The Daily Herald writes that minister Plasterk repeated his earlier assurances that the two public entities, part of the Netherlands since October 10, 2010, were free to hold a referendum on their constitutional status, during a general debate with the Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber of …

Dutch Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Ronald Plasterk has dismissed complaints about the medical evacuation helicopter for St. Eustatius and Saba, writes The Daily Herald. Members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Ronald van Raak of the Socialist Party (SP) and Roelof van Laar of the …

The Permanent Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations met on Friday, and approved the attendance of Members of Parliament (MPs) who want to attend the 18th Trade Mission. This writes The Daily Herald. The theme this year is “Connecting Sustainable Business from the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the …

In the meeting of the sector negotiation for The Caribbean Netherlands of May 15th and 16th an agreement, concerning the terms of employment for 2013 and 2014, was almost reached with a majority of the unions. In the coming week an ultimate attempt will be made to reach an agreement …

PRESS RELEASE OF MAY 16TH, 2014 – NATIONAL COMMITTEE BICENTENIAL KINGDOM YOUNGSTERS FROM ALL OVER IN THE KINGDOM IN DEBATE IN SINT MAARTEN   For the first time in the 200 years of existence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, there will be a Kingdom Youth Parliament. This is organized …

Caribisch Netwerk reports on the Consultation meeting on the Dutch Caribbean in the Second Chamber yesterday. ” What will be the business model for Bonaire , Saba and St. Eustatius ? How can people there earn their money ? And : who is responsible for a good future of these …

For the first time in the 200 years of existence of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, there will be a Kingdom Youth Parliament. This is organized in honor of the celebration of 200 years of Kingdom. The celebration will take place in Sint Maarten on May 20th to May 22nd. …

The Daily Herald announces that Parliament’s Permanent Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations will meet on Friday at parliament house starting at 10:00am. The first agenda point for the public session is an invitation received by Parliament to attend the 18th Trade Mission, themed “Connecting Sustainable Business from the …

With an eye on the joint-venture agreement between the hospitals of St. Maarten and Saba, St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) recently donated an equipment sterilizer machine to Saba Health Care Foundation (SHCF). SMMC recently upgraded another much larger sterilizer to be able to handle a larger quantity of medical equipment, making the one donated …

The Daily Herald writes that Winair has announced the ending of its service to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic as of May 31 and Willemstad, Curaçao as of May 15, due to disappointing financial revenues on these services. The airline will defer flights to these destinations until they are more viable …

In small intimate ceremony, nurses of the Saba Health Care Foundation celebrated Nurses’ Week and honored Head Nurse Naomi Wilson, at the hospital. At the well-attended ceremony was the Commissioner of Health Bruce Zagers; Director of SHCF, Dr. Joka Blaauboer and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the SHCF, Mr. …

Island Secretary for the Public Entity Saba, Menno van der Velde will be leaving his current post to take up another position within the organization as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Executive Council. Mr. van der Velde has been Island Secretary for the past 10 years. The senior policy …

The Daily Herald writes that some ten persons attended the information session at the police station in Windwardside, Saba. Eighteen persons attended a similar information session on Statia, while on Bonaire approximately 100 persons attended. The Police is presently campaigning for candidates to register for the two-year training for aspiring …

Nineteen researchers of renowned Dutch institutions will engage in nine new research projects in the Dutch Caribbean in the areas of biodiversity, geology and society. This writes The Daily Herald. The Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science OCW is making 12.5 million euros available for this large, multi-disciplinary programme …

In a comment The Daily Herald writes that news of a large research programme for the Dutch Caribbean (see related article) is most welcome. Scientific study is something of which the islands certainly could use a bit more, also to help decision-makers set policy in a more knowledgeable and therefore …