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Specials and Events

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

The latest Tia Chocolate column is ready for reading!!!
Running Part I:
The urgent whispered argument woke her up. It had to be the middle of the night. Her eyes grew adjusted to the darkness; only the faint glow of a low-hanging moon valiantly penetrating the room she was in. The fight continued, the voices growing louder as tempers flared, no longer caring about those sleeping around them.

The San Pedro Sun

Oceana: Injunction stay hearing adjourned for a week
The injunction issued April 16, 2013 by Supreme Court Justice Oswell Legall remains in effect as the application to lift the injunction was not heard today. Oceana in Belize, along with Co-Claimants Citizen Organized for Liberty & Action (COLA) & the Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage, won a historic legal victory when Justice Legal delivered his judgment in Claim #810 of 2011.The judgment declared all six offshore Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) "unlawful, null and void." Judge Legall furthermore granted "an injunction restraining the defendant, servants and agent from carrying out the provisions of the PSAs. Shortly after its loss in court, the Government stated its intention of appeal the decision. At the behest of Princess Petroleum Belize Limited and Providence Energy Belize Limited government applied for a stay of execution of the injunction. The hearing of that application started before the Chief Justice today. However, Chief Justice Benjamin adjourned the hearing until next Tuesday, June 4 Government's lawyers Denys Barrow, SC and his daughter Naima Barrow as well as the counter submissions made by Oceana and its Co-Claimants, arguing that the injunction remains in force until the appeal is heard by the Belize Court of Appeal.

Two people stabbed over "turf" fight in San Pedro Town
Police in San Pedro Town arrested and charged one person for a double stabbing that occurred on Thursday May 23rd. The victims are 25 year old Cozet Maximo originally of a Belize City address and 25 year old Kenneth Jones of a Boca del Rio area of San Pedro Town. The two were stabbed shortly around 2:30AM while walking in the down town area on Barrier Reef Drive. As a result of the stabbing, police arrested and charged one Bridgett Guzman, also known as "Busy Bee." "I was walking on my way home and two girls just attacked me and stabbed me with an ice-pick about ten times. I was stabbed coming out of an alley on front street [Barrier Reef Drive]," explained Maximo. She also said that she also positively recognized her attacker. As a result of the incident, Maximo received stab wounds to her right and left arm, on her back and on her right breast.

Jesse Smith-Guerrero drafted to play football in one of the larger English Premier Leagues
Jesse Smith-Guerrero, affectionately known as "Pinchi", is in London, United Kingdom, pursuing his dream of becoming a professional football player. Earlier this year, Smith-Guerrero was invited to a display football event in Mexico and was eventually drafted to play for one of the larger English Premier Leagues. Two weeks ago, he left Belize and was called to training in preparation for next football season. Speaking from London to The San Pedro Sun, Guerrero explained that he is very happy to be in the UK and that he will start full training next week. "It's a dream come true," said Guerrero adding "All the legal paper work with the football club will be fully completed next week, at which point I will begin training." Smith-Guerrero is the first islander in recent years to leave the country to play for a football club outside of Belize.

Tis' the Season for Parrot Poaching
Illegal trafficking of native parrots for house pets has been an escalating problem over the past several years. These birds are captured at a very young age to be sold as pets in the illegal pet trade market. The process results not only in the destruction of trees and life-long nests, but usually the death of the majority of the hatchlings that are taken for the pet trade. One nonprofit organization has made parrot poaching its mission to solve. The Belize Bird Rescue (BBR), located in the Cayo District, was founded by Jerry Larder and Nikki Buxton. Since 2004, they have been rescuing birds from the illegal pet trade. Larder and Buxton work closely along with the Belize Forest Department to encourage the enforcement and implementation of the Wildlife Protection Act, Chapter 220. They also rehabilitate and release rescued captive parrots. BBR aims to initiate the mandatory banding of the licensing program of all captive indigenous avian species.

Hashishi Pampi
"Them wiggle inna ashes pam de fire hearth and lef out them head. They eat roast thing." The fire hearth has always played a central role in rural life, and for a couple from Double Head Cabbage, part of an established evening routine was to check that all sparks on the hearth had been put out and all leftover food was properly covered. The hearth's base, which was a wooden structure very much like a table was covered with a thick layer of clay or limestone. An iron bar on a tripod of stones was used to support pots. Any ashes from the firewood would remain in the hearth. One evening the couple was in the kitchen looking directly at the hearth, when they saw what looked like little men frolicking mischievously. The creatures were tiny, and their skin almost exactly matched the colour of the ashes in which they were playing.

Oceana: Injunction stay hearing adjourned for a week
The injunction issued April 16, 2013 by Supreme Court Justice Oswell Legall remains in effect as the application to lift the injunction was not heard today. Oceana in Belize, along with Co-Claimants Citizen Organized for Liberty & Action (COLA) & the Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage, won a historic legal victory when Justice Legal delivered his judgment in Claim #810 of 2011.The judgment declared all six offshore Production Sharing Agreements (PSAs) "unlawful, null and void." Judge Legall furthermore granted "an injunction restraining the defendant, servants and agent from carrying out the provisions of the PSAs. Shortly after its loss in court, the Government stated its intention of appeal the decision. At the behest of Princess Petroleum Belize Limited and Providence Energy Belize Limited government applied for a stay of execution of the injunction. The hearing of that application started before the Chief Justice today. However, Chief Justice Benjamin adjourned the hearing until next Tuesday, June 4 Government's lawyers Denys Barrow, SC and his daughter Naima Barrow as well as the counter submissions made by Oceana and its Co-Claimants, arguing that the injunction remains in force until the appeal is heard by the Belize Court of Appeal.

