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Specials and Events

Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5, LOVETV, PGTV, West Vision (Cayo) and CTV 3. Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, Rise and Shine Morning Show, and the Dickie Bradley Specials


The San Pedro Sun

One drowns in snorkeling tragedy at Hol Chan
The San Pedro Police Department has reported a drowning incident that occurred on Monday, February 1st at the Hol Chan Marine Reserve. According to the report, Jeff Bartl 58-year-old American National from Minnesota, USA, was snorkeling within the Reserve, when he drowned. Bartl was transported to San Pedro Dr. Otto Rodriguez San Pedro Polyclinic II, where he was pronounced dead on arrival at 10AM. Even though a postmortem examination is to take place at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital in Belize City, heart attack has been unofficially ruled as the main cause of death.

Sexual exploitation and sexual assault against children remains a major concern
In recent years, more and more cases of sexual exploitation and sexual assault against children are being reported in Belize, and San Pedro Town is no different. The San Pedro Police Department and Department of Human Development are frequently receiving reports and prosecuting cases involving these crimes against our most vulnerable in society. Even though many cases are brought to light, and victims receive the necessary care, there are still several cases that go un-reported. As such, authorities are appealing to the general public to assist in the fight against sexual exploitation and sexual assault against children.

Honorable John Brice�o elected PUP Party Leader
Honorable John Brice�o, Area Representative of Orange Walk Central, has regained leadership over the People's United Party (PUP). Brice�o was elected as Party Leader during the PUP's National Convention held on Sunday, January 31st in Belmopan City. The position of party leader was being contested by Brice�o, Honorable Francis Foseca and Honorable Cordel Hyde following Fonseca's resignation after the November 2015 General Elections. The decision was made 2,758 party members who exercised their democratic right to select the PUP Executive Body.

Municipal Public Parking coming to SP
The SPTC hopes to complete the municipal parking lot within two weeks. Once open, the community that uses Barrier Reef and Pescador Drives for long- hours parking during the day, will be encouraged to use the municipal parking lot to reduce traffic congestion in the downtown area. Upon completion, the municipal parking will provide parking space for 80 vehicles/carts as well as a section for motorcycles. It will complement the recently completed San Pedro Artisan Market in which 29 artisans were recently relocated.

Work on Phase 2 of Police Barracks resumes
Nearly two years since construction first started, two companies have joined forces to complete phase two of the San Pedro Police Barracks. After an extended hiatus, construction has resumed to complete the long-awaited two story building. Once finished, the new housing should improve the living conditions of our current police officers, and may even mean more officers on the island. The building in question has been the subject of many stories printed in The San Pedro Sun. From the original contractor declaring a shortage of funds, to delays due to medical issues and a lack of volunteer support, to questions regarding appropriation of funds donated by both the Ministry of National Security and the local business community, the barracks remain unfinished.

Fishing Managed Access Program Consultation to be held in San Pedro
Fishing Managed Access Program commenced on January of 2016, ending open access fishing across Belize's marine ecosystems by licensed commercial fishermen. The program is being implemented in every coastal community in the country, with each area forming a Community Managed Access Committee. In San Pedro Town, the first consultation under the Fishing Managed Access Program will be held on Wednesday, February 3rd at 6:30PM at the Lions Den, where the committee is expected to be formed. Under the program, Belize fishing grounds will be divided into nine fishing zones, out of which San Pedro commercial fishermen will be allowed to fish in two of the zones. The division of the fishing grounds will allow the Belize Fisheries Department to better regulate fishing laws and protect the marine environment. Each committee will be responsible for reporting illegal activities and self-policing their designated fishing zones.

Ambergris Today

35 New Schools for Belize Under Caribbean Development Bank Program
Belize will see the addition of 35 new schools around the country that is set to benefit 5,300 students at the pre-primary, primary and secondary levels. This comes from a program that is being launched by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in Belize. The new schools will include 178 classrooms and laboratories, as well as relevant sanitary and administrative spaces. The project will also fund the outfitting of each school with furniture, equipment and technology to enhance the students' learning environment. "The schools will be built on government land and that the infrastructure will be the property of the government, but that we are wide open to engage our church partners in forming management agreements for some of these schools where it is identified that this is possible," commented Patrick Faber, Minister of Education, to Channel 5 News in Belize City. "There might be some areas where we might well say government management of this school is best and we will do that. But we are not in any way breaking up the church state system."

Misc Belizean Sourcesmzz

Grand Opening: Advance Dental Care, CAYE CAULKER
Caye Caulker now has it's own dental clinic. I for one will be using this frequently. There's so many things wrong with my teeth, lol. This is such an advancement for Caye Caulker. Congratulations to the dentist and to the village. Grand Opening: Advance Dental Care CAYE CAULKER Wednesday February 3rd at 9 am Schedule an appointment with us at: 615-0707

Carnaval Photographic Exhibition
Join us for the opening of the Carnaval Photographic Exhibition and a presentation of the Traditional Comparsas. Friday, February 5at 7 PM, San Pedro House of Culture

Boca's Big West Challenge
Happy anniversary, Boca's! They are celebrating their 1st year of deliciousness with the Big West Challenge. You'll get 7 minutes to eat their Big West burger, fries, and a milk shake. If you finish it in time, you get it free, and you get a shirt. Challenge accepted! They are also having a raffle on Valentine's Day. You can get a ticket with every purchase you make between now and then. "Think you can handle it? Come on over to Boca's on February 13th or 14th and accept the challenge!"

