News

The anti-immigration PVV came under attack in Thursday night’s European election television debate for its links with France’s far-right Front National. The party’s founder and current MEP Jean Le Pen has several convictions for racism and has described the Holocaust as an ‘historical detail’. The PVV is hoping to form …

In the Island Council meeting of 2014-04-30 the following decisions have been made (click on the image)

  The judge of the Court of First Instance Bonaire, St. Eustatius, Saba ruled in favor of the Executive Council of St. Eustatius and the Statia Safe & Sound Foundation (SSS) in the injunction case filed by oil storage company NuStar against parts of the new permit for their terminal, …

The Daily Herald writes that Dutch State Secretary Jetta Klijnsma does not intend to increase old age AOV pension for Bonaire, Saba and St. Eustatius (BES islands) as long as she does not have concrete, quantitative data at her disposal. She hopes to receive such this year from the Central …

THE BOTTOM – Children on Saba had the opportunity for the first time to experience the King’s Games last Friday. “The King’s Day games were a great success because of the assistance from volunteers and parents who guided and supervised the children during the games,” said Stacey Simmons, Project Leader …

The Caribbean Netherlands Science Institute (CNSI) at St. Eustatius was officially opened at the former Talk of the Town building Wednesday with a symposium for partners and stakeholders. This reports The Daily Herald. CNSI is a research facility that supports basic, strategic, applied, social and policy-relevant research and education. The …

The Daily Herald writes that on May 22, the people of the Caribbean Netherlands will vote in the election of members of the European Parliament. Every citizen of the Caribbean Netherlands, 18 years and older, who has the Dutch nationality has European citizenship as well, and therefore also voting rights …

The Daily Herald writes that Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA), which urgently needs space in the Caribbean to store its oil, has emerged as the renter of tanks owned by NuStar Energy on St. Eustatius, where the Venezuelan state-run company will blend crudes, sources close to the transaction told Reuters. NuStar, …

Of all three Dutch Caribbean countries, St. Maarten is facing the greatest imminent threat to nature in terms of habitat destruction, which is proceeding at an alarming pace, writes The Daily Herald. Reducing or stopping it depends on the implementation of a new zoning law. This is one of the …

The Daily Herald announces that Princess Beatrix will open the Kingdom Youth Parliament on St. Maarten on Tuesday, May 20. During her four-day stay on the island, Her Royal Highness will also visit the Belvedere Community Centre, the Nature Foundation and the Simpson Bay Lagoon. Princess Beatrix will give a …

The Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament has agreed in principle to transfer issues relating to the Caribbean Netherlands islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba to Parliament’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations. Members of the Permanent Committee for Home Affairs already had decided a few weeks ago that they would …

The Daily Herald writes that parliamentarian Flora Goudappel hopes to use her vast knowledge of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCTs) and European law when she gets elected into the European Parliament. She is number six on the slate of the Dutch Labour Party PvdA in the May 22 European elections. …

An earthquake 5.0 with it’s centre near Anguilla (53 km East of Stoney Ground) was felt also on Saba at 3:31 pm. today the 19th of April 2014.

Having successfully participated in the Rotterdam Summer Carnival for the past two years, the Small Island Unity (SIU) troupe of the Windward Islands has once again registered for this year’s festival to be held on Saturday, July 19, writes The Daily Herald. SIU was created to provide students and persons …

Collision In the curve just after Lolipop’s a collision occurred between and dump truck and a passenger car on Wednesday, April 16th. The dump truck was driving down towards The Bottom and the car was driving up from The Bottom. In the curve, the dump truck held the passenger car …

Outgoing Dutch Government Representative Wilbert Stolte, who will be resigning as per May 1, said goodbye to Saba during a farewell reception Monday evening at the office of Government Service Caribbean Netherlands RCN in The Bottom. He described his job as a “big experiment” and as “pioneer work.” A similar …

The second meeting of the Dutch Caribbean Evaluation task force, chaired by Commissioner Edsel Winklaar of Bonaire, was held on Bonaire on Tuesday, writes The Daily Herald. The task force has continued the discussion on the terms of reference of the constitutional evaluation instruction with reference to the information of …

Permanent Exhibitions of Dutch & other Antiques on Saba Press-Release April 14, 2014 A new private initiative of permanent exhibitions – kind of a private  but real museum – has been opened on Saba. The collections are not from Saba but from the Netherlands and are definitely unique for the whole …

Consumer price index (CPI) Caribbean Netherlands, first quarter (Q1) published by RCN Caribbean Netherlands inflation rises Inflation was up on all three islands of the Caribbean Netherlands in the first quarter of 2014. On Bonaire it was 1.3 percent, on St Eustatius 2.5 percent and on Saba  1.4 percent. Inflation …

Friday, April 14th,  three customs officers took the oath in front of Mr. A.R. Bermudez, director of B/CN. The officers Almeida, Schrijvers and Wingerden recently have been seconded temporarily on the three islands, Bonaire, Saba and Statia.  Source; RCN  

