City Hall was plunged into darkness this morning. That’s because the Belize Electricity Limited (B.E.L.) pulled the plug on the electricity supply at the start of the business day. B.E.L.’s workmen disconnected the meters and work was at a standstill when we arrived at City Hall. The disconnection was due to a thirty thousand dollar […]
A mere ten days ago on April third, the prices of fuel hit the roofs. And if you felt the pain in your wallet, well, we can tell you that the new prices will be even more merciless. Another fuel hike is in the works at midnight tonight which will put the price of premium […]
It has been tough for the former employees of National Transport Limited. Since the company went into receivership late last year, they have been in limbo over salaries owed to them. Another round of meetings was held today with the Labor Department but that might not bring any comfort to the workers. News Five’s Isani […]
The group Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action has been at the forefront of social issues affecting Belizeans. COLA has been very vocal about the offshore drilling issue and the government’s sharing agreement with Belize Natural Energy. Recently, COLA has even gone as far as staging a sleep-over in front of the Prime Minister’s Belmopan […]
Earlier today a two-day workshop got underway relating to the global problem of trafficking in persons. While a number of initiatives have dealt with enforcing laws to what is known as the hidden crime, at the ongoing workshop, healthcare representatives are getting training on how to provide appropriate treatment to victims. The International Organization on […]
The senseless murders of three Chinese nationals caught the nation’s attention. A student, Hui Sheng Chen was shot in March and died as he underwent surgery in Merida. Two female grocers, Yan Ying Chen and Fei Lan Wu, also were killed inside their stores by gunmen who apparently wanted to send a message to the […]
Book Week 2011 is currently underway and this year the emphasis is being placed on intellectual property rights. On Friday, the Belize Copyright Licensing Agency was formally introduced and in keeping with the series of events scheduled for the celebration, a public presentation was held this morning. Guest speaker at the forum was Mary Ann […]
On March twenty-seventh, a lone policeman on duty at the Belama Police Sub-Station was ambushed by three men who stole his point thirty eight service revolver and then turned it on him. For days the constable, twenty-three year old Nigel White, was hospitalized in critical condition. On Thursday, police got a break and detained one […]
What do the Belize Police Department and the Women’s Department have in common? They both have a role in tackling the issues of gender-based violence and sexual offences. And so to strengthen the police response, the Women’s Department has secured a spot for an officer from the Family Violence Unit to participate in a training […]
Book Week 2011 was officially launched this morning at the Bliss with a formal ceremony introducing the Belize Copyright Licensing Agency. While this year’s theme focuses on nurturing creativity and protecting industry, equal emphasis is being placed on the importance of safeguarding intellectual properties. Authors, poets and playwrights, to name a few, will benefit from […]
On Wednesday night we premiered the first part of twelve year old Rowan Garel’s trek to Victoria Peak. Climbing to Victoria Peak is a difficult feat for any healthy adult, but Rowan it appeared might have been hindered by the fact that he can’t see. Blindness, as you will see in the second part of […]
The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry is calling for a cease fire on the streets of Belize. With the murder count growing to record numbers, now at thirty-four, it has become necessary for the association that represents most of the country’s private sector to condemn the senseless slaughter of innocent citizens, as well as […]
Earlier this week, we reported that B.T.L. had pulled the plug on Speednet and removed the smaller telephone company from its unfiltered circuits cutting off its international services. Speednet maintained that B.T.L. has been using its dominant power to eliminate competition. The court, however, ruled otherwise and Speednet relied on interconnection circuits to prevent disruptions. […]
The murder count stands at thirty-three since the beginning of the year. That has put the government in emergency mode. On Monday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow announced tough but controversial measures to deal with the lawlessness in the streets. Preventive Detention is one of the measures that the P.M. took to Cabinet on Tuesday to […]
Commissioner of Police Crispin Jeffries has been in the hot seat since April, 2009. Jeffries was given an extension last year, but his contract is now coming to an end next month. Jeffries’ management style has been described as ineffective by his own minister, Doug Singh. With that kind of criticism, it is no wonder […]
Tonight we premiere the first in a two part series on a young boy who embarked on a mission to raise funds for a charity. Rowan Garel’s face can be seen in many superstores across the country, on tip jars, that are labeled for the Belize Council for the Visually Impaired. Garel, not even in […]
A man who claims he is a private consultant with the government is in all kinds of trouble with the law after he was charged with two counts of Obtaining Property by Deception. Twenty-six year old Michael Rodriguez, a resident of Ladyville, also has five previous convictions for the same charge, and an outstanding fine […]
A Neal’s Pen Road resident is suspected of running an illegal driver’s license operation inside his apartment. The police Gang Suppression Unit closed in on thirty-three year old Rayford Benguche at around on two o’clock on Sunday afternoon. In a search of his apartment, they recovered a rubber stamp and ink pad, which is property […]
There have been numerous disturbing cases of carnal knowledge, where older men have taken advantage of female minors. Well the cops have one more of those incidents to investigate after an eleven year old student of Belize City made her report on April fourth. The child claims that she was home alone at around eight […]
Since the start of the week, the news has been dominated by the spiraling crime and proposed legislative changes to tackle the epidemic. But while the streets are infested with thieves and murderers, First Caribbean International Bank wants to show that there is still hope for this country in the people who have chosen to […]
On February twenty-eighth of this year, nineteen year old Daisy Cerda, a promising fourth form student of Mopan Technical High School in the Cayo District, attempted to take her life. She wasn’t successful because her boyfriend arrived in the nick of time. We followed her story because she offered advice to other troubled youths at […]
On Thursday of last week Justice Oswell Legall ruled that Belize Telemedia was protecting its economic interest when it pulled the plug on Speednet’s international services. The justice also ruled that Speednet Communications and Belize Telemedia Limited were to resolve mutually the use of infrastructure within a month. The decision comes almost a year and […]
Monday morning’s protest by the Chinese Association showed unity in the Asian community. And while it appeared that they were all alone, there was support offered by other groups. Belizeans for Justice was nowhere in sight as it normally would offer solidarity to families of murder victims and according to one member of the group, […]
Two weeks ago the Minister of Natural Resources, Gaspar Vega, promised to help the Belize Grass Roots Youth Empowerment Association (BGYEA) with survey costs and land distribution at Harmonyville. But according to a Cabinet release today, there’s now a change of heart. At its sitting, Cabinet agreed that BGYEA will now have to pay its […]
Over the years the police department, amongst various charges, has also been accused of occasionally having foot in mouth disease. That is because officers sometimes fall short when sharing information with the public. It has been a problem that the department has battled and one remedy was to disallow officers from giving interviews, sans the […]
