2024 - Channel 5 Belize

Guatemala to Send 150 Soldiers to Haiti

At the 79th U.N. General Assembly, Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo announced that his country would deploy 150 military police officers to support Haiti in its fight against violent gangs. This decision comes as the UN-backed mission, currently led by Kenyan police officers, faces challenges related to personnel and funding.

However, Arévalo did not provide details on the timeline for the deployment of the military police. Currently, there are nearly 400 Kenyan officers in Haiti, in addition to approximately two dozen personnel from Jamaica and two senior military officers from Belize who arrived earlier this month.

The mission aims to have a total of 2,500 personnel, with further contributions expected from the Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Benin, and Chad, although the exact timing of their deployments remains uncertain.

Digital Tool Launched to Track Disease Outbreaks in Wildlife in Belize

A new digital tool has been activated to monitor and report outbreaks of diseases in wild animals in real-time, with the goal of protecting the health of animals, humans, and the environment. The governments of Mexico, Guatemala, and Belize are running a pilot program using the Spatial Monitoring and Reporting Tool for Health (Smart for Health), allowing field data on wildlife mortality and disease symptoms to be recorded and transmitted instantly to veterinarians and technical personnel for swift intervention.

The Smart for Health tool enables federal personnel and community guards working in protected natural areas to record and track disease outbreaks using mobile devices. The technology strengthens epidemiological surveillance by providing early detection of pests and diseases in wildlife, which could pose threats to livestock, public health, and environmental balance.

The initiative, part of the “Pandemic Prevention and Response, One Health” global program funded by Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, involves specialists from agencies like Mexico’s National Agro-alimentary Health, Safety, and Quality Service (Senasica), the National Commission of Natural Protected Areas (Conanp), and Guatemala’s General Directorate of Animal Health (DGSA).

One of the tool’s key advantages is its ability to function without an internet connection, automatically recording data and saving geolocation coordinates. This feature is especially useful in remote areas, ensuring that data is collected even during field patrols in the most isolated regions.

The multinational collaboration, supported by the “Selva Maya” program and implemented by the German Technical Cooperation (GIZ), aims to improve preventive health systems and build a comprehensive database on emerging zoonotic diseases in the Maya jungle region. The Smart for Health tool, already in use across more than 70 countries, is critical for the rapid detection of wildlife diseases and facilitating a timely response to potential health emergencies affecting both animals and humans.

(Op-ed) Leave No “Foodprint”: Technological Innovations to Prevent and Reduce Food Losses and Waste

By Daniela Godoy, Senior Policy Officer in Food Security and Nutrition at FAO’s Regional Office for Latina America and the Caribbean

The United Nations General Assembly established September 29 as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste to promote policies that reduce poverty and hunger and help combat climate change.

This is a debate that we cannot ignore. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that in Latin America and the Caribbean, 11.6% of food production is lost between the post-harvest stage and retail, not including the latter. According to figures from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), 19% of the total food supply is wasted, including waste in households, food services, and retailers worldwide.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, food losses and waste (FLW) generate a carbon footprint of 300 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), representing about 540 kg of CO2 per person per year, exceeding the world average of 500 kg.

FLW is a global problem with far-reaching economic, social, and environmental consequences, and its prevention and reduction require comprehensive policies and actions promoted by the different sectors and actors in agrifood systems.

Given this, technological innovations appear to be a new solution to reducing the impact of food losses and waste on climate change on our planet.

To prevent and mitigate the impacts of FLWs, it is essential to promote technologies for the efficient use of natural resources and energy that reduce environmental pollution and greenhouse gas emissions during production processes, prolonging the shelf life of food, maintaining its safety during post-harvest, storage or processing.

Thus, innovative initiatives such as biotechnological methods to transform expired food into raw material for the animal feeding industry, the implementation of smart packaging, or blockchain systems to avoid food waste for reasons that have nothing to do with its safety can make a difference in this matter.

These technologies can also support the move towards circular models to make more efficient use of resources and reuse food loss and waste streams, achieving, for example, the recovery and redistribution of food such as minimally processed fruits, vegetables, cereals, and tubers for social projects or food banks. Likewise, these innovations could make it possible to manage waste in school feeding programs and food services or to plan product marketing and/or rotation at sale points for final consumption.

The prevention of FLW continues to pose regional challenges, such as access to financing for technological innovations, more efficient practices in family farming or small-scale production, and the generation of data to determine how much food is lost or wasted, where in the supply chain it is concentrated, and what the causes are.

Reducing and preventing food losses and waste is essential for transforming agrifood systems into systems that are more efficient, resilient, inclusive, and sustainable. This will reduce the climate footprint during production and consumption and contribute to food security and nutrition. Promoting new technologies is a mandate to achieve this.

Kamala Harris’ Campaign Office Targetted by Shooters

Just days before her visit to Arizona, Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign office in Arizona was targeted in a shooting incident on Monday, September 23, 2024. The incident occurred shortly after midnight on Monday, with police confirming multiple shots fired at the Democratic National Committee (DNC) campaign office near Southern Avenue and Priest Drive. Just over two weeks ago, former president Donald Trump faced two assassination attempts.

No injuries were reported. “No one was inside the office during the overnight hours, but this raises concerns about the safety of those who work in that building, as well as those nearby,” Public Information Officer Sgt. Ryan Cook said in a statement.

This shooting marks the second incident of criminal damage at the office in recent weeks. Police said that on September 16, the office’s windows were also damaged, possibly by a BB or pellet gun. The investigation is ongoing.

Helene Becomes Category 1 Hurricane

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.

NTUCB Challenges Government’s Stake Bank Acquisition

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.

Police Say Deceased Alwyn Arnold was the Aggressor in O.W. Brawl

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, 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.”

ComPol Williams Decries His Offender’s Slap on the Wrist

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, 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.”

ComPol Williams Says Enjoy Yourself In Peace

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.

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Officers Involved in Domestic Dispute Must Answer On Firearm Discharge

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.

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