News

The Democratic Party D66 in the European Parliament has been successful in securing funding for nature and environment of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, reports The Daily Herald. The three public entities will be able to tap into the funds per 2014 under the new European nature and climate programme …

The Daily Herald writes that the official target date for the signing of deed to formalize the re-purchase of GEBE shares from Saba and St. Eustatius is December 5. If all goes as planned, St. Maarten will own 100 percent of GEBE as of this date. Minister responsible for Energy …

Representatives of vocational education institutes and education-related institutions in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba committed themselves with their signatures to a list of agreements on Wednesday, marking the finalisation of a three-day conference on vocational education. The goal was to reach a consensus on measures that must be taken to …

Saba youth performed historic skits with such passion, talent and confidence that they not only commanded the praise of the King and Queen but evoked pride in the community during last week’s royal visit. The concept for King Willem-Alexander’s inaugural visit was to mark the start of his new reign …

Saba Soldiers win Rays Softball Club’s International Tournament. Soldiers defeated Santo Domingo Liga Deportivio Louis Alberti in the final 9-7. The Rays hosted the competition to celebrate their fifth year of existence explained Rays’ captain Alex Arndell. The competition started Thursday as Statia faced Santo Domingo and won 20-10. Friday …

The Daily Herald writes that the Dutch Caribbean islands’ right to self-determination is not an issue. The Island Councils in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba can decide at any time to hold a referendum. However, such a referendum is separate from the planned evaluation. Dutch Acting Minister of Home Affairs …

The building that is to serve as a base for the Royal Dutch Marines detachment was opened officially on Tuesday, reports The Daily Herald. The temporary building, which is located on the property of the Harbour, serves as the headquarters for the six Royal Marines and Navy personnel who currently …

The newspaper Today reports today, that the transfer of employees from Nieuwe Post Nederland’s Antillean to Postal Services St. Maarten (PSS) in 2010 has had dire consequences for the current organization. There are indications that Saba and Statia maybe very lucky in that their postal services are handled by Flamingo …

The Senate approved on Tuesday, the law proposal to establish the legal parental rights of the female partner of a mother.  This law was initiated 6 years before by D66 leader Alexander Pechtold in a motion that was approved. It took so many years before anything was done with this …

The Dutch economy remains weak and will contract by 0.1% next year, according to new forecasts from the OECD. Recovery will set in with growth of 0.9% in 2015, the Paris-based organisation says. That year unemployment will reach a peak of 8%. The risks facing the Dutch economy remain large …

Please find hereafter the letter that has been sent to the Second Chamber. The translation is sometimes poor, having used just Google Translate. Therefor the original text in Dutch follows after the English text.   Ministry of the Interior Affairs and Kingdom Relations number 2013-0000709706 The President of the House …

The Daily Herald writes that Dutch Minister of Infrastructure and Environment Melanie Schultz van Haegen doesn’t have a structural, long-term solution for the occasional shortage of potable water in Saba, but she is working on it, she told the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Monday. The Minister said …

Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Wassila Hachchi of the Democratic Party D66 wants the Dutch Government to find a sustainable solution for Saba’s harbour. Hachchi presented a motion during Monday’s debate with Minister of Infrastructure and Environment Melanie Schultz van Haegen. One of the agenda points …

Winair operated several press charters and one flight from St. Maarten to Saba transporting His Majesty King Willem Alexander and Her Highness Queen Maxima of the Netherlands on Thursday, November 14. The WINAIR aircraft was piloted by Captain Roger Hodge and Captain Aldrin Richards and departed St. Maarten at 9:00am …

Saba’s youth, this writes The Daily Herald, will be represented in the 20th anniversary of the Youth Fund of the Netherlands Antilles JENA. Despite the disintegration of the Netherlands Antilles, the regional organization still attempts to promote joint activities in youth welfare and development relying on the fundraising abilities of …

Dutchnews writes that Supermarkets are to ask clients they suspect of being under the age of 25 to prove their age if they want to buy cigarettes and alcohol from next year. The legal age to buy tobacco products, beer and wine is going up from 16 to 18 from …

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander opened The Caribbean Netherlands Photography Expo simultaneously on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES) during his tour of the latter mentioned island on Saturday, November 16. Titled “This is the Place,” the exhibit features the selected works of “ordinary people with extraordinary perspectives” and highlights the …

The Daily Herald writes that King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima’s official stopover on their opening of the Spring Bay Heritage Trail and observation deck this Thursday was received as the greatest honour and recognition that their majesties could have given to the archaeological programme established by local youth and their …

The right of non-Dutch residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba to vote in elections for the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, the Senate, is a dilemma for the Dutch Government, writes The Daily Herald. Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk is inclined not to …

Outside the airport, the royals were greeted by the primary school choir, led by Camille Blackman. The children wore specially designed T-shirts marking the occasion. They sang the Saba Anthem. The King and Queen went over to the kids and expressed their appreciation to the performers. Kiana Hassell gave a …

