Another official document was signed today, this one by Minister of Home Affairs Ralph Fonseca. Statutory Instrument number twenty-one of 2003 declares that March fifth will be observed as a public and bank holiday. While many countries make election day a national fiesta, this is the first time that Belize has gone that route. While […]
Meanwhile, back in Belize, sports got some much-needed support, courtesy of the Government of South Korea. During brief ceremonies at the Youth for the Future offices, coordinator of the Conflict Resolution Unit, Ruperto Vicente, handed over footballs to coaches and organisers of community based programmes. Vicente says this is just one of several handing over […]
For a few days this weekend the Princess Hotel was transformed into a world of international culture as films from places as diverse as Cuba and Taiwan marched across the cinema’s two screens. But while the entertainment value of the event was beyond doubt, the question still remains as to what a film festival means […]
The numbers released by the Elections and Boundaries Department as of December, tell the story of the wide discrepancy between the size of Belize’s twenty-nine constituencies. Let me recount the number of voters, ranging from the largest to smallest: Cayo South: 7483 Cayo North: 6465 Lake Independence: 5676 Cayo Central: 5390 Port Loyola: 5386 Stann […]
It may not be as imposing as the massive structure near Freetown Road, but the new fire station on Dolphin Street will go a long way toward making the city safer. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was on hand for today’s official opening. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting The construction of the new fire station had to be […]
Belize may be changing in many ways, but on the male supremacy scale, the country is still well entrenched on the macho side of the continuum. How much longer that will be the case was an issue addressed this morning. News 5’s Marion Ali reports. Marion Ali, Reporting It touches on issues ranging from job […]
It looks like not all of B.T.L.’s security staff will be going home…at least not just yet. That was the bittersweet news that the Belize Communication Workers Union received following their press conference on Thursday. On that day, the B.C.W.U., along with the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, informed the media of the company’s […]
Last night we carried a story on a frightening robbery and assault that took place at a Chinese owned grocery in Belize City. Tonight, we take a look at another aspect of Chinese life in Belize, one that looks beyond the burglar bars. Marion Ali, Reporting If you’re close to the Chinese community, then you’ll […]
Union members at B.T.L. and their colleagues nationwide today served notice that they are not at all happy with some changes the company has in store for its labour force. Jacqueline Woods has the story. Paul Perriott, Trustee, B.C.W.U. “Well right now at the time we are faced with a mass lay-off of staff. We […]
The practice of public opinion research–or polling–has never caught on in Belize. And while in many parts of the world politicians live and die by the latest polling numbers, we in Belize have happily been spared the distraction. As the 2000 results in Florida demonstrated, polls can be radically wrong, and in a place as […]
Ever since speculation began to build last month about the possibility that general elections might be called to coincide with the March fifth municipal voting, all eyes have turned to the chief elections officer, to see if she, and the system, could handle the added burden of double balloting. Today, in the aftermath of the […]
We featured her artwork when it won the national competition for the Lions Club “Dream of Peace” poster contest. Today we are proud to report that thirteen-year-old Amanda Nunez has been named as one of twenty-four finalists in the Lions International worldwide competition. She automatically receives an award of one thousand Belize dollars plus a […]
In Belize, it’s the document you live and die by: your birth certificate. It’s your ticket to acquire a social security card, passport, voter registration, and even a seat in school. And now the Vital Statistics Unit has gone from this…thumbing through ancient registers, to this, clicking a button…to access records from all over the […]
The phenomenal boom in Belize City’s cruise ship trade has spawned new opportunities in hair braiding and informal retailing. Today I found that moves are afoot to create yet another cruise related job category: city tour guide. Roland Blair, Tour Guide Instructor “You can even lose your license if you get drunk on a job, […]
On a brighter note for the post office, the architectural drawing shown on your screen was published in this week’s Belize Times…and while there was no text to go with it, the building appears to be at least a sample of the type of structure that will one day rise on the site formerly occupied […]
Rotarians from North and Central America are currently in Belize to attend their annual project fair, which opens tonight at the Princess Hotel. Belize City Rotary Club President, Kay Menzies, says the event aims to identify local projects for funding by the visiting clubs. Kay Menzies, Belize City Rotary Club “The Belize City Club is […]
A childcare centre in Belmopan is tonight the grateful recipient of a monetary donation, courtesy of the Government of Belize. According to a release issued today by the Ministry of Human Development, SAVES-Marla’s House of Hope accepted a cheque for ten thousand dollars. According to SAVES–the Sexual Abuse Victims Education and Support Program–the money will […]
He is not only Commissioner of Police, but by coincidence he was also among those people who found themselves stranded at mile twenty-eight by Monday morning’s highway tragedy. This afternoon I sat down with Commissioner Carmen Zetina to see what role the police have to play in making Belize a safer place for motorists and […]
A major figure in Belize’s early anti-colonial struggle has died. Seventy-nine year old Nicholas Pollard Senior succumbed to a heart attack at his Belize City home on Tuesday afternoon. Pollard was a union leader and political activist closely involved in the founding of the People’s United Party, although he later broke with the P.U.P. Pollard […]
This morning, for Belizean bus companies, it was business as usual at the Mexican border. This follows a Tuesday evening meeting in Chetumal in which the Mexicans agreed to a sixty-day moratorium on enforcement of new regulations, which would have had the effect of banning Belizean commercial vehicles from Mexico. According to Belize’s Ambassador to […]
Between its troubles at the Tourism Village, the Benque riots and a debt service ratio that would drive most accountants to drink, these are not the best of times for Novelo’s Bus Company. And guess what? Things got worse this week when the Government of Mexico decided that Novelo’s, and other Belizean transport companies, could […]
When Belize’s only prison came under private control last year there were those who said it was a hopeless task. Today, although the jury may still be out, there is no shortage of hope. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods, who may have spent more professional time in Hattieville than some inmates, reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Since […]
This afternoon, a foundation in the name of the late Hugh Parkey was officially launched during ceremonies at the Belize Biltmore Plaza. Following the veteran dive operator’s passing last July, his family and employees wanted to do something in his memory. According to Hugh’s widow, Teresa Parkey, the foundation, which will operate independently in Belize, […]
The annual show on Regent Street never fails to impress, but this year the judicial system has more to brag about than music and marching. News 5’s Marion Ali reports. Marion Ali, Reporting With its traditional spit and polish, the criminal session of the Supreme Court was officially opened today at the Supreme Court in […]
When fire destroyed the Paslow building on September twenty-ninth, among the casualties was the Belize Municipal Court and all of its furniture and equipment. Since that time the insured items have been replaced and the court moved to the Commercial Centre. Today, as operations continue to rebound from the disaster, the City Council received some […]
