Macmillan Education Caribbean has launched the 2024 Young Environmental Scientists (YES) Competition, inviting students aged 7–18 across the Caribbean to submit innovative ideas focused on sustainable cities and communities. The competition, which aligns with UN Sustainable Development Goal 11, began on September 23.
It features two categories: primary (ages 7–11), emphasising practical solutions for sustainable living, and secondary (ages 11–18), focussing on resilience and inclusivity. Registration requires teacher support, and participants will receive an information pack detailing competition tasks.
Winners will earn prizes, including lab equipment for their schools and workshops with science experts. Judging will be conducted by a panel of scientific experts, with results announced after the competition closes on November 29, 2024.
There was a deadly stabbing incident in Bella Vista, Toledo earlier today. Information reaching our news desk is that the murder involved a pair of brothers, Matyas and John Bo. It is a case of fratricide, a brother killing his sibling. Sometime before eleven a.m., police in that southern community were alerted of a stabbing incident. When they responded to the scene, they discovered thirty-five-year-old John Bo lying on the ground inside a fenced yard with a stab wound in the center of his chest. Police investigation revealed the brothers were socializing along with thirty-one-year-old Luis Pensamiento when the siblings got into an argument over a bottle of Revel Rum that they were sharing. It is further reported that John struck his brother, Matyas over the head with an unknown object, causing an injury. In return, Matyas allegedly stabbed John with a screwdriver in the chest. Matyas then fled the scene and discarded the murder weapon. Twenty-six-year-old Matyas Bo was subsequently apprehended several blocks away, at his parents’ house in Bella Vista. We’ll have more on this story in Thursday’s newscast.
Another suspect is on remand at the Belize Central Prison tonight, in connection with the shooting death of Winston “Tanga” James that occurred on January twenty-first, 2022. Eustace Lewis, a resident of George Street, has been arrested and charged with abetment to commit murder and was arraigned when he appeared in the Belize City Magistrate’s Court this afternoon. It is alleged that Lewis intentionally aided Azzane Domingo in the commission of James’ murder. No plea was taken from Lewis and, due to the nature of the offense, was denied bail before being placed on pretrial detention until October thirty-first, 2024. On Monday, another George Street affiliate, twenty-year-old Azzane Domingo, a resident of Plues Street, was charged for James’ murder, and attempted murder for shooting and injuring James’ common-law wife, Marybeth Wade.
Thirty-six-year-old George Bull is accused of torching his common-law wife’s house, injuring her in the process. The Biscayne resident, who owns a sawmill, is behind bars tonight after he was denied bail earlier today when he appeared unrepresented before a senior magistrate. It is alleged that on September fifteenth, Bull assaulted Kayla Robinson and caused her harm. Several days later, on September twenty-second, Bull reportedly set fire to a plycem structure occupied by Robinson. The house and all the household items insider were destroyed by fire, bringing the total damage to a little under fifty thousand dollars. No plea was taken from Bull for the charge of arson, but he pleaded not guilty to aggravated assault and harm upon Robinson. Bull was informed of his right to apply to the High Court for bail. Until then, he is on remand at the Belize Central Prison until November eighteenth, 2024.
As we reported on Tuesday, several young men and women were released from the Belize Central Prison after they were held for ninety days or less as part of the country’s State of Emergency. But a few of them claim that they were wrongfully imprisoned, and they are contemplating civil suits against the Belize Police Department, and by extension, the Government of Belize. According to Attorney-at-Law, OJ Elrington, his client, Ronlee Petillo, is only one of a few who have indicated that they are considering suing the government. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
OJ Elrington
OJ Elrington, Attorney at Law
“I’m bringing a constitutional claim on behalf of Ronlee Petillo against the Government of Belize. We have other persons who are represented in the tribunal, and who were detainees under the State of Emergency who are seriously considering bringing their claim.”
Marion Ali, Reporting
Attorney Orson Elrington says that his client, Ronlee Petillo, a man who is known to the law, was detained prior to the state of emergency taking effect in June and was simply held in custody until the SOE expired.
OJ Elrington
“Prior to the State of Emergency, he was incarcerated and so he had been incarcerated from May of last year. And so he was granted bail by a judge of the Supreme Court. And when he was granted bail, they purportedly kept him detained under the State of Emergency powers.”
In the case of Devon Nicholas, he was also swept up as part of the SOE and released when it expired. He says, the ninety days behind bars unnecessarily robbed him of a lot of things.
