Today's Belize News: October 19, 2017

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Today's Belize News: October 19, 2017 #526480 10/19/17 06:59 AM
Joined: Oct 1999 Posts: 84,392 oregon, spr Marty OP
OP Marty	FOR TODAY'S BELIZE WEATHER, CLICK HERE Click for our Daily Tropical Weather Report. Specials and Events Last night's TV news on Channel 7, Channel 5, LOVETV, PGTV, West Vision (Cayo) and CTV 3. Also with the most recent Open Your Eyes, and other specials The San Pedro Sun No New Reported Cases of Ciguatera Poisoning The Ministry of Health would like to notify the public that over the last two months no new cases of Ciguatera Poisoning have been reported by consumers. It is believed that this random and unusual outbreak has concluded. Although the Ministry considers the barracuda fish may be safe to consume once again, the public is advised to continue monitoring their eating of fish and report any symptoms of fish poisoning. San Pedro Pirates win against Placencia Assassin's San Pedro Pirates Football Club hosted the Placencia Assassins at the Ambergris Stadium in San Pedro Town on Saturday, October 14th. During the 10th week of the Premiere League of Belize (PLB), both teams gave their best during the tight match and at the final whistle, it was a clear victory for the home team. October brings awareness to Breast Cancer The month of October is observed as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast cancer starts when cells in the breast begin to grow out of control. These cells usually form a tumor that can often be seen on an x-ray or felt as a lump. The tumor is malignant when the cells grow into surrounding tissues or spread (metastasize) to distant areas of the body. Breast cancer occurs almost entirely in women, but men can get breast cancer, too. This year the Belize Cancer Society (BCS) along with Special Envoy for Women & Children have organized many events for the month of October to bring awareness to this serious health issue. Legends F.C lead Copa San Pedro 2017 football tournament Five games took place during the sixth week of the Copa San Pedro 2017 Football tournament, with the first two games played on Friday, October 12th. The first match began at 7pm at the Ambergris Stadium, where Legends F.C defeated G. Strikers 3-1. At 9pm, Terror Squad faced United F.C with the match ending in a draw of 1-1. The last three games of the sixth week of the tournament were played on Sunday, October 15th. First up were Boca Bombers who won by default against One Shot One Kill, who have been eliminated from the tournament for not showing up for two consecutive games. At 5pm, Martha's Ice faced San Mateo F.C, with a 3-2 victory for Martha's Ice. At 7pm, the last game of the week, saw Assassins F.C versus Victoria House, with a 4-3 winning for Assassin's F.C. Copa San Pedro continues this weekend with nine more games. Ambergris Today Tropic Air Awards Employee With 30 Years Of Service Over the years Tropic Air has grown with the expanding community of Ambergris Caye and the demand for local flights throughout the country (now internationally too). From a small airline with one tiny three-seater aircraft to one of the larges employers in Belize, one thing that Tropic Air has is dedicated and loyal employees. This week Tropic Air gave recognition on an employee who has been with the company for 30 years. Elroy Archibal Vernon, better known to everyone as Josh, is celebrating 30 years with the company as he looks back at the time he has been with the airline working as Ramp Agent at Belize City's Sir Barry Bowen Municipal Airport. Belize Humane Society To Hold First Dog Show And Pawty In The Park Belize Humane Society will hold its first Pawty in the Park on Saturday, October 21 from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Memorial Park in Belize City. The highlight of the "Pawty" will be a Dog Show with eight categories from Best Obedience to Best Potlikka and more! Winners will receive a great prize package including trophies and medallions courtesy of major sponsor Tito's Handmade Vodka, dog food and treats from Reimers feeds, gift certificates from Brothers Habet and lots more. Misc Belizean Sources Is 10 Grams Of Weed No Longer Illegal? ATTEND A FREE PRESENTATION in San Pedro October 19, 6pm at Angel Nunez Auditorium, San Pedro High. by Mr. Bart Jones (Legal Officer) Of the Belize Police Department. First Annual Belize Garifuna Song Competition Awards & Concert Friday October 27, Bird's Isle, Belize City CROCtober 18th In locations where different crocodile species live together (sympatry) there are instances when two species breed-hybridization. Hybrids usually share physical features of both parental species. Hybrids have been recorded between Morelet's and American crocodiles in Belize and are currently being investigated by the CRC. There is not much known about the capabilities and characteristics of hybrids, but information about hybrids of other croc species have shown hybrids grow faster and larger than their parental species. Elections and Boundaries reaffirms votes are secret The Elections and Boundaries Department hereby informs the public, that in any election, ballot papers are numbered for reconciliation and accountability purposes. Election Officials have a responsibility to ensure that all ballot papers counted in an election are only those legitimate ballot papers issued by the Presiding Officer. The public is advised that the law DOES NOT require any Presiding Officer or any election official, to inform anyone of the ballot book series or the ballot paper number he/she issues at any given point during the election process. Whenever the Presiding Officer issues a ballot paper to a voter, the voter proceeds behind a polling booth, within the polling station, to privately cast his/her vote. The voter is then requested to fold the ballot paper in such a way so as to conceal his/her vote prior to placing the ballot paper in the ballot box. No New Reported Cases of Ciguatera Poisoning The Ministry of Health would like to notify the public that over the last two months no new cases of Ciguatera Poisoning have been reported by consumers. It is believed that this random and unusual outbreak has concluded. Although