The office of the prime minister announced to today that PM Dean Barrow left the country along with his wife, Kim Simplis Barrow, who is receiving treatment for stage three breast cancer. PM Barrow is scheduled to return to the country over the weekend.
The annual film festival ended today and it closed with a bang. A record number of films from throughout the region were screened. To wrap up the annual event, the winners were announced in the Best Feature Film, Short Video, Music Video, Belizean Film and Animated Film. But what’s a festival without controversy? Hollywood style, […]
In the west, an agro-processing facility is providing alternative income for a group of women. The project started on a small scale, but today the production of jams and juices from locally grown fruits has grown considerably, attracting support from the Food and Agriculture Organization. News Five’s Andrea Polanco reports on the Western Women Agro-Processing […]
The following is an inspiring story about fourteen year old Rowan Garel. Born blind, Rowan has already climbed to the top of Victoria Peak. Today he accomplished another feat; he walked over ninety miles to raise much needed funds for a summer camp for children who are blind and visually impaired. Rowan started his walk […]
At the end of June, a number of police officers got notice of their sudden transfer to take effect in two weeks. Some of the officers were to relocate to their new posts today, but that has been put on hold after the Police Association spoke out last Friday against the undue haste in which […]
The deadline for the mandatory registration of prepaid cellular phones was initially in March, but was extended twice, eventually landing on July thirteenth. Well, it appears that those extensions led consumers to doubt that the disconnections would really take effect, but on Friday night over sixty thousand customers from Belize Telemedia Limited and Smart were […]
We have been reporting on the special audit at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for the period April to December 2011. By and large, it reveals that there were serious irregularities in purchases made for the hospital and that procurement practices were not followed. A number of items that were purchased from a company in […]
The International Film Festival kicked off over the weekend; sixty-seven films will be featured this year. This morning, as part of the festival, an audio visual symposium was held at the House of Culture in Belize City. The event, hosted by The Belize Audio Visual Industry Association (BAVIA) was to discuss the art and business […]
The Association of Protected Areas Management Organization, APAMO, held its fifth annual general meeting on Friday where stakeholders discussed a range of issues pertaining to the environment, natural resources and sustainable development. Other important topics included the management of protected areas within the tourism framework. According to APAMO Chairman Edilberto Romero, the environment, namely Belize’s […]
The K.H.M.H. special audit was not released to the media until July fourth. The K.H.M.H. executive would not allow the media to review the document prior to giving their slant on the findings, which resulted in a media boycott. The audit revealed that established procurement practices for medical supplies were not adhered to. Travel allowances […]
The Police Department is transferring officers, some of which are occurring without due notice. A press release sent from the group says, “The Belize Police Association stands firm for the rule of law and therefore strongly condemns transfers for which no formal notice has been given to its members. As law enforcement officers, it is […]
Today is the deadline for registering your phones. And while traffic at both phone companies was relatively slow for the week, there are still outstanding prepaid cell phone customers that have not taken heed to the disconnection of telecommunication services issued as a statutory instrument by the Ministry of National Security back 2011 to curb […]
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize, the umbrella organization representing unionized workers across the country, is celebrating its anniversary this week. The N.T.U.C.B. is comprised of a number of interest groups, including the Belize Energy Workers Union, the Belize Communications Workers Union, as well as the Public Service Union which will be commemorating ninety […]
As a part of a regional initiative to strengthen intelligence and assist the capacity of member states, a high level meeting, only the second if its kind to be held in the Caribbean, took place this morning in Belmopan. Earlier this week, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, partnered with the Ministry of […]
With over seven billion people on the planet, the availability of resources is a major concern for governments. While some worry about fuel, the main concern for countries in the region is healthcare. Earlier today the United Nations Population Fund gave commendations to people involved in the organizations project on health services. Jose Sanchez, […]
Two countries within this region, Belize and Mexico have been chosen to send a participant for an international visitor leadership program designed to increase mutual understanding through communication at the personal and international level. The twenty-four participants in the program are established or potential leaders in government, politics, media, education economics drug and crime prevention […]
The Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute is working in partnership with the Natural Capital Project, an initiative of the World Wildlife Fund to discuss the important linkages between science and policy that will guide the decisions to be made by the Coastal Zone. A seminar was held with the representatives of the project and […]
On Thursday, Rowan Garel set out to walk some ninety two miles all in the name of goodwill. Garel hopes to raise one hundred thousand dollars for a summer camp and also to raise awareness to visually impaired children. The journey, which started from the West, will take over four days. While they didn’t quite […]
Day two of the annual budget debate continued today inside the House of Representatives, where members from both sides of the floor scrutinized the fiscal budget for 2012-2013. By far, the most engaging exchange took place this afternoon between Caribbean Shores Area Representative, Santino Castillo and the member for Cayo South, Julius Espat. Espat, in […]
As we mentioned, Cayo South Area Representative Julius Espat shared his view on the billion dollar budget earlier today, strongly criticizing the Barrow Administration for its highly praised pro-poor initiatives. He also had a few choice words for the Minister of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation. On Wednesday, Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez’s presentation celebrated […]
The United Democratic Party, which is in its second term in office, is also boasting significant growth in foreign direct investment at a time when the financial climate within the Caribbean is currently unfavorable. Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance, Santino Castillo, ran through a list of private sector projects that are being […]
Twenty-three year old Natasha Lewis says that the GSU is harassing her and that it has been going on for too long; she says today while she was walking on Dean Street, a truck with some officers stopped her and an officer physically assaulted her. She says that in January she was vocal about her […]
As noted in the previous news items, hard times and a poor upbringing without role models can lead to crime and unwanted situations. Mentorship is a key factor in any program that hopes to either reform or shape young minds. That is why the Belize Bank scholarship program was launched, not only to give an […]
While the twenty-five scholarship recipients are looking to bank managers for some guidance, hopefully they haven’t seen or heard the name calling that occurred earlier today in the House by the elected representatives. The moratorium on Rosewood harvesting also became a subject for discussion in the House. The suspension, which came into effect on April […]
The Prime Minister read the 2012/2013 budget on June twenty-ninth. It has been called everything including austere, spartan, slim and disciplined. Today in parliament, elected representatives from the government and Opposition squared off and took turns either applauding or shredding the budget. Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca and former P.M. Said Musa […]
