Primary school students from across Belize City were treated to a special Christmas treat earlier today, thanks to the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association. The F.C.C.A. hosts an annual Christmas party for children in the Old Capital and today the kids had a grand time partying with Ozzie the Clown and Santa and his elves. News […]
Jesus of Nazareth admonished his followers during his time on Earth to never forget the least of us, saying, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” As we approach Christmas season, organizations are finding ways and opportunities to share and to give. For […]
In the Capital, the Senate hosted its final session for 2016 at the National Assembly. It reviewed and passed nine bills brought back from the House and several motions. Of these, the most important are the motions asking for ratification of the Special Agreement between Belize and Guatemala formalizing a potential settlement of the unfounded […]
The Opposition contends that there has been a rush to judgment and that the Government need not have acted with such haste. They say their view is bolstered by an admission from the Foreign Minister that the ratification of the Agreements is not and has never been needed to hold the referendum. That, combined with […]
One thousand six hundred acres of prime farm land gobbled up by a powerful family in five years, at great loss to the Government and people of Belize. That, in brief, is the story of the land grab in Carmelita village, Orange Walk, broken by News Five and spurred on by the People’s United Party. […]
Among the bills considered by the Senate today is the Treasury Bill (Number Three) Amendment Bill, which juggles the limits that Government can raise on treasury bills and treasury notes. There is a net increase of a quarter billion dollars which should adequately cover the second B.T.L. Arbitration Award payment. But it brings its own […]
Belize Rural South Area Representative, Manuel Heredia Junior, according to the Auditor General’s report, received fifty-two visa foils that were to have been delivered to the Officer in Charge of the Immigration Department in San Pedro. On Wednesday, Supervisor of Audit Carla Faber testified before the Senate Select Committee that Heredia was not authorized to […]
According to Heredia, acting as a courier to convey documents, including passports and visas foils, from San Pedro to the respective departments within the Ministry of Immigration is simply part of the services he provides to his constituents. Manuel Heredia Jr., Area Rep., Belize Rural South “Ever since I was mayor of San Pedro, […]
Who is leaking inaccurate suggestions of private deliberations of the Senate Special Select Committee on Immigration to certain sections of the media? That question came up in the full meeting of the Senate during debate on the Supplementary Appropriation Bill. According to the United Democratic Party’s organ, the Guardian newspaper, Senator Mark Lizarraga is at […]
A News Five crew was on Harvest Caye today at the invitation of Norwegian Cruise Lines. It is the first time the media was invited to experience the cruise port in southern Belize. We can say that NCL has developed a world-class tourist destination and we’ll have that report on Friday. But in Belmopan, member […]
Minister of Tourism Manuel Heredia Junior also took on Federation of Cruise Tourism Association of Belize for their allegation that visitors who booked with NCL to call on Belize, did so because they had already made arrangements with independent tour operators in Belize City. According to Heredia Junior, NCL disagrees with FECTAB and that all […]
Since NCL launched its Harvest Caye destination on November seventeenth, there have been concerns among local tour operators that their counterparts in Placencia aren’t getting a slice of the tourism pie. According to Colin Murphy, Senior Vice President of Destination Development for NCL, a number of shore excursions are presently being offered to guests which […]
Over a hundred and twenty persons are new Belizeans. The group of persons took the oath making them citizens of the country in Belmopan on Wednesday. They come from as close as Central America and the Caribbean and as far as Mynamar, formerly Burma, and Bangladesh in Asia. The Minister of State of Immigration welcomed […]
Christmas is a time of sharing and caring and the Police of Eastern Division North Precinct Three want to spread some cheer this holiday season. Press Officer of Eastern Division North Fitzroy Yearwood says that six needy families will be given food hampers as a part of their outreach to the communities they serve. But […]
Christmastime is said to be a period of joy and merriment; where families come together and celebrate and build memories with their loved ones. The kids look forward to see what Santa delivered and everyone anticipates that traditional Christmas meal. Sounds great right? Well for many this is certainly not their experience in this season, […]
Today, the family of Janeeka Campbell said their final goodbyes to the two year old child as she was laid to rest at the Lord Ridge Cemetery in Belize City, following funeral services at the Universal Church on Queen Street. But police have still not been able to determine whether her death was as a […]
The Senate Special Committee on Immigration hosted its third meeting in Belmopan today. It continued its questioning of Auditor General, Dorothy Bradley, and Supervisor of Audit Carla Faber, on various aspects of the three-volume Special Audit Report on Visas, Passports and Nationality 2011-2013. One major question raised so far during the meeting is how the […]
Inside the Senate Committee meeting, much of the discussion in the morning session was taken up with going over the requirements to issue visas, which the Department seemed to treat as step one in the accelerated process to becoming, illegally, a Belizean citizen. Apart from the usual requirements, matters of security and finance were on […]
The auditors noted in the course of their report that twenty-five thousand defective visas bought from Three-M Company in the U.S. were replaced at a cost of more than fifty thousand Belize dollars, and the originals were destroyed before they could get to them. As part of their investigation of the cash and stock on […]
The Belize Association of General Managers of Pre and Primary Schools says that classes will resume on January third, 2017, contrary to what the Belize National Teachers Union stated on Monday. In a letter written by the association’s Vice Chair Denise Lamb, she says that managers unanimously agreed to have schools reopen six days earlier […]
When the teachers went on an eleven-day strike in October, they had put together a list of eight demands, called the good governance agenda. One of the demands was the contracting of an international expert to investigate the beheading of Pastor Llewellyn Lucas in July. Lucas’ head was found in a bucket in the pan […]
Now back to the senate…Three meetings of the Committee are now complete and some are wondering why the Committee is taking its time and moving so cautiously in relation to questioning the Audit Department. Today Senators spent some time questioning the visa process and how it related to whether visas issued to persons who later […]
Despite initial cynical comments, some from those inside the process, that the Committee’s inquiry will amount to naught, the Committee is expected to produce a report on the testimony of those it calls and make recommendations as to how to proceed with cleaning up the Immigration Department. Two things some expected to see within that […]
Outgoing Minister of Lands Vanessa Retreage clears her desk on December thirty-first, not before completing a list of tasks which include apprising the media on the controversial Ron J Limited land transaction in which an agreement was signed to compensate Ron J a million dollars for land in Placencia which the company acquired for six […]
As far as investigation into the questionable transactions involving land acquired by the Vega family in Carmelita, PM Barrow says that if the facts are indeed accurate, as presented by Lake I Area Representative Cordel Hyde last Friday in the House, then it should be reproved altogether. He also likened that land grab to similar […]