Ambergris Today

National AIDS Commission Island Committee Undergoes Counseling Training
San Pedro now counts on the newly acquired skills of nine trained pre and post-test counselors; of the National AIDS Commission's Island Committee. The nine members became certified after a two-day training, May 18 and 19, held at the El Divino conference room. The training was funded by the USAID Capacity Project and facilitated by Nurse Lourdes Heredia of the Corozal Country Coordinating Mechanism Committee. The training gave participants an in depth overview of HIV AIDS as well as a chance to dissect the various myths about HIV AIDS while becoming equipped with skills necessary to effectively counsel individuals wishing to undergo the Free HIV Test. We were educated of the various attitudes and values that every counselor must possess.

Sign Up for Coral Reef Ed-Ventures 2013
The Smith College Coral Reef Ed-Ventures team is preparing to come down to Ambergris Caye for the program's 14th year. All interested students are asked to sign up (Camp is free). Permission slips to participate will be available at Hol Chan Marine Reserve as well as the San Pedro Public Library. Before camp begins, two FREE movie nights will be hosted. Camp Dates: Advanced Camp: June 17-21 Youth Camp: July 1-11 Graduation: Evening of July 11

Police Department to Strengthen with Over a Hundred New Recruits
The National Police Training Academy in Belmopan announces preparations for a new intake of recruits, Recruit Intake 89, to join the ranks of the Belize Police Department. Examinations for the new recruit intake will be held on Saturday, June 22, 2013 at specific venues around the Country to be announced later. Applicants must be Belizean, male or female, between the ages of 18 and 35; at least 5 feet, 4 inches in height; and must possess, at the minimum, a High School Diploma. An Associates or Bachelors Degree will be an asset. Applicants must also have a clean Police Record.

Alexis Roca Celebrates 15 A�os
Alexis Roca celebrated her coming-of-age 15th Birthday with a traditional Quincea�os party that included a Mass of Thanksgiving at the San Pedro Roman Catholic Church and a festive reception at the R. Angel Nu�ez Auditorioum. Here she is pictured with her chaperone just before mass on Saturday, May 25, 2013. Alexis is the daughter of Elver and Ruby Ancona; Happy Birthday Alexis!

San Pedro Village in the 1950's
This is half of the tiny fishing village of San Pedro on Ambergris Caye in the 1950's. It is a historic photo as it is the only one of its kind. You are looking at San Pedro when there was no 24-hour electricity but only a few poles on the middle street with electric lamps that were lit from 6 to 9 p.m. You can absolutely say that there was no tourism, no speed boats, no refrigeration, no ice, no passenger boats, no airplanes, no customs nor immigration, no supermarket, no boutiques nor gift shops, no post office, and NO VEHICLES.

Pic of the Week: Catch of the Day in San Pedro!
For many years rushing to any dock to see the catch of the day has been the biggest attraction on the island. Today the attraction continues as many fishermen gather a crowd in a heart beat with buyers, photographers and more. Above is Eric Henkis and his sideman from Uprising Tours with their massive sailfish catch. On your next vacation make sure to book your fishing tour with uprising tours and get a big catch.

Misc Belizean Sources

Crawl Caye cruise development straight to cabinet- no village input
Mike Singh was on Open Your Eyes this A.M. and saying this Crawl Caye cruise development is going to cabinet - no consult with village, just straight to cabinet. That's right - next Tuesday. They're going to make this look like a completely ex-pat thing - and say that all the tour guides, tour operators, and Belizeans in Placencia are in favor. They're also going to try to isolate Placencia Village and treat us as an anomaly.

SWEET BUSINESS
The Toledo Cacao Festival was born in 2007 and has been celebrated each year on the same Commonwealth Day weekend towards the end of May. It attracts hundreds of visitors from around Belize as well as overseas. This year the festival was celebrated this past weekend on the 24-26 May. This lively festival has helped Toledo shed its worn out image as "the forgotten district" and established it as one of Belize's vibrant and international attention by re-branding the event as the Chocolate Festival of Belize. The festival had many devoted followers who returned this year again to sample the chocolate delights available and to find out what was new in the world of chocolate making.international attention by re-branding the event as the Chocolate Festival of Belize. The festival had many devoted followers who returned this year again to sample the chocolate delights available and to find out what was new in the world of chocolate making.

VIDEO: Glover's Reef 2013 Amazing Marine Life
Sharks, Dolphins, Turtles, amazing marine life, Join us as we explore Glover's Reef with 2013 Belize Tour Operator of The Year, Splash Dive Center, Placencia.

Dream Valley Jungle Lodge
Dream Valley is a newer jungle lodge in Cayo with luxurious cabins, from which you can see the Belize river. They've been open a little more than a year, and you might have seen their sign around Teakettle Village. They have a spa on site, and are preparing to build a yoga wellness center. If you want to get away for a weekend, and pamper yourself, Dream Valley is the place to go.

Bullet Tree Falls Corn Fest
The Bullet Tree Falls Corn Fest flier is out. This Friday and Saturday, come to Bullet Tree for fun, games, and dancing too. Friday evening is the Queen of the Corn pageant, followed by Orquidea Negra Dance Company, and then a disco with DJ Diamond. Saturday starts with the canoe race, then has a football quadrangular, and those are followed by a drinking contest, a pepper eating contest, marching bands, themed dances, a volleyball competition, and it also ends with a disco.

