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PM Barrow Comments on IMF Loan

Prime Minister Dean Barrow also asked about the International Monetary Fund and why is it that the government did not seek the IMF’s assistance for COVID-19 relief in the first instance. Member countries have managed to receive tens of millions of dollars in rapid financing at significantly low-interest rates. Belize has applied but according to Barrow, […]

Lord Ashcroft COVID-19 Relief Fund Issues Cheque to Customs Department

The Philip Goldson Airport is set to reopen on August fifteenth; as such a number of safety measures and protocols are being put in place to get the P.G.I.A. safe for travellers and employees. Government is getting two x-ray machines to be used by the Belize Customs and Excise Department. The machines will scan incoming […]

Barrow Says Belize’s Acquisition of Scotia Bank ‘Consequential’

Prime Minister Dean Barrow says that Belize Bank’s acquisition of Scotia Bank is consequential. Caribbean Investment Holdings, the parent company for the Belize Bank is buying out Scotia Bank at a cost of more than thirty million dollars. The transaction announced this Monday is before the Central Bank of Belize and that process can take […]

PM Barrow Says “Won’t Pay, Can’t Pay”

Earlier in the newscast, you heard the PM say that a ruling by the former C.J. Benjamin earlier this year is a non decision. Outside the house, the PM was asked about an impending judgment from the C.C.J. on the matter of IMMARBE and the Registry which he took over years ago.  The justices of […]

Cabinet Rejects Waterloo’s Cruise Ship Facility Project

Another matter that the Prime Minister dealt with had to with a proposal by Waterloo, for a two hundred million dollar cruise ship facility in the Port of Belize. That proposal has been presented to the government for years now.  When he was asked about it today, the Prime Minister made very brief remarks, to […]

Sand Hill Village Council, NAVCO Reject ‘Mesop Land Distribution’ in Maxboro

A plan to distribute land in the Maxboro area of Sand Hill is being met with fierce opposition. Over the past weeks, Shyne Barrow, the U.D.P. standard bearer of the Mesopotamia Division has been advertising the Mesopotamia Land Distribution through which he says he will be giving two hundred lots in Maxboro. But the Village […]

Are Accommodations Ready for the August 15th Reopening?

August fifteenth – that’s the day the P.G.I.A. is reopening as Belize opens back up for international tourism business. As we’ve been reporting, tourism stakeholders were divided about the reopening of the airport, but many wanted to see a date sooner rather than later. The Belize Hotel Association polled its members and most wanted an […]

Fewer Flights; Hotels Need to Step Up Health and Safety Protocols!

But as hotels and other accommodations get ready for tourists to return, what will it look like for Belize? Considering that the reopening date is within the slow season, the numbers are expected to be low. But even so, COVID-19 continues to sweep across the United States, which is Belize’s main market; unemployment numbers are […]

Hotels Are Investing for Reopening!

So, as you heard from Tejada, the accommodations sector is implementing a series of protocols that have been developed.  As General Manager of the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza, he shared what they’ve done at the Biltmore to prioritize health and safety.  They are also making a number of other investments to step up their […]

Said Musa to Received Minor Surgery Overseas

Right Honorable Said Musa is on the road to recovery. The Musa family is preparing to fly him out of the country for a minor procedure to rectify his throat. According to his son, Kareem Musa, the senior Musa is suffered a rare form of stroke but the good news is that the rate or […]

A Backyard Farm for Food Security During a Pandemic!

COVID-19’s impact on food and agriculture has been felt across the country – putting lives and livelihoods at risk from this pandemic. While the spread of virus is contained in Belize, it continues to surge in other parts of the world but the uncertainty is when it will eventually retreat. And locally we have seen […]

Another Group of Repatriates Arrive in the Jewel

Today, another group of repatriates arrived in Belize via the Philip Goldson International Airport. It is part of the phased repatriation process to get Belizeans, who were stranded during the COVID-19 pandemic in other countries, home. The data shows that as of June twenty-fifth, eighty hundred and eighty-five persons applied, six hundred and sixty-six were […]

Some People Don’t Want to Pay Hotel Quarantine

Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero says that repatriated persons are not a cause for concern once due process is followed. What is worrisome, says Doctor Manzanero, are those persons who do not want to come home because they don’t want to pay the hotel bill for mandatory quarantine.   Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director […]

Will Tests Return Negative for Group of Repatriates?

