Hurricane Helene has rapidly intensified to a Category 1 hurricane this morning as it makes its way toward the Gulf Coast of Florida. It is projected to strengthen further, potentially reaching Category 3 status when it hits Florida’s Big Bend on Thursday.
As of this morning, Helene was located over the northwestern Caribbean Sea near Cozumel, Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, according to the National Hurricane Centre.
Hurricane warnings are in effect between the Anaclote River and Mexico Beach, while storm surge warnings have been issued for areas including Tampa Bay. Hurricane watches are also in effect for Cuba and parts of Florida, alongside tropical storm warnings for parts of Florida, Cuba, and Mexico.
The National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) has written to Prime Minister John Briceño, raising concerns over the government’s recent decision to compulsorily acquire a 24-acre extension of Stake Bank Island under the Land Acquisition (Public Purposes) Act (LAPPA). The NTUCB questions the legality of the acquisition. Th Umbrella Union argues that the project is a private commercial venture, and therefore does not meet the criteria for public purpose required under the law. The NTUCB is urging the Briceño Administration to reconsider its approach and abandon the acquisition before the second publication of the declaration, scheduled for October 8, 2024.
The NTUCB suggests that the ongoing dispute between Stake Bank Enterprises Ltd., currently in receivership, and its lenders is a private matter and should be resolved through the courts rather than through government intervention. The union also recommends that if the government insists on facilitating the acquisition, it should do so under the Land Acquisition (Promoters) Act, which would require an inquiry and the approval of the National Assembly, ensuring that the acquisition serves a public interest.
The NTUCB has posed several questions to the government, seeking clarification on the public benefits of the acquisition, the terms of any indemnity agreement, and the future of the Stake Bank project, particularly regarding its execution and regulatory consents. The union emphasizes that any acquisition must protect the interests of the Belizean public and ensure the government upholds property rights.
Twenty-three-year-old Alwyn Arnold was stabbed to death on Saturday night after attending the annual Carnival Road March in Orange Walk Town. The Belize City resident got into an altercation with another individual during which he was fatally injured. But was the individual with whom he was fighting simply defending himself from the vicious attack set off by Arnold? This morning, Commissioner of Police Chester Williams told News Five that after reviewing surveillance footage that captured the incident, it was apparent that Arnold was in the wrong for lunging after the individual who ultimately stabbed him.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“We had received a video footage of that incident and it was a fight. The deceased was the aggressor, I must say, and the person who did the stabbing has not come forward. I guess he is in fear, but I don’t see him being charged for murder. Having viewed the video footage, he was defending himself. So if he were to come in and he were to give his statement as to what happened, that would go to the D.P.P. rep in Orange Walk for their advice and I don’t see a murder charge coming out of it because the deceased actually ran after him, aggressing him and it was during that process, the fight, that the deceased was stabbed. So, for me it was more an act of self-defense but we’re going to see when that time comes. But like I said, it is difficult because these liquor establishments, many of them do not get police to work for them and with the huge amount of people that go to these establishments, it poses a great security threat. We had to close down two of the nightclubs because when we went there the crowd was swelling and they had no police. How could you? We can’t take things for granted. While we get liquor license to operate, their must be security measures in place to secure the safety of the people who come to your place. So the Orange Walk Carnival is very, very challenging but we do our best to ensure that we police the best that we can.”
On Monday, a Belizean American man who attended the Carnival Road March in Orange Walk Town was arrested and charged for assaulting the Commissioner of Police. ComPol Williams was on duty during the event when he encountered Jaron James McKay drinking beer out of a glass bottle. When he attempted to take hold of the bottle, McKay reportedly shoved him, before grabbing the commissioner by the shirt. McKay was arraigned before the lower courts yesterday and was fined one thousand, five hundred dollars for the offense. According to ComPol Williams the decision taken by the magistrate’s court sends a wrong message to anyone who’s intent on harming law enforcement officers.
