News

The Daily Herald writes that St Maarten Nature Foundation, in cooperation with Dolphin Defenders St. Maarten, the Reserve Naturelle of St. Martin and St. Barths, the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance and various other partners, will be conducting a wide scale census of all marine mammals found around St. Maarten and …

Location as usual: Breadline Plaza. Time from 9:00 – 12:00

Hazel Durand (Caribisch Netwerk) writes the following about a reaction from Dutch parliamentarians when visiting Saba. There is too much Dutch legislation on Saba . That was the main point of the discussion between the parliamentary committee and the Island council of Saba this morning . André Bosman ( VVD …

The Daily Herald writes that Foundation Social Workplace Saba (FSWS) organized its second annual and well-attended Banana Salsa Party at Eugenius Johnson Center. While the 2012 event was restricted to creating exposure for the Organoponics Garden through the sampling of dishes made by various local restaurants and caterers with locally …

Tourists visiting Saba are sometimes subjected to strict controls. Sabans complain on social media sites that strict controls bring the tourism industry at risk. Tourists often have to wait a long time during the inspections in the hot sun or rain, because there is little shelter from the port and …

Saba On Thursday January 1st approximately 1:40 am the police was called for assistance at Winwardside because a couple was having a fight. During the  discussion the female broke the windshield of the car of her spouse. The man opted not to report the incident.

On January 3rd, 4th and 5th the “Vaste Kamercommissie” on Kingdom Relations pays a visit to Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Friday January 3rd the delegation is welcomed on St. Eustatius by the island governor  Berkel.  After a meeting with the island council they will visit the Queen Beatrix Medical …

The Daily herald writes that reflecting on 2013, Island Council member and Chairman of the Central Committee Rolando Wilson said he was grateful for the progress that has been made within the government system and in the private sector. “There were many challenges and changes that have taken place and …

The Police Force Caribbean Netherlands on Saba has a new emergency number. The old number, +599 416-3737, could no longer be used as a result of damage caused by lightning last week. The damage was so serious that telephone company Satel NV had to be involved. The police on Saba …

Officially fireworks can only be sold in the Netherlands for four days prior to the New Year celebrations. Fireworks can set off between 10.00 hours on December 31 and 02.00 hours on January 1 with those who break the rules facing a €100 fine. However, over 15,000 complaints have already …

The Daily Herald writes that Flamingo Express Dutch Caribbean FXDC – the new concessionaire for postal services on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba – is ready to start functioning per January 1, 2014. FXDC and current license holder NPNA are in the final phase of reaching a transfer agreement. This …

Saba Government Information Service                December 27, 2013 Everyone is invited to view what will definitely be a spectacular fireworks show, when the skies over Hell’s Gate are lit up during the Annual End of Year Grand Fireworks Display.  The pyrotechnic extravaganza will take place Monday, December 30th …

Email system Gmail has blocked an account set up by Geert Wilders to distribute an anti-Islam sticker, the Dutch politician claimed on Friday. ‘Unbelievable but Google has blocked the account islamsticker@gmail.com. So Mohammed Rabbae’s complaint was successful,’ Wilders said using the microblogging service Twitter. He was refering to a complaint …

The Daily Herald writes about an autobiographic tale of the life of a little boy, born May 23rd, 1946, on the five-squaremiles Island of Saba, which had some 900 inhabitants at that time. This is the plot of a book written by Raphael A.M. Sorton, who grew up to become, …

Saba Government Information Service                    December 26, 2013 Saba Inundated by Heavy Rains, Hail reported in some areas of the island. Heavy rains caused extensive problems on the island of Saba, particularly on roads and to the local communications network, during the afternoon and evening hours of …

The Caribisch Netwerk reports that on December 16 some twenty families received the keys to their house from the Own Your Own Home Foundation ( OYOHF ). Some families have waited ten to twelve years for this moment and sixty families are still on the waiting list .
Although Saba is …

King Willem-Alexander has made his first Christmas address to the nation, in which the relationships between people took centre stage. Seated in front of a fire at his home in Wassenaar, with photographs of his children, wife Maxima and parents behind him, the king spoke of the importance of working …

Hazel Durand of Caribisch Netwerk reports that, on Monday night, a major communications tower from the phone company Satel  night collapsed during a thunderstorm that swept across the island. According to the telephone company, it will take approximately one to two weeks before all phone lines are in order again. The …

On Monday January 23rd, telephone number 599- 416-3737 of the police on Saba has become inoperable due to lightning. The situation is serious enough that the local telephone company Satel NV had to be called in.  The Caribbean Netherlands Police Force (KPCN) meanwhile has a new number where citizens can …

Wilbert Stolte , representative on Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, again is discredited . He breached of the rules by agreeing to the appointment of a commissioner at the water and energy company Bonaire ( WEB ). According to the Code of Good Governance , the commissionar should not have …

