Editorial: To be continued
Today’s meeting of the Kingdom Council of Ministers in The Hague promises to be an interesting one. Five draft consensus Kingdom Laws will be handled in relation to the process of dismantling the Netherlands Antilles and establishing new relations in the Dutch Kingdom.
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Courthouse dilapidated, but
708 more cases handled 2008
~ Joint Court’s annual report 2008 ~ PHILIPSBURG--Despite funds made available by Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende in February 2008, the Courthouse is still in grave need of repairs.
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Search for Cordes will continue,
but authorities not saying much
PHILIPSBURG--Searchers gathered enough information while diving in French St. Martin waters in search of American Leta Cordes’ corpse this week that they plan to do it again in the vicinity of Etang de Poisson, prosecutors said Thursday.
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Single bridge opening
scheduled for Saturday
SIMPSON BAY--Outbound and inbound maritime traffic can use the Simpson Bay bridge channel Saturday during the single opening at 6:00pm. The regular low season schedule goes back into effect Sunday.
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Economic zones BES islands
to become customs depots
THE HAGUE--The economic zones on Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba will cease to exist when the islands become ‘public entities’ of the Netherlands. The zones will become customs entrepôts, bonded warehouses.
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USM now recognises
‘management team’
~ Progress reported in talks with WIFOL ~ PHILIPSBURG--University of St. Martin (USM) reportedly has recognised a group of local workers as part of the management team, a small step in the direction of resolving an ongoing acrimonious standoff between the university and the union representing the workers.
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Armed robbery
suspect on trial
MARIGOT--The new 44/2 Bellac Gendarmerie brigade arrested two armed robbery suspects on June 29 and 30, one of whom is scheduled to appear in a Guadeloupe court today.
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Students preparing
for job training
PHILIPSBURG--The curtains will close on the 2008-2009 academic year today, Friday, but for students from a number of secondary schools on the island their work is not yet done.
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Govt to carry out study of
telecommunications market
PHILIPSBURG--The government will carry out a study to ascertain the state of the telecommunications market before a decision is made to grant an operation licence to communications company Scarlet N.V.
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Remkes: Independence
is always an alternative
THE HAGUE--Independence for St. Maarten is a realistic option if the island cannot comply with the conditions set out in the November 2006 Final Declaration and does not want to accept a transitional phase as a temporary alternative, says Member of Parliament (MP) Johan Remkes (53) of the liberal democratic VVD party.
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Unions: Emancipation Day
should be a public holiday
PHILIPSBURG--Several unions in St. Maarten will be lobbying authorities to make Emancipation Day a public holiday.
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Former Guyana First Lady
for lecture here Saturday
PHILIPSBURG--Peridot Foundation will host a talk about domestic violence by former Guyana First Lady Varshnie Singh in the Philipsburg Community and Cultural Centre tomorrow, Saturday, starting at 7:30pm. This is part of the foundation’s continuing awareness programme.
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Island Council handles
SMPA transfer mistake
PHILIPSBURG--The Island Council unanimously approved the amendment to a decision made two years ago in the transfer of St. Maarten Ports Authority (SMPA) to St. Maarten Harbour Holding Company.
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More load-shedding,
generator back online
CAY BAY--More load shedding was caused Thursday when diesel generator 12 developed more problems. Utilities company GEBE had ten megawatts less power production capacity while this machine was under repair.
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Dead fish along
Salt Pond shore
PHILIPSBURG--The shoreline of the Great Salt Pond was lined with dead fish every other metre on Thursday. The water has turned a pink-reddish colour, indicating a large amount of algae in the pond, probably due to a high level of salinity (saltiness).
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Unions being flexible in
global financial crisis
PHILIPSBURG--Cognisant of the effects of the global financial crisis on businesses, several unions are being a bit more flexible in their negotiations with and demands on companies.
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St. Maarten objects to forcing
Aruba to accept Joint Court
~ Five Consensus Kingdom Laws approved ~ PHILIPSBURG--The Island Council approved the draft Consensus Kingdom Law on the Joint Court of Justice Thursday, but maintained firmly that St. Maarten objects to forcing Aruba to accept the Court as outlined in law. The draft law will be handled by the Kingdom Council of Ministers today, Friday.
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News from Thursday July 2, 2009
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News from Wednesday July 1, 2009
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News from Tuesday June 30, 2009
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News from Monday June 29, 2009
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News from Friday June 26, 2009
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