After extensive debate and more than a few hurt feelings, Norwegian Cruise Line is finally ready to get its cruise port at Harvest Caye in the Stann Creek District off the ground. An inauguration of the multimillion dollars tourism project is being planned as the first ships come into harbour next week. We hear more […]
There is a second murder to report tonight in connection with an act of arson at a house on Aloe Vera Street, Belize City on October fourth. Five weeks after the house was set on fire, Ian Sambula succumbed on Wednesday night at the Shriner’s Hospital in the United States. The four-year-old child sustained severe […]
Last Monday, on October thirty-first, at around ten-thirty, police discovered a man on the pavement on Central American Boulevard, Belize City with head injuries. According to police, he was suffering from seizures and was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for medical treatment. But it was not until four days later that the aunt […]
Eighteen-year-old Kentroy McKoy is lucky to have escaped grave injuries during an armed assault on Wednesday night in Belize City. The shooting occurred in the vicinity of Pinks Alley where McKoy was reportedly socializing with several others. A lone gunman emerged on the scene and opened fire, hitting McKoy in the right foot. According to […]
Well-known political and social activist Nedal McLaren was hauled before the court this afternoon for allegedly stashing eight point six grams of marijuana inside his underwear. “Murphy”, as the fifty-six-year-old is otherwise known, vehemently denies that the quantity of weed is his and instead is claiming that it was planted on him by the police. […]
Weeks ago, the Prime Minister gave in to numerous demands due to overwhelming public pressure; one being to reactivate the Integrity Commission which has a secretary and office space in Belmopan, but no members. In October, the Chamber of Commerce was to provide a possible list of appointees drawn from the Institute of Chartered Accountants. […]
Drawing closer to Christmas, the thoughts of Belizeans turn to what size ham and turkey to get to feed their families. Local producers of the meats look to take advantage, as do importers. But this year, it appears that the importers are winning. News Five has received reports that a Chinese businessman will be allowed […]
It’s lights, camera and action tonight at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts, as the eleventh annual Belize International Film Festival takes center stage. For the first time it is being held in the month of November, outside of its traditional summer placement to give it more prominence and an audience of younger film […]
The third meeting of the Senate Special Select Committee on a three volume Immigration Report, and the first to be held in public, proceeded for an abbreviated one-hour session this morning at the National Assembly in Belmopan. It featured the appearance of Auditor General Dorothy Bradley, whose office has been under siege from the Government […]
Two weeks ago, Speaker of the House of Representatives Michael Peyrefitte brought suit against Auditor General Dorothy Bradley and Attorney General Vanessa Retreage. He complained that his name was wrongly published in the Auditor General’s Special Audit on Passports at the Immigration and Nationality Department. Peyrefitte maintains that he did nothing wrong when as a […]
Outside the National Assembly, the Auditor General gave her first public comments since the scandal broke. She stated that in keeping with her organization, the purpose of the report is not to determine the guilt or innocence of any individual named. The Audit is simply a set of findings in response to alleged contraventions of […]
Inside the National Assembly chamber, the Auditor General discussed her interactions with the Immigration Department in compiling and filing the report. Put simply, it was no picnic trying to obtain information from the Department or the Ministry. Dorothy Bradley, Auditor General “Generally, I would want to start by saying that I think the team […]
They called it a sham. They said it could not possibly, as constituted along party political lines, carry out the all-encompassing independent investigation of the Immigration Department that they wanted. They voted against the motion that brought it into being after introducing a few minor amendments. And they boycotted the first two meetings. But all […]
After clearing up an administrative tiff between the Commissioner of Police and Assistant Commissioner of Police, Chester Williams, the top cop is back on the job as regional commander for the Eastern Division South. Williams was placed on leave briefly on Monday, but by Tuesday afternoon, after a meeting with the top brass of the […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow traveled to New York City earlier this week. The visit has to do with the super bond in light of the ailing economy. The PM is hoping to meet with individual holders or possibly a committee of holders of Belize’s U.S. Dollar Bonds due in 2038. These meetings are expected before […]
For months, the cracks in the top brass of the police department have been showing wider and wider. Last week, the outspoken ACP Chester Williams was noticeably absent at high profile events held by the Department. And if you have been following him, you would know that his views on tackling crime are not in […]
Former Minister of State Elvin Penner was thrown out of Cabinet in September 2013 after having been found to facilitate jailed Korean businessman Won Hong Kim with a Belizean passport and nationality without meeting the requirements. This was to unsuccessfully, get him out of a Taiwanese jail. These and other misadventures between April of 2011 […]
And speaking of the Senate hearings, Senator Godwin Hulse as substantive Minister will be must-watch viewing when he appears before his fellow Senators at some point down the line. He has complained that he personally was never consulted and asked for his views on the findings of the Audit Report, and has publicly taken issue […]
Nearly seventy-one million dollars in compensation was awarded from the Ministry of Natural Resources over eight years under the administration of Prime Minister Dean Barrow. Information has come to light of several deals that some believe stink to high heaven. One of the most infamous is the million-dollar compensation given to Ron J Limited for […]
Government confirmed today that regional offshore seismic survey has been cancelled. The survey was initially suspended on October twentieth following public outcry from tourism stakeholders and the N.G.O. community. Immediately after, the seismic vessel, Seabird Northern Explorer, departed Belize. So, why was the seismic survey called off? As we found out, it was a decision […]
Owner and operator of Butts Up Cave Tubing Adventures, Yhony Rosado, is up in arms again at the Belize Tourism Board and National Institute of Culture and History. Without warning, he says, two of his tour guides were suspended in the last two weeks – in fact, one was sent home this morning – for […]
Last week, businessmen Bradley Paumen and Michael Modiri renewed open hostilities in their ongoing war over access to the cave tubing system in the area known as “Dark Night.” The men traded accusations via the press and on Friday, Paumen’s employees marched on the National Assembly in Belmopan, seeking Government’s intervention. The Federation of Cruise […]
Thirteen people have been displaced by two separate fires that happened between Friday night and Sunday morning in Belize City. We start with the most recent fire that happened very early on Sunday morning. At least ten people were left without a home after a fire destroyed three buildings on Castle Street, including a Salvation […]
The other fire happened on Friday night around eleven-thirty on First Street, also in Belize City. Sixty-eight year old Maria Ayuso was at home with her grandson when she was awoken by the fire. The elderly woman says that she believes it was arson. While they would normally get electricity from a neighbor, she claimed […]
Minister of Education Patrick Faber has responded openly to criticisms made by the Belize National Teachers Union last Thursday. The Deputy Prime Minister was chided for purportedly being dishonest in addressing the pending matter of teachers’ salaries, following the October eleven-day industrial action. The Minister and the B.N.T.U. have not met to settle makeup time […]
