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Nine Year Old Student Gives Food Hampers To Less Fortunate In Celebration of His Birthday
Today we bring you a story of a small boy with a big heart; in fact, with a humongous and generous heart. Nine year old Triston Hulse is a Standard two student at All Saint's Primary School and last week Friday Hulse celebrated his birthday but not in the manner most kids do. Ins...
Operations In Corozal Uncovers Firearms and Ammunition
Police have recovered a number of unlicensed firearm and ammunition during operations in the Corozal District. While on mobile patrol this past Sunday in the Dominguez layout area of Corozal Town, police pursued a black pick-up truck owned and driven at the time by thirty two yea...
Robbery At Medical Clinic In Northern Belize
A clinic in Orange Walk Town was robbed yesterday afternoon. According to police, a doctor of Cinderella Street reported that around 1:20 pm while attending patients inside the clinic, a tall brown complexioned man who was wearing a yellow shirt entered the clinic room and pointe...
Afternoon Fire In Crooked Tree Leaves Seven Homeless
A mid-afternoon fire in Crooked Tree Village has left a family of seven homeless. The fire started shortly after two o'clock this afternoon and quickly engulfed the two bedroom wooden house. The house belonging to Norma Wade along with all its contents were destroyed....
Road Accident Proves Fatal In Northern Belize
A traffic accident up north has claim the life of a man. Reports are that on Sunday night at about 7 o'clock, forty two year old Jose Serafino Marin, a Belizean watchman of Progesso Village in the Corozal District, left Progresso Village en-route to Orange Walk driving a GMC pick...
Female Student Needs Reconstructive Surgery Following Fight With Schoolmate
Excelsior High is a south side Belize City high school that offers academic learning to youths who would ordinarily find themselves in at-risk situations and last Thursday evening, a confrontation between two of its fourth formers resulted in one suffering a severe injury. Accord...
Couple Remanded On Drug Trafficking Charge
Thirty-six year old Shinette Staine and 29 year old Melvin Flowers, a common-law couple were remanded into custody when they appeared in Court today and charged with drug trafficking for 64 grams of cannabis. Senior Magistrate Sharon Fraser told them that she will not even consid...
Honduran National Faces Allegations of Sexual Assault On Nine Year Old Female
Forty-eight year Jose Aquino, a Honduran national whose immigration status in Belize is uncertain, was remanded into custody today when he appeared in court and was charged with aggravated assault for allegedly committing a sexual assault on a nine year old girl. Aquino pled not guilty...
Bus Conductor Will Serve Six Years For Sodomizing A Teenage Boy
Twenty-six year old Kareem Hamilton, a bus conductor of Morter's Lane charged with an unnatural crime, was sentenced to six years today by Justice John Gonzalez after he pled guilty to the charge. Justice Gonzalez stipulated that he will only serve four years because the two year...
Mother's Stay In Mental Health Facility Extended Following Her Act of Filicide
22 year old Felicia Chen, the mother who allegedly drowned three of her children two weekends ago, re-appeared in the Belize City Magistrate's Court today. A second evaluation was conducted on the young mother over the past couple weeks that she has been at a Mental He...
Airlines' Increase In Flights To Belize Spells More Tourists Arrivals According to Marketing Director
There is good news coming from the Belize Tourism Board tonight. The new flights and cruise calls to Belize were announced for the final quarter of the year of 2013 and the numbers have increase. Delta Airlines and American Airlines have increased their flights to Belize. BTB's D...
Belize Tourism Board Comments On Destruction of Mayan Pyramid
There has been public outburst from what archaeologist are calling the ignorant destruction of one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids. Noh Mul, or what's left of it, is situated in the San Jose/San Pablo Village in the Orange Walk District and tonight one of the tallest man...
Bridge Closes For Repairs In San Ignacio
The Ministry of Works and Transport will be doing major repairs on the Hawksworth Bridge in San Ignacio. As a result the bridge will be closed to vehicular traffic from nine p.m. to five a.m. daily beginning tonight for nine consecutive days. ...
Farmer Field School Approach Taken In Workshop For Personnel In Sugar Industry
Extension officers in the sugar industry are taking part in a three day workshop that seeks to increase their knowledge in methods of how to better the industry. The workshop is being offered by IICA and SIRDI with financing from the E-U. According to the IICA representativ...
