Harbour View:--- On Wednesday May 22, 2013 Prime Minister Wescot-Williams in view of the political developments presented His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, with a letter dated May 22, 2013, making the portfolios of the Ministers and the Minister Plenipotentiary available and tendering the resignation of her entire cabinet.
The Governor informed the Prime Minister that he will consider her request and that he is calling on the Ministers and the Minister Plenipotentiary to continue their duties in the interest of Sint Maarten an ... Read more

PHILIPSBURG:--- A plenary public session of Parliament regarding the position of the chairman is scheduled for May 27.

The plenary public meeting will be held on Monday morning at 10:00am in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

This meeting was requested by Members of Parliament (MPs) Hon. Petrus de Weever, Hon. Romaine Laville, Hon. Gracita Arrindell, Hon. Sylvia Meyers, Hon. Jules James, Hon. Janchie Leonard, Hon. Dr. Ruth Douglass, and Hon. Roy Marlin. The request for the plenary session was dated ... Read more

POINT BLANCHE:--- The Port of St. Maarten will receive six calls from the newest Royal Caribbean Lines (RCL) vessel Quantum of the Seas for the 2014-2015 cruise tourism season. The Quantum of the Seas sets sail on its inaugural voyage November 23, 2014.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mark Mingo of the St. Maarten Harbour Group of ... Read more

Pond Island:--- TelEm Group technicians and engineers today reported that the company's 3G mobile voice and data network is now free of interference from neighboring Anguilla. The network is now fully operational under a different frequency.
"With immediate effect, customers in the affected areas of Cupe Coy, Cole Bay and Simpson Bay will notice a vast improvement in their 3G voice and data service with less dropped calls and less interruptions while accessing data on the internet," said TelEm Group Public Relations Officer, Joe Dominique.
Mr. Dominiq ... Read more

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Disaster Coordinator Winston Salomon, Head of the Island's Disaster Emergency Management Organization, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), will be chairing a meeting of the 10 Emergency Support Functions (ESFs) next week in preparation for the 2013 Atlantic hurricane season that starts on June 1st.

Salomon also uses this opportunity reminding the nation to continue to make preparations for the upcoming hurricane season and to do so in a timely manner. Forecasters have predicted a busy hurricane season ahead, and Disaster Coordin ... Read more

GREAT BAY (DCOMM):--- Youth Health Care, a division of the Collective Prevention Services (CPS), a Department at the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, planned community outreach vaccination sessions and lectures, has as its objective to reach all children with life-saving vaccines ... Read more

Conference Will Address Issues of Transborder Crime and Migration

Philipsburg:--- The Government of St. Maarten is moving forward with its planning of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) regional seminar to be held from the ninth to the eleventh of July.

ICAO, with the support of the Government of Sint Maarten, will hold a Regional Seminar on Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs), Biometrics and Identification Management in Philipsburg, Sint Maarten, West Indies, from 9 to 11 July 2013.Read more

GREAT BAY/MARIGOT:--- One of three books published by House of Nehesi Publishers (HNP) in time for the St. Martin Book Fair is the French translation of the critical essays, Haiti and Trans-Caribbean Literary Identity.

The new French edition, Haïti et l'identité littéraire t ... Read more

Harbour View:--- On May 21, 2013, the Ministers Mr. W. Marlin, Mr. R. Tuitt, Mrs. S. Jacobs, and Mr. R. Pantophlet submitted their letters of resignation to His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, as a result of the current political situation. The Governor has presented these letters to Prime Minister Mrs. S. Wescot Williams for further handling.

From the Governor's Cabinet

Harbour View:--- On May 21, 2013, the Ministers Mr. W. Marlin, Mr. R. Tuitt, Mrs. S. Jacobs, and Mr. R. Pantophlet submitted their letters of resignation to His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten, drs. E.B. Holiday, as a result of the current political situation. The Governor has presented these letters to Prime Minister Mrs. S. Wescot Williams for further handling.