Scarlet Macaw Guardian Program
Want to help save the Scarlet Macaws? Now's the time to sign up for The Scarlet Macaw Protection Program, which runs from April to August. Protect the Chiquibul! "The Scarlet Macaw Protection Program is a conservation initiative between the Wildlife Institute (WI), the Belize Wildlife & Referral Clinic (BWRC) and Friends for Conservation & Development (FCD). The purpose of the Scarlet Macaw Protection Program is to support a specific Scarlet Macaw population in the Chiquibul Forest; which is under heavy poaching threat. The conservation strategy is to remove chicks from nest sites that are under heaviest threat of poaching, and for which security provision is most prohibitive. Chicks are reared with the aim to be reintroduced into the wild. As veterinary interns, your primary objective is to provide husbandry and medical care to Scarlet Macaw chicks."

A Puro Tango
February 18 & 19 at The Bliss in Belize City and February 20 & 21, in San Pedro... Catch this great live show - A Tango Puro!!

Confidence Building Measures in Chiquibul
Ambassador Stuart Leslie in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs imparts a presentation on the Confidence Building Measures to trainees in Chiquibul. Ambassador Leslie is one of 3 Chiquibul Champions awarded at the FCD 2015 AGM.

NOTICE TO TOM GREENWOOD AND FECTAB:
For the past 23 years, I have grown Ian Anderson's Caves Branch from a most rustic 'camping ground' to what it is today.. What is it today ?.. recognized as one of the "Top 10 Adventure Lodges in the World" and Number 8 in the "Top 100 Exotic Destinations in the World". I have openly opposed to Cruise Tourism and have never competed in any way for the Cruise Tourism dollar. I have never competed with Tom Greenwood and member tour operators of FECTAB .. to date. However, although I have always minded my own business and did my own thing on our own property, never, not ever competing with any other tour operator, Inland or Cruise, I have been continually abused by verbal lies both in print and on T.V. for over 20 years by Greenwood and FECTAB.

Media Mixer 2016, Belize Tourism Board

February 2016 Placencia Breeze
Pg 3 BTIA news Pg 6 An Artist's Inspiration / History of Placencia Art Festival Pg 9 Community & Placencia Police Pg 10 BTIA Harvest Caye Press Release Pg 11 Point of View / Lobster Season Pg 13 Placencia Humane Society Pg 14 Whale Sharks Pg 15 & 18 Placencia BTIA members Pg 16 & 17 Placencia Peninsula Map Pg 21 Events & Calendar / Save the Date Pg 26 Community Corner Pg 30/31 Paid Listings

Channel 7

Daylight Double Murder In Orange Walk
There was a stunning broad daylight double murder in Orange Walk Town this evening. It happened at about fifteen minutes to five on Cristock Street in the Pasadita area of Orange Walk Town. Not much is known at this hour as police are scrambling to try and contain any retaliation. What we do know is that three men were shot on the street, two of them died on the spot while the other victim ran off injured but alive. At this time, police are not sharing information and not giving names of the victims, as they try and process a crime scene unlike any other that the town has seen recently. We'll have more on this tomorrow.

Major Collision On Western Highway
A pickup crashed into a tourist van this evening on the western Highway at mile 17. It happened on a straightway where the pickup rammed head on into the tourist van. The fire department had to cut the pickup's driver out of the seat. No one was killed - but 6 tourists were in the tourist bus and we saw a number of them leave on a stretcher. No one was killed, and we'll have more for you on this accident tomorrow.

Briceno Returns As PUP Leader
There is a new PUP Leader tonight. John Briceno was re-elected as leader at the PUP National Convention yesterday in Belmopan. 7News was there from beginning to end and Jules Vasquez has the story:... The victory walk out of the Belmopan Comprehensive high school compound at nearly 11:00 pm, may have looked easy enough for the newly elected John Briceno executive, but it came after a long and grueling campaign culminating in a day of intensive work. Where John Briceno was fully and energetically engaged throughout, right on the front line freely engaging with his opponents Hon. John Briceno, PUP Party Leader: "I am very confident. But as we all know those that are in politics as long as I have been, we know that you don't know the results until you count the votes. So, today what we've been doing is making sure that we take out all the delegates that have pledge their support for us and to make sure they come in and vote as early as possible."

Man Stabbed In Jealous Dispute
A man was stabbed to death over the weekend in the city. It happened on Mahogany Street Extension around 12:30 Saturday morning. 32 year old Mariano Castillo was heading home with his common law wife when he was attacked by 3 men. 2 of them held Castillo down while the other stabbed him in his stomach. Castillo's common law wife, Kamisha Roches witnessed everything. Today she told us off camera what she saw and also explained the background to this entire ordeal. On Friday night, Kamisha Roches and her common law husband Mariano Castillo were hanging out at her father's house on Police Street. Roches got off work late that night and just wanted to de-stress after a hard week. But instead of relaxing and spending time with family, an unwelcomed guest kept lurking around her father's house. It was Roches' ex- boyfriend John Grinage.

Mother Says Son Was Peacemaker, Not Killer
Still on this city murder, Brandon Baptist's mother Denise Flowers is enraged that police even charged her son. Today Flowers told us that her son is innocent and that he was only trying to quell the altercation. She told us that it's the common law wife Roches who is behind this mess. We also asked Roches about this and she says that's not the case. Denise Flowers, Mother of Brandon Baptist: "As far as I know according to what I am hearing that he went to path this thing. He ended up in this thing. To me I feel like the law, the police is not being fair in life. When it comes to Brandon Baptist, like the police have a problem with him - like he is the biggest and baddest man in Belize. If he did a crime, you all could charge him. Not because that you all (the police) don't like him, they should bring him down like this. The police knows what's going on. They know that this thing is a love triangle and they know that Brandon Baptist did not kill anybody. They know that for a fact and they know who the killer is. They need to get their investigation straight. They need to hold that certain young lady and question her, because she is a part of it."