During a recent working visit to the Netherlands, St Maarten Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications (TEATT) Ted Richardson met with Dutch Minister of Interior and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk. Also present was St. Maarten Minister Plenipotentiary Mathias Voges. This writes The Daily Herald. According to a …

The Daily Herald writes that the Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk has sent a proposal to the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament to take away the rights of residents of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba who do not have Dutch nationality to vote in …

The Daily Herald writes that since early April, Expertise Center Education Care EC2 implemented a multi-media autism awareness campaign on Saba, including a presentation by behaviour coach Connie Adkins in St. John’s. Wednesday’s event targeted parents, teachers, students, caregivers and guardians in particular. It was part of similar efforts such …

Commissioner Johnson says That Islands Are Ready to Set Their Own Priorities. “If the Dutch government says they are ready to allow us to set our own priorities I want the Kingdom to know that we are ready to do so,” Commissioner of Constitutional Affairs, Chris Johnson said ahead of …

Two out of three persons ages fifteen and older in the Caribbean Netherlands drank alcoholic beverages last year. Heavy and excessive drinkers are most abundant in St. Eustatius, according to a survey carried out by Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) as reported by The Daily Herald. The survey showed that …

The Daily Herald writes that the appointment of a new National Government Representative for the Caribbean Netherlands was the source of a heated debate of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament with Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk on Thursday. At the start of the general …

The Daily Herald reports that a leading U.S. hurricane forecasting team expects that the 2014 Atlantic hurricane season is to be quieter than normal, with a below-average number of storms and hurricanes. Forecasters at Colorado State University (CSU) predicted this year’s season will see nine tropical storms, three of which …

The Dutch tax system needs a radical overhaul to remove the plethora of tax incentives and focus instead on raising money for the treasury, according to the ruling VVD. There has been explosive growth in the number of financial stimuli to encourage people to install solar panels, drive electric cars …

The Daily Herald writes that new National Government Representative (Rijksvertegenwoordiger) for the Caribbean Netherlands will be able to take action when things are going wrong in the coordination of tasks between The Hague and the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. The term “pulling the emergency brake” was …

On Wednesday around 8:00pm, a diver who had the bends was transported by the Medevac helicopter from Saba to Statia where he was placed in the hyperbaric Chamber on the Statia Responder. Harbour Master Austin van Heyningen said he received a call around 7:30pm from the Marine Department William de …

Lions and Leos from Saba, St. Eustatius and Anguilla ventured to St. Maarten over the weekend to join the local Lions and Leos for the second Lions Zone advisory meeting that was chaired by Zone Chairman Franklin Wilson, who hails from the Saba Lions Club. This reports The Daily Herald. …

The Daily Herald writes that the final “I Love My Body” session of the twelve-week-long programme took place late afternoon Wednesday at the Ambulance Bay of the A.M. Edwards Medical Center in The Bottom. The featured presentation by Dr. Gina Boorsma recapped all that participants learnt throughout the course in …

Saba and St. Eustatius’ team members of the Caribbean Netherlands Tax Department came together last week to discuss the issue of integrity, writes The Daily Herald. Team leaders Astrid McKenzie-Tatem and Edward Thielman highlighted the importance of the Tax Department being trustworthy and transparent. “You are the face of the …

The Daily Herald writes that an international team of volcanologists visited Saba last week to study its geology. Following their assessments, they also met with Island Governor Jonathan Johnson on Friday, to submit some recommendations. Richard Arculas from Australian National University in Canberra and Jon Bludy, George Cooper and Luca …

Recently members of Caribbean Netherlands Customs (Douane Caribisch Nederland ) have seized drugs and money. A total of 1,454.10 grams of cocaine, 2,030 pieces of xtc pills, 1,000 methadone pills, 506.70 grams of heroin and 535.60 grams of cannabis were intercepted on Bonaire, representing a total street value of USD …

Reverend Father Ranulfo Goneda was sent by Bishop Luis Antonio Secco of The Roman Catholic Diocese of Willemstad on Curaçao, to be the new resident priest in Saba. This writes The Daily Herald. He will replace the late Reverend Father Danilo Pastor. Prior to his current mission as Saba’s new …

The Daily Herald reports that the Council of State has emphasised once again the need for a conciliation regulation for the countries of the Dutch Kingdom. The advisory body wrote this in its annual report for 2013, the publication of which coincidentally follows the Kingdom Conference in Aruba where no …

Accident On Saturday, April 5th  around 3:10 PM, the police dispatch center received report of an accident on the road to English Quarter. It was a one-sided collision involving a pickup which hung partly over the guardrails. The driver stated that the steering wheel came loose which caused the car …

Recently, the Government of the Public Entity of Saba and the website Caribisch Netwerk  have initiated price comparisons for food items on Saba, Bonaire, St. Maarten and The Netherlands. From the published results, it does not seem very easy to accurately compare food prices in the different locations because the …

European public health authorities anticipate that the outbreak of the viral disease chikungunya will expand in the Caribbean and permanently establish itself on the islands, writes The Daily Herald. Because of the intensive traffic of persons between the Caribbean and Europe, authorities urge doctors to take the disease into account …