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Some 1,400 pupils participate in public schools’ ‘Unity Walk’

PHILIPSBURG--An estimated 1,411 pupils and 145 teachers, primarily dressed in the colours of the St. Maarten Flag, participated in a vibrant walk through Philipsburg on Friday, as part of the annual pre-St. Martin/St. Maarten Day Unity Walk.

Pupils and their teachers snaked through the streets of Philipsburg in their colourful attire, adding a dash of colour to the streets as they walked. Persons stopped along the route to watch the youngsters walk and the island prepare to celebrate St Read more

Black music, white culture and a legendary US highway

BOSTON--Author Dennis McNally accompanied the Grateful Dead as a publicist and historian on the band's "long strange trip," and he chronicled Jack Kerouac, the Beat Generation author of "On the Road".
  For his latest book, "On Highway 61: Music, Race and the Evolution of Cultural Freedom," McNally twice drove every mile of U.S. Route 61, the legendary Mississippi River road, to document the influence of black music on white America Read more

A Minute With: Sean Hannity on 'disconcerting' election, matchmaking

LOS ANGELES--Sean Hannity, the longtime Fox News Channel anchor and strong voice for American conservatives, is used to taking criticism from all comers, but it was his own unhappiness with his flabby self last year that pushed him to take up a new fight - that of "street" martial artist.

"It's a tough, tough workout," the 52-year-old said of his regimen of jiu-jitsu, blade and firearm training. "It's also really great self-defense ... I'm building muscles that I've never had before."

Hannity, whose eponymous weeknight show averages 1.7 million viewers and ranks in the top five of cable news programs, spoke to Reuters about the upcoming U.S Read more

Other Parties Stay Away From Protest Against Kingdom And Plasterk – Green March Against Instruction

St. Maarten– Between 300 and 400 people took part in the march People United for True Democracy organized yesterday afternoon in protest against the instruction from the Kingdom Council of Ministers to Governor Holiday for a stricter screening of candidate ministers – a handsome turnout with one flaw: only supporters of the United People’s party showed up.

UP party leader Theo Heyliger was there, as were his faction leader Franklin Meyers, MP Tamara Leonard and MP Lloyd Richardson Read more

Christian right will still turn out for Republicans in US midterms

SPRINGDALE, Arkansas--If Republicans win control of the Senate in the midterm elections they should say a prayer of thanks for Christian conservatives.

Although they get little attention from candidates, white evangelical Christian voters are likely to be fundamental to any Republican victories in the key Senate races, especially in the South. Reuters/Ipsos polling data shows evangelicals are more enthusiastic than the general population about the midterms.

The religious right's influence may be much reduced since the days of Moral Majority leader Jerry Falwell's alliances with Republican presidents Read more

Marchers call for ‘respect’ and end to Dutch ‘insult’

PHILIPSBURG--"We didn't vote for Bosman or Van Raak" and "Enough is enough. This is our country" were some of the messages on the placards carried by an estimated 200 marchers who took to the street Sunday afternoon to express their discontent with the Kingdom Council of Ministers' instruction to Governor Eugene Holiday to carry out what has been deemed an invasive, boundless screening into the lives of minister candidates.

The march started off from the ring road with the sizable group heading down W.J.A Read more

style="text-align: center;">St. Maarten and its people will continue to fight for their rights

PHILIPSBURG:--- Organizers of the Peoples United for True Democracy (PUTD) began gathering on the Pondfill just after 1pm on Sunday as they prepared for the march they organized to protest against the instruction the Kingdom Council of Ministers gave to Governor Holiday on September 17th, 2014. The Kingdom Council instructed the Governor of St. Maarten not to sign any Landsbesluit to appoint Ministers that are appointed by the current coalition government.

The march which was scheduled to take off from the vicinity of the WIFOL building on the Pondfill on Sunday afternoon left the location close to 3pm as buses were circling in the various districts to pick up people who wanted to participate in the march deemed as protecting the country and its people's democratic rights.
Despite the delay and several publications in the newspapers, radios, and the social media just about 100 persons attended the march, included were several members from the UP party including its leader Theodore Heyliger, MP Lloyd Richardson and MP Franklyn Meyers, children and even some workers from the brothels on the island were among those that marched down the Pondfill road to the Government Administration Building.
As the marchers marched they chanted they wanted freedom, justice and respect Read more

Tamara Leonard Condemns Instruction From Dutch

St. Maarten —“ The recent instruction from the Dutch Government to Governor Eugene Holiday to carry out an invasive screening of candidate ministers in addition to the mandated security screening has put the governor yet again in a very awkward position where he has to choose between truly representing the people of St. Maarten and the one-sided interest of the Dutch Government,” says United People’s (UP) party Member of Parliament Tamara Leonard.

