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Saudi Arabia suggests pilgrims at fault over haj deaths, Iran angry

MINA, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia on Friday suggested pilgrims ignoring crowd control rules bore some blame for a crush that killed over 700 people at the haj pilgrimage in the annual event's worst disaster for 25 years.
  The kingdom's regional rival Iran expressed outrage at the deaths of 131 of its nationals at the world's largest annual gathering of people, and politicians in Tehran suggested Riyadh was incapable of managing the event Read more

Israel's soaring population: Is the Promised Land running out of room?

TEL AVIV--Israel's birth rate, the highest in the developed world and once seen as a survival tactic in a hostile region, could be its undoing unless measures are taken to reverse the trend.
  The average Israeli woman has three babies in her lifetime, nearly double the fertility rate for the rest of the industrialised countries in the OECD. That, accompanied by heavy Jewish immigration from the former Soviet Union, has seen Israel's population double in the last 25 years.
  The birth rate is even higher among Israel's Arab community and more than double among its ultra-Orthodox Jews, two groups that also have low participation in the workforce, dragging the economy down Read more

Kentucky clerk in gay marriage dispute switches to Republican Party

WASHINGTON--A county clerk in Kentucky who was briefly jailed for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples said on Friday that she and her family have switched to the Republican Party because the Democrats no longer represented them.
  Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis, 50, who has said her beliefs as an Apostolic Christian prevent her from issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, said they had changed parties last week. She was a long-time Democrat in eastern Kentucky.
  "My husband and I had talked about it for quite a while and we came to the conclusion that the Democratic Party left us a long time ago, so why were we hanging on?" she told Reuters in an interview at a hotel in Washington, where she has traveled to be feted at a Family Research Council event later on Friday.
  Davis also said she did not foresee a problem with the current marriage licenses being issued by her office in Morehead, Kentucky Read more

World Tourism Day Feature

Lee: Lack of consistency biggest bottleneck for St. Maarten tourism

The lack of consistency is one of the main issues plaguing St. Maarten’s tourism industry, says local hotelier and Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) president Emil Lee.

Lee, a former president of St. Maarten Hotel and Tourism Association (SHTA), told WEEKender that St Read more

Lee: Tourism’s Caribbean impact much greater than global figures

PHILIPSBURG--In an official World Tourism Day message by the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), St. Maarten-based CHTA President Emil Lee stressed that tourism’s impact on the Caribbean is proportionally far greater than the 10 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) and six percent of exports cited by the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), concerning global tourism contribution figures.

“Tourism continues to present the greatest opportunity for the countries throughout the Caribbean to create jobs, generate tax revenue, and spawn new locally-owned businesses,” Lee said.

His comments were underscored by UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai, who stated that tourism has demonstrated its capacity to increase competitiveness, create job opportunities, stem the rural exodus, generate revenues and reinforce the sense of pride and self-esteem within communities.

The theme for World Tourism Day is “1 Billion Tourists, 1 Billion Opportunities.”

According to the UNWTO, today’s more than one billion annual tourists have made tourism a leading economic sector – contributing 10 percent of GDP and six percent of the world’s total exports.

Lee stressed that tourism’s impact on the Caribbean is proportionally far greater Read more

Chinese delegation impressed with island’s ‘beauty, ethnicity’

MARIGOT--“The competitive nature of the global market place demands that we act global and think global. We must sell our assets of stability, ease of access and ease of doing business.”

Those were some of the remarks made by Founder and CEO of Invest Caribbean Now (ICN), Felicia Persaud, in her keynote address at Friday’s exclusive invitation-only conference in the Chamber of Commerce on the theme “Investing in St. Martin’s Tourism Product”.

“Partnerships, collaborations, linkages, networking…that’s the key to the success of businesses, economies, governments, because from where I sit there is no way that any government on any island is smart enough to do it alone,” she added Read more

>Airport:--- According to well-placed sources the supervisory board of the Princess Juliana International Airport (PJIAE) will meet soon to further discuss the issues and letter sent to the chairman of the board regarding the Airport’s managing director Regina Labega. Earlier this week the Prime Minister of St. Maarten dispatched a letter to the board informing them that they have to dismiss Labega because she failed the screening process. However, Deputy Prime Minister Dennis Richardson clarified to SMN News that Labega has the rights to appeal the results of the screening.
SMN News further understands that while Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs sent a letter to the Supervisory Board to take action, that board cannot sanction or dismiss Labega, instead such decisions have to be taken by the Holding of PJIAE who would have a hard time firing or dismissing Regina Labega based on the five-year contract she signed.
According information provided to SMN News the contract Regina Labega signed with PJIAE did not state she is obliged to take any screening for the job she now holds Read more

Proposed candidate to take up St. Maarten’ seat on the CFT board is Maria Plantz.

