With the increase in active COVID-19 cases, the situation at the national referral hospital is worsening. A memo issued by the acting Human Resources Director, dated September second says that the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital is in emergency mode. The healthcare facility is in phase three of its COVID-19 response plan which has been activated. […]
As the number of active COVID-19 cases continues to rise at a rapid rate, several businesses and government offices have had to shut their doors for sanitization purposes. Over the last three weeks, at least five public offices have had to close their doors. In the second week of August, the Belize Port Authority closed […]
Investigations are underway yet again at Price Barracks after a B.D.F. female soldier is reporting that she was raped by another soldier. On Monday, she told her superiors that she was sexually assaulted and after interviews were conducted with her, she officially made a report to the Belize Police Department. Now, for some time, we […]
So what happens next? Well, as we said, a formal report has been made to the Ladyville Police whose investigators are now looking into the incident. Depending on whether charges are brought against the alleged perpetrator, the policy sets out the steps that will be taken thereafter. Lt. Col. Anthony Velasquez, Chief of Staff, […]
A Belizean cook of Unitedville Village, Cayo has been charged for the double murder of eighteen-year-old Lloyd Myvett and nine-year-old Jamir McKoy. On Thursday, Jovannie O’Brien was formally arrested and charged for the crime which occurred on the night of August thirtieth as Myvett and the minor stood in front of a parked car outside […]
There was a marijuana bust in Belmopan on Thursday afternoon that yielded over thirty-five pounds of suspected weed. Police conducted a joint operation on the outskirts of Belmopan where officers searched a bushy area. This led to the discovery of a crocus sack hidden under some bush. Inside the sack were twenty parcels of suspected […]
Just before dawn on Thursday, a fire broke on Rainbow Street in the D.F.C area of San Pedro Town. A small wooden structure that was once Jays Store was engulfed in flames when authorities arrived at the scene. The shop was owned by Yesica Cordon, who was asleep when she received a call from her […]
Back to today’s House Meeting in Belmopan… Minister of Home Affairs Kareem Musa spoke of his ministry’s plan to address the crime scourge, which all too often results in innocent children getting killed. He says we must take a collective stance, so Belizeans once again feel safe. Kareem Musa, Minister of Home Affairs “The […]
Musa spoke generally about crime as it affects the wider public. But his colleague, Minister of Human Development Dolores Balderamos-Garcia was particularly concerned about crimes perpetrated on children and women. Dolores Balderamos-Garcia, Minister of Human Development “Madam Speaker within our Ministry and working together with our ministry, we have our dear Special Envoy for […]
Late this afternoon, the Prime Minister and the U.D.P. Representative for Collet, Patrick Faber had a heated exchange about the Speednet contract for Microsoft Licensing for the government. Patrick Faber, Area Representative, Collet “This is the thing that really boils the blood of Belizean people, those public servants who you told you have to […]
It was a contentious issue for the teachers and public service unions, and now there may be some progress. Today, Attorney General Magali Marin Young, with support from the United Nations Development Programme, signed an agreement for the implementation of good governance legislation. The U.N.D.P. will finance the hiring of an international legal expert to […]
The Central Medical Laboratory has been consumed with endless testing since the advent of COVID-19 last year. But amid the flood of samples, the lab is also preparing to establish a mycology unit, an area designated for the study of fungi and yeasts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was instrumental in donating lab […]
The House of Representatives meets on Friday and a full agenda has been put together for bills to be tabled and read through in parliament. Among the proposed pieces of legislation that will be up for a second and possibly third reading is the Belize Constitution (Tenth Amendment) Bill which has raised serious concerns within […]
With the likelihood of the proposed legislation being read through on Friday, the question of consultation has arisen and whether due process was carried out by the government ahead of its passage. Osmany Salas, N.G.O. Senator “The government has done what is laid out in the constitution and the constitution, for any constitutional amendment, […]
A social worker employed with the Human Development Department branch office in San Ignacio is dead after the vehicle she was traveling in careened off the George Price Highway and into the Mopan River on Wednesday evening. It happened between miles seventy-two and seventy-three. Police say Brenda Guerra was sitting in the front passenger seat […]
A group of about twenty or so business owners and artists within the dining and entertainment industry have signed a petition and sent it to the Ministers of Health and Wellness and Home Affairs. They are asking for special exemptions from the restrictions placed on restaurant license holders in the Belize District limiting customer capacity […]
The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association had its say today during a virtual press conference. Representatives of the membership spoke about their desire to renegotiate a commercial agreement with A.S.R./B.S.I. Signed in 2015, it says that a new agreement can be negotiated after seven years, or the existing agreement can be rolled over. B.S.C.F.A. is […]
The commercial agreement expires in January of 2022. With the annual cane season slated to start in December, barring unexpected delays, the association is hopeful that an agreement can be reached. Those hopes may just be pipe dreams if A.S.R./B.S.I. decides not to come to the table. B.S.C.F.A. says it is also asking A.S.R./B.S.I. to […]
Viewers may recall the impasse between B.S.C.F.A. and B.S.I. back in 2013/2014 over bagasse. That impasse caused the sugar cane crop season to get off to a late start. And, according to A.S.R./B.S.I. it cost the industry twenty million dollars in revenue losses. With crop season set to start in a few months, B.S.C.F.A. is […]
So, what is the association’s alternative if an agreement is not reached before the reopening of the crop season? We asked if they intend to hold the industry hostage as a majority sugar cane producer. Oscar Alonzo, Executive Director, B.S.C.F.A. “You are talking the same way B.S.I. has said, and I understand your concern. […]
In news from this week’s Cabinet meeting, the Minister of Health reported that sixteen percent of the population has now been fully vaccinated. Ten thousand young people aged twelve to seventeen got their vaccination over the last two weeks. Although the borders are still closed, Cabinet directed that anyone who crosses over for approved purposes […]
On Tuesday, Cabinet also asked that the Minister of Agriculture, Food Security, and Enterprise instruct the Bureau of Standards to investigate reports of price gouging at stores across Belize. As we reported previously, while some of these price hikes may be a result of international factors, on Monday, Prime Minister John Briceño told the hosts […]
The Government of Belize, in collaboration with the United Kingdom, has formulated a Marine Action Plan named “Belize – Blue, Clean, Resilient and Strong.” A recent assessment found that there is a relatively high occurrence of micro-plastics in our marine environment, and shockingly, that ninety-eight percent of litter found on beaches was plastic. Belize is […]
While much of the discussion is about holding larger countries accountable, Belize has been a trendsetter, having effected a ban on single-use plastics and styrofoam. The Environmental Protection Regulations, legislated in 2020, is a step in the right direction to reduce the country’s reliance on plastic and transition into biodegradable products. Dr. Kenrick Williams, […]
While it is integrated into the overall Conference of the Parties which will be held in late October in Scotland, the Geneva talks are part of the lead-up to the United National Environmental Assembly 5.2 that’s slated for Kenya in 2022. C.E.O. Doctor Kenrick Williams says that goal is for developing countries that have been […]
