As crime stories go, they don’t get any stranger than this one. The drama centres around one man–a little known Chinese resident of Belize–who in one brief span of time this morning managed to commit arson and attempted murder before losing his life by drowning as he hid from police. Ann-Marie Williams tried to make […]
Two Guatemalan men are dead at opposite ends of the country, apparently the victims of foul play. The body of twenty-five year old Chichilla Polanco, was found floating in the sea in front of Dangriga, tied to a stump. Polanco, who works at Dakita’s farm on the Southern Highway, was fully clothed and displayed injuries […]
Two other lives were lost over the weekend as the result of accidental drowning. Early Sunday morning a resident of Benque Viejo discovered the lifeless body of a man floating in the Mopan River behind her home. It was later identified as twenty-six year old Guatemalan Hilberto Hernandez. Hernandez and two others had attempted to […]
Another Chinese owned establishment in Belize City was jacked over the weekend. According to police reports, five masked men armed with handguns entered the New Garden Restaurant on Basra Street around 5:00 Sunday evening. They tied up the proprietor, Jimbo Chen and two other family members and locked them in a room. After searching the […]
The B.D.F.’s new Defender aircraft finally arrived in Belize on Saturday, after bad weather delayed its flight across the Atlantic. The plane, a military version of the popular twin engine Britten-Norman Islander, replaces the one that crashed in 1998 in the Orange Walk District. Brigadier Gen. Cedric Borland, Commandant, B.D.F. “We’re very please to be […]
Today was the big day for five thousand five hundred and fifty-six students across the nation who sat the Primary School Examination. The exam was introduced last year to replace the Belize National Selection Examination, and aims to better assess candidates for entrance into high school. News 5’s Jose Sanchez spoke to some of the […]
The annual Children’s Festival of Arts had it’s official opening today. The festival showcases the budding talents of Belizean youths in visual and performing arts. Gregory Vernon, Acting Director for the Belize Arts Council, says that participation has increased this year to include schools from most districts. Gregory Vernon, Acting Director, Belize Arts Council “Today […]
Viewers in the Cayo District are reminded that tonight marks something of a broadcasting milestone. It is the ninth anniversary of the ever popular Pandy Show on San Ignacio’s SEN TV. Viewers outside the twin towns got to know Kent Pandy when News 5 profiled his show in February of 2000. After nine years as […]
The Centre for the Development of Enterprise in Brussels, Belgium is sponsoring a regional course in Timber Drying and Kiln Operations, which is currently being held in Belize. According to Gary Alymer, head of C.D.E.’s Caribbean Regional Office, it’s an issue that affects both furniture and logging industries, and comes at a time when Belize […]
It is a pageant right up there in popularity with Miss Belize and Queen of the Bay. This year’s Ms. Y competition featured six exceptionally strong contenders for the crown. Here are some excerpts from the show. (Contestants performing on stage) Emcee “And the Ms. Y for 2001-2001 is… contestant number 5, Lois Smith. The […]
Good evening I’m James Adderley and we thank you for joining this rush on Sports Monday. Talk about forty-two cyclists gearing up for the ride from Belize City to More Tomorrow Village, a distance of some fifty miles on mountain bikes. If you’re looking at your screen and see the big name riders, you’ve been […]
A student of the Julian Cho Technical High School in Punta Gorda is recovering from stab wounds she received on Thursday. Fifteen-year old Melanie Villafranco was involved in an argument with two students at school, which turned violent. Villafranco was stabbed in the lower part of her abdomen and was quickly taken to the Southern […]
The dead body of a Norwegian man who lived and worked for many years at Ricardo’s Beach Huts on Blue Field Range was found floating in waters off the caye. Finn Lanaggas, sixty-five, went canoeing around 7:00 in the morning on May second, but never returned. The Police Maritime Wing conducted a search of the […]
Non-Governmental Organisations operating in Belize are now subject to specific operational guidelines under the new NGO Act passed into law on February seventeenth, 2001. This Act provides for the establishment and registration of non-governmental organisations; to regulate their operation so as to create transparency and accountability and to specify minimum standards which must be observed. […]
Tourism has become Belize’s biggest income earner. According to Tourism Minister Mark Espat, the industry generated close to two hundred and fifty million dollars last year. Starting May fifth through twelfth, a special week of activities has been planned to celebrate the achievements of the tourism industry. Mark Espat, Min. of Tourism “One week each […]
Earlier this week we reported on his serious illness and today it is with regret that we report the death of Javier Berbey Garcia. Berbey, one of the nation’s foremost developers, died this morning at his home after a long bout with cancer. He is survived by his wife Eva and ten children. Funeral services […]
Belize City was once filled with beautiful wooden buildings. While some of them have been preserved and maintained, others have become an eyesore. In order to prevent fires, the government has torn down many dilapidated houses. Little over a month ago, the Housing Department demolished a house on Caesar Ridge Road, but it didn’t happen […]
She’s been blessed with the gift of singing and will present it at a special magical night of music. Ann-Marie Williams found her preparing. Ann-Marie Williams, Reporting After a four-year absence from the musical scene, Belizean entertainer Nelita Castillo is back–cabaret style; in a night of magical music along with Pablo Bonifaz and Afil Negro […]
We are in the middle of Prison Awareness Week… and while these days are set aside to increase our knowledge and concern for what goes on behind the walls, our lead story tonight concerns a prisoner who went over the wall. Twenty-year old inmate Heidi Martinez apparently broke out of Hattieville on Sunday, but her […]
Police may have been left empty handed in Belize City’s Magistrate Court, but they had better luck in Burrell Boom. Two suspects in Saturday’s killing of Elvis Banner were arrested there and charged with murder. They are nineteen year old Leon Hinds and twenty-five year old Eugene Henderson, both residents of Boom. Banner was chopped […]
There were more problems at Belize Water Services Limited today as recurring difficulties with its old twenty-four inch mains left the city dry most of the day. A series of breaks at mile sixteen on the Northern Highway has challenged the company’s technicians over the last several days as swampy terrain has caused muddy water […]
The town of Dangriga is due for a major face-lift thanks to over six million dollars worth of infrastructural contracts that were signed today. The works consist largely of dredging and realigning several canals that provide drainage for the town. The contracts were signed with Mid-South Investments Limited for just under two million dollars and […]
Alberto Lagos works as chief of security for the Radisson Hotel, but his financial security is one thing that will no longer concern him. Last night he picked the winning numbers in Lotto and today is sixty-thousand dollars richer. Stewart Krohn “You said that you chose the numbers according to something with your three children. […]
This month images of Belize can be seen through the eyes of renowned Venezuelan painter Manuel Piney. Paisajes de Belice or Landscapes of Belize is a twenty-four-piece oil painting exhibition opened for public viewing on Friday. Guillermo Gutierrez, director of the Mexico-Belize Cultural Institute says Piney captures familiar scenes from the point of view of […]
It’s a beauty pageant that takes place every year around this time. No, we’re not talking about Miss Universe. The contestants on this show have experience to accompany their good looks. Enid Oliver, Miss Burrell Boom “I’m here for my last experience of being on the stage.” Juliana Arana, Miss Lake I “I think I’m […]
