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India builds first "smart" city as urban population swells

GANDHINAGAR, India--India's push to accommodate a booming urban population and attract investment rests in large part with dozens of "smart" cities like the one being built on the dusty banks of the Sabarmati river in western India. So far, it boasts modern underground infrastructure, two office blocks and not much else.
  The plan, however, is for a meticulously planned metropolis complete with gleaming towers, drinking water on tap, automated waste collection and a dedicated power supply - luxuries to many Indians Read more

Guenter Grass, author of The Tin Drum, dies at 87

BERLIN--German novelist Guenter Grass, the Nobel Prize-winning author of "The Tin Drum", an epic treatment of the Nazi era, died on Monday at the age of 87, his publishers said.

A broad-shouldered man with a drooping moustache, Grass spurned the German tradition of keeping a cool intellectual distance, insisting that a writer's duty was to be at the frontline of moral and political debate. For many, he was the voice of a German generation that came of age in World War Two and bore the burden of their parents' guilt for the atrocities of the Nazis.

The independent German Cultural Council called him "more than a writer .. Read more

Rutte, Eman meet with Raúl Castro

THE HAGUE--Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte held talks with Cuba President Raúl Castro and several Latin American leaders of government in Panama City over the weekend.

The meeting between Castro and Rutte, who was accompanied by Aruba's Prime Minister Mike Eman and Curaçao's Minister of Finance José Jardim, on Saturday evening lasted an hour and mostly focused on the historical reconciliation between Cuba and the United States of America and its consequences for the Caribbean.

"Hopefully the reconciliation will result in a more open Cuba, as well as economic growth and democratic development Read more

Nigerians vote for powerful governors in state elections

LAGOS--The final stage of Nigeria's election will begin on Saturday with state governorship polls, two weeks after a presidential vote saw an incumbent leader unseated at the ballot box for the first time.
  The 36 governors are among the most powerful politicians in Africa's biggest oil producer and top economy, controlling budgets larger than those of small African nations and wielding influence that can decide who goes on presidential tickets. Voting starts at 8 a.m.
  With so much at stake, candidates in past polls have often played dirty, snatching ballot boxes, manipulating voter turn-out and engaging in thuggery and intimidation.
  Muhammadu Buhari beat President Goodluck Jonathan last month with 15.4 million votes against 13.3 million, in a vote that was considered free and less violent than past polls Read more

Stephane Earl Duzong ready for Eruption in Paradise

PHILIPSBURG--Stephane Earl Duzong will represent the SXM Rock Boxing Club on the pro-am boxing card Eruption in Paradise at L.B. Scott Sports Auditorium May 30.
    Duzong has been in the sport for one year. He trains with former pro St. Maarten fighter Claudette Alexander.  Eruption in Paradise will be his first fight Read more

MPs share concerns on integrity chamber, but open to discussion

~ Expect more answers on Friday ~

PHILIPSBURG--"Looking forward to further discussion" was the point Members of Parliament (MPs) reached on Wednesday night after hearing answers to shared main points of concern given by Justice Minister Dennis Richardson during a public meeting of the Central Committee of Parliament on the draft National Ordinance for the establishment of an Integrity Chamber for St. Maarten.

Although many individual questions had been posed, paired with statements of concern about what the Ordinance will mean for St Read more

style="text-align: center;">Several Financial Statements still not available Corporate Governance Council Rejects candidates proposed by government.

PHILIPSBURG: --- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs informed Parliament on Tuesday that the government of St. Maarten is currently working on taking the supervisory board of the St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) to court in order to obtain two audit reports 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

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