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Of concern for the Public Service Union is the fact that a definitive timeline has not been set for when a reduction in the salaries of ministers and other high-level government officials comes into effect. Coupled with that, says P.S.U. President Gerald Henry, is also the fact that community votes are never audited. That’s an […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on P.S.U. Says Area Rep Funds Go Unchecked
The offers made by PM Briceño to the unions last Thursday are, for all intents and purposes, government’s final proposal. There is no date for when both sides return to the table, however, the unions plan on formally responding to the prime minister’s offer in the days ahead. Senator Elena Smith, National President, B.N.T.U. […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on Unions Will Respond to G.O.B.’s Latest Offer
Government’s proposal to issue teachers and public officers with promissory notes, as part of the package being offered to the unions, is yet to materialize. Despite an agreement which they say was approved by the Prime Minister, that understanding was never formalized. As for the docking of salaries for teachers who are paid directly by […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on Unions Respond to Threat of Pay Cuts for Government-paid Teachers
The Ministry of Labour has issued a statement this evening reminding unions and their membership to adhere to the laws of Belize during all protest activities. In particular, the Ministry points out that the blocking of highways and bridges are “unlawful actions which are not internationally recognized industrial action nor those permitted by our domestic […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on Protesters Told: “Don’t Break the Law”
The court case for the two Benque Viejo del Carmen teachers who were arrested on Monday has been adjourned. As was reported, two teachers were arrested and charged for a single count of “attempting to set a bonfire without the permission of the police.” Police say the teachers were seen putting tires on the highway […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Education,
Trials |
Comments Off on Benque Teachers Go to Court on Thursday
The Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine donated to Belize by the United Arab Emirates in early April is now available to the public. Those doses had been shelved, awaiting approval for emergency use from The World Health Organization. With that approval, the Ministry of Health and Wellness is now prepared to offer the vaccine as an option […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Health,
People & Places |
Comments Off on Vaccine Choice: Sinopharm Now Available
Belize’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Carlos Fuller, presented his credentials to the Secretary General of the U.N., António Guterres, at the U.N. headquarters in New York on May seventeenth. Ambassador Fuller delivered greetings on behalf of the Governor General, Foreign Minister Eamon Courtenay, and the Government and people of Belize. The Secretary […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Foreign Affairs,
People & Places,
Regional / International |
Comments Off on Belize’s Newest UN Ambassador Presents Credentials
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise has notified chairpersons of the various sugar cane producers association in the north that the Santander Sugar Group has received a manufacturer’s license. This means that the company can now produce any sugar, ethanol or derivative of sugar cane under Section Fifty-eight of the Sugar Industry Act […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Agriculture |
Comments Off on Sugar Shake Up – Santander Issued a Manufacturer’s License
A new statutory instrument which extends the curfew hour on Thursdays comes into effect at twelve midnight. The S.I. says the new curfew hours are twelve midnight to five in the morning, from Thursday to Saturday. The curfew hours for Sunday to Wednesday remain at ten in the night to five in the morning. The […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on Thursday Added to Later Curfew Time
The Belize/Guatemala Joint Commission met today in Belize City, following instructions from the foreign ministers of both countries who met in March at the Adjacency Zone, to reactivate the work of the Belize/Guatemala Joint Commission. The Joint Commission received reports on the status of implementation of four of the thirteen agreements that were signed between […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
Foreign Affairs,
People & Places,
Regional / International |
Comments Off on Belize/Guatemala Joint Commission Meets in Belize
On Sunday, a race for non-elite, non-professional and semi-pro cycling athletes was organized by Gons Auto and JC Consulting Belize. The event was done to get the youth involved in the sport, but saw participation from riders up to sixty-two years old. The race took approximately forty riders from the start at the Northern Shops […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
People & Places,
Sports |
Comments Off on Amateur Cyclists of All Ages on the Road
It’s sometimes confused with softball, but a pair of baseball athletes from Belmopan is now trying to revive the sport in Belize. For about three years now, they have been working out with the youth out of west to teach them the techniques and foundation of the sport, which was lost among the new generation, […]
Written on May 18, 2021 | Posted in
People & Places,
Sports |
Comments Off on Reviving Baseball in Belize
If you were on the nation’s highways this morning, you were probably among the hundreds of people unable to get to work on time as striking teachers staged their second blockage. Now in day-sixteen of their strike, the teachers are ramping it up and in one community out west, there was some trouble with tires. […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on Protesting Teachers Arrested In Benque
Benque Viejo del Carmen was not the only hotspot for protest activity this morning. All over Belize, bridges and main intersections along the highways became impassable as early as seven a.m. when vehicles belonging to teachers coincidentally began experiencing mechanical issues. They were left in the middle of the roads for up to an hour, […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on Teachers Block Major Highways
Did the industrial action carried out by teachers today catch the Belize Police Department by surprise or were they prepared? The images from across the country show that in most of the areas where the blockades were set up, there was heavy police presence. ComPol Chester Williams says that while the officers are exercising restraint, […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on ComPol Chester Williams Says Demonstrations are Getting Frustrating
The logjam between the unions and government persists as the longest strike on record since the eleven-day industrial action taken by teachers in 2016. On Thursday, Prime Minister John Briceño addressed the nation in a prepared statement during which he presented his administration’s latest position without first meeting with the unions. This morning on Channel […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on Did PM’s Address Drive a Wedge between Union Leaders and Members?
