Back to the issue of fraudulent land transactions….The Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry issued a strong release today condemning the corruption at the Ministry of Natural Resources. It says inaction by G.O.B. on the abuse of our natural and fiscal resources is no longer accepted. According to the Chamber, despite evidence of blatant abuse […]
Despite the signing of the UNCAC last December, corruption continues to be pervasive. Usher calls on all stakeholders to come together and put in place a mechanism to keep all politicians in check. On the Phone: Nikita Usher, President, BCCI “Only a few weeks ago, we saw the audit report on a few ministries […]
Following his press conference, Opposition Leader John Briceño was questioned on several other burning national issues. The United Democratic Party this past Sunday held a contested convention for the post of Mayor and councilor for the Belize City Council that resulted in Dion Leslie being elected over Philip Willoughby and seven of the incumbent councilors, […]
In Guatemala, the Constitutional Court has upheld its provisional ruling that President Jimmy Morales cannot expel Ivan Velasquez, a veteran Colombian prosecutor who leads Guatemala’s International Commission against Impunity, known as CICIG. In seeking to expel Velasquez, President Morales dismissed his Foreign Minister, Carlos Raul Morales, for not following through on his order. Guatemalan prosecutors […]
Ten youths from the Mayflower area in Belize City received their certificates in food preparation and hospitality training today after concluding a summer program with the ITVET through the Department of Youth Services Mayflower Youth Center. As we found out from Jamie Rocke, the program was requested by the residents of the Mayflower area. […]
There are more revelations tonight concerning the extent of the Vega family’s grab for land across the country. Not only was there land swapping with seemingly willing accomplices, but new documentation indicates that relatives of former deputy Prime Minister and Lands Minister Gaspar Vega engaged in alleged forgery in a land scheme involving compensation for […]
It remains to be seen how the Prime Minister and Senator Doctor Carla Barnett, who has been put in day-to-day charge of the Ministry of Natural Resources, will react to the bombshell dropped by Amy Forte and her attorneys. But in response to a sheaf of documents totaling one hundred and eighteen, which detailed another […]
For the second time in several months, a well-known Belizean artist is the victim of an armed robbery. The most recent and brazen attack occurred this morning near the Lord Ridge Cemetery in which dancehall star Dajah Young was held up at gunpoint by a robber who pounced on her as she walked along the […]
The last word on Sunday’s United Democratic Party municipal convention in Belize City goes to the vanquished Philip Willoughby. He lost out to the better-heeled Dion Leslie for the mayoral position but just made it on the list of councilors, and earned admiration from many for persevering in the face of monumental odds. Today, he […]
Even though Willoughby is not at the top of the ticket, his decision to focus his race on promoting a “softer social” side of a council appears to have some traction with both the electorate and his erstwhile opponents. The council, however, focused on infrastructural and macro-economic gains. Willoughby told us that he will continue […]
Following months of calm, the bloodbath in the month of August has resulted in eight murders. Not all, but it is considered that most of the killings are gang-related. So is a pact between the rival gangs holding? That’s questionable, but what is known is that the thriving drug trade is behind a spate of […]
Acting President Kuylen expects full quorum since the meeting was called for by members. Also on the agenda are the dismissals of general secretary Michael Blease and others. Blease was publicly replaced by Earl Jones in July. While he expects at least one challenge over those dismissals, Kuylen says it is an effort to continue […]
It has not been a good year on or off the field for Belize in football. In January, the national team was shut out of qualification for the Gold Cup, while a few weeks ago the national club champion Belmopan Bandits failed to make it past the first round of the CONCACAF League. There is […]
Children First and Last Belize is a non-profit organization that supports children in education and health care. As a part of their contribution to education, today members of the organization presented a check of about seven hundred dollars to the Principal of Bethel Primary School in Belize City. The money is to cover school fees […]
On Friday, the annual carnival motorcade throughout the streets of Belize City gets underway. This will be followed by the revered competition of the giant costumes on Saturday night at the Marion Jones Stadium in Belize City. This year, an impressive ten junior bands and six senior bands will participate in the 2017 King and […]
Seventeen-year-old Erwin Paulino Rodriguez of Grown Dove Street in Belize City is missing. The teen was last seen in the Jane Usher Boulevard area on Thursday sometime after three o’clock in the afternoon. He went to his mother’s work for some money but then left shortly and disappeared. The teenager is of Hispanic descent, stands […]
On Monday, we reported that the Prevail Combat Club of Belize City hauled in thirteen medals, eight of which are gold, when they participated in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu competition held in Mexico over the weekend. Jameel Smith wants to promote the sport among youths and calls for them to join an upcoming program for those […]
KTV, the Remix is inching closer to a successful end. The show started with fifteen performers selected from a wide pool of talent from around the country. After many rounds of battle, it is down to five performers, one who will exit the stage tonight. The four finalists will move on to perform R and […]
2008 was the last time the United Democratic Party staged a contested convention for the mayoral nomination for Belize City; the U.D.P. has been in control of the City Council since 2006. That year, more than six thousand, six hundred voters cast ballots at the Belize City Center, and incumbent Zenaida Moya defeated her then-deputy, […]
Earlier today, we asked the Minister of Foreign Affairs about dubious campaign financing. Elrington says it’s not a charge that can be made against him since his political campaigns and those of his daughter Alifa are personally funded from monies he says he legitimately earned. On Sunday, Elrington’s youngest daughter offered herself for candidacy on […]
Guatemalan authorities have arrested a Belizean man they believe is behind a criminal structure dedicated to cloning credit cards for the purpose of fraud. Guatemalan news sources say fifty-seven-year-old Harold Lindsay Amos Rodriguez was held after attempting to avoid a checkpoint in the Nueva Montserrat section of Guatemala City and using a firearm to attempt […]
The Chinese Disabled People Performing Arts Troupe arrived in Belize over the weekend and took to the stage free of cost at the Bliss on Sunday, as part of a two-night cultural presentation in the city. But the arrival of the thirty-three visually impaired performers was not without controversy. The Belize Chinese Association is up […]
The Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives met in session this morning in Belmopan to plot a course for investigation into the 2012-2013 Auditor General’s Report tabled in the House on August eighteenth. Chairman Julius Espat of the People’s United Party has campaigned for the hearings to be held in public as part […]
Espat is hardly deterred, saying he will continue to fight for publication of the Committee’s work before the final report is laid on the House’s table at some point in the future. But today’s result has spurred Espat to once again call for a bi-cameral joint special committee, inviting members of the Senate, specifically the […]
Belize was spared a direct hit from what was then Tropical Depression Harvey a week ago tonight, but residents of the Gulf Coast of Texas have not been so lucky. The storm intensified to Category Four status before striking the Houston area late on Friday. The storm has since been downgraded to tropical storm status, […]
