There is tension tonight following a twenty-six hour stand-off between a Coast Guard Patrol and Guatemalan naval personnel in two vessels near the mouth of the Sarstoon ended at midday today. The confrontation, as it is being called by the Ministry of National Security, happened at ten am Thursday when Guatemalan soldiers in a small […]
The Coast Guard patrol was in that area conducting reconnaissance with a view to possibly constructing a Forward Operating Base there. So while this specific situation was defused, what happens if the Coast Guard needs to go back in that area which is clearly in Belizean waters while the Guatemalans seem suddenly confused? Ret’d. […]
This latest incident where, for clarity, the Guatemalan military suddenly seems unsure of where the maritime borders lie, comes on the heels of comments from Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington. In interviews with News Five both in Belize and Guatemala, Elrington has expressed uncertainty about our maritime and land borders. Today, we asked C.E.O. George Lovell, […]
Former Foreign Minister, Eamon Courtenay, has chimed in on the confrontation between the Belize National Coast Guard and the Guatemalan navy, merely three days after the Special Agreement was amended. Courtenay’s position puts into sharp perspective recent statements made by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wilfred Elrington, in which he discussed Belize’s terrestrial and maritime boundaries. […]
Elrington’s opinion continues to raise the ire of many, including his predecessor. According to Courtenay, the foreign minister, under the Maritime Areas Act, is charged with authorizing the preparation of maps and charts to define Belize’s nautical boundaries. He says that Elrington should follow what is outlined in the act to avoid humiliating the country. […]
The Special Agreement between Belize and Guatemala was amended on Monday in Guatemala City sans the participation of the Opposition. While the changes allow for Guatemala to proceed with individual referendum later this year, erstwhile foreign minister Eamon Courtenay says the amendment does not have the concerns of the Belizean people at heart. The amendment […]
The opposition, People’s United Party, is taking the government to court for the controversial Petrocaribe Loans Act seeking a declaration that it is an illegal piece of legislation. Government has now circulated an amendment which it proposes to take to the House in June presumably to silence and give comfort to critics who are concerned […]
Late this evening News Five confirmed that no charges have yet been laid against the three men detained as persons of interest in the two recent, bloody Roaring Creek slayings of Edilberto Madrid and Steven Hyde. Police at this time are awaiting some critical elements which they feel will enable them to close the investigation […]
Body 2000 Gym members were kicked out in the middle of their work-out this evening. City Council personnel and police rolled up at the popular and biggest exercise spot on Coney Drive to shoo out the members and to close down the shutters. So, who’s at fault here? Should management be blamed for the inconvenience […]
Four years ago, three Belize City men were intercepted with seventeen kilograms or some thirty-eight pounds of weed near the western border. The bust happened on March sixteenth, 2011 and their case which started in San Ignacio came to close today in the court room of the Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith. Richard Smith, Jason […]
The Corozal police are reporting various seizures of firearms and live rounds in Carolina Village, Corozal. The operations began this morning at about nine-thirty. In the first instance a black plastic bag was found with a nine millimetre pistol with five live rounds of ammunition. Two hours later, at an abandoned house, they found a […]
We are not sure how Belize voted at the re -election of Sepp Blatter in Zurich, Switzerland but we can say that Blatter garnered the vote of the small countries to remain president of FIFA securing a fifth consecutive term in office. His challenger, Prince Ali bin al Hussein from Jordan, withdrew just before a […]
The recent incident in the Sarstoon involving the Guatemalan navy and Belize National Coastguard brings to mind a situation in early April 2015, when thirty-seven Belizeans were captured by Guatemalan naval personnel and escorted to Livingston. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs came under attack for their handling of the matter which was seen as distinctly […]
Wil Maheia also referred to the incident in the Sarstoon this past Thursday when the Guatemalan navy attempted to expel the Belize Coastguard well within Belizean waters. Maheia, who is from the south, says that these incursions continue despite the signing of bilateral agreements. Wil Maheia, PNP “We have evidence, you’ve seen the pictures […]
Following the signing of the amendment to the 2008 Compromis on Monday, small political parties have come out strongly against the change because it will allow Guatemala to hold a separate referendum. Wil Maheia of PNP says that Belize seems to be acquiescing to Guatemala too often. Wil Maheia, PNP “As you look at […]
Guide Light Productions rolled into prominence earlier this year when they launched by breaking up an old car with messages. And ever since then, they’ve hit the ground running. Today they took on another ambitious initiative they’ve dubbed “Belize Youth Leaders Forum” With partners and sponsors, youth leaders from across the country gathered in the […]
Retired Professor Neville Duncan, a former lecturer at the University of the West Indies, held forth at the UWI open campus in Belize City this morning. Duncan is visiting at the invitation of the Anglican Diocese where he is a keynote speaker at their annual synod. Today, he presented before a captive audience of students […]
The National Drug Abuse Control Council marked World No Tobacco Day with an all day exhibition in Belize City. Every year, May thirty first is observed around the world to highlight health risks associated with tobacco use and other tobacco related topics. For this year, the focus is on ending the illicit trade of tobacco […]
The brutal slayings of two Roaring Creek men, just a day apart, has shocked the small community, and indeed the nation. Twenty-eight year old Edilberto Madrid went missing on Sunday, his body discovered on Tuesday floating in the Belize River. Fifty-one year old Steven Hyde was likely killed Monday night, his body discovered in a […]
Twenty thousand dollars and counting…an internal audit of public funds at the Post Office in Belize City is currently ongoing. So far it is known that between January second and May nineteenth of this year, an employee of the Express Mail Service Section managed to misappropriate over twenty thousand dollars in a period of four […]
Gabriel assures the public that the theft is not to be confused with the pilfering of mail, for which several protocols are in place to catch perpetrators. And on the eve of a planned arrest, the suspect reportedly absconded to the U.S. The matter, says Gabriel, is now in the hands of the police department […]
Government has come under considerable fire for the controversial Petrocaribe Loans Act which was passed in the House in March. On June twenty-sixth, government will be tabling amendments to the Act in the House of Representatives when parliament is scheduled to convene. When the bill was first tabled in the House, it was only made […]
According to Marshalleck, the spirit of the amendments remains inconsistent, particularly where it concerns the passage of retrospective supplementary allowances. Isani Cayetano “These proposed changes have been described as cosmetic elsewhere. What do you make of it in terms of what is being presented. Does this provide any substantial or significant changes to what […]
In spite of the revision, there are still significant concerns. The amendments, characterized as aesthetic, are seemingly all glitter and no substance. Andrew Marshalleck, Attorney in Legal Claim “So even with the amendments there are still very considerable concerns so that in a sense I can understand why one would use the word cosmetic. […]
As we mentioned earlier, P.U.P. Deputy Leader Julius Espat has commenced legal proceedings against the prime minister in respect of the perceived illegalities of the Petrocaribe Loans Act. After carefully reading the revised bill, Espat maintains that government continues to muddy the waters by implementing only sections of the Finance and Audit Reform Act. He […]