King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima received an impressive reception at the Government Building in The Bottom on Thursday, where 45 people of the sixty-six nationalities residing on Saba were dressed in national costumes proudly displaying their native flags. This writes The Daily Herald. The royal couple greeted those gathered from …

The Daily Herald reports how charming King-Willem Alexander and elegant Queen Máxima, accompanied by Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk and their royal entourage, landed smoothly on the sunny runway of Juancho Yrausquin Airport, the shortest commercial runway in the world, on Thursday morning for their …

The Administrative consultation financial ratios BES (hereinafter BofvBES ) on October 31, 2013 , the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations with the directors of public bodies Bonaire , Sint Eustatius and Saba made ​​a number of agreements . These agreements will discuss the minister in the Cabinet . …

The Dutch economy managed to creep out of recession and grew by 0.1% in the third quarter of this year compared with Q2, according to new estimates from the national statistics office CBS on Thursday. The growth is largely due to exports, which rose 2.1%. But compared with the same …

According news in The Daily Herald Governors and Prime Ministers of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten, and representatives of the Dutch Caribbean governments have been invited to attend the Kingdom business congress and trade mission in The Hague on November 27 and 28. Politicians, business people, representatives of the public …

The Daily Herald writes that Governor Johnson addressed several questions falling under his portfolio during Monday’s public Island Council meeting. The first was the enforcement challenge in curtailing the sale of alcohol to minors. He blasted the slow and bureaucratic renovations of the police station in The Bottom saying that …

Windward Islands artists Ras Mosera (St. Maarten), Magumbo Muntu (St. Eustatius), Heleen Cornet and Glenda Heyliger (Saba) have been selected to exhibit their work in a museum in Zwolle, the Netherlands, on the occasion of the celebration of 200 years Kingdom of the Netherlands. The work of the Windward islands …

Island Council members publicly commended the Commissioner of Finance Bruce Zagers and his team on Monday for the timely delivery of the approved multi-year budget proposal and for addressing an array of matters falling under his portfolio. This writes The Daily Herald. Briefing on the recent Caribbean Netherlands (CN) week …

The Daily Herald reports that the Executive Council answered all Island Council members’ written and verbal inquiries in Monday’s public session within two extensive questioning rounds and an additional interpellation. On several occasions, the commissioners stressed that the separation of tasks between national and local government does not allow them …

The Island Council passed in a public session Monday morning the 2014- 2017 draft budget and gave its blessing for the acquisition of Hyacinth’s Cottage and Corner Imports Building in Windwardside. This reports The Daily Herald. The council has postponed discussion on the salary increase for political officials until procedural …

The Daily Herald writes that the community is invited to come out and meet King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima on their visit to Saba on Thursday, November 14. The royal couple has specifically requested for them to be able to get in touch with as many people from the island …

St Maarten Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Ted Richardson witnessed on Tuesday afternoon the signing of a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) between St. Maarten International Telecommunications Services (SMITCOMS) and the National Office for the Caribbean Netherlands (RCN) related to the Saba, Statia Cable System (SSCS). This reports …

The sale of cigarettes and rolling tobacco in the Netherlands will be restricted to people aged 18 and over from January 1 2014. The upper house of parliament on Tuesday voted in favour of raising the legal age from 16 in an effort to reduce the number of youngsters taking …

The search for a personal approach to treatment for individual cancer patients has moved a step closer thanks to Dutch research, Nos television reports on Tuesday. Hans Bos, professor of molecular cancer research at Utrecht medical centre, is putting together a team of 19 researchers to broaden and deepen research …

PVV leader Geert Wilders has commissioned a British bureau to carry out new research into how much it would cost the Netherlands to leave the EU, the NRC reports on Tuesday. The paper bases its claim on confidential correspondence between the PVV and London-based Capital Economics. The correspondence shows that …

DutchNews writes that Social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher has dismissed recent claims that the political climate in the Netherlands is racist, saying the accusation goes too far. A recent report by a Council of Europe human rights committee said the Netherlands needs to do more to combat racism and regretted …

The Daily Herald writes how South Asian Student Society of Saba University School of Medicine (SUSOM) hosted its annual Diwali show and dinner to celebrate the Hindu Festival of Lights at Princess Juliana Sports Field in The Bottom on Saturday. The students treated the community to a show of traditional …

  ABC When Amy Robach had the first ever live TV mammogram on Oct. 1, she hoped it would help other women to understand the importance of these checks. What she didn’t realize, though, is that this mammogram would actually save her own life. On Monday, Nov. 11, the journalist …

President of the Saba Cultural Foundation, organizers of the Saba Carnival and Saba Day events, Mr. Dave Levenstone, announced that the foundation has decided in its general meeting of two weeks ago that carnival 2014 will start on Friday, July 25th and end on Sunday August 3rd 2014. Seeing the …

The journal VN Vandaag published the following news from the papers of the Second Chamber. In a fourth letter of amendment to the Tax Plan 2014 some measures have been proposed concerning the property tax for the BES islands in that extra tax-revenues will be returned to the Islands through  …