Forty-nine year old Mark Pollard remains missing tonight. He has not been seen since he left home to go on a morning run to the Haulover Bridge on Monday. Family and friends have searched the northern area of the Old Capital since then to no avail and only one clue has been picked up in […]
We caught up with leader of the People’s United Party John Briceño this afternoon on a walking tour of the Port Loyola constituency, flanked by the party’s standard bearer Gilroy Usher, Senior. Usher lost the 2015 general election to Anthony “Boots” Martinez by seventy-three votes, substantially reducing the margin from previous elections and surprising political […]
The Belize District Queen of the Bay Pageant takes place at the Bliss on Saturday, with three contestants vying for the regional title. Organizer Joan Arnold says the pageant aims to level the playing field since there have been concerns that the national competition was not fair to some contestants. That has prompted them to […]
A teenage girl was found dead at a resort in San Pedro and police are investigating as a case of murder because a post mortem concludes that the child was physical and sexually abused. The body of thirteen-year-old Faye Lin Cannon also had a large swelling to the head and bruises on the arm and […]
U.D.P. Ministers Anthony “Boots” Martinez and Edmond “Clear the Land” Castro appeared before the senate hearing on Wednesday. They are the first two sitting ministers to be questioned by senators in the ongoing immigration inquiry. While the report from the Auditor General is at the core of the hearing, whistleblower Alvarine Burgess has told the […]
Minister Martinez was defensive today telling the media this afternoon that he comported himself fairly well, given the nature of questions that were asked during his testimony. While his conduct is being described as obnoxious, the Port Loyola Area Representative insists that he was in line with the terms of reference that was before the […]
Martinez maintains that the questions posed to him were beyond the pale, and resulted in his terse responses. He also strongly believes that Burgess should never have been called before the committee, since her name does not appear in the auditor general’s special report. Anthony ‘Boots’ Martinez, Minister of Human Development “If you want […]
Has the senate inquiry run its course? Prior to calling several past and present ministers to testify before the Senate Special Select Committee, U.D.P. ministers have been singing the same chorus; that the inquiry on the Immigration Department has served its purpose and should be discontinued. The hearing has been disclosing information not known before […]
On Wednesday, OCEANA and the Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage organized a media tour to Cadenas, and an additional trek to Gracias A Dios in southern Belize. This was to follow up on a crude oil spill that happened over in Guatemala but not officially reported. From our own investigation online, a driver […]
As you heard in that story, the local press didn’t observe anything that looked like crude oil in Belize’s water ways. But Guatemalans living in the area claimed that the oil had already gone down river since Monday. The Department of Environment didn’t issue any information on the reported oil spill; that is, until this […]
Over the years, we’ve reported on the illegal fishing taking place in southern Belize. Hundreds of Guatemalans are fishing illegally in Belizean waters and it is an issue that Wil Maheia, the leader of the Belize Territorial Volunteers, continues to keep close watch at and near the mouth of the Sarstoon River, half of which […]
Is Gracias a Dios border marker neglected? That’s what the BTV believes. On the trip up the Sarstoon, the media made a quick stop where the BTV had planted mahogany trees back in 2013. Wil Maheia told the media that the area should be better maintained. Wil Maheia, Founder, BTV “A few years ago, […]
The Senate met in its final session before summer break in Belmopan. On the agenda were ratifications of several treaties and review and passage of bills from the House of Representatives. Several of the bills, including amendments to the Customs and Excise Duties Act, General Sales Tax Act and Building Act were the suggestion of […]
Two of the Bills garnering wide debate were the Stamp Duties Amendment Bill and Economic Development Council Bill. The former deals with stamp duties chargeable on transfers of land, particularly for non-Belizeans. While it is primarily an economic measure, concerns have been raised as to whether the country is shooting itself in the foot and […]
There was near-unanimous support for the establishment of the Economic Development Council, which advises the Prime Minister and the Government on economic and business issues. The Bill calls for ten members – five from the Public Service and five from separate areas of the private sector. Business Community Senator Mark Lizarraga asked that, to guard […]
There was a groundbreaking ceremony today in Cayo for a headquarters for the Belize Electric Company Limited, BECOL, whose parent company is Fortis. Fortis is the previous owner of Belize Electricity Limited, which was nationalized years ago. The C.E.O. of Fortis, Barry Perry has been in Belize for the event. News Five was at the […]
Earlier in this newscast, you heard from one of the two witnesses at Wednesday’s Senate hearings, Minister Anthony “Boots” Martinez, attempting to justify his behaviour. And while raising strong objection to the tone of questioning as we will show you later on, he mostly answered the questions put to him. The same cannot be said […]
Castro also bristled when the matter of his court case in 2013 against nemesis Alvarine Burgess was brought up by Senator Michel Chebat. Castro sued Burgess and this television station concerning interviews she granted about his role in the visa hustle. The minister refused to answer multiple questions concerning that case, including about how it […]
The recalcitrant Ministers were also pressed on their public commentary about the inquiry, its purposes and intentions, and the Prime Minister’s famous dictum that all Ministers should stop making visa recommendations – “procurement” as he put it – as that would cause the Government to fall. It was said at a press conference around the […]
The fifth edition of Invest Belize was launched today at the Radisson by BELTRAIDE of the Ministry of Trade and Investment. This volume focuses on how technological advancements can expedite both local and foreign investments in the country. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports. Isani Cayetano, Reporting INVEST Belize; it is the brainchild of the […]
The thirty-eighth Regular Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) concluded today in Saint George’s, Grenada. The conference discussed the Single Market and Economy as well as CARICOM Human resource Development 2030 Strategy, which proposes a work plan for a Single ICT space, regional transportation security and tourism. Belize […]
The National Women’s Commission, the Secretariat of the National Gender-Based Violence Committee, today launched the Plan of Action 2017-2010 as the country’s national response to Gender Base Violence. This 2017-2020 plan is seen as a strengthening of the previous plan. This one lays out a three year framework in how to effectively decrease gender base […]
Carnival season 2017 is in full swing and mas bands across the city are meticulously preparing for the upcoming road march. Getting there, for most associations, means participating in all the activities leading up to the bid day. On Friday evening at the Bliss, six contestants representing the various bands will vie for the title […]
If you’re preference for fitting in daily exercise is a nice outdoor jog or walk in the mornings or evenings; then surely the onset of the rainy season is not welcomed. Sure, you can always visit a gym to stay dry and in shape but not everyone enjoys working out in a gym. If that’s […]
As expected, today’s public hearing of the Senate Special Select Committee was a spectacle, though not of the best kind. For the first time since the Committee convened in November, Ministers of Government began making appearances. It has been established in extensive testimony of both Immigration officers and others that a word from the Minister […]
