On the occasion of the ninety-sixth birthday of its deceased leader, the P.U.P. also launched its education platform entitled Education: Creativity plus Technology. The policy is a call to arms to move away from the staunchly traditional methods of delivering information in the classroom. The platform encourages a return to curiosity among adolescents and supports […]
Now to the courts…the case by the Financial Intelligence Unit against two Bahamians, Kelvin Leach and Rohn Knowles, for failure to declare in excess of ten thousand Belize dollars resumed this morning and before noon, the prosecution closed its case. When the case adjourned previous to today, Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser questioned the integrity of […]
The last time we reported of a major crime in San Pedro was on December fifteenth when Pedro Castillo was shot dead in an exchange of gunfire between Coast Guard personnel and three civilians twenty-one and a half miles north of San Pedro Town. Since then, it has been relatively quiet on the island as […]
A book of maps by geographer Doctor Odile Hoffman was launched today at the Leo Bradley Library in Belize City. Five hundred copies of the publication, British Honduras: The Invention of a Colonial Territory – Mapping and Spatial Knowledge in the Nineteenth Century were donated courtesy of the publisher, Cubola Productions, to high schools and […]
It’s not Monday, but James Adderley reports tonight on game one of the finals of the Premier Football League of Belize in which the Belmopan Bandits defend its title against Police United. That match was played on Wednesday night at the Isidoro Beaton Stadium and from start to finish; fans were on the edge of […]
The ancient practice of meditation has long been extolled as a life changing practice capable of improving one’s health both mentally and physically. There have been several studies that show that people do report feeling better when they begin to practice meditation. In 2011, Harvard released their findings of a study on meditation that proved […]
Four men were arraigned this morning in the Orange Walk Magistrate Court for drug possession and trafficking of forty pounds of heroin, worth ten million dollars. It follows a huge bust by the Anti-Drug Unit of the police department in front of a bar at the South End entrance of Corozal Town. There was no […]
A fisherman was heading home to Oleander Street in the City on Tuesday night when he was ambushed in his boat. Pedro Ayuso Junior, also known as Pete, was in the area of Belcan Bridge when someone travelling in another skiff opened fire on him. The salvo of bullets found their mark on the father […]
While no one has been charged for the murder of “Pete” Ayuso, a prison inmate was this afternoon arraigned for a murder that happened five years ago. Twenty-nine year old Lorenzo Smith Junior is serving a ten year prison term for arson and was soon to be released when his past caught up with him. […]
But in the south, there’s a complicated story in Independence village which we’ve been following for the past week – one which involves a Policeman, a minor, and to some extent, a jealous wife. Independence Police haven’t had much to say when we’ve contacted them, but we note that the Police sitrep for today does […]
The protracted standoff between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association and ASR/B.S.I. has been in the news headlines for weeks, but is the crisis finally coming to a resolution? That’s what we asked B.S.C.F.A. chairman, Ezequiel Cansino, today when we sat with him exclusively. Despite factions of the association proclaiming that they are signing the […]
Still yet, the petition to gather as many signatures approving the endorsement of the agreement has been described as B.S.C.F.A. yielding to pressure being brought by government, as branch directors have gone on record to voice their discontent for not getting the best deal. But farmers are cash strapped and after Thursday’s press conference by […]
Regarding the use of Fairtrade funds being paid out to farmers, Cansino says that the suggestion to replace the spent monies with PetroCaribe dollars is a singular idea coming out of a splinter group of the B.S.C.F.A. While agreeing that the disbursal will lead to decertification, Cansino says that the ball is already in play […]
Government has gone on a PR push to counter an abundance of flak for their role in the recent sugar debacle. While it is true that farmers have decided to sign on with ASR/B.S.I., effectively ending the impasse, many are doing so under protest. The prevailing sentiment is that G.O.B. turned its back on the […]
There has been some confusion as regards a court case in 2010, when other associations took legal action to fight for the right to deliver cane to the factory. That matter played out to an uncertain end – with both parties making concessions through a consent order. Government undertook to make amendments to the Act, […]
One of the three biggest stumbling blocks which stood in the way of resolution was the issue of ownership of the cane. The factory has maintained that farmers must relinquish ownership of the cane once it is delivered and weighed. Farmers are of the view that they share ownership with the factory, since they don’t […]
Twenty-three year old Hattieville resident, Gian Stiane, is behind bars tonight on the first day of a three year conviction. Staine appeared before Magistrate Herbert Panton on a charge of drug trafficking. He is accused of having one hundred and three grams of cannabis for the purpose of supplying it to another person. Staine pleaded […]
Acting first on behalf of cane-farmer Lucilo Teck, and latterly on behalf of the B.S.C.F.A., attorney Audrey Matura-Shepherd sought an order of Mandamus from the Court. That order would effectively instruct the Sugar Industry Control Board to declare a start date of the crop, and force the factory to mill. The hearing is, or was, […]
While it has not to our knowledge become an official inquiry, there is increasing discussion in the B.S.C.F.A. asking government to roll Petrocaribe monies into the Association. According to officials, thanks to the forced disbursement of Fairtrade monies recently, there will be almost immediate layoffs and the shutting down of projects. They figure that since […]
This morning at the Saint John’s Anglican Primary School in Belize City, education stakeholders turned out in numbers. The occasion was two-fold: the construction of a new building gifted to the school as well as the signing of a tripartite agreement between the Ministry of Education, the University of Belize as well as the Bridgewater […]
Late this evening, there was a shooting in the area of the BelCan Bridge in Belize City. We’ll have more of this in Wednesday’s newscast, but we can say that one person was injured and rushed to the K.H.M.H. after he was shot.
It is safe to say tonight, that the sugar industry has plunged into further chaos. According to stakeholders, there is still abundant uncertainty as to when the mill at Tower Hill will crank up to give way to the start of the crop. Five hundred thousand tons of cane is required by ASR/B.S.I. but that […]
According to Ortega, the P.M.’s press conference last Thursday was unfairly weighted as it appeared that he was in support of ASR/B.S.I. While P.M. Barrow openly said that he expected the application for an order of mandamus to fall flat, the Supreme Court has set a date for the fourth week in February to hear […]
Ortega further explains the reason why farmers believe that they have been cornered into signing the agreement. Alfredo Ortega, Former Vice-Chairman, B.S.C.F.A. “That has caused a situation among the farmers because they have said, “Well, we’ve listened to our prime minister on which he said that he is not in favor of the farmers […]
And our question for tonight is: Do you think Government should disburse Petrocaribe funds to replace Fair-Trade money disbursed to farmers? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com.
