On Friday, Prime Minister Dean Barrow will present the 2014 – 2015 Budget in the House of Representatives. Barrow has stated that it will be, in his words, a good news budget, the best ever. We know so far that the teachers will be getting a five percent increase, but the specific figures for the […]
The Marion Jones Sporting Complex is one project that is likely to be revisited in Friday’s budget. The complex is far from completion and according to the Minister of State with responsibility for Sports, Herman Longsworth, the delays have been caused by funding. Today, Longsworth cited the rains as another reason why the state of […]
Final preparations are being put to the Twenty Thousand Strong Women Empowerment Rally, organized by the Special Envoy for Women and Children, with logistical support from the National Women’s Commission. But on Tuesday evening, the huge undertaking came under fire when the Roman Catholic Church, the biggest denomination, said it would not endorse it. It […]
The organizers are hoping that twenty thousand women and young girls will be marching in Belize City on Thursday as part of a women empowerment rally. Unfortunately, the planned empowerment has been almost lost in a furious flurry of emails, releases and interviews following the church’s position. That has awakened protest from the anti-gender policy […]
It is hoped that there will be a massive turnout of women at the rally, but aside from the Roman Catholic Church, the organizers have received another very surprising declaration of non-support. That came from the People’s United Party, which has always claimed to be all about women empowerment. In fact, that party released its […]
The Belize National Teachers Union, despite permission being granted to its membership by the Ministry of Education to attend the rally, also finds itself in the middle of the standoff between the Special Envoy for Women and Children and the Roman Catholic Church. According to National President Luke Palacio, teachers are simply being advised to […]
Two weeks ago, reports surfaced that three highly-ranked officers in the Ministry of Natural Resources had received their walking papers, allegedly for reasons of corruption. The three were very close to Minister of Natural Resources Gaspar Vega – in fact, two of them, the Registrar of Lands and the Deputy Commissioner of Lands, are his […]
Thirteen employees of Bowen and Bowen Limited have been terminated. That decision was taken by the management of the company after the group of employees comprising of drivers and their assistant stayed off work for two days to signal their discontent with new terms of employment and salaries with the company. The group claimed that […]
Wilson says that the restructuring of the company was necessary to provide quality service to customers. Christelle Wilson, Internal Legal Counsel & PR Officer, Bowen & Bowen “We have been working for a while now on a restructuring program for our presale off-the-products at Bowen and Bowen. We have customers that need to get […]
The Belize National Teachers Union is also hosting a massive demonstration on Independence Hill this Friday, where the House of Representatives will be convening to present the 2014 National Budget. While the day off from work is not sanctioned by the Ministry of Education, National President Luke Palacio told the media today that the purpose […]
The B.N.T.U. will also be getting some support from another source at its rally on Friday in Belmopan. Today, P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca confirmed that the party will be on Independence Hill showing their solidarity with teachers and public officers. Francis Fonseca, P.U.P. Leader “Well obviously all the leaders of the P.U.P. will be […]
As we told you earlier in our newscast, the P.U.P. women will not be at the twenty-thousand strong rally set for Thursday. The party has stated that it does not support what it calls a largely meaningless event when there are so many real women’s issues left untended every day. Today many P.U.P. women from […]
You could be forgiven for hearing the name Conch Shell Bay and picturing pristine beaches overlooking the picturesque waters of the Caribbean. But if you’re a resident of Belize City, you know that nothing is further from the truth. Conch Shell Bay is a poverty-stricken area off Vernon Street in the city, a bunch of […]
Mayor Darrell Bradley and the Belize City Council are days away from celebrating two years in office. And for City Hall it will be a celebration, boasting one hundred and four completed streets and several successful infrastructure projects including the spectacular B.T.L. Park. So you would think the Mayor would be floating on a sea […]
Bradley also alluded to one major problem which has caused the current hostilities on Sixth Street – zoning. That’s why the previously residential street has a commercial feel…with large supermarkets, a pharmacy, stores and apartment buildings. But he says that the Council cannot bear the full responsibility for the zoning. In fact, says Bradley, City […]
Earlier we told you that the Mayor is celebrating his two years in office. To mark the occasion, surrounded by councilors, Mayor Darrell Bradley today presented the report card of accomplishments of the council. Top of the list was the massive infrastructural work undertaken throughout the city. Isani Cayetano was present at City Hall for […]
Tonight, News Five has confirmed that Officer Commanding Special Branch, Marco Vidal, who has been at the helm of the Gang Suppression Unit since its formation in 2010, has been replaced as its chief officer. The reason for his removal remains unclear; however, Vidal, whose portfolio was expanded a year ago to include leadership of […]
On Monday, People’s United Party leader Francis Fonseca won a significant victory in the court of Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin. With commendable dispatch, the CJ issued a directive to Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie to commence, to its conclusion, a criminal investigation into the Won Hong Kim passport scandal and former Minister of State Elvin […]
Today, News Five tried to contact Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Minister of Immigration and Commissioner of Police Allen Whylie. Those attempts were unsuccessful. We actually wanted to ask just one question that seems to be baffling everybody – who told Assistant Superintendent of Police Julio Valdez to stop investigating after he found discrepancies in the […]
On February nineteenth, three public officers appeared before the Services Commission after Director of Immigration, Maria Marin, recommended their termination. The officers – Sharon Neal, Omar Phillips and Erwin Robinson, were fingered in a passport section internal investigation into the Won Hong Kim passport scandal. The Commission had ninety days to pass judgment, but in […]
This afternoon, the Roman Catholic Church sent out an unprecedented release signed by no less than the Bishop of Belize City and Belmopan Dorick Wright. The Catholic Church is taking on the National Women’s Commission and its rally for twenty-thousand women to be held by on Thursday. We note that the rally is being heavily […]
On Tuesday’s newscast, News Five showed you three nationality certificates signed by former Minister of State Elvin Penner. We have been able to confirm that these documents were under scrutiny during the investigation which was halted by instructions from a so far unnamed person. Three persons – a Vietnamese national, a Taiwanese national and a […]
Earlier we told you that the church is not endorsing the twenty thousand strong women’s rally organized by the National Women’s Commission. All indications are that the rally will proceed on Thursday and that women will be bused in from all over the country. Earlier today, Executive Director of the Women’s Commission, Ann-Marie Williams, came […]
Twenty-five year old police constable Abimael Romero remains hospitalized after being stabbed multiple times in Orange Walk on Sunday morning. The officer was reportedly in town visiting with his in-laws when he was attacked by a group of men while walking along Asuncion Street. He was stabbed as many as eighteen times to various parts […]
A daring rescue operation on Sunday night, conducted by rangers attached to the Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE), resulted in the successful retrieval of a fishing vessel and its occupants. News Five understands that the boat was adrift in turbulent waters off the coast of southern Belize when police and coastguard personnel were […]
