Today members of both houses of the National Assembly were officially sworn in at an inaugural sitting on Independence Hill in Belmopan. The procedure was primarily ceremonial, conducted with traditional pomp, protocol and political presence of thirty-one elected area representatives and twelve senators. Mike Rudon was in Belmopan as forty-three Belizeans placed their hands on […]
As we’ve reported, Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega was stripped of the natural resources portfolio which he had held since 2008. That powerful ministry was given to Senator Godwin Hulse. It hasn’t exactly been a smooth transition, and we are told that things have been chaotic at the Natural Resources building located in Cohune Walk, […]
There is a huge development in the shrimp industry, and amazingly it’s gone completely under the radar. Because of a widespread viral infection, the industry has lost tens of millions in the past weeks, and all farms countrywide have had to take steps to start all over again from scratch. The infection was transmitted by […]
In the sugar belt, cane farmers are extremely concerned about the first estimate which they are expected to receive per ton of sugar cane in the 2015/2016 crop. That price is being determined by the European Union which is the main export market for sugar from Belize. The estimated price of thirty-five dollars per ton […]
There is also another issue which is of concern to farmers, and it has to do with their quotas. Prior to the end of the last crop, the Sugar Industry Control Board had explored cutting quotas because they claimed that a survey conducted by Sugar Industry Research and Development Institute revealed that farmers did not […]
Six-year-old Kareema Encalada remains hospitalized at the Belize Medical Associates after being knocked down by a motorist in Ladyville a few weeks ago. The incident occurred on October twenty-eight when the primary school student, along with her sister, was hit whilst returning home on Perez Road. Since then Kareema has had to undergo several surgeries, […]
The single mother of three needs assistance with securing her daughter’s travel documents. The cost of Kareema’s airfare is separate from the amount necessary to defray expenses related to the surgery. Marla Marie Encalada, Mother of Accident Victims “I need help, support with the visa. If anyone is out there in the public that […]
Traffic accidents have become a perennial problem. Today there were five in the precinct-four jurisdiction in the city alone and police report that there have been at least two daily accidents in the past three weeks. This morning, near Artic Cold at miles four on the Phillip Goldson Highway, a motorcycle and a car, traveling […]
A criminal investigation remains open into the death of Arlie Andrew Avilez, who succumbed to injuries received during a physical altercation in mid-October. Today, his grieving family is simply trying to have their questions answered. It was not until his sibling visited the K.H.M.H. while her daughter was hospitalized that she learned of the demise […]
Despite the family admitting that their loved one was a drug addict, they maintain that he did not have to meet such a violent end. While they all want justice, they are not optimistic that fairness will be the outcome of the matter. Voice of: Andy Avilez’s Sister “Police they told me that a […]
Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley spoke candidly today about the results of last week’s elections. Bradley was beaten by Kareem Musa in Caribbean Shores by a slim margin. But a win is a win and Bradley went back to City Hall to continue his term as Mayor. Today he said that he is moving on. […]
There’s been enough speculation that Mayor Bradley was aspiring to lead the United Democratic Party. But has the loss at the general elections put a wrench in Bradley’s political aspirations? Here’s his response. Darrell Bradley, Belize City Mayor “The elections are a little more than a week and it is very difficult to speculate […]
Three family members were wounded during a domestic dispute at their home in San Pedro Columbia, Toledo. On Wednesday night, an intoxicated Luis Co and his wife were embroiled in a violent fight and according to the police their two children intervened to diffuse the situation and that’s when it got ugly. Twenty-five year old […]
Two men who were before the court recently accused of different criminal offenses were granted Supreme Court bail in the sum of five thousand dollars each today. The first is interdicted cop, thirty-one-year old year old Hector Esquivel who is charged with Unlawful Sexual Intercourse with a fourteen year old on November first, 2015. Esquivel […]
Tonight, a single father of two children is beginning a two-year jail term imposed upon him by Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser for the offense of sexual assault for touching a nine year old little girl inappropriately. The child testified in court that on November eight, 2014, Lionel Quiroz walked up to her as she was […]
The tinkling sound of bells and the sight of bright red-colored kettles are signs that Christmas is drawing near. Every year around this time, the Salvation Army in Belize would launch its Kettle Drive. The initiative is more than a century old and is carried out annually to garner much needed funds to provide disenfranchised […]
Many persons don’t know they are diabetic and are therefore not being treated. The disease creeps in unexpectedly and can have far reaching health risks, at times fatal, if it is not treated. Among our small population, there are as many as forty thousand persons diagnosed with the disease but an equal number probably don’t […]
This morning, Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin heard closing arguments in the libel and slander suits brought by Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega against Ramon Cervantes Junior. The claim, in a nutshell, is that Cervantes arranged the broadcast of a recording, on Orange Walk based Fiesta FM, in which Vega is named as involved in the […]
Rodwell Williams says the suit for slander is an appropriate charge, and he disagrees that the offence would have to be committed verbally. He told News Five that by his actions, if not his words, Cervantes Junior certainly slandered Vega. Rodwell Williams, Attorney for Gaspar Vega “We are not saying he said. If you […]
Eamon Courtenay is the attorney for Fiesta FM, the station on which it was said Cervantes caused the offensive recording to be broadcast. But Courtenay claims that the recording from Fiesta FM was never introduced into evidence, so Vega has no case against his client. Eamon Courtenay, Attorney for Fiesta FM “That is where […]
Williams admits that indeed, he has been forced to rely on secondary evidence because they could not get a copy of the allegedly offensive broadcast. He’s hoping that the Justice will allow that secondary evidence. Their case against Fiesta FM and even against Ramon Cervantes Jr. depends on it. Rodwell Williams, Attorney for Gaspar […]
On Tuesday, News Five broke the story of the removal of K.H.M.H. Board of Governors Chair Chandra Nisbet-Cansino. She was approached on Monday and asked to step down, although she had recently renewed her contract for an additional three years. We also reported that the reason for her removal was political, a direct repercussion of […]
Was fifty-one year old Arlie Andrew Avilez killed? An investigation is ongoing by officers attached to the Belama Police Station into the untimely death of the Belize City man on October twenty-fifth at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. The official police version is that on October ninth, Avilez was involved in a brawl on the […]
On October thirteenth, however, only Avilez would appear before Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith and arraigned for one count of wounding upon the Chinese businessman. He pleaded guilty to the charge and was released. But in court that day, Avilez told the Chief Magistrate that he was badly beaten—not for attempting to steal, but while […]
On Wednesday, the Belize Chamber of Commerce and Industry met in special session to elect a senator to upper parliament. Daniel Gutierrez of Belize Natural Energy Limited and businessman Mark Lizarraga both offered themselves for candidacy. Following the first round of election, Lizarraga was returned to represent the business community. This is his second term […]
