The People’s United Party today issued a press release on the S.S.B. twelve million dollar loan to the Santander Group. In the release, the Party states that one pressing question is why the people’s money is being sought by the company, instead of it going to the commercial banks. Four banks in Belize have already […]
Belizeans consume about twelve thousand tons of rice annually. But is that rice contaminated with a poisonous chemical which causes cancer? Aflatoxins are produced by fungi found on agricultural products, including rice, stored in warm and humid places. Studies have shown that it can cause stunted development, liver damage and even liver cancer. So when […]
The documents from Eurofins Lab were accompanied by a press release – the one to which Agriculture C.E.O. Jose Alpuche makes reference. In that release, Charles admits that he commissioned the testing to see whether locally produced rice met the Standards Order 2015. According to Charles, “the concern arises from the aflatoxin levels and based […]
Guatemalan Lydia Janet Garcia was reported missing on January nineteenth by her son, Alexander Enrique Garcia. He told Benque Police that his mother was last seen on January eighth when she reportedly told him via text that she was heading to Cowpen to meet a person known only as “El Nica. But Garcia never made […]
At news time tonight a fire is raging at a warehouse in the Spanish Lookout Community. Country Foods went up in flames around three this afternoon and police say that they are now on the scene where the fire department is attempting to bring the fire under control. The warehouse packaging for eggs, but it […]
Since Sunday, Police have been on the lookout for a red 2001 Mazda pickup, stolen on the old Western highway from Jorge Lopez. Lopez was accosted by two men, one of whom shot him once in the back and then attempted to shoot him in the head following the assault and robbery of two Canadian […]
There was an accident on the Haulover Bridge at around three-fifteen this afternoon, when the driver of a red SUV apparently lost control and crashed into a large truck. There were no apparent serious injuries, but the driver of the SUV, Raquel Burke, was rushed to the hospital by ambulance since she appeared to be […]
This morning, Minister of National Security John Saldivar, with an entourage including Minister of State Frank Mena and representatives from the Ministry, Police and Belize Defence Force, visited the site of the Forward Operating Base at the mouth of the Sarstoon. The media was not invited on the trip which we are told was planned […]
The airwaves have been consumed with the news that mega-million dollar sugar-cane production and milling facility, Green Tropics, has been given a twelve million dollar loan from the Social Security Board. Green Tropics’ Parent company, the Santander Group, is Guatemalan owned – that’s one immediate concern being voiced, since S.S.B. money is from Belizean contributors. […]
Singh reiterated that the Board cannot even look at an investment until the Investment Committee recommends it after due diligence. That was done, and the Board of Directors reviewed it in late January and gave a stamp of approval. That’s where it is at this point…pending a loan offer and an acceptance. But even with […]
We’re not sure the breakdown of monies invested into the Santander facility has ever been public knowledge. The project has been sold repeatedly as a hundred and fifty million dollar U.S. foreign investment. Singh broke it down for us today and the truth is that more than fifty million dollars U.S. is actually being invested […]
The unfortunate jurisdiction matter of baby Nina Barrera Perez, adjourned since December, was before Magistrate Dale Cayetano at the Family Court today. As very brief background, two year old Nina was seized from her mother’s home in Orange Walk in November. The intervention by the Human Services Department was done in the strength of an […]
On Monday, we told you about the disturbing armed robbery of a Canadian couple just a few hours after they checked into the Tropical Education Center on the George Price Highway. Stephen Temple and Cynthia Fredrick may have lost their cash and valuable electronics, but they were unhurt. Jorge Cruz Lopez wasn’t so lucky. Lopez […]
And tonight’s question is: Do you support the granting of a multi-million dollar loan from the Social Security Board to the Guatemalan company, Santander? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com
Health officials today revealed that so far, Belize is free of the Zika virus unlike many countries in Central America and the Caribbean. Samples have been sent for testing at CARPHA, but fortunately, there are no positive cases locally. The World Health Organization has declared a global health emergency given the spread of the mosquito-borne […]
A Chinese bar owner was brutally slashed to death at his place of business in Teakettle in the Cayo District, early Saturday morning. Fifty-two year old Zhijuang Zhang was closing up Sixty-Nine Bar at around two a.m. when a lone assailant carrying a firearm entered. In the next few moments Zhang was dead, stabbed multiple […]
There was another sensational crime this weekend, in which two Canadian tourists were held hostage by armed robbers who then shot a man while stealing his vehicle to make their getaway. The first incident, the armed robbery, took place at the Tropical Education Center at mile twenty-eight on the George Price Highway. The shooting took […]
At ten this morning, P.U.P. Leader John Briceño was sworn in as the Constitutional Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives. The new leader will have an enormous task ahead of him – uniting a Party which has been fragmented and also tackling a government which has won an unprecedented three consecutive terms. […]
Briceño was joined at the swearing in by Cordel Hyde, formerly an opponent for leadership of the P.U.P. The parallel campaigns of both men were cordial and never traversed into hostile waters, and Briceño says that relationship will continue, and will even be enhanced in the days ahead. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “I’ve always […]
Early on in his interview Briceño may have been a little ambiguous on the planned changes in the party, especially where senators are concerned. But eventually he would confirm that he will be making changes to his roster of Senators; currently Lisa Shoman, Patrick Andrews and Anthony Sylvestre represent the P.U.P. in the senate. […]
The recent announcement of a twelve million dollar S.S.B. loan to the Guatemalan owned Santander Group is raising eyebrows. The company, headquartered in the Cayo District, is near completion of a mega-million dollar project to grow and mill sugar cane. The plan is also to produce power and sell it to the national grid. So […]
And while Briceño acknowledges the investment by the group, he questions the policy of Government…lending millions to a foreign company while refusing to lend to Belizeans. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “It makes me wonder what the policy of the government is. If you can recall a few years ago when B.S.I. was in a […]
Huong Chong Park, a Korean woman charged along with American Bradley Paumen, Lisburn Anderson and Jahangir Abadi last Wednesday, is the last of the bunch to be freed on bail. She was arraigned one week ago for the little known charge of Abetment of Crime to Pervert the Course of Justice, and was remanded until […]
As Bradley stated, Justice Gonzalez at one point in court clearly contemplated holding all Park’s assets in-country as bail. Just before granting bail, he was handed documents which represented a value of one point five million dollars. Perhaps Park’s willingness to take those extraordinary steps to secure freedom convinced Justice Gonzalez that she had no […]
On Thursday night, we brought you coverage of a brewing storm between elite female cyclist Kaya Cattouse and Cycling Federation of Belize President Dion Leslie. On Tuesday, Leslie wrote Cattouse threatening to fine and even suspend her if she did not cease her outspoken Facebook commentary. Cattouse has come out strongly against Digicell, the title […]
