The sugar-cane crop season 2014-2015 will not start on December eighth. And when, or if it will start, is anybody’s guess. On Wednesday the BSCFA presented proposals to the BSI on three main points of contention. And at around four fifteen today, via letter, the BSI rejected those proposals and, we are told, issued modified […]
Various activities are taking place around the country to mark Disability Week. It is estimated that there are about three thousand five hundred persons countrywide living with disabilities. Healthy Living this week discusses the importance of inclusive education in the schools, which is the mandate of the National Research Center for Inclusive Education (NaRCIE). At […]
The Getaway Youth Center was officially opened today at the Gwen Lizarraga Compound. The facility is intended for use by youths between thirteen to nineteen years to channel positive behavioral change. The center will offer support services in literacy and math as well as after school programs and outside referral services. This afternoon, when the […]
The firebrand activist signaled an intention for his organization to address this issue at length as COLA recognizes the importance that cruise tourism has for many families who survive off daily earnings. He insists that in the gridlock between FSTV, Stake Bank and the Government, COLA supports the small man. But, he adds, there is […]
The case of Edmond Castro versus the visa scandal whistleblower got underway in February of 2014. In 2013, Castro was accused of facilitating visas for Chinese nationals by Alvarine Burgess. She claimed that she delivered money to Castro, who then sent the paperwork to the Immigration Department to be fast-tracked. Castro sued, and since then […]
The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted on November twentieth by the United Nations. The CRC, as it is known, establishes measures to ensure the protection, survival, and development of all children, without discrimination. It also commits countries that are signatories to protect children from economic and sexual exploitation and other forms […]
Belize, along with the rest of the world, is commemorating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 1989, a special commitment was made to all children through the adoption of the CRC. The milestone is being recognized and celebrated universally but is the world […]
Despite significant progress in achieving the objectives set out under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Belize falls nominally short of a hundred percent birth registration. Likewise, great strides have been made to minimize the number of babies being born with HIV infection. According to UNICEF’s country representative Ivan Yerovi, those are just […]
Among various initiatives undertaken at the national level is a move by local governments to have their municipalities recognized as child-friendly. In Belize City, there was a recent ceremony to launch the countrywide effort. According to Yerovi, it will take more than just a speech declaring that a town or city is suitable for children. […]
A recent survey by the National Drug Abuse Control Council and the University of Belize shows that the use of drugs among students is on the rise and it is also prevalent among students between fourteen and sixteen years. The survey says that children as young as ten years are experimenting with of alcohol and […]
We’re not sure exactly when it started locally, but prostitution has become a booming industry in Belize. So-called ‘happy bars’ are popping up all over the place in every district, with very friendly immigrant waitresses who take hospitality to a whole new level. There are some who’d say – where’s the harm in that…they’re not […]
A delegation headed by Foreign Ministry C.E.O. Alexis Rosado is currently in Guatemala meeting with Guatemalan authorities. Rosado is accompanied by Opposition Senator Lisa Shoman and representatives from the Belize Defense Force. The purpose of the visit is to defuse tensions in the relations with Guatemala. Earlier this week, we have learnt, the Guatemalans sent […]
UNCEF and partners launched today a Child Friendly Municipalities Initiative with a live broadcast in Belize City and simultaneous activities in all other municipalities. The idea is to provide infrastructure, amenities as well as the proper environment for children to be free, healthy and well-informed. Duane Moody was a report from the Belize Elementary Auditorium. […]
Belize currently holds the presidency of the Central American Integrated System, SICA. That means hosting a round of regional meetings in different critical areas, like energy. This morning, directors from all member countries of SICA sat down in San Pedro to discuss energy. It’s a two-day session designed to allow SICA countries to strengthen cooperation […]
Barranco Village, which is also one of six buffer communities surrounding the Sarstoon Temash National Park, is a founding member of SATIIM. Over the years, there seem to have been discord over the direction in which the organization was headed, particularly where it concerns the representation of that predominantly Garifuna community. Today we asked incoming […]
eveloping Child Friendly Cities is an initiative of UNICEF, the Ministry of Local Government and the United Nations Development Programme which defines and develops child friendly municipalities and communities. The CFC framework in fact identifies steps needed to build a local system of governance committed to fulfilling children’s rights through the implementation of the UN […]
The implementation of the sustainable and child friendly municipalities’ initiative falls in line with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The MDG’s were signed back in 2000; they focus on safety, education and health for youths. While the MDGs have been measured at the national level, it is only through the local authorities or […]
For two fiscal years, from 1995 to 1997, increments for all public service workers were frozen. As compensation, the unions were given four hundred and eighty thousand shares in B.T.L. by the government of Belize. The dividends from these shares were to be placed in a trust and the proceeds from the trust available to […]
Clearly stated in the agreement between both the unions and the government is that the monies be used to fund projects. But Castillo and National President of the Belize National Teachers’ Union, Luke Palacio, say that they were seriously disturbed by the release issued by the government because public officers are of the opinion that […]
Castillo and Palacio have been doing media rounds this week to sensitize public officers as well as the various unions and the general public about the types of projects that would satisfy the criteria for monies being disbursed. According to them, there must be in place a sustainable mechanism that will allow them to provide […]
While the constitutional challenge to repeal Section Fifty-Three of Belize’s Criminal Code remains before the Supreme Court, a decision is yet to be handed down by Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin on the matter. It is no secret however, that the claimant, UNIBAM’s executive director Caleb Orozco, has received grant funding from the U.S. Embassy to […]
At around eight p.m. on Sunday, July sixth, a massive blaze in the Boca del Rio area of San Pedro destroyed eight homes, displacing sixteen families. They lost everything, all their possessions, and were left with only the clothes on their backs. But the desperation of those families has spawned a tremendous multi-agency relief effort. […]
A two-day workshop organized by UNICEF to provide participants with a greater understanding of the role that communication plays in individual and social behavior change, with a focus on violence against children, took place this week. Planning for communication to end violence against children in Belize is aimed at formulating a more detailed communication strategy […]
COLA’s private prosecution of former minister of state Elvin Penner for the illegal issuance of a passport to a South Korean fugitive picked up some support from the Rod of Correction today. R.O.C. issued a brief statement to say that having met today, it has seeking to meet with both the Director of Public Prosecutions […]
And tonight’s question is: Do you believe there is a clear government cover-up in the immigration scandal? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com.