Melin And Casanova Coming Home After Mex Meth Bust
In February of 2013, it made headline news when Belizeans Ermelito "Milin" Vasquez of Orange Walk and Hugo Casanova of Corozal were caught allegedly smuggling the drug Crystal meth in Mexico. They were caught in a Chetumal home along with a notorious Mexican Drug Dealer. It was 100 pounds of "Meth", so the expectation was that they would be locked up in Mexico for a while. But three years later, reports say they have been set free and are coming home after clearing up some immigration issues. A Mexican news report we have seen says they were acquitted. Apparently, they got off on a technicality, because the arrest was made without a warrant.

B'zean Caught In Melchor For Alleged Cell Phone Theft
Tonight, 25 year-old Belizean Kayla Adriana Sanchez is being held in a Guatemalan Prison, located in San Benito, Peten. She's being accused of committing an aggravated robbery to steal a cellular phone. Information to 7News is that she went to Melchor this weekend, and somewhere in the Central Park in that Guatemalan Town, she was surrounded and detained by a group of residents who say that she stole a cellular phone. Luckily the police saw the commotion and immediately took her into custody before the citizen's arrest turned into a mob. We understand that she was supposedly caught with the cellular phone and a knife, which she was trying to use to pry open the device. The Belizean Ministry of Foreign Affairs was notified after she was detained and diplomat Said Guerra has been doing his very best to make sure that she is not mistreated. The police in Melchor wanted to transfer her from Melchor to Flores, Peten last night, but Guerra intervened and insisted that they wait until today to transfer her. She was supposed to appear before a judge in Flores, Peten, but our information is that she never got her arraignment.

Third Tourist Snorkeling Death In 3 Months
Tonight there is another tourist snorkeling death to report - the third in three months. This one happened within the Hol Chan Marine Reserve, where a male tourist was on a snorkeling tour of the reserve. The BTB says it cannot release the name of the tourist until they have confirmed that his family was notified. We note that there was no cruise ship in town today - so unlike the previous two drownings, this was not a cruise tour - he was an overnight tourist. We'll have more on this tomorrow.

PM Back From Washington With Banking Fix, Kinda
It's been making the news regularly, that the Belize banking sector has been under pressure after the tier 1 banks in the US started terminating their correspondent banking relationships with the Belizean banks. It's something that all the smaller countries in Central America and the Caribbean face because of the stricter enforcement of global regulatory standards on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism. The technocrats in the financial sector tell us that these large banks have done a sort of cost-benefit risk analysis. Because the profit they make from doing business with Belizean banks is almost negligible when compared to their daily traffic, they've determined that it is not beneficial to continue to do business with banks in small jurisdictions. Prime Minister Dean Barrow was in Washington DC to meet with several of the top financial regulations to try to intercede in what could be an impending crisis which could cripple the country's economy.

Will PUP Parliamentarians Make Briceno LOO?
Earlier we showed you how John Briceno was re-elected as leader of the PUP - his second go at the post. His first was from 2008 to late 2011- when he encountered significant, sustained resistance from the old guard. Now, a little more than four years later, Briceno finds himself in the a position where he has to look to many of those same old guard representatives to support him as Leader of the Opposition. That is a post which is spate and apart from party leader - and the constitution requires that the leader of the opposition must have the support of a majority of the parliamentarians. In the PUP, that would be 7, but on the face of it, Briceno only has three. So will the others who supported Fonseca in the convention help him? We asked Oscar Requena who lost in his bid for chairman:.. Jules Vasquez: "Will you be able to support him as leader of the opposition? Because we know that he does not have a majority of the PUP representatives, the representatives in the House of Representatives as a part of his camp." Hon. Oscar Requena, Toledo West Representative: "My brother I am not going to comment on that at the moment." Jules Vasquez: "But even if the delegates of the party were to say..." Hon. Oscar Requena, Toledo West Representative: "That's a matter for the parliamentarians. The parliamentarians are going to meet and discuss that and certainly after this Hon. John is going to convene a meeting and the course is going to be determine."

Petrocaribe Peters Out?
Today, While the press had the opportunity, we asked the Financial Secretary to give a brief outlook on the country's current ability to manage its debts while factoring in the downsizing of monies coming in from Petrocaribe. Here's how that conversation went: Mike Rudon, Ch5: "Where are we at this point?" Joe Waight, Financial Secretary: "We are down to about 15 million dollars. Remember we have compensation payments to make and commitments coming out of it and we borrowed as well." Mike Rudon, Ch5: "In terms of repayment. Not only for Petrocaribe, but governments' debts on a whole. What is the figure in terms of repayment every year?"

Gate Falls On 3 Year Old
3 year old baby Brenae Timmons is in an induced coma at the KHMH after a gate fell on her and crushed her. It happened on Friday evening around 6:20 in the compound of the Lake Independence Public Library. We have been in constant contact with the parents all day to and they said they couldn't leave the hospital to give us an interview because they had to monitor their daughter's condition. But the father, Bernard Timmons - a librarian at the same public library spoke with us over the phone. He said that he was at work when his wife and their baby Brenae went to the library around 4. They were all supposed to leave together. Timmons told us that Brenae was playing inside the library with another little girl all evening. But after a little while the girls ran outside to play.

A Full Day At Half Moon Caye For Artists
This weekend the advocacy organization, Oceana Belize hosted a trip to Half Moon Caye and the Blue Hole Natural monument. It wasn't about raising awareness, or highlighting some issue that these 2 national parks are facing. They took a group of Belizeans out there simply to try to inspire them to create art. At first glance it might look like just a pleasure trip, but Oceana told us that it's integral to their upcoming reef week. Our News team tagged along and Daniel Ortiz has that story:

GSU Got Gun
The GSU is reporting some key seizures this weekend. First, on Friday night, they found 10 live rounds of nine millimeter ammunition on Banak Street. It had been left next to an old green van that was parked on the road side. On Sunday, afternoon at 1:30, the unit responded to shots fired on Mahogany Street in front of Mckeasy Meats. A search was conducted in the yard of an abandoned house where they found a 9 millimeter pistol, with a magazine loaded with (9) live 9mm rounds of ammunitions. A further search also led to the discovery of a black plastic bag containing 128 grams of weed, which was stuck on a tree.

