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Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5 and CTV 3
Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and the Dickie Bradley Specials

The San Pedro Sun

Lions Senior Citizen's Party
Belize Bank staff has been partners of this annual event.

A Holiday Soup Kitchen for islanders
‘Tis the season of giving, and several residents of Ambergris Caye are doing just that. While many reserve the holiday season for showering their family with love and presents, islanders such as Finley Halliday and friends are reaching out beyond the household to bring a little joy to those less fortunate. Halliday has been busy at work organizing a Soup Kitchen for Christmas Day lunch. After putting a call out on Facebook, stating his attempts to organize the kitchen, Halliday says he has received a tremendous outpouring of support from several businesses and people willing to donate to the cause. “What we want to do is make a lunch and have a traditional turkey dinner, and treats for the people that are less fortunate and people that won’t have a Christmas meal this year,” says Halliday. Because the soup kitchen is intended to provide meals for as many families as possible, the call remains open for more support. People are welcome to contribute either cash or food items such as flour, stuffing, rice, beans vegetables or canned foods, as they aim to also distribute goodie bags to the families after the Christmas Day lunch. The lunch will take place on December 25th from noon to 3PM at Raise Me Up on Black Coral Street. Invitations will be sent out to several households to attend.

Candyland Fashion Show raises funds for Boxes of Joy
On Thursday December 11th, Boxes of Joy hosted their second annual Kids Fashion Show benefit at Carlo and Ernie’s Runway Bar. The Candyland- themed show, organized by Shantelle Pascasio and Francisco Mendez, saw the participation of 45 young models who all graced the runway to benefit the 3rd annual Christmas toy drive. The venue quickly filled with parents, guardians and friends who came out to support their little models. The bar and snack stations remained packed as attendees enjoyed cold drinks and food throughout the night. As the show opened, hostess for the night Miss San Pedro Michelle Nuñez, accompanied by junior emcees Nayobie Rivero and Gaven Zapata , welcomed all present and got the event underway.

Top Notch showcases the latest in Christmas Fashion
Top Notch Boutique brought Christmas magic to Central Park on Sunday, December 14th with their second annual fashion show. The free show was titled “A Magical Christmas Fashion Show” and was held on Barrier Reef Drive, in front of the town clock. The starry night and chilly weather complimented the show which started shortly after 8PM. A large crowd gathered around the runway to view the beautiful models strutting the catwalk and dressed in the latest women’s fashion. The lovely ladies showcased stunning seasonal dresses as well as more casual looks. From sparkling gold fitted dresses to long flowing gowns, all the models looked amazing in Top Notch’s apparel. Those in attendance also enjoyed musical performances by Juliaine Ferguson, Elina Palma and a duet by Guillermo and Neslen Rivero. Also performing was the Isla Bonita Rockets, who delivered a dynamic dance presentation.

‘Let there be Light’ in San Mateo
In order for residents to be connected, they will be required to have their houses wired by a licensed electrician and each household must install a service entrance which includes meter and switch box, said Burrell as is required by the Public Utilities Commission (PUC). “Residents who have already installed a service entrance, which is necessary for safe and proper connection to power supply from BEL, now need to acquire a PUC Electrical Installation Form, signed by a certified electrician. The service entrance must be ready for inspection by BEL. In addition, residents will now have to apply, as normal, to get connected at the standard connection rate of approximately $200,” explained Burrell. Such connection is estimated to cost between $1,200 and $1,500 and is the responsibility of each customer. Currently, BEL has been promoting a program called “Connecting homes, improving lives” which seeks to connect underprivileged families free of charge to the national grid. The project is partly funded from unused sums of monies left over that were originally secured for rural electrification projects around various parts of the country. According to Burrell, residents in the San Mateo Area will be able to participate in such program.

Ambergris Today

Around The World Christmas Pageant by Island Academy
Christmas Around the World! was this year's theme for the Island Academy annual Christmas Pageant that was held on Wednesday, October 17, 2014, at the school grounds. The event is getting bigger every year as this time around a couple more tents were set up to make more space for the large audience that makes it to the show. Teacher Barbara Ancona Cook took the reigns in organizing and directing the show this year which depicted unique Christmas/New Year celebrations in different parts of the world that included Mexico, Peru, Japan, Germany and Africa, among others. Through song, dance and costumes, the students of Island Academy brought in the Christmas spirit through various cultures around the world, but in the end the entire student body sang how "There is no place like December in San Pedro".

Belize’s High Seas Fisheries Get A Boost
The European Council yesterday adopted a decision to remove Belize from the list of ‘non-cooperating third countries’ in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This decision was taken pursuant to a recommendation by the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-MARE) to remove Belize from this list in consideration of the concrete measures taken by Belize to rectify the deficiencies pointed out by the European Commission earlier this year.

Misc Belizean Sources

Arbitration Tribunal Issues Telemedia Loan Decision
A three member panel of international arbitrators today, 19th December 2014, issued its decision in a dispute between the British Caribbean Bank Ltd (BCB) and the Government of Belize (GOB), declaring that GOB must pay to BCB the money that Belize Telemedia Ltd (Telemedia) had borrowed from BCB back in 2007, together with interest and costs. The total award in favour of BCB is US$41,773,096.04.

GOB Clarifies Current State of Negotiations within the Sugar Industry
GOB derides as paternalistic and arrogant in the extreme, the NTUCB release regarding the agreement reached between the BSCFA and ASR/BSI. The NTUCB release characterizes the agreement as oppressive and something foisted on cane farmers with the connivance of GOB. This is notwithstanding the fact that the agreement was openly debated and approved by BSCFA Directors, its Negotiating Committee, and Its General Assembly. It is therefore incredibly patronizing and just plain wrong for the NTUCB to think and say that it knows better than the farmers; and to protest sorrow at, and in effect condemn, a decision of the BSCFA taken in the full exercise of their judgment and democratic determination as to what was in their best interest.

San Pedro: Liberty Children's Hom Holiday Pig Roast & Bake Sale Fundraiser
Please join us Sunday, December 21 at Kama Lounge and Coco Loco's Beach Bar, as we celebrate the holiday season with a pig roast and bake sale fundraiser. Proceeds from the event will benefit Liberty Children's Home. Doors open at 11:00am, and there will be live entertainment provided by Valentino. A bake sale will be available all day, and tickets can be purchased for just $1 each, which can be used to exchange for baked goods. Please feel free to bring baked goods; proceeds will benefit the children's home! The pig will be roasted by none other than Cubano, and will be available at noon. Drink specials include $3 Coco Locos, where all proceeds will benefit the children's home. $1 from all other drink purchases will be donated towards the charity, as well. 50/50 raffle tickets can be purchased for $5 each or 3 for $10. The drawing will be at 6PM, and the winner will receive 50% of the pot, while the remaining 50% will benefit the charity. This is a family-friendly event, so feel free to bring the kids! See you Sunday!

Environmental Agreement signed by Belize and Guatemala at SICA meeting

80 Families Countrywide Receive Christmas Hampers from Belize Electricity Limited
Eighty (80) deserving families across the country were today presented with hampers filled with the main ingredients for a traditional Christmas meal, as well as toys for families with small children. These hampers were personally delivered by employees of Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) who have sustained this tradition for the 16th consecutive year. The hampers, which are valued at approximately $160.00 each, were made possible through monetary contributions from employees and the Company. BEL continues to be inspired by its Mission “To provide reliable electricity at the lowest sustainable cost, stimulate national development and improve the quality of life in Belize” by spearheading initiatives such as these, which are aimed at alleviating the effects of poverty in communities throughout Belize.

North American expats in Belize reveal its draws
North American expats living in Belize have revealed the reasons why they chose the picturesque Caribbean nation as their new home. In addition to the pristine beaches and rolling mountains, they say they only need between US$2,000 and US$3,000 a month to give them a comfortable lifestyle. Another reason is that it is closer to home than many of the other countries and islands in the Central American/Caribbean region. Located beneath Mexico’s Tucatan peninsula, Belize has a population of 330,000 and boasts a rich heritage such as Maya temples, colonial mansions, dense jungle and a scenic coastline. One of the main towns for expats, San Pedro, is a bustling colonial town popular among holidaymakers. Another popular settlement among those relocating from North America are Ambergris Caye.

Rare Belize Manatee Sighting Caught on Video at Blackbird Resort
Seeing and filming one of these intriguing creatures is a rare treat and our very own Divemaster Cardinal, who has been with us for over 5 years, has never spotted one. Many thanks to our guest Dave Runnalls who was able to capture this amazing footage last week during a dive trip to the Great Blue Hole! Please enjoy our video and be sure to learn more about the Belizean manatee by visiting Wildtracks, a non-profit organization formed in 1996 dedicated to “Conservation, Education & Research.”

Channel 7

Will He? Won't He? Mayor Bradley Makes It Official
For three weeks now - we've been after Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley, asking whether he will or won't run for mayor in the March municipal elections. Well tonight after much stonewalling and less than artful evasion: we have a solid, clear and firm answer. We're sure that after all these weeks - you don't want anymore hemming and hawing…so without any further delay, here it is: the question and the answer: Jules Vasquez "For those people who are going to vote in municipals in March, they should expect to see your name heading the UDP slate." Darrell Bradley, Mayor - Belize City "Let me just say this, yes. Our position is that we have work very at the municipality, at Belize City Council and I am satisfied that one good term deserves another - that we need to move forward with the team that we have. I have always been here. I saw this thing on the news that you are moving things out of your office. Jules, you are in my office. We were working on this very late two days ago into getting these regulations. We were here like 10-11 at night trying to finish that document. Where do you think I work from?

Sugar Crop In Peril, No Final Agreement, NTUCB Urges Farmers Not To Sign
When we left you last night, the signing of the final agreement between BSI and the Cane Farmers had been delayed by confusion over controversial clause the ASR/BSI seemed to have slipped in there. It involves a body called the Sugar Cane Production Committee which the factory wants to replace with a new entity called the Harvest and Delivery Control Unit. The Production committee is a Government entity which oversees which cane is accepted and which isn't. But according to the farmers, BSI's proposed Harvest and Delivery Control Unit would have more influence from the factory owners and not enough oversight from the Government to protect the farmers from being victims and their cane unfairly rejected. So, it was rejected at the negotiation stage. And the farmers say that BSI then slipped it back in. But BSI says it was always there, it was never taken out, and it's just that no one was paying proper attention to it.

GOB Loses Int'l 41.7 Million USD Arbitration To Ashcroft Alliance, Says It Will Appeal
Government today suffered a major setback when it lost a 41.7 million US dollar international arbitration case to the Ashcroft Alliance. The arbitration was heard in Costa Rica between Ashcroft's British Caribbean Bank and the Government of Belize. The case centers over a loan that the then Ashcroft controlled BTL made from the bank in 2007, together with interest and costs. The government owned BTL has maintained that the loan was illegally entered into and the company should pay it back. But, the bank is still out tens of millions of US dollars - so they went to ask an arbitration panel to compel Government to pay. The arbitrators agreed that the debt stands and the bank must be compensated - but only for the face value of the loan, not for any additional amounts, which the Bank was claiming.

Christmas "Pop Shot" Can Be Dangerous
It's Christmas and - like it or loathe it - one of the traditions of the season are those dynamites, pop shots, cherry bombs and sparkles. Many adults find them to be a nuisance, but the combustion and noise are the highlight of the season for kids. Yes, these explosives should not be in the hands of children but they are easy to get off the streets and the kids sure do love them. It's not always fun though; they can cause serious injuries. A young West Street Resident told us how a fun night out with friends and what the streets call "pop-shat" caused her a lot of pain. Courtney Weatherburne reporting What you just heard is a homemade explosive. It's dangerous and destructive. But at Xmas time, it's seen as child's play, it's an explosive similar to that one that exploded in 11 year old Kelize Garcia's left hand on Sunday night. She can barely move her fingers and it hurts when she puts her hand to her side. It's an experience she says she has definitely learned from.

The Dense Web Of Poverty And Power
Tonight, deep in the uncharted hinterlands of the area known as Gungulung in Lake Independence, lots of folks are watching the news on electricity stolen from lamp-posts. It's dangerous and illegal, but for those who have no electricity, and now way to get it legally, it's the only way they can survive. Monica Bodden visited the area and found out how perilous existence in the margins can be:.. Monica Bodden reporting It's often an invisible crime - someone illegally hooks into a power supply, hooks up a line or tampers with a meter to avoid recording electricity usage. Quite a number of city residents are culprits - but the impact of electricity theft -including the danger - is often unrecognized. While power theft carries deadly risks - and in some cases thieves pay for the power they steal with their lives - many are willing to take the chance -in instances where there is no other way out.

CITCO Releases Audit Three Months Before Municipals
At the top of the news you heard Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley say that he will run for another term as mayor. But just three months before the election he did something that you wouldn't quite expect: he released the just completed audit for the fiscal year ending 31st March. That's got all the council's financial affairs rolled up into one document - and things being what they are, you might not expect to find accounts that are rosy or robust. But the mayor says he had no reservation about releasing it even on the verge of an election:.. Darrell Bradley, Mayor - Belize City "We want members of the public to criticize us. We want members of the public to be able to review analytically what's going on at the city council. We want members of the public to say Mayor, are you paying your bills? Are you able to meet the municipal bond obligations?

The Magic Of Christmas: Is It In The Lights?
A major part of the Christmas season is decorating the house with lights. You can find them draped across humble abodes and high powered mansions. IT's a kind of community work - brightening up the place to get everyone into that festive mood. But while some of us will buy a few light sets and string them up outside some folks take it to whole different level! Cameraman Codie Noralez and I visited 4 families in the city last night to find out what drives folks to hyper-illuminate their homes:.. Courtney Weatherburne reporting Reindeers, snowmen, even polar bears, you name it, you can find it right in this yard. This elaborate and grandiose display may seem a bit too much for many but According to Albert Vasquez there is no such thing as too much during his favorite time of year.

Guat President Speaks
On Wednesday, Belize's Prime Minister Dean Barrow handed over the pro-tem presidency of SICA to Guatemalan President, Otto Perez Molina. But, most significant development coming out of that meeting was the historic signing of the 13 bi-lateral agreements between Belize and Guatemala. Those agreements were released today - and as expected, they are voluminous, covering Prisoner Exchange, Operating Hours At land borders; Seasonal Workers; Items of Cultural And Natural Patrimony, Visa Waiver for Students, Deportation, Electric Power Connectivity; Mutual Recognition of Driver's Licenses; Movement of Students via land entry points; Protection Of the Environment and the Sustainable Use of Resources; Degree Equivalence; Sustainable Tourism; and Stolen Vehicles. We're still going through them and we'll have a fuller profile next week - but the signing gave the Belizean media an opportunity to question the Guatemalan President on those burning at the Belize Guatemala border.

Bel Caribe Cares
It's the season of giving and that's exactly what the staff of Bel Caribe Communication did today. It's the 8th year for the company's "Food Hampers to Needy Families" initiative and today the staff visited the homes of 16 needy families around the city to donate Christmas hampers, groceries and toys. They told the media why the company finds it important to give back. In addition to the Christmas basics, each of the 16 families received one thousand dollars' worth of groceries.

Old Fashioned Bram
The Belize Music Agency will be hosting an old-fashioned Belize Christmas show, dinner and bram at Travellers Signature Lounge tomorrow night. It's an evening of live entertainment, fire-hearth cooking and a good show that they hope will evoke memories of Belize's Christmas tradition. Today producer, Glenn Tillett stopped by our studios to tell us more. The show starts at 9 tomorrow night at Travellers Signature Lounge.

PROFILE...
Tonight's I AM Belize Profile features the inspirational teacher Carmen Jane Lopez Avila. She is today the manager of the Toledo District Education Center, and the holder of a Masters and a Doctoral Degree in Education. But in her teenage years, she almost became a statistic - a pregnant teen mother who dropped out of school. She tells the profile how with the support of her very strict mother, she rebounded to become a leader and an example in her community:

National Team Footballer Charged
He's a member of Belize's National A Football Team, but tonight, Cristobal Gilharry continues to deal with an allegation of unlawful sexual intercourse. The 34 year old Verdes football player, an office assistant at Mclean Insurance Brokers was remanded into custody on Tuesday on a charge of unlawful sexual intercourse. But, with the help of his attorney, Dickey Bradley, he was released today on bail. Bradley applied to the Supreme Court for bail, and after hearing the application Madam Justice Antoinette Moore offered him bail of $6,000.

Channel 5

Arbitrators Says G.O.B. Owes BCB US $45 Million
The Government of Belize will have to cough up the huge sum of nearly one hundred million dollars following the long awaited decision of an international Treaty Tribunal. Today, the Treaty [...]

BCB Attorney Says G.O.B. Must Pay Up
The government today issued a lengthy release attempting to explain the significant award to the BCB. While the government is admitting that it has responsibility to pay, the release goes [...]

B.S.C.F.A. Refuses to Sign Cane Purchase Agreement
Tonight, the sugar industry is in a serious state of limbo, and tensions in the north are rising. The B.S.C.F.A. has refused to sign onto the purchasing agreement, the N.T.U.C.B. [...]

N.T.U.C.B. Supports Cane-farmers
As we showed you, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize has put its considerable weight behind the cane-farmers of the north. That will without a doubt enhance the B.S.C.F.A.’s [...]

Farmers to Receive Fairtrade Monies
The N.T.U.C.B. says one of its biggest concerns is the hardship to farmers who, Matura-Shepherd claims have been negotiating under economic duress. She’s said that Prime Minister Dean Barrow should [...]

N.T.U.C.B. Says ASR Can’t Be Trusted
ASR/B.S.I. cannot be trusted! That’s the principal message coming from the National Trade Union Congress of Belize to the sugar cane farmers up north in respect of the ongoing crisis. [...]

G.O.B. Condemns N.T.U.C.B….Scolds ASR/B.S.I.
The government was quick to respond to the N.T.U.C.B. While the G.O.B. reprimands ASR/B.S.I. for acting in bad faith in trying to undermine the Sugar Cane Production Committee, it says [...]

Well-known street figure, Ellis Meighan, who was charged with the attempted murder of Carlos “Zimbab” Abraham, a George Street boss, appeared before Justice Antoinette Moore today. Meighan went to the [...]

Salvadoran Remanded for Double Murder in Paraiso
Sixty-seven year old Jose Antonio Santos, a Salvadoran national living in the village of Paraiso, Corozal was arraigned on Thursday in the Corozal Magistrate’s Court for the double murder of [...]

A Look at the Bi-lateral Agreements
As you know, thirteen agreements have been signed between Belize and Guatemala. The historic signing was done by the Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala and has been described as [...]

Agreements Include Prisoner Exchange
Of equal concern is the matter of Belizeans being locked up in Guatemala.  Viewers would recall the case of Joseph Budna, a Belizean who is serving a lengthy sentence in [...]

2 Agreements Didn’t Make it to the Table
For context, Leslie told News Five that the agreements signed fulfilled a mandate that was established through a joint commission between Belize and Guatemala.  Initially, there was a total of [...]

Christmas goodies for Kids at K.H.M.H….
Tis the season to bring joy…Christmas parties are taking place at many places to bring joy to persons who would otherwise not be able to enjoy the celebrations. Earlier today [...]

…And for Adults at the Welcome Resource Centre
Over at the welcome resource center in Belize City, a party for underprivileged adults was in full swing. We found them dancing and having an enjoyable time. Our intern Frank [...]

CTV3

Sugar Cane Crop 2014/2015 Delayed
What should have been a start to the 2014-2015 Sugar Cane Crop season tomorrow, is now being prolonged a few more days as both entities have been unable to finalize the signing of the Agreement. A reliable source to our newsroom is that the draft agreement sent to the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association is still being reviewed by the Associations’ lawyer. After thorough revision of that draft, it will be sent back to BSI/ASR for restructuring since a clause that was not agreed upon by the BSCFA was placed or sneaked in the final document. Officials at BSI/ASR have gone on record to state that once the agreement is signed, it only takes 3 days to get the crop started; meaning that the crop season should see a start on Monday that is if both parties can agree and finalize the agreement. We’ll keep our eyes on this developing story.

PUP Says There Was No Consultation On Signing Of Bilateral Agreement With Gautemala
Yesterday we told you about 13 Bilateral Agreements which was signed by Belize's Foreign Minister and Attorney General Wilfred Elrington and his Guatemalan counter-part Carlos Raul Morales signaling a partnership with both nations. And while that move was met with some opposition from the People’s United Party citing that they should have consulted with the Belizean people before signing, today we had a unique opportunity to visit with Ambassador of Belize, Stuart Leslie who weighed in on the facts of the matter. Leslie says that while the agreements have nothing to do with the unsettled dispute between Belize and Guatemala, the “Framework Agreements” signed are historic. “Belize and Guatemala, Belize is the 5th largest trading partners, millions and millions of dollars in trade every single day from the selling of cow to the buying of products we sale them corn, we sale them beans so businesswise we have an agreement is called a partial scope agreement and we are trying to expand that so that we can trade, look geography puts us next to each other it is not like we can pack up and want to leave so if you happen to be a Belizean living in Benque Viejo del Carmen that shares a border like Arenal where the two people intermingle every day, this is real for you, for example the agreement on education that we signed, three separate agreements on education, every day 800 children come across from Guatemala to go to school in Belize, every day they have to go across the border and they cross the border morning, afternoon, evening and night and we have to put something in place to deal with that issue, hundreds of Belizeans are currently studying at the Universities in Guatemala and they need to have their status recognized, we need to get visas for them and so this is what we are trying to do to enhance the contact between the two people.”

Head Of Agriculture Department Undergo Training
The basic grains corn and beans constitute almost 90% of the diet of the population in Belize and almost 95% of the income generated by the sale of these grains is by small producers in the rural communities of Toledo. And in an effort to track and monitor the grains movement, district coordinators within the Ministry of Agriculture attended a much needed training in central farm, Cayo District on Monday. The aim is to teach coordinators how to enter and use data that is collected from a database that has accessible information from not only Belize but 7 other Central American countries. Corozal Coordinator in the Ministry of Agriculture, Barry Palacio says the data will help with the development and movement of both corn and beans within the country. “We all gathered in Central Farm to receive training on what we call a regional observatory, which in effect is a depository or repository of information like a library in which a lot of work being done on corn and beans in term of research is being posted so that people from across Central American region have free access to information that is there like I mentioned earlier so that whatever we want to find out as it relates to corn and bean then we go to the Web page of that institution and if you could focus on the webpage we could see the website that we could all go to and access information at it relates to these two basic grains.”

American Photographer Targetted By Thieves In San Pedro
And in Ambergris Caye, an American Photographer is crying foul after thieves targeted him and stole all of his equipment from out of his resort room. 50-year-old Benedict Kim, American Photographer of Maya Beach, Placencia Area, Stann Creek District visited the San Pedro Police Station and reported that he arrived in San Pedro Town on Monday December 15th and went to stay at a Resort. Two days later on Wednesday at around 11:30 a.m. he left his room and returned at around 12:15 p.m. to get his computer, however, he noticed that it was missing. He made further checks and observed that the following items were missing: a silver colored HP lap top valued at $850.00 USD, a black CANON brand digital camera valued at $2,000.00 USD, a black in colour with black leather case, ACES brand Tablet NEXUS model, valued at $200.00 USD, a white with black case NOKIA cell phone with calling number 629- 9067 valued at $150.00 USD, and (4) $100.00 and some small change in different denominations. Altogether, the total value of the items amounted to $3,400 USD. Again, police have no concrete leads or persons detained.

PM Leaves To Florida
Prime Minister Dean Barrow departed the country enroute to Florida on personal leave, a release from his office stated today. Barrow is scheduled to return on Monday December 22nd. As is customary, during the Prime Minister’s absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Agriculture Gaspar Vega will act as Prime Minister.

Student Charged For Possession Of Controlled Drug
Four people including a student from Orange Walk Town have been arrested and charged for possession of a controlled drug. On Wednesday at about 3:15 p.m., police searched the residence of David Reynards located in San Juan Alley, Orange Walk Town where they found a small transparent plastic packet containing green leafy vegetable substance suspected to be cannabis. All occupants were informed of the offence and escorted to the Orange Walk Police Station where the suspected drug was weighed in their presence which amounted to 48 grams. Police then arrested and charged 39-year-old David Reynard Belizean mechanic of Chetumal City, Mexico, 37-year-old Yvette FLOWERS, a 17-year-old student, and 20-year-old Jerry Vasquez all of San Juan Alley, Orange Walk Town for the offense of Possession of Controlled Drugs to wit 48 grams cannabis.

Thieves On The Loose In Corozal Town
The robbery reports are a common place in this festive season as opportunistic thieves keep on wreaking havoc among its targeted victims. In this case, 46-year-old Gareth Murillo reported that on the Tuesday December he left his residence situated at # 22 San Andres Road, Corozal and on his return the same day around 1:00 p.m., he discovered that his home had been burglarized and stolen were an assortment of electronic devices all to a total of $5,300.00. Police have no leads or persons detained so far.

Proposed New Building For Ministry Of Foreign Affiars
On Friday, ground was broken at the newly proposed site where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office building will be built. For a while now, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been borrowing space at different Government headquarters, without having a building assigned solely for Foreign affairs duties. Recently it has been housing at the NEMO Headquarters in Belmopan. The new proposed plan seeks to build a state of the art building, sponsored by the Taiwan Government, in a three plus acre parcel of land located behind the Governor Generals Office and the Ministry of Finance Office.

LOVE FM

Guatemalan Nationals Charged With Firearm Offenses
Two men have been arrested and charged with firearm offenses. Punta Gorda Police say they went to Dolores Village where BDF personnel handed over a brown homemade hand gun, a rifle, seven point twenty two live rounds and one point twenty two expanded shell along with Guatemalan national, 28-year-old Jacinto Tzir Cruz and 22-year-old Roni Pop. Both men were charged with kept ammunition without gun licence and kept prohibited firearm.

Minor Charged With Drug Trafficking
A Mexican minor has between charged with drug trafficking. Corozal Police say they were on mobile patrol on Wednesday evening when they saw the minor with a school bag. When they conducted a search in the bag they found two hundred and twenty six grams of cannabis. As a result the minor was arrested and charged.

BELTRAIDE Employee Involved In RTA
A traffic accident occurred on mile 29 of the George Price Highway. The accident involved a female employee of BELTRAIDE. According to reports, the female was driving a white IZUSU D-Max in the direction of Belmopan to Belize City when she attempted to overtake a eighteen wheeler truck. We spoke to the driver of the truck. TRUCK DRIVER “I was coming around 45 mph and at mile 29 and then this vehicle was trying to overtake me and there was another vehicle coming from the opposite direction so this young lady was looking like she got scared and she ran off the road and she started to drift and the Prado that was coming from the front did not know what to do so he was zig zagging. So he managed to run off the road and then the girl after she was drifting she came back on the road caught traction and she ran into the trailer right on the front tire that is basically it. She didn’t have any big injuries only her chest hurts and that is basically it.”

Department of Youth Services Hosted Christmas Party
Christmas Cheers were spread through the Youth Services in southern Belize. We join Harry Arzu for the story. HARRY ARZU “The Department of Youth Services hosted a Christmas party for a number of underprivileged young people last evening at the Red Cross building here in Dangriga. Since this is the season for giving some of the attendees received presents. Martha Longsworth who is the senior youth development officer for this region spoke with Love News.” MARTHA LONGSWORTH “This event was designed to honor underprivileged young people who despite life’s challenges are doing exceptionally well in school or are just being productive citizens. We targeted young people between the ages 15-20 years. We catered for 100 youth and some were awarded with gifts.

PlusTV

Builders’ Hardware Celebrates Christmas With Special Deals
On Saturday December 20th, from 10 a.m. to 12 noon, there will be super deals and discounts at Builders’ Hardware on Constitution Drive in Belmopan. Builders’ will be raffling $2000 dollars worth of gift certificates for power tools, weed wackers, fans, and tons of giveaways. There will also be live performances at the store. So we encourage you to shop at Builders’ Hardware on Saturday, for Builders’ Hardware Christmas deals, discounts, and giveaways. The event will be aired live on PlusTV from 10 to 12 pm.

Missing Ladyville youth’s remains found
Police in Ladyville are sure that someone killed 23 year old Marvin Bul, originally from Orange Street in Belize City but living in Ladyville, likely last month. But a post-mortem examination of remains identified to be his conducted on Thursday, could not conclusively find the cause of death. Police found the skull and bones of a human male in some bushes 150 feet from a feeder road to the Old Northern Road near Mile 12 1/2 on the Philip Goldson Highway around 9:00 a.m. Thursday. Officer Commanding Rural Police Formation Inspector Frederick Gordon gave the details. “This morning, sometime before 9 a.m., on today the 18th of December, Police recieved information of human remains some twelve miles on the Philip Goldson Highway, just about a hundred tards or so off the main highway. Police visited the area where we found some remains of what appears to be a human.

14 year old boy shot in Belize City
There was a shooting in Belize City on Thursday December 18th, and the victim is a 14 year old boy. According to police, the 14-year-old male student of Mayflower Street, Belize City, was shot to the left upper leg. Initial investigation revealed that at about 5:30a.m., he along with four others, were walking on Partridge Street, and upon reaching the corner of Partridge Street and Banak Street, they were approached by a red van with two occupants. The driver of the van reportedly fired a single shot causing the injury to the minor. The van then sped off on Partridge Street, heading towards Mahogany Street Extension, and disappeared.

GOB continues to fight Telemedia/Sunshine arbitration
The Government of Belize says it will mount a challenge to a decision issued on Friday by the London Court of International Arbitration (LCIA), which ruled that it owes the British Caribbean Bank Limited (BCB) of Turks and Caicos Islands some US$41.773 million, the sum borrowed by Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) in 2007 under its prior owners to enable a subsidiary to purchase Telemedia’s own shares, which the new ownership led by the Government maintains is illegal. The shares were later distributed to the Ashcroft-related companies. In a press release issued on Friday, the Government said it is willing to pay BCB compensation, but the new ownership of Telemedia objects to the illegal purpose of the original loan although they were overruled in today’s decision. A separate matter pursuing the same set of circumstances is scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court of Belize.

Footballer out on bail for carnal knowledge charge
Verdes FC and national football team player, Cristobal Gilharry, has been accused of intercourse with a 15 year old female minor. The 34 year old was remanded earlier this week after arraignment at the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court. On Friday, attorney Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley successfully applied for bail at the Supreme Court. Supreme Court Justice Antoinette Moore set bail at $6,000 with conditions. Mr Gilharry, whose day job is as an office assistant at McLean Insurance Brokers, is barred from interfering with the complainant or any other witnesses for the prosecution. He must report to Caribbean Shores Police Station beginning on this and every Friday until the matter is disposed of, and he must be sure to attend his next court date on January 30, 2015 and every one thereafter until the matter is clear.

Burglary from Corozal Town residence under investigation
There are reports of another burglary coming from the Northern District of Corozal. According to police, sometime between the hours of 2:30 pm on Monday December 15th and 1:00 pm on Tuesday December 16th, the residence of Gareth Murrillo,located on San Andres Road Corozal Town, was broken into. Stolen from the house were : one Panasonic Brand Home theatre system valued at $1500 bc; one Son Playstation 3 valued at $900 bcy; one Lenovo brand ideacentre computer valued at $700 bcy; one silver 32 inch Television valued at $500 bcy; one CD radio valued at $150 bcy; one black model DKAIK valued at $500 bcy; one white Proctor Silex toaster valued at $50 dollars; and one white Crock Pot valued at $100 bcy. All to an estimated total value of about $5,300 bcy.

One person detained after burglary from a San Pedro Hotel
An American photographer of Maya Beach, Placencia, Stann Creek was burglarized while staying at a resort in San Pedro. On Wednesday afternoon, 50 year old Benedict Kim of Esotoric Vision, reported to police that on Monday December 15th he arrived in San Pedro Town and stayed at a resort. On Wednesday December 17th at around 11:30 am he left his room and returned 45 minutes after to get his computer but it was missing. Upon making further checks he noticed that the following items were also missing: a silver coloured HP lap top valued at $850 USD, a black Canon brand digital camera valued at $2,000 USD, a black in colour with black leather case, Aces brand Tablet Nexus model, valued at $200 USD, a white with black case Nokia cell phone valued at $150 USD and four 100 dollar bills and some small change in different denominations. His total loss was estimated at a total value of about $3,400 USD.

PUP comments on Clive Myers resignation
On Wednesday the Belize Tourism Board (BTB) announced that their Clive Myers Director of Marketing and Industry Relations had resigned effective immediately...

Two plead guilty to robbery attack outside bar
21 year old Iran Jones began a five-year sentence for robbery and wounding on Thursday, pleading guilty before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer in the No. 2 Magistrate’s Court...

Pickwoad case pushed back to February
After a short session before Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin on Thursday morning,  the principals in the case of Bernadette Pickwoad vs Ministry of Natural Resources had little new to tell PLUS News. The trial is concluded but the two sides are still trying to work out a settlement over the plot of...

