In the lawsuit filed by the three pensioners, the question of loans amounting to four hundred and thirty-one thousand, two hundred and fifty dollars disbursed to various unions and associations was brought up. While Public Sector Workers Trust lists those monies under a line item called investment, the court has ordered that an accounting of […]
The Sea Cadets – they are the young new faces on whom the Coast Guard hopes to make an impression. After years of planning, the Coast Guard is taking fifty students under its wings. The recruits will participate in different activities organized by the Coast Guard and will receive mentorship with the help of Restore […]
On December ninth, 2016, Belize took a historic step by signing its accession to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption, UNCAC. By doing so, it became the hundred and eighty-second country to become a signatory to the UN accord. In concluding Anti-Corruption Week, a symposium on corruption was held at the Biltmore earlier today. The […]
After more than three hundred thousand dollars spent in the course of twelve months and forty-plus sessions, the Senate Special Select Committee’s work, at least publicly, is done. It has been a wild ride as News Five has been there from start to finish for all the heartfelt confessions, helpful recommendations and occasional drama as […]
Friday’s final meeting of the House of Representatives for 2017 passed by with not excessive fanfare and fuss, as the parliamentarians got through a relatively light schedule around the stroke of noon. As usual on the adjournment, various issues of regional and occasional national importance were raised. For residents of Santa Cruz village in the […]
Channel Five’s twenty-fifth anniversary as a television station came last year. But last week our longest-running program other than this newscast marked a similar anniversary too. That’s right; it has been twenty-five years since Gimme 5 first premiered on this station in 1992. And while it’s always fun to win prizes – and in our […]
It is the season for giving and the children at Stella Maris Primary School had a day of fun-filled activities complete with gifts from Santa Claus at the Radisson. The Christmas party sponsored by the Belize Bank took place today. Their excitement was contagious; aside from the gifts and games, they were all too happy […]
The last House of Representatives meeting for 2017 was more even-tempered than usual, perhaps reflecting the current season. Members debated two motions and passed four outstanding bills, including the legislation for the oil moratorium. But while it only got passing mention in this gathering, the Universal Health Services debate still hangs over the National Assembly’s […]
All this week News Five has been covering the various reactions from across the political spectrum, including from the vaunted “social partners” of the Government. They have all told the Government to do its best to pay off the money and avoid further crippling interest or even litigation. The Prime Minister reiterates that the final […]
Jamaican-American attorney Franz Parke’s brief second tenure as a Justice of the Court of Appeal of Belize came to an end earlier this week. In the days since his departure, startling allegations regarding his personal and professional conduct since moving to the U.S. in 1980 have emerged. Parke chose not to fight the court case […]
In other judicial news, the complement of the Supreme Court is to increase by two starting in January. One of the appointees is none other than attorney Marilyn Williams, a former political candidate for the ruling United Democratic Party in the Albert division in 2003. Since then Williams has ascended the ranks, being a Senator, […]
A sixty-one-year-old Belize City woman managed to get out of her burning house on Allenby Street at about midday today. A fire spread quickly and could not be contained destroying all the belongings of Thelma Ariolla. The home owner sustained a small injury, but was left pretty shaken up by the disaster and says it […]
Rowan Garel is the new Caribbean Adventure Ambassador for the region. Garel was among several other persons shortlisted by the Caribbean Tourism Organization and after a voting period, the inspiring visually impaired youth—who is currently studying at a New York university—came out on top. His name was submitted by the Belize Tourism Board following his […]
Auditor General Dorothy Bradley appears to be at war with her own colleagues in the Supreme Audit Institution. Today, News Five received reports that employees staged a “sick-out” in protest of the alleged heavy-handed ways of the top watchdog. Her office has been in the spotlight in recent weeks for its handling of audits in […]
Seven years of work has resulted in an overturn of the status quo ante regarding offshore petroleum operations in Belize’s marine territory. With little debate and bipartisan support, the National Assembly passed the Petroleum Operations (Offshore Zone Moratorium) Bill, 2017 this morning. Opposition Leader John Briceño made note of the importance of the reef to […]
The eagerly-awaited motion on Universal Health Services was not tabled today, but another money-related motion was. A forty-million U.S. dollar motion for a loan from the Export-Import Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) was tabled in the House. The loan is to be disbursed in four equal annual instalments between 2017 and 2020, while […]
The Government also introduced the third General Revenue Appropriation Supplementary Bill of 2017, concerning the last of the Petrocaribe funds spent by Government. After several years of riding high on the funds obtained through Venezuela to spend on everything from sports stadia to tacos and pibil, the funds slowed to a trickle and the program […]
On the adjournment, a variety of topics were raised, usually about outstanding current issues. One is the ongoing battle between police and citizens, exemplified in the recent death of Edwin Antonio Baires Hernandez on Sunday afternoon in Teakettle Village. Police pursued the twenty-year-old Salvadoran national, following a suspected robbery and shot him in the right […]
Our last story from the House of Representatives is a positive one, and may even be anticipated in some quarters. There were wishes of goodwill from both sides of the lower house in anticipation of the Christmas season. And to make that season a little brighter, Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced that even with the […]
The Special Olympics games culminated Disabilities Week today. Over three hundred athletes converged at the Marion Jones Stadium in the city; the largest contingent came from Orange Walk, and the top performers will advance to the World Games in 2019 in Abu Dhabi. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting Disabilities Week concluded […]
The Government of Belize and COCESNA have invested roughly thirteen million dollars for better management and security for the airspaces within Belize. Today the Department of Civil Aviation officially opened the Approach Control Center at the Phillip Goldson International Airport. The state-of-the-art equipment features an upgraded radar head, which provides information on aircrafts flying over […]
The Sixth CARICOM Cuba Summit took place in Antigua and Barbuda, where Belize is being represented by Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber. The top-level diplomatic conference is held triennially and assesses cooperation between Cuba and the CARICOM member states. Since its establishment fifteen years ago, the summit is taking particular focus on two regional projects, […]
The first graduate’s program was launched at the University of Belize this past Thursday, opening new opportunities for Belizean students to pursue higher education here at home. The first program is for a master’s in business administration; it is being hailed as major accomplishment for the national university. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports. Isani […]
Raising children with disabilities is a challenge for any family. Tonight, through the National Resource Center for Inclusive Education of the Ministry of Education, we go inside the home of a single mother who raised not one, but two children with disabilities. Despite enduring a slew of struggles, the brothers are growing up to accomplish […]
It’s Christmas time and the bells are ringing – that’s the salvation army kettle bells. If you are going about the city, you are bound to see the season’s symbolic red kettles used to collect monies for charity projects throughout the year. Salvation Army’s District Commander, Major Joliker Leandre, told us that the collections are […]