the Ministry considers the barracuda fish may be safe to consume once again, the public is advised to continue monitoring their eating of fish and report any symptoms of fish poisoning. This will allow the detection of any future outbreaks by the Ministry of Health and provide the necessary public health response in a timely fashion. Training for evaluating the quality of medicines The staff of the Drug Inspectorate Unit and the Pharmacy Unit is currently receiving training in Basic Tests Using GPHF (Global Pharma Health Fund) Minilab for evaluating the quality of medicines. Theoretical training included what the lab can do, its limitations, safety within the lab and interpretation of results. Today, participants have started in practice to do simple disintegration and pipetting practice among others. This introduction to Belize will be beneficial because of the threat of "bad quality drugs" in the marketplace and it will also establish some level of drug management. The week-long training is being facilitated by Mr. Sanford Bradley, Promoting the Quality of Medicines Program (PQM), United States. The Minilab is located on the Compound of the Western Regional Hospital in Belmopan. For more Information contact the Drug Inspectorate Unit, Ministry of Health. Urban Bird Watch 2017 in the Cayes! A few photos from our Urban Bird Watch 2017 this past weekend in the cayes! A big thank you to all of our participants in Caye Caulker and San Pedro, as well as our friends from Ocean Ferry Belize Limited for their continued support! This weekend, we head to Northern Belize! Will you be joining us? Details here: http://bit.ly/2ybESO8 Rotary's Moonlit Masquerade Ball The Rotary Club of San Ignacio is having their Masquerade Ball fundraiser on Saturday, October 28th, at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel. "This is going to be an amazing night with dancing, great diner, Music review by Motown Memories and Omolewa Osain Band. Top that off with both a silent auction and a live auction of vacations to die for! This will be a sold out event!. Call 667-7555 for tickets!" Got Talent? Now is the time to show off! Come out Saturday, October 21st at the Welcome Center in San Ignacio. Archaeology Week at Banquitas House of Culture So far archaeology week at Banquitas House of Culture (NICH) in Orange Walk Town has been well attended with almost 300 students this far for the morning session. More to come! Museum of Belize helps on the renovation of Banquitas House of Culture Guess what? The Museum of Belize was glowing alongside the ISCR (Institute for Social and Cultural Reserach), for their excellent work on the renovation of Banquitas House of Culture in Orange Walk. We were honorably mentioned in the BTB's newsletter, Toucan Talk in September. BTB Newsletter- Toucan Talk, July - September 2017 Check out the latest edition of the Belize Tourism Board's E-Newsletter "Toucan Talk." San Pedro Healthy Body, Healthy Life Health Fair HPV vaccines at a very low cost- protect your daughters from HPV and cervical cancer. Rapid HIV testing - know your status and how to live a happy,healthy life. Breast cancer screening, Women's rights in Belize, Kid's corner, ..... and musical entertainment! See you this Saturday at the Lion's Den. Caye Caulker Wine Pairing Training Wine Pairing Training will only take 20 participants. Kindly visit Akheil Badillo at Caye Living Properties to make payment to secure your spot! Sponsors for this event includes KOKO King, The Beverage Division at Karl H Menzies and Madisco. Stop Human Trafficking The Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) announces an open competition for FY 2018 projects to combat trafficking in persons outside of the United States. Informed by the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, current anti-trafficking programming, and in consultation with other offices in the U.S. Government, the TIP Office has identified 24 priority countries or regions for funding. The TIP Office will allocate funding through an open, two-stage competitive process. In the first stage of competition, U.S.-based and foreign non-profits, non-governmental organizations, public international organizations, institutes of higher education, and for-profit entities are invited to submit three-page statements of interest (SOI) for projects designed to address the programming objectives highlighted in the funding opportunity. Upon completion of a technical and programmatic review, the TIP Office will select a limited number of SOIs for further consideration. In this second stage of competition, applicants will be invited to submit full proposals that build on the concepts described in their three-page SOIs. Learn Women's Self-Defense at UB Central Campus, Belmopan More Free Self-Defense. Two times to choose from in Belmopan. Thursday November 2. Question for reptile fans: Do you see a sign of head trauma? This recent intake was a classic human wildlife conflict case with a typical "problem species": A 7 foot boa who ended up in the wrong place (a yard in town in Belize City)... Thanks to Gordon Kirkwood she was rescued from fearful humans who were about to kill her. You may think we are crazy to care about this animal and ask why you should appreciate the boa, or Wowla? Just one of many reasons: Because they are an excellent rodent hunter and will eat loads of rats! And in case you did not know: boas are not venomous! Thankfully this patient is recovering from her injuries. Who knows how we can tell? Some highlights from today's viewing of Hope for Belize's Hicatee! A Salty Piece of Land Belize Jungle and Island Expedition Passing pristine waterfalls and rivers that traverse through ancient caves, one could possibly stumble upon the ruins of a magnificent, undiscovered Mayan city.November 5 - November 12 Belize Nationals Regatta TIME Sat Oct 28 2017 at 09:00 am, VENUE Belize City, Belize Students of St. Francis Xavier Schoolvisit Corozal Town Hall Always a pleasure to engage with our younger community members! Thank you to the Standard 4 teachers and students of St. Francis Xavier School for visiting the Corozal Town Hall to learn more about the history of Corozal through Manuel Villamor's historical mural. Princess Casino