Bail for accused gang member
It is a charge increasingly thrown at Belize City residents, as police attack the gang structure at its roots, but there was a dispute in Magistrate’s Court on Thursday over exactly what it means to display gang membership. 19 year old Jason Philip Briceno was one of two persons who police said were...

Spared jail time for drug trafficking
His house was searched while was not home, but 33 year old Wallace Rubio, an unemployed man of Hattieville, Belize District, admitted to possession of 10 pounds of cannabis with the intent to distribute, which is drug trafficking. On Thursday, Wallace Rubio pleaded guilty before Senior Magistrate Sh...

Drugs found in Orange Walk Town residence
Three persons and a minor are behind bars after police discovered drugs inside a residence in San Juan Alley, Orange Walk Town. According to police, on Wednesday December 17th, police personnel from Orange Walk searched the residence of David Reynard in the said location, where they found a small tr...

Amandala

Jose Santos, 67, charged for Paraiso double murder
A Salvadoran national who stands accused of the horrific double murder of his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend was arraigned and remanded to the Belize Central Prison today. At around 11:00 a.m., Corozal police marched Jose Antonio Santos, 67, to the courtroom of Magistrate Hurl Hamilton at the Corozal Magistrate’s Court, where he was arraigned for two counts of murder in connection with the deaths of Heidi Teresita Chable, 22, and Fernando Rivas, 49, a Salvadoran cane cutter, who were both chopped to death in at a farmhouse in Paraiso, Corozal District, in what is believed to be a cruel crime of passion. In court today, no plea was taken, since the matter is scheduled to be heard before the Supreme Court. Santos was remanded to prison until March 24, 2015 when he is due to reappear in court.

Skeletal remains found in Ladyville
Six days before Christmas, a mother’s worst nightmare was confirmed — the skeletal remains of her son were found in the Mile 12 area of Ladyville and she was taken there to officially identify him. A Social Security card found in the pocket of the clothes the man was wearing identified him as Marvin Rafael Bol, 23, of Aracari Street, Ladyville. Police went to pick up Bol’s mother at her workplace at the Philip Goldson International Airport and took her to the area in Ladyville, where she identified the clothes her son was wearing and positively identified the deceased person as her son, Marvin Rafael Bol. The bones were then placed in a bag and take to the National Forensic Unit for an autopsy to be performed on the remains to possibly certify the cause of Bol’s death.

Belize and Guatemala sign 13 agreements
Thirteen new bilateral accords between Belize and Guatemala were inked on the Placencia Peninsula on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 – accords which have stirred controversy amid assertions from the Opposition People’s United Party (PUP) that the Barrow administration proceeded with finalizing those undisclosed agreements before consulting with the Belizean people, as had been promised. As we go to press, the texts of those agreements have not been made public by the Government, and the Opposition is calling for consultations to at least ensure that two more pending agreements which Belize plans to sign with Guatemala are disclosed before signing.

Did wrong diagnosis cause death of 19-year-old?
A 19-year-old 4th form student of Gwen Lizarraga High School, Flory Palacio, died in September, allegedly after her medical condition was misdiagnosed as tuberculosis. Juanita Paulino, Flory’s mother, said that after Flory died, they received a death certificate which indicated that she had actually died from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma – which is a rare type of cancer which originates from the white blood cells, or lymphocytes. We met Paulino and a very dear friend and supporter of hers, Nzinga Barkley-Waite, protesting in front of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH) for a second day today, because the hospital has still not met the family’s demand for her medical records. The family told us that when the hospital produced the girl’s medical file, all her records since July 2014 were missing from the file.

An “oily” story that has no answers, yet!
Inquiring minds have been questioning why there has been no official statement on the visit of a delegation of officials from a Mexican fuel powerhouse–Petroleos Mexicanos (PEMEX), a state-owned company—to Belize over the weekend, amid reports that the executives came to Belize to assist with the search for crude oil in northern Belize. A report carried by Por Esto (Quintana Roo) on Monday, December 15, 2014, said that 6 private Pemex helicopters had landed at the Chetumal International Airport with 25 persons, including company engineers, most of whom made their way by road to Belize, since they had no permit to enter Belize’s airspace. However, there have been claims by Belizeans that the Pemex choppers had been spotted at the Philip Goldson International Airport.

Burglary on the rise during Christmas season
Over $90,000 in cash and properties have been stolen by thieves from property owners since the beginning of the police response to the anticipated crimes of the Christmas season. The expected crimes are burglaries robberies and theft, with burglaries being the most frequent. Despite the efforts of police, burglary, theft and robberies have increased. Thieves have gotten away with over $90,000 in 10 reported burglaries. The most recent burglary occurred at about 3:50 yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, in Maya Beach on the Placencia Peninsula in the Stann Creek District:

4 thieves escape after police high-speed chase
A Mazda 4-door car has been impounded by Orange Walk police after it was abandoned by four robbers during a high-speed chase by police. They got out of the car, ran into the surrounding area and escaped. Police contend that the car was the getaway vehicle that had been used by the thieves after they robbed a store on San Lorenzo Road in Orange Walk Town and got away with an undisclosed amount of money from the store’s cash drawer. After police were alerted of the robbery about 1:00 this afternoon, they responded quickly and intercepted the vehicle, and the chase began. The chase came to an end on Oak Street in the Louisiana area of Orange Walk Town when the thieves exited the car and escaped, and police have since launched a manhunt to capture the robbers.

Epileptic charged with attempted murder for Mahogany Heights shooting
A Mahogany Heights man who suffers from epilepsy was remanded to the Belize Central Prison when he was arraigned on charges of attempted murder, dangerous harm and use of deadly means of harm upon Joel Winston Seawell, another Mahogany Heights man who sustained gunshot wounds on Thursday, December 11. The police charge against Erwin Ramsey, however, did not sit well with Magistrate Herbert Panton, who said in open court, “This is totally unjust. What is here is not enough to deprive this man of his freedom.” Panton added: “Police recovered one blue hoodie. This is ridiculous. I don’t feel proper to be compliant in something like this. If the police want to do their ‘hanky-panky’, don’t involve magistrates in that.”

Boy, 4, killed while running across the highway after getting off bus
Kiwan Awardo, 4, of Sittee River, was killed on the Southern Highway at about 4:45 Saturday evening as he was crossing the road. He was knocked down by a cargo truck that was travelling from Independence to Dangriga. Awardo was taken to the Southern Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival. The driver of the truck, Ronald Heron, 22, of Independence, was detained, after which he was issued with a Notice of Intended Prosecution (NIP). Police said that on their arrival at the junction of the Southern Highway and Sittee River Road, at about 5:30 Saturday, they saw the lifeless body of the boy lying on the road, with a large wound to the right side of the head.

Man busted with .38 Special revolver on Sibun Street
Jose David Funez, 33, of a Sibun Street address, has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison until February 12, 2015, on charges of keeping an unlicensed firearm and keeping ammunition without a gun license. Police reported that that at about 9:00 Wednesday night, they were on mobile patrol on Sibun Street when they saw a man throw a shiny object in the bushes when he saw them coming. They immediately stopped, detained the man and recovered the object, which was a .38 Special revolver, loaded with 4 live rounds. When the gun was recovered and shown to Funez, he objected strongly, saying that the gun was not his, and that he did not know anything about it.

SMART Test Race results
On Sunday, December 14, the Cycling Federation of Belize, in collaboration with SMART, held an Open Elite Test race from the Smart building near Mile 2 on the Philip Goldson (Northern) Highway to Carmelita Village and back to Smart. Most of the big name cyclists and teams participated, as they prepare for the start of the new season. Below are the top 10 finishers and station prize winners. Station prizes going were won by Mark Staine at Ladyville ($50.00 gift card); Mark Staine at Sandhill (1 Dongle); Delawn Abraham at Crooked Tree junction ($50.00 gift card); and Philip Leslie at Green House at the beginning of Carmelita (1 cell phone). And coming back, station prizes were taken by Philip Leslie at Crooked Tree junction (1 Dongle); Gregory Lovell at Biscayne ($50.00 gift card); Giovanni Lovell at Boom Junction ($50.00 gift card); and Giovanni Lovell at the Jane Usher residence (1 cell phone).

Wally Usher returns from New York’s Ted Corbitt 15K
He has been a marathon champion from his Wesley College high school days back in the early seventies, and Ezekiel “Wally” Usher remains the most active veteran Belizean distance runner on the international scene, making regular trips to some of the prestigious marathons and half-marathons on the American circuit. In his most recent endeavor, Wally left Belize last Wednesday, December 10, and returned on Monday, December 15, after participating in the New York Road Runners (NYRR) Ted Corbitt 15K (9.3 miles), which started at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, December 13, in Manhattan, New York, under a blistering cold 36 degrees temperature. This particular race is named after Ted Corbitt, who died in 2007 at age 88, and, according to the NYRR web site, is “the first African American to run the Olympic marathon (Helsinki, 1952)” and “won countless awards during his lifetime. He was inducted into the National Track & Field Hall of Fame earlier this month.”

Top goals scorers will see action in PLB playoffs, starting this weekend
As the Premier League of Belize (PLB) Top 4 playoffs get under way this weekend, football fans in Belmopan will be lucky to see half the games, since two of the playoff teams, Police United and Belmopan Bandits, use the Isidoro Beaton Stadium as their home field. Fans will also be on the lookout for the goal scoring stars who will see action with their playoff teams. Of course, they will have to wait till next season to see those from teams that failed to make the playoffs. In the table below, we have listed the names of the top goal scorers in regular season, their team, and the number of games in which they scored. We think the number of goal scoring games is an important statistic, because it shows the level of consistency of a striker. Sometimes it takes 1 goal to win a game, and it is noteworthy when a player can register his name in the scoring column on a regular basis.

History in Washington; history in Placencia
History was made in Washington, D.C., late Wednesday morning, to be followed within hours early the Wednesday afternoon by history being made in Placencia, a seacoast fishing village turned modern resort in South Stann Creek. In Washington Wednesday morning, President Barack Obama announced executive measures to change the relationship between the United States and Cuba, which freed and exchanged some high-profile prisoners as a gesture of goodwill towards each other. The United States will open an embassy in Havana after 53 years of diplomatic disengagement. In Placencia Wednesday afternoon, Guatemala President Otto Perez Molina signed a 13-point agreement with Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow for cooperation in important areas such as security, mineral exploration, tourism, trade, business, and the environment. With Jose Insulza, the Secretary-General of the Organization of American States (OAS) in prominent presence, it did appear that what took place in Placencia at the executive level was, ultimately, a rebirth of the practically forgotten International Court of Justice (ICJ) initiative.

Citrus industry sees brighter days
While the local cañeros and the sugar millers, Belize Sugar Industries (BSI)/American Sugar Refineries (ASR), are presently trying to stabilize the northern-based sugar industry, the stakeholders within the southern citrus sector, which had its own share of difficulties amongst its shareholders up until February of this year when a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was penned between the principals, have been able to further progress in moving that particular industry forward when they decided to formally bury the proverbial hatchet earlier this month. The Belize Citrus Growers Association Investment Company Limited (BCGAICL), which is owned by the well-established Citrus Growers Association (CGA) – a company that represents 90% of the citrus farmers – and which had been the majority shareholder in Citrus Products of Belize Limited (CPBL), the company which buys citrus products from the farms, was embroiled in a protracted legal battle with Banks Holdings Limited (BHL), a Barbados-based multinational beverage giant and minority shareholder, over past due audit reports, among other things, but according to what we understand, all that is history now because BHL, which owns 46% of CPBL, has reached an out-of-court settlement with BCGAICL.

PUP, UDP say they are confident of Cayo North by-election seat
The ruling United Democratic Party and the Opposition People’s United Party led throngs of jubilant political supporters today to the Administration Building in San Ignacio to nominate their candidates for the Cayo North by-election, which was forced by the sudden resignation of the PUP’s Joseph Mahmud and is set to take place in exactly three weeks, on Monday, January 5, paving the way for the 2015 municipal elections. Both parties are hoping for good political tides which they hope would give a foretaste of positive outcomes in the municipals. “This is the first domino that will fall and we will deliver this seat of January 5th,” said the PUP’s man, Richard Harrison, who was nominated this morning. Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca said the PUP will be ready on January 5.

Dr. Errol Elrington’s license suspended by Michigan authorities
he allegation that Dr. Errol G. Elrington—US “fugitive at large” who is the brother of Foreign Affairs Minister Wilfred “Sedi” Elrington and former minister of government, Hubert Elrington—hired an unlicensed African doctor to operate out of his clinic, Elrington Medical Center, in Redford, Michigan, has triggered the suspension of Elrington’s medical license by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA), according to an announcement made via press release today. LARA said that on December 5, 2014, LARA executed an order summarily suspending Elrington’s license pursuant to the Public Health Code, which provides for the summary suspension of a health professional’s license when it is found that the public health, safety, or welfare requires emergency action.

Supreme Court grants Gary Seawell leave to appeal extradition order
Gary Seawell, a Belizean who has been indicted by the U.S. and for whom an extradition order was granted by Belize’s Chief Magistrate and was subsequently upheld by the Supreme Court, was granted a stay of execution and leave to appeal his extradition order. Supreme Court Justice, Michelle Arana, who had ruled against Seawell’s appeal of the Chief Magistrate’s decision to extradite him to the United States to stand trial on narcotics and money laundering charges, granted him leave to take his case to the Court of Appeal. Seawell’s attorney, Anthony Sylvestre, successfully steered the application for leave to appeal the extradition order yesterday, Wednesday, when the parties appeared before Justice Arana. Sylvestre told Amandala today, Thursday, that in order for the application for leave to appeal, to succeed, the court had to be satisfied that perhaps an error of law was made.

Cañeros to BSCFA: “Roll the Fairtrade money!”
Although there might have been a breakthrough resolution in an effort to get the sugar industry back on its feet during a crucial meeting between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA) and a fraction of its general membership last Sunday, December 14, there is still some cause for concern for members of the association because a majority of the farmers approved a motion to extract $2.5 million worth of Fairtrade funds to share equally amongst themselves. After the meeting, the BSCFA executives expressed dire misgivings about the move, not only because the regulations of the Fairtrade program do not permit that kind of wanton spending, but more importantly, because the association only recently received the news that they are being reinstated by Fairtrade after a six-month suspension.

The Reporter

GOB must pay over $40 million for old BTL loan
The government of Belize, according to a decision by arbitrators in the case between GOB and British Caribbean Bank (BCB), must pay US$41,773,096.04 for a loan Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) took out in 2007. The decision was made by a three member panel of international arbitrators on Friday. GOB, meanwhile, has since sought legal advice and has decided to mount a challenge to the decision. According to GOB, when they acquired the shares in BTL owned by various Lord Ashcroft-related companies in 2009, BCB demanded payment of the loan and threatened to wind up Telemedia. In reaction, GOB acquired the loan from BCB, which meant that GOB now owned the loan, preventing BCB from undermining the acquisition and winding up Telemedia. In turn, it meant that GOB now became liable to pay BCB, and that Telemedia now became liable to pay GOB.

Go Wireless - pioneers in local technological gadgets!
It has been around since 2002, initially in the business of wholesaling imports and distribution of Samsung, LG, Motorolla and Nokia phones, with accompanying growing pains, but Go Wireless Direct has redirected its efforts to produce its own gadgets and dares anyone shopping for cellular […]

Did salacious letters about forbidden sex lead to dismissal of six BWS workers? Supreme Court will decide
Supreme Court Justice, Michelle Arana is to decide on the claim of Mark Menzies, Don Gillett, Michael Novelo, Journett McKoy, Charlette Barnett and Colin Morrison sometime next year after receiving written submissions from their attorneys, Senior Counsel, Said Musa for Menzies and Tricia Pitts-Anderson for […]

BEL wants to cut power rates from 43.47 to 42 cents a KwH
Belize Electricity Limited has announced that it wants to cut electricity rates to consumers in Belize by about 1 1/2 cents a kilowatt hour. But first the company needs the approval of the regulatory body, the Public Utiities Commission. . Derek Davis, director of the […]

Village effort provides new house for fire victims
A family of five will spend this Christmas in a spanking new home that has come courtesy the Hattieville Resource Centre (HRC) after a fire destroyed their dwelling place in July. Eloise Hyde, a Justice of the Peace of Hattieville Village, received the key […]

5 cents a pound dip in butane prices
There is another dip in the price of butane gas in Belize and the Bureau of Standards says it is caused by the high volume of production recently. As of Saturday, prices fell by roughly 5 cents per pound. If you buy butane from […]

“No thank you”, Espat says to GOB We’ll do this on our own!
PUP Cayo South area representative Julius Espat revealed Monday that he has declined the UDP government’s offer of $35,000 for Christmas cheer from the Petro Caribe funds for his constituency of Cayo South. Espat, who is leading the charge for more transparency in the […]

Pleased with Belize: Foreign Minister David Lin
The Hon. David L.Lin, Foreign Minister of the Republic of China on Taiwan, in Belize this week to attend a regional meeting of SICA, said he was very much satisfied with the support Taiwan was receiving from Belize in international forums. He expressed the view that this friendship between Belize […]

Canefarmers want Fair Trade funds for Christmas while wiser counsels are shot down!
Cane farmers of the Belize Sugarcane Farmers Association have passed a resolution instructing that the association withdraw $2.5 million from its FairTrade fund for distribution to canefarmers for Christmas spending. The motion, which received widespread support from the canefarmers present at Sunday’s meeting, stipulates that […]

Opposition says GOB should have consulted the public before making any agreement with Guatemala
The opposition People’s United Party, criticized the government this week for entering into as many as 13 agreements with the Government of Guatemala without consulting the Belizean public. Opposition Leader Francis Fonseca, said that the agreements, signed at the 44th summit of the heads of […]

Jealous rage leads to brutal double homicide in Paraiso!
Corozal police today arrested and charged Salvadoran, Jose Santos, 67, for the vicious murders of Heidi Teresita Chable, 21, and Fernando Rivas, 49, which occurred early Sunday morning in Paraiso Village, Corozal. Neighbours discovered the bodies of Chable and Rivas, who lived together in a small cement house, around 6:00 […]

Human remains found near mile 11 on Philip Goldson Highway
Police say that the remains of a man found on Thursday morning are those of 23 year-old Marvin Rafael Bol, a resident of Ladyville who was the prime suspect of a series of burglaries that had been occurring in the community. The remains were discovered around 9:00 a.m., scattered in […]

Editorial
Two remarkably good things happened in Belize this week. Thanks to the timely intervention of Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the canefarmers of Orange Walk and Corozal decided to end their standoff with the sugar factory by accepting a payment of 51 cents a ton for their bagasse by-product and ending […]

Hachet buried? SICA produces monumental pledge: “Guatemala will never be a threat to Belize!”
SICA’S meeting in Placencia, where Belize formally handed over the presidency to Guatemala, produced a monumental moment in history when the Prime Minister of Belize and the President of Guatemala embraced like old friends. Although it was the first time that the two men met formally as heads of government […]

Police warn public to be vigilant during the holidays
The Belize Police Department has cautioned citizens to be vigilant and remain aware of their surroundings while getting around the City during the holiday season, as thieves are opportunistic during this time of the year. Senior Superintendent Edward Broaster, deputy OC Easter Division said […]

COLA demonstrates to push for Stake Bank
Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action (COLA), along with the Federation of Cruise Tourism Association of Belize (FECTAB), held a demonstration on Fort Street Wednesday morning to protest the Tourism Village’s exclusive contract and to push for the Stake Bank project to be completed. COLA […]

Last minute hiccup delays BSCFA signing But general agreement is on track
Despite the much heralded agreement between the Belize Cane Farmers Association and Belize Sugar Industries, the apparent breakthrough is not a done deal and will not become a done deal until the agreement has been signed and a firm date set for start-up. In a […]

The Belize Times

CHANGE BEGINS NOW!! – Yolanda Schakron & PUP Belize CitCo Team Launched
Before a packed hall of supporters, the People’s United Party launched its winning Belize City Council team on Wednesday, December 17th, 2014. The team made up of young, dynamic and experienced community activists and professionals, is led by businesswoman/outspoken activist Yolanda Schakron. Schakron’s slate includes Micah Goodin, a firebrand youth leader who is pursuing his Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice; Lennox Young, a businessman for over ten years; educator Sharette Yearwood; entrepreneur Michael Novelo; community activist Delroy Herrera; businessman and IT professional David Gonzalez; businesswoman and educator-in-training Delthrude Hylton; sports leader and community organiser Sanja Pitts; young businessman Jermyn Galvez and professional Natasha Pipersburgh. The news that the PUP slate would be launched this week was received early by the Darrell Bradley-led City Council. The Mayor, we are told, began to pack up his belongings in preparation for the hard boot that the residents of Belize City will be giving him and his failed Councillors on March 4th 2015.

A Man with No Plan! – Omar Figueroa says “a Plan” for Cayo North makes “No Sense”
UDP candidate Omar Figueroa has shown little regard or respect for the people of Cayo North. So low is his view of the constituents that he apparently believes that he can campaign simply on the coat tails of his Party and not on addressing the real issues. Figueroa has implicitly rejected the idea of a debate of the issues in Cayo North. The PUP’s impressive candidate Richard Harrison, who by comparison outmatches and out-performs the UDP’s pawn, challenged Figueroa to a debate two weeks ago. Figueroa has pretended not to have heard this challenge, but individuals in his campaign team have reported that he has no interest in a debate because he doesn’t want to be put to shame.

Where Petro-Caribe is NOT Rolling!!
The Barrow Administration was hugely embarrassed by PUP supporters on Monday, December 15, 2014 when it was revealed that while the Government is rolling in “millions and millions” as boasted many times by Prime Minister Dean Barrow, San Ignacio lacks simple and basic needs like a Belizean flag for its Police Station or functioning ambulance for emergency response for its residents. The San Ignacio Police Station has been lacking, of all things, a Belizean flag. For over two months, the Police precinct has been requesting from the Government a flag to fly outside the building. There has been no response, even though the Government has been spending millions on political gimmicks.

Karen’s Circus at BTB
“Tourism is a business” – these were the words that Director Karen Bevans said in her speech at BTIA’s recent Annual General Meeting. Well what it has turned out to be under the UDP is a real circus. We just don’t know who is the circus clown as it seems to change on a weekly basis. The UDP unceremoniously kicked out the former PM’s daughter, Laura Esquivel, who, at least, had a tourism background, and replaced her with their very loyal BTL stalwart, Karen Bevans who is totally green to tourism but very much in tuned with travelling, cocktails and the glitz and glamour of the job. Just like her mentor Dean Barrow, Ms. Bevans is all glitter, but no substance. This, of course, after the BTB paid handsomely for a full page self-promoting piece of the Prime Minister’s wife (a dear friend of the Director of Tourism) which had less to do with Belize as the tourism destination but more with Mrs. Barrow as a wanna-be fashion model. In the 6 years of government, the UDP has not improved tourism – not for the hoteliers, not for tour operators, not for the guides, the artisans nor the tourism destinations.

Think About It
GIVING AWAY MONEY For the past two weeks, the National Bank in Belmopan has seen a huge increase in the number of persons lining up to collect money. The so-called National Bank is a UDP political gimmick. There is nothing nationalistic about it. Everyone who gets money from the so-called National Bank knows that they don’t have to repay those monies and there is nothing nationalistic about it. CANE FARMERS DEFEATED The cane farmers of Orange Walk are facing defeat. Their noble stand for fairness and justice has been crushed by A.S.R./B.S.I. The cane delivery and factory grinding season was to start on 8th December. It didn’t happen because ASR used the desperation of the cañeros to grind them to the ground. To teach them a lesson and to hurt and humiliate them in the process. These strong men and women of Orange Walk had resisted the blandishments of the ASR which had sought to go around the Cane Farmers Association and sign up individual cañeros to deliver cane and to undermine the Association. Unity and moral courage kept the cañeros together.

Playing “Chicken” in the Sugar Industry
The game of chicken is played with two different sides in an activity that will result in serious harm unless one or the other backs down. The original version of this game was played with motor vehicles whereby both participants drive a vehicle of some sort in a straight line towards each other. The first to swerve loses the game and is considered a “chicken,” or a coward. While that version of the game was played primarily amongst adolescents or aggressive young men, there have been instances where this same game has been played at very high levels by very big people with major consequences at stake. It was welcome a relief to hear earlier this week that some sort of compromise had been reached and that the cane trucks of our northern districts would once again be rolling. Had the cane farmers not decided to be “chicken” and give in to the demands of those bullies from ASR, it would have devastated that industry. Politically speaking, that would have, without a doubt, accelerated the demise of this current UDP administration. As it is, many farmers are proceeding reluctantly and when the pain of the “bukut” finally sinks in, there will be hell to pay. Right now the farmers are only concerned about getting their cane harvested before they lose their investment. After all, the real investors in this industry are the farmers who spend the entire season expending resources for fertilizers, pesticides and caring for their crops. Cane farming is hard work and requires long hours of tedious labor.

INSULTING El CAYO
The UDP is insulting the people of San Ignacio, Santa Elena and El Cayo. This insult is open, up in their faces, typical arrogance of the leader of that party. The insult is straightforward: we have millions of dollars and we will bribing every voter who is desperate for money. These days desperation is everywhere and growing. For the month of December, the desperation has doubled and tripled. In addition to the usual stress and pressures of fighting the cost of living, there is the pressures of Christmas and the re-opening of school in early January. The Prime Minister has set the bye-election for Cayo North for 5th January 2015. This early date allows him to use the Christmas give-aways as part of his election bribery tactics. This way he does not have to give voters anything as he will be forced to do if the bye-elections were held in February. So while he is pretending to be generous he is as means and heartless as ever. The idea that Mr. Barrow can reappear in Cayo and ignore what his protégé Penner had done and what Castro, King and a string of his inner circle colleagues are accused of smacks of disdain for the people of Cayo.

Yasmin Shoman – Delivering for the People of Collet
PUP Standard Bearer for the Collet Division Yasmin Shoman is delivering hardwork and real care to the people of the constituency. Shoman has demonstrated much needed leadership in the area where residents have been suffered neglect for too long under the UDP elected representative who has abandoned the people. On Sunday December 14, 2014, the young people participated in the All About Sports Basketball Bash held at the ABS Collet Community Park on Iguana St. Finals included ABS and Penn Road with Penn Road emerging as the champions with a score of 39-32. The basketball competition was sponsored by Collet Standard Bearer, Yasmin Shoman, and Planned by “Hard Rock”.

UDP/Barrow signs secret documents with Guatemala PUP demands responsible governance
The People’s United Party (PUP) advises Belizeans that on behalf of the Nation, the Government of Prime Minister Dean Barrow has signed 13 Bilateral Agreements with Guatemala, today in Placentia in the presence of the Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza. The Agreements are on Prisoner Exchange and the Serving of Penal Sentence, Operating Hours At Legal Terrestrial Entry Points; Program on Seasonal Workers; Protection, the Recovery And Return of Items of Cultural And Natural Patrimony, Visa Waiver for Students, Deportation, Electric Power Trade, Transmission Interconnection And Grid Connectivity; Mutual Recognition of Driver’s Licenses; Movement of Students via land entry points; Protection Of the Environment and the Sustainable Use of Resources; Degree Equivalence and Recognition of Education documents; Sustainable Tourism; and Stolen Vehicles. The Representative of the Leader of the Opposition, participated in the bilateral discussion and negotiation of these Agreements in early November of 2014, on the clear basis that any Agreement signed by Belize with Guatemala, first needed to be consulted with the people of Belize, prior to any such Agreement being signed.

Christmas Message 2014 by Hon. Francis W. Fonseca
My fellow Belizeans, Christmas offers us the opportunity to come together as friends, neighbors, families, and communities. The spirit and energy of Christmas invites us to re-kindle our hope and faith in humanity and in each other. This Christmas let us extend our hands and hearts to those in need, the poor, the sick, those with special needs, those who have lost a loved one, those out of work, those who have lost hope and faith. Christmas is a time for Love! As we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we shout and proclaim the words of 1ST CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 13: “LOVE IS PATIENT, LOVE IS KIND. IT DOES NOT ENVY. IT DOES NOT BOAST. IT IS NOT PROUD. IT IS NOT RUDE. IT IS NOT SELF-SEEKING. IT IS NOT EASILY ANGERED. IT KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS. LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL BUT REJOICES WITH THE TRUTH. IT ALWAYS PROTECTS, ALWAYS TRUSTS, ALWAYS HOPES, ALWAYS PERSEVERES. LOVE NEVER FAILS!!”

Christmas message by Bishop Christopher Glancy, CSV
Dear Friends in Christ, We have come once again to the joyful season of Christmas. It is a time for families to gather and for the Church to celebrate the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The Son of God became human in humble circumstances to bring the Good News of God’s love for all humanity. Jesus was not born in a palace or any other sort of elegant home. He came into the world in the humblest of places, in a manger, a home for animals, because there was no room at the inn. Jesus, Mary and Joseph, the Holy Family were pilgrims, away from home. According to Matthew’s Gospel, they could not even stay in their own country of Israel, as King Herod wanted to kill the child, so they fled into Egypt. They spent a number of years there until they heard of Herod’s death, and returned to Israel. The Holy Family’s journey to Bethlehem then to Egypt, seeking safety, unites them with refugees around the world who have to flee their homes to seek safety or employment.

2014 Christmas Message By Bishop Philip Wright M.A., OBE
This chosen passage of scripture might not readily sound like one that belongs to the Season of Christmas given the almost romantic attachment we have to the scene of the manger, the shepherds in the field, the choral angels, and the star in the East, thanks to popular Christmas card covers. However, in actual fact, this passage contains the very essence of the Christmas Message; the Good News – the Gospel. In much of the Christian world, what is commemorated every December 25th is a decisive moment in earth’s history when God entered that history like never before; to usher in, like never before, His act of redemption. The birth of the Christ Child, the Incarnation of the God-man, was to ultimately lead to that awesome scene on Calvary’s Hill when it appeared that heaven and earth had violently met, and the forces of evil staged their greatest attempt to undermine the purposes of God.

Patrick Jones

BelCaribe Communications shares Christmas spirit
Media content provider Bel-Caribe Communications today found another way to make Belize City residents lives sunny, just in time for Christmas. Staff members were in action all over Belize City’s Southside, handing out thousands of dollars in groceries and toys, even ham and turkey, to neediest families pre-selected […]

Traffic accident injures BELTRAIDE worker
A traffic accident near Mile 29 on the George Price Highway this morning around 9:30, not far from the RF&G; Insurance sign marking the site of another infamous accident, narrowly avoided fatalities. We were informed at the scene that an Isuzu D-Max traveling east toward Belize City, property […]

Mental Health Resource Center hosts Christmas party
Christmas is for everyone, even those suffering from mental disabilities. That is the message of the Mental Health Resource Center in Belize City, which hosted 59 clients to a Christmas celebration today. We spoke with the Center’s Administrator, Joyce Ellis who says the Center held the activity to […]

Footballer out on bail for carnal knowledge charge
Verdes FC and national football team player Cristobal Gilharry has been accused of sexual intercourse with a 15 year old girl. The 34 year old was remanded to the Belize Central Prison earlier this week after arraignment at the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court. Today, attorney Richard ‘Dickie’ Bradley successfully […]

Arbitration Tribunal decides in favor of British Caribbean Bank, Ltd
The government of Belize has vowed to put up a challenged to a decision handed down today by a panel of international arbitrators in the ongoing dispute between the Barrow administration and the British Caribbean Bank Limited. The tribunal’s declaration is that government must BCB the sum of US$41,773,096.04. […]

Professional Gardeners graduate
The last group of professional gardeners to train under the European Union funded Professional Gardeners’ Training Program graduated this morning in Cayo. With family, friends and invited guests in attendance at the Belize Botanic Gardens, sixteen young men and women received their certification as professional gardeners after […]

Blogs

Visiting a Dream House on An Absolutely Dreamy Day On Ambergris Caye
A few minutes later I was at Wataview. A sprawling 5 bedroom home on the most beautiful stretch of beach. And here’s the Wataview – or Water View. But I do like that the creole sounds more like What A View! It just comes out of your mouth when you are standing on the gorgeous back pool deck. The huge amazing kitchen…and this house comes with a chef, kitchen assistant, housekeepers…you don’t need to do a thing! Well…other than pay your bill.

Belize Recipes: Carne asada al Chimichurri
Belizean cuisine is influenced by so many ethnicities and their respective foods that it is one of the more misunderstood and underappreciated cuisines. With influences including Maya and Mestizo, Creole (Kriol), Garifuna, Mexican, and more, Belizean cuisine is varied and pays homage to a variety of historical favorites. Unlike some places, many Belizean specialties can be found throughout the entire country. As a unique departure from some other popular destinations, many recommended “tourist restaurants” are frequented by locals, often times proving to be some of the best spots to sample Belizean cuisine. Our Head Chef, Mario Mendez, shares with us a scrumptious CARNE ASADA AL CHIMICHURRI Recipe, which is a mix Maya, Mestizo & Mexican flavors. We trust you will enjoy this as much as we do!

