A two-day seminar aimed at promoting the Inter-American treaties and procedures for protecting human rights got underway this morning at the Radisson. In opening the session Attorney General Godfrey Smith said that participants should come away with a better understanding of the operations of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Godfrey Smith, Attorney General “I […]
There’s an old saying among economists about the difference between a recession and a depression. A recession, they say, is when your neighbour loses his job. A depression, on the other hand, is when you lose yours. With that adage in mind News Five’s Jose Sanchez looked into one project that hopes to keep women […]
It was a story just too juicy to resist: An angry crowd, defensive officials, and a politician who was missing in action. Jose Sanchez was on hand for the action. This morning around eight o’clock, the media was invited to witness the relocation of residents of the squalid North Creek area to better parts of […]
The donation of an ambulance is not all that unusual but today a particular type of ambulance was donated by the Rotary Club to the Belize Emergency Response Team, which will greatly expand BERT’s capabilities. Having the four wheel drive Toyota Land Cruiser means that in times of need, it’s that much more likely that […]
Good Samaritans come in all shapes, sizes and ages and are found in many different locales. Today, News Five’s Jose Sanchez found one on a busy Belize City intersection. Perhaps you have noticed a rather large trailer by the Pound Yard Bridge filled with clothing for sale. Its owner is a Belizean American who has […]
In the wake of the recent urban crime wave the police high command has decided to strengthen its ongoing law enforcement operation known as “Cancer.” Police are hoping to minimise the rising tide of violence in the city with two additional teams of B.D.F. soldiers and police. The teams, which began patrolling city streets this […]
With the facilitators about to make their recommendations on Tuesday in Washington D.C., Guatemalan President Alfonso Portillo is weighing in with his own ideas for solution of the Guatemalan claim to Belize. Speaking to the Associated Press during an official visit to Washington D.C., last week, Portillo said that he has asked his Foreign Minister, […]
The Young Men Christian Association’s “Save the Last Dance” contest kicks off this weekend. It is a competition that requires an ear for music as well as talented feet. According to Carolyn Gentle, the YMCA’s Executive Director, proceeds from the event will help to develop programmes and facilities. Carolyn Gentle, Executive Director, YMCA “It’s save […]
Three more contracts were signed this morning under the I.D.B. financed Hurricane Rehabilitation Project. They focus on the improvement of Belize City’s drainage and involve the construction of several new canals and improvement of others. Present for the signing were I.D.B. representative Hugo Souza, Ministry of Economic Development CEO Nancy Namis and Mayor David Fonseca. […]
Yesterday we reported on a series of measures approved by Cabinet to prohibit a person from knowingly spreading the AIDS virus. Minister of Human Development and head of the National AIDS Commission, Dolores Balderamos Garcia, says the new initiative will take the form of an amendment. Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Min. of Human Dev. “An amendment […]
While its practical effect on the growing epidemic may be debated, there is no mistaking the fact that Cabinet’s decision to criminalise the deliberate or reckless transmission of the deadly AIDS virus marks a major turning point in government policy toward dealing with the disease. The announcement, contained in the weekly Cabinet briefing, indicates that […]
It may have taken a while, but government has finally realised that its five percent “plastic tax” was not fair or viable and has replaced it with a one percent across the board levy on imports. Proceeds from the new environmental tax will go into a special fund that will be used to implement a […]
And in other news from what seems to be the busiest Cabinet session this year, that body has decided to grant its open vote workers the same pension benefits as permanent staff. There are currently over two thousand open vote workers, four hundred and ten of whom have ten or more years of service. Government […]
If you’re a B.E.L. customer contemplating the theft of that company’s power, you are advised that the illegal act can put you in jail. According to customer services manager Eugene Cleland, seventy-two cases of meter rigging have been reported and B.E.L. is taking action to stop the costly practice. Eugene Cleland, Customer Sales Manager, B.E.L. […]
In the wake of Tuesday morning’s shooting of two armed robbers by a sharp-shooting merchant, the near unanimous applauding of the act of a community fed up with violent crime was not surprising. But while the two seriously wounded gunmen may have received exactly what they deserve, a look into the family background of the […]
It was a story that broke while most Belizeans were eating breakfast and continued to build over the course of the day. Few Belize City residents were without an opinion on the shooting of two armed robbers and most of those questioned had very little sympathy with the bandits. Citizen #1 “If he didn’t defend […]
After several days of financial stress, approximately thirty employees of the now defunct Bellevue Hotel have received their overdue pay as well as all other funds due for severance, holiday and lack of notice. The payments were made on Saturday after hotel operator Roger Dinger agreed to pay close to forty-nine thousand dollars owed to […]
The long awaited report of the Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate the transfer of HIV positive blood to three patients at K.H.M.H. between March thirtieth and April third, has been presented to Prime Minister Said Musa. The formal presentation of the twenty-page report, which includes the testimony of nine witnesses, was handed to Musa […]
He no longer has an office there, but today Roger Dinger returned to the Bellevue. News 5 caught up with the veteran innkeeper as he waited outside the padlocked hotel to meet Social Security Board chairman Beto Mai. The purpose of the meeting, according to Dinger, was to find some way to keep the hotel […]
It seems that things never stay quiet for long at the prison. Whether it’s a breakout, stabbing, riot, drug bust or new attempt at rehabilitation, Hattieville is anything but dull. The latest fuss involves the relocation of some inmates that has left some of them less than satisfied. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting There’s been a residential […]
Former employees of the Bellevue are still without paycheques in the wake of the hotel’s forced closure on Wednesday. A number of the hotel’s approximately thirty employees have visited the Labour Department but that agency explained to News 5 that while it is investigating the matter there is very little it can do immediately to […]
Its dimly lit tavern has been the venue of choice for three generations of courting Belizeans and more recently the newly opened King Street Station was home to Karaoke TV. But as of today neither the bar, the restaurant nor any other part of the Bellevue Hotel was open for business. A Supreme Court order […]
A family outing on the banks of the Mopan River in Bullet Tree turned tragic as a five year old boy drowned. Around 3:30 Tuesday evening, forty-one year old retired teacher, Jose Romero took his children Saul and Joanna to bathe in the river. While in the water Romero shifted his attention to his daughter […]
The body of a man who disappeared while swimming on Monday has been recovered. Julian Novelo, a resident of Yo Creek Village, went missing while he and two other friends were swimming in the Rio Hondo. About halfway across the river Novelo began complaining of exhaustion and tried holding on to one of his companions, […]
The Ministry of National Security has hired a coroner investigator to strengthen the National Forensic Service. Marianne Taylor, a Canadian National, holds a Bachelor of Science degree in physical anthropology from the University of Calgary and is also qualified in forensic archaeology, death and crime scene investigation and evidence handling. She has worked with the […]