Friend Stabs Friend; Victim Says It Was For No Reason
A man has been hospitalized following a stabbing incident in Armenia Village in the Cayo District. Correspondent Fem Cruz has the details on the incident. FEM CRUZ "Belmopan police is investigating a stabbing incident which occurred on Monday night, May 13 sometime a...
PlusTV
Court settles land dispute in Corozal
A long standing land dispute has been put to rest in the Supreme Court. It all started back in 2007, when the Ranchito Village Council, situated in the Corozal District, surveyed and distributed 216 lots for villagers. Due to a hurricane and congestion at the Lands Department, the official...
Mother accused of murdering three of her children back in court
Felicia Chen, the 22 year old mother of four who is accused of murdering three of her children returned to court today. Felicia Chen is accused of drowning three of her children at Belizean Beach on Saturday afternoon, April 27, and also alleged to have attempted to drown her...
School brawl results in broken jaw, 18 years old youth charged
A nineteen year old graduating senior of Excelsior High School in Belize City faces a long road to recovery after becoming embroiled in a brawl with an 18 year old classmate last Thursday on the Fabers Road campus. The incident allegedly occurred in front of several teachers and the...
Karim Hamilton admits to unnatural act on a male minor
The nation of Belize is awaiting the decision of Chief Justice Kenneth Benjamin as to whether or not to remove the portion of section 53 of Belize's law which criminalizes an unnatural act not only with animals but with persons as well. Self proclaimed homosexual Caleb Orosco says the...
Condemnation of Moh Hol destruction
The destruction of the Moh Hul monument in northern Belize, has garnered much national and international attention - outrage rather, as a portion of the late pre-classic Mayan temple was demolished for road fill. Today, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture issued a release, stating "This total disregard for...
Police detain two men on firearm charges after vehicle chase
Masks, firearms and ammos - that's what three men tried to get rid of when Police set chase on their vehicle over the weekend. On Sunday, Corozal Police were on mobile patrol in the Dominguez layout area when they began to pursue a black pickup truck, carrying three men....
17 years old detained for stabbing incident in Armenia
A 17 year old is tonight in Police custody in connection to a stabbing incident yesterday in Armenia Village. The person he allegedly stabbed, 19 year old Melvin Choc, says that he was only trying to get the 17 year old to his home, as he was highly intoxicated....
Corozal Police find over five thousand grams of suspected cannabis
Corozal Police found over five thousand grams of weed hidden in some bushes. Yesterday morning, acting on a tip, authorities searched an open lot on G-Street South in Corozal Town. There they discovered seven bags containing green leafy substances, suspected to be cannabis. The drugs were weighed which amounted...
Belmopan Farmers' Market has been relocated
The Tuesday and Friday Farmers Market has been relocated. Jesse Mendoza reports. The Belmopan City Council has faced an exhaustive three years of finding a location to place the Belmopan Farmers Market. In June of last year it was agreed on by all parties that the Market would remain...
Another eleven Indian nationals detained for illegal entry
Report coming out of Cayo is that a group of Indian nationals were busted after they entered the country illegally through the Western Border. PlusNews understands that the group of eleven, two of whom are women, were caught this morning around 2 am. Police set chase on the group,...
Woman alleges Police brutality
PlusNews has received information of alleged Police brutality on a young woman in Placencia. The matter is presently before the court, as Police are charging the woman for resisting arrest but the woman is pressing charges against authorities for injuries she received. The young woman was picked up by...
Third break-in this year at Belize Cancer Society
The Belize Cancer Society is in the middle of Cancer Awareness Month activities but it has had to deal with a third break-in since the start of the year. In none of the break-ins was anything taken, but there has been damage and it has been a tiring experience...
Hawksworth bridge closed at night for repairs
The Hawksworth bridge, which joins San Igancio and Santa Elena, will be closed during the night time. Effective today, Tuesday May 14, the bridge will be closed to all vehicles in the night time only, from 9:00 p.m to 5:00 a.m. This will be done for nine consecutive days,...
New training courses for police officers begin in Belmopan
Three new training courses for police officers began yesterday in Belmopan. The first is a One-Week follow-up Training Course for Adjudicators and Presenters, mainly officers involved in tribunals within the Belize Police Department. The second is a Two-Day Training Course for members of the National Crimes Investigation Branch, focusing...
Amandala
SACRILEGE!!
