Dean Barrow is the fourth Prime Minister of Belize to be named to the Privy Council. The announcement was made in London by Queen Elizabeth so it means that the PM will now be referred to as the Right Honourable. The news of the appointment was made in the UK on March first. Here at […]
There is brewing concern in the citrus industry tonight after growers were informed via a Citrus Growers Association release that payroll in the immediate future is uncertain. Here’s the situation as we understand it. Every year during crop season Citrus Products of Belize Limited, CPBL, engages in short term capital financing. That financing is used […]
The issue of the loss of correspondent banking has been affecting the way business is done in Belize and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Earlier today, Steve Duncan, the Managing Director of Heritage Bank spoke to News Five about the impacts being caused by the severing of relations by U.S. banks. The Government has led a […]
One month ago, First Caribbean International Bank closed its doors for the last time in Belize. The operation and assets of that bank were taken over by Heritage Bank, previously a much smaller operation. Today, we asked Duncan for an update on the transition. The bank had promised a seamless one, but the sheer size […]
It’s been over a year since thirty-seven Belizeans on an expedition to the Sarstoon were escorted by Guatemalan military to Livingston, Guatemala. The first anniversary of that event was to be celebrated by another expedition to the Sarstoon by the Belize Territorial Volunteers. But on Saturday, armed Guatemalan military vessels illegally entered Belize and blocked […]
Police report tonight another case of sexual assault of a minor from Bella Vista Village, Toledo. A young girl, who was allegedly violated at the age of fifteen, has only now reported the rape to the police. She claims that she was sexually abused twice last August by a member of her family, that being […]
Taiwan’s Outgoing President Ma Ying Jeou is scheduled to visit the Jewel on March sixteenth and seventeenth, as part of a farewell tour of three countries, including the United States, Guatemala and Belize. The official visit by the head of state, his second since 2009, precedes the inauguration of the fourteenth president, Tsai Ing-Wen. Taiwan’s […]
Since his election as President of Taiwan in 2008, Belize has shared a cordial relationship with his administration, resulting in scholarship and economic opportunities, as well as cultural exchange programs. Those achievements are highlighted by Ambassador Ho. Benjamin Ho, Taiwanese Ambassador to Belize “The foreign policy of the Republic of China (Taiwan) is always […]
A group of twelve doctors from the Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters in Virginia, U.S.A. is visiting Belize this weekend for a pediatric mission across Belize District. It’s the fifth year that the contingent will be conducting clinics for patients twenty-one years and younger. Through fundraising efforts by Friends of Pediatrics and the US […]
A team of law enforcement athletes from Belize will be making their first appearance at the Challenge Cup/Baker to Vegas Relay in the U.S. They will be competing among eight hundred teams from numerous countries in a foot race that will take them from Baker, California to Las Vegas, Nevada covering a hundred and twenty […]
The agric show, which usually draws huge crowds to the showground in Belmopan, will be held on April twenty-ninth, thirtieth and May first this year. Preparations are in full swing for the three-day event and the National Agriculture and Trade Show Committee under the auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture, is advising that reservations and […]
Diabetes, Hypertension, Heart Disease and Cancer…these are all diseases that have become a mega priority worldwide. They’re classified as NCDs – non communicable diseases – or diseases that are not contagious or infectious. Obesity – which is a primary risk factor for NCD’s – is also seen as a growing epidemic. International and local health […]
Around five o’clock this afternoon, there was a shooting on Central American Boulevard. Two gunmen attempted to rob a salesman from Vega’s Distributors of Benque Viejo del Carmen, Cayo. The salesman was exiting his vehicle on Central American Boulevard when two would-be robbers approached him. The salesman opened fire on the duo, who fled the […]
A long and traumatic journey which began on New Year’s Eve 2008 and included a conviction for money laundering, jail time, countless trips to Court and even a death is finally over. In 2014 the Coye family was vindicated after the Court of Appeal found that they were not money launderers. But since then the […]
As we told you, the journey has been a painful one. In 2013 then accused money launderer Michael Coye passed away from a heart attack. He suffered from a diabetic condition in prison and five days after receiving bail he was dead. So while the victory for the family is complete, it is also bittersweet. […]
This morning P.U.P. Leader John Briceño met with Prime Minister Dean Barrow at his office on Coney Drive in Belize City. It was a courtesy visit, but it comes at a time when the debate on the Sarstoon is raging. After the meeting Briceño confirmed that it did come up as a point of discussion. […]
In a release from the P.U.P. issued on Monday, there was a call for the recall for consultations of Ambassador Alexis Rosado who is based in Guatemala. Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington has scoffed at that suggestion, dismissing it as “a most ridiculous call.” Today Briceño clarified that the P.U.P. certainly did not mean cutting all […]
The Belize Coastguard made a bust today up north which ended in the detention of forty-three-year-old Waldo Bernal Pol, a Cuban national. Pol is in police custody tonight, for almost twenty pounds of marijuana found on him near the Belize/Mexico Border. A joint operation involving customs, coastguard and B.D.F. personnel on Tuesday night, near the […]
Orange Walk Police are reporting a drug bust of five kilos of marijuana in town this afternoon. Acting on intelligence Police stopped a Cadillac Escalade and found the stash of compressed marijuana, neatly packaged. The operation is significant because the drugs are believed to be part of a regular movement of from the Mexican side. […]
Thirty-one-year old Jamal Jackson, one of two suspects in an attempted robbery of a Nova Scotia Bank night deposit, made two trips to the court today. This morning he was in the court room of the Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith for charges of Kept Firearm and Ammunition without a License. When Jackson, a resident […]
While police and the Belize Coastguard made drug busts up north, the Fisheries Department also successfully conducted a bust at sea. Illegal fishing continues in Belizean waters despite all efforts by relevant agencies to stem the activity. On Tuesday, three men, none of them in possession of valid fishing licenses, were caught in the vicinity […]
Images of a recent shark kill prompted outcry from conservationists as well as from fisher folk. There are various challenges facing the fishing industry, including the use of gill nets but the main threats come from the illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. While some inroads have been made to curb these practices; the agencies that […]
It’s been widely publicized locally and regionally that the O.A.S. is running out of money, and the office at the adjacency zone may have to close its doors. Most Belizeans likely wouldn’t exactly be sorry to see the organization leave, since the perception is that the organization has been firmly on the side of Guatemala. […]
Today Briceño made the announcement of new Senators who will replace Lisa Shoman, Patrick Andrews and Anthony Sylvestre in the National Assembly. All three had remained in that position in the wake of the 2015 general elections, with the understanding that whoever emerged as PUP leader after the January thirty-first convention would name his replacements. […]
As we told you, all those matters of national importance were discussed by Briceño and the Prime Minister this morning. But outside of that, the leaders also discussed the level of discourse in the House. It’s gotten to the point where constructive debate is a rarity and expressions of respect are non-existent. But Briceño hopes […]