UB's April/May Newsletter
The University of Belize has released their April/May newsletter. It's full of good articles, including one about their wonderful Earth Day festivities. "Earth Day: A Success!; Belize Benefits from Agricultural Project; Water security, climate change, and social development; Qualified primary school teachers; Empowering Education, for Children in Today's Society; Celebrating the International Day of Spanish Language; International Cultures Exhibition; Tobacco Free: Healthier Lifestyle; Managing Central Belize Corridor; Bridging Civil Engineering and Mathematics; Media and the Portrayal of Violence�Effects on Children and the Wider Community; Researching and Presenting to Classmates; Historic Student Government Elections; Future Scientists: Chemical Research; IT Professionals @ Work; Students Caring by Innovating; Promoting Nursing Ethics; Enhancing Math Learning with Technology; Donation to Beautification Project; Futsal Tournament; Sports Update: UB and Mexican University; ATLIB Football Champions; Orientation 2013 Schedule"

St. Andrew's Primary Gets Upgrade
Feelgood news of the day. Help International, a volunteer group that comes to Belize quite often, constructed basketball and volleyball courts, and painted some of St. Andrew's primary school. Thanks, Help International!

In Bloom Jammed at Full Moon Concert
In Bloom played at the SISE House of Culture's Full Moon Concert Saturday night. Here are some pictures of them rocking the Cayo Welcome Center. Can't wait until next time.

Inspiration Telethon Coming
The Inspiration Telethon will take place Saturday, June 1st, from 8am until 6pm. Kim Simplis-Barrow, the Special Envoy for Women and Children, has a press release about the event, and the Inspiration Center that the telethon is raising money for. You can call 0-800-INSPIRE if you'd like to donate. "The Inspiration Telethon is being sponsored by Belize Telemedia Limited, NICH, SMART, McNab Designs, Love FM, Love TV, Channel 5, Government Press Office. It is supported by Demor's D�cor, PKF Belize, Channel 7, Wave Radio, Wave TV, Plus TV, CTV-3, Reef TV, Krem TV, Krem Radio and Belize Broadcasting Network - BBN."

San Ignacio FC Wins Copa Tulum
The San Ignacio FC traveled to Mexico, and won the Copa Tulum football tournament. They've released a video highlighting the games and penalty shots. Congratulations, San Ignacio FC! "San Ignacio FC 2013 Copa Tulum Champions Highlights and Penalties Shootouts Video."

What's great about owning a Small Business?
Imagine doing any one of these, and being paid for it. Imagine getting full credit, both monetarily and in client satisfaction, for your great business idea. The wonderful thing about small business is that enterprise-ready ideas are all around you. Consider these activities as business opportunities: cleaning mowing lawns washing cars walking dogs or washing pets looking after younger children umpiring sports matches teaching people to swim organising discos, dances or school excursions finding information on the Internet designing and producing greeting cards printing brochures for local churches or associations baking biscuits translating for people who don't speak much English reading for blind or elderly people lending books, toys or bikes.

Channel 7

Bze Rural Man Found Dead In River, Stabbed 20+ Times
Tonight, a family in Sandhill is grieving after their loved one was found dead, and police believe he was murdered. The first report came this morning at around 9:00, when police were called out to the Henderson Bank area in Burrell Boom to retrieve a dead body from the river. 7news spoke to eyewitnesses from the area. Abel Guttierrez - Working In Area Where Body Found "Two police officers came so I came to investigate what they came down here to do so he told me that they found a dead body up the river and the boat passed and went to get it so a little while after the boat came down towing the body in the river" Jules Vasquez "And how did it appear Sir?' Abel Guttierrez "The body was properly decomposed, one of his hands was missing and one of his feet. In his face, you could not recognize the person, whoever he was"

Man Dies 3 Months After Being Shot
And another Belize district family is in the throes of grief tonight - after their loved one passed away on Sunday. Jamil Richardson was shot in Belize City on Thursday March 28th, the night before Good Friday. He was left paralysed from the waist down by a gunshot to the neck. Since that time, his family had been fundraising to have him visit a physiotherapist, but on Saturday, his worsening condition took a sharp downturn and he had to be hospitalized. 24 hours later, he was dead. His sister told us today that the family is wracked by grief for this needless loss of life. Tanisha Chavez - Sister of Jamile 'Cash' Richardson "Sunday morning he was still talking good, he was arguing that the doctors wanted to scrape his bed so he didn't want them to touch it. An hour after that he just stopped talking, only his hands were moving and that the doctors said that they gave him up. That's very devastating because about 4:00 she called for me to go over there at the hospital again and when I went there he was fighting, he's a strong person. He wanted to fight it but he was tired and he needed to rest."

GOB and OCEANA Back In Court
A month ago, Oceana Belize won a major case against the Government of Belize when Justice Legall declared 6 offshore oil-drilling contracts null and void. And then, 2 weeks ago, Treaty Energy Belize, the company operating under the umbrella of Princess Petroleum, resumed their oil drilling explorations even after Justice Legall issued an injunction against its agreement with the Government of Belize. Oceana Belize says that Government should act responsibly and enforce the order of the Supreme Court. They believe that GOB has the authority and is refusing to do so because they don't like the judgment. Well, GOB says that the court created a power vacuum by restraining them from acting as the oversight mechanism. They claim that this gives Providence Energy Belize Limited, Princess Petroleum Limited - and by extension Treaty Energy - free reign to do as they please under the PSA's. So, this quite substantial difference of opinion has made it before Chief Justice Benjamin, and today he was supposed to hear a case brought by GOB to lift the injunction. We spoke to both sides when they came out of a very brief hearing. Here's what they told us.

