It was a killing that shattered the laid back peace of the Placencia Peninsula, not to mention the entire nation. But today, less than a month after being captured in Honduras, the prime suspect in the murder of a U.S. tourist has been returned to Belize to face his accusers. Patrick Jones was on hand […]
In other crime news, Melvin Young, a fisherman who police believe is one of the bigger fish in the sea of Belizean crime, was this morning acquitted on a charge of abetment of murder. Young was arrested in December for allegedly assisting in the killing of Liston “Big Crip” McField. The charge was withdrawn when […]
It has traditionally been a closely contested constituency albeit with the U.D.P. having an edge. This time around incumbent representative Melvin Hulse Junior is facing an opponent, Dr. Henry Canton, with a lot of education and energy to match. Patrick Jones reports on the race in Stann Creek West. Melvin Hulse Jr., U.D.P., Stann Creek […]
It hasn’t received a lot of publicity but a program organized by the Catholic Church is quietly making a difference for the nation and a small but dedicated group of volunteers. This morning I paid them a visit. The program, which got underway almost three years ago, recruits young men and women to serve as […]
There’s good news and bad news out of Maracaibo, Venezuela tonight, where a Belizean delegation is taking part in the Caribbean and Central American Games. The good news is that the highly touted men’s basketball team has finally won its first game, and as a result will qualify for the final round. The bad news […]
While the prognosis for Belizean basketballers remains guarded, government claims that the state of the nation’s health is ready to improve. This is thanks to plans for reform which were unveiled this morning at the Radisson. Patrick Jones reports. The five hundred-page draft report on health care reform is the culmination of four years of […]
At the center of government’s plan to overhaul the health system is the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. After months of washing the facility’s dirty laundry in public, doctors at the three year old institution have succeeded in ousting the medical chief of staff. The doctors say they were not happy with the way Dr. Hugh […]
In crime news police in Belmopan have determined that two men who claimed they were robbed were in fact the robbers themselves. On Saturday night, twenty nine year old Guatemalan Obidio Gudiel, a watchman for Belize Western Energy in Belmopan, told police that four armed men held up his father, Feliciano Gudiel, and escaped with […]
A former senator, newspaper columnist and political activist has died. Rolando Perdomo, who served as a P.U.P. appointed senator from 1989 to 1993, passed away on Sunday in Mexico City where he was being treated for cancer. The sixty year old Perdomo was perhaps best known for his five years as author of the column […]
Returning to Belize last Friday were five members of the Scout Association of Belize. The young men and women, who come from various scout groups in Belize City and Cayo, spent eight days in Taiwan participating in activities marking the twentieth Asia/Pacific and the eighth Scouts of China Jamboree. According to the group’s leader, Orlando […]
He first won the seat in a bye-election occasioned by the bankruptcy of former representative Derek Aikman, and then went on to repeat convincingly in the general election of 1993. Now a seasoned veteran, the P.U.P.’s Jorge Espat is facing a challenge from newcomer Marisa Quan, whose only electoral experience came as a candidate for […]
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and you’ve guessed it right, it’s another portion of Sports Monday. And we take you out to yesterday’s CONCACAF Cup Winners cup showdown at the People’s Stadium where national champion Juventus played host to Municipal of Guatemala. The 2 combatants enter the arena and fans gleam a bit of professional […]
It was another heartbreaking night for Belize’s national basketball squad as on Thursday they lost their second straight in the Caribbean and Central American Games, this time to a tough team from Panama. The score was a decisive 108 to 86, although reports from Maracaibo, Venezuela say the team played hard all the way through. […]
In other sporting news, this time from the national pastime called politics, leader of the opposition Said Musa has announced the holder of a key portfolio in any future P.U.P. Cabinet: himself. The statement came in response to a question from host Stuart Leslie on last night’s “One On One”. Q: “Should the P.U.P. win […]
In crime news, the four suspects detained in the beating of a P.U.P. campaign worker in the Mesopotamia division were today formally charged in Magistrate’s Court. Twenty-one year old Dean Jones, twenty-five year old Raymond Codd, thirty-one year old Darrington Lauriano and thirty-two year old Michelle Cattouse were each charged with one count of grievous […]
Thousands of primary school children countrywide are grudgingly watching the calendar as the count down to the proverbial burning of the free paper quickly approaches. But while the boys and girls are enjoying their last days of freedom, teachers in Belize City have been hard at work, brushing up on their skills. An intensive two-week […]
The Central Bank’s governor and staff have been clamoring for their own building for what seems like decades. Tonight, although surrounded by partisan political controversy, that building is a reality. This morning the press, including News Five’s Patrick Jones, got a tour. The three story concrete structure will unite all of the Central Bank’s operations […]
The Albert division in Belize City has been the perennial home of veteran political leader Philip Goldson. But with Goldson’s retirement the race has been thrown wide open. The P.U.P.’s Mark Espat has been working hard in the area for several years, while the N.A.B.R.’s Gilda Lewis, hoping to inherit her leader’s following, is also […]
The commentaries on the Last Word have traditionally managed to avoid the subject of partisan politics, and while he does not intend to deviate from that practice, with less than two weeks to go before elections, G. Michael Reid has a bit of eleventh hour advice for the electorate. “Many have pointed to December 31st […]
It was promised in time for the U.D.P. national convention in July and pre-empted this past weekend when the P.U.P. got hold of an advance copy. But better late than never, the ruling party’s manifesto has finally been unveiled. Patrick Jones was on hand to take a look. The old Pound Yard in Belize City […]
In other political news, just in, the government’s information service has announced that Justice George Meerabux has refused the application of V.H. Courtenay and his law firm to stay the execution of a three point three four million dollar judgement against them by the Social Security Board. At the same time the judge also refused […]
Police have moved quickly following media reports of the politically inspired beating of a P.U.P. campaign worker on Tuesday. Three men and a woman have been detained by police in connection with the brutal assault of forty-two year old Dennis Flowers which occurred near the headquarters of P.U.P. Mesopotamia candidate Ray Lightburn. The four are […]
An inmate at Hattieville Prison has died. The body of Raphael Bermudez, a thirty-four year old Nicaraguan, was found lying in his cell on Wednesday morning. A guard reported that at a cell check around seven thirty a.m. Bermudez was found to be fine but a subsequent visit at eleven fifty found him to be […]
We knew that the competition would be extremely stiff but still, ever since the CARICOM Basketball Championships, we’ve come to believe in miracles. Not so any longer. Our national men’s basketball team lost its opening game in the Caribbean and Central American Games Wednesday night to host country Venezuela. Depending on which report you listen […]
A lot has been written and broadcast about conditions at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital, but not so much has been said about other medical facilities in Belize. This morning I visited a health center in Belize City where a small physical change of venue should mean a large improvement for those suffering with mental […]
