The government has a tough task of restructuring the Superbond to the international bondholders and on the home front, the Opposition People’s United Party also faces a tough time keeping its party organ, the Belize Times functional. A press release from Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca says the newspaper has been operating at a loss for […]
Forty-two year old Karol Mello, an alleged Slovakian gangster wanted in his home country for a string of murders, was ordered to be released from the Belize Central Prison this morning in a decision by Justice Oswell Legall. Mello, who was detained a month ago, faces criminal charges in Slovakia while efforts are being made […]
Steven Bowen Junior was shot by law enforcement officers in San Pedro on Tuesday. He was with Elias Hernandez and Lucio Salazar; all three were accused of being part of a group of about ten, who were intimidating residents with high powered weapons on the north end of Ambergris Caye. Bowen says he knows nothing […]
As for the actual shooting incident, Bowen says the officers had no reason to fire at him. He told us that they were at Salazar’s house and as he was packing to leave he heard gunshots from outside. According to Bowen, he threw himself on the ground and alleges that though the officers found him […]
The recent figures issued by the Belize Tourism Board on visitor arrivals to the Jewel are promising. With an overall increase of nine percent in arrivals in the first half of the year and the month of July already showing an estimated seventeen percent increase at the PGIA alone, the BTB machinery is in full […]
While the bond is a billion dollar issue, a local family is facing financial difficulty of their own. And while it won’t cost anywhere near the Superbond, raising a few dollars more is a matter of life and death for their child. Ten year old Brithon Cordova remains hospitalized since his house in Orange Walk […]
It is said that when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold. Belize is tied to the United States economically through imports as well as remittances from the Belizean Diaspora in North America. Now that the U.S. Treasury Department has used the kingpin act to designate Belizean businessmen John Zabaneh, Dion Zabaneh and Daniel […]
The Belize City Council has been giving streets within the City a facelift. It is part of an infrastructural upgrade that the council has embarked on. At least fifty percent of the streets are to be upgraded, but the residents of the Belama Phase Four area are up in arms because they say that the […]
We reported on Wednesday night’s newscast that overnight tourist arrivals in Belize were up by an overall nine percent in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year. The initial release indicated that in the months from April to June, there were approximately five thousand seven hundred and ninety-one overnight […]
But there was some bad news. The figures for cruise ship arrivals were down by six percent, just about sixty thousand less visitors. Esquivel-Frampton says the shortfall is attributed to the increase in overnight stays and that plans are in place to boost the figures. Laura Esquivel-Frampton “We’re attributing it mainly to the conversion. […]
The office of the Prime Minister announced today that P.M. Dean Barrow is taking a personal leave. Barrow left Belize today en route to Miami, Florida and is expected to return next Monday. In his absence, the Minister of Education, Youth and Sports, Patrick Faber, will be holding over as acting Prime Minister.
Mayan King Limited issued its own press release this evening saying that John Zabaneh and his companies, “categorically state that these wild and unsubstantiated accusations and any and all allegation of wrongdoing made therein against him and his companies are false and highly defamatory.” It reads like this: “John Zabaneh and his companies are not […]
While the economic impact of Ernesto is being measured, tourism figures are looking up. That’s because the overall growth shows a thirteen point eight percent increase in overall arrivals through the first half of 2012. In the Belize Tourism Board’s second quarter report, the figures show a whopping nine percent increase in overnight arrivals in […]
From our research, it appears to be the first such case on human rights; but the beating of Caleb Orozco, the president of UNIBAM, has been elevated to the United Nations. The UN Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection on freedom of expression and on the situation of human rights defenders have both written […]
The iconic Belizean artist, Benjamin Nicholas, passed away in Dangriga on April ninth. This past Monday, would have been his eighty-second birthday, and the Embassy of Mexico is honoring him with two exhibitions, showcasing his works in Dangriga and Belize City. Nicholas is described as a great proponent for the Garifuna, promoting the culture through […]
Pull out your hurricane preparedness plans because a category one strength hurricane is heading this way and the entire coast is under threat. Tropical Storm Ernesto has been on the radar for about a week; it was initially expected to head north into the Gulf of Mexico but Ernesto has shifted and now has his […]
The City Emergency Management Organization (CEMO) also went into full gear in Belize City this afternoon. CEMO has set up its Emergency Operation Center here at Channel Five studios on Coney Drive, which will be the command center for its operations until the all clear is given. Before moving over, a press briefing was held […]
To avoid overcrowding, persons evacuating the islands are being taken to Orange Walk and Belmopan. CEMO says homeless persons across the city will be picked up and taken care of, but it is asking neighbors to inform them of any “shut-ins” who need assistance. Darrell Bradley “All those persons who are coming into Belize […]
In the north where the brunt of Ernesto is expected to be felt, NEMO dusted off the files and began preparations on Sunday. This morning the Corozal District committee members met; top on the list was the opening of shelters. Willard Levy, Coordinator for the district says that while they are expecting a lot of […]
It has been over a decade since the last salary adjustment for teachers, as well as public servants, who contend that the cost of living has increased by approximately thirty percent over the past eight years. This, in addition to twenty-three other concerns, has been tabled for negotiations between Marion McNab, C.E.O. in the Ministry […]
In March just prior to the elections, we carried the story of a prime piece of property owned by Belize Water Services Limited in San Pedro that was cancelled and sold off to nineteen year old Alyssa Tun of Orange Walk Town. Tun paid two thousand five hundred dollars and thirty cents for a property […]
On Thursday night you heard Minister of Natural Resources, Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vegas’ also responded to why he gave his relatives, including two brothers, his daughter, a sister-in-law and a cousin, dozens of parcels of land. In case you missed it, Vega said he and his family aren’t “normal people”. He said he didn’t […]
The exportation of cattle to Mexico through formal trade arrangements has been touted for some time, in fact as far back as 2010; the Prime Minister said it was a done deal. It has taken two years, but it appears that the initiative will come to fruition in about two months. But for the local […]
Dean Lindo is well known as an attorney. But in his spare time Lindo has always been an avid fan of cricket. The West Indian game is popular throughout the Caribbean and has a foot in Belize. The glory days of the sport are long gone in this country, but there is some hope by […]
The annual K.H.M.H. summer camp culminated today with a ceremony held at the K.H.M.H.’s parking lot. It’s the second of its kind that targets primarily children of staff members and teaches them, not medical information on the public hospital, but rather skills in music, artwork and storytelling. At least twenty-five children attended the five-week camp; […]
