The public and bank holidays for 2024 have been released, in accordance with the first and second schedules to the Holidays Act, Chapter 289 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2011. Outside of the Easter holidays, there will be six extended weekends – two in January, one in March, one in April, in lieu […]
Is Commissioner of Police Chester Williams headed to pre-retirement leave at the beginning of December? It’s a question that was buzzing this morning, following a meeting with the senior command of the Belize Police Department on Monday. When we caught up with him this morning, we were sure to follow up on that lead and, […]
We also heard from Kareem Musa, the Minister of Home Affairs, on the reports of ComPol Williams’ pre-retirement. Minister Musa says he reached out to Williams this morning after receiving queries about the report. ComPol Williams told him what he told us that he made the announcement as a joke. Kareem Musa, Minister of […]
All ethnicities have their own unique way of honouring the dead. The Mestizo culture is no different. Mestizos and Mexicans are at this time preparing for Dia de los Muertos, which is set for November first and second, each year. In Belize, as in Mexico and several other countries where Hispanic people live, the occasion […]
Two People’s United Party municipal conventions were held over the weekend. Last night, we told you about the Pablo Cawich victory over Tariq Cano for mayoral candidate in Belmopan. In Punta Gorda, Carlos Galvez was elected to serve as the P.U.P.’s mayoral candidate. He defeated three other contenders. There are suggestions that neither of those […]
Back in August, we reported that dengue figures were up and had surpassed the number of cases for the entire year of 2022. The data showed that the clinically detected cases were concentrated in Orange Walk and Cayo. On Monday, when the media caught up with Health and Wellness Minister Kevin Bernard, he gave an […]
Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard also confirmed that the extended wait for a CT-scan (cat-scan) machine at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is coming to an end. The national referral hospital has been without this equipment and patients have had to pay thousands of dollars for tests to be done at private health […]
The students at Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School are now safer when coming to and leaving school, thanks to the installation of parking barriers. It may come as an inconvenience to some motorists, but the school says the barriers have become a necessity on one of the city’s busiest roads. The project was possible through […]
This afternoon, Tourism C.E.O. Nicole Usher-Solano also expressed concerns in the wake of the deadly attack in San Pedro. The island town is a prime tourism destination in Belize and incidents like this do have an adverse effect on tourism and citizen security. Nicole Usher-Solano, C.E.O., Ministry of Tourism & Diaspora Relations “It’s an […]
Through assistance from the Taiwanese Government, digital connect centers have been installed in several villages and communities across the country. Three months after the launch of one of the centers in Carmelita, thieves broke into the building and stole all the electronic devices, leaving behind only two chairs. Several persons have been arrested, including residents […]
A delegation of as many as six government officials, including Prime Minister John Briceño, Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler, Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay and Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner traveled to Miami on Thursday where meetings were held with the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. The importance of the discussions was to address issues pertaining to the […]
The meeting between the Briceño administration and the executives of the F.C.C.A. also served to reiterate the urgent need for a berthing facility to be constructed in Belize. Tourism stakeholders, including the respective cruise lines, have been clamoring for a berthing facility to be built, as the industry transitions away from tendering. According to C.E.O. […]
As we mentioned earlier, Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner was also part of the delegation that met with the F.C.C.A. But what was his role and purpose for attending the sessions? According to C.E.O. Solano, cruise tourism arrivals come ashore in Belize City. Nicole Usher-Solano, C.E.O., Ministry of Tourism “Right now the lines do […]
Today, the executive of the Belizean Bus Association met with Minister of Transport Rodwell Ferguson and his team, following a release indicating that December thirty-first, 2023 is the deadline for the upgrade of buses. The transition has been a discussion for some time now, including the phasing out of older buses. It is something that […]
B.B.A. President Thomas Shaw says that the bus operators only just received the letter last week of the new deadline, giving them only two months to replace their entire fleet. He says, B.B.A. members have been complying; upgrading fifty percent of their buses before a phase out in December 2024. During the COVID pandemic, a […]
Pablo Cawich is the People’s United Party’s new mayoral candidate in Belmopan. Pablo and his slate of five councilor candidates topped the polls at the PUP’s municipal convention on Sunday in the Capital City. The only councilor from the current council to secure a victory at Sunday’s convention was Sanie Cal. As we reported, Mayor […]
A grant contract signing ceremony was held today at the Vaccination Unit on the Western Regional Hospital compound in Belmopan. Through partnership with the Embassy of Japan and the Pan American Health Organization, Belize was the recipient of two ambulances to add to its fleet. While the ceremony held today was more for formality, the […]
The annual Tourism Awards were held on Sunday to acknowledge stakeholders in various aspects of the service industry, including tour operators, hoteliers and restaurateurs. According to Chief Executive Officer Nicole Usher-Solano, the celebration served to recognize the men and women who go above and beyond in the tourism sector. Nicole Usher-Solano, C.E.O., Ministry of […]
The first murder in Belize City for the month of October and the first in the Old Capital since August occurred on Thursday night. Forty-two-year-old Trenton Webster lost his life to gun violence while standing in front of his home near Rasta Street, in the vicinity of Neal’s Pen Road. The sound of the gunshot […]
On Thursday morning, Elmer Nah, along with his common-law wife Epifania Caliz, and her brother Manuel Caliz were found not guilty of possession of a cache of firearms, ammunition and bulletproof vests. Senior Magistrate Baja Shoman found them not guilty of the charges after evidence from both the prosecution and the defense were presented. Nah […]
A special prosecutor, in the person of Terrence Williams from Jamaica, is being retained by the Government of Belize for the murder trial of Elmer Nah, who is accused of the triple murders of Jon, David and Vivian Ramnarace in Belmopan on New Year’s Eve 2022. Today, News Five caught up with Minister of Home […]
But how much will securing this special prosecutor cost the Belizean taxpayers? Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa says fifteen thousand U.S. dollars, as a retainer, and then some. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs “Initially I am aware that it is fifteen thousand U.S.; I don’t know what the final bill will be […]
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Education began the distribution of five thousand Chromebooks – a donation from the Republic of China (Taiwan). Primary and secondary schools countrywide will benefit from this donation for which fifteen percent of student population – standard four to fourth form of the selected schools – are the recipients. Today was […]
The Belize Association of Insurance and Financial Advisor is celebrating Insurance Awareness Month in October. The NGO has forty-five members from across four companies. Today, they hosted a health fair in downtown Belize City to promote financial literacy and physical health. Representatives from two financial institutions, as well as the Ministry of Health, were present […]
Each year, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death globally, taking an estimated eighteen million lives or thirty-two percent of all deaths worldwide. Heart attacks and strokes are responsible for four out of every five deaths from cardiovascular diseases. Seventy-five percent of these deaths occur in low-income countries such as Belize, and up to […]
