more

Editorial - Same criteria

Sometimes a point made in this column can lead to misunderstanding. One hardly can be against expanding the number of cabinet members from the current five to the normal seven mentioned in the Constitution, but the fact is that it really would be worthwhile only if the persons involved prove an added value.

Moreover, no obvious objection exists to reappointing parliamentarian Maurice Lake – who apparently is very interested – as VROMI minister, especially as he has held the position before Read more

Foreign Direct Investment in Latin America and the Caribbean: Focus on the Caribbean

>PHILIPSBURG:---- FDI is a source of investment and employment. It can allow the transfer of technology and skills and knowledge from the FDI source country to the FDI recipient country. It provides funds to make up for a capital shortfall in the home country. And, very importantly, it is a source of foreign exchange.
FDI coming into the Caribbean
Now, why do investors come to the Caribbean? There are three basic reasons. First, resource seeking – investors seek access to natural resources Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- Member of Parliament George Pantophlet is calling on the Minister of Finance Martin Hassink to speed up the process of integrating the St. Maarten Receiver and the St. Maarten Inspectorate of Taxes. The delaying of this process is causing the tax payers of St. Maarten unnecessary frustration and hardship when it comes to the services provided by these two departments Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Recently the Obersi Group of Companies, represented by WTN-Cable Sales and Marketing Manager, Mr. Fernando Clark and Mr. Aldemier Mingeel, Sales and Marketing Executive for Obersi Electronics/Xerox paid a visit to Hillside Christian School

After equipping Asha Stevens Christian School and Seventh Day Adventist School, with ICT equipment and a training program, Foresee Foundation, the brain behind the DigiKidz project, committed itself to raise funds for the next school, Helmich Snijders in St Read more

Obersi-Xerox Supporting Digikidz Projects

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Recently the Obersi Group of Companies, represented by WTN-Cable Sales and Marketing Manager, Mr. Fernando Clark and Mr. Aldemier Mingeel, Sales and Marketing Executive for Obersi Electronics/Xerox paid a visit to Hillside Christian School.

After equipping Asha Stevens Christian School and Seventh Day Adventist School, with ICT equipment and a training program, Foresee Foundation, the brain behind the DigiKidz project, committed itself to raise funds for the next school, Helmich Snijders in St Read more

Parliaments set on resolving dispute regulation dilemma

THE HAGUE--Delegations of the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten are resolute to conclude the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultations IPKO this week with a solution for the design of a dispute regulation (geschillenregeling).

"We want to get this solved for once and for all. More and more things are getting stuck in a dilemma in the relations between the Kingdom partners," said Member of the St. Maarten Parliament and Chairperson of Parliament's Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations Committee Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party (DP)) on Monday.

The three Dutch Caribbean Parliaments held tripartite meetings in The Hague on Monday in preparation for the IPKO which starts on Wednesday Read more

SCDF seeking to break free from ‘vicious cycle of debt’

~ Structural change crucial, hard data now the focus ~

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten Carnival Development Foundation (SCDF) said on Thursday that the event threatens to become trapped in "a vicious cycle of debt" that must be broken with decisive business decisions and initiatives.

"After all the revelling and good times the general population had for what many have called the best Carnival ever, the festival is still a very expensive affair that continues to come up short financially," an SCDF press release read.

SCDF, a private foundation, had said for months that it planned on transitioning to a new business structure after Carnival 2015 to ensure the financial viability of St Read more

George queries whether SZV, APS, govt reach agreement

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament (MP) George Pantophlet wants to know whether an agreement has been reached amongst government and the Social and Health Insurance SZV and the General Pension Fund APS.

In a press release on Sunday, Pantophlet said the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT on several occasions had urged government to come to an agreement as to how it will pay the arrears of these funds Read more

Multiracial coalition unseats Guyana ruling PPP/C party

GEORGETOWN--Guyana's multiracial opposition coalition has won a national election, breaking the ruling Indo-Guyanese party's 23 year-old grip on power, the election board said on Thursday, signalling a new era in the ethnically-divided South American nation.

The APNU+AFC coalition, led by former army brigadier and publisher David Granger, won 206,817 votes, versus 201,457 for President Donald Ramotar's PPP party, the election authorities said after all votes were counted.

Ramotar said the elections were rigged and demanded a recount, without giving more details of his accusations.

Diplomats from the United Kingdom and the United States said they were free and fair, and the Guyana Elections Commission said its first tally was unlikely to change on review.

Since gaining independence from Britain in 1966, the nation of just 740,000 people has suffered tensions, and occasional violence, between citizens of Indian and African descent.

The People's Progressive Party (PPP) has ruled since 1992 and Afro-Guyanese complain they are marginalized.

But the coalition, a recent fusion between the traditional black party and a smaller third party, had campaigned to break that hegemony, cheered on by youth less hung up on ethnicity and increasingly fed up with the status quo.

"We are a six-party coalition and we are the closest Guyana has ever gotten to a government of national unity and that makes me very happy," said a beaming Granger at his Georgetown home after results were announced.

The 69-year-old has a degree in history and received military training in Nigeria, Brazil and the United Kingdom Read more