GREAT BAY--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Patrice Gumbs has met with companies that participated in the government's solid waste collection tender to address concerns about the evaluation process, explain how contracts will be allocated, and outline the remaining steps before final awards are made.

GREAT BAY/MARIGOT, St. Martin--The literary work of St. Martin poet and author Lasana M. Sekou continues to attract international academic attention, with three scholarly publications in 2026 examining or drawing on his writings to explore Caribbean identity, history, environmental issues, colonialism, and the relationship between island communities and their natural surroundings.

GREAT BAY – St. Maarten is preparing for a busy four-month period of cruise tourism, with several days between November 2026 and February 2027 expected to bring five, six and potentially seven cruise ships to the island. December is shaping up to be the busiest month for vessel calls, while January and February will also feature days when several major cruise liners are scheduled to visit Philipsburg.

GREAT BAY--Member of Parliament Raeyhon Peterson's proposal to cut Parliament's travel budget by 80% could redirect Cg 904,624 toward repairs at St. Maarten's public schools, providing a significant increase in funding for school maintenance at a time when the Ministry of Education has acknowledged that existing resources are insufficient to address accumulated repair needs.

GREAT BAY--In a historic step toward greater economic cooperation between Dutch and French St. Martin, the St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce and Industry (COCI) and the Chambre Consulaire Interprofessionnelle de Saint-Martin (CCISM) officially signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday, November 5, 2026, establishing a formal framework for collaboration aimed at strengthening businesses, expanding trade opportunities and promoting the island as one economic destination.

ORANJESTAD--Aruba's Parliament has unanimously approved a motion demanding that the Dutch government explain controversial personal notes written by then Queen Beatrix in 1983 about Aruban political leader Betico Croes, including a statement suggesting that the Netherlands should buy time until Croes was no longer a political factor in the island's struggle for separate constitutional status.