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CWU asks where is Environmental Clearance; BSI/ASR says it is not needed

According to C.W.U. President Hyde, stevedores have lost about one hundred and eighty six thousand dollars in income since B.S.I.’s move to Big Creek Port. Hyde took a jab at the sugar company, saying they should share their environmental clearance documentation for their Big Creek Port development.   Mose Hyde, President, CWU “I am rather […]

Stevedores on the results of their Go-Slow

Also at the press conference today were statements by stevedores themselves, as the ones on the ground absorbing the financial blow of B.S.I.’s move to the Big Creek Port. They describe their decision to engage in a go-slow on the sugar barge as a “sacrifice.” And while it resulted in financial losses, they say the […]

Forty Grants for Forty Years of Independence

The National September Celebrations calendar of events for this year includes a new grant program for forty artists and creative workers, in line with the celebration of Belize’s fortieth anniversary of Independence. This morning, the National Institute of Culture and History introduced the initiative which provides a thousand dollars to individuals who successfully present a […]

Call for Belizean Creatives to Receive Grant Funding

According to Budhrani, any Belizean or Belizean-owned entity is eligible to participate in the grant program as there are no restrictions on age, gender, ethnicity, or any other background.   Sapna Budhrani, President, NICH “Is there any restrictions?  Really and truly, there is no restriction on age, gender, anything.  It’s mainly a creative and innovative […]

With Tourism Back, is NICH Rebounding Financially?

At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the National Institute of Culture and History took a severe financial hit when tourism came to a screeching halt.  As a statutory body, NICH is partly funded by the government.  It is also funded in large from revenue collected from the many archaeological sites it manages […]

Belize Celebrates Indigenous Peoples Week

The commemoration of Inter-American Week for Indigenous Peoples continues through to Friday.  In Belize, the Garifuna and Maya communities are being celebrated for their contributions and achievements, as well as their diversities in culture, language, food, music and traditional knowledge. Dolores Balderamos Garcia, Minister of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs issued a statement today encouraging every indigenous […]

Part 2 of Paul Lopez report on the killing of Laddie Gillett, Shemar Nicholas and Kwame Williams

In Tuesday’s newscast we brought you part one of a story on the murders of three teenage boys within the last three weeks. The stories of their lives and circumstances of their deaths may differ, but these incidents have Belizeans asking themselves what we can do to prevent the loss of other young lives. Tonight […]

Multiple COVID Variants Found in Samples from Corozal, Orange Walk, Belize and Cayo Districts

The verdict is in: not only does Belize have the Delta variant of COVID, we also have three others. This evening, the Ministry of Health and Wellness announced that test results from samples sent to Baylor College of Medicine in Texas are back after weeks of waiting.  From a total of eighty-one people diagnosed as […]

Will G.O.B. Make COVID-19 Vaccination Mandatory?

Not surprisingly, most of the news coming from this week’s cabinet meeting centered on the COVID-19 epidemic. But it seems the government will move away from its strategy of simply encouraging Belizeans to get vaccinated and may take a stronger approach. According to the weekly cabinet brief, the Prime Minister and his cabinet have asked […]

Police Association Retains Attorney over Vaccinations and COVID tests

And while our fears that the Delta variant is present in Belize have been confirmed, today the attorney for the Belize Police Association, Dickie Bradley told News Five that sending home police officers for not presenting their COVID vaccination cards or a COVID negative test result may be worse than not. Bradley was making reference […]

Police Officers Cannot Afford COVID Tests

A number of police officers contacted News Five today to say they had been sent home this morning. While they would not appear on camera, attorney Dickie Bradley says that up to now, the number of police officers who remain unvaccinated stands in the hundreds.  He says they have a valid concern about their inability […]

Dr. Cuellar Says Belize Must Prepare for Lambda Variant

And while the test results from Baylor University confirmed that a number of COVID variants are indeed present in Belize, and have been here for months, there is one of particular concern for the unvaccinated.  The lambda variant has been spreading rapidly in South America since its earliest documented samples were detected a year ago […]

