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Still on the issue of the Sarstoon, Guatemala’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has responded fast and furious to a release from the CARICOM Secretariat in which the region expresses support for Belize in the backdrop of the recent incursions in the Sarstoon by the Guatemalan Armed Forces. The GAF blocked the Belize Territorial Volunteers and […]
There is more bloodshed in the Old Capital and there appears to be a pattern. In today’s murder, as in three recent homicides, the suspected gunmen are all minors. This afternoon, a well-known street figure was shot and killed as he sat in his vehicle in a hotspot of south side Belize City. Victor Garnett […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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The post mortem results are in and all indications are that forty-one-year-old Salvadoran national Oscar Gomez did not take his own life. The Ladyville resident bled to death after being stabbed multiple times in the throat. Gomez was in the company of another individual at the time of the incident last Thursday; that person has […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Oscar Gomez Did Not Commit Suicide; He Was Murdered
Who murdered ‘Fat Cat’ in Ladyville last Friday? That’s what investigators want to know. Despite an open inquiry into the weekend murder of Rene Chavarria, police are no closer to making an arrest since they do not have sufficient proof of guilt. The deadly shooting on Marage Road also left a minor injured with a […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Well-known street figure Roger Anthony is back in the news tonight, following a scuffle with security personnel at the Phillip Goldson International Airport on Tuesday. Anthony accompanied his wife to Panama over the weekend, but was denied entry and could not disembark the aircraft upon arriving at his destination. So, he was shipped back to […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Roger Anthony Before the Court Following an Encounter with Officers
Representative for Caribbean Shores Kareem Musa had one of the longest and one of the most passionate presentations of day-two of the budget debate. In his first budget presentation, Musa turned his attention on the legal fees contained in this document, and budgets past, claiming that tens of millions have gone to three select lawyers […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Millions of Dollars in Legal Fees Paid to Barrow’s Family and Friends
Musa also turned up the heat on Belize Telemedia Limited, nationalized by the government in 2009. While the government touts this acquisition in consecutive budgets as one of the stellar achievements of its time, Musa claimed in his presentation that perhaps the company should be renamed BPL, or Barrow Pinata Limited. Kareem Musa, Area […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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During the first day of the budget debate, which broke Tuesday evening at around six o’clock, Opposition members in the gallery condemned the budget as pure rhetoric, and claimed that it is a not so clever attempt to mask the fact that Belize is in the midst of a recession. One of the last to […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on The Staggering Debt to GDP Ratio
According to Fonseca, while our debt continues to grow, the economy is stagnant, and that is a recipe for disaster. He toed the Opposition line and assertion that whether it is a matter of public knowledge or not, the country is in recession. Francis Fonseca, Area Representative, Freetown “Debt is manageable in the context […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Julius Espat, Area Representative of Cayo South and Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, joined his colleagues in rejecting the budget presented by the Prime Minister. His focus was on supplementary appropriations. He explained that the figures in the budget presented by the Prime Minister means nothing in real terms. Julius Espat, Area Representative, […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Espat concluded his presentation by taking a swipe at the Prime Minister, who in a prior session has used the privilege granted by the House to refer to Espat as a pig. The Cayo South Area Representative told the House that Barrow calling him a pig is indeed the greatest of ironies. Julius Espat, […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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And after complaining that Belizeans travelling to the Sarstoon as stalkers, and suggesting that those Belizeans are provoking Guatemalans, Elrington turned his attention to the media. He announced that he will no longer be granting interviews on his own, since the media apparently has an ulterior motive. Fortunately, as we found out, the views of […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Sedi Takes Aim at the Media
This Tuesday was celebrated across the globe as World Water Day. In Belize, the activities since last week with a two-day water symposium held at the Biltmore Plaza. The symposium linked water to jobs and major companies spoke of the importance of protecting the natural resource, which is under threat. News Five’s Duane Moody reports. […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
Environment,
People & Places |
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A group of women, a majority of whom are stakeholders in the local maritime industry, met this evening at a forum organized by the Belize Ports Authority and Women in Maritime Association of the Caribbean. WiMAC is a regional organization that was founded a year ago to bring women in the sector together. The establishment […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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People & Places |
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Eastern Division South police officers were back on the beat today in the south side of Belize City for its weekly meet and greet with residents. Faber’s Road Extension has been relatively crime free, and the police believe that their presence in the area has contributed to the peace. ACP Chester Williams, Regional Commander, […]
Written on March 23, 2016 | Posted in
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On March eighth Prime Minister Dean Barrow presented the budget for the 2016/2017 fiscal year under the theme – Stability in the time of change. He claimed that it was a bold statement by a government which had served the people well, and would continue to do so even when faced with real challenges. One […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.U.P. Leader Disappointed with Budget
Briceño claims that the U.D.P. has deliberately refused to admit that Belize is actually operating in a recession, and there is no sign of the best that was to come but never did. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “The truth of the matter is that for each of the past two consecutive quarters of 2015, […]
The Leader of the Opposition, to bolster his argument of economic crisis, used the figures on employment between 2008 and today. Not surprisingly, Area Representative for Belmopan John Saldivar used unemployment figures during that same period to bolster his argument that the economy was looking good and getting better. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “Since […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Unemployment Figures – Are They Up or Down?
Saldivar, who publicly announced today that he intends to contest for the vacant post of first deputy leader in the U.D.P., boasted that if Briceño’s statistics and assertions are valid, the U.D.P. would never have won an unprecedented third term. He maintained that the people of Belize are still in a very loving, long-term relationship […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Publics Officers and Teachers to Receive Third Pay Raise
But with all that said, Briceño ended his presentation to kick off the debate by extending the hand of cooperation, claiming that his party is prepared and able to assist the government in tackling issues which affect Belizeans across the board. John Briceño, P.U.P. Leader “We will help on initiatives that bring meaningful relief […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on P.U.P. Prepared to Work with G.O.B. on Issues of National Concerns
In terms of the specifics as related to the Ministry of National Security, Belmopan Area Representative John Saldivar revealed that as it has every year, the budget for the departments under his portfolio will grow. Among other projects this year, Saldivar boasts that the Forward Operating Base will be completed in this fiscal year, thanks […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
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Comments Off on John Saldivar Reveals Plans for National Security Ministry
Lake Independence Area Representative Cordel Hyde was the third to weigh in on the 2016/2017 budget. It is his first address in the House since elections of November, 2015. In fact, it is his first address in the House in over four years. Representing Lake I, one of the most impoverished areas of Belize City, […]
Hyde claimed that for all the rhetoric surrounding its presentation, and for all the money this government says it has spent, that money hasn’t reached the people who need it the most. Cordel Hyde, Area Representative, Lake I “Life for the elites and the chosen few has been so much better, while life for […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
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People & Places,
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Comments Off on Cordel says Underprivileged Won’t Benefit from Budget
In the absence of an adjacency zone at the southern border with Guatemala, a protocol on how to deal with civilians and military personnel traversing the area of the Sarstoon River is being developed. That set of guidelines will see input from military leaders on both sides of the geographic divide. While there is a […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
Defense,
Foreign Affairs,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Protocol to be Developed for Entry and Access to Sarstoon
If you’ve wondered why there is no rise in hostility between Belize and Guatemala when illegal hunters are found inside Belizean territory it’s because the adjacency zone clearly demarcates the 1859 treaty line. Such is not the case at the Sarstoon. Commander Jones explains. Isani Cayetano “It doesn’t seem as though there is much […]
Written on March 22, 2016 | Posted in
Defense,
Foreign Affairs,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Is an Adjacency Zone needed in the South?
