Today, News Five was at a media workshop involving senior police personnel, and Belize’s top cop was also in attendance. We took the opportunity to ask him about some pending matters, since he’s not been exactly accessible to the media in the past months. First, we quizzed him about the infamous Elvin Penner. Penner’s name […]
There has been a well-documented contention between the Police Department and the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. Things came to a head with a memo written by Assistant ComPol Russell Blackett instructing commanders to desist from consulting with the D.P.P. on any case. Whylie hasn’t entered that fray in any obvious capacity, so […]
The controversy may have died down, but Norwegian Cruise Line cruise ship port on Harvest Caye in southern Belize is well underway. According to Director of Cruise and Regional Operations, Valdemar Andrade, the multimillion dollar docking facility should be ready for the start of the high season in October 2015. Government gave the green light […]
So while in southern Belize, there might be a boom due to cruise tourism, in Venezuela, the international media is reporting economic turmoil. According to Ambassador Yoel del Valle Perez Marcano, the impact of the steady fall in crude prices on the country’s financial affairs is being misrepresented by networks such as CNN and Fox […]
In spite of its existing economic woes, Venezuela is yet to pull the plug on the Petrocaribe initiative. The last shipment of premium fuel to Belize arrived in country in late January and delivery has since been put on hold indefinitely. While the Barrow administration has borrowed an estimated two hundred and forty million dollars […]
The first tranche of payment to Venezuela for the Petrocaribe loan is due later this year. That disbursement will bring to an end a two-year grace period granted to Belize upon signing an agreement with Venezuela in 2012. Yoel del Valle Perez Marcano, Venezuelan Ambassador to Belize “The payments are normal. We are not […]
Belize has been gaining recognition worldwide as a top tourist destination. Well tonight, there is one more to add as the leading tour operator for the Caribbean hails from Belize. Carnival Cruise Lines has selected H2O-Tierra Ltd, owned by Tom and Ivette Wilson as the top tour operator in the countries where the cruise lines […]
Earlier, we showed you Mayor Darrell Bradley engaged in the very spirited defense of the Council’s finances. But there’s more than that going on at the Council. Bradley is also working on a land deal where CitCo workers will get a piece of the jewel. He told News Five today that the initiative has been […]
Residents in the capital city of Belmopan were up in arms about a wooden structure that was erected on reserve land near the market. Somehow, a clerk at the Belmopan city council ended with the land after getting the nod from the mayor and proceeded to put up small kiosk. Well you know elections are […]
Today, senior police officers from formations across the country gathered at Raccoon Street Headquarters for day one of a two-day media workshop. It’s an initiative by Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie to improve the relationship between his commanders and the media where information dissemination is concerned. Mike Rudon was at the workshop this morning and […]
We contacted the President of the Belize Boxing Federation, Moses Sulph, to comment on the state of the executive. He says that it boils down to a few people not willing to follow the rules. Rules, he says, that must be adhered to if the Federation wants to remain a member of the International Boxing […]
With the facts of the case on display, the court appears to have little sympathy for a member of the legal fraternity who has committed serious wrong. And certainly, Staine will get no support from the claimants who are out of pocket and whose trust has been abused. But he did have some support today […]
As we told you earlier, today attorney Ernest Staine appeared unconcerned by the very real threat of prison time. Until just days ago, he had failed to obey orders of the Court to disclose his assets, and he has still not paid a cent to the claimants despite repeated commitments that he would do so. […]
The accusation levied against Staine is by no means a rare one where attorneys are concerned. Traditionally, those complaints against attorneys should be taken before the General Legal Counsel, the body which decides sanctions against attorneys. Bar Association President Eamon Courtenay says that a complaint against Staine has been taken before that body, where it […]
With sustained incursions by Guatemalan poachers into Belizean territory, along its terrestrial borders, a year-round issue for local law enforcement, military and coastguard patrols in the waters off southern Belize are often far and few. Their absence in the far reaches of the country allows for illegal fishing near the Sarstoon River, like xate harvesting […]
According to Maheia, despite reporting the incident to local authorities, very little is being done to increase police and military presence in the area of the Sarstoon River. In fact, Maheia says that they have been discouraged from patrolling the area. Isani Cayetano “Has this incident been reported or is this the first such […]
On Monday, P.U.P. Mayoral Candidate, Yolanda Schakron, who is seeking to unseat U.D.P. Mayor Darrell Bradley in Belize City, held a press conference saying there are flaws in the audit of the Belize City Council finances over the past three years. Schakron, who was flanked by Accountant Jose Coye, pointed to the need for transparency […]
This morning, we also took the opportunity to ask the aspiring mayoral candidate about her plans for the city, if she is elected to office. Yolanda Schakron, P.U.P. Mayoral Candidate, Belize City “We intend to be a council that will be transparent and consult with the people. I noh wah be wah mayor weh […]
MMR Belize Limited which is the parent company of the television game show, Mek Mi Rich, is denying allegations of infringement upon intellectual property in a claim brought by Curtis Swasey of Corozal Town. According to MMR, Swasey filed a claim against Belize Telemedia Limited back in November 2014, listing the company as a co-defendant, […]
Mayoral Candidate, Yolanda Schakron today teamed up with Port Loyola standard bearer for the P.U.P., Gilroy Usher Senior, and took to the streets of south side Belize City for a cleanup campaign. The two political aspirants along with several supporters and volunteers were working along the stretch of Central American Boulevard from its junction with […]
This morning, the P.U.P. held a press briefing to draw public scrutiny to what they say is very questionable management of the City Council’s finances over the past three years of Mayor Darrell Bradley’s administration. P.U.P. mayoral aspirant, Yolanda Schakron, had centre stage, backed up by former P.U.P. Mayor and Minister, Joe Coye, who by […]
According to accountant and politician, Joe Coye, although the 2012 audit is inconclusive and the 2013 audit is incomplete, the figures presented in the 2014 audit are cause for alarm. Coye pointed to one figure which he said stood out – in 2012 the Council reported a total debt of a little over fourteen million […]
The P.U.P. maintains that from what they’ve seen of the audit, and from what they haven’t seen, there is a clear indication of mismanagement. According to Coye, it’s almost impossible to gauge the movement and controls of the Council, at least by the figures, and he says that’s damning. Since there were some serious allegations […]
According to Bradley, it’s beyond him how anybody could question the record of the Council, when he maintains that they have been nothing but transparent. He got quite hot under the collar at what he says is blatant political propaganda just two weeks before the municipal elections. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor “Every single […]
The Belize City Council has received financial assistance from Central Government, to the tune of millions of dollars to bail out city hall for B.M.L. workers, for streets and other infrastructural projects. That’s certainly no closely-held state secret. Mayoral aspirant, Yolanda Schakron, says that it’s a sign of Bradley’s incompetence, because without that money, the […]