Government Backpedals, Appeases Churches On Gender Policy
12 days ago, we told you about the National Gender Policy and at that time, our report alluded to the wording of one heading, Respect For Diversity. It says, and we quote, "the population is comprised of persons of all ages who come from diverse races, cultures, ethnicities, faiths, sexual orientations, socio-economic situations and behavioral lifestyles. All policies and programmes must therefore reflect this reality of diversity among the Belizean populace and customary, religious and cultural practices must be subject to the right of equality," end quote. Well that's set off a firestorm of controversy among the Christian right - who say that those "diverse sexual orientations" and their "right of equality" in "religious and cultural practices" seems to be pushing an agenda of homosexual inclusion in schools and churches. It's a hot button issue, so much so that it even urged a release from Cabinet today - and we haven't gotten one of those in over a year. And the release finds the conservative Cabinet backpedalling on a document it had already approved. It says, quote, "Cabinet�considered the concern raised by various religious leaders�(and) decided that it was necessary to maintain its policy to respect the reality of Belize's wide range of diversity. Nevertheless, Cabinet did feel that it would do no harm to that policy by omitting the last few words in the final sentence of the paragraph which reads: "'... and customary religious and cultural practices must be subject to the right of equality'".

Tropic Air Loses Aviation Fuel
Over ten security workers at Tropic Air's Municipal Base were let go today as part of an investigation into missing aviation fuel. Tropic Air's Public Relations Director Dennis Sunderman confirmed that the company was moving to a private security provider after the fuel fiasco - which he told us happened back in April. Sunderman confirmed that 1,800 gallons, or 30 Drums of fuel went missing from the Municipal operation and it cannot be accounted for. Aviation fuel is in high demand on the black market particularly during the dry season for the re-fuelling of drug planes passing through Belize. The retail value of this batch of fuel is about twelve thousand dollars. But on the black market, delivered to a clandestine airstrip it can fetch more than ten times that value.

GSU On Drug Raids
Tonight, 64 year-old Ebert Usher, a taxi driver of #133 George Street, is facing a ten thousand dollar fine after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking in Magistrate's Court. The GSU searched his apartment on Saturday at around 7:30 a.m. They found 121 grams - or 4.27 ounces - ounces of marijuana in 2 lotion bottles, a deodorant bottle and a gel can. As a result, he was charged with drug trafficking, and he was arraigned in Magistrate's Court, where he pleaded guilty to the charge. He was fined $10,000 which he must pay by November 30, 2013, or he will spend 3 years in prison if he defaults. The GSU believes that the senior citizen is reputed drug peddler and an affiliate of the George Street Gang.

The Alternative To Traditional Fisheries
Several months ago, 7News presented you story with the pilot program in Placencia where the local fishermen were exploring alternative forms of livelihood. They chose seaweed farming and brought the industry to Belize where they searched out a local market and found that it is a viable option to the slowly depleting fisheries. This weekend, we got a chance to see their seaweed farming facilities, the finished products, and we spoke to them about how the project has been progressing. Daniel Ortiz reporting Sidney Lopez Jr. - Chairman, PPCSL "We went over to Glover's Reef - that's where we got the natural stock to start our pilot project beacuse it's over there in abundance with this group around 15 of us. We got the seed stock from Glover's and we took over ropes and planted the seed stocks on the rope. Then we brought them over to the main barrier reef over at Little Water Caye and Hatchette Caye where the two farms are located. This is how the process is - we plant it on the rope then we push it through and we break off a piece of seaweed and we put a little piece into the rope. We then have the nets that we sew to put over the rope - that is to protect it from when the weather gets rough."

City Student Stabbed, Fights Back
Tonight a Belize City student is lucky to be alive and to tell his story after he was attacked with a knife by a robber on Saturday evening. It happened around 5:30 in the Kings Park area. The student was attacked just up the street from where he lived while on his way home from a Youth Voices Meeting. He did fight back the robber and managed to punch him but in the process a cut wound was inflicted to his chest. He told us his story. Voice Of: Belize City Student "I was up the block from my home, I was walking home from a youth voices meeting. This guy on a bike came in front of me, gave me this story about how he was lost and he wanted to find a friend so I gave my back to him and he jumped off his bike with a knife and told me to give him everything I have in my pocket. When I saw that, I just reacted and punched him in the face and when I punched him I took two steps back, well that was the end of it. I got stabbed in the chest, however, it was minor injuries but other than that it kinda shocked me but I had to protect myself. He actually was riding in front of me, I guess he realized I was being very cautious because I saw him take steps in the back of him. I just realized that and I became very anxious but he calmed me down with the story."

The Follow Up On The Road That Was Paid, Not Paved
On Friday, we told you about allegations of what is best described as fleecing in the Orange Walk District. It involves documents, which show a series of contracts numbered from 475 to 484, which were allegedly entered into between Imer Hernandez Development Company and the Ministry of Works to pave the San Antonio Road. The receipts we have show that on February 24, 2012 payment was requested on behalf of the company, and some official at the Ministry of Works authorized payment the very same day. Except the road was never paved. As we told you, the Ministry of Works District Supervisor Graziano Medina refused to comment to us, and he pointed us in the direction of the CEO in the Ministry of Works on Friday. When we contacted The Ministry of Works in Belmopan, we were told by the CEO's secretary that he was in office, but he had handed off the responsibility to another public officer. Well, we finally in contacted him today, he told us that he has no knowledge those contracts, and that they didn't fall under his unit at the Ministry of Works. He also said that he had no knowledge that he was supposedly assigned to this matter, and he also apologized that no one else was addressing the issue directly.

