At about ten minutes to five o’clock this evening, the city lost power. According to the state owned Belize Electricity Limited, faulty equipment at the Magazine Road substation was the cause for the outage. At this time, electricity has not been restored and we have learnt that lights will not be turned on until after […]
There is a report tonight that a license has been issued for the importation of a huge amount of poultry. It has the Belize Poultry Association up in arms because of the health risks involved in the importation of the poultry from Mexico. The license was issued by the Belize Agricultural Health Authority to a […]
Voting takes place this Wednesday on offshore drilling. Across the country, forty-six polling stations are being set up for the People’s Referendum which will determine whether registered voters support or reject drilling in Belize’s waters. B.T.I.A. and the Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage are involved in the national referendum, which is being organized after […]
Over seven thousand voters are registered in the Cayo South division where both political parties have flooded the area with party colors and flags. First time aspirant who is also the national campaign manager for the P.U.P., Julius Espat, is hoping to unseat the incumbent, Ramon Witz. News Five’s Andrea Polanco was in Roaring Creek […]
There’s a new Belize ambassador to Mexico. With the departure from Mexico of Rosendo Urbina Senior who is now running for office, Oliver del Cid today presented credentials to President Felipe Calderon at the National Palace in the Mexican capital. Del Cid was born in Belize City, but grew up in Orange Walk Town. He […]
The date of the elections is drawing near and each day the requests for interviews and the topics become more unusual. Late this evening News Five received a call from a Cayo resident who alleges politics is splitting up her family. A relative apparently called social services to take away her child. Elizabeth Gamez admits […]
Eleven Countries, One Goal… Make a Difference; it’s the theme that is the driving force behind an ambitious project by British resident Marc Noonan. Using a quad bike, Noonan is moving through the region to raise awareness and funds for orphanages or related charities. His journey started in Mexico and he has reached the Liberty […]
A high profile street figure was killed on Wednesday night in the city. We’ll come to that shortly, but a member of the notorious Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang was deported for the second time from Belize this evening. Thirty year old Elmer Antonio Cadiz Gandamez was taken after two o’clock this afternoon to the […]
Both major political parties launched lofty party manifestos earlier this week at events that were brimming with supporters to show political muscle. This morning, the much smaller Vision Inspired by the People followed suit with its election platform for the Belize City Council. In terms of campaign financing, the VIP’s coffers are not known to […]
It was revealed last October that the Belize Family Life Association was in a financial bind and on the verge of closing down. But the healthcare facility has managed to keep its doors open with fundraising and the help of donors. Today, the BFLA received a boost from CIBC FirstCaribbean International Bank, which handed over […]
In the week ahead, volunteers from across the country will be manning telephones to get the pulse of voters on a referendum on offshore oil exploration. Voting is already underway by phone and next Wednesday, voters can register their views at numerous booths that are being placed strategically in the districts. At the launch of […]
The referendum didn’t figure into the United Democratic Party’s manifesto launch this afternoon. The glossy red and white document is in two parts; the first section deals with the U.D.P.’s pledges for 2012 to 2017 and the second part lists its accomplishments in the last four years. With a room full of standard bearers and […]
The Pickstock constituency is one of the smallest in the City. At the last election the P.U.P. stronghold went red in the tidal wave that swept across the country. But Doctor Francis Smith hopes to change that and return the division to the blue corner. He is a first time candidate who we feature tonight […]
In its 2008 manifesto, United Democratic Party promised to increase the twelve member senate to thirteen members. The additional seat would include a representative from a non-governmental organization and Greg Ch’oc was selected by the NGOs. But when it took office in 2008, the U.D.P. did not enforce the appointment of the thirteenth senator. The […]
With elections two weeks away, a number of projects are being unveiled. This afternoon, the third component of the Sustainable Tourism Project for Belize City was launched. It is called the Fort Point Pedestrian Walk and while it is not an actual pedestrian walk, the project contemplates the transformation of the Memorial Park Area. The […]
An apartment in the Yarborough area that was occupied by thirty-five year old Claudia Blanco and her children was destroyed by fire on the morning of January sixth. Blanco lost everything and her family has since been temporarily taken in by a friend on Dean Street. But the single mother doesn’t want to overstay her […]
Lynn Young; he’s a prominent Belizean who was the head of Belize Electricity Limited before its nationalization. Young has dared to speak up on government’s takeover of the utility company without paying compensation. Since returning from a business trip to Washington organized by Friends of Belize a few days ago, Young has found himself the […]
Merlene Bailey-Martinez has resigned as C.E.O. of the Social Security weeks after reports of insider trading became public. The Social Security Board decided since early last week to terminate Bailey-Martinez so when she turned up to work on Monday, it raised a number of questions. Bailey-Martinez had been placed on administrative leave since January eleventh, […]
On Monday, the People’s United Party released its manifesto for the Belize City Council elections. This afternoon, it launched its platform for the general elections. The manifesto is dedicated to the memory of George Price, who passed away last September, and is entitled Deliverance for Belize. As a matter of priority, the P.U.P. promises job […]
A people’s referendum will be held next week Wednesday. The Belize Tourism Industry Association, which chairs the Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage called on member organizations to support the referendum. After almost eight thousand signatures were rejected, preventing a referendum, the Coalition decided to execute an independent poll. So next week, country-wide people […]
Unemployment is hovering at twenty-three point five percent; that puts a large number of bread winners out of the work force. Meet Bryant Peters, who has discovered that there are opportunities if you can foster an entrepreneurial spirit. Along with a group of other jobless persons, he has started a business. News Five’s Jose Sanchez […]
As we said, we caught up with businessman Martin Galvez, when he addressed an audience of party supporters at Independence Hall. Galvez, the proprietor of Royal Wholesale, is a last-minute addition to the roster succeeding Yolanda Schakron. At the launch of the P.U.P. City Council manifesto today, he publicly declared that he won’t be haunted […]
Last week, we reported that the Social Security Board decided to terminate Merlene Bailey Martinez as C.E.O. for insider trading at the S.S.B. We also reported that chairman Lois Young is opposed to the termination. Young is out of the country for health reasons so the acting chair is Dennis Jones. The board’s decision was […]
At Independence Hall this afternoon, the People’s United Party launched its City Council manifesto for the March seventh elections. It’s a blueprint of forty six solutions that the P.U.P. is putting forward to advance the quality of life in the City. The team of eleven, headed by mayoral candidate Karen Bodden, says it wants solutions […]
In Belize City, the opposition party is outing constant fires, but in the north, the People’s United Party drew thousands at a mammoth rally held on Sunday in Corozal Town. By any measure, it was a gigantic crowd that was energized as the four standard bearers seized the moment to tackle their opponents and advance […]
