A week ago, the Barrow administration compulsorily took over Belize Telemedia, the largest utility company in the Jewel. Since then, numerous deceptive statements have been coming out of the new board of directors headed by Nestor Vasquez. Vasquez is in control of the day to day operations of Telemedia along with Anwar Barrow, the son […]
And still on the issue of the hostile take over of the telephone company, in his announcement to the House of Representatives, Prime Minister Barrow said that he intended to re-Belizeanize it. But in follow-up interviews, Barrow contradicted himself and said he would make it available for sale to international carriers. Now that the theatrics […]
It is still not clear if telephone rates will go down or if GOB will allow the introduction of VOIP, what is said is that profits dipped in 2008 at Telemedia. Boyce told News Five this resulted from the exorbitant taxes Telemedia had to pay, the highest in the region, and that there was a […]
And what about the Accommodation Agreement reached between Telemedia and the government in 2005? Boyce said the company was always willing to negotiate with government on this sensitive issue, but he felt government never really intended to work out things. Dean Boyce, Former Chairman, Executive Committee, B.T.L. “We have in the past, on more than […]
The streets were quiet last week and very little violence was reported by the cops. But the silence was shattered on Friday night when one man was killed in Belize City. Twenty-one year old Darrel Francis, an unemployed man of Rivero Street, was standing in front of a shop at the junction between Neal’s Pen […]
Also in Belize City, another baby has died at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and while details are still sketchy, at first blush it points to the general decay in the health system. Information reaching our newsroom is that the infant was released from the K.H.M.H., sent home, but worsened and was then admitted to […]
In a stunning development, two notorious figures will be retried for the cold blooded murder of the Brannon brothers. In late 2008 the two accused businessmen of north side Belize City walked free from the double murder of twenty eight year old Phillip, and thirty-two year old Kevin Brannon. Both men were shot and killed […]
And the infamous Darien Banks was on familiar territory when he was taken to court this morning. This time around, the thirty-one year old was facing charges of Wounding against his common-law-wife, Nicolette Foreman. Banks was granted bail of eight hundred dollars despite objections from the prosecution because the victim and her two children would […]
In more violence in the city, a shooting occurred on Friday night a short distance from the murder scene of Darrel Francis as we reported earlier. Kareem Abdul Arnold was sitting with some friends outside an apartment building at the corner of Caesar Ridge and Kraal roads and the gunman who is described as a […]
A day after the murder and shooting, a heist in Belize City netted some unsavory criminals thousands of dollars. The sign outside said “Western Union Coming Soon”, but thieves found the office before the public could. A week ago, Western Union moved its main office to the Thurton Building on Coney Drive. And on Saturday […]
The loot was much smaller for three thieves who got away with over five hundred dollars during an armed hold-up at the Shell Gas Station between miles eight and nine on the Northern Highway. The incident happened just after the busy lunch hour today and no one was hurt, but it shook up management and […]
It is the first day of the new primary school year. Approximately seventy thousand students registered for classes around the country. But for at least fifteen students from Mahogany Heights who headed to the primary school in the La Democracia community, things did not go well. The Ministry of Education promised earlier this year that […]
Enrique Hubbard held Mexico’s top diplomatic post in Belize eight years ago. The former ambassador finds himself at the center of investigations in North Texas where he was serving as the Mexican Consul. According to reports in the Texan media, Hubbard has been removed from that position due to financial irregularities at the Dallas Consulate. […]
The best of the best culinary experts met to compete against each other on Saturday night for the Belize Tourism Board’s eighth annual ‘Taste of Belize’. And what a showdown it was. There was competition among chefs, bartenders and cake decorators whose biggest goal was to earn bragging rights in their genre, as well as […]
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. The 2009 B.P.F.L. Football Season kicked off yesterday with three big matches nationwide. Here in Belize City at the M.C.C. Grounds, F.C. Belize opened against a San Pedro team intent on establishing itself as a legitimate title contender this time around. However, it is the […]
The hostile takeover of Telemedia was completed on Tuesday and since then the chairman of the board, Net Vasquez, has been making public allegations about the state of Telemedia before its hasty nationalization. Prime Minister Dean Barrow made the announcement in the House of Representatives on Monday and by Tuesday afternoon, the deal was signed, […]
But the allegations did not stop at just looting. Boyce also responded to claims that he had documents removed from the B.T.L.’s offices before he left and he addressed the issue of potential investors in Telemedia. Dean Boyce, Former Chairman, Executive Committee, B.T.L. “I don’t actually have any original documents in my office, I never […]
And there is a lot of noise coming from the new Telemedia management about the ownership of the N.D.F.B. building on Coney Drive acquired by Great Belize Productions. The obvious intention is to cast aspersions on a legitimate and transparent business transaction. Anyone with business sense would understand that the ownership the G.B.T.V. property cannot […]
Since Tuesday morning, viewers of Channel Five’s breakfast show, Open Your Eyes, would have seen a different look on our morning show. Channel Five was forced to create a makeshift studio for the show at our Regent Street location following the hasty takeover of Telemedia by the government on Monday August twenty-fourth. The previous Open […]
Still on news in the industry, the nationalization of Telemedia is already sending shockwaves through cable subscribers from Orange Walk and Corozal. One of the casualties is Centaur Cable Station in Orange Walk, which is owned by P.U.P. leader John Briceño and his family. Since Tuesday’s appointment of the new chairman and owner of Channel […]
If fuel prices have been taking a toll on your pockets, it is not going to get any better if your vehicle runs on premium gasoline. Premium was the only gas spared in the last price hike on August nineteenth but as of midnight tonight, it will increase by forty-three cents and will now be […]
A Belize City mother is appealing to the public to help locate her missing daughter. Argelia Hernandez says that while she was at work last Friday, fourteen year old Ester Hernandez left her home on Santa Barbara Street, reportedly with her aunt. Argelia told News Five that three days before her daughter disappeared, she had […]
We’ve heard people fighting over strange things, but we’ve haven’t heard of two men fighting over a sip of wine. And the Belize City security guard who was charged with committing the crime was spared incarceration even though he allegedly used a knife to attack his victim. According to police, on Thursday at six-thirty-five p.m., […]
Plues Street is not known for flourishing gardens, but one resident has shown his skills for growing weed rather than pulling them out of his garden. Unfortunately for forty-one year old Andrew Murillo, the five plants which measured from four to a massive ten feet in height are of the Cannabis Sativa variety. And though […]
For the past fifteen years, firefighters from around the country have been competing for the top spot in their field. The friendly competition is known as the National Fire Service Olympiad and this year sixty are battling to become the number one firefighter. Jose Sanchez headed to Yarborough today and has this report. Jose Sanchez […]
