News

Formal registration of the Zika virus will become mandatory for Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba and the Netherlands as of September 1, but not for all Zika patients. Dutch Minister of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports Edith Schippers stated this in a letter that she sent to the Second Chamber of …

Ryan Espersen, director of SABARC, the Saba Archeology Center, presented a paper at the 26th Congress of the International Association of Caribbean Archaeologists in St. Maarten, entitled “Identifying Dry Stone Enslaved African Housing at the Spring Bay Flat Plantation, Saba, Dutch Caribbean”. The paper describes the excavations at the Spring Bay Flat …

On May 3rd Stichting Ocan organized a ceremony in which it recognized the role of the Dutch Caribbean community in the Second World War and the brave efforts of those who are still serving in the armed forces. The ceremony was held at Rotterdam’s Van Ghentkazerne. In attendance were some …

Margaret Hawthorne has been appointed as the new United States Consul General to Curaçao, and Chief of Mission to Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius and St. Maarten. Hawthorne is a career member of the US Foreign Service with 25 years of experience as a diplomat; assumed her duties as …

  Government officials on Saba gathered at the monument in The Bottom dedicated to those who lost their lives during World War II. Members of the Island and Executive Councils as well as the Police Force laid wreaths at the monument. The laying of the wreaths was preceded by a …

All 12 schools for primary education in the Caribbean Netherlands meet basic quality. This was established by the inspectors of the Education Inspectorate’s Caribbean Netherlands team following (quality inspections and) progress meetings which took place on St. Eustatius, Saba and Bonaire during the past two weeks. State Secretary Sander Dekkers …

Saba Reach Foundation (SRF) hosted a cultural and educational exchange between a group of twelve Saban participants and their three group leaders and a group of twelve Turkish participants and their group leaders. The participants were a mix of students from SRF’s Youth Opportunity Path Programme, Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) …

Current Director of Own Your Own Home Foundation Rolando Wilson will be replacing Chris Johnson as Commissioner in Saba’s Executive Council on behalf of Windward Islands People’s Party (WIPM), writes The Daily Herald.   Johnson will be stepping down as Commissioner as of June 1 to take up a new …

In anticipation of the formal reaction of the Dutch Government to the report of the Caribbean Netherlands Evaluation Committee, the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament decided to set a date for a debate. Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations is clearly getting impatient waiting for the promised cabinet’s response …

Guardianship Council wants to express its concerns over the fact that more and more fathers are not paying their maintenance allowance obligations. They want to emphasis that persons who have an obligation to pay, must take their responsibility. An agreement on alimony can be reached on the initiative of one …

National ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen again had the chance to accumulate many official complaints during his latest visit to the Caribbean Netherlands, which has now been concluded. All individuals who have a grievance with the government had the chance to make these known to Van Zutphen and his team. ‘We …

On Friday the 29th of April 2016, at the offices of the civil law notary Ms. Faride Tjon Ajong, located in Philipsburg St. Maarten, the closing took place with respect to a parcel of land in the district of lower Zion’s Hill in Saba.This parcel of land is situated near …

The Commissioners of Constitutional Affairs of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba met on Bonaire earlier this week to discuss the draft Dutch Cabinet’s standpoint on the Spies Committee re port, on the evaluation of five years on new constitutional ties between the three islands and the Netherlands. Saba’s Commissioner of …

In order to ensure that all fire fighters can perform their job well and safely, BKCN invests a considerable amount of time and money in the professionalism of its staff. BKCN started the shift leaders’ training course in January. This is one of the toughest and most difficult training courses …

A 29-year-old former student of Saba University School of Medicine (SUSOM) was sentenced Tuesday, on appeal to six months for attempted arson, mistreatment with a weapon, and threats directed against the life of a person. The Court of First Instance sentenced Peyman Homayouni-Nejad, who is of Iranian descent, to four …

The Court of Appeals, on Tuesday, sentenced a 23-year-old resident of Lower Hell’s Gate to payment of a US $168 fine, for causing a traffic accident in Windwardside on March 3, 2015, writes The Daily Herald. The suspect had appealed his conviction by the Court of First Instance, which had …

Dutch News reports that hundreds of thousands of people in the Netherlands are celebrating King’s Day this Wednesday, when many cities turn into giant flea markets with an orange hued party on every corner. King Willem-Alexander and his family are in Zwolle for the festivities. Kings Day started sunny here. The …

The Daily Herald reports that the Dutch Government and the public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba should assume a more proactive approach to improve human rights for the people of the Caribbean Netherlands. The Netherlands Institute for Human Rights states this in a report that was published on Monday, titled “To a human rights acceptable level of provisions (“voorzieningenniveau”) for Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba” …

The Earth Day Island Wide Clean Up held last Friday April 22nd, was deemed a success by organizers. The event which brought together over 150 participants saw volunteers going through the island’s villages picking up discarded litter which had been disposed throughout the built up areas and also below the …

Newly appointed President of the Saba Festival Foundation Vito Charles announces the formation of its new board. He announced that the appointed new Secretary of the board is Hazel Durand and Treasurer Bridgette Hassell. Also forming part of the board are Christina Hassell, Alexandria Hassell, Judella Heyliger, Julio Levenstone, Kebba …

