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Opening Remarks Of Prime Minister William Marlin At General Meeting Of Teachers Of The St. Maarten Academy

President of the St. Maarten Academy School Board, Principal,

Fellow teachers,

Good morning.

Wow, where did time go? It feels like it was just a few weeks ago, that I stood here, addressing many of you and welcoming you to the new academic year and welcoming several of you to our new Country St. Maarten.

Once a teacher, ALWAYS a teacher, they say. I know this to be the gospel truth, at least, in my own case. As some of you may already know, I have been a teacher most of my life; actually, I dare say, all my life.

And although politics has consumed most of my time and energy in the latter part of my still rather young existence, I can say without doubt that nothing gives me more satisfaction than to run into one of my former students and be called “Meneer Marlin.” Just yesterday in the evening I ran into one of them with not only her daughter, but with her grandchildren as well.

I am sure some of you know that feeling Read more

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Inmates And Guards Fed-Up With Situation At Pointe Blanche Prison

Dear Editor,

Inmates and guards are fed-up with the current situation at the Pointe Blanche prison.

The prison is facing a great number of issues: lack of guards, malfunctioning locks, showers and toilets that are not functioning, rusted gates, poor health care, no dentist, no phone calls, all falling under this new management team, who seem incapable for the job.

Steven Carty and Wilfred Williams have been placed at the prison since February 2017, as the interim directors for a period of three months in order to have the situation at the prison “normalized,” which has been very unsuccessful.

The situation is very worrisome at the prison Read more

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Climate Scientists Use Forecasting Tools To Protect Caribbean Ways Of Life

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Since 2013, Jamaica’s Met Office has been using its Climate Predictability Tool (CPT) to forecast ‘below average’ rainfall or drought across the island. The tool has allowed this northern Caribbean island to accurately predict several dry periods and droughts, including its most destructive episode in 2014 when an estimated one billion dollars in agricultural losses were incurred due to crop failures and wild fires caused by the exceptionally dry conditions.

In neighbouring Cuba, the reputation of the Centre for Atmospheric Physics at the Institute for Meteorology (INSMET) is built on the development of tools that “provide reliable and timely climate and weather information” that enables the nation to prepare for extreme rainfall and drought conditions as well as for hurricanes.

Regional scientists believe the extended dry periods are one of several signs of climate change, now being experienced across the region Read more

SIMPSON BAY:--- Ms. Shanice Powell returned home on Tuesday evening after participating in the Miss Caribbean Culture Queen Pageant held in Nevis.

Shanice represented St. Maarten to the best of her ability and won “Best Promotional Video (produced by Soualiga Media)”, Best Interview and Best Talent and ultimately placed 2nd Runner-up. The regional pageant was held during the Culturama Festival in Nevis and consisted of contestants from 11 islands and was won by Miss Dominica, Jade Romain.

Mrs Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- At the Department of Communication, Business Outreach and Placement Program (BOPP) student interns Julianne Robert(16) and Omari Philips(18) took part in hosting a TV Program that will play on Cable TV for the next 3 weeks.

Julianne, of the Charlotte Brookson Academy, and Omari, of the St. Maarten Academy—PSVE division, were trained in several areas at the DCOMM, from administrative tasks to video production to media communication.

The student interns worked along with DCOMM staff members to contribute their part of an information program, called “Inside Government.”

The two students interviewed the Prime Minister William Marlin, Minister Silveria Jacobs, the BOPP coordinator Faye Arnell, and a couple of BOPP students interns.

Julianne and Omari said that interning at DCOMM was a learning experience and productive Read more

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Pond Island:--- TELEMGroup workers and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mr. Kendall Dupersoy, took part in an impressive Toastmasters induction and Chartering ceremony at the company’s main building on Pond Island, Tuesday evening.

A total of 18 workers, including Mr. Dupersoy were inducted into the ranks of the prestigious leadership training and public speaking organization with a worldwide reach - becoming the third corporate group on St Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Prime Minister William Marlin told members of the media on Wednesday that his government has a number of priorities they are working on including the establishment of an integrity chamber. The statements came after the Ministers were asked when they will appoint a director to the office of the cadaster. Marlin said that the cadastre office falls under the Minister of Finance, he said that there is a process to recruit someone to take up the vacant post Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman made clear on Wednesday that he will stand by his statements when he said the Justice Academy was not established. The Minister said that indeed the former Minister of Justice Roland Duncan and Roland Tuitt went to notary Mingo to register the Justice Academy as a foundation and while the articles of incorporated were drafted the process was not finalized Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Health Emil Lee is almost sure that SZV will give him a letter of guarantee which will guarantee that the health insurance entity will finance 50% of the construction cost of the New General Hospital.
SMN News asked the Minister if there is tension between the Supervisory Board of SZV and the Managing Director? since the Supervisory Board clearly outlined some of the misgivings from the management team of SZV Read more

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Jamaican Woman Wins $.2 Million After Detention In Trinidad

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – A Jamaican woman has been awarded more than $200,000 in damages by the courts for unlawful detention by Immigration authorities in Trinidad and Tobago.

