There was rare bipartisan agreement on the Petroleum Operations (Maritime Zone Moratorium) Bill, 2017, which establishes a moratorium on exploration, exploitation and other operations within the Belize Barrier Reef system, including those sections of the World Heritage Site. Several Senators agreed that today was a moment of celebration and recognition of those Belizeans who fought […]
Seven years of work has resulted in an overturn of the status quo ante regarding offshore petroleum operations in Belize’s marine territory. With little debate and bipartisan support, the National Assembly passed the Petroleum Operations (Offshore Zone Moratorium) Bill, 2017 this morning. Opposition Leader John Briceño made note of the importance of the reef to […]
It’s November thirtieth and that means the Hurricane Season has closed. The 2017 Hurricane Season lived up to expectations as a very active one, forecasted to be above average and it was, with seventeen named storms – and only six didn’t hit land. Belize was lucky to have escaped from the six major hurricanes – these […]
CEMO was out in the City today testing its brand new 2017 jet vacuum cleaner. The high tech piece of equipment will be used to clean out the drains and canals around the city to lessen flooding. It costs almost a million dollars and to make sure that it serves its purpose, the team responsible […]
In northern Belize, a second suspected drug plane has been found in less than six months to signal that the drug trade is thriving. The burnt scrap of the aircraft was discovered in a remote cornfield near Hill Bank, Orange Walk, on Sunday morning. A joint taskforce comprised of police officers and B.D.F. personnel was […]
A first of its kind grant assistance from the Grassroots and Human Security Program of the Embassy of Japan will gift residents of Belmopan their own new garbage contractor truck. The grant of just over one hundred and seventy-five thousand Belize dollars was presented in the Garden City by Japanese Embassy Counselor Shinichi Yamanaka Deputy […]
When we last left the matter of the two parcels of land located next to the Roman Catholic community school in Las Flores, Belmopan, residents were up in arms, demanding that the purchaser return them. Leader of the Belmopan Catholic Mission, Father Jordan Gongora, told community residents he had not agreed to proposals made by […]
Energy Week commenced this past Sunday, but today, a fair was held at the Biltmore Plaza to showcase the local energy sector and shift the focus on renewable energy sources. “RE-Thinking Energy: Shaping a Resilient Community” – is the theme for this year’s event and News Five’s Duane Moody found out that legislation is being […]
Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Natural Resources, Doctor Carla Barnett, on Thursday delivered the thirty-second Adlith Brown Memorial Lecture as part of the Forty-ninth Annual Monetary Studies Conference held last week. According to the Central Bank, the lecture elaborated on the emerging importance of climate change and its impact on developing […]
Our following story is not for the faint of heart, so if you’re not a fan of snakes, you may want to exit. Belizeans have grown used to sharing our habitat with the wild animals that have made this country their home as well. Over the years at News Five, we’ve reported on snakes in […]
It is not surprising for residents in rural areas of the country to be found in possession of certain wildlife species. As a matter of fact, in some southern communities one would often come across an encaged parrot or a coati being kept as a pet. So when a resident of Caye Caulker was hauled […]
The National Meteorological Service and National Emergency Management Organization are advising Belizeans to get ready for a wet weekend. Tropical Storm Selma in the south-east Pacific is expected to move north and make landfall on Saturday near the border of El Salvador and Guatemala or possibly in central and western Guatemala near to but not […]
In typical October style, the rains descended over the city and the western part of the country. Today, several schools sent students home and motorists and pedestrians had to navigate their way through streets with several inches of water. The downpour during this time is not unusual for October, but News Five’s Andrea Polanco spoke […]
With five or so weeks to go until the end of the Hurricane Season, we asked the Met Service what is the outlook for the immediate future. Climatologist Ronald Gordon says that it may still be a few wet weeks ahead, and the weather bureau continues to monitor any semblance of a development in the […]
Guatemalan vessel ‘AMADOR’ ran aground Belize’s Reef on Saturday night. There were ten occupants on board including Carlos Pena – a well-known Guatemalan artist – who put out an SOS message on Facebook asking for coastguard or police to rescue them. The sixty-foot pleasure yacht captained by Gustavo Aleojos Andres Jansa was in the southern […]
Back in August Prime Minister Barrow announced that that there will be an indefinite moratorium on offshore oil exploration in Belize’s territorial waters. In a letter to Oceana’s Vice President, P.M. Barrow committed that government would take it to parliament this month. Well, the date for that landmark decision to be tabled in the House […]
As you heard, the offshore petroleum moratorium is an unprecedented step towards protecting Belize’s Barrier Reef Reserve System, as the ban covers Belize’s entire maritime area including the exclusive economic zones. In terms of next steps, the public is invited to participate in the House Committee phase of the legislative process. The offshore oil moratorium […]
Have you seen Mark Pollard? What about Brindis Constantino? Pollard and Constantino are two persons who have gone missing in separate incidents for more than a month. Constantino is a thirteen-year old school girl of Lords Bank who has been missing since September eighth. Her family believes she may be in the Frank’s Eddy area. […]
Kareem Musa, Caribbean Shores area representative and attorney for Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action, is awaiting the formal response from the Ministry of Works to peruse the contract for the re-construction of Faber’s Road among other things. But today he could not resist the opportunity to personally challenge the Prime Minister over what he […]
The B.T.B. brought together over a hundred tourism stakeholders in Belize City for its annual tourism conference. The theme this year focused on Sustainable Tourism and to bring across the message, the B.T.B. lined up internationally acclaimed presenters and local speakers. B.T.B.’s Marketing Manager tells us why it’s important for the B.T.B. to shine the […]
There have been complaints from residents on Caye Caulker that a dredging project may have adverse effects on the surrounding ecosystem and the barrier reef. Since the beginning of this month, San Pedro Belize Express Water Taxi has been dredging a spot next to its docking pier on the island because its boats have been […]
The extent to which Belize’s economy depends on tourism generated by the threatened Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage site was revealed today by a new report from World Wildlife Fund and partner organizations. The report, “Natural Heritage, Natural Wealth,” aims to highlight the incredible resource the country is at risk of losing. The results of […]
A ‘Walk for a Green Belize’ will be held tomorrow, Saturday, October fourteenth. The Department of Environment joined forces with Belize Solid Waste Management Authority and the Belize Audubon Society. The clean-up campaign is aimed at building awareness and sustaining an environmentally friendly country. The walk and clean-up will be held along the entire seventy-seven […]
The search for the missing caretaker at Tobacco Caye in the Stann Creek District has ended sadly, with news of his body being recovered Friday evening. Fifty-eight year old George Anthony Stewart was believed to have gone to dive for conch on Tuesday evening around four-thirty but failed to return. A search party went looking […]
Tropical Storm Nate has killed twenty-two people in neighboring Costa Rica and Nicaragua and up to news time, fifteen more Costa Ricans remain missing due to the passage of the tropical storm. NEMO’s latest advisory puts Nate four hundred and sixty miles south east of Belize and has maximum sustained winds of forty miles per […]
