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PHILIPSBURG--The Embassy of India in Caracas, Venezuela, recently offered a full scholarship to a St. Maarten student in the context of the friendly cooperation programme launched in 1964, by the Government of India in which some 156 countries currently participate.

To choose the candidate for this India Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scholarship, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Rhoda Arrindell has decided to invite suitable candidates to apply for nomination for the scholarship, which will include all expenditures such as airfare, course fee, accommodation, allowances and more being taken care of by the Government of India for the selected candidate.

Applicants must fulfil the admission criteria for the courses they intend to study, must have a working knowledge of English needed to follow the Course, must be between 25 to 45 years of age, and they must be medically fit to undertake the training.

Government officials, persons from the Public and Private Sectors, Universities, Chambers of Commerce and Industry may apply for the scholarship.

Application forms can be obtained online at: http://itec.mea.gov.in/how%20to%20apply.html

Details about the ITEC programme and the list of courses are also available at the website: www.embindia.org.

The forms must be filled in carefully, without leaving any column incomplete or blank. An undertaking by the applicant and certification from his/her employer (Part II of Application Form) are mandatory.

The duly completed forms must be submitted no later than Monday March 5, 2012, to the Head of Study Financing Division, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Vlaun Building #3, N. Debrot Street, Philipsburg, St. Martin.

The decision to accept applications/nominations or not rests solely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, it was stated in a press release issued on Wednesday.

PHILIPSBURG--The Embassy of India in Caracas, Venezuela, recently offered a full scholarship to a St. Maarten student in the context of the friendly cooperation programme launched in 1964, by the Government of India in which some 156 countries currently participate.

To choose the candidate for this India Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) scholarship, the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Rhoda Arrindell has decided to invite suitable candidates to apply for nomination for the scholarship, which will include all expenditures such as airfare, course fee, accommodation, allowances and more being taken care of by the Government of India for the selected candidate.

Applicants must fulfil the admission criteria for the courses they intend to study, must have a working knowledge of English needed to follow the Course, must be between 25 to 45 years of age, and they must be medically fit to undertake the training.

Government officials, persons from the Public and Private Sectors, Universities, Chambers of Commerce and Industry may apply for the scholarship.

Application forms can be obtained online at: http://itec.mea.gov.in/how%20to%20apply.html

Details about the ITEC programme and the list of courses are also available at the website: www.embindia.org.

The forms must be filled in carefully, without leaving any column incomplete or blank. An undertaking by the applicant and certification from his/her employer (Part II of Application Form) are mandatory.

The duly completed forms must be submitted no later than Monday March 5, 2012, to the Head of Study Financing Division, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports and Youth Affairs, Vlaun Building #3, N. Debrot Street, Philipsburg, St. Martin.

The decision to accept applications/nominations or not rests solely with the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, it was stated in a press release issued on Wednesday.

PHILIPSBURG--Independent Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Wednesday questioned why government would reportedly abandon St. Maarten's re-branding campaign after just two years and millions invested.

Richardson was speaking during the budget debate in the Central Committee meeting of Parliament.

As reported on Tuesday, government is looking to either revert to the themes that were used to market St. Maarten prior to 2009 and/or combine those themes with the new marketing approach launched in 2009. The latter makes use of misspelled adjectives deriving from the double A (so AA) in the Dutch spelling of St. Maarten.

Richardson said he simply wanted answers as to why the change is considered necessary and said he would support the change if government can show that its intentions can effectively drive and increase the tourism market of St. Maarten.

"What is the vision and tourism strategy for country St. Maarten?" Richardson asked.

PHILIPSBURG--Independent Member of Parliament Frans Richardson on Wednesday questioned why government would reportedly abandon St. Maarten's re-branding campaign after just two years and millions invested.

Richardson was speaking during the budget debate in the Central Committee meeting of Parliament.

As reported on Tuesday, government is looking to either revert to the themes that were used to market St. Maarten prior to 2009 and/or combine those themes with the new marketing approach launched in 2009. The latter makes use of misspelled adjectives deriving from the double A (so AA) in the Dutch spelling of St. Maarten.

Richardson said he simply wanted answers as to why the change is considered necessary and said he would support the change if government can show that its intentions can effectively drive and increase the tourism market of St. Maarten.

"What is the vision and tourism strategy for country St. Maarten?" Richardson asked.

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament William Marlin during the Central Committee meeting of Parliament on Wednesday said Parliament cannot simply accept that government-owned companies will be paying concessions without knowing how these same companies are performing financially.

Marlin was responding to Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto's statements on the 2012 budget regarding concession fees. The veteran MP said while the Minister outlined that the airport, harbour and GEBE are expected to pay concessions of around NAf. 5 million this year, the Minister did not provide the annual accounts of the companies.

"If we are to believe what's in the Minister's presentation," Marlin said, "then the annual accounts should be presented." "We would like to know why these have not been presented to government. Parliament needs the audited financials from these companies to also determine how the people's patrimony is being spent," Marlin said.

It was not sufficient, he added, for Parliament to just go along with indications of NAf. 5 million concession fees to be paid by companies that are operating with annual profits reportedly in excess of NAf. 15 million or more.

PHILIPSBURG--National Alliance (NA) Member of Parliament William Marlin during the Central Committee meeting of Parliament on Wednesday said Parliament cannot simply accept that government-owned companies will be paying concessions without knowing how these same companies are performing financially.

Marlin was responding to Minister of Finance Hiro Shigemoto's statements on the 2012 budget regarding concession fees. The veteran MP said while the Minister outlined that the airport, harbour and GEBE are expected to pay concessions of around NAf. 5 million this year, the Minister did not provide the annual accounts of the companies.

