The discovery of a dead manatee along the coast of Belize is not an unusual occurrence, but it is a rare occasion when researchers can pinpoint the time and cause of death. On Saturday the remains of a manatee were found in Ladyville and the killer turned out to be a water intake pump at […]
In the wake of Monday night’s tragic fire in which seven children lost their lives, the community is taking a hard look at the issue of safety: how to prevent fires from occurring and how to survive them once they start. Fire Chief Henry Baizar says that the key is to think ahead and make […]
The illegal Guatemalan settlers in three communities on Belizean soil have still not returned home and Belizean officials are beginning to voice their concerns. Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, David Gibson, told News 5 that while the International Organisation for Migration has completed its work, the Guatemalan government has still not carried […]
It’s been less than two weeks since Guatemala and Belize finalised the decision to expel residents of three illegal settlements near the border, but it somehow seems like an eternity. At newstime the settlers in Machaquila, Rio Blanco and Valentin Camp had still not returned to their native Guatemala, as the details of their departure […]
It may not be classified as a disease, but the epidemic of drug use and addiction remains at or near the top of Belize’s–and the world’s–gravest social problems. This morning News 5’s Jose Sanchez went to see what one Belize City high school is doing about it. Jose Sanchez, Reporting The drug trade was once […]
The Bar Association of Belize held its annual general meeting last night and a new slate of officers was elected. Derek Courtenay is the new president, while Rodwell Williams, Michel Chebat and Edwin Flowers will serve as vice president, secretary and treasurer respectively. The vote is seen by observers as a referendum on the initiative […]
In related news, Attorney General Godfrey Smith continues in his drive to raise the level of professionalism in the legal field. The A.G.’s Ministry, in conjunction with the Bar Association, has published the first volume of the Belize Law Review. The Review is a mixture of case summaries and articles by local and foreign members […]
If you drive a car and live or work on the southside of Belize City you may want to take note of this next story. Jose Sanchez “Starting Monday, the noise in this area usually associated with traffic will be replaced with the industrial sounds of heavy duty equipment. The junction at the corner of […]
The process of evacuating illegal Guatemalan settlers from three sites continued today with no major complications. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the evaluation of crops and dwellings in Machaquila was completed this morning and the work in Rio Blanco and Valentin Camp should have finished by sundown today. The settlers in all three […]
While much of Belize City languished in a post Valentine’s stupor, one corner of the old capital was kicking up some dust. Ann-Marie Williams reports. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting This Valentines social for senior citizens may have been a day late, however, judging from the over fifty participants who dressed for the occasion, it was no […]
The Belmopan City Council today received a twenty thousand dollar donation from the Republic of China. The money, handed over by Ambassador Charles Tsai to Mayor Anthony Chanona, will be used in the Council’s street sign project. Their intention is to replace all present street signs in the city with new higher visibility ones, in […]
Just when we thought that our border problems with Guatemala were being sorted out, along come some new complications. The Ministry of National Security announced today that two new incursions by Guatemalan farmers have been discovered on Belizean territory. The first was found by a BDF patrol in the Edwards Central area of Toledo’s Columbia […]
Meanwhile, the process of removing three previously identified illegal settlements continues. Beginning Wednesday, representatives of Belize and Guatemala will visit the settlements of Machaquila, Rio Blanco and Valentin Camp to notify residents of the need to vacate the premises. The Belizean team consists of three employees of the Central Statistical Office: Elizabeth Talbert, Englebert Emmanuel […]
In the case of both the new settlements and those identified months ago, it is the Belize Defence Force which bears the brunt of the work–in the first instance, discovery and as a last resort forcible expulsion. On Monday we asked the BDF’s boss, Minister of National Security Jorge Espat, if he’s happy with progress […]
It may not have been a crime, but consumers in Belize City and environs are still feeling victimized nonetheless. Residents from Sand Hill to the city will be deprived of water at various times over the next two days and according to WASA spokesman Omar Silva, the cuts are unavoidable. Omar Silva, Public Relations Officer, […]
This is the week that according to the agreement signed in Washington, several hundred illegal Guatemalan settlers are supposed to return across the border from three sites in Belize. To find out exactly how the people involved feel about it, News 5’s Stewart Krohn and Amandala’s Melvin Flores traveled to the settlement of Machaquila. Located […]
The twin towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena will soon boast a new fire station. The facility will cost seventy-five thousand dollars and will be built by the firemen themselves. Today Minister of Home Affairs Dickie Bradley was on hand for the groundbreaking. Dickie Bradley, Minister of Home Affairs “What is happening in fact […]
News from Hattieville prison usually comes in two varieties: bad, namely beatings and breakouts, and good, consisting of donations and rehabilitations. Today was one of Hattieville’s better days… as Jose Sanchez found out. Jose Sanchez, Reporting The Prison Department has embarked on a new era of rehabilitation. It has instituted a three phase Victim Awareness […]
When members of Belize’s negotiating team returned home to Belize on Thursday, they not only brought the report of the OAS appointed border surveyor; they also brought his map. That map was shown publicly for the first time on Thursday night’s One on One show featuring negotiators Assad Shoman and Fred Martinez. Martinez first explained […]
It was Hattieville’s turn to taste the flow from a brand new village water system. Doing the honours Thursday afternoon was area representative Ralph Fonseca. The hundred thousand gallon system serves over three thousand residents of Hattieville and surrounding areas and was built at a cost of five point six million dollars. Funds for the […]
The news blackout is over and the newsmakers are back from Washington… and what they have to report should bring Belizeans at least some measure of relief. In a nutshell, the mapmakers commissioned by the OAS have determined that the three principal markers delineating the so-called adjacency line between Belize and Guatemala are almost exactly […]
Students at the institution formerly known as the Belize College of Agriculture are better known for raising crops rather than cain. But today they were out of class and on the march, saying that conditions at the school were more like a prison than a university. Jose Sanchez reports from Central Farm. Jose Sanchez, Reporting […]
It may have lacked the drama of the gang truce proclaimed at Bird’s Isle in 1995, but today two well known warriors from the George Street and Ghost Town areas of Belize City got together to ask the public to renounce the violence that has already claimed too many young lives. News 5’s Stewart Krohn […]
In an effort to avoid more of those tragedies in the future, authorities in Belize City have turned their attention to the problem of two wheeled vehicles. Ann-Marie Williams has more. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting In wake of Steven Bent’s death, the Department of Traffic wasted no time to suddenly brakes all cyclists committing traffic offences. […]
It seems that every week we hear news of another remote rural community inaugurating a village water system. But not all the people needing water live far from the city. News 5’s Jose Sanchez found one suburb just now hooking up. Jose Sanchez, Reporting Children drinking pipe water is not an unusual sight, but this […]
