SANTO DOMINGO - Dominican officials are investigating the capsizing of an overloaded immigrant smuggling boat that left 17 people dead and another 20 or more missing off the Dominican Republic coast, authorities said.

A rustic vessel with about 60 people aboard left Saturday from the coast of Nagua, 130 miles (210 km) northeast of Santo Domingo, bound for the neighboring island of Puerto Rico, and capsized in the Bay of Samana, Dominican ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--Cruise vessel Celebrity Silhouette on Monday reported that 31 persons on board had contracted gastroenteritis.

The vessel, which docked at Dr. A.C. Wathey Cruise and Cargo Facilities with more than 3,000 passengers and crew members on board, took the necessary precautionary measures by isolating affected passengers, sanitising areas on the vessel and cleaning public areas on a regular basis, Collective Prevention Services (CPS) official Maria Henry said last night.

She said the ship had reported the gastroenteritis cases in its mandatory health declaration, whic ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--A Central Committee hearing on the proposed Child Abuse Registration System, a new addition to the Civil Code, ended up being overshadowed by whether proper procedures had been followed to invite civil servants to speak to Parliament.

The issue on Monday arose when Community Development, Family and Humanities Affairs head Aida Holaman-Boyrard said she had boundaries within which to answer questions from Members of Parliament (MPs). While answering the questions, she said she was "constantly treading" on the spheres of other departments.

Holaman-Boyrard said she, ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--An agreement to strengthen administrative cooperation on taxation was signed by Attorney-General Dick Piar, Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos, Acting Head of Fiscal Affairs Sissy Gonzalez-Fung and Head of the Tax Administration Geert Bergsma on February 1.

This agreement will contribute to the prevention and effective combating of tax fraud through cooperation and exchange of information relevant to the determination, assessment and collection of taxes, the recovery and enforcement of tax claims and the investigation or prosecution of tax matters.

Regular meetings are p ... Read more

MARIGOT--Tiffany Anicette (8) outshone three other contestants to win the Miss Pitchounette 2012 pageant, the first of this year's Carnival shows, at the Omnisports Hall in Galisbay on Sunday.

She also won Miss Popularity, Miss Most Tickets Sold, Best Talent, Best Princess Wear and Best Carnival Costume.

Anicette will be exposed to an even bigger audience when she leads the Children's ... Read more

MARIGOT--The work of We Agree with Culture Association in developing the Bellevue market gardens project to the extent it has become was praised roundly by several speakers at the fifth Agriculture Fair on Sunday.

About three-quarters of the project site is now under cultivation with a diverse range of vegetables and fruits grown in fertile, self-sufficient conditions. However, there is a lot ... Read more

~ Could change at last minute ~

AIRPORT--Air France says it expects to maintain more than 85 per cent of its long-haul flights and 80 per cent of European flights when pilots, cabin crew and other personnel begin a four-day walkout Monday to protest a government labour reform.

So far all indications suggest that flights to St. Maarten will not be affected, but that could change. The French airline did not say how many domestic flights it would have to cancel, and added that it may have to cancel some flights at the last m ... Read more

THE HAGUE--The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service IND unit in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba processed 5,000 requests for residence permits in 2011. A total of 82 persons were refused at the border and 63 were expelled.

Dutch Minister of Immigration, Integration and Asylum Gerd Leers stated this in a letter to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament late last week. He will have a meeting with Parliament's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations today, Monday, about his policy on the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

The IND unit, which al ... Read more

~ For vehicle tax, other payments ~

PHILIPSBURG--The Tax Administration Office (Receiver's Office) will be open late from today Monday, March 6, for the entire month of February for all payments such as the payment of motor vehicle tax and number plate purchase.

Acting Receiver Minerva Gumbs told The Daily Herald the department would be open from 8:00am to 6:00pm from Monday to Friday and from 9:00am to 2:00pm on Saturdays. All payments will be accepted during the extended opening hours, which will end on Friday, March 2.

Gumbs urges motorists and other persons to ma ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--Someone in Barbados is a multimillionaire today, having won the Caribbean Lottery Super Lotto jackpot equivalent to US $4.2 million. The lottery was drawn last night.

Reports last night said the winning ticket had been bought by someone in Barbados.

