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>PHILIPSBURG:---- While residents throughout St. Maarten were anxiously following the developments with TS Erika last week, another outcry came from those persons affected by the recent fire on the landfill (dump). The effects, such as the smoke and fumes of this fire could be felt and sensed a great distance away from the Philipsburg area, said Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams.
Understandably, the people of St Read more

UP MP Lake would like to see stakeholders for Waste to Energy Plant Project getting together to move project forward

>PHILIPSBURG:---- United People’s (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake sent a letter to the Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, and also publicly made a statement on July 13th, 2015 requesting an update on the Solid Waste Ordinance and the progress of the long awaited Waste to Energy Plant to address the ‘growing garbage mountain.’

“As the former Minister of VROMI, my ministry and the Steering Committee was very much involved with the final stage the bidding process which was won by a company to build the plant Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, said on Sunday that joint cooperation and collaboration is the most feasible way to move forward in building and developing a longstanding relationship that is beneficial to both parties concerned within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Additional discussions will take place between Sint Maarten and the Netherlands with on how to tackle a number of areas such as border crossing crime, money laundering, the narcotics trade, robberies, and human smuggling and trafficking.
“Sint Maarten and the Netherlands both agree that the country’s judicial system needs to be strengthened Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams said in a press statement that as a country that has known our share of disasters, it is heart wrenching to see the reports and scenes coming out of Dominica, as this island was battered by torrential rains, flooding and mudslides, associated with TS Erika Read more

>PHILIPSBURG;---- Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, has forwarded a letter to the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit expressing condolences to the people and Government of Dominica with respect to the damage left behind by Tropical Storm Erika.
“On behalf of the Government and the people of Sint Maarten, I Read more

Parliament not fully utilizing the forum of its committees to debate matters that affect the people of St. Maarten.

>PHILIPSBURG:---It was a progressive step when the parliament of St. Maarten in its wisdom decided to keep meetings of the parliamentary committees open. However, by not calling meetings of these committees as often as is possible and desirable, the purpose of these committees is defeated, said leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams.
The work of these committees is to a large extent determined by the members of parliament who chair these committees Read more

Uts Upgrading Clients To Be 4G Lte Ready

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United Telecommunication Services is continuing on its course of improvement by offering its Chippie customers the opportunity to upgrade the SIM card they use to access the mobile operators’ mobile service.

For just USD $ 5 customers can purchase a 3G capable SIM card that will allow them access to the mobile operators’ premium mobile internet service. For a limited time only customers save $11.70 when purchasing their new SIM card.

With the upgrade campaign existing customers can visit the UTS store in Philipsburg from August 31 – September 19 and get their SIM card upgrade Read more

Parliament Not Fully Utilizing The Forum Of Its Committees To Debate Matters That Affect The People Of St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - It was a progressive step when the parliament of St. Maarten in its wisdom decided to keep meetings of the parliamentary committees open.However, by not calling meetings of these committees as often as is possible and desirable, the purpose of these committees is defeated. The work of these committees is to a large extent determined by the members of parliament who chair these committees. Members can ask for topics to be tabled, but there are no regulations that these meetings must be held Read more

Up Mp Lake Would Like To See Stakeholders For Waste To Energy Plant Project Getting Together To Move Project Forward

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – United People’s (UP) Party Member of Parliament (MP) Maurice Lake sent a letter to the Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, and also publicly made a statement on July 13th, 2015 requesting an update on the Solid Waste Ordinance and the progress of the long awaited Waste to Energy Plant to address the â€˜growing garbage mountain.’

“As the former Minister of VROMI, my ministry and the Steering Committee was very much involved with the final stage the bidding process which was won by a company to build the plant Read more

Prime Minister Gumbs Expresses Condolences To The Government And People Of Dominica

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, has forwarded a letter to the Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of Dominica Hon. Roosevelt Skerrit expressing condolences to the people and Government of Dominica with respect to the damage left behind by Tropical Storm Erika.

“On behalf of the Government and the people of Read more

Financial instruction for St. Maarten unavoidable

~Minister Hassink relays objections to The Hague~

By Suzanne Koelega

THE HAGUE--St. Maarten has faced the threat of a budgetary instruction before, but this time there seems no escaping: the Kingdom Council of Ministers is expected to give St. Maarten an instruction on September 4, to get its 2015 budget in compliance with the requirements of the Financial Supervision Law.

According to St. Maarten Finance Minister Martin Hassink, in the Netherlands earlier this week for talks with Dutch authorities, the measure against St Read more

New Turkish cabinet includes opposition

ANKARA--Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu appointed nationalist and pro-Kurdish opposition politicians to an interim power-sharing cabinet on Friday, but left his finance and economy ministers unchanged in a team dominated by ruling party loyalists.
  Davutoglu was forced to form the temporary cabinet after his AK Party failed to find a junior coalition partner following the loss of its parliamentary majority in a June election which ended more than a decade of single-party rule Read more

Japan student group injects new exuberance into anti-war protests

TOKYO--Wearing shorts and a baggy T-shirt and clutching a microphone, Aki Okuda stands before a crowd, the pyramid-shaped roof of Japan's parliament lit up against the night sky behind him. "No War", "Protect the Constitution", "Abe - Quit!", he chants in a hip-hop rhythm, echoed by the crowd.

Okuda, 23, is a founding member of a group of students that has become a fresh face of protest against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's push to enact a more robust defence policy - steps critics say violate the pacifist constitution and could ensnare Japan in U.S.-led wars.

