SABA:--- On the morning of October 15th, 2024, HRH Princess Beatrix landed on Saba, greeted by Island Governor Jonathan Johnson and a welcome song from a group of primary school children. The Princess’ visit focused on nature education and conservation, and youth recreation.
The first stop was at the Saba Research Center of Saba Conservation Foundation where various institutions conduct marine research. A tour of the laboratory was given by Arno Verhoeven of the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA), for which the Princess is a patroness of, and Director of SCF, Kai Wulf. A description of the work being carried out at the research center was given, focusing on the active restoration of the reef grazers needed to make the coral reef more resilient. The Princess also viewed the sea urchins and the Caribbean spiny lobster, caught locally in the famous and biodiverse Saba bank.
Following this, Princess Beatrix visited the recently renewed Queen Wilhelmina Park, named after her grandmother. Upon her entrance, a group of children performed a song and a walk through the park was hosted by Mascha van Werven, Director of Jantje Beton. The Princess is also patroness of Jantje Beton, with their aim being to create more access to safe yet challenging play areas for children to keep them engaged and healthy. Other representatives of PES also shared a brief narration of the remodeled, historic stone oven located at the front of the park and presented the future plans for the park. Princess Beatrix also held conversations with several young children, learning more about what outdoor play means for them while sharing her own experiences as a child. At the end of the tour, Princess Beatrix unveiled the nameplate of the Queen Wilhelmina park, marking its official reopening.
In the afternoon, Princess Beatrix listened to an engaging presentation given by SCF’s Junior Rangers while at the Botanical Gardens. The children informed the Princess on reforestation efforts, using seed-bombs, which encourages growth of new plants and trees. In tandem with the children, Princess Beatrix threw a seed bomb into the Botanical Garden, symbolizing the many efforts being taken towards nature conservation. Following the presentation, James ‘Crocodile’ Johnson received a lifetime achievement award, in the presence of the Princess, for his more than 30 years of service to Saba Conservation Foundation.
The Princess’ last visit of the day was to The Spot, the youth center in The Bottom. She was greeted by Suzanne Laszlo, the director of UNICEF Netherlands, as Saba has recently taken steps into officially signing on to be a Child Friendly City. Princess Beatrix also held insightful conversations with a group of young people, centering on their experiences related to growing up on Saba, the practice of positive parenting, and emphasizing the power of one’s imagination.
Princess Beatrix left Saba in the afternoon, with many residents present at the airport to see her off, as she continues her journey back to the Netherlands.

Today, H.R.H. Princess Beatrix, patron of Jantje Beton, visited the partially renovated play and meeting area in Queen Wilhelmina Park on Saba. She engaged in a conversation with children about outdoor play on Saba.

Lack of Attention to Outdoor Play
Jantje Beton has found that in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, there is insufficient attention to adequate play areas, quality playgrounds, and optimal play opportunities for children. This is also true on Saba, the smallest inhabited island, where playgrounds are scarce due to the island's structure, and childhood obesity rates are high. Research by the Public Health Department of Saba (2023) even shows that 1 in 3 primary school children suffer from being overweight or obesity (19% and 14%, respectively).

Together with the local government, the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS), and the National Postcode Lottery, Jantje Beton is renovating two playgrounds on Saba. Work has already begun in Queen Wilhelmina Park.

Queen Wilhelmina Park: Play and Meeting Space on Saba
Queen Wilhelmina Park is a centrally located park in The Bottom, the capital of Saba, serving as a green meeting space on the island. Jantje Beton, along with children and residents, created a new design for the park that considers various needs related to play, socializing, and nature. Construction has already started, and Mascha van Werven, Director-Executive of Jantje Beton, and Jonathan Johnson, governor of Saba, guided Princess Beatrix through the park. Together, they spoke with children about the importance of outdoor play and quality playgrounds on Saba. The Princess then unveiled the new name sign for Queen Wilhelmina Park.

Mascha van Werven, Director-Executive of Jantje Beton: "We are honored that H.R.H. Princess Beatrix has come to visit our work on Saba. Thanks in part to the support of the Ministry of VWS and the National Postcode Lottery we can renovate multiple playgrounds on the islands in collaboration with the local government, encouraging children in the Caribbean part of our Kingdom to play outside. Playing and being active are crucial and contribute to growing up happily and healthily. Jantje Beton believes that ‘Every child should be able to play outside, every day!’”

Jantine Homan, MT Member of Care and Youth Caribbean Netherlands VWS: "We have found a great partner in Jantje Beton for the development of playgrounds in the Caribbean part of our Kingdom. By actively involving children, the playgrounds are frequently used. Together, we developed a playground in Bonaire with positive results, and several others are underway. On Saba, we also want to provide more play opportunities for children.”
Island Governor Jonathan Johnson: “The value of outdoor play for our children cannot be overstated, as it offers multiple benefits for both physical and socio-emotional growth. Having HRH Princess Beatrix present to open the revamped park has been an honor, and we extend our gratitude to HRH Princess Beatrix, the Ministry of VWS, and Jantje Beton for their continuing dedication to the children of Saba. We also thank our Department of Public Health and Sport for their work on this project and the community for contributing their feedback.”

PHILIPSBURG:---   On November 15, 2024His Excellency the Governor of Sint Maarten received the final report from formateur L. Mercelina on the formation of his second government.
The former has accepted the commission to form a new government, which has the support of a majority in Parliament comprised of the fractions of URSM, DP, PFP, and SAM. The new government consists of ministers who are committed to promoting Sint Maarten's well-being. After the swearing-in of the new ministers, it will conceive of a government program.

