Both major political parties, the U.D.P. and the P.U.P. agree that Cruise Tourism is an industry that needs more than just souvenirs, taxis and hair braiders to stay afloat. While there are no shortages of visitors, when Carnival sneezes, the entire industry catches a cold. The dispute has been over the cost to ferry tourists […]
The Barrow administration is now entering its fourth year in office. Prime Minister Barrow today hosted his first quarterly press conference. He discussed a range of issues including one that has the population on edge. While everyone is waiting for the cost of fuel to go down, the price at the pump continues to shoot […]
The Prime Minister was drilled on a number of issues, including the recent oil exploration concession given to his nephew Kimano Barrow. Environmentalists have sounded the alarm about Kimano’s lack of knowhow in the oil industry and are concerned that there was no bidding process for the concession issued in the large parcel of land […]
The Sugar Cane Industry is at a virtual standstill tonight because the Belize Sugar Industry Factory is inoperable due to failed machinery at the BELCOGEN Plant. The international lending organizations were ready to pull the plug at B.S.I., but government granted a ten million dollar bailout loan to keep the factory open. Well now, the […]
The P.M. also used the occasion to give a report card of how his administration had fared over the past three years. He gave a preview of the upcoming budget for the new fiscal year and while he promised no new taxes, the productive and tourism sectors are not in the best shape and fuel […]
There was a lot of reaction to the question of whether or not, three years after it came to office, the government has been successful in keeping its manifesto promises. On our poll, seventy-nine percent said it has not while twenty-one percent thought it had. According to one viewer on our IMS “They pledged to […]
Late reports to News Five indicate that Santino Castillo, well known businessman and co-host of Channel Five’s KTV Latino, has been abruptly fired from his position as deputy chairman of the Belize Tourism Board. Castillo reportedly received a handed delivered letter from Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia Jr. today informing him that his services were no […]
There is late breaking news from the north; and it is not sweet for the six thousand cane farmers that depend on the sugar industry for their livelihood, even though sugar is selling at thirty-three US cents per pound on the world market and is one of the highest paid commodities. After a late start […]
Industry insiders say that the quality of cane was greatly improved in this crop and that the temporary shut-down of the factory will extend the harvest into the rainy season. That scenario is likely to compromise the quality of the cane. Ortega also says that farmers are bound to be hit in the pockets. Via […]
There are two traffic accidents to report tonight; one turned fatal for a Belize City Customs Guard. Hallet Baeza did not make it home from an assignment up north as the vehicle he was traveling in overturned not far from the village of Carmelita. Baeza was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to head and […]
Also in the north, a money changer from the Corozal District was shot at his own house on Monday night. The incident happened shortly after seven thirty in San Joaquin Village and the victim is thirty-four year old Jaime Headman, who is clinging to life. Jaime is undergoing surgery at the Belize Medical Associates to […]
While police have not yet established a motive for the shooting, they say it does not appear that robbery was the reason. They have also made contact with their Mexican counterparts in respect of the getaway vehicle and its occupants. It is believed that the two suspects are a Mexican and Belizean, who reside in […]
Three years ago on February eighth, the U.D.P. was elected on a platform to imagine the possibilities. So tonight’s question is: Do you think the government has been successful in keeping its manifesto promises? To take part in the conversation all you have to do is to email comments to questions@channel5belize.com, send a text using […]
Twenty year old Charles Young Jr. is in police custody tonight after being read a number of charges related to a double murder in Belize City on Friday evening. Young was escorted by members of the Special Homicide Unit where he appeared in front of Chief Magistrate Margaret McKenzie and was charged for the murders […]
The murder count continues to grow; there were seven murders in January. That number has now gone up to nine. At the close of our newscast on Friday, we reported a fatal shooting in the old capital. Two of three men were killed at around six o’clock and in the heat of the moment; the […]
There were two hikes in the price of fuel in January; the second of which was only ten days ago. It is only a week into February, but on Sunday night, consumers took another hit in the pockets when the cost of filling up the gas tank increased yet again. Diesel took the biggest leap […]
While two were killed, there was more tragedy when a family of eight lost most of their belongings in a mid-morning inferno on Sunday. The family was not home when the fire broke in one of two houses in the yard and it is believed it could be a case of arson. Julie Thurton rushed […]
We often hear of secondary school competition on the courts, fields and playing grounds. But the Institute of Social and Cultural Research designed a competition of the mind that questions the ties that bind us together as a people. The high school competition had the participation of close to a dozen schools, and the finalists […]
An incident that occurred at Gwen Lizarraga High School last week Wednesday has come to a close when the teacher and the school parted ways. Sometime after two thirty p.m. on February second, a student called his teacher ‘Soupy’ in class. Though it appears to be a harmless term, it actually made reference to an […]
Just last week three year old Lupita Padilla was bitten by a mixed breed dog in the Jerusalem area behind the Lord’s Ridge Cemetery. The toddler is said to have wandered into a neighbor’s yard where the dog pounced on her and bit her on the neck and face. No charges have yet been brought […]
Daniel Silva, one of the Deputy Leaders of the P.U.P. and the owner of Cahal Pech Resort in San Ignacio, was reportedly robbed by his own watchman. Silva reported to the police that on Thursday night, he secured his licensed nine millimeter pistol and a magazine with six live rounds of ammunition inside a wooden […]
Two persons were shot and killed shortly after six this evening in the city. The shooting involved a third person who survived. Unconfirmed reports say that a pair of twin brothers, where taken immediately after the shooting at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, and one died. The incident happened in front their house at the […]
There was a near fatal stabbing on Thursday night in the Old Capital in the same area where journalist, Joseph Budna was robbed last week. Fifty-seven year old Rene Garbutt, a security officer employed by Fort Point Security, was on duty when he was attacked and robbed. Tonight he is in critical condition at the […]
Local authorities remain on the lookout for twenty-three year old Miguel Matus who fled from custody on Thursday following a dental appointment in Belize City. Matus, who is serving life in prison for the cold-blooded murder of seventeen year old Priscilla Tzib, absconded around midday after visiting Dr. Bennett’s Dental Clinic accompanied by a prison […]
A first of its kind lawsuit has been brought against the Attorney General’s office involving sexual orientation. Caleb Orozco and the United Belize Advocacy Movement (UNIBAM) have filed a constitutional case, challenging section fifty-three of the Criminal Code. The section reads “Every person who has carnal intercourse against the order of nature with any person […]