US VP Biden In Trinidad
US Vice President Joe Biden is leaving Trinidad tonight where he met with regional leaders including Belize's Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega. Talks covered regional security, trade, energy and human and social development, and a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between Caricom and the United States. Vega is accompanied by Nestor Mendez, Ambassador of Belize in Washington, D.C.

Premier League Championship
Whenever members of the Police Department are featured in the news, it is always in their official capacity, or when there are allegations of wrongdoing. Well tonight, the story about Police has nothing to do with business as usual! It's about the Police United Football Club played against FC Belize in the 2013 finals of the Premier League of Belize on Saturday night. Daniel Ortiz saw them in action as ordinary civilians supporting their football club in their third trip to the finals. Here's that story: Daniel Ortiz reporting The final match exploded into excitement within 15 minutes when FC Belize scored the first goal for the night. It came after a beautiful pass from Mark 'Kelo' Leslie who beat his defender and put the ball in the air, setting up Michael Hernandez for a surprise header. That first goal allowed FC Belize to establish themselves very early on in the game, putting intense pressure on Police United. After that, Police United picked up the pace, determined to try to win back that goal.

Man Dies In Hospital Bathroom
Tonight, authorities at the Punta Gorda Hospital continue to investigate what caused the death of 35 year-old Christoper Cus, a resident of San Miguel Village. According to police, his body was found inside the male bathroom of the hospital on Sunday at around 3:40 p.m. Their investigation so far has revealed that the nurses conducted their routine checks, Cus was not found in his hospital bed. The nurses found him inside the bathroom kneeling inside a tub with his head inside the bucket. Cus was removed and CPR was conducted but he was dead. The Ministry of Health is sending a team down to PG tomorrow to investigate.

Inspiration Information
The inspiration center is one of the most successful fundraising initiatives in Belize's history - and now it is going for a round two. Monica Bodden found out more today. Monica Bodden reporting Construction of The Inspiration Center at mile 1 and a half on the Western Highway is well underway and today the media was invited out to the building site. A short tour of the unfinished project was conducted by the Prime Minister's wife, Kim Barrow -who walked us through the building explaining the different rooms and their purposes. Kim Simplis Barrow - Belize's Special Envoy "It's a rainy morning but for me and a lot of us - the sun is shining brightly. We are very happy and pleased to have you all here to basically give a tour what was once just a dream and now hopefully by September. October it will be a reality. Last year as you know we held our first telethon where we raised $1,000,000 in that one day and we started construction in September of last year. So we're doing pretty well with time in terms of the construction and the building and moving the inspiration center forward. We really wanted you all here to show you where we're at and what has happened. I think it's important for all Belizeans to see what we have been doing because this is the people's inspiration center because we as Belizeans rallied for the telethon and we were able to raise that amount of money to make this project a reality."

Channel 5

OCEANA Petroleum case adjourned
Attorneys for OCEANA and the Government of Belize squared off in the Supreme Court today on separate applications relating to the issue of oil contracts. G.O.B. is applying for an [...]

"Cash" dies from wounds received on Holy Thursday
There was no reported gun violence over the holiday weekend in the City, but police are tonight resuming an investigation into the shooting of thirty year old Jamile Richardson, who [...]

Missing since Friday; body found in lagoon
The badly decomposed body of a male person was pulled from the river in the village of Burrell Boom this morning. According to reports, just after nine Police were called [...]

Dying man drowns himself
It is not unusual for people do die in the hospital, but the police had to be called to the Punta Gorda Hospital after a patient was found dead. After [...]

Should the families of newborns that died from infection at K.H.M.H. receive compensation?
Our previous poll asked viewers on who they thought is to be held accountable for the death of twelve newborns at the K.H.M.H. Our viewers thought by and large that [...]

A trawler's story: OCEANA gives new life to vessel and Coop.
OCEANA acquired two fishing trawlers when Belize passed legislation to effectively ban bottom trawling back in 2011. The first trawler, Northern One, is safely with the Coastal Zone Management Authority [...]

Maranco Petroleum show to be revealed
According to the newspaper El Financiero, embassies of Belize and Guatemala have allegedly reported that U.S. experts have been exploring for oil in regions bordering Mexico since 2012.� The report [...]

Inspiration Center becoming a reality
Last year, CARE-Belize joined the Special Envoy for Women and Children on an ambitious initiative for the construction of an Inspiration Center. The facility is now a few months away [...]

Weed in lotion, weed everywhere
A senior citizen was today fined ten thousand dollars after he pleaded guilty to drug trafficking. Sixty-four year old Egbert August Usher claimed he was using the stem of marijuana [...]

Throwing gun on ground still gets you jail time
An illegal firearm and six rounds of ammunition have landed one man behind bars at the Belize Central Prison. Police claim that they were on mobile patrol on Saturday near [...]

Gender Policy wanted to legalize prostitution and then some
The Revised Gender Policy 2013 was released on May sixteenth. The policy was the product of the Women's Commission of Belize and considered progressive because it surpassed the Caribbean's response [...]

Successful walk for Cancer Awareness
Thousands came out at the crack of dawn on Saturday morning for the 2013 cancer walk from Ladyville to Belize City. Their common purpose was to raise awareness about the [...]

