The inventory of obsolete battle dress uniforms, along with the detachable boat engines, was found inside a home in Orange Walk Town. Mexican national Miguel De Jesus was found with several pieces of equipment and was escorted back to town where he led police and B.D.F. to a residence. At that home, the team of […]
Two more Ministers of Government appeared today before the Senate Special Select Committee on Immigration. From opposite ends of the country, Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia Junior and Works Minister Rene Montero both make appearances in the Auditor General’s Special Report on Immigration and Nationality 2011-2013. They were found to have made multiple recommendations for persons […]
He may not know them by name, but Heredia Junior had a curious relationship with the Harmouch family of San Pedro Town. The family numbers over one hundred strong and the Belize Consul to Lebanon, Khodr Harmouch, approached the minister seeking assistance with the granting of nationality to a relative, Samir, and many others likewise […]
The Auditor General highlighted multiple cases where members of the Harmouch family applied for nationality but did not meet the residency requirement. The common denominator is that they were recommended by Heredia Junior and then by clerk in the Nationality Section, Gertrude Armstrong. It has repeatedly been pointed out by immigration officers testifying at the […]
A new administrator has taken up the reins of the Football Federation of Belize, following the dismissal of former General Secretary Michael Blease on Tuesday. The termination of Blease’s contract and his abrupt removal from high office comes amid ongoing turmoil within the F.F.B. Several weeks ago, the organization failed to meet quorum in order […]
In speaking with the new general secretary, News Five learnt that the temporary position that Jones now holds will see him streamlining the functions of the F.F.B., particularly as it relates to the various leagues. Earl Jones, Interim General Secretary, F.F.B. “My present position with F.F.B. is that I have been asked to take […]
Now back to the senate hearings….This afternoon, Minister Rene Montero was questioned about his letter asking the Department to facilitate persons who wished to be sworn in as Belizeans by January tenth of 2012, mere weeks before the general elections held that year. Earlier, then-Director of Immigration Ruth Meighan admitted that the Department rushed thousands […]
But what exactly was the Minister asking for, and did it have an impact in the elections? According to Montero, he felt the call from Immigration was genuine and concerned residents in his constituency, but he denied knowing or doing business with any member of the Harmouch family, as opposed to a later request which […]
Montero said he could not say for certain whether the appearance of Saad Harmouch in his list was a genuine mistake or someone trying to pull a fast one. But why was it that the Ministry called on Montero in the first place to have his people ready for a January thirteenth swearing-in ceremony? Montero […]
Rowan Garel has been in Canada for about a year pursuing studies in Languages and Anthropology, but that has not stopped him from inspiring others. Recently, he was in New York to receive a big recognition called the Fervent Love of Lives Award from Taiwan’s Cho Ta-kuan Foundation. About a year ago, the Taiwan Embassy […]
Belize continues to draw tourists by land and sea to visit the Jewel, though not in record numbers as before. For the first half of the year, more than two hundred and thirty thousand travelers touched down in Belize, a rise of nearly eight percent overall, boosted by a record thirty-seven thousand-plus count of tourists […]
It is nine days since Mark Pollard went missing while out exercising on the Phillip Goldson Highway. Family members fear the worst and the search for the Belize City man has intensified. Today, we asked Deputy Regional Commander, Superintendent Daniel Arzu about police’s involvement in the case. He says they are a part of the […]
The gang truce has had success in the city, so much so that murder statistics have gone down in the Old Capital as well as in the rest of the country since the beginning of the year. But while major crimes are down, there is an issue with convictions. On Tuesday, the police high command […]
Senior Superintendent Moody also spoke of the strategies he will implement to maintain law and order and keep criminal activity on the low. Sr. Supt. Ralph Moody, Regional Commander, Eastern Division North “I must say that there are some programs in place that I don’t want to touch. One is the discipline of the […]
The police command was also on its meet and greet initiative on the south side of the city. Today cops from the eastern division south joined their Deputy Regional Commander, Superintendent Daniel Arzu in the areas of Administration Drive, La Croix Boulevard Crown Street and surrounding areas. We caught up with the cops on Holy […]
It has been just over a week since Arzu and his commander Marco Vidal took over the Eastern Division South. Today, when we met Arzu on the south side, we asked they were being embraced by the community in the wake of the departure of Assistant Commissioner of Police Chester Williams. Arzu says the work […]
Another round of protest as held over the weekend in the San Pedro where police have not yet been able to pin murder charges in the case of Faye Lin Cannon. The thirteen-year-old Chinese-American girl was reported dead last Monday by her own adopted parents, a U.S. couple. But there have been inconsistencies in their […]
As the island continues to reel over the death of Faye Lin, the Department of Human Services is coming under fire for a purported inaction in respect of complaint made against David and Anke Doehm. The department confirmed today that reports of what it calls improper supervision and inadequate parenting of the Cannon children of […]
We showed you the protests on the island where San Pedranos are angry over the death of Faye Lin. Residents have taken to the streets to express their regret and anger because they believe the teen’s death could have been prevented since the authorities never properly followed up the reports made about the suspected abuse. […]
The Court of Appeal of the Eastern Caribbean began sitting today in the British Virgin Islands. It did so with a newly appointed judge – Senior Counsel Eamon Courtenay. News Five understands that Senator Courtenay was recruited by Dame Janice Pereira, the Chief Justice of the Eastern Caribbean, to sit as a temporary Judge on […]
Two Guatemalan carjackers were shot by police over the weekend; one died on the spot in Calla Creek, Cayo. On Saturday, the robbers lay waited Omar Jimenez and his son and strong-armed their vehicle at gunpoint, but Jimenez would alert family and the police. A team of officers from the Special Patrols Unit set chase […]
A Belize City family is out of house and home tonight after their residence on Zacaranda Street was gutted by fire. The twenty-by-twenty-five foot wooden structure was, according to fire personnel, deliberately set on fire and its residents lost all they owned. But the question tonight is, did someone conspire to burn out the Flowers […]
The Belize Defence Force Air Wing was hard at work over the weekend, responding to an emergency situation in the Toledo District. The Ministry of Defence reports that three children between the ages of ten and sixteen went on a fishing expedition and wound up stranded on the far bank of the San Benito Poite […]
For four years, the Image Factory Art Foundation has opened its space to new and established artists during the summer months for what it calls free and open experimentation, where those in the creative field are invited to perform, install or project work in the space for a maximum limit of twenty-four hours. The concept […]
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. [Highlights of weekend sporting activities….]