Free Zone Presents! EUGENIA CABRERA will be singing and performing super latin singers like Lupita Dalessio, Maricela, Yuri, Monica Naranjo and many more at the Princess Casino Free Zone Corozal. Don"t miss this weekend full of entertainment and fun! It starts Friday, October 20th and Saturday, October 21st beginning at 10:00 p.m. NO COVER! Miss Shaenna Gilharry at Miss Divali Nagar Congratulations,Shaenna. Your hard work and dedication has made you stronger than when you first entered the competition in Trinidad & Tobago. You survived the obstacles and the challenges and you took it all in strides. Job Preparedness Certificate Ceremony Thanks, BTEC, for the great Job Preparedness Training done in Cayo. 85 people attended and graduated from the seminar. "On Monday October 16, 2017, BTEC Certified 85 residents of the Cayo District in the fields of Front Desk, Wait Staff and Housekeeping. The 3 week training culminated in a certificate ceremony at La Loma Luz Adventist Hospital Conference Room. During the ceremony, several of the trainees shared their stories with those in attendance and special guest speaker, Lejia Melanie Gideon, GM of BELTRAIDE handed out the certificates." Gardenia and Biscayne Village Community Consultation Meeting with BWS Belize Water Services cordially invites all residents of Gardenia and Biscayne Villages to a Community Consultation Meeting on Sunday, October 22, 2017 at 1:30pm at the Biscayne Government School. Transportation will be provided for Villagers. A Dawson bus will start to pick-up villagers at 1:00pm from the Crooked Tree junction to Sandhill junction. Refreshments will be provided at the end of the meeting. Institute of Archaeology (NICH) Belize and students from La Inmaculada Roman Catholic It was a very successful and informative day along with our colleagues from the Institute of Archaeology (NICH) Belize and our students from La Inmaculada Roman Catholic, Trial Farm and Louisiana Gov't schools. Thanks for being part of this learning experience. Attendance was great with 360 students learning on the Ancient Maya. Special thanks to Antonio Beardall for being an awesome presenter and making it a fun day. Thanks to Josue Ramos and Paul, Ms. Georgia, Mr. Rosas and Jannellie Catzim for being an amazing support. Channel 7 Kareem Musa Won't Challenge Briceno For Leadership Last week PUP Deputy Leader Kareem Musa publicly flirted with the idea of challenging John Briceno for party leadership in an upcoming party convention on November 26th. Musa said the party needs a unifier - and made it clear that his leader has not been that. But, he didn't commit to challenging him - because that's no small task - since Briceno does have firm support - evidenced by the two dozen or so endorsements he has received from constituencies across the country. With the deadline to nominate persons for executive posts in just 9 days, Musa's window to declare his candidacy or just to sit back was closing - and in a two minute statement issued today, he made it official - he's not challenging. Here's how he put it:... PM Defends, Explains, Expands On Faber's Road Contract And while Musa snagged today's headline - this afternoon all the media's attention was focused on the Prime Minister at a two hour press conference called to defend the controversial contract for the reconstruction of Faber's Road. It's been all over the news for the past week, ever since we first questioned how could it be that government is paying 8 million dollars to pave 1.1. Miles of Faber's Road. That released an avalanche of criticism from COLA, the VIP, and the PUP. Well, today the Prime Minister held a press conference - not to announce that public pressure is forcing government to rescind the contract, but to explain that it's much more than just one mile of road. To do so, he brought in the Ministry of Works project engineer who gave a half an hour masters class on the finer details of engineering - complete with diagrams. Here's a super compressed version of how they explained it:.. Ministry of Works Misunderstanding All Because Press Excluded Between the Prime Minister's explanation and his engineer's that session lasted about 45 minutes - before the question and answer session - which was another half an hour. All of that necessitated, why? Because when the Minister of Works signed the contract last week Thursday - they didn't invite the media. Instead, they called in the government press office and then sent out a press release which did not cover the full scope of the project. It could all have been avoided by just doing their job and inviting the media. Our News Director, Jules Vasquez questioned them about that today:... Jules Vasquez - Reporter: "Just to be clear, the press release said 1.9 kilometers; I can read it to you. 1.9 kilometers, engineer, I'm not an authority in math like you, I think that's 1.1 miles." Evondale Moody - Project Engineer, Project Execution Unit, MOW: "Yes, but that 1.9 kilometers is for the drain." Engineer Makes It Plain About Failure On Lake I Boulevard That project will also give the government 15 million dollars in reimbursement for the roundabouts abutting the Chetumal Street Bridge. That project - like this one for Faber's Road is overseen by the Ministry of Works Project Execution Unit - which, as you saw, has highly qualified engineers. So then, what went wrong with Lake Independence Boulevard!? That's a galloping disaster. It seems like every week road crews are out there trying to do patchwork on the road that is uneven and sinking fast. Today, in the first lucid and forthright explanation of what went wrong there, the Minister of Works Engineer said that he did the design of Lake I Boulevard, and the Ministry oversaw the landfill. But then, along came BIL - which is Belize Infrastructure Limited - and they ignored the engineers, removed the landfill and did their own thing leading to a Boulevard of broken pavement:.. BIL Boss Rebuffs Blame Game The Prime Minister and the engineer didn't hold back in blaming Belize Infrastructure Limited for the failure of the Lake I Boulevard. So, we reached Christy Mastry, the General Manager of BIL by phone today for her rebuttal. She said she does accept some of the blame but it is a team