President of the Belize National Teachers Union, Elena Smith, was also on “Open Your Eyes” today. She feels the Prime Minister’s decision to address the nation instead of meeting with the Joint Unions Negotiating Team, gave the impression that the union leadership was not being entirely transparent with the information being conveyed. Senator Elena […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on B.N.T.U. President Smith Says PM’s Speech Undermined Union Leadership
There was a fatal shooting in the Trench Town are of Belize City on Friday evening. Forty-three-year-old Francis Gordon was gunned down while sitting near a boat when a gunman emerged on the scene. The unknown individual took aim at the Kraal Road resident and opened fire, fatally injuring him. According to investigators, Gordon’s murder […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Crime,
Featured |
Comments Off on Kirk Gordon is Slain in Latest Belize City Shooting
One woman is dead following a weekend traffic mishap on the George Price Highway. Ronda Burgess was travelling with Earlyn Young and several other passengers in a Chevy Equinox when it overturned. According to police, Young was attempting to overtake a truck. In the process, he lost control of the vehicle. The passengers sustained varying […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Auto Accidents,
Featured |
Comments Off on Woman Killed in Weekend Accident
An outbreak of COVID-19 among employees of Princess Casino has forced a temporary closure just one month after gambling establishments were allowed to resume operations. On Saturday, personnel from the Ministry of Health and Wellness conducted tests on eighty-two staff members as part of its active surveillance and testing initiative. What they discovered was that […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
Health |
Comments Off on Outbreak of COVID-19 at Princess Casino
Health officials were back at the Princess Casino this morning to oversee the full sanitization of the facility. Doctor Diaz-Musa also provided a breakdown of the symptoms being exhibited by those who tested positive for COVID-19 at the casino. Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Deputy Manager, Central Health Region “Definitely recommendations that we have been able […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Featured,
Health |
Comments Off on Princess Casino Closes for Contact Tracing and Sanitization
Last week Friday, a suspected drug plane landed in a remote area near Blue Creek, Orange Walk District, but police have been unable to confirm reports of a second landing in Little Belize. B.D.F. air assets were deployed in the community and extensive searches were conducted, yet there were no sightings of a second landing. […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Crime |
Comments Off on Sixty Heavily Armed Men Guarded Suspected Drug Plane
For the next thirty days, movement will remain restricted by curfew hours. Over the weekend a new S.I. came into effect, extending the curfew for an additional thirty days. There was some confusion when the last S.I. expired on May fifteenth with many Belizeans questioning whether the curfew was still in effect. To clarify, ComPol […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Miscellaneous,
People & Places,
Social Issues |
Comments Off on ComPol Says He Was Just Sharing Curfew S.I. as a Courtesy
A police officer is being investigated after he shot at a taxi and injured a passenger on Saturday. Senior Superintendent Hilberto Romero gives us the latest on this incident. Sr. Supt. Hilberto Romero, Deputy Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch “On Saturday the fifteenth day of May 2021 police visited the KHMH where they found […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Crime |
Comments Off on Passenger Injured in Road Shooting; Police Officer Being Investigated
A sixty-three-year-old Belize City man was tied up inside his home and robbed. The incident happened on Caesar Ridge Road. The culprits made off with only a cell phone. Sr. Supt. Hilberto Romero, Deputy Head, National Crimes Investigation Branch “On Friday, the fourteenth day of May 2021, police responded to an aggravated burglary report […]
Written on May 17, 2021 | Posted in
Crime |
Comments Off on Home Invasion on Caesar Ridge Road