"If we are to believe what's in the Minister's presentation," Marlin said, "then the annual accounts should be presented." "We would like to know why these have not been presented to government. Parliament needs the audited financials from these companies to also determine how the people's patrimony is being spent," Marlin said.

It was not sufficient, he added, for Parliament to just go along with indications of NAf. 5 million concession fees to be paid by companies that are operating with annual profits reportedly in excess of NAf. 15 million or more.

The Lenten Season began yesterday, Ash Wednesday, with several Christian churches holding services during which their members' foreheads were marked with ashes. Here members of the congregation at SS Simon and Jude Anglican Church on Back Street are marked with ashes by parish priest Father Terrence Rawlins, who had challenged them earlier to use the Lenten Season (40 days of renewal) to strengthen their spiritual lives and build unbreakable bonds in their relationship with God.

The Lenten Season began yesterday, Ash Wednesday, with several Christian churches holding services during which their members' foreheads were marked with ashes. Here members of the congregation at SS Simon and Jude Anglican Church on Back Street are marked with ashes by parish priest Father Terrence Rawlins, who had challenged them earlier to use the Lenten Season (40 days of renewal) to strengthen their spiritual lives and build unbreakable bonds in their relationship with God.

De mast van de eerste nieuwe windmolen wordt overeind gezet op Playa Kanoa. Zowel bij Playa Kanoa als bij Tera Kòrá worden vijf nieuwe windturbines gebouwd, die bijna twintig procent van de jaarlijkse energievraag van Curaçao moeten gaan leveren. De masten hebben een hoogte van 80 meter.

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De vastentijd (40 dagen tot aan Pasen) is begonnen maar niet zonder een askruisje en een boodschap van monseigneur Luis Secco, de bisschop van het bisdom Willemstad. ,,We moeten meer communiceren met de ander. In contact staan met elkaar en elkaar weer groeten op straat."

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Nieuwszender CNBC Europe heeft vorige week in het programma Alternative Investing een ‘geheel nieuwe wereld van investeren’ onder de loep genomen: ruimtereizen, oftewel ‘the Race for Space’. Nu de wereldeconomie zich in de problemen bevindt is het wellicht tijd om de wereld van ruimtereizen eens nader te ontdekken, aldus de zender.

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De hiv/aids-problematiek op Curaçao is alarmerend. Er komen omstreeks vijftig nieuwe gevallen per jaar bij. Dit wordt gesteld door Yves Schoop, voorzitter van de Gezondheidstaskforce. ,,Er zijn rond de 1.300 hiv-positieve patiënten op Curaçao met een man/vrouw-ratio van 3 op 1. De meeste patiënten zijn in de leeftijdscategorie 25 to 44 jaar, echter ook de cijfers in de leeftijdsgroep 15 tot 24 zijn alarmerend”, licht Schoop toe.

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De Vereniging Medisch Specialisten Curaçao (VMSC) is van mening dat er wat betreft het nieuwe ziekenhuis slechts sprake is van ‘groen licht in een heel klein hoekje’. Dat stelt de VMSC in een open brief aan minister van Gezondheid Jacinta Constancia.De vereniging reageert in de brief op twee artikelen van het Antilliaans Dagblad, ‘Groen licht NHN’ van vrijdag 17 februari en ‘Koopkrachtverlies PP’er’ van zaterdag 18 februari.

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Een clip (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAna9JtaypQ&feature=player_embedded) waarin een Argentijnse man, als een ware Superman, naast een auto komt vliegen en de weg vraagt, is een hit op internet.

Een boerderij in het zuiden van Zweden is het toneel geworden van een merkwaardig liefdesverhaal. Kalle, de varkensbeer van het bedrijf, is namelijk smoorverliefd op Sune Mangs, de fokstier van boer Magnus Nyman. Dat meldt de lokale krant Skånskan. De lovestory begon zowat een jaar geleden op de boerderij in het plaatsje Källunda.

De familie van Whitney Houston heeft de hotelkamer waarin ze overleed nauwgezet ontdaan van alles wat met de overleden zangeres te maken had. Zo wil de familie plunderaars voor zijn. Handdoeken, beddengoed en zelfs afval werden weggehaald. De familie heeft bijna alles uit kamer 434 van het Hilton Hotel verwijderd wat niet vastgeschroefd zat.

Breezes Resort Curaçao heeft onlangs tijdens het jaarlijkse evenement ‘SuperAwards’ zijn tienjarig bestaan gevierd met zijn partners. De conferenceroom Flamboyant Center werd omgetoverd in het thema ‘Roaring Twenties’ en versierd in de kleuren zwart en rood.

PHILIPSBURG--The price of gasoline will increase again on Thursday, February 23, just two weeks after the last increase on February 10.

Unleaded gasoline will increase from NAf. 2.39 per litre to NAf. 2.47 per litre. Diesel gasoline will increase from NAf. 2.20 to NAf. 2.22 per litre.

PHILIPSBURG--The price of gasoline will increase again on Thursday, February 23, just two weeks after the last increase on February 10.

Unleaded gasoline will increase from NAf. 2.39 per litre to NAf. 2.47 per litre. Diesel gasoline will increase from NAf. 2.20 to NAf. 2.22 per litre.

PHILIPSBURG--The price of gasoline will increase again on Thursday, February 23, just two weeks after the last increase on February 10.

Unleaded gasoline will increase from NAf. 2.39 per litre to NAf. 2.47 per litre. Diesel gasoline will increase from NAf. 2.20 to NAf. 2.22 per litre.