News

The Island Council of St. Eustatius has instructed the Executive Council to investigate the functioning of Health Insurance Office ZVK. In an adopted motion the Island Council called for an investigation into the provision of healthcare insurance for residents of St. Eustatius. The motion also calls for a study into …

Update 3:30 pm There is no more smoke visible from The Bottom. On Facebook, the Government announced that they will let the rest of the fire burn out in a controlled manner. “Various authorities are keeping an eye on the controlled burn.”   Original report: On Tuesday morning a big fire …

Thanks to a great group of SUSOM students, the Middle Island Trail is open again from the beginning of February. The Middle Island trail is a heritage trail, with many cool features including remains of an old open cistern, impressive farm stonewalls, a cavern, dry forest and great views across …

Saba has been nominated for “PrivateFly’s – Most Scenic Airport Landings” Last year Saba’s airport was placed 5th in PrivateFly’s “Most Scenic Airport Landings” poll; We’ve been nominated AGAIN and need your vote to WIN! Please VOTE so that our Juancho E. Yrausquin Airport gets the recognition it truly deserves!   VOTE NOW!  

On Sunday, February 12th a theft in a home on the Upper Mountain Road was reported. Here, among other items, a ladies watch of the Michael Kors brand, clothing and cash were taken. The theft took place between Friday, February 10th  around 9 PM and Saturday, February 11th,  around 3 …

Former Dutch National Police Chief Gerard Bouman submitted more than 23,000 euros in declarations for air travel, lodging and local transportation as part of an advisory job at the Caribbean Netherlands Police Force KPCN in 2016. These expenses were extra to his annual salary of 185,000 euros. Dutch Minister of …

Maaike De Waal and other archaeologist have published a book ‘Managing Our Past Into The Future – Archaeological Heritage Management in the Dutch Caribbean‘. A chapter of this book describes the creation of predictive map of potentially valuable archaeological sites. This  fits well in the system of Dutch heritage management. This has set as …

Saba’s Juancho Yrausquin Airport has been nominated on this year’s shortlist of the Most Scenic Airport Landings poll of the PrivateFly.com booking website for private jets. Commissioner of Tourism Bruce Zagers encouraged everyone to vote. Annually, PrivateFly.com, a United Kingdom (UK) based global booking service for private jet charter and …

The grade four class of Sacred Heart School on Saba has been learning all about different rights. They had a lot of questions about current social issues, including many of the protests currently being held in the United States. The children wanted to have their own little protest about some …

Two men were arrested on Saba over the weekend for violation of the Opium Law BES, the Prosecutor’s Office reported Thursday. A man with the initials M.M., who was born in the Dominican Republic, had about 50 grams of cocaine and crack in his possession when he arrived on Saba. …

The Island Receiver of the Public Entity Saba made known that the deadline for payment of the 2017 vehicle road tax has been set for March 15. All vehicle owners can purchase control stickers at the Island Receiver’s Office starting from January 3. The Island Receiver’s Office is opened on …

Continuation of the monitoring of the nests of the redbilled tropicbird in Saba and the removal of feral cats is of vital importance to prevent future extinction. Despite these recommendations by scientists, not enough is currently being done to protect the local breeding sites of this extraordinary seabird. The message …

SEO Amsterdam Economics at the request of the Dutch Ministry of Economics conducted a study on the telecom and TV market in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba (BES). The three islands have the status of special overseas municipalities known as the Caribbean Netherlands and fall under the realm of Dutch …

Responding to the announced increases in social support for residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba, Commissioner of Social Affairs Rolando Wilson said the increase would still not be enough for those residents on Saba who are most in need. From March 1, social support on Saba will increase from …

Some sixtyfive students and young professionals of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire and Saba attended the “Connecting back home” event in The Hague on Saturday to meet up with employers and organisations from the islands. The successful and inspiring event was organised by WeConnect Foundation, an organisation with an educational …

In total 28 parties have made the final cut and will appear on the ballot box for the March 15 general election, the Electoral Council said. Three among the shortlist of 31 political parties failed to come up with the required 11,250-euro deposit, and are not allowed to take part …

A change in the law per January 1st, 2017 makes it possible for persons who have an Old Age or who collect a Window & Orphan Pension and who live in care institutions to receive pocket – and clothing allowance. From now on, the complete Old Age pension or Window …

The Child Protection Agencies of the Dutch Caribbean and Judges of the Joined Court of Justice of Aruba, Curacao, St. Maarten, Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba held a one-day conference on St. Maarten, entitled “The Child as Focus of Attention in the Caribbean, Together, We are Stronger”. The conference was …

Policyholders of the BES (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) Sickness Cost Insurance Office ZVK who are referred abroad for medical and/ or super specialist care as of now will be transported with special charter flights from Bonaire to Curaçao and Aruba. The flights will be provided by EZ-Air airline for …

In 2016, 15,836 people in the Netherlands were diagnosed with some form of skin cancer making it the most common form of cancer in the country, according to new figures out on Friday. The rise of 1,100 over the year is partly due to increased exposure to UV rays, Dutch …

