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In Belize, Christmas time is always defined at its start by an annual invitation to those who have a little more to give generously to those with a little less. The Salvation Army launched that grand effort today under pouring skies that did very little to dampen the cheer present in the eyes of those […]
Written on November 8, 2013 | Posted in
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The family of businessman Michael Coye, who succumbed to a massive heart attack on Tuesday night just days after being released from the Belize Central Prison, is cash strapped and urgently requests that the Financial Intelligence Unit releases funds from bank accounts which have been frozen since 2009. The family has been living in dire […]
Written on November 7, 2013 | Posted in
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A highly anticipated senate meeting in Belmopan started at two this afternoon and concluded before six this evening. The main agenda item was the tabling of a motion by opposition senator Lisa Shoman for the setting up a senate select committee to investigate the immigration scandal which involves the illegal issuance of a passport to […]
Written on November 6, 2013 | Posted in
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And now, we turn to the sad story of a Belize City businessman who has been in the news now for years. Sixty-seven year old Michael Coye spent eighteen months behind bars for money-laundering while his case was under appeal. It’s a rarity, but last Thursday, his attorney was able to secure bail for him […]
Written on November 6, 2013 | Posted in
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As we said earlier in the newscast, the motion for a senate-select committee did not pass in the senate this evening. That’s because the opposition questioned the casting vote by the president of the senate on the basis that only senators can vote and Marco Pech is not a senator. That’s how it ended on […]
Written on November 6, 2013 | Posted in
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Senator for the Opposition, Lisa Shoman explains. Lisa Shoman, P.U.P. Senator “Six senators voted in favor—the three social partner senators and the three senators from the opposition—and all six senators for the government voted against. In this matter, the constitution is clear: the president does not have a casting vote. When it comes to […]
Written on November 6, 2013 | Posted in
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Relations between the Belize City Council and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry have not always been cozy. But an initiative by Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley will hopefully change that. This morning a business mixer was held at the Radisson to bring the private sector and public sector around the table. In the […]
Written on November 6, 2013 | Posted in
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Songs of Redemption is a documentary that has won awards at film festivals in Los Angeles, Toronto and Trinidad. This morning it was viewed by a captive audience of inmates at the Kolbe Foundation. It portrays the daily experiences of inmates at a correctional facility in Jamaica and captures how a rehabilitation program with the […]
Written on November 6, 2013 | Posted in
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The allegations against Edmund “Clear the Land” Castro have been in the news since October twenty-third and it is a story of alleged corruption which will not blow away. A whistleblower gave graphic details of how Castro facilitated visas to Chinese nationals for a fee. On Monday, we reported that Alverine Burgess was approached by […]
Written on November 5, 2013 | Posted in
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A meeting of government’s social partners, including the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, the Council of Churches, as well as the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry was held this afternoon in Belize City, where a range of current issues were discussed. Chief among the many topics was the composition of the Public Accounts […]
Written on November 5, 2013 | Posted in
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There is an impasse tonight between the Belize Sugar Industries and the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association. BSCFA walked out of a meeting with B.S.I. and the American Sugar Refining Company last week because the association says it is being cut out of profits generated from bagasse. The profits amount to millions of dollars and […]
Written on November 5, 2013 | Posted in
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While up north, we also found out that a new committee executive was elected for the BSCFA for the year 2013-2014. Alfredo Ortega, who spoke on behalf of the association, says he is now taking on the post as vice-chair while Leonardo Cano from Corozal is the new chairman of the association. Ortega took the […]
Written on November 5, 2013 | Posted in
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Prime Minister Dean Barrow left the country on Sunday to undergo surgery in Los Angeles for which we wish him a speedy recovery. But before leaving, he strenuously defended his Minister of State Edmund ‘Clear the Land’ Castro. Castro is alleged to have received money to facilitate visas for Chinese nationals between October 2012 and […]
Written on November 4, 2013 | Posted in
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When news broke that a South Korean national imprisoned in Taiwan, had received Belizean citizenship and passport, the Prime Minister put Elvin Penner out of cabinet and announced that he was asking the former minister of state to also resign from the party and as area representative. That has not happened and Penner says he […]
Still on the issue of the immigration scandal…The National Trade Union Congress of Belize, and sister organization the Public Service Union, came out swinging this morning on the abrupt transfer last week of eleven clerks and the extended suspension of three officers from the Immigration Department. For context; we note that even though the issuing […]
Written on November 4, 2013 | Posted in
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So far it is only public officers that have been affected in the huge immigration scandal. The police say they are not looking in the direction of the former minister of state and the C.E.O. for the Immigration says it is not in her remit to question him. But the sudden transfer of clerks from […]
Written on November 4, 2013 | Posted in
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The corruption at the Social Investment Fund which resulted in the halting of the Dangriga Market Project has gone unremarked lately. That’s because the issue has been completely overshadowed by the passport and visa scandal implicating not one but two U.D.P. junior ministers. But the people of Dangriga have not lost sight of what has […]
Written on November 4, 2013 | Posted in
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Prime Minister Dean Barrow, at a recent fundraiser in Los Angeles, openly admitted that “the Lands Department unfortunately is another hotbed of corruption.” That acknowledgement, which came on the heels of the immigration scandal, confirms what has long been speculated in the Ministry of Natural Resources. Following that disclosure, the P.M. went on record to […]
Written on November 4, 2013 | Posted in
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The senate will meet this Wednesday in Belmopan when opposition senator, Lisa Shoman, will present a motion calling for s senate select committee to investigate the passport and visa scandals. That motion is garnering the support of various organizations, including the trade unions, the Council of Churches and the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry. […]
Written on November 4, 2013 | Posted in
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Yo Creek resident Jorge Blanco was brutally murdered as he drove home through Sand Hill at around midday last Friday. Blanco was with three other persons when he was shot in the head, as the delivery truck he was driving stopped at a speed-bump near the junction of the Maskall Road. The other men in […]
Minister of State Edmond Castro first denied that he knew anything about Chinese visa. Later he said he had made one recommendation. And this week, Castro says he admitted that he wrote to the Immigration Department recommending five visas for Chinese nationals. Other U.D.P. ministers have said that this is something they do for their […]
Written on October 31, 2013 | Posted in
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According to Saldivar, he calls so he can see the visa process through. We’re not sure why a Minister completely outside the Immigration Department should be able to do that. Still, it happens. Saldivar did not say who he calls when he intervenes in the visa process, but his sister, Candelaria Saldivar, is the Chief […]
Written on October 31, 2013 | Posted in
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The Public Accounts Committee was scheduled to meet in regular session on Wednesday, following a round of meetings held last week with various social partners. Those meetings saw Pro-tem Chairman John Saldivar tabling a proposal before the Council of Churches, as well as the unions and the chamber of commerce. While an extension has been […]
Written on October 31, 2013 | Posted in
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The recent corruption scandal involving former employees of the Social Investment Fund and the construction of the Dangriga Municipal Market has been overshadowed by the immigration scandal which is rocking the Barrow administration. Bubbling below the radar, however, is an unlikely partnership between contractor Kenard Smart, Lyndon Bailey and Gush and Emy Ramirez. According to […]
Written on October 31, 2013 | Posted in
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A family in Lord’s Bank is moving into a brand new house, thanks to TUBAL and an organization called CALMS, the Central American Lutheran Mission Society. Irma Bardalez, the recipient was overjoyed at the generosity of the organizations. Duane Moody was hand for the handing over. Duane Moody, Reporting Today, a legally blind resident […]
Written on October 31, 2013 | Posted in
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