The Opposition People’s United Party announced a week ago tonight that it had filed a motion in the Senate to allow for debate on amending the Maritime Areas Act of 1992. That motion will be officially announced at the next meeting of the Senate by the lead P.U.P. Senator, Eamon Courtenay. The goal is to […]
It was a rare moment at the Supreme Court this morning: Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington giving the press an interview on issues related to Guatemala, with former Foreign Minister, Senator Eamon Courtenay, appearing to listen keenly in the background. And he surprised the press by going to the Guatemala issue first rather than […]
Senator Eamon Courtenay told News Five that the P.U.P.’s three Senators hope to join with the social partner Senators to get the matter debated in the Senate, preferably with but possibly without governmental support, after which it would go to the House once the motion passes. But the “excuses” raised by Foreign Minister Elrington will […]
As stated earlier by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the issue has come up in cabinet. On Thursday last, deputy Prime Minster Patrick Faber was quizzed about it. He said that the hands of cabinet ministers have been freed for them to vote their conscience. Patrick Faber, Deputy Prime Minister “It is a matter […]
On Monday, we told you that the Guatemalan public awareness campaign as to the March eighteenth, 2018 referendum on settlement of the unfounded claim on Belize at the International Court of Justice re-introduces a rather offensive item. We speak specifically of a map of Guatemala that includes Belize as the disputed “twenty-third province,” with a […]
Similar to Elrington, we posed the question of what can be done to counter the offensive Guatemalan map which affixes Belize as part of its territory to Senator Eamon Courtenay. The former Foreign Affairs Minister first questioned what the Government’s position was, and upon being told there was apparently none, incredulously issued out a laundry […]
The religious community continues to sound off on the issue of marijuana use and decriminalization. Despite having lost ground with the government in respect of its protest to the recent passage of an associated law, the Council of Churches remains vocal in its objection. This morning, Pastor Lance Lewis, the President of the National Evangelical […]
On Friday, Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte called into question the moral authority of the church on the issue of marijuana since it has been accused, and in some instances found guilty, of a number of atrocities. Nonetheless, its representatives firmly believe that within a democratic society they ought to be able to enjoy the freedom […]
The Immigration Department has quickly responded to allegations raised on this newscast on Friday by members of the LGBT community. Director Diana Locke has told executive director of the United Belize Advocacy Movement Caleb Orozco by email that her office has not received any application for visas from any Haitian national other than those attending […]
The World Youth Conference 2017 is being held under the theme, “Globally Running to 2030, Becoming Sustainably Strong.” The three-day meeting of youth leaders from across the world commenced today at the Ramada Belize City Princess. At the end of the conference, the Mahogany Declaration will be signed by all participants, which will lay out […]
Belize’s Customs and Excise Department is meeting with its partners on the National Committee for Trade Facilitation all this week in Belize City to discuss efforts to increase volume of trade. The Brussels, Belgium-based World Customs Organization sent two of its experts to assist with the consultation process. But the Customs and Excise Department has […]
The Bliss Center for the Performing Arts is the venue for the Gwangdae’s Korean folk performance, “Spin Jump Fly.” Just before news time tonight, the Korean Embassy in El Salvador which is accredited to Belize showcased Korean traditional dance, percussion instruments and the comedy of the circus. “Spin Jump Fly” is being performed by ten […]
There was further loss of life over the weekend. Two American senior citizen tourists apparently drowned in separate incidents between Friday and Saturday. The incidents took place in the beach corridor of the Stann Creek District, in Hopkins and Maya Beach near Placencia. As police revealed today, both men went off alone, one after socializing […]
The People’s United Party on Saturday evening presented its team of eleven aspirants for the Belize City Council, which it has not controlled since 2006. The team consists of first time mayoral aspirant Bernard Wagner and councilor aspirants, Ayesha Gentle, Doctor Candice Pitts, Delthrude Hylton, Ryan Elijio, Micah Goodin, Oscar Arnold, Allan Pollard, Javier Castellanos, […]
The settlement of the acquisition of Belize Telemedia Limited and related concerns twice over by the Government of Belize between 2009 and 2011 remains a burr in the saddle of the People’s United Party. The P.U.P. contends that the issue should have been settled long ago, and that the reason it was not was as […]
Thirty-two million dollars later – though in many quarters that figure is far more – the Belize Civic Center on Central American Boulevard is scheduled to be opened early in 2018. According to Belize Infrastructure Limited, while physical works are close to completion, the search has begun for a private management company to take over […]
News reports say that Guatemala will be reintroducing Belize as part of its official map. This is to take place due to an awareness campaign that is being undertaken in schools across the border in anticipation of their March eighteenth referendum on taking the territorial dispute to the International Court of Justice. The reports say […]
On Friday, Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte took square aim at the church and fired off a salvo of very harsh criticisms, chiding the religious community for its tardy objection to the marijuana law. He even went a step further to challenge the church’s moral authority on matters having to do with individual vices. Well, the […]
The topic of marijuana possession and consumption, in the days following the decriminalization of a small handful, remains at the center of public discourse simply because there are still more questions than answers. Last Tuesday, the church raised serious objections to the passage of the new law, though it was too little, too late. With […]
While the public continues to ask questions, a countrywide education campaign is being held within the Belize Police Department to inform officers of the new law and its parameters. According to attorney Bart Jones, himself a career police officer, it is necessary to teach his colleagues about the law and its regulations, despite their individual […]
One of four murders over the weekend occurred in the Old Capital; and even though the loss of one life is too much, the murder did not occur within any of three zones designated as hotspots in the City. Less than two weeks ago, police rolled out the Addressing Crime Together, which is its latest […]
The World Customs Organization and the Government of Sweden are funding a five-day consultative workshop and national training on the National Committees of Trade Facilitation. In February, the World Trade Organization put its first multilateral deal, the Trade Facilitation Agreement, into effect. Implementation of the agreement, according to the W.T.O., is forecast to slash members’ […]
Weed smokers across the country can exhale a marijuana-tinged sigh of relief tonight, following the decriminalization of ten grams of cannabis on Thursday. Governor General Sir Colville Young has assented to the passage of that piece of law after the bill was initially tabled in the House of Representatives back in August. Just last week, […]
The recent spike in violent crimes in Belize City is being attributed to an ongoing drug war among rival groups, purportedly over the sale of marijuana. With the decriminalization of that small quantity comes an insatiable appetite for various strains of the drug which will inevitably drive its demand. While the police department has made […]
The Belize Police Department, according to AG Peyrefitte, is fully onboard with the new law; however, there are officers within the agency that are averse to the idea of persons possessing any amount of weed on them. So how will that skepticism be addressed? The Attorney General says rest easy; you can’t be prosecuted if […]