Musician wants his cash from Telemedia's Digicell
Digicell's tenth anniversary celebration came and went in December of last year and along with it was controversy and outrage over the use of the MCC Grounds, the only F.F.B.-approved [...]

Sports Monday highlights with veteran sportscaster
Good Evening I'm James Adderley and this is Sports Monday. Game two of the PBL's home and away series for the 2013 football title brought out its due pomp and [...]

LOVE FM

Oil Drilling Operations Continue Despite Court Ruling
OCEANA Belize along with its partners, the Citizens Organized for Liberty and Action (COLA) and the Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage were back in court today to deal with a matter which many thought had already been resolved by way of a court ruling. On April 16th, an injunction issued out ...

Belize's Deputy PM Meets With US Vice President
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Natural Resources and Agriculture, Gaspar Vega is in Trinidad and Tobago. The Deputy Prime Minister was a member of CARICOM leaders who met with US Vice President Joe Biden. During the meeting, the CARICOM leaders discussed a number of issues crit...

Special Envoy for Women and Children Prepares For Inspiration Telethon
The Inspiration Center is targeted to be a rehabilitation center to provide therapy to children with special needs and it was inspired by an idea from the Special Envoy for Women and Children, Kim Simplis Barrow. Last year, a telethon garnered one million dollars to start building the cente...

Former Ombudsman of Belize Asks For Investigation Into GSU Behaviour During Weekend Operation
MARION ALI REPORTING The Gang Suppression Unit is at the heart of another controversy tonight after its members allegedly used excessive force upon a man and caused damage to his house. The incident reportedly occurred during a search at #52 West Street on Monday morning. Former O...

Toledo Resident Succumbs To Injuries Sustained In Road Accident
A man has died from injuries he sustained in a traffic accident one month ago in the Toledo District. 28 year-old Frederick Williams of Mafredi Village, Toledo, passed away a week ago from injuries he suffered on April 27th on the Jalacte Road. Williams was traveling along with Lewis ...

Minor Says The Man Fondled Her Private Parts
Fifty-eight year old Michael Williams, a.k.a. "Pantalon", who allegedly committed a sexual assault on a female minor, was charged with aggravated assault when he appeared in court today. Williams pled not guilty to the charge. He was not offered bail because he owes the court for two ...

Police Finds Man In Cemetery With Unlicensed Firearm
Twenty year old Lindon Hinds, an employee of Boots Housing Project, was charged with kept firearm and ammunition without a license when he appeared in court today. Hinds pled not guilty to the charges. Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser explained to him that she cannot offer him bail because of the ...

Eight Months In Prison For Pipe
Fifty-one year old Richard Turton, one of three persons charged with possession of a pipe, was sentenced to eight months imprisonment today by Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser after he pled guilty to the charge. Senior Magistrate Fraser did not give him a fine because he has previous convictions f...

Taxi Driver Fined 10K For Having Cannabis In His Home
Sixty-four year old taxi driver Egbert August Usher, charged with drug trafficking for 121 grams of cannabis, was fined $10,000.00 today by Magistrate Dale Cayetano after he pled guilty to the charge. Usher was given until November 30 to pay. If he defaults on payment he will serve a term of thre...

MOU Signed Between Union and UK Company
Over the weekend, the Belize Workers' Union signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the General Municipal Boilermakers, GMB, of the United Kingdom. A release from the Belize Workers' Union says the signing "will herald a new era of cooperation and mutual solidarity betwe...

Basket Weaving Competition Wraps Up In Southern Belize
Last week we reported on a Jippi Jappa, basket weaving competition which took place in the Toledo District. The event featured prizes for the best weaving and product making in different categories and displayed the creative work of women in the south. On Friday, the Socio-Economic Ou...

Oceana Belize Supports Seaweed Farming
Back in 2010, Belize became one of three countries in the world to put a ban on deep sea bottom trawling. Two trawlers were bought by Oceana and one of them had been docked at the port for more than a year and on Saturday, the vessel, Northern II was handed over to the Placencia Producers Coopera...

Sailing Competition Held on Placencia Peninsula
The Belize Sailing Association has scheduled eight national ranking regattas this year and the fourth sailing competition was held in Placencia this past Saturday. According to the Secretary of the association, Alan Usher, thirty sailors under the age of sixteen from sailing clubs throughout the ...

CTV3


Chinese Store Robbed In Broad DaylightTonight Police are seeking two persons for questioning after the proprietor of Family Store located on Saint Peters Street in Oragne Walk Town was robbed at gunpoint. According to the proprietor of the store, on May 25th, at around ten in the morning, two masked men entered the business establishment and held him at gun point and demanded money. Fearing for his life, he handed over about $150.00 in different denominations. According to the store's owner, his mother came from behind the shop and started to throw items at the thieves causing both men to a make good their escape on bicycles. Police are investigating.

2012/2013 Crop Season Comes To An End, It was Sweeter Than Sugar
The 2012/2013 crop season officially opened back in November of 2012 and at around 7:30 Saturday evening the gates of the factory at the Belize Sugar Industry Limited were closed marking the end of this years crop season. We here at CTV3 News have been following the crop's progress closely through our weekly crop review. Since the onset, figures released by the factory gave indication that the crop season was on the right track. And it kept following the same trajectory till the end because today both the miller and the producer can boast of an excellent crop season which saw no major hiccups unlike other years. John Gillett- BSI Factory Manager "I must say we have had an excellent crop and it spent over one hundred an eighty days and it has been one of our shortest crops. In that period we milled one million seventy eight tons of cane producing 118,339 tons of sugar, 34,507 tons of molasses and this was milled at a very, very high rate of 312 tons cane per hour previous best of that was last year at 294 tons and the tons cane per sugar ratio was 9.11 tons of cane that it took to make one ton of sugar. It was much better than last year, last year was 9.34 so even though the cane was similar that last year we mill one million seventy and last year we only produced 114 thousand tons of sugar because of the better cane quality we milled with 8 thousand tons more we produced 118, 339 tons sugar."

