The Benque Archaeological Site, an area surrounding Xunantunich, is an archaeological reserve that faces a number of issues pertaining to its preservation. Not only is the Maya monument in danger of collapse, but it is also constantly vandalized by looters. Regrettably, there is also the problem of the illegal dumping of trash in the park. […]
Established in 2000, the U.S. Ambassadors Fund for Cultural Preservation awards grants for the preservation of cultural sites, objects, collections and traditional forms of cultural expression, including music and dance, as well as language in more than a hundred and thirty countries globally. Ambassador Moreno spoke of the AFCP and its benefits to Belize. […]
Estefan Perera and other residents within the Buttonwood Bay area constructed a Belize sign as an attraction to the Seashore Children’s Park. The brightly colored signage easily became a well-liked public space for locals and since its construction, it has served as an attraction for tourists and tours across the city. Today, Minister of Tourism, […]
Independence Day activities were held across the country on Sunday. In Belize City, hundreds of high school students joined the Belize Defense Force, as well as the People’s United Party and other organizations in the annual Uniform Parade. Incidentally, somewhere along the parade route supporters of the opposition party came under attack from onlookers. While […]
Inspector Mark Flowers was installed as commander of the Gang Suppression Unit merely two months ago. Soon after he took on the top post for the elite unit that was created to combat organized criminal activities, Flowers came under fire for serious allegations of unnecessary brutality against residents as well as for his back and […]
The ban on Belizean fish stock imports remains in place, at least for now. The matter came up at a recent meeting in Spain of OCEANA’s board of directors and was raised by no less than the European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Maria Damanaki. She told OCEANA that the decision was not easy […]
Starting a business can be tricky if you don’t know the legal as well as bureaucratic hurdles. But for a number of budding entrepreneurs, it was made easier this morning due to a program with the Taiwanese government known as Integral Development of Entrepreneurship for Central America and Dominican Republic. Representatives from the government investment […]
The annual Independence Day Uniform Parade in Belize City was held on Sunday morning to a spectatorship of thousands who lined the principal streets of the Old Capital to cheer on their family and friends. The Twenty-first Parade, as it is otherwise known, saw the participation of a majority of high schools, as well as […]
Late this evening, representatives of the Roman Catholic Church rushed to the Supreme Court seeking an interim injunction to stop a concert that is planned for this Independence holiday weekend at a church-state school in San Ignacio. It follows a statement issued this morning by Bishop Dorick Wright. The Church is outraged that Sacred Heart […]
The promoter behind the Alkaline concert is Martin Castillo of Marine Sounds. Castillo was taken by surprise at the church’s stance and late this evening when we contacted him by phone, he told us that his lawyers will be in court for the unusual Saturday morning hearing. But according to Castillo, the concert will go […]
Reeling from an explosive surge of gangland violence which resulted in three murders and multiple casualties in a matter of hours, Prime Minister Dean Barrow on Thursday announced that Police will now be enforcing anti-gang laws. The laws aren’t new by any means – but they’ve just gotten obscure from lack of use. Government has […]
Preventative Detention – the proposed amendment to the constitution was the cause of fiery debate, controversy and contention. So much so that Prime Minister Dean Barrow backed down from the law which would have made it legal for police to detain persons before the commission of any crime. While the amendment never materialized, at least […]
The Father of the Nation, George Price was remembered today across the country. September nineteenth, the day on which he passed away three years ago, has been set aside as National Service Day. In Belize City, the officials of the party that Price led headed to the Lord Ridge Cemetery where they placed wreaths by […]
The Eastern Division of the Belize City Police Department, Wesley College and the City Council partnered today to clear graffiti from walls and fences and to clean garbage from certain areas of the city. This was a part of the institutions’ contribution to national service day in honor of the late George Cadle Price. Today, […]
This morning, the leader of the Opposition, Francis Fonseca, was asked about the current crisis as it relates to crime. While Fonseca says the opposition is ready to work with the government in efforts to fight crime, he does not believe that throwing money at problem is the way to stop the mayhem. Francis […]
Francis Fonseca also responded to a comment made by the Minister of Immigration, Godwin Hulse, who likened the Penner passport scandal to the Arthur Saldivar debacle. Fonseca says that Hulse’s comparison is absolutely crazy. Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader “It’s almost laughable. I heard Godwin Hulse try to compare this author Saldivar thing to Mister […]
The annual Children’s Rally was to be held last week Friday in Belize City, but due to the inclement weather it was postponed. That is until today, when primary school students gathered at Bird’s Isle in Belize City. Thousands of students were bused in for the event that saw several performances speeches of encouragement on […]
Back in 1982 on September twenty-seventh, St. Hilda’s and St. Michael’s high schools in Belize City amalgamated to become the Anglican Cathedral College located on downtown Albert Street in Belize City. The school today had its annual flag raising activity at its campus where students, parents, faculty and staff engaged in patriotic performances. Aside from […]
The thirty-third anniversary of Belize’s independence will be officially celebrated in Belmopan on Sunday. With the nation’s birthday less than four days away, we asked Minister Sedi Elrington to reflect on our growth as a nation since September twenty-first, 1981. He shared his honest observations with us, beginning with a shift in patriotism from then […]
Tonight, News Five can confirm that a subdivision planned in Northern Ambergris Caye, about four miles from the town, is on hold. That subdivision – forty acres of wetland and lagoon divided into three hundred and nineteen house lots – is underwater, which makes that development idea somewhat misguided or perhaps even ludicrous. One immediate […]
And then there’s the other issue. News Five has verified that the forty acres surveyed for the subdivision is completely within an area proposed for a marine reserve expansion. Information to us is that a formal plan and legislation for management of the sensitive ecosystems as part of the Hol Chan Marine Reserve has been […]
Minister of Immigration Godwin Hulse told News Five last week that he recently brought to Belize the passport issued illegally to Korean national Won Hong Kim back in September 2013. In January of this year, following the immigration scandal involving his former cabinet colleague, Elvin Penner, legislation was passed to cover loopholes in the immigration […]
Attorney Arthur Saldivar was dumped on Wednesday by his party following a meeting of the P.U.P. Executive. Saldivar was removed as standard bearer for the Belize Rural North but says he will still be engaged in electoral politics as an Independent P.U.P. His fall from grace came after a client publicly complained that Saldivar took […]
Forty-three communities across the country will be added to the national grid. Included are a thousand Belizeans who will get free service entrance installations for electricity. The project is called Connecting Homes Improving Lives; it is being undertaken jointly between Belize Electricity Limited and the European Union. For one, it will reduce illegal connections and […]
At ten minutes past four this evening, the political career of Arthur Saldivar, at least as a Standard Bearer of the People’s United Party, came to an end. Following a two week long investigation by a special committee and a two hour meeting this afternoon, the National Executive issued a directive that Saldivar be removed […]
