Channel 5

Is O.A.S. aware of Guatemala's development on the border?
Earlier in the newscast we told you about this past weekend's trip by the Belize Territorial Volunteers to the Dolores area to which the Organization of American States responded positively to an invitation to act as observers on the expedition. And representatives from the OAS were present indeed, but rather than maintaining a prudent distance [...]

Clearing the border with Belizean Territorial Volunteers
At the end of February the Belize Territorial Volunteers, led by Wil Maheia, travelled from the village of Jalacte in the deep-south to the border with the Guatemalan village of Santa Cruz. That expedition was without incident, and buoyed on that success, and on an undeniable sentiment of patriotism, the group headed back to the [...]

Guatemala makes UN aware of possible passport problems
Currently relations between Belize and Guatemala are at what could be called an impasse, with the O.A.S. somewhat in the middle. Latest word from Guatemala is that the country will ask the O.A.S. to intercede with Belize to postpone the referendum, and that is likely what's on the agenda for a meeting scheduled this week [...]

Neighbor pulls disabled woman from burning home
There was a mid morning fire on Sunday afternoon at the corner of Mahogany and Causarina Street. The victims are both elderly persons who lived in two small wooden homes. Antonette Velasquez is unable to walk and a neighbor grabbed her out of her home. The other victim, eighty six year old Shedrock Mckoy also [...]

Football congress in the presence of CONCACAF and UNCAF
After its spectacular performances at the Copa Centro Americana, the Belize National Football Team is getting ready for participation at the July Gold Cup in the United States. Belize will be playing against the powerhouses of the United States, Cuba and Costa Rica in three US cities. But on the ground here, the Football Federation [...]

Lord's Bank resident critical after crashing into fence
A Lord's Bank resident is tonight in critical condition at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital following a near fatal traffic accident in the Lord's Bank Village in the wee hours of Sunday morning. Forty-five year old Horace Nicodemus Williams Junior is tonight being kept alive in the Intensive Care Unit at the K.H.M.H.� Around twelve-thirty [...]

Devon Vasquez remanded for robbery of purse
Twenty year-old Devon Vasquez is tonight on remand at the Belize Central Prison after failing to pay a fine when he was found guilty of robbing a woman of her purse.� Vasquez appeared before Chief Magistrate Anne Marie Smith, who flatly rejected his testimony, as well as that of his alibi witness, who testified that [...]

Shopkeeper refuses customer's knapsack of week
Twenty-nine year old Donald Leslie Gaskin of Kraal Road has been charged for Drug Trafficking. Gaskin appeared before Magistrate Dale Cayetano, this morning and was read the Drug Trafficking charge to which he pleaded not guilty. On Friday morning, police were on mobile patrol in the Faber's Road area where they detected Gaskin acting suspiciously. [...]

Preparing for the biggest Agriculture Show ever
The planning Committee of the annual National Agriculture and Trade Show is planning to breathe new life into the annual event. According to the organizers, a number of changes will take place to make the show more interesting and productive to both the private and public sectors. So mark your calendars for the first weekend [...]

Defamation of Saldivar's character? Minister sues Plus TV
Just about every media organization will be sued, no matter how powerful or small, or threatened with a lawsuit either for libel, defamation or so forth. So it's a first for the Belmopan based, Plus Television's Louis Wade and Patrick Andrews hosts of the Rise and Shine morning show, who have been critical of government [...]

Former British Prime Minister advised that surrender cayes to Guatemala to settle dispute
Former British Prime Minister, Baroness Margaret Thatcher, passed away earlier today at age eighty-seven after suffering a stroke. This morning, the current prime minister, David Cameroon, called her the greatest prime minister who not only served but saved her country.� According to her family, Thatcher has been battling several illnesses as well as dementia for [...]

The Iron lady; Margaret Thatcher passes away
Thatcher also known as the "Iron Lady" is remembered for her great contribution to Britain as well as her controversial policies and approach to different issues during her reign. Thatcher's close friend, Lord Bell, spoke to the BBC about the "Iron Lady."�   Reporter "News came from her long time friend and colleague, Lord Bell [...]

Sports Monday Highlights with James Adderley
Good evening, I'm James Adderley and this is Sports Monday.     Week 11 of the PLB football season took us to the Capital City Saturday night where the Belmopan Bandits hosted the Belize Defense Force in a bid to have sole command of the top spot in the standings. In the opening minutes of [...]

LOVE FM

University of Belize Launches Agricultural Project
The University of Belize will launch a new agricultural project estimated at over one million Belize dollars on Thursday. The name of the project is the "Institutional Partnership Component of the CARICOM Education for Employment Project." The 1.63 million dollar...