Third Round Of 2013 Village Council Elections Gets Heated
Round 3 of the 2013 Village Council Elections was held this past Sunday as 34 village's country wide exercised their constitutional rights to vote. Here in the north, nine villages held elections: five in the Corozal District and four in the Orange Walk District. Reporter Victor Castillo has the story. Victor Castillo- Reporting This week nine rural communities in the north held village council elections. Our first stop was in the village of San Antonio in the Corozal District where independent candidate Clifton Gibson decided to enter the race for the post of chairman at the last minute. Clifton Gibson- Independent Candidate. "Well I'll be truthful, I did no campaign this circumstances that I just put myself to be the chairman this morning because every day sometimes I wake up and people have been asking me to go and run up to be the chairman and then I told them I wasn't going to do it until this morning I just jumped out of my house and the first thing is that the people greeted me again, you going to run up to be the chairman so I had two person to be in the chairman's position right now and if I make it I make just as good as my position right now." While Gibson was confident of his win, so was the candidate of the United Democratic Party Luisa Jacobs.

First Ever Triathlon Takes Place In Corozal
Triathlon In 2000 the first triathlon was held in Belize City. After being successful for over 13 years, the Belize National Triathlon Association joined hands with Team Papas from the Corozal District to give life to the event here in the north which took place on Sunday at Miami Beach in Corozal. Our news team comprised of Victor Castillo and Kenric Simpson was in Corozal for the event and filed the following report. Victor Castillo- Reporter At 8:30 in the morning, more than 26 participants lined up to take part in the first ever triathlon to be held in Corozal Town. There were 4 categories: juniors, masters, female and the elite male. But participating in a triathlon competition is not as easy as it might sound. It takes stamina to endure the 350km swim, followed by a 10k cycle ride and finally a 3k running race. Giovanni Alamilla -President of the Belize National Triathlon Association. "It's the first ever triathlon we having up here and we've partnered with Papa's, with Smart, Bowen and Bowen Crystal and Belize Bank to have a triathlon here for the different categories. For this event they did a three hundred and fifty meters swim followed by a 10k ride which is a little over six miles and then did a 3k run and it is right after the next so there is no break in between as you finish the swim you run out to get your bicycle and you put on your helmet and ride and as you finish the bike you hook it up and you put on your running shoes and you run so no break in between. We have three teams of three, and we have two masters forty and over, we have five juniors eighteen and under, we have eighteen elite men and two females. Its good a good turnout, good turnout we have it is not as big as the biggest race that we have in September but it is a good turnout for the first race. Definitely, definitely a success and the main thing with me is that everyone finished the race and no accidents, we had the traffic department with a number of vehicles and motorcycles that took care of all the traffic so no incidence of the road."

PPCSL Purchases Trawler For One Dollar
On Saturday May 25th, Oceana incorporated through Oceana in Belize, sold a much needed trawler to the Placencia Producers Cooperative Society Limited. Fish trawling in Belize is illegal; hence why the vessel will not be used for fishing, instead it will be used for a new, innovative, and sustainable project: "sea weed farming". The Placencia Producers Cooperative Society Limited has been in operations since 1962 and has counted with over 100 members and 24 employees, many of them women. The peak year of the Cooperative's productivity was in 1986 when they produced an impressive two hundred and fifty thousand pounds of whole fish, seventy five thousand pounds of conch, and forty thousand pounds of lobster tail. Over the years however, productivity has taken a nose dive primarily due to scarcity of commercial product. Based on that factor the cooperative has found the need to reduce its membership and employees to a total of 30 members and only two 2 employees. In order to change the future of the cooperative its membership is seeking to diversify to other marine products including sea weed farming which was carried out as a pilot project. And now with the trawler in hand the project is in for a bright future.

Misappropriation Of Funds At Ministry Of Works
The fact that documents from Governments Smart Stream System show that back in 2012, apart from receiving a partial payment of $50,000 from the Orange Walk Town Council, Imer Hernandez Development Company, owned by the nephew of the Honorable Gaspar Vega, received a whopping $179,951.55 for the rehabilitation of San Antonio Road, is causing quite an uproar since no work has been conducted on the road despite the cries of residents. As mentioned on Friday, documents prove that Imer Hernandez was paid by the Ministry of Works for the rehabilitation of the road. According to the documents, the work on San Antonio Road was certified by Graciano Medina, the Ministry of Works Regional Engineer for the Northern Zone. When we spoke to Medina last Thursday, when we first broke the story, he told us that there was a high possibility that the funds was diverted to another area but paid out under the contract for the rehabilitation of San Antonio Road. When we spoke to a source from the Ministry of Works on Friday, we were informed that the funds allocated for the upgrading of San Antonio Road was used to pay for the paving of Clarke Street in Orange Walk Town. Putting Northern 2 To Good Use
As mentioned at the top of the newscast the trawling vessel which was sold to the Placencia Producers Cooperative Society Limited for One Belize dollar, will be used to facilitate the sustainable project of sea weed farming. PPCSL plans not only to extract sea weed from the wild but also to grow and harvest the product for both the local and international market. Currently the co-op is producing minimal amounts of sea weed that can only suffice the local market, eventually, with much hard work and donations; they plan to reach out to the international market particularly the U.S by increasing production. The idea of planting sea weed in ropes was brought to Belize in 2005 by a team of researchers from St. Lucia who educated fishermen in the Placencia Peninsula about this project. The cooperative currently has twenty farms with a little over ten thousand feet of sea weed growing on ropes and produces approximately two hundred pounds of dry sea weed per month. According to Vessel Engineer, Anthony Fred Cabral, the trawler, bought from Ocean in Belize, will form a key role in reaching the goal of supplying both markets and will cut expenses.

