For a time it seemed dead in the water, but late this afternoon law enforcement officials gathered on Marine Parade in Belize City to officially inaugurate the Belizean Coastguard. Pooling resources from the ranks of the Belize Police Department, the B.D.F. Maritime Wing, the Customs and Excise Department, the Immigration Department, and the Port Authority, […]
As an institution their contribution to society is invaluable, but today the Sister Cecilia Home for the Elderly found itself on the receiving end of donation courtesy of the Belize District Grand Lodge. Lodge members donated baskets full of fruits that they received during their traditional harvest celebrations. According to Supervisor Rose Armstrong, the gift […]
Good evening I?m James Adderley and we?re rolling with this week?s version of Sports Monday. Week eleven in the B.P.F.L. tournament brought a few surprises and we must say the performance by Benque Viejo United against F.C. Belize at M.C.C. Grounds yesterday certainly fits in that particular category. Indeed its roaring start for F.C. Belize […]
Resignation en masse by members of the Belize Governance Improvement Commission has effectively put the spotlight on the work of similar bodies and their ability to further the cause of good government. Tonight News Five features a one on one conversation with Chairman of the Integrity Commission, Christopher Coye. And as he maintains, no matter […]
It was a story that blazed into the headlines: two men who called the streets of Belize City home viciously fighting to a deadly end. Tonight, the sole survivor of that brutal incident, forty-one year old Stanford Franklin is on remand at the Hattieville prison after being formally arraigned for the charge of manslaughter. Franklin […]
Tonight authorities in the Belize District are investigating a suspected case of arson in the Maxboro community near Sandhill Village. According to fire officials, shortly after ten this morning a neighbour called fire and police to report that flames were coming out of the windows of a house located at number three-twenty-three Maxboro Street. A […]
There is another crime story emerging from the Belize City Commercial Centre tonight as a female taxi driver has been charged with breaking into at least two booths and stealing more than fifty wooden carvings. According to court reports, thirty-five year old Antoinette Usher, a resident of Berry Street, appeared before Magistrate Margaret Gabb McKenzie […]
Bogus cheques and bills…believe it or not, advances in technology have made it easier than ever for criminals to create counterfeit money and go on a spending spree. Thankfully, the catch is that the process is so complex that most potential counterfeiters are deterred by the sheer number of special processes used to transform regular […]
As part of activities leading up to World AIDS Day on December first, this afternoon the Belize Family Life Association and the Youth Advocacy Movement organised a walk through the streets of Belize City. Despite a low turn out, participants moved enthusiastically from the Yabra Green, along Caesar Ridge Road, and down Central American Boulevard. […]
The Women’s Issues Network torch of awareness arrived in Belize City this afternoon as part of a “hands-on” campaign to highlight the issues of gender based violence and HIV/AIDS. The torch run began at the Philip Goldson International Airport in Ladyville in the hands of members of the Belize Defence Force. The flame was then […]
They may be the country’s youngest citizens, but Belize’s children continue to outnumber us adults. And today, even as organised activities celebrated their vital role in the nation’s future, I found out that education is still not the number one priority for many parents. Jacqueline Woods, Reporting These children may be years away from entering […]
For decades, it was an issue that remained under the rug in far too many Belizean homes. But slowly, the dark secret of domestic abuse has been brought into the light of day. The stories of survivors are anything but pretty and there are still a large number of women suffering in silence, but as […]
Silence enveloped the municipal airstrip this morning as all traffic came to halt so that hundreds of mourners could gather to pay their respects in the official memorial service for Belizean pilot, Rene Tam. Tam’s plane, The Sofia, belonging to Blancaneaux Lodge, crashed into a ravine in the Mountain Pine Ridge on November eighteenth. His […]
Tonight more bad checks are coming out of the woodwork. During our coverage of a brazen con artist ripping off local businesses in the city this week, yet another store owner has come forward with a bogus cheque, allegedly written by a member of the Safa family, this time in the name Yasser Safa. According […]
Human Trafficking. The very words evoke fear in most who realise the scary and deadly consequences of this depraved and illegal activity. And tonight, authorities in the west are investigating a possible incident of human trafficking that involves newborn babies and the staff of the San Ignacio Hospital. News Five understands that in mid-October a […]
The Belize Governance Improvement Commission released more documents to the media today, apparently determined to bolster its case and repair the reputation of the twelve members who resigned en mass earlier this month. The bulky file sent to News Five includes a complete breakdown of members, the commission’s terms of reference, and several letters of […]
A police officer has been convicted in the death of a Caye Caulker man in the Belize Supreme Court. This afternoon, after two and a half hours of deliberation, a jury of his peers found twenty-nine year old Sheldon Arzu guilty of manslaughter in the death of Ruben “Pony” Alarcon. Arzu was originally charged with […]
A farmer from Crooked Tree Village has been arrested and charged for stealing food and drinks from the children of that community. According to court reports, thirty-five year old Curtis Flowers has been formally arraigned on charges of burglary, keeping unlicensed ammunition, and handling stolen goods. Flowers is the man police believe broke into the […]
With the entire eastern coast of our country bounded by the Caribbean Sea, our port facilities play a key role in both the importation and exportation of goods. With security and development in mind, today the Belize Port Authority pulled together the various agencies which use the ports to see how to foster a positive […]
It wasn’t the biggest Lotto jackpot, but the more than one hundred and seventeen thousand dollars up for grabs sent hundreds to stand in line for their chance to win. And last night, one very lucky man walked away with it all. James Bennett, a taxi driver working in Dangriga could hardly believe his luck […]
Today if you happened to be travelling along Coney Drive in Belize City, you might have noticed a large group of students gathered just in front of the Buttonwood Bay Nazarene Primary School. Volunteers from Saint John?s College Junior College were busy busting a sweat digging a trench as part of the first phase in […]
The Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Caribbean Health Research Council, PAHO and WHO is this week conducting a Research Ethics Workshop. That is, the proper collection of data to ensure accurate analysis and reports. According to organisers, the goal of this conference is to acquaint participants with the latest developments in research ethics […]
How do you define poverty? Is it by the amount of money in your pocket or your quality of life: that is, whether you have enough food to eat and clean air to breathe? Those are just two of the questions confronting officials taking on the challenge of poverty alleviation. And while there might be […]
After enduring mostly unmitigated flak for their decision to resign, late this evening, former members of the Belize Governance Improvement Commission released another document, clarifying the motive for the move. According to David Gibson, who had chaired the commission, money was in fact not an issue because members worked on a voluntary basis with only […]
The case against a Belize City conman who has been writing phoney cheques to unsuspecting businesses is mounting as tonight there is yet another accusation; this time for a whopping forty thousand dollars. According to Belize City businessman Haisam El Bathish, on December first 2004, a man identifying himself as Ali Safa bought a forty […]
