Assistant Police Commissioner in Charge of Operations, Hugh Cain, has been suspended from his duties amidst allegations that he’s involved in the transhipment of drugs through Belize. Cain told News 5 in an interview today that he was shocked when he was informed on Friday by Commissioner Hughington Williams that he had “bad news” for […]
The sewerage contaminated water in Port Loyola has receded a bit, but the yards of residents remain flooded. On Friday, we were told that a team from the Ministry of Works would be clearing the sewerage lagoon outflow canal to allow the water to flow to the sea instead of the neighbourhood. While we understand […]
Last week, in the midst of chronicling the wrath of Hurricane Iris, we paused to report on the devastation suffered by a Belize City family when their house burned down. Tonight Jacqueline Woods has a follow up. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting On Monday the Mahler family lost their house and household possessions after a fire gutted […]
James Adderley Good evening I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. As athletes across this nation prepare to participate in the 2001 Central American Games scheduled to open on November twenty-third at Guatemala, we took our cameras to the friendly match-up between the National Under-21 Football Team, headed for the games and Lazio of […]
Port Loyola residents may soon have to evacuate, that’s the verdict of the Ministry of Health. The area has been underwater for over a month and has become a major health risk to the community. The water has been tested positive for high levels of bacteria and the Ministry of the Health has advised the […]
More details surrounding the death of a twenty-five year old diver on Thursday were made available today. According to a press release from the Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute, Luke D’Silva, the biologist for Laughing Bird Caye died while conducting a reef assessment on the southern part of the reef in the wake of […]
International support for the victims of Hurricane Iris continue to flood Belize. It was announced earlier today that the U.K. Government has donated just over two hundred thousand Belize dollars to the International Federation of the Red Cross. The money, obtained through the Department For International Development, DFID, will be used to purchase emergency supplies […]
The Belize Fire Service has a new addition to its fleet of fire fighting machines. The keys to a new aerial platform truck were handed over today to Fire Chief Henry Baizar by Minister Responsible for the Fire Department Dickie Bradley and Prime Minister Said Musa. Bradley and Musa took a spin in the bucket, […]
Hurricane relief continues to reach Belize in the form of donations from foreign governments and organisations. Our neighbour to the west, Guatemala, has dispatched a twenty-six-person team and equipment to assist in general cleanup and road maintenance in the south. The Guatemalans will stay for a month and are assigned to assist the crews from […]
One of the key elements in the rebuilding of southern Belize is the restoration of electrical power. Belize Electricity Limited has just completed a damage assessment and estimates that its own infrastructure suffered losses in the region of five million dollars. Vice-President for business and customer services, Michael Polonio, says that despite its losses, BEL […]
It may not be directly attributable to the passage of Hurricane Iris, but a researcher assessing the storm’s damage to the barrier reef has died while on the job. Details are sketchy, but sources tell News 5 that twenty-five year old Luke D’Silva of Belmopan, an employee of the Coastal Zone Management Authority, lost his […]
And the Ministry of Health is not the only government body complaining about water. Minister of Public Utilities, Ralph Fonseca is up in arms about what appears to be a case of extortion by Belize Water Services Limited. In a televised statement delivered late this evening, B.W.S. Director and former CEO, Peter Wrench complains that […]
Almost missed in yesterday’s report from Cabinet was a decision that should make Belizean music more accessible on the local market. Jacqueline Woods reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting The exemption of duty on locally produced CDs and cassettes has been well received by the United Belizean Artists Association. U.B.A.A.’s President, Jason Guerrero says musicians and producers […]
While appeals continue to go out for aid to hurricane victims, one of Belize’s staunchest allies has weighed in with a cash contribution far out of proportion to its size. News 5 has learned that the Government of Cuba today signed a letter of commitment to immediately transfer the sum of fifty thousand U.S. dollars […]
Meanwhile, Cabinet has approved an initial amount of two point four million dollars to fund low interest housing loans for victims of Hurricane Iris. The money, to be provided by the Social Security Board, will be administered by the Development Finance Corporation. The twenty-year mortgages, carrying an interest rate of eight and a half percent, […]
In the wake of the September eleventh terror attacks on the United States, the U.S. airline industry has been in a tailspin, faced with fewer passengers and increased costs for security. But despite a multi-billion dollar assistance package from Washington, many carriers are looking for additional help. American Airlines in particular is pressuring destinations in […]
As the plight of thousands of Belizeans in the Stann Creek and Toledo districts is broadcast daily by the national media, many agencies, corporations and individuals at home and abroad, continue to donate aid to the victims of Hurricane Iris. On Monday, Fortis Incorporated, majority owners of Belize Electricity Limited, handed over fifty thousand Belize […]
This morning, a pair of local organisations received a total of two hundred thousand Belize dollars to assist in hurricane relief efforts from the United States Government. Ambassador Jim Murphy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received one hundred thousand dollars on behalf of the National Emergency Management Organisation, while Florita Gidwani accepted the other […]
The decomposed corpse of a human being has been found in the Cayo District. According to a police report, villagers from Armenia found a human skeleton in a cave just north of the village. A forensic team has been dispatched to the area, but preliminary findings have yet to be released. Villagers tell News 5 […]
Good evening I’m James Adderley and you’re in tuned with this latest version of Sports Monday. Sports on the national scene has had to take a back seat in the aftermath of Hurricane Iris. The emphasis of late has been on getting the communities hurt by the storm back on their feet. This is why, […]
Police say thirty-five year old Andrew Gladden, a patient with a history of mental illness, may have drowned in the Haulover Creek. His corpse was found floating near Sittee Street on Friday around 7:30 in the morning. The body, which had no signs of violence, was clad in short jeans trousers.
No matter how much aid is received in the wake of a disaster, it means nothing if it doesn’t reach the people who need it. Over the weekend News 5’s Jacqueline Woods and Brent Toombs travelled to Punta Gorda to see how NEMO was coping with the situation. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting The National Emergency Management […]
In the aftermath of Hurricane Iris, our cameras captured many strange sights, but one recurring oddity was that while some seemingly substantial properties were completely destroyed, others, which to the eye appeared weaker, survived virtually unscathed. But local engineers tell News 5 that this was no phenomenon, rather, the product of sensible engineering. As the […]
As more pictures of the devastation in the south emerge, it is doubly disheartening to think that many of those affected were also uninsured. But for those people far sighted enough to pay the premiums, a cheque from the insurance company will do much to ease the pain. One local insurer, Regent Insurance Limited, has […]
Minister of National Security Jorge Espat’s resignation from Cabinet becomes effective on Monday, but before departing he took the opportunity to hand over the four hundred and fifty-eight thousand dollars of the Police Trust Fund to the care of Commissioner Hughington Williams. Jorge Espat, Minister of National Security “This ceremony has both unique and special […]