“This instruction goes against a number of fundamental rights and freedom guaranteed to the people of St Read more

style="text-align: center;">Transparency International: Dutch corruption mechanisms insufficient

PHILIPSBURG:--- The UP Faction would hereby like to make one thing abundantly clear to the general population and Kingdom partners: The issue with the instruction given to Governor Holiday regarding expanded screening criteria to be executed by appointees of the Dutch government, is not about 'having something to hide' Read more

Mp Tamara Leonard – Governor Put In Awkward Position By Dutch Government

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – The recent instruction from the Dutch Government to Governor Eugene Holiday to carry out an invasive screening of candidate ministers in addition to the mandated security screening has put the governor yet again in a very awkward position where he has to choose between truly representing the people of St. Maarten and the one-sided interest of the Dutch Government, says United People's (UP) party Member of Parliament Tamara Leonard.

"This instruction goes against a number of fundamental rights and freedom guaranteed to the people of St Read more

>ATLANTA/ST. MAARTEN:--- In the midst of the many global threats, terrorist acts, violence, crime and corruption; bravery, tenacity, courage and resilience are especially essential for leaders in our societies. Consequently, the visionary and president of Victorious Living, Dr. N. Erna Mae Francis-Cotton, in a recent press release saluted 17 year old Malala Yousafzai on recently winning the Nobel Peace Prize, especially as the world community celebrated The United Nations' International Day of the Girl Child on October 11th.
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan and proves that we must be courageous in the midst of opposition and threats Read more

Holiday says MPs play critical role to foster good governance

~ MPs sworn in ~

HARBOUR VIEW--The fifteen Members of Parliament (MPs) elected during the August 29 Parliamentary Elections took their oaths to serve in the presence of Governor Eugene Holiday on Friday.

Sworn in were United People's (UP) party MPs Theo Heyliger, Franklin Meyers, Silvio Matser, Tamara Leonard, Maurice Lake, Lloyd Richardson and Johan "Janchi Leonard; Democratic Party (DP) MPs Sarah Wescot-Williams and Cornelius de Weever; United St Read more

15 New Mps Take The Oath Friday

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - The swearing in ceremony of the 15 parliamentarians to govern the country for the period 2014/2018 took place on Friday morning.

The ceremony was held at the Governor's office at Harbor View. Taking the oath were members of the National Alliance William Marlin, Silveria Jacobs, George Pantophlet and Christopher Emanuel, the United People Party, Theo Heyliger, Dr Read more

Havana sees no sign Obama will change policy on Cuba

HAVANA--Cuba has received no indication the Obama administration might change U.S. policy toward Cuba despite increasing support within the United States for closer ties, a top Cuban official said on Wednesday.

"We don't have those indications (of any policy change)," Josefina Vidal, chief of the Cuban foreign ministry's U.S. division, told reporters in Havana after attending a forum discussing the U.S Read more

UP willing to install neutral committee

~Law firm weighs in~

PHILIPSBURG--Sulvaran and Peterson law firm, which represents the United People's (UP) party led by Member of Parliament Theo Heyliger, has weighed in on the vote-buying case involving UP.

The firm said UP was willing to call a neutral committee when it takes office to "tackle this matter with all the political parties." The aim will be to "separate fact and fiction and, if necessary, to make recommendations."

The firm said, "Finding a correct balance with this topic will in itself be a challenge," but noted that it was something "local politics itself will have to tackle first Read more

PVV submits law to send back criminal ‘Antilleans’

THE HAGUE--The Party for Freedom PVV in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Wednesday submitted an initiative law which aims to send persons from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten who have been convicted of a crime back to their island.

An expulsion law is needed to "protect" the Dutch society against the excessive and often violent, criminal behaviour of persons from the islands, contended PVV Members of Parliament (MPs) Sietse Fritsma and Machiel de Graaf, the initiative takers of the law proposal.

