Police Constable Edwardo Gonzalez was laid to rest this afternoon in Santa Elena, after taking his own life with a firearm while on duty last Wednesday. Gonzalez was stationed at the Queen Street Precinct on an overnight shift on May twenty-fifth, when he suddenly shot himself in the presence of his colleagues. The young officer […]
At the political level, there is tension between Belize and Guatemala as relations deteriorate over Guatemala’s assertion that it owns the Sarstoon. But over the weekend, you would not have known that. Evangelical pastors from Belize and Guatemala converged at the border to pray for peace; it all happened in front of the O.A.S. Office […]
A protest of about five hundred persons was held in Melchor de Mencos which is the nearest community across the western border where Belizeans trek to shop. Initially, Sunday’s protest was to highlight the downturn in economic activity occasioned by the tensions between Belize and Guatemala. But the protesters also took the opportunity to condemn […]
The annual Cancer Walk has been growing over the years, morphing into a powerful voice in the fight against the disease. The trek from Ladyville into the City started early Saturday morning and concluded at the Belize Cancer Society Headquarters hours later. Thousands from all walks of life have lost family or friends, are battling […]
Tonight, the uncertainty surrounding that volatile zone known as the Sarstoon is alive and well after Guatemalan Armed Forces denied a News Five team passage down the river this morning, claiming that we were trespassing in their national waters. If it had happened last week, as it has on multiple occasions in past months, it […]
Even as our team headed back to Belize City, deterred from entering the Sarstoon but having made the point that Guatemala isn’t playing on the same checkerboard, Prime Minister Dean Barrow weighed in on the incident with extreme prejudice. Apparently he had been briefed by C.E.O. in the Ministry of National Security George Lovell, likely […]
A release issued by government on Tuesday, announcing the revocation of the Sarstoon Prohibition SI, stated that, “While the formal mechanism is being worked on, the two sides have informally accepted a situation in which there will be untrammeled traffic for Belize’s military and civilians along the Sarstoon.” So what exactly is an informal acceptance? […]
So with Belizean civilians still not able to enter the Sarstoon, what happens next? Will government perhaps seek to reinstitute the Sarstoon Law? On the Phone: Prime Minister Dean Barrow “Why would I do that? That S.I. was to serve the limited purpose of ensuring that at the time the circumstances that saw us […]
It’s clear what the real protocol is at the Sarstoon where civilians are concerned. Belizeans can’t go there. But what about the B.D.F.? We all saw footage of the Guatemalan navy turning back the B.D.F. a couple weeks ago as they attempted to go to Cadenas for a shift change-over. At that time, they were […]
There is another developing story. It is well-known that Guatemalan nationals illegally enter Belizean territory for illegal activities. Most recently when the Sarstoon law applied, their fishermen routinely traversed into Belize to fish while the local fisher folk were barred from entering the Sarstoon. Now, on Thursday night, a total of eight Belizeans were detained […]
With less than seventy-two hours to go before over three hundred delegates of the United Democratic Party cast ballots to determine a new first deputy leader, campaigns on either side of the political race are in high gear. Earlier today, we caught up with Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber and his self-assuredness has never been […]
The campaign between Faber and his opponent John Saldivar has been rather intense with blows coming from both sides. Inside the Faber camp, it is believed that he will win by a margin of less than fifty votes, while Saldivar is claiming a landslide. Faber says that he is simply trying to lay down the […]
The bar and the judiciary, along with representatives of the Ministry of Health, gathered today at the Radisson for a training workshop on persons with mental health disorders and the criminal justice process. The symposium, organized by the Belize Bar Association and the Death Penalty Project, culminates a three-day event which also included an academic […]
Co-executive Director Pervais Jabbar, of the Death Penalty Project, reiterates that the knowledge generated from today’s discussions can be useful if applied to individual cases involving persons with mental health disorders. Isani Cayetano “What is the most important caveat, if I may, that the participants would be walking away with after attending the discussions […]
High schools from across the country converged on Belize City today where students participated in a competition geared towards young innovators. The goal is to use a miniature computer platform to perform various IT functions. The challenge was a showcase in ingenuity and innovation and in the end only one school would capture the coveted […]
The much anticipated Istanbul talks are over and done with, but there is no definitive resolution and certainly no protocols coming out of those very high-level discussions. A release sent out by government speaks of recommitment to peace and stability and the recognition that there is need for protocols governing the Sarstoon – not exactly […]
The fact is that if Guatemala agrees to any protocols with equitable use of the Sarstoon as an end point, it would represent a significant back-tracking. In past months the Guatemalans, both military and diplomats, have run to a so-called status quo for cover – a status quo which they say requires that Belizean civilians, […]
Both positions are polar opposites, so the next step is actually to the point where concrete protocols enter the equation. We’ve actually been there. On April eighth Belize presented eleven Sarstoon protocols which were promptly and roundly rejected by Guatemala. More than six weeks after, both countries are preparing to get back to that point. […]
The incident in Chiquibul in which a Guatemalan minor was shot also made it to the negotiating table in Istanbul. Following that incident, Guatemalan officials including President Jimmy Morales, Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales and Defense Minister Williams Mansilla unleashed a blistering condemnation of Belize and at one point even lashed out at Prime Minister […]
And finally, in our coverage of the Istanbul talks, we asked Courtenay about the ongoing investigation into that Chiquibul incident. The OAS launched one at the request of Guatemalan authorities, but since then no information has been forthcoming. Eamon Courtenay, Opposition’s Representative, Belize Delegation “My understanding is that the O.A.S. is taking the steps […]
Two collective bargaining agreements were signed today to benefit members of the Christian Workers Union. The Belize Port Authority and the CWU, after five weeks of negotiations, reached agreement in which the forty-eight technical and clerical staffers attached to the five branch offices across the country will be receiving a twelve percent salary adjustment over […]
According to Chairlady of the Belize Port Authority, Ruth Staine Dawson, the signing is a historic experience because the agreement was concluded in a relative short time and there is mutual respect between union and management of the Port Authority. It’s been seven years since the last CBA was signed in 2009. Audrey Matura-Shepherd, […]
As we said, there was a second CBA signed earlier today, but at the Central Bank. While the media was not invited to that signing, a total of one hundred and eight members stand to benefit from that agreement. This, says CWU President, Audrey Matura-Shepherd is separate from that of the security officers, who are […]
The official figure tallied in what will very likely be a whopping arbitration award is due in soon. We’ve all heard the numbers being thrown around – anywhere from a quarter billion to a half billion dollars, and we’re not talking monopoly money. Half that award will have to be paid out by the Government […]
That arbitration award is hefty, but government will spend much more. Recently, G.O.B. lost another multimillion dollar litigation brought by BCB Holdings in a U.S. Court. Courtenay says that the figures are piling up as G.O.B. keeps falling down in court. Eamon Courtenay, Attorney, Ashcroft Group “What it is, is an award that was […]
