The case against Sergeant Sherwin Wade fell apart in court today. Back in May, 2011 Wade was busted at the Belize Bank where he was found with sixteen hundred dollar bills in US currency. He was charged with the Possession of Counterfeit Notes, pleaded not guilty, was granted bail and then placed on interdiction. Today, […]
A man was shot this morning in the island of Caye Caulker, and a police is under investigation for pulling the trigger. Tyson Rodriguez was rushed to the K.H.M.H. and is in critical condition after undergoing emergency surgery. It is not the first time that the cops have shot at residents and the incident has […]
There is word from the south that a decision has been reached on the issue of the rosewood trade. It comes on the heels of a moratorium placed on March sixteenth by the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development. While conservation groups were applauding the decision, dealers and loggers claimed that government failed to […]
Remember the days when five or ten dollars gas in your car would take you a long way? Well, those days are a distant memory because now ten dollars doesn’t even get you a gallon of fuel. Tonight the news is that fuel prices continue to surge. There was another major hike on Wednesday. Premium […]
In the courts, Belize City resident, Jamie Dawson, is being tried for a third time for the December 2002 murder of Maurice Neal. The retrial was to start two weeks ago before Justice Herbert Lord, but the indictment could be read because his Attorney Anthony Sylvester filed an application, citing abuse of process in Dawson’s […]
The Under Secretary of State Maria Otero is the highest ranking U.S. diplomat to visit Belize in recent times. Otero is responsible for foreign relations on civilian security issues; including democracy, human rights, trafficking in persons and counter-narcotics. Since Otero arrived on Wednesday, she has been meeting with Non-governmental organizations and government officials to discuss […]
Under Secretary Otero’s portfolio also includes human rights. Otero also met with human’s rights groups in Belize one of which is UNIBAM, the gay rights group fronted by Caleb Orozco. Otero, while seated next to U.S. Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally, explained to a media gathering at the House of Culture, that the U.S. isn’t trying to […]
The Central American Regional Security Initiative (CARSI) has made contributions to the Belize Defense Force as well as the Belize National Coastguard. During her press conference this morning, Maria Otero spoke of the accomplishments by law enforcement in Belize resulting from the relationship with the United States. Maria Otero, Under Secretary of State “The […]
With escalating violence in the region, decriminalizing the transportation of drugs heading to the US has become a hot topic. The idea was first broached by the Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina. He has been lobbying for support because he believes that in the war on drugs, US assistance has not reduced the drug trade […]
Elrington says that the discussion caught most country representatives off-guard and that the situation was somewhat confusing as some representatives thought it might have been a Central American Integration System (SICA) meeting. But how does Belize fit in? Elrington’s response was that the meeting should not be held without the United States which considers drug […]
A robbery was executed at the ITVET on Freetown Road which shows that robberies are becoming even more daring and dangerous. The robbery did not just take place in the compound; in fact it was inside a classroom of the UB Faculty of Engineering. Early afternoon, at about one-thirty on Tuesday, three students; Nirmal Babani […]
Less than twenty-four hours after the robbery, gunshots rang out on Kraal Road at dawn today and when the echoes faded forty-nine year old Emmanuel Robinson had been hit multiple times. The shooting occurred just a few feet away from the now infamous location where a grenade was thrown in December 2009. Robinson, a resident […]
There are only few examples when budgets have been delayed. The last time it happened was in 2008 when the U.D.P. assumed office after ten years of P.U.P. rule. After the recent March seventh elections, the PM announced that the 2012 budget would be late even though budget preparations normally begin in October to be […]
So what is in store in the budget? There is some new and some rehashing of projects. Osorio also told News Five that the construction of a new bridge at the Macal River adjoining the twin towns of Santa Elena and San Ignacio, is contemplated as is the completion of the Kendal Bridge. Equally impactful […]
Earlier in the newscast, the Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington spoke on the security meeting in Antigua, Guatemala. Elrington is also the Attorney General so we asked him about a legal battle brewing with Belize City gangs. Recently the Gang Suppression Unit (GSU) of the Police Department was accused of using excessive force on gang members […]
There’s no money in the bank account of the Football Federation of Belize. Its new president, Ruperto Vicente made that statement at the first press conference since Dr. Bertie Chimilio was ousted after fourteen years as president. Vicente has not met with Chimilio since the election but he says that his executive is waiting for […]
Vicente also says that the F.F.B. wants to work with Chimilio since he still represents football with several organizations. But regarding the empty bank account, and a lack of financial statements for the past decade, Vicente says that a commission of inquiry will review last year’s financial statements, whenever they become available. Ruperto Vicente, […]
On Sunday at around two-thirty, twenty-eight year old Jamie Lizama of Lower Barton Creek went swimming in Unitedville along with six others, mostly minors, but Lizama never returned from that outing. According to his sister-in-law, Ingrid Leslie, the current in the river was strong but after struggling, Leslie said she was able to make it […]
Tonight’s question is: Do you think the use of force on the gangs by the GSU is justified? 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.
There’s word tonight that Tracy Taegar Panton has taken up the job as C.E.O. in the Ministry of Tourism. Panton, who was with the Belize Natural Energy Trust Fund, has reportedly resigned and will return later this month to tourism. After many years in the industry, in 2009, Panton’s contract as Director of Tourism was […]
An employee of the Belize City Council has allegedly misappropriated and siphoned funds in a scheme that involved employee overtime. The pay mistress, Shirlene Sabal, has been suspended from work and it is expected that criminal charges will be brought against her. According to Mayor Darrell Bradley, the report from the auditors has been complete […]
The Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) is celebrating fifty-six years of service to the country. But tonight there is not good news coming out of the Y. On Monday, a twenty-nine year old accountant, employed by the organization, reported to police that upon arriving at work around eight-thirty in the morning, she was robbed at […]
Last Friday, P.U.P. Attorney Lisa Shoman was in the Supreme Court to file an application for leave to present an Election Petition by Yolanda Schakron. The P.U.P. and Schakron were in court today, before Chief Justice, Kenneth Benjamin. The case the P.U.P. are presenting is that the Retuning Officer, Noreen Fairweather did not have the […]
And while Attorney Shoman maintains that this application is apart and separate from what Justice Legal had ruled in February, Attorney Denys Barrow says that Schakron may have some grounds, he believes the opposition to the application for leave is very strong. Denys Barrow, Attorney “I don’t think I would want to answer it […]
Though anti-crime measures have targeted gang murders and shootings, there are some deaths that can be avoided. Tragedy has struck a community in the western region of the country as a child has been shot and killed. It’s a sad tale that has been told before; a father introduces a firearm to the house to […]