Candidates for the various portfolios have been vetted based on the pertinent regulations regulating the pre-screening of candidates before nomination and the faithful application of these norms, as has been the standing and official practice since the achievement of country status by Sint Maarten in 2010. The formateur has nominated the following persons who, based on the results of these screenings, are to be appointed by H.E., the Governor of Sint Maarten:
1. Mr. Luc F. E. Mercelina, Prime Minister and Minister of General Affairs;
2. Mr. Richenel S.J. Brug, Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour;
3. Ms. Nathalie M. Tackling, Minister of Justice;
4. Ms. Marinka J. Gumbs, Minister of Finance;
5. Mrs. Grisha S. Heyliger-Marten, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication;
6. Mr. Patrice T. Gumbs, Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure;
7. Ms. Melissa D. Gumbs, Minister of Education, Culture, Youth and Sports;
8. Ms. Gracita R. Arrindell, Minister Plenipotentiary.
The Governor aims to schedule the appointment and swearing in of the ministers at the earliest possible date.

Isidoros Karderinis

China from the beginning of the 21st century until now has succeeded and climbed to the second place in the world economy after the USA. Thus, it now claims global diplomatic and economic influence, competing with the other major powers in trade and investment, especially in Africa.
Africa on the other hand is a vast geographical area of the planet, it is the world's third largest continent in terms of area and second in population (estimated approximately for 2024 at 1.5 billion inhabitants). It has an area of about 30.2 million square kilometers together with the surrounding islands and occupies 6% of the total surface of the Earth and 20.4 percent of the total land area.
It is also rich in natural resources (oil, natural gas, uranium, lithium, cobalt, diamonds, gold, copper, etc.) and is therefore of great economic interest. The Democratic Republic of Congo, for example, accounts for about 70% of the world's cobalt production.
China's relations with African states are, of course, not new. They date from the 1950s, and specifically in 1955, when the Bandung Conference took place, in which the 29 participating African and Asian countries adopted the "Five Principles for Peaceful Coexistence", which China had initially agreed with of India in 1954. These are: mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, mutual non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality and mutual benefit and peaceful co-existence.
At that time, China signed state trade agreements with African states, such as Algeria or Sudan. Also at the end of 1963, the then Premier of China, Chu Enlai, number two after Mao Zedong, made a trip to ten African states in two months. Since then, China's presence in Africa has been increasingly intense.
China's interests in the African continent are centered on economy, politics, security and culture. Africa is important to China primarily as a huge source of resources to sustain its growing manufacturing base, as well as a source of energy security. At the same time, China sees Africa as an important destination for its low-cost manufactured goods.
Africa also plays an important role in international multilateral organizations and especially in organizations where each member- country has one vote. Thus, China is trying to woo African governments in order, to garner support for its policies on the international stage.
Since 2002, in fact, the Forum on China–Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) has been fully operational, whose members are 53 African countries (i.e. all fully recognized except the Kingdom of Eswatini which has diplomatic relations with Taiwan), and which operates at three levels with higher the ministerial level. It is also held every three years, alternating between an African country and China. The most recent FOCAC Conference was held in Beijing from 4-6 September 2024.
At this 9th Conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to provide Africa with 360 billion yuan ($50.7 billion) in financial support over the next three years, while promising that his government would help create at least 1 million jobs on the continent.
FOCAC, established in 2000, is the main multilateral coordination mechanism between African countries and China and is based on the declarations on the principles of peaceful coexistence. FOCAC is the main channel through which China provides resources to African countries. Through FOCAC, China provides aid in the forms of debt cancellation. In 2003, it deleted US$750 million to a total of 31 African countries—grant aid, soft loans, and interest-free loans.
Beijing, therefore, is the first creditor and one of the main financers of many infrastructure projects. Chinese funding has gone into building highways and railways - recently, the Addis Ababa-Djibouti and Mombasa-Nairobi railway networks in Kenya were handed over to local governments and electricity production power stations across the continent (e.g., in Nigeria, Ghana, and Gabon).
After all, more than 3,000 Chinese companies are present in African cities, of which over 70% are private companies, forming the mainstay of Chinese investment in Africa.
From 2017 to 2022, China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in Africa reached 74 billion yuan ($10.14 billion), accounting for 18% of global foreign direct investment in Africa and on par with Europe and the USA.
Beijing is the leading trading partner of the African continent. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), almost a quarter of African exports go to China, mainly minerals and metals, and about 16% of imports come from it. China's trade with African countries peaked in 2023 at $282 billion.
At the same time, as reported by the Global Times, tourists from China visited various African destinations in 2024, including Kenya, Tanzania and Morocco. In fact, according to this publication, Kenya announced $1.1 billion in revenue from similar tourism activities in the first half of 2024 alone.
China is, moreover, in fierce and open competition with the West, primarily the United States, in Africa, with the two superpowers trying to increase their political influence on the continent and their access to its natural resources.
China's penetration campaign in Africa takes on added weight for the Chinese regime as it claims leadership in the so-called "Global South," which has gained such momentum that it implicitly indicates the rearrangement of global power between an old and a rising world.
In closing, I would like to emphasize that the declared principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of other states must not be circumvented by China under any circumstances. The future of Africa which has been brutally tortured by European colonialism-most exploited in terms of its natural resources and its population-must be determined by Africans, not dictated by any foreign powers that may seek to exploit their resources and their problematic points for their own benefit.