“Cruel to Be Kind” in San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize.
Now where was I? Oh yes, telling you how cold (cold is relative you know) it has been recently. Well the weather has shown a general improvement and there’s been no rain to speak of. The temperature though – and,more saliently, it’s affect on me – has been subject to the occasional chill. Some early mornings out on the veranda (c’mon you know which one by now) even with my mug of black, unsweetened, instant coffee I’ve been cold. Not freezing, but not comfortable. Wearing of the windcheater (windbreaker for you Wes) has been a more than necessary, and very welcome, addition to my normal attire of T shirt and shorts. This feeling a drop in temperature might be the result of me finally becoming acclimatised. Or -perish the thought- another sign of the effects of advancing age. They (whoever they are?) do say, don’t they, that as you get older you feel the cold more. Me? I’m firmly of the opinion that it’s the mercury falling in the thermometer. Well I would, wouldn’t I!

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CITIES AND STATES OF MESOAMERICA
The archaeology works that have been ongoing from the middle of the 19th century in mesoamerica has offered the world a kaleidoscope of beautiful rituals, wars, agriculture, art and peoples lives in prehistory. The ancient Maya for example, like many other ancient cultures from around the world were not creating their culture in isolation in America. The Nahuatl speaking people of Teotihuacan organised their culture in the Mexican valley and they grew from a group of cultures such as the Tarrasacans and even the Oaxacans of Monte Alban (who archaeologists believed were even earlier than the Teotihuacans to building a city state. It is a beautiful story of humans creating spaces on our planet that suited their world views. For the Mexicans Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent was a deity in their pantheon who reigned supreme, and for the ancient Maya, Hunab Ku was corporeal. The sun remained a constant god as was the rain, lightning and the moon. They organised agricultural cycles based on the elements who were offered to them by the gods and the rulers used their science to embolden their religion and certainly to empower their political management of a people.

Basking in Retirement on Belize’s Southern Coast
Eighteen years ago Penny Sue Leonard visited Belize for the first time, on an assignment to teach nursing practices at hospitals. She was so impressed that a year later she left Orlando, Florida, and permanently moved to Punta Gorda in the south of Belize. “Something drew me in. The fact that it is so far off the beaten path. I fell for this part of Belize. I already loved the whole country, but Punta Gorda just pulled at me.” While she was initially attracted by Belize’s beauty and the warm waters of the Caribbean, another big draw for Penny was that English is the primary language. And the lifestyle in Punta Gorda is affordable. “It is so much less expensive to live here than in the U.S.,” she says.

International Sources

Why Your Next Vacation or Retirement Haven Will Be in Belize
The Daily Beast has compiled a list of the world’s top places to visit in 2015 and Belize comes highly recommended. With a little bit of everything rolled into a country the size of Massachusetts, Belize is Central America’s darling destination. While the beaches and atolls are an undeniable draw of holidaymakers, it’s the interior that’s next year’s main attraction. Dramatic Mayan ruins dot the western rainforest between rambling coffee plantations that are stepping up their distribution and giving Costa Rica’s beans a run for their money.

Deep Ancestry: A source of inspiration by Michael Harris
In 2010, I was selected to work on a field course in conservation genetics in Belize. Not quite human population genetics, but I wasn’t going to turn down this opportunity! And while I was up to my chest in a rainforest pond at two in the morning gathering data, I just had to think to myself with a smile, “Well, this is what you wanted…” To me this is the embodiment of science; it’s about discovery and adventure, and that constant desire for knowledge and understanding, something that I think Deep Ancestry captures beautifully. Wells enthusiastically recounts stories of accomplishments in the Genographic Project and conveys the true spirit of scientific research. This is something that I continue to strive for, whether I’m in the field studying 100-year-old mahogany trees or at the microscope watching fluorescent proteins being tracked through the cytoplasm of a cell. I can’t help but feel a constant sense of awe and wonder at the natural world in everything that I do.

DIVE INTO THE WORLD OF UNDERWATER PHOTOGRAPHY
Alptekin Baloglu has been photographing the mysterious depths of the ocean since 1994. For 20 years, the expert diver/photographer has been diving into oceans and seas all over the World and capturing the mesmerizing moments with his camera. He has received over 60 prizes in both national and international contests and published many books about his expeditions. He has taken over 80.000 photographs in Australia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sudan, Egypt, The Maldives, The Galapagos Islands, Indonesia, Philippines, France, Spain, Papua New Guinea, Burma, Belize and Turkey. Alptekin's works have received great recognition all over the world.

Bahamas Is Caribbean's Top Tourist Market Share Loser
The Bahamas has lost the greatest tourism market share of any Caribbean nation in the post-recession years, an International Monetary Fund (IMF) report has revealed, with this nation ranked as the region’s most expensive. #An IMF working paper, ‘Revisiting tourism flows to the Caribbean: What is driving arrivals’, discloses that the Bahamas’ share of the tourism market declined by 3 per cent between 2007 and 2013 - the biggest drop in the Caribbean. “However, within the Caribbean there are some notable exceptions, namely Belize, the Dominican Republic, and Jamaica, where performance has been resilient. As a result, there has been a shift in market share within the Caribbean.”

Belize participe à la conférence sur le changement climatique à Lima
Belize a coordonné la participation des pays du SICA (Système d'intégration d'Amérique centrale) à la Conférence des parties de cette année (COP20) qui a eu lieu à Lima du 1er au 12 décembre. La Conférence des Parties est l'organe suprême de la Convention-cadre des Nations Unies sur les changements climatiques (CCNUCC) et elle vise à réduire les concentrations de gaz à effet de serre dans l'atmosphère. La Convention est entrée en vigueur en 1994 avec 195 pays layant ratifiée. Ces pays se rencontrent une fois par an, pendant deux semaines, afin d'évaluer l'application de la Convention et de développer le processus de négociation entre les parties face à des nouveaux engagements.

Crossing The Digital Divide To Protect The Environment
A growing suite of digital tools is emerging to better manage the world’s natural resources. Development Alert! maps where new infrastructure projects overlap with environmentally sensitive areas in Jamaica. Global Forest Watch uses satellite and crowd-sourced data to track deforestation around the world in near-real time. The Sarawak Geoportal collects geographic as well as deforestation, infrastructure, land use, and other data on the Malaysian state of Sarawak to increase transparency around environmental and policy issues in the area. And the EIA Resource and Response Centre monitors environmental impact assessment (EIA) processes in India and serves as an independent resource and database for EIA reports. In southern Belize, the Toledo Maya Cultural Council and the Toledo Alcades Association worked closely with indigenous Maya communities to document their lands in a Maya Atlas. Forty-one communities participated in mapping their lands, boundaries, vegetation, rivers, land use, and more through drawings overlaid on geographical maps. The 1997 Maya Atlas not only serves as documentation of Maya land, but incorporates histories, stories, photos, and artwork from village leaders and community members. By uniting geographical maps with cultural detail from village members, the atlas is a powerful way of asserting Maya life and heritage.

Videos

BELIZE, MOTHER NATURES BEST KEPT SECRET, 3min. Belize is an amazing country with amazing people. It is Thirst Missions pleasure and passion to try to make a difference throughout the country by bringing amazing groups from around North America to serve, encourage, and share Jesus Christ's message and love. We pray that as you experience Belize for yourselves you'll fall in love with the people, the land, and the beauty of this incredible Central American country for yourself. Here is short video clip on Belize and its Beauty.

Snorkeling in Belize, 1min. Footage from Wildland Adventures Marketing Director Jonathan Burnham's recent trip to Belize. Snorkeling in Belize is an absolute MUST DO! Jonathan only got to snorkel for about an hour and even in that short amount of time he experienced an incredible amount of marine life. From barracuda to green sea turtles, the diversity of aquatic life is extremely impressive in Belize. Not to mention everyone loves swimming in warm crystal clear water!

Blue Ventures Bird & Manatee Conservation, 2hr31min. Blue Ventures Bird & Manatee Conservation Blue Ventures are an award winning marine conservation organisation running expeditions in Belize and Madagascar.

Belize Beach & Jungle Adventure, 28min. Explore Belize's beaches featuring Chabil Mar Resort and jungles with trips into the Mayan underworld via cabe tubing with Cave Tubing R Us, trips up Monkey River, meet Carl the local Garifuna drummer from Seine Bight, try local foods, explore Placencia, scuba dive the barrier reef and more in Travel With Kids Belize!

December 19, 2014

FOR TODAY'S BELIZE WEATHER, CLICK HERE

Click for our Daily Tropical Weather Report.

Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5 and CTV 3
Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and the Dickie Bradley Specials

The San Pedro Sun

Lions Senior Citizen's Party
Belize Bank staff has been partners of this annual event. — with Stef Nunez. (13 photos)

PM Barrow signs controversial agreements with Guatemala
Prime Minister Dean Barrow has signed 13 bilateral agreements with Guatemala without informing the Belizean community of the details. The documents were signed on Wednesday, December 17th at the closing of the 44th SICA Summit in Placencia between PM Barrow and President of Guatemala Otto Perez Molina. While the in depth agreements are still not known, the accords encompass issues in prisoner exchange and the serving of penal sentence, operating hours at legal terrestrial entry points, program on seasonal workers, protection, the recovery and returns of items of cultural and natural patrimony, visa waiver for students, deportation, electric power trade, transmission interconnection and grid connectivity, mutual recognition of driver’s license, movement of student via land entry points, protection of the environment and sustainable use of resources, degree equivalence and recognition of education documents, sustainable tourism and stolen vehicles.

Mayor Danny and SPTC spread Christmas Cheer around town
Hundreds of school children on Ambergris Caye were paid a special visit just before the Christmas break courtesy of the San Pedro Town Council. Mayor Daniel Guerrero accompanied by Santa Claus and his helpers made a stop at each school, handing out a small gift to each student. It is an annual activity for the council, and is one that brings smiles to the children of the island; and on December 10th and 11th, the happy faces were in abundance. Stops were made first on Wednesday, December 10th at the larger schools starting with San Pedro Roman Catholic School eventually ending with the preschools the following day. According to Mayor Guerrero over 2,000 toys were distributed to the school children across the island. For the most part, the toys included various sets of dolls, toy cars and trucks.

Belizeans receive Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Training
The Belize Department of Environment (DOE) hosted a three day Oil Spill Pollution Preparedness, Response and Cooperation (OPRC) training seminar for dealing with offshore and onshore oil spills. Belize’s Barrier Reef and other marine ecosystems are the country’s top tourism attractions, and as such, DOE believes it is necessary to take extra precautions to protect these environments from all major threats, including oil spills. The training was held from Tuesday, December 9th to Thursday, December 11th at the Best Western Belize Biltmore Plaza in Belize City and saw participants from across the country, including members of marine conservation groups.

Love FM Christmas Parade ushers in holiday season
The Love FM Christmas parade is part of the annual 12 Days of Christmas Celebrations held across the country. Big thanks goes out to all the participants of this year’s parade, including The San Pedro Town Council, Honorable Manuel Heredia Jr., Top Notch Boutique, Foreva Fancy, Isla Bonita Elementary, Wings, San Pedro Lions Club, Social Security Board, Hummingbird Furnishings, San Pedro Culture Band, Belize National Library Service and Information System, Dynamic Little Stars, ABC Preschool, Benque Viejo Marching Band and Love FM.

PEMEX Engineers in Belize, is there a large oil find?
Although reports were sketchy, Mexican press indicated that the experts were received by both oil investors and government authorities in the country. The engineers are expected to return with equipment, also via the Chetumal airport, that will allow them to do more specialize testing of the possible oil deposit discovered. While in Belize, the engineers also performed a revision of maps that are supposedly oil sites. However, it is expected that by early 2015, more PEMEX staff will have a longer presence in Belize. GOB has made no formal announcement of the possible oil discovery or the associated visit of PEMEX engineers. However, earlier this year, GOB promised public officers their salary adjustment, which Prime Minister Dean Barrow said would be sustainable in the long term by a possible oil find in the Orange Walk District. At that time, PM Barrow had hoped that the discovery was in commercial quantity. Since then, there has been no official update and it is uncertain at this time that it may be the same possible oil find.

Ambergris Today

Welcome back home Miss World Belize Raquel Badillo

Sunshine Scholarship Foundation Doing Good for the Community
Meet Dayanara Manzano, she is a Standard 4 student at Isla Bonita Elementary School who is visually impaired. If it were not for the assistance of the Sunshine Scholarship Foundation of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye, Belize, Dayanara would have been having a difficult time attending school. Due to her disability, Dayanara would have a challenging time attending a regular public school where she would not receive the attention needed obtain a proper education. It is through the assistance of the Sunshine Scholarship Foundation that she can attend a private school, such as Isla Bonita Elementary, where she is able to get the one-on-one attention from her teachers.

Misc Belizean Sources

Edward "Smithy" Smith and Misha McKay
Turning it up last night at Lovetv Bze "12 Days of Christmas" Show at Old Belize.

Belize Forges New Environment Gains for Central American Countries
Belize has forged major gains on climate change, the environment and sustainable development for the Central American region, it was revealed, on Tuesday, December 16, 2014.

Prime Minister Barrow Departs Country on Personal Leave
The Office of the Prime Minister informs that today 18th December, 2014 the Prime Minister Hon. Dean Barrow departed the country for Florida, USA on personal leave and will return Monday, 22nd December, 2014.

Repairs on the street have begun after BWS finished repairing the damaged underground pipe on coconut drive.

Power interruption 6:00am to 9:00am, Sunday, December 21: entire Belize City
Inclusive of all areas up to Mile 1 Philip Goldson Highway and Mile 1 George Price Highway. BEL to conduct urgent repairs at Belize City Substation.

Carol of the Pans, Steel Bands
This is something you don't want to Miss!!!

ASR/BSI CANNOT BE TRUSTED AS THEY KEEP MOVING THE GOAL POST!!
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize denounces the conduct of ASR/BSI in their seeking to change the terms of the previously settled agreement without going back to the cane-farmers; having already conceded to the oppressive and unfair terms pushed by ASR/BSI with the intervention of no less than the Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. The latest blatant attempt by ASR/BSI to undermine the cane farmers comes in the form of them now not wanting the legally established Sugar industry Control Board to be removed as the regulating entity. They want by the agreement to slip in their own entity created and named the Harvesting Delivery and Control Unit effectively being an arm of ASR/BSI; and in contravention of the law. In the absence of negotiations with the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA); this provision was included in the draft agreement.

Channel 7

Man Murdered, Only Scavenged Remains Found
Ladyville police today found the remains of a male who they believe was murdered. All they encountered were the scattered bones of the man, believed to have been disturbed by animals that scavenged his body after he was killed. It's a developing story and police believed violence was involved in his death. Our news team was in Ladyville for most of today, and Daniel Ortiz has this report: Daniel Ortiz reporting The signs says that you're not supposed to dump garbage here in the Dew Drops Area at mile 11 and a half on the Northern Highway. But, not only is it being ignored, it seems that someone killed a man and left him there to decompose, or they killed him elsewhere and dumped him in that location. At least, that's what police looking at that this time.

Things Still Not Sweet in Sugarland
On Monday we told you that the impasse in the sugar industry was at an end - both sides had agreed to the Prime Minister's compromise package and it was only left to sign the final agreement to make it official. But the devil is in the details and all this week, that agreement has been in the shaping. The Chairman of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association was supposed to sign it today - but at the last minute the Association's proofreaders saw one item in there which they felt both sides had agreed to leave out. No one seems quite sure whether this inclusion was intentional, accidental or a genuine misunderstanding - but the cane farmers sent it back to BSI for excision. We understand that the offending clause has been excised, but now the signing has been put back to Friday.

Teenager Shot In City
This morning in Belize City, a 14 year old was shot in the area of Partridge Street. It happened at around 5:30 am - and the child was injured in the leg. But who would shoot a young man so indiscriminately and why? Well, he is from the often troubled Mayflower street area, and today Monica Bodden asked his mother what's behind it:.. Mother of 14 year old minor "I usually get up after 4am when my baby would get up crying, but he didn't got up this morning, so I just continue sleeping. My son usually comes home like after 5am in the morning. This morning my door was shut, so I didn't know they would be outside and then like half an hour after some little boys came to bang on my door and shouted for me and I thought it was the police. They woke my baby and so I came out, the little boy said that my son got shot. He told me that he and my older son and the neighbor went to buy tacos.

Man Charged For Machete Double Murder
On Monday, we told you about the double chopping murder which happened just outside Paraiso Village in the Corozal District. Well, police believe that they have solved that crime, and one man has been criminally charged for it. He's 67 year-old Salvadoran Jose Santos, and he has been charged with 2 counts of murder for the savage chopping deaths of 49 year-old Salvadoran Fernando and Heidi Theresita Chable, initially identified as Heidy Atherly.

PUC Wants Rates Lower Than BEL Proposes
Nine days ago we told you how BEL proposed a 3.4% cut in electricity rates - which works out to about 1.5 cents less per kilowatt-hour. They sent that to the Public Utilities Commission for consideration. The PUC today announced that it has made its own review and concluded that BEL can cut the electricity rate more than 3.4%; the PUC proposes a 5% decrease on the average electricity rate. That works out to about 2.2 cents per kilowatt-hour. The PUC amendment to BEL's proposal is what is known as the final draft and so the rules state that within 10 days BEL and the public can send in their comments. You can send yours to the PUC at 41 Gabourel Lane, Belize City, or by email at [email protected].

SMART Says It's Building Its Own Southern Infrastructure
In other utility news, SMART says it's going to send its own transmission line to the Toledo District. As we have reported, the company cried foul when BTL said it would cut SMART off its southern data and voice infrastructure. SMART responded with a lawsuit, saying BTL's move would cut off 7,000 customers in the Toledo District. The suit has been dropped and BTL has agreed to keep the infrastructure available to SMART until the end of February. A release from SMART today says that the construction of its transmission line should be completed by the end of February 2015.

Cuba-USA: What It Means For Cubans Living Here
America's move to reestablish relations with Cuba after 50+ years has been making headlines around the world. Ties between the US and Cuba were severed since 1960 when the US imposed a trade embargo on Cuba. This has crippled economic and social development in Cuba. But President Obama has taken a bold step to dramatically improve relations with Cuba. Now many of you might be wondering what this news development has to do with Belize. Well, there are a fair number of Cubans living here in Belize, not to mention the 97 medical professionals in the Cuban medical brigade. So we wanted to find out what this change in US policy means for them? 29 year old Yadielis Martinez has been living in Belize for about 5 years and owns Brisas Del Mar restaurant on Caye Caulker. Today via telephone from Caye Caulker Martinez explained how significant this rapprochement is to Cubans living in Belize and their families back in Cuba. Yadielis Martinez, Caye Caulker resident "Well I thinks it's very important for the people who lives in Cuba because if the Cuban government and the United States government have a good relations, that means that they are going to open lot of things that are closed at the moment.

SICA: The Handover Was Fraternal
Yesterday's SICA Summit of Heads of State and Government in Placencia ended with Belize handing over the pro tem Presidency to Guatemala. Prime Minister Dean Barrow who chaired the session was lavish in his praise of his Guatemalan counterpart:.. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister "I am honored to have served as your chairman for today's proceedings. Events such as these are about many things and one such is the strengthening of the inter-personal relations between officials, between ministers and between heads. President Otto Perez Molina has long since stamped himself as a thinker, a worker and a superb creative force. We can therefore look forward to a bold and muscular semester under the firm guidance of his "mano dura.""

PM Takes Personal Leave
And after pushing through those agreements, the Prime Minister recorded his Christmas message and today went on personal leave. A release from his office announced that he left the country for Florida and will return on Monday, December, 22nd , 2014. Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega is acting Prime Minister.

PUP Candidates Had Bench Warrants In Their Recent Past
In our next segment we'll tell you about the huge mess that's been created at the Belize Tourism Board because Director Of Marketing Clive Meyers apparently faked his resume. And while the fraud appears elaborate enough, it could also be interpreted as a lack of due diligence on the part of those who hired him for such a senior post. Now, due diligence is a sometimes tricky thing - because, outside of an information society, thorough background checks can be difficult. And the PUP had to do its own clean up before launching its Belize City Council slates. That's because bench warrants had been issued for two of their Belize City council candidates. Delroy Herrera told us that he paid half of the outstanding amount two months ago, and is paying the balance regularly.

BTB Suspends One, Investigating Others In Wake Of Myers Misrepresentation Meltdown
Yesterday, we told you how Clive Myers, BTB's new Director of Marketing & Industry Relations resigned only 3 days after being officially installed. Well tonight, we've learned more about the reasons behind it. It happened yesterday when some anonymous whistle-blower went making the media rounds delivering a package of documents detailing that Myers allegedly forged his credentials. The documents say that he never went to Ashford University Online to get his bachelor's degree, like he claimed, and neither did he go to Drexel University to get his master's degree, as he claimed.

Salvation Army Soldiering For True Spirit of Christmas
550 families received a Christmas food package today from the Salvation Army. Now, the Salvation Army always helps out the most needy, but this package is just something extra for the season. According to Joliker Leandre (LEE-AND), Regional Commander of the Salvation Army, their main objective is to make people's lives a bit better, not just during Christmas time. Michelle Sandoval, Chair lady, Salvation Army "Right now we are doing the parcel distribution. They will received like the can foods, beans, rice, flour and so forth for each of the elderly citizens here in Belize. When the Christmas appeal started, we were asking them to come to register. They had to just bring in their ID, give their name to confirm that they are elderly citizens and need to receive their food hamper. We are not giving it to any young person of that sort. When they come they bring their tickets and they present it to us and we scratch them off the list that we have already created for them."

Atlantic Bank In The Hood
Today Atlantic Bank was the one spreading Christmas Cheer. The bank's staff went into the poorer areas of Belize City distributing gifts freely to children - Monica Bodden caught up with them in the Lake Independence area:..

Channel 5

Human Remains Found at Dewdrop Estates
Our records indicate that the murder count now stands at one hundred and forty-three. This morning, the remains of a man were found in an area in Ladyville known as [...]

Family of Escaped Prisoner Claim Police Harassment
The manhunt continues for twenty-five year old Emmanuel Willoughby, an inmate at the Belize Central Prison who escaped from his cell last Saturday. According to the Kolbe Foundation, Willoughby cut [...]

Family will Press Charges against Police
Up until late Wednesday afternoon, police officers conducted a search at the Willoughby’s residence at 7005 Antelope Street Extension. Attorney Audrey Matura-Shepherd says that they have made formal complaint to [...]

Border Incursions on Centre Stage at SICA Summit
The ratification of thirteen agreements between Belize and Guatemala, in the words of Prime Minister Barrow, is a single step commencing the journey of a thousand miles.  The long road [...]

Sugar Cane Crop Season in Limbo
The 2014-2015 sugar cane crop season will not start on Friday as was anticipated and forecast. In fact, it may not start anytime soon. Turns out that all the jubilation [...]

A Look at Bi-Lateral Agreements Signed
There were thirteen agreements signed on Wednesday between Wilfred Elrington and Carlos Raul Morales, the Foreign Ministers of Belize and Guatemala. They cover a period of ten years and while [...]

Guatemalan Foreign Minister Speaks on ICJ Referendum
Will Guatemala proceed to a simultaneous referendum on whether or not to take the unfounded territorial claim to the International Court of Justice? On this side, Foreign Minister Wilfred Elrington [...]

Minor RTA Near Crooked Tree
There was a traffic accident this morning at the Crooked Tree junction at miles thirty-one on the Phillip Goldson Highway. A white truck collided into an SUV coming out of [...]

FIU and Titan Back in Court
FIU attorneys were back in court today where they are being challenged by Titan International Securities for the release of a trove of documents seized during an operation back in [...]

Hattieville Resident Charged for Drug Trafficking
A Hattieville resident was not at his house at mile seventeen and a half on the George Price Highway when it was searched by the Gang Suppression Unit.  The unit [...]

Smart Dispels Rumours of Southern Service Interruption
SpeedNet Communications, the parent company for Smart, has issued a press release dispelling the notion that the company’s service to the south will be cancelled as a result of ongoing [...]

P.U.P. Blasts B.T.B. for Myers Debacle
On Wednesday, we showed you the ignominious departure of the B.T.B.’s two day Director of Marketing and International Relations, Clive Percival Myers. Myers resigned, allegedly when it was revealed that [...]

US and Cuba Enhance Relationship
The historic prisoner exchange deal between the United States and Cuba marks a new chapter in relations between the two, following decades of glacial tension.  The renewal of diplomatic affairs [...]

O.A.S. President Awarded Order of Distinguished Service
The Secretary General of the Organization of American States departed to Washington on Wednesday after participating in the SICA Summit. Jose Miguel Insulza was witness to the signing of the [...]

Eastern Division Organizes Christmas Party
The Belize Police Department’s Eastern Division is organizing its second annual Christmas variety show entitled COPS.  This year they have chosen B.T.L. Park as the venue and are inviting the [...]

Salvation Army Hands Out Food Packages
This morning Belizeans lined up outside the Salvation Army’s headquarters on Regent Street in the City. Christmas is one week away, but while many Belizeans shop and decorate and prepare [...]

Organizations Go All Out for the Elderly
And while the Salvation Army was doing its thing, other organizations are showing and sharing the love this Christmas. At the Sister Cecilia Home in Belize City, All Saints Church [...]

CTV3

Inspiration Center Receive Donation From Taiwan
And before we wrap up the news, visiting Minister of Foreign Affairs for Taiwan, H.E. David Lin, yesterday handed over two wheelchair accessible vehicles to Chairperson of The Inspiration Center Board of Directors, Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow. The vehicles comprise a 2014 El Dorado Aerotech 240, Ford E-450 bus and a 2014 Ford E-250 van. The bus has capacity for 6 wheelchairs and 9 stationary and fold-away seats; while the van accommodates 3 wheelchairs and 3 stationary seats. The vehicles will be used to transport some 30 children with disabilities to and from the Center for therapy.

Robbers Make Their Move In Corozal
The string of home robberies is being reported and opportunistic thieves are mostly targeting high valued items. In Corozal, 65-year-old American retiree James Lawrence of Xaibe Village reported that on Monday December 15th his residence at Xaibe Village was burglarized. Stolen were an assortment of electronic items, house hold items, assorted jewelry and tools all to a total value of $16,497.00. Corozal Police are seeking 2 persons of interest who are known to them as investigations continue. In another incident, 32 year old Domestic of Patchakan Village, Leonor Gilharry reported that between 2:00pm & 3:00pm Sunday December 14th her house was burglarized by her husband Elvis Gilharry whom she has been separated from since June 2014. Upon making checks she saw her former husband Elvis Ellis Gilharry, along with his Brother Juan Carlos Gilharry coming out from her yard. The men made away with her cellular phone valued at $140. The Gilharry brothers are being south by police.

Clive Myers Tenders Resignation As Acting Director
Following the BTB’s announcement on appointing Clive Myers as Acting Director of Marketing and Industry Relations, two days later today, the Belize Tourism Board announced that the Mr. Clive Myers, has tendered his resignation with the organization, effective immediately. Reports for his abrupt resignation stem from a record of information that has been circulated to the media regarding the authenticity of his degrees and programs. Photocopies of email queries from two online Universities have yielded no results regarding the attendance or graduation of Clive Myers or Clyve Myers. Myers has not denied or confirmed the allegation as of newstime. As a result, Ms. Karen Pike, Director of Information Management, will be holding over the responsibilities of the Marketing and Industry Relations department, in the interim.

Be Careful When Shopping In Chetumal
Belize plans to issue a warning to Belizeans who visit Chetumal City, Mexico and the tourism sector in that part of the country is worried about the repercussions. This is what the Mexican press is reporting. According to an article in the newspaper titled “Novedades Quintana Roo”, published today December 17th, reports from Belizeans claiming to have been robbed in the city, especially by taxi operators, has prompted Belizean authorities to consider issuing a warning to the Belizean population about the dangers of visiting that part of Mexico. Honorary Consul of Belize to Mexico Jorge Valencia is quoted saying that many complaints have been made on the social media, especially Facebook.

PM Signs Thirteen Bilateral Agreement With Guatemala
The 44th Summit of the SICA Heads of State ended today at the Belize Ocean Club in Placencia and today the President of Guatemala Otto Perez Molina arrived to meet with other presidents and heads of delegations from the SICA member countries. The one day summit saw dialogue on matters including the migration of unaccompanied minors to the United States, regional security, and climate change, among others. But during President Molina’s visit, the Government of Belize has signed 13 Bilateral Agreements with Guatemala today in Placentia in the presence of the Secretary General of the OAS, Jose Miguel Insulza.

Sandy Hunter Library Encourages Students To Read
School is out but that is no reason for children to keep their head out of the books. At the Sandy Hunter Library, there are several programs held throughout the year to encourage children to develop a love for books and reading. One such program came to a close today at the library and in celebration of the occasion the children were treated to a small party at the library this morning. Here’s more on that story. Dalila Ical – Reporter This marks the last activity of the year, but that does not mean that it is any less important. What is being celebrated is the close of a new program which seeks to encourage children, or members of the Sandy Hunter Library to love books. The reading challenge was launched in March and concluded this month.

19 Year Old For Chopping Incident In San Estevan
On Monday we told you about a chopping incident in San Estevan village that left 43 year old Sylvano Osorio recovering at the KHMH from several chops wounds to the head and forearm. Today we were informed that his attacker, 19 year old Esner Ellides Chuc has been formally arraigned and charged for three counts which include; use of deadly means of harm, attempted murder and grievous harm. Chuc was remanded to prison where he will reappear in court on January 21st, 2015. For context, Osorio and Chuc were involved in a misunderstanding on Sunday night infront of the Community Center where several families were for recreation but that was quickly broken up. Some twenty minutes later, Chuc came back wielding a machete and inflicted the injuries upon Osorio. Meanwhile, Osorio is still under observation at the Northern Regional Hospital.

O/W Police Issues Warning For Christmas Season
With Christmas now just days away, a string of robberies and theft cases remain are on the rise. The joyous season can easily turn frightening if residents become victims to opportunistic thieves and resilient robbers who are known to prowl around this time. And in an effort to curb these instances, the Orange Walk Police formation highlighted their own plans for the season. SUPT. Selvin Tillett – Deputy Commander, OW Police “Our anti-crime prevention extra Christmas patrol commenced from the 15th of November and we have extra foot patrol, bicycle, mobile, and motorcycle patrols so that is in effect and it will continue until or after the 15th of January, the Orange Walk police is working hard, diligent and trying to work with the community so that you people can enjoy Christmas and new year’s not only that but every day because me as a police I consider it as home so I do my best to make it safe.”

Salvadoran National Charged For Sunday Mornings Double Murder
Tonight, the man accused of hacking a couple to death has been remanded to prison. But first, a postmortem examination on the bodies has been conducted and investigators managed to positively identify the female victim to be 22 year old Heidi Teresita Chable. Officer Commanding the Corozal formation, Andrew Ramirez elaborated in this update. Andrew Ramirez – OC Corozal “First of all, we ended up confirming the identity of the female and she has been identifies as Heydi Teresita Chable, 22 years of age and date of birth being the 02 of January of 1992. Yesterday post mortem was conducted on both bodies and the Doctor has certified the cause of death for the male for being exanuation due to multiple chop wounds to the head, neck, face, chest and limb and for the female same thing due to chop wounds to the head, neck, face and forearm more than likely the injury sustained by these individuals was fatal wounds.”

LOVE FM

Myers Resigns From Belize Tourism Board
It was an elevation that seemed well deserved and earned as Clive Myers was given an opportunity to act in the post of Director for Marketing and Industry Relations for a six month period, but his climb up the ladder would soon be thwarted as documents were released to the media claiming that Myers had forged diplomas and fabricated his educational background, stating that he had attended certain institutions when that may not have been the case. Right on the heels of this exposure, Myers resigned from the Belize Tourism Board saying that he would be making a public statement in due time.

Leslie Speaks On Signing of Agreements
Today Ambassador Stuart Leslie who is the lead negotiator in the Belize Guatemala dispute was the guest on our sister station Estereo Amor. Ambassador Leslie said the signing of the thirteen agreements yesterday is just the beginning of a process. STUART LESLIE “These are framework agreements especially with respect to the environment and sustainable development. What will happen next now that these things are signed are the technical people and the practical side of it. Meaning that the people in the department of the environment from Belize and from Guatemala will have to sit down and work out a memorandum of understanding or protocols to say look if this happens then this, the penalty for this is that and look at the laws and see how they will apply.

Belize And Guatemala Signs Bi-Lateral Agreement
A historic signing of a Bilateral Agreement took place yesterday afternoon on the Placencia Peninsula. Belize and Guatemala signed a 13 point agreement as part of the confidence building measures. The agreement was signed by Wilfred Elrington, Belize’s Foreign Minister and his Guatemalan Counterpart, Carlos Raul Morales while Prime Minister Dean Barrow and Guatemala’s President, Otto Perez Molina along with the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza, witnessed the signing. The agreement focuses on several areas including education, Prison Exchange and electricity. While making his way out, President Molina was briefly stopped by the media and we got a chance to join in the interview. First off, Molina was asked about his first visit to Belize.

