The beachfront on Ambergris Caye has been reduced to a façade for violence that has been spreading on the island. There were two separate stabbing incidents on Tuesday night. That prompted San Pedro’s Mayor, the Minister of Tourism, the police department, the town council, and the business Community to hold a meeting to find efforts […]
La Isla Bonita is Belize’s top tourist destination. This week, tourism stakeholders addressed the rising crime. Less than twenty-four hours had elapsed when gunshots rang out in the silent of the night. It was not one of the usual shootings and news spread quickly to the mainland that a sergeant had shot and killed a […]
Earlier we reported on the police version of the killing of Corporal Gavin Sanchez. This morning we caught up in Belize City with the family of the deceased officer which is still reeling from his shooting death. Sanchez’ aunt, Delita Moody, told News Five that her nephew has been working in San Pedro for about […]
While Police Corporal Gavin Sanchez swore to protect and serve the Belizean public, he had several high profile incidents on record. On several occasions Sanchez had been involved in shooting incidents with known criminals while on and off duty. Today Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries commented on the circumstances the slain officer may have found […]
And in Belize City, the violence continued today when a fruit vendor who was working to earn an honest living was attacked by someone who instead wanted easy money. Thirty-six year old Honduran national Alfred Martinez was selling fruits in the Southern Foreshore area at about twelve-thirty this afternoon and had just left Continental Airlines […]
In respect to our new segment on “Questions and Reflections”, the number of persons who responded to our first question on the hike in GST grew in the past twenty-four hours both on our e-poll on our webpage. More than eighty-two percent said they were dead set against the GST increase. Today’s question is: Do […]
Murders, they have become the norm in the City Streets, and they are now becoming as frequent in daylight. Just before nine o’clock this morning, the life of twenty-three year old Fredrick Flowers was cut short when he was hit by a barrage of bullets in a dangerous area of Bagdad Street. The Jane Usher […]
Not only are daylight murders becoming common, but daylight robberies are also on the rise. Earlier this week we reported on the robbery of the Social Security funds from its offices on Princess Margaret Drive and last week on the robbery of Doony’s on Albert Street. It is so dangerous that not even security cameras […]
The official amount stolen in the Monday afternoon hold-up at the Social Security office in Belize City has still not been released, neither by police or the Social Security office. But News Five has received reliable information that the total taken in that heist was around four hundred and fifteen thousand dollars in cash and […]
A major change was announced today at BCB Holdings. This afternoon, via press release, word came that Wendell Mottley has moved up as non-executive chairman of the group. He succeeds Lord Michael Ashcroft, the owner of the Belize Bank among other businesses, who retains membership on the Board of Directors. Mottley, a distinguished economist from […]
Remember the G-Seven? That was the name given to seven ministers in the past PUP administration who broke ranks, resigned and were eventually reinstated. Well, it’s not exactly the same, but Belize City Mayor, Zenaida Moya Flowers, is facing a rebellion of her own. This time, seven Councillors have publicly criticized the Mayor for holding […]
The Social Security Board was jacked just before the close of business on Monday afternoon. The heist, carried out by two armed gunmen who held up the SSB offices on Princess Margaret Drive, is still baffling the police. As News Five reported, the two culprits entered the building through a back door and approached two […]
The fiscal budget for the upcoming financial year was announced on Monday and we are still doing the math on a number of issues in the sixty-one million dollar deficit budget. Firstly, we look at the issue of income tax. Prime Minister Dean Barrow was obviously pleased to say that those persons earning less than […]
In our review of the budget for 2010/2011, we also came across a significant decrease in capital investment. At budget time last year, PM Barrow boasted that his government’s spending on capital investments, that is in roads, bridges, classrooms and other job-creating projects, would “lift up the nation”. Well, a more chastened Barrow has had […]
In our newscast tonight, we are starting a new segment that will enrich the daily news package we bring to you. To make the news more interactive, at the end of the first segment we will posing questions that impact the economic, political and social fabric of the country. Viewers can send their comments to […]
Still on the budget, Prime Minister Dean Barrow on Monday announced what was widely expected, that he would raise taxes in light of a new budget deficit in the region of sixty-one million dollars. Government is expecting to raise about one hundred and nine million dollars in the additional taxes, a figure that pales in […]
There’s a packed newscast tonight and we start with the budget presentation in the House today. The fiscal year closes at the end of March and the budget’s performance for 2009 to 2010 was poor, and don’t hold your breath because the coming year promises to bring new and additional taxes. In the current financial […]
But while the economy did fare off well, the 2010 to 2011 budget comes with new tax measures. Hardest hit is an almost five percent business tax imposed on electricity, meaning B.E.L., which soon afterwards caused a blackout, and a two point five percent increase in sales tax, which means that coupled with the two […]
But Barrow said it’s not all doom and gloom. The Poverty Assessment Report indicated that more Belizeans are poor. So naturally, increased taxes will push employed individuals into a category of the working poor. So to appease one section of the electorate, Barrow intends to exempt anyone earning less than twenty four thousand dollars a […]
The Prime Minister read a list of goods from which he intends to remove import duties. The list includes: cooking oils, luncheon meat, potted meat, macaroni and cheese dinner, and cereals. The P.M. also said that the government would remove General Sales Tax on similar items. But if you don’t intend to eat canned goods, […]
Earlier we reported on the budget for the new financial year and the additional taxes that will be imposed. But the House meeting would not be over without the usual dose of mudslinging. And as it has in the past, the arrows of Prime Minister Dean Barrow were slung again at his predecessor, Said Musa. […]
While the Barrow Administration presented its third annual budget before the National Assembly, Belizeans continue to prepare for inevitable tax increases in what will be an overall difficult financial year ahead. According to the Leader of the Opposition, John Briceño, the VAT man is back. In speaking with News Five, Briceño gave his rapid response […]
Minister Juan Coy was suspended as a Minister of state for six months when he was accused of ordering the B.D.F. to allow contraband beer from Guatemala into Belize. That was last year; he has since been re-instated, but his troubles are far from over. Last Sunday a verbal confrontation between Coy and a campaign […]
A barge ran aground on the reef Thursday night. This is the second vessel this year to have damaged a portion of the reef. The barge, thirty feet by twenty three feet, is lodged near the Blue Reef Resort. Because of the battering waves, the barge has turned on its side and is believed to […]
A Honduran national who was standing on the shoulder of the Northern Highway in the vicinity of Mile three, was killed during the lunch hour in the heavily trafficked area. Ronaldo Portillo died instantly when he was hit by an SUV heading into the City as he waited for his brother. News Five’s Delahnie Bain […]
