While members of the church did not gather en masse at the gates of the U.S. Embassy this morning, the leadership of the National Evangelical Association of Belize was present to voice its disdain for the controversial flag raising ceremony. According to President Lance Lewis, flying the LGBT flag is an outward expression that the […]
On Tuesday, News Five broke the story of what has every appearance of being a bailout of G.O.B. by S.S.B. at the Prime Minister’s request. If indeed it is a bailout, then there is good news for the government today because the Board of Directors met and green-lighted the investment. That’s probably not a big […]
News Five has learned that at Tuesday’s meeting Financial Secretary Joseph Waight was called into the meeting of the Investment Committee to provide some clarity on share value. There was also one other relatively major concern – that is, that S.S.B. would be guaranteed a buyback by G.O.B. in the event that it wishes to […]
The People’s United Party has condemned the transaction, claiming that G.O.B. is raiding the S.S.B. piggy bank because it is broke and needs a cash fix. In an extended interview on Wednesday, Briceño called on the gatekeepers at the S.S.B. to protect the people’s money and not to give in to the whims of their […]
Following talks in Washington between Belize and Guatemala on Tuesday, there’s been no clear sense that progress has really been made in resolving the conflict in the Sarstoon. Certainly there is no agreement on paper, no draft proposals or protocols and no clear-cut timeline. The Opposition seized on the recurring uncertainty following G.O.B.’s every diplomatic […]
Last week the P.U.P. announced that it would be withdrawing its representative from the talks with Guatemala. That move is designed to send a clear message that the P.U.P. believes that the negotiations status quo has got to go. Senator Eamon Courtenay told News Five that for the Opposition it’s anything but a game, and […]
As we showed you in our newscast, G.O.B. has orchestrated a hurried divesting of shares to raise cash and the Opposition seized on it to reiterate that the Barrow administration is broke. P.U.P. Leader John Briceño says it’s clear for anyone to see, and they can start by taking a look at the productive sector. […]
And of course there is the IMF report which was less that complimentary in reference to the status of the economy and G.O.B.’s performance. Briceño says he takes no pleasure in the country’s pain, but there are dark days ahead when the recommendations made by the IMF could very well be forced into play to […]
Earlier we told you that the S.S.B. Board has approved the purchase of shares in B.E.L. The utility company held its annual general meeting on Wednesday night and is reporting net earnings of twenty-nine point four million dollars. B.E.L. also says that it has repaid the ten million dollar loan from the Social Security Board […]
Gay rights activist Caleb Orozco and members of the local LGBT community are eagerly anticipating a decision from the Supreme Court on a constitutional challenge to strikeout Section Fifty-three of the Criminal Code. The case has been languishing before the high court since 2013 after submissions had been heard by all interested parties, including the […]
Caleb Orozco, Executive Director of UNIBAM, is at the forefront of the LGBT movement in Belize. He has been long anticipating the court ruling and today he spoke of the consequences of having come this far with the challenge. Caleb Orozco, Gay Rights Activist “From an advocacy perspective, no other legal case has triggered […]
An attempted murder suspect who was fingered as one of two shooters in Monday night’s shooting in the city is tonight behind bars serving a one month prison term. Anthony Crawford was busted at the Queen Street Police Station in possession of a small quantity of marijuana in the detention cell area following the shooting. Crawford appeared this […]
Village Council elections are going into their fourth week, but strangely enough there’s been no real hype. Normally, by this time, both major political parties would have been claiming overwhelming victory in a majority of villages across the country. For the P.U.P., these elections are important because there has been a change of leader and […]
The Rainbow Flag has been hoisted at the U.S. Embassy in Belmopan and responses have been flooding in. Members of the LGBT community and supporters claim that it is a great day for Belize. Members of various churches and anti-gay activists call it an abomination and threaten fire and brimstone. Other more objective, less judgmental […]
With assistance from various business houses, the police department stepped up to the plate big time. An abandoned playground in Mesopotamia got a facelift and was inaugurated today as the Daker’s Park for the use of children in one of the city’s hotspots. The police believe that the park will provide an outlet to positively […]
Over the last five years, Belize has participated in the Caribbean Regional Testing Day initiative led by the Pan Caribbean partnership against HIV/AIDS, PANCAP. And on Friday, the country joins twenty countries in the region to celebrate the day under the theme, “Increasing Testing to Create Change.” Locations within Belize Cayo and Stann Creek have […]
A media sensitization workshop will be held on Saturday at the ITVET Compound in Belize City. It will focus on the recent amendments to three pieces of legislation: the Criminal Code, Trafficking in Persons and the Commercial Exploitations of Children Act. In terms of crimes against children, in the past, penalties laid on offenders were […]
The first qualified, Belizean boxing coach since the International Boxing Association began a recertification exercise in 2013 is Dwight Cadle Junior. He has been hitting the books and the punching bags hard for the past year, preparing himself to lead the next crop of Belizean pugilists to the global stage. Prior to Cadle’s accreditation, local […]
Foreign Minister Wilfred ‘Sedi’ Elrington returned from Washington this morning after leading a delegation of government representatives to meet with Guatemalan Foreign Minister Carlos Raul Morales and his delegation along with the O.A.S. Secretary General Luis Almagro. Since Istanbul, Turkey, it was the first round of talks at the ministerial level towards formulating a mutual […]
So with no protocols established, no formal or informal draft and no concrete establishment of a relationship in the Sarstoon pending the formal protocols, what really came out of that Washington trip? Senator Eamon Courtenay, the Opposition Representative for the Guatemala talks prior to them removing themselves from those talks, had definite ideas about that […]
As we said earlier, Brigadier General Jones met with Guatemalan counterpart Carlos Eduardo Perez, Chief of Defense Staff of the Guatemalan army. Guatemala proposes that the head of the armies define procedures to access the Sarstoon. At the discussions, that proposed mechanism was not formalized. Elrington also says that the blockage of News Five to […]
Where the B.D.F. is concerned, the changeover of personnel at the Cadenas Observation Post, using the Sarstoon River as ingress to the remote location, has been unhindered since early May. While that is good news for the military, from a civilian perspective, it’s pretty much the same old, same old. Entry into the Sarstoon, even […]
Elrington admits that to reach a Sarstoon Protocol is a gradual process that hopefully will materialize a document within the next six months. As for untrammeled access, well that too has been relegated to a work in progress. Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs “We don’t have total and complete control over the […]
While the meeting has been described as fruitful, there were more questions than answers this morning when the foreign minister returned to the country. Elrington could not even say when a follow-up meeting will be held. Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington, Minister of Foreign Affairs “Nothing has been put in writing yet, but nothing is agreed […]
There you have it. After five hours in Washington there is no agreement on the Sarstoon, no structured plan for discussions – not even a date for the next meeting to discuss whatever it is that was discussed in that intensive session. But the Opposition says it has a plan – and it includes the […]