The law proposal puts the protection of victims of violence, robberies and other severe crimes in the centre by expelling violent and trouble-causing Dutch Caribbean persons, Fritsma and De Graaf stated in the explanatory note Read more

Dutch Send Supervisor Integrity And Reinforcements To The Island

Debate about Kingdom Relations-budget in The Hague

THE HAGUE  – Assistance for the Public Prosecutor’s Office to fight white collar criminality,  border control under the supervision of the Netherlands and the appointment of a Supervisor Integrity. These are the three pillars of an action plan Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk announced yesterday in the debate about the budget for Kingdom Relations in the Second Chamber in The Hague.

Plasterk said during the debate that the situation in St Read more

Speech Of Sxm Managing Director, Regina Labega At The Opening Ceremony Of The Safety And Security Conference And Exhibition, Westin Resort And Spa, Sept. 30, 2014

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten - Ladies and Gentlemen. Good morning.

"The sky is the limit only for those who aren't afraid to fly..." Thus said Captain Shekhar Gupta of AeroSoftCorp. He certainly was not referring to any of you here today, because I would like to believe that you are not afraid to fly.

You will also recall this other famous saying by an anonymous author: "To most people, the sky is the limit (but) to those who love aviation, the sky is home." I know it is your love for aviation that has brought you here today, so welcome home.

Welcome to our Safety and Security Conference and Exhibition, which we are holding this year as part of the ongoing celebrations of the 70th anniversary of SXM Airport Read more

Reaction To Pwc Integrity Report: Dutch Want Criminal Investigation (Into The Government Of St. Maarten)

THE HAGUE – Justice has to initiate a large-scale criminal investigation into the “utterly corrupt” government of Sint Maarten. “The Second Chamber demands this, now that the controversial politician Theo Heyliger is grabbing the absolute power on the island,” the Telegraaf reported yesterday.

A majority of VVD, Socialist Party, CDA and PVV wants action according to the newspaper, after it appears from an investigation by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers that the complete government apparatus is rife with cronyism Read more

Second Chamber calls for intervention in St. Maarten

THE HAGUE--The Dutch media reported on Monday that there is majority support in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament for intervention through a large criminal investigation of "St. Maarten's corrupt government." Dutch politicians are especially worried now that the United People's (UP) party of Theo Heyliger is about to take power.

Two major Dutch newspapers, De Telegraaf and Trouw, reported on Monday morning on PricewaterhouseCoopers' (PwC's) Integrity Inquiry report on St Read more

Local Poem Selected For Choral Music Performance In The Netherlands

St. Maarten – Newly created music to Drisana Deborah Jack’s poetry will be performed at the 55th anniversary concert of the Delft Ars Vocalis Chamber Choir in the Netherlands, according to Jack’s publisher HNP.

Dutch composers Rita Hijmans and Anke Brouwer selected Jack’s poem “I dare you” and its Dutch translation from a long list of verse proposed by Ars Vocalis to four composers that it commissioned to create “new musical composition” for its anniversary concert.

“I am very intrigued by the notion of interpreting the poetry into music for a choir,” said Jack, a leading local poet and artist Read more

Usm And Vlf Offer Eft Classes To General Public

St. Maarten – The University of St. Martin in its efforts to meet the growing needs of the community of St. Maarten, is now embarking upon an adult education class, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) in collaboration with Victorious Living Foundation.

“The EFT course provides the participant with the history, science and practical application of EFT so that he/she may utilize these techniques to overcome physical, emotional, or psychological pain, trauma, or other challenges in his or her life Read more

>GREAT BAY:--- Newly created music to Drisana Deborah Jack's poetry will be performed at the 55th anniversary concert of the Delft Ars Vocalis Chamber Choir in the Netherlands, said Jack's publisher HNP.
Dutch composers Rita Hijmans and Anke Brouwer selected Jack's poem "I dare you" and its Dutch translation from a long list of verse proposed by Ars Vocalis to four composers that it commissioned to create "new musical composition" for its anniversary concert.
"I am very intrigued by the notion of interpreting the poetry into music for a choir," said Jack, a leading St Read more

>PHILIPSBURG:--- The University of St. Martin in its efforts to meet the growing needs of the community of St. Maarten, is now embarking upon an adult education class, Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT) in collaboration with Victorious Living Foundation.
The EFT course provides the participant with the history, science and practical application of EFT so that he/she may utilize these techniques to overcome physical, emotional, or psychological pain, trauma, or other challenges in his or her life Read more