The depression has affected schools in the southern, central and western districts while in Cayo District, students were sent home at three p.m. The northern districts, however, have been sparred and classes continued as scheduled. News Five’s Jose Sanchez has a report on the schools. Jose Sanchez, Reporting The downpour of Tropical Depression Two […]
The path of tropical depression two takes it squarely over the Toledo District. The advisory from NEMO stated that the Boom Creek Road in Toledo was under four feet of water. The maximum sustained winds were up to be thirty-five miles per hour. And though warnings were issued from NEMO, the south, according to PGTV’s […]
As we reported on Wednesday, the issue of Guatemala’s territorial claim over Belize and the joint referenda to elevate the matter to the International Court of Justice was not discussed during the O.A.S. General Assembly. Guatemala’s Foreign Minister, Fernando Carrera, told News Five that prior to the annual meeting a decision was taken that neither […]
With assistance from PACT, the Friends for Conservation conducted research from October to March on the effects of poaching of game species within the Chiquibil. The finding of the report shows that a large number of game meat as well as exotic birds including our national bird were being poached by illegal xateros and loggers. […]
Audrey Matura-Shepherd confirmed today via statement and press conference that she leaves the post as Vice President of OCEANA Belize on August twenty-second. The more pressing question is – was she forced to leave, and if so, why? The outgoing Vice President says categorically that she is leaving of her own free will, but as […]
Audrey Matura-Shepherd is leaving OCEANA Belize in August. Since that news broke, the social media has been lighting up with well wishes for Matura whose advocacy on environmental issues, particularly offshore drilling, enhance consciousness about the fragility of the ecosystems. This afternoon the Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage also gave kudos to Matura. […]
The start of the 2013 hurricane season is less than two days away and while experts predict that weather activity will be above average this year, the National Emergency Management Organization has wasted no time in putting together an effective plan of action should there be an imminent threat of natural disaster. The next six […]
Chief Met Officer Dennis Gonguez broke down the numbers of storms expected, as well as their respective strengths per category. Dennis Gonguez, Chief Meteorological Officer “This Saturday marks the start of the 2013 hurricane season and the forecast, as predicted by the more reputable forecast centers, predict an above average season. If you look […]
The rains have started and the hurricane season is just about to begin. The Chief Met Officer, Dennis Gonguez says that this year’s hurricane season will be more active than in 2012. The average season has about twelve named systems, but all major international forecasters are expecting twenty hurricanes to pass through the region. […]
OCEANA acquired two fishing trawlers when Belize passed legislation to effectively ban bottom trawling back in 2011. The first trawler, Northern One, is safely with the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute for research purposes. Northern Two now has a new home; it was handed over for a dollar on Saturday to the Placencia Fishing […]
The United Nations Secretary General reported in 2006 that ninety five percent of damage to seamount ecosystems worldwide is caused by deep sea bottom trawling. And that is why five years later, Oceana Belize bought two trawlers at a cost of eight hundred thousand dollars. The non-governmental organization ushered in the age of a ban […]
And about a hundred yards away as the barge was making its way from the shoreline, a group of over a dozen environmentalists were returning from an intensive training that would help them to monitor the Barrier reef and fragile offshore ecosystems. It was the collaboration of the Fisheries Department, CZMAI, The Toledo Institute for […]
The 2013 conch season, which usually expires at the end of June has been closed a month earlier. The harvest for this year, approximately a million pounds of crustacean meat, has been realized across all five fishing cooperatives. A notice has since been made public for fisher-folks who are still at sea, as well as […]
While the fortunes of two of Guatemala’s former presidents have plunged into darkness, life has been brighter for us here in neighboring Belize. If you are someone who had your head in the clouds or were looking into the skies around midday today, you would have noticed what appeared to be a ring around the […]
As we reported on Friday, Treaty Belize Energy’s drilling operations are in full throttle in San Juan Three in the south. The company shares a joint venture with Princess Petroleum and that license was among a list of six that were declared null and void by the Supreme Court. The government is appealing that decision […]
Gracias Adios and Aguas Turbias are two of the markers that signify Belize’s border with Guatemala. Those markers are not normally visited because of the journey it takes to get there. But Garbutt’s Falls is another marker that many Belizeans have come in close contact but never realized it was there. If you have ever […]
Authorities have rescued a spider monkey at a house in the San Pedrito area of San Pedro where the animal has been held captive for some eleven years. The female spider monkey is described as being in very poor condition and extremely underweight. The monkey was rescued during a special operation carried out by members […]
On Tuesday, Louisiana-based energy company Treaty Energy Corporation announced its plan for Treaty Belize Energy to resume drilling operations at its San Juan three well in the Stann Creek District. The decision succeeds advice from their attorneys and Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s public opposition to a recent Supreme Court decision rendered by Justice Oswell Legall. […]
Matura-Shepherd also commented on the prime minister’s open objection to the Supreme Court ruling in favor of Oceana during his quarterly press conference last week. P.M. Barrow described the judgment handed down by Justice Oswell Legall as both egregious and aberrant. According to Matura-Shepherd, as a matter of ethics, the prime minister’s protest should have […]
Belize has been blacklisted by the European Union among eight countries that are considered non-cooperative in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The list also includes Cambodia, Fiji, Guinea, Panama, Sri Lanka, the Togolese Republic and the Republic of Vanuatu. On April twenty-fourth the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee adopted a measure that […]
Tonight, there is video footage purportedly showing that contrary to the official government line the movement of rosewood in southern Belize is a thriving industry. The amnesty period was closed on April twenty-sixth and in his press conference earlier this week Prime Minister Dean Barrow asked those who were opposed to that amnesty to move […]
There was a very booming thunderstorm experienced in some parts of the country on Wednesday night. But a weather event that happened today topped that and had people buzzing about it this afternoon. A rare weather occurrence passed over the Corozal District after three o’clock this afternoon. The villages of Santa Rita, Ranchito and Calcutta […]
For the past few months much attention has been paid to the coastline of Dangriga Town, where erosion has become a serious concern. Today Mayor Gilbert Swaso told us that after analysis and consultation, the Council has come up with a practical plan which is being finalized and which will be put in place very […]
There’s another land controversy brewing and the Dangriga Town Council says it is a deliberate attempt by the Ministry of Natural Resources to undermine and frustrate the Council and the people of Dangriga. In a nutshell, what we found out today is that parcel nine-nine-one near the main bridge in downtown Dangriga was sold to […]
Officials of the Department of the Environment were in San Pedro Ambergris Caye this week to assess dredging activities taking place near the San Pedro Marina Channel for which a stop order was imposed. While conducting site inspection, they ran into another development project; this one located at Little Iguana Caye also off San Pedro. […]