effort and the fault is not just hers. Christy Mastry, General Manager - BIL: "I think that there is a little bit of nervousness, because its public perception that we want to find some way to maybe blame. This isn't necessarily a good thing, because we are all a part of the same team. I think that we work closely with the Ministry of Works and the decision that we made early on with Lake Independence Boulevard was we knew that there would be ample new land area - 50 acres for development and that road wasn't to be a road. It was really to be almost like an interlink highway between the northern and the western. Which means the demand for that road as far as traffic was much more than any of the other internal city streets. So we look to do a double lane boulevard." PM Says Fuel Price Coming Down Soon And, coming off all that talk about a broken boulevard, what about the gas for the cars that drive on it? Two weeks ago the Prime Minister promised lower fuel prices by mid-month. Today he said, wait a few more days for an incoming shipment of fuel from Venezuela:... Jules Vasquez, reporter: "Mr. Prime Minister, fuel prices, the mid-month has passed only the regular went down at about the 9th [October]... Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister: "Give me another few days, going down." Police Still Have One Suspect In Case Of Alleged Child Abduction The alleged El Progresso kidnapper is in custody OF Cayo police but no charges can be brought as yet because police still don't have a clear account of what actually happened. It is a complicated case because our information is that the girls keep changing their stories. As you heard last night, the version we got is that the 3 girls were heading to school after 8:30 on Monday morning. That is when a Caucasian man allegedly drove up in a blue Isuzu truck, grabbed them and pushed them in the pan of the truck. According to girls, two of them were tied up by their feet with one of their uniform shirts. But that is not the end of it. Although the medical examination confirmed that the girls were not violated, they reported that the man took them to a bushy area, removed one of the girl's underwear and touched her and another one of the girls. Octogenarian Beaten, Police Mum Police haven't reported it - but tonight an 82 year old man is clinging to life in the KHMH after he was viciously beaten down and robbed on the city's southside. On Saturday night at 10:00 Ricardo Vasquez was at the corner of Water Lane and West Street. Vasquez was reportedly at Kent Market, a game room where he is reported to be a regular patron. He stepped outside and that is when he was attacked, robbed of his wallet and left in the drain. Police picked him up out of the drain and rushed him to the KHMH where he is now hanging on for dear life. His family members are completely baffled as no one is able to tell them exactly what occurred and the police haven't told them anything, nor have they sent a report to the media. Senior Officers Sent Out On Patrol You only need to watch the news nightly and you will know that in the last three months, murders and violent crime have spiraled out of control. The Police Senior command is scrambling for answers - especially in Belize City where there have been 24 murders since July - and 7 recorded just this month alone. And one novel approach started on Monday of this week where senior police officers - meaning the Inspectors, Assistant Superintendents and even Superintendents have been deployed on regular mobile patrols. That means you'll see the men in brown - reportedly as many as a dozen of them - out on duty in patrol vehicles in the various Belize City sectors. And they have to do so on 12 hour shifts just like regular cops, working from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm, and 7:00 pm to 7:00 am. Rogue Cops Criminally Charged Two more police officers have been charged for extortion. A San Ignacio resident reported that in September police arrested him for Harm. While in custody PC Samuel Elijio and Allen Castillo told him he could be freed of the charge if he pay them $100. The resident agreed and one of the officers took him home to get the money. The resident was released and he made a report to the Professional Standards Branch. An investigation was done and both officers were charged yesterday. They were also placed on disciplinary charges for Soliciting a Bribe and Act to the Prejudice of good order and discipline. They appeared in San Ignacio town magistrate court yesterday where they plead not guilty. They were offered and met bail of $2,000. The case was adjourned until December 18th, 2017. PM Explains Cattouse Murder And while the police department has not provided an update on any of the 7 murders recorded in Belize City this month, today, the Prime Minister did speak on the Albert Cattouse murder. In a moment that defies comprehension, the head of government had to give a narrative on a murder that police have not been able to speak to the press on for one week now. First, the PM said, Cattouse's murder was not political:... Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister: "Now I know you said Mr. Cattouse was an activist and no doubt he was, but I considered myself very much an acquaintance of Mr. Cattouse. I knew him well and I didn't see him very often these latter days, but whenever I did we were extremely pleasant to each other." PM Promises Progress on Police Media Relations, Police Minister Holds The Line But that's the way the Belize Police Department wants it. For over a month now - the senior command has refused to approve a single media interview to clarify or discuss any crime. And there have been many. As we just told you, there have been 24 murders in the city since July - and 6 have been committed in the city for just this month. But, the police won't budge; they simply will not answer the media's questions. And their backative on this comes from their Minster Wilfred Elrington - who - as he outlined to us today - has a distinctly 19th century approach to media engagement. You'll hear from him shortly, but first to the PM - who said he wants the media and the police to normalize relations:... Barracuda Is Safe (Probably) Two months