Students Emergency Action for Liberal Democracy (SEALDs) is also denting the image of Japanese students as either apolitical introverts, who left protests to their elders, or rightwing geeks Read more

Ujima takes treatment for ‘at-risk’ boys to another level

~ Applications Open for New Day Treatment Programme ~

By Judy Fitzpatrick

Ujima Foundation has taken its programme to help youngsters in St. Maarten to a new level with the launching of its new Day Treatment Programme for “at-risk” boys in the country. The treatment programme is an extension of Ujima’s Residential Treatment Programme and will be in the form of an after school programme targeting boys ages eight to 13. The programme began on August 24, and registration is currently ongoing.

UJIMA Foundation had offered a day programme in the past, focussing on academic support and therapeutic activities for persons who completed its residential programme Read more

Editorial - A while longer

What was becoming increasingly obvious now appears unavoidable. St. Maarten faces an instruction to bring its 2015 budget in line with requirements of the Kingdom Financial Supervision Law (see related article).

Just last Wednesday Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs had stated that draft amendments were at Parliament to increase the budget by 15 million guilders and shift some allocations, based on increased income projections and other complementing factors Read more

Port St. Maarten and Lagoon Authority Clearance Offices Partially Closed on Friday, 28 August

>PO-INTE BLANCHE:---  Port St. Maarten and the Simpson Bay Lagoon Authority hereby announces that the clearance offices at Great Bay and in Simpson Bay will be closed on Friday, August 28 from 9.30am to 1.30pm.

For those who would have some business to attend too, please do so before 9.30am or after 1.30pm.

The closure is related to the staff attending the memorial services for former Netherlands Antilles Senator and Minister of Finance Hon. Frank Mingo, father of Port St Read more

TelEm Group offices re-opening Friday.

>PHILIPSBURG:---  TelEm Group announced Thursday night that all company locations will be opened to the general public at the start of the business day Friday following the passage of Tropical Storm Erika.

Erika passed further south than anticipated with less rainfall than expected on the island.

Company personnel will be assessing assets and equipment for possible water damage and then begin the process of assisting any customers with damaged or faulty telecommunication services following Thursday’s storm.

The company says TelCell’s mobile service and TelEm Group’s high-speed ADSL service both continued to operate efficiently throughout the storm providing valuable updates to customers throughout St Read more

The Caribbean Future Forum Brings Together Young Thinkers And Senior Un Officials As A New Wave Of On-Line Discussions Gets Underway

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad & Tobago - The first in a new series of Caribbean Future Forum webinars kicks off this Friday, 28 August at 11.30 am, and will focus on what the Sustainable Development Goals will mean for people in the Caribbean.

On 25-27 September 2015, world leaders will gather at the United Nations Headquarters in New York to agree on a set of goals and targets to ensure that countries across the globe not only achieve economic and social development, but that they do so in a way that will not exhaust our planet’s environmental resources Read more

Up Family Extends Condolences To The Families Of Those Lost In Erika Flooding And Prayers For The Nation Of Dominica

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The Leader of the United People's Party (UP) Member of Parliament Hon. Theo Heyliger was shocked after viewing news footage of the flooding devastation in the Caribbean island of Dominica. 

The extreme flooding is attributed to the passing of Tropical Storm Erika through the Leeward Islands Read more

Plasterk And Richardson Smoke A Peace Pipe In The Hague

Protocol remains in place, cooperation back on track

ST. MAARTEN / THE HAGUE – Tensions between the Netherlands and St. Maarten have eased after a meeting between Justice Minister Dennis Richardson, Minister of Safety and Justice Ard van der Steur and Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk during a dinner in The Hague on Wednesday. The brusque announcement by Gerard Bouman, chief of the Dutch national police, that he will not work together with the local government and the local police force to combat corruption and organized crime in St Read more

Tropical Storm Erika Leaves Island In One Piece

Huge waves, driven by Tropical Storm Erika battered the coast. Photo Today / Milton Pieters

St. Maarten – Tropic al Storm Erika did not live up to expectations and given the chaos the storm caused on other islands like Dominica, that is something to be grateful for. The island was battered by strong winds on Thursday, but the expected excessive rainfall did not materialize.

As a precautionary measure, the government ordered all businesses to remain closed yesterday. At 6 p.m., Prime Minister Gumbs announced that restaurants and casinos could reopen Read more

Princess Heights Nominated For Chta Chief Awards

St. Maarten – The luxury boutique hotel Princess Heights, managed by Emil Lee, is among the 29 nominees for the inaugural Chief Awards of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association CHTA. The finalists will be announced at the end of this month and the winners will be revealed at the Caribbean Hospitality Industry Exchange Forum (Chief) in October at the Waldorf Astoria Resort in Puerto Rico.

The tourists associations of Curacao, Puerto Rico and Jamaica are among the nominees Read more

Remembering Frank Mingo: “A Force To Be Reckoned With”

Frank Mingo holding his one of his sons on vacation. Photo contributed

St. Maarten / By Andrew Dick – The late Frank Mingo was a force to be reckoned with says Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs who served with him in the Netherlands Antilles Parliament prior to October 10, 2010.  Born in Aruba on February 1948, Frank Elliot Mingo was also known as Frankie or Pappie, the son of Clara Hunt and Frank Emmanuel Mingo Sr Read more

Waste-to-energy plant still pending

PHILIPSBURG--The country will have to wait for some time more before a solution is implemented for the garbage mountain growing out of Great Salt Pond and looming over Philipsburg.

The much-talked about waste-to-energy plant appears to have stalled. The plant was a topic in last year’s hotly contested Parliamentary Elections and since then not much has been heard.

Prime Minister Marcel Gumbs, asked about the project at the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday, said “I wish I can give you a date Read more