The Norwegian Cruise Line proposed development of a mega port at Crawl Caye was rejected by the ministerial committee headed by Godwin Hulse. The island was part of the Belize Barrier Reef, a protected World Heritage Site. Norwegian then placed its hopes in Harvest Caye. The cruise line’s investment company, Belize Island Holdings Limited, has […]
The big news tonight is about the Chiquibul Symposium which was held in Belize City today, and we’ll get to that in a few. But first to the issue of rosewood, which burned furiously before settling to a slow simmer. Remember how exporters including the brother of the Deputy Prime Minister were allowed to sell […]
And from rosewood to the symposium on the Chiquibul National Park held in Belize City by the Friends for Conservation and Development…it signifies the launch of an intensive campaign to raise countrywide awareness of the value of this little known and understood mother lode of natural resources. The primary target of this focused campaign is […]
The issue of public health at the Belize Central Prison is also raising serious concerns tonight, following a recent visit by officials from the Office of the Ombudsman. In the wake of the call, public health authorities have filed a report detailing the results of an assessment which includes the unsanitary environment where inmates and […]
Government has been tight lipped lately about the cruise tourism megaprojects which have gone before Cabinet for consideration. Included in that multimillion dollar package are the Stake Bank project, the Norwegian Cruise Line tourism project at Harvest Caye and the Puerto Azul development project near theTurneffe Atoll. There is word that memorandums of understanding are […]
There will be an important symposium in Belize City on Friday, and it’s all about the Chiquibul National Park. Friends of Conservation and Development, the N.G.O. charged with the monitoring and protecting the resources within that park, will be hosting the session which will feature three segments led by well establishing personalities in the environment. […]
A major climate change meeting opened today in San Ignacio. Experts participating are from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries considered to be the most vulnerable to climate change. The highly technical meeting, the first of its kind, is being held under the auspices of the Global Climate Change Alliance and is an initiative of the […]
The Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre popularly known by insiders as the Five C’s is housed in Belmopan. Belize has a National Climate Change Coordinating Committee that was established by the Cabinet. The members of that body include a multidisciplinary committee of N.G.O.’s as well as from the private and the public sector. According to […]
A U.S. thirty thousand dollar agreement was signed today in Belmopan to provide support training to the Belize Disaster and Rescue Response, BDARRT. A team of volunteers will benefit from the training to strengthen their capacity to provide efficient services in times of disasters. The agreement was signed between the United States Agency for International […]
The Ministry of Energy, Science and Technology and Public Utilities hosted a renewable energy symposium in Corozal this morning. The purpose of the session, which included participation from the public and private sector, is to get input from a wide cross-section of Belizean stakeholders. According to the minister of Energy, Joy Grant, that input will […]
There have been thirteen reported clinical cases of dengue fever across the country since the start of the rainy season a few weeks ago. We say clinical because that number may be less, following the results of definitive testing which can confirm whether or not there is an outbreak of the mosquito-borne illness. The Vector […]
The umbrella organization for environmental NGOs launched a new logo this morning. The attractive design is simple put captures the mission of the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage in respect of offshore oil exploration. The design is the work of John Ical, a graphic designer. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports. Isani Cayetano, […]
The Orange Walk Town Council is preparing to take contractor Imer Hernandez to court. Hernandez is the nephew of Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega, who was paid by the government to pave San Antonio Road. It did not happen. And when queries were presented to the Ministry of Works, there was a media blackout and […]
The Lionfish is a threat to local fishery and up until recently, the predator fish got a bad rap. But all that is about to change because the Lionfish is on its way to becoming a hot commodity in at least fourteen markets across the United States. News Five’s Isani Cayetano was in Placencia where […]
Public consultation on the proposed Stake Bank and North Drowned Caye development projects, multi-million dollar tourism endeavors to be undertaken by the Feinstein Group, was held on Wednesday in Belize City. Since the meeting a number of private citizens and environmental organizations have raised concerns about the physical impact such an initiative would have on […]
Earlier in the week, we told you about Puerto Azul, a project proposed by an Italian group that would cost hundreds of millions of dollars. It would be more massive in comparison to the Norwegian Cruise Line Project or the Stake Bank Project that are both currently being dismissed by environmentalists and tourism industry stakeholders […]
The Chiquibul National Park, located in the Cayo District, is more than four hundred square miles of rugged terrain and thick forests which is teeming with resources. Those resources are under protected status, but that hasn’t deterred illegal visitors from Guatemala who prey on our timber, xate and gold. With that much area to cover, […]
Recently, the environmental community as well as the Belize Tourism Industry Association and the Association of Protected Areas Management Organization have been united in their objection to a proposed cruise terminal and development near the Placencia Peninsula. While the Norwegian Cruise Line’s hundred million dollar project is looking for another home, there is yet another […]
Tropical Depression number two which made landfall on Belize on Monday afternoon has resulted in significant rainfall all across the country. But today all eyes were on the flood prone areas of Dangriga and surrounding communities. Because the path of TD2 was south of the country, the coastal and low lying areas that are already […]
Though the projected path was over Monkey River, the sheer width of the cloud cover reached the former capital, Belize City. The City is also experiencing flooding in the aftermath of Tropical Depression Two. The major problem associated with the downpour is the lack of drainage. Overnight, streets that have been recently cemented with proceeds […]
Life for residents of southern Belize, who sought refuge at various shelters during the overnight passage of Tropical Depression Two, resumes normalcy, as the National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) reports that most of those people are back at home. At two o’clock this afternoon, TD2 was heading west-north-west away from Belize at approximately ten miles […]
NEMO keeps close contact with the Meteorology Department that is stationed at the Philip Goldson International Airport. An hour after the NEMO advisory, the MET Office indicated that at three p.m., tropical depression number two was located near latitude eighteen point three-eight north and longitude ninety-one point nine west; that is essentially at the Bay […]
From hospitals inundated with water to forests under siege…The Chiquibul National Park is Belize’s largest national park; about four hundred and fourteen square miles, which is approximately the size of the Corozal District. Patrolling, monitoring and protecting that area is a monumental task which falls primarily to a non-governmental organization known as the Friends of […]
There are five more months to go before the end of Hurricane Season. And though we have barely begun the first month in the season, Tropical Depression Two won’t be forgotten in a hurry. Across the country, the stories and images have been plenty. Our photographers composed a montage of what they saw on the […]
Forecasters predict an active hurricane season with eighteen storms of which nine are expected to develop into major hurricanes. And so it is that two weeks into June, the first tropical depression for this season to affect Belize has been causing heavy rains in the south and the rest of the country. While it first […]