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The UPP/De Weever/LRM and USP coalition has submitted a name to take up the vacant position on the CFT board. The board of the CFT told members of the media on Thursday that a name has been submitted and appointment of the candidate is the pipeline but the chairman of the  CFT board refused to divulge the name of the candidate stating that it is the government of St Read more

>PORT ST:---- Sunday, September 27 marks World Tourism Day (WTD). Port St. Maarten on behalf of the Board of Supervisory Directors, Management and Staff, wishes everybody working in the hospitality and tourism sector a Happy World Tourism Day.
The theme for WTD 2015 is ‘One billion tourists, one billion opportunities.’
With five consecutive years of growth, tourism has been a major contributor to the economic recovery, creating jobs and opportunities for communities in many parts of the world.
Every time somebody travels, for whatever reason, they are part of a global movement; a movement that has the power to drive inclusive development, create jobs and build sustainable societies we want for our future; a movement that builds mutual understanding and can help us safeguard our shared natural and cultural heritage.
This year highlights the global potential for socio-economic development Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Minister Plenipotentiary Josianne Fleming-Artsen accompanied Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs to the Dutch First Chamber of Parliament, also referred to as the Senate, on Thursday, where he met with President Ankie Broekers-Knol.
Minister Plenipotentiary Fleming-Artsen stated on Thursday that President Broekers-Knol was very interested in the relationship between the Netherlands and Sint Maarten, and this was one of the points that was discussed in the meeting.
“Several issues were discussed during the meeting between the Prime Minister and President Broekers-Knol Read more

Maduro Donates Bulletproof Vests

MP Franklin Meyers wears a bulletproof vest, surrounded by representatives of Maduro and Sons and the two Chief Inspectors. Photo contributed

St. Maarten – S.E.L. Maduro and Sons donated ten bulletproof vests to Chief Inspectors Rudolf Bloeiman and Ricardo Henson. The vests are for members of the bike patrol who are considered the ambassadors of St Read more

Port Attends Security Conference

GREAT BAY – Port St. Maarten Security and several law enforcement agency representatives from St. Maarten recently attended a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (RCCL) security conference where a strategic security alliance has been formed.

RCCL allowed a team of security and law enforcement professionals from St. Maarten to speak at the conference held by Global Security for the company’s security staff. This conference is held twice a year, and this is the first time that a port destination has been included as speaker.

The St Read more

Serial Robber Drags Down Young Cousin With Him

Prosecution demands 15 and 10 years for seven robberies

St. Maarten – Jurendy Jacob B. has a criminal record that goes back to 2006. Yesterday the 27-year-old was in court for a dozen armed robberies, committed between November 29 of last year and June 1 of this year. Prosecutor Nanouk Lemmers demanded a 15-year prison sentence in the Court in First Instance. B. dragged down his 23-year-old cousin Lorine L. with him; she is facing a 10-year prison sentence for providing transport and for firearm possession Read more

Scell Officially Opened At Usm : “Develop Commitment To Lifelong Learning”

St. Maarten – The University of St. Martin (USM) officially opened its new school named “The St. Martin School of Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning (SCELL)”, which was launched on August 1, this year. Ministers Rita Bourne-Gumbs and Claret Connor represented the Council of Ministers at the reception while Managing Director of the Windward Islands Bank Derrick Downes is the first official donor of the programs the school offers.

Master of Ceremonies Rolando Tobias gave an introduction giving insight about the many programs SCELL offers: professional trainings for organizations, organizational event planning, Women Island Network, AHLEI certified hospitality & restaurant training, community personal development workshops, young professionals network, forward action mentoring program for youth, educational workshops for schools, motivational presentations and business power networking.