Noh Mul (Big Hill), an ancient Maya ceremonial center described as the tallest structure in the Orange Walk/Corozal area, was illegally mauled late last week in construction works reportedly being undertaken by a company owned by a politician of the United Democratic Party. However, as we go to press tonight, there are no indications that anyone has been charged for the destruction of the nationally protected site, to obtain road fill.
Neither the Government of Belize nor the National Institute for Culture and History (NICH) has issued a statement on the matter, which is now the focus of international attention, having been reported by Business Week, USA Today, Fox News, and other major news outlets overseas.
Dr. Jaime Awe, Director of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, a subsection of NICH, however, expressed to the media his outrage over the sacrilege done to our patrimony.
Located a mile from the Northern Highway, Noh Mul is part of the twin villages of San Pablo and San Jose, and it is connected to late pre-classic and late classic Maya civilizations spanning 350 BCE to 900 CE.
The Opposition People's United Party issued a press release Monday saying that, "The damage done to the Mayan temple will certainly diminish the growth of a tourism industry starting to develop in the northern districts, and will decrease the potential for much needed employment in the region."
SAN IGNACIO SECURITY GUARD MURDERED ON DUTY
Randy Casey, 23, had a premonition that he might die.
Randy Casey, a 23-year-old resident of Camalote who was a security guard at a store in San Ignacio, is dead after a masked man shot him multiple times while he was on duty. Police have since detained a 16-year-old young man who they believe can assist them in solving this senseless murder. The killing occurred about 8:00 p.m. on Friday, May 10, at Kenny Store on Flamingo Street in San Ignacio.
According to police, they responded to a shooting on Flamingo Street in San Ignacio, and went to the store, where they saw the security guard, Randy Casey, lying on the floor gasping for breath with three gunshots wounds. He had been shot in the lower and upper left side of his chest, and in the right side of the abdomen. Police took him to the San Ignacio Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.
It appears that Randy Casey might have been killed for his firearm. Police say he was on duty outside the store when an armed, masked man came up and opened fire on him, hitting him multiple times. Witnesses in the store told police that when Casey fell down after being shot, the killer quickly stole his firearm and ran away.
UNIBAM VS ATTORNEY GENERAL AND CHURCHES CASE ENDS
Judgment is expected before August.
Arguments came to a close today, Friday, for one of the most impassioned trials in Belize - Caleb Orozco against the Attorney General, challenging Section 53 of the Criminal Code.
Attorney for the churches, Eamon Courtenay, spoke to the media after the trial today and he explained one of the main arguments the defendants used against Orozco's claim. That is, to start with, that the court was never the right place to which to bring such an issue.
Courtenay said that Orozco, president of UNIBAM (United Belize Advocacy Movement), had no personal experience of being victimized as a result of Section 53 and so his claim had no real value. He said that they understood Orozco's issue, but disagreed with the way in which he raised it.
"We are understanding of Mr. Orozco's position and in fact, Mr. Orozco should be praised for having raised this issue," Courtenay said. "The point is that he has raised it in the wrong forum. The court is not an academic institution. It is not a place where you come and ask for advisory opinions. You have to suffer a [contravention of your] right; you have to suffer a prejudice and when that happens to you then you come to court."
PRISONER SHOT TO DEATH BY POLICE
A prisoner who was being taken to the Belize Central Prison on remand on charges of carnal knowledge died after police shot him when he was being recaptured after he had escaped from custody. The incident occurred about 8: 30 this morning, Friday, in the Caribe Reserve area of Punta Gorda.
Police reports are that about 5:10 this morning, Rasheed Elijio, 18, of Ogaldez Street, Punta Gorda, and Brian Garcia, both prisoners who were charged with carnal knowledge, were being taken to the Belize Central Prison on board James Bus Line, from Punta Gorda to Hattieville, when the two prisoners, who were handcuffed together, sprinted away from the bus and escaped into the surrounding area.
Police said that they immediately went to the Caribe Reserve area, about three miles away from Punta Gorda, where people reported seeing them.
According to police, on their arrival in the area, they saw the prisoners, who ran away, and police fired at them, and as a result, one of the escapees was hit in his side. They were both recaptured, and the man who was injured, Rasheed Elijio, was taken to the Punta Gorda Hospital, where he died shortly after due to his injuries.
