Another example of supposed hustling extends beyond Immigration to the Border Management Agency under the Ministry of Tourism. There have been reports that officers of that agency have assessed extra fees to those crossing into Belize from the Western Border. While it has not been determined if an incident captured on camera involves an Immigration […]
Several current Ministers of Government have been faulted for offering and signing recommendations to facilitate persons getting passports, visas and other services. Some have gone even further, from couriering to, as alleged of ex-Minister Elvin Penner, facilitating select persons including Won Hong Kim, who never set foot in Belize. All have denied it, but on […]
Among the recommendations by the Auditor General in her report is the complete revocation, pending investigation, of all nationality certificates and passports issued to the persons named in the report that were granted between 2011 and 2013. It’s a measure some, including Director of Immigration Diana Locke, deems drastic. The man who helped start it […]
Business Community Senator Mark Lizarraga acted as chair of the Senate Hearings today in place of Aldo Salazar, whom he said had a prior commitment. On the matter of the ex-ministers, whom he would not name, but whom we have identified as from Cayo and Dangriga, acting as Immigration agents, he cried shame. Lizarraga says […]
Are ordinary Belizeans somewhat partly to blame for the state of affairs at the Immigration Department? Is our thirst for accelerated service contributing to the “culture of corruption” so extensively discussed at the Senate Committee hearings? While not saying so outright, Director of Immigration Diana Locke acknowledged that some of the Department’s problems trace back […]
In Belize City, attorney Richard “Dickie” Bradley, who is defending Cameron Usher Senior and considers him a close friend, says the bigger tragedy than the discovery and burning of the marijuana plantation is how the Gang Suppression Unit handled the matter. Family members of Cameron and Kelvin Usher say G.S.U. officers fired shots as they […]
Police making a routine traffic stop in Belize City on Saturday encountered twenty-seven-year-old Shayanne Castro, a Port Authority clerk, and her husband Wasani, found no evidence of firearms or ammunition in their vehicle. But, spurred on by the suspicious behavior of the occupants, police were convinced that they were on to something, and that something, […]
After introducing for a first reading the bill to decriminalize possession of ten grams or less of marijuana in the House of Representatives in August, Prime Minister Dean Barrow indicated that a public education campaign would be needed to address certain beliefs and concerns floating around during the long-standing debate about marijuana in the last […]
Severe cases of conjunctivitis remain on the rise across the country, as infections among adults and children continue to spread. Pink eye, as it is commonly known, is a swelling of the outermost layer of the white part of the eye, as well as the inner surface of the eyelid. While it makes the eye […]
Prevention of pink eye is partly by hand washing and treatment depends on the underlying cause. In the majority of viral cases, there is no specific treatment; however, most cases resulting from a bacterial infection will resolve without treatment. Dr. Ethan Gough, Epidemiologist “What you can do as an individual to protect yourself is […]
Two devastating earthquakes struck central and south-western Mexico in succession between September seventh and nineteenth. Between them they have caused more than four hundred deaths and extensive material damage. As bad as things have been, the rest of the nations of the world, led by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs […]
The National Emergency Management Organization led a simulation exercise for a multi-disaster and emergency response scenario involving a break in a dam along with other scenarios happening at the same time, some of them more familiar such as earthquakes and hurricanes. National Emergency Coordinator Shelton DeFour spoke to the scenario being dealt with and how […]
At this hour, the Mexican Embassy in Belize is unveiling two separate photographic exhibits at the Mexican Institute of Cooperation in Belize City as part of their year-long celebration of Belize and Mexico’s diplomatic relations established in 1981. The first are photographs of two celebrated figures of the Mexican art world: muralist Diego Rivera and […]
The other exhibit is photographs of major infrastructure in ten Mexican cities from Zacatecas in the north to the capital, Mexico City, to Campeche in the south. These are the ten cities established as World Heritage Cities because of their architectural development, a mix of Spanish, Maya, Aztec and similar influences. Like Belize, Mexico faces […]
Fuel prices have increased as many as four times in two months; twice in August and twice in September. The surprise increase sneaked on Friday sent premium prices rocketing at eleven dollars and ninety two cents. According to our calculations, government is raking in more than five dollars in GST and environmental taxes per gallon […]
Millions have been affected by the massive seven point one earthquake that hit Mexico City on the nineteenth of September. Over the weekend, two other quakes were experienced even as Mexico continues to search for survivors. So far the death toll has risen to three hundred and twenty persons and many more are believed dead, […]
Member of the Senate Special Select Committee, business community Senator Mark Lizarraga, was a guest of Channel Five’s Open Your Eyes this morning. The Committee has been meeting since last November and called at least thirty witnesses to address various aspects of operations at the embattled Immigration Department between 2011 and 2013. But there is […]
There is an outbreak of pink eye that is spreading quickly across the region. While the rash of conjunctivitis has taken hold in neighboring Mexico, dozens of cases are also being reported in Belize daily. In three weeks, there have been over one thousand cases reported at health facilities across the country and that number […]
Health officials believe that they are dealing with a viral case of pink eye, which proliferates quicker than a bacterial outbreak. Dr. Gough says that samples will be sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency in Trinidad in the days ahead. Dr. Ethan Gough, Epidemiologist “Last week we had eight hundred and seventy cases. […]
World Pharmacist Day was celebrated in every corner of the globe today. The day is set aside to expose the work of pharmacists in improving health care to all. There was not much fanfare in Belize, but persons are being encouraged to deposit those expired medications in medicine cabinets at a number of pharmacies across […]
A fire consumed a property in Burrell Boom, Belize District, early on Sunday morning. The caretaker of the house was not at home when the fire broke and he and his daughters lost all their belongings in the fire. The family of Dyron Hyde believes the fire was deliberately set in the village where well […]
The Eastern Caribbean island nation of Dominica continues to recover from the ravages of Category Five Hurricane Maria which struck a week ago tonight. Its prime minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, has become the face of his nation’s suffering, openly crying on television as he told of his witness of the devastation his island had suffered. Taking […]
Independence Day in Belmopan was full of invective from both sides of the political spectrum, and there is a major announcement on Petrocaribe to report tonight. But we begin with breaking news affecting gas prices, which trickles down to all levels of society. Just under forty-eight hours after massive increases for regular and diesel fuel, […]
At news time, the Opposition People’s United Party has sent a release calling for Government to immediately reduce taxes on fuel, to alleviate the recent increases in fuel prices. The P.U.P. says that even with the cost of crude oil around fifty dollars per barrel, pump prices are among the highest in Belizean history, with […]
Now to Independence Day…independent now for thirty-six years, is Belize any better off? According to the Prime Minister, the country appears to be shaking off the malaise of recent years economically. But tempers are badly frayed in the social sector, with crime resurging and opponents in various sectors regularly at each other’s throats, egged on […]