ago, we told you about 10 people who'd gotten Ciguatera Poisoning from eating Barracuda with the toxin. Those fish were purchased in the Ladyville area. Today the Ministry of Health sent out a public advisory saying it's safe to eat Barracuda again, but be vary careful: meaning, be on the lookout for any symptoms of fish poisoning. Ciguatera Symptoms include tingling and numbness in fingers and toes, around lips, tongue, mouth, and throat; upset stomach, vomiting, diarrhea and/or abdominal cramps, joint pains, headache, and difficulty breathing. Labour Commissioner At Senate Hearings Last week Wednesday you saw Immigration CEO Edmund Zuniga take the seat at the Senate Hearings. His testimony was mostly about administrative changes that have been implemented to prevent any form of corruption or shady dealings in the department. Well today it was just as straightforward or maybe even more so when Labor Commissioner Ivan Williams and Deputy Registrar of the Vital Statistics Unit Patricia Hinkson were called in. We start off with Williams as he outlines the basic role of the labor commission as it relates to work permits and how it connects to the Immigration department. Ivan Williams, Labor Commissioner: "I would like to correct that the labor department does not issue work permits, the labor department approves work permits, work permits are issued by the Director of Immigration and Nationality." "You apply to the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Labor does it's labor market system to determine whether such a person is required for the purposes of work where Belizeans are not available or the requisite skills and issues a voucher to the director which says this is the person approved for the work permit but the issuance is done by the director in other words if anything is wrong or for any reasons the work permit may not be issued by the director." What's With The Labour Permits? Jinchen An, Yiu Pang Chen and Bo-Jie Shan - those are just a few of the many Chinese names that have come out during these senate hearings and throughout recent years as it relates to fraudulent immigration documents. While we do need migrant workers to fill posts especially in the banana and citrus industries - the problem, according to Chairman Aldo Salazar, isn't with Central American migrants - it's with these Asian nationals. Ivan Williams, Labor Commissioner: "The bulk of the work permits comes as a result of a request coming out of the industries, the porous nature of our borders that we have with Guatemala begs for people to come over in many respects irregular undocumented." Vital Stats Secure? Patricia Hinkson from Vital Stats took the stand next in a very short back and forth conversation. She recently took up the post so she didn't provide much depth as it relates to fraudulent birth certificates. Based on what she said there are no stringent measures to ensure there is no fraud. Hon. Aldo Salazar: "Some years ago there was a person who was caught with a birth certificate now he wasn't born in Belize but he was found using the birth certificate of somebody who was born I believe in shipyard and pretending as if he was that person born in shipyard so clearly he went to vital statistics unit and the document was issued out of the vital statistics unit as far as I am aware it was not a forged document or a fake birth certificate it was a real birth certificate but it was issued to a person who wasn't the real person." Patricia Hinkson, Deputy Registrar of the Vital Statistics Unit: "But anybody can apply for a birth certificate." What Is The Value of the Reef? Today, the World Wildlife Fund and partner organizations launched a report assessing the value of Belize's marine resources. The idea is to highlight the incredible resource that is imperiled by a host of issues. And to bring into focus the urgency to protect the second largest Barrier Reef in the World, the experts put a dollar value on it. Nadia Budd of the WWF explained that and Adriel Castaneda summarized the main topics discussed at the conference. Adreil Castaneda, Fisheries Officer of the Belize Fisheries Department: "Essentially we are trying to evaluate what the value of our marine protected areas are and compare it to the actual cost of operation and as we can see or as we saw on the presentations for one specific site we are talking about 8 million US dollars in benefits just looking at the tourism industry. Considering there are countless other services tourism, livelihood there is much more that we can take out from the marine protected areas that are beneficial." Conservationists Welcome Moratorium There's a house meeting on Friday is highly anticipated because government will introduce legislation for the moratorium on offshore oil exploration in Belize's waters. The bill may even get bi-partisan support. Oceana and concerned Belizeans have been waiting for this since it was announced in the last house meeting back in September. This morning we spoke to the Vice President of Oceana Janelle Chanona who reiterated why the moratorium is important for Belize. Sahar Vasquez, reporter: "The moratorium is coming up on Friday. How are you feeling going into this big event?" Janelle Chanona, OCEANA: "You're absolutely right this is history in the making. This would be huge not only for Belize but in terms of communicating to the world some of the information you have just heard presented." Election and Boundaries Rebuffs BUFERHD Conclusion 5 weeks ago on September 13th, Derek Aikman's group, called "BUFERHD" held a voter Simulation exercise, to try and establish that due to the numbering of ballots, your ballot is not secret. It made the news this week when the Teachers Union President endorsed the exercise as legitimate and illustrative of a serious problem. That has forced the Elections and Boundaries Office to send out a release. They say that ballot papers are numbered for reconciliation and accountability purposes so that Election Officials can ensure that all ballot papers counted in an election include only the legitimate ballot papers issued by the Presiding Officer. But the Elections and Boundaries office stresses that "no Presiding Officer or any election official is required to inform anyone of the ballot book series or the ballot paper number he/she issues at any given point during the election process." Channel 5 P.M. Cites 'Urgency' for Pushing Fabers' Road; Handled Negotiations Himself Since the announcement last week, there has been growing public outcry over the awarding of another contract to Imer Hernandez, the family of the former Deputy Prime Minister, Gaspar Vega. [...] 