Minister Plasterk wrote in a letter to the Senate dated December 17, that the appointment of a temporary Rijksvertegenwoordiger (National Government Representative) for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba was an option. The Senate had asked to hold off on the appointment of a new National Government Representative until after the …

Cabinet Rutte is not strong enough to go on without a good relation with D66, ChristenUnie and SGP, is the conclusion made in NRC Handelsblad.  Many people who voted for  the coalition parties conservative VVD and Labour party PvdA are not satisfied with the current political situation and said they …

The Daily Herald writes that victims of violent crimes on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will be able to get financial compensation from a special fund in the Netherlands in the foreseeable future, Dutch State Secretary Fred Teeven pledged in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament earlier this week. …

The minimum wage on Saba will be increased by 7.5 per cent to US $4.96 per hour, writes the Daily Herald. As a result, the social benefits such as unemployment allowance “onderstand” and pension allowance AOV on the island will go up by 6.1 per cent. The increase doesn’t apply …

The Daily Herald writes that Dutch Labour Party PvdA in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament wants a general debate with Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on a number of developments on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Member of Parliament (MP) Astrid Oosenbrug of PvdA …

A comment on the crisis on Bonaire was given by Trix Bennekom on Facebook with the following content. Last Wednesday (18/12 )the Governor of Bonaire Lydia Emerencia had her monthly meeting with the press. She is determined – as agreed with Plasterk – to remain in function until the 1st …

The Island Council of Saba convened its last meeting for the year 2013 on Wednesday, December 18. The meeting which commenced at 9:00 AM was opened by Island Governor Jonathan Johnson. In attendance were Island Council Members Rolando Wilson, Carl Buncamper, Eviton Heyliger and Ishmael Levenstone. Island Council Member Amelia …

Mr E. W. Noordhoek, will be the new chief prosecutor of St. Maarten. The National Council of Ministers decided to nominate him, according the proposal of the Minister of Security and Justice. Noordhoek (1958) begins in January 2014 with his work at the Court of First Instance of Sint Maarten. …

The Daily Herald writes that Gregory Hodge of East Caribbean Airline EastCair has charged national airline Windward Islands Airways International Winair with “stealing” business, project and economic feasibility plans commissioned by his company, to use as a basis for its new expansion. He intends to seek legal recourse to correct …

St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) is collaborating with Saba Healthcare Foundation and St. Eustatius Health Care Foundation for continued and improved healthcare for Saba, Statia and St. Maarten, reports The Daily Herald. SMMC and representatives of the two foundations met on Monday; over the past two months, these collaborating parties …

Police on Saba received information this week that a man had injured the throat of another man. Therefore the Dutch Caribbean Police Force (KPCN) began an investigation and spoke with the victim. The man appeared to have a cut in the neck and had been medically treated. At first the …

A string of new economic figures published on Thursday are further evidence the Dutch economy may be in recovery. The national statistics office CBS says unemployment is falling, consumer confidence has recovered slightly and companies are investing more in machinery and cars. The CBS said the jobless total fell by …

The Daily Herald writes that a delegation of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament will arrive on St. Maarten on January 2 for a three-day visit to the Windward Islands, after which they will travel to the other Dutch Caribbean islands. The main reason for going to the Dutch …

More than 100 people, adults and children participated in the Banana Salsa Party on Tuesday December the 17th. This time the event was not in Scouts but in the Eugenius Johnson Centre in Windwardside, indoors and outdoors. It started with a set of lectures about the achievements of the Foundation …

The Ministry of Kingdom Affairs decided to install a new small commission regarding the evaluation of 10-10-10. See hereafter the content of the official dicision. Installation Decision Commission ” Small evaluation Caribbean Netherlands ” History In the past year many actors ( the Parliament , the Court of Audit , …

The Daily Herald writes that travelling expenses of the Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations BZK are expected to be lower this year due to the stricter guidelines that were implemented per July 1, 2013. Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk stated this in a …

Amerindian artefacts dug up by archaeologists on Saba in the past three decades will be returned to the island in the near future. The Daily Herald writes about this. The objects, mostly fragments of pottery, stone, shell and bones will be stored at the Saba Heritage Centre in the course …

Press release from Communicatie K.P.C.N. On Monday, December 16th, around 9:30 AM, the police received notice that an office across from the hospital in the nameless street in the Bottom had been broken into. Cash money has been taken. The case is being investigated.

The Daily Herald writes that the law proposal to restrict the registration of people from Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten in the Netherlands will be annulled if the partners in the Kingdom were to agree on a law to regulate the movement of persons within the Kingdom. The initiative taker …

Winair started its new route to Santo Domingo on Monday, writes The Daily Herald, a day after the airline started servicing another new route, Tortola, as part of its expansion into the greater Caribbean. In the planning for months, Winair hopes to fill successfully a void in Caribbean airlift by …