Her lawyers said it was unlawful for police and Immigration authorities to round up foreigners and detain them at the Immigration Detention Centre, Aripo, where they are denied fundamental human rights.Read more

Mp Ardwell Iron Wants To See Revise Voting Record In Annual Report Of Parliament.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Member of Parliament Ardwell Irion recently brought forward an initiative through Parliament’s Griffier (Secretary General) to revise the voting record in the annual report of Parliament. The report is published every September and the MP calls his initiative “a small but significant step.” MP Irion stated that he wanted to see an extensive record of how he and his colleagues vote in the house of parliament Read more

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Guyana’S Model Green Town Reflects Ambitious National Plan

BARTICA, Guyana – At the head of Guyana’s Essequibo River, 50 miles inland from the Atlantic Ocean, you will find the town of Bartica. Considered the gateway to Guyana’s interior, the town has a population of about 15,000 and is the launching point for people who work in the forests mining gold and diamonds.

Under a new project, Bartica is to benefit from the installation of a 20Kwp grid connected Solar Photovoltaic (PV) system at the 3-Mile Secondary School along with the installation of energy efficient lighting, as well as light-emitting diode (LED) street lighting.

The Ministry of the Presidency (MotP), through the Office of Climate Change, in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), launched the Japan-Caribbean Climate Change Partnership (J-CCCP) in Bartica earlier this month.

The Partnership, which is being funded by the Government of Japan to the tune of 15 million dollars, supports countries in advancing the process of improving energy security planning for adaptation to climate change.

Head of the Office of Climate Change within the Ministry of the Presidency Janelle Christian said the partnership comes at an opportune time as it helps to advance the vision of President David Granger for Bartica to be developed as a model ‘green’ town.

“The J-CCCP project and the support that Guyana has been benefiting from and continues to benefit from is set within the framework of the ‘Green’ State Development Strategy (GSDS)… The pilot initiative that will be implemented in Bartica is a direct response to the President’s pronouncement on Bartica becoming the first model ‘green’ town,” she said.

The GSDS provides a framework for national development plans and policies for climate action.

Christian said that the implementation of the J-CCCP supports the government’s commitment to transitioning to the use of 100 percent renewable energy in public institutions by 2025.

“These initiatives have to date, through budgetary support and also resources that we have been able to leverage through our development partners, already started taking effect,” she said.

“The project here in Bartica is not unique to Bartica but it is part of that national programme where we would’ve already seen through the leadership of the Guyana Energy Agency (GEA) some schools being installed with photovoltaic system (PVs).

“Further, under the Ministry of Communities, I believe as part of the initiative for all of the townships, there is and has been budgeted resources for installation of LED street lighting and we felt that those projects must align with those national plans with respect to our achievement and implementation of those commitments that we have made,” Christian added.

United Nations Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative Mikiko Tanaka said that the launching of the Partnership is in line with Guyana’s ‘green’ development trajectory Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- "My day was made", to use a colloquial expression, with the announcement by our Finance Minister that my proposal as approved in 2 unanimous motions of Parliament regarding the English language was being followed up upon by the government of St. Maarten.

The first motion on this topic was of September 17, 2015, and instructs the government to come up with "a plan to establish English as the first and 'mother tongue' language for St. Maarten.
The motion continued to ask for a plan to accomplish the aforementioned, with specific attention for the promotion of the English language in the civil service of St Read more

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Breaking News: Remains Found In Galisbay And Belair Are Identified

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Reliable information reaching 721news reported that the two remains found in Galisbay and Belair belongs to two missing persons in the “Mars” case. According to information reaching 721news, families were notified by police about the findings.

The body found in a container on the port of Galisbay on the French side, and the one in Belair have been positively matched – through DNA identification – to the two missing men Luis Diaz-Sarante and Edwin Rosario in the “Mars” case.

On Monday, December 5, 2016, Luis David Sarante-Diaz also known as “Blanco” and Edwin Rosario Contreras also known as “Eggy,” were last seen during the afternoon in the vicinity of Simpson Bay Resort.

In a previous press release, Police Spokesman Ricardo Henson said, “These two men were never seen or heard from since the disappearance Read more

MARIGOT:---The French Carnival committee (FCDSM) members held elections for a new Executive Board during their annual general meeting on Monday, June 26th, 2017.

Luciana RASPAIL, who has been the General Secretary of the committee from 2013-2017, has been elected as the incoming President of FCSM for the next 3 years. The incoming Executive Board Members are President; Luciana RASPAIL, Vice-President; Alex PIERRE, General Secretary; Maeva JAMES, Assistant Secretary; Rosine FRANCILLETTE, Treasurer; Claudine MINGAU, Assistant Treasurer; Serge WEINUM, Children Parade Commission; Kathy AFRICA and Adult Parade Commission; Ricardo GUMBS.

