While the government is about to change the proverbial bulb on B.E.L.’s management, there is still another possible battle in the distance with Fortis. Litigation over purchase costs for B.E.L. may be proceeded by additional concerns over its sister company, Belize Electric Company Limited (BECOL). P.M. Barrow said he doesn’t foresee a BECOL takeover, but […]
A Mexican plane made an emergency landing in Orange Walk Town on Saturday and the first question raised was whether it’s another drug plane. Well, tonight that question remains unanswered as it is still not known what cargo was in the plane and no one was found in the area. Police and B.D.F. personnel found […]
It’s been seventeen years since the book Thirteen Chapters of a History of Belize was first published by renowned Belizean historian Assad Shoman. The acclaimed Thirteen Chapters was adopted into the classrooms by a number of secondary and tertiary level institutions across the country. But since 1994, there have been significant developments in the areas […]
The House of Representatives will meet this Monday in Belmopan. It’s billed as a special sitting, but when we checked, the House agenda only lists the reading of three of five anti-crime bills. The Senate is also being convened in the afternoon and that is unprecedented. It is widely believed, however, that at these special […]
Estelita Romero is a mother of three and the former common law wife of Marco Vidal, the commander of the dreaded Gang Suppression Unit. The couple has separated for some time and the children live with Vidal and his wife, Cheryl-Lynn, who is also the Director of Public Prosecutions. Romero came to our studios on […]
Vidal was also in the news recently for a raid at a home of Belmopan businessman, Mike Menjivar. Menjivar claimed that excessive force was used when the GSU raided his home; he was injured and was charged with nine counts, including one of attempted murder. His wife and housekeeper were also charged, the two women […]
A suspicious aircraft was sighted hovering across Southern Belize earlier today. While the plane did not make its landing, local authorities were alerted and are said to be keeping a close eye on the situation. The suspicious plane sent off alarm bells because last November, a major shipment of cocaine was seized near South Stann […]
Belize Electricity Limited C.E.O., Lynn Young has made the point that the Public Utilities Commission is squeezing B.E.L. At the most recent Annual General Meeting, Young said that; “Rather than secure that we are able to finance our activities for customers and shareholders, the P.U.C. instead seems obsessed with destroying what we have built over […]
On Wednesday’s newscast we told you about a twelve year old girl who was being barred from attending her graduation at St. Francis Xavier Primary School in Esperanza, Cayo. Her family members contacted the Ministry of Education after they could not resolve the issue with the school. The graduation ceremony occurred this morning and the […]
The Global Parish group has been developing the talent of teenagers and adults with its Youth Voices project. Another component of the Global Parish initiative is about to be launched to coincide with the summer break. The group is launching a documentary story telling program. According to the project director, amongst the lecturers will be […]
Two persons were injured when a boat exploded near Caye Caulker; one was flown to Belize City by BERT for treatment at the Medical Associates. Shortly after two this afternoon, thirty-three year old Cornel Brown and co-captain twenty three year old Jairo Reyes, were preparing to leave Caye Caulker en route to a resort Brown […]
Five pieces of legislation, among them the Crime Control and Criminal Justice Amendment Bill, Belize Constitution Eight Amendment Bill, Indictable Procedure Amendment Bill, Juries Amendment Bill and the Supreme Court of Judicature Amendment Bill were introduced in the House in May. They are a bundle of initiatives by the government to tackle crime and violence […]
While the P.U.P. has rejected four of the five proposed amendments, including the controversial preventative detention, it does endorse the Supreme Court of Judicature Amendment Bill. Francis Fonseca, Deputy Party Leader, P.U.P. “The one that we support has to do with the amendment to the Supreme Court of Judicature Amendment Bill which is the bill […]
Celebrations to mark the thirtieth anniversary of Belize’s independence are just around the corner. A logo and theme were unveiled today and this year a number of new events will be incorporated in the revelry. There’s a Prime Minister’s Forum, a National Wear initiative and the carnival will be launched earlier than usual. News Five’s […]
Prime Minister Dean Barrow has taken to the airwaves since he announced last Friday that government is considering acquiring majority shares in Belize Electricity Limited. This morning an official four page statement was circulated by his office laying out the government’s case and crafted to ease any fear among investors. With the withdrawal of BEL’s […]
A new writer has been added to the growing list of published poets. The Factory Books product line is proud to include seventeen year old University of Belize student, Bastien Cantareul. The youth’s collection, called Citizens of Decadence, is filled with forty poems of pure, though dark, emotions. Cantareul shared some of his poems at […]
Government’s proposed take-over of Belize Electricity Limited has been in the headlines since last week. But how will the government come up with the money to buy Fortis’ majority shares (seventy percent) in the utility company? Government has been making pre-payments of four million dollars monthly for its utility bill, covering a period up to […]
Belizeans for Justice was established as an NGO in March 2010 and has since transformed itself from what began as a support group for grieving mothers to an organization championing a wide range of other social ills. The group was founded by Yolanda Schakron whose nephew Christopher Galvez was shot and killed a few months […]
A memorandum of understanding was signed this afternoon by the Belize City Council, vendors at the Michael Finnegan Market and residents of Bocotora Street. The MOU follows a week of unrest among wholesalers and retailers at the market. Last Tuesday an association was formed by wholesalers who elected Alvin Hyde Jr. as its president. The […]
Mega Bingo today made the largest cash payout ever given in Belize’s gaming history. Players and viewers watched as the jackpot rose to two hundred nineteen thousand five hundred and seventy three dollars. When the winning ball was called last Wednesday, it was presumed that a Burrell Boom resident had won since the ticket was […]
Fortis, the parent company of Belize Electricity Limited has issued a release today on the current state of B.E.L. Fortis, which is headquartered in Canada, pointed out that it has not received any purchase proposal from the government of Belize. Fortis holds seventy percent of B.E.L., which accounts for less than two percent of its […]
The press release from Canada also said, “Fortis owns Belize Electric Company Limited (BECOL), a non-regulated hydroelectric generation business that operates three hydroelectric generating facilities in Belize.” That description of BECOL is one that the Prime Minister squarely disagreed with today. He says that BECOL is a public utility provider over which there is a […]
Last Friday we told you about a walk and run campaign that intended to take foot in the old capital over the weekend. Well, apparently it did. Over five hundred Belize City residents got up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to run. The Get Up and Run health initiative aims to inspire a […]
On Thursday, June ninth, we told you that someone hit the Mega-Bingo progressive jackpot of two hundred and nineteen thousand five hundred and seventy-three dollars. Well today, the lucky winner went in to claim their winnings of one hundred and eighty six thousand, six hundred and thirty seven dollars and three cents after taxes. But […]
During the Prime Minister’s second quarterly press conference on Wednesday, he addressed a myriad of issues, including the current state of the transportation industry. But while Barrow may have painted a wonderful picture of an agreed solution to the transportation crisis, today the Belizean Bus Association (BBA) held its own media briefing to offer a […]
