Over the past week there has been a lot of discussion over the proposed ninth amendment. Meanwhile we’ve been hearing from the attorneys and politicians, but the grassroots organizations have been out of sight. That is because they have been preparing for a massive demonstration this Saturday. The event, which is being organized by Belizeans […]
The murder trial of cousins Derrick and Kenrick Parham commenced this morning in the chamber of Justice Adolph Lucas. Both men are accused of stabbing Orlando Montero, also known as Vega, in the wee hours of July eleventh, 2008 near the Mahogany Heights community. It is alleged that Montero was at the bus stop when […]
The preliminary inquiry in the case against La Cabana Bar owner, Mike Menjivar, started today in Belmopan before Magistrate Adolph Lucas Junior. Attorney, Arthur Saldivar, made a no-case submission, arguing that Menjivar was protecting his property on May twentieth when a shootout erupted during a Gang Suppression Unit raid at his property. Saldivar’s reasoning is […]
News Five does not only track the tumultuous courtroom sessions, but also creatures of the sea. While the Chairperson of the Gales Point Wildlife Sanctuary has not found Nemo, he is also looking for turtles. According to Kevin Andrewin, his group is tagging turtles that are laying their eggs in Gales Point. Kevin Andrewin, Chairperson, […]
Summer Camps aren’t the only staples that we report on regularly in July and August. It’s also a time when parents are trying hard to cut down on expenses while looking for extra income to pay for the upcoming school year. Books, fees, and uniforms are only some of the baggage that parents carry with […]
Are you still trying to locate your college or sixth form books? If so, then you can head out to the BTALCO parking lot this Saturday and exchange some of your used books for the ones you need. Shari Williams, one of the facilitators of the book exchange program, tells us more. Shari Williams, Facilitator, […]
On Wednesday night we told you about the spoken word summer camp that is using video and photos to tell stories. On Friday that camp will culminate with an exhibition of the students’ work and the hosting of world-renowned poet, Willie Perdomo. Perdomo is set to perform and display some of his works. Film maker […]
Have you heard of the kissing bug? If not, then listen up because Healthy Living has uncovered cases of the parasitic disease carried by the bug in the Jewel. Marleni Cuellar, Reporting The rainy season started and the entire buzz has been about mosquitoes and the threat of dengue. But there has been a neglected […]
The Belize Workers Union met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow at his Coney Drive office this afternoon to discuss the issue of shares it holds in the debt-burdened Belize Sugar Industries (B.S.I.). The employees trust currently owns eighty-one percent of the company, despite not having received dividends for investments in over ten years. With the […]
The country’s constitution has been under much debate and discussion on morning talk shows and nightly newscasts. The proposed ninth amendment is getting its fair share of protest, but earlier today the Bar Association of Belize sent out a twenty-five page concept paper that thoroughly discussed the merits and demerits of the Belize Constitution (Eighth […]
We also asked Marshalleck about the Bar’s position on the Belize Constitution (Ninth Amendment) Bill, which is the new hot button issue in G.O.B.’s saga of controversial bills. Jose Sanchez “What is your understanding of the proposed ninth amendment to the constitution?” Jacqueline Marshalleck, President, Bar Association “Ahm, I would prefer at this stage not […]
If the bill is passed into law, it would bar all legal challenges to future constitutional amendments. If you’re still unsure of what it all means, Attorney Audrey Matura-Shepherd broke down the legal jargon into a digestible and understandable format on this morning’s Open Your Eyes. Audrey Matura-Shepherd, Attorney “What is being proposed now is […]
The Prosecutorial Reform Index (PRI) is the current in assessment tools developed by experts in criminal law reform at the American Bar Association’s Rule of Law Initiative (ABA ROLI). And after months of dialogue with attorneys, judges, police officers, media, and stakeholders in the justice system, the ABA ROLI team, headed by its Country Director, […]
While the ABA ROLI team were examining and questioning members of the judiciary, change was occurring in the system. After the presentation, the President of the Bar offered comments on how public prosecution can be strengthened while the legal advisor for the Ministry of Police and the Police Department said that some training for public […]
Bert Vasquez has been behind bars since February of this year on charges of aggravated assault of an indecent nature and unlawful imprisonment. Today Vasquez found out he has to spend at least another month and a half in jail after he was additionally charged with forcible abduction and attempted rape. It’s a case that […]
Also in court, a taxi driver and two George Street residents were all charged with Drug Trafficking after they were found inside a Dodge Ram with marijuana hidden under the driver’s seat. Twenty-six year Brian Herrera, aka “Bido”, eighteen year old Albert Fuentes and forty-six year old Clarence Lino were arraigned this morning in courtroom […]
On Monday, July twenty-fifth, Reginald Cumberbatch was charged with one count of aggravated assault after he allegedly tried to sodomize a fourteen year old boy. The incident took place on Thursday night in the western village of Succotz. The minor went to accompany Cumberbatch out to the road after his mother completed a transaction with […]
You’ve just heard one politician’s view about developments in the area where Reginald Cumberbatch is accused of taking advantage of a youth. But who exactly is Reginald Cumberbatch and why was the Belize City man offering services in Succotz? Believe it or not, Cumberbatch is a Justice of the Peace. According to the President of […]
The hit American reality show “Gene Simmons Family Jewels” was in the Jewel back in May, filming in San Pedro. That episode was the show’s season finale, which aired Tuesday night on the A&E cable channel. Simmons, the rock and roll legend from the band Kiss, has long proclaimed that he would never get married, […]
If family time for you is not sitting in front of the television watching reality shows, then perhaps one of summer’s litany of camps is what your child needs for stimulation. News Five Isani Cayetano reports on a football camp. Isani Cayetano, Reporting Dog days for primary school students are usually accompanied by a cornucopia […]
For the second year in a row Youth Voices, in collaboration with the Global Parish Project, is holding its Documentary Story-telling Summer Program. Over fifteen youths will learn photography and videography techniques to help tell their stories via Spoken Word. The youths started the summer camp a week ago and today News Five caught up […]
Tickets sold out for Tuesday night’s KTV Duets and with a packed audience at the Bliss auditorium, the pressure was on for the contestants to pull off excellent performances. And they did not disappoint. The seven duos left in Group A survived the first eliminations and implemented the constructive criticism given to them on opening […]
The debate is heating up on the newly proposed ninth amendment to the constitution. But there is the eighth amendment which entails the controversial and dreaded preventative detention. Last Wednesday, the prime Minister told News Five that the eighth was chilling in the refrigerator, but today, Cabinet decided to send the eighth to the garbage […]
A new Chief Justice has been named to succeed Abdulai Conteh whose tenure was cut short last September and is now on serving on the Bahamian Court of Appeal. The new chief justice is a Caribbean national of Guyanese/Antiguan nationality. Justice Kenneth A Benjamin will begin official duties on September fifteenth. He takes the bench […]
The fate of the sugar industry has been the subject of several high level meetings over the past week. The Honduras based Banco Atlántida has proposed a buyout of majority shares in the Belize Sugar Industry, an investment of ninety million US dollars that could make the difference to keep the mill grinding. Who controls […]