The incoming executive board comprises of mainly past board members who have a vase knowledge of culture with years of experience Read more

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Gebe To Commence Trench And Road Work As Of Monday August 7Th.

PHILIPSBURG:--- NV GEBE announces that starting on Monday the 07th August 2017, there will be trench and road work activities taking place at the Yrausquin Boulevard and Buncamper Street starting at the Point Blanche cargo terminal to the Freedom Fighters roundabout near Sundial School.
The works will be carried out by Windward Roads and will be executed in collaboration with The Ministry of VROMI, Cable TV, Telem, and UTS to install the main water line, sewerage, high voltage cables and other utilities.
The project has been divided into sections which are as follows:

• Easement to Water Tank Point Blanche.
• Trenching Phase 1: Cargo Entrance – Dock Maarten (Chesterfields) - (Total 742 m)
• Trenching Phase 2: Dock Maarten (Chesterfields) – Emmaplein (total 508 m)
• Trenching Phase 3: Emmaplein – Freedom Fighters round-About (Total 409 m)
• Trenching Phase 4: Sewerage from W.G Read more

Pond Island:--- TelEm Group Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Mr. Kendall Dupersoy, has fulfilled one of his early promises since taking up the top position in the company – to bring TelEm Group’s Helpdesk services back to St. Maarten.

In the CEO’s view, the wrong message was being given to customers, who found themselves speaking to a helpdesk based in Curacao, rather than here on the island Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Prior to the election on September 26, 2016, two expressions dominated politics and the news, namely “ship-jumping” and “electoral reform”. Electoral reform was the reason for the fall of the Marcel Gumbs Government in 2015. Electoral reform led to the snap election that was scheduled for February 9, 2016. Electoral reform was also the reason why this election was cancelled, because the honorable Prime Minister William Marlin insisted that his government needed more time to be able to initiate legislative reform in order to address the phenomenon of ship-jumping that was so prevalent among our parliamentarians Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Mr. Rumari “King Rumer” Rogers will be competing in the upcoming Soca Monarch competition to be held in Tortola, BVI. Rogers traveled on August 2nd, and the competition will be held on August 3rd. He is currently the 3-peat Road March King of St. Maarten, and was selected to represent St. Maarten. The Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport, the Honourable Silveria Jacobs and Government of Sint Maarten, would like to wish Mr Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of VSA Emil Lee said on Wednesday that he is still working diligently on obtaining finance for the construction of the New General Hospital. The Minister said that his hope is SZV and APS are the ones that will finance the New General Hospital. He said the two entities are ensuring that they conduct due diligence before signing off on the financing Read more

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PHILIPSBURG:--- The Minister responsible for Housing and Spatial Planning Christopher Emmanuel confirmed on Wednesday that he is still busy working on getting some members that were appointed to the board St. Maarten Housing Development Foundation (SMHDF) to vacate their positions.
The Minister said he is making progress slowl Read more

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Duncan says Justice Minister should do proper research.

PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister of Justice Rafael Boasman confirmed on Wednesday that the Justice Academy is not a registered entity within the Justice Ministry. Minister Boasman was asked by SMN News to clarify his statements on the establishment of the Justice Academy. Asked if the diplomas issued from the institution of the years are valid and are recognized the Minister said that the establishment of the institution has nothing to do with the diplomas since the curriculum that are followed are from recognized institution Read more

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PHILIPSBURG: --- The chairman of NIPA supervisory board Antonio Aventurin buckled to severe pressure from members of the community on Wednesday and submitted his letter of resignation. Teachers at the learning institution were informed of Aventurin’s resignation on Wednesday. Aventurin and other members of the NIPA board are under severe criticism on social media after the board of NIPA terminated several local teachers, while they chose to grant a three-year contract to the daughter of the Minister of EYS at NIPA.
Several members of the community went directly after Aventurin after he dismissed the female Culinary and Arts teacher Renata De Weever who recently took students of NIPA to Miami and they did extremely well.
Minister of EYS Silveria Jacobs said on Wednesday at the Council of Ministers press briefing that she was highly criticized by the social media the past days for the dismissal of the teachers Read more

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Haiti To Cut International Missions Due To Economic Crisis

UNITED NATIONS – In a series of cuts made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Haiti announced its plans to reduce its diplomatic missions by 60 percent.

Minister of Foreign Affairs Antonio Rodrigue confirmed the decision Tuesday, citing the country’s budgetary issues. The minister reported that the government’s contractual staff from around the world will be the first to be cut, with more than 40 missions closing due to the economic crisis.

“For now, we spend US$4.2 million a month on missions and we want to reduce it to US$2.5 million,” the minister said in a statement.

“We are aware of the economic situation of the country and we have to act according to reality.”

The administration’s plan is to reduce its diplomatic presence worldwide and concentrate on constructing missions only where large numbers of Haitians reside Read more