PlusTV

SEXUAL ORIENTATION trumping RELIGIOUS FREEDOM: A worldwide Chronicle
EUROPEAN UNION *Europe's top human rights court ruled that equality laws and safety concerns trumped religious freedom in three cases where British Christians were sacked or sanctioned for expressing their beliefs at work. (January 2013). *European Parliament published the brochure, which recommended not to use the words 'Missus' and...

Gender Policy under fire and the backtracking has begun
Earlier this month, the National Women's Commission launched the Revised National Gender Policy 2013. Since its release, the manuscript has caused quite a stir with the Belizean populace, first with the inclusion of a policy against the discrimination of gender orientation or sexual identity. But we'll get back to...

Dead body found in Burrell Boom
This morning police visited an area known as Henderson Bank, behind Burrell Boom. PLUS News was there too and though we were kept away we noted a postmortem examination being conducted by Dr. Mario Estradabran on the remains of what appeared to be a male body found by a...

Shooting Victim Jamil Richardson now deceased
Last month we told you about plans by the family of shooting victim Jamil Richardson to raise funds for his treatment. The 30 year old and a friend were shot at in the Vernon Street area on Holy Thursday night and one of the bullets lodged in and shattered...

Man dies a month after motorbike accident
A man lost his life after nearly a month's battle. 28 year old Fredrick Williams was involved in an accident on the Jalacte Road in April, when he lost control of his motorbike and rammed into a stone wall. Along with him was another person, but it was Williams...

Missing man found submerged in a bucket at one of the country's regional hospitals
The body of a 35 year old man was discovered inside a bathroom at the Punta Gorda Hospital. On Sunday afternoon, nurses were making routine checks, when they couldn't find one of the facility's patients, Christopher Cus. Cus, a carpenter of San Miguel Village was soon found lying on...

Former Ombudsman says GSU actions were wrong
The Commonwealth Monday holiday was disrupted for residents of the George and West Street area around 9 in the morning when officers allegedly of the Gang Suppression Unit (GSU) stormed the home of Kariq Tzul. Tzul spoke to us off-camera and said he was at home with his wife...

OCEANA case postponed
There was no activity in court, but plenty of it outside as the next stage of the OCEANA vs. GOB case on offshore drilling began today at the Supreme Court. The Government is seeking a stay of the injunction granted to OCEANA and its NGO partners COLA and the...

Western Union robbed in Belize City
Police are looking for a man who robbed the Western Union Branch in Belize City. It happened early Saturday morning at around 7:55. The supervisor said he had just reported for duty at the establishment, where he met with the security officer. A man then reportedly entered and pulled...

Cancer Walk 2013 draws biggest crowd ever
The annual Cancer Walk from Celina's Bar in Ladyville to the Cancer Society office in Belize City took place on Saturday morning, May 25, and by its organizers' estimates, it was the biggest ever. Heather Reneau is the administrative assistant at the Belize Cancer Society. Heather Reneau - Belize...

Police detain on person following shooting incident in Belize City
Police mobiles were on the scene of another shooting incident late Monday evening. Reports to PLUS News are that between 5:15 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday, a gunman rode up to an individual near a park at the intersection of Neal Pen Road, Haynes Street and Kut Avenue and...

OCEANA delivers one-dollar trawler to Placencia fishermen
The Belize dollar doesn't buy much these days. But that's all the Placencia Producers Cooperative Society paid on Saturday to own what to them is an important piece of equipment. Two fishing trawlers were bought for a total of $800,000 by OCEANA in Belize's parent company, Oceana International, through...

Amandala

THE RESURRECTION OF THE 7TH AMENDMENT AND BELIZE SURVIVABILITY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
On June 19th 2009, the Prime Minister of Belize, the Hon. Dean Barrow, while addressing the proposed 7th amendment to the Belize constitution in the National Assembly uttered the following words: "Because our laws recognize dual citizenship how then will you turn around, recognizing dual citizenship, providing for dual citizenship but impose a limitation on a dual citizen. It makes no sense at all and if a little bit of history and background are necessary, we didn't always recognize dual citizenship. The recognition of dual citizenship came about as a consequence of the advance in legislation that was promoted by national hero Phillip Goldson. But we turn around and we leave intact in the constitution for all these years this impairment on the rights of the Belizean who have acquired a second nationality. I say therefore, Mr. Speaker, that it is utterly and completely contradictory. I also say it is inconsistent, and let me tell you why it is inconsistent, if you are a Belizean who has acquired second nationality you are disqualified from sitting in the National Assembly, but the Governor General, whose office is from a protocol point of view the highest office in the land, there is no such disqualification. The Governor General can be a Belizean who has acquired a second nationality. He is not barred from being Governor General and that is the highest office in the land. "