From the Governor's Cabinet

Politics we are told, is the art of the possible. It St. Maarten politicians have made that into the art of the near impossible. One need look no further than the furious attempts to fashion a government with a one seat parliamentary majority currently taking place. This will create eight chiefs and zero Indians. Each MP can hold the other seven hostage. After all, if he or she withdraws their support, the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. A government with such a slim majority in Parliament is a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at any moment, and at ... Read more

Philipsburg:--- Residents on the Pondfill and several businesses had a bad day on Tuesday when a fire of unknown origin started on the Landfill. Several firefighters were seen on the location trying to control the fire and thick smoke. On several occasions there were explosions on the dump causing the fire to become bigger and the smoke thicker. Up to late Monday evening the Department of VROMI c ... Read more

Simpson Bay:--- On Saturday May 18, Mr. Igor Sher proposed to his bride Mrs. Nela Rohovska planeside at Winair. Mr. Sher advised Winair and requested a sign be placed on our aircraft, much to the surprise of the future Mrs. Sher, Winair staff prepared the sign and a bottle of champagne was given to the happy couple. Mrs. Rohovska was completely surprised and said YES to the marriage proposal! The happy couple then flew to St.Barths to celebrate their engagement. Winair staff was in on the surprise and were on hand to share in the moment and wish the couple well ... Read more

Great Bay:--- The Knowledge, Attitude, Behavior and Perception of Sex, Sexuality and Family Planning (KABP) research among the age groups 18-59 years old will start this month and end in June 2013. This research is spearheaded by the Department of Social Development in collaboration with the HIV/AIDS Programme Management Team and Collective Preventive Services with the aim of attaining an indication of the knowledge, attitude, behavior and perception of sexual practices within the age groups 18-59 years old, while measuring their usage and non-usage of family p ... Read more

Pond Island:--- Interference to TelEm Group's 3G network continues to be affected by interference from a source in Anguilla – despite the company's move to a new frequency last we ... Read more

St. Maarten Pride Foundation is very much concerned about the human health and environmental consequences of fires at the landfill, such as the fire which took place on Tuesday May 21st, 2013.

Pride informs Government that landfill fires release fine ash and potentially cancer-causing substances and therefore pose both immediate and long-term health risks to those exposed to the smoke, gases and toxic fumes. The hazard and level of toxicity of landfill fires depends on the length of exposure to them and on the type of material that is burning.

L ... Read more

Windward Islands Airways NV "WINAIR" is pleased to inform its clients that it has launched "On-Line Check-In Facilities". Clients can now from home or anywhere with an internet connection, check in on their flight starting 24 hours before departure up and till 2 hours. Passengers with no luggage and checked in online, can proceed to Winair departure gate at least 45 minutes before departure. Passenger with baggage can proceed at least 60 minutes before departure to our special "Baggage Drop Counter".
Winair in its efforts continues to enhance our customer ... Read more

Philipsburg:--- Former Minister of Justice and Attorney at Law Roland Duncan in an interview with SMN News on Tuesday said he maintains his view that the Prime Minister of St. Maarten Sarah Wescot Williams has been abusing the power vested in her as Prime Minister and Chairman of the Council of Ministers. Duncan also stated that the ... Read more

Philipsburg:--- Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the National Alliance William Marlin issued a strong call to the people of St. Maarten on Tuesday afternoon asking them to remain calm and to hold a level head as the political situation on St. Maarten becomes more intense. Marlin made the call on Tues ... Read more

Philipsburg:--- The political crisis on St. Maarten is becoming more confusing by the day and it appears as though no one seems to know what is legal from what is illegal. On Tuesday afternoon, the Vice Chairman of Parliament Romaine Laville sent out an invitation to all Members of Parliament inviting them to a Parliamentary meeting that will take place at the A.C. Wathey Legislative Hall on Thursday at 10am. The invitation which was sent through Roddy Heyliger and not the griffier of Parliament states that the meeting "no. 6" that was postponed for the third t ... Read more