Your next light bill will more than likely be higher than what it was last month, whether or not you dressed your house for the recent Christmas holidays. The Public Utilities Commission (P.U.C.), in a press release issued today, announced that effective this month and running until June, the Mean Electricity Rate (M.E.R. for short) […]
Following COP26 and other efforts to boost Belize’s sustainable development, the Ministry of Finance, Economic Development, and Investment announced it has created a Climate Finance Unit. The C.F.U. comes on stream as of January third and is intended to streamline the process for those wishing to access climate financing and assist the government in carrying […]
The Social Security Board and its N.H.I. Department has partnered with the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital to provide affordable treatment for cancer patients. S.S.B. invested one hundred and fifty thousand dollars in medication for those battling colon, lung, stomach, breast and prostate cancers. N.H.I. tendered and procured the medications which were handed over to the […]
The first two murders of the New Year took place just three days into 2022. On Monday night, two armed men stormed a home in San Hill in the Belize District, catching two men playing video games completely off guard. There is speculation that one of the deceased was the intended target, but what is […]
Tonight, police are investigating the destruction over twelve hundred acres of sugar fields belonging to the Valley of Peace Farms Limited. Reports are that a total of four fields were set on fire between nine thirty and ten a.m., on the first of January. A spokesperson for the company told News Five that they hope […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness opened a new COVID19 testing site in Belize City today, after a sharp increase in the number of persons seeking to determine their COVID-19 status. The Belize District currently has the most cases. This spells more work for health care workers who already had to endure two waves of […]
And while the highest number of daily positive cases is being reported in the Belize District, a large percentage of these cases are being identified at the Phillip Goldson International Airport. Dr. Melissa Diaz Musa is recommending that Belizeans who travel back home, and test negative at the airport, isolate for a period of three […]
You may be running the risk of visiting a testing site too early, after a colleague tests positive for COVID-19 at your work place. Dr. Musa recommends that you also get tested at least three days after a colleague tests positive, if you suspect that you were exposed. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Deputy Regional Health […]
As information about the virus evolves, so has the response to its effects. With two years of experience in fighting COVID-19 and safeguarding the general public, Dr. Musa spoke about the lessons learnt by Belize’s health care professionals, and how critical the data has been to the national response. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Deputy Regional […]
The presence of the Omicron variant has still not been confirmed in Belize, only suspected. And already, there is another variant detected in France. So, as Belize braces for the news that it is Omicron that is causing the number of new infections to spike exponentially over the past three weeks, we may have to […]
Classes resume next week Monday for tens of thousands of students across the country who attend one of the over six hundred institutions in Belize. A Ministry of Education Transition to Hybrid Learning Report breaks down a detailed plan for safely getting children back into the classroom setting, with both an online and in-person learning […]
While the country was preparing to welcome 2022, the occasion was ruined for one family whose loved one was gunned down on the lane across from his home in Belize City. News Five’s Marion Ali has the details of the last recorded murder of 2021, the one that claimed the life of Akeem Welch. […]
A young man lost his life New Year’s Eve in an accident on the Southern Highway. Twenty-six-year-old Luis Ba died when his bicycle was hit by two men on a motorcycle. When police responded to the scene, they saw a motorcycle on side of the road. A short distance away, a two men were observed […]
A brawl near B.T.L. Park involving a police officer and a civilian has resulted in charges being brought against thirty-four-year-old Phillip Garbutt. On Sunday, Edmond Perdomo was at an establishment in the vicinity when he got into a verbal exchange with the policeman who was on duty at the premises. It quickly escalated into a […]
Ten days after Keenan Young died on Christmas Eve at the Belize Medical Associates, a post-mortem was conducted on his body to determine what caused the death of the sixteen-year-old. The family had suspected that a hit to his head back on December eighth at the hands of his older sibling was what caused […]
After a two week delay, the sugar crop finally got off to smooth start today. As we have been reporting, the delay was caused mainly by a dispute involving the largest Sugar Cane Farmers Association in the industry, and the sugar mill, A.S.R./B.S.I. The sugar cane farmers are seeking to negotiate a new Commercial Agreement […]
But, did cane farmers use undue pressure to get A.S.R./B.S.I. to sign an interim agreement as some would suggest? A.S.R./B.S.I. on Thursday referred to the actions of the farmers as “illegal tactics”. We asked Westby for a response. Andrew Westby, Chairman, Committee of Management, B.S.C.F.A. “I believe it is not a bullying tactics, it […]
And while the focus at this point is on ensuring that the sugar cane in the field makes it to the factory in as efficient a manner as possible, the road to signing a new commercial agreement is still ahead. Andrew Westby, Chairman, Committee of Management, A.S.R./B.S.I. “We know when you sit down to […]
Today senior management of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority appeared on the Open Your Eyes Morning Show to discuss everything COVID. This includes the country commencing its fourth wave as active cases have been increasing by huge numbers daily. While it has not been officially announced, health experts do believe that the spike is […]
The capacity for the COVID unit at the K.H.M.H. is twenty-seven, but with the available human resources, the unit can best care for eighteen patients at any given time. As it currently stands, there are sixteen persons in the COVID unit; about seven of those persons are minors. Doctor Andre Sosa also says that the […]
Tonight, there is good news related to the sugar dispute coming out of the north. A.S.R./B.S.I. this evening agreed to strike a compromise with B.S.C.F.A. Andrew Westby, Chairman of the Management Committee at B.S.C.F.A. told us over the phone that an interim agreement was signed just after three p.m. today. The agreement, says Westby, will […]
That signing was today, but on Thursday, A.S.R./B.S.I. was still concerned about the blockade and the interruption of the 2021/2022 sugar crop. The company issued a release saying it was concerned that if the delay was prolonged, it would mean there would be cane left on the ground at the end of the sugar crop. […]
B.S.C.F.A. says is not concerned about any legal challenges that A.S.R./B.S.I. may bring as a result of the blockade and interruption of the sugar crop. According to Westby, the Prime Minister also guaranteed the farmers that the Government of Belize is prepared to take these on should they arise. On the Phone: Andrew Westby, […]
A.S.R./B.S.I. was not the only ones feeling the pressure from B.S.C.F.A. farmers over the last three days. Prime Minister John Briceño received his fair share of criticism. He had been one of the main facilitators in bringing both parties to the table to come to an agreement. Yesterday, however, when it appeared that A.S.R./B.S.I. was […]
On Thursday evening, cane farmers took the streets of Orange Walk and protested in front of the Prime Minister’s house. ComPol Chester Williams says that a permit was issued for the peaceful walk that was limited in terms of participants. Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police “Yes, they have asked for permission for a peaceful […]
