SXMElections.com

AUC increases security after second threatening message

CUPECOY--American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine has increased security on campus after receiving a second “threatening communication.”

Classes at the institution were disrupted on Monday when AUC had to be evacuated after it received a bomb threat via e-mail. In a letter to students dated September 2, AUC Campus Administrator Michael Kanaby said the second communication received “did not warn of an imminent danger to the community.”

“Due to the ongoing and as yet unresolved police investigation into these communications, we are increasing security on campus,” the letter read.

“Beginning today, you will notice more security staff and a tightening of security regarding access to the campus Read more

Country has 1,612 registered physically, mentally challenged

PHILIPSBURG--St. Maarten has a total of 1,612 persons registered as physically or mentally challenged, based on figures ad interim Health Minister Rita Bourne-Gumbs presented to Parliament in a Central Committee meeting on Wednesday.

Bourne-Gumbs was in Parliament for the continuation of the meeting on the national ordinance on public health that deals specifically with preventing and containing infectious diseases, health protocols and other related topics. The meeting originally started on August 5, but was suspended to give the ministry’s team time to research answers to questions posed by Members of Parliament (MPs).

The figures given by the minister date to 2011, and estimated the number of differently-abled persons living at home at 1,582 Read more

India's bulldozer promises to add two percentage points to growth

NAGPUR, India--The man Prime Minister Narendra Modi has tasked with launching a China-style infrastructure boom calls himself a "bulldozer" and promises to add two percentage points to India's economic growth in two years.
  "I am a man of my word," Nitin Gadkari told Reuters on a trip to his home district in Maharashtra, the state where he made a reputation for getting the job done Read more

Editorial - All hands on deck

Today's news that the screening of two new prospective ministers was completed with success (see related article) is most welcome. Rumours had surfaced that this might not be the case for at least one of the candidates, which of course would have led to even more delay in the proposed changes.

Once formalised, the appointment of Raphael Boasman as Public Health, Social Development and Labour Minister as well as Ernest Sams as Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Minister will bring the cabinet up to its normal seven members, one for each ministry Read more

Dp Wants Action With Timeshare Legislation

St. Maarten– The ministry of tourism and economic affairs is going back to the drawing board with timeshare legislation and that is not to the liking of the Democratic Party. DP-MP Sarah Wescot-Williams said yesterday that the party would take back its initiative legislation and go forward with it if there is no fast action forthcoming from the ministry.

Former DP-MP Leroy de Weever submitted draft timeshare legislation Read more

Government Administration Building Remains Empty: White Elephant Remains A Burden

Will there ever be light at the end of the tunnel? The lobby of the new government administration building is empty and waiting to be properly furnished. Photo Today / Hilbert Haar

St. Maarten – The new government administration building on Pond Island – aka the White Elephant with the Green Hat – is still waiting for its first civil servants. The interior of the building is not finished and yesterday nobody was working on it either.

Based on an overview of buildings in use by the government that is in the possession of this newspaper, 56 government departments are using real estate outside of the current governed administration building on Clem Labega Square.

Of fourteen buildings, the list today has in its possession mentions the value of the buildings Read more

Us Party Board Members Assist With Relief For Dominica

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Lloyd Paul and Cecil Nicholas, both board members of the United St. Maarten Party (USP), are among a group of individuals who have come together in an effort to raise support for the storm stricken Caribbean Island Dominica.

Together with former member of Parliament, Romaine Laville, Mr Read more

Mp's Questions Need For Ipko Consultations

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Members of the Parliament of St. Maarten are now questioning the need for the IPKO consultations based on its perceived effectiveness and the financial constraints of the Country St. Maarten.

On Monday the Permanent Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Inter-parliamentary Relations met to discuss the preparations for the upcoming January meeting of the IPKO.

This meeting comes in the wake of a meeting by Curacao’s Parliament last week during which they voted in favor of using the Par Latino platform to bring the problem of the democratic deficit within the Dutch Kingdom to the attention of the United Nations, an issue which is the major sore thumb sticking out of the relationship between Holland and their so-called equal partners in the Caribbean Read more

Dp Saddened By Passing Of Linda Johnson

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten -The Democratic Party has with much sadness taken note of the passing of Linda Johnson.

We extend our heartfelt condolences to her husband, children and extended family and friends. Linda was a dear and beloved friend of the DP leader and many DP members. She was a dedicated worker and a loving mother. She loved life and had a great sense of humor.

