While on the referendum, there are major changes in the Guatemalan Foreign Ministry to report tonight. Foreign Minister Harold Caballeros has stepped down and is being replaced by Fernando Carrera, the Minister of Economic Planning and Programming for the Presidency. Caballeros, according to reports from Guatemala, is on his final mission to Kuwait where Guatemala […]
The Central American Tourism Integration System, known by its Spanish acronym SITCA, held a meeting in San Pedro earlier today to discuss and review the development of tourism initiatives within the region. SITCA, an arm of the Central American Integration System, represents seven member states which collectively reported that upwards of eight million tourists have […]
Earlier on the newscast you heard about the U.S. seven point two million dollar loan that the government is receiving to upgrade roads and infrastructure. One particular piece of real estate near the border with Mexico has been under constant discussion lately. Mexico’s President Felipe Calderon is leaving office and his government has financed a […]
A referendum on whether or not to elevate to the International Court of Justice, Guatemala’s claim to fifty percent of Belize’s territory has been set for October 2013 when Belizeans as well as Guatemalans will be asked to vote Yes or No. According to the Referendum Act, sixty percent of the one hundred and eighty […]
We reported earlier this week on an announcement from the government of Taiwan that bearers of Taiwanese passports no longer need a visa to enter Belize. What wasn’t clear was whether the arrangement was reciprocal. Well, News Five posed that question today to Ambassador David Wu of the Republic of China (Taiwan). David Wu, […]
Minister Louis Farrakhan, leader of the Nation of Islam, has begun a tour of five countries within the Caribbean. The journey, which began last Wednesday in Grenada, will see the controversial religious and social leader visit Barbados, Dominica, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Belize and the Bahamas, respectively. Minister Farrakhan will arrive in Belize on December […]
Bearers of Taiwanese passports will no longer need visas to enter Belize. The announcement was made via the government of Taiwan which says that a visa waiver program has been agreed to, but a specific date has not been set for its inception. The formal announcement was made in Taipei where the Foreign Minister Wilfred […]
As we reported in Friday’s newscast, President Felipe Calderon will be leaving office in the next few days. One of the outstanding projects between Belize and Mexico is the international bridge which was completed back in 2009 but was not inaugurated because the construction of a stretch of road by Belize, did not take place; […]
Earlier in the news the PM came out in support of Alan Slusher, his special advisor; he also came out in support of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The newly formed Belizean Coalition for Justice and the Peoples United Party have called for the removal of Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington. Elrington told News Five that the […]
A compassionate grant for the family of the Guatemalan national Francisco Quinn Yat has stirred up an ants nest. Social activists have condemned payment of the grant on the grounds that Belizeans who have been killed by the B.D.F. have not received compensation and that Quinn Yat was in fact illegally in Belizean territory when […]
There has been a flurry of diplomatic activity in the past twenty-four hours on the referendum to the International Court of Justice. Today, the Secretary General of the OAS, Miguel Angel Insulza was in Belize for about five hours. On Monday, in Guatemala, both the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Belize and Guatemala met at […]
While Guatemala launched its public awareness campaign on Monday, here in Belize, the launch of the campaign for the October 2013 referendum is months away. The price tag is much less at four million dollars. Foreign Minister Elrington says the government has decided to put off the start of the nationwide education campaign until early […]
Last week a new NGO, Belize Coalition for Justice asked for Minister Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington to be removed from the Ministry. When asked to respond, Elrington admitted that he didn’t know much of the group since he has been out of the country quite frequently over the past few months. He said he suspects though […]
In Guatemala City this morning, the Foreign Ministers of that country and Belize along with the Secretary General of the OAS, met with the Group of Friends. The GoF comprises a number of members of the OAS and Britain who have come together to give support to the process of taking the territorial dispute to […]
As you know, a week ago, the Foreign Minister of Belize Wilfred Elrington declared that the country had plunged into a diplomatic crisis with Guatemala over the shooting of a Guatemalan national in the Ceibo Chico area of the Chiquibul. But today the atmosphere appeared cordial. While questions from the press were not entertained after […]
Foreign Minister Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington left the country today; we caught up with him at the airport just before he boarded his flight. Going into the weekend, it was reported that tensions were high with Guatemala which was threatening to close the borders and to oust from post, Ambassador Fred Martinez. In short, there was […]
Belize will have to complete a report on the incident in a twenty-one day period and as far as we know, the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, is yet to receive the file on the shooting that happened well within Belize in the Ceibo Chico area of the Chiquibul. According to Elrington, the […]
The annual debate at the UN general assembly in New York is winding down. On Monday afternoon, Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington took to the famous lectern along with the other ministers from the CARICOM. Elrington touched on a number of global issues on the UN Agenda such as climate change, peace and security while on […]
A top heavy Belize delegation, headed by Minister Wilfred Elrington, is in New York for the yearly United Nations General Assembly. Elrington is scheduled to make his presentation next week and that statement is still likely on the drawing board. But the president of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina spoke on Wednesday to the UN. The […]
The date for the territorial dispute referendum has been set for October sixth, 2013. That date was confirmed by Belize’s Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington who along with negotiators met with Guatemalan Foreign Minister Harold Caballeros at the Organization of American States office in Washington, D.C. If successful in both countries, the simultaneous referendum about Guatemala’s […]
Belize’s Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, along with a delegation of negotiators including Senator Lisa Shoman, left for Washington on Wednesday afternoon to meet with Guatemalan Foreign Minister Harold Caballeros at the request of OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza. The purpose of the meeting was to determine a date on which a simultaneous referendum will […]
With national elections now behind in both Belize and Guatemala, the first round of discussions on a timeline for a referendum in respect of the territorial dispute will take place later this week. Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington earlier today departed for Washington where a ministerial meeting will take place with Guatemalan Foreign Minister […]
As we reported in Tuesday’s newscast, former senior deputy leader and government minister of the People’s United Party, Cordel Hyde says he was not officially offered nor will he accept the designation of Consul General to New York as the government announced following the meeting of cabinet. Hyde is currently in New York where his […]
When he was interviewed this morning, the minister was asked if it is not customary to discuss the appointments before they are made public. Elrington also disclosed that an ambassadorial appointment for Taiwan had been declined. Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, Minister of Foreign Fairs “It’s basically in consequence of his statement that he did not […]
A regional security conference was held recently in Antigua, Guatemala. It was widely reported in the international press because the president of Guatemala is proposing to decriminalize the transportation of drugs through Central America. It is part of an unusual plan to combat the large scale escalation of violence that has resulted from drug trafficking. […]
