Is Barack Obama coming to Belize? That’s the question that was put to the new United States Ambassador who began his diplomatic mission to Belize last month. Vinai Thummalapally is a former roommate of Obama, and that relationship is expected to translate into renewed interest in Belize. Today, the U.S. ambassador met the press corp […]
Earlier in the newscast we told about today’s press conference with U.S. Ambassador Thummalapally. The head of the mission touched on a wide range of issues including the August compulsorily acquisition of Telemedia. The United States is known to frown on countries that have a history of nationalizing private companies. So how does the U.S. […]
And the problem of illegal communities that spring up along the Belizean side of the border has been exacerbated by the incursion of Guatemalan xateros and farmers clearing land in the Chiquibul National Park and Forest Reserve. Ambassador Thummalapally says the Organization of American States has been doing an exceptional job along the border where […]
In Belmopan, one of the more important topics of the media discussion with Ambassador Thummalapally is the Merida Initiative. It is a partnership of the United States with governments in Central America and the Caribbean to combat crime and the free flow of narco-traffickers in the region. Four hundred million U.S. dollars was set aside […]
Belize and Guatemala have been trading informally for years, but today trade was formalized with the signing of a partial scope agreement that had been languishing before the Guatemalan congress for years. The agreement was first introduced in 2004, in the days of the Musa and Berger administrations. It was completed the following year and […]
The agreement will provide better trading opportunities and Coleman says the delay in passage of the agreement was with the Guatemalan congress. Orla Kantun Coleman “I know at the technical level we were informed that there were some real glitches in terms of there is a specific committee within the congress that reviews trade agreements […]
The Oppenheimer Report “Multiple Caution Flags” focused on the investor confidence in Belize. One of the caution points referred to the fact that Taiwan is no longer seeking full membership into the United Nations. Taiwan has made over fifty million U.S. dollars in commitments to Belize. And the only gesture Belize has consistently made to […]
It is the independence of the Mesoamerican countries…and for the second consecutive year, the embassies of Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Mexico have once again joined Belize to celebrate their Independence Day in collaboration with G.O.B. The event will be held on Saturday, September twelfth, at the Governor General’s field in the […]
There is a breaking story tonight of an accident at the entrance of Belize City on the Northern Highway. We’ll have details of this later in this newscast but first, there have been twenty-two cases of the Influenza A H1N1 confirmed in Belize, and while that is not being considered an outbreak, one hundred and […]
Doctors say they have reached the end of the line in the three week old dispute with the Board of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital over corruption charges. On Thursday the doctors walked away from the negotiations when the Board introduced what they considered unacceptable counter proposals to the effect that no action was to […]
Travel to Mexico by Belizeans is getting easier and an announcement from the government of that neighbouring country is bound to make it an even more common practice. So if you’re one of those that makes frequent pilgrimages across the border, start planning your next trip because as of today Belizeans no longer require a […]
Last week Friday the White House announced the nomination of Vinai Thummalapally as the new U.S. Ambassador to Belize to replace former ambassador Robert Dieter whose term ended with the change of administration in Washington. And while the arrival of the new ambassador is highly anticipated, U.S. Charge d’Affairs, Jack Diffily, says that there is […]
There’s another appointment but in diplomatic circles. Press reports from the U.S. say that the White House has put forward the nomination of a new envoy to Belize. President Obama is naming Vinai K. Thummalapally to the post. According to the reports, it is a groundbreaking submission as the nominee, if approved by the senate, […]
The last time we saw Prime Minister Dean Barrow in the Caribbean he was acting in the capacity of CARICOM Chair at the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago in April. Well today P.M. Barrow left Belize en route to Port of Spain, Trinidad once again to attend a special meeting for the […]
Belize is among only twenty-three countries that maintain diplomatic relations with the Republic of China – Taiwan, going back to 1989. With a population of twenty-three million and no seat at the United Nations, Taiwan has remained a generous partner to its allies because an overwhelming number of countries choose instead to maintain diplomatic ties […]
We have reported from time to time about the war in the transport industry between local bus companies and now there is another battle developing, but this time with regional bus lines that may have greater implications in the tourism industry. This week the Ministry of Transport held a public consultation in Belize City with […]
In news on the diplomatic front, four ambassadors presented their credentials to the Governor General of Belize, Sir Colville Young today. This morning at the Belize House, Mohammed Al-Allaf of Jordon; Ernesto Justo Lopez of Argentina; Francisco Miranda Ortigas of the Phillipines and Maria Del Carmen Diez Orejas of Spain all delivered greetings from their […]
Belize and Mexico cooperate in many areas and there is an active programme between the two. Today an official delegation from Mexico met with its counterparts at the House of Culture for a meeting of experts on technical and scientific cooperation between Mexico and Belize. The Mexican Delegation consists of seventeen officials from the government […]
We reported last night that a container previously erected by Guatemalan Leonel Arellano had been successfully dismantled from the village of Jalacte and moved to Guatemalan territory. The issue had been a particularly thorny one for G.O.B. because Arellano who hails from the nearby village of Santa Cruz, El Peten, had defiantly threatened to attack […]
The infamous bodega in Jalacte in southern Belize has finally been removed. It took two months, but tonight the illegal bodega is no more: that’s the word coming from the Ministry of National Security. According to a press release issued this afternoon, a joint military operation was carried out under the watchful eye of the […]
Back in September we reported on an item appearing in the Taiwanese media that the country was on the verge of signing a production sharing agreement with Belize. Almost four months after the signing was supposed to take place, today a release from the Government Press Office announced that it’s a done deal. According to […]
NEWCO, the consortium of companies, which won an international arbitration settlement against G.O.B. has now initiated civil action in Washington against the government. According to a press release from the company, its decision is due to a failure by Prime Minister Dean Barrow to honor the almost nine million dollar judgment delivered in Miami on […]
The challenges and issues faced by Belize’s children and youths are numerous… and for decades UNICEF has been trying to improve those conditions, not only in Belize but around the world. On Monday, Country Representative Rana Flowers was a guest on Open Your Eyes and reports that funding for UNICEF’s activities come from all over […]
Outgoing U.S. President George Bush signed a legislation on June thirtieth of last year which will have an impact on Belize. It is called the Merida Initiative, a partnership signed amongst the governments of the United States, Mexico, and Central America and other regional partners to confront trans-border crimes committed by gangs, organized criminal organizations […]
A change in any government is usually followed by a change in top ranking personnel… and with president-elect Barack Obama scheduled to take office on the twentieth, the term of U.S. Ambassador to Belize Robert Dieter will come to an end. In his final days as the US’ top diplomat in Belize, Dieter appeared on […]