 Linda fought a valiant battle against cancer Read more

Nassau grouper goes for the kill with invasive lionfish

NASSAU, Bahamas--A recent Lionfish University video documenting a Nassau grouper stalking and ultimately devouring a lionfish in the Caribbean is thought to be the first-ever footage showing this type of event without the assistance of humans, and may indicate that divers’ attempts to “teach” groupers to eat the invasive species is finally bearing fruit.

In the video, the grouper appears to herd the lionfish away from the safety of the reef into open water, where it can investigate and prod from various angles, being careful to avoid the armour of poisonous spines, before lunging for the kill.

The resulting meal for the grouper represents a big step forward for biologists and conservationists, given that lionfish, which are native to the Indo-Pacific, have the potential to disrupt ecosystems in the Caribbean and Atlantic.

The continuing infestation of these prickly pests throughout the region is cause for alarm, because the venomous lionfish have no known natural predators in this part of the world and their rapid proliferation is going largely unchecked.

While it remains unclear exactly how devastating their presence – believed to be the result of people dumping their unwanted aquarium pets into the sea – may turn out to be, the outlook is bleak.

The concern is so genuine that fishery agencies and scuba divers the likes of the Lionfish University group – who are dedicated to the preservation of coral reefs and native fish populations – have, for the past several years, conducted large-scale culling events in the hope of minimising the threat.

Researchers have discovered that a single lionfish residing on a coral reef can reduce recruitment of native reef fishes by 79 per cent, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Because lionfish feed on prey normally consumed by snapper, grouper and other commercially important native species, their presence could negatively affect the well-being of valuable commercial and recreational fisheries.

Moreover, as lionfish populations grow they put additional stress on coral reefs already struggling from the effects of climate change, pollution, disease, overfishing, sedimentation and other stressors.

For example, lionfish eat herbivores and herbivores eat algae from coral reefs Read more

New African Development Bank chief to focus on powering Africa

ABIDJAN--The African Development Bank (AfDB) will focus in coming years on tackling Africa's chronic power shortages to try to unlock its economic potential and end its vulnerability to fluctuations in commodity prices, its new president said.
  Though it boasts nearly a billion people, sub-Saharan Africa consumes about as much power as Spain, with less than five percent that number, due to poor generating capacity and limited transmission networks. Two-thirds of Africans have no access to electricity.
  The lack of reliable power grids is a major obstacle to industrialising the continent's economies at a time when Africa hopes to make a transition from commodities producer to a manufacturing hub and challenge Asia where labour costs are rising Read more

Where is the Timeshare legislation that would have helped prevent this disaster?

Dear Editor,

We celebrate the legal victory of the handful of timeshare tourists who were willing to organise against a well-funded and larger opponent, put up their own money, and fight for their rights to keep their timeshare weeks as purchased, but what we don’t see are the thousands of timeshare owners at the former Caravanserai who gave up and as a consequence signed away their rights. Sadly, the collateral damage to our tourism industry translates into a tainted reputation for St Maarten, lost jobs and lost contributions into St Maarten’s economy.

The draft legislation which would regulate the Timeshare industry and has been working its way through our Parliamentary system for many years is still not approved Read more

NAGICO donates EC $75,000 in relief fund to Erika victims

PHILIPSBURG--NAGICO Insurances has donated EC $75,000 in the form of vouchers to the Dominica Social Welfare Committee to assist in the relief efforts following the catastrophic passing of Tropical Storm Erika last week.

The storm left a number of persons dead, several injured and scores of families homeless. In a meeting with the Dominica Social Welfare Committee on Tuesday, NAGICO Junior Marketing Manager Lisa Brown-McKay announced that the company would donate the funds in the form of vouchers that will go directly to the victims Read more

Dominica female football team stranded by Erika received St. Maarten hospitality

PHILIPSBURG- - The Dominica Female Football Team of 25-strong got stranded here on Thursday, the day Tropical Storm Erika passed well south of the country.  The team travelled to the Dominican Republic for an activity and on their way back to Dominica they landed in Sint Maarten the day the storm passed their island.
  The team spent several days here since the passing of Erika because of the devastation caused by the storm back in the Commonwealth of Dominica.  Since last Thursday was very limited air travel to the island, due to damage assessments that needed to be carried out to the different airstrips prior to any resumption of commercial travel to the country.
  The Dominica Female Football Team have been received a good dose of Sint Maarten Hospitality while on the island.
  Loyd Paul and Shanka Serrant, were instrumental in coordinating accommodations, meals and transportation while they were here on the island, and at the same time worked tirelessly to get the team back home to family and friends.
  President of Parliament Hon Read more

Kingdom Committee supportive of law to digitize court process

PHILIPSBURG--The draft Kingdom law to allow the digitization of court processes has the support of the Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Inter-Parliamentary Affairs and Kingdom Relations. The draft law was before the committee on Tuesday and after getting the nod of approval was forwarded to the Central Committee of Parliament for further handling.

