The Belize National Teachers’ Union continues its Stand Up For Belize Campaign in light of the planned strike this coming Monday. Today the union leadership met with the San Ignacio Branch. These are special circumstances and the meetings are doubling as forums for reports from Union president Luke Palacio on the ongoing back-and-forth with the […]
On Monday, Palacio confirmed that the Union was meeting with other trade unions and social partners. One such meeting has already taken place. It was intended to be a rebuttal of Prime Minister Dean Barrow’s statement to the nation and the previous meetings, explained point by point. As Palacio tells us, the Union got a […]
The Belize National Teachers’ Union has argued in its response that Prime Minister Dean Barrow has tried a strategy of “divide and conquer” with the many groups flanking him on issues of national interest. For this reason, Palacio says, the non-Governmental organizations and social partners must remain united and keep the P.M’s charms at bay. […]
In the opening section of his statement to the nation, Prime Minister Dean Barrow was at pains to point out that none of the eight items discussed on the agenda at the September twenty-second meeting at the Belize Biltmore Plaza Hotel dealt the deferral of the three percent salary adjustment owed to teachers and public […]
The Ministry of Education has confirmed that it will be meeting on Wednesday afternoon with the managers of various groups of schools to discuss plans and contingencies for Monday’s strike action by the Belize National Teachers’ Union. The Union’s members are being asked to stay out of school for that one day. While the Union […]
The number of cases of ZIKA is on an upward trend and among the affected persons are six pregnant women. The Ministry of Health held the fourth press conference on zika and dengue today following the outbreak of zika last November. Belize, Cayo and Stann Creek districts have the highest numbers of cases, but in […]
While the ministry has focused primarily on pregnant women and other vulnerable groups, Doctor Marvin Manzanero says there is concern that persons exhibiting the zika symptoms are not seeking medical attention. Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of Health Services “People are just not going to health facilities. You have to understand that we are not […]
So far, the Ministry has not detected any case of microcephaly in unborn children among mothers who have tested positive for zika during pregnancy. Nor has there been any finding of other neurological conditions. But what are the reproductive rights of affected women? Dr. Natalia Largaespada Beer, Maternal & Child Health Adviser, MOH […]
And tonight’s question is: Do you support the industrial action by teachers? Send your comments and responses using your SMART phones to 8686 or post your vote on our e-poll at channel5belize.com. You can also send an email with your comments to questions@channel5belize.com
The dust has not settled in respect of the Showtime Documentary, Gringo: the Dangerous Life of John McAfee. At least four Belizeans were prominent in the documentary casting a net of suspicion on who killed McAfee’s neighbor, Gregory Faull in 2012. Edward McKoy is one of the main characters. In the chilling feature, McKoy, who […]
Based on the documentary, McAfee’s former employees have been identified as conspirators in the murder of Faull. Ex-caretaker at the San Pedro property, Cassian Chavarria, whose nickname ironically is “Cash,” was portrayed as the person that made deposits and payments at the behest of McAfee. In his interview, he claimed he deposited five thousand dollars […]
Attorney Bryan Neal represents five of the persons featured in the documentary. Today we asked him if based on their own admissions on the Faull murder, they stand to face criminal charges. Bryan Neal, Attorney “All Belizeans should be offended by that video; they should be concerned about the way that video paints this […]
Moses Sulph has been cleared of rape. Back in February 2013, Sulph was accused of raping a UB student at a house in Belmopan. He had denied the charge and maintained that he consensual sex with the woman. Today, Sulph stopped by our News Five studios to say that he feels vindicated after he was […]
A murder case fell apart in the Supreme Court before Justice Troadio Gonzalez on Monday. Thirty-one year old Erasmo Lino walked from the murder of twenty-four year old Laurencio Ho Junior. Lino was charged back in March 2011 for killing his Roaring Creek neighbour, who met his death while celebrating his birthday. The D.P.P.’s office […]
As we reported on Monday, Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington spoke at the United Nations lashing out at the incredulous statements made last week by the Guatemalan President, Jimmy Morales. Soon after Elrington spoke, the UN Permanent Representative of Guatemala, Jorge Skinner Klee upped the ante when he exercised the right to reply to respond to […]
Last week, the Prime Minister confirmed to the nation on Independence Day that the country is in recession. Within days of that pronouncement, the IMF issued its latest report on Belize in which it speaks of dire economic conditions and recommends more taxes and a reduction of the wage bill. The IMF states that GDP […]
The 2016 CARSI ESF program grant recipients were announced today. The awards, valued over three million Belize dollars, are aimed at supporting the U.S. Government’s objectives of strengthening citizen security through job creation and providing activities and educational opportunities for at risk youth. News Five’s Andrea Polanco attended today’s grant signing ceremony. Andrea Polanco, […]
It is coming up on ten months since the tragic blaze at the mile twenty-one, George Price Highway compound of the Princess Royal Youth Hostel. A three-room wooden structure that was used to house the female resident minors went up in flames. Fatally trapped inside the burning building were three girls—sixteen year olds Ana Melinda […]
But beyond the ultimate fate of workers at the Youth Hostel, the primary concern is the health, well-being and safety of the institution’s residents. Many of them come from troubled homes and untenable family situations and the Hostel is the last resort before the far less welcoming Wagner’s Youth Facility on the grounds of the […]
Recently four young residents of the Dorothy Menzies Child Care Center on Saint Thomas Street, Belize City, disappeared after attending the Buttonwood Bay Primary School. The centre’s driver dropped them of at school but when he went to pick them up, they were missing. The children ranged in age from six to fourteen years. They […]
Belize’s long-established mental health facility, originally known as “Seaview” when it was located along the Newtown Barracks in Belize City, and later “Rockview” after it moved to the George Price Highway, is now located in a quiet section of Belmopan and is now known as “Palmview.” But there has never been established a separate facility […]
The Building Opportunities for Our Social Transformation, better known as BOOST, a conditional cash transfer program has been described as the “flagship” of the Dean Barrow administration’s “pro-people/pro-poor” policy – hailed for lifting families to a higher standard of living. It offers financial incentives for adhering to a carefully monitored list of social indicators. But […]
Belize continues to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Hurricane Earl, and here in the Belize District at least twenty-two families who have spent weeks of their lives in shelters can expect to come home – to a permanent home – by the end of the month. Thousands were affected when the category […]
The Ministry of Human Development this morning formally launched what it calls a “one-stop shop” for everything you need to know about Belize. Called BelizeInfo, it comes out of the I.D.B. – funded Community Action for Public Safety (CAPS) project started five years ago. With over sixty-five thousand data values ranging from measurement of homicides […]
For now, the Ministry is taking charge of the system, with other ministries of Government and even private entities contributing data for collation and analysis. But the main marker for its success will be how it is used. For more on that we spoke to Ministry C.E.O., Judith Alpuche. Judith Alpuche, C.E.O., Ministry of […]