Fisheries Makes Major Conch Bust
The Fisheries Department has organized a week long training for its staff. The main focus of the training is to educate fisheries officers on fisheries laws and update them on current changes in fisheries management. The training began yesterday and the coordinator Hampton Gamboa told us more about some of the specific areas that will be discussed in the training. And it so happens the staff got to enforce what they learnt at the training. Yesterday evening around 6 fisheries officers caught 8 fishermen on a sailboat with a large catch of undersized conch. Gamboa told more about this major bust. Fisheries officers caught 967 undersized conch - both unprocessed and undersized market cleaned conch were among this bust. The 8 fishers will be taken to court and fined.

PM Welcomes Back Briceno
At the top of the news we showed you the newly elected leader of the PUP, John Briceno. Prime Minister Dean Barrow jousted with him many times in his first stint as leader from 2008 to 2011. So how does he feel to have Briceno back in his political crosshairs? That's what we asked him today: Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister: "I want to congratulate Mr. Briceno for becoming the new leader of the PUP and the new leader of the opposition and I want to congratulate the PUP for having held what clearly was a democratic convention."

Titan Crackdown Was Proof According to PM
While we were questioning the Prime Minister on another topic, he brought up the issue of the Titan Securities case for which his government has been ordered to pay almost 9 million dollars in damages to Rohn Knowles and Kelvin Leach. He said that he mentioned it to one of the financial regulators to make the point that Belize is not sitting on its hands in trying to combat money laundering: Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister: "I was at pains to point out to Secretary Lew much we in fact do cooperate. How much we are part of the global infrastructure that sees things like mutual legal assistance, treaty signed with the US. How much we act upon their request when they say that went documentation or they want people in this jurisdiction dealt with against whom they have indictments pending and that in doing so we from time to time get into trouble such as has happened with Titan whereas judge has ordered us to pay almost 9 million dollars in consequence of trying to cooperate as part of the international system. He did make the point that they too from time to time get judgements in which they don't agree. And we left it there."

Nada Mas on Modiri
One final item from the Prime Minister tonight, we asked him about the Michael Modiri lawsuit which he won against the Ministry of Natural Resources. It's a public embarrassment for the Barrow Government because a judge has found that the acquisition of land for tour operator Bradley Paumen was for a private, not public purpose. When we asked the Prime Minister about it 10 days ago, he said that he was unable to comment because he was not familiar with the case. Today, we asked again, and he told us that in his view, Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega has adequately accounted for the Government's actions in that acquisition. Here's that back and forth:


Joined: Oct 1999
Posts: 84,397
Marty Offline OP
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Channel 5

John Brice�o is the New P.U.P. Leader
The People's United Party held its leadership Convention on Sunday in Belmopan. Three candidates were vying for the post - Francis Fonseca, John Brice�o and Cordel Hyde. The winner would [...]

Brice�o's Slate is Victorious over Fonseca's Slate
But while all eyes were on the leadership race, both John Brice�o and Francis Fonseca also fielded slates for the positions available. Those were Chairman, Deputy Leader North and South [...]

High-Level Delegation Returns from Washington
With the loss of some existing correspondent bank relationships, the country is facing what Prime Minister Dean Barrow has called an existential threat and a potentially huge crisis. To stave [...]

FDIC Promises an Intervention of Sorts
The delegation then met with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, another regulatory body which regulates banks that are chartered by states and have not joined the Federal Reserve System. According [...]

G.O.B. Will Seek Relationships with Smaller Banks
The delegation also met with the Secretary of the Treasury. PM Barrow says the message from that quarter was the same - that there is nothing wrong with the Belize [...]

2 Teens Gunned Down in Orange Walk
At around four-thirty this afternoon, two teenagers were gunned down on Cristock Street in Orange Walk Town. Minutes ago, the bodies were still on the ground while investigators scoured the [...]

3 Men Charged for Weekend Murder in Belize City
There's another murder to report for which three men charged in the home invasion of Sarkis Abou Nehra are prime suspects. This weekend in Belize City, thirty-two year old Marian [...]

10 injured in Major Collision on the George Price Highway
There was a head on collision this afternoon at about four-thirty at mile eighteen on the George Price Highway. Two vehicles, a pickup truck and a van transporting six tourists [...]

2 Tourists Die in Separate Incidents
But while the tourists in the vehicular accident were slightly injured, that wasn't the case for two other visitors to Belize. On Sunday, twenty-seven year old Australian tourist Patrick Leslie [...]

The Notorious Melin Vasquez and Hugo Casanova Released
Two Belizeans, Milin Vasquez from Orange Walk Town and Hugo Casanova from Corozal District have been in a Mexican jail since February 2013 after they were allegedly busted by Mexican [...]

Lisburn Anderson Will Get Bail Hearing on Wednesday
Lisburn Anderson is the mechanic who Police believe delivered payment to a hit-man on behalf of American Bradley Paumen. Anderson has been charged for that crime, and was released on [...]

Baby Brianna Critical After Freak Accident
There was a freak accident on Saturday evening on Mahogany Street in Belize City. Sometime around six-thirty that day, a metal gate near a newly built perimeter fence at the [...]

Fisheries Department Makes Major Undersized Conch Bust
The Fisheries Department is reporting a huge bust in undersized conch made on Sunday evening. Officers were on routine patrol in the Turneffe Atoll when they came up on the [...]