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT, 15, IN COMA AT KHMH
Joshua Chan, 15, of Patchakan village, a student of Cornerstone Presbyterian High School in Corozal, is presently in a coma at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital after he was knocked down by a vehicle at about 10:30 a.m. on Friday, May 10, in front of his school.
Chan suffered severe head and body injuries.
Students in the area told police that Chan was crossing the road after getting off a bus that had stopped in front of the school, when a vehicle that was travelling towards Corozal Town knocked him down. He was rushed to Orange Walk Hospital; from there he was taken to the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital.
Some of the injuries Chan suffered included a broken leg, fractured jaw, and head trauma, which has affected his brain. He is now on life support at the KHMH.
MCC AND CIVIC Editorial
There are some intelligent Belizeans who believe that sports are frivolous, and they will not consider the manifest deterioration of the MCC Grounds and the virtual death of the Civic Center to be the socio-economic catastrophes they have been in the old capital.
Over the last three decades plus, we have experienced five changes of government in Belize. The value of those changes from PUP to UDP, and vice versa, is that Belizeans have been able to see for themselves that in some important policy areas, such as sports, there is not that much difference between the red and the blue.
In the days of colonialism and self-government, we Belizeans entertained ourselves with our own sporting events. Our weekends were taken up with football, softball, cricket and basketball games, in addition to boxing and cycling, which were community events. Today, in 2013, we spend most of our leisure time watching American and European athletes play these games on television, and our local games have suffered dramatically in attendance and energy.
The MCC and the Civic are prime examples of how PUDP governments ignored, and sometimes abused, the most important facilities for the playing of Belizean sports at the highest domestic levels. With the advent of television three decades ago, there should have been more investments in upgrading Belize's sporting facilities, because television made it more difficult to bring Belizeans out of their homes. Instead, the facilities were ignored, and in some cases openly and cynically abused.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Between 1980 and 1983, El Quich� saw increased levels of violence in the conflict between the Army and various rebel guerrilla factions. Hundreds of Roman Catholic catechists and heads of Christian communities, most of whom were of Mayan origin, were brutally murdered. Gerardi repeatedly asked the military authorities to control their actions. - WIKIPEDIA
Former army general and president of Guatemala, Efra�n Rios Montt, 86, was convicted of genocide and sentenced to 80 years in prison on Friday in a Guatemala City court. There will be an appeal of the ruling, but some die have been cast here, and the implications for the people of Guatemala are very, very important.
In the Holy Bible, it is written plainly, that those who have much, will gain more, and those who have little, even the little they have will be taken away. This has been what we may describe as the unrestrained history of Guatemala since it became independent of Spain in 1821. The big people in Guatemala, an elitist oligarchy who include mostly Guatemalans of European descent, have gobbled up most of the land and control trade, business, banking, agriculture, and industry, while the majority indigenous population have been marginalized, which is to say, they struggle to stay alive. Indigenous Guatemalans are practically landless.
During his presidency of Guatemala between 1951 and 1954, Jacobo Arbenz tried to initiate land reform, but not only did he anger his country's domestic land bosses, he made enemies of a couple huge American companies which were very influential in Washington, the seat of political power in the United States. Washington, through its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and with the support of the Guatemalan oligarchy, military, and church, overthrew Arbenz and installed Carlos Castillo Armas, who immediately began the return to pre-Arbenz policies.
BRIGHT OUTLOOK FOR TOURISM, SAYS BTB
The Belize Tourism Board (BTB) today announced new developments which they say will bring increased tourist traffic and more revenues to Belize. Starting November, Delta Airlines will be adding one more weekly flight from Atlanta to Belize - an additional 596 seats per month, and American Airlines will increase its Dallas to Belize flights from three to seven per week (one flight daily), providing a total of six hundred additional seats in the month of October, the BTB announced.
Additionally, Royal Caribbean International will also deploy the Navigator of the Seas year-round out of Galveston, Texas, starting in winter 2013 - a move that should increase port calls by 200%, from 10 to 30 a year.
"It is expected that this increase in cruise calls will bring over ninety thousand cruise visitors to Belize," the BTB said.
"This is fantastic news!" the BTB's Director of Marketing and Industry Relations, Alyssa Carnegie, said. "The tourism industry is doing so well that even the airlines have seen a need to increase flights, and these flights are being increased during a time that was generally considered to be a slow time for traveling by air. It shows amazing growth and more opportunities for the industry and Belize."
