The largest fish factory vessel in the world, which is flying the Belize flag, has been seized in Peru. Reports in the media say that the Damanzaihao, which has the capacity to process five hundred and forty-seven tons of fish per year, has been detained in Peruvian waters. The vessel has just switched from the Peruvian […]
Earlier this year, long-time unionist and former president of the Public Service Union, Jacqueline Willoughby, severed ties with the union amid claims of defamation of her character. She has even instituted a lawsuit against the union and its president, Doreth Cayetano-Obermayer. However, she made an appearance at Saturday’s annual general meeting of the union in San Ignacio. […]
What does it mean to be a Belizean? This and many other questions form the basis for a different kind of subject scheduled to be rolled out to secondary school across the Jewel next September. It’s called Belizean Studies and according to the Ministry of Education, it is intended to provoke serious discussion among the […]
The Ministry of Education regularly revamps curricula at primary level, but is only just now introducing a full secondary-level programme after mostly leaving it to schools. It recognizes its role in promoting social cohesion and unity and this will be achieved through both the new Belizean Studies programme and a new life skills programme to […]
Will the Spanish sugar-producing company, Santander, be fined for violating the conditions of its Export Process Zone certificate for releasing plantation sugar in the local market? We asked that question to the junior Minister Tracey Panton since Tuesday, but tonight, it is still not clear if the company will be sanctioned. Santander Sugar Limited has […]
The Ministry of Health has been closing down pharmacies across the country. Today, News Five confirmed with Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero that four pharmacies in the Cayo and Stann Creek districts have been shut down and many others may face the same fate. The Ministry of Heath has found these establishments to […]
One of the biggest department stores was jacked today in downtown Belize City. The brazen robbery took place during the lunch hour when Hofius on Albert Street was open for business and customers were purchasing inside the store. Two men entered the premier hardware and houseware dealer at twelve-forty-eight p.m.; one was armed with a […]
Twenty-eight-year-old Kyne Gentle was shot and killed in San Ignacio on May twenty-first, as he stood outside of Blue Angels Nightclub. It is not known why the tri-athlete was marked for death, but his killer executed the hit ruthlessly, standing over him and firing a round into his head to finish the job. That individual […]
Thirty-seven-year-old Anthony Bennett is on remand at the Belize Central Prison after being arraigned for murder earlier today. The Mahogany Street resident is accused of fatally shooting Erbin Garrido inside his home in the Gungulung area of Belize City on Tuesday night. Quick police work led to the apprehension of their suspect on Wednesday. While […]
Joseph August, a resident of Esperanza Village, Cayo was recently released from prison where he had been incarcerated after being accused of murder of a relative also from the village. August was on remand since January 2013 for the December 2012 murder of Rene Vera, his cousin. Vera was found lying in a pool of […]
A police officer is in trouble tonight in the wake of a domestic dispute in front of the police station. A verbal exchange between the pair of officers attached to the San Ignacio Police Station last Thursday around four p.m. has resulted in a police constable facing disciplinary charges for brandishing a firearm and pointing […]
A soaring number of murders have taken place in the five months of this year, most which have occurred in Belize City. So far, our archives show a record number of seventy-nine persons killed, making the January to May period bloodier than 2017’s figures when the count stood at fifty-two. On Tuesday night, another murder […]
Jordan Burns had been on the lam since escaping from lawful custody on Friday. That was until this morning when he was recaptured by police and slapped with an additional charge. On May twenty-fifth, he was formally arrested and charged for the murder of thirty-four-year-old Carlton Moreira who was shot and killed in the vicinity […]
A motorcycle collision this morning on Lakeview Street, Belize City, has resulted in serious injury to Jason Moreira. According to reports, he was riding out onto the nearby carriageway when he came into violent contact with an oncoming vehicle. The impact flung Moreira a distance away, while the vehicle that collided into his motorbike crashed […]
Santander Sugar Limited has broken its silence on the debacle it is facing, accepting that it did not comply with the conditions of the Export Processing Zone Certificate. That violation has resulted in a decision by the government to have the Customs Department confiscate a significant amount of plantation white sugar that the company recently […]
A series of contested conventions for the People’s United Party standard bearers are turning out to be thorny. Of five persons, two candidates have been disqualified from putting their names on the P.U.P. ticket in the upcoming convention for the Belmopan division. Patrick Andrews who had relocated overseas and then returned to Belize, as well […]
In the case of the suspension of the former Belize Rural North standard bearer, Arthur Saldivar remains on probation of two years which prohibits him from applying to contest for the party. That is not likely to faze Saldivar, who hosted an ‘online town hall’ session on social media running nearly two hours to respond. […]
Belizeans have endured seven price hikes in transport fuels since the start of the year and the government has warned that more may come as the world price market fluctuates. But how much is outside factors to blame for the recurrent increases? Not as much as the government’s own take according to studies of figures […]
Santander, the Spanish multinational operating in Valley of Peace, is again in hot water, this time for illegally producing and introducing plantation white sugar into the local retail market. Tonight, the Comptroller of Customs, Colin Griffith, has instructed customs posts in Corozal, Cayo and Orange Walk to confiscate the Santander sugar on the premises where […]
News Five understands that the supplier of the Santander sugar is DV Distributors, which may be connected to the Vega Empire. Santander’s move to proceed with production and the retail of plantation white sugar appears to be deliberate, since government reiterated its position again, via a stronger letter sent to the company on May eighteenth. […]
Minister Panton says that Santander has met with the Ministry of Trade, but is also requesting a meeting with the Ministry of Agriculture, even though it has already violated the EPZ in retailing plantation white sugar. Isani Cayetano “Have they approached to meet with you as the minister, or with your ministry to see […]
As the issue continues to heat up, three associations; Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association, Progressive Sugar Cane Farmers Association and the Corozal Sugar Cane Farmers Association are seeking a meeting with the Minister of Agriculture Godwin Hulse. In a letter, the associations note that they have carried out their own investigations and can confirm the […]
The Opposition People’s United Party has weighed in on the topic, from differing angles. Orange Walk South area rep Jose Mai, who is a cane farmer and staunch supporter of the established northern cane production, argues that Santander’s move is wrong on two fronts: in the eyes of the law, where their status as an […]
Cayo South area rep Julius Espat provided an alternative view focusing on the economic development provided by Santander in his area. He notes that farmers in the Cayo District have been providing cane to the Santander factory for their sugar, and many more are employed to harvest and produce, so he is more cautious about […]
P.U.P. caretaker Paul Thompson lost his initial bid to represent the Albert Division in 2015 when he ran against the then U.D.P. standard bearer Tracy Panton in the last general elections. As it turns out, the opposition senator shares the same Regent Street address as that of his opponent’s mother. That’s because when Thompson made […]
