The sole witness present at today’s public hearing of the Senate Special Select Committee on Immigration was Barton Middleton. His appearance is the culmination of long weeks of interrogation of multiple witnesses involved in the disappearance of eight visa foils from the Western Border Immigration Station. Several of these visas wound up in passports for […]
Before that big reveal, Middleton displayed a severe case of amnesia through much of this morning’s testimony, apparently unable to recall much of anything that happened to him in the past several years and certainly around the time under investigation by the Select Committee. Take, for instance, Inez Casanova, the Immigration officer erroneously accused of […]
Though he may be forgetful of events, Barton Middleton is well aware of why he was called to Belmopan today. No less than four persons – Immigration Officers Mark Tench, Lindsay Wade and Vernon Leslie – as well as Patrick Tillett – have detailed their alleged dealings with Middleton as an Immigration “agent.” Tillett said […]
In the course of his testimony, Middleton claimed to have gone to surgery at the Corozal Hospital for a tumour growing at the base of his brain. When we checked this evening with the Director of Health Services, Doctor Marvin Manzanero, he told us that while the Corozal Community Hospital has an operating theater, which […]
Barton Middleton, if not a hostile witness, was certainly a reluctant one. He spent much of his testimony denying meeting or closely knowing the likes of Mark Tench and Patrick Tillett. Indeed, the words “I don’t recall” or “I don’t know” featured prominently as his answers to direct questioning from the panel. Middleton also claimed […]
On Monday, the Senate defeated the PACT Amendment Bill in a significant first for the upper house, when a majority of parliamentarians voted against the proposed law. The government is seeking to raise close to eleven million dollars in departure taxes, known as development fees, which it is increasing from thirty-five to forty U.S. dollars. […]
There may be basis for the Government’s actions in the Constitution, but does that make it right? Senator for the Business Community Mark Lizarraga told News Five this afternoon in Belmopan that he would have to seek legal recourse for an understanding of the Government’s actions. But he allowed that while the Government may well […]
A small aircraft remains parked at the apron of the Philip Goldson International Airport after it was transported from northern Belize. The white with burgundy and sliver trim Piper PA-23-250 aircraft bearing tail number N6769Y landed up north on Monday, though the precise location has not been confirmed. Authorities in Guatemala tipped their local counterparts […]
The Statistical Institute of Belize confirms today that exports are significantly down. In the case of citrus which once placed as the number one export that industry has plummeted to fourth in the agro productive sector. That is the information from the SIB, which is in sharp contrast to pronouncements made by the man at […]
Fuel prices, as motorists would know, have shot up considerably, jumping almost twenty percent during February 2017. The most notable increase was in the cost of diesel fuel which went up by six dollars and thirty-six cents from last year. Diesel per gallon is averaging at nine dollars and eleven cents. Taken together, the rise […]
The People’s United Party says it is gravely concerned by the government’s seemingly flippant inattention to the spiralling crime. Earlier today, the P.U.P. issued a release noting that the government has cut the budget for the police by two million dollars at the most inopportune time. Over the weekend, eight persons lost their lives, including […]
There was a possibility, with an odd number of Senators now seated and any tie-breaker removed from President Lee Mark Chang except in specific circumstances, that the General Revenue and Appropriation Bill also known as the Budget could have faced the same fate as the PACT (Amendment) Bill. Indeed, the vote went in similar fashion […]
NEMO, CEMO and other partners handed over supplies to families who lost their homes and belongings in the Majestic Alley last Friday. The families have been receiving assistance since the night of the fire and CEMO says they will not be left out in the cold following this week. They received grocery certificates, table top […]
Belize Electricity Limited and Hand in Hand Ministries partnered to build a house for a deserving family in Belize City. Shirley Flowers, a single mother off Boots Crescent in south side lost her house to a fire in January 2016 and since then she’s been working with Hand in Hand to get a house constructed […]
The theme of next week’s World Health Day observance is “Depression – Let’s Talk.” It’s easier said than done, considering how many suffer from a depressive state and keep it to themselves because of the fear of being labelled “crazy” or shunned by a population that prides itself on always being on top of things […]
Today, the Ministry of Education and the Commonwealth Of Learning launched a policy management open school workshop. The purpose of the three-day session is to enable administrators and managers to better understand the opportunities available in open learning. So what is open schooling? It is defined by the Commonwealth of Learning as the physical separation […]
The concept of open schooling actually began at Gwen Lizarraga High School Even Division back in 2009. The workshop, however, will ensure that administrators of the evening division and ITVETs can support teachers for the online platform. The policy management workshop is expected to empower the stakeholders involved. Dr. Sheldon Samuels, ACE Coordinator “The […]
Dan Thompson, a cancer research advocate, has embarked on a run around the world for a good cause. Thompson visited Belize on Tuesday to run a leg of his journey – which he has done in almost half of the world’s countries – he hopes to complete the journey around the world by the 2020 […]
