Local News

August 25, 2026

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - RISE Foundation has completed the core phase of its 2026 Back-to-School Support Project, providing uniforms, backpacks, school supplies and shoe assistance to students across four partner primary schools while extending additional student and classro...

August 25, 2026

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - Member of Parliament (MP) Egbert J. Doran is questioning how government can report a positive financial result while millions of guilders remain owed to vendors and civil servants continue waiting on payments and benefits due to them, the MP said in...

August 25, 2026

SINT MAARTEN (GREAT BAY) - TELEM has been identified by government as a national fiscal risk, Member of Parliament (MP) Darryl York said in a press statement on Tuesday. Yet six weeks after MP Darryl York submitted questions on its governance, restructuring, employee turnover,...

August 25, 2026

GREAT BAY--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten has clarified that Government has made no decision to proceed with the proposed Swift Rail transportation system, stressing that the concept remains at the proposal and ass...

August 25, 2026

Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina. PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Dr. Luc Mercelina said Monday that St. Maarten should not rush cannabis legislation simply to have it completed during the current government’s term. He said commercialisation should not be treated as the automatic...

August 25, 2026

GREAT BAY--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten pushed back strongly against criticism from MP Ludmila de Weever over Government’s cannabis process, rejecting suggestions that cannabis has displaced long-standing TEATT p...

August 25, 2026

Akeema Carty, Miss Caribbean Beauty and Intelligence. ANGUILLA--Miss Anguilla 2026, Akeema Carty, received a grand welcome home on Sunday August 23 following gaining the crown at the Miss Caribbean Beauty & Intelligence Pageant in Guyana. She was greeted by family, friends...

August 25, 2026

Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs says her ministry has already carried out the groundwork for a possible temporary reduction of the fuel import duty on gasoline from 29 cents to 14.5 cents per litre, but Government must still collectively determine whether the relief should b...

August 25, 2026

GREAT BAY--Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs says St. Maarten’s tax reform will be implemented through a series of legislative, administrative and technological changes rather than one comprehensive tax package, describing Government’s approach as a process to “stabilize, repa...

August 25, 2026

Originally scheduled for June 13th during Spotlight, the opening of the Marigot Showcase was postponed due to a lack of furniture in the premises. Despite open houses organized for professionals on July 17th and 24th, nothing had really changed in the shared commercial space m...

August 25, 2026

GREAT BAY--Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication Grisha Heyliger-Marten told Parliament that strong tourism performance cannot be treated as an end in itself if households and local businesses are not seeing enough of the benefit, stressing tha...

August 25, 2026

Philipsburg, Sint Maarten– The Department of Statistics (STAT) reports that the cost of everyday goods and services in Sint Maarten increased significantly during the second quarter (Q2) of 2026. Inflation stood at 5.45% compared with Q2 2025 and by 4.03% compared with the fir...

August 25, 2026

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Dimar Labega pushed back Monday against the impression created during the 2026 Budget debate that St. Maarten is approaching cannabis policy without structure, information or ongoing Government involvement, pointing to an interministerial w...