Two Men Hospitalized Following Traffic Mishap In Ladyville
Two men were hospitalized following a road traffic accident on Saturday. Police say at about 12:30 on Saturday morning they went to Cuello Street in Lord's Bank where they saw a a grey cab and half Mazda pickup close to a white fence in the direction to the Lords Bank Road ...

Police News
Twenty-nine year old Donald Gaskin, a laborer of Kraal Road, was charged with drug trafficking for 433 grams of cannabis, about one pound, when he appeared in court today. Gaskin pled not guilty to the charge. He was released on a bail of $5,000.00 and his case was adjourned until May ...

Early Morning Traffic Accident Reported In Corozal Town
A traffic accident occurred a few minutes before nine this morning in Corozal town. According to reports, a white Mitsubishi vehicle owned by USA national Peter Naurmann of Consejo Corozal was being driven by Naurmann's wife on fifth avenue Corozal Town. She drove into the right ...

Traffic Accident Reported Over The Weekend
This past Saturday April 6th a traffic accident occurred on the Tumbaito curve on the Philip Goldson Highway shortly after noon. A white KIA bearing Belize City License driven at the time by BTL technician Michael Raymond Richards of number 3059 Belama Belize City slammed into a white Mazda Van o...

Duo Arrested In Corozal For Burglary at Customs Officer Home
Police investigations into the reported burglary of the house of custom's officer Victor Tillett has led to the arrest and charge of two men. On March 28 and 2nd of April 2013 Tillet's house was broken into and stolen were several items and cash amounting to twenty five tho...

Britain's Former Prime Minister Dies
The former leader of Great Britain once called the "Iron Lady" has passed. Margaret Thatcher became Britain's Conservative Party leader and was elected Prime Minister of that country in 1979, the first woman to hold that position. During her three terms...

Belize Territorial Volunteers Ventures Again To Clear Border
The Belize Territorial Volunteers once again ventured into clearing the Belizean border this weekend in the Southern part of the Country. This time the BTV was more equipped since jungle clothing and footwear was donated to them by Alex Dillett. Also a representative of the...

Bar Patrons Injured During Armed Robbery In Belmopan
A man was injured during an armed robbery in Belmopan. Correspondent Fem Cruz reports. FEM CRUZ "A shooting incident on Saturday night in the San Martin Area of the City of Belmopan has left a man in a critical condition. 38-year-old, Elisa Barella owner of Tre...

Woman Knocked Down Near Ambulance Centre; Onlookers Say Ambulance Delayed In Response
This morning traffic was interrupted on Princess Margaret Drive in Belize City when a woman was knocked down across from the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. We later learned that the accident itself was, thankfully, nothing serious as the woman was treated and released from t...

PlusTV

Confiscated Rosewood on the move from Belmopan
PlusTV received information from credible sources within the Forestry department late this afternoon that the confiscated rosewood flitches which were located at the Forestry compound in Belmopan, were being moved. This sparked our interest because we know that both the Minister of Forestry, Lisell Amaliila, and the chief forest...

Belize City retiree loses home in fire
A Belize City retiree saw his residence on Casuarina Street go up in smoke and flames late Sunday afternoon, taking everything he owned. The fire was reported around 4:00 p.m. and according to home owner Shedrock McKoy, he believes electricity problems was the cause. Shedrock McCoy - Home Owner:...

Woman was knocked down outside KHMH
This morning, a woman was knocked down outside the KHMH in Belize City. We have not gotten her name but we understand that around 11:45 a.m. she was crossing Princess Margaret Drive in the direction of the hospital when she was knocked down by a brown Ford truck driven...

Investigation into baby's death has stalled
Last year a Ladyville family was rent apart by the death of one of their own. Kaylee Burgess was found suffocated to death in a bucket at the family home. Initially police detained a relative in connection with the baby's death, but six months on the investigation appears to...

Football Federaton of Belize holds 6th Ordinary Congress
Football has become Belize's sports darling after a tumultuous year that began with the ouster of an unpopular President and ended with historic results for the National Senior and Junior teams. On Saturday in Belize City, representatives of Belizean football met to review a successful year and make plans...

One man critical, one stable, following car crash
Police are investigating a traffic accident which took place early in the morning of Saturday April 7, It happened at Cuello Street, Belize City, off the Lords Bank Road around 12:30 a.m. The accident involved a grey 1 1/2 cab Mazda pickup with Belize City license plates. The vehicle's...

IICA assists farmers in Toledo
IICA, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, provides technical cooperation to the Government of Belize in a number of ways. One such initiative is through a program on food security and improving competitiveness of farmers in the marketing of their products. Under this program, is a regional project...

Five arraigned for illegal hunting of howler monkey
After being charged for the illegal hunting of a howler monkey, five persons from the Belize High School of Agriculture in Orange Walk, were arraigned for the offense last week. A one thousand dollar bail was granted to the individuals - four of whom are students and teacher Angel...