'Limited Tendering' Provided Shortest Route to Completion As to the tendering for the award of the lucrative contract, you heard the Prime Minister say he solicited estimates from two contractors before settling for Hernandez. He had also [...] G.O.B.'s Engineering Consultant Explains Rate Comparisons To bolster an explanation on the seemingly exorbitant cost of the Faber's Road project, government brought in an engineering consultant who has had extensive history working with the Ministry of [...] Why Finance and Audit Act Did Not Apply The Prime Minister opened the conference by specifically challenging the charge that the Finance and Audit Act was violated by the use of the selective tendering process rather than open [...] Politics Aside, Imer Hernandez Will Provide 'First-Class' Result Does Imer Hernandez's family ties to former Deputy Prime Minister Gaspar Vega place him under intense public scrutiny insofar as the Faber's Road project and other past contracts are concerned? [...] P.M. Plays Peacemaker, But Police Rebelled against Media Interviews It has now been over a month since any member of the Police Department last gave an on-camera interview to the press concerning criminal matters, not counting Commissioner of Police [...] Kareem Musa Says No to Party Leadership for Now This evening, Caribbean Shores area representative Kareem Musa issued a statement on social media declaring that he would not contest the position of party leader of the People's United Party [...] Ship on the Ocean to Bring Lower Fuel Prices; Trump and U.S. Notwithstanding The Donald Trump administration has put restrictions on U.S. banks from doing business with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and put the equivalent of 'kingpin' designations on President Nicolas Maduro [...] BIL C.E.O. Must Explain 'Failed' Lake I Boulevard The controversy surrounding the cost of the Faber's Road reconstruction has also managed to tear away the crust over the healing wound that is Lake Independence Boulevard.� That stretch of [...] P.M. Deplores Failed Cayo Abduction; No Charges Yet San Ignacio Police are yet to charge an American national who is currently in their custody for the alleged attempted abduction of three students from El Progresso Seven Miles Community [...] P.M. Barrow: Criminal Ambush, Not Politics, Led to Albert Cattouse Murder Almost a week after well-known taxi man and activist Albert Cattouse was executed on Hicatee Street on south side Belize City; there is finally an official report on what happened [...] At Senate, Labour Commissioner Discusses Prohibited Classes for Work Permits The Senate Special Select Committee is moving closer to its conclusion, but it took a slight detour for today's session. The two witnesses called - Labour Commissioner Ivan Williams and [...] Guatemalan Workers Giving Headaches over Procedure The Labour Department has a standing relationship with the two industries most in need of working labour - banana and citrus. But according to Commissioner Ivan Williams, there are concerns [...] Free-For-All at Vital Statistics: Birth Certificate Not Secure The Vital Statistics Unit is at least partly computerized although a vault of the old books with manual entries of births is still maintained. The newly-appointed Assistant Registrar for the [...] Vital Stats Unit Chief Says Employees Must Have Integrity to Refuse Offers Hinkson indicated that the office does not do any vetting of its own concerning persons seeking birth certificates apart from the signature and I.D. scanning. But what can prevent someone [...] Senate Chair Non-Committal over Proceedings It appears Chairman Aldo Salazar was at variance with his colleagues on the worth of today's witnesses, but as indicated in his comments at the end of today's session he [...] Aldo Salazar Sees Light at the End of Immigration Tunnel The bulk of Salazar's post-Senate interview concerned its future. He confirmed that Minister of Immigration and fellow senator Godwin Hulse is next to appear before the Committee, in two weeks' [...] Barrier Reef is Economically Priceless The extent to which Belize's economy depends on tourism generated by the threatened Belize Barrier Reef World Heritage site was revealed today by a new report from World Wildlife Fund [...] U.W.I. Hosts Human Resource Seminar The University of the West Indies Open Campus Auditorium on Princess Margaret Drive was the venue for a one-day seminar that targets the role of Human Resources Units in both [...] LOVE FM Engineer explains specifics of Fabers Road project According to Prime Minister Dean Barrow, the reconstruction of Fabers Road was considered as an urgent project due to its importance. The first group to voice its concerns was Citizens Organized for Liberty through Action, COLA who has requested the details of the contract and today Chartered Engineer who designed the project, Evondale Moody, shared [�] One Thousand Dollars Reward for Information on Mark Pollard One Thousand dollars reward is being offered to anyone who can provide information leading to the location of Mark Pollard. It has been 108 days since forty-nine year old Mark Pollard went missing during his usual morning exercise. To date, family and friends are no closer to finding him and as a result, a renewed [�] BTB: Canada's Advisory will not Affect Tourist Arrivals Last week we reported that Canada had issued an advisory warning its citizens against travel to eight countries that were not affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. According to an online article, the advisory states quote, "Criminal activity, including armed robbery, mugging and sexual assault, is a significant problem throughout Belize". End of quote. Yesterday [�] Jorge Garcia charge for Sexual Assault Today, thirty year old Jorge Garcia, a Guatemalan national, appeared