Since 2008, we’ve been reporting about the Lionfish. And if you’re wondering why ten years later we are still talking about – well, that is because this fish is impossible to eradicate. You will recall in the last five years there have been sustained campaigns to raise awareness and promote the culling of this venomous […]
It took years to move from the drawing board to its ground breaking, but the Stake Bank project is finally on its way. On Wednesday, the symbolic launch of the multi-million dollar investment got underway at its unique location just outside Belize City. With an injection of eighty-two million dollars, the cruise port facility is […]
The national teams from Antigua and Barbuda, Cuba and the Bahamas are in Belize for the qualifying round of the FIBA World Cup games that is taking place at the Civic Centre this weekend. The three-day international match-up begins on Friday and will determine two of the top sixteen placements, taking them one step closer […]
The Rotary Clubs of Edmonton, Canada and Belize gifted the Saint Luke’s Methodist Primary School with a playground. The outdoor recreational space is fitted with swings, slides and ladders for the children to play. The playground was salvaged from a community in Canada and installed on the school grounds. It was officially inaugurated on Wednesday. […]
It’s the place many people turn to when they are in a crisis. That’s because when someone is faced with a sudden diagnosis of kidney failure and needs emergency dialysis that they simply can’t afford, they go to the doors of the Kidney Association of Belize on LaCroix Boulevard in Belize City. The N.G.O. is […]
The scandal involving well-known Catholic priest Oliver Smalls has taken many by surprise, including those in his flock who attend service at La Inmaculada Parish in Orange Walk. Smalls is facing allegations of sexual abuse of minors in the U.S. While the disgraced minister has reportedly left the country, the debate rages on as to […]
As it concerns the church-state system of education, Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber has also weighed in to say that while there are merely allegations being made against Father Smalls; government is concerned for the safety of children who interact with priests in the school and church settings. Patrick Faber, Minister of Education “I […]
The most shocking of the sexual images circulated over the weekend involves a fifteen-year-old student of Wesley College, in uniform. She has since taken a leave of absence from school to receive professional help from a counselor. Minister of Education Patrick Faber says he supports the school’s administration in making available to the minor the […]
The wholesale distribution of pornographic images over the weekend on social media has raised the issue of cyber bullying and the urgent need for legislation to be passed to combat the malicious spread of damaging material. Those laws have been long in the making, despite the constant flood of lewd and sexually explicit material being […]
A thirty-eight page document presented as a Joint Legal Opinion on the legitimacy of the Special Agreement signed between Belize and Guatemala in 2008 has been put forward by a trio of venerable attorneys. Kareem Musa, Anthony Sylvestre and Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley have examined the validity of the Compromis through their legal lens and have […]
According to Senior Counsel Shoman, the 1859 Treaty serves as somewhat of a default setting and says that the argument in the Joint Legal Opinion is premature and flawed. Lisa Shoman, Attorney/Former Foreign Minister “One thing they have not considered is that Schedule One absolutely and completely references the 1859 Treaty at 1A. So […]
Despite its imminence, there are those who argue that the I.C.J. referendum is not binding and it’s merely a consultative process. One of the final cases heard before the Privy Council prior to Belize adopting the Caribbean Court of Justice as its final appellate jurisdiction, was the Vellos case where the idea of the binding […]
On Monday, the People’s United Party picketed the Vital Stats Office in downtown Belize City, criticizing the government department for the many hiccups and hurdles in accessing its services. The unit remains under heavy scrutiny particularly by the Opposition as supporters go through the re-registration process ahead of the April tenth referendum. In the wake […]
Stake Bank Cruise Port is one step closer to becoming a reality, following a groundbreaking ceremony this morning for the construction of a premier docking facility for cruise ships in Belize City. The twenty-five acre island on which the facility will be built will feature tendering, shopping, cultural attractions and beaches. It also promises to […]
It has been three years since the Ya’axche Conservation Trust has been attempting to get the attention of the Lands Department to address the serious issues plaguing the Trio Farmers Cacao Growers Association. According to its executive director, the illegal activities near the reserve have been threatening their livelihood. Christina Garcia says that they have […]
The Ministry of Health unveiled a human resources health strategic plan. The plan is to ensure that there is equitable distribution of appropriately and skilled workers in the health sector. The need to focus on the human resources is to offer stronger support to achieve health outcomes in Belize – and by extension help to […]
The mass circulation of a video clip depicting an underage female student in her high school uniform engaged in a sexual act is repulsive. Since its release over the weekend, a number of government and non-government agencies have come forward to condemn the act and the recording, as well as its distribution. The National Committee […]
The publication of a list of forty-two priests with ‘credible and substantiated’ allegation of sexual abuse against a child by the Richmond Diocese includes the name of Father Oliver Smalls. The Belizean priest has been removed from ministry and will no longer administer in public in the Diocese of Belize City and Belmopan, following the […]
All roads led west this morning as a convoy of police vehicles made its way to an undisclosed location where a huge haul of drugs was incinerated. It’s part of a routine destruction process where a mass of seized narcotics is ferried to a remote area and done away with. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports. […]
Ten years ago, on December eighth, 2008 the Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala signed, at OAS headquarters, the Special Agreement between Guatemala and Belize to submit the territorial, insular and maritime claim of Guatemala to the International Court of Justice. Minister Wilfred Elrington signed on behalf of the country while the then Minister of […]
According to Attorney Anthony Sylvestre, since the Special Agreement commits Belize to hold a referendum with the intention to settle the dispute at the I.C.J. which will rule on Belize’s boundaries and borders, such agreement needs to two-thirds majority approval from the National Assembly. Anthony Sylvestre, Attorney “Until and unless the provisions or the […]
With fifty more days to go until the April tenth I.C.J. Referendum, government still has the opportunity to take the Special Agreement to the House. Kareem Musa, Attorney “The beauty of all of it is that April tenth 2019 is not a date set on stone. So the Prime Minister and the government need […]
If you have ever been to the Vital Statistics Unit, you probably have experienced the frustration that comes along with that visit. People from every single district have been complaining of not only the snail-like process but basic and serious errors on documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, and death certificates. But recently, members […]
At a recent press conference FECTAB President, Yhony Rosado raised concerns on two issues he says that Belize City tour guides would feel the negative effects of. According to Rosado, tour guides in the Old Capital will be negatively impacted by the introduction of a foreign tour company and the redirection of Norwegian Cruise Line’s […]
The Pan American Health Organization kicked off its country and sub-regional managers meeting in Belize City today. The meeting brings together health directors from Central America, Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic to discuss the opportunities and challenges of getting support from multilateral agencies. Today, News Five stopped by the meeting to talk with Belize’s […]