PM Departs To Florida
Prime Minister Dean Barrow left the country earlier today for Florida. The Prime Minister is on personal leave and is scheduled to return home next Monday. During the Prime Minister’s absence, Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega will act as Prime Minister.

Man Charged With Drug Trafficking
Thirty-three year old Wallace Rubio, an unemployed of mile 17 and a half on George Price Highway, who was charged with drug trafficking for 10 pounds of cannabis, changed his plea from not guilty to guilty when he appeared today before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser. Because he pled guilty and he asked for leniency, Rubio was spared a custodial sentence of 3 year and he was only ordered to pay a fine of $10,000. He was given until March 31, 2015, to pay the fine. If he defaults on payment he will serve 3 years. On May 7, 2012, at around12:45 p.m., the police, members of the GSU, went to Rubio’s residence to execute a search warrant. Nobody was at home when they arrived, so they went and got a Justice of the Peace and they returned to the house, a small plycem structure about 3 feet from off the ground. They executed the search in the presence of the Jp and the search resulted in the discovery of the cannabis in a carton barrel. Some of the cannabis was in a transparent plastic bag while the rest were in a beige sack. When weighed, the cannabis amounted to 4.54 kilograms or 10 pounds.

Men Plead Guilty With Robbery and Wound
Two men, 21 year old Iran Jones and 21 year old Lorenzo Ogaldez, charged with robbery and wounding, plead guilty to the charges when they appeared today before Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser. Jones, who has previous convictions, was sentenced to 5 years for robbery and 3 years for wounding. Senior Magistrate Fraser stipulated that the sentences are to run concurrently, so Jones will only serve 5 years. In relation to Ogaldez, who has no previous conviction, Senior Magistrate Fraser said she has not decided what to do with him, so she remanded him into custody until Monday, December 22, for sentencing. Jones was also charged with handling stolen goods but that charge was dismissed because the prosecution offered no evidence. The incident occurred around 8:20 p.m. on Sunday, December 14.

PlusTV

More Delays for the Crop Season
The start of the sugar cane season seemed to be in the immediate horizon after the farmers met and, after much deliberation, agreed to accept the 51 cents per ton of sugar cane proposed by the Belize Sugar Industry and their partner the American Sugar Refiners. This was only after the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association shifted many of their positions and dropped several others, including their position on the bagasse debate, all in an attempt to start the crop season as quickly as possible. This of course left it open for their members to accuse them of betraying the interest of the cañeros.But after much heated debates the members agreed to accept the proposal. The next step was to take it to the attorneys of both parties to have the matter official drafted out and signed. This was projected to take place by the middle of this week however up until Thursday nothing has been signed. That is because BSI/ASR in their final proposal, introduced an old position that had been dropped earlier in the negotiations this year. Ezequiel Cansino, Chairman of the BSCFA explained, via phone.

COLA, FECTAB hold protest for cruise port
Advocacy organizations Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action (COLA) and the Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize (FECTAB) upped the ante in their fight to establish a cruise port in the Belize District that will, they say, ensure the survivability of the industry in increasingly competitive and uncertain times. However, on Wednesday they unveiled a new piece of evidence, which they say confirms that the cruise ship lines – or at least one of them – is abandoning Belize City. Executive Member of FECTAB and well-known tour operator, Yhonny Rosado, painted a stark picture of what will happen if the exodus continues. “When they were building Harvest Caye, they were mentioning that only some of the ships or one or two ships will be going there. You got to cruiseset.com, they are already canceling all their ports to Belize City. They are going to Harvest Caye. Cruiseset.com; it is not FECTAB, it is not nobody, it is an international website that the cruise use to notify the American and Canadian public that they are going to a different port starting November next year. So there will be no more high season.

The Guardian

Guatemala does not constitute and will never constitute a threat to Belize
The occasion of the 44th Summit of the Central American Integration System (SICA) held in Placencia served up the perfect opportunity for a historic meeting between the President of Guatemala and the Prime Minister of Belize. Hon. Dean Barrow presided over the Summit as he ended Belize’s six-month pro-tempore presidency of SICA and handed over the reigns to the President of Guatemala, H. E. Otto Fernando Perez Molina. Before the Summit, Prime Minister Barrow greeted President Molina at the Riversdale Airstrip in Placencia after which they made their way to The Placencia Hotel for a breakfast meeting to discuss Belize Guatemala relations and the thirteen agreements that both countries had been negotiating and ready to sign at the end of the SICA Summit, signaling a renewed commitment to strengthen relations between the two countries. The thirteen agreements between Belize and Guatemala establish formally and for the first time functional cooperation programmes that are practical and progressive. In their implementation they will bring tangible and practical benefits to the people of both countries. The two governments had set out to embark in such cooperative programmes since 2005 but they could not be done until now. The functional cooperation agreements range from formalizing the serving of penal sentences, to the recognition of educational documents, environmental protection and sustainable use of resources to recovery and return of stolen vehicles.

PM Dean Barrow’s Xmas Message
What a wonderful time of the year Christmas is! It is a time when we as Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, a time to be close to those nearest and dearest, and a time for renewal. It also however presents an occasion for all Belizeans, of all backgrounds, to come together in appreciation for all that God has blessed Belize with. Let us remind ourselves that the values that unite us as Belizeans are by far greater and more enduring than anything that divides us. Jesus’ simple birth is a lesson in humility to all of us. The story of Jesus changed the world and that is why we celebrate his birth every year around this time. The story also reminds us to have faith in humanity; to believe that we all have some good within us. Let us in this season enjoy the importance of families and close friends. Let us also be mindful of those that are less fortunate than us at home and outside our beautiful jewel. Let us ask for blessings for the many entities –charities and the private sector that work with those less fortunate and contribute to making Christmas truly a season of sharing and happiness.

Cane Farmers force Fair Trade money bonanza
In August, 3 and a half months ago, news emerged that Fair Trade intended to reduce the amount of Fair Trade Funding that the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association received after buying Belizean sugar at premium prices. Secondly, the organization which provides oversight of the use of the money, Flo Cert, temporarily decertified the association yet again due to financial misappropriation and theft of the association's funds, and the violation of child labour statutes. Only 2 days after being officially cleared of the most recent ban, the farmers are forcing the Association to do something which is bound to get them in trouble again with the oversight bodies of the Fair Trade agreement. Readers may remember the expose that this newspaper printed in which we discussed the misuse and poor handling of Fair Trade money over the past 6 or 7 years in which 20 million dollars ended up in the accounts of the Association, set aside as a social program for the farmers. Well, to add to that, the general cane farming membership of the association passed a resolution at their meeting on Sunday, December 14, that 2.5 million dollars will be shared among the general membership of about 5,300 farmers. It's a sort of Christmas cheer that the farmers are giving themselves in which each member will received approximately $470 for themselves. That's not exactly the way the money is to be used for because such wanton spending is not permitted.

Stop Bav Julius
When Myrtle Palacio wrote to the Financial Secretary that, “the PUP will be participating in the Christmas Cheer Program”, she did so as the Secretary General of the PUP; and in so doing spoke for and on behalf of the entire opposition party. Francis appeared shortly after on television, flaunting his hypocrisy as proud as a peacock, at the same time admitting that the program is indeed a transparent and accountable one. On Friday, December 14th the sanctimonious Julius Espat announced that he will not be accepting the Christmas Cheer. He cited a foolish and less than believable excuse for not participating. Our take on it is that Julius is trying to show up his boss and party leader. Julius is on a mission to first embarrass, and then overthrow his party leader.

BELTRAIDE Prepares 74 Youths for Upcoming Jobs
The Belize Trade and Investment Development Services (BELTRAIDE) recently formed a new unit to provide industry specific, demand driven employment training for Belizeans seeking jobs. The unit now operates the Belize Training and Employment Center (BTEC) and its first 74 clients graduated on Wednesday, December 17, 2014. BTEC is the result of Prime Minister Barrow’s call for the Fast Track to Employment Training Institute on July 30 of this year. David Leacock, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Singh for BELTRAIDE to partner with ITVET to provide the training. Christine Smith, Director of BTEC, says the first field her team is focusing on is the Business Process Outsourcing industry. BELTRAIDE began focusing on BPO three years ago. Since then BELTRAIDE has hosted numerous training sessions countrywide as the demand for new employees continues to grow. Mike Singh, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Trade, Investment Promotion, Private Sector Development and Consumer Protection, says that demand for employees in this field is even greater now as the Ministry “receives one or two inquiries a week” from investors interested in establishing a call center in Belize. Singh says the Ministry expects there will be a need for over 2,100 new employees in the sector over the next two years. However, investors are more likely to establish a center if a trained labor force is already available.

New Market for Benque Viejo del Carmen
Belize’s most Western Municipality, the Town of Benque Viejo del Carmen, now has a brand new market. A marching band ‘Ciencia y Tecnologia’ from Melchor de Mencos entertained Benque residents on Monday night of this week at the entrance of Benque Viejo, preceding the informal opening of the new market in Benque Viejo. In his brief presentation to residents on Monday night, Mayor of Benque Viejo del Carmen Miguel Velasquez thanked the people of Benque Viejo and informed them that the market is now theirs, for them to use. Mayor Miguel Velasquez informed the Guardian that families are now free to congregate within the plaza at the new market. “I am satisfied that the new market will be benefiting everyone,” says Chelsy Hernandez, Benque Viejo’s Queen ‘Flor de La Feria.’ The Benque Market was built with the support of the European Union and the Government of Belize under the Belize Rural Development Project Two at a cost of about $680,000.00

Belize’s High Seas fisheries get a boost
On Monday, December 15, the European Council adopted a decision to remove Belize from the list of ‘non-cooperating third countries’ in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This decision was taken pursuant to a recommendation by the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-MARE) to remove Belize from this list in consideration of the concrete measures taken by Belize to rectify the deficiencies pointed out by the European Commission earlier this year. This decision by the EU Council shall enter into force on December 18, 2014, the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. This is the first case where a country is removed from the list of non-cooperating third countries through cooperation and on-going dialogue with the Commission; and it demonstrates that the EU system of bi-lateral cooperation and collaboration to assist third countries in fully implementing the IUU Regulation is indeed effective and bearing fruit.

Inspiration Center Gets Wheelchair Accessible Vehicles
Life just got a little easier for mobility challenged children receiving therapy at the Inspiration Center because on Tuesday, December 16, His Exellency David Lin, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, handed over two wheelchair accessible vehicles to Mrs. Kim Simplis Barrow, Chair of the Inspiration Center’s Board of Directors. One of the vehicles is a 2014 Ford El Dorado Aerotech bus. It has three double stationary seats and six double foldaway seats. It has a state of the art wheelchair lift system and has enough space for up to six wheelchair passengers. The approximate value of the vehicle is in the neighbourhood of US$95,000. The second vehicle is 2014 Ford E-250 extended van. It has seating for three and space for three wheelchair passengers. The van is also equipped with a wheelchair lift system. The approximate cost of the van is US$66,000.

Ministry of Works & Transport signs contracts for more infrastructure projects
The Minister of Works & Transport Hon. Rene Montero and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Errol Gentle, signed contracts for the several works on December 15, 2014 at the Ministry of Works Conference Room in Belmopan. M&M; Engineering Consultants Limited signed a contract for the new Mullins River Bridge which was destroyed by severe flash floods during the passage of Tropical Storm Arthur in 2008. The cost of the design and construction of the bridge is BZ$4,461,172.36 with a design/build period of 12 months. The project will be supervised by BECA International Consultants Limited with the assistance of the Project Execution Unit. Funding for the project is provided by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and the Government of Belize. HE&W; Consulting of Barbados signed a BZ$857,290.87 contract for the study of the impact of dredging the Mouth of Belize River and Haulover Creek. Using Global Positioning System (GPS), the consulting firm will provide the exact location of the project site as well as a scaled map, indicating the area considered under the study – all of Haulover Creek and at least one mile into the sea (equivalent to 12 km overall on this stretch) and the other stretch equivalent to 24 km, from the Boom Cut off (Boom Bridge) to the mouth of the Belize River and one mile into the sea.

Draft of Municipal Plans developed for San Ignacio and Santa Elena Towns
A working document or draft of the Municipal Development Project Plan for the Twin Towns of San Ignacio and Santa Elena has been presented to residents. The contents of the documents were disclosed on Thursday, December 4 at the Cayo Welcome Center in San Ignacio Town. The work in progress comes as part of technical assistance under the Municipal Development Project now being implemented by the Social Investment Fund (SIF) in nine of the municipalities in Belize, except for Belize City and San Pedro. As explained by Clifford King, Local Government Officer working within the Ministry of Local Government, the Municipal Development Project is funded by a 30 million dollar loan facility from the World Bank that was signed in 2010. Under this Project streets have been improved such as West Street in San Ignacio and Eden Drive in Santa Elena, but additional fulcrum have been provided to the San Ignacio based Town Council over the last four years to bring about improved municipal management. Thus; a detailed forward plan that spans for over a decade (fifteen years) for the Twin Towns has been developed, which has already been presented to some stakeholders but more input is now needed from the public.

Sugar Industry back on its feet - Final documents to be signed
Prime Minister Dean Barrow's intervention into the Sugar Industry has once again yielded results that will see the beginning of the 2014/2015 cane crop. It is a well publicized fact that cane farmers and the factory owners couldn't agree on a value of the payment for bagasse. It has caused both sides a great frustration to solve this issue that spilled over into the commercial agreement for last year's crop. An interim agreement was only reached after Prime Minister Barrow and his Government team brought both sides to the tape for candid discussions over what the cane farmers would need for them to deliver their cane. The farmers wanted this bagasse dispute solved before the next crop year started, and BSI gave an undertaking that they would seek to try their best to come to an agreement for bagasse. For months they met and had discussions about the price for bagasse, but that stalled due to the huge disparity in the figure that the farmers want for the bagasse and what Belize Sugar Industries Limited was comfortable paying.

Richard Harrison writing bounce checks
On Tuesday of this week, a businessman visited the Guardian Newspaper to provide us with the attached check. There seemed to have been absolutely nothing wrong with it, of course, we have an untrained eye. It was not until the businessman pointed to us that the check was made of rubber. Yes, Richard Harrison on December 4, just two weeks ago paid someone with this $400 dollar check. The problem with the transaction is that the check did not have sufficient funds in it and it bounced. Yes, the PUP candidate for Cayo North wrote a check and there were insufficient funds in the account. This is no surprise to the Guardian. We have consistently been saying that Richard Harrison is bankrupt.

GSU Parties with City Children
Officers of the Gang Suppression Unit invited some of Belize City’s most unfortunate children to the Queen Street Police Station on Monday afternoon, December 15, for a time of dancing, feasting and merry making. The unit issued invitations to 75 children, mostly from the Southside, but by the time the event started on the roof top of the police station there were more than one hundred youngsters present. Corporal Samuel Bonilla said, “We prepared for 75 children but I can assure you that none of them will leave here empty handed.” Corporal Bonilla held true to that assurance, thanks in large part to Caves Branch Adventure Company. Caves Branch assigned its top chef, Executive Chef Peter Brewer, to attend the event and prepare a meal for the children. Brewer cooked rice and beans with barbecued chicken for the party. He prepared nachos for the appetizer and his assistants also served fresh fruit and a slice of cake. Brewer says he loves cooking, “but nothing can compare to the satisfaction of watching the children enjoy the meal he prepared.” He says Caves Branch’s owner, Ian Anderson, was excited to partner with the Gang Suppression Unit to bring some Christmas cheer to the children.

Good to Know
Belize and Belizeans are governed by a set of rules called laws. The original set of rules from which these were derived was known as Barnaby’s Codes. There are sections in these laws that due to the fact that they are seldom used we don’t even know they exist and as strange as some of them may sound, these are our Laws… It is generally believed that law enforcement officers need a warrant for everything except when they are dealing with Firearms and or ammunition but it is stated under the QUARANTINE ACT CHAPTER 41 PART V under Miscellaneous section 10.-(1) It shall be the duty of every member of the police department to enforce, using force if necessary, compliance with this Act and with any order, instruction or condition lawfully made, given or imposed by any officer or other person under the authority of this Act, and for such purpose any member of the police department may board any ship or aircraft and may enter any premises without a warrant.

Belize attends Climate change conference in Lima
Belize coordinated the participation of SICA (the Central American Integration System) countries in this year’s Conference of the Parties (COP20) in Lima, Peru, December 1-12th. The Conference of the Parties is designated as the supreme governing body of the United Nation’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), aimed at reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The Convention entered into force in 1994 with 195 countries submitting their instruments of ratification. These countries meet once a year, for two weeks, in order to evaluate the application of the Convention and develop the negotiation process between the Parties in front of new commitments. Belize is the Pro Tempore President of CCAD (Council of Ministers of the Environment) within SICA, and this is the first time that SICA countries are participating in the COP20 as a coordinated SICA delegation.

Biting Season!
If you are wondering how a group of people so staunchly opposed to the berthing facility in Southern Belize is now leading the campaign for the State Bank project; You Do Not Know Money. Christmas is just around the corner and “man need fu eet”. COLA’s President Geovanni Brackett has suddenly become the great crusader for Mike Feinstein’s project. And FECTAB’s President, Tom Greenwood, we can say has been on the wagon a long time ago. The Feinstein Group of Companies (FCG) is waiting to move forward on a US$150 million project off the coast of Belize City that involves the development of Stake Bank Island and North Drowned Caye into first class destinations for foreign and domestic tourists. Feinstein will invest US$67.5 million to develop the island into an entertainment centre with a port for the berthing of cruise ships. The port will be capable of hosting four voyager class cruise ships at any given time. Stake Bank will also provide a marina for transiting yachts and facilities for shops, restaurants and bars, nightclubs and other entertainment venues. There will also be an “independent entertainment and shopping area for cruise crew members” as well as a Mayan themed water park. The second feature of the project has been dubbed Ocean View Grand. It is an US$89 million investment in the development of North Drowned Caye into a multiuse luxury village resort. North Drowned Caye is located two nautical miles from Belize City.

Harrison
From what I have gathered, political pundits all agree that the by-election on January 5, 2015 to fill the parliamentary seat in Cayo North vacated by Joseph Mahmud will be a crucial gauge of the mood of the voters. The most recent such indicator of support was on November 18 in Belmopan, but that show of numbers for the United Democratic Party was not an election: some say it was just an outing. January 5, then, will be a solid yardstick by which both political parties will be measured. When we look at the candidates, it is difficult to disagree that the UDP’s Figueroa seems the more attractive of the two aspirants, with Mr. Harrison coming across as the underdog, for various reasons. To me, Figueroa is more articulate in his presentations and very composed in his demeanor. Harrison seems to have no tangible platform to stand on, or point to. His campaign strategy so far centers on being on the defensive, in that he claims to have failed in several of his business ventures because of new economic policies introduced by the UDP Government.

Disingenuous Leaders
The saga that has been the crop season for the year 2015 has presented many challenges to all the industry stakeholders. Belize Sugar Industries and the Cane Farmers Association had been at loggerheads for some time now over several points concerning the ownership of the bi-products of sugar cane delivered to the mill. For several years both parties have agreed to disagree and nothing ever came out of it. Of course, those at the helm of the cane farmers association have traditionally supported the PUP. For context we will enumerate some of the so called leaders of the association, we start with Carlos Magana who ran for the PUP, Ramon Monchie Cervantes who is a PUP standard bearer, Alfredo Ortega who ran for PUP and was defeated in a convention by Monchie, Oscar Alonzo who is a known PUP and the list goes on.

Barranco Pier Renovation
On Friday, December 12th, 2014 a contract for the repair of the Barranco Village Pier, which was damaged during a storm in early October, was signed between the Chairman of the Barranco Village Council Dr. Joseph O. Palacio and contractor, Mr. Alexander “Sonny” Garbutt. The reconstruction project, which is scheduled to be completed in January 2015, is being financed by the Office of the Prime Minister and will be supervised by the Ministry of Works. The works total a little over BZ$41,000.00 and is one of the largest recent inflows the village has received for infrastructural development. The project will be most welcomed by residents as it is expected to create employment for Barranco Village.

Finca Solana
I have stopped reading articles submitted to the Amandala by Clinton Luna for several years, since I believe that he is a very angry and a very troubled person. The last time I perused his writing was when he verbally attacked a couple of American citizens because during walks, their dogs’ barking irritated him when they passed his house. His masked demand from Government at that time was to basically have the Americans deported from Belize. To me this was not the reaction of a mature, learned individual. Since that awkward incident,I decided, as is my right, to ignore his ramblings. In any instance, from time to time readers would bring certain articles to my attention and ask me to respond, because it seems that the Amandala has given Clinton Luna free rein to write whatever he wants, whenever he wants, even if his views are bigoted and divisive.

Mayors of Belize Deliver for Municipal Workers
without fear of political victimization, thanks to a document endorsed by each member of the Mayors Association of Belize on Wednesday, December 17, 2014. The Mayors of Belize signed an agreement to abide by the policies and stipulations of the Municipal Service Regulations, a document drafted to establish a consistent set of policies and practices for all nine municipal governments. Honourable Senator Godwin Hulse says it is a historic day for the country, one that is supported by senior officials of both major political parties. Hulse says the Ministry of Local Government has been pushing for the universal regulations since 2008 and he is glad that it is now passed with him as Minister. The Belize Mayors’ Association made the establishment of the document a priority item on their agenda in the first quarter of this year. A taskforce was then commissioned consisting of city/town administrators, human resource representatives and legal officers from all nine municipalities. Three Mayors also worked with the taskforce along with Ministry’s Director of Local Government. The taskforce was responsible to review the public service regulations, labor act and other international treaties dealing with municipal workers. They were then to engage employees of the councils’ offices and put together a document that will direct operational procedures for all municipal governments. The taskforce worked together for more than eight months before the document was ready to be presented. Mayor Darrell Bradley of Belize City and Mayor Kevin Bernard of Orange Walk Town were instrumental in providing legal advice and public service guidelines.

Prime Minister’s Opening Statement XLIV Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Central American Integration System (SICA)
On behalf of the people of Belize I welcome you to our beautiful southern shores here on the Placencia peninsula. In doing so I continue a long tradition of Belizean hospitality. Our people delight in sharing both personal warmth and the paradisiacal charm of our natural bounty with all who come in peace and friendship. Please, therefore, sientensen en casa, at the foothills of our Maya Mountains where the drums of our Garinagu reverberate in the valleys and the melodies of our Mayan Marimbas steal softly down to the Caribbean Sea. Today’s 44th Summit of SICA marks the culmination of Belize’s stewardship of the pro tempore presidency of our integration movement, and it is now my duty to provide you with a status report. Your Excellences, Ladies and Gentlemen,I am happy to be able to say that SICA is strong; and that our efforts at building better economies, stronger democracies, healthier environments and inclusive societies continue to bear good fruit.

Body of well known disc jockey found in Esperanza Village, Cayo
Three persons are currently in detention by San Ignacio Police in connection with the death of 24 year old Samir Fernandez, whose body was found by Police at about 4:30 pm on Wednesday of last week. His body was found at the far end of the Sedacy dirt road, south of Esperanza Village and some three miles away from his home. Samir Fernandez had injuries to the forehead and to another part of his head. He had apparently been lured from his home to a secluded area and hit on the most vulnerable portion of his body with a blunt object. Police investigations have so far revealed that Fernandez was still alive at 10:00 am on Tuesday of last week and from his last text messages to other persons have been able to verify his movements that morning. He had left his home on Tuesday in a taxi. Police are also connecting with the Belize City Formation, which has also detained another person who can assist with the ongoing investigations.

Brothers who professed to be gang members out on bail
Brothers Roy Bennett and Ryan Bennett are out on Supreme Court bail after spending more than two months on remand for allegedly professing to be members of the Gill Street Gang. Their cousin Maurice Felix was release on December 5 but freedom took a week longer for them. The three were arrested on September, 25, for possession of a controlled drug and professing to be a member of a criminal gang. They pleaded not guilty to both charges but professing is not a bailable offense at the Magistrates Court. All three were remanded at the Belize Central Prison.

Taxi Thieves in Chetumal threaten to have warning emitted by Belize
The Mexican Newspaper Novedadez Quintana Roo reported on Wednesday that the state of Quintana Roo is preparing in the event that Belize issues an advisory to its citizens when they visit Chetumal. The worry stems from multiple reports appearing on Facebook in which Belizeans complain that they have been robbed by taxi drivers in that, a popular shopping Mecca for Belizeans.

Another Chopping murder in Corozal
On Tuesday, December 9, police caught a Corozal man red-handed while he was chopping another to death. On Sunday, December 14, Corozal investigators had to respond to a second chopping incident just outside of Paraiso Village in which 2 persons were killed, presumably by the same assailant. Acting on information received, they visited a farm less than a mile North East of the Village where they saw the lifeless body of a woman identified to them as Heidy Atherly. She was found in the yard with multiple chop wounds to the head, neck, and upper limbs. Inside a small concrete house, they found the body of 49 year-old Salvadoran Fernando Rivas, a cane cutter who resides there. He too had multiple chop wounds to the head, neck and upper limbs.

GAS GONE DOWN AGAIN!!! Diesel is now $7.88, Regular is $8

Young Mother Gets Bail from Ammunition Charge
Danika Usher, 23, mother of a 2-month-old baby is extremely lucky to be home on bail from an illegal ammunition charge. Attorney Ellis Arnold got the Supreme Court to waive a two weeks waiting period for bail applications and secured bail for Usher on Friday, December 12. On Wednesday, December 3, police visited Cardinez Alley in Belize City where they conducted a search of Danika Usher’s home. Police found a bullet in one of the rooms and arrested the four persons who were in the house at the time. Danika Usher was charged along with her cousin, Shantel, and two brothers Donovan Charles Usher, 19, and a 16-year-old minor.

Police United top seed into the Premier League of Belize playoff
The Premier League of Belize Opening Tournament regular season came to an end on Sunday 14 December, 2014 with one single game on the schedule. In that game played out at the Norman Broaster Stadium in San Ignacio Town, the visiting Belize Defence Force and the host team Verdes FC played to a 0-0 draw. With that draw both teams have qualified to the playoff round of the Opening Tournament. The tournament continued on Saturday 13 December, with three games on the schedule. In the game played out at the Michael Ashcroft Stadium in Independence Village, the host team Placencia Texmar Assassins defeated Wagiya by the score of 6-2.

St. Catherine Academy and St. John’s College are National High Schools Basketball Champions
The National Secondary Schools Sports Association and Bowen and Bowen Basketball Tournament were played over the last weekend at Bird’s Isle in Belize City. On Saturday 13 December, 2014, in the female championship game, St. Catherine Academy representing the Central Region defeated Muffles College representing the Northern Region by the score of 26-23 to capture the 2014-2015 national title. The top scorers for St. Catherine Academy were Indie Dixon and Andreinae Samuels with 6 points each. The top scorers for Muffles College were Zetina Catzim with 8 points and Julia Puerto with 7 points. In the third place game Delille Academy representing the Southern Region defeated Sacred Heart College representing the Western Region by the score of 36-24. The top scorer for Delille Academy was Starite Requena with 22 points and the top scorer for Sacred Heart College was Kellsea Wade with 8 points.

Giovanni Lovell captures SMART Test Race
The Cycling Federation of Belize in collaboration with SMART sponsored an Open Elite Test race on Sunday, 14 December, 2014. The race started from in front of SMART Headquarters on the Phillip Goldson Highway to Carmelita Village and then back to the SMART Headquarters. The first rider to cross the finish line was Giovanni Lovell of BTL Cycling Team. The second rider to finish was Brandon Cattouse of C-Ray Road Addikz and he was followed by Byron Pope of Benny’s Megabytes, Henry Moreira of SMART Cycling Team and David Henderson also of SMART Cycling Team to round off the top five finishers in the race.

Jaguars United is Vega’s Cup champions
The 2014 Vega Cup Tournament came to an end on Sunday, 14 December, at the People’s Stadium in Orange Walk Town with the third place game as well as the championship game. In the third place game played, Awe V United blanked San Antonio FC by the score of 1-0. The only goal of the game was scored by Edwanie Munoz in the 11th minute of play to give his team an early lead in the game. That lead was never relinquished by Awe V United. For finishing third in the championship, Awe V United received for their prize $1000.00 in cash, a team trophy and individual trophies for the players and coaching staff. For San Antonio FC fourth place finished it received $500.00 cash and a team trophy.

Cop Charged with extortion
Police in San Pedro have arrested and charged police constable John Arana with extortion. Police report that on Friday, December 12, they responded to a report of an extortion in progress and they visited Mamacita's Entertainment Bar which is located on Angel Coral Drive in San Pedro Town. When they arrived they found P.C. John Arana making his way out of the establishment. Police conducted a search on him and in his wallet they found 10- 50 dollar bills alleged to have been extorted from the establishment's owner. The businessman told police that Arana had approached him and instead of going to court for bills he owed to a supermarket he could make it go away for a fee. At the time Arana asked for 200 dollars up front and for an additional 1000 dollars which he would pick up on Friday. The businessman then gave him 2 - 100 dollar bills and Arana left.

Robbery turns near fatal in Mahogany Heights
Mahogany Heights Village experienced a dangerous shooting incident on Thursday, December 11, in which 5 persons could have been injured. Fortunately, only one out of the entire group was injured, and he managed to survive the attack. At around 6 p.m., five residents got off a bus and were walking through a grassy path into the village when a dark complexioned man, who was wearing a hooded shirt, approached them. That man then proceeded to hold them up at gunpoint, which caused everyone to panic and flee. At that moment, the gunman started firing at the group, but he ended up hitting 22 year-old Joel Winston Seawell in the right side of the mouth and lower back. He managed to escape and sought help from one of the villagers who rushed him to the Western Regional Hospital for medical treatment.

Chain Saw out on bail
James Swazo, 38, also know as the chain saw man, was offered bail in the sum of $5,000 plus two sureties of $2,500 each by Justice Antoinette Moore on Friday, December 12. Swazo was charged along with Burton Claire, 20, Gavan Claire, 19, and Kyle Carter, 19, for keeping a .38 Special revolver and ammunition without a gun license. There was an armed robbery at a Chinese Grocery Store on Albert Hoy St. in the Belama area on Thursday, October 30. Three men entered the shop demanding money. One was armed with a chrome handgun and another went behind the cash register and took out $741. The men then ran into a waiting green Geo Prizm and drove out from the area. Quick police response resulted in the men being tracked and captured on Coney Drive. Inside the vehicle were four men along with the loot and a .38 Special revolver loaded with four rounds. They were arrested and taken to the Queen Street Police Station.

Hon Rene Montero Christmas 8-ball tournament, Santa Elena Cayo
The Hon. Rene Montero Christmas 8-ball tournament continued at Link-up Bar in Santa Elena, Cayo on Sunday, December 14, where it was the grand semi-finals with the following results. Series #1, team seeded # 2, Link-Up defeated team seeded #3, Camp 6 in a truly exciting best of two matches. In the first match, Camp 6 looked good as Rogelio Boteo shot like never before in this tournament as he downed Erwin Woodye, Jr, 4-1. But, Jimmy Rudon of Link-Up tied up the match as he turned it up by beating Angel Vargas 4-3. Then, Juan 'Maestro' Villanueva taught Mark 'Bukis' Trujillo a lesson by winning him, 4-1. This meant Link-up won the first match, 2-1. So, we go to the next match, which means that two players from Camp 6 needed to win to force a tie-breaker, and sure enough that’s what happened. The first game saw Angel Vargas meeting Jimmy Rudon again, but this time Angel won Jimmy, 4-2. Then Wayne Wiltshire chalked up for Link-Up and defeated Mark Trujillo, 4-1 which tied up the match. The third game was won by Rogelio Boteo over Juan Villanueva as Boteo racked Juan 4-3, though Juan had the golden opportunity but Boteo made him pay.