before Chief Magistrate Sharon Fraser where a charge of sexual assault, on an 8 year old female child, was read to him to which he pleaded not guilty. He was denied bail and remanded into custody until December 18. The incident occurred on October 15. [�] Lawrence Appeals His Murder Conviction Forty-year-old Jason Bruce Lawrence is appealing his conviction for the murder of his common-law wife, forty-year-old Mercedes Carillo. Lawrence's attorney, Yohanseh Cave, had appealed on several grounds, but the court only considered the ground of diminished responsibility that Lawrence was allegedly suffering from when he committed the offence. Lawrence was examined by Dr. Latham, a [�] Amandala Sadly, Erwin Rodriguez's body found in shallow grave The remains of Erwin Rodriguez, 17, a student of a Ground Dove Street address, was found at about 2:30 Saturday afternoon in a shallow grave fifty-three days after he vanished, after leaving home to visit his grandmother, who lives in the Jane Usher Boulevard area. Police said that a search party went to an area near the sea behind the Port of Belize, in Port Loyola, where they found human remains, and a few personal items, buried in a shallow grave under a tree near the sea. The belongings were identified by Silvia Rodriguez as property of her missing son, Erwin Paulino Rodriguez, who was reported missing since Thursday, August 24, 2017. The remains were taken to the morgue, where a post-mortem examination will be conducted. Keith Middleton gunned down on Mud Street Less than one week after the murder of Justin "Etdan" Hyde, 22, another man has been gunned down in the same general vicinity of Jane Usher Boulevard. Sometime after 7 o'clock tonight, Amandala was told, Keith Middleton, who was in his early 30s, was gunned down in his yard, which is on Mud Street in the vicinity of Jane Usher Boulevard. Information to our newspaper is that two gunmen gained entrance from the back of his yard on Mud Street and crept in while he was socializing with other men. Shortly thereafter, as many as eight shots were fired. We are told that the first shot hit Middleton in his leg and he attempted to climb onto the verandah of his home to escape the attack, but one of the men fired more shots, hitting him in the head and upper body. The UDP's obscene $8 million hustle With municipal elections slated for next March, the nation is again heading into political season. It is known that during these times, political parties are "scratching around" for campaign finances for their campaign machineries. If you listen to the PUP, the VIP, and COLA, however, the party in power, the UDP, doesn't have to "scratch" around, because they have their hands in the public coffers, which is to say, taxpayers' pockets. Well, to mix our metaphors, the UDP just plucked out a PetroCaribe-sized gob of grease to get their election motors oiled and rolling. That's the view of these parties after Prime Minister Dean Barrow's administration issued an almost 8-million-dollar contract to a UDP crony for a project, which, according to a statement issued by the Government of Belize on Thursday, is for rehabilitation, and drainage infrastructure improvement of 1.9 km or about 1.1 miles of Fabers Road in Port Loyola constituency, of which Hon. Anthony "Boots" Martinez is the area representative. 3 schoolgirls escape abduction in El Progresso hree young girls who were walking to El Progresso Government Primary School, were abducted by two men in a pickup at about 8:00 this morning. When the men saw the girls, they stopped the pickup, got out, walked over to the girls, grabbed them, tied them up, threw them into their vehicle pan and drove away with them towards San Antonio. The men were described as "Gringos," or white men. A student who saw what was happening ran home and spread the alarm, and the men in El Progresso quickly got a vehicle and set chase after the kidnappers. Breaking Belize News Dangriga residents concerned about murky canal Some concerned residents living in the Rivas estate area of Dangriga contacted BBN to explain the problem they are having with water settling in their yards. According to the residents, the canal in the area is being filled up and that is causing all the murky water to settle in their lands. Residents told us that the canal has not been dredged in years. Chris Roggema died of natural causes Norwegian- Belizean businessman Chris Roggema went missing last week Monday when he went to see a property along the Sibun area in southern Belize. Roggema had been suffering from bronchial cough but still went with a surveyor and another person to see the land he was interested in buying. US national detained for attempted abduction An American national is currently detained at the San Ignacio Police Station pending investigation into the attempted kidnapping of three children from 7Miles village. The girls were on their way to school around 8:30 a.m. on Monday and on their way, they stopped at a nearby shop to buy ideals. That is when a man driving a blue Isuzu pickup reportedly stopped and offered them something to eat. PM calls out BNTU for being disrespectful; gives updates on demands Prime Minister Dean Barrow has written back to the Belize National Teachers Union (BNTU) providing them with updates on the demands they made last year and calling them out for what he called "disrespect". Residents concerned about dredging on Caye Caulker Some concerned residents of Caye Caulker contacted BBN to share their concern and displeasure with some dredging that is being done on the beach. Blogs Birds Of Belize: 20 Cool Species (You Must See) Birding is described as a hobby in which individuals enjoy the challenge of bird study, identification, listing or any other activity revolving around bird life. Documented as a hobby that rose in popularity after world war II, birding has been a pastime for those enthralled by our avian friends for a very long time. In Belize, birding can be a very fulfilling hobby, since, as a whole, the small country boasts over 500 species of tropical birds and this number only grows when considering migrant species that make their way through here as the seasons change. Special thanks to Sarah and the Belize Raptor Center for