Local News

August 28, 2026

GREAT BAY--A motion aimed at strengthening price controls and bringing some relief to households struggling with the high cost of basic necessities received the unanimous support of Parliament. The motion, submitted by Member of Parliament Egbert J. Doran, focuses on updating...

August 28, 2026

GREAT BAY--Parliament on Thursday approved the country’s 2026 national budget by a vote of 10 for and 5 against, bringing to a close a week-long debate that included extensive questioning of the Council of Ministers, 15 motions and 10 budget amendments submitted by Members of...

August 28, 2026

GREAT BAY--Parliament adopted nine of 10 amendments to the 2026 national budget on Thursday, approving a series of reallocations covering tourism development, agriculture, sports, government staffing, legislative capacity, prison operations, waste management and social assista...

August 28, 2026

WILLEMSTAD/GREAT BAY--The Central Bank of Curaçao and St. Maarten (CBCS) will enter a new leadership period on September 2, when Ference Lamp formally assumes the position of president-director of the monetary authority, according to reports in Curaçao media. Candice Henr...

August 28, 2026

THE HAGUE / GREAT BAY--Updated guidelines governing applications for Dutch nationality in St. Maarten and Curaçao will take effect on November 1, 2026, with further clarification of what applicants must show when they are unable to obtain required official documents from...

August 27, 2026

GREAT BAY--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure, VROMI, Patrice Gumbs has argued that many of St. Maarten’s present infrastructure problems are the result of years of development occurring faster than the systems needed to support i...

August 27, 2026

GREAT BAY-- Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure, VROMI, Patrice Gumbs has painted a concerning picture of two critical areas of the country’s public infrastructure, confirming that all three pieces of heavy equipment used at the landfil...

August 27, 2026

Tonight we have a lunar eclipse beginning about 11:45pm, Thursday Aug 27. It continues, reaching full coverage of the moon about 12:15am Friday morning. The whole eclipse should be done by 1:30am. Just in case you need a quick reminder on the topic of lunar eclipses, just imag...

August 27, 2026

GREAT BAY-- Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure, VROMI, Patrice Gumbs has pointed to a significant staffing shortage and decades-old administrative backlogs as major factors affecting the ministry’s ability to process permits, exec...

August 27, 2026

GREAT BAY--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure, VROMI, Patrice Gumbs has announced that his ministry is finalizing the allocation of land for what he described as the first solar farm to be operated by utility company GEBE, signaling mo...

August 27, 2026

GREAT BAY--Native Nation St. Maarten is celebrating a new milestone after more than 2,600 recyclable bottles were collected during its latest Farmers Market & Recycling Drive, marking the largest bottle collection recorded by the initiative to date. The organization said t...

August 27, 2026

GREAT BAY--Civil servants are set to receive the long-awaited 2.5% cost-of-living adjustment, retroactive to January 2026, once Parliament approves the 2026 National Budget and Government moves forward with the payment process, Minister of Finance Marinka Gumbs has stated...

August 27, 2026

GREAT BAY--Exactly one week after Parliament opened debate on the 2026 national budget, Members of Parliament will return to the floor Thursday for what is expected to be one of the most consequential stages of the process, voting on 15 motions and 10 budget amendments submitt...