Patrick Jones

Special Envoy for Women and Children reports a successful year
It has been a successful year for the Office of Special Envoy for Women and Children Kim Simplis-Barrow, capped by Tuesday’s reception of specially equipped vehicles for clients of the Inspiration Center. Looking forward to 2015, the construction and equipping of a Pediatric Intensive Care Unit for the […]

Salvation Army hands out Christmas packages
Belize City residents were the first to benefit from the annual drive of the Salvation Army to spread the joy of Christmas to all Belizeans this morning with the first distributions of over 500 packages of basic food items to needy residents of the Old Capital. The items […]

Police to put on show for City residents
This coming Friday the Police Department’s Drama Group and the Office of the Commissioner are hosting Belize City residents at the BTL Park for a special interactive event. We got a preview from Deputy Officer Commanding Eastern Division Senior Superintendent Edward Broaster who said the initiative is the […]

Non-custodial sentence for man who plead guilty to drug trafficking
His house was searched while he was not home, but 33 year old Wallace Rubio, unemployed of Hattieville, Belize District, admitted to possession of 10 pounds of cannabis with the intent to distribute, which is drug trafficking. Rubio today pleaded guilty before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer, changing his […]

Man accused of gang affiliation is given bail
It is a charge increasingly thrown at Belize City residents as police attack the gang structure at its roots, but there was a dispute in Magistrate’s Court today over exactly what it means to display gang membership. 19 year old Jason Philip Briceño was one of two persons […]

Men plead guilty to robbery attack outside barroom
21 year old Iran Jones began a five-year sentence for robbery and wounding today, pleading guilty before Senior Magistrate Sharon Frazer in the No. 2 Magistrate’s Court. He along with 21 year old Lorenzo Ogaldez, who also pleaded guilty, is accused of robbing and attacking boat repairman 28 […]

Man charged for double murder in Paraiso, Corozal
Sixty seven year old Jose Antonio Santos has been arrested and charged for the double murder which happened on Sunday morning in Paraiso village, Corozal. Santos was arraigned before Magistrate Hurl Hamilton on two counts of murder in the brutal murder of 22 year old Heidi Teresita Chable […]

Christmas parade this weekend in Punta Gorda town
A Christmas parade will take place this coming Saturday in Punta Gorda town. The event is the collaborative effort of the Punta Gorda town council and the Drums Not Guns group. Organizer of the Christmas parade Janine Johnson says it will start at 4 o’clock on Saturday afternoon […]

International Sources

Los mejores hoteles sobre el mar
De México a Bora Bora, aquí un recuento de los más exclusivos resorts encallados sobre las aguas del océano. Este fin de año nos dimos a la tarea de recorrer el planeta para presentarte los mejores hoteles que ofrecen a sus visitantes bungalows construidos sobre el mar. Toma nota y ve planeando la última escapada de tus vacaciones de esta temporada. 5. Cayo Espanto (San Pedro, Belice) ¿Alguna vez has soñado con tener una isla propia? Pues bien, lo más cercano a este pensamiento es Cayo Espanto, una isla bañada por las aguas del Caribe, que ofrece a todos los turistas un universo de confort, lujo y descanso. Cayo Espanto sólo cuenta con seis habitaciones y un Bungalow, hecho que hace que los pocos visitantes tengan a su alcance toda la isla. Además, existe la posibilidad de recibir un masaje en el Spa y disfrutar del Restaurante del lugar, que tiene una carta repleta de platillos tradicionales. Las tarifas van de los 1,500 a los 2 mil dólares por noche, y si quieres visitar este exótico lugar, lo mejor es que reserves con anticipación.

North American expats reveal the beauty of Belize
Retired expats living in Belize have spoken about why they have chosen to live in the English speaking Caribbean country which they say offers a comfortable lifestyle on a reasonable budget. They enjoy the beaches and the mountains and claim they can live on between US$2,000 and US$3,000 per month. Many are Americans who also say they still feel close to home. Belize has a population of 330,000, is located below Mexico’s Yucatan peninsula and has a rich heritage including Maya temples, seaside condos, jungle lodges, and colonial mansions. The main settlement, San Pedro, is described as a bustling town with lots of tourists and expats. But Ambergris Caye is the most established of the expat communities in Belize and has seen considerable growth in the last 10 years.

Belize expands visa waivers
Belize's Ministry of Immigration has decided to expand the list of countries whose citizens do not need a visa to enter the Central American nation. Immigration Minister Godwin Hulse said citizens from Japan, South Korea, Colombia and Brazil, as well as U.S. permanent residents, will benefit from the decision, according to Belize's 7 News television. "The reason for that is very simple, we are pushing tourism. COPA wants to fly in from South America to Belize," Hulse said, adding that his ministry can't "hang up people having to apply and it's taking a long time, so we waived the visa requirements." He said citizens from roughly 50 countries don't require visas to come to Belize.

Belize elimina exigência de visto de vários países, entre eles o Brasil
O Ministério de Imigração de Belize decidiu eliminar a necessidade de visto de vários países da Ásia e da América Latina, entre eles o Brasil, com o objetivo de impulsionar o turismo, informou nesta quinta-feira a imprensa local. O canal "7 News" divulgou declarações escritas do ministro de Imigração, Godwin Hulse, em que explica que, além dos brasileiros, serão beneficiados os cidadãos de Colômbia, Japão e Coreia do Sul e residentes permanentes dos Estados Unidos. "A razão é muito simples: estamos impulsionando o turismo. A Copa (companhia aérea) quer oferecer viagens de Belize rumo à América do Sul", afirmou. O titular da pasta acrescentou que para atrair novos turistas à Belize não será conveniente deixar as pessoas esperando em aeroportos com "solicitações que tomam muito tempo"

RE/MAX SELLS TWO INTERNATIONAL MASTER FRANCHISES
Global real estate franchisor RE/MAX, LLC divided and sold their Caribbean and Central America (CCA) region today. The new owners of RE/MAX Caribbean and Central America are John and Lucinda Turley of Belize, and Ricardo and Teresa Cardenas of El Salvador. A new RE/MAX Dominican Republic region is now owned by Mélido and Marianela Marte of Santo Domingo. "These two new owner groups are the perfect region owners. Each of these individuals has been a successful member of the RE/MAX network for many years. This change in ownership feels like a natural progression that demonstrates the 'Everybody Wins' philosophy at RE/MAX," says Larry Oberly, Vice President, Global Development, RE/MAX, LLC. John Turley has owned two successful brokerages in Belize since 2009, earning the title of the #1 real estate brokerage in that country from 2011-2013 for RE/MAX Southwind in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, and the #1 real estate brokerage in Caye Caulker Village in 2013 for RE/MAX Island Real Estate. Turley himself was recognized as the #1 RE/MAX Global Sales Associate in 2013 and has been a Top 30 RE/MAX Sales Associate since 2011.

8 Luxury Treetop Stays to Experience
BLANCANEAUX LODGE Mountain Pine Ridge, BELIZE In the protected Caribbean forest of Mountain Pine Ridge, the Francis Ford Coppola mountain lodge Blancaneaux Lodge is located in one of the highest points of the country, and from its vantage point in the forest, affords views over the surrounding area, with a cooler climate for outdoor pursuits. The Balinese-style lodge overlooks a small river and waterfall, which you can look out on from the lodge's private infinity pools. The lodge is near the ancient Maya archaeological site of Caracol, and a pool, spa and stables are all a part of Blancaneaux Lodge too.

DirecTV secures FIFA rights in the Caribbean
DirecTV has acquired the exclusive Caribbean media rights to FIFA events across all platforms from 2015 through 2022, which includes the FIFA Women's World Cup 2015, the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the FIFA Women's World Cup 2019 and the 2022 FIFA World Cup, among other FIFA events. The agreement includes the territories of Antigua & Barbuda, Anguilla, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Lucia, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Vincent, Surinam, Trinidad & Tobago and the Turks and Caicos.

Novelty driving sales of fruits from Caribbean, Central America
Produce items coming out of Central America and the Caribbean are numerous and several are gaining in popularity. Robert Schueller, director of public relations for World Variety Produce in Los Angeles, which markets under the Melissa’s label, said his company is having success with red Caribbean papaya from Belize, okra from Honduras and snow peas, sugar snaps and rambutan from Guatemala. “Red Caribbean papaya has shown the most growth potential over the last four to five years, especially,” Schueller said. There’s growing demand for “a sweeter large papaya variety,” as compared with the maradol papaya, he said. Jessie Capote, owner of Miami-based J&C; Tropicals, said mangoes and green-skin avocados are among his company’s biggest-selling items. “There’s more variety coming from those countries, and there are more distribution points. There’s just a lot growth in that category all the way around,” Capote said. Mangoes have entered the mainstream with other staple fruits, he said.

SICA pushes for stopping child migration, welcomes Cuba-U.S. pact
Leaders at the Central American Integration System, SICA, summit have agreed to continue pushing for actions to stop the migration of unaccompanied children to the U.S. and congratulated this nation and Cuba for their agreement to normalize relations after a more than five-decade break. The 44th Summit of the heads of the SICA nations, held in Belize, also agreed Wednesday on a human-centered approach in the Post-2015 Development Agenda, after the expiry of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals next year. On the initiative of Panamanian President Juan Carlos Varela, SICA approved a resolution congratulating the U.S. and Cuba for agreeing to renew diplomatic ties. SICA, with headquarters in San Salvador, said in a statement that the summit dealt with the group's five pillars of priority: social integration, economic integration, institutional reinforcement, democratic security and risk management, and climate change.

Belize Provides a Luxurious Home Away from Home for the Holidays
There is a growing trend for holiday travel, and more families are looking for new and unique holiday experiences. Families are realizing that spending Christmas abroad can actually take stress out of the holidays, and create the opportunity for loved ones to truly connect and spend quality time together. This Christmas, Villa Verano will be transformed into a luxurious “home away from home”. Located on the beach, Villa Verano is within close proximity to jungles, rivers, waterfalls, as well as the spectacular Belize Barrier Reef with an abundance of diving, snorkeling and fishing adventures. Christmas in Belize is magical. The weather is perfect for exploring jungles, reefs and ancient Mayan cities. Families will experience the familiar elements of the holidays, but in a warm, tropical setting. Most Belizeans share in the traditional rituals of Christmas. Decorating, baking and socializing are the highlights of the holidays, and with so many ethnic groups, the celebrations are truly multi-cultural.

Videos

Manatee Footage in Belize from Blackbird Caye Resort, 1/2min. Manatee sightings like this are rare. On a recent dive trip to the Great Blue Hole our very own Cardinal was able to capture this amazing footage of the West Indian Antillean manatee. Cardinal has been with us for 5 years and was his first time seeing one so that tells you how rare this is! Enjoy....

Bamboo Beach Resort - Copper Bank, Belize - Central America, 12min. Aerial video and some stills of the Bamboo Beach Resort in Copper Bank, Belize, Central America

Belize Vimeo, 4min.

San Pedro Belize 2014, 12min. This is a video of my vacation to San Pedro Belize December 2014

Trilogy The best proposal, surprise wedding and honeymoon set 1.part Proposal in Lands of Maya, 9min. This is a video of my proposal, surprise wedding and honeymoon which took place 10000 km away from my home in Latvia - in Central America and Caribbean. My girlfriend thought we are going only for two and half weeks long trip to Guatemala, Honduras and Belize, but trip was extended to 7 weeks. In Belize she got proposed at secluded Caribbean island, than 4 weeks latter, she was taken to uninhabited island and one of the most beautiful and inaccessible beaches in the Pacific – Playa de Amor. None knew about wedding plans, even our parents and herself, and everything was organized behind hers back. She thought it was the last hours of the trip, but straight after wedding there was another surprise to come – honeymoon for one month in Mexico, Florida, Puerto Rico and Caribbean islands.

Vinelli Teaser, 3min. Richard Vinelli is the founder of the Ojojona Foundation and the interim representative of the Honduran Consulate to Belize.

Belize Bike Rally 2014 Ride Slide Show, 15min. First Belize Bike Rally, February, 2014. We are so fortunate to have ridden our motorcycle from Los Angeles, California all the way to Belize City, Belize, Central America, to join the celebration of the historic first Belize Bike Rally. We hope and pray that we could be able to attend in February next year the second Belize Bike Rally.

Belize 2014, 4.5min.

Althea Moses Belizean Cultural Dance, 3min. With Lorna Smith & Ms. Myrna At Lil Belize Restaurant Event Center

Belize vs Honduras punta style pt1, 2min. Big Music

December 18, 2014

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Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5 and CTV 3
Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and the Dickie Bradley Specials

The San Pedro Sun

The Island Academy Presents "Christmas Around the World." (7 photos)

Clive Myers, Director of Marketing resigns from BTB days after receiving new position
On Wednesday, December 17th The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) issued a press release stating that yet another acting Director of Marketing and Industry Relation had been appointed. Karen Pike, Director of Information Management, took over the position after the unexpected resignation of newly appointed Director of Marketing and Industry Relation, Clive Myers. One Monday, December 15th Myers was appointed to hold the position formerly held by Alyssa Carnegie after her resignation on Thursday, November 13th.

Historic! Cuba and USA normalize relationship after 50 years of embargo
After more than 50 years of embargo, the United States of America (USA) took the historic steps in charting a new course in their relations with the Cuba government. The announcement came following the exchange of prisoners between the two governments on the morning of Wednesday December 17th, a decision that shocked the world. USA has sanctioned the Castro led Cuban Government in 1961 after the relationship deteriorated between the two countries. After more than five decades, The President of the US Barrack Obama has moved to engage the Cuban government and in a televised statement said that the mechanism will be put in place to normalize relationships between the two countries via a new US Cuban policy.

Announcement of Cuba Policy Changes
I was a seventeen year old kid watching on a black and white television set when I first heard an American President talk of Cuba as an “imprisoned island.” For five and a half decades since, our policy toward Cuba has remained virtually frozen, and done little to promote a prosperous, democratic and stable Cuba. Not only has this policy failed to advance America’s goals, it has actually isolated the United States instead of isolating Cuba. Since 2009, President Obama has taken steps forward to change our relationship and improve the lives of the Cuban people by easing restrictions on remittances and family travel. With this new opening, the President has committed the United States to begin to chart an even more ambitious course forward.

Alleged rogue Tourism Police officer caught extorting businessman in San Pedro
Police on Ambergris Caye have arrested and charged a Tourism Police (TP) after he was caught extorting a businessman in a planned operation. The operation took place on Friday around 11:40AM when TP John Arana returned to collect a sum of money he had allegedly demanded earlier from the proprietor of a bar establishment. The TP has been charged for extortion and faces interdiction. According to police, prior to the operation, they were informed by the owner of Mamacita’s Entertainment Bar located on Angel Coral Drive, San Pedro Town, that Arana had visited the establishment. Police say that Arana had knowledge of the bar owner having financial issues before the court over bills owed to a supermarket. According to police, Arana told the owner of Mamacita’s that he could prevent him from going to court if he paid him a total of $1,200. The owner gave Arana $200 on the first day with the understanding that TP Arana would return on Friday December 12th for the remaining $1,000.

San Pedro Preschool hosts Christmas Party
It was all about Santa on Wednesday, December 10th as San Pedro Preschool hosted their annual Christmas Party. Parents and invited guests were treated to Christmas inspired songs and skit presentations by the toddlers and teachers. At the end of the night, Santa made a guest appearance bringing gifts for all the boys and girls.

Sanpedranos pay homage to La Virgen de Guadalupe
A large crowd of Catholic faithful gathered inside and outside of the San Pedro Roman Catholic Church to pay homage to the Virgin of Our Lady Guadalupe. The event took place on December 11th as part of the celebration of the Mexican Saint considered the Virgin Saint of the Americas. The festivities included Novenas (prayers) and an all night dedication and serenade ending with a procession on the evening of December 12th. The celebration of the Virgin of Our Lady of Guadalupe is one of the largest celebrations in Latin America, especially in Mexico. It dates back to the story of her appearance before Saint Juan Diego, an indigenous Indian farmer, on the Tepeyac Mount in Mexico in 1531. To commemorate her sainthood and birthday, millions of Roman Catholic believers across the world planned several events.

Ambergris Today

Clive Myers is BTB’s Acting Director of Marketing & Industry Relations
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) is pleased to announce that Mr. Clive Myers has been appointed to act in the position of “Director, Marketing and Industry Relations”, as of Monday, December 15, 2014. Up until his appointment, Clive served as the BTB’s Destination Planning and Development Coordinator. During his tenure, he was instrumental in commissioning tourism strategies and economic impact studies for implementation as outlined in the National Sustainable Master Plan, as well as in the development and execution of the annual Village Arts Expo. Prior to that, he served as a Local Events and Press Officer at the BTB and as a Creative Arts Development Officer at the Institute of Creative Arts (ICA).

Belize No. 7 Tourism Brand in Central America - by Bloom Consulting
According to Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © 2014 Tourism Edition, this year Belize has remained on the 7th position in the region of Central America followed by its main rivals Nicaragua (8th) and Guyana (9th). Belize ranks #30 in the Americas List. The research indicates that Belize is performing very modest in all the variables; however, the best results are related to the field of digital demand by having a rather high number of online searches in terms of tourism. Also the growth rates in international tourism receipts and arrivals show low rates because the country is not advertising itself enough online.

Misc Belizean Sources

Amigos Del Mar Moves Forward
Anyone familiar with diving in Belize knows the name Amigos del Mar, fondly known as simply ‘Amigos’. For over twenty five years Amigos have operated one of the premiere diving companies in Belize and as such have played an essential role in building the reputation of Ambergris Caye and Belize as a top dive destination. Amigos is well known for having the highest standards for safety and divers return year after year to dive with them. This has been good for resorts and for tourism. There is a saying ‘when the going gets tough, the tough get going’ and now it’s Amigos’ turn to get going. In May of this year there was an allegation of sexual assault made against Gerson Cordon, who was studying to be a Dive Master under the tutelage of independent Diving Instructor Marciano Mendez. The allegation involves a female student, who was undertaking a private course of instruction with Mr. Mendez. Neither student was a customer of Amigos del Mar, nor was Amigos del Mar receiving any money for their training. Mr. Mendez was paid directly. Many independent diving instructors use the Amigos dock and rent equipment from them. The allegation of sexual assault was, quite correctly, reported to the police and is currently going through the court process. Amigos del Mar would like to make it absolutely clear that they do not tolerate sexual harassment of any kind and would terminate any employee found guilty of such a crime.

UB Grade Reports
Grade Reports will be available online to students on Thursday, December 18, 2014.

Prime Minister Barrow greets President Molina of Guatemala
Prime Minister Barrow greeted President Molina of Guatemala at the airport earlier today. Belize will officially hand over Presidency of SICA to Guatemala at today's summit.

Highlights from 44th Summit of the Central American Integration System (SICA) Heads of States (23 photos)

Christmas Shoppers in Guatemala
With no protest from from Belize, residents or Belize or Melchor merchants. The new SAT new tariff of Q160. per Belize registered vehicle for 72 hrs., has not slowed down the Belizean shoppers arriving early to do their Christmas shopping in Melchor, Guatemala. One critic from Benque has commented "LOL."

DISAPPEARING NET
The Belmopan Tennis Club has reported to the Belmopan Police that on the morning of Tuesday 16th December 2014,it was discovered that the net on the Eastern Court at the Hilltop Tennis Courts complex had been cut down and removed by a person or persons unknown. This apparent act of vandalism can adversely impact the free classes being held at these courts for the constantly increasing number of school children being tutored in tennis-quite apart from the occasional tennis players who make use of these courts. Any information which can help in the recovery of this tennis net would be greatly appreciated and should be provided to the Belmopan Police.

British Honduras: The Invention of a Colonial Territory
New book, available at Angelus Press

Channel 7

Belize And Guatemala Sign Historic Agreements
Today the Placencia Peninsula was the scene of the 44th Summit of central American Heads of State. But while the summit was the main event – an historic signing of 13 bi lateral agreements between Belize and Guatemala stole the show. The agreements have been in the works since the start of the year. They are designed to earnestly build on the idea of confidence building which started at the beginning of 2014. Now as the year end, and after intensive negotiations between both countries, 13 of them have been finalized: they cover Prisoner Exchange Visa Waiver for Students, Deportation, Transmission Interconnection And Grid Connectivity; Stolen Vehicles and many other areas.

PUP Opposes Agreements
While the signatures on those 13 Bilateral Agreements are drying, the Opposition Party is expressing its concerns that the Barrow Government didn’t disclose it to the public before the decision was taken to commit Belize to them. Party Leader Francis Fonseca spoke to us at Independence Hall this evening in which he concedes that these agreements on the face of them, look like subject area Belizeans can support. He added, however, that because of Guatemala’s unfounded claim to Belizean territory, the Government needed to have asked for public buy-in on principle: Francis Fonseca - Leader of the Opposition "Over the past few months Belize and Guatemala has been engaged in discussions and negotiations surrounded these bilateral agreements. The People's United Party, through my representative Senator Lisa Shoman has been involved in the process of discussion and negotiating those agreements.

Foursome Of Presidents To Placencia For SICA Summit
And while the 13 bilateral agreements made the headlines in Belize and Guatemala tonight, really they were secondary to the 44th SICA Summit of Heads of State. As the pro-tem president of SICA, Belize hosted the Summitt and welcomed its visitors which included four presidents. From early this morning, 7News was at the Riversdale Airport which was made operational just for the event:… Jules Vasquez Reporting… President Otto Perez Molina touched down at 8:30 am – one hour fifteen minutes after scheduled arrival – yet still his Beechcraft 40 was the first of the four Presidential jets scheduled to land at the Riversdale Airport. Beechcraft 40 When he got off the jet, it was to the sound of applause from Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow who warmly embraced his Guatemalan colleague.

Embarrassment for BTB - Director Marketing Resigns In Controversy
Right now, the Belize Tourism Board is reeling from a developing scandal: one of their senior executives has resigned in the wake of reports that he lied on his resume and job letter. As we told you 2 nights ago, Alyssa Carnegie vacated her post as BTB's Director of Marketing and Industry Relations to become the communication’s Director for Oceana Belize. The announcement that she joined the conservation organization came in the same day as the announcement from BTB that she was being replaced by Clive Myers. In the release from two days ago, BTB’s Director of Tourism, Karen Bevans, was quoted as saying, “We are very excited to have Clive as the BTB’s Director of Marketing & Industry Relations. I am confident that with his familiarity of the industry, coupled with his drive and passion for the development of tourism and Belize, we will build on our successes and continue to push our mandate forward.”

Mayor Bradley Threatens Media
Will Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley run for another term as the mayor of Belize City? It seems like we ask that question just about every other day – and that’s because the mayor just won’t give us a straight answer! And while he “hems and haws” on that one – today there was another question for the mayor – and he didn’t hesitate at all on the answer – but he still managed to not answer. IT was a simple “yes/no” question, but the mayor turned it into something else altogether. We’ll cut right to the chase:… Reporter "We heard reliably, you have collected you have collected your pay up to February out of frustration." Darrell Bradley - Mayor Belize City "If you report certain things which are inaccurate, i'm going to sue you. I will answer all of your questions. I don't mind answering any of your questions but don't ask me something which is way out. In terms of the question. When I responded to you last time we had an interview, we live in a political world. I am part of a political organisation which the UPD, I hold a political office which is mayor, elected by the people. Say that kind of environment is not fraud with people who have differences of opinion is to be juvenile.”

Schakron Says She's Interested in Job
So, while Mayor Bradley keeps talking around the question of whether or not he will run again in March, Yolanda Schakron, the PUP candidate who wants to replace him, does not mind saying that if he doesn’t want the job, she does. We caught up with her at the much-delayed launch of the PUP’s Belize City Municipal Slate this afternoon at Independence Hall – and here’s what she said: Yolanda Schakron - PUP Mayoral Candidate "I think he's very confused as we have noticed before in everything he does. People are telling me is afraid. I'm not worried about Darrell, I know that we will bring victory to the PUP. I went into the race knowing that Darrell was my opponent, so it doesn't phase me. I'm not worried about the UDP politics. I'm here to serve the people. This team we want to make the Belize City people lives better.”

BELTRAIDE Graduates 85
After 3 weeks, 85 participants from Beltraide’s Training and Employment Program graduated today. The main objective of the program is to make the trainees “employable” principally for the outsourcing industry but also for other career paths. At a ceremony held at the ITVET dining room to honor these graduates, 2 of them explained how the skills and experience they acquired from the program will enhance their chances at starting their careers. Lejia Melanie Gideon - General Manger, Entrepreneurship and Innovation Division "Those would be something we term soft skills. How to communicate properly with your coworker and supervisor. How to take constructive criticism, how to carry yourself, how to dress, how to brush your hair. How to manage your pay check, financing training. These are what we call the soft skills.

COLA Calls For Stake Bank Port
The activist organization COLA was back on the streets today. Along with FECTAB they’ve been pressing Government of Belize to get more involved in the dispute between the Fort Street Tourism Village’s owners, Diamond International and Mike Feinstein. As we’ve told you, Feintein’s Stakebank project has the greenlight to become the cruise port of call for Belize City, but it cannot proceed because FSTV’s exclusivity rights. It’s a battle between private entities that has spilled into the public realm because the tendering procedure to get cruise tourists from the ships to Belize City. The Cruise companies will be phasing out that tendering process by 2016 because they are transitioning to oasis class ships which are massive, and not built for tendering.

PUP Launches CITCO Slate
In our last segment, you heard PUP Mayoral candidate Yolanda Schakron’s about Mayor Darrell Bradley’s antics. She spoke to us after the political fanfare at Independence Hall in the PUP city council slate for Belize City was introduced. It was long delayed and today they tried to show that it was worth the wait: Yolanda Schakron - PUP Mayoral Candidate "I want to take this opportunity to introduce my fellow team members who are committed a positive change in city hall for a better quality of life for those of us living in Belize City. I will start with Jeremy Galvez. David Gonzales and of course the youngest one of the team, Micah Gooden. Would you remember when those poor workers from BML were locked up because this mayor didn't want to pay them, we have the one leading that fought, Delroy Pererra. I have 3 great women and I will start will Deltroy Hilton. We have another small business owner, a young man, Michael Novelo. You know we have beautiful women, Natasha Pipersberg. We have Sanjay Pitts, he has dedicated his service to after school sports programmes. Next we have Lennox Young. Lennox has over 10 years of experience as a business man. Last but not least, another great woman, Sharette Yearwood. Sharette has over 10 years of dedicated service as an educator.”

City Mayor Pioneers An Employment Policy For All Mayors
Earlier on, we showed you our interview with Mayor Darrell Bradley. He was speaking at an event held today by PUP and UDP mayors from all the municipalities countrywide. All 9 mayors signed onto a policy that Bradley designed after 8 months of consultation which will give staff of the diffident municipalities security of tenure. Much like the Public Service Regulations, this policy allows for these employees to be insulated from political manipulation. Mayor Bradley told us more about it today: Darrell Bradley - Mayor Belize City "Today what the 9 mayors of the 9 municipalities have done is sign municipal workers regulations. We have been working on this document for the last 8 months through a task force with a chair and we're been looking through various piece of legislation including the public service regulations, internationally treaties, we've looked at the labour act. What we wanted to do was create a set of objectives, policies and practices that bring uniformity to all municipal employment service in all of the municipalities. From the time a person is engaged to the time that they leave, there's one set of regulation that governs the terms and conditions of employment.

Hulse Explains New Visa Rules
And while we had the opportunity, we asked Godwin Hulse, who is also the Minister of Immigration, about a memorandum which we received. It details changes in visa requirements and is sent from the Acting Director of Immigration to port commanders, and immigration personnel. It waives visa requirements for several countries which has raised some concerns. We asked Hulse about it today, here’s how he responded: Hon. Godwin Hulse - Minister of Immigration "We've waived the requirements of visas from Japan. We've waived from South Korea, we're waived from Colombia, we've waived from Brazil and also from persons holding US permanent resident cards. The reason for that is very simple, we are pushing tourism. COPA wants to fly in from South America to Belize. They cover Brazil, Colombia, Uruguay and Argentina.

PM Says Melchor Students Are Example of Confidence Built
And visas or border passes are not required by students coming over from Melchor into Belize. In October I went to the Benque Viejo border to learn all about the hundreds of Guatemalan primary and secondary school students who come to school in Belize every day. It was a fascinating study in casual cross border relationships between countries that have a territorial dispute. Today as Belize and Guatemala signed 13 historic bi-lateral agreements, the Prime Minister pointed to this daily student exchange as one of the signs that Belize and Guatemala have an unofficial good neighbour policy:… Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister "One example of already established relations between our two peoples is in the area of education. On a daily basis over 800 Guatemalan children cross from Melchor into Benque Viejo Del Carmen to go to school here in Belize.

Soldiers Lunch Break
We have been reporting on Christmas parties for kids, for HelpAge members, and for the public at large. So, why can’t the army celebrate during this season as well? The Belize Defense Force held its Annual Christmas luncheon today at the Price Barracks and about 400 soldiers were present. Brigadier General Jones says that the purpose of this event is to show gratitude for their service to Belize. This luncheon will also be held in Orange Walk and Cayo. Also interesting to note is that this is the first time 23 years that BDF personnel won’t be on city streets for Christmas patrols.

Seawell Appeals
Gary Seawell, another of the Seawell brothers that the US Government wants for narcotics trafficking, will remain in Belize, at least for the time being. He is on remand tonight, and though the Supreme Court has affirmed the committal order for his extradition, the judge has granted him the right to appeal. His attorney told us about the grounds for appeal today: Because of the stiff penalty for Continuing Criminal Enterprise is 20 years, Seawell’s attorneys believe that he will exhaust all legal avenues afforded to him to stop the authorities in Belize from extraditing him to the US.

Channel 5

13 Agreements Are Penned Between Belize and Guatemala
Thirteen…that is the number of agreements that were signed today between Belize and Guatemala in the margins of the SICA Summit that concluded today in Placencia. We will have more [...]

Agreements Cover Several Issues for Belize & Guatemala to Live Peacefully
Prime Minister Dean Barrow, signatory to the agreements on behalf of Belize, also conceded that both countries desire to live peacefully.  The PM acknowledged, in large part, the role Foreign [...]

P.U.P. Says Belizeans Should Have Been Consulted In Bilateral Agreements
As we said, the Opposition is not on board with the agreements. The P.U.P. issued a release earlier acknowledged that the opposition has participated in the bilateral discussions and negotiations, [...]

Is There Any Constitutional Constraint Against Implementation Of The Agreements?
Immediately following the signing of the agreements, Prime Minister Barrow responded to the P.U.P. position on the thirteen agreements with Guatemala.  He was quizzed by the media in Placencia on [...]

SICA Summit Concludes In Placencia
All that was being said at simultaneous press conference held by the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. At the close of the forty-fourth SICA Summit, Belize transferred [...]

P.U.P. Launches Its City Council Slate
It is slightly more low-key and there were no bells and whistles when the People’s United Party endorsed its eleven candidates for the March Belize City Council elections. The launch [...]

The Historic Release of 5 Cuban Prisoners by the U.S.
There was another historic event happening today. Five Cuban prisoners held in U.S. prisons and a U.S. national imprisoned in Cuban were release. The Cubans had spent more than a [...]

An Exclusive Interview with the President of Guatemala
The President of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, arrived in the country at about eight-thirty this morning; he joined other presidents at a breakfast with Prime Minister Dean Barrow prior to [...]

Belize Mayors Association Ratify a Municipal Service Regulation Policy
In Belize City today, the Belize Mayors’ Association signed on to a municipal service regulation policy, which is also described as historic. It seeks primarily to change human resources practices [...]

Darrell Bradley’s Political Future…Is He In or Is He Out?
There is a lot of speculation that Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley is calling it quits and that there is growing friction between him, councilors and his party. In fact, [...]

Cabinet Waives Visas for Several Countries Including Colombia
About a month ago, Cabinet decided to waive visas for a long list of countries from Japan to South Korea to closer to home….Colombia and Brazil. According to the Minister [...]

COLA Holds Protest Outside FSTV Zone
Today in Belize City, over one hundred protestors converged near the Baron Bliss Lighthouse to point a way forward for the cruise tourism sector. For several years now the issue [...]

COLA & FECTAB Push for a Port at Stake Bank
FECTAB’s executive member Yhony Rosado pointed to a new report that suggests Norwegian Cruise Line, who are completing their own facility at Harvest Caye in the Stann Creek District, aim [...]

Clive Myers Resigns from the B.T.B.
Clive Myers was appointed Acting Director of Marketing at the Belize Tourism Board as recent as Monday. But his appointment has been short-lived because this afternoon, Myers resigned with immediate [...]

B.D.F. Christmas Luncheon to Honor Soldiers
The annual Christmas luncheon of the Belize Defense Force is an event to look forward to. Today, the soldiers gathered not only to celebrate the season, but also to honor [...]

2.5 Million Dollars Of Fair Trade Funds To Be Shared Among Cane Farmers
Cane farmers vote to share some Fairtrade money among themselves, but this is in contravention to Fairtrade regulations. That decision was made in a motion made on Sunday at the meeting where farmers also approved the agreement between BSI and BSCFA. Farmers motioned that 2.5 million dollars be divided equally between the over five thousand four hundred farmers. As we have mentioned, Fairtrade funds are not intended for this kind of spending and there may be repercussions. Chair of the Committee of Management Ezekiel Cansino and member of the committee Alfredo Ortega weighed in on the decision. Ezekiel Cansino “I am very concerned about that because knowing the standards of Fair Trade well we did had some precautions to us or we should have maybe stopped this motion but the general assembly voted for that and we will comply and even though maybe we will have some problems with Fair Trade.”

Fuel Prices Decrease
Ten days ago we told you about much needed relief for motorists at the fuel pumps and tonight, there is more good news to report as the prices on some of the fuel items went down. While Premium gasoline went up by 5 cents, it is still selling under the ten dollar mark at $9.70, Regular Gasoline dropped by 84 cents from $9.29 to $8.45. Diesel fuel went down 81 cents from $8.77 to $7.95. The price of world oil is plunging to its lowest level in years and this is translating to lower prices at the pump, bringing much relief to motorists and vehicle owners.

