Belize is now a signatory to the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which was signed in December. But there has been no discernible movement to implementing its dictates and Cayo South area representative Julius Espat warned today that without a serious level of commitment from this or any future government, the UNCAC is toothless. […]
Belize is in the projected path of newly formed Tropical Storm Harvey. And we say projected because it is still early to determine whether it will really head this way. The weather system formed a couple hundred miles east of the Windward Islands, and may pose a threat to parts of the Caribbean in early […]
This afternoon, a handful of students, all of whom are members of the Child Advisory Board, an arm of the Belize City Council, were recipients of back-to-school grants. The initiative is a humble means of acknowledging the efforts that children and teenagers have made in the governance and beautification of the Old Capital. Councilor Hyacinth […]
If you are looking for a job, here is an opportunity that can help you. BELTRAIDE today launched a talent fair to create an employment database to meet the demands of employers. To qualify, you must be sixteen years of age and older; computer skills are a plus and so are persons with technical abilities. […]
A month or so ago, the president of Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action and his counterpart in the Poor People’s Organization for a Healthy and Righteous Society, visited the campus gates of the now-Columbus Central University School of Medicine. It is summer break and there was nobody there, other than a caretaker. But that […]
In May, thirty-two-year-old Erin Linarez left his family home on the island of Ambergris Caye to voluntarily check himself into the REMAR rehabilitation center in Bullet Tree Village. Linarez, battling alcoholism, checked himself out in the early hours of the following morning. He left behind his cell and hasn’t been seen or heard from since. […]
If you’re a parent, you have definitely heard the advice that children enjoy routines. There are only a few weeks left before the start of the school year. And, that’s enough time to establish a healthy routine for your child. In tonight’s Healthy Living, we have some tips for moms and dads on getting their […]
An audit conducted for the period 2012-2013 by the Auditor General is exposing blatant disregard for the appropriation law and other government regulations. On Tuesday night, we reported on sweetheart deals within the Ministry of Works where Special Effects and Special Effects Performance became the majority provider of supplies to the ministry at prices that […]
From Works to Education…The Ministry of Education also came under significant scrutiny for its handling of tertiary financial assistance grants during the period April 2004 to March 2012. Examining various files and records, the report finds that the ministry’s authority for awarding funds for purposes other than tuition and scholarship fees was not clearly defined, […]
An amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act is to be tabled this Friday at a special meeting of the House of Representatives in Belmopan. For years, a committee headed by S.S.B. Chairman Doug Singh has been looking at decriminalizing the possession of small quantities of marijuana. Debate around the pros and cons of amending […]
The Guatemalan press reported that Taiwan is to grant that country six hundred fifty million U.S. dollars in assistance to construct the CA-Nine Highway to Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. But the Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize has responded that his country is not in a position to accommodate the multi-million dollar request. According to Foreign Minister Elrington, […]
Minister Elrington was also asked about an embarrassing case that has gone as far as the Caribbean Court of Justice, brought against him by Progresso Heights Limited. The court had given Elrington thirty days to hand over land documents to the company and that deadline is soon approaching, on the twenty-first of August. Elrington was […]
Doctor Lorna McKay, principal of Gwen Lizarraga High School, was sent on administrative leave on August seventh during the Tropical Storm Franklin scare, when she was visited with a letter from chairman of the Board of Directors of the school, Roosevelt Blades. Blades is the community representative and the right-hand man of Minister of Education […]
Wednesday night saw the launch of lighting fixtures for what is expected to be the crown jewel of Belize’s sporting facilities, the Marion Jones Sporting Complex. The Mexican Agency for International Development and Cooperation, AMEXCID, has become a key partner in advancing the development of the stadium to represent more sporting disciplines, with the building […]
Incumbent Belmopan area representative John Saldivar’s slate came in together in the August thirteenth U.D.P. convention for the City Council, freezing out Anna Banner-Guy, who is left to serve out a second term. Banner-Guy supported Saldivar’s rival for deputy party leader, Deputy Prime Minister Patrick Faber, who was willing to return the favor. Today, Faber […]
With municipal elections coming up in March 2018, the speculation has been that the U.D.P. will be pulling a fast one and calling general elections at the same time so that the Prime Minister can proceed to retire early with no losses under his belt. Senior Minister Wilfred Elrington dispelled that rumor, saying that general […]
The new school year starts in a couple of weeks for primary school children across the country. Today, the Rural Eastern Division of the Police Department had a back to school initiative where almost two hundred children from all thirty-two villages in its jurisdiction received school bags and supplies. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. […]
Today, we also found politicians tying down loose ends in assisting residents with expenses for the new school year. This morning, Albert Area Representative Tracy Panton received a donation from Taiwanese Ambassador Charles Liu. A cheque for five thousand dollars, earmarked for the people of Albert, was handed over to Panton as the first of […]
Late this evening, News Five has been able to get a sneak peek at the 2012-2013 Auditor General’s Report which is expected to be tabled this Friday in the House. The document is voluminous so it will take more time to go through its content page by page. But from what we have seen so […]
There are more details available tonight on the state of finances of the Belizean Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Last week, Shyne Barrow resigned abruptly when it became known that his predecessor Heather Cunningham and current Chair of BSCAP, was charging more than half a million dollars in fees for 2010 to 2013, even […]
Late this evening, BSCAP’s chairwoman, attorney Heather Cunningham, responded to claims being made by Shyne during a press conference earlier today. Those statements cast a negative light on Cunningham, as well as the organization because she is, for all intents and purposes, being accused of financial mismanagement during her term as C.E.O. While Shyne provided […]
Cunningham has taken umbrage to the allegations made by Shyne because she says they are slanderous. According to the chairwoman, the twenty-five hundred dollars that has been earmarked for distribution to member artists is the sum of what has been collected in revenue between 2014 and 2016. On the Phone: Heather Cunningham, Chairperson, BSCAP […]
At news time this evening, police confirmed that Jafari Castro and Gilbert Franklin are in police custody pending charges. The duo was detained earlier today in the south side of Belize City. Assistant Commissioner of Police responsible for Operations, Edward Broaster, told us earlier that the third suspect in the beating of basket ball player […]
San Ignacio police continue to investigate the burglary of the Caribbean Tires depot in Spanish Lookout, Cayo District, which is believed to be an inside job. On Saturday some twenty thousand U.S. dollars in cash; five thousand in cheques and an undisclosed amount in Belizean currency were stolen but a majority of it was almost […]
Over the weekend San Ignacio police received six Guatemalan nationals – thirty-eight years old Agusto Perez Gonzalez of Dolores, Petén; twenty-six years old Wilfredo Antoniel Chavez of Barrio Nuevo; eighteen year old Dimas Espana of Las Brisas; and three minors all seventeen years of age. They were caught digging for gold deposits inside a pit […]
