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As it relates to COVID-19, the panic and fear are real and this morning alarm raced across Orange Walk Town as the coronavirus rumour mill kept on churning. Health officials were seen at One-Two-Three Supermarket in the town, which caused an online frenzy, forcing the supermarket’s management to put out a press release dispelling all […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
Health,
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Comments Off on Coronavirus Rumor Mill Continues Churning
As part of its bipartisan approach in tackling the COVID-19 threat, the government and the opposition have each chosen a financial expert to oversee the expenditure of some seventy-five million dollars in relief. Senator Dr. Carla Barnett, who is presently the Minister of State for Labour, is government’s choice, while attorney Christopher Coye, who is […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Two “Economic Czars” to Assist with B.T.B.’s Financial Aid
With a combined half-a-billion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange, there is enough cash between the commercial banks and Central Bank to cover roughly fifty percent of all projected imports for this year. In the context of the coronavirus, even if those monies were spent on the importation of food and other necessities to survive for […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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Health,
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Comments Off on What About Foreign Exchange Amid COVID-19 Threat?
The economic ramifications from the corona virus is a major concern so on the issue of an interim tax break, another working group will be put together in the days ahead to examine various options of tax relief. There is a possibility that the existing nine percent tax being paid to B.T.B. will be halved. […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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Health,
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Comments Off on Tax Relief for Hoteliers on the Horizon?
Primary School Examinations, the first sitting which was to have been held on March thirty-first, have been suspended amid the COVID-19 threat. That decision comes from the Ministry of Education despite subsequent dates for parts one and two of the annual examinations not being confirmed. As we reported on Monday, government has taken the decision […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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Health,
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
Comments Off on 2020 P.S.E. Suspended Amid Coronavirus Threat
A number of events are being cancelled to minimize the risk of the corona virus. This afternoon, it was confirmed that the House debate on the budget which normally lasts for two days, has been cut down to one day. It takes place this Thursday, March nineteenth, since the Appropriation Bill needs be passed in […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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People & Places |
Comments Off on House Debate on Budget Cut Down to 1 Day
The National Sports Council is indefinitely suspending all activities countrywide amidst the threat of COVID-19. A release from the council says that while the sporting activities and workshops worked in favour of bettering youth athletes, the health and safety of the population is a priority. The Football Federation of Belize is also postponing all tournaments. […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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People & Places,
Sports |
Comments Off on Sporting Events Postponed Due to COVID-19 Threat
Price gouging amid the new coronavirus threat that looms large over the country has prompted government to amend the Supplies Control Regulations via Statutory Instrument Number Thirty-three of 2020. The additional piece of law establishes a maximum percentage increase on the wholesale and retail prices of general sanitizers and cleaners. These guidelines cover major categories […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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Comments Off on G.O.B. Introduces Measures to Thwart Price Gouging
Along with an unwarranted price hike in the cost of sanitizers, is a tendency for consumers to stack up on large quantities of toilet tissue. That trend has become evident and is driving up demand for toilet paper. While prices are currently unregulated, there is concern that should COVID-19 be confirmed in Belize, the cost […]
Written on March 17, 2020 | Posted in
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Health,
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People & Places |
Comments Off on No $#!t, Consumers are also Hoarding Toilet Paper
The highly contagious novel coronavirus continues to spread all around the world and more than one hundred and twenty countries are now affected. Across the border, Guatemala has confirmed one death and will be closing it borders for two weeks. Fortunately, there is still no established case in Belize, but there is urgency in putting […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
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Health,
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Comments Off on Five Immediate Measures Taken Ahead of COVID-19 Outbreak
The budget debate that has been scheduled for March nineteenth and twentieth hangs in the balance, as government is yet to formally agree on whether those consecutive House meetings should be postponed for a period of three months. Likewise, there is consideration that the parliamentary proceeding can be held in a single sitting with presentations […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
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Health,
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Comments Off on $25M Earmarked as Relief Aid for Tourism Sector
That twenty-five million-dollar loan, which government will secure through the Central Bank of Belize, will be serviced through cost-cutting measures across all ministries at two percent of the recurrent budget. The role of Central Bank is equally influential in utilizing all available instruments at its disposal to strengthen the resistance of the existing financial system […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
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Health,
