An energetic group protested at ground zero this morning at the foot of the Swing Bridge in Belize City. They want to rectify a vexing matter in respect of the naming of the new building that replaces the old Paslow building. That building was gutted by a fire in 2002 and now that a new […]
There is a land issue brewing in western Belize. Over twenty farmers in La Gracia claim that surveyors have initiated works on their land. The farmers say that majority of them have lease titles and have worked on the land for more than twenty-five years. The farmers are concerned that they will lose the land […]
A twenty-one year old advanced diver is heading to Malaysia to compete in the Miss Scuba International Pageant. She is Johnisha Ariola, a stunning beauty from Hopkins, Stann Creek District. Ariola is preparing, learning the do’s and don’ts of the pageant, which seeks to highlight the marine environment. Ariola says she is feeling confident that […]
Sanctuary Bay is quite a beautiful place. Well, this is what the Prime Minister was told and undoubtedly what recidivist scammer Andris Pukke and associates used to convince more than one thousand U.S. investors to depart with their life savings and pump their hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars in the project. As part of […]
In September 2016, the then Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit, Joy Grant, received an email alerting the F.I.U. of an ongoing investigation into massive violations of our Foreign Exchange Regulations by the principals and developers of the S.R.W.R. real estate project. While evidence was collected, the F.I.U. determined that the likelihood of a successful […]
The People’s United Party says that the F.I.U.’s determination to not proceed with criminal charges is bogus. During a press conference last week, P.U.P. Kareem Musa suggested that charges such as obtaining property by deception could have been proceeded with. Prime Minister Dean Barrow disagrees. On the Phone: Prime Minister Dean Barrow “But that […]
The multimillion-dollar Sanctuary Bay real estate scam is the biggest scam that the F.T.C. has investigated. It has certainly scared off future foreign investors and forced Atlantic International Bank Limited to fold. The scam has given Belize an international black eye. In order to prevent such reoccurrence, the PM says that a consumer protection entity […]
This morning at the office of the Prime Minister in Belize City, a significant financing agreement of thirty-one point nine-six million dollars for the energy sector was signed by the PM and E.U. Ambassador to Belize Malgorzata Wasilewska. The grant is allocated under the Eleventh European Development Fund to assist in the social and economic development of Belize. The […]
Round five of the village council elections took place in four districts: Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize and Cayo, where sparks flew among opposing party supporters and candidates. The People’s United Party is claiming victory, saying that ninety of its candidates were victorious. According to the P.U.P.’s figures, the party won thirteen of the twenty-six participating […]
An event that happened a century ago; has not been featured prominently in our history books, but it could have sparked a change in history of the then colony. According to organizers of an event today, the 1919 revolution was the first revolt that could have had significant impact to change the course of what […]
It’s been almost two months since construction works have begun on Ground Zero at the bottom of the Swing Bridge in the heart of the City. It is where an iconic structure of colonial architectural design, the Paslow Building, once stood. That is before the third floor of the building was gutted by fire in […]
Tonight, we take a closer look at the millions of dollars, as much as a whopping one hundred and fifty million, approved in tax concessions to the failed Sanctuary Bay development, which is listed with a U.S. address. It resulted in millions not collected when import duties were waived. In a confidential memo to Cabinet, […]
Last Friday, the law firm of Barrow and Williams issued a statement which essentially served as a cease and desist letter warning the media against publishing or broadcasting details of a document in which serious allegations were made against Prime Minister Barrow by the Federal Trade Commission. Belize’s head of government was named by the […]
The P.U.P. has fired off a press release highly critical of the Financial Intelligence Unit, following the issuance of a statement today. The P.U.P. condemns the F.I.U.’s attempt to extricate itself from the Sanctuary Bay debacle, which it says the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is convinced it involves some level of collusion between the highest […]
At a press conference on a range of issues this morning, Cola also touched on the reinstituted curfew that came into effect on Thursday night, COLA President Shawn Saldano scoffed at the idea that the imposed restriction on movement of teenagers below the age of eighteen will actually work. Shawn Saldano, President, COLA “It’s […]
The Belize Tourism Board held its annual digital summit today, a forum which allows stakeholders to learn how to market their companies, products, as well as the country, on the online and social media platforms. Separated into two simultaneous workshops, participants were given the choice of streamlining the information that they wanted to gather on […]
Financial literacy is the possession of a unique set of skills, as well as knowledge, that allow an individual to make informed effective decisions with all of their financial resources. It is also an area of interest for the Ministry of Education since it helps to prepare children and young adults for the future. While […]
Children are taking advantage of summer programmes they find appealing and capture their interests. The annual summer camp organized by SMART attracts aficionados of football. The event kicked off this morning here in Belize City; it is strong on competition and discipline and most importantly, keeps the youth away from the streets, engaging them in […]
Primary school children from across Belize City participated in a weeklong summer program organized by COLA. The camp which culminated this morning at Wesley Lower School in the downtown area saw roughly forty students participating. They received certificates of completion and recognition at a brief ceremony held on the school compound. The summer camp is […]
The Sanctuary Bay scam is back in the news tonight. First, there is a response from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission which tells News Five that the matter is still under litigation following statements made that there is a settlement after a damming report was made to a U.S. bankruptcy court, throwing not stones, but […]
In November 2012, former C.E.O. in the Ministry of Trade and Investment, Mike Singh, told the Sanctuary Bay investors that the Belizean government stood committed to help develop the project. During today’s press conference, the P.U.P.’s Kareem Musa produced a 2011 memorandum, not seen before, which reportedly offers Eco Futures Belize Limited—one of the many […]
In the multitude of documents, the F.T.C. points out that the Financial Intelligence Unit was warned by then Central Bank Governor Glen Ysaguirre, via email, of an ongoing investigation into massive violations of our Foreign Exchange Regulations by the principals and developers of the S.R.W.R. real estate project. That email was sent to the then […]
The allegations made by the Federal Trade Commission against Prime Minister Dean Barrow are so damning that the Prime Minister hired his law firm, Barrow and Williams, to warn that any re-broadcast, re-publication or repeating of F.T.C.’s allegations against him may result in civil action. Musa views the letter as an attack on the fourth estate, […]
And the Prime Minister has made good on his warning. Barrow and Williams has written Vaughn Gill, host of the P.U.P.’s media organ Positive Vibes Radio. The letter speaks of statements made by Gill on The Whip Talk Show on several occasions in which he made allegations against PM Barrow, concerning the Sanctuary Bay scam. […]
In a recent statement made on social media, Minister of National Security John Saldivar spoke on crime and perception. The minister said that murder, burglary, theft, and robbery all declined between January and June of this year when compared to last year. The violence in the past days, however, has added to the growing number […]
