What started as a nationwide journey to inspect his government’s accomplishments and gauge the citizens reaction, has, not surprisingly, turned into a non-stop campaign photo-op in which no project is too small for a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Today Prime Minister Said Musa’s blue and white electoral machine pulled into Belize City, and returned to the […]
Today was payday for most Belizeans, but if you find yourself in a dimly lit bar this weekend, don’t be in any rush to give change for anything bigger than a twenty. That’s right, counterfeit currency is back in circulation. The police department has issued a warning to watch out for bogus fifties, two of […]
Many parents of children attending primary school are stressed out at the start of each school year by the crippling cost of those amazingly expensive textbooks. Tonight those families will be pleased to hear that their burden will be lightened significantly through a generous grant from the Commonwealth Relief Fund. The Ministry of Education received […]
It looks like not all of B.T.L.’s security staff will be going home…at least not just yet. That was the bittersweet news that the Belize Communication Workers Union received following their press conference on Thursday. On that day, the B.C.W.U., along with the National Trade Union Congress of Belize, informed the media of the company’s […]
Since the film festival currently under way at the Princess Cinema is the first in the nation’s history, we’re not really sure what to expect. But one thing we do know is that we like to go to the movies. And as Jacqueline Woods found out this morning, Belizeans may one day get the opportunity […]
She may not have made a feature film, but eleven-year-old Lisa Tucker, the American born daughter of a Belizean mother, is well on her way to a big career. Last night the young stage actress sang her way into the finals of the popular televised competition, Star Search. Here’s how it went. Arsenio Hall, Host […]
Last night we carried a story on a frightening robbery and assault that took place at a Chinese owned grocery in Belize City. Tonight, we take a look at another aspect of Chinese life in Belize, one that looks beyond the burglar bars. Marion Ali, Reporting If you’re close to the Chinese community, then you’ll […]
Knocking off a Chinese grocery: it’s a crime as Belizean as rice and beans–or perhaps dala chicken. But just because the modus operandi is a familiar one, it doesn’t make it any less terrifying for the victims. News 5’s Jacqueline Woods reports. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting Three years ago, eighteen-year-old Qian Xian Yang and twenty-four year […]
Police have made one more arrest in the December fifth murder of an Orange Walk businessman in Camalote Village. Thirty-year old Timothy Vanegas was charged on Wednesday with the crimes of robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, murder and conspiracy to commit murder in the shooting death of Jacob Elias. Elias had reportedly travelled to Camalote […]
Union members at B.T.L. and their colleagues nationwide today served notice that they are not at all happy with some changes the company has in store for its labour force. Jacqueline Woods has the story. Paul Perriott, Trustee, B.C.W.U. “Well right now at the time we are faced with a mass lay-off of staff. We […]
The practice of public opinion research–or polling–has never caught on in Belize. And while in many parts of the world politicians live and die by the latest polling numbers, we in Belize have happily been spared the distraction. As the 2000 results in Florida demonstrated, polls can be radically wrong, and in a place as […]
By the standards of the English speaking Caribbean islands, it’s a finely tuned, well equipped military juggernaut; but by Central American measurements, the Belize Defence Force barely qualifies as a standing army, boasting not a single tank, fighter plane or helicopter. How ever you want to judge the B.D.F., it remains our first line of […]
She has been a community activist all her adult life, but somehow managed to avoid the realm of partisan politics… at least until now. As the U.D.P. candidate in Pickstock, with two formidable challengers, Diane Haylock will have her hands more than full between now and the fifth of March. As part of our continuing […]
Three of the four men arrested at a traffic stop in Orange Walk on Sunday and charged with possession of an unlicensed shotgun and ammo have been hit with new charges related to recent crimes in Corozal. Twenty-five year old Kenrick Reneau and twenty-four year old Dwayne Bishop, along with Hubert Velasquez, were charged with […]
A seven-year-old Toledo girl remains hospitalised tonight after she was hit by a car on Tuesday afternoon. Romana Cucul had just exited a school bus around 3:00 p.m. in Bladen Village and ran across the Southern Highway. She never made it, as a Mitsubishi pickup driven by thirty-five year old Jose Santos of Independence Village, […]
The Human Rights Commission of Belize today issued a strong denunciation of police for what they say is a campaign to harass those who stand up to widespread police brutality. The H.R.C.B. complaint focuses on the arrest of Michael Flores and Antoinette Moore for drug trafficking. The couple have been outspoken opponents of aggressive police […]
Like most Belizean elections, the one in March is being fought over broad national issues. But, as in every campaign, certain constituency races have emerged as key battles in the overall war. Over the next five weeks we’ll focus on some of these high profile races and candidates that, for better or worse, are becoming […]
News 5 caught up with Dickie Bradley while he was on hand for a big event in his constituency. It has been a year, but finally the staff and students of Queen Square Anglican Primary School have a computer lab that each student will be more than proud to work in. Today, International Telecommunications Limited, […]
They hail from different churches in different states, but three ladies from the U.S. are volunteering their talent and time for a good cause. This coming Saturday and Monday nights, they, along with several local artists, will engage in concerts to raise funds for St. John’s Primary School and Anglican Cathedral College. Rhonda Reid, who […]
It’s a story–and not always a happy one–that News 5’s Jacqueline Woods has been following for years. Today, however, was a good day for Belizeans facing cancer. Jacqueline Woods “Kim, I know your mom worked really long and hard for the cancer hospice. Now that her dream is now being realised, how does the family […]
Not all of the nation’s explosive growth in tourism is taking place at resort areas like San Pedro, Cayo or Placencia. Today I was on hand as the earth was turned on a big new project just a poker chip’s toss from the northern border. Janelle Chanona, Reporting This afternoon, ceremonies to mark the official […]
Ever since speculation began to build last month about the possibility that general elections might be called to coincide with the March fifth municipal voting, all eyes have turned to the chief elections officer, to see if she, and the system, could handle the added burden of double balloting. Today, in the aftermath of the […]
A Belize City man is behind bars tonight after a downtown robbery was thwarted by some brave citizens, including an off duty police officer. According to the cops, around nine this morning, an employee of Barry Lin, a businessman operating from the corner of Vernon Street and Collet Canal, was walking on Duck Lane when […]
Meanwhile, a traffic stop on the Northern Highway may have led to the prevention of some other robberies. Reports are that on Sunday, police officers stopped a white Jeep Cherokee on the Northern outskirts of Orange Walk Town. When they searched the interior, they found a pump action shotgun with three live rounds, a crowbar […]
In more crime news, another incident involving guns has been reported in the Cayo District. Police say that on Monday, thirty-five year old James Smith walked onto the compound of the Valdez shop, in Santa Elena, brandishing a sawed off shotgun. Smith demanded to see one of the employees but, not surprisingly, no one dared […]
