The Cuban Embassy hosted a farewell event for students who are leaving Belize to study medicine in Cuba. The scholarship programme started some twenty years ago, under the leadership of late Cuba President Fidel Castro, to build capacity within CARICOM member states. And so far about two hundred students have graduated and almost a hundred […]
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement related to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, so named after a city in Japan. The treaty signed in 2012, commits its parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets for greenhouse gases. A few years later, the Doha Amendment was ratified, reflecting changes to the […]
The referendum date is set for April tenth next year, and while there have been presentations here and there, the public awareness and preparedness campaign on taking Guatemala’s claim to Belize to the International Court of Justice was officially launched today at the Laing building in Belize City. Now, it is well known that the […]
Elrington was further grilled about the campaign. He took off the Foreign Minister’s hat and spoke as citizen Elrington. According to him, you have to be crazy not to support a yes vote. His rationale is that having resisted for almost a century, Guatemala is now saying yes to the ICJ and this presents a […]
Two partners are offering support for the I.C.J. Campaign. The United Nation Development Programme will provide high level technical advice for referenda and elections related processes. The U.S. government announced a donation of five hundred thousand dollars through its CARSI programme, toward the I.C.J. campaign as well as the re-registration which got underway on Monday. […]
Five hundred thousand Belize dollars is only a drop in the bucket from the biggest country in the Group of Friends of Belize pushing for a resolution to the claim by the I.C.J. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred “Sedi’ Elrington agrees that the contribution is minimal, but says that Belize will be getting resources, both […]
The thirty-ninth CARICOM Heads of Government Meeting got underway this evening in Montego Bay, Jamaica and continues through to Friday. Belize is represented at the summit of regional leaders by Prime Minister Dean Barrow, who for some reason did not make it when he was called to take his place. Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, who […]
For the next six months, Belize will remain at the helm of the Central American Integrated System, SICA, having assumed the Presidency Pro Tempore on June thirtieth from the Dominican Republic. During its chairmanship, Belize will seek to strengthen relationships between CARICOM and SICA. In observance of the International Decade for People of African Descent, […]
Belize last held Presidency Pro Tempore of SICA in 2014. According to Orla Cantun-Coleman, Director of International Affairs Cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even with such rotating presidency, host nations often incur serious expenses in carrying out their responsibilities, but the important issue is continuity. Orla Cantun-Coleman, Dir. of Int’l Affairs Cooperation […]
Taking in the announcement, Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber reminded the international community that Belize’s ecosystems are under attack due to continued incursions, including illegal fishing and the pillaging of the forests by Guatemalans. As soon as the DPM concluded his statement, the Guatemalan head of delegation raised his flag to counter the statement by […]
Just before the protest got underway, the National Evangelical Association of Belize offered its support. NEAB went on the offensive to say that Palestinians, funded and backed by terrorists, recently attempted a massive attack on Israel but met firm resistance. According to a NEAB release, Israel warns civilians before making military strikes and its security […]
More than two thousand three hundred children have been separated from their parents after crossing the southern U.S. border since May. According to the Department of Homeland Security, it is part of a new immigration strategy implemented by U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. Back in April, prosecutors were ordered to adopt zero-tolerance policy for illegal border […]
Chargé d’ Affaires at the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan, Adrienne Galanek, leaves Belize in mid-July. Galanek first came to Belize back in 2015 as the Deputy Chief of Mission and after the departure of Ambassador Carlos Moreno at the end of the Obama Administration, she took over as the Chargé d’ Affaires in January of […]
South Cebada is one of the most remote areas of the Chiquibul National Park. While it is deep inside the protected area and difficult to reach, it is also located about one point five kilometers from the border with Guatemala. That makes it an open ground for illegal activity perpetuated by nearby communities who depend […]
As you heard, manning the Chiquibul National Park poses a huge challenge to the relevant agencies, including Friends for Conservation and Development. FCD rangers on June sixth spotted a group of five illegal farmers and were able to apprehend two: Guatemalan national Edras Garcia and Honduran national Elder Diaz four kilometres within Belizean territory. Following […]
Guatemala was recently hit by the Volcan de Fuego that has caused the deaths of as many as one hundred and fourteen persons and untold damages to property and infrastructure. In a show of solidarity, the government has announced that it is making a financial contribution of one hundred thousand Belize dollars to our neighbour. […]
Twenty-nine Belizeans have been awarded full scholarships to pursue studies in Taiwan. The Taiwan International Cooperation and Development Fund Scholarship Programme and the Taiwan Scholarship Programme are providing recipients with a round trip ticket, accommodations, tuition, books and other fees, along with a monthly allowance. Four students have been accepted by the School of Medicine […]
Shoman says the new book discusses as well how the claim is affecting life on the ground at the border lines in the west and south. Taking off from the recent situation in Otoxha and Dolores where Guatemalan farmers have been encroaching on Belizean territory, Shoman says Belize does not have to wait for The […]
According to Shoman, he hopes his book will be widely disseminated through traditional and modern means. But as to his personal involvement in the public education campaign, which had been publicly bruited by Prime Minister Dean Barrow in 2014, Shoman says he will be staying on the sidelines for now. Assad Shoman, Author “It’s […]
The start of construction of a perimeter fence by the Belize Defence Force at the western border triggered an uproar by taxi drivers from Guatemala who claimed they were being put out of the area. The B.D.F. maintained that the fence was being built to provide security and to ease traffic congestion. Today, we re-visited […]
There have been increasing reports of incursions into Belizean territory by Guatemalan farmers, loggers and poachers along both the western and southern borders. In the case of the west, Friends for Conservation and Development have attributed the occurrence to the influence of rogue leaders seeking to take advantage of the overwhelming yes vote by Guatemalans […]
The villagers say they are concerned about not being able to defend themselves from possible attacks, although they have made it clear that the Guatemalans are not welcome to farm in the area. PGTV’s Wil Maheia, who is also leader of the Belize Territorial Volunteers, is offering his assistance. Village chairman Olario Ical says they […]
They may be occasionally irascible neighbors, but they are neighbors nonetheless. And in the aftermath of the devastation caused by the volcano “El Fuego” in the municipality of Antigua, Guatemala, on Sunday, the nations of the region and the world have come together in empathy. Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington, during this week’s […]
Ambassador Alexis Rosado, Belize’s diplomatic representative in Guatemala, also extended sympathies to families who have suffered losses in the wake of the volcanic disaster in the central highlands of Guatemala. Fortunately, the few Belizeans living in and around the city of Antigua are all accounted for. Alexis Rosado, Ambassador to Guatemala “It’s such a […]
A topic of intense discussion at the general assembly of the Organization of American States was the U.S. government’s call to suspend Venezuela. The Americans are supported by Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Peru in resolving to reject the result of the recent presidential election, which handed Nicolas Maduro a second term by a […]
