An overnight blaze in Hopkins village completely destroyed Ella’s Cool Spot, an iconic location in the community considered to be a prime tourist destination for food and drinks. The restaurant and bar was eviscerated by a fire that began just before two a.m. The owner of the business, Ella Carr, is alleging arson and there […]
It is time for Hopkins Village to have its own fire station, according to Donovan Maximo, one of the first residents on the scene of this morning’s fire at Ella’s Cool Spot. Maximo says that the fire fighters who responded to the inferno came all the way from Dangriga Town. He believes that the fire […]
The weather today has been considerably better than the inclement conditions that were experienced across the country over the weekend. While we enjoyed several hours of sunlight in Belize City, in other parts such as Carmelita and Santa Martha, residents are still recovering from the deluge that brought havoc to their communities. It is forecasted […]
Coastal communities continue to be affected by sargassum that has been littered across beaches, particularly in prime tourist destinations. We’ve documented this issue in San Pedro and the mitigation efforts taken by the town council and the business community. Over on Caye Caulker, the situation is no different. But according to the leaders in the […]
On Monday night, we introduced you to Generation Caye Caulker, an independent slate competing in the island’s village council elections on Sunday, June twenty-sixth. But as we found out today, there is also another independent slate headed by Buddy Magana, a twenty-five-year-old son of the island. Along with six councilor candidates, Magana and his Visionaries […]
The number of active COVID-19 cases has surpassed the two thousand mark. And while the symptoms may be milder, the disease is still highly transmissible. During an interview with Director of Public Health and Wellness, Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa, reporters asked whether a mask mandate should be returned. Doctor Diaz-Musa recommends personal responsibility among residents to […]
If you are trying to get away from the hustle and bustle of the urban setting, an escape to Caye Caulker might be exactly what you need. It is an hour-long ride by boat from Belize City to the island which offers a wide range of activities that you can do. Whether it is indulging […]
Late last year, five councilors from the Belmopan City Council made serious allegations against Mayor Sheran Palacio. They claimed that Palacio was mishandling funds, and was not operating with transparency and in accordance with the Belmopan City Council Act. The mayor declined all requests for an interview to ventilate the allegations and several months went […]
While Mayor Palacio distances herself from the allegations, she has solid defense in the person of Melvyn Edenojie, the council’s finance officer. He told News Five that not only has Palacio done nothing underhanded, but that she has also created a system whereby every transaction is subject to processes and is properly documented. Melvyn […]
And while we spoke with the financial heads of the Belmopan City Council, we also took the opportunity to ask about the current financial situation of the council. Viewers will recall that soon after Mayor Sheran Palacio took office, she revealed that the council was not only flat broke, but indebted to the tune of […]
Today marked the opening of the Commonwealth Business and People’s Forums in Kigali, Rwanda. The Commonwealth Business Forum brought together over fifteen hundred delegates from Commonwealth member states, for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the opening ceremony, the Right Honourable Patricia Scotland, the Commonwealth Secretary General was joined by […]
The Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan is in Belize meeting with government officials. On Monday, he was a keynote speaker at a closing ceremony where over eight hundred and seventy-five thousand U.S. dollars worth of medical equipment was donated to Belize from the Government of Japan. During an interview with Vice Minister Kentaro […]
The Belize Agricultural Health Authority, BAHA, along with OIRSA and Taiwan I.C.D.F., is hosting a four-day workshop in Central Farm as part of a pilot project that Taiwan is funding with its allies in Central America, to strengthen banana disease prevention capacity. Francisco Gutierrez is the Technical Director of Plant Health at BAHA. Francisco […]
In Ghana, women are said to have equal rights, yet there are disparities in education, employment, and health for women. Women also have much less access to resources than men in Ghana. One Ghanaian entrepreneur who is in Belize teaching people how to make bathing soap and liquid soap shared with us that the road […]
There was a murder in Belize City on Sunday and tonight police in the Old Capital are bracing for reprisal, as the shooting victim is the son of a well-known street figure. Shortly before three o’clock on Father’s Day, Benjamin Hyde Sr. was making his rounds visiting his daughter’s when his life was callously taken […]
On Friday night, a barrage of gunshots rang out on 6th Street in front of a Chinese restaurant where two young men had gone to purchase food. It is believed that the men were trailed to that location and while waiting in their vehicle for the food to be prepared, someone opened fire on them, […]
Police are still looking for two men whom they believe were involved in the murder of Glenford Vernon on Thursday night. He was socializing with several others on Dolphin Avenue when a pair of men on a motorcycle arrived on the scene. This was after a verbal exchange moments earlier. Vernon, according to police, was […]
Over ten inches of rain fell over the Orange Walk and Corozal districts on Saturday and Sunday. This led to severe and unprecedented flooding in several communities within those districts. The intense rainfall came as a result of a low pressure system that passed over the country. Carmelita Village in Orange Walk District was one […]
Late into Sunday night the National Emergency Management Organization, NEMO, opened a flood shelter in the village. The team over at NEMO Orange Walk has been on the ground since Sunday afternoon assessing the damages and needs of the affected households. As for the residents we spoke to in Carmelita, they are pointing to poor […]
Orange Walk East area representative Kevin Bernard says that he was on the ground in several affected villages in his constituency right up until eleven o’clock on Sunday night. As chairman of NEMO Orange Walk, Minister Bernard says that they are actively monitoring the situation, which is expected to get worse over the next few […]
In the wake of flooding, there are concerns as it relates to health hazards such as vector borne diseases and water contamination, not to mention COVID protocols at shelters for those being housed at these facilities. Director of Public Health and Wellness Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa says that the ministry remains alert and is proactively making […]
A portion of the Crooked Tree Village causeway was under water this evening. Earlier this month, we spoke to one resident who voiced concern after the causeway was flooded, following a night of rainfall. Well, the past weekend’s low pressure system once again revealed the plight of these residents during the rainy season. And, as […]
As we told you, the rains will continue. According to the National Meteorological Service, the tropical wave will continue to support wet conditions. A flood warning remains in effect for Corozal and Orange Walk districts, while a flood watch is in effect for the rest of the country. Chief Meteorologist Ronald Gordon tells us more. […]
The National Emergency Management Organization’s response teams have been activated countrywide as more rains are expected to affect the country throughout the rest of the week. NEMO’s latest advisory indicates that a slow moving tropical wave is affecting the country. This comes after a low pressure system caused severe flooding in northern Belize over the […]
Dr. Melissa Diaz-Musa, Director of Public Health and Wellness, M.O.H.W. “There’s definitively continued transmission in Belize of COVID-19. The numbers continue to go up as is expected with especially a variant like omicron which we know is extremely more transmissible than the original variant. And of course, we don’t have a lot of public health […]
