Hieronder kun je het actuele nieuws van Sint Maarten delen.
De Nationale herdenkingsdag voor 2016 zal plaatsvinden op woensdag morgen 4 Mei om de slachtoffers van de 2e wereldoorlog te herdenken.De herdenkings en kranslegging ceremonie begint om 9.00 uur bij Captain Hodge’s Wharf in Philipsburg.
Gouverneur Eugene Holiday, Parlements-voorzitter Sarah Wescot-Williams, Minister-President William Marlin en diverse regerings-afgevaardigden zullen de plechtigheid bijwonen.
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PHILIPSBURG–Suspect Ridge Damisse (24) was found guilty of the armed robbery of Oro Diamante jewellery store, and of the manslaughter of Police Officer Gamali Benjamin, and the attempted manslaughter of another member of the Police Force, on August 5, 2015.
The Prosecutor’s Office requested a life prison sentence, but the Judge said she considered 20 years sufficient punishment as the chances of reoffending were considered low and Damisse had shown remorse.
The Court found it legally and convincingly proven that Damisse had committed the armed robbery together with Jovanny Leon (20). The accomplice in the armed robbery, however, was not held responsible for what transpired in the shooting following the robbery. Where the Prosecutor had called for 20 years in Leon’s case, the Judge imposed eight years instead.
Accomplice Mike Henson Azor (35), who provided a hammer to Damisse, which was used in the robbery to smash jewellery-store showcases, was sentenced to two years and six months. The prosecution had requested a prison sentence of five years.
Accomplice O.A.C. (34), a taxi driver known as “Brat,” who allegedly had provided video footage of the store to the main suspect, was acquitted of all charges. The Prosecutor had called for four years.
The Prosecutor’s Office and the suspects have 14 days to appeal the verdicts.
“The Daily Herald” 4 Mei 2016
Council of Ministers appoint new judges for Joint Court
THE HAGUE–The Kingdom Council of Ministers has approved the appointment of Henk Lubberdink and Joop Drop as new Acting Judges in the Joint Court of Aruba, Curaçao, St. Maarten, and of Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.
The Council of Ministers followed the recommendation of Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice to appoint these two Judges as per August 1.
Lubberdink (1951) and Drop (1963) are both members of the Dutch Council of State. Since September 2006, Lubberdink is Chairman of the Council’s Foreigners Chamber (Vreemdelingenkamer), which handles cases involving refugees and other persons with non-Dutch nationality.
Drop is working for the Council of State’s branch dealing with administrative law. He was also previously a member of the Joint Court.
Lubberdink and Drop will be replacing Judge Loeb, who will be going in retirement. Loeb also was a member of the Council of State, who travelled regularly to the Dutch Caribbean to provide over administrative appeal cases.
The Council of Ministers also appointed Alexander van Dam as Solicitor General with the Prosecutor’s Office in Aruba, as per June 1. He was recommended for appointment by Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations.
Van Dam is currently Acting Chief Prosecutor in the Zeeland/West-Brabant region. He will be replacing Marc van Erve, who was Acting Solicitor General until November 26, 2015.
The Joint Court of Justice will be presenting its 2015 annual report to the media on Wednesday, at the Courthouse in Willemstad, Curaçao. The report will be presented by Joint Court President Evert Jan van der Poel, Acting President of the Court of First Instance in Curaçao Eunice Saleh, and Interim Director of the Business Office Nadine Calister-Presentacion.
the Daily Herald, May 14, 2016
11 Motorcycles confiscated by Police
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COLE BAY–Numerous calls flooded the Police Central Dispatch on Sunday afternoon informing them that a large group of motorcycle and motor-scooter riders were racing recklessly and causing a great deal of unnecessary noise, disrupting the peace and causing public disorder in Philipsburg and surrounding areas. These riders also were not wearing proper safety gear such as helmets.
Police patrols immediately went on the search for the riders. Several police patrols involved in this control succeeded in stopping a large number of the riders at the lookout point at the top of Cole Bay Hill, commonly referred to as “Harold Jack’s place.” The rest of the riders, when they noticed that they were being followed by police, turned around and escaped. Traffic on A.J.C. Brouwer Road was backed up for some time as a result of this control.
A total of 11 motor-scooters and motorcycles were confiscated because of the operators’ failure to provide any legal documentation. The riders were all given fines for not having documentation for their vehicles, driving without a licence, reckless driving and operating a motorbike without any helmet.
One of these riders also was arrested and brought to the Philipsburg police station for payment of an outstanding fine totalling NAf. 625. After paying his fine, he was released later on Sunday.
All confiscated motor-scooters and motorcycles were taken to the Philipsburg police station for safekeeping until the owners can produce all necessary documentation.
the Daily Herald, May 17, 2016
Haha ja las het ook gisteren… Hoor je niet vaak dat de politie deze zaken aanpakt, goede zaak!
En Henk Lubberding heeft het ook ver geschopt, van profwielrenner tot rechter. Henk Lubberding - Wikipedia. Oh nee, zie net dat het Lubberdink is 
Haha Willem. Henk Lubberding was altijd een “meesterknecht” en volgens mij zou dat geen goede rechter maken lol!
**Largest cruise ship in the world Harmony of the Seas to St. Maarten in November
**
The vessel is built with more than 500,000 individual parts and is nearly four football (soccer) fields long.
In November, Harmony of the Seas will homeport out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, from where it will offer seven-night eastern and western Caribbean sailings.
Harmony of the Seas is the world’s largest cruise ship with a bold and unexpected lineup of experiences found nowhere else on land or sea.
