The courtroom of Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin was overflowing this morning with attorneys and claimants. Five parliamentarians and a deputy party leader of the P.U.P. are asking the court to determine the legality of the special agreement signed in 2008. That agreement ended negotiations and opened the way to take the territorial dispute between Belize […]
Deputy Party Leader Anthony Mahler and parliamentarians Michael Espat, Oscar Requeña, Rodwell Ferguson, Julius Espat and Cordel Hyde are bringing the claim against the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Attorney General of Belize and the Chief Elections Officer. Hyde took aim at Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington, who signed the Special Agreement in […]
The P.U.P.’s Cordel Hyde was also critical of the financing of the education campaign. He says the government has gone hat in hand to the international community, while it spent on unnecessary projects that go nowhere. That money, he argued, could have instead been spent on an independent campaign. According to Hyde, by depending on […]
Attorney Lisa Shoman appeared on behalf of the government today in the case brought by the P.U.P. Shoman has been a party supporter having served as Ambassador, Senator and Minister of Foreign Affairs. Over the past months, she has had both a yes and no position, but more recently, she has been appearing on behalf […]
Before parliamentarians appeared in the Supreme Court, over at the Court of Appeal, a major decision was handed down. The court ruled in favour of Bahamian nationals Ron Knowles and Kelvin Leach. Since 2014, the two have been fighting a request by the United States Government to have them extradited to face trial for securities […]
The budget for the new financial year that begins on April first, was read today by Prime Minister Dean Barrow in the House of representatives where a number of seats on the other side were empty as some parliamentarians were in the Supreme Court. The thrust of the “Moving Ahead” budget provides for massive spending […]
Government’s wage bill continues to be the single largest budget item as far as its recurrent expenditure, surpassing the cost of goods and services by as much as one hundred and ninety million dollars. Of the total that is being earmarked for interest payment on existing debts, government has set aside one hundred and fifteen […]
The Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition don’t often see eye-to-eye on national issues, but the recent blacklisting of Belize by the European Union has both political leaders looking cross-eyed at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. That’s because the Government of Belize has raised significant concerns about the flawed conclusions drawn […]
While five P.U.P. area representatives were in Supreme Court this morning as claimants in the legal challenge brought about by the opposition, Party Leader John Briceño was in Belmopan for the presentation of the budget. We caught up with him afterwards for an official position on the legal challenge which also sees an application for […]
Attorney General Michael Peyrefitte cried foul a few weeks ago when footage of a well-known U.D.P. operative behind a desk at the Vital Statistics Department surfaced on Vibes Media. The opposition ran an ad depicting questionable practices undertaken at that government office. AG Peyrefitte described it as a misrepresentation of changes that have since been […]
It’s been three years since the Caribbean Court of Justice handed down a decision against the government in favour of communal land rights of the Maya people in thirty-eight indigenous communities in southern Belize. The C.C.J. ordered a number of measures to be taken in the administration of land use and tenure. Today, the Maya […]
The Maya people in the south have been engaged for twenty years in the process of litigation as it relates to their communal land rights. So when it comes to the taking the territorial dispute between Belize and Guatemala to the International Court of Justice, they have an appreciation of what the process entails and […]
A charge of murder was withdrawn today against twenty-four-year-old Verris Ventura of Belize City at the instructions of the Office of the D.P.P. He was accused of the May third, 2018 shooting murder of twenty-nine-year-old Jason Travis Sutherland, who was gunned down in front of his house on Central American Boulevard. Ventura had been on […]
Last year the government announced that it wants to reduce plastic and Styrofoam pollution through the phasing out of single-use plastic shopping bags and Styrofoam as well as plastic food utensils. The Department of Environment has drafted legislation to make this all happen and today they met with about sixty of their stakeholders in a […]
A few weeks ago, we showed you the newly renovated downtown commercial centre which will house City Hall. At the time, Mayor Bernard said the council was facing challenges in indentifying funding for furniture and fittings needed for offices. Today, City Administrator Stephanie Lindo-Garbutt told reporters that while they are getting ready to move in, […]
The City Council today also had a soft launch of the new brand for the council. Those changes to the brand are reflected in the colour schemes use throughout the city council’s buildings, as well as uniforms and the re-naming of the sanitation team. Lindo Garbutt explains what those changes mean for the identity of […]
An alleged bomb threat on Independence Hill recently has prompted strict security measures to be implemented for persons entering the National Assembly Building. The new protocols extend to members of the media who attended today’s house meeting. News Five understands that an employee at the Government Press Office discovered what appeared to be an unknown […]
All month long there have been several events across the country to celebrate women’s contributions to society and history. Today, the Mexican Embassy held an empowerment session at the Mexican Institute in Belize City. The event featured two presenters, including Governor of Central Bank Joy Grant. We stopped by to find out more about women […]