Conch Bust Kicks Off Enforcement Training Course
The timing of the bust by enforcement officers could not have been scripted better, since it comes at the onset of a stakeholder training on enforcement and compliance.   Hampton [...]

Belizean Detained for Stealing in Guatemala
A Belizean was arrested in Melchor de Mencos over the weekend and was scheduled to be processed in court today, but we cannot confirm that that has occurred. Twenty-five year [...]

Patrick Faber Congratulates New P.U.P. Leader
Minister of Education Patrick Faber convened the media today at the ITVET Compound on Freetown Road, Belize City. It was a pre-event to the launch of an education conference on [...]

Faber Will Go For U.D.P. Leadership Post in 2020
The United Democratic Party will also be holding a national convention in March. But unlike the P.U.P., there will be no elections since at the close of nominations on Friday; [...]

Zika Declared an International Public Health Emergency
Turning to a health issue that has been making international headlines.� The World Health Organization today declared the Zika virus and its suspected link to birth defects an international public [...]

Sporting Highlights with James Adderley
Good evening I'm James Adderly and this is Sports Monday.   The MCC Grounds was the scene yesterday where the PLB presented the showdown between the Belize Defence Force making [...]

CTV3

Belizeans Released From Mexican Prison After Close To Three Years
Ermelindo Vasquez, resident of Orange Walk Town and Hugo Casanova of Calcutta Village in Corozal Town, were released after spending more than two years incarcerated in a Mexican prison being charged with drug trafficking. Viewers may recall that on February 7th 2013, well known businessman Ermelindo Vasquez aka Melin and Hugo Casanova were detained by Mexican Navy during a sting operation where they busted a drug house in Chetumal where the two men were present. The bust yielded a total of 45 kilograms of the synthetic drug known as crystal meth valued at that time at one million U.S dollars. As a result of the bust, Vasquez and Casanova were arrested and were being charged with the offence of 'being in possession of methamphetamines with the intention to sell.

Orange Walk Police Confiscates 12 Pounds Of Marijuana
The Orange Walk Police Formation Quick Response Team conducted a search on Friday at about 7:45 p.m. in the Village of San Felipe, in a bushy area located approximately 2 to 3 miles from the village. The search led to the discovery of a black jumbo garbage bag containing 8 black in color plastic bags with green leafy substances suspected to be Cannabis. Since no one was in the area at the time of the search, police took the bag to the station where it was weighed. The bag contained a total of 12lbs of Cannabis and was labeled as found property. This morning at about 11:12, authorities were called out to an area located on Savannah Street here in Orange Walk Town where they found twelve 16 gage cartridges that were buried under some bushes. Given that no one was in the area, the cartridges were also labeled as found property. As a result of the aggressive anti-drug, firearm and traffic campaign, police arrested and charged a total of five persons for possession of controlled drugs, seven persons for traffic offences and a total of six individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol.

Prime Minster Discusses Correspondent Banking Crisis
As we had reported some days ago, Prime Minister Dean Borrow along with the governor of the Central bank of Belize, Glenford Ysaguirre and financial secretary, Mr. Joseph Waight travelled to Washington D.C to meet with key banking officials regarding the problem being faced by the Belizean banking sector as it relates to the correspondent relationships and the recent de-risking. De-risking simply put is the action taken by US banks, under pressure from US regulatory agencies, cutting off correspondent relations with Caribbean indigenous and offshore banks unilaterally and with very little notice in fear of receiving multimillion dollar non- compliance fees. Today in a press conference to discuss the outcome of the trip taken to discuss the de-risking movement, Prime Minister Dean Borrow said that he was assured by officials from the Comptroller of Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and Secretary of the Treasury that the withdraw of correspondent banks was not because of any pressure from the U.S regulators directing them to withdraw from correspondent relationships with Belizean Banks or even because of anything that Belize has done, but it is because for these banks the risk of tainted transactions that would cost billions if found outweighs the benefits of doing business with a small jurisdiction such as Belize.

Prime Minister Congratulates The New Leader Of The Opposition
Today the Prime Minister of Belize held a press conference where he discussed the correspondent banking crisis with the media, we'll talk to you about that in few. But first here is what the Prime Minister had to say when the media asked him to share his thoughts on the PUP's National Convention. We tell you off the bat he was very candid in offering his congratulations to the new Leader of the Opposition. "I want to congratulate Mr. Briceno for becoming the new leader of the PUP and the new leader of the opposition and I want to congratulate the PUP for having held what clearly a very democratic process."

Newly Elected Deputy Leader Asks For UNITY Within The Party
During the National Convention yesterday Orange Walk South Area Representative Jose Abelardo Mai went up against Corozal South East Area Representative Florencio Marin Junior for Deputy Leader of the North. Rodwell Ferguson faced Mike Espat for Deputy Leader of the South and for Communications Director Anthony Mahler went against Dolores Balderamos. At the end Mia won with 1342, Rodwell Ferguson with 1558 and Anthony Mahler won Communications Director with 1485 votes. While all three have different roles to play in the party there is one thing they have in common, they all want unity.

Another Meilum Motorcycle Stolen In Orange Walk
Fifty year old Idelfonso Ku reported to police that on Saturday night at around 9:00, he decided to park his red 150 Meilun Motorcycle bearing license plate OW-MC-0856 on San Martin Street in the Village of Trial Farm while he ran some errands. But upon Ku's return at about 2:20 a.m., his motorcycle was missing. Police have not yet been able to recover the cycle but are currently investigating the issue.

LOVE FM

New Banking Relations Sought in the US, Says PM
With uncertainty looming in Belize's banking sector, Prime Minister Dean Barrow hosted a press conference this morning to report on the outcomes of his meetings last week in Washington DC. Renee Trujillo has that story.

