In the face of an imminent threat from the coronavirus, a crime wave is sweeping across the city. There is word tonight that B.D.F. soldiers will be deployed to the streets of the Old Capital to stem the violence. The past forty-eight hours have been one of the deadliest; seven persons have been murdered, including […]
The lives of two innocent children were taken following separate shooting incidents on Sunday night and Tuesday morning. As the city reeled from the crime wave since Sunday, the nation woke up this morning to the shocking and painful news of the murder of five-year-old Kia Herbert. The child was murdered as she slept with […]
Before Kia Herbert, was gunned down in her house, a father of one was shot and killed in Belize City. Collet Morter was hanging out with friends when the killer reportedly approached the house and called him out. Morter went to the door to check who it was, but before he stepped outside, he was […]
Aside from the seven murders, nine persons have been injured in shootings in the violence that ash erupted in the past two days. On Jane Usher Boulevard this morning around nine o’clock, two persons, including an elderly man, were injured in gun violence. A group of men were targeted as they stood near a residence […]
There was another shooting earlier in the morning. Several shots were fired at a house on the south side of Belize City, fortunately no one was injured. Police were called out to Antelope Street Extension around one a.m. where forty-two-year-old security guard Brian Smith reported to police that he, his wife and two children were […]
In less than forty-eight hours, gun violence has claimed the lives of as many as seven persons, including two children ages four and five. Nine others, including an elderly man and a two-year-old girl, were also injured in the rash of senseless violence that started around eight p.m. on Sunday and continued up to this […]
Kareem Musa says that like COVID-19, there needs to be a bipartisan approach to solving the crime spree that has the city under siege. The inequality in the system, the lack of access to education, land and jobs are among the root causes of crime, which Musa says must be addressed in an effort to […]
Gun and firearms are known to be illegally pouring from across the borders and smuggled into the country in many ways, all contributing to the mad state of affairs on the streets. While that problem also needs urgent attention, Musa says that the possible implementation of a curfew given the spike in crime should be […]
The bloodbath in the streets, including the murder of young children, is prompting condemnation. Earlier today, the National Committee for Families and Children in collaboration with the Office of the Special Envoy and the Ministry of Human Development as well as the National Women’s Commission issued a joint release, alarmed at the increase in the […]
A demonstration that was scheduled to take place today in front of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital was canceled. The demonstration was planned by the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Workers Union, but its plan crumbled when the union was denied a permit to demonstrate by the Belize Police Department. The union was contemplating action because […]
The union has decided to petition the staff if they want the isolation unit at the K.H.M.H. When we spoke to its leaders, two hundred and fifty signatures were collected against having the isolation unit inside the hospital. That petition, according to President Lidia Alpuche-Blake will be sent to the COVID-19 National Oversight Committee for determination. […]
The United Democratic Party is gearing up for yet another clash of the titans as it goes into a second contested convention to choose a new leader. It promises to be a repeat of the February ninth showdown, during which former Deputy Party Leader Patrick Faber faced Belmopan Area Representative John Saldivar and suffered a […]
Today, the Ministry of Health held a sensitization webcast session on COVID-19. The session, as we’ve reported, is for the public to ask questions directly to health officials in an effort to raise awareness of local efforts and stamp out myths and rumours. In today’s video cast, Director of Health Services Doctor Marvin Manzanero reported […]
There are no confirmed cases of the virus in Belize, so should you go ahead and make travel plans? Not so fast, says the Director of Health Services. Doctor Marvin Manzanero is asking Belizeans not to make any plans for this Easter holiday. He also spoke on the issue of gatherings for religious services. Doctor […]
Belize remains coronavirus free tonight and measures are being put in place to strengthen the health system as the virus threat hovers over the country. Government has already banned events of more than one hundred persons to minimize the risks of the virus, including the closure of schools up until the Easter Holidays. Today, News […]
The Director of Health Services also shared some updates about the opening of new screening points across the country. While there are concerns about the availability of space should there be an outbreak of COVID-19, Doctor Marvin Manzanero says that the ministry is making preparations for all of those. Dr. Marvin Manzanero, Director of […]
As it relates to COVID-19, the panic and fear are real and this morning alarm raced across Orange Walk Town as the coronavirus rumour mill kept on churning. Health officials were seen at One-Two-Three Supermarket in the town, which caused an online frenzy, forcing the supermarket’s management to put out a press release dispelling all […]
As part of its bipartisan approach in tackling the COVID-19 threat, the government and the opposition have each chosen a financial expert to oversee the expenditure of some seventy-five million dollars in relief. Senator Dr. Carla Barnett, who is presently the Minister of State for Labour, is government’s choice, while attorney Christopher Coye, who is […]
With a combined half-a-billion U.S. dollars in foreign exchange, there is enough cash between the commercial banks and Central Bank to cover roughly fifty percent of all projected imports for this year. In the context of the coronavirus, even if those monies were spent on the importation of food and other necessities to survive for […]
The economic ramifications from the corona virus is a major concern so on the issue of an interim tax break, another working group will be put together in the days ahead to examine various options of tax relief. There is a possibility that the existing nine percent tax being paid to B.T.B. will be halved. […]
Primary School Examinations, the first sitting which was to have been held on March thirty-first, have been suspended amid the COVID-19 threat. That decision comes from the Ministry of Education despite subsequent dates for parts one and two of the annual examinations not being confirmed. As we reported on Monday, government has taken the decision […]
A number of events are being cancelled to minimize the risk of the corona virus. This afternoon, it was confirmed that the House debate on the budget which normally lasts for two days, has been cut down to one day. It takes place this Thursday, March nineteenth, since the Appropriation Bill needs be passed in […]
The National Sports Council is indefinitely suspending all activities countrywide amidst the threat of COVID-19. A release from the council says that while the sporting activities and workshops worked in favour of bettering youth athletes, the health and safety of the population is a priority. The Football Federation of Belize is also postponing all tournaments. […]
Price gouging amid the new coronavirus threat that looms large over the country has prompted government to amend the Supplies Control Regulations via Statutory Instrument Number Thirty-three of 2020. The additional piece of law establishes a maximum percentage increase on the wholesale and retail prices of general sanitizers and cleaners. These guidelines cover major categories […]
Along with an unwarranted price hike in the cost of sanitizers, is a tendency for consumers to stack up on large quantities of toilet tissue. That trend has become evident and is driving up demand for toilet paper. While prices are currently unregulated, there is concern that should COVID-19 be confirmed in Belize, the cost […]
