The Caribbean is also weighing in on the territorial dispute. An article in the Trinidad Express calls on CARICOM and the Organization of American States to step into the fray to defuse political tension between Belize and Guatemala—political tension which has resulted, according to the author, from Guatemala’s surprisingly hostile act to circulate a new […]
In early April, the Belize Territorial Volunteers traveled to Dolores in Toledo to continue their “Clear the Border” project in which they intend to demarcate the border between Belize and Guatemala. During this second excursion, they alleged that a Guatemalan company called African Palm Plantation had its property on this side of the border. The […]
After competing nationally, representatives from the Bishop Martin High School from Orange Walk Town travelled to Barbados to compete on the regional stage. It was no small feat as they took on equally bright science minds from other CARICOM countries with their project called Coconuts for Life. The competition targets the innovation of high school […]
A man who dedicated a great portion of his life to conservation has passed away. His efforts brought him critical and international acclaim by environmental groups. He was simply known as “Chocolate” to everyone he met. But eighty-three year old Leonel Heredia had been ill for two weeks and died from the effects of an […]
Basketball and soccer are the preeminent sports that can turn foes to friends for the length of a game and the celebration of a win. But there are other sports that don’t have national support. Cricket is celebrated in the Caribbean, but it doesn’t get the love afforded to basketball and soccer in Belize. Perhaps […]
The rosewood crisis festered until February 2012, when the moratorium was introduced. Up to that time, one of the main exporters of timber, and a name frequently associated with illicit harvesting of rosewood, is Kambokin Enterprises Limited. That company is registered in Corozal, and when News Five went digging for answers, we found out that […]
Hopefully, rosewood extraction will not cause decades of dialogues and explanations as Guatemala’s unfounded claim against Belize. For years negotiations and discussions have failed. Earlier in the year, while both countries should have been preparing for an October sixth referendum on whether or not to forward the claim to the International Court of Justice, Guatemala […]
As we reported in Wednesday’s newscast, Minister of National Security John Saldivar has filed a lawsuit against Belmopan’s Plus TV and Patrick Andrews for libel and defamation. The claim arises from remarks, allegedly slanderous, that were made by Andrews during an installment of the station’s Rise and Shine morning show in late 2012. The comments, […]
Fifty thousand dollars is a lot to spend on turkey but Saldivar stands by his claim that he was defamed. Plus TV’s Managing Director Luis Wade, in an interview with News Five on Wednesday, said that he had been asked by Saldivar repeatedly to have Andrews removed as co-host of the talk show along the […]
Thieves, murderers and drug dealers aren’t the only people who are charged for crimes. Some-times the cops are also paraded before a judge. In the wake of numerous allegations of abuse and brutality against members of the Belize Police Department, the Ministry of National Security is drafting a new code of conduct for law enforcement […]
A national project spearheaded by the Caribbean Development Bank’s Basic Needs Trust Fund was launched today in Belize City. Present for the occasion is Darran Newman-Belgrave, Portfolio Manager for (Basic Needs Trust Fund) BNTF’s Social Sector Division. Speaking at the gathering was Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development Santiago Castillo. […]
Belmopan-based Plus TV is being sued for libel by the area representative, Minister John Saldivar over a response made by Rise and Shine co-host, Patrick Andrews to a question posed by Minister of Education, Patrick Faber late last year. Now, libel suits are considered par for the course to media houses, but Louis Wade and […]
The news that Guatemala has put out to tender four million passports which will feature a map in which Belize is included as a disputed part of its territory appears to have been greeted with indifference by officials in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But the always fiery President of COLA Giovanni Brackett, whose name […]
The People’s United Party and its membership have been engaging in a series of consultations formulating a position on whether or not Belize should take its case to the International Court of Justice. While those consultations continue, they have rejected Guatemala’s proposals to amend the Referendum Act. The P.U.P. has taken a bold stance on […]
The Caribbean Export Development Agency is in town, and that’s good news for businesses which could use some financial assistance in a wide variety of areas, from equipment modernization to market research and testing and nearly everything in between. Caribbean Export receives funding from the European Development Fund, and acts as the agency to pass […]
The harvesting of rosewood is illegal and there is a moratorium in place since March sixteenth, 2012, but that has not stopped the highly lucrative trade to markets in China, where there is a huge demand for the precious hardwood. On Monday afternoon, confiscated flitches of rosewood held at the Forestry compound in Belmopan were […]
But while there are certainly more questions than answers, the clouds are beginning to clear away from what is actually taking place on the rosewood scene. This afternoon a release from the Forest Department, sans official letterhead, declared that an amnesty period is in effect for rosewood harvested before March fourteenth, 2013. The release states […]
Last Friday, the Unions’ Joint Negotiation Team met with G.O.B. and received a counterproposal to their counterproposal, and even though word was that the unions were to have issued a release, they have remained absolutely silent. But tonight, News Five has gotten some details of government’s counterproposal. From what we can see, government is buying […]
The National Executive of the People’s United Party met this morning. It took a decision in respect of the new Guatemalan passports which are causing a firestorm among Belizeans. As it stands, the Guatemalan government is proposing to print four million passports over the next ten years. But what is irking Belizeans is that the […]
A media workshop was held at the University of the West Indies today in Belize City under the auspices of their alumni association. The association intends to become a catalyst for social awareness and to change the portrayal of violence through the media. Belize is one of the most murderous countries in the region and […]
But does the reporting of crime contribute to the increase in violence? Do the communities in which the youth of today live also influence their character and their actions? What about video games and uncensored music? Doctor Dunn says the exposure of violence on the media has an adverse effect on the psyche of our […]
Having an opinion about a topic is easy, but finding a job is one of the most difficult tasks a person can be presented with. According to the Statistical Institute of Belize September 2012 Labor Market Survey; sixteen point one percent of the population is unemployed. In other countries, there is a shortage of people […]
Earlier in the newscast we told you about this past weekend’s trip by the Belize Territorial Volunteers to the Dolores area to which the Organization of American States responded positively to an invitation to act as observers on the expedition. And representatives from the OAS were present indeed, but rather than maintaining a prudent distance […]
At the end of February the Belize Territorial Volunteers, led by Wil Maheia, travelled from the village of Jalacte in the deep-south to the border with the Guatemalan village of Santa Cruz. That expedition was without incident, and buoyed on that success, and on an undeniable sentiment of patriotism, the group headed back to the […]
After its spectacular performances at the Copa Centro Americana, the Belize National Football Team is getting ready for participation at the July Gold Cup in the United States. Belize will be playing against the powerhouses of the United States, Cuba and Costa Rica in three US cities. But on the ground here, the Football Federation […]