Innovative features include The Ultimate Abyss, a thrilling slide 10 stories high – the tallest at sea, robot bartenders, virtual balconies with real-time views of the destination for interior rooms, and VOOM – the fastest internet at sea – so that guests can stay connected, stream their favorite entertainment and share their adventures; 23 swimming pools, whirlpools, two FlowRider surf simulators, and waterslides, including the Perfect Storm, a thrilling trio of waterslides, and the Splashaway Bay waterpark for young guests.
Harmony of the Seas carries 5,479 guests at double occupancy and features 2,747 staterooms; 2,394 crew; has a gross tonnage of 226,000 is 1,187 feet in length; max beam is 154 feet; 16 guest decks; draft 30 feet and a cruising speed of 23 knots.
The vessel was built at the STX France at the Chantiers de l’Atlantique shipyard in Saint-Nazaire over a 32-month period.
*
Today Newspaper, May 25, 2016*
De cruise schepen zijn qua vervoersmiddel idd het minst milieu vriendelijk.
Ironisch dat we hier op St. Maarten de schepen met open armen verwelkomen en vervolgens op ons kop staan als de vuilnisberg in brand staat.
Is misschien niet exact hetzelfde, maar toch…
Tja, de schoorsteen moet toch roken :jongleren:
Ja, en dan liggen er regelmatig 4 of 5, iets kleinere, in Great Bay. En die hoeven niet te voldoen aan de strenge regels voor de Noord- en Oostzee. Maar ja, de schoorstenen in Front Street moeten ook roken.
Nature Foundation conducts survey on invasive monkey population
The St. Maarten Nature Foundation has decided to conduct an online survey on the socioeconomic influence of the invasive Green Vervet monkey population on the Island in order to gauge the general impacts the species is having.
The questionnaire is posted online and anyone affected by the monkeys and/or everyone who has an opinion on what should be done about the invasive monkey population is asked to fill it out.
The survey can be found under the following link:
http://surveymonkey.com/r/monkeyresearch
The final data that derived from these questionnaires is used to perform several analyses, which should give an insight in the scale of affected stakeholders and their geographical location; the severity of the social and economic damage inflicted by the monkeys and the most preferred methods of control filled out by the participants.
The Daily Herald, June 11, 2016
Police to go after drunks and bars
PHILIPSBURG–The police have been confronted recently with persons who were highly intoxicated at establishments where alcohol is sold, and had to intervene in situations that had gotten out of hand, according to a police press release.
On many occasions the persons involved were so intoxicated that they could not be reasoned with and had to be taken to the police station to sober up. The police remind owners/managers of businesses where alcohol is legally sold and/or served to be aware of the consequences when alcohol is sold or served to individuals in violation of the law.
The release said persons should take the following into account: Punishable is he who sells or serves alcohol to a person or persons in an apparent state of intoxication or under the influence of other mind-altering agents, or to a child under 16 years of age; or who forces someone or forcefully threatens someone to consume alcohol or other mind-altering agents.
The regulations can be found in Article 2:213 section 1 of the Penal Code.
Public drunkenness – an individual or individuals clearly being under the influence of alcohol in public – is also in violation of the law (Article 3:662 of the Penal Code). The use of alcoholic beverages is not in itself a criminal offence. The user is only in violation of the law if he or she gets drunk and is in that drunken state in public.
Drunkenness must not occur in a public place. A public place is a place that is accessible to all. Examples of public places are public roads, bars, restaurants, hotels, shops, boats, and all other places accessible to the public.
A person is drunk if he or she is so under the influence of alcohol (not any type of medication) that he/she has no permanent control over his/her actions and anyone can observe the obvious drunkenness.
To prevent this trend from becoming worse, and mainly in the interest of public order and safety, the police will be tackling this situation immediately and will be holding those accountable for any violation of the law.
*
The Daily Herald, August 31 2016*
**NA 5, UP 5, USP 3, DP 2 **(seats in Parliament)
PHILIPSBURG–The United People’s (UP) party captured the most votes, but National Alliance (NA) and United St. Maarten Party (US Party) can be considered the winners, as they each picked up an additional seat, while the Democratic Party (DP) remained constant with its two seats after Monday’s Parliamentary election. Coalition talks among the parties with seats are said to have already started. No information about the formation of a new Government was available at press time.
UP received 4,127 votes, NA 3,783, US Party 2,796 and DP 1,810.
UP lost the most votes compared to the 2014 elections when the party earned 6,156 votes. In that election, NA received 4,011 votes, and DP 2,398 votes. US Party was the winner in earning voters: it received 1,636 votes.
Voter turnout – 67 per cent – was lower than two years ago when the percentage at the close of polls at 8:00pm was 69 per cent. The number of valid ballots tallied 14,483, slightly down from 14,500 in 2014.
Invalid votes numbered 373, up from 303 two years ago.
The results of the election are preliminary until the Central Voting Bureau has a public sitting on Monday, October 3.
The Daily Herald, 27 September, 2016
Wereldberoemd strand Sint-Maarten weggevaagd door orkaan
Het vliegveld van Sint-Maarten is ook zwaar getroffen door orkaan Irma. Op een luchtfoto is de verwoesting van misschien wel één van de beroemdste vliegvelden ter wereld duidelijk te zien.
Het Maho Beach ligt vlak voor het Princess Juliana International Airport. En door de extreem korte landingsbaan raasden de vliegtuigen dan ook vlak over het strand. De beelden van stofwolken, wegwaaiende parasols en mensen die zich stevig vasthouden, zijn dan ook vaak vastgelegd op beeld.
De enorme kracht van orkaan Irma is duidelijk te zien op beelden die vanuit een helikopter zijn gemaakt. Het strand ligt op het vliegveld en er staat geen palmboom meer overeind.
Bron: RTL Nieuws.nl