Twenty lives were lost when the diveboat Wavedancer capsized in the middle of Hurricane Iris in the waters of the Big Creek Port. Tonight, the owner of the Wavedancer is back in Belize and in his first television interview since the accident, Peter Hughes offers his company’s version of the events that ended in Belize’s […]
A couple of other generous donations were made earlier this week that we somehow managed to overlook. On Tuesday the Belize City Lions Club was given over eight thousand dollars by the British High Commission. The money will be used to tile the floor of the Lions Training and Resource Centre on Princess Margaret Drive. […]
The land at Bel-China was not the only point of compromise reached this week. Responding to an Opposition initiative, Cabinet on Tuesday agreed to draft a constitutional amendment that would place restrictions on the jurisdiction of the Privy Council as the court of last resort in certain criminal matters. The intent is to restore the […]
An early morning romp in a Belize City swimming pool has resulted in death by drowning. Around 2:30 this morning, twenty-nine year old Emilio Martin died when he failed to surface while swimming at the Belize Pickwick Club. According to police, they do not know how Martin and a female friend managed to get inside […]
In October 2001, eighteen American tourists and two Belizeans died while aboard the dive boat Wavedancer as it rode out Hurricane Iris in the port of Big Creek. Nine months later, no one has been brought before any court or commission of inquiry to establish whether negligence was to blame in the deaths. But today, […]
It’s the place where the business of Belize’s lawmaking gets done and our duly elected representatives can shift from statesmanship to gutter politics quicker than you can say “Madam Speaker”. News 5’s Janelle Chanona reports from Independence Hill on today’s spirited session of the House of Representatives. Janelle Chanona, Reporting During this morning’s sitting of […]
The public’s desire to see a murderer swing from the gallows received a boost yesterday when Opposition Leader Dean Barrow publicly challenged the Prime Minister to abolish the criminal jurisdiction of the Privy Council. This would take the form of a constitutional amendment to make the Belize Court of Appeal the court of last resort […]
While the Prime Minister could be credited with taking a principled stand on the issue of the constitution and capital punishment, he will find it more difficult to deal with charges levelled today by Mr. Barrow’s newspaper, “The Guardian”. Claiming to have irrefutable evidence of scandal in the Immigration Department, the newspaper laid out a […]
Members of the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry were briefed last night on the current state of the facilitation process to settle the Guatemalan claim to Belize. Although Foreign Minister Assad Shoman was a no-show due to an urgent meeting in Mexico, negotiating team members Eamon Courtenay and Fred Martinez handled matters in his […]
Opposition Leader Dean Barrow has come out strongly for a return to capital punishment and has suggested a constitutional amendment to grease the wheels of justice. In a public letter to Prime Minister Said Musa, Barrow asked the government to prepare a constitutional amendment that would eliminate the Privy Council as the court of last […]
Throughout the summer, children from across the country will be involved in numerous outdoor activities, some of which are being organised by the Belize Association of Girl Guides. Unfortunately, the movement is going through some tough times as every year they seem to recruit less members than they lose. This week, the chairwoman of the […]
If you’re a youth interested in activism and social change, the youth arm of the United Democratic Party, Y.P.F., is organising an “Emergent Leaders Forum” on Thursday at seven p.m. at SJC’s audio-visual room. Y.P.F.’s President-elect, Darrell Bradley, told News 5 that the event is open to all young people; not just hardcore political types. […]
He left Belize on Sunday without speaking to the press, but for several days last week Sir Shridath Ramphal, Belize’s Facilitator for the settlement of the Guatemalan claim, got down to the nitty gritty of his job. The veteran diplomat spoke to government officials, politicians and civil society groups in addition to spending long hours […]
The media is a growth industry in Belize and when it comes to learning, you can never start too young. But while the lessons being acquired this week by children may prepare them for an eventual job as a journalist or broadcaster, the point is to gain skills for dealing with life. Ann-Marie reports from […]
While no one would be so bold as to use the word “beautiful” to describe Belize City, the old capital has over the last decade gradually taken on a more wholesome appearance. But not every property owner has been infected with the neat and clean spirit…as Ann-Marie discovered this afternoon. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting Residents of […]
No weather forecaster can say with certainty whether Belize will be hit by a hurricane this season… but one thing we do know for sure is that sooner or later our time will come again. And in anticipation of that fateful day there is one group of Belizeans working hard to minimise the consequences. Janelle […]
In other Cabinet news, that executive body has agreed to introduce legislation to strengthen the operations of the Protected Areas Conservation Trust, as well as pave the way for the transfer of management of the Philip Goldson International Airport. The P.G.I.A. will be run by a group associated with Germany’s Lufthansa Airlines. The new operators […]
The skies over Belize City may have threatened rain, but that did not deter a pool full of young people from having fun….and learning some valuable lessons at the same time. Jacqueline Woods reports from the YWCA. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting With children on their school break many of them will be near or in the […]
A U.S. national has died of drowning. Donald Guerrette and his wife Roberta were in the water at the Blue Hole at Lighthouse Reef when Donald lost consciousness around 8:30 on Friday morning. The body was brought to Belize City where a post-mortem certified the cause of death as asphyxia due to drowning.
Driving a taxi in Belize is not exactly what you’d call a dream profession. The cost of fuel is high, the roads often punishing and the threat of crime is ever present. But acquiring a green license plate always remains a last resort for out of work Belizeans and that means the competition for fares […]
Counterfeit currency is a plague that seems to descend upon Belize at irregular intervals and then disappears as quickly as it arrived. But the latest epidemic of bogus bills appears to be a hardier breed than most. News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams reports from the Central Bank. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting Counterfeit notes in Belize used to […]
Pictures of politicians handing over houses may have become a common sight, but the happiness of new homeowners is nonetheless genuine. This time around the people with a new address come from the Pickstock Division where today, aspiring politician Godfrey Smith presented the keys to new houses to four constituents. According to Smith, like many […]
As we move deeper into the hurricane season, the issue of disaster preparedness moves increasingly from the theoretical to the practical. And as News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams discovered, all segments of Belizean society are being trained to deal with whatever mother nature may send our way. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting Some ninety young people will over […]
A woman from the Cayo District is dead tonight as a result of a boating accident on the Mopan River. According to Edward Tut, a businessman from Cristo Rey, around three on Monday afternoon, he, his girlfriend, thirty-seven year Lisa Hopkin, and a friend, Amy Pierre had decided it would be fun to kayak down […]
Meanwhile, the search for a man missing since last week Friday in the waters off the Glover’s Reef Atoll continued today, but without success. According to police, around 10:00 a.m. on Friday, June twenty-eight, Rene Barahona and Hakeem Flores, both caretakers working on the southwest Caye of the atoll, went fishing in a canoe. When […]
