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The House of Representatives met in its final session before the mandated summer break and there was a lot to discuss. We’ll have all the highlights, but first, to the development bills. The Economic Development Council is now a creature of law, following an interesting debate in the House of Representatives. The Council is considered […]
Accusing the Leader of the Opposition in particular and the Opposition generally of ignorance of the role of the Council, Prime Minister Dean Barrow gave them credit for several of the bills introduced in the House earlier this year and debated today, as well as being supported internally and externally as Belize positions itself to […]
We have been covering the Cultural Heritage Bill’s passage through the House of Representatives. It is intended to present a regime for registration and maintenance of historical assets including buildings, and is a quid pro quo for the Downtown Rejuvenation Project focusing on the Commercial Center, City Hall and House of Culture/Government House. Fort George […]
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Culture Patrick Faber hit back with a reminder that both Liberty Hall and the Supreme Court were in some disrepair years ago. He countered the allegation that the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) was all about cocktail parties and not about advancing living culture, pointing to efforts […]
News Five was able to pigeon-hole Prime Minister Dean Barrow for a quick interview following the sitting. We asked first about the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons report. This year, we have been named as the worst trafficking offender in Central America, and comparable only to Haiti and Suriname in the Caribbean. The report […]
Two topics addressed on the adjournment are carrying a lot of currency at the moment. While Belize City has been mostly crime and murder-free for a few weeks, there has been a spike in murders across the Cayo District dating back to 2016. It has been largely concentrated in the villages immediately west of the […]
The Cayo South Area Representative also called out the officer commanding Belmopan, Senior Superintendent Howell Gillett. Gillett told News Five on Monday that while the search was continuing for murder victim Mark Mendez, police would actively pursue those who burned tires on the highway last Saturday for causing a disruption of traffic activity. The senior […]
As we reported on Wednesday, unemployment ticked up to nine percent year to year according to the Statistical Institute of Belize’s Labour Force Survey done twice annually. Additionally, just under seventeen percent of the force are measured to be “underemployed,” either under or over-qualified for their respective jobs. More tellingly, close to three in every […]
Five years ago, the minimum wage for working Belizeans was raised to three dollars and thirty cents. In that time, the cost of living has increased hundredfold, exacerbated by high gas prices and other shocks to the economy. Last week, there was a small protest and rally in Belize City by Belize Leaders for Social […]
Former Minister of Natural Resources and area representative of Orange Walk North, Gaspar Vega, made his long-awaited return to the House of Representatives after being absent since August. It wasn’t for long, since he left around midday without speaking to anyone including reporters. But his name came up on the adjournment, when fellow area representative […]
A domestic dispute among members of a Ladyville family has resulted in the alleged torching of a property in the Milpa Site area of the village. According to thirty-four-year-old Lorna Bardalez, she woke up shortly before midnight on Thursday and discovered that an adjacent wooden structure belonging to her cousin was on fire. The small […]
Written on June 30, 2017 | Posted in
Crime,
Disasters |
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Municipal elections are set for March seventh, 2018. There are nine municipalities and a whopping sixty-seven seats to fill; eleven in both Belize City and Belmopan. The U.D.P. is in a feverish pitch to have applications submitted to meet its party deadlines in the municipalities they control. Today was the deadline for applications for the […]
Belize City resident, Victor Mason Gibbs, accused of causing the death of a Jehovah witness, Lilian Emily Guy on July thirtieth, 2016 was today committed to stand trial at the October session of the Supreme Court. The horrific traffic accident occurred in the busy area of the Michael Finnegan Market. At the conclusion of the preliminary inquiry today […]
Written on June 30, 2017 | Posted in
Trials |
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The World Wildlife Fund and the Belize Coalition say that Government has failed to implement promised protection for the Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage Site. According to the WWF, this leaves the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere under threat. UNESCO had requested that G.O.B. put in measures to protect the reef and so […]
Two years ago, a spike in crime violence in Mayflower and Sibun area of Belize City saw residents seeking an initiative targeting those most susceptible on the south side. ACP Chester Williams heard the cries and he and his team developed a youth mentorship program with the aim to give the youth something positive to […]
Written on June 30, 2017 | Posted in
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
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An auspicious ceremony was held at the Belize Defense Force headquarters in Ladyville. Four pilots completed a Helicopter Conversion Training Course to fly the Taiwanese-gifted Hueys thus transitioning from the old defender aircrafts to fixed-wing to rotary aircrafts. It was a proud moment for the force as well as Commander David Jones who is looking […]
Belize joined regional efforts today to encourage testing for HIV, particularly by men. Across the country, centers were open for persons to get tested and know their status. The trends show that more women are getting tested with the number of men lagging behind. The National AIDS Commission says that it is dangerous not knowing […]
This morning, business owners and promoters gathered at City Hall to take on Mayor Bradley in open forum, following last week’s abrupt decision to enforce noise abatement regulations within the area of the entertainment strip. While the Department of the Environment has sided with the mayor, his councilors aren’t fully in support of the brash […]
The mayor also announced today that the City Council will be introducing a new trade license regime in the coming days. According to Mayor Darrell Bradley, the new system will cause a decline in revenue which local government currently collects since it standardizes the fees that are being paid by certain businesses. Bradley says payments […]
It is estimated that the municipal government stands to collect one million dollars less; monies which Mayor Bradley says will be realized through other means. One option to regain those monies is through the sale of personalized license plates which would only allow CitCo to recover half of those losses. Reporter “What is the […]
A villager from San Joaquin, Corozal, this morning lost his life in a horrific way. He was attacked with a machete and chopped to the head. Twenty one year old Amilcar Omar Morales Gonzalez and his close friend twenty year old Doniver Ruano had been partying throughout Wednesday night. This morning at around three they […]
Written on June 29, 2017 | Posted in
Crime,
Featured |
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On Monday, we told you about the store manager who was robbed over the weekend by two men who lay waited him at the airstrip in Ranchito, Corozal. Today, police say they have looked at surveillance footage but it has not been very useful because the video quality is poor but it does confirm that […]
Written on June 29, 2017 | Posted in
Crime,
Featured |
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Four years ago, Belize ranked among the Tier Two nations in the U.S. State Department’s Trafficking in Persons report. This year, we have been named as the worst trafficking offender in Central America, and comparable only to Haiti and Suriname in the Caribbean. The recently released report states bluntly, “The Government of Belize does not […]
ACP Chester Williams formally bid farewell to Belize City this afternoon during an official sendoff organized by his colleagues at Eastern Division South. The respected top cop assumes a new role with the Belize Police Department on July first, a desk job in Belmopan as head of the Professional Standards Branch. But it’s a controversial […]
Williams’ departure from Belize City has raised serious concerns about the fate of the existing gang truce which was struck several weeks ago with various rival groups. Those individuals have also sought the assistance of Williams and others, including Dianne Finnegan and Nuri Muhammad, in staging interventions. Today, a handful of young men from those […]