Civil servants working or travelling  in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom are temporarily not allowed to fly with Inselair for business trips. Questions were raised about the safety of this  airline. At present there is no clear picture of the flight safety of the aircraft of InselAir. Therefore it …

As of March 1, judges in the Caribbean territories of the kingdom of the Netherlands will be able to request preliminary rulings in tax cases at the High Court in The Hague. This concerns the Courts of First Instance of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten and of Bonaire, St. Eustatius …

Eight civil servants left St. Eustatius on Wednesday morning to attend a workshop on public policy writing on Saba. Director of Planning and Infrastructure Roy Hooker said the Directorate of Economy and Infrastructure requested the training under the European Union’s programme for medium- and small-sized businesses EU-COSME. The programme was …

On Monday, January 30th a traffic control  was held in the morning hours on the Lambert Hassell Road. A total of 68 motorized vehicles were checked, of which 56 family cars, 9 trucks and 3 motorcycles. There were 17 fines issued for, among others, driving without insurance, no turn signal, …

Personal payments to the Caribbean Netherlands Tax Office (Belastingdienst Caribisch Nederland) on Saba have now become possible at RBC Royal Bank. In anticipation of the proposed closure of the Windward Islands Bank’s branch on Saba, the Tax Offi ce has opened a bank account at RBC Bank on Saba, the …

On Saturday January 28th 2017 the 10th edition was held of the Saba triathlon ‘where even the swim is uphill’. The overall winner of the triathlon was Gregory Pigeon, who won out of 60 participants from St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Eustatius, USA, Canada and the Netherlands, who took the …

Saba Health Care Foundation (SHCF) proudly introduced one of its visiting specialists, Nurse Suzette De Cuba. Together with SHCF healthcare professionals, she will open the Weekly Diabetic Clinic at A.M. Edwards Medical Centre. The first Diabetic Clinic was held in September 2016 under the supervision of island physician Dr. Gijs …

Dr. Emiko Bird-Lake is Saba Health Care Founda- lease issued Monday. tion’s (SHCF’s) new visiting cardiologist. As of January 24, patients have been able to make use of her services at SHCF. Dr. Bird will be visiting monthly at A.M. Edwards Medical Center and will be seeing patients whom are …

The Windward Islands Bank will close its Saba Branch effective January 31st, but the ATM services remain. Kindly note that the following products and services will be maintained either directly or administered through WIB Bank branches in St. Maarten and St. Eustatius: The ‘Point of Sale’ terminals (also known as …

Saba will be hosting its 10th edition of one of the toughest short triathlons on Saturday January 28th 2017. This year 60 participants have registered for the triathlon from Saba, St. Maarten, St. Martin, St. Eustatius, USA, Canada and the Netherlands. During the triathlon there will be individual participants, as …

Corail Helicopteres Caribbean had the honour of being the first commercial helicopter to land in Saba last Friday since the green light had been given by the Dutch Government a little over a week ago. Airport Manager Maegan Hassell, Acting Airport Chief Marcel Peterson and Island Secretary Tim Muller were …

As of January 26th, a tryout with the new operational uniform will be executed by the het Korps Politie Caribisch Nederland  on Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. It is a uniform like that of the Police in the European Netherlands. This means that several employees of the Korps Politie Caribisch …

As of 1 January 2017, all female employees in the Caribbean Netherlands are entitled to 16 weeks of pre and post maternity leave. This used to be only 12 weeks. This has been made possible due to a legislative amendment in the Wet ziekteverzekering BES [BES Sickness Insurance Act]. The employee …

Dutch TV presenter Arjen Lubach presents The Netherlands to Donald Trump. (English subtitles)

The Work Conference “Social Security Bonaire” took place on the island earlier this week, with representatives of the Public Entity and the Dutch Government as well as stakeholders in attendance. This gathering was termed “very constructive,” whereby it was agreed that a social- economic agenda will be drawn up. Topics …

On Monday, January 16th 2017, the official opening of the new classroom for the Laura Linzey Day Care Center on Saba, occurred. In attendance of the opening was Governor Jonathan Johnson, Commissioner of Youth Affairs Rolando Wilson, Island Secretary Tim Muller, Policy Advisor for Social Affairs Krijn Pons, Project Coordinator …

A master plan for the Saba harbour will be drafted this year, a plan that includes short-, medium- and long-term goals to comply with a growing demand and to improve the general facility. Saba Commissioner Bruce Zagers in charge of infrastructure and tourism stated this during his visit to the …

Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports inflation rates remained low on the three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands over Q4 2016, based on the consumer price index (CPI). Inflation on Bonaire, St Eustatius and Saba has hovered around 0 percent for nearly two consecutive years. Inflation on Bonaire stable for one year …

The suspect from Bosnia, who was extradited by the authorities in the United States as a suspect in the socalled “Hector” investigation on Sunday has been questioned by a Judge of Instruction on Bonaire. S.C. (31) has been taken into custody pending the investigations in the case. He is suspected …

Legislative amendments regulates AOV- partner supplement On January 1st 2017 several legislative amendments were implemented for the AOV [Wet Algemene Ouderdomsverzekering; General Retirement Insurance Act) partner supplement. This means that everyone who has an AOV pension and is married to a younger partner may be entitled to a supplement. The …