There’s another brewing story coming out of the University of Belize, where we understand students have been informed that they must now obtain mandatory insurance. If they don’t apply and pay the fee by the end of next month their registration would not have been completed, which means that they can’t be enrolled. Faber told […]
The Ministry of Education continues to be embroiled in a testy relationship with Deacon Cal Cathers, who owns the BRC publishing and printing company. BRC provides some textbooks to the Ministry for distribution countrywide, but much less than he used to because the Ministry has chosen to use textbooks from other publishers as well. Cathers […]
The Ariel Rosado Memorial Education Foundation held its fourth annual scholarship award ceremony at the Lion’s Den in Belize City. Proudly, it announced that the number of scholarships granted to students from across the country has been growing year by year. 2015 then looks like a bumper year. Duane Moody reports. Duane Moody, Reporting […]
The Santa Cruz Thirteen reappeared in the Punta Gorda Magistrate Court this morning on their scheduled date. To their surprise, additional charges were placed upon them, including on MLA spokesperson Cristina Coc, for assaulting Rupert Myles who is at the centre of this controversial case involving the Maya communities in southern Belize. Myles has denuded […]
So while the Santa Cruz Thirteen face new charges, Rupert Myles is yet to be charged. On Friday, Director of Archaeology, Doctor John Morris, confirmed that charges will be brought against Myles for the destruction of a sacred mound at the entrance of Uxbenka. Following a recent damage assessment conducted by personnel from the Institute […]
While the village, according to Mis, did not plan on taking legal action against Myles, residents are now placing their faith in the justice system. Still yet, there is also no relationship between Myles and the villagers of Santa Cruz. Pablo Mis, Program Coordinator, MLA “The village never intended to pursue legal action against […]
The Uchbenka K’in Ajau Association, the management body tasked with overseeing the preservation of the Uxbenka sacred site, has elected a new executive. The incoming leadership of the association has also weighed in on the Institute of Archaeology’s move to prosecute Rupert Myles for unlawful occupation, as well as destruction of the monument. According to […]
Makin says the importance of protecting the hallowed site is to honor the legacy of their ancestors. As such the Uchbenka K’in Ajau Association has pledged to work closely with residents of Santa Cruz and the Institute of Archaeology to restore the site and manage it for future generations. Isidoro Makin, Executive member, Uchbenka […]
The People’s United Party is, by all accounts, deeply divided and on Wednesday, all eyes will be on Independence Hall where a meeting of the executive is being called. On Monday, a letter signed by twelve Standard bearers was sent to the Chairman requesting a National Convention at which leader Francis Fonseca would almost certainly […]
Fonseca says that at a national executive meeting scheduled for Wednesday at Independence Hall, he is prepared to listen because that is his style. But he’ll only listen if he determines that those standard bearers with concerns are acting in good faith. That should make for an interesting afternoon at the party headquarters. Francis […]
Belize has been downgraded to Tier Three on the Human Trafficking watch-list, based on a stinging assessment by the U.S. The report states that, “The Government of Belize does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Authorities did not initiate any […]
While the Committee absolutely disagreed with the downgrade, it is what it is. As far as Alpuche is concerned, they can only do what they’ve been doing because in the end it is about human rights, not about a classification by the U.S. On the Phone: Judith Alpuche, Chair, Belize Anti-Trafficking Committee “There is work […]
Shortly at the Bliss Center for the Performing Arts, the Foreign Affairs Ministers of Belize and Guatemala will make presentations at a Culture for Peace forum organized by the Organization of American States. But this morning, Wilfred Elrington and Carlos Raul Morales sat on the couch on Open Your Eyes to discuss bilateral issues as […]
But according to O.A.S. information, the incidents along the borders have been reduced by ninety percent. The Guatemalan Foreign Minister says any incidents that occur along the adjacency zone affect the bilateral relations of Belize and Guatemala. While he conceded that there have been pillaging in Belizean territory, due to poverty and the lack of […]
In 2014, the Public Utilities Commission launched its Young Innovators Programme by giving students the tools to create mobile apps, and this year it’s all about the raspberry pi. It sounds like a dessert, but it’s actually a credit-card sized computer platform created by Cambridge professors in 2008. The PUC intends to hand over five […]
Did you know that a significant percentage of the population is diabetic? And that another significant number of persons do not even know they have the disease? Well, the Belize Diabetes Association is having its fifth annual Camp for Diabetic Children at the ITVET Compound this week. The camp will conclude on Saturday and, for […]
Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales and Ambassadors of the Group of Friends of Belize are in the country this week to promote a program entitled culture of peace as a confidence building measure. The initiative is being coordinated by the office of the Organization of American States which maintains a presence at the Adjacency […]
There were various pointed questions for Foreign Minister Morales today – ranging from the payment for the damage to our reef and the altercation at the Sarstoon to the alleged investigation into the murder of Danny Conorquie. But he says that today is not the time for a debate…all that will be for the International […]
Government’s official position is that the International Court of Justice is the only option left to Belize to solve the territorial dispute. Elrington reiterated that stance this morning, but he was also very careful to point out that there will be no ICJ without a mandate from the people, and that mandate can only come […]
Guatemala’s official position is the same as that of Belize. They want to go to a referendum, and if successful, on to the ICJ. Where that referendum is concerned though, there’s been a delay caused by months of civil unrest in Guatemala, which has pushed a referendum down on a list of critical priorities. Guatemalan, […]
The session, which likely would have gotten much more uncomfortable and intense for the officials of the O.A.S. and Guatemala, was cut short. But outside there was more waiting for them. A very small group of protesters including representation from COLA and the Vision Inspired by the People stood outside with placards to vent their […]
The P.U.P. today released an ad in which John Briceño is heard endorsing Francis Fonseca as party leader. That endorsement took place just before the Dangriga Bye-elections. But things have changed since then and today, a letter signed by twelve standard bearers was delivered to the Party Chairman, Henry Usher. The twelve are calling for […]
But before the letter was delivered, today the women of the People’s United Party, including four standard bearers, a senator and the head of the women’s group, held a press conference, ostensibly to discuss critical issues facing the nation. But in truth, the gathering is a public relations response to increasing rumbles of discontent in […]
That letter to the Chairman of the P.U.P. was deliberately not mentioned today, and neither was a meeting of Fonseca supporters held at the home of Dolores Balderamos-Garcia on Sunday. In fact, when the matter was brought up the women of the Party lashed out. Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, P.U.P. Standard Bearer, BRC “I am […]
The fourth person to lose his life this weekend is a teenager from Belize City. Fourteen year old Eric Cruz was out on an evangelical retreat near mile twenty-five on the George Price Highway. The occasion, which should have had a happy ending turned tragic for Cruz who drowned on Friday evening when he went […]