Prime Minister Committed to Fixing Banking Sector
Earlier we told you that the Belize delegation led by Prime Minister Dean Barrow to Washington DC last week had met with the US Comptroller of Currency, Thomas Curry and the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Another meeting held was with the US Department of Treasury. Prime Minister Dean Barrow reported that out of that [�]

John Briceno Takes Back PUP's Leadership
John Briceno is back at the helm of the People's United Party. He emerged victorious yesterday during a special convention in Belmopan, Cayo District. Renee Trujillo has the story.

Factors of the PUP: Cordel's Future; Leader of the Opposition Seat; Unity
With John Briceno now taking over control of the People's United Party, much is being expected but the main thing that the supporters are hoping for is unity. During the course of yesterday evening when it was clear that the Briceno slate was in the lead, we spoke to some of the candidates on the [�]

Toddler Gets Injured After Iron Gate Falls
Three year old Brianna Timmons is at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after a ten foot iron gate fell on her on Friday night. Love News understands that the three year old's mother had gone to the library at Lloyd Coffin pre-school off Mahagony Street in Belize City to look for her husband who works [�]

Woman Recovers After Being Hit by Motorcycle
An elderly woman is hospitalized after being hit by a motorcycle. We hear more in this report from correspondent Fem Cruz. FEM CRUZ "

Jealousy Suspected to Be Motive in Murder Case
Could it have been that jealousy that was the root cause of a stabbing incident that claimed the life of thirty two year old Mariano Castillo? That is what investigators are trying to figure out. Castillo's common law wife believes that it is the reason he was viciously stabbed on Friday night. Castillo was on [�]

Technician Begs for Leniency After Stealing 11K
Thirty-four year old Rupert Avila, a technician charged with the theft of eleven thousand three hundred and fifty dollars, pled guilty to the charge when he appeared today before Magistrate Carlon Mendoza. Avila said he made a wrong decision and he asked that the court be lenient on him because he is the sole bread [�]

Highway Collision Injures Eleven Persons
A traffic incident at mile seventeen and a half on the George Price Highway has reportedly sent several persons to the KHMH with various degrees of injuries. When we arrived on the scene we learnt that fortunately there were no fatalities. We can also report that the accident involved a tourist van carrying six persons [�]

Mexican Journalists Calls Free Zone Fire Arson
Mexican news papers are reporting that the recent fire at the Corozal Free Zone was as a result of arson. According to Dario Repuesta, six groups focusing on contraband in the Free Zone are at war with each other. The newspaper says that authorities believe that the fire that burn down the P and P [�]

The Reporter

Man wanted by police for burning down brother's house
Jeovannie Mejia, an Orange Walk resident from Otro Benque Street is wanted since Thursday night for arson. The fire was reported at around 9:13 p.m. in the Petville area, between San Estevan and Orange Walk Town. Mejia's brother, Andy Leroy Mejia stated that his brother set fire to the house after having gotten into an argument with their father. The Fire Department could not save the house and it burnt to the ground. By the time the police arrived at the scene, Mejia had escaped and is now wanted by for arson, according to Officer in Charge of the Orange Walk police station, Nicholas Palomo. Palomo stated that they do not believe the family is abetting the arsonist by hiding him, and have no leads of his whereabouts at the moment.

Breaking Belize NewsPJ

Belizeans released from Mexican prison
A Mexican Judge, Reynaldo Pi�on Rangel, has released four persons who were arrested and charged for 'possession of methamphetamine with the intent to supply', among them, two Belizeans, for lack of evidence against them. They are Fabiola Juárez López, Rosa Patricia Morales Olán, and Belizeans: [�]

Two killed in late evening Orange Walk shooting
Two men have been shot dead on Cristock Street in Orange Walk town sometime around 5:00 this evening. Police have confirmed that two men were killed after shots rang out. A third man, who is believed to have been shot as well, is being sought by authorities [�]

Orange Walk police find 12 pounds of weed
At around 7:45 p.m. on Friday evening, January 29, police in Orange Walk District made the discovery of 12 pounds of cannabis which was deposited as "found property" since no one was in the area at the time of the search. The find was [�]

Orange Walk Police seek stolen cycle
Orange Walk Police are investigating the theft of a Meilun Motorcycle, which went missing sometime between 9:00 p.m. on Saturday night and 2:20 a.m. yesterday morning, while its owner, 50-year-old Idelfonso Ku of the Marcus Canul area was running some errands. Ku told officers [�]

Belize City cops find gun and ammo
A pistol along with five live rounds of ammunition was deposited as "found property" by police on Saturday evening when the items were found in an empty lot on Central American Boulevard. Around 6:55 p.m., officers searched the yard and found a silver and [�]

Two men pending murder charges for Saturday morning stabbing
Belize City police have arrested two male persons pending charges of murder after a stabbing incident in the wee hours of Saturday morning, claimed the life of 32-year-old Stann Creek resident, Mariano Castillo. Around 12:50 a.m., police were dispatched to the Karl Heusner Memorial [�]

Prime Minister says U.S. assured Belize over correspondent banking
Prime Minister Dean Barrow says those officials which he spoke to on his recent visit to the United States have assured him that Belize's banking sector does not face any pressure from U.S. regulators directed to their banks to withdraw from correspondent banking relationships with local banks.

