Still in the Caribbean, this past Monday the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago held early elections and Kamla Persad Bissessar emerged as the first woman to lead the island as Prime Minister. The People’s Partnership, a coalition of parties, won twenty-nine of forty-one parliamentary seats. Outgoing Prime Minister Patrick Manning conceded defeat by Persad […]
The criminals appear to have gone under the radar this past holiday weekend. The police blotter is brief and no major crimes have been reported. In fact in the past week, since the launch of Operation Jaguar, the streets of the City have been devoid of gun violence. It is a costly mission that takes […]
Preparations for the upcoming hurricane season are currently underway as NEMO officials and meteorologists are working closely to ensure that disaster mitigation remains key on their list for effective crisis management. The National Met Service is forecasting a very active season this year and residents are encouraged to take necessary precautions. News Five’s Isani Cayetano […]
It was launched as an initiative to combat crime and restore confidence in the deadly neighborhoods of Belize City, and according to the security forces, Operation Jaguar has had some measure of success in its first five days. While no high powered weapons have been removed to make the streets safer, no major crimes have […]
Lieutenant David Jones, the B.D.F. Bomb Expert, gave an update on the search to find the batch of missing grenades. The deadly explosives went missing from a British shipment in 2004 and since then eight of the twenty-four grenades have surfaced on the streets, adding to the fear of residents about the state of violence. […]
The Belize Police Department and the National Coast Guard were at the Radisson Fort George’s pier this afternoon. The two security teams were there to assist a man who was being transported the city on a Coast Guard vessel. A short while later, the Belize Emergency Response Team showed up with a stretcher since he […]
American national Bradford Keith Bryant will be spending the next three weeks at the Hattieville prison pending trial for possession of unlicensed ammunition. Bryant was busted with five rounds of ammunition while boarding a flight to the United States. At about ten-thirty on Thursday morning police visited Delta Airlines’ office at the Phillip Goldson International […]
We have reported on Wednesday afternoon’s high speed chase by police in an undercover operation in Belize City. Two suspicious cars were pursued since they were believed to have been used for illegal activities. When one of the cars was intercepted, forty-eight year-old Diego Witz, a businessman originally of Corozal Town but now a resident […]
A US request for the extradition of a notorious drug dealer almost caused the fall of Jamaica’s prime minister this week. The situation in the island is still volatile and reports are that in a gang infested neighborhood thugs have formed barricades to keep authorities from arresting Christopher ‘Dudus’ Coke. PM Bruce Golding, after months […]
And while Kaseke and his counterparts had entirely different views about the same piece of legislation, he said there is also a major difference with this case and previous extradition hearings. Elson Kaseke “They were saying that the UK extradition acts are still applicable in Belize, that they were saved at independence. But with the […]
Traffic was restricted to one lane at mile seven on the Western Highway this afternoon after one of the recently replaced culverts in that area had to undergo urgent repairs. It appears that when that culvert was installed, the material beneath it was not properly compressed. So when the rains came and the soil got […]
Most of the classrooms at the Santa Familia Roman Catholic Primary School were empty today as students stayed away from classes following a demonstration by parents on Tuesday. According to village council chairman, Millard Tun, only twenty of the three hundred and five students enrolled have shown up for classes. That’s ninety-four percent of students […]
Tonight’s question is on Operation Jaguar that was launched this past Monday in Belize City. Police and B.D.F. are on patrol in the city’s hot spots to put a stop or a dent to the crime wave. According to the police, the operation will be sustained as long as there is a need. We ask: […]
Closing arguments in a trial involving a female cop concluded with high drama today before Magistrate Aretha Ford. It’s a sensational case because of the unusual evidence presented, which put the alleged victim on the hot seat. On June fifth, 2009, the female sergeant claimed she was assaulted at the Princess Hotel and Casino by […]
On Thursday News Five spoke to Marc Patry, a programme specialist in UNESCO’s Special Project’s Unit of the World Heritage Center in Paris. Patry indicated that a de-listing of the Barrier Reef from the World Heritage Site is possible because of the licenses given for oil exploration. He gave an example of the country of […]
The oil concessions on the seas have been rejected by APAMO, the umbrella organization for the environmental community. On May twelfth, Citizens Organized for Liberty Through Action (COLA) also wrote a letter to the Prime Minister illustrating the effects of oil spills from the United States all the way to Australia. It was a lengthy […]
There is a myriad of suggestions popping up in light of the chilling crime statistics. On Tuesday we posed the question: Do you think imposing a curfew will help to curb crime? There were many responses on the blog, seventy-six percent who polled though it was a start. One viewer said however that “most of […]
Today was day two of arguments by attorneys for seven persons who filed an application against the Attorney General over an injunction granted in favor of the government last year. The application was brought by Dean Boyce formerly of Telemedia, former Central Bank Governor Keith Arnold, attorney Philip Zuniga, and others after Supreme Court Justice […]
Where is the ring of rogue cops? That is what everyone has been asking ever since the Prime Minister and the Commissioner of Police held a joint press conference on March thirty-first. One police officer was charged, but three were put on interdiction and there were reports that other officers would fall from grace. Constable […]
Another case that seems to be falling apart relates to the Jason Coombs murder. One person who police wanted was Jamil Betancourt who was captured by Orange Walk police on Saturday. American businessman Jason Coombs was assassinated at his construction business last November when a car drove inside the compound and someone inside the vehicle […]
Bowen and Bowen distribution centre in Belize City was jacked last Tuesday morning when it had just opened for business. One week later, its centre in Dangriga was held up by robbers in the crime wave sweeping across the country. Shortly before seven on Monday night, the thieves targeted the site, about two miles out […]
The Belize Barrier Reef is currently on UNESCO’s list of endangered World Heritage Sites. It now faces another threat, a more serious one at that, since the reef could be permanently removed as a Heritage Site because of licenses granted for oil exploration and drilling. A UNESCO specialist spoke to News Five from the UNESCO […]
The country is under siege by the never-ending violence that invariably ends with loss of lives. The crime figures continue to grow by leaps and bounds and it is often young people that are murdered or are responsible for the crimes. Most people feel insecure and live in fear and want something to be done […]
Two Belize City men lost their lives to violence over the past weekend in the continued bloodbath in the city streets. One was the brutal stabbing of a man described as a hard-working churchgoer early on Friday night. In the other case, an eighty year old father was badly beaten and killed by his son […]
The second murder claimed the life of an elderly citizen just after midday on Saturday. But the actual incident took place the day before, at around two on Friday afternoon, when a man severely beat his father into a coma from which he never recovered. Sadly, the motive for the beating was for a shilling […]
