Belize today played host to the fourth gathering of the heads of government of the Caribbean and Mexico. Mexico is one of the most populous nations surpassing by far the combined population of the Caribbean islands, but there is plenty that the two sub-regions share. Most recently, natural disasters impacted the two so that the […]
The CARICOM/Mexico Summit concluded just after five o’clock this evening at the Best Western Hotel and it was immediately followed by a press conference led by Doctor Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada, who is the current chair of CARICOM. Doctor Mitchell summarized the top-level diplomatic conference by stating that Mexico has pledged to strengthen […]
Among the other areas of focus is an aim to bolster trade and investment between CARICOM and Mexico, through investment promotion agencies. Likewise, the announcement of a high-level private/public sector meeting among CARICOM member states was made. That gathering will be held in Grenada in December and will feature billionaire investor Richard Branson of Virgin […]
President Enrique Peña Nieto aside from reaffirming Mexico’s commitment to assisting the hurricane-affected island nations of the Caribbean also spoke about the need for improving bilateral cooperation in other areas of common interest. Enrique Peña Nieto, President of Mexico [Translated] “Mexico has participated since 1974 as an observer to CARICOM; this organization that unites […]
In mid-September of this year, the island country of Barbuda was deemed uninhabitable after category-five hurricane Irma flattened the island. Thousands were displaced and transferred to the twin island of Antigua. One week later, another category-five hurricane, Maria, swept through the Caribbean, devastating Dominica in its path; they too sought refuge on Antiguan soil. Today, […]
But even as Barbuda is in the early stages of rebuilding, the next hurricane season starts in seven months. According to Minister Greene, the greatest challenge facing the island is that even as the recovery process takes place, there is no access to concessionary funding because they are told that the gross domestic product in […]
On Tuesday’s newscast, we reported on a question asked of the commissioner of police by a reporter which suggested that the officer referred to in the video posted by Cross di Nitro was charged with extortion several years ago. We are able to confirm tonight, however, that the officer who was charged with extortion is […]
The loss of correspondent banking, also known as derisking, was a sticking point for Antiguan Minister of Trade, E.P. Chet Greene. His government has taken the lead for the Caribbean in exposing the effects of delinking countries from the international money chain. CARICOM member states, including Belize, have been adversely affected after U.S. financial institutions […]
Even before the arrival of Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto, the official delegations including heads of states from CARICOM and the respective foreign ministers, met at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza in two sessions this morning, ahead of the CARICOM-Mexico Summit. But in the case of Antigua and Barbuda, Prime Minister Gaston Browne was […]
The upper chamber of the National Assembly met in regular session today to consider multiple motions and bills, most brought from the House of Representatives after it met last Friday. One motion and one bill in particular provoked extensive debate which took up most of the day’s proceedings. The OFID Haulover Bridge Loan Motion was […]
In response, Minister of State for Finance, Doctor Carla Barnett, noted that the impact of climate change has forced new thinking in the design and development of infrastructure. She was with the Caribbean Development Bank at the time and knows of the origin of the project and its associated hiccups. But in addition to warning […]
Other bills including amendments to legislation on land, protection of married persons, immigration and temporary residency and BELTRAIDE were also debated, with the International Banking Bill still to come this evening. But the afternoon session was mostly dominated by the debate of the Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Act, intended to decriminalize possession of ten grams […]
Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte, among others, tried to make a correlation between use of legal drugs such as alcohol and tobacco in public, and the use of marijuana which is mostly private. He contended that the Bill does not encourage anyone to begin smoking marijuana. But Peyrefitte says the law is there to encourage those […]
On Monday, we reported that the Guatemalan government has decided that the referendum on taking the territorial claim to Belize will be held on March eighteenth 2018. That country is expected to spend some forty million U.S. dollars to carry out the poll to decide the question: “Do you agree that any legal claim by […]
Around eleven-twenty five this morning a fire broke out inside a house on Tigris Street. Five family members, three adults and two children, were inside the house at the time of the blaze. The family escaped unhurt and managed to take out some of their belongings, but most of the bigger items were lost to […]
In less than two weeks over two hundred youths from around the world will gather in Belize for the World Youth Conference. The conference will convene national, regional and international youth leaders under the theme: “Globally running to 2030, Becoming Sustainably Strong” from November sixth to the ninth at the Princess Hotel in Belize City. […]
This evening, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is hosting representatives of several Caribbean countries at a forum at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts here in Belize City. The forum is intended to discuss confronting challenges with respect to boundary disputes in the Caribbean. In addition to Belize’s ongoing dispute with Guatemala, Guyana has […]
In typical October style, the rains descended over the city and the western part of the country. Today, several schools sent students home and motorists and pedestrians had to navigate their way through streets with several inches of water. The downpour during this time is not unusual for October, but News Five’s Andrea Polanco spoke […]
With five or so weeks to go until the end of the Hurricane Season, we asked the Met Service what is the outlook for the immediate future. Climatologist Ronald Gordon says that it may still be a few wet weeks ahead, and the weather bureau continues to monitor any semblance of a development in the […]
For the past thirteen days, the media implemented a boycott of the activities of the Belize Police Department, following a breakdown in the mutual relationship shared between both parties. The abrupt departure from what was an agreed mode of operation took place in mid-September when the police department began refusing interview requests from the media, […]
A lie detector test taken by senior officer Allen Whylie back in 2008 continues to make headlines, despite the fact that the result of the polygraph was never determined. That’s because Whylie, while not yet Commissioner of Police, did not bother to follow up on the results, nor was he sanctioned by the United States […]
Today, the U.S. Embassy handed over a renovated hospital to the Belize Defense Force. The U.S. Southern Command’s Humanitarian Civic Action funded the rehabilitation of the medical facility at Price Barracks for over half a million Belize dollars. The hospital will enable the B.D.F. to improve health services offered annually to military and civilian patients […]
The world celebrates United Nations Day annually on October twenty-fourth to honor the organization’s promotion of human rights, social progress, and world peace. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon says, “The United Nations works for the entire human family of seven billion people, and cares for the earth, our one and only home.” Locally, the UN […]
The Ministry of Education for some time now has been exploring an active and practical way of learning math, science and language arts for primary school students. Over the weekend, a first cohort of teachers graduated from a professional development certification program, funded by the Inter-American Development Bank. Facilitated by Mount Saint Vincent University in […]
With consistently gaudy figures for arrivals and awards here, there and everywhere, Belize’s tourism industry has much to smile about. This past Saturday at the Princess Hotel, the top service providers were honored at the fifteenth annual Belize Tourism Board’s national tourism awards. The selected theme was “Rainforest Meets Reef.” Tourism Minister Manuel Heredia Junior […]
