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The month of April is recognized for Autism Awareness. This year’s theme: “Transforming the narrative: Contributions at home, at work, in the arts and in policymaking” reiterates the need to support a population that is fighting for a place in society to live purposefully and independently. In Belize, the learning institution that supports students with […]
Written on April 21, 2023 | Posted in
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A man and a woman were found dead inside a residence in Ladyville shortly after midday today. The two were businesswoman, fifty-year-old Deserie Gonzalez Rowland and her brother-in-law, twenty-five-year-old George Encalada. Police reportedly took the main suspect, known to both victims, into custody at the scene. The circumstances surrounding the double homicide are what have […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Woman and Brother-in-law Murdered in Ladyville; Police Detain Suspect
Chairman of Ladyville, Bernardo Bennett, also told News Five that the incident brings back eerie memories of what happened over a decade ago, when an entire family was murdered inside their home. Bennett speaks about the deceased woman and the accused man that he grew up with decades ago. Bernardo Bennett, Chairman, Ladyville “I […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Former Deputy Director of the Belize Tax Service, Reynaldo Verde, has been deported to Belize after serving a stint in a U.S. prison. He had been locked up abroad since September 2019 when he was busted by F.B.I. officials at Dulles International Airport in Washington, following allegations of extortion. The senior public officer was returning […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Four Years Later, Reynaldo Verde is Deported to Belize
Thieves broke into the Treasury Department’s Dangriga Branch back in March and made good their escape with forty-thousand dollars. Reports are that the culprits pried off the burglar bars on the bathroom window to gain entry. Police have been investigating, but there have been little to no leads in that investigation. This morning we caught […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Security Increased at Treasury Department Branches Following $40,000 Burglary
Earlier today, News Five caught up with Minister of Sustainable Development Orlando Habet and asked for an update on the tribunal as it relates to the proposed Port of Belize Expansion Project that has been rejected by the Department of Environment. As we’ve reported, the British Caribbean Bank and Prize Investment Holdings have invoked the […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Minister Habet Says Due Process Followed in Case of P.B.L. Expansion Project
Tensions have been brewing between residents of Laguna and Yemeri Grove villages in Toledo over land ownership and tenure. In March, we reported that villagers in Yemeri Grove and Barranco were fearful that residents in the surrounding communities may be encroaching on lands that belong to them. They had voiced their concerns publicly. This morning, […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Minister Garcia Tells Laguna and Yemeri Grove Villagers to “Hold It Down”
And, as Minister Garcia urges those communities to keep the peace, on Tuesday, Cabinet met with a host of senior government officials to develop a draft Customary Land Tenure Policy. The policy is a crucial part of government’s obligations under the Caribbean Court of Justice’s Consent Order. Among its purposes, the Customary Land Tenure Policy […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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In an interview on Wednesday with Kenrick Theus, the President of the Belize Association for People with Diverse Abilities (BAPDA), he informed us that the association receives twelve hundred dollars from the Government of Belize on a monthly basis. He noted that the amount is woefully insufficient and an insult to the work of the […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Ministry of Human Development Responds to BAPDA’s Concerns for Further Funding
Minister Garcia is also taking action to assist sixty-eight-year-old Belize City resident, Gilbert Nathaniel. The disabled elderly man was featured in our newscast on Wednesday night. Nathaniel lives on Richardson Street inside a small wooden structure. He does not have access to electricity, water, or a bed. According to Minister Garcia, upon hearing of Nathaniel’s […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Ministry of Human Development to Assist Disabled Elderly Belize City Man
U.D.P. Chairman Michael Peyrefitte has chimed in on the issue of the exorbitant cost of the new e-passport. Senator Peyrefitte’s comments come after Prime Minister John Briceño made certain remarks previously regarding persons who may not need to purchase the pricey travel document. Needless to say, those statements did not go over well with the […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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The House of Representatives will meet on Friday and a number of bills will be tabled for debate. Among them is the Public Sector Emoluments and Allowances Reduction (Amendment) Bill that seeks to officially end the increment freeze imposed on public officers and teachers. As we have reported, those increments were unfrozen on April first, […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on House of Representatives Meets on Friday to Officially Unfreeze Increments