Chester Williams
Chester Williams, Commissioner of Police
“This individual seems to be big and bad. His entire demeanor seems to be disrespectful. I spotted him, like I did many other people, consuming alcohol from a bottle. He was in the company of a female, I believe she was his partner, and I approached him very nicely. I said to him, sir you cannot be consuming alcohol in bottles and I went to retrieve the bottle from him and when I did that, he pulled away his hand and he pushed me. I had a nice piece of rosewood in my hands that weighed about five pounds and when he pushed me I just kept my cool and I told him again to surrender the bottle. At this time he grabbed me in my shirt. I was wearing official police uniform. He grabbed me in my shirt and pulled my shirt. At that time, the officer that I was with came and intervened between us and he held on to him. While the officer held on to him, he still held on to my shirt for about a minute, saying to the officers, I want him, I want him. In other words, he wants me, right. I don’t know what, if he had some kind of wish. But again, I had maintained my cool because if I had used my baton on him, it would have been a different story. The officers eventually subdued him, cuffed him and he was ferried away to the police station.”
The Belize Police Department was successful in keeping the peace in Belize City on Carnival Day. In fact, while the Commissioner of Police was out of the country for the Carnival Road March, Deputy Commissioner Dr. Richard Rosado ensured that spectators, like revelers, were safe during and after the event. But Orange Walk was a different story altogether, notwithstanding the efforts of ComPol Williams to maintain law and order. There were at least two stabbing incidents, one of which was fatal. There were also several scuffles that happened along the carnival route. Our question to the ComPol earlier had to do with the challenges faced by officers tasked with ensuring that the annual event ran smoothly.
A Belize City couple, Jeneah Arzu and her boyfriend Kendale Nunez, both police officers attached to different units, will answer to an incident that occurred at their residence in Port Loyola two weeks ago, when PC Arzu opened fire at Martinez with his service weapon. Earlier today, ComPol Williams told News Five that despite Nunez’s indication that he will not pursue legal action, the pair must answer to the discharge of the firearm, as well as Nunez’s responsibility to safely secure and stow away his service weapon.
Twenty-nine-year-old businessman Aaron Flowers has been charged for wounding a food vendor. The food vendor, thirty-year-old Salvadoran Katherine Saravia told police that Flowers visited her food stand at the corner of Raccoon Street Extension and began to harass her customers. She reported that when she told him to leave, he insulted her and threw bottles of ketchup, pepper and mustard at her causing injuries to her ear. Flowers, in his defense, is claiming that he assaulted no one and that he is the victim. Flowers appeared unrepresented in the Belize City Magistrates Court this morning where he was read two criminal offenses, aggravated assault and wounding. Flowers, who pleaded not guilty to both charges, told the court that he went to the police station to make a report against Saravia after she allegedly chased him with a knife. Flowers told the court that when he arrived at the Police Station and the officers there saw that it was him, they did not want to take his report. Flowers claims that he was injured during the incident and never got an opportunity to get any medical attention because the officer in charge at the station is a friend to the officer who was convicted of wounding him earlier this year. The sitting Magistrate explained to Flowers that the offense for which he is accused is a very serious matter and advised him to seek assistance from an attorney to make a report. Flowers told the court that he will try to obtain video footage of the incident to prove his innocence. In her statement to police, Saravia says that Flowers was harassing one of her male customers and behaving inappropriately when she told him to leave. She alleged that Flowers told her that he is from the streets and threatened to take her life and her husband’s. Saravia also told police that she picked up a knife in fear and that her husband stopped a passing police mobile at the same time. There were no objections to bail. The court offered Flowers bail in the sum of fifteen hundred dollars plus one surety of the same amount. He is due back in court on November twenty-second. Flowers spoke briefly after meeting bail.
