GREAT BAY — HNLMS Pelikaan (A804), the logistic support vessel of the Royal Dutch Navy docked at the port in St. Maarten on Monday afternoon. The spokeswoman for the navy in the Caribbean, Canan Babayigit, told stmaartennews.com that the rotating element of marines in St. Maarten is currently on a scouting exercise in Saba and Statia. During this training the marines get to know the environment of the islands. The Pelikaan is currently sailing between the three islands of St. Maarten, Saba and Statia to transport the marines. On Tuesday the Pelikaan placed parts of buoys near Statia. Photo Hilbert…
Author: The Publisher
Grand Case—Each year, the Les Fruits de Mer association hosts the Migratory Bird Festival on St. Martin. The stars of this festival are the birds that travel so far to come here each year, and the wild places and creatures they depend on. This lively cast of characters—birds, crabs, mangroves and the ponds themselves—is featured in the new ebook Pond Life: Reflections. The book is available for free download at lesfruitsdemer.com. “Migratory pond birds—like wading birds and ducks—are common and easy to see on St. Martin,” explained author Mark Yokoyama. “Ponds are also some of the most important places on…
GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – The World Health Organization (WHO) is recommending that farmers and the food industry stop using antibiotics routinely to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy animals. The new WHO recommendations aim to help preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics that are important for human medicine by reducing their unnecessary use in animals. In some countries, approximately 80% of total consumption of medically important antibiotics is in the animal sector, largely for growth promotion in healthy animals. The WHO message is related to United Nations WHO, World Antibiotic Awareness Week (13-19 November) that kicked off on…
Philipsburg — The Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports issued the following photo release with the caption “AUC donates school office supplies”. Photo: (L-R Hazarie Ramoutar, Minister Silveria Jacobs, Ruth Linger, Juliette Green-Blijden). Note: Click on photo to enlarge image. UPDATED PHOTO RELEASE CAPTION: PHILIPSBURG — The American University of the Caribbean (AUC) donated stationary supplies to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Youth and Sport (ECYS). Through the Ministry ECYS, the supplies will be divvied up and given to the Public Schools, which falls within the direct purview of the Ministry ECYS. The donation was made by Mr. Hazarie…
HILVERSUM – National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen wants answers from Minister of Home Affairs Kasja Ollongren about the problems with registering homeless St. Maarteners in certain municipalities, Natasja Gibbs reports on Caribisch Netwerk. After Hurricane Irma, dozens of homeless St. Maarteners fled on an evacuation flight to the Netherlands. Several municipalities do register them, but a city like Haarlem refuses to do this “because the St. Maarteners are homeless and cannot support themselves.” In a letter dated September 6, Minister Ollongren wrote that the point of departure in the Netherlands is that citizens are able to support themselves. According to…
HAARLEM – For months the municipality of Haarlem has refused to register homeless citizens from St. Maarten, but last Thursday it seemed that the city administration had changed its position, Natasja Gibbs reports on Caribisch Netwerk. Two single mothers with children received a proof of registration, but their joy did not last long. A spokesman for Haarlem’s mayor Jos Wienen said on Monday that the registration is a misunderstanding. Sella and her 10-year old son and another mother with two children did not believe their ears when they were refused last Friday with their proof of registration at the UWV…
WILLEMSTAD – XCOR, the American company that aimed to offer flights into space with its Lynx rocket plane from a launching platform in Curacao, is bankrupt and the space tourists who paid more than €70,000 – 260 in all, for a total of more than €18.2 million (close to $21,.5 million at the current rate of exchange) – have lost their money, the Volkskrant reported on Tuesday. The Dutch entrepreneur Michiel Mol established the Space Expedition Corporation in 2011, a company XCOR acquired in 2014. The plan was to launch Lynx rocket planes from Curacao that would shoot travelers within…
SCHIPHOL – New video footage has surfaced of the fatal arrest of Aruban Mitch Henriquez; the Public Prosecutor said on Monday that he was unaware of this material, Natasja Gibbs reports on Caribisch Netwerk. On Monday the trial against two police officers who were involved in the death of Henriquez began. The trial took place in a heavily secured courtroom at Schiphol airport. The names of the police officers remain confidential, in spite of many attempts by the family to obtain them. The court ruled that the measure has been put in place because the safety of the officers is…
By Hilbert Haar The independent judge is a precious and essential part of our judicial system. This means that, in general, court rulings simply have to be respected. If you don’t agree, the system offers appeal options. While the system seems to be fair and balanced, not all court rulings are properly understood and at times it is hard to explain why a ruling went a certain way. This is for instance the case with the decision by Dutch courts to shield the names of two police officers who are on trial for the death of Aruban Mitch Henriquez. The…
Philipsburg — In view of recent political developments and the parliamentary elections on February 26, 2018, the Electoral Council hereby informs all existing and prospective political parties desirous of participating in the upcoming elections that: According to article 16 of the National Ordinance on registration and finances of political parties: new parties need to submit a written application to register the party with the Electoral Council. Together with the application for registration of the political party, the following documents should be submitted: Notarial deed containing the Articles of Association of the party; Excerpt from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry;…
