On Monday the Republic of China on Taiwan will celebrate its ninety-fourth birthday. To mark that milestone News Five’s Stewart Krohn sat down with Ambassador Charles Tsai to find out how the two countries, so far apart in so many respects, could wind up as such close friends. Charles Tsai, Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize “As […]
For many of us, the Belize-Guatemala talks under the auspices of the Organization of American States are a rather abstract concept, but today, some very concrete and visible strides were made towards resolving our differences through an activity at the border. The all day event brought together the people of Benque Viejo Del Carmen and […]
United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is hosting a meeting of Central American Defence Ministers next week… but it is not certain who, if anyone from Belize will attend. The two-day gathering on October twelfth and thirteenth in Key Biscayne, Florida will focus on regional security issues involving Panama, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, […]
Think of it as a very exclusive club… and the only way to join is to be appointed Governor General or President of a CARICOM country. Those members are this year holding their annual gathering right here in Belize. And while–as every journalist knows–G.G.s don’t give interviews–News Five’s Jacqueline Woods was able to sit in […]
The United States will be providing Belize with additional assistance for crime fighting and coastal security. Today an agreement was signed between U.S. Ambassador Robert Dieter and Prime Minister Said Musa which calls for over seventy-three thousand U.S. dollars in support for equipment and training at the Police Forensic Science Laboratory and communications and navigational […]
Last week Prime Minister Said Musa addressed the United Nations and today it was Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Godfrey Smith’s turn. Smith spoke about the need for the nations of the world to really commit themselves to poverty alleviation as there can be no true security when people live in fear of starvation and […]
Prime Minister Said Musa this evening addressed the sixtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly. Dubbed the 2005 World Summit, the gathering of global leaders was convened to review the progress made toward implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. In his speech, Musa said there has never been a time like now to change […]
This morning the United States Embassy in Belize delivered cheques to thirteen deserving organisations currently working in HIV/AIDS awareness and prevention, cultural preservation and environmental protection. During ceremonies at the his Belize City residence this morning, newly appointed Ambassador Robert Dieter presented funds to Friends of Nature for whale shark research and institutional strengthening; the […]
As we mentioned, today’s ceremony starred newly installed U.S. Ambassador Robert Dieter. In an introductory interview with the diplomat this morning, he briefly explained his plans for the next few years. Robert Dieter, U.S. Ambassador to Belize “My wife and I are very delighted to be here and look forward to working with you in […]
Tonight there is significant news from the Belize-Guatemala front: the Ramphal/Reichler proposals have been shelved, demoted to nothing more than paperweights. According to Belize’s lead negotiator in the Guatemalan claim to our territory, Assad Shoman, this week both countries have begun to chart a new course towards a solution acceptable on both sides of the […]
While the cruise ship industry has all but washed away the impressive awe of large vessels steaming into Belizean waters, on Thursday a British warship on the horizon should still be an imposing sight. The HMS Cumberland will arrive on the eighth of September for a two-day visit in Belize, anchoring near English Caye. While […]
Were it not for the presence of three military helicopters, you might not have known that Belize was today visited by one of the highest ranking members of the United States Army. Under heavy security, General John Craddock, Commander of the U.S. Southern Command, arrived in Belize for a one-day business trip. The Southern Command […]
The United States of America and Belize have signed an agreement that would allow authorities of the two countries to search each other’s ships for weapons of mass destruction. The pact, signed Thursday in Washington, is part of a U.S. Proliferation Security Initiative that seeks to prevent trafficking in such weapons by sovereign states, as […]
While the attention was focused this week on the visit of Mexican President Vicente Fox and talk of a possible PEMEX gas station in Belize, the Minister Responsible for Energy, Vildo Marin, was in Venezuela attending a petroleum summit convened by President Hugo Chavez. The Venezuelan President, President of Cuba Fidel Castro, and delegations from […]
When we last left Mexican President Vicente Fox, he was winging his way east from the new capital to the old. Following a series of meetings and a brief rest he managed to rally for a state dinner in his honour at the Belize City House of Culture. On that occasion he became the sixth […]
Vicente Fox was not the only leader bringing home gold last night as Prime Minister Said Musa was on the receiving end of Mexico’s Order of the Eagle. After what we hope was a good night’s sleep, the two leaders boarded a Mexican Air Force helicopter for the short hop to the Philip Goldson International […]
It was a day when the nation of Belize took a brief rest from the daily media drumbeat of politics, crime and scandal… to unite in the welcome of a visiting head of state. But Mexican President Vicente Fox is no ordinary visitor. As the leader of a neighbouring nation of a hundred and six […]
But dignitaries were not the only ones waiting in the nation’s capital. On hand to welcome President Vicente Fox to Belmopan were hundreds of schoolchildren–some from as far away as the Corozal District. Among the President’s first official acts on Belizean soil was the inspection of the Belize Defence Force Guard of Honour.
Following introductions of the members of the Government side of the National Assembly to President Fox…and of the Mexican delegation to Belize’s Prime Minister Said Musa, the Mexican head of state made time for a meet and greet with the students of La Escuela Secundaria de Mexico. The President’s official motorcade would then travel to […]
President Vicente Fox’s final official act in Belmopan was at the National Assembly as he addressed a joint sitting of the House of Representatives and Senate. Welcoming the President was Prime Minister Said Musa, House Speaker Elizabeth Zabaneh, Senate President Phillip Zuniga, and Leader of the Opposition Dean Barrow. Prime Minister Said Musa ?Mr. President, […]
His last trip to Belize was way back in August of 2000, when he had just been elected president, but had not yet donned the sash of office. Come tomorrow, however, Vicente Fox will arrive on Belizean soil as President of Mexico. And while his first and likely only official visit to this country will […]
Close to half a million dollars worth of sports utility vehicles are tonight impounded at the Customs Department ready for shipment back to Uncle Sam. Belizean authorities on Tuesday officially handed over the cars to the U.S. Embassy following months of investigations. A U.S. Embassy spokesman says that the vehicles were stolen in Texas and […]
Prime Minister Said Musa will have a week to forget about the nation’s financial woes as on Sunday he departed Belize on an official visit to Brazil. While in that country Musa will hold discussions with President Luis Ignacio de Silva, focussing on cooperation in agriculture, specifically sugar cane and ethanol technology, as well as […]
The Reuters news agency is reporting that police in Spain are dismantling a money-laundering ring and has frozen bank accounts in a number of countries including Belize. Thirteen suspected gang members belonging to a Ukrainian criminal organisation are believed to have laundered some one hundred million Euros, or one hundred and sixty-three million U.S. dollars […]
And while the D.F.C. inquiry is the subject of controversy on the domestic front, in terms of international relations, the Government of Belize does appear to be exploring its options for settling the Guatemala claim. Recently, the Prime Minister told the Jamaica Observer that Belize would consider going to the International Court of Justice if […]