Dry weather causes bush fires in Cayo
It may have been a difficult breathing experience for some residents of the twin towns today, as the sky was thick with smoke and dust. The dry weather has caused a few brush fires near the Macal River and fire personnel were busy in the area today getting the...

Ecumenical Service held in Independence Village
Seven churches of varying denominations from the Village of Independence gathered last night at the Center where they held a collective worship service. Plus TV was at the event and spoke with one of the organizers and a fellow village council representative, Emilio Zabaneh. Emilio Zabaneh - Inderpendance Village...

BEL requests PUC reduce electricity rate
BEL is requesting that the PUC reduce electricity rate for the period July 1st of this year to June 30 2014. This submission was made by an application to the PUC under the Annual Tariff Review Proceeding. BEL is asking for an ease of 1 cent per kilowatt hour...

Hurricane season predictions released
The 2013 hurricane season is still more than a month away, but predictions have been released on how active it will be. On average for the last thirty years, there have been about 12 named tropical storms, that is, storms with peak winds of 40 miles per hour or...

Shooting in San Martin Area leaves man in critical condition
There was a shooting in the San Martin Area over the weekend. Police are still gathering information, so we have not received an official report as yet. But what we do know is that the victim, Cornelio Tio was shot a little after 11 on Saturday night. He remains...

Blogs

Tech Tip - Best Android Keyboard
I decided to start Monday off with a great tech tip for those of you who have android phones. I was happy with the standard LG keyboard on my phone until it started adding a foreign language in and all of a sudden I was getting Asian characters in the mix every time I tried to text. Remembering a best android keyboard recommend from Jason Southwell, I went to Google Play store and looked up the free version of SwiftKey and downloaded it.

A House Party WAY Up North: Bocce Ball in Bacalar Chico, Ambergris Caye
The very northern end of Ambergris Caye, Belize, the area where the barrier reef actually meets the land, is a nature reserve and UNESCO world heritage site called Bacalar Chico. (You can check out my post from last summer about the area and check out a map here.) Tranquility Bay, a resort 14 miles north of town, is the last hotel going north�and the end of the line when it comes to being "on the grid". Yesterday, I was invited to a house party/bocce ball tournament at a home a few miles more north of there. Sounds awesome. I am totally in. A private boat must be arranged for this kind of trip. The public transportation, The Coastal Express water taxi, only goes as far as Blue Reef Island Resort, or 8 miles north of town. We met our boat captain on the lagoon side of San Pedro. And headed out. It was a gorgeous day. And a few minutes later, you come out through the cut on the ocean side. We picked up a friend at Palapa Bar (about 1.5 miles up)�

International Sources

Belize Reports "Encouraging" Oil Discovery in Orange Walk District
Maranco Energy Belize Limited, which is currently searching for oil in the Orange Walk District in the country's northeastern region, has discovered an "encouraging oil show," according to the government. The find was made at the South Canal Bank #1 exploration well in Maranco's concession area. "Further and necessary testing is ongoing to determine the commercial potential of the oil show," the government said in a release. Officials from Belize's Geology and Petroleum Department are on site and "closely monitoring the situation," the government said.

Students connect Belize classrooms, gardens, communities
Twelve Cornell students practiced their "taking things in stride" skills when they traveled to Belize over spring break, as part of the Experiential Garden-Based Learning in Belize (HORT/IARD 3200) course. The students were well-prepared for their mission to lead classroom activities that integrate gardening into the curriculum, reinforce those lessons with hands-on gardening experiences, and engage the community in building and supporting school gardens. What they didn't know was that two of the three teachers in the Barranco village school where they were scheduled to work would suddenly be called away for the beginning of the week.

Aerosols from Burning Fossil Fuels Affecting Coral Growth
Scientists found very strong evidence that aerosols from burning fossil fuels were affecting coral growth. In fact, these sooty particles can cool sea surface temperatures and limit the size of reefs.However scientists suggested that this chilling effect could stop the corals from bleaching in warmer waters. Coral reefs across the world are under pressure from a range of human impacts.This does not kill them but makes them much more likely to die. The recent discovery found that as well as the warming waters, fine particulates of different types are affecting reefs near Belize and Panama. These aerosols consist of soot from burning coal, elements from volcanic eruptions and sulphates from fossil fuels. They circulate in the atmosphere and can block solar radiation and make clouds more reflective. In their study, the scientists examined records from coral skeletons, ship observations and climate models to compare coral growth rates from 1880 to 2000. They discovered that there was a correlation between increases in atmospheric aerosols and decreases in the growth rates of coral.

FLASHBACK: This Was The Internet In 1995
Back in 1995, a public television show called "The Computer Chronicles" made an episode about an emerging technology: "The Net." We found the video after venture capitalist MG Siegler embedded it on his blog. It's pretty insane how far things have come in the last 20 years.