Aaron Flowers
Aaron Flowers, Businessman
“Well you know weh happen, the lady the chase me with a knife and when me run to the police, the police spin the whole case pan me. Right now I gwen report the police dah prosecution branch. That is what I have to say. You ever witness somebody the run to the police for help and when they go the police nuh help the victim, the police help the accused. That dah weh ketch me. I nuh need fih know nothing weh the lady seh. I gwen bout my business. I done give you my side.”
The back and forth between the United Democratic Party’s leadership and members of the Alliance for Democracy movement continues with both sides issuing press releases on Monday, slamming each other. The U.D.P.’s release denounced what the party referred to as quote, “the deception and fraud being committed by the Alliance for Democracy Party in their continued efforts to disseminate outright lies regarding the U.D.P.,” unquote. The party accuses the alliance of using various social media platforms to do this and it again, vehemently states that it is not conducting a National Convention on October twentieth. In fact, the party’s release states that the next National Convention is not scheduled until after the 2025 General Elections. Today, U.D.P. Vice Chairman, Alberto August told News Five that the results of the votes at the upcoming will be totally void.
Alberto August
Alberto August, Vice Chairman, U.D.P.
“There is no national convention and, and we are, we are basing on the fact that the national party council had agreed by resolution that there will be no national convention of the United Democratic Party until after the next general elections and that we’re going to proceed to those elections with the current executive leadership in place. That is where we stood. But then we heard it talking about 205 delegates or something to that effect, requesting a national convention. There are several things that has to happen in terms of a national convention. And article six of the U.D.P.’s constitution deals with the conduct of conventions. And at article six, five of the constitution clearly informs Before you proceed to a national convention, there has to be what you call a voters list for the purposes of those conventions. Just like an ordinary election, um, the elections and bungo department and on nomination day provides you with a list of those persons who are going to the polls in the upcoming elections. The constitution of the U.D.P. is designed in similar manner. The constitution at Article six five informs that the list of the names of delegates and alternate delegates. must be provided, must, you know, say shall or should or maybe or must be provided to the secretary general of the party at least six weeks before the conduct of a national convention. The last time I checked with the secretary general of the party, there was no such list submitted to the secretary general. We had what, five, maybe even four weeks before this convention. So the six weeks period has already passed. So whatever they’re having on the 28th of October is basically being conducted with non-authorized delegates of the party. that way, if you want to put it that way, because there’s no official list in accordance with article six, five of the constitution, none.”
The Alliance for Democracy, meanwhile, maintains that the U.D.P. constitution does indeed allow them to conduct a convention and to vote. Albert Area Representative, Tracy Taegar-Panton, who is a member of the alliance, explained to News Five why they believe that their event and the voting will be totally legal and they plan to proceed full throttle with their October twentieth convention at the Bird’s Isle.
Tracy Taegar-Panton
Tracy Taegar-Panton, Area Representative, Albert
“Delegates of the party are voted on or elected in a constituency convention in their respective constituencies. The last time constituency conventions were held were in 2022, when we were preparing for the leadership convention and thereafter. And so, those delegates, as far as we are concerned, as far as the constitution mandates, are in place until 2024, sometime in November of this year. For most constituencies, it’s November. For other constituencies, it’s a little bit beyond November. So those delegates are valid. I know that -I’ve heard – there’s an argument that delegates are not valid if they’re not registered with the Secretariat. All those constituencies registered their delegates with the Secretariat of the United Democratic Party and delegates can only be removed if they voluntarily resign or if there’s a new constituency convention that is held to lift delegates.”
Marion Ali
“So, there wouldn’t be another portion of the U.D.P. Constitution that would be contradictory to what this part of the Constitution is saying, that you are allowed delegates up until the next convention?”
Tracy Taegar-Panton
“As far as I know, no, as far as my understanding of the constitution of the party, no. The delegates are ultimately the trustees of the party. They are the highest decision makers of the party and they have said in an overwhelming number that we need to have a reset. They have asked for a convention to be convened.”
