The vaccine rollout exercise for the country began today. Unlike other countries where government leaders are among the first to be vaccinated, for Belize, it was frontline healthcare workers from COVID-19 units. News Five’s Duane Moody was there for the first shots. Duane Moody, Reporting It was a historic moment today at the House […]
While a larger list of priority groups for the vaccine rollout was shared today, Minister of Tourism and Diaspora Relations, Anthony Mahler told the media over the weekend that eight thousand tourism stakeholders will be vaccinated when Belize receives its first allocation of Astra Zeneca vaccine from COVAX. Minister Mahler says that this will help […]
So many families in Belize have lost loved ones to violence, but for one Belize City mother, the cycle just never ends. Today, News Five spoke with Irene Wallace, who has had four of her sons murdered, with the most recent on Friday night. Reporter Andrea Polanco has more in the following story. Irene […]
What should have been a peaceful sleep early Sunday morning became a nightmare for a couple in the Cayo District when intruders woke them up demanding money. But as News Five’s Isani Cayetano found out, the retired missionaries relied on their faith to survive the ordeal and intend to pray for their assailants. Voice […]
The Municipal Elections are less than two days away and an attempt by the United Democratic Party and its Chairman, Michael Peyrefitte and citizen Melbourne Wade to stop P.U.P. Mayor Bernard Wagner from running a second time will have to wait for a later date. That’s because Justice Sonya Young adjourned the matter after both […]
An angry mob assaulted a team of police officers in Pickstock Hutment on Sunday night. The officers were in pursuit of a motorist who drove his vehicle into the area. When they were finally able to catch up with the driver, residents in the neighborhood became hostile with the policemen, preventing them from carrying out […]
Today when we went to the “Jungle” area, we were told that the persons who were injured were at the hospital seeking medical treatment. But there we caught up with the mother of Delroy Cardinez. She tells News Five that while her son was driving without a license, the police beat down that followed was […]
A sixteen-year-old girl has escaped what she reported as captivity in Placencia where she says she was being forced to work against her will. In mid-January, the minor reported to police that a couple had been holding her against her will and had taken away her travel documents. She also alleged that she was living […]
A team of officers on patrol near the border with Mexico busted a father and son duo smuggling a cache of contraband items, including canned beer, into Belize. When the officers gave chase and caught up with the driver of the van, he reportedly produced a machete. The officers fired at the father and the […]
The murder trial of Patrick Harris will proceed on Thursday in the Belize City Supreme Court after Justice Herbert Lord ruled today that the submissions made during a voir dire were not strong enough to throw the matter out. Harris’ attorney, Oscar Selgado had made several submissions last week over whether the court should allow […]
Did the previous board of the Belize Tourism Board dip into the pension fund to pay salaries last year? Allegations are that over four hundred thousand dollars in pension funds was used for this purpose between July and November 2020. Current Chairman Evan Tillett tells News Five that Tourism Director Karen Bevans and former B.T.B. […]
During a media mixer this weekend, Prime Minister John Briceño, Tourism Minister Anthony Mahler and C.E.O. Nicole Usher-Solano, as well as senior staff from the Belize Tourism Board were all in attendance. But visibly absent were Marketing Director Misty Michael and Tourism Director Karen Bevans. As the new leadership embarks on its strategy to return […]
The Ministry of Health and Wellness remains without an active Director of Health Services. The substantive holder of the position, Doctor Marvin Manzanero, was placed on administrative leave last Tuesday pending investigation into alleged misconduct. The acting DHS, Doctor Melissa Diaz-Musa abandoned the post last week. Minister of Health and Wellness, Michel Chebat says that […]
Tourism has been the hardest hit industry when it comes to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Millions of dollars have been lost from the industry that once contributed up to forty percent of G.D.P.; some properties have had to close their doors for months on end or are on the verge of bankruptcy, while […]
Stakeholders in the tourism industry have invested their life savings into their respective businesses and a number have gone belly up. Minister Mahler speaks of help from the Inter-American Development Bank to facilitate a small grants programme. Anthony Mahler, Minister of Tourism & Diaspora Relations “We have a small grants programme that we want […]
But what about cruise tourism? Up until the COVID-19 pandemic, over a million cruise ship passengers would come to the Jewel annually. That came to a screeching halt last year, but tonight there is both good and bad news. The good news is that cruise tourism will restart in late May early June; the bad […]
An amendment to the Central Bank Act is before the Senate that, when passed, will make available fifty million dollars to invest into the productive sector. Prime Minister John Briceño says the tourism industry is the primary target group because it will also help to generate foreign currency, which has been depleting since the start […]
The Elections and Boundaries Department is handling the logistics of the municipal elections on Wednesday, as well as the by-election in Corozal Bay. Both mass parties are responsible for mobilizing their supporters and getting them to and from the polls as efficiently as possible. But in these COVID times, the role of the Belize Police […]
So what will the police department be doing differently this time around? On the night of November eleventh, following the general elections, officers were powerless in containing throngs of party supporters who took to the streets. Police say they do not plan to let this happen again. Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police “We saw […]
Did someone say Bingo? The first jackpot winner for Mega Bingo collected his winnings today. Mister Harrison is sharing the winnings with two others who have yet to come forward. Each person gets a little over two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars before taxes. The total jackpot was almost six hundred and seventy-six thousand dollars. […]