The Financial Secretary also responded to questions on the high cost of fuel. Last week, Moses Shyne Barrow, the Leader of the Opposition, criticized the Briceño Administration for the cost of fuel at the pumps. Barrow argued that fuel prices are at an all time low in the U.S. and that Prime Minister John Briceño […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Fin Sec on Fuel: “We Are Losing About a Million Dollars A Month”
Recent changes in the appearance of certain parts of the New River have raised concerns among tour operators in the Orange Walk District. Tour operators and tour guides who conduct boat tours along the river, told News Five that they observed a fish kill in the river late last week and today, they showed us […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Changes in the New River Raises Concerns Among Tour Operators
Day two of the Second Central American Commission for Environment and Development Regional Environmental Congress for SICA concluded today at the Princess Ramada Hotel in Belize City. During simultaneous sessions, everything from waste water, solid waste management and the technical support needed to kick-start the second and third phases of regional projects in Central America and […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on CCAD Session Centers Around Solid Waste Management
The event also looks at hydrology specifically as it relates to water quality. In the region, there are rivers that flow across country lines and there is need for collaboration to ensure that water quality is maintained. For example, the Mopan River begins in Belize, flows through Guatemala before entering back into the country. Waterways […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Human Activity and Water Management
This morning, the Ministry of Blue Economy in collaboration with the Belize Coastal Zone Management Authority and Institute launched its Strategy for Reef Resilience in Belize. The strategy has been in the works for the past two years. It sets out a number of milestones to be achieved over the next two years with the […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Ministry of Blue Economy Launches Reef Resilience Strategy
To improve the delivery of forensic science and legal medicine services to the criminal justice system, the National Forensic Science Service is introducing a new approach that will do away with paper-based methods of capturing and accurately tracking case file data. It’s called the Laboratory Information Management System and it supports the digital transformation of […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on A New Information Management System for NFSS
The Ministry of Human Development in Partnership with UNICEF and civil society stakeholders are working to establish a Social Protection Floor (SPF) in Belize. A social protection floor is a basic set of social rights, services and facilities that every person should enjoy. The Ministry of Human Development and UNICEF hosted a three-day event in […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on The Basic Social Protection Services That Should Be Afforded to All Belizeans
Belize’s Blue Bond Agreement is the second, but largest of its kind in the region and so the country serves as an example to other Central American countries and Dominican Republic. It has to do with the protection of marine life and the Mesoamerican Reef System, for which several countries are linked. During today’s session […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Belize’s Blue Bond an Example for Central America
On Wednesday, Minister of Agriculture Jose Abelardo Mai told News Five that B.S.C.F.A. had been cut out of its share of Fairtrade premium for sugar sold by B.S.I. to Tate and Lyle Sugars. Today, A.S.R./B.S.I. issued a release confirming that T.L.S. does not purchase Fairtrade sugar from B.S.C.F.A. because of a breakdown in their relationship. […]
Written on April 20, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on B.S.I. Clarifies Fairtrade Premiums Payment Methodology
We begin our newscast tonight with a decision that was handed down in the High Court earlier today by Justice Ricardo O‘Neil Sandcroft. Three former law enforcement officers have been sentenced to fifteen years in prison after they were convicted of manslaughter in the beating death of a bartender in San Pedro in March 2016. […]
Written on April 19, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Ex-police Officers Sentenced to 15 Years for Beating Death of Edwin Ixpatec
Well-known street figure Jervis Diamond Valencia was the target of a gunman earlier today when shots were fired in the vicinity of Logwood Street in Belize City. According to police in the area, officers were on foot patrol near Ebony Street when they heard reports of gunfire. When they arrived at the scene they observed […]
Written on April 19, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Jervis Valencia Injured in Belize City Shooting
Two bills were passed through the Senate today that will provide greater access to legal aid for persons unable to afford the service. The authority to assign attorneys for legal aid purposes falls under the Senior Courts Act. An amendment is now being made to that act that will see such powers removed from the […]
Written on April 19, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Greater Access to Legal Aid for Persons Unable To Afford It
Union Senator, Elena Smith, also made contributions to the debate on the amendments being made to the Senior Court Act and the passage of the Legal Aid Bill. The National Trade Union Congress of Belize is concerned that these legal aid services will be exploited by persons who are positioned to pay for their own […]
Written on April 19, 2023 | Posted in
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Comments Off on Senators Fear Exploitation of Legal Aid Services
