The government will be spending in the range of three quarters of a million dollars for a feasibility study and design to improve the Crooked Tree Road. The contract was awarded to the Caribbean Civil Group Limited of Nassau, Bahamas. When completed, it is expected that the stretch of four miles of road will bring […]
Former president of the Public Service Union, Jacqueline Willoughby, is a long-time trade unionist. But tonight she has severed ties with the Union amid what she calls lingering personal and ethnic differences with fellow unionists. She has engaged legal services to sue certain members of the Union’s Council of Management regarding repeated slanderous allegations made […]
News Five has confirmed that attorney Andrew Bennett is likely headed to the Magistrate’s Court on Wednesday morning – but not to try a case. He will be on the defendant’s side of the courtroom facing Chief Magistrate Sharon Frazer, as his legal team will listen to the evidence presented by the office of the […]
Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington has signed the documents relating to a request for extradition for attorney Andrew Bennett from the U.S. State Department. But closer to home, a relative of his remains on the run from U.S. authorities. Doctor Errol Elrington, brother to Wilfred and Hubert Elrington, is listed among the top ten […]
P.U.P. mayoral aspirant Rigo Vellos is demanding a formal retraction, as well as an apology from the Guardian Newspaper after publishing a recent article which purportedly defames the municipal elections candidate in Corozal. Earlier today, the law firm of Musa and Balderamos wrote to the editor of the Guardian Newspaper on behalf of Vellos informing […]
This morning, the Caribbean Court of Justice heard arguments in the matter of Sunshine Holdings—the company which acquired shares in Belize Telemedia Limited using a Social Security loan in 2005. Back in October, the highest court refused an application from the company, acquired by the Government of Belize from the B.T.L. Employees’ Trust headed by […]
A woman was arrested and charged for obtaining a birth certificate under false pretense. Police say that on Friday in San Ignacio, Wendy Castro tried to use a birth certificate issued in error to obtain a social security card. According to Police, the S.S.B. branch in that jurisdiction called them and upon their investigation found […]
On Thursday afternoon, the Ahmad family, as well as members of the wider Muslim community in Belize, had an extensive sit-down with Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Elrington. He was accompanied by Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie, as well as several other ranking officers, including assistant commissioners Chester Williams and Joseph Myvett. The purpose of […]
Forty-nine-year-old Mark Pollard, a resident of Peter Seco Street, was reported missing in early July 2017. He has not been seen or heard from since he set out on a routine jog along the Phillip Goldson Highway near the Haulover Bridge. But is his mysterious disappearance the result of a family feud over willed property? […]
According to Espat, he has the blessing of Pollard’s family to proceed with an independent investigation into the disappearance of their loved one. Whatever he is able to unearth from his probe is shared with the police department for officers to follow up on all leads. Jose Luis Espat, Concerned Citizen “I am not […]
Following last week’s encounter between a team of Belizean youth basketballers and members of the Guatemalan Armed Forces, in which the latter tried but failed to stop them circling Sarstoon Island, it appears the Guatemalan army is up to its old tricks again. The GAF have made a habit of following any Belizean craft or […]
The Government of Belize is still in no apparent hurry to amend the 1992 Maritime Areas Act as called for by the Opposition, which introduced it when they were in government. To facilitate a potential settlement of the Guatemalan claim, the Act proposed to set aside territorial waters from Ranguana Caye to the Sarstoon River […]
Five-time Mister Belize Rigoberto “Rigo” Vellos is finding out that politics is not like bodybuilding – it’s a dirty game. The People’s United Party candidate for mayor of Corozal Town is fighting back against allegations of misappropriation dating back to September of 2008. He was dismissed from his cashier’s job at the Social Security Board […]
It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Stephen Buckley, the George Street resident who turned his misfortune into a six-figure windfall from the Government of Belize. He was shot in the face while on the way home from work in April of 2010 and received a partial compensation payment of one hundred thousand dollars […]
In 2017 alone, up to forty manatees were reported killed as a result of collisions with boats. And only twelve days into the New Year, three manatees have already been killed. It is cause for concern and Sea to Shore Alliance, which champions the conservation and protection of the sea cows, is dead set on […]
It is now illegal to explore for or exploit potential petroleum deposits in the maritime zone of Belize. Following the passage of the Petroleum Operations (Maritime Zone Moratorium) Act, 2017 in the House of Representatives on December eighth and the Senate five days later, the Governor General made the formal enactment on December twenty-ninth. The […]
Twenty-six-year-old Estevan Bol has turned his hobby into his full-time job. He had always been fascinated by fish, owned small fish aquariums and subsequently taught himself all there is to know about fish farming. Bol imports all kinds of fish for sale and has expanded his business to include more piscine[py-seen] related services. His hope […]
Under extremely short notice on Tuesday night, the City Emergency Management Organization, CEMO, opened shelters to residents looking to secure themselves and their families against the approaching tsunami threat. This followed the seven point six magnitude earthquake off the Swan Islands of Honduras. While most shelters were taken from the standard hurricane list, the newly-built […]
It has been two weeks since well-known barber Fareed Ahmad was shot and killed near his home in Hattieville. Despite the arrest and subsequent arraignment of a woman police constable on a single charge of murder, there are many unanswered questions that have left the Ahmad family discontent with the Belize Police Department. The committal […]
Lead investigator ACP Chester Williams, who is probing the case from within the Professional Standards Branch, says that he is content that there was no collusion on the part of other members of the Special Assignment Team in Ahmad’s murder. He corroborated that statement by informing the family that there is video footage showing Michelle […]
Another sore spot for the Ahmad family, aside from the murder of their loved one, is the rounding up of its members back in 2016 by the Special Branch of the police department. During that operation as many as twenty persons, including pregnant wives, young children and grandparents, were taken into police custody and held […]
It is a position that Elrington, himself a former defense counsel, agrees with. The family should have been given the opportunity to contact its lawyers and should have been provided with a reasonable explanation for being raided. He promised them that he would personally look into the incident and prepare a report chronicling his findings […]
The ball is in motion for a provisional warrant to be sought for attorney Andrew Bennett’s arrest. That is because Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington has signed documents that will allow the office of the Attorney General to proceed with a request for Bennett’s detention. It is expected that he will be arrested and […]
There is a degree of disquiet among some students at the national university over a change in the date of graduation from February to June. Some students have complained that the postponement gets in the way of his pursuit of another degree as well as a job opportunity. This afternoon, the University of Belize President […]
Still a little shaky from Tuesday night’s earthquake and tsunami scare? You’re not alone. Nearly forty-eight hours later, emergency preparedness responders are still marveling at Belize’s close call and formulating plans and ideals for the next time. Belize is located not far from the Swan Islands transform fault which produced another knee-buckler in 2009. That […]
