By Tom Clifford Cole Bay, November 14, 2025 — The music was thumping and the food on offer was tempting and mouth-watering as MotorWorld geared up for the launch of the Chery Tiggo series at Cole Bay on Friday. “The Chery is China’s leading vehicle in terms of exports,’’ said Dylan Smith Motoworld’s regional brand and logistics manager. The sport utility vehicle has been produced by Chinese manufacturer Chery Automobile since 2005. It boasts an amazing statistic as China’s top auto exporter for two decades. It has established a presence in 100 countries and regions. “Tiggo is a play on…
Author: The Publisher
By Tom Clifford Airport, November 14, 2025 — A new air service linking San Juan in Puerto Rico to Princess Juliana International Airport took off on Friday. “We have 40 aircraft in the fleet and for this route each plane will carry 30 passengers,’’ according to David Woodard, Vice President of Airport Operations for Contour Airlines. He was speaking just ahead of the first aircraft in the service landing at PJIA. Contour Airlines has its corporate base in Smyrna, outside Nashville, in Tennessee. “But our aircraft for this service are all in San Juan,’’ Woodard added.The launch marks a strategic…
By Tom Clifford PHILIPSBURG — Road signs displaying warnings over corruption, negligence and sheer mismanagement are clearly visible in the island’s public transport sector, if one is to sum up the Tourism, Economic Affairs, Traffic and Telecommunication (TEATT) minister’s presentation in Parliament on Thursday, November 13, 2025. Addressing parliament, Minister Grisha Heyliger-Marten said a designated transport authority will be set up in 2027 to manage and oversee the sector that has been plagued by mismanagement. As tempers rose, the session had to be adjourned after the minister spoke and the chairman reminded the members of Parliament that allegations against anyone…
By Tom Clifford I am not a seafarer. I do not have sea legs. I have two, very grateful for them, but they are not marine adjustable. I get on board any vessel and I grab the handrails. And do not let go until I see something else to hang on to. Of course I have been on a boat. I am Irish, not part of this later lot with computer skills and air tickets, fancy clothes and choices of jobs. I come from an earlier generation that took the ferry from Dublin to Holyhead. It was more than just…
In these times of global uncertainty and shifting cultural narratives, we are reminded that history matters — not just as an academic record, but as a living responsibility. A recent report by The Guardian on the removal of memorial panels honouring African-American soldiers at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial in Margraten is deeply troubling. In a cemetery near Maastricht, where over 8,300 U.S. service-members are buried, including 174 African-American soldiers, two display panels commemorating their service were quietly removed from public view. One panel highlighted the dual struggle of black servicemen — fighting Nazi Germany abroad while confronting segregation…
By Tom Clifford More than a century has passed since the guns fell silent on the 11thhour of the 11th day of the 11th month in 1918. Men and supplies from the Caribbean were vital to the success of the Allies in what was then termed the Great War, and the war to end all wars. Later in the 20th century we realised this was wildly optimistic and allocated numbers to world wars. The British colonies in the West Indies quickly pledged their support to Britain in men, money and materials when war broke out in 1914. King George V…
PHILIPSBURG — A critical air freight delivery has arrived in St. Maarten Sunday, November 9, to support the repair of WestJet’s aircraft that suffered a landing‑gear collapse at Princess Juliana International Airport (SXM). The airline’s Boeing 737‑800 on September 7, 2025, made contact with Runway 10 at SXM when its right main landing gear collapsed, causing the right engine nacelle to scrape the runway. All 157 passengers and 6 crew members evacuated safely, with no injuries reported. See related article: WestJet Aircraft Suffers Hard Landing at SXM Airport Now two months later a large‑scale parts shipment was flown in on a wide‑body freighter…
St. Maarten’s own Calvin Mardembrough jr ended his 2025 competitive season on a high note, securing a 2nd place silver medal in the Masters 35+ Men’s Physique Division at the Caribbean Grand Prix held on Saturday, November 8, in Nassau, Bahamas. Mardembrough also earned a 5th place finish in the highly competitive Open Class B, further solidifying his presence among the region’s top athletes. Reflecting on the accomplishment, Mardembrough expressed deep gratitude for the outcome of a year defined by commitment and consistency. “I feel blessed and content with my achievements in 2025. I spent 197 days in uninterrupted prepping,”…
By Tom Clifford Amid an intense regional military build-up by the United States, which many believe could see an attack on Venezuela, the Dutch Prime minister urged calm. Dick Schoof was speaking in Curaçao amid growing tension between the US and Venezuela. Addressing a media conference, he stressed that the Kingdom is “not involved in US military operations” and that all parties must avoid, what he called, “doom scenarios.” The situation, Schoof stressed, was being monitored by the Defence and Foreign Affairs departments and intelligence concerning developments is being shared with Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten, and Bonaire to ensure coordinated…
PHILIPSBURG — An analysis of the way mail-in voters cast their vote for the Dutch Second Chamber show two things: D66 trails behind GreenLeft/PvdA and the low turnout of voters in the BES-islands – Bonaire, Statia and Saba – highlighted the disinterest of the islanders in overseas political affairs. Statia has the worst record with a turnout of 9.7 percent, followed by Bonaire (21.5%) and Saba (28%). Worldwide the interest in these elections was much higher, as the results of the mail-in voting bureau shows: a turnout of 65 percent. For some, the result in Statia, where New Social Contract…