Participants from across Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean, have converged upon Belize for the Inter-American Sign Language Linguistics Conference. It is the first time Belize is hosting such an event organized by the Inter-American Confederation for Deaf Professionals and Civil Society. The confederation has brought deaf professionals and members of civil society together to formulate ideas on how to better the lives of deaf people and increase their accessibility in society. This four-day conference began one day after the International Day of Sign Languages and only a few days ahead of World Deaf Day. News Five’s Paul Lopez reports.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
The exact figures are not known, but a study done in 2013 indicated that the deaf population in Belize stood at roughly thirteen to fifteen thousand. These are people who struggle daily to communicate well, many times even at home. As a result, they often miss out on education and employment opportunities, as well as basic social interactions.
Sallah Davis
Sallah Davis, Sign Language Interpreter
“Well I grew up in a deaf community. It is a very common thing where you grow up and everybody around me signs, so of course you would grow up learning how to sign. It is just as easy for me as signing English, sometimes even better than speaking English.”
Sallah Davis grew up with a father who pastors a church for the deaf. She is now studying to become an international sign language interpreter. Today, Sallah and her father were our interpreters at the First Congress for Inter-American Sign Language Linguistics Conference in Belize.
Anabil Rene Coltat
Anabil Rene Coltat, Venezuelan Parliamentarian
“I came from Belize from Venezuela to facilitate communication and relationship with the Belizeans. I work in the law in the government for the deaf in Venezuela. I teach a lot of the kids so that when they grow up that they will be able to be functioning parts of society to create relationships between them and other people so that throughout time they will be able to work throughout all of the Americas, so that we will be able to all come together and work, especially in the media.”
That’s Anabil Rene Coltat, the only deaf parliamentarian in Venezuela who also heads a foundation for persons living with disabilities. Coltat advocates for policies that enrich the lives of individuals living with various disabilities. He is one of the main speakers at the conference. For Sallah, translating Coltat’s interview was not simple, because sign languages change in different parts of the world.
Sallah Davis
“Yeah that is the hard thing. Most people think that sign language is the same all across the country. I could see how you would think that, but in reality, every single country, most of them have their own different language. Here in Belize, we use a form of ASL so it is very common, same with United States. But, in different Spanish speaking countries, Mexico has a different one, Venezuela has a different one, Guatemala, so it is important to facilitate communication between those languages just as much.”
Juan Palomino, the President of Inter-American Confederation for Deaf Professionals and Civil Society, is also in attendance at the four-day conference. Palamino has a degree in education for the deaf. For this interview, Sallah’s father was our translator.
Juan Guillermo Palomino
Juan Guillermo Palomino, President, CAIPSOR
“I have come here to Belize and I was welcomed here to work with different individuals in Belize and I am really interested in meeting new Belizeans and see how I can support and help them and that we can work together to continue to develop things for all of the Americas and our hope is that at this event we will have different individuals from different countries from all over the Americas come together here in Belize to learn more about each other and how to support each other.”
The conference will see participation and presentations from numerous Central American, South American and Caribbean countries. Belizean, Svetlana Romero organized the entire event. She is also deaf and a member of the organization that Palimino heads in Mexico. Sallah and her dad partnered to translate Romero’s interview.
Paul Lopez
“Why did you plan this event?”
Sveltana Romero
Sveltana Romero, Member, CAIPSOR
“We hope that the information provided we as a country will learn and use to motivate the deaf community?”
Sallah and her father are bridging a gap that makes the world of difference for deaf people. Their roles as interpreters erase the challenges that come with communicating as a deaf person trying to navigate everyday life.
Sallah Davis
“I think the best way would just be like, first of all, to go online. There are so many accessible resources to just learn a few signs and just talk to a deaf person, because a lot of times they are very lonely. Even sometimes their family doesn’t speak sign language. So, learning sign language will make a huge difference and if you find that you like it like me then maybe you can get a career in it and it can pay a lot of money, so.”
