And while it may not have had all the pomp and circumstance of the Presidential gala, another Guatemalan public official was inaugurated today…and I had the privilege of attending. Janelle Chanona, Reporting Bearing all the markings of a victorious politician, and flanked by loyal supporters from both sides of the border, this morning seventy-one year […]
Prime Minister Said Musa and his diplomatic entourage are on their way to Guatemala tonight, having participated in the Special Summit of the Americas in Monterrey, Mexico. Musa chaired today’s meetings on Economic Growth with Equity, recommending measures to prevent poverty and ensure equal distribution of wealth. According to a government issued release, the Prime […]
It has been closed for all but emergency business since October ninth of last year. And when the consular section of the U.S. Embassy finally reopened today there were new procedures to match the fresh decor. Patrick Jones was at the front of the line this morning and files the following report. Patrick Jones, Reporting […]
Over the weekend, Prime Minister Said Musa and Minister of Foreign Affairs Godfrey Smith will depart Belize bound for Monterrey, Mexico for the Special Summit of the Americas. According to Musa, the summit provides the opportunity for the leaders of thirty-four democratic countries to address urgent issues facing the region. Prime Minister Said Musa “It […]
Belize has finally succumbed to U.S. diplomatic pressure and signed an agreement to exempt that country’s military and civilian employees from the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court. Under U.S. law, had Belize not agreed to the exemption, we would have become ineligible for U.S. military assistance. Belize follows Guyana and Antigua as the third […]
He’s a successful Businessman and former Mayor of Guatemala City. And today Oscar Berger has one more achievement to add to his resume: President of Guatemala. Berger won the run-off in Guatemala’s presidential election on Sunday by capturing fifty-four percent of the vote. His rival, Alvaro Colom, was left with the remaining forty-six percent of […]
The six months may have seemed like six minutes, but after a half year in the limelight, it was time for Belize to step down from the post of regional leadership. News 5’s Patrick Jones reports on the passing of the Central American baton. Patrick Jones, Reporting The leaders gathered in Belize City for the […]
By any measure, it has been a Belizean success story. Departing from the tradition of wooden skiffs, a few enterprising Belizeans, led by the Bradley family, begin to craft small fibreglass boats for local fishermen. The vessels prove popular, the tourism industry booms, and pretty soon boat builders are not only turning out scores of […]
It is not a voice often heard in Belize these days, but on the occasion of World AIDS Day, U.S. Ambassador Russell Freeman spoke out on the importance of fighting the deadly virus and reducing the stigma attached to those infected. Russell Freeman, U.S. Ambassador to Belize “President Bush has always made the fight against […]
The delegates have come from as far south as Panama and as far north as Mexico City. What they’re debating is the best way forward for the region’s Atlantic Coast. Patrick Jones reports. Patrick Jones, Reporting The two-day conference brings together representatives of community groups of the Meso-American region to devise a development work plan […]
With Belize holding the six-month rotating presidency of the Central American Integration system, SICA, there has been no shortage of high-level meetings taking place here. But one gathering that starts Monday will be a little bit different, in that instead of the usual presidents, ministers and government officials, those Central Americans coming to Belize City […]
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Central America today concluded two days of meetings with their Taiwanese counterpart. During the course of the eleventh meeting of the Central American Integration System mixed commission meeting, the delegates discussed areas of cooperation, with special emphasis on projects that are for the mutual benefit of both SICA and […]
Trade Ministers of the Americas met in Miami this week to renew their commitment to conclude negotiations for the establishment of a hemisphere wide free trade area by January 2005. Today they agreed to the text for a Ministerial Declaration on the Free Trade Area of the Americas, F.T.A.A.. According to a release from the […]
It has been fourteen years since Belize last served on a major United Nations body, but today the country was elected to sit on ECOSOC, the U.N.’s Economic and Social Council. Belize earned one hundred and eighty of the one hundred and eighty-five votes to fill one of three open positions reserved for Latin America […]
Friday marks the celebration of the Republic of China’s National Day…and while the “A list” dignitaries will usher in the ten-ten holiday tonight at the Taiwanese Embassy, yesterday Taiwan’s Foreign Minister announced that President Chen Shui-bian’s upcoming visit to Belize has been cancelled. President Chen was due to embark on a seventeen-day trip at the […]
A late evening release from the Organization of American States indicates that progress is being made in the normalization of relations between Belize and Guatemala. According to the communiqué, acting C.E.O. in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lawrence Sylvestre–mistakenly referred to as Vice Minister–met with Guatemalan Vice Minister Gabriel Augilera on Monday in Washington along […]
The first arrivals show up as early as midnight, and by dawn a line has already formed. Word on the streets is that its punishment for some sin–real or imagined–committed by the Government of Belize…the passport scandal, drug trafficking or perhaps too strong a friendship with Cuba. What I’m talking about, of course, is the […]
In News from New York, Foreign Minister Godfrey Smith today addressed the fifty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. His speech was short and to the point. In return for their consistent economic support and friendship, Smith urged the admission of Taiwan to membership in the world body. He then made the case for […]
We reported last week that Belizean shrimp exports have been given the green light to enter the European Union…and it may be just in time. Reports from the U.S.A. are that shrimp producers from eight southern states have banded together to fight what they claim are unfair trade practices by ten shrimp exporting countries. The […]
In diplomatic news, Foreign Minister Godfrey Smith is in New York heading Belize’s delegation to the fifty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. While Smith will deliver his formal address next Tuesday, he has been busy as pro-tem chairman of the Central American Integration System’s Foreign Minister Group. In that capacity he will convene […]
Over the weekend, the fifth ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organization came to an end in Cancun, Mexico. But the big news is that the delegates went home without any sort of agreement in hand. According to Belize’s head of delegation, Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade, Eamon Courtenay, in this instance, no deal […]
Unlike many delegations, Belize did not have to go far to attend the fifth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization, now underway in Cancun. As with virtually all previous meetings, the Cancun gathering attracted its share of protesters, but inside the conference hall, it was internal conflict that has prevented substantial progress toward new […]
Belize is engaging in some aggressive diplomatic damage control in the wake of Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo’s rejection of the O.A.S. facilitation process as a means of settling Guatemala’s claim to Belize. A delegation led by Ambassador Assad Shoman travelled to New York and Washington over the last two days to lobby officials at the […]
They had barely unpacked their bags following a summit in Taiwan, but today the leaders of Central America once again sat down together, this time in Belize, in an effort to attack some major problems that transcend geography and nationality. Janelle Chanona, Reporting This morning, heads of government and foreign ministers representing the seven countries […]
One week after Guatemala rejected the Ramphal-Reichler proposals for settling that country’s long-standing territorial claim to Belize, today News 5 went straight to the top–or almost to the top–for an explanation of the abrupt change. Guatemalan Foreign Minister Edgar Gutierrez, who is in Belize for a technical meeting in advance of tomorrow’s gathering of Central […]
