Tonight, we have extensive coverage of a House meeting in which four significant bills were passed through their stages. But we start with certainly the most significant single event of the day’s proceedings – the Opposition walking out of the House in protest. It happened a little over one hour into the session, when Senator […]
The walk-out came as a complete surprise, and even some members on the Opposition side were unsure to leave the chambers. There was the promise of a heated debate today with the passage of the amended Petrocaribe Loans Motion. And of course, the Opposition was also expected to speak at length about the inflammatory Melvin […]
Late this evening, the P.U.P. issued a statement on the walk out. According to the Opposition, the standing orders of the House makes it clear that a Speaker can only summarily order the withdrawal of a stranger from the precinct of the National Assembly under order eighty-seven. The Opposition says that the removal of a […]
As we mentioned earlier, the amended Petrocaribe Loan Motion was pushed through its stages today, obviously without debate from the absent Opposition. Earlier in the day, before that perhaps knee-jerk decision to depart in protest, the discussion of Petrocaribe had gotten underway, as PM Barrow went to the House for a supplementary appropriations bill, outlining […]
The Opposition doesn’t want to hear about supplementary appropriations where Petrocaribe is concerned. They maintain that the government is being less than transparent and accountable where the spending of those many millions is concerned – giving only as much information as they deem necessary. P.U.P. Leader Francis Fonseca told the media that where the Petrocaribe […]
Also before the Opposition walkout, another sensitive and critical issue was ventilated by Prime Minister Dean Barrow. On Monday the PM took a hard line against the Mayans of Santa Cruz, and he has taken heat for it. But his stance remains unchanged. Today, in a statement from the floor, the PM reiterated that no […]
That stance has been criticized in various sectors as premature and one-sided, and today the Opposition finally weighed in, from outside the House. According to P.U.P. Leader, the position expressed by Barrow can be regarded as no less than an attempt by the government to flare up ethnic tensions in the country. Francis Fonseca, […]
Tonight, the family of San Pedro businessman Leovijildo Varela is bracing for the worse. On Thursday night, Varela and his crew were transporting three butane trucks on a tugboat from the island to the Belize City port when he was flung into the dark sea waters near the pier. The downpour in the past twenty-four […]
Tarique Thompson has succumbed to gunshot injuries he sustained on Monday night in Belize City. Around twelve noon today, the fifteen year old second form student of Canaan High School passed away at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after spending over three days in critical condition in the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital. The […]
Meanwhile, in Wednesday night’s shooting of another minor, sixteen year old Reuben Leslie remains brain dead at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. The student of a George Price Highway address was shot multiple times to the right leg and the center of his forehead as he headed home on bicycle from his girlfriend’s house. As […]
Exactly two weeks after a Guatemalan gunboat ran aground in Belizean waters near Glovers Reef, another maritime vessel has beached in shallow waters south of Blackadore Caye. This time, a Polaris Interceptor, one of forty-four boats in Mexico’s patrol fleet, is stranded on the mud flats and shoals near the island. Sometime in the wee […]
Back to the House Meeting…just before the Opposition walked out and with government coffers overflowing with Petrocaribe money, PM Barrow announced that it was honouring an eight percent salary increase to teachers and public officers for the second consecutive year. But G.O.B. will be spending more than seventy million dollars in three years. Prime […]
Earlier in our newscast you heard PM Dean Barrow speaking about what he called excessive force being used by Mayans to unlawfully detain a black Creole Belizean. Much has been said about that issue which exploded on Saturday, and today P.U.P. Toledo West Area Representative Oscar Requeña told the media that the incident could have […]
Requeña says that Saturday’s events were precipitated by the very aggressive behaviour of Rupert Myles when he attended a meeting following months of being invited to speak to village leaders. Oscar Requeña, Area Representative. Toledo West “On Saturday, which was June the twentieth; he came, he barged into the community center, he slammed the […]
On Thursday, the media received a rather embarrassing resignation letter from three decade politician, former U.D.P. Minister and now former Standard Bearer of Stann Creek West Melvin Hulse. The letter, allegedly penned by Hulse though released on the official U.D.P. Secretariat letterhead, claims that everything said about Mr. Barrow was a lie. The resignation letter […]
Today Minister of Fisheries, Forests and Sustainable Development Lisel Alamilla was in the House of Representatives, surrounded by invited representatives of various conservation N.G.O.s. They were there for the passage of two bills – the new National Protected Areas System Act Bill and the amended PACT Bill. Both have drawn some measure of concern from […]
Tacos, pibil, BBQ, sand, sea, unlimited liquor and dancing to a live band….that’s how Collet Area Representative Patrick Faber does it, thanks to Petrocaribe! The politician has taken some hits for that bash – and has even been criticized by the Chamber of Commerce for spending Petrocaribe money on a one day fete. He was […]
The United States Supreme Court ruled earlier today that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right throughout the U.S.; it is considered a historic victory for gay rights advocates. The decision, which strikes down bans against gay marriage that had previously existed in fourteen states, comes after decades of protest and litigation on behalf of the […]
According to the executive director of the United Belize Advocacy Movement, UNIBAM, while a legal decision is one thing, it does not necessarily deal with the issue of living with prejudice and stereotypes. Isani Cayetano “Clearly there is a long road ahead to get to where the United States is, in terms of recognizing […]
The image factory turned twenty years today and it was a perfect opportunity for the founders of the art gallery to celebrate its contributions and achievements in the art world. The celebration continues tonight with the opening of a retrospective exhibition that captures the works of various Belizean artists in the past two decades. News […]
On June twenty-ninth International Fishermen’s Day will be celebrated in Belize, as well as the wider Caribbean region. The Fisheries Department and several other organizations concerned with fisheries will be hosting a series of events to observe the economic, social and cultural contributions of Belizean fishers. Two of the participating organizations shared why this recognition […]