3 MEN CHARGED FOR CROCUS SACK OF WEED
Police made a big bust when they intercepted a van at the checkpoint on the George Price Highway this past Saturday night. Inside the van at the time of the bust were Kirk Dougal, 36, a boat captain and fisherman of #29 Fabers Road; Walter Beaton, 29, a taxicab driver of #44 Dolphin Street; and Pedro Ayuso, 28, a fisherman and diver of #5 Linda Vista Street.
According to the police, at 8:40 Saturday night, a cream-colored van with three occupants approached the police checkpoint and the driver was asked to pull the vehicle over. When the vehicle was searched, a brown crocus sack was found on the back seat of the van.
When police opened the sack, they discovered the suspected drugs. The men and the suspected drugs were taken to the police station, where the sack was weighed and found to be a whopping 25.1 kilos, or 55.33 pounds.
BELIZE IS PROGRESSING! Letters
Dear Editor,
I listen to you every morning here in Honduras. I lived in Belize for about 10 years when I was studying in Wesley College and Belize Technical College. Those were the best years of my life; I considered Belize as my second home.
Every time I have a chance to talk to the people, the first thing I mention is Belize; I tell them to go and visit Belize, it is so beautiful.
Well, I have lost contact with my old friends in Belize, but soon I'll be back. I'm surprised how Belize has progressed. I'm very happy to see that my second homeland is progressing. Keep it up.
Alejandro Robertson
#TravelTuesday Taking our Mulligan at Caye Chapel
If you remember Paul's birthday blog from last year Caye Chapel Golf taking a Mulligan,
And we set off like a herd of turtles on our way for our Caye Chapel golf day. We were doing ok then all of a sudden the waves got worse and the people at the back of the boat started getting a salt water bath, so we turned around and back to San Pedro.
We all agreed to take a mulligan and that we would have an even better time going back then the pool was finished. In a golf game, a mulligan happens when a player gets a second chance to perform a certain move or action. The practice is also sometimes referred to as a do-over. It was a rough ride back and even though we were a bit disappointed that our golfing party did not work out it turned out to be a great day.
This year the Zoo crew decided while we were doing the overnight tour that we would make it back to Caye Chapel as an extended part of Paul's Birthday. We decided to take the Maya Island Air Caye Chapel Golf Tour instead of a boat, flight cost was cost $155 bzd. We were all excited for a plane ride and glad to be going to a new island for the day.
For those of you who might not know, Caye Chapel is a par-72 golf course is the only full size golf course in Belize. It's location is 16 miles north-northeast of Belize City and 3 miles south of Caye Caulker. The island itself is is 265 acres, or 2 miles long and 1/2 mile wide with the entire eastern shoreline being sandy beach and the western side is the golf course.
Caye Chapel resort is officially closed but the golf course is open. A full day of golf including rental clubs, cart and all the golf you can play on your own private island course, as well as coolers and ice $150 bzd and must be paid in cash. Advance notice is required to play there.
Is San Ignacio the Next Hollywood?
In another artistic milestone for Belize, the first ever entirely Belizean film has just been released internationally.
"Curse of the Xtabai." an 80 minute film billed by its producers as a jungle thriller-comedy with "the distinction of being the first major movie fully produced with Belizean talent," has a Maya theme and makes use of Belize's rich tradition of folklore and storytelling.
And, interestingly enough, "Xtabai" (pronounced "ish-ta-by") was shot and acted without the use of a script.
"We want movies from Belize to offer audiences something unique and special, so we're using improvisation to bring a raw energy to the screen," the film's producer, Matthew Klinck said.
Klinck said that he founded the production company, Make-Belize Films, last year to encourage economic development through "a new youth-centred exportable creative industry," and that Xtabai provided training and employment for some 65 Belizeans.
He reported that the film is attracting a growing international audience through online rental streaming of the film and Facebook marketing.
"It's pretty awesome that our Belizean jungle thriller (is) being enjoyed as far away as Australia, India and Singapore," says Klinck, "it's a giant leap for Belizean artists."
Workshop: Marketing and Sales
Marketing and sales teams need to work together for business success, but do sales really support your marketing programmers and are you achieving the best results possible?
This workshop could be for you!! Marketing and sales, may 15th, 2013, 9am to 12pm at the university of belize, west landivar.