Cycling Hopes Derailed by COVID-19 Test Results

Some cyclists who were set to represent Belize in the Dominican Republic this week were unable to join the larger delegation when they tested positive for COVID-19.  News Five has confirmed with the President of the Belize Cycling Federation, Orson Butler that the delegation of thirteen cyclists heading to the Dominican Republic all tested negative […]

Belize City Mayor Back on the Job after Bout with COVID

Belize City Mayor Bernard Wagner was back on the job today after days of being in isolation for his COVID infection. The mayor told News Five that he tested negative for the virus on Monday, exactly fourteen days after he had tested positive.  Mayor Wagner was one of eight people at City Hall who have […]

Family of 15 Displaced by Fire in Caye Caulker

A fire broke out early this morning in Caye Caulker Village. The windy weather did not help, so despite efforts to extinguish the raging fire, it spread, robbing a family of fifteen of all they had been working for.  But as News Five’s Duane Moody found out, the island really is aptly nicknamed La Isla […]

Investigation Underway on Cause of Fire

Personnel from the National Fire Service were back on the scene later today doing their investigation in an effort to determine its cause. What is known is that the fire started in the smallest structure, but it is uncertain what sparked the blaze. One man is in police custody, who investigators say is claiming that […]

Fire-fighting Equipment Needed in Caye Caulker

The last time there was a fire on Caye Caulker was back in September 2019 when a fire broke at Nando’s Golf Cart Rentals and Apartments. Fourteen persons were displaced and a mechanic of San Jose Village died.  A post-mortem of this morning’s fire is underway, but village council chair Seleny Villanueva-Pott says that she […]

Belize City Revenue Collection Dropped during COVID

Earlier in the newscast, we spoke with Mayor Bernard Wagner about his return to work and the COVID cases at City Hall. We also asked him about the impact of the pandemic on Belize City revenues.   Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor “In 2020, we collected two point three million dollars in property taxes, and […]

Garbage Collections Fees May be Coming for Belize City

The mayor is advising residents that City Hall can’t continue to foot the expense of garbage collection without the residents contributing to that bill.   Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor “At some point in time in the very near future the discussion of garbage fee, residential garbage fee will have to be put at the […]

Mayor Commits to Infrastructure Works

But it’s not all bad news for Belize City residents. As Mayor Wagner explained, the Municipal Bond did not perform as well as it was projected to, and so some of the streets that were identified for resurfacing could not be worked on during the COVID pandemic. But he says the Council commits to carrying […]

Caye Caulker Fights Back Against Sargassum Invasion

It had fallen off the radar for some time as the COVID-19 pandemic took center stage in the national discourse, but sargassum continues to impact tourist hotspots in the country. On a visit to Caye Caulker today, News Five’s Duane Moody looked at the situation on the island.   Duane Moody, Reporting It’s an annual […]

Teen Gun Deaths Becoming All Too Common; Public Veers between Outrage and Apathy

Laddie Gillett, Shamar Nicholas and Kwamie Williams: three Belizean teens recently gunned down.  Sadly, they will not be the last young men to make the headlines. Tonight, in the first of a two-part investigation, Paul Lopez goes looking for answers to the painful question: what, if anything, can we do as a society to better […]

Freeing Human Trafficking Victims through Information

The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Council alongside the International Organization for Migration continues to promote their “People not Property” awareness campaign.  This morning, a representative of the effort was a guest on Open Your Eyes Morning Show.  The Focal Point at ATIPS, Juanna Murillo, shared the fact that human trafficking is a reality in Belize.  She […]

Happy Indigenous People’s Day

The Maya People of Southern Belize joined in celebrating today as the International Day of the World’s Indigenous People. This year’s theme is “Leaving No One Behind: Indigenous Peoples and the Call for a New Social Contract.”  According to the United Nations, “a social contract is an unwritten agreement that societies make to cooperate for […]

Internet in Schools Initiative

With a new academic year set to begin later this month for secondary and primary schools, respectively, Belize Telemedia Limited has been working with the Ministry of Education.  This is in the event that plans to resume face-to-face instructions are aborted at the last minute due to an increase in active COVID-19 cases.  News Five […]