Earlier this week the common-law wife of former S.J.C. teacher Carlos Milan, accused of molesting her seven-year-old daughter, filed an affidavit with the Magistrate’s Court to drop all charges. Today relatives say the woman attempted to remove the girl and her brother from their grandmother’s home, where they have been staying since the May 4th […]
Orange Walk police have discovered fifty two thousand dollars in counterfeit U.S. currency at an Orange Walk Town hotel room. As a result of the discovery, three men have been detained pending the outcome of the investigation. They are Colombian Onasis Daniel Melo Garcia, Venezuelan Silvio DeJesus Salinas Santamaria, and Belizean Matthew Williams of Orange […]
An eighteen year old has been charged with raping his twelve year old niece. Reports are that Martin Chen, a laborer of Poppy Show Road in the Toledo District went by the minor’s house around eight Wednesday night. The girl was home alone while her mother had gone to church. Chen allegedly had sexual intercourse […]
Among the election promises made by the P.U.P. was the establishment of a Public Utilities Commission to regulate rates being charged to consumers. Today the government moved one step closer to setting up this autonomous body when the House of Representatives passed the Public Utilities Commission Bill. Minister of Industry and Commerce, Jose Coye said […]
While the Public Utilities Commission may have an impact on the Belizean pocketbook, reducing crimes against women and children is the purpose of another Bill presented by Minister of Human Development Women and Youth Dolores Balderamos Garcia. The amendment to the Criminal Code, which was introduced at a previous House meeting, regularizes the penalties for […]
Over five hundred shareholders crowded the Biltmore Plaza Thursday night to find out just how well their company, B.T.L., performed over the last financial year… and they weren’t disappointed. Gross revenues increased to a record eighty million dollars, pretax profits rose to a peak of forty-two million, after tax profits reached an all time high […]
This Saturday, the inmates of the Youth Enhancement Academy will host family and selected friends at the Ladyville compound at their second “Family Day”. They want the people they care about to see the progress they have made in turning their lives around. Rupert Avila, Inmate, Y.E.A. “Rehabilitation, it makes you see what you really […]
On Sunday the Belize Club of the International Association of Lions will meet in its first cabinet meeting to discuss its plans for the year 2000. Governor of District 59, which incorporates all of Belize, Leo Cuellar, says he hopes to work with other volunteer organizations to improve the lives of Belizeans. Leo Cuellar, Governor, […]
They are about to be assigned to villages all over the country for two years of service, but today thirty Peace Corps volunteers were sworn in by the American Ambassador Carolyn Curiel. The Prime Minister Said Musa gave the keynote address at the ceremony at the King’s Park Church of the Nazarene. The trainees spent […]
Belizeans have always had a fondness for honoring special people by naming something after him or her. There is the Leo Bradley Library, the Gwen Lizarraga High School, the Baron Bliss Lighthouse, the Raymond Parks Night Shelter and the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital just to name a few. Prompted by an intriguing street sign in […]
Contrary to reports this week that child molestation charges have been dropped against former S.J.C. teacher Carlos Milan, the case is still before the courts. Although the child’s mother, who is living with Milan, has submitted an affidavit requesting that the charges be withdrawn, the Magistrate’s Court tells News Five that the matter will have […]
Calling it a signal of the strong partnership between the United States of America and Belize, Minister of National Security Jorge Espat broke ground this morning for the new Joint Intelligence Coordinating Center in Belmopan. The Center at the National Police Headquarters will be used for intelligence gathering and regional anti-drug trafficking and anti-crime efforts. […]
Also in Belmopan, the Commission of Inquiry into last month’s fatal shooting of a Guatemalan by B.D.F. soldiers in Arenal Village has completed its third day. Ten year old Jerson Ramirez, son of the deceased, after being cleared by a psychiatrist to testify, told the court that he could not see if his dad was […]
In other police news, eighteen year old Theodore Parchue has been charged with dangerous harm, use of deadly means of harm and attempted murder. On Tuesday July 27th, Parchue was in the bleachers of the M.C.C. Grounds with Matthew and Egbert Flowers when it is alleged he took out a gun and began playing with […]
Today it was a packed house at the Belize Institute of Management as members of the private sector sat down to discuss how the Ministry of Commerce and Industry can help them in areas such as imports, exports, manufacturers, producers and services. The exercise allowed the businessmen and women to voice their concerns and cite […]
Last October when Hurricane Mitch forced the migration to Belmopan, B.T.L. decided that it might make sense to relocate some of their operations there permanently. This week, the company inaugurated a beefed up Belmopan branch which will now not only provide customer service but house the international operators. The new Global Telephone Operators Position System […]
Until two days ago, several families were living in a large house known as the Long Barracks. This building will be demolished and today groundbreaking ceremonies were held for the new homes that will replace the dilapidated old structure. Q: “How many people were living in this house?” Rufus X, Consultant, Ministry of Housing “Eight […]
There is Miss Belize, the Queen of the Bay, Miss Y for seniors, and now there is Miss Teen Belize. This Friday night teenage girls from around the country will try and convince a pageant-loving public that Miss Teen Belize is a competition worth entering. News Five caught up with some of the contestants during […]
On Monday night, city residents attended a vigil for the four Belize City girls who have been murdered. Among the concerns were the lack of leads in three of the deaths and the inexperience of the police in dealing with what might be the work of a serial killer. Members of the police force have […]
But today’s press conference was not called to discuss the Belize City child murders, that was incidental, but to announce the apprehension of seven Mexicans and a Honduran for reportedly trying to steal liquor from the Corozal Free Zone. Around 5:30 yesterday evening police observed three men putting cases of whiskey onto a bicycle cart […]
In other police news, as a result of a report filed with the Ombudsman Paul Rodriguez, two police officers have been interdicted from duty pending investigations of allegations of police brutality. On Sunday July 25th, Rodriguez was told of an incident which reportedly occurred on Caesar Ridge Road involving a citizen, Deon Ferguson, two police […]
Meanwhile in Belmopan the Commission of Inquiry investigating the killing of Guatemalan Mateo Ramirez by a B.D.F. patrol has concluded its second day of deliberations. Six witnesses were called including pathologist Dr. Mario Estradabran. In painstaking detail Estradabran testified that the fatal bullet entered Ramirez’s head just under his right eye and exited from the […]
A visitor’s center was inaugurated today in Freetown Sibun as part of the village’s program to protect their river turtles. News Five has been following this community’s tireless efforts over the past two years to help bring back the hicatee population and was on hand for today’s opening. Simon Young, Farmer, Freetown Sibun “My daddy […]
Politicians will tell you Belizeans are most vocal about the need for more jobs and affordable housing. But while the low to middle income families clamor for more government programs and swarm the ministries to take advantage of those already in place, there are thousands of others who have given up trying to get help. […]
The Commission of Inquiry into last month’s shooting death of a Guatemalan began today in Belmopan. The proceeding, which is similar to a coroner’s inquest, will determine whether excessive force was used in the June twelfth incident, in which Mateo Ramirez was fatally shot by a B.D.F. patrol in Arenal Village, Cayo, along the Guatemalan […]
