A young man is dead after drowning in a pond eight miles outside of Belize City. According to thirty nine year old Patrick Garbutt of Belize City, he along with family members accompanied by their neighbor’s son, fourteen year old Lionel Anthony Peyrefitte went swimming in a pond, near mile eight on the Western highway. […]
The People’s United Party held the ninth in its series of People’s Assemblies on Friday night. The venue was Independence Hill in the nation’s capital and the subject, appropriately enough, was the role of the civil service. Patrick Jones reports. The plan outlined by Said Musa at the People’s Assembly on Friday night, would bring […]
The issue of a prime ministerial debate has finally and officially been laid to rest. A release this afternoon from SPEAR and the Chamber of Commerce announces that after months of exasperating attempts they have withdrawn their invitation to the P.U.P. and U.D.P. and will cease all efforts to organize this or any debates for […]
In related political developments, News Five has learned that the United Democratic Party has entered into negotiations with a U.S. consulting firm to provide advice for the remainder of the election campaign. It is believed that party officials met last week in Belize City with Jennifer Laslow of Laslow and Associates, a North Carolina based […]
In news of potentially major economic importance word from the citrus belt is that Britain’s Commonwealth Development Corporation is on the verge of purchasing both of Belize’s citrus processing companies. The deal to buy the Citrus Company of Belize, based in Pomona, and Belize Food Products, housed in Alta Vista, has apparently been developing quietly […]
Over the weekend, the Tower Hill Factory processed the last of the season’s cane and officials of Belize Sugar Industries report that while the crop was the largest in history, both sugar production and revenues were well below last year’s figures. The provisional numbers as reported by B.S.I. general manager Joey Montalvo show that cane […]
Anyone who drove through Cinderella Plaza over the weekend now knows the true meaning of the word “confusion”. Things may be getting a bit more organized, however, as I found out this afternoon. After being out of commission for over a month, the lights at Freetown Road intersection are finally up and running. The new […]
Good evening. I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. It was billed as a showcase for Belizean cyclist headed for international competition but as we go to the picture we’re wondering how come only 17 riders appear lined up at the start for yesterday’s 80 mile road race organized by the Belize Amateur Cycling […]
The Westminster system of government and its electoral format of “first past the post” inherently favors the development of a strong two party system. So if you want to be involved in politics and choose not to affiliate with one of the two, your choices of making a splash are somewhere between slim and none. […]
In another follow up, this time to a story we ran last night, on Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, News Five has been unable to obtain a new consultant’s report on the facility, written in April of this year. Sources in the Ministry of Health tell us that the criticisms in the 1998 document are even […]
Two months ago Carlos Perdomo, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of National Security and Superintendent of Police Yolanda Murray, visited Costa Rica at the invitation of the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights. There, they attended a one-day meeting that focussed on community policing. It was at that gathering that the Institute became impressed with the […]
This year’s BETEX ’98 Tourism Trade Expo is three weeks away and according to the organizers, while the show will be smaller than previous years, it will be bringing more prospective buyers to the country. According to Xinia Aguilar, coordinator of BETEX ’98, the event started three years ago to promote and sell Belize as […]
If by this time in the newscast you’re confused by all the different political messages we’ve managed to stuff into the last thirty-five minutes or so, take heart. G. Michael Reid has some welcome advice. “Well the suspense is over, the date is set and from now until August 27th if you’re allergic to politics, […]
As promised, his staff worked until midnight, while the Chief Elections Officer himself claims to have been at his desk until almost five this morning. According to C.E.O. Urban Reyes the final election lists have been printed and publicly posted, and as a courtesy to the candidates, computer diskettes have been made available to the […]
While the strident voices of the politicians and the incessant noise of their electronic advertisements continue unabated, a quiet appeal for sanity has been issued by the nation’s religious leaders. In a press release circulated today the Belize Council of Churches asks the political parties to “refrain from engaging in conflicts that seem to be […]
Reports of its death may have been premature as the indefatigable duo of SPEAR’s Dylan Vernon and the Chamber’s Kevin Hererra are still pursuing their elusive dream of a prime ministerial debate. The latest position of the United Democratic Party, as stated this evening by Secretary General Kenworth Tillett, is that they are now ready […]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded to charges by the Opposition P.U.P. that large numbers of immigrants were being improperly granted citizenship in order to vote in the upcoming election. In a press release issued today the ministry states that Belizean citizenship is granted only when an applicant meets all the requirements as prescribed […]
They are among the busiest and most harassed workers in an occupation which considers a sixteen-hour workday normal. Today News Five’s Patrick Jones managed to grab some time from two men, who although not running for office, remain at the center of the political storm: U.D.P. Secretary General Kenworth Tillett and his P.U.P. counterpart Godfrey […]
He was a benefactor to the National Library Service and the North Front Street extension was named the “Turton Library” in his honor. Finally, more than half a century after his death, Robert Sydney Turton is being singled out for recognition. The National Library Service commissioned Leroy Grant to compile a book entitled “The life […]
In regional news the Red Cross will begin intensive relief operations this weekend in the interior of Guyana. Over four hundred and fifty thousand U.S. dollars has been raised in a special campaign to help support fifteen hundred Amerindian families whose survival has been jeopardized by severe drought. In addition to food like rice, beans, […]
“It has been a frequent target of critics, including this newscast. Tonight we take another look at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, prompted by criticisms of one of its doctors and a disturbing consultant’s report which alleges that the facility was poorly designed, badly constructed and is being inadequately maintained. Three years ago, the nation’s medical […]
On yesterday’s newscast we reported on the last minute rush of applicants for Belizean citizenship, with the expectation that they would quickly go and register to vote. Last night in San Ignacio an attempt to monitor that registration process was met with more than just a verbal protest. Patrick Jones reports. According to S.E.N. TV […]
Meanwhile, back at the Immigration Department in Belmopan, we continued our efforts to find out exactly what was going on yesterday, as a large crowd of immigrants sought to complete their paperwork for citizenship. Immigration Director Merlene Martinez, who was out of the office at the time our news team was present on Tuesday morning, […]
If you haven’t registered by now you’re almost certainly not going to be able to vote on August twenty seventh, as registration officials will be working hard tonight simply to process the applications already in hand. But while the process is nearing an end, Chief Elections Officer Urban Reyes acknowledged that the people who administer […]
We didn’t really need the press release, but today SPEAR and the Chamber of Commerce made it official. There are not going to be any political debates — at least not with the two NGOs as sponsors. As we have reported previously, it became apparent that neither the P.U.P. nor the U.D.P. were really enthusiastic […]
