News

Head of the Public Health Department Dr. Gijs Koot, HIV/AIDS focal point Carl Buncamper and AIDS Support Group Saba Foundation’s programmes coordinator Teodor Stan participated in a two-day European Community/ Overseas Caribbean Territories (EC/OCT) Steering Committee Meeting on Aruba last week. The Saba delegation commended the “steadfast” leadership of St. …

A workgroup of the Dutch Central Bank, the Dutch and island governments, banks, Chambers of Commerce, business, industry and retail sectors, utility companies, and the police took several measures to create a more efficient payment system in the Caribbean Netherlands. Since the constitutional reform of October 10, 2010, the Dutch …

A well-attended public health awareness event organized by Saba Health Care Foundation (SHCF) took place Saturday evening, following a fundraiser by Saba Lions Club. The two events are part of the general drive of local community-based organizations to create synergy in serving the community. The lecture on prostate diseases, with …

The Cabinet of the Governor in St. Maarten will be able to issue Schengen visa for foreign residents of St. Eustatius and Saba for a number of countries in Europe in the near future. The Dutch “public entities” will not have their own visa windows. That is the word from …

With just two days to go before the Netherlands elects a new 150-seat lower house of parliament, and polls suggesting a two-way race for the prime minister’s job, party leaders are again out in force to get their message across. Opinion polls show the right-wing VVD and Labour party PvdA …

The democratic D66 party in the Second Chamber of Dutch Parliament is not satisfied with the answers of caretaker State Secretary of Finance Frans Weekers to their questions about the consequences of the new tax regime on the economy of St. Eustatius and Saba. “The people are feeling the consequences …

Edith Schippers (48), number 2 on the slate of the conservative VVD party, would love to continue as Minister of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports in a next Dutch cabinet. She has already done a lot to improve health care on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, but there is more …

Could Diederik Samsom be the next Dutch prime minister? The question would have seemed preposterous even two weeks ago when his Labour PvdA party was languishing in the opinion polls. But with less than a week to go before the Dutch vote in a general election on September 12, Labour …

Prime minister and VVD leader Mark Rutte launched a strong attack on the Labour party on Saturday, as a new poll says the gap between the two parties has narrowed to just one seat. In an interview with the Telegraaf, Rutte warned that the rise of the PvdA is ‘a …

Certain segments of the community on the Caribbean Netherlands islands may advise against participating in the upcoming Dutch elections, but for Member of the Dutch Parliament’s Second Chamber and number twelve on the democratic D66 party slate Wassila Hachchi (32) it is clear: people should vote, because the elections are …

The preparations of an aquaponics experiment by marine biologist Tom van ’t Hof reached its final phase with support from the Organoponics Garden on The Level, managed by Foundation Social Workplace Saba, and Comprehensive School students. Aquaponics is an integration of aquaculture and hydroponics; a combination of fish and plant …

The general old age pension and social benefits will be topics of discussion during the so-called Caribbean Netherlands Week to be held in October in The Hague. During the Dutch Caribbean Week, the Island Governments of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba will be holding consultations and discussions with Dutch ministers …

Geert Wilders anti-immigration PVV, which is campaigning in the current election on an anti-European ticket, wrongly claimed money from Brussels for a report on the euro, according to current affairs show Reporter. Friday night’s broadcast will show how the PVV broke European rules by declaring the costs of the research …

With five days to go before the Netherlands elects a new 150-seat parliament, some 43% of voters have still not made up their mind who to vote for, according to an Ipsos Synovate poll, quoted by Nos television. This is virtually unchanged from the start of the campaign, showing that …

Dutch cabinet is distancing itself from the law initiative of the Dutch Parliament’s Second Chamber to restrict the registration of deprived, poorly educated Antilleans in The Netherlands. Dutch caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies made it very clear during an information session with the Antillean community …

People from Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba living The Netherlands attending a gathering in The Hague with Dutch caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies on Wednesday evening were very clear on what they thought was going wrong with the islands. The intention of the gathering organiser, …

St. Maarten is on the right track, while Curaçao is not, stated Dutch caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies at a gathering with the Antillean community in The Hague Wednesday evening. St. Maarten has made strides where it comes to budget discipline and financial management, according …

Minister of Defence Hans Hillen paid a visit to the Windward Islands St. Maarten, Saba and St. Eustatius. The Minister was extensively updated about the Royal Marine, Royal Marechaussee and the Coast Guard in the Caribbean region. The Commander of the Navy in the Caribbean region, Brigadier General of the …

FSWSaba has initiated a project called SABAGRO and a partnership with the Wageningen University and Research Centre in The Netherlands to facilitate research and advice on agriculture. SABAGRO will encourage landowners to re-use their properties for growing plants, enable retail-shops to offer some cheaper local products of good quality, encourage …

Pink Orange Alliance,” a collaboration within the Dutch Kingdom started last year, will be working on a Caribbean reporting centre where homosexuals and lesbians can report complaints if they are being treated impolitely or discriminated against by authorities or society. This is mentioned in the plan of approach 2012-2014 on …

