Currently, ninety percent of sugar produced at the mills is exported, and only ten percent is consumed locally. It’s an attempt to force B.S.I. to pay B.S.C.F.A. for Fairtrade premium. The miller will now face a series of red tape, including having to apply annually for a license and then applying for permits for every […]
Millions of dollars in investments have been made by American Sugar Refinery/Belize Sugar Industries over the years, including twenty million dollars in upgrades at the mill. But what’s the next move for the millers? Will they mount a legal challenge of the S.I. or pack up and leave? Finance Director Shawn Chavarria says that B.S.I. […]
Minister Mai says it would not surprise him if A.S.R./B.S.I. decides to challenge the regulations in court. He also says that if the company does not like the laws of the country, it can leave. Jose Abelardo Mai, Minister of Agriculture “If you are not happy with the country, the country’s regulations, either you […]
The citrus industry remains in dire straits and is teetering on the brink of failure, despite all attempts by the Government of Belize to bail it out of financial collapse. The unpleasant state of the industry is nothing new, however, the situation has only gotten worse. This morning, News Five also spoke with the Minister […]
Migration is the movement of people from one country, place or locality to another. Fossil evidence suggests that modern humans began to spread across the planet from Africa sixty thousand years ago. Since then, humans inhabit all corners of the Earth, on every continent. Currently, there is at least three percent of the world’s population, […]
Laguna and Yemeri Grove villages are at odds over land. Of recent, tension in the Toledo District has been rising between the neighboring communities. Laguna, a Mayan community, undertook an exercise to survey and demarcate lands that residents say belong to the village. But, residents of Yemeri Grove, a non-Mayan community, are saying that Laguna […]
Harold Usher, the chairman of Yemeri Grove Village, told News Five in an interview several weeks ago that while some people may view his villagers as aggressive, they cannot simply stand by and watch the residents of Laguna continue to occupy lands in the area under dispute. And, like those residents in Laguna, Chairman Usher […]
Sebastian Itch, the chairman of Laguna Village, also spoke up against the Minister of Indigenous People’s Affairs, Dolores Balderamos Garcia. He says that the minister continues to undermine residents of Laguna Village and that she has wrongfully accused villagers of being expansionists. Here is what he had to say about why he thinks her remarks […]
A Belizean woman is indisposed in a Merida hospital bed and is in need of your assistance to clear a huge medical bill in order for her to return home. Kera Leslie has been at Clinica de Merida for the past several days with a rare auto-immune disease that has ballooned her bill to the […]
The Holy Redeemer Credit Union celebrated its seventy-ninth anniversary today and did so by launching a brand new children’s book written by former Chief Education Officer, Doctor Carol Babb. It’s the second in a series of publications geared towards teaching financial literacy. News Five’s Isani Cayetano reports. Dr. Carol Babb, Author/Director, HRCU “The book, […]
The Sugar Industry Control Board has green-lighted a new set of regulations that will require persons to hold a valid license if they wish to import or export sugar out of Belize. Those new requirements have raised the ire of the miller, as well as caneros in the north. A.S.R./B.S.I. is not required to hold […]
Following B.S.I.’s release, the United Democratic Party issued a statement of its own voicing concerns over the manner in which the new regulations are being brought forward. The U.D.P. says, “laws and regulations should only be implemented after robust consultations with sugar industry stakeholders where consensus is built. This act by the Briceño Government and […]
The once thriving citrus industry in Belize has been declining over the years and is now hanging by a thin thread. There has been a significant loss of jobs and some farmers are diversifying their investment to other crops. Last week, Prime Minister John Briceño met with stakeholders who are proposing a bamboo industry in […]
Last night, we told you that thirty-nine-year-old radiologist Desmond Arzu has been charged for the crime of sexual assault. The charge stems from a complaint that was brought against him by a patient back in March. The twenty-three-year-old alleges that while attending clinic in Punta Gorda to undergo an ultrasound, the radiologist sexually assaulted her. […]
It’s been one week since the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Transport has been working under a new Chief Executive Officer and Minister Rodwell Ferguson says that everything is better. Adele Catzim-Sanchez, a former C.E.O. under the Barrow administration, was appointed and took office on May eighth, after Marconi Leal Junior was reassigned as C.E.O. […]
Tonight, Raheem Reid, a deliveryman of Belize City is on remand at the Belize Central Prison after he was denied bail on arraignment on a charge of use of deadly means of harm upon Kenroy Elijio with the use of a firearm and for aggravated assault with a firearm upon Raheem Neal, a police officer. […]
Eighteen Brazilians who were charged with immigration offences appeared in the Magistrate’s Court late Monday. They pleaded guilty and were fined, before being ordered to leave the country upon settling their fines. In the meantime, four of their children have been placed in the custody of the Human Services Department until all of their removal […]
The Football Federation of Belize has expressed concern over three brawls that occurred during football matches over the weekend. In the Cayo District, a fight ensued between the members of two senior men’s team from two separate villages. Amateur footage of that incident shows members of both teams physically attacking each other. There are also […]
The House of Representatives will meet on May nineteenth. As the Government of Belize seeks to bring its financial legislations up to par with international standards, Friday will see the continuation of debates on a suite of amendments. We have been reporting on the Caribbean Financial Advisory Taskforce Mutual Evaluation Exercise for the past several […]
In tonight’s episode of Kolcha Tuesday, News Five looks at the Lebeha Drummers of Hopkins, as they prepare for the release of their second album, Biama, on Friday. The collective has been busy recording new music at Stone Tree Records and today, Isani Cayetano sat with celebrated drummer Warren Martinez to talk about his childhood […]
Eighty alcaldes and deputy alcaldes from forty Maya villages in southern Belize were engaged in training on their duties as local magistrates under the Alcaldes Jurisdiction of the Inferior Courts Act of Belize. The alcaldes are elected by Maya villages and appointed by the attorney general. Elections took place back in January and commenced the […]
Alcaldes have a Maya customary jurisdiction that is part of the ancient and traditional way of life – these are practices that have served the Maya people for generations. But aside from the alcaldes and their deputies, there is also the village council system, or local government, that also plays a part in the day-to-day […]
On Wednesday, the media is being called out to Laguna Village in Toledo District where a press conference will be held. We know that there has been conflict over land in the area and while we spoke with Pablo Mis, we asked for an insight into the event. Here’s what he had to say. […]
Is a bridge linking Placencia to Independence coming soon? Today, Stann Creek West Area Representative Rodwell Ferguson confirmed that a proposal is in the making for the construction of a causeway and bridge linking both villages. Discussions have already been had with the Ministry of Infrastructure Development; in fact, engineers visited the area and the […]
Today, sixteen students from standard two to six at the Calvary Temple School received football jerseys as the school aspires to enlist the team in a football competition being organized by the National Sports Council. Calvary Temple School is located at the far end of Regent Street West in Belize City and has a student […]