Three men arrested for stealing $11,000 from gas station
Three persons have been jointly charged for theft in Belize City after stealing more than $11,000 cash from inside a Puma Gas Station, located at mile 2 on the Philip Goldson Highway, late Saturday evening. The gas station's manager reported to police that sometime [�]

Burglary in Camalote, shotgun stolen
An elderly American National reported to police yesterday afternoon that his property in Camalote village, Cayo District, was burglarized and an assortment of items, including a 12-gauge shotgun with 6 live round were stolen. 77-year-old Ray Jordan of South Carolina, told officers that he [�]

International Financial Services Commission issues advisory over two illegally operating companies
A release issued today by the International Financial Services Commission (ISFC), which is Belize's biggest financial services regulator, served to warn the public against two financial firms that have been operating illegally in the country, not being licensed under the ISFC. The first firm [�]

Belize: The opposition returns to its constitution
The People's United Party (PUP) currently serves as Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in Belize, after losing the November 4, 2015 general elections to the ruling United Democratic Party (UDP), who won 19 of the 31 seats in the House of Representatives. The PUP constitution [�]

PUP release convention results
The People's United Party (PUP) has released the full results of yesterday's Special National Convention elections. The race for Party Leader saw John Brice�o receive 1125 votes; Francis Fonseca, 918; and Cordel Hyde, 673. For Deputy Party leader of the South, Mike Espat, with 1044 votes, lost to Rodwell [�

Blogs

Ambergris Caye: A Walk Down South on A Gorgeous Sunday Afternoon
Yesterday the "cold front" ended and the wind switched back from the north (brrrr�.) to the east. Sun, puffy pinkish clouds, a good breeze�a perfect afternoon for a walk. I'd been south just a bit the day before for my first 2016 Kelly McGuire show and I thought I'd explore more. Here's his full calendar so you can catch a show while he's here. Get ready for many many photos of coconut palms - I became slightly obsessed with the patterns of holes bore into them on my walk. Can woodpecks be this meticulous? The dock at LOVELY Victoria House. And the bar�if you are in the mood for a gorgeous lunch�this is the spot. And the view in front of Island Time Bar. They are building a huge seawall in front of this property and Royal Caribbean Resort. And they are going to need an insane amount of sand to fill it.

Sopa Casera de Pollo
Para hacer una riquísima sopa casera de pollo, lo primero que debemos hacer es pelar y lavar todas las verduras. También prepararemos la carne, limpiándola muy bien. Introducimos todos los ingredientes, menos la sal, en una cacerola lo suficientemente amplia y los cubrimos con agua. Ponemos la cacerola a fuego medio y, cuando comience a hervir, bajamos un poco el fuego y dejamos que se vaya haciendo el caldo, que estará listo en unas dos horas, aproximadamente.

Cinnamon Sugar Soft Pretzel Sticks
Warm the oven to 200 degrees and then turn it off. Boil a quart of water and put it into a shallow pan on the lowest oven rack. Put the two loaves of frozen bread dough on a greased jelly roll pan and place the pan into the oven. Allow the dough to thaw and rise for 2-4 hours. Using a kitchen shears, cut each loaf of dough into about 14 sticks. Mix together the baking soda and the warm water. Dip the dough sticks into the baking soda and water solution. Place the pretzel sticks on a silicone mat on a baking sheet (or a just grease the baking sheet). Bake the pretzel sticks at 425 degrees for 7-9 minutes or until golden brown. Mix together sugar and cinnamon. Dip the pretzel sticks into the melted butter and then roll in the cinnamon sugar mixture.

PHOTO GALLERY: Photos of Caye Caulker - Belize
Caye Caulker is a small, beautiful laid-back island lying within the 185-mile-long Belizean Barrier Reef. It's one of Belize's most popular travel destinations. Located just one hour by high-speed ferry from Belize City, the island makes an easy weekend get-away for city residents as well as international visitors. Known as Belize's more budget island, Caye Caulker has accommodations in all price ranges, from hostels and camping on up to luxurious small hotels. The island is quite developed, with a small town full of restaurants, shops, tourist offices, bars, hotels and even a post office, bank and several ATM machines. Golf carts are used on the hard-packed sand roads instead of cars, which makes traffic somewhat quieter, though there's always a steady flow of vehicles around the island. Despite all that, Caye Caulker somehow manages to retain a slow-paced, low-key tranquil atmosphere. Maybe all the charming wooden buildings and cheery bright colors have something to do with it. Or maybe it's primarily due to the Belizean people's generally calm, go-slow attitude towards life.

24 Tips for Keeping Costs Low in Belize
Last week I wrote about how much it costs to travel in Belize on a tight budget, showing that this Central American country is not nearly as expensive as most people would have you believe. In fact, I estimate that Belize is well within the means of all but the most shoe-string budget backpackers. So if you're a budget traveler exploring Central America, go check out my post on Belize costs here. As a follow-up to that article, in this post I offer 2 dozen tips for keeping costs low in Belize. There are probably more ideas floating around from other travelers' experiences, so if you have any other advice or suggestions, feel free to add them to the comments section below. To get started, following is the advice I can offer after exploring Belize for one full month in January, 2016: 1. Arriving in Belize from Guatemala, you can save a big chunk of money by crossing the border in northern Guatemala near Tikal over to San Ignacio, Belize vs. arriving from Livingston, Guatemala on the Caribbean coat. At the crossing near Tikal/San Ignacio, there's no exit fee for leaving Guatemala and buses cost just a few dollars either side of the border.

International Sourcesizz

Breaking Belize News Socks It To Belize Telemedia Limited
Breaking Belize News, one of the country's most popular blogs, took the opportunity to skewer the company, saying that if you aren't offering better prices and better customer service, you aren't in the game. We must ask ourselves a few important questions: Did Belizeans lose in the nationalization of BTL because of these technologies that are changing the communications landscape in Belize? We invested millions in outdated technology, when technological trends are showing that communications are moving towards affordable wireless. With all these millions invested we are still paying very high rates. Will all the infrastructure BTL owns become obsolete? How can Belizeans be prepared for globalization when we do not possess the necessary skills to be competitive, especially in technology, where telecommunication is the link to just about every piece of technological development in the world? In conclusion, if BTL wants to remain a relevant and profitable telecommunications company in the future, it must realize and embrace the fact that telecommunications is the backbone of any developed and developing nation, and it has to take into consideration some very important factors such as: Speed, reliability, affordability, the fact that over 80% of internet access is done via mobile devices, and superb customer service. Competition will only get stronger.

