B.S.I. has stated that because the farmers are fixated on bagasse, an agreement seems unlikely. The 2014-2015 sugar cane crop season is set to start in the next six to seven weeks, and BSI has stated that any delay like last year would be destructive to the industry. In that opinion, at least, both parties […]
October is the start of the Belize Audubon Society’s Urban Bird Watch Program that connects Belizeans and visitors with nature through bird watching. The country currently boasts over five hundred different species of birds including local and migratory birds. According to Publicity Coordinator for the Belize Audubon Society, Dirk Francisco, the urban settings in Belize […]
And while bird watching is a positive event, down south, there is environmental degradation. Tons of debris are washing up along the coast in Punta Gorda. As these pictures will show, the garbage consists of such things as plastic bottles, Styrofoam plates and even hospital waste stretching for as long as five miles along the […]
Tonight, we continue with the third in a series of environmental features on poaching and illegal logging in Belize by Guatemalan intruders. In July 2012, former News Five reporter Andrea Polanco ventured into the Chiquibul National Park where, along with cameraman Darrel Moguel, she experienced firsthand the wholesale denuding of our precious resources. While the […]
Jalacte is a remote southern community in the Toledo District and, for many years, was off the beaten path for most Belizeans. While its inaccessibility placed it out of reach for the average tourist, it has remained open to Guatemalan nationals who wander freely across the border into Belize to conduct business or attend school. […]
OCEANA’s Ocean Hero Awards were presented to two exceptional persons over the weekend. One of the awardees has spent years on the protection of the endangered manatee population and the other has equally invested time and energy on the effects of climate change on coral reefs. Both Jamal Galvez and Lisa Carne have been championing […]
The downpour across the country, especially in the city, has left several areas in downtown Belize City inundated and impassable for pedestrians. According to Mayor Darrell Bradley, the council has identified eight areas that flood due to improper drainage. He says that a drainage project will soon be unveiled to alleviate the perennial problem. Darrell […]
There is some confusion which Minister Manuel Heredia seems unwilling to clear up where the wetlands of Los Bajos are concerned. When News Five spoke to Heredia last week, he blamed the P.U.P. for breaking the news about the subdivision being underwater. And today, he blamed the media cameras for making things look worse than […]
Tonight, News Five can confirm that a subdivision planned in Northern Ambergris Caye, about four miles from the town, is on hold. That subdivision – forty acres of wetland and lagoon divided into three hundred and nineteen house lots – is underwater, which makes that development idea somewhat misguided or perhaps even ludicrous. One immediate […]
And then there’s the other issue. News Five has verified that the forty acres surveyed for the subdivision is completely within an area proposed for a marine reserve expansion. Information to us is that a formal plan and legislation for management of the sensitive ecosystems as part of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve has been […]
International Day of Ozone is celebrated annually on September sixteen and this year it is being held under the theme, “Ozone Layer Protection: The Mission Goes On.” It’s not one of the interesting celebrations, but it is an important one. In fact, the United Nations recognized today that progress had been made in reducing damage […]
In a most unusual move that is certainly to raise the ire of environmentalists, the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) has reportedly cancelled a grant of close to two hundred thousand dollars. The funds were awarded for the expansion of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve back on October seventh 2013 to be used for the […]
Two female crocodiles were captured in the north side of San Pedro and ferried to Belize City this afternoon on a barge belonging to Quality Poultry Products. The crocodiles, approximately twenty years old, had become fearless of humans because for some time now they have been fed by residents on the island. American Crocodile Education […]
This weekend in Belize City promises to be quite eventful and fun-filled, with lots to do for the entire family. While there is the Sir Barry’s Belikin Bash and the annual Expo, there will also be a free concert at the BTL Park, where everyone who is a lover of cultural and spiritual music is […]
According to Flowers, a delicate balance needs to be struck between the GSU and the public in the manner in which it executes its function. Hostility, he says, needs to be minimized. Insp. Mark Flowers, Commander, Gang Suppression Unit “In doing all that we do, certainly we need equilibrium with the way we deliver […]
On Friday, a terse email from the Police Press Officer announced to the media that all requests for information or interviews from senior officers would have to be channelled through a new Public Relations Unit. That new policy, not surprisingly, didn’t find favour in the media. So today there was a formal, though informal introduction […]
Where the media is concerned, we are assured that using the new method information-gathering will be streamlined and much more efficient. All queries will be made to the new unit, which will then pass it on if they have it, or get it if they don’t. All requests for interviews on any particular story will […]
The Eastern Division is getting a new look and new feel, the brainchild of Commander Dezerie Phillips. It’s all about changing the perception of the Police Department, making it more people friendly, more community-oriented and more accessible. It includes some spring cleaning, some painting and much needed sprucing up…but much more important than that – […]
There is a report that is tonight causing alarm locally. It speaks of a spill in the Rio Hondo that spans Belize and Mexico, but we can confirm that the oil spill occurred in the Hondo stream near the town of Tierra Blanca in the state of Veracruz, Mexico. Nearly a mile of the Hondo […]
Mayor of Belize City Darrell Bradley has reneged on his very first commitment to Belize Maintenance Limited. The Council is in arrears twenty-one weeks, and he made a firm promise to pay off five weeks arrears last week Friday. Well, that promised payment did not materialize. That breach of faith right off the bat has […]
In early August sanitation matters between Belize Maintenance Limited and the Belize City Council came to a head. City Hall was in arrears to the company eighteen weeks, and because BML could not get an audience with the Mayor, the company had informed workers that it could no longer keep them on. That led to […]
A trio of residents from the Holy Emmanuel Area is tonight up in arms because despite years of asking for a street to access their houses, they have had no luck. Adrian Lino is among three single mothers who say that they have to walk in swamp when it rains to access their homes. According […]
Incursions along the western border continue unabated; Friends for Conservation and Development has in fact documented an increased number of incidents. Recently, nine dwellings constructed inside the Chiquibul National Park were detected as were survey lines five miles inside Belizean territory. Last week, a survey showed that the Southern Chiquibul River sub-basin had the greatest […]
The Belize Tourism Board announced today that the Village Arts and Craft Expo that was scheduled for this weekend has been postponed until November first due to the inclement weather that is forecasted for the weekend. According to Forecaster, Michael Gentle, of the National Meteorological Service, since this morning, the country has been experiencing a […]
For years, in fact for more than a decade, Greg Ch’oc was the head and face of SATIIM, the Sarstoon-Temash Institute for Indigenous Management. Earlier today, flanked by Maya community leaders, Ch’oc officially announced thathe has stepped aside. After facing a myriad of challenges with the government, in particular on the issue of oil drilling […]