Devon Nicholas
Devon Nicholas, SOE Prisoner
“I nuh eena no gang, and I want dehn left me lone. I tired ah goh pahn S.O.E. I tired ah punish. I gone da jail three months, sleep on a hard bed, two months sanctioned, I nuh deserve that. Then they wa tell me bout I need a gun to come out. I nuh have no gun fi come outta road. So how I wa find a gun. I nuh wa deh out ya and have nobody chance me. I have pikney fi feed. I da nuh no gang member. I never get charged fi eena wa gang yet. Yoh get the sense? Dehn wa charge me fi be eena wa gang.”
Marion Ali
“You were working when they picked you up?”
Devon Nicholas
“Yes, ma’am. I worked for L.I.U weh keep claim me under P.I.V. I da nuh wa P.I.V. I nuh have a gang [sign] weh she P.I.V. So how you wa pick up me and I deh eena my house now with my pikney. You come fi me and lock me down and tell me I deh pahn SOE. My name call fi SOE.”
Raymond “Footie” Gongora, a volunteer with the Leadership Intervention Unit, says that it is likely that indeed a few innocent persons are imprisoned as part of the SOE.
Raymond “Footie” Gongora
Raymond “Footie” Gongora, Volunteer, L.I.U
“I’ll be honest, the SOE is like a gillnet. And a gill net means that you just sweep, pick up a bunch of people and everybody goes there. So yes, you would say yes, probably there were one or two innocent people, but for the most part, many of them really belong there.”
Elrington says that because the state of emergency powers are wide-reaching and extraordinary, there are safeguards for persons who are detained. Section Nineteen of the constitution protects the rights of persons who are detained. Elrington speaks to those.
OJ Elrington
“Firstly, obviously it is that you should be told, given in writing, the grounds and the particulars of why it is that you are being detained under the state of emergency powers. Subsequent to that, within fourteen days, they’re supposed to publish it in the Gazette to say that this person, Marion Ali has been detained under the state of emergency, and these are the reasons and the powers which grant us the power to be able to detain her. After that, within thirty days, you must be allowed to appear in front of a tribunal. Where day would then make a determination and a recommendation to the minister that this person is either a lawfully being held or unlawful being held. The minister can, according to the Constitution, either accept or not accept that recommendation.”
Elrington says the state must also allow the detainee the right to hire an attorney and to be able to consult with their attorney prior to their appearance at the tribunal. He shared that when his client appeared before the tribunal, the state admitted that his client was never a part of an active investigation under the SOE. The recommendation was for Petillo to be released on September fourteenth, but he was kept incarcerated for an additional six days. Elrington says that taking from this experience, the state needs to ensure that the rights of persons not linked to the SOE are not violated.
OJ Elrington
“When it is that you do implement the state of emergency, these mechanisms must be put in place and ensure that they are adhered to, not for the guilty, not for the criminal, but for the innocent person.”
The argument between Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow and Albert Area Representative Tracy Taegar-Panton rages on. They are debating the legality of any vote taken at an upcoming convention planned by the Alliance for Democracy. Today, both sides cited different sections of the U.D.P. Constitution to bolster their arguments. Barrow said that the U.D.P. Constitution designates the specific year and month when a National Convention may be called. He pointed to a section that gives power to the Party Chairman to determine if an emergency exists to trigger an unscheduled National Convention. Barrow reminded that in 2023, over five hundred U.D.P. delegates voted at the National Convention to elect him and other leaders until after the next General Elections. He said there is no provision in the U.D.P. Constitution that allows a minority of the Delegates to renege on that binding majority decision. He also said that the usual term for the Party Leader and other elected officials is two years. It’s only been a year since he was elected to that position. He also pointed out, “if every time a quarter of the delegates petition for a National Convention it was automatically triggered then we would have a National Convention every 90 days and there would be no stability in the U.D.P.” Barrow said that the U.D.P. reserves the right to whatever actions it deems necessary at the appropriate time. Meanwhile, Panton contends that the U.D.P. Constitution does not put any restriction on the delegates as to when or how many times one fourth can call a convention. She argued that Barrow cannot impose a restriction just because he finds it disruptive. Panton pointed to a time when an attempt was made to recall the Collet Area Representative, Patrick Faber and reminded that Faber was only one year into his term as the Party Leader. Panton also vows that the Alliance will “leave no stone unturned to ensure the voices of the delegates are heard. It is absolutely unconstitutional to deny the delegates a National Convention which they have petitioned for.”
Floodwaters across Belize City that have been associated with the king tides have receded and the streets are once again dry. But what is the Belize City Council doing to address the phenomenon that is compounded by climate change? That’s what we asked Mayor Bernard Wagner earlier today, following a decision last week to change the route of the Independence Day Parade in the Old Capital.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“The king tide is here to stay, climate change is here to stay, and so we have to be proactive. We have to recognize quickly that this is out of our control and make the proper provisions in the event it does occur and clearly, you could see the devastation of king tides, having to shift and having to change routes. I am certain that the National Celebration Commission will be looking at how they can alleviate that sort of uncertainty.”