Jamaica confirms first case of zika virus
The ministry of health has confirmed one case of the zika virus in Jamaica. The patient, who has now recovered is a four year old child. The child began showing symptoms on January 17, 2016, after earlier returning to Jamaica from travel to Texas in the United States. The child was investigated at the Bustamante Hospital for Children and samples sent to the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) for testing on January 26, 2016. The ministry received the positive zika virus test result from CARPHA late Friday afternoon.

Pirate football streams are dangerous for users - study
That's where all our bandwidth goes... New research shows that pirate football streaming sites are putting the devices and personal privacy of their users at great risk, reports BBC News. Researchers say the most popular sites attract more than 8 million visits per month. They studied thousands of streams and found that up to half planted malicious software on users' devices through forced ads and other deceptive techniques. The study analysed over 5,000 aggregator domains and found that almost 25 percent of live streams originate from the servers hosted in Belize. More than 60 percent of the streams originate from the media servers provided by only five companies located in Belize, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Canada.

Canada Urges High Degree Of Caution For Several Caribbean Nations
Canadian travelers are being urged to "exercise a high degree of caution" when travelling to several Caribbean destinations. Updated travel advisories to some three Caribbean island destinations were issued by the Government of Canada late last week while warning to "exercise a high degree of caution" were issued between January 19th and 20th for four other countries in the region. On January 28th, Suriname was listed as a nation where travelers should "exercise a high degree of caution" while the same label was slapped on to St. Lucia and Haiti a day earlier, on January 27th. Travelers to Haiti are urged to "exercise a high degree of caution due to high crime rates in various parts of the country and ongoing political tension" while travelers to St. Lucia are warned to "exercise a high degree of caution limited medical resources, generally poor road conditions, unreliable public transportation, and moderate crime rates." Travelers to Suriname are urged to "exercise a high degree of caution due to moderate to high levels of crime, as well as the possibility of demonstrations and unrest." The caution was also issued for Guyana, the Dominican Republic and Belize on January 19th and Jamaica on January 20th where travelers are all urged to "exercise a high degree of caution due to the high level of violent crime."

Caldwell Students Serve in Remote Villages in Belize
Seven Caldwell University students spent part of their winter break serving in remote villages in southern Belize, Central America. They helped repair schools and churches in the town of Punta Gorda and in the Mayan villages of Dolores, Santa Cruz and Pueblo Viejo. Katlyn Houtz, a junior and an education and psychology major, said highlights for her were working in the school in Dolores where they assembled the framing for dividing walls for classrooms and having the opportunity to get to know the principal. "I loved her story," said Houtz, explaining that the teacher grew up in a village and was very good at mechanics and engineering but her father wanted her to become a teacher. She was able to attend high school and college, which is not the norm for females. Now that principal is focused on making education more readily available to girls.

From Cayo to Saputo:Belizean Forward Michael Salazar and His Path to the Montreal Impact
Earlier this January, Michael Salazar was anxiously sitting in the audience for the 2016 MLS Superdraft at the Baltimore Convention Centre, waiting for his name to be called. Seats were emptying as one whole round passed and 23 players had their names called by Major League Soccer teams. The Montreal Impact was now on the clock with the 24th pick, looking to make their next selection. The 23-year-old wasn't the only nervous member of the Salazar family that day. His mother, who had flown in from his native Belize, also had a hard time staying seated. "She was waiting and waiting, for a second she thought I wasn't going to get called at all," Salazar said. MLS vice president Todd J. Durbin then walked up to the podium. "With the fourth pick of the second round of the MLS Superdraft, the Montreal Impact select, from the University of California Riverside, forward Michael Salazar."

Videos

  • The Hydrous Belize 2016, 2.5min. In January 2016, The Listwin Family Foundation hosted our team to conduct preliminary analysis of coral reefs in Mexico Rocks marine reserve in Ambergris Caye, Belize. The Caribbean was once home to the most pristine coral reefs in the world, but unfortunately local stressors such as pollution combined with global climate change has changed many of these reefs to a shadow of its former beauty. Later this year, we hope to empower local stakeholders with design thinking and technology to help them monitor and manage their own resources.

  • Belize Underwater, 3min. Diving adventures in Belize. Dive sites include Tuffy Cut, Mermaid's Lair, Esmarelda Canyon, Half Moon Wall, Lion's Den and of course the Great Blue Hole.

  • Flying into Ambergris Caye, Belize, 1min. view of the island from above

  • Belize 1 30 16, 8.5min.

  • Belize, 3min.

  • Belize SCUBA Break - Christmas 2015, 8.5min. A video sequence and soundtrack chronicling a thoroughly fabulous few days of SCUBA off the Belize Barrier Reef over 2015 Christmas break. A beautiful reminder of what 50m visibility looks like at 30m, and what it's like diving a shorty wet suit in 29*C waters in mid-December.

  • WOP Highlights: Belize Water Services and Contra Costa Water District (USA), 3.5min. The WOP between Belize Water Services Ltd. (BWS) of Belize and Contra Costa Water District (CCWD) of the United States was established for a duration of 12 months in order to promote a safety culture at BWS and improve worker safety.

  • SAN PEDRO WAHOO CHALLENGE "TEAM MAJIK", 10min. Captain Morgans San Pedro Wahoo Challenge featuring Team Majik Aboard a 28' Wahoo Edition Powered by Yamaha 250 4s. Captained by Emmanuel Samos; Team Anglers- Roger Hoilman, Tom Manzi, Art Torres and Nestor Davis- Produced by Michael Davis, San Pedro, Ambergris Caye - Discover Belize Now!


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