A verdict has been handed down in the Southern Session of the Supreme Court in Dangriga in relation to a highly-publicized police-involved shooting three years ago. Eighteen year old Rasheed Elijio was attempting to escape from police custody in Punta Gorda along with one Brian Garcia in May of 2013. He was hit with a […]
The Senate Special Select Committee has been actively poring through a single incident reported in the Auditor General’s Special Report on Immigration for weeks now. The more important issues of nationalities and passport granted to persons who did not meet the requirements has taken the back seat eight visa foils that somehow went missing from […]
Mark Tench also confirmed that he printed the passport for pickup to be delivered to Won Hong Kim in August of 2013 after being transferred from the Western Border office. Kim certainly did not meet the requirements and never set foot in Belize but was facilitated all the way. That illegal passport is now being […]
Tench said to the Committee that there were ways to “game” the system if one was really in desperate need of a visa. He gave an example of his time in Belize City, where he dealt with Nigerian and Ghanaian residents aiming to try to get relatives and friends to the Jewel to ultimately become […]
The Public Utilities Commission has announced that Belize will be hosting its first National Cyber Security Symposium from April twenty-fourth to the twenty-seventh. The primary activities include special forums for a range of stakeholders, including, business persons, law enforcement, public sector officials, academia, the judiciary, network operators and the general public. It is expected that […]
Wooding was speaking to News Five at the official launch of the Forum this afternoon. It is expected to attract high-profile officials and experts, including heads of local, regional and international organizations, government Ministers, federal officers and chief executives. The expected outcome of the Symposium will be the development of a National Cyber-Security Framework and […]
The Belmopan City Council is looking for investors for its six-point-five million dollar municipal bond. They are hoping to do some major works and upgrades in the Capital – but need business owners and residents to buy into the bond. The start interest rate is one of the best – better than lending institutions. And […]
B.N.E. confirmed today that there was a leak at one of well sites in Spanish Lookout on Wednesday. Reports reaching our newsroom say that the leak happened at Mike Usher ONE well site. Since the leak, B.N.E. has been doing work to recover the oil and clean up the affected area. In an email today, […]
In Punta Gorda this morning, cultural icon Leela Vernon was laid to rest with all the trappings of an official funeral. Vernon passed away on February nineteenth. She had been ailing for some time and was hospitalized at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where she passed away. Her death has had a tremendous impact on […]
World Kidney is celebrated on March ninth every year. Across the globe, the campaigns focus on highlighting the importance of our kidneys as well as to draw attention to prevention and early detection of kidney disease. The Kidney Association of Belize is at the forefront of the three main activities, including fund raising to assist those […]
Immigration Officer of eighteen years’ experience, Mark Tench, appeared before the Senate Special Select Committee this morning as one of two witnesses in the inquiry on the Immigration Department. His name appears as one of the investigators into the eight missing visa foils from the Western Border office that disappeared sometime between Christmas and Boxing […]
And while that may be the biggest bombshell out of today’s public hearings, what exactly happened out west over that holiday period in 2012 has only been obliquely told. In Tench’s version of events to the Commission, he clarified the nature of the handover from the previous shift and what was the tell-tale sign that […]
The investigation widened to include other persons. According to Tench, they tried their mightiest to get the agent identified as selling the foils to Chang and Tillett to confirm other’s involvement, but only one “Khaddafi” from Corozal, known to Tench himself, came forward to assist in the investigation. Mark Tench, Former Supervisor of Immigration, […]
Tench told the Public Service Commission that his advice to Edgar Cano and Vernon Leslie to call the police in relation to the missing foils was not taken. Instead, he was brought up on disciplinary charges of misconduct in relation to violations of the Financial and Stores Orders for not properly reporting the loss of […]
This afternoon, it was the turn of Tench’s former supervisor, Vernon Leslie, to appear. He will retire in December after completing thirty years on the job, which he says he will miss. His name is in the Auditor General’s Report as the compiler of the report into the missing visa foils from December, 2012, and […]
As we have reported, former deputy Mayor of Belize City Eric Chang and financial controller with the Belize City Council, Patrick Tillett, declined an invitation to appear before the Senate Special Select Committee. But with all the times their names have been called in recent weeks, the Committee has seen fit to summon them for […]
The Social Security Board has given preliminary approval, through its Investment Committee, for a purchase of thirty-five million dollars in shares for Belize Telemedia Limited and twenty million dollars in Belize Electricity Limited, which pending final approval raises their stake in each company to thirty-three and thirty-four percent respectively. As reported by C.E.O. of the […]
The Social Security Board has publicly indicated its intention, pending final approval, to offer its third seat on the Boards of both B.T.L. and B.E.L. to members of the trade union and business sector. That’s good news for former member Mark Lizarraga, who says it would restore a seat taken away by Government at the […]
Regional coordinators from various United Nations agencies within the Caribbean have concluded a two-day conference in Belize where they met at length to discuss the implementation of the United Nations Multi-country Sustainable Framework. The underlying set of ideas focuses on four priorities areas that have been collectively agreed on by participating member states. The objective […]
The framework provides a platform for countries to access global expertise and experience of the United Nations System at both the country and sub regional levels. Bruno Pouezat assumed chairmanship of the regional steering committee at the conclusion of the conference. He identified a number of similarities that are shared by participating countries in respect […]
The lifeless body of a female was discovered this evening off the coast of Ambergris Caye. The body has been identified as twenty-nine-year-old Rickilee Michelle Mercer; an accountant of Texas, U.S.A. The body was transported to the K.H.M.H. where it awaits a post-mortem. Initial reports suggest that Mercer drowned out at a sea following a […]
The number of preschoolers is on an upward trend. Today, there are over two hundred and twenty-nine preschools across the country with over seven thousand five hundred students enrolled in early childhood centers. That figure is a combination of three and four year olds referred to as level one and level two students in the […]
Five-time Mister Belize, Rigo Vellos left the country today for Ohio, U.S.A. Vellos and two other Belizean bodybuilders will be competing at the Arnold Classic this Friday. The professional bodybuilding competition is one of the segments of a weekend-long event of different categories of fitness competitions. This is not Vellos’ first time to the competition […]
Youths between the ages of fourteen and twenty-nine over the years have been experiencing trauma due to a number of reasons, including violence on the streets, at home or school. Stakeholders who come in contact with the affected population also experience the psychological effect of trauma. The Department of Youth Services has engaged Belizean American […]
There are many forms of trauma and those social workers, police officers and teachers who are in the fields endure what is known as compassion fatigue. In turn, they subconsciously release their frustration on their loved ones. Doctor Depaz speaks about how this trauma and crisis can be addressed. Dr. Alex Depaz, Psychotherapist “In […]