Mayors’ Association Launch Municipal Bill
Members of the Mayor’s Association held their monthly meeting in Orange Walk Town today. While most of the discussions surrounded municipal projects and best practices, there was one subject of utmost importance to the association – the Municipal Bill. In the Bill, the Mayors are trying to incorporate the Belmopan City Council Act, the Belize City Council Act and the Town Councils Act into one. The work begun years ago, since 2009 and members of the Association continue to make modifications to the recommendations. President of the Association, Simeon Lopez and Orange Walk Town Mayor Kevin Bernard weighed in more on the work. Simeon Lopez – President, Mayors Association “Four or five of them that are points that we need to iron out and on January 14th of next year which is just about a month away a task force which has been appointed this morning which is to consider these point and to make recommendations to be presented and to be presented to the minister we will meet in Belmopan to make sure that we try to get this going before our term expires.”

Belize Officially Taken Off The Red List By The EU
There is some good news coming out the European Commission tonight. Viewers may recall that in June this year, the EC imposed restrictions on Belize and other countries for not doing enough to combat illegal fishing activities even after government passed a new High Seas Fishing Act. After having showed improvements in their fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing, today Belize was officially taken off the Red List, which is a list of countries deemed non-cooperative in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing) and the importance of each country’s role in ocean governance and sustainable fisheries is highlighted. Representatives of Belize, Fiji and the Pacific Community explain in the following video why the EU measures have been beneficial to strengthen the fight against illegal fishing in their waters.

Treaty Energy Fined For Trading Scheme
A report from The Amandala Newspaper went viral with information that Treaty Energy, a gas and oil company from New Orleans is facing fines in the United States for faking oil finds in Belize. The reports says that the ‘Securities and Exchange Commission charged that company and five of its executives with running a stock trading scheme through which they garnered US$3.5 million in illicit gains after they falsely announced a commercial oil find in Belize’. This ploy was done so as to scam people into buying stock in the company. For context, in January 2012, Treaty Energy announced that it struck ‘black gold’ near Independence, adjacent to the Port of Big Creek in Stan Creek claiming that it could drill up to 90 wells in the field, where the production potential was said to be 6 million barrels of oil. The concession given to Treaty Energy issued in 2007 was to operate under a joint venture agreement with Princess Petroleum to explore 1.8 million acres of offshore territory of Belize, east of the Belize Barrier Reef, and 200,000 acres onshore in the Toledo and Stann Creek Districts.

Another Machete Attack In Corozal
Machete attacks seem to be on the rise in the Corozal District. In less than one week three people including a couple have lost their life as a result of chop wounds and the murder weapon used in both deadly attacks was a machete. Tonight there is another report involving the use of a machete coming out of Corozal Town. On Sunday December 14th, 20 year old Belizean Construction worker of Xiaibe Village, Jonathan Myvett and one Elsner Itzab of Corozal Town, were in front of Border Restaurant situated on Park Street South, having a conversation when an argument ensued between both men. Reports are that Itzab pulled out a machete from his bicycle and began flinging the machete at Myvette who sustained injuries on the left side of the neck, three fingers and head. Myvette was bleeding profusely and was rushed to the Corozal Community Hospital for medical attention.

Shootout Between Authorities And Playadores Continues To Be Investigated
Yesterday we reported on a shooting between members of the Coast Guard Service and alleged beach combers in North Ambergris Caye that left one man dead. According to authorities, they responded to a shooting incident in the area of Bacalar Chico about 21 ½ miles North of San Pedro Town where they met Coast Guard personnel in the area. About 75 meters from the beach side in the bushes they saw a sawed off 12 gauge pump action shotgun and (6) 12 gauge cartridges. About 25 feet from the shotgun they found the body of 23-year-old Peter Castillo Jr. of Indian Ville Village, Punta Gorda Town lying face up with apparent gunshot wound to his body. Initial investigation revealed that at about 10:48a.m., a team of Coast Guard Personnel comprising of 6 persons were in the area conducting operation when they came across 3 male persons who were armed at the time.

Suspension Lifted, BSCFA No Longer Under Non-Compliance
The Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association is no longer suspended by Fairtrade. Viewers may recall that they BSCFA fell under noncompliance following a Fairtrade audit conducted earlier this year. The association fell under eight none compliances, three of which fell under child labor. Since then, farmers and the association have been working on corrective measures and on Sunday the announcement was made that the suspension has been lifted. Ezekiel Cansino “We received the letter that officially says that we have been lifted the suspension and we are now being certified up to 2016/2017.” Reporter “And so the funds that were held back for the six months, are you guys going to get that money?” Ezekiel Cansino “Yes, as soon as the mill starts to sale the sugar we will start to receive those monies.”

LICU Holds Christmas Market Day
The La Inmaculada Credit Union has been actively supporting small business owners with finance and otherwise through a number of programs. A part of their assistance is also helping these business owners expand their market and moreover, be prepared for such markets. To do this the LICU has organized many marketing days and one such day was held on Saturday at the institution’s parking lot. Here is more on what that was about. Dalila Ical – Reporting The marketing day is provided by LICU to its beneficiaries of small business loans in an effort to offer more exposure and expand their markets says Giovanni Arguelles. Giovanni Arguelles “We all know that in business involves two elements’ we have the person that is selling and the person that is buying which is the consumer and the vendor, having these events here we are trying to promote these people and their businesses so that they are better known in the community for instance if you are trying to find a certain product and if they are out here for future events if you need certain products you need certain items you already know who are the people to find with it right so that is basically what we are trying to do here.”

Getaway Car Confiscated By Police, Passengers Escape
Orange Walk Police intercept vehicle in which four robbers attempted to flee after they hit a local grocery store. According to authorities, the men held up the proprietor of a grocery store in the San Lorenzo Housing Site Area at about 12:45 this afternoon. Reports indicate that the men held the proprietor at gun point and demanded money. At some point however the proprietor of the store managed to run out of the shop and his assailants helped themselves to an undisclosed amount of money from the cash drawer. They got into their escape vehicle and drove off. Quick police response however led to officers intercepting the vehicle. Police pursued the vehicle, a gold in color Mazda car, and the chase ended on Oak Street in the Louisiana Area, Orange Walk Town. All four men made a run for it on foot and escaped police. The vehicle was impounded and taken as evidence. Authorities are now looking for four male persons and say that they have a principal suspect. Investigations continue.

LOVE FM

Document Enveiled Outlinign Regulations And Policies
A formal document outlining regulations and policies seeking to provide job security and a level playing field in all the municipalities around the country was unveiled this morning inside the auditorium at the Belize Elementary School in Belize City. The document is geared at laying out best practices as they relate to the management in various areas including human resources, hiring and firing, financial management and the smooth transition between changes in leadership on the local level. Minister of local government Godwin Hulse spoke to the media today on the importance of this document. GODWIN HULSE “A formal document outlining regulations and policies seeking to provide job security and a level playing field in all the municipalities around the country was unveiled this morning inside the auditorium at the Belize Elementary School in Belize City.

Belize Host SICA in Placencia
Belize hosted the forty fourth Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Central American Integration System (SICA) in Placencia today. Today also marked the end of Belize’s leadership role as the Pro-Tempore Presidency of SICA; Prime Minister Dean Barrow spoke for a few minutes to Guatemalan President, Otto Perez Molina, before giving his opening remarks. Barrow told the media that it was his duty to provide them with a status report. He reported that SICA is strong and that the organization’s efforts on all levels continue to bear good fruits. HON. DEAN BARROW “Over the past six months Belize presidency pro temporary set out on a path to build upon the good work of our predecessor the Dominican Republic and I take the opportunity to pause here and offer again our congratulations and thanks to President Medina of the Dominican Republic.

Brackett Speaks on COLA And FECTAB Protest
Less than a hundred persons gathered in front of the Bliss Lighthouse early this morning waving banners and placards appealing to the decision makers in the tourism industry to intervene in the Stake Bank issue. Members of FECTAB and COLA were out in few numbers but their message and the urgency of it was clear. We spoke with President of Cola, Giovanni Brackett. GIOVANNI BRACKETT “The first thing is that the current situation at the Fort Street Tourism Village our local people are being sidelined and deprived. We have heard multiple complaints over the years, benefits for the local tour operators have decreased significantly. Now we hear they are building a port down south and according to their stakeholders that were here this morning are saying that they can’t ships for next season are being pushed now to go down south.

Belize and Guatemala Signs Numerous Bi-Lateral Agreements
After the meeting of the Heads of States of the Central American Integration System, SICA, Belize and Guatemala signed several bi-lateral agreements. The agreements encompass thirteen points that focus on numerous cooperative works including education and energy. The bi-lateral agreement was signed by Belize’s Foreign Minister, Wilfred Elrington and his Guatemalan counterpart, Carlos Raul Morales. Witnessing the signing was Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Guatemala’s President, Otto Perez Molina, and the Secretary General of the Organization of American States, Jose Miguel Insulza. Prime Minister Dean Barrow, shared a few comments.

Christmas Event Held For BBDF
An Annual Christmas event for the First Battalion Belize Defense Force was held yesterday in the Toledo District. Paul Mahung has more. PAUL MAHUNG “A major Christmas event for soldiers of First Battalion Belize Defense Force was held yesterday in the Toledo district. During the event marking the annual Christmas luncheon for BDF soldiers on duty in the Toledo district keynote speaker was BDF commander Brigadier General David Jones.” DAVID JONES “Well normally once a year we try to give back to the soldiers to show appreciation for what they have done throughout the year by serving them food during our annual Christmas dinner. This is done throughout the country so all the bases we do the same thing.

Tush Speaks On Christmas Posada
Traditional Christmas Posada activities began last night in Punta Gorda. Correspondent Paul Mahung has the details. PAUL MAHUNG “Activities in connection with traditional Posada began last night in Punta Gorda. One of the organizers of the event is Francisco Tush.” FRANCISCO TUSH “So the event started with a procession from Indianville. Members of the Catholic church started around 6:32AM en route to my home here in Punta Gorda. We welcomed our members who assisted in organizing this date night Posada. We started with a prayer, faith sharing, singing praise to God and we thank the all mighty lord for sending his beloved Jesus Christ. This ritual started from our past ancestors who are Catholic so we want to pass this from generation to generation so that this practice will not be damaged of destroyed.

Waite Holds Protest In front of KHMH
Lillette Barkley Waite held a one woman protest in front of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Waite, also known as Nzinga told Love News she is simply trying to access the medical records of a family member, Florley Palacio, who passed away earlier this year at the institution. FLORLEY PALACIO “My protest today is to acquire the complete medical records of Florrie Palacio who died in this hospital. I was told by the hospital that they don’t normally give the docket as they call it to people and I had to remind them that it is legally the family’s rights to get a copy of it. Unfortunately when I was in a meeting reviewing the so called docket it was incomplete. Her admittance in September through her death was not in the file at all and I requested a complete copy of her medical records and that is what I am here for.

FIU Freezes Assets of Companies; Michael Young Speaks on Issue
Earlier in the year, the Financial Intelligence Unit, got a court order freezing the assets of six companies and their directors, believed to be involved in a half a billion dollar money laundering scheme out of Canada. Among those companies was Unicorn International Securities and this morning Senior Counsel and attorney for the company, Michael Young was in court and he explained what happened in the court room of Justice Michelle Arana. MICHAEL YOUNG “Well this case arises out of the events which also gave rise to the freezing order which was issued by the court at the request of the FIU. This arose out of the invasion if I may put it that way by the team on behalf of the state which team sees the documents, equipment’s and assets of our client UNICORN and took them away and as I said that happened on the 9th of September.

Fonseca Speaks On Protest in Belmopan
Last Tuesday, the international community observed International Anti-Corruption Day 2014. Belize was not a part of it because the Government has yet to sign onto the United Nations Anti-Corruption Convention. Last week the Vision Inspired by the People supported by several other third parties held a protest in Belmopan demanding that the Government sign unto the convention. Public Relations for the VIP, Robert Lopez, told Love News, that Belize law dictate that all elected officials fill out a form sharing all financial details. So we asked the PUP leader, Francis Fonseca, if he has done so and here is his answer. FRANCIS FONSECA “I’ve never missed a year from the day I was elected back in 2003 unlike almost every UDP representative including Mr. Barrow. The entire time we were in government because we passed the law establishing the integrity commission and passing the integrity in public life act. From the entire time we were in government whenever we passed the law, I think it was 1999 or so up until 2008, Mr. Barrow never ever filled his integrity report, never once during that entire time.

Minister of Works And Transport Signs Contracts For Several Works
On Monday Minister of Works and Transport Rene Montero and Chief Executive Officer Errol Gentle, signed contracts for several works. M&M; Engineering Consultants Limited signed a contract for the new Mullins River Bridge which was destroyed by severe flash floods during the passage of Tropical Storm Arthur in 2008. The cost of the design and construction of the bridge is four million four hundred and sixty one thousand one hundred and seventy two dollars and thirty six cents. It should be completed within a year. The project will be supervised by BECA International Consultants Limited with the assistance of the Project Execution Unit. Funding for the project is provided by the Caribbean Development Bank and the Government of Belize.

Inspiration Center Receives Donations
The Inspiration Center opened its doors to the public in March this year. The facility that aids children with special needs, today received two donations from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Taiwanese Government. Executive Director of the Center, Kendra Griffith spoke of the donations. KENDRA GRIFFITH “We’ve been open for services since April we launched in March and we opened in April so that is approximately 8 months we have been open and since that time the center has conducted 144 assessments of children with disabilities. The assessment phase is one of the first phases in getting treatment and we are currently actively seeing approximately 65 children and they are coming here for both speech and physical therapy and we have about 173 children that we are seeing because we also have our field offices in the Orange Walk district, in the Cayo district and in the Toledo district and in those field offices we do community based rehabilitation an so community based rehabilitation is what the children get when they don’t necessarily need to come to the center to see the physical therapist of the speech therapist here they can be treated by our rehabilitation field officers.

Fatal Shooting Near Bacalar Chico
Yesterday we reported on a fatal shooting in the area of Bacalar Chico about twenty one and a half miles north of San Pedro Town. He has been identified as 23-year-old Peter Castillo Junior of Indian Village in Punta Gorda. According to Police, about seventy five meters from the beach side in the bushes they saw Castillo’s body lying face up with apparent gunshot wound to his body. Beside him were a black knapsack and a black sweater. Coast Guard personnel reported that they were on patrol when they saw three armed men. The men were reportedly ordered to drop their weapons however one of the men raised his shotgun in the direction of the officers who responded by firing three shots in his direction fatally wounding Castillo.

Belize Hosting SICA in Placencia
The Heads of State and Government of the member countries of the Central American Integration System (SICA) are gearing up to meet on Wednesday in southern Belize where a number of items will be discussed including immigration facilitation and security cooperation. The leaders are expected to coordinate their actions when it comes to risk-management and climate change, while evaluating the progress of the Alliance for Prosperity of the North Triangle following a report by the representatives of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala that was presented on November 14 in Washington with an aim to boost investment to reverse the fundamental problems facing the poorest countries affected by violence in the area, trying to stop mass migration to the United States.

CCJ Final Judgement On Nationalizing BTL
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) has reserved its final judgment for January 23, 2015 following three days of arguments on the nationalization of Belize Telemedia Limited on January 23, 2014. According to reports, the court has proposed to accept additional written submission on certain points by December 17 with three days allotted for the government to respond. The Belize Telemedia Limited was nationalized following the presentation of the ‘Bill to amend the Belize Telecommunications Act to allow for the public acquisition of Belize Telemedia. On 24 June 2011 the Court of Appeal issued a judgement, ruling that the re-nationalisation of BTL in August 2009 was unconstitutional.

PlusTV

44th SICA summit held in Placencia
The 44th Summit of the SICA heads of State got underway on Wednesday December 17 in the village of Placencia. Foreign ministers of various Central American countries met to discuss a wide range of issues from national security to climate change, to human trafficking, among others, at the meeting of the council of ministers of foreign affairs which was held on Tuesday. The summit was chaired by Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington as pro tem chair of the Central American Regional Integration System. However, on Wednesday, the President of Guatemala, Otto Perez Molina, arrived in Belize at the Belize Ocean Club in Placencia, where Belize handed over the pro-tem presidency of SICA to Guatemala.

Police file charges in Paraiso double murder
On Wednesday, police said they have arrested and charged Jose A. Santos, a 67 year old Salvadoran National, for the crimes of Murder upon Fernando Pineda Rivas and Heidi Teresita Chable. On Monday, we told you about the double murder that occurred in the village of Paraiso in the Corozal Duistrict. According to reports a man and a woman were found dead on a farm about 3/4 miles North East of Paraiso Village, at around 7:00 am on Sunday December 14th. Neighbours say that at around 6:00 am on the same day, screams could be heard coming from the direction of the farm.

BTB new Director resigns amidst allegations of fraud
Only Monday, The Belize Tourism Board announced that Clive Myers had been appointed as Acting Director of Marketing and Industry Relations; a post left vacant when Alyssa Carnegie left for Oceana. The BTB boasted that Clive Myers holds a Master’s Degree in Project Management from Drexel University Online, among other local training. Well… what a difference 48 hours makes because at 4pm on Wednesday evening The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) sent out another Press release announcing that Mr. Clive Myers, “… has tendered his resignation with the organization, effective immediately.” It appears that Clive Myers is in the middle of allegations of Qualifications Fraud. Earlier, information about his educational records was photocopied and circulated to several media houses.

Patrick Jones

Visa requirements lifted for South American and Asian countries
Colombia, Brazil, Japan and South Korea have joined the list of nations, now over 50, whose citizens no longer need visas to travel to Belize. The Ministry of Immigration and Nationality lifted the requirement last month, leading to complaints from locals who say the process of entering the […]

PUP introduces Belize City Council candidates
The People’s United Party (PUP) held a low-key endorsement of their eleven candidates for next March’s Belize City Council elections at the party’s headquarters, Independence Hall. The team of seven and four women led by Mayoral candidate Yolanda Schakron says it is dedicated to making Belize City better […]

SICA summit held in Placencia village
Belize has handed over the rotating presidency of the Central American Integration System (SICA) to Guatemala. The handing over was done today during the forty fourth SICA Summit which was held in Placencia village, Stann Creek. Delegations from SICA member countries Guatemala, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, […]

COLA wants to internationalize cruise port call
Cruise ship visitors leaving Belize City this morning were greeted by a puzzling sight in the area of the Baron Bliss Lighthouse: protesters demanding that authorities take action immediately on the issue of a cruise port docking facility for the Belize District. Tour operators led by the Federation […]

Cool weather conditions going into the second half of the week
Cool and mostly fair weather conditions prevail. The general forecast for Belize and her coastal waters is for sunny skies this afternoon. Tonight will be partly cloudy and cool. Shower activity will remain isolated. Winds over the open sea and along the coast will be north easterly […]

Epileptic man charged for attempted murder
26 year old Ervin Ramsey of Mahogany Heights, Belize District faces attempted murder charges in relation to the shooting of Joel Winston Seawell on December 11, 2014. Ramsey is accused of opening fire on Seawell and four other persons whom he allegedly attempted to rob as they came […]

Constable jailed for assault on female colleague
Police Constable Randolph Scott began 60 days in jail on Monday after conviction by the Chief Magistrate, Ann-Marie Smith, of aggravated assault of an indecent nature on a fellow female police officer at a police station. On October 26, 2013, at the Belama Precinct 4 Police Station, according […]

Court orders return of documents belonging to Unicorn International
Supreme Court Justice Michelle Arana yesterday ordered the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) to return a trove of valuable documents belonging to Unicorn International Securities. Six men – Belizean Andrew Godfrey, Bahamians Kelvin Leach and Rohn Knowles, American Robert Banfield and two Canadians were indicted earlier this year in […]

Blogs

My Year in San Pedro, All of Belize and Reasons to Visit in 2015, Part Three
Slowly but surely I am working through my blogs from 2014 and picking some of my favorite experiences. I’ve been one lucky duck…and done some amazing things around Belize this year. So here is Part Three and in case you missed it….Part One took me from Sanctuary Belize… …to May’s Chocolate Festival in Punta Gorda. Part Two took me from June’s THREE Lobsterfests to cave tubing under the Maya Mountains in August.

THE MAYA BALL GAME: THE UNIQUENESS OF BALLCOURT A AT XUNANTUNICH
Today professional ball players around the world are quite famous and to many aficionados, adored. These ball players are the idols of the youth and for the older generations, iconic. This is the way it is today. Two thousand years ago, the story, to say the least, was almost the same. The home team players were revered, the opponents, well, they died! The games, because there were two ball courts, at Xunantunich (one of the most visited sites in the country of Belize) may have been exciting, emotional and to many devastating. The truth is however, that no one knows the rules of the game. All the fanfare today about the game, even the reenactment, comes from murals and paintings found on ceramic pieces and walls, which have been discovered by archaeologists. The murals and art of the ball game are embellished with men in gear. This gear covered their waists – stone and rubber yokes – which protected them from a heavy rubber ball, which weighed up to nine pounds. Their elbows and knees were also protected with rubber pads. At no time have the art and murals shown the ball being held in the hands or kicked with the feet, which was a smart move as there was no gear shown protecting the feet.

My Belize travel bucket list
We all have bucket list ideas about things to do and places to see before you die. If visiting Belize is one of them, I’d like to share the activities that are high on my list and I’d love to hear about yours. My list slightly changes as time passes since I add or remove some stuff. I first started making a checklist after I realized that even though Belize is small, there’s so much to explore. I knew that by jotting down these experiences and making it important to me, I would be able to push myself to accomplish them. And let’s face it, it feels amazing to accomplish things, especially things that you wouldn’t ordinarily do!

Powder Bun Bars
This the 1/2 recipe of Belizean Powder (Poda) Buns. Instead of making them individually, I made them like a bar and cut them into serving size bars. You won't have to put your hand into a sticky dough if you don't want to. These are delicious and simple to make.

The December 16, 2014 issue of The STAR (Cayo) is online HERE

This Week's Stories:

• Popular Santa Elena DJ Brutally Murdered In Esperanza Village:
  The dead body of a popular Santa Elena DJ was found off a feeder road in Esperanza village. On Wednesday, December 10, 2014 at around 4:30 p.m. San Ignacio police were informed of the discovery of a dead man clad in only a t-shirt and boxers found off a feeder road in Esperanza Village. Upon arrival, the lifeless body of a male person was seen laying face up with what appeared to be cut wounds on the head with blood covering the face. The male person was on his knees in a bending position. Closer inspection led police to identify the male person as Samir Fernandez, 24, Belizean laborer of a San Pedro Street address in Santa Elena. While processing the scene, police discovered a short pants, a pair of black slippers, and a dark grey Samsung watch.
• Huge Drug Bust In Shawville Area:
  Today, over 84, 000 grams of marijuana was found in the Shawville area in San Ignacio. On Monday, December 8, 2014 Special Branch personnel on routine patrol in the Shawville area of San Ignacio, came across four “El Quetzal” crocus sacks in the bushes. The sacks were searched and found to contain what appeared to be a green leafy substance consistent with that of marijuana. At the time of the discovery no one was in the area.
• Mexican Luxury Hotel Development Group Investing in Belize:
  The Government of Belize, through BELTRAIDE, is pleased to announce the completion of the sale of the island of Caye Chapel, on Monday 8 December, 2014. Caye Chapel, an island in the Belize District, consisting of 265 acres, was purchased by a leading Mexican luxury hotel development group. The group, who are owners and operators of luxury tourism developments in Mexico City, Cancun, and Acapulco, are currently working on a detailed development plan for the island for presentation to Government. It is expected that this plan will include the announcement of the partnership with a renowned global luxury hotel brand, to be announced in the near future, as well as the development of high-end residencies and other amenities.
• Scientists Make 'Feel Full' Chemical:
  Scientists have created a chemical that can be added to food to make people feel full. Initial tests showed it helped people to eat less and slow weight gain. It harnessed the power of a proprionate, which naturally makes us feel full when it is produced by breaking down fibre in the gut. Writing in the journal Gut, the UK researchers said their chemical would have to be eaten regularly to have an effect. The ingredient is a foul-tasting soluble powder, but the team, from Imperial College London and the University of Glasgow, are trying to incorporate it into bread and fruit smoothies.
• UniBAM Celebrating Human Rights Day:
  The United Belize Advocacy Movement joints organizations around the World in celebrating Human Rights Day today December 10th. The day marks the United Nations General Assembly adoption and proclamation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948 and was first formed in 1950, when the General Assembly invited all member states and other organizations to celebrate. The theme for 2014, "Human Rights 365", it is a reminder that everyone is entitled to basic rights. UniBAM calls on all organization on this day to continue to express the values and principles of human rights, to ensure its inclusiveness and impact to quality of life of all citizens as rights are indivisible and universal.
• HelpAge Belize Celebrates Human Rights Day:
  HelpAge Belize in collaboration with its partner agencies joins the rest of the World and Affiliate Members of HelpAge International in celebrating World Human Rights Day, December 10th, 2014. HelpAge International is marking the occasion with a renewed call for governments to challenge the wide range of human rights violations experienced every day by many older women and men. “Discrimination against men and women on account of their older age is one of the last remaining forms of prejudice to be tackled on a global basis,” said Toby Porter, Chief Executive at HelpAge International. “This has to change and a new UN convention on the rights of older people is the way to challenge age discrimination.”
• Criticism: Giving and Receiving:
  Have you ever asked someone to give you an honest criticism? A very positive action on your part is to solicit criticism when appropriate. Ask for it, if you please. A sign of maturity is recognizing you don't know it all and you're open to learn more and to change, and you want to improve. Have you ever asked your boss for some honest feedback? Have you ever said, "I realize I need to improve in this area. Can you give me some good pointers on how to do that?" Soliciting appropriate criticism says a lot about you, and the response you receive is generally given in a positive way, much more palatable than unsolicited criticism. Instead of a criticism, it becomes a "critique." There's a perceived difference in a criticism and a critique.
• Shame On Me, Again:
  "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8:1 (ESV) It happened suddenly and without warning. One minute I was sitting in a booth, laughing over a cup of coffee with my youngest son on his college campus (which just so happens to be my alma mater). The next minute, I'm driving away from my old college stomping grounds when the mere sight of a corner drugstore triggers a painful reminder of my past. It just so happened to be the same corner drugstore that one of my roommates and I ducked into late one night under a cloak of darkness to purchase a pregnancy test. She was late and had assumed the worst. It turned out it was negative, but it just as easily could have been me purchasing the test.
• Diphtheria:
  Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane (a pseudomembrane) on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity. A milder form of diphtheria can be restricted to the skin. Less common consequences include myocarditis (about 20% of cases) and peripheral neuropathy (about 10% of cases). Diphtheria is an infectious disease spread by direct physical contact or breathing the aerosolized secretions of infected individuals.
• Avoiding Poisons In Your Cayo Food:
  The second symposium on Finding Healthy / Safe Foods in the Cayo District will be held Saturday 13th December at the Maya Mountain Lodge’s conference facility. The November symposium focused on safe market produce. This month the focus is on processed boxed and canned foods as well as concerns about GMO. The January one will be on finding safe animal products. All symposiums follow the agenda pattern of Market place, consultation, and learning exchange. The symposium will run from 12-4 pm with the following schedule: 12-2pm Market place where you can connect and buy from providers of healthy foods. 2-3 pm Consultations on the results from the last symposium 3-4 pm Presentation followed by “learning exchange” by participants on dangers of processed foods.
• Brazil 'Serial Killer' das Gracas Alleges 42 Deaths In A Decade:
  Brazilian police have arrested a man who has confessed to the killing of 42 people over the last decade in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Police say they arrested Sailson Jose das Gracas on Wednesday, shortly after he stabbed a woman to death in a city suburb. He then confessed to killing another 37 women, three men and a two-year-old girl. The police are searching for alleged victims and say they have found four. In a police interview broadcast on Brazil's TV Globo, the man said he would go out hunting, and he killed for the adrenaline.
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International Sources

Tourism Edition Country Brand Ranking 2014 Bloom Consulting
Each year the firm ranks 193 countries on the economic performance of their tourism industries and how well they’ve developed their brand strategies. The methodology factors in hard and soft data in an effort to show the correlation between tourism receipts and effective branding. Rankings are based on (1) economic performance measured in tourism receipts over the past five years; (2) total online search volume for tourism-related activities and attractions within each country; (3) how accurately a country’s brand strategy reflects what the country has to offer to tourists; and (4) digital content and social media performance. According to Bloom Consulting Country Brand Ranking © 2014 Tourism Edition, this year Belize has remained on the 7th position in the region of Central America followed by its main rivals Nicaragua (8th) and Guyana (9th). Belize ranks #30 in the Americas List.

Guatemala and Belize Acknowledge Efforts to Improve Relations
President Otto Pérez Molina and Prime Minister of Belize Dean Barrow acknowledged today the efforts to improve their relations in a meeting held before the 44th summit of the Central American Integration System (SICA). Perez Molina was welcomed this morning by Prime Minister Barrow in the local airport of this Caribbean city. Perez Molina and Barrow committed to strengthen cooperation, security, economic links and gradually respond to the settlement of the two countries' territorial dispute dating from 1859. Perez Molina showed satisfaction with bilateral relations and urged to continue looking for consensus for the comprehensive development of the citizens of the two nations. Also today, the Guatemalan government is scheduled to sign 14 bilateral agreements with Belize.

Technical support mission to the Belize Barrier Reef System
World Heritage Centre is organizing a technical support mission to the Belize Barrier Reef System, property inscribed on the List of World Heritage in Danger since 2009. The mission is organized by the World Heritage Centre, in close coordination with the UNESCO Cluster Office in Kingston and the Government of Belize, and is aimed at assisting the State Party of Belize in its efforts to prepare a Desired State of Conservation for Removal of the Belize Barrier Reef from the List of World Heritage in Danger. The technical support mission will build on initiatives from UNESCO’s World Heritage marine programme to increase management effectiveness by using marine spatial planning as a key-tool in marine conservation. This Capacity building mission is financially supported by the Government of Flanders.

Treaty Energy execs to face SEC in courtroom
Treaty Energy Corp., a New Orleans-based oil and gas exploration company, has made its way out of the frying pan and into the fire. Five officers and the company lawyer are facing criminal charges after Treaty employed unlawful tactics in a stock scheme that could leave the company in shambles. According to Jennifer Larino for the Times-Picayune, Treaty used fabricated information in its press releases to drive investor interest leading up to its public offering. The news releases flaunted false declarations of a successful well completion in Belize, a claim which was quickly followed by refutes from the Belize government. However, the company didn’t stop there. Treaty then proceeded to illicitly offer its stock to investors, using legal documents that had been knowingly forged by Samuel E. Whitley, the company’s Houston-based lawyer. The illegitimate operations gained Treaty $3.5 million in profits. The announcement of its first successful well in Belize came on January 30, 2012. Although the release is available through the San Pedro Sun, it has since been deleted from Treaty’s official website. The company purported that it had completed its San Juan #2 well in the Princess Concession, stating that the payzone could produce as many as five or six billion barrels of oil.

Houston ready to be a gateway to Havana
As an established travel gateway to Latin America and the Caribbean, Houston is positioned to benefit from any potential easing of tourism restrictions in Cuba. "There's a lot of fascination with Cuba," said Michelle Weller, a travel agent with Travel Leaders in Houston. "It's human nature to want to explore that final frontier. ... If Cuba opens for American tourism, it's going to be great for Houston." Much is already in place to capitalize on any travel changes that might follow President Barack Obama's announcement Wednesday that put the U.S. a step closer to re-establishing ties with the island nation. In 2011, for example, Bush Intercontinental Airport was designated as one of the airports that could legally charter flights to Cuba. The first one took off in February 2012 with 80 passengers.

Signature drink
Whether it’s spelled rumpopo or rum popo, Belize’s version of eggnog provides a sweet kick at Christmastime. The concoction typically includes eggs, evaporated and condensed milk, white rum, vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon.

Re/Max sells franchise rights to Caribbean, Central America
Franchisor Re/Max LLC has sold franchise rights to the Caribbean and Central America, carving out a new region for the Dominican Republic in the process. Re/Max Caribbean and Central America is now owned by broker-owners John and Lucinda Turley of Belize, and Ricardo and Teresa Cardenas of El Salvador. Ricardo Cardenas bought one of the region’s first offices in 1995, and was recruited to work for Re/Max LLC in Denver five years later. As president for the region, he is credited with growing it from 500 sales associates in 2005 to more than 4,000 today. Turley has owned two successful brokerages in Belize, and was recognized as the No. 1 Re/Max global sales associate in 2013.

