Due to the havoc wreaked by Hurricane Iris and ongoing relief efforts down south, many people may have forgotten that October is celebrated as Cancer Awareness Month. Tonight, News 5 takes an in-depth look at the disease and what you can do to protect yourself. Jacqueline Woods reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting It is not known […]
It’s the biggest economic activity in the Toledo District and one of the nation’s major earners of foreign exchange. But in less than ninety minutes on the night of October eighth, Belize’s banana industry was put out of business. Today, journalists were given a tour of the affected areas and as Janelle Chanona found out, […]
Hurricane relief continues to reach Belize in the form of donations from foreign governments and organisations. Our neighbour to the west, Guatemala, has dispatched a twenty-six-person team and equipment to assist in general cleanup and road maintenance in the south. The Guatemalans will stay for a month and are assigned to assist the crews from […]
One of the key elements in the rebuilding of southern Belize is the restoration of electrical power. Belize Electricity Limited has just completed a damage assessment and estimates that its own infrastructure suffered losses in the region of five million dollars. Vice-President for business and customer services, Michael Polonio, says that despite its losses, BEL […]
It may not be directly attributable to the passage of Hurricane Iris, but a researcher assessing the storm’s damage to the barrier reef has died while on the job. Details are sketchy, but sources tell News 5 that twenty-five year old Luke D’Silva of Belmopan, an employee of the Coastal Zone Management Authority, lost his […]
Trouble is brewing in Port Loyola as the Ministry of Health has characterised the chronic flooding in that part of Belize City as an “escalating public health emergency.” According to a press release, the ministry has been monitoring the situation since September twenty-fourth and after receiving no co-operation from relevant city authorities, has concluded that […]
And the Ministry of Health is not the only government body complaining about water. Minister of Public Utilities, Ralph Fonseca is up in arms about what appears to be a case of extortion by Belize Water Services Limited. In a televised statement delivered late this evening, B.W.S. Director and former CEO, Peter Wrench complains that […]
Almost missed in yesterday’s report from Cabinet was a decision that should make Belizean music more accessible on the local market. Jacqueline Woods reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting The exemption of duty on locally produced CDs and cassettes has been well received by the United Belizean Artists Association. U.B.A.A.’s President, Jason Guerrero says musicians and producers […]
While appeals continue to go out for aid to hurricane victims, one of Belize’s staunchest allies has weighed in with a cash contribution far out of proportion to its size. News 5 has learned that the Government of Cuba today signed a letter of commitment to immediately transfer the sum of fifty thousand U.S. dollars […]
Meanwhile, Cabinet has approved an initial amount of two point four million dollars to fund low interest housing loans for victims of Hurricane Iris. The money, to be provided by the Social Security Board, will be administered by the Development Finance Corporation. The twenty-year mortgages, carrying an interest rate of eight and a half percent, […]
On yesterday’s newscast, we looked at damage which may have been caused by Hurricane Iris to the country’s barrier reef and marine resources. Today, we spoke to experts in Belmopan who reveal that large stretches of valuable forest in southern Belize may have also suffered significant degradation; harm that may be felt for many years […]
In the wake of the September eleventh terror attacks on the United States, the U.S. airline industry has been in a tailspin, faced with fewer passengers and increased costs for security. But despite a multi-billion dollar assistance package from Washington, many carriers are looking for additional help. American Airlines in particular is pressuring destinations in […]
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is today the recipient of a handsome donation of medical equipment and supplies valued at close to a million dollars. The contribution, which came courtesy of Belizeans living in Michigan, was forwarded through the Friends of Karl Heusner organisation. Minister of Health Jose Coye accepted the donation as a kind […]
While primary health care and N.H.I. have been the major focus of the Ministry of Health, it doesn’t mean that progress is not being made on more advanced care for Belizean patients. This morning News 5’s Jacqueline Woods was on hand at the K.H.M.H. as doctors demonstrated the latest techniques for dealing with injuries to […]
If you’ve seen a strange old fashioned car plying the streets of Belize City that looks like it came off the set of the “Untouchables”, don’t worry, it’s not being driven by Al Capone. But the antique automobile did arouse the interest of News 5’s Ann-Marie Williams, who wound up with a lot more than […]
As the plight of thousands of Belizeans in the Stann Creek and Toledo districts is broadcast daily by the national media, many agencies, corporations and individuals at home and abroad, continue to donate aid to the victims of Hurricane Iris. On Monday, Fortis Incorporated, majority owners of Belize Electricity Limited, handed over fifty thousand Belize […]
This morning, a pair of local organisations received a total of two hundred thousand Belize dollars to assist in hurricane relief efforts from the United States Government. Ambassador Jim Murphy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs received one hundred thousand dollars on behalf of the National Emergency Management Organisation, while Florita Gidwani accepted the other […]
Hurricane Iris not only wreaked havoc on human lives and infrastructure, but also on Belize’s pristine natural environment. One of the major ecological victims is expected to be Belize’s Barrier Reef along with numerous patch reefs and cayes. Although the damage is now being assessed, we asked Ecosystems Management Unit co-ordinator James Azueta to describe […]
Not all the recent damage to Belize has been done by wind and water. On Monday evening fire gutted a family’s residence on Lizarraga Avenue in King’s Park and the victims are no less devastated than any resident of Stann Creek or Toledo. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting It is believed the fire started in the living […]
The decomposed corpse of a human being has been found in the Cayo District. According to a police report, villagers from Armenia found a human skeleton in a cave just north of the village. A forensic team has been dispatched to the area, but preliminary findings have yet to be released. Villagers tell News 5 […]
As Hurricane Iris neared the coast of Belize and even in the immediate aftermath of her landfall, the public’s attention was focussed on the coastal communities of Placencia, Seine Bight and Independence. Not only were these villages accessible, but they were also familiar places to many Belizeans as tourist or business destinations. Their residents had […]
Good evening I’m James Adderley and you’re in tuned with this latest version of Sports Monday. Sports on the national scene has had to take a back seat in the aftermath of Hurricane Iris. The emphasis of late has been on getting the communities hurt by the storm back on their feet. This is why, […]
“Things have changed and we too must change.” That was the message of Prime Minister Said Musa as he informed the nation that the triple whammy of the September eleventh terror attack, the U.S. military response and Hurricane Iris will leave Belize’s economy somewhere between a rock and a very hard place. Speaking at a […]
But the biggest story emerging from the Prime Minister’s press conference had nothing to do with the hurricane. This afternoon, the P.M. announced the Cabinet shuffle instigated by the resignation of Minister of National Security, Jorge Espat. In January, the Prime Minister will give up the Foreign Affairs portfolio to Ambassador Assad Shoman, who will […]
In other news that will only add to the Prime Minister’s financial headache, Chief Justice Abdulai Conteh ruled this morning that the Government of Belize acted wrongly when, following the 1998 elections, it occupied and constructed houses on land at the Bel-China Bridge owned by the United Democratic Party. In his ruling the Chief Justice […]
