On another issue of national importance, the P.U.P. does not support going to the International Court of Justice to resolve Guatemala’s territorial claims to Belize at this time. This is a direct reversal of the Party’s previously stated position. Appearing on the Dickie Bradley Special on Monday, former Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs […]
And our question for tonight is: As Belizean citizens, do you think the government should offer protection to the Belize Territorial Volunteers on their expedition to the Sarstoon Island? 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 […]
The Territorial Volunteers will be leading an expedition to Sarstoon Island, located in the extreme South of Belize on Sunday with or with protection from the B.D.F. The last time an expedition was taken to that area, it resulted in the Guatemalan military detaining thirty-seven Belizeans and escorting them to Livingston. Both the B.D.F. and […]
The introduction of illegal firearms presents a huge challenge for the region; this week a training exercise is taking place in Belize with the support of Central American Integration System, SICA, to strengthen the competence of the Customs and Police Department. These are the agencies at the forefront in the fight against the smuggling of […]
Is Carnival Cruise Line cancelling calls on Belize during the upcoming high season? That’s a question that was posed to Prime Minister Dean Barrow over the weekend, upon his return from a working visit to Miami on Sunday. While PM Barrow admits to having no knowledge of the pending withdrawals, Citizens Organized for Liberty through […]
The issue of constructing a forward operating base near Sarstoon Island remains a controversial subject. The matter has seemingly been exacerbated following recent comments made by Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales during a press brief at the end of last month. Morales went on record to say that in the Confidence Building Measures, Belize […]
Additionally, P.M. Barrow maintains that informing Guatemala of the intent to erect a forward operating base or to increase Belize’s military presence near its boundaries in the west and the south is simply an act of good neighborliness. Prime Minister Dean Barrow “In talking to the group of friends, people will always advise caution […]
The pending sale of CIBC FirstCaribbean’s assets to Heritage Bank Limited remained the topic of conversation within the financial sector for the better part of last week. While CIBC’s corporate representative, in a brief interview with the local media, shared very little on the expected transaction, details of the acquisition have been discussed by all […]
The arrangement between CIBC FirstCaribbean and Heritage Bank is a private transaction brought about largely by the former’s shortfall in recent fiscal cycles. As such, government is not directly involved in the sale. Reporter “Is there any cause for concern that a bank that is well financed and has many branches has decided to […]
While CIBC FirstCaribbean and Heritage Bank are working to formalize the sale of assets, another offshore institution operating from Belize is yet to secure a correspondent bank. As we’ve reported previously, Bank of America has severed ties with Atlantic International Bank Limited as part of an ongoing de-risking exercise. The end of that relationship comes […]
Walter Garbutt is the new U.D.P. standard bearer for the Stann Creek West division. On Sunday, the United Democratic Party held its last convention in the southern constituency to elect a replacement for Melvin Hulse, the disgraced former U.D.P. standard bearer. Hulse, who had also served as minister under the U.D.P. in a previous administration, […]
An abandoned helicopter, presumably used for narco-trafficking, is currently in the custody of the Belize Defense Force. The Bell aircraft was found on Wednesday afternoon on a feeder road in the Blue Creek area, Orange Walk District. Just prior to the find, the Anti-Narcotics Unit received intelligence that the helicopter was circling in the San […]
But while Brigadier General David Jones would not go as far as to say that the helicopter is now the property of the Government of Belize, Minister of National Security, John Saldivar was not so bashful. Saldivar says that the confiscated Bell four-o-seven helicopter will be used along with two U-H-one-H helicopters from Taiwan to […]
Moving to another hot-button issue…In late July, the Guatemalan Foreign Minister, Carlos Raul Morales, said during a press conference that in the Confidence Building Measures, both Belize and Guatemala had agreed not to “increase the military bases in the vicinity of both countries.” Morales was answering a question in respect to Guatemala’s objection to the […]
According to Brigadier General Jones, the forward operating base on the mainland near the mouth of the Sarstoon River will be constructed. He says that the B.D.F. and the Coastguard have advised its ministry and government that the base is required to combat illegal drug activities in the area. Brig. Gen. David Jones, Commandant, […]
A little over two weeks ago we told you about the go-slow at the K.H.M.H. that resulted from some six hundred employees’ disgruntlement with G.O.B.’s refusal to grant salary increases, pensions and benefits- a combined fourteen percent of their wages that other public workers have received. G.O.B.’s response was that the employees are ineligible for […]
The nation’s largest hospital was hit with a national embarrassment earlier this week when news broke that the K.H.M.H. was unable to facilitate elective surgeries and that there were no beds. C.E.O. Doctor Adrian Coye says it was a necessary decision to clear a back log of patients. It is expected that surgeries will resume […]
Earlier this week on Tuesday, Belize Telemedia came under attack for a series of suggestive and offensive ads that it had posted on its Facebook. Senator Lisa Shoman, a former chair of the company, wrote to them complaining about the nature of the ads that the government owned company was resorting to as part of […]
The Ministry of Health is currently dealing with an outbreak of dengue fever. A rash of the disease is being confirmed in the country, a concentration of which has been noted in the Cayo District. The vector-borne illness, also known as break bone fever, is up by thirty-six cases from the same period in 2014. […]
The dengue virus is transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito which reproduces in areas where stagnant water is not properly drained. Despite an awareness campaign which remains ongoing, the ministry is appealing to the public to organize cleanup efforts in order to do away with unwanted receptacles to mitigate the spread of resultant dengue fever. […]
According to health officials, additional manpower has been brought in to assist with fumigation efforts, as well as the application of larvicides. Residents are required to do their part to keep their surroundings clean. Kim Bautista, Chief Operations Officer, VCU “Each of the districts has hired an average of between six to seven additional […]
Still on health related matters, the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is faced with yet another embarrassing dilemma which has forced the national referral facility to suspend elective surgeries until Monday, August tenth. The predicament comes on the heels of a spike in admissions of trauma patients. On Wednesday, the hospital informed the public that as […]
A similar concern had been raised about the diagnostic X-ray scan. The CT scanner has been out of service for quite some time and it was only on Friday of last week that the machine was finally repaired. Dr. Coye, in offering comment on the bed crisis, briefly commented on the issue of the CT […]
A Mennonite community up north is grieving the unexpected death of one of its own. A freak accident on Wednesday associated with a tropical wave passing through the north took the life of twenty-four year old Johan Friesen of a Mennonite community fifteen miles from the Santa Martha Village on the Old Northern Highway. Heavy […]
A fifteen year old San Antonio resident of Corozal remains tonight in police custody for the murder of twenty-four year old Samir Vivas. Vivas was fatally stabbed on Tuesday night across from where he lived at the Venezuelan Site area of the town and police believe that the minor, who is a former student of […]