RE/MAX Sells Two International Master Franchises
Global real estate franchisor RE/MAX, LLC divided and sold their Caribbean and Central America (CCA) region today. The new owners of RE/MAX Caribbean and Central America are John and Lucinda Turley of Belize, and Ricardo and Teresa Cardenas of El Salvador. A new RE/MAX Dominican Republic region is now owned by Mélido and Marianela Marte of Santo Domingo. “These two new owner groups are the perfect region owners. Each of these individuals has been a successful member of the RE/MAX network for many years. This change in ownership feels like a natural progression that demonstrates the ‘Everybody Wins’ philosophy at RE/MAX,” says Larry Oberly, Vice President, Global Development, RE/MAX, LLC. John Turley has owned two successful brokerages in Belize since 2009, earning the title of the #1 real estate brokerage in that country from 2011-2013 for RE/MAX Southwind in San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye, and the #1 real estate brokerage in Caye Caulker Village in 2013 for RE/MAX Island Real Estate. Turley himself was recognized as the #1 RE/MAX Global Sales Associate in 2013 and has been a Top 30 RE/MAX Sales Associate since 2011. “There’s a tremendous opportunity to continue RE/MAX growth in the Caribbean and Central America and make it the go-to, trusted real estate brand in the minds of every homebuyer and seller,” says John Turley, CEO of RE/MAX Caribbean and Central America. “I’m glad I have the chance to help lead that growth.”

More than 100 aquaculture farms ASC certified
The Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has welcomed more than one hundred certified farms into its certification programme in just over two years and has stressed that last year the number of farms in the programme doubled. In August 2012 Regal Springs' Toba and Kedung Ombo tilapia farms were the first globally to gain ASC certification. At the time, ASC only had operational standards for tilapia and pangasius. In 2013 the bivalve, abalone, salmon and trout standards were launched, followed by shrimp in 2014. By the end of 2013, there were 57 ASC certified farms. And, over the last year, the programme saw a 103 per cent growth - bringing the total number of farms in programme to 116. With a growing selection of ASC certified seafood available, consumers across 40 countries can now choose from almost 1,500 products. In the last year alone there was a 148 per cent increase in ASC approved products, from 602 at the end of November 2013.

Plans Take Shape For Next Southern Partnership Station
Representatives of more than 20 Navy and Marine Corps commands met Dec. 9-11 at Naval Station Mayport to plan for Southern Partnership Station-Joint High Speed Vessel (SPS-JHSV) 2015, a four-month deployment that will focus on subject-matter expert exchanges with partner nations. U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command (SOUTHCOM) hosted the main planning conference for the mission, which is scheduled to begin in June and include events in Belize, Colombia, Guatemala and Honduras - the same countries that participated in SPS-JHSV 2014. “We can build on what we did last year and pick up where we left off,” said Capt. Sam Hancock, the commodore of Destroyer Squadron 40, who commanded SPS-JHSV 2014 and whose deputy, Capt. Errin Armstrong, will lead next year’s deployment. In an indication of the importance of integrating Navy and Marine Corps operations, a Marine will be the deputy mission commander.

Qatar joins Central American forum
The State of Qatar has joined the Central American Integration System (SICA) as an observer member from outside the region, during the preparatory convention for the SICA foreign ministers which kicked of in the Belizean town of Placencia on Tuesday. Qatar’s Ambassador to El Salvador Abdurrahman Mohamed al-Dosari and the Secretary-General of SICA Dr Victoria Marina Velasquez de Aviles signed the accession treaty, in the presence of all the ministers of the Organisation of Central American States. Belize’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Wilfred Elrington also signed the treaty as a witness. The SICA Secretary-General welcomed Qatar’s accession to the organisation and confirmed that this event is a key moment in the history of the organisation because of its positive impact in strengthening and consolidating the bonds of friendship and co-operation between Qatar and the organisation’s member-states.

Scotiabank named Bank of the Year by "The Banker" magazine
Scotiabank was named the Bank of the Year in The Bahamas by The Banker magazine, a Financial Times publication. Managing Director, Sean Albert, was on hand in London in accept the award on behalf of Scotiabank, who also captured the The Banker’s Bank of the Year in Antigua, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad & Tobago. “We are proud of this award because it is a reflection of the hard work of our employees and their focus on providing sound financial advice and good service to our customers,” said Sean Albert. “Scotiabank has had a presence in The Bahamas for almost 60 years and in the Caribbean for 120 years. We’re proud to be known for providing personalized financial solutions to our customers and for delivering superior results for our shareholders.”

Videos

Belize 2014, 6min.

The Lodge at Chaa Creek - Green Globe Certified, 16min. Chaa Creek is fully committed to the implementation and utilisation of environmentally sound and sustainable Best Management Practices. All aspects of our operations and development adhere to these globally accepted methods. We were the first lodge in Belize to have been environmentally certified by the internationally recognized “Green Globe” program, and work within a memorandum of understanding with the Rainforest Alliance and their in-country counterpart, Program for Belize, to assist and promote tourism industry Best Management Practices throughout Belize. Upon arrival guests receive an orientation by our reception staff explaining Chaa Creek environmental policies as well as suggestions to encourage each guest to participate in our conservation efforts. Environmental awareness is then gently reinforced through written conservation messages in each guest room and through interaction with our staff throughout the stay, and our Natural History Centre houses numerous informative conservation exhibits and displays. We believe that by demonstrating our own environmental and social practices we assist guests in better understanding the many environmental, social and economic benefits that can be achieved when development is tempered with sensible environmental and social practices.

Night Dive in Belize: Parrotfish Edition, 1/2min. Aquarium diver Sean Marden observed some interesting feeding behavior during a night dive in Belize.

Snorkeling Sights in Belize, 7min. During a recent expedition to Belize, diver Sean Marden brought the underwater camera on an snorkeling excursion. Sit back and enjoy the sights on these shallow reef and seagrass beds.

Belize Day Dives, 10min. Here are all the interesting tidbits of the day dives we did in Belize (9 total dives)

Belize Night Dive, 5min. This is a compilation of some of the neat parts of the night dive in Belize

Scuba Diving in Belize, 2min. best day of the entire .... week

The Island Academy presents "Christmas Around the World.", 1min.

Family Protests Against KHMH, 5min.

Belize zoo with Canan and Valerie, 3.5min.

United 737-800 landing Belize City BZE, 8min. United 737-800 landing in Belize City from Houston! Such a pretty approach=)

December 17, 2014

FOR TODAY'S BELIZE WEATHER, CLICK HERE

Click for our Daily Tropical Weather Report.

Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5 and CTV 3
Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and the Dickie Bradley Specials

The San Pedro Sun

A taste of the Caribbean at Spice it Up
Dennis and I had the opportunity of being served a bit of, well—a lot- of the menu! We enjoyed refreshing pina coladas and margaritas, as we waited for our food to come out. For appetizers, an island favorite – stuffed jalapenos! These little poppers are stuffed with well-seasoned chicken and cheese and packs a bit of a kick for those who like a little spice. Being pregnant, and as such, with valid reason to pig out without awkward stares- I also got beef nachos to munch on. Man was it loaded! Packed with fresh tortilla chips, layered in beans and cheese and topped with freshly made salsa and sour cream and of course perfectly seasoned ground beef- this is enough to be a meal on its own! However with Segret’s great recipes there’s always room for more, so out came the meals.

Fishers and Vessels Licensing
The Belize Fisheries Department hereby advices fishers and the general public that due to unforeseen technical issues, the licensing of fishers and vessels that was to be carried out in various coastal communities starting Monday December 15, 2014 has been postponed until early January 2015. The new dates for licensing being conducted in these communities will be circulated on a later date, via press release and radio announcements.However, the renewal of fisher and vessel licenses in Belize City will be done as per normal at the Licensing Office of the Belize Fisheries Department starting Monday December 15, 2014.

Southwest Airlines To Begin Nonstop Service To Belize
There is exciting news to report on the international flights to/from Belize. As the tourism numbers continue to grow, international airlines have recognized the demand for increased airlifts to Belize. Southwest Airlines today announced that they have filed applications to begin service to six new destinations, including Belize. This will provide Belize with nonstop service from William P. Hobby Airport in Houston, Texas commencing October 2015. This service to Belize’s Philip S. W. Goldson International Airport adds a second destination in Central America, a seventh country, and the 96th city in the Southwest route map.

Ambergris Today

Isla Bonita Elementary Holds Christmas Extravaganza
Every year, the students of Isla Bonita Elementary School pull off a fantastic Christmas Show that is packed with song, dance and entertainment for the entire family. The entire student body practiced for weeks to prepare for their performances that are especially dedicated to the parents. The Christmas show was held at the Paradise Theater on Friday, December 12, 2014. Each class prepared two presentations to show off their talent and just have a great time on stage before the holiday break. The theater was buzzing with chatter, applause and laughter as the audience enjoyed the show.

25 Years Ago: Growing Stages of San Pedro, Ambergris Caye
You are looking at an aerial shot of the village of San Pedro back in the 1950s. The perimeters of San Pedro were from the beach side to the lagoon side on the west. On the south side the village commenced at the present day R.C School and ended at the cemetery on the north end. That was the entire village of San Pedro with a population of about four hundred inhabitants all of Mestizo descent with the exception of one or two families. It fit the description of a laid back serene fishing community perfectly. And then the expansion began. Mr. Milo Paz Sr. was the first to build just ahead of Mr. Ramon Badillo (+) right in front of the cemetery. Just ahead of the cemetery one Mr. Roger Reid had purchased from the Blake family all that piece of land that ran all the way to the Boca del Rio. (Section A on photo). The first one to purchase a piece of land outside of the village limits was a foreigner who built the first cabaña resort- Paradise Hotel. That hotel was considered for many years to be outside of the village confines. Mr. Reid built a small family home but never developed it anymore.

Flashbacks: Santa Claus is Coming to the Village of San Pedro
Santa Claus is the same whether it is in Australia or in Belize and on this grand occasion he is at the Central Park on San Pedro. The photo shows a small white house on the right hand which is where the renowned Alijua Building is presently located. The white one on the left is the old police station that stood right next to the park. We are fascinated by the happy faces in the shot. The gentleman in blue shirt is Wilber Marin so we must assume that the small boy in red is Esteban Marin. Taken in 1975, these happy kids are in their 40’s and have changed quite a bit, so join us in the fun of identifying them as they excitedly awaited for Santa Claus to hug them and give them their Christmas gifts in 1975.

Pic of the Week: Christmas Sand Art at Cayo Espanto
We have heard that there are about two great sandcastle artists at the Ambergris Caye private island luxury resort of Cayo Espanto. Here is one of their latest sand art creations made for their guests to enjoy. The staff of the exclusive private ialsnd express Season's Greetings to their guests and friends with this awesome Christmas Tree made from sand.

New Communications Director and Marine Scientist Join Oceana Belize
Oceana Belize is rapidly growing into becoming a very strong advocate for the protection and preservation of the country’s natural resources, in particularly on ocean conservation, protecting marine ecosystems & endangered species. Just recently they have added two strong and intelligent Belizeans to its team who will surely strengthen the non-profit organization’s mission. Oceana, the world’s largest international ocean conservation group, announced in a press release that effective January 12, 2014, Alyssa Carnegie will join their team in Belize as its Communications Director. “We are ecstatic that Alyssa has decided to join us,” enthused Oceana Belize Vice President, Janelle Chanona. “Alyssa’s ability to be simultaneously articulate and ardent will be significant assets in helping Oceana achieve policy victories that protect Belize’s amazing barrier reef and the marine resources on which so many Belizeans depend.”

Misc Belizean Sources

San Pedro Town Council email sending spam
We would like to inform everyone that our email address [email protected] is currently under SPAM which is an effect of BTL's server. We apologize for any inconvenience caused. We have already reported the situation to the BTL office and will be fixed soon. If you get an invitation to dropbox via [email protected], it is SPAM.

elize officially taken off the Red List
by the EU Improvements in international law obligations and legal framework to fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing results in lifting of trade sanctions imposed on Belize Oceana Belize commits to supporting GoB’s efforts to support EU goal Sustainability. Accountability. Progress. Those are the themes being emphasized by the world’s biggest fish importer, the European Union, as it continues to drive towards a global goal of the sustainable use of the oceans and collaboration in address the major threats confronting marine environments. And today, as Belize is officially taken off the Red List, (the list of countries deemed non-cooperative in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing) the importance of each country’s role in ocean governance and sustainable fisheries is highlighted.

Ministry of Works & Transport Signs Contracts for More Infrastructure Project
The Minister of Works & Transport Hon. Rene Montero and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Errol Gentle, signed contracts for the several works on December 15, 2014 at the Ministry of Works Conference Room in Belmopan. M&M; Engineering Consultants Limited signed a contract for the new Mullins River Bridge which was destroyed by severe flash floods during the passage of Tropical Storm Arthur in 2008. The cost of the design and construction of the bridge is BZ$4,461,172.36 with a design/build period of 12 months.

Our Eagles Wings "Give Her Hope" Inaugural Event
Saturday, January 17th, at Ramon's. 6-8pm

Barranco Village Pier
On Friday, December 12th, 2014 a contract for the repair of the Barranco Village Pier, which was damaged during a storm in early October, was signed between the Chairman of the Barranco Village Council Dr. Joseph O. Palacio and contractor, Mr. Alexander “Sonny” Garbutt. The reconstruction project, which is scheduled to be completed in January 2015, is being financed by the Office of the Prime Minister and will be supervised by the Ministry of Works. The works total a little over BZ$41,000.00 and is one of the largest recent inflows the village has received for infrastructural development. The project will be most welcomed by residents as it is expected to create employment for Barranco Village. Dr. Francis Arzu, Secretary of the Village Council, witnessed the signing.

The European Council yesterday adopted a decision to remove Belize from the list of ‘non-cooperating third countries’ in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
This decision was taken pursuant to a recommendation by the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG-MARE) to remove Belize from this list in consideration of the concrete measures taken by Belize to rectify the deficiencies pointed out by the European Commission earlier this year. This decision by the EU Council shall enter into force on December 18, 2014, the day after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union. This is the first case where a country is removed from the list of non-cooperating third countries through cooperation and on-going dialogue with the Commission; and it demonstrates that the EU system of bi-lateral cooperation and collaboration to assist third countries in fully implementing the IUU Regulation is indeed effective and bearing fruit.

Extended time: Power Interruption, entire Caye Caulker Village
10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Wednesday, December 17, 2014.

48 inch height limit for cave tubing now 40 inches

Channel 7

Fatal Shooting Happened During A "Wet Drop" Crack Down
Tonight 6 men are detained as the result of a police sweep of Northern Ambergris Caye. This is part of an operation that was launched over the weekend to crack down on illegal narcotics activity on the north end of the island - due to increased "wet-drop" activity. Yesterday the law enforcement operation resulted in the fatal shooting of Peter Castillo. He was shot by the Coast Guard who say they were forced to fire after he pointed this pump action shot gun at them - as seen in the san Pedro Sun. Today his family came from Punta Gorda to Belize city for the post mortem and his aunt spoke to Daniel Ortiz:.. Alfonsa Castillo, aunt of deceased "Listening to the news last night when they said Peter Castillo, I immediately call his father in PG who is my cousin and I ask him if it's true and he said yes my sister, that is how we greet each other because we are old. So he said yes my sister, its Peter. So I ask what was Peter doing in San Pedro and he replied that he went to look for a job."

Guatemalan President Arriving In Belize For SICA Summit
The President of Guatemala Otto Perez Molina arrives in Belize tomorrow morning at 7:00 am via helicopter for the 44th Summit of the SICA Heads of State. He joins the Presidents of Nicaragua, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Panama along with heads of delegations for Costa Rica and El Salvador. The one-day Summit commences at 8:45 am at the Belize Ocean Club in Placencia where Belize will hand over the pro-tem presidency of SICA to Guatemala. Matters to be dealt with in the summit include the migration of unaccompanied minors to the United States, regional security, and climate change, among other topics.

Thyrel Hyde: Burglary Suspect?
Thyrell Hyde - in late 2013 after he produced security camera footage showing police shaking him down in an Atlantic Bank ATM. But tonight Belmopan police say he is a key person of interest in their investigation of a major heist at an electronics store in the capital. The burglary of Cellular World Belmopan happened between the eighth and ninth December when thieves got in through a window, turned the security camera away from them and stole 13 cell phones and other electronic accessories to a total value of twenty one thousand dollars.

Ambergris Cop Caught Red-Handed In Extortion Sting
On Friday, we told you about the cop who was caught red handed in an extortion sting. Well, Police Constable John Arana has been arrested and charged for extortion. Arana told a San Pedro businessman that he could fix a civil matter that was pending against him in court. Apparently the businessman had some unpaid grocery bills - and Arana allegedly said he could make it go away - for a fee. He asked for 1,200 dollars, and the businessman gave him seven hundred. But when he got the second payment, of five hundred dollars, the bills had been marked and photocopied and police were waiting to pick him up as soon as he had collected it at Mamacita's Bar on Friday morning. Today, Deputy Commander for Eastern Division Edward Broaster, was asked about him at a press conference held today by Police. He couldn't give us any specifics on the corrupt cop, but he said that this should put police on notice that even though the Department cannot control their actions while their out in the field, they will be dealt with harshly:..

The Perils Of Unprofessional Police Behavior
And while, we had the chance, we asked him about another bad cop who continues to do time in Prison. He's Police Constable Randolph Scott, the officer we told you about who was sentenced to 2 months in prison for sexual assault which he committed against one of his colleagues, a woman constable. Now, that is embarrassing enough, but during the course of the trial, reports emerged that drinking on the job, and drinking while on the Belama Police Station Premises was a contributing factor of the assault. Broaster responded to that as well: Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Deputy Commander, Eastern Division "I think that case speaks for itself. A lot of times people would say that we cover for each other, but that in itself is another case where we are very transparent and above board in discharging our responsibilities and not because it is a police officer we would not do a proper investigation or cover up any sort of wrong doing whether its against a member of the department or member of the public.

Police Christmas Patrol In Operation
But, to ensure that the spike in criminal activity that inevitably accompanies the holiday season is contained, the Eastern Division has stepped up their presence by putting more officers on the ground, especially in the business areas of the city. Broaster told us that they're doing all they can to stop thieves from operating, but you need to do your part too: Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Deputy Commander, Eastern Division "From the 15th November, we have stepped up the security for the anti-Christmas crime campaign. If you drive around the city you will notice that we have officers almost at every corner of the city. The rapid response of the police to any reports of crime and so forth has been significantly increased. And we want to encourage the citizenry to do their part in securing their belongings. Just yesterday, a lady was texting walking with her purse under her arm and someone came and grabbed it. We need to pay attention when we are about the city walking and don't present the opportunity for the criminals who are lurking around at the very opportunity to rob or thief anyone. We want to encourage the community to do their part. We are doing our part."

UDP Vs PUP In Cayo North: Round 1
Yesterday San Ignacio was the stage for much political scenery - when the UDP and the PUP turned things up for nomination day. Both sides brought out crowds, and both of them relied on out of towners to populate the parades. But tonight the PUP is crying foul: they say that UDP Candidate Omar Figueroa brought in support not only from out of town, but out of the country. The PUP campaign today sent us these pictures, which show persons wearing Omar Figueroa shirts coming across the border for the rally. You could say they were caught red-shirted, but seasoned political observers will tell you that as odious as it may seem, bringing in supporters, and, yes, even registered voters, from across all borders happens a lot during elections. It's just one issue springing out a local campaign that's garnering national attention because on the verge of a municipal election season, the Cayo North by-election is seen as an important heat-check for both parties. As we showed you yesterday, the contrast in political cultures was very distinct: the PUP supporters were more reserved, while the UDP loyalists were dancing in the street.

Emmanuel Willoughby Still On The Run
Police have several leads on the location of Emmanuel Willoughby but none have proven successful. As we reported last night Willoughby cut a hole in his cell door and escaped from the Belize Central Prison early Saturday morning. He is still on the run and has relatives in Libertad village in Corozal, Belize City and Georgeville village in Cayo. Police advise the public to be vigilant and to call 225 6229 or 610 4805 if Willoughby is seen.

Family Protests Against KHMH
A protest was held in front of the KHMH today. It involved the family of 19 year old Flory Palacio - who died on the 27th of September - after being hospitalized for 7 days at the KHMH where she was being treated for Tuberculosis. Her family told us today that numerous tests were conducted on the young woman for TB and all came back negative. When a medical letter was requested from the hospital in order for Palacio to get medical treatment abroad, the family claims they were denied. Palacio died shortly after and her death certificate stated that the cause of death was Hodgkin's lymphoma - a type of lymphoma, which is a cancer originating from white blood cells. Today her family came together to demand her medical file to do their own investigation. Lylette Barkley Waight - Grandmother of Flory Palacio "I came in and I had concerns and questions even of her treatment while she was undergoing treatment. I was out of the country. So, when I came in, I decided I would come in and request a copy of her medical records. I did that on November 17th, a written request. At that point, I was told to come back in a week. When I came back, I was told that the report was being prepared and I said I did not request a report, I requested a copy of the medical files. I was sent upstairs.

Westline Purchased D&E;
Commuters along the western corridor can expect some changes with D and E Bus Line out of Benque Viejo. That's because it has been bought by Westline Bus out of San Ignacio. The owner of Westline Sergio Chuc told us how it will benefit commuters:.. Sergio Chuc, owner - Westline "It means improvement in the services because we know that D&E; was going through a little crisis. You could see equipment was deteriorating. I am at liberty to discuss the details of their financials, but they needed to get out of the business and I think we have an excellent management crew that can take it over. We took over the operations on Saturday and we already introduced a new bus to the government workers; the ones that were complaining the most. So we had a nice bus that was put out for them this morning.

Omar's Camp Were All Belizeans
Before we could say "Belice es Guatemala" - we got a call from UDP candidate Omar Figueroa's camp saying that the persons we showed wearing his shirts and crossing the Belize Guatemala border were crossing the border to the Melchor side were a combination of Cayo North voters who work in the Benque Free Zone and UDP's from Belmopan who used the outing to Cayo to take a trip to Melchor.

Unicorn International Sues GOB
Viewers may remember that infamous fraud case which shoved Bahamians Rohn Knowles and Kelvin Leach into the glare of the public lens. That's after they were accused with 4 others by the US Government of participating in a billion dollar scheme to defraud the government of taxes they should have received for securities trading. During the initial stages of the operation to indict this men, Law enforcement from Belize conducted an extensive raid of their offices at the Matalon Building which resulted in the officers removing all the documents and items. That happened right around the time when the Financial Intelligence Unit went to the Supreme Court to freeze the monies that these men and their companies had in Belizean Banks. At the end, the Chief Justice unfroze the finances after ruling that there was not enough evidence against them to substantiate it.

Treaty Energy Workers Criminally Charged
Treaty Energy - it's a licensed oil exploration operation in Belize, but we caught their drift very early on when they started sending out fantastical claims about bogus oil discoveries in early 2012. There was no truth to it, but the press releases were apparently calculated to drive up Treaty's share price. Now, the Securities and Exchange Commission has come down on the company. News reports out of New Orleans Louisiana say that Federal regulators on Monday charged five officers at a New Orleans oil and gas exploration company with lying about striking oil in Belize in order to drive up the price of the company's stock, which was then illegally sold to investors. The company's Houston attorney was also charged with helping facilitate the stock-trading scheme.

Will The Petrocaribe Initiative Survive?
Keeping the focus on oil - what is the future of Petrocaribe? There's bene a lot of speculation that the programme will come to an end soon because with plummeting world oil prices, the Venezuelans just can't afford to keep it going. Last week we asked the Deputy Chairman of APBEL - which handles Petrocaribe in Belize - what the future looks like:.. Jules Vasquez "Are they giving any indication at the official level that the program is under review or the program may have to be terminated because they can no longer sustained it?" John Mencias, Dep. Chmn - APBEL (Alba Petrocaribe Belize Energy Limited) "No, not terminated at all." Jules Vasquez "Downscaled?" John Mencias "Neither downscale. I have said before that if people are expecting the PetroCaribe program to last from now until eternity under the same terms and conditions, that doesn't make sense, because conditions are changing around. It will have to adjust to realities around it. But the commitment to a program like this that is reaching out to the region - that will continue in some form or the other.

Fuel Prices Are Lowest In 12 Months
And the new fuel prices reflecting that low world price for a barrel of oil went into effect at midnight last night. It's not quite as low as our advance intel said it would be, but it is lower than it has been this year. A gallon of diesel is now seven dollars and eighty eight cents down from eight dollars and sixty nine cents, while regular is down to eight dollars and thirty seven cents from nine dollars and twenty cents, and the non PetroCaribe premium is actually up, from 9.57 to 9.63.

Feeding The Needy And Spreading X-Mas Cheer
There is a one dimensional Christmas story that is mostly celebrated - that's the story about family gatherings and mass, decorations and gifts to spread that Christmas spirit. But how about the story of those who may not be able to experience all that? Today the St. John's Cathedral Soup Kitchen hosted a Christmas lunch for the needy and the coordinators catered for 450 people. Tanisha Camal, a resident of Pen Road told us how for her and many others, this lunch is Christmas. Lillith Parks Sobernanis, Coordinator "Well as you can see we are here with our soup kitchen. This is the soup kitchen from St. John's Cathedral. We have been operating since 2010, and so this is our 5th Christmas dinner, the turkey dinner which is very popular."

Vehicles Donated to Inspiration Center
On Wednesday we reported on the launch of the 2015 Inspiration Center Calendar that features the drawings of 12 children. And today the center is making news again. They received two wheelchair accessible vehicles from Taiwan. Kendra Griffith, Executive Director of the Inspiration Center tells us how this donation will assist them to reach out to more children with diverse abilities. David Lin, Foreign Minister, Taiwan "I'm very happy to be here to witness the handing over of these two special vehicles. As I mentioned earlier, we are really supportive of this project to help the children, women here in Belize especially in cooperation with Mrs. Barrow." Kendra Griffith, Executive Director, Inspiration Center "These vehicles that were handed over today really contribute to the provision of our services because you would find that often the families of these children face severe financial constraints and these financial constraints don't allow them many times to access the basic services that they need. Sometimes healthcare services and even therapy services."

Belize Among The Happiest Place To Live
Is Belize a happy country? Now if your answer is 'no' it might be because - based on a 2014 Global Report on Violence Prevention- Belize's homicide rates are listed among the highest in the America's along with Honduras, Venezuela and Jamaica. Also, add to that the fact that over 40% of the population is below the poverty line - and the overall profile seems pretty grim. But turn that frown into a smile, people! According to a World Happy Planet Index, Belize is one of the happiest nations in the world, ranking 4th on the list. The Index does not focus on crime rates or affluence but on the ecological foot print. This has to do with the level of human impact on the environment and according to this index Belize is doing a great job in reducing the negative impact on the environment. Other very happy countries include Costa Rica as the happiest nation in the world - which is plausible given that they renounced their military in 1948 deterring war and social unrest - followed by Vietnam, Columbia then Belize.

Police Put On COPS Play
When you think of police officers, the first thing that usually comes to mind is strict discipline and enforcement. Well, they're relaxing that image to put on a Christmas play in which they want to entertain you. They're going to dramatize the different cultures they experience on a regular basis while putting a comical twist on it. The play is called Commissioner of Police Offering Peace to the Society, or COPS for short, and the officers put on their first production last year. It's back again, and the Deputy Commander of the Eastern Division told us why you should come out to see these officers perform: Sr. Supt. Edward Broaster, Deputy Commander, Eastern Division "The Eastern Division is hosting its second Christmas Cop Show and the cops stands for Commissioner of Police Offering Peace to the Society. Tis show will be hosted at the BTL Park. It will be free of cost to the general public and we will be having some giveaways, drama, dance and what have you.

Fire Victim Gets A New House
A Hattieville fire victim received a brand new house yesterday from the Hattieville Resource Center. 54 year old Eloise Hyde lost $50,000 worth of items when her house was burnt down on July 9th of this year. Her 8-year-old grandson was playing with a lighter and he lit a curtain on fire and it spread, destroying the structure. They have been living in a shelter for the past 5 months but now they have an opportunity to a new start with their 3 bedroom cement bungalow house. The house costs about 70 thousand dollars.

Channel 5

Court Orders FIU to Return Confiscated Documents
Supreme Court Justice Michelle Arana today ordered the Financial Intelligence Unit to return documents belonging to Unicorn International Securities by Thursday of this week. UIS is one of several companies [...]

Unicorn International Case Proceeds
With the order handed down, the Financial Intelligence Unit now has two days to return the documents to Unicorn International Securities. That’s a victory for the company, at least on [...]

Cane farmers to Share $2.5Million
It is unlikely that the sugar cane crop will be able to start on Friday as anticipated. That’s because B.S.I. and the B.S.C.F.A. have yet to sign the agreement which [...]

Belize Taken off EU Red List
Belize has been taken off the European Union Red List, a position it had been given because it was deemed, “non-cooperative in fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.” The announcement [...]

Eastern Division Speaks on Police Misconduct
On Monday, a police officer was hauled off to jail after being found guilty of committing a lewd act upon a fellow constable at a substation in Belize City back [...]

SICA Foreign Ministers in Placencia; Guatemala to Assume Pro-Tem Chair
Regional Security is among several key issues being discussed at a gathering of SICA member states in Placencia.  On Tuesday, foreign ministers from the respective countries belonging to the regional [...]

William and Marleni on the Ground in Placencia
While presentations were made earlier today concerning issues affecting all SICA member countries, there are ongoing developments in Placencia where rounds of discussions on various matters continue.  On Wednesday morning, [...]

Epileptic Patient Arraigned for Mahogany Heights Shooting
An epileptic of Mahogany Heights has been charged for the late-evening shooting of Joel Seawell. Twenty-six year old Erwin Ramsey was arraigned late Monday evening for attempted murder, dangerous harm [...]

Police preparedness for the Christmas Season
There has been an increase in police presence on the streets of the Old Capital since mid-November in preparation for the hustle and bustle of the Christmas Season.  Traditionally, it [...]

Area Representative Says No Dialysis for PG Patients
Even as the Petrocaribe money continues to roll, the initiative continues to generate criticism. Actually it’s not the initiative, per se, but the priorities of the government which controls the [...]

Requeña Condemns Government for Dilapidated Roads in PG
According to Requeña, he has raised many issues in the National Assembly, but apparently nobody on the government side is listening. So he’s using the media in an attempt to [...]

Cayo Ambulance Breaks Down…No Petrocaribe Money to Assist
Monday was nomination day, and newscasts focused on the shows put on by both camps as their candidates did the deed. We’ve shown the highlights, but there’s another one which [...]

P.U.P. Leader Says PM Barrow Negligent in Filing declarations
Last week, the Vision Inspired by the People protested in Belmopan to draw attention to perceived corruption in government, and the need for the Integrity Commission to become a real [...]

P.U.P. Says They Are Ready for Municipal Elections
Will Belize City Mayor Darrell Bradley be a part of the U.D.P. team when municipal elections roll around in March? That’s the question everybody’s asking, including the U.D.P.  The P.U.P. [...]

GO Wireless Opens Revolutionary Outlet
Christmas time is a popular time for buying gifts for family, friends, co-workers and even for your KK. Gadgets of all shapes, sizes and functions are on the market this [...]

Taiwan Donates 2 Vehicles to the Inspiration Center
Since its opening, the Inspiration Center has conducted a hundred and forty-four assessments of children with disabilities. The facility is currently actively seeing sixty-five children for speech and physical therapy [...]

CTV3

Robbery In Caye Caulker, One Man Placed Behind Bars
The quick response from Officers at the Caye Caulker formation yielded a perpetrator behind bars. On Sunday at about 5:50 a.m., police responded to a robbery in Caye Caulker on Avenida Hicaco where they met 22-year-old Armina Brendalee Choc who reported that upon opening her coffee shop she was held up at knife point by a dark complexion male person. She reportedly gave him all the money from the cash register but still he attacked Choc with the knife where she sustained cut wounds to neck and head. Quick police response led to the apprehension of the culprit who was identified as 22-year-old Elroy Flores of Dangriga. He was detained pending charges. Choc has since been treated and released.

Double Murder In Corozal, Was Jealousy The Motive?
Over the weekend the District of Corozal recorded probably one of the most horrendous crimes to be committed for the year 2014 as a love triangle led to double murder in that rural community. Both victims were chopped to death early yesterday morning inside their home in the Village of Paraiso. What was left behind can only be descried ad a horrendous scene as both 49 year old Fernando Pineda Rivas and his 21 year old girlfriend Hidey Atherly suffered a bloody death. As investigators continue to put the pieces of the puzzle together, reporter Victor Castillo also went looking for clues. Here’s his report. Victor Castillo – Reporting On Sunday the silence that accompanies the break of dawn was shattered by the screams of agony in the peaceful community of Paraiso Village in Corozal as the district witnessed its 8th and 9th murder for the year 2014, just five days after the brutal murder of Mark Massam.

Traditional Christmas Parties Kept Alive In O/W Central
‘Tis the season to be jolly” goes the old saying and this is exactly how hundreds of children were this weekend as Orange Walk Central Area Representative held three children’s parties in his constituency. Here is a look at what transpired at the three events. Dalila Ical- Reporting Honorable John Briceno – Orange Walk Central Area Representative “For every Christmas we try to make it special for the children in Orange Walk Central and so we are here over in San Estevan and yesterday we were in San Lorenzo housing site and tomorrow we will be at the Phillip Alvares park, as we said Christmas is for children and we believe that by having a party for them, having all of them coming out here as a community along with their parents play games with them and give them gifts and give them goodies bags I think it is a small way where we can put a smile in the faces of these children.” And the joy could be felt indeed as children played and screamed in excitement at each gathering. Even Santa Claus had his hands full with children flocking around him seeking one hug or a picture with him.