For more information contact: 223-3195 or email: [email protected]
DFC & BELTRAIDE Placencia Roadshow
Starting a business? Expanding a business? The DFC and Beltraide opens doors for you through access to business planning and finance.
Belmopan City Public Service Information Day
On Friday, May 10, 2013, the first ever Public Service Information Day was held in San Pedro. It was a countrywide campaign which started in Belize on Thursday, May 9, 2013; it is a day where government departments proudly put their services on display.
Being the first ever Public Service Information Day held on the island, the fair kicked off with a short, yet meaningful ceremony. His Lordship Mayor Daniel Guerrero delivered the welcome address where he emphasized the importance of all public officers and the excellent and hard work they have each day.
"Being a public officer is both challenging and rewarding," stated Mayor Guerrero. "Public Workers play a vital role in a day to day basis and are necessary to keeping this country forward. It is quite difficult to deal with people when resources are limited yet they are there to make life easier for all of us and they are exemplary workers, keep striving for excellence and professionalism."
It's All in the Game" in Ambergris Caye, Belize.
Rose and I knuckled down this morning to use the tile and wood samples we have to make our final selections for the granite surfaces (kitchens and bathrooms) we want Daniel Camal, our building contractor, to try and match for our build in Ambergris Caye, Belize. We don't expect exact replicas but do want them to be as close as possible. For the granite choices we once again made use of the very good 1000 Granite Colours website.
With these selections out of the way we now need to finalise the wardrobe and walk-in closets and the internal light positioning and the decisions we have to make are competed. Getting there, slowly but surely.
With the day's house related tasks out of the way I took the Kindle down to the beach in front of the condo we are renting for a spot of reading and basically not doing a great deal. Very enjoyable.
Just before noon Rose and I set off to drop the golf cart we have been renting in for a service and then walked the short distance to Pedro's Inn for the lunch he had organised for the all important (well if you are an Arsenal or Tottenham fan that is) Arsenal versus Wigan Premiership game.
International Sources
Family of 7 Takes on Poverty in Belize During Year-Long Mission Trip
Inspired by a news story she saw when she was 14, Julie Kuhnert and her family realized her lifelong dream to help those less fortunate than themselves by leaving the comfort of home and serving as missionaries in Belize.
Julie Kuhnert shares her story helping children and alleviating poverty in Central America.
Q: What's the biggest challenge you've taken on?
A: In 2011-2012, we decided to take our five kids to the Central American country of Belize to spend a year of missionary service. While there, we worked to improve education, provide opportunities for children in the arts and we worked with grassroots programs to help alleviate poverty.
With very little money to our name and no specific organization sponsoring us, we spread the word, asked for support from our community, and walked away from the "securities" of home. We trusted that by following our heart and listening to the call, our family would be taken care of.
Bringing smiles to Belize
Dr. Frank Schmid, dentist with Edmonson, Rouse and Schmid of Saranac, completed a trip to Belize with the Army Reserves in April. This trip was one of three he completed in the past year; in June 2012, he went to Barbados and in September 2012 he was in Malaysia.
Schmid has been a member of the Army Reserves for 10 years. During that time, he has been to Iraq once and Afghanistan twice. While in Belize, Schmid was one of 45 in the medical unit. This group consisted of eight doctors, two dentists, one pharmacist, one optometrist and many nurses and other medical professionals.
Many of the people Schmid worked with while in Belize were raised in other countries, including Guam, Guatemala and Vietnam.
"The reason I like to do this is because I get a chance to interact with people from a younger age group. I also get to experience, through conversation, other cultures in the Army. Many of the people in the training were raised in different countries," said Schmid.
The 11-day training exercise began on April 15 and served the people of Belize at three locations in the northern part of the country. These locations were the San Felipe School, Guinea Grass School and the San Pablo School.
This trip is one of many training exercises that will be performed this year from April through June. U.S. military personnel will also be in El Salvador and Panama to conduct these exercises and bring medical assistance to those in need as part of the Beyond the Horizon exercises through the U.S. Air Force.
Have archaeologists discovered the mysterious lost city of Ciudad Blanca?
Honduras's ancient metropolis 'found' using revolutionary 3D mapping technique. The Google Map of eastern Honduras is almost blank. A vast and virtually unexplored rainforest region known as the Mosquitia covers around 32,000 square miles, home to dense jungle, hostile terrain and the terrifying-sounding jumping viper. Legend has it that somewhere beneath the forest canopy lies the ancient city of Ciudad Blanca - and now archaeologists think they may have found it.
