On Wednesday concerned residents reported that one of their neighbors living at the entrance to Crooked Tree Village may have been abducted. Today police located a body a few miles away. And while authorities are not saying that the remains are that of Geoffrey Crawford, indications are it may be, especially since a vehicle at […]
Well, you heard it was coming and now it is official, the actual Statutory Instrument issued today. As October 1st anyone who needs to go to a public medical facility, government office or the office of a statutory body must show proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an upcoming date for […]
Not everyone is happy about the vaccine and test mandate. Some sectors say they should have been consulted first. That’s the position the National Trade Union Congress. The NTUCB says while they recognize GOB has a duty to develop reasonable measures to protect public health, they find it quote “disheartening” that no worker input, even […]
The murder of fifteen-year-old Dwayne Gabourel continues to play in the minds of households across the country. The promising SJC student was targeted by a gunman as he went to buy bread last Saturday; shot multiple times inside a store on New Road, a short distance from where he lived. But in the last two […]
Executive Director Nicholas says that as a society, we are reactive and not proactive enough. But will the unfortunate killing of Dwayne Gabourel trigger the necessary changes and interventions at all levels – community and policy level? Margaret Nicholas, Executive Director, NCFC “The killing of Dwayne may really and truly propel us to do […]
Talking about interventions, while we were with the Director Nicholas of the National Commission of Families and Children, she spoke of the need for change in legislation for the age of mandatory education. The data is showing that a lot of young persons are on the streets and out of school. Margaret Nicholas, Executive […]
While it was expected that the COVID-19 pandemic might bring some families closer, Nicholas says that in some households it seems to have worsened the situation. Parents, who are not trained to be teachers, have been finding it difficult to keep their children focused while doing online classes, and then there is the situation of […]
Due to the rise in COVID cases, the Ministry of Education is having to step back from a return to fully face-to-face learning, but moving full steam ahead with its plans to reopen schools for hybrid learning on October fourth. In the hybrid instructional mode, students do have some face-to-face instruction, but on shifts. On-site […]
Almost three weeks after being hit by a car on the Phillip Goldson Highway, a resident of Sand Hill has died. Twenty-eight-year-old Keiron Flowers succumbed to injuries he received following an accident on September seventh in front of the U-Mall in Ladyville. Flowers remained in a coma at the K.H.M.H. until he died on Monday. […]
Belize Telemedia Limited’s Annual General Meeting for its fiscal year 2020/2021 was held virtually this morning. The company is reporting a net income or profit of eight million dollars, which is a six hundred and five percent net income growth, when compared to fiscal year 2019/2020. In that year, BTL experienced its worst revenue earnings […]
The company projects an increase in net income to thirty million dollars by the end of fiscal year 2025/2026. And while those are just projections, achieving those numbers would mean the largest net income for the company within the last decade, according to their records. The largest net income BTL reported in the last eight […]
And, as the other take-a-way from today’s virtual AGM is that BTL is taking a new approach to its financial reporting model and looking more at Return of Equity or ROE as a measure of financial performance calculated by dividing net income by shareholders equity. It is a return on assets, minus liabilities Chairman Lizarraga […]
The Prime Minister John Briceno is currently in Mexico on a state visit at the invitation of the President of Mexico. Today, he PM and his wife Rossana accompanied President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and his wife Beatriz Gutierrez Muller at the closing ceremonies of the Mexico’s two hundredth Anniversary of Independence. On Wednesday, the […]
Today is World Maritime Day. The International Maritime Organization is celebrating it under the theme, “Seafarers: At the Core of Shipping’s Future” and focusing attention on seafarers who are facing unprecedented hardship due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the importance of their vital role as essential workers for global supply chains today and in the […]
The eleventh annual Ocean Heroes Award ceremony was held virtually on Wednesday night where a well-known chef and a marine conservationist were recognized by Oceana Belize for their continued work as protectors of the sea. Jennie Staines, a San Pedrano, and Kevin Andrewin, chairman of Gales Point Wildlife Sanctuary, are the proud recipients of this […]
The Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital officially confirmed today that Chandra Nisbet Cansino is going to take over as CEO. This morning on Open Your Eyes, she talked about the board’s plans for the facility and how these align with her own vision for management of the hospital. Among the long term plans are a new […]
A number of migrants were returned to their home countries in September through assistance from the International Organization for Migration. A release from the IOM Belize office says that thirty migrants, including ten unaccompanied minors who were transiting Belize on their way north voluntarily returned to El Salvador and Honduras. Twenty-five of them were considered […]
With all the focus on the COVID Unit at the KHMH and the ability of district facilities to provide needed care during the pandemic, many of us seldom think about the challenges people in rural areas of Belize may be facing. But because access to healthcare services is a right that all Belizeans are afforded, […]
COVID-19 pandemic continues to grip the country as we are experiencing a third wave of the virus. On Tuesday, the frightening data was released; three hundred and fifty new cases were confirmed alone. And despite one hundred and ninety new recoveries recorded, the number of active cases is now at two thousand one hundred and […]
In terms of survivability, eighty-seven percent of positive cases since the beginning of the pandemic in Belize have recovered. The fatality rate is at two point zero one with four hundred and eight COVID-related deaths recorded so far. Even more frightening is that up to last Friday, thirty-seven deaths were already recorded for the month […]
Among those three deaths recorded on Tuesday was Nurse Bernadette Flowers Smith of the Belize River Valley. The much respected medical professional was in charge of the health center in Double Head Cabbage for over three decades. She died after being hospitalized for several days at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. “Miss Nurse,” as she […]
We are in week-two of additional measures put in place by government to curb the rising COVID-19 numbers. The benefits of these measures will not be seen for another few weeks, but is two weeks enough? Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa says that the longer the measures are in place, the better control of the spread. […]
There is some good news in the fight against COVID-19. Vaccinations are up. To date, one hundred and twenty-three thousand four hundred and seventy-five persons are fully vaccinated. The COVID-19 vaccination report from the Ministry of Health and Wellness indicates that twenty-three thousand five hundred and fourteen children twelve to seventeen have been vaccinated. Almost […]
The planned reopening of schools for face-to-face learning does not seem like a good idea with the climbing COVID-19 numbers. While many students, ages twelve to seventeen, have been vaccinated, is it advisable that schools reopen? Word from the Ministry of Education is that schools can reopen on October fourth for hybrid learning, following the […]
Police are searching for Geoffrey Crawford, a resident of Mile thirty one the Phillip Goldson Highway. He is reported to have disappeared under mysterious circumstances. Police say sometime around seven a.m., a neighbor saw two men enter Crawford’s yard. That individual later assisted the men when they needed a jump start. However, as the two […]