helping to make this list as cool as it could be! Sarah and her team do awesome work with educating Belizeans about the importance of our avian friends and why preserving their habitats are of utmost importance! Marbucks Tiaras and Tea Parties High Tea at Marbucks Coffee House was a great success and thanks to sponsors, volunteers ( especially the bachelors that got auctioned ;) ) and ticket purchasing tea drinkers, the event raised a ton of cash so far. Proceeds went to Raise Me Up - the final total still being calculated and will be amended when it comes in. International Sources History in the palm of your hands at Trent University Durham GTA Archaeology at Trent University has been an important part of the university for more than 40 years. The program has built a strong experiential learning component into its curriculum, providing students with the opportunity to attend field schools in Ontario, as well as more exotic locations, such as Belize in Central America. My project in Belize is the latest in a long line of Trent field schools in Belize. I went to Belize in 1990 as an undergraduate student on a field school and fell in love with the country. Twenty-eight years later, I am still returning to Belize year after year, only now I direct a field school for my own undergraduates at Ka'kabish, an ancient Mayan city with a long history dating from 800 BC to AD 1500. My research is focused on understanding how cities can survive for 2,300 years. Unfortunately, it is often hard to balance preservation of the past with the needs of the future, and sites like Ka'kabish are in danger of being subsumed by development. As part of my work, we are trying to raise money to buy the 50 acres on which Ka'kabish sits and create a new national park. We have currently raised two-thirds of the money that we need to create a National Archaeology Park in Belize, and are working to raise the remaining $17,000 via Indiegogo crowd-funding that will finalize the purchase and enable us to protect the site for future generations. UWI student wins Miss Divali Nagar University student Seema Moonilal was in shock when she was announced the winner of the Divali Nagar Queen Competition on Monday. Delegates from five countries participated in the annual queen show at the Nagar Site in Chaguanas and at the end TT's Moonilal, 22, won the competition. Miss Nagar Canada Suvina Smolsky was first runner-up while Miss USA, Navina Misir, took the second runner-up position. Among the countries represented were USA, Canada. Suriname, Belize and Trinidad and Tobago. Moonilal said she stood still when her name was called as the winner. Ambiente: la barriera corallina del Belize vale 19 milioni di dollari l'anno Per la prima volta si conosce il valore economico del turismo che ruota attorno alla barriera corallina del Belize, uno dei pi� importanti siti Unesco e Patrimonio dell'Umanit� dal 1966. Nel nuovo report lanciato oggi dal WWF, Natural Heritage, Natural Wealth si evidenzia proprio il valore questa incredibile risorsa che per� stiamo rischiando di perdere. Il report analizza quattro delle sette aree marine protette (MPAs) che rientrano nell'area, che sono: Blue Hole & Half Moon Caye Natural Monuments, Glover's Reef Atoll Marine Reserve, and Laughing Bird Caye National Park. Queste 4 aree generano complessivamente oltre 19 milioni di dollari l'anno come profitti economici portati dalle attivit� turistiche e ricreative. Si tratta di un contributo significativo dal punto di vista socio-finanziario e che riflette solo in parte i benefici economici totali per il paese. Videos Mental Health, 37min. on Open Your Eyes World Food Day 2017, 19min. on Open Your Eyes The St. Martins Credit Union, 23min. Tayra, locally known as "Bushdog", 15sec. Even if they give you a couple of seconds to video them it`s special, seen them in the wild is very rare. So you just got to appreciate wildlife in Belize when you encounter them. Andy Palacio and Youth Connection visit Los Angeles 1996, min. To performed at the 9th annual Belize Caye Fest. at Rancho Cienega Park. Telemundo TV) Live Turismo em Belize_por Pitaya Filmes, 5min. Launch of "Natural Heritage, Natural Wealth, 54min. Highlighting the economic benefits of the Belize Barrier Reef Reserve System World Heritage Site The Senate Select Committee met in a short session today in Belmopan, to listen to the testimonies, 12min. The Senate Select Committee met in a short session today in Belmopan, to listen to the testimonies provided by the Labour Commissioner Ivan Williams and also the Registrar of the Vita Statistics Unit Patricia Hinkson. Both departments work in correlation with the Immigration Department to provide key documents that can affect a person's immigration status in Belize. Belize Humane Society, 42min. Caye Caulker Fine Art Photo Walk, 3min. Fine Art Photography Walkabout on Caye Caulker Belize 2 days exploring Belize City, 6.5min. The Great Blue Hole, Belize, 3.5min. This submarine sinkhole off the coast of Belize is in every scuba diver's bucket list. Even if you are not into enjoying a myriad of species underwater, it's totally worth flying over the Blue Hole for a breathtaking view. Spot Check: Belize City, Belize, 6.5min. Pros: Lots of sea side parks, lots of virgin spots, lots of creative spots. Beautiful and relax city. Lots of nature around! Cons: No skateparks, need lots of wax because there's no bladers and everything needs to be waxed BELIZE!, 4min. Had an amazing and humbling experience in this beautiful country. From the people, to the scenery, to the adventures, this place will always be in my heart. We also had an opportunity to give back by building a classroom for a local school which was incredibly humbling. Always taking things for granted. San Pedro, Belize, 9.5min. My little vlog about our trip to Belize. Diving the Elbow in Belize, 7.5min. Scuba Diving the Elbow in Belize with Amigos del Mar Dive Company. Xunantunich, Belize, 9min. Xunantunich in Belize are one of the most spectacular mayan ruins of the country. With many pyramids and a great view point on all the region on the border between Belize and Guatemala. It's located about 100km from Tikal, the main Guatemala Maya site, and it can easily be reached from San Ignacio.