Committee Chairwoman Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams (Democratic Party) explained that the law amends several other Kingdom laws to allow for the digitization in the courts across the Kingdom Read more

Venice film fest on a roll with Oscar-lucky openers

VENICE--The Venice Film Festival is having a good run with opening films winning Oscars, including best picture last year for "Birdman", and hopes to stay on a winning streak when the mountain disaster film "Everest" kicks off the 72nd edition on Wednesday.

"Everest" is directed by the relatively unknown Baltasar Kormakur from Iceland but boasts an all-star cast, including Jake Gyllenhaal, Keira Knightley and Josh Brolin re-enacting a real-life disaster that befell several expeditions on the world's highest mountain in 1996 -- filmed in 3D to boot.

It is not competing for the "Lion d'Or" top prize, but it is just the kind of film that Alberto Barbera, the festival's director, is looking for as an opener -- having scored a hit not only with "Birdman" but also with the space thriller "Gravity" the year before.

"The most difficult thing is to identify the film for the opening night because it's a sort of a special category of film," Barbera told Reuters in an interview Read more

Sarah determined to get timeshare law moving

PHILIPSBURG--Too much time has been wasted on moving forward with the draft timeshare legislation while the country’s reputation has sustained damage. For those reasons, Democratic Party (DP) leader Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot-Williams is determined to see the draft initiative law to protect timeshare owners and buyers that her party proposed in the last parliamentary terms moving in full swing Read more

Editorial - Hanging in the balance

The motion of no-confidence against Island Governor Gerald Berkel passed by the Island Council (see related story) is not going to solve Statia’s current problems. For starters, it regards an appointee of the crown as proposed by the Kingdom Government and while the wishes of the public entity surely must be taken into account, the local Island Council simply isn’t authorised to send Berkel home.

The motion requests Minister of the Interior and Home Affairs Ronald Plasterk to invoke articles 73 and 74 of the Law Public Entities Bonaire, St Read more

Motion of no-confidence passed against Island Governor Berkel

ST. EUSTATIUS--A majority in the Island Council of St. Eustatius passed a motion of no-confidence against Island Governor Gerald Berkel on Monday.

The motion was filed by Progressive Labour Party (PLP) leader Clyde van Putten, who said the coalition of PLP and United People’s Coalition (UPC) had been faced with many stumbling blocks for the past four months since coming into office.

The motion, which calls on Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk to revoke Governor Berkel’s appointment and to dismiss him with immediate effect, was adopted by a 3-1 vote Read more

Motion of no-confidence passed against Island Governor Berkel

ST. EUSTATIUS--The last agenda point of the Island Council meeting on was a motion of no-confidence against The island Governor Of Statia Gerald Berkel passed by the majority.

  Clyde Van Putten read the text as he spoke of the new government that has been faced with many stumbling blocks for the past four months since coming into office. He reflected on Berkel’s position way back when the DP wanted to fire him as Director of the Telephone company Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- Well placed information reaching SMN News states that Minister of Finance Maarten Hassink has sent an email to the leader of the United Peoples Party Theodore Heyliger informing him that he has taken the decision to make his position as Minister of Finance available to the UPP Read more

style="text-align: center;">DP Faction plans to take back draft timeshare legislation and move forward with them in Parliament.

PHILIPSBURG:--- The leader of the Democratic Party and Member of Parliament Sarah Wescot Williams told reporters on Tuesday that she has several concerns with the current government, one being the status of the Waste to Management Plant Read more

>DOMINICA:--- NAGICO Insurances has donated EC75 000 to the Dominica Social Welfare Committee to assist in the relief efforts following the catastrophic passing of Tropical Storm Erika last week, which left over 30 people dead, several injured and scores of families homeless.
In a meeting with the Dominica Social Welfare Committee yesterday; Lisa Brown-McKay; Jr. Marketing Manager of NAGICO Insurances announced that the company will donate EC$75,000 which will go directly to the victims as they will be in the form of vouchers Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:---  Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport & Telecommunications Hon. Claret Connor, presented “daughter of the soil” local author Latoya Lake with a token of accomplishment at the official book launch of “It’s like Déjà vu with You,” on Friday last at Holland House Beach Hotel on Front Street.
Surrounded by family, friends and well-wishers, Mrs Read more