The Dutch Ministry of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations has appointed Saba Commissioner Chris Johnson (38) as the new head of the Representation of the Netherlands in St. Maarten as per June 1, reports The Daily Herald. In this capacity, Johnson will also be the Acting Representative of the Netherlands …

Former Dutch National Police Chief Gerard Bouman returned prematurely to the Netherlands from his advisory job in the Caribbean Netherlands. Dutch Minister of Security and Justice Ard van der Steur confirmed during a debate in the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Tuesday that Bouman had returned to the …

Seven volunteers from Saba University School of Medicine (SUSOM) travelled to Limon, Nicaragua, on the first medical mission trip for the school on April 16. The trip was approved as an official school event through the support of Assistant Dean of Student Affairs Dr. Vaughn Huckfeldt and Associate Dean Dr. …

On Wednesday April 20th , 2016 residents of Saba talked to the members of the delegation of the Dutch Senate currently on a working visit to the territories of the Kingdom in the Caribbean. During a meeting held at Breadline Plaza, Saban residents shared their personal experiences, concerns, wishes and …

The Chamber of Commerce & Industry St.Eustatius and Saba together with the European Union funded COSME Programme, had launched a 3 day SME Start and Develop Your Business (SME-SDB) entrepreneurs training program in Saba, which is also implemented to all the other 11 Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs). On …

A delegation of twelve members of the Dutch Parliament’s First Chamber is currently visiting the Dutch Caribbean. The delegation, headed by Chairman of the Chamber’s Standing Committee for Kingdom Relations Ruard Ganzevoort, is paying working visits to all islands. The Dutch Parliamentarians were in Saba on Wednesday, and will be …

The National Ombudsman received 126 complaints from residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba in 2015. Compared to the Netherlands, the ratio is much higher, reports The Daily Herald. The 2015 annual report of the National Ombudsman, which was presented in The Hague on Wednesday, showed that one request per …

The average price level in the Caribbean Netherlands has risen in Q1 2016 compared to a year ago. The price increase comes after a period of negative inflation. On the basis of the consumer price index (CPI), Statistics Netherlands (CBS) reports that consumer prices rose on all three islands of …

Dutch passport holders, including those who reside in Curaçao, St. Maarten, Aruba, Saba, St. Eustatius and Bonaire, continue to be eligible to travel to the United States (US) under the Visa Waiver Programme (VWP) by first applying for Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA). ESTA is accessible online at https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/ …

At the request of the Netherlands Authority for Financial Markets (AFM)  Unkobon has  put out a survey regarding money loans on its website. AFM supervises the conduct of the entire financial market sector: savings, investment, insurance and loans. The AFM sees to it that financial institutions are professional and reliable, …

The April forecast for the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane Season calls for an average active season, according to Philip J. Klotzbach and William M. Gray in association with the Colorado State University, Department of Atmospheric Science.  The professors released their forecast on Thursday. “We anticipate that the 2016 Atlantic basin hurricane …

The constitutional reform, how the new status of the islands has worked out in practice and the findings of the Caribbean Netherlands Evaluation Committee are focal points of the visit of a large delegation of the First Chamber of the Dutch Parliament, the Senate, to the Dutch Caribbean, April 16-23. …

The St. Eustatius economy in 2015 was marked by insufficient growth, reports The Daily Herald. In Saba, on the other hand, the economy showed steady growth last year, the Committee for Financial Supervision CFT reported in its annual report which was presented in The Hague on Wednesday. “Political tensions and …

The Island Government of Saba will be hosting its annual Island Wide Clean Up on Friday, April 22nd. This year the cleanup is being held on Earth Day. This is to highlight the importance of the island’s natural surroundings and keeping it clean. Another intention of the cleanup is to …

Our Saban  artist, Els Mommers, received a second price on the prestigious International quilt exposition “Biennale Internationale d’Art Textile” in Beaujolais, France. Els won the price in the category “large quilts”. The quilt, Reinaldo, is based on the memories of her many travels to the Kuna indians on the San Blas islands, Panama. Transport …

Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk is looking into a reduced price system for those residents who can ill afford the high ticket prices of flights between the Windward Islands. The Minister stated this in a letter he sent to the Dutch Parliament late last week …

Child Focus held its second annual chess tournament with an invitation to competitors in St. Maarten to participate in the Senior Division on April 8, reports The Daily Herald. St. Dominic High (SDH) school responded to the invitation and sent two chess players to Saba accompanied by their math teacher …

The primary schools in Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba are developing very well. Secondary education and intermediate vocational schools in St. Eustatius and Saba are also progressing well. The Saba Comprehensive School (SCS) was placed under financial supervision late 2015, but it has reached the basic quality level. Dutch Minister …

On April 16th , 2016, a delegation consisting of twelve members of the Senate “First Chamber” will travel to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The delegation, headed by the chairman of the standing committee for Kingdom Relations of the Senate, Ruard Ganzevoort, will pay working visits to respectively Curacao, …

Dutch State Secretary of Public Health, Wellbeing and Sports Martin van Rijn shares the concerns of Members of the Saba Island Council about the use of drugs by the local youth and the lack of rehabilitation possibilities on the island. Members of the Island Council sent a letter to Van …