Reporter
“Or change the date and have it before…”
Bernard Wagner
“I don’t know about changing the date, more the route. But the date, you just can’t change dates. There is only like three weekends fi play with and so everybody wants a weekend, right.”
Reporter
“And so, with the debris that came up, with the flotsam that came up during the king tides, how is the cleanup for the city looking?”
Bernard Wagner
“Mein I just want the residents continue to try work along with we mein, dehn bags a garbage don’t reach in those canals on their own.”
What’s up with the overgrown grass on street sides across the city? A drive around certain neighborhoods reveals that many streets and their intersections have poor visibility due to overgrown grass. Here’s Mayor Wagner’s response to concerns raised by residents.
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, Mayor, Belize City
“What we are doing, I would admit it, and so we, since I came into office in 2018, we have noticed that the sort of system we have in place to address maintenance of streets is not working. And so, we are currently putting in place a new system. It’s a grid system and it will be powered by GIS mapping and being able to map out the entire city and have the city divided up into grids. We are currently looking at thirty-one grids across the city, we will have teams assigned to the different grids, and the grids will have cutting teams, it will have patching teams, it will have drainage teams so that when we look at our console, if a complaint comes in on grid fourteen, we will immediately be able to look at grid fourteen, who is the team there, who is the captain, who is the manager there? This is your area, this is your grid, please attend to it. I think that will be more efficient. I’ve seen it work in the Los Angeles area. This sort of system weh we inherit where you have maintenance and sanitation and we’re just sporadic, ih noh di work. And so, we are addressing that with this new grid system and we will give you a full overview of that system as soon as we complete it.”
What is thought to be a different species of hammerhead shark that was recently discovered in Belizean waters might not be new to Belize at all. This is according to a former senior fisheries officer with the Belize Fisheries Department and a marine biologist by profession. George Myvett told News Five today that the Sphyrna alleni, or the shovelbill shark that was discovered near Robinson Point offshore Belize City and near Riversdale Village, Stann Creek might be among a few more species that are living in Belizean waters and we may not know. The sharks were caught between 2016 and 2019 but research on them just confirmed their species in a publication two days ago. According to George Myvett, there are about five hundred and thirty species of shark in the world, and eight of them are known to be in the Caribbean and Belize. But Myvett reasoned that there has not been any exhaustive research on sharks in Belize, so, there can very likely be far more than just the eight living here.
George Myvett
George Myvett, Marine Biologist
“This new species that has been identified is a relatively small species. The record that has been cited is it goes to about three point five feet, which is relatively small. As far as sharks go, I would say that generally speaking, Belize is a living laboratory in as far as marine biodiversity, and as far as general conservation issues are concerned, there’s a lot to discover. In relation to the general public, most people would not know the difference between this new species that has been found and other pre-existing sharks that closely resemble this species. So, for science, it is a new species, and when it comes out, it’s referred to as a taxonomy. There are very fine details that taxonomists will go through, and this includes issues such as the number of gill slits, where the gill overlaps the fins in most issues, such as genetics. So for this one, they went as deep as genetics. So this species has been known but it has been mistakenly or previously classified as another species, and it’s only very, very recently, since 2021 that studies were genuinely begun and the possibility that this species of scallop, it’s a small scallop has been identified as a separate species, but more than likely, there are a range of other species in Belize.”
Myvett says while the discovery is great news for the scientific community and for fisheries management in Belize, he expressed hope that it will also give Belize’s marine scientists an opportunity at doing research on the species of shark. In fact, he hopes that Belizean marine biology students will get first dibs on whatever research needs to take place in the future on Belize’s marine life.
George Myvett, Marine Biologist
“Sharks in Belize do enjoy a certain level of statutory protection. So, for example, it is illegal to harvest or capture sharks. It is also illegal, generally, to capture the whale shark, the other sharks. There are also regulations protecting them. So for example, one kind of fish or sharks are within a radius of two miles of the atolls and the atolls for us are obviously the Glover’s Reef Atoll, Lighthouse Reef Atoll, and Turneffe Atoll. Generally, there’s about fifteen hundred square miles of sea that no one can capture or interfere with these sharks. As I look at the work that has been done, it has been done by obviously a non-native, a non-Belize research institution. As a Belizean scientist, I would like to see, going forward, that we have Belizeans associated with these studies. So for example, I would want to see a Galen University and of course a University of Belize associated with these studies.”