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Comments Off on Central Bank Instrumental in Funding Fight Against COVID-19
The prospective funds set aside for addressing the national issue of the coronavirus crisis is in the vicinity of seventy-five million dollars, all loans and grants put together. As you have heard, all hands are on deck and the Opposition Leader John Briceño is co-chair of the National Oversight Committee. Both Briceño and the P.M. […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Bipartisanship and Unity in Fighting COVID-19
As measures are being put in place to combat COVID-19, the K.H.M.H. Workers Union and the management at the national referral hospital remain at odds. The union is concerned that the hospital’s management has decided to establish a COVID-19 isolation unit within the walls of the K.H.M.H. This, the union says, will put the staff […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
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Comments Off on K.H.M.H. Workers Union Meets with Official to Iron Out Pressing Issues
Union members have expressed several concerns to the hospital’s management, including the provision of the protective gear. According to Baird and Alpuche-Blake, both parties remain in a stalemate regarding several issues. The union has considered filing a twenty-one-day notice of strike. That decision will be made final after a meeting with union members is had. […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
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Comments Off on K.H.M.H.A. Workers Union Considering Strike Action
Four persons were murdered between Friday and Sunday nights; three of the murders were committed in Belize City. We start with the shocking killing of a couple. Philip Leslie and Shakira White were inside their home in the Kings Park area when they came under attack from a gunman. Leslie perished immediately, while White died […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Crime,
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Comments Off on Couple Murdered inside King’s Street Home; 4-Year-Old Critical
The weekend gun violence started as early as Friday night. Eighteen-year-old Frederick Williams was targeted at his home on Partridge Street Extension. Williams was released from police custody that same night after being in custody for forty-eight hours. Minutes later, he was dead, shot many times. Police believe the murder was gang related. Here is […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Crime |
Comments Off on Gunman Breaks in Door to Murder Frederick Williams
There is further loss of life. On Sunday afternoon, the body of a Hattieville resident was discovered near the bridge at the Belize/Mexico border in Corozal. It was identified as that of Ryan Lucas. He had been stabbed multiple times and his body discarded in the area. At this time, it is not known what […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Crime |
Comments Off on Hattieville Resident is Murdered in Corozal
In another act of violence, Stephen Ferguson was shot on Sunday night and rushed to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. It happened just before eight o’clock in front of his family’s home. Ferguson, an employee of Great Belize Productions, was inside his black Ford Edge SUV on West Street when he heard gunshots. Within seconds, […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Crime |
Comments Off on Channel 5 Employee Targeted by Gunman
Eighteen-year-old Earl Baptist is recovering from a gunshot wound. Baptist was released from the Queen Street Police Station in Belize City this afternoon and was making his way down Pink’s Alley when he was targeted. Reports are that Baptist and another person were heading to catch a cab when the gunman approached from the rear […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Crime |
Comments Off on Youth Shot in Belize City
Earlier today in a Utah court, a jury convicted Lev Aslan Dermen of conspiracy and money laundering. Dermen, as we have been reporting, was accused of defrauding the U.S. government of one point one billion dollars in a bio fuel programme. Dermen, who acquired Belizean nationality under the name Levon Termendzhyan, was convicted of two […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
People & Places,
Regional / International,
Trials |
Comments Off on Lev Dermen is Found Guilty of Money Laundering
There are more details on the coronavirus preparedness. The issue of testing kits and their availability locally, in order to confirm whether persons who are exhibiting signs of COVID-19 are in fact positive, are still pressing concerns for many Belizeans. While those pieces of equipment have been ordered from a German company, the prompt disbursement […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Health,
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Additional Testing Kits Procured for Belize
At the prime minister’s press conference this afternoon, Opposition Leader John Briceño also addressed the issue of occupational concerns being raised by the K.H.M.H. Workers Union. While the K.H.M.H. Authority met earlier today to discuss these issues ahead of a planned demonstration on Tuesday evening, Briceño told the media that assurances are being given to […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Health,
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Johnny Gives Assurances to K.H.M.H. Staff
On Sunday, the government announced that it was stepping up its control measures at the ports of entry. A ban was imposed prohibiting the nationals of China, Hong Kong, Iran, Japan, South Korea, and Europe, including the United Kingdom, as well as persons, who have traveled to these countries within the last thirty days, from […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Health,
Miscellaneous,
People & Places |
Comments Off on SP Water Taxi & ADO Bus Return to Port Amid COVID-19 Concerns
Belize City is the economic hub of the country. More than seventy thousand persons live in the Old Capital and thousands use the public transportation system. While mass gatherings are being discouraged, people from all over the country travel to the city for work every day. Belize remains COVID-19 free and online articles have named […]
Written on March 16, 2020 | Posted in
Miscellaneous,
People & Places,
Politics |
Comments Off on Belize City Mayor on COVID-19: “Business in our city has to continue”