Richard Harrison Officially Nominated As PUP Standard Bearer For Cayo North
This morning among a crowd of supporters at the Columbus Park, Richard Harrison was officially nominated as the People’s United Party’s Standard Bearer for the Cayo North Constituency. Harrison received the support from political candidates and elected officials from around the country and when asked about his aspirations for that area, Harrison explained his youthful economic revolution and delved into special interest policies including lack of jobs and lack of quality health care. Here is that excerpt thanks to our friends at 7news! Richard Harrison – Standard Bearer, Cayo North “I have noticed that there are three principal issues; first and foremost is that dollar for the families is not stretching far enough, too many people are finding it hard enough to make ends meet and that has a reason behind it, the second one is the high rate of unemployment, there are a few people in a house hold that are working and having to feed, clothe and shelter a number of people other than themselves so that is a burden caused by unemployment, and it leads to the first problem which is the stretching of the family budget and then the third one and very significant so is the infrastructure problem, the UDP has develop a small percentage of the division infrastructure and we are happy for it but the vast majority, 90% of the areas infrastructure is left dilapidated especially in the extremes, San Ignacio has grown three to four times over the last ten years so those new areas they are pretty much left abandoned and in really dilapidated state especially Bullet Tree as well which is our only village so those are the only three principals problems that I find.”

BTB Has New Acting Director Of Marketing And Industry Relations
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) has a new acting Director of Marketing and Industry Relations and he is other than Clive Myers who takes up the position as of today. Up until his appointment, Myers, who holds a Master’s Degree in Project Management from Drexel University Online, served as the BTB’s Destination Planning and Development Coordinator. Myers has also received certification in the Urban Development Rejuvenation Project, Cultural Tourism Project and has received training in the Global Sustainable Tourism Plan for Destinations. As BTB’s Destination Planning and Development Coordinator, Myers was instrumental in commissioning tourism strategies and economic impact studies for implementation as outlined in the National Sustainable Master Plan, as well as in the development and execution of the annual Village Arts Expo. Myers replaces Alyssa Carnegie who is now Oceana Belize’s Communications Director Carnegie to start in January 2015. Myers will be acting as Director of Marketing and Industry Relations for a six months period, after which he may fully take on the position.

Massam’s Accused Murderer Remains Hospitalized
Twenty nine year old Mark Massam was brutally chopped to death on the night of Tuesday December 9th by 22 year old Carlos Cassanova. During the press briefing today Deputy Officer Commanding the Corozal Police Formation, Peter Serrano, updated the media on the case. Insp. Peter Serrano – Corozal Dpt. OC “At present the investigation is still ongoing, statements was recorded and reports were also received and the person who allegedly who did the chopping is still hospitalized and police security, whenever a person is released he will be escorted back to this formation of course we need to do certain checks as his medical condition and that is where we are right now.” As previously reported, it is said that the Massam’s arrived at the Casanova’s residence breaking bottles and threating the family causing them to fear for their life. According to Inspector Serrano he has spoken to the family of the murdered victim in or der to appease the situation.

Another Burglary For Corozal
A spate in burglaries is on the rise and over the weekend thieves targeted a business place in the Corozal District. Businessman Sunil Talreja reported to police that sometime between 10:00am on the Monday December 8th and 11:30am on the Tuesday December 9th his business place namely Shivam Restaurant and Pool place located on the South side of Progresso village was burglarized. Stolen from within were; (1) Flat Screen TCL brand television, 1 Sonivox DVD player, 2 white pool balls, alcoholic drinks, brand cigarettes and also damages caused to the building amounting to a total loss of $5,614.75. Police have since recovered most of the items and have since detained a relative of the businessman and are looking for the other brother both from the same village of Progresso. Police investigation continues.

Shoot Out In San Pedro Town Between Authorities and Playadores, One Man Is Dead
One man is killed in a morning shootout between the Belize Coast Guard officials and civilians. Authorities report that the incident took place between 10:30 and 10:45 this morning 21 and a half miles north of San Pedro Town. The six Coast Guards were on a joint special operation on foot and were patrolling the Bacalar Chico Marine Reserve beach when they came under gun fire. Reports are that the officials returned fire and wounded one of the three men that shot at them. The men it is believed are beach combers. Authorities believe that a second man may have been injured but managed to flee the scene along with the other. The man that was killed was shot to both his hands and once in the chest and police have not released any identity on the individual who is described only and a Creole male. Authorities also recovered a pump action shot gun with six live rounds about ten feet from the body. At a distance police found a bag containing seven more 12 gauge cartridges.

Couple Knocked Down On Yo Creek Road, Woman Dies On The Spot
It is a fact that one of the leading causes of death in Belize is significantly contributed by road traffic accidents and many families have been left displaced in the process. One such incident was recorded on Friday night where a couple from Black Water Creek area of Orange Walk Town was on their way home on foot when tragedy struck. The impact caused both persons to receive varying degrees of injuries but Anair Canchan died at the scene. Officer in Charge of the Police Traffic Department is WPC Marilyn Pate who gave us an account of the incident which occurred 3 miles on the Yo Creek Road. WPC Marilyn Pate – OIC, Police Traffic Department “The lifeless body of female learnt her name to be Anair Canchan, 34 years old, domestic of Black Water with injuries to both of her legs and she was on the edge of the road about five feet away from her common law husband one Germais Hernandez, 37 years also from Black Water, he had a fractured left leg and scratches on his left side of his face, swollen upper and lower lips and he complained of pain in the chest and he was the driver of a 1996 white Geo Prism 4dr wagon with license plate OWC-00750 was driven by one Charles Houston Platter, 88 years American of #8 Fonseca Street was driving from the same direction coming from Yo Creek coming towards Orange Walk and the exact location is in the vicinity of Cuellos Distillery where the wife and the husband were walking along the side of the road when a vehicle coming on the opposite direction coming from Orange Walk towards Yo Creek blinded the elderly driver and hit both persons.”

Not All Cane Farmers Happy With New Agreement
As we mentioned before, the negotiations may have finally reached a resolution but for some members of the negotiating team, there is no reason for celebration. For his part, Alfredo Ortega expressed disappointment in the way the negotiations ended. Alfredo Ortega “Personally no, I am not happy with this because I think we have gone through two years trying to negotiate better for the farmers and then we reach to this point where we are back to square one and I personally I am not in agreement with this but as I said before the majority have spoken and we have to respect the decision of the majority.” And while he received harsh criticisms, BSCFA CEO Oscar Alonzo explained that the new terms were not endorsed by him either. “La primera junta que se tuvo cuando se empezó a presentar estas tres condiciones de la cual se concluye ayer entonces yo no puedo explicar de haya sino solo puedo dar los resultados porque como yo indique en la junta el viernes en frente de ellos yo no estaba de acuerdo pero se les pregunto y ellos si estaban de acuerdo en frente del Primer Ministro entonces como el Primer Ministro dijo los directores son los que están aceptando estas condiciones lo único que yo puedo hacer es presentar y lo que yo he tratado de hacer es salvar la situación.”

LOVE FM

Greenwood Speaks On Importance Of Port
The Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize has planned a protest for Wednesday. FECTAB is pushing that the proposed Stake Bank project becomes a reality. President of the Association Tom Greenwood says with the changes to come within the industry, a port is of extreme importance. TOM GREENWOOD ”A solid rock hard contract which I ran by several legal agencies not least of which I ran by the Prime Minister himself because when we were lobbying to get the whole thing of the ground and going the Prime Minister said to me personally, ”Tom I don’t want you all to end up in the same mess that you are in at FSTB how can you guarantee that you people will have access?” We got a contract from the Stake Bank project.”

Mahogany Heights Resident Charged With Attempted Murder
Twenty-six year old Ervin Ramsey, an epileptic of #4 Q Street, Mahogany Heights, was charged with the attempted murder of Joel Winston Seawell when he appeared today before Magistrate Herbert Panton. Ramsey was also charged with dangerous harm and use of deadly means of harm. He was remanded into custody until January 30, 2015.Ramsey was represented by attorney Audrey Matura shepherd, who told the court that her client was wrongly charged by the police who did not do any kind of investigation and who did not hold an id parade.

Police Constable Charged With Aggravated Assault
Police constable Randolph Scott was sentenced to 2 months today by the Chief Magistrate, Anne Marie Smith after he was found guilty of aggravated assault of an indecent nature on a female police officer. Scott was also charged with harm but that charge was dismissed due to insufficient evidence. The incident occurred on October 26, 2013, at Belama Police Station. The female officer, a constable, testified that Scott touched her legs, pulled up her skirt and pushed his hand inside her skirt.

BTB Selects Acting Director, Marketing And Industry Relations
Clive Myers will be acting in the post of Director, Marketing and Industry Relations at the Belize Tourism Board for the next six months. Previous to this post, Myers was the BTB’s Destination Planning and Development Coordinator. According to a release from the BTB, during his tenure in that post, Myers was instrumental in commissioning tourism strategies and economic impact studies for implementation as outlined in the National Sustainable Master Plan, as well as in the development and execution of the annual Village Arts Expo.

Minor Knocked Down
A young child was knocked down around five thirty this evening in the City of Belmopan on the stretch of Rio Grande near the junction with Xunantunich Street in the Piccini area. The condition of the child is unknown but Love News has learnt that the child, who resides on Macal Street in Belmopan, was hit by a gold F150 truck being driven at the time by the son of a senior police officer attached to Belmopan Police Station. Witnesses say that the child, who is the granddaughter of a police woman, seems to have received severe injuries to the face and jaw and was taken to the Belmopan Hospital for treatment. Love News will keep following this story.

PlusTV

Taiwan hands over vehicles to Inspiration Center
Opened in March of this year, the Inspiration Center at Mile 1 1/2 on the George Price Highway is dedicated to improving the lives of children and adults with special needs, and making them an integral part of Belizean society. For those who are unable to walk, the Center provides transport with two...

Belize removed from European Council’s list of non-cooperating countries in illegal fishing
On Monday, The European Council adopted a decision to remove Belize from the list of ‘non-cooperating third countries’ in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing...

Ervin Ramsey charged for attempted murder
26 year old Ervin Ramsey of Mahogany Heights, Belize District, faces attempted murder charges in relation to the shooting of Joel Winston Seawell on December 11, 2014. Ervin Ramsey is accused of opening fire on Winston Seawell and four other persons, whom he allegedly attempted to rob as they came o...

34 year old Football player charged with carnal knowledge of 15 year old girl
34 year old Cristobal Gilharry played defense for the National A team for the CONCACAF Gold Cup tournament last year. The young football star is now on the defense again, but for an entirely different ball game, after having been charged for unlawful carnal knowledge. On Monday December 15th, acting...

Coast Guard shot and killed armed man in San Pedro
A man was shot and killed by Coast Guard officers on Monday December 15, in the area of Bacalar Chico about 21 ½ miles North of San Pedro Town, Ambergris Caye. According to police reports, about 75 meters from the beach side in the bushes, a sawed off 12 gauge pump action shotgun and (6) 12 gau...

Girl knocked down in Belmopan
There was a road traffic accident on Monday evening on the corner of Lubantun Street and Rio Grande Avenue, in Belmopan, involving the daughter of a Police Constable attached to the Belmopan police Station. Sources tell Plus News that sometime around 5:30 pm on Monday December 15th...

Murder acquittal for Honduran national
44 year old Honduran National Rosendo Gabarette was acquitted for the murder of Juan Cardona, on Monday. In November 2010, fifty six year old Honduran Juan Cardona was discovered dead in an area in the Village of Bella Vista, Stann Creek District...

FECTAB supports Stake Bank Project
The Federation of Cruise Tourism Associations of Belize (FECTAB) is ramping up the pressure on authorities responsible for the management of the cruise tourism sector, to intervene in the ongoing dispute between the co-owners of Fort Street Tourism Village (FSTV) and the proprietors of the Stake Ban...

New Building for Government Ministry courtesy Taiwan
Belize’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been borrowing space at different Government headquarters, without having a building assigned solely for Foreign affairs duties. Recently it has been housing at the NEMO Headquarters in Belmopan . However that is all about to change as the Government is prepa...

Cane farmers agree with BSI despite misgivings
When we left you on Friday, it was with news that a tentative deal had been cut between the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers’ Association (BSCFA) and Belize Sugar Industries, Limited (BSI) and international partner American Sugar Refining (ASR) with the Government of Belize playing honest broker. The BSC...

Farmers to receive Fairtrade money for Christmas
Also at Sunday’s meeting in San Roman, the question of compensation for farmers waiting for payment for this year’s cane crop came up. It was decided as a stopgap measure by the membership to vote $2.5 million from Fairtrade funds to be equally shared with all farmers...

Amandala

Coast Guard kill “playadores;” two others escape
The elite Coast Guard fighting unit, who were conducting an operation in the Bacalar Chico area of Northern San Pedro, about half mile from the Bacalar Chico Border with Mexico, was engaged in a shootout which ended with the death of a man who had allegedly fired at the officers at about 10:30 this morning, about 21 miles north of San Pedro. Police say that when the Coast Guard returned fire at three men, one man was killed and one of the other two men was believed to be hit, but they both escaped. The Coast Guard did not sustain any casualty. The dead man has been identified as Peter Castillo, Jr., 21, of the Water Reservoir area of Punta Gorda. He was shot in the heart and both arms, and died on the scene. His body was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Morgue, where it awaits a post-mortem.

Sexual misbehavior in office by cop gets him 2 months in jail
An interdicted police constable who was facing charges of harm and aggravated assault of an indecent nature upon a woman police constable was sentenced to two months in prison this afternoon when he was convicted in the courtroom of Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith. “No credible evidence has been put forward that PC Randolph Scott caused harm to WPC Ruby Martinez,” Smith said as she acquitted him of the harm charge. Scott, however, was found guilty of the aggravated assault of an indecent nature charge, and in imposing the custodial sentence, Smith remarked, “I do believe that a message has to be sent to police officers at police stations that their ‘hanky-panky’ behavior must stop.”

3rd San Pedro cop busted for alleged extortion
In just over four months, three San Pedro police constables have been interdicted from duty on a charge of extortion. On July 24, Constable Elvin Nah of San Pedro police was arrested and charged with extortion and released on bail of $2,000 in the San Pedro Magistrate’s Court. On November 18, Constable Oscar Ramirez, also of San Pedro police, was charged and arraigned for extortion. Now Constable John Arana, another cop from San Pedro police, has been arrested and charged with extortion, for accepting $500 in extortion money from a businessman in San Pedro. Arana was taken to the San Pedro Magistrate’s Court today, Monday, where he was arraigned on a charge of extortion. He was offered bail of $3,000 and ordered to return to court on January 27, 2015.

Crazy chopping in Paraiso!
A jealous relationship that went terribly wrong has led to the death of a man and a woman who were both mutilated in a jealous rage early yesterday morning on a secluded farmhouse in Paraiso Village, Corozal. Corozal police said they visited a farm situated about 3/4 miles northeast of Paraiso, where they initially saw the lifeless body of Heidy Atherly, 21, the mother of a 4-year old child, clothed with a black 3/4 jeans pants and sky-blue blouse, lying face up on the ground next to some plantain trees with multiple cut wounds to the head, neck and upper limbs. A further search inside a small 15' x 12' concrete house, which is located nearby, led to the discovery of the lifeless body of Salvadoran cane cutter Fernando Pineda Rivas, 49, who was clothed in a red shirt, long green pants and rubber boots, lying face up next to a bed with multiple chop wounds to his head, neck and upper limbs.

Treaty Energy faces fine in US for faking oil find in Belize
Treaty Energy, a New Orleans-based oil-and-gas company, is in big trouble in the US after the Securities and Exchange Commission charged that company and five of its executives with running a stock trading scheme through which they garnered US$3.5 million in illicit gains after they falsely announced a commercial oil find in Belize—only to scam people into buying stock in the company. According to the SEC’s complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas, Treaty Energy Company issued “deceptive press releases,” in which it touted drilling successes in Belize and Texas to induce investor demand for its unregistered stock, which was then illegally distributed to the public.

GOB nationalization of BEL and BTL – CCJ decision in January
The Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ) expects to hand down a landmark decision in January 2015 in the 6-suit challenge which stems from the Government of Belize’s nationalization of two public utility companies: the Belize Electricity Limited (BEL) and the Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL). On December 10-12, 2014, the CCJ held hearings at its headquarters in Trinidad and Tobago, on consolidated claims filed by the Ashcroft group of companies and Fortis Inc. against the Attorney General of Belize and the Minister of Public Utilities. Lord Peter Goldsmith of the UK appeared for Dean Boyce and the BTL Employees Trust. His co-counsel, Godfrey Smith, SC, of Belize was not present for the hearings.

Man busted with .38 Special revolver on Sibun Street
Jose David Funez, 33, of a Sibun Street address, has been remanded to the Belize Central Prison until February 12, 2015, on charges of keeping an unlicensed firearm and keeping ammunition without a gun license. Police reported that that at about 9:00 Wednesday night, they were on mobile patrol on Sibun Street when they saw a man throw a shiny object in the bushes when he saw them coming.

Boat attendant remanded to prison for allegedly sexually assaulting 7-year-old girl
A Biscayne resident was arraigned on two counts of sexual assault upon a 7-year-old girl and was remanded to the Belize Central Prison this afternoon, after the court prosecutor objected to granting him bail on the ground that he might interfere with the virtual complainant or other prosecution witnesses. Randy Dion Dominguez, 24, a boat attendant, pleaded not guilty when Chief Magistrate Ann Marie Smith read the two charges of sexual assault to him. Smith upheld an objection to bail from the court prosecutor, Corporal Noel Muschamp, and remanded Dominguez to prison until his next court appearance on February 4, 2015.

The dilemma of poor people
It is Christmas time, and a time of “good cheer.” But already it is a season filled with the hope and excitement of elections. The Cayo North by-election is near, and soon, after the Christmas and New Year celebrations, it will be “full metal jacket” into the swing of municipal, and there’s even talk of possible simultaneous general elections in March 2015. But these days, few people, especially poor people, whose lives are a day-to-day struggle to put bread on the table for their hungry children, have the time or the inclination to seriously reflect on what role their elected government leaders can and should play to improve their daily lives in tangible ways. The situation is what it is, and for anything perceived as done by the government of the day that looks good, they are fair to give them their kudos. The cemented streets and some jobs for roots people are seen as very good things being done by the UDP government.

From the Publisher
The Maritime Areas Act (MAA), which was introduced in the Belize House of Representatives in August of 1991, was a very complex document, very difficult to understand. There is an area of the sea, which Belizean fishermen have known as the Gulf of Honduras, where the maritime rights of Belize, Guatemala, and Honduras overlap. Apparently these are areas which are very rich in petrocarbons and minerals, and it was in the interests of some huge corporate concerns to get the matter of the three nations’ rights sorted out so that exploration and exploitation of the specific maritime areas could be facilitated. The Maritime Areas Act was such a big deal that the two most powerful leaders of the Opposition United Democratic Party (UDP) at the time, Rt. Hon. Manuel Esquivel and Hon. Dean Barrow, supported the ruling People’s United Party (PUP), led by the Rt. Hon. George Price, when the Maritime Areas Act was introduced.

Belize’s cybersecurity culture and sensitive data – worrying things
Dear Editor, There were two stories aired on Channel 7’s evening news on Dec. 2 which caught my attention and urged some great concerns about our personal data and the use of technology to conduct business in Belize. By extension, I am also worried about Belize’s cybersecurity culture. In the first instance, I reference a news story titled, “Major police security breach via lost Special Branch flash drive”. This story informs that the police department, through what could be deemed negligence, lost a USB flash drive which contained sensitive data.

Family pulls plug on brain-dead son, 8, victim of Chetumal road accident
Kiran Moguel, 8, a student of Corozal Town who suffered massive head and body injuries in a traffic collision that occurred in Chetumal, Mexico, was allowed to die at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital on Thursday after doctors declared him brain dead. When Moguel was transferred from the Chetumal General Hospital to the KHMH, doctors rushed him to the Intensive Care Unit, where he was put on life support. After he was examined, doctors declared that he was brain dead, and that nothing more could be done to help him. After a consultation with Moguel’s family, the life support unit was unplugged and Moguel was allowed to pass away. His body was taken to the morgue, where it awaits a post-mortem to certify the cause of his death.

LPG prices lowest for 2014
The lowest prices for liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the most common cooking fuel, which is also called “butane”, came into effect on Friday, December 12, 2014, when the Belize Bureau of Standards announced that the Government had decided to shave $5 off the price of a 100-pound cylinder of LPG. This means that a cylinder of LPG imported from Mexico via Belize Gas Limited and Western Gas Company Limited, will now cost $104 for the 100-pound tank in Belize. Imported LPG, with a lower percentage of butane and higher percentage of propane, imported by Belize Western Energy Limited, Southern Choice/Zeta Gas, or Gas Tomza Ltd. will cost $101 a tank in Belize City.

95 pounds of weed, gun and ammo get man 5 years in jail
Casey Fitzgerald Smith, 35, of Bishop Street, Belize City, has been sentenced to three years in prison after being found guilty of drug trafficking. Smith was additionally fined $10,000 and if he defaults on payment, he will spend an additional 3 years in jail. Smith was sentenced to an additional 5 years in jail for keeping an unlicensed gun and another 5 years for keeping eight 9mm live rounds without a gun license. He was taken to the Belmopan Magistrate’s Court on Friday for the drug trafficking and gun and ammunition possession charges, and he pleaded guilty to the offenses.

BWS terminated employees’ lawsuit concludes in the Supreme Court
A lawsuit that was filed against Belize Water Services (BWS) by six of its former employees who were terminated from their posts at the company, purportedly as part of a redundancy exercise, concluded in the Supreme Court of Justice Michelle Arana late this evening. The six claimants are suing BWS for their outstanding benefits and packages. Attorneys in the case are expected to submit written submissions by January 23, after which Justice Arana will issue a ruling. No date has been set for Arana’s ruling in the civil claims, which began about six months ago. At today’s hearing, the court heard from the BWS Workers Union vice president Lorelei Westby, who was the union’s president in February 2012, when the six workers were given their walking papers following an internal investigation that BWS launched after a series of “salacious letters” had surfaced.

BSCFA yields; tentative sugar agreement reached
Cañeros are scheduled to meet this Sunday, December 14, and, if all goes well, they will accept a 7-year commercial sugar agreement that was brokered today between principals of the Belize Sugar Cane Farmers Association (BSCFA), and Belize Sugar Industries (BSI)/American Sugar Refineries (ASR) in the presence of Prime Minister Dean Barrow, Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega, and other government representatives at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City. The concord, of sorts, among the sugar partners emerged after ASR’s representatives acknowledged the final proposals of the BSCFA, which, some have opined, has bent over backwards to hammer out an agreement in the best interest of not only the fractured sugar industry, but the 5,500 plus cane farmers who are uncertain about the prospects of the currently delayed 2014/2015 sugar cane crop season. When he came out of the meeting flanked by his deputy about an hour later, PM Barrow told us that he negotiated to get BSI/ASR to accept the BSCFA’s final proposals which, according to Barrow, reflected a great deal of maturity and compromise on the association’s part.

Leon Garcia, 27, shot on Victoria Street
Police are investigating a broad daylight shooting that took place at around 9:30 a.m. today, in which a pair of gunmen made a brazen attempt on the life of Leon Garcia, 27, a construction worker, as he made his way down Victoria Street in the northside of Belize City, on which he lives. Area residents said that they heard about five shots rang out as the two assailants, who were reportedly wearing hooded sweatshirts and armed with nine millimeter handguns, unleashed a barrage of shots at Garcia. Garcia, who we understand is no stranger to the law, was chased on foot by his attackers as he ran in the direction of Barrack Road, dashing into a nearby alley upon reaching the intersection with York Street, where the gunmen reportedly sprayed yet another fusillade in his direction.

Assassins out, BDF in
After the last regular season games ended in a draw yesterday at the Norman Broaster Stadium in San Ignacio, BDF clinched the final spot in the 4-team playoffs of the Premier League of Belize Opening Season 2014-2015. Despite their 6-2 victory the previous night over Wagiya in Independence, Placencia’s Texmar Assassins saw their playoff hopes dashed when the final whistle blew at the Norman Broaster Stadium with BDF gaining the extra point from a 0-0 draw against Verdes FC, who finished at the top of the standings. Three games were scheduled for Saturday night. At the People’s Stadium in Orange Walk, a convergence of unfortunate circumstances resulted in FC Belize losing their second consecutive game by default. As the home team playing out of Orange Walk, the small FC Belize contingent reportedly got caught in the traffic jam caused by the annual Love FM parade in Belize City, and were therefore late in arriving for their 7:30 appointment with Belmopan Bandits, who won the game by default, thus securing the third playoff spot.

Belizeans sweep, Leon O’Brien is Placencia Half Marathon 2014 Champion
Placencia Half Marathon, 13.1 miles Mexican Andy Gonzalez did not return on Sunday, December 7, to defend his “End of the World” Placencia Half Marathon crown, which he won last year in 1:15:09; but he probably “smelled the rat,” for Belize’s premier half-marathon runner, Leon O’Brien, who was second to Gonzalez last year in 1:16:54, returned with a vengeance to take the championship in this his second time contesting the event. Despite running without close competition this year, O’Brien, 28 yrs, still managed to shave some 43 seconds off his time from last year, to come in alone in first place with a time of 1:16:11, almost 4 minutes ahead of his nearest competitor, fellow Belizean Kenrick Duncan, 30 yrs, who completed the run in 1:20:28 for 2nd place. He was followed in 3rd place by another Belizean, Amed Figueroa, 23 yrs, who clocked 1:35:46. Some 122 runners, 77 males and 45 females from various age categories and nationalities completed this year’s event. The oldest finisher was Belize’s Sebastian “Sabe” Nunez, 61 yrs, who did it in 2:38:52.

SJC, SCA are NSSSA/Bowen & Bowen Basketball Champions
It was an action packed two days of national high school basketball at Bird’s Isle in Belize City on Friday and Saturday, December 12 &13, and when it was all over on Saturday afternoon, St. Catherine Academy girls of Central Zone (Belize City) and St. John’s College boys, also of Central Zone (Belize City) were both crowned champions of the National Secondary Schools Sports Association (NSSSA) Bowen & Bowen 2014-2015 high schools basketball tournament. The 4 female and 4 male teams, champions of their respective country zones – North, Central, West and South – were matched up in pairs on Friday, with the losers then playing for third place on Saturday, while Friday’s winners would play for the championship on Saturday. In the opener on Friday afternoon, Muffles College females earned a close victory over Sacred Heart College, 29-25. Yazel Sutherland top scored with 21 pts for Muffles, while Oniesha Burns had 10 pts for Sacred Heart.

Patrick Jones

Political parties nominate candidates for Cayo North bye-election
On Monday, December 15, the major mass parties nominated candidates to contest the bye-election in the Cayo North division. The seat became vacant when Joseph Mahmud abruptly resigned, triggering the bye-election. The PUP’s Richard Harrison was nominated around 10 am while the UDP’s Omar Figueroa was nominated […]

Taiwan donates wheelchair accessible vehicles to Belize
The Inspiration Center today took receipt of a donation of two wheelchair accessible vehicles for use in its ongoing work with special needs children. Taiwan’s minister of foreign affairs David Lin who is on a visit to Belize, handed over the vehicles to the Chairperson of The […]

Misunderstanding ends with chopping
There is another report of a chopping incident in the Corozal district; but fortunately this time it was not fatal. The victim has been identified as 20 year old Jonathan Myvett. Police in Corozal have confirmed that Myvette was viciously chopped to the side of his neck, the […]

Gulisi Dancers win Habinahan Wanaragua Junior competition
Gulisi Community Primary School Dancers are the Back to Back Champions for the Annual Habinahan Wanaragua Junior Competition. This Annual Competition is organized by the Habinahan Wanaragua Committee in an effort bring dignity to the skillful Dance of Wanaragua. The exciting competition was started 4 years ago […]

Hungarian couple is biking around the world
Meet Zita and Arpi from Hungary. This couple is one of a kind. For the past three years they have been on an adventure where their ultimate goal is to have the time of their lives. Arpi describes it as an adventure honeymoon around the world. Since the adventure began, Zita and Arpi have been to 32 countries stretching from the Americas to Asia to the Middle East. Now they are heading for South America and we caught up witht he adventuring couple as they were wrapping up their journey through Belize heading to Guatemala.

Blogs

Heading Home To Belize
These is something about freezing cold mornings and a true NJ Christmas shopping frenzy that made me happy to come back to Belize to celebrate the holidays. Don’t get me wrong – I don’t dislike visiting the States – at all. Things were looking lovely in the old neighborhood (even with light snow)… I just prefer to do it when things are a bit…warmer. And things are a little less hectic.

Great post by Joe Awe.....

10 Small Reasons Belize Is For You
1. Because hammocks and thatched roofs.Yes, imagine deciding today that you will do absolutely nothing but lie in a hammock with a book or your iPod with your dreams… 2. Because you are celebrities who are riding on horses walking unto a ferry to visit an ancient Maya City. Just saying… 3. Because…BOKETTO! A Japanese word which means staring into the distance without thinking. Yes, a place where theres only you…

Sometimes All You Need Is A Chair…
Sometimes the pressure we feel come from us. We demand so much of ourselves that we tend to exhaust our energies and sometimes even make blame. No problem, theres a chair on a beach in Belize for you. You don’t have to say anything. That chair is yours. Feel free to add a book, a journal, and certainly a beer or a drink or two. That chair our friend, is all yours! Sometimes we need to make some huge decision and we need some time where we can gather ourselves; we need a place where we can either be alone or with someone we trust. We need a place where we can just let go; let out; make way. We all need a place and a time where we can be so very honest with ourselves, most importantly. Well, we have a place for you.

International Sources

Where Could You Afford to Retire Overseas?
Your retirement income will determine what type of lifestyle you are able to lead. But how much more would your retirement income buy you if you were to retire overseas? Your cost of living anywhere is highly controllable and depends not only on where you live, but also how you live. This means that choosing where to live isn't as easy as picking a country. Life in Panama City is nothing like life in Las Tablas on this country's Pacific coast or in Boquete in Panama's highlands. Living in Paris bears little resemblance, in terms of cost or almost anything else, to living in France's rural southwest. Ambergris Caye, Belize, isn't Cayo, Belize. Chiang Mai, Thailand, isn't Bangkok. To decide whether you can afford to live in a specific overseas haven, you need to thin-slice your options. A budget for living in Uruguay, Malaysia or Croatia is only a starting point. You need to refine your budget depending on the city or region within a country where you're interested in settling. Some costs can be comparable countrywide, such as the cost of cable or phone service. Other costs, notably rent and transportation, which typically amount to the biggest share of overall monthly expenses living anywhere in the world, can differ dramatically.

Sustaining aquaculture as ASC continues to grow
The aquaculture industry is moving towards a sustainable future with the help of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) which has seen the number of certified farms in its programme double in the last year alone. Since 2012, when Regal Springs’ Toba and Kedung Ombo tilapia farms were the first to gain ASC certification globally, the programme has grown significantly, with a total of 57 farms at the end of 2013. And, over the last year, the programme has seen a 10% growth, bringing the total number of farms to 116. And, this year, the Belize Shrimp Growers Association has been preparing member farms, representing 67% of Belizean shrimp farms and 90% of total farmed shrimp production in Belize, to enter assessment against the ASC Shrimp Standard. The first farm audits took place recently and draft reports are expected in January.

SEC Says Felon Is Up to Old Tricks
A felon and his "hand-selected team of associates" sold millions of dollars of "virtually worthless" stock after making up a major oil strike in Belize, the SEC claims in court. The SEC sued defendant Ronald L. Blackburn et al. on Monday in Federal Court. The SEC describes Blackburn as a "convicted felon," and claims he controlled, and may still control, co-defendant Treaty Energy Corp. It accuses Blackburn and five others of manipulating the price of Treaty stock in a fraudulent campaign that included the announcement of a bogus oil strike in Belize. Blackburn et al. raised $4.9 million through their shenanigans, the SEC says.

Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. Declares First Quarter Cash Dividend
Consolidated Water Co. Ltd. (NASDAQ: CWCO), which develops and operates seawater desalination plants and water distribution systems in areas of the world where naturally occurring supplies of potable water are scarce or nonexistent, today announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.075 per share. The cash dividend is payable January 31, 2015 to shareholders of record at the close of business January 1, 2015.

EU-inspired amendments to fisheries code likely to ‘kill’ industry, boat operators claim
COMMERCIAL fishing boat operators asked Malacañang to further review the proposed amendments to the Philippine Fisheries Code, claiming that the steep penalties for violations and the new-equipment requirements could “kill” the industry. In an appeal su