Doctor Marvin Manzanero also says that a second round of swabbing has been done on a group of repatriates, who returned to Belize two weeks ago via a United Airlines flight. As we showed you, those persons were taken to the Ramada Belize City Princess Hotel where they remain quarantined. Doctor Manzanero says that once […]

Murder Case Falls Apart

Turning to the courts, earlier this week, the murder trial of twenty-two year-old Deandre Adolphus fell apart at the Supreme Court level when the Prosecution withdrew the charge from against Adolphus.  Thirty-six-year-old Bruce Reneau, who was charged with Abetment to Commit Murder in the same case, also walked away a free man. The two neighbours […]

Jeremias Guerra Out on Bail

A man who is awaiting trial for the murder of his common-law wife was today granted bail when he appeared before Supreme Court Justice Colin Williams. Construction worker, forty year-old Jair Jeremias Guerra of Salvapan, Belmopan was offered bail of twenty-five thousand dollar. He is to report to the Belmopan Police twice weekly, must have […]

Anthony Reyes Gets Bail

Twenty-two-year-old Anthony Reyes, a barber of Mahogany Street in Belize City was also lucky to get bail of twenty-five thousand dollars today.  Reyes is charged with the murder of forty-four-year-old Emmerson Anderson, who was shot and killed while he was part of a group gathered on Ebony Street in March of 2018.   Although he has […]

What’s Up with COVID-19 Healthcare on La Isla Bonita?

As Belize gets ready to re-open to international tourism in August, there are many details still left to iron out. One of those concerns is regarding healthcare on Belize’s largest tourism destination of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye. The island doesn’t a hospital that can accommodate high numbers should there be an outbreak of the virus. […]

Will Tourism Sector Get Financing Through D.F.C.?

The downturn in tourism activity has left stakeholders in a financial mess.  During the Prime Minister’s Press Conference on Thursday, he was asked about the tourism sector’s need for capital to kick-start their operations as the country opens up back for tourism in August. PM Barrow says that while the initial line of financing of […]

A Reopening Date for P.G.I.A. is Finally Set!

While the tourism industry weeks ago reopened for domestic tourism, the big news today when Prime Minister Dean Barrow gave a press conference is the long awaited date for the reopening of the Philip Goldson International Airport.  After several weeks of anticipating a proposed reopening, a new date has been set and with it comes […]

August Fifteenth is the Grand Reopening

An initial planned date for the reopening of the P.G.I.A. had been set for August first.  But concerns pertaining to the timeline, in respect of testing and all protocols, prompted the prime minister to postpone for an additional two weeks.  But is government truly ready to resume welcoming visitors to Belize and are the next […]

Belize Health App Will Track Visitors Entering Via P.G.I.A.

A novel feature of the international travel experience during these COVID times is the use of a mobile application to track the whereabouts of visitors arriving from the United States.  The Belize Health app, as it is known, is a mandatory piece of software designed to follow the movement of users where contact tracing is […]

Mandatory Quarantine to be Foot at Visitor’s Expense

It is not expected that a flood of visitors will be arriving in the months ahead, particularly because we are presently in the low season for overnight and cruise arrivals.  That lull, according to PM Barrow, will allow for a fine-tuning of the measures to be put in place.  For visitors who test positive upon […]

A Gold Standard for Hotels Amid Reopening of Tourism Industry

As for the hotel sector, a new programme is being introduced to certify participating businesses with a gold standard for meeting all the requirements on a nine-point checklist.  All hotels that are recognized as having met those specific conditions will be prioritized during a phased reopening of the hotel industry.   Karen Bevans, Director of […]

Pictures Obtained by News 5 Shows Women and Minor in Detained Group

News Five has received exclusive pictures of the fifteen persons who have been arrested by way of an order from the Commissioner of Police Chester Williams. The pictures obtained by News Fives show the two police officers and three B.D.F. soldiers at the site where they were first detained. The group of persons was briefly questioned […]