Tomorrow in Cancun, Mexico, an interdisciplinary group of scientists from fields including archaeology, anthropology and geology will appear at the American Geophysical Union's annual conference to present the technology that has allowed them to discover a "lost world" in the Honduran interior. The team photographed the ground using new technology known as airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR). They found what appears to be a network of plazas and pyramids, hidden for hundreds of years.
The legend of Ciudad Blanca ("The White City") has captivated Western explorers ever since the Conquistador Hernan Cortes mentioned it in a letter to Spanish Emperor Charles V in 1526. Cortes never found the city, nor the gold it was said to contain, and the inhospitable region remained unconquered by the Europeans. In 1940, an American adventurer, Theodore Morde, emerged from the jungle claiming to have a found a "lost city of the monkey god", where the local indigenous people worshipped huge ape sculptures. He was said to have been tipped off about the ruins by Charles Lindbergh, the first solo aviator to cross the Atlantic, who glimpsed "an amazing ancient metropolis" when he was flying above the forest. Morde was killed in a car accident before he could reveal its location.
Steve Elkins, a film-maker and amateur archaeologist from Los Angeles, became interested in the legend during the 1990s, when he travelled to the region in an unsuccessful attempt to find the rumoured ruins of Ciudad Blanca. "Some people believe it's a bunch of hooey. Others believe that where there's smoke there's fire," said Elkins, who is now 62. "I became captivated by it, and I decided to wait until technology advanced to produce a better way to find it than walking aimlessly through the jungle. Many years later, that opportunity presented itself."
The Riddle: new anti-homophobia message from UN human rights office
76 countries still criminalize consensual same-sex relationships and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people everywhere continue to suffer violent atta...
John McAfee breaks long silence in interview
In his first extensive interview since he returned to U.S. soil in December, John McAfee talks to USA TODAY about what he calls 'the truth.'
SI Rotaractors Travel to Honduras
Pictures from the Rotaract Club of San Ignacio, chronicling the three Rotaractors from Cayo, Astrid Salazar, Frankie Montero, and Debbie Alfaro, and many others from Belize as they represented Belize in Honduras at the Bi-District Conference last week. Looks like they had a fun time while doing so. Congratulations to the 4 winners!
"Rotaractors from the 5 Rotaract Clubs in Belize represented our country at the 18th Rotaract/Interact BiDistrict Conference 2013 in Honduras from May 1-5, 2013. We are proud to say that our beautiful country won 4 Awards at this year's Conference. Rotaractor of the Year: Stephanie Ayuso Acosta from Orange Walk Rotaract Club; Rey Feo: Kevin Lewis from Dangriga Rotaract Club Best Arabian Costume: Grisel Rosseli Carballo from Orange Walk Rotaract Club and; Miss Rotaract 2013: Grisell Rosseli Carballo from Orange Walk Rotaract Club."
Belize Zoo Excursion Review
The Belize Zoo, along with cave tubing, are featured in another well written travel article. The author really liked the witty signs that the zoo has all around. It's a great place to have fun while learning about Belize's wildlife.
"The Belize Zoo is unique in that all of the animals are native to Belize, and are not fit to live in the wild - they've either been injured or abandoned or raised in captivity. For example, some people think that ocelet kitties are cute and fun pets�and then the kitties turn into big cats and become more than they can handle. So it's part refuge/part educational facility. The signs for the animals are all hand-painted and deliver messages to the public about the animals. They work to dispel myths (such as harpy eagles do NOT eat human babies) and raise awareness about the environment and human-wildlife-environment interactions."
This Is the Most Detailed Picture of the Internet Ever (and Making it Was Very Illegal)
An anonymous researcher with a lot of time on his hands apparently shares the sentiment. In a newly published research paper, this unnamed data junkie explains how he used some stupid simple hacking techniques to build a 420,000-node botnet that helped him draw the most detailed map of the Internet known to man. Not only does it show where people are logging in, it also shows changes in traffic patterns over time with an impressive amount of precision. This is all possible, of course, because the researcher hacked into nearly half a million computers so that he could ping each one, charting the resulting paths in order to make such a complex and detailed map. Along those lines, the project has as much to do with hacking as it does with mapping.