Last week, we reported on the cuts at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where Doctors Fernando Cuellar and Amin Hegar have been terminated. Tonight, we can confirm that the National Health Insurance Programme is also suffering from budget cutbacks. Executive Chairman, Doctor Ramon Figueroa says that the budget cuts are due to the economic effects […]
A second leadership convention for the United Democratic Party is scheduled for this Sunday at the ITVET compound here in Belize City where three candidates, Patrick Faber, John Saldivar and Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington, are offering themselves for party leader. Unlike the previous February tenth convention at the Civic, the fanfare, as well as the bells […]
From an operational perspective, the Belize Police Department will be deployed to the ITVET to maintain law and order on the day of the convention, however, officers will not be present in large numbers, as voting will be done systematically by district and supporters will not be allowed to congregate. Chester Williams, Commissioner of […]
The dollar fare on the well-known ‘Dalla Van’ that run in the south side of the city is soaring by as much as a hundred percent. Commuters are now paying two dollars because the vans are to exercise social distancing, which means less passengers onboard. The increase is not going down well for residents who […]
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the productive sector, but today poultry producers confirmed that whole chickens are not in short supply at the grocery stores. But chicken parts are and restaurants that sell the famous “fry chicken” are temporarily out of chicken parts. Producers had to shift the way they grow the bird and will […]
A ceremony was held today to recognize the quick response of alert police officers that led to the apprehension of four robbers of Scotia Bank. As you know in an early afternoon robbery last Thursday at Scotia Belama Branch, five thieves robbed a customer making a deposit of some thirty-five thousand dollars in cash and […]
In acknowledging the effort of the men and women of law enforcement, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams also highlighted the fact that when officers run afoul of the law, they are also subject to disciplinary and penal measures. Today’s ceremony, though commendable, does not negate the fact that there are rogue officers in the fold. […]
Volleyball is an all-time favourite sport among children of all ages. Today, we found a group of volleyball aficionados dribbling the ball at the Mexico Sports Centre. The programme is organized by EA Volleyball Academy to improve the game of the youths and take them to the other level in a fun environment. News Five’s […]
Assistant Commissioner of Police Marco Vidal headed an early morning law enforcement operation in Belize City on Tuesday where he led just about three hundred police and B.D.F. officers into various neighbourhoods in the City to round up active gang members under a new state of emergency. Vidal was at the press conference on Tuesday […]
The Belmopan City Council and the Public Service Union settled their almost two-year long dispute over the Hilltop property in Belmopan. As a part of the settlement, the Belmopan City Council has given the P.S.U. a one-acre property, among other commitments. You’ll recall that the P.S.U. has been leasing the Hilltop from the Belmopan City […]
While a state of emergency is in effect in the south side of the City, across the country, a nightly curfew for children remains in effect, despite the lifting of a national state of emergency on June thirtieth imposed for the COVID-19 pandemic. All minors unaccompanied by an adult are required to be indoors between […]
There’s new development into the University of Belize’s management issues. Late this evening, the President of the UB Professor Clement Sankat issued an invitation via a press release to the Academic Council, Senior Management, Directors, UB Faculty & Staff Association to announce that there will be an online meeting on Monday morning where he will […]
Over eighty thousand persons applied for the COVID-19 Unemployment Relief, but only forty-three thousand applications were approved. Many persons, however, complained of not having received any assistance, despite receiving a text message confirming their approval; others say they only received a single disbursement of one hundred and fifty dollars over the course of the last […]
It’s been years now that the immigration scandal implicating several U.D.P. ministers, including the infamous Elvin Penner, came to light. Penner is the former Minister of State for Immigration and Nationality who is accused of selling visas and facilitating the issuance of a Belizean passport for South Korean fugitive, Wong Hong Kim, who was in […]
The Christian Workers Union on Wednesday submitted a notice of strike action against the Port of Belize Limited. The staff of the P.B.L. has been protesting against a ten percent salary cut instituted by the management of the Port. The union initiated a go slow on Wednesday and has plans to go on a full-on […]
The 2020 season of the National Elite Basketball League was cut short in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But this season is over, and now, the league is in the process of preparing for the 2021 season. To get the ball bouncing, there is a new N.E.B.L. commissioner. Christopher McGann is taking over the […]
Seventy students of San Antonio RC School in the Orange Walk District today received an assortment of back to school supplies as part of the Belize Tourism Board staff’s community outreach programme during the COVID-19 crisis. The happy students received a knapsack, composition books, hand sanitizers, face masks, pencil cases, and a variety of other […]
Scotia Bank Belize has made a donation today; it handed over five thousand dollars to be used for personal protective equipment to the Belize Police Department. The protective face shields will be procured through the Rotary Club of Belize and distributed to police officers. The donation comes as the country prepares for the phased reopening […]
The Attorney General also addressed today another issue that is bubbling. The Scenes of Crime team is being relocated from the Queen Street Police Station to a new home in downtown Belize City. Its new location, however, is stirring up controversy as it is the former office building of Barrow and Williams on Albert Street […]
In the local courts, Opposition Leader John Briceño and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Julius Espat have made an application seeking that the Chief Justice’s ruling against Prime Minister and his government be formalized. The former chief justice Kenneth Benjamin retired before providing a written judgment which he handed down on January thirty-first, 2020. Benjamin […]
The Public Service Union saga on the Hilltop property has come to a peaceful conclusion. In what was to have been a case management in a counter-claim made by Simplex Design Limited, the parties amicably settled all matters with no cost for either parties. Today, attorneys for the Public Service Union, the Belmopan City Council […]
The ten-year contract for the administration of the lottery is coming under fire from the People’s United Party. Brads Gaming Company was awarded the contract by the government last week; it runs until 2030. Today, the People’s United Party says it stinks of cronyism. The P.U.P. points to the cozy relationship between Brads and senior […]
Last week, Belize confirmed six new cases of COVID-19. The most recent patients were two Belizeans who entered the country illegally, but were placed under quarantine upon their entry. They were confirmed positive upon the second test administered, so for now the couple remains under quarantine. Last week Thursday, a woman and her two children […]
Chetumal has been placed under quarantine, again. That’s the news coming from our neighbours in the north. Televisa Quintana Roo, a Mexican news outlet, reports that the Secretary of Public Security made the announcement today. The decision to restore quarantine is because authorities say that the COVID-19 spread quickly in southern Quintana Roo by almost […]
COVID-19 continues to ravage countries around the world, including our Central and North American neighbors. With Belize heavily reliant on the economies of Mexico and the United States, any downward spiral in their financial systems can potentially cause a shock to our local economy. It is a likelihood that is not lost on Foreign Minister […]
