They say that God won’t give us more than we can handle but Odessa Orosco is being tested. Orosco has been having a rough time; two months ago she buried her son, Christopher Bowman, who passed away after struggling with a vascular tumor. And on Tuesday, the heavy rains have collapsed her small wooden house […]
Undoubtedly, the tragedy has rocked the families of the accident victims as well as Faber’s colleagues at City Hall and his friends in the United Democratic Party. The loss also hit close to home here at Channel Five where Gianni Taylor was the daughter of a staff member and a regular visitor. News Five this […]
On Monday we reported the death of Elston Gentle; he was badly beaten by Mahogany Heights residents who intervened in a domestic dispute between him and his common-law-wife on Friday. Gentle, a repeat domestic abuse offender, had stabbed Yvonne Smith numerous times and neighbors had to physically wrestle him away from her. But Gentle’s family […]
Several streets flooded in the old capital today as a result of heavy rains. But according to the Chief Meteorologist, Dennis Gonguez, the showers were more intense in southern Belize, causing flooding in some areas. And you’ll want to keep those umbrellas and raincoats handy because Gonguez says that the downpour is being caused by […]
In the heated and drawn-out debate over the proposed ninth amendment to the constitution, several independent thinkers have suggested that the controversial bill should be taken to a referendum. That view has been picking up steam since the debate on the ninth has been totally politicized. Well, today the NGO, Friends of Belize (FOB), launched […]
There is a shutdown of butane gas companies in Belize City and around the country. Since Friday Gas TOMZA, BWEL and ZETA Gas have not been supplying gas to distributors in all districts. Their employees have been sent home until there is a resolution to the shutdown that is having an effect on consumers. The […]
The traditional September tenth parade took place on Saturday, immediately following the official ceremonies at the Memorial Park. Couple things to note: there were very few floats, down to four this year; maybe due to the economy or just dwindling interest. It was shorter than usual as it made its way through the main thoroughfares. […]
The government proudly announced after Wednesday night’s public consultations in Dangriga, that one hundred and thirty-six out of a total one hundred and seventy-eight residents in attendance support the ninth amendment. But today, one Stann Creek resident is challenging that statement. Emilio Zabaneh called News Five today to say that he was keeping score during […]
Every year Crimestoppers would raffle a house as a fundraising effort to pay for rewards. This year, an organization that intends on developing the minds of the youth, is picking up the slack. Several churches with the help of kids have built a sturdy wooden house that they want to raffle to the public. According […]
The Hol Chan Marine Reserve was established in 1987 and its Board of Trustees was later formed in 1994. It’s Belize’s oldest marine reserve and has expanded over the years to a protected area of seven square miles, including the famous Shark Ray Alley. Today Hol Chan along with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries […]
The first annual Writers, Artists, Musicians and Intellectuals (WAMI) Conference was held today in conjunction with the September Celebrations. The overview of the conference and introduction of the WAMI panelists was conducted by Adele Trapp. WAMI intends to keep a fresh dialogue on all arts. News Five’s Jose Sanchez reports. Jose Sanchez, Reporting The Conference […]
Belikin is the king of beer in Belize. And to keep the local brand in its top form, the company sent one of its employees to Europe to become skilled in a treasured art. Nolan Michael is Belikin’s new brewmaster. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports. Isani Cayetano, Reporting For many the satisfaction of an ice […]
The Ninth Amendment public consultations are clearly drawn along party lines. Supporters of the government offer blind support while those that back the blue vehemently oppose. It’s a recipe for contention and on Wednesday evening in Dangriga, it got pretty heated and confrontational. The U.D.P.s Minister Melvin Hulse was ahead in the queue while the […]
Going into the September tenth holiday, there is word that three major butane gas suppliers: TOMZA, Zeta and BWEL, are threatening to stop supplying butane to distributors beginning this Friday. Already two Belize City distributors are out of butane and others could be running short as early as this Friday since most depots only keep […]
But the bad news gets worst because according to the National Met Service, more thunderstorms are expected tonight and on Friday. Winds are blowing at about forty miles per hour, which is too forceful for the fragile banana trees to withstand. Forecaster, Michael Gentle told News Five today that multiple weather systems in the region […]
We’ve reported periodically on US diplomatic cables dumped online by Wikileaks tonight in one cable, Wikileaks exposes the perception over the investment climate in Belize. And while the ninth amendment targeted public utilities to be enshrined in the constitution, rumblings in probably the most lucrative industry had long feared the Barrow administration’s intent on nationalization. […]
There are now five expressions of interest for a buyout of the Belize Sugar Industries Limited, which is threatened by foreclosure if it doesn’t pay a debt to ING Bank by the end of the month. Earlier this week the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association announced that it had secured financing from the Sterling Group […]
If you were on the northern highway this morning, you would have seen traffic come to a halt. That’s because a lineup of beauties from Mexico were guests of the City. Thirty-two Miss Earth delegates from Mexico dropped by for a day of activities in the city. The bevy of beauties and their chaperones gathered […]
The mayor says that the sister relationship will bring the cities closer. Thousands of Belizeans cross the border for medical attention and others go simply to shop. Mayor Zenaida Moya also spoke of different initiatives that will have an impact on both the health and economic sectors of the two municipalities. Zenaida Moya, Belize City […]
The Belize sugar Cane Farmers on Monday disclosed that they had secured financing to acquire the controlling shares in the Belize Sugar Industries Limited. They also said that B.S.I. had not provided them with the pertinent documentation to complete the buyout package and they asked government to intervene. The issue was discussed in today’s Cabinet […]
Last Friday we first exposed information on Belize coming from WikiLeaks, an organization that publishes private, secret, and classified data from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. It claims to have more than a million documents from the first year it was launched in 2006. An encrypted version of WikiLeaks’ archive of U.S. State […]
There was a second contract that came out on Miles Tropical Energy. The principals of that company were Oren Miles and Allen Saum. Saum is the man that the Prime Minister’s nephew Kimano Barrow had a falling out with over contracts for Paradise Energy Limited. But in the years before the fallout between Barrow and […]
In another cable, the US Embassy was briefed on the nationalization of B.T.L. The meeting was held on December fifteenth, between Financial Secretary Joseph Waight, B.T.L. board member Allan Slusher and the current US Ambassador Vinai Thummalapally as well as the Deputy Chief of Mission J.A. Diffily. According to the Wikileaks cable, Waight and Slusher […]
The Wikileaks cables did not only upset politicians, but they also struck a chord with the owner of a local university and prompted him to send out a press release. The Chairman and President of Galen University, Dr. Louis Zabaneh said the cables contained false and unfounded statements about his acquisition of the university. The […]
The Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.) has until the end of September to pay at least thirty million dollars in debt that matures with the ING and FirstCaribbean Banks. Time is running out and a strategic investor has still not been secured to prevent insolvency. The Prime Minister is on record to say that the ninety […]
