Belize is bringing together leaders in sustainable tourism for a celebration of innovation and responsibility as it hosts the inaugural World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards (WSTHA) at Oakridge Venues, Spanish Lookout, on September 27, 2024. This event will celebrate leaders in sustainable tourism, recognising winners across 21 categories who advocate for net-positive tourism.
Justin Cooke, Executive Vice President of WSTHA, remarked, ““We cannot think of a more fitting destination to host the inaugural World Sustainable Travel & Hospitality Awards than Belize… fully aligned with our mission to spotlight those individuals and organisations that are leading the way in safeguarding our planet for future generations.”
A highlight of the awards will be a trophy crafted from recycled ocean plastic and powered by renewable solar energy. Glenn Mandziuk, CEO of the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, noted, “These awards honour the inspiring leaders who are driving transformative change towards our vision of Net Positive Hospitality.”
Organised in partnership with the World Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, which represents over 50,000 hotels and 270 brands globally, entries were assessed by Sustainable Business students from Nova Business School. Cooke added, “The ceremony promises to be a night to experience Belizean culture in all its splendour… where sustainability isn’t just discussed—it’s lived.”
The Florida Stone Crab fishing season opens on October 1st, 2024, and ends on June 30th, 2025.
The Belize Fisheries Department reminded fishermen to adhere to regulations, including obtaining fishing licenses and using traps with escape gaps and biodegradable panels for stone crab. “A person who intends to fish or export stone crab shall apply to the Fisheries Administrator for a stone crab fishing or export license,” the department said.
Key regulations include the requirement for traps to have an escape gap of at least 2 3/8 inches and a biodegradable panel. The department also prohibits fishing, selling, or possessing stone crab from July 1 to September 30, although licensed fishers may set traps from September 15 without harvesting.
Restrictions are in place for the size of claws, which must measure at least 3 inches in length, and the retention of whole stone crabs is not allowed. Fishermen must also release any caught crabs immediately after claw removal.
The department emphasised, “No person shall fish for the stone crab unless equipped with a ruler or calliper on-board the vessel.”
Fishermen in Belize gear up for a highly anticipated opening of Queen Conch fishing season on October 1st, 2024, to June 30th, 2025. The Belize Fisheries Department Administrator warns that the season could close early if the conch production quota is met.
Key regulations regarding Queen Conch include a ban on harvesting conch from July 1st to September 30th each year.
Conch must exceed 7 inches (17.8 cm) in shell length, with unprocessed conch not exceeding 7 ½ ounces (213 grammes), partially processed conch limited to 3 ounces (85 grammes), and fully processed conch capped at 2 ¾ ounces (78 grammes).
Additionally, diced or fillet conch meat can only be bought, sold, or possessed under a special permit from the Fisheries Administrator.
Exporting conch beyond the permitted quota is also prohibited.
Tupperware, once a staple of American kitchens, filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware on Tuesday. The company’s decline follows years of dwindling sales and failure to adapt to modern retail, relying heavily on independent sales representatives.
Tupperware’s iconic food storage containers peaked their popularity in the 1950s with its innovative “Tupperware parties,” which empowered women.
“Nearly everyone now knows what Tupperware is, but fewer people know where to find it,” said Chief Restructuring Officer Brian Fox in a court filing. The company has been grappling with liquidity issues and reported $812 million in debt.
Tupperware plans to continue operations while seeking a buyer through a 30-day bidding process. “Even with a recently restructured balance sheet and a temporary financial boost, Tupperware’s high leverage, declining sales, and shrinking profit margins were too much to overcome,” noted James Gellert, executive chairman at RapidRatings.
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.”
