Over the weekend, two persons were killed on the highways. On Friday night, a woman lost her life in a traffic accident between miles fifty and fifty one on the George Price Highway. She was hit by a van driven by forty-one year old Jorge Luis Romero, a taxi driver who was travelling from San […]
Earlier in the newscast, COLA president Geovannie Brackett spoke on the need for a new cruise port for Belize District. He accuses the Fort Street Tourism Village of acting to hold the industry and the nation hostage because of their onerous deal for exclusivity as the port of entry, while belittling local operators in conjunction […]
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted on November twentieth by the United Nations. The CRC, as it is known, establishes measures to ensure the protection, survival, and development of all children, without discrimination. It also commits countries that are signatories to protect children from economic and sexual exploitation and other forms […]
The Petrocaribe money is all the rage these days, hundreds of millions of dollars in GOB’s hands to be used specifically for poverty alleviation, human and social development projects. But the Opposition says GOB accessed, and spent that money illegally, since it did not take the loan before the House to seek approval. Additionally, the […]
Attorneys for the Opposition who are dealing with a suit filed against the Prime Minister, say that the loan motion was not taken to the house as required by the Finance and Audit Reform Act. So the Petrocaribe funds have been spent illegally and furthermore there has been no accountability. Minister Faber thinks not saying […]
The 2014-2015 sugar cane crop season is threatened by an impasse between the factory and the farmers. Latest developments this week are that BSI has sought to bypass the BSCFA, in a move to sign contracts with small reaping groups and individual farmers. The BSCFA has countered that move, holding meetings with all eighteen branches […]
Earlier in our newscast, Minister of Education Patrick Faber spoke about the Petrocaribe funds, defending his government’s use of those monies. But he’s had to be defending himself in another forum. Faber went on record in past months to condemn teachers for missing school during the BNTU rallies countrywide. But on Tuesday the government is […]
Belize, along with the rest of the world, is commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 1989, a special commitment was made to all children through the adoption of the CRC. The milestone is being recognized and celebrated universally but is the world […]
Despite significant progress in achieving the objectives set out under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Belize falls nominally short of a hundred percent birth registration. Likewise, great strides have been made to minimize the number of babies being born with HIV infection. According to UNICEF’s country representative Ivan Yerovi, those are just […]
Among various initiatives undertaken at the national level is a move by local governments to have their municipalities recognized as child-friendly. In Belize City, there was a recent ceremony to launch the countrywide effort. According to Yerovi, it will take more than just a speech declaring that a town or city is suitable for children. […]
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization works in various areas in the country including HIV/AIDS, Climate Change and the Barrier Reef System. The organization collaborates with different ministries on projects to enhance education, science, culture, information and communication. Government institutions, organizations, NGOs and private organizations are invited to apply for financial assistance for […]
A generous shipment of wheelchairs has arrived in the country for distribution countrywide. The first batch is being delivered in Belize City where the need is the highest throughout the country. The gift is from four different Rotary Clubs of Canada to the local Rotary Clubs. A ceremony was held on Thursday at Cisco Construction […]
This morning there was heightened Police presence at the Benque Viejo Magistrate’s Court and special units on standby at the Police Station around the corner. Based on evidence gathered at a protest held on August nineteenth, Police summoned twenty alleged rioters to court this morning to be charged. Residents of Succotz and Benque Viejo united […]
Cervantes will not apologize nor back down, and neither will Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega. He told the media today that the matter is in the hands of his attorney and that is where it’ll stay. And apart from that, Vega says the situation hasn’t affected his political career in the slightest. Gaspar Vega, […]
Attorneys for telecom providers Speednet and B.T.L. were in court this morning. Speednet Communications Limited filed an application for an injunction against Belize Telemedia Limited on Wednesday to prevent the termination of services by B.T.L. which would affect almost seven thousand Smart users in Toledo District. On July twenty-seventh an agreement was signed between the […]
Senior Counsel Rodwell Williams, representing B.T.L., laid out the fundamental principle behind B.T.L.’s move to terminate the agreement. He says that Speednet purchased the service for private use then turned around and made it available to its subscribers. Rodwell Williams, Attorney for BTL “It is a dispute that has to do primarily with […]
Another resignation was announced today at the B.T.B. where a number of senior officers have demitted office in recent times. Today, Director of Marketing and Industry Relations, Alyssa Carnegie, joined the list resigning from her post after two years of service. Her resignation takes effect as of December twelfth. In a release issued today, Director […]
The B.T.B. announced today that it had reached its one million mark in tourist arrivals in the country. According to the release, one million eighteen thousand seven hundred and five visitors have arrived as of October 2014. Another bit of good news in the industry is that tour operators are tonight breathing a collective sigh […]
Business process outsourcing is one of Belize’s fastest growing industries. Thousands of Belizeans have gained jobs from the outsourcing of customer service and other chores of business, primarily from the United States. But tonight, a new BPO abruptly closed its doors and fired thirty employees. Accutel BPO was established in May and hired its first […]
The employees say this turn of events has hurt not only their financial standing, but also their job prospects. And as a check with the Companies Registry reveals, their employment apparently no longer exists. Another person who wants a word with Castillo is Todd Ingram, the proprietor of Zeus International Business Center on Calle Al […]
For three days, educators will be discussing the institutional development of tertiary education in the region with emphasis on quality assurance. The occasion is the annual conference of CANQATE, a regional organization, which promotes three principles: public education and advocacy, synergy and harmonization as well as training and technical capacity building. Duane Moody reports. […]
Much as it did last year, a sense of unease and hostility pervades the sugar-cane industry and the 2014-2015 crop season, scheduled to start within a month. On Monday, ASR-owned B.S.I. held a press conference to announce that since no agreement could be reached, it had decided to bypass the B.S.C.F.A. and attempt to sign […]
It is not far-fetched to speculate that the mandate from the farmers may include agitation of some form, leading up to industrial action. The industry is volatile, the labour intensive, and the farmers passionate about the lifeblood of the north. At the start of the last crop, BSI gave an undertaking in good faith to […]
While industrial action is contemplated in the north, the People’s United Party is tonight castigating the Barrow administration for dragging its feet on one of the major industries and the lifeblood of the north. According to Party Leader Francis Fonseca, the United Democratic Party government has been slow to intercede in the ongoing dispute. Fonseca […]
Speednet Communications Ltd., the parent company for Smart, filed an application for an injunction against Belize Telemedia Limited in the Supreme Court of Belize earlier today. The application for a court order became necessary after B.T.L. served Speednet with a notice of termination of service via certain links to take effect as of Friday, November […]
