The Crooked Tree causeway has been a source of constant consternation for residents of the community – just about every rainy season. Prior to recent seasons there has been some effort to raise the causeway well above the waters of the lagoon, but inevitably there is settlement, cracking and the path becomes treacherous. Well there […]
The Belize Police Department continues to ramp up its community policing efforts, primarily by going out and meeting people – finding out their concerns and just generally showing them a more human, approachable aspect of the Police. The murder statistics may not necessarily reflect the effectiveness of the initiative, but top cops countrywide swear by […]
There is always a clear differentiation between the north side of the city and the south side – sort of an assertion that bad things happen in the latter, while the former is a peaceful zone in the old capital. Yearwood says that it’s not necessarily that there’s no trouble in the north side – […]
Community policing initiatives were also ongoing in the south side of Belize City. Today, a team of officers from Eastern Division South visited the CET Site, a neighborhood within the Saint Martin’s area which remains somewhat of a hotspot for gang-related crimes. The vicinity of La Croix Boulevard has been the scene of several shooting […]
According to Senior Superintendent Dawson, the need for a checkpoint on La Croix Boulevard arises out of its distance from the nearest police substation, as well as the crime situation which is presently on the rise in the area. Isani Cayetano “How effective has that been in terms of arresting the crime situation and […]
The training workshop for regional Postal service personnel continued in Belize City today. We’ve reported comprehensively on it, but tonight there’s another angle. The Belize Postal Service has come under scrutiny in the past year after allegations of mail tampering, and two allegations of stolen money. We took the opportunity to ask Deputy Postmaster General […]
Softball, volleyball, football and basketball are the four disciplines that will be featured in the National Sports Council’s 2016 Summer Sports Camp. The annual activity will commence on Monday, July eighteenth from nine a.m. to twelve noon and will run for two weeks at the Roger’s Stadium in Belize City. National Sports Coordinator, Charlie Slusher, […]
Sometime over the weekend, a group of seven Guatemalan civilians – actually the Guatemalan version of the Territorial Volunteers – claim to have circled Sarstoon Island well within Belizean waters. On their Facebook page entitled Belice Es De Guatemala, a video was released showing the Guatemalan vessel in the river with the island in the […]
The appearance of the militant civilians in the Sarstoon was also raised with C.E.O. in the Ministry of National Security Retired Colonel George Lovell. He explained that the B.D.F. stationed at the base were unable to determine the identity of the civilian vessel or the intentions of those aboard. Reporter “Do you know of […]
The forward operating base at the estuary of the Sarstoon River was erected as a joint military installation to house Belize Defense Force and coast guard personnel. There was an official ceremony with all the bells and whistles to launch it in April 2016. The F.O.B. was intended to be used to support tactical operations […]
The coastguard’s noticeable absence from the immediate vicinity of the Sarstoon River essentially leaves Guatemalan fisher folks free to operate in Belizean waters illegally. Despite an initial presence in the area, the Ministry of National Security acknowledges that for the coastguard to be effective in arresting illegal fishing within Belizean waters, a team has to […]
Another issue of national importance is the recent B.T.L. Arbitration Award. The Chamber of Commerce came forward to offer impartial comment on the cost of nationalizing Belize Telemedia Limited. Prior to the release, dated today, the issue has been pretty much a political football kicked from one side of the field to the other. The […]
According to President Nikita Usher, though, the arbitration award is a done deal so the real commentary must be on the way forward, and how Government will address very critical economic issues now facing the nation. On the Phone: Nikita Usher, President, Chamber of Commerce “The arbitration award is already there; it’s in front […]
Eighteen year old Roaring Creek resident Ashton Puerto was detained Sunday night for the murder of another youth, Maleek Norris, also eighteen. The two teenagers were allegedly beefing over a bicycle and ten dollars, and Sunday afternoon in Roaring Creek that beef resulted in Puerto shooting Norris with a homemade pipe shotgun. Norris died and […]
On May first good friends Akeem Thimbriel and Shawn Lopez were gunned down in Camalote in brutal, brazen fashion. The murders shocked and angered the community which immediately pointed fingers at persons they believed to be responsible. Those persons from Camalote, a couple, were immediately picked up by Police, along with one other person and […]
As we told you in Monday’s newscast, eighteen year old Kent Brooks Junior succumbed at the K.H.M.H. on Sunday morning, some eleven days after being shot to the lower back June twenty-ninth. The now double murder of Brooks Junior and Kieran Morrison is just one of the many homicides for which the police have not […]
One initiative that is being revisited by the department to address urban crime is the usage of cameras to capture criminals in the act. Back in 2008, six cameras were installed across south side Belize City as a crime prevention tool; five of them are still in operation, but the cameras are obsolete. ACP Williams […]
A jury of four women and five men stepped into the deliberating room this afternoon to decide the fate of twenty-three year old Brandon Bennett. Bennett is accused of the attempted murder of Kent Moss, a Belize City man who was stabbed once to the chest at the Belikin Fest held at Memorial Park on […]
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has swank new accommodations in Belize City. It’s called the Villa Fiore, a seafront mansion which will also house the Prime Minister’s Office. From outside, and inside, the building has all the upscale trappings you’d expect in a wealthy residence – ten thousand five hundred square feet of opulence – […]
Just in case you’re looking at all this and thinking it’s just too much, way too much for government departments in Belize City where poverty is a very prevalent reality, Minister Elrington says they’re not paying one cent for the building. It’s a gift from the government of Taiwan. Wilfred Elrington, Minister of Foreign […]
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has decided to keep the Belize Barrier Reef System on the List of World Heritage in Danger. That decision comes after a meeting today in Istanbul, Turkey. The reason given by the committee is due to the continued threats from oil exploration, damaging coastal construction and pollution. Notwithstanding that decision, […]
With all the reports about the realities of a crime wave, there is an uplifting story that has the Diego family of Belize City smiling. Petty officer Kevin Diego was badly injured while on duty at the Coastguard outpost in Consejo, Corozal. Diego almost lost his life in the unfortunate accident, but we can report […]
The destructive nature of gillnet fishing remains a perennial issue for the Fisheries Department. It is also a serious concern for conservationists, as well as environmentalists, since the practice results in the random capture of unwanted species. While those organizations have been active in discouraging the use of large commercial fishing nets, the Belize National […]
A delegation of high ranking Mexican naval officers met with the brass of the Belize National Coast Guard this morning to discuss the framework of a bilateral agreement between the two maritime forces. The accord will also allow for an exchange of officers to train in both countries. According to C.E.O. George Lovell, the case […]
The 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is coming up in August and aficionados are eagerly anticipating the games. Today, Great Belize Productions/Channel Five struck an agreement with the Caribbean Association of National Olympic Committees, CANOC, to broadcast the upcoming games. The rights to air the games succeeds an agreement with the International […]
