Years after a court ruling, preliminary discussions on the development of legislative principles on Maya land and associated rights were held during a two-day training in Punta Gorda. The sessions were facilitated by the Toledo Maya Land Rights Commission and saw the participation of indigenous people, the solicitor general, representatives from the Department of Lands, […]
There are a number of road works taking place in Orange Walk. It is part of the town council’s street infrastructure project for that northern municipality. As Mayor Kevin Bernard told News Five recently, there are both contract works and individual paving of streets undertaken by the council itself. The road works will improve the […]
Bernard is also the P.U.P. standard bearer for the Orange Walk East constituency. He has also been working on a skills training programme that is being offered to single models across the division. Bernard says that the entrepreneurial training is to help the thirty-plus persons into becoming independent. According to Bernard, during his campaign, this […]
Four-year-old Ellis Ortiz remains at the K.H.M.H. tonight, recuperating from a vicious dog attack he endured on Sunday, January thirteenth. Ellis was at home in the Lake Independence area when he was attacked and bitten by the landlord’s dog. The child was sitting on the steps, a few feet away from the dog which was […]
Former Chief Education Officer Ines Sanchez wrote a book documenting the first seventy-five years of his life. The autobiography covers the struggles of his early life woven into the historical developments taking place during the forties, fifties and sixties, as well as other key markers in Belize’s history. According to the book, the writer “takes […]
The Belize Red Cross donated a trove of equipment to NEMO today in Belize City. The Red Cross says that that donation was made possible through a grant they obtained through the U.S. CARSI-E.S.F. programme for disaster risk reduction. The Red Cross says the donation is about strengthening their partnership to better serve communities in […]
If you’ve been noticing that more and more people seemed to be affected by a flu or stomach bug then your observations are probably right. Apparently viruses thrive better in cooler temperatures. So when winter sets in the north and we have the cooler temperatures in this region, viruses like those that cause the flu or […]
A new Commissioner of Police was installed today at the Police Training Academy in Belmopan, and we’ll have that coming up. But the installation of Chester Williams was eclipsed by the parting shots by his predecessor. Allen Whylie was among the many in attendance who converged on the parade square to welcome Williams as the […]
Former ComPol Whylie, who has been criticized as a lame duck leader where the fight against crime and violence is concerned, insisted that he used his final public address to speak his mind freely. In continuing his rant, the outgoing officer also took aim at his former colleagues within the police department; those whom he […]
With twenty-seven years of service under his belt, Chester Williams today was installed as the new Commissioner of Police. Williams has also distinguished himself as the first attorney to take command of the Police Department. The passing of the baton to Williams took place at the Police Academy in Belmopan. He takes command of a […]
A restructuring of the police department since Commissioner Chester Williams assumed its helm on January ninth was imminent. Last week, there was a memo in circulation which the department subsequently requested that the media discard. As it turns out, the so-called transfers and ascensions were not entirely accurate. Following today’s ceremony, we caught up with […]
Throughout the course of their professional careers, Edward Broaster and Chester Williams have had a somewhat tumultuous relationship. In the past, words have been exchanged and the two have had it out with each other in their ascent to the echelon of the Belize Police Department. So what is the fate of the relationship now […]
On Monday, the Supreme Court opened the legal year with the usual ceremonial fanfare in downtown Belize City. In his remarks, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin spoke of the budget afforded to the judiciary. According to CJ Benjamin for the fiscal year 2018/2019, a little over ten million dollars was allocated to the judiciary. This represents […]
An Adolescent Health Strategic Plan is being finalized. The plan marks a crucial step of an expanded and holistic focus by the government on the issues affecting adolescents in the country. The plan will focus on three areas: education, health, and human development. Officials from three line ministries conducted a three-day session which culminated today […]
A citrus pioneer has passed. On Tuesday, the Sharp family announced that seventy-seven-year-old Gerry Sharp has died. Sharp, who is the husband of Marie Sharp, spent decades working in the citrus industry in southern Belize. According an online statement by the Sharp Family, after Gerry retired from the Citrus Company of Belize, he started to […]
A one-day training workshop took place on Monday in Belize City where officials from government agencies and N.G.O.s worked together on open street mapping. Open street maps are completely user-generated and run by the community. In this case, the Belize Red Cross has begun the process of gather data to update the maps in Belize […]
The I.C.J. Declaration was signed on January ninth by five former Ministers of Foreign Affairs, including sitting Prime Minister Dean Barrow. Barrow was joined by former P.U.P. Prime Minister Said Musa, Lisa Shoman, who served also served as P.U.P. Senator, Godfrey Smith, and Assad Shoman. A day ahead of the signing, the People’s United Party […]
Tonight there is good news to report. Three-year-old Vera Timofeev and her mother Raquel Margarita Cocom have been reunited after a hellish ordeal. The mother and daughter returned to Belize today and were accompanied by Elisa Castellanos of Tukkun Olam Belize. Cocom and Castellanos arrived in Fairfield Columbia, South Carolina on Saturday. On the following […]
Earlier today when we caught up with the P.U.P. leader, we asked him a number of questions with respect to the I.C.J. In October 2018, John Briceño embarked on a countrywide listening tour to get feedback from party supporters on the upcoming referendum on April tenth. Last Tuesday, he sent out a release saying that […]
Today marks the one hundredth birthday of the Right Honorable George Cadle Price. Price who is known as the Father of the Nation passed on September nineteenth, 2011, a few days after he suffered a fall. He left a remarkable legacy and today the party he founded in 1950, the People’s United Party, paid tribute […]
The Bar Association is organizing a public forum in the coming days and an expert in international law has been invited to discuss the issue of the I.C.J. In an effort to advance the ongoing public discourse, Professor Stephen Vasciannie will be providing an updated legal opinion on the Belize-Guatemala territorial dispute and whether it […]
There are as many as twelve judges on the Supreme Court bench, however, with the recent retirements of Justices Denis Hanomansingh and Adolph Lucas, two seats are presently available. Both distinguished judicial officers have served in the high court, but it was Justice Lucas’ diligence and career path which began with him joining the police […]
Will the high-profile case involving accused murderer William ‘Danny’ Mason be heard in the Supreme Court this year? Mason is one of seventy-four inmates on pretrial detention at the Belize Central Prison who has been incarcerated since 2016. During the ceremonial opening of the 2019 legal calendar, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin, in addressing the court, […]
The Caracol Road is coming – well, not quite yet, but G.O.B. has announced that the funds for the project have been secured. On Monday, the Government of Belize signed a loan agreement with the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development for twenty million U.S. dollars to finance the Caracol Road Project. The works include […]
The 2019 sitting of the Supreme Court opened this morning with the fanfare that traditionally accompanies the event. The address on the administration of justice was delivered by Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington on behalf of the Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte. The Chief Justice reviewed and reflected on the work of the court. He noted that […]
