The daring mid-afternoon murder of Police Constable Marvin Locke, while on duty at the Raccoon Street Precinct on Sunday, has left the department badly shaken up and reeling from the unimaginable. It is being forced to seriously consider adequate security measures for the safety of its employees. As it stands, Precinct Two is among several […]
Twenty-seven-year-old Kenzle Hulse was quietly arraigned in the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court last Wednesday, after being arrested and charged for the lesser crime of harm. The young businessman’s indictment comes several months after a report was officially made against him by a customer who was purchasing fuel at a gas station. According to Alberto Santos Lopez, […]
A new fiscal year will be ushered in on Saturday, minus the celebration that usually accompanies the ringing in of a new calendar year. In fact, the 2017 financial calendar is one of austerity, with budgetary cutbacks in various government departments. One particular office that won’t be singing the Auld Lange Syne come April first […]
Is the Guatemalan Government stepping up its aggressive campaign against Belize, even before a referendum to take the unfounded territorial claim to the I.C.J. is held? Reports surfaced today that the Guatemalan government proposes to annex the Sarstoon Island as part of Guatemalan territory. The report states that the Government of Guatemala is preparing to […]
For one of the rare instances in Belizean legislative history, the ‘noes’ had it in the Senate with regard to the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (Amendment) Bill on its second reading. The amendment proposed to introduce a development fee to be collected from any border administered with support from PACT, and was one of the […]
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington, confirmed last Thursday at the House debate that the Ambassador of Belize to Austria, Joel Nagel, was told to leave his post by the Government of Austria following unnamed allegations. Elrington, however, did not disclose why the host country took that most embarrassing decision. In the Senate on […]
The comment by Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington on the topic of Belize’s borders and how they have not been fully drawn and accepted, in which he compared Belize’s situation to enforcing “squatter’s rights,” has drawn wide and loud condemnation from several arenas. The Minister has tried to backtrack, saying in the House last […]
Senator Courtenay also reacted to the rise of the number of passports being issued and the amount Government is collecting for them. He points out that with nearly four times the amount of passports being proposed to be created – with the machine readable system being under strain – government expects to collect the same […]
Leader of Government Business in the Senate, Godwin Hulse, wrapped up debate on the General Revenue and Appropriation Bill around news time on Monday evening after a full day of discussion. He opened with a review of the state of affairs in agriculture, which has been blamed for the slight economic contraction reported in the […]
Developer Michael Feinstein has come out swinging against Minister of Tourism Manuel Heredia Junior, following recent statements made during the budget debate on Friday. Those comments were purportedly in reference to the stalled Stake Bank Tourism Project. Today, the Feinstein Group of Companies fired off a press release in response to those comments. Feinstein says, […]
Eighteen families and just over fifty persons have been displaced by last Friday’s inferno that swept through an apartment complex and two houses in the heart of Fort George area, Majestic Alley. While some have been staying with relatives, majority of the affected persons have been living in shelters—and being provided with the basic necessities […]
The U.S. Army South, in partnership with the B.D.F., will be kicking off Beyond the Horizon 2017. For about ten years now, the training exercise has been taking place in Belize, providing free medical and dental services, as well as building medical and educational facilities across the country. The project officially kicked off on Saturday […]
Five organizations that manage the network of protected areas across the country are beneficiaries of a combined one million dollars plus in grants. The awards were disbursed on Monday by the Protected Areas Conservation Trust. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting Annually, several protected areas managers are the beneficiaries of grant funding […]
Stakeholders from across the energy sector are participating in a four-day seminar that is being facilitated by the Latin American Energy Organization, OLADE. The workshop focuses on the establishment of a database where information on energy usage and greenhouse gases emission will be gathered. That collection of information will then be made accessible to members […]
The Belizean Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, BSCAP, is stepping up the ante and bringing down the hammer on broadcasters, radio stations and businesses who, according to the organization, have been violating the rights of artists. Under the copyright law, anyone who plays music in public should pay a royalty fee to the creator […]
A group from across the Caribbean is in Belize to learn more about our Criminal Justice System. The team is here under a project called CARISECURE. The project aims to strengthen youth and violence policies and programmes through the use of quality, comparable and reliable citizen security information. The opening of the working tour kicked […]
Two weeks ago, the PM tabled the 2017/2018 Budget. And while debate has been fast and furious on many issues, one that perhaps was lost in the marathon debate was the cut in the budget for the National Fire Service. Well, the conversation surrounding that cut has come to the fore in the wake of […]
Today, Fort George Area Representative Said Musa was joined by Leader of the Opposition John Briceño in appealing for assistance for fire victims. Briceño made a special call on Government and the people of Belize to give any support they can. John Briceño, Leader of the Opposition “I certainly believe out of a billion […]
Just before seven-fifteen this evening, a division was called in the Senate on the 2017-2018 General Revenue and Appropriation Bill. The Bill, also known as the Budget, passed by a single vote, seven to six, mostly along party lines. Senator for the Churches Ashley Rocke was the deciding vote, breaking with fellow Social Partner Senators […]
As a Senior Counsel, Eamon Courtenay has faced his share of scary situations. So what would cause the Opposition’s top Senator to “faint away,” as he claimed during this morning’s Senate debate on the Budget? Apparently, it is the idea that Belize is “bouncing back,” as Prime Minister Dean Barrow claimed in the title of […]
Close to eighty million dollars has been claimed by the Government in additional tax measures under the new Budget, affecting everything from electricity to fuel to the environment. And while the Prime Minister has contended that things could have been – and indeed may still get – much worse, Senator Eamon Courtenay says they can’t […]
Responding for the Government, Senator Aldo Salazar made the point that Belize is in the same boat as the rest of the region, where Jamaica passed massive tax increases and Barbados and Trinidad are contemplating similar drastic measures. The Prime Minister had issued a challenge to at least one Caribbean leader to come see how […]
The first matter discussed in the Senate this morning was not the Budget or even the Superbond – those came later. Business Senator Mark Lizarraga opened the sitting with a short statement on crime, paying tribute to the families of Police Constable Marvin Locke and other murder victims from this past weekend. He issued a […]
The impasse between the media and the Belize Police Department persists, despite a press briefing being called this morning in the wake of an exceptionally bloody weekend. While the media has lodged a formal complaint to Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie, we took the opportunity of the gathering earlier today to field a number of […]
After a marathon two days of discussion and recrimination, Prime Minister Dean Barrow wrapped up the House of Representatives’ debate on the General Revenue and Appropriation Bill just before eleven p.m. on Friday. He and his administration had been hammered mercilessly over the previous hours for various sins – from being uncaring for the plight […]
