Eleven medical students will soon return to Suriname, after completing their study on the island of Cuba. “These medics will directly be placed on various positions where there is a shortage of medics,” says Michael Blokland, Minister of Public Health. According to him the ministry received good news on study possibilities concerning the medical courses of general practitioners and levels of specialization. “The government has agreed with Cuba that we will get more scholarships to send our people to study,” says Blokland…[+]

The State Oil Company Suriname (Staatsolie) will largely reduce the production of fuel oil this year. This will have a direct impact on the power company NV Energie Bedrijven Suriname (EBS), which is one of the largest buyers of heavy-duty diesel. EBS will be compelled to import these raw materials. Times of Suriname has learnt that more than 90 million liters of marine diesel and 250 million liters of heavy-duty diesel will no longer be produced. It represents a value of SRD 1.2 billion on a yearly basis. EBS will have to obtain import oil from a new supplier…[+]

Members of the Arrest Team (A Team) on Friday afternoon arrested a suspect shortly after two men had tried to rob a store. Ulrich Tjin Liep Shie, head of the A Team, told Times of Suriname that 33-year-old DE has been arrested and handed over to the Flora Police Department.  Police Inspector Dilipkoemar Bhattoe, chief of the  Flora Police Department, indicated that the suspect and an accomplice had tried to rob a store located at the corner of the  Coesewijne- and Leo Eliazerstraat. The two men reportedly went into the store and pretended that they wanted to buy a gas cylinder. One of the men held the storekeeper in a chokehold while the other one hit the storekeeper’s face several times…[+]

TRINIDAD – Surinamese national Edmund Quincy Muntslag, who is wanted by the United States Government for allegedly conspiring to smuggle ten kilograms of cocaine into the US, on Wednesday was committed by Chief Magistrate Marcia Ayers-Caesar in the Port of Spain Magistrates’ Court to be extradited to that country. But in a last-ditch effort to prevent the extradition, Muntslag’s attorney Keith Scotland indicated to the court after the committal proceedings that his client intends to file a writ of habeas corpus at the High Court in Port of Spain to have him released from prison custody. Muntslag was accused alongside Dino Bouterse with conspiring to traffick the drugs into the United States for distribution between December 2011 and August 2013…[+]

The chairman of the Association of Small and Medium Sized Companies in Suriname (Akmos),  Sham Binda, told Times of Suriname that companies are not “the only ones that will bear the burden of the new  electricity tariffs that the EBS wants to introduce but that the entire nation will pay the price.” Binda explained that the high energy tariffs for local companies will narrow the profit margins and that the companies will have to adjust their expenses. “If companies have to adjust their budgets, people will certainly be fired…[+]

The Ministry of Social Affairs and Community Housing (Sozavo) has started giving welfare to thousands of people who had not received their financial aid in December 2014. Reports indicate that 4000 people did not get their welfare in December. “The people from poor households and people with a disability are finally getting their welfare over December 2014,” said Aniel Koendjbiharie, chairman of  Stichting Wan Okasi. Reports indicate that about 11,000 people had received their welfare in December 2014. The payments were made in December after the target group had voiced its concerns. It had initially not been ruled out that this group of about 16,000 people would gets its money in January 2015…[+]

CHINA/ SURINAME — China and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) will put into writing a five-year cooperation plan, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Thursday. The plan — together with the Beijing Declaration, and the Regulations on China-Celac forum — will be the major outcome of the first China-CELAC forum ministerial meeting, Xi said in his opening remarks. The plan (2015-2019) will have specific measures for overall cooperation between China and Latin America, covering politics, security, trade, investment, finance, infrastructure, energy, resources, industry, agriculture, science and people-to-people exchange…[+]

The price of crude oil is expected remain low in the first half of 2015 but rise again in the second half of 2015.  Exploration Manager  at the State Oil Company Suriname (Staatsolie) Wim Dwarkasing indicated that he has received this information from  the  PIRA Energy Group. The fuel prices will remain low because there is a surplus of oil…[+]

Four new metal-cutting saws were intercepted by prison guards on Tuesday. Paulus Pinas, deputy director at the Offender Care Department of the Ministry of Justice and Police, told Times of Suriname that the saws had been put in a plastic bag along with several stones so that they could be thrown over the wall. The prison guards who discovered the saws while they were inspecting the field, confiscated them and reported the find to their superiors…[+]

Most of the nation’s general practitioners have reported an increase in the number of flu cases these past three weeks. The rise in flu cases coincides with the turn of the seasons. The GPs indicated that they get chikungunya cases every daily but that these cases are fewer than last year’s. The Public Health Bureau (BOG) issued a press release, indicating that it is suspected that the increase in flu cases will last until the end of March. The BOG also published several tables to give an overview of the statistics.  “Chikungunya has not been eradicated so it still exists and the number of chikungunya cases is expected to rise during the rainy season. We must make sure that there will be no drastic increase,” said BOG director Lesley Resida…[+]