According to the latest ad submitted by the lotto company, the new jackpot to be drawn on Tuesday will be equivalent to US $1.5 million.

President Frantz Gumbs, joined by several taxi association representatives, talks to the media on Friday following their meeting on the controversial taxi fee issue.

MARIGOT--The Collectivité bac ... Read more

THE HAGUE--The liberal democratic VVD party is preparing a law proposal to restrict immigration to The Netherlands by residents of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.

Under VVD's law initiative, people from the islands with insufficient education, those who do not have command of the Dutch language and persons with criminal records no longer would be allowed to register.

The proposal doesn't seem to have much support. VVD's coalition partner the Christian Democratic Party CDA is not eager to support a law initiative that would cut through the plans to realise the Kingdom Law on ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams underscored on Friday the importance of political accountability and of impartiality in the work of National Security Service St. Maarten VDSM.

She said that as sensitive as the services were, there must be political accountability and there never should be even the slightest semblance of partiality or bias against anyone or any group.

The Prime Minister was speaking at the official opening of VDSM's offices at Harbour View Executive Center in Philipsburg Friday.

She stressed, "If national security is at stake, preven ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--Minister of Tourism Franklin Meyers met with private-sector stakeholders involved in the establishing of a board for the still-to-be-formed Tourism Authority and advised them to nominate six persons to sit on the board of the authority.

This changes the initial structure that the Minister had wanted to implement, which called for three members from the private sector and three that government would appoint (not necessarily civil servants).

The initial plan was for those six persons to select a seventh, leaving the Minister with the responsibility of appointing a ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--The search of two residences resulted in the arrest of several suspects, including one who is said to be the son of a senior police officer, Wednesday morning.

Chief Prosecutor Hans Mos said he did not have all the details and could not confirm the exact number of suspects. However, it was confirmed later via other sources that one of the suspects is the son of a Police Inspector.

Among the items found and seized during the searches were jewellery believed to have been stolen during a recent robbery and some weapons.

Mos congratulated the police for what ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--Alleged discrimination between foreign and national criminals' eligibility for early release was the focus of a closed court hearing for attorney Shaira Bommel and Minister of Justice Roland Duncan on Thursday.

In a pre-hearing interview with The Daily Herald, Bommel said the Minister had a policy that all foreign criminals must serve their full sentences and are denied opportunity for early release.

Duncan responded that the persons who were being denied had been incarcerated for less than a year. "It is ridiculous to let persons out based solely on good behavi ... Read more

THE HAGUE--Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation EL&I Maxime Verhagen has made half a million US dollars available for sustainable energy for St. Eustatius and Saba.

The minister announced this in a meeting with the Second Chamber's Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations on Monday. He had been called to Parliament to provide an update on his policy in regards to the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.

Several Members of Parliament (MPs) had inquired about the possibilities to stimulate green, sustainable energy on the island ... Read more

DAWN BEACH--A man was arrested following a search of the Dawn Beach and Defiance area on Thursday at 3:44pm.

Police responded to a call about a break-in that had taken place recently. As three suspects were still in the area, a chase ensued. Several shots believed to be police warning shots were heard. Sniffer dogs also were used.

One unidentified man was captured and taken to the pol ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--Four persons, among whom Omar "Chuckie" Nelson (20) who is currently already sitting out 18 years, received prison sentences ranging from five to seven years Wednesday, in a case of theft with violence and abduction.

The case involved the kidnapping and violent robbery of C. Short in Nazareth on August 18, 2010.

Prosecutor Dounia Benammar had requested eight years for Nelson, six years for Louella A. Flanders (32) and Roberto R.F. Brooks (19), and seven years for Roberto's twin brother Ronaldo.

Judge Monique Keppels found all four suspects guilty as char ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG--A large quantity of locally produced bread without proper labels was removed from the shelves of three supermarkets on Wednesday by the Ministry of Health Food Safety Department. Warnings have been issued to bread makers and the supermarkets.

All bread confiscated will be destroyed. "We don't like to destroy good food, but the labels need to be in place," Chief Food Inspector Michael Somersall told The Daily Herald.

Administrative fees will be next if the bakeries and supermarkets are found not to be in compliance with the law. Supermarkets also carry responsibi ... Read more