On Monday morning, Belize Water Services Limited employees working near Iguana Street made a discovery of suspected human remains. The bones were unearthed as the employees were digging a trench at the junction of Central American Boulevard and Iguana Street. The police were called on site and the bones were collected for testing. Corporal Jorge […]
Across the environmental community, organizations are lending full support to the Sarstoon-Temash Institute for Indigenous Management. SATIIM, as well as the five Mayan communities, has proceeded to file an application for an injunction to prevent the Government of Belize from extending a permit granted to U.S. Capital Energy for exploratory work within the Sarstoon-Temash National […]
There isn’t any local official report on it, but the Department of Foreign Affairs of Philippines says that Belize is among a group of countries that will enjoy visa free privileges to enter the Philippines for thirty days effective today. The other countries are Croatia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. According to the announcement […]
The Easter weekend is just days away. For some, it is a time of Christian symbolism, for spiritual reflection. For others, it is a time to party…non-stop drinking and revelry. And for others, it is the time of opportunity. With so many residents leaving their homes to travel to the cayes or across the border, […]
It’s been a month since the Pharmacy Association has been expressing concern about the appointment of the daughter of Minister Erwin Contreras to the post of Director of Drug Inspectorate in the Ministry of Health. Danini Contreras, according to the Pharmacy Association, is simply not qualified for the job and neither was the required procedure […]
This morning, the Sarstoon-Temash Institute for Indigenous Management, SATIIM, as well as claimants from five buffer communities surrounding the Sarstoon-Temash National Park, filed an application for a post-judgment injunction in the Supreme Court. The objective is to restrain Government from renewing, extending or issuing an extension to U.S. Capital Energy’s permit to conduct exploratory activity […]
This morning, the Ministry of Health received a fleet of health support vehicles from the United Emirates. The twenty-six vehicles are valued at three hundred thousand dollars; essentially they are three-wheeled motorcycles with a cover unit equipped with seating and stretcher to transport patients. The Ministry of Health says they will be distributed to hospitals […]
There have been reported irregularities in two hospitals; the Southern Regional as well as the Central Regional Hospital. In the south, the Hospital Administrator Nasley Sommerville was suspended last October, after an audit investigation turned up serious irregularities amounting to hundreds of thousands of dollars gone missing. The Police, the Audit Department and the FIU […]
Tensions are reaching a feverish pitch tonight between Sarstoon Temash Institute for Indigenous Management, U.S. Capital Energy and government. On April third, Justice Michelle Arana handed down a major decision in favor of SATIIM as well as five Mayan communities bordering the Sarstoon-Temash National Park, in a suit brought against the Government of Belize and […]
The Mayan Leaders in the buffer communities held an emergency meeting this afternoon in light of Cabinet’s decision. The spokesman for the Mayan leaders is SATIIM’s Executive Director Greg Ch’oc. Having now confirmed that approval has been given to extend the permit of US Capital Energy, Ch’oc says that aside from taking legal recourse, the […]
There has been precious little coming out of the Immigration Department where the Penner situation is concerned. At this point…and really at every point since the scandal broke, there have been only vague assurances that some seemingly perpetual investigation or the other is still underway. But Penner and immigration corruption aside, Minister of Immigration Godwin […]
Minister Hulse’s call to a talk show on Wednesday morning was in response to a previous Belizean caller who was upset at the turn-around and endless hassles to get a passport. His comments didn’t go unnoticed, and News Five has received a copy of a letter sent to Director Maria Marin by a very senior […]
One month ago Minister of Sports Herman Longsworth told News Five that the Marion Jones Sporting Complex was close to completion. That’s a story we had certainly heard before, multiple times, so we pushed him on it. He told us then that he had told the contractors that if the Cross Country Cycling Classic did […]
At the P.U.P. press conference held at Independence Hall on Thursday, there was much about governance matters and social concerns. But there were also some plain political talk. The P.U.P. has been dealing with conventions for standard bearers, and wants to be done with that by June. And one seat they are very comfortable with […]
Organizations donating to other less advantaged entities – it happens maybe less than one would hope, but it does happen. Still, our attention was caught on Thursday as students from the second form at the Belize High School made a very important contribution to youths enrolled at the National Youth Cadet Corps. It happened at […]
Last Wednesday, the Social Investment Fund handed over the contract for the completion of the Dangriga Marketplace to CB Constructions out of San Ignacio. The new contract valued at a total of one point two million dollars is expected to be completed in six months. The project was taken away from the previous contractor, Kenard […]
Two notable personalities have passed away. Ambassador for Foreign Trade Adalbert Tucker lost his battle with cancer on Thursday night in Jamaica where he was receiving treatment. Tucker had been ailing for some years now and on Thursday he took for the worst and passed away. The former graduate of Harvard University and the University […]
Easter is fast approaching, but today, it came early for students of Bethel Primary School who were treated to an Easter Egg Hunt. Diamonds International located within the Fort Street Tourism Village partnered with the Belize City Council for the event and this afternoon, some seventy-five plus students gathered at the Fort Street Memorial Park […]
A News Five team is just back from the headquarters of the Belize Coast Guard where three men have been detained following a shootout at sea. We’ll have that coming up, but first…there is some closure for the family of Carlos Michael Diaz tonight. There is also relief for residents of the Lord’s Bank area […]
While the political gods continue to throw a shroud of protection around former Minister of State Elvin Penner, the fates seem to be conspiring against him. Today, leave for judicial review was granted by Justice Courtney Abel in the recall petition of Penner. It’s only the first step, but it is a significant one. The […]
Justice delayed is justice denied… This afternoon, the B.T.L. Employees Trust issued a statement in respect of a long pending judgment on the constitutionality of the second nationalization of Telemedia which was argued back in October 2012. The first nationalization case was heard in 2011 when the court declared the nationalization to be unconstitutional, but […]
The People’s United Party held a press conference at Independence Hall this afternoon. The topics up for discussion ranged from Elvin Penner to very internal politics. We’ll have all that for you, starting with a demand by P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca for Anwar Barrow’s appointment to be rescinded. Anwar Barrow, son of Prime Minister Dean […]
Another topic on the political table this afternoon was the now very well known Mytheon Solutions. That company was first registered by John Saldivar and Khalid Belisle in 2009. John Saldivar became sole owner in 2010, and promptly put the company in his wife’s name. It wasn’t exactly impressive sleight of hand, because the paper […]
While the P.U.P. is calling Anwar Barrow’s appointment at B.T.L. an act of nepotism, the Belize Communications Workers Union is throwing bouquets at Barrow. The union said in a release today that it has reached a collective bargaining agreement with the utility company and that Barrow was instrumental in the negotiations. The agreement is for […]
It’s mostly gone under the radar, but March thirty-first was the deadline for all members of the National Assembly to file their declarations with the Integrity Commission. It’s actually something that should be done each year…a very detailed accounting of personal assets, including assets held by spouses – bonds, stocks, shares, properties…that sort of thing. […]