USM Board President Valerie Giterson-Patophlet called the SCELL program the new vehicle to move the university forward Read more

CFT says ‘no’ to Government’s NAf. 25M budget amendment

PHILIPSBURG--It's a clear "no" from the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT to the Marcel Gumbs Cabinet on its proposed NAf. 25 million increase of the 2015 budget. The pending budget amendment seeks to move the total budget amount from NAf Read more

No autonomous authority for Dutch police in St. Maarten

THE HAGUE--The Dutch National Police will not have autonomous authority or tasks in St. Maarten. Dutch police officers, who will be dispatched to St. Maarten to strengthen the law enforcement sector, will be added to the Detective Cooperation Team RST under the existing legal framework.

Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk stated this on Thursday in response to written questions of Members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Wassila Hachchi and Magda Berndsen-Jansen of the Democratic D66 Party.

Hachchi and Berndsen-Jansen sought clarity on August 20, following media reports on the visit of National Police Chief Gerard Bouman to St Read more

Maria Plantz tipped as country’s CFT rep

PHILIPSBURG--Committee for Financial Supervision CFT will soon have a member from St. Maarten. Tipped for the post is Corporate Legal Expert Maria van der Sluijs-Plantz.

The St. Maartener, who lives in the Netherlands, has already served the country as the vice chairwoman of the first Corporate Governance Council (CGC) that was established in 2010. She serves as Vice Chairman of Strategic Development at TMF Group Holding BV, a company that focuses on corporate compliance. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

CFT Chairman Age Bakker said in a press conference on Thursday that a nominee to fill the vacant St Read more

More than 700 pilgrims die in crush in worst haj disaster for 25 years

MINA, Saudi Arabia--At least 717 pilgrims from around the world were killed on Thursday in a crush outside the Muslim holy city of Mecca, Saudi authorities said, in the worst disaster to strike the annual haj pilgrimage for 25 years.
  At least 863 others were injured. Saudi King Salman said he had ordered a review of haj plans after the disaster, in which two large groups of pilgrims arrived together at a crossroads in Mina, a few kilometres east of Mecca, on their way to performing the "stoning of the devil" ritual at Jamarat.
  Thursday's disaster was the worst to occur at the pilgrimage since July 1990, when 1,426 pilgrims suffocated in a tunnel near Mecca Read more

Open letter to Parliament

Dear Editor,

Please allow me some space in your newspaper to address the chairman of the house of parliament, the honourable Lloyd Richardson and the honourable members of parliament of country Sint Maarten.

Ladies and gentlemen, please permit me to draw your kind attention to the following problem taking place here on this lovely twin island of St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- During his working visit to the Netherlands, Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs met with Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Bert Koenders on Wednesday.
During the meeting a number of issues were discussed including an invitation to travel to New York City for a meeting of the United Nations (UN) Security Council.
All Prime Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- United People’s (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake has mixed feelings about Tuesdays Parliament meeting with respect to the agreement between ZEBEC and the St. Maarten Harbour Group of Companies.
“No matter the agreement is legal and according to the law but if you look at it from an ethical and moral point of view I have mixed feelings Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- On the second day of his first working visit to Holland Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs met with the Vice-President of the Council of State for the Kingdom Piet-Hein Donner, where they exchanged views on current affairs.
Before becoming Prime Minister, Marcel Gumbs was an active member of the Council of Advice for Sint Maarten.
In a pleasant atmosphere, information was shared with respect to the position of Sint Maarten towards the current instructions that came from the Kingdom Council of Ministers.
Donner and Prime Minister Gumbs a discussed the National Ordinance to establish an Integrity Chamber, which has recently been brought to the Constitutional Court by the Ombudsman.
The Vice-President of the Council of State for the Kingdom Donnor, stressed the importance and need for a Kingdom dispute regulation and the need to improve communications between the four countries within the Kingdom and on all levels.
The Prime Minister’s delegation included St Read more

St. Maarten Prime Minister In The Netherlands For Talks With Kingdom Relations Minister

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is in the Netherlands for talks with Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk. There is no information available about the content of these talks at this moment, but the photo seems to suggest that, after all the tensions that have marred the relationship between the Kingdom and St. Maarten, Gumbs and Plasterk now appear to be the best of friends Read more

St. Maarten Prime Minister In The Netherlands For Talks With Kingdom Relations Minister

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs is in the Netherlands for talks with Kingdom Relations Minister Ronald Plasterk. There is no information available about the content of these talks at this moment, but the photo seems to suggest that, after all the tensions that have marred the relationship between the Kingdom and St. Maarten, Gumbs and Plasterk now appear to be the best of friends Read more