Just when we thought the cruise ship mess had been straightened out, we are reminded it’s not over till it’s over. The venue for the latest round in the controversy was the temporary vendor’s area in Memorial Park. Janelle Chanona, Reporting It’s an industry that has increased six hundred percent this year and expected to […]
The telecommunications saga continues this week with word that B.T.L. has plans to appeal the Supreme Court decision, which validated the stop order issued by government in December of last year. But even more interesting, is that according to Minister of Budget Management Ralph Fonseca, B.T.L. plans to implement a new rate restructuring plan that–like […]
When Government announced in May of this year that it planned to privatize the Belize City port, the news was greeted with mixed reviews, especially when it was revealed the main investor was local businessman Luke Espat. Today, seven months later, the sale is complete, with Belize Ports Limited as the new owners. According to […]
In a rare show of bipartisan unity, this afternoon, members of both the United Democratic Party and the People’s United Party joined officials of the National Committee for Families and Children and UNICEF to make sure Belizean children aren’t forgotten in our political future. The plan is to deliver a package of ideas to both […]
If you were watching this newscast at the end of November in 1997, instead of today, the rest of what I am going to say would have seemed odd, if not totally unnecessary. But beginning in 1998, life changed radically for Belizeans as the result of successive visits by unwelcome guests named Mitch, Keith, Chantal […]
And while we give thanks for the weather, we also offer our condolences on the death this afternoon of Leopold Balderamos. Balderamos, following a stint in the Royal Air Force during World War Two, entered the civil service where he eventually became the head of the Civil Aviation Department. He was active in the Scouts […]
If you are free this Sunday we can recommend no better activity than the one taking place at the Bliss. Jacqueline Woods has more. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Beverly Smith-Lopez–sometimes affectionately known as Du Du Daaling–entertained us with her comedy and theatrical performances. Director of the Belize Arts Council until the time of her death on […]
The scene at the Tourism Village may have returned to normal, but the recriminations over Wednesday morning’s near riot are still flying fast and furious. Yesterday Novelo’s Bus Line issued a press release saying it denied the use of its buses to tour company Cruise Solutions because of the latter’s breach of contract, presumably some […]
We opened tonight’s newscast with the cold hard facts of the AIDS epidemic in Belize. And while those numbers tell an important part of the story, they do little to convey the reality of those who must live every day with the disease’s physical pain and mental anguish. Jacqueline Woods reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Thirty-two […]
The other controversy at the Tourism Village today, almost lost in the confusion over buses, was the issue of vendors and hair braiders who have set up shop on Fort Street. Jacqueline Woods has more. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting A couple of vendors, despite Mayor Fonseca’s warning to relocate to the Memorial Park did return to […]
The battle of the buses was not the only bad news in tourism today. Police report that an elderly cruise ship passenger who elected to take a caye trip died while snorkelling. Around 11:15 this morning seventy-nine year old Ruth Becker of New York was enjoying the sights of Shark Ray Alley between Caye Caulker […]
Cabinet has announced three initiatives arising from that body’s meeting on Tuesday. In response to the report of the Social Security Reform Commission, several recommendations will be enacted immediately, including the regular publication of financial statements, investment guidelines and new investment proposals. Other changes include tying modification of benefits to actuarial review and an increase […]
Just hours after a Supreme Court judgment that went against Belize Telecommunications Limited, the company is still trying to absorb the reality of the ruling. According to the company’s attorney, Lois Young Barrow, B.T.L. is calmly planning its next move. But she herself is nothing less than shocked by Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh’s conclusion that […]
You may have heard that this is World AIDS Week, but you may not be aware that we are also two days into Youth Week. This morning News 5’s Jacqueline Woods discovered that today’s activities focussed on the plain old fashioned hard work of cleaning up the city. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting The cleanup was just […]
Those many cynics in the community will say that they knew it all along: that with so many cruise ship passengers flooding Belize City, our aggressive entrepreneurs would inevitably begin to quarrel over all those U.S. dollars. As for inevitability, we’re not so sure, but as Jacqueline Woods found out this afternoon, all is not […]
If you’ve got two legs and they’re both working fine, then chances are that you’ve never given much thought to the subject of wheelchairs. But if you’re not so fortunate, and the only thing between you and life as a recluse are those two big tires, then suddenly–as News 5’s Jacqueline Woods discovered–a wheelchair is […]
If you were looking for a lawyer today, chances are you were out of luck, as the majority of Belize’s legal community was attending the annual Bench and Bar Summit. The theme for this year’s gathering was “The Family and the Law”…and while that part of the legal system may not generate big fees for […]
With all the hype about computers in the classroom, education via the internet and on-line libraries, you’d think that books have become obsolete. Don’t start the funeral yet, however, as this morning News 5’s Jacqueline Woods found the rumours of their death have been greatly exaggerated. Lascelle Arnold, Businessman “For a long time we profiled […]
It is with great regret that we announce the death of a veteran Belizean educator and religious leader. Sister Yvonne Hunter, also known as Sister Alexander, passed away this afternoon in Providence, Rhode Island. She was seventy-four. Sister Yvonne joined the Sisters of Mercy in 1946 and following her religious training abroad, returned to Belize […]
The British High Commission in Belmopan has announced a number of small initiatives to aid a wide range of Belizean causes. In a ceremony this evening in Belmopan a cheque for four thousand, five hundred dollars was presented to the Belmopan chapter of the Belize Cancer Society. The funds, generated by a garden party hosted […]
The Thursday morning ritual of thumbing through the local papers was a little more interesting than usual today…given the dramatic headline of Millions from DFC for a favoured few in the Guardian newspaper. The front page article of the Opposition weekly lists several companies, who reportedly borrowed significant sums of money from the Development Finance […]
The stretch of seashore along the Newtown Barracks area of Belize City is getting a facelift, thanks to the new owner of some of the old capital’s most prime property. Bowen and Bowen Limited has purchased the two adjoining waterfront parcels of land lying between Marina Towers and the Fisheries Department, and the company is […]
Hundreds of frustrated telephone customers suffered through most of the day as efforts to call Belmopan, Benque Viejo and all points in between proved fruitless. According to sales representatives of Belize Telecommunications Limited, sometime after eleven this morning, a fibre connecting Belize City and the west malfunctioned. Technicians were immediately dispatched to remedy the problem […]
Several Belizean school children are hundreds of dollars richer tonight…their reward for making insurance interesting. Over a hundred and thirty budding poets and artists spent hours painting posters and writing rhymes as part of Regent Insurance’s “Protecting Belizean Businesses” competition. This morning, the winners and their teachers picked up cheques valued at a total of […]
Belizeans may be preparing to celebrate Garifuna Settlement Day, but today on Albert Street there was no mistaking the sights and sounds of…you guessed it: Christmas. Janelle Chanona, Reporting This morning, the amid the noise and confusion in downtown Belize City, the peal of bells and live Christmas music signalled the start of the Salvation […]