Dutch caretaker Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Liesbeth Spies was the main guest at a well-attended information session of the organisation for Dutch Caribbean people in The Netherlands OCaN in The Hague Wednesday evening. Spies addressed the latest developments, in particular the instruction of the Kingdom Council of …

Freelancers (zzp’ers) are unlikely to vote for the labour party PvdA and prefer the right-wing liberal VVD and the left-wing liberal D66, according to the voting intentions barometer of freelancers’ platform Victor Mundi. While the PvdA rises in the polls, freelancers are unlikely to vote for the party. ‘They are …

Following similar exercises in St. Maarten and St. Eustatius, it was Saba’s turn Monday to witness a simulated crash of a small passenger aircraft with several victims as a result. The Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service and Police disturbed the usual quiet on the island as they rushed to the scene …

People on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba should benefit from being part of The Netherlands, not suffer because of it. That is the opinion of Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Martijn van Dam of the Labour Party PvdA, number seven on the slate for the September …

The vast majority of Bonaireans know little or nothing of Dutch politics and Dutch politicians. The parties did not made a great effort to campaign in the fresh Dutch municipality and the information about the elections remained below standard. Four of the ten Bonaireans indicated to plan to vote on …

The marines company and the supporting navy crew of the Royal Marines in the Caribbean region during the Hurricane Exercise are working not only on training. They also dedicate themselves to the population of St. Eustatius and Saba. On St. Eustatius 25 military personnel (soldiers) worked on a major facelift …

The naval vessel Hr. Ms. Tromp has intercepted last Saturday during a patrol in the Caribbean area 135 kilos of cocaine. The narcotics that  floated  in bales in the water, presumably came from a yacht according to Defence . The crew existing of two men have been arrested and transferred …

Government Service Caribbean Netherlands RCN organized an event for all members of the press and communication experts of the “public entities” Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba and RCN on Bonaire, August 31-September 1. Participants followed workshops with subjects such as,” The press and government, why we need each other?”, “The …

With just nine days to go before the general election, two more opinion polls have confirmed the rise in support for the Labour party. The new Maurice de Hond poll shows a seven-seat rise in support for the PvdA, taking the party to within four seats of the Socialists. And …

The Saba Conservation Foundation, SCF, has issued their Newsletter for August 2012. In this beautifully prepared document they report on several projects. There have been some staff changes, a Saba Bank Park officer was hired and the office bustled with visiting researchers, students and interns, to the limit of our …

Homosexuality is widely accepted in the Netherlands, but it can still be a taboo for elderly people, particularly in nursing homes. Humanitas, a Dutch care organisation, is trying to tackle the problem. According to Giny ten Brummelhuis of Humanitas, “pink pensioners are often called names and ignored. People don’t want …

A strong performance in two televised debates this week has placed the Labour party just one seat behind the Socialists in a new poll, leading some pundits to suggest the Netherlands could be heading for a new ‘purple’ coalition. After being largely written off earlier in the campaign, the new …

The leader of a Dutch Christian fundamentalist party has said that women who are raped seldom become pregnant. Asked whether he agreed with remarks by US congressman Todd Akin, who believes that women have a natural defence mechanism that prevents them from becoming pregnant if they are raped, SGP leader …

With his mane of platinum-blond hair, Geert Wilders rose to prominence by hammering away at a hardcore anti-Islam message. Now, as the Netherlands heads into elections with economic crisis raging across the continent, Wilders has taken aim at a different target: the European Union. But this time, the populist firebrand’s …

Peanut Gallery in Windwardside will be holding its first exhibition of the new season featuring local artist Stacey Simmons’ latest work. Gallery’s manager Gersh Geenty extends an open invitation to all residents and visitors to an opening night reception at The Peanut Gallery in Lambee’s Place, Windwardside, today Saturday, 7:00-9:00pm. …

Under the direction of arts teacher Stacey Simmons and former resident artist Joan Bourque the students of the Saba Comprehensive School took on and finished a large mural art project at the Cove Bay building. In the The Daily Herald choose to use a whole page to report on the …

The Saba and St. Eustatius Red Cross Chapters came together on Saba for an intensive Emergency First Responder training March 23–25. The training resulted in Saba and Statia Red Cross each having four graduates per chapter. These are Beatrix Heyliger, Ricardo Carty, Tony Hughes, Arlene Spanner-Schmidt, Janet Hassell, Movida Williams, …

The Island Government of Saba has received a grant from the BES Liveability Fund to revitalize the Queen Wilhelmina Park in the Bottom, adjacent to the Governor’s Mansion. This project was unanimously approved for a grant, based on a proposal submitted by the Executive Council to the organizations responsible for …

The future of the Central Bank of Curacao and St.Maarten is uncertain at this moment with both countries reassessing its feasibility. On Wednesday Prime Minister Sarah Wescot-Williams again emphasized the fact that the two countries have not been able to reach common ground on a number of issues but said …

Chief of Police Durk Hiemstra gave a guided tour of the renovation and upgrading of the Saba Police Station, in The Bottom, on Thursday. Work on the Police cells is being conducted simultaneously with renovation of the building that will house the Prosecutor’s Office, the building behind the Police Station, …