The Fourth Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen in Kyiv, Ukraine, is drawing global attention as it addresses critical issues surrounding child safety and family support. Rossana Briceño, wife of the Prime Minister of Belize, is among the key figures participating in this event, hosted by Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska.
Briceño is a key participant in the discussion on “Child Safety in the Family.” This segment addresses challenges in parenting, government support for families, and mental health care for children. The goal is to develop collaborative solutions and share effective practices to improve child safety and well-being worldwide.
The Belize delegation’s itinerary includes several notable events. They will engage in a cover photoshoot for ELLE Ukraine, visit Okhmatdyt National Specialized Children’s Hospital, and tour the newly established Child Rights Protection Center. The visit to Okhmatdyt, which has been impacted by recent missile attacks, highlights the urgent need for international support.
Additionally, Briceño will participate in a UNICEF podcast recording, discussing child safety and ethical considerations. This involvement reflects Belize’s commitment to international collaboration in improving child welfare and supporting family systems globally.
A deepening rift within the United Democratic Party (UDP) continues to spill into the public eye, with Leader of the Opposition Shyne Barrow formally requesting the Speaker of the House of Representatives to declare the seats of Collet’s Patrick Faber and Albert’s Tracy Panton vacant. Barrow, in a letter dated September 5, 2024, claimed that Faber and Panton had effectively resigned from the UDP through their actions, leading the party’s Central Executive Committee to vote unanimously to accept their resignations.
Barrow’s request also referenced the Belizean Constitution, specifically Section 59(2)(e), to justify his call for the seats to be vacated. He argued that both Faber and Panton had violated the UDP’s constitution by leading and supporting a splinter faction within the party. Barrow emphasised that this faction, known as the Alliance for Democracy and led by Panton, was a clear breach of party rules, further stating that their departure was automatic under the party’s constitution.
“Hon. Tracy Panton and Hon. Patrick Faber have vacated their seats. I ask that you declare at the next Sitting of the House of Representatives that the Members from Albert and Collet have ceased to be Members of the House of Representatives,” Barrow wrote, citing Belize’s Constitution and the UDP’s rules. Additionally, on August 29, 2024, the UDP issued public notices announcing vacancies for the Standard Bearer positions in both constituencies, further cementing the party’s stance that Faber and Panton were no longer members.
However, both Faber and Panton quickly rebutted Barrow’s claims, issuing strong denials and accusing the UDP leader of misusing his position for personal and political reasons.
Faber Responds: “Baseless Claims”
Patrick Faber, the long-serving Member for Collet, responded to Barrow’s move with an “Open Letter to the People of Belize” on September 11, 2024, accusing Barrow of once again attempting to oust him from his seat through questionable means. Faber pointed out that Barrow had made a similar effort months ago, which was ultimately rejected.
In the letter, Faber described Barrow’s allegations that he had resigned from the UDP as “baseless” and questioned Barrow’s understanding of the Constitution. “Barrow’s actions display either a profound misunderstanding of the Constitution or malicious intent to undermine my position. Either way, this conduct is unbecoming of someone who seeks to lead both the opposition and the UDP,” Faber wrote.
Faber reaffirmed his commitment to serving the people of Collet and upholding democratic principles, stressing that the country deserves leaders who act with integrity, rather than those who misuse their positions for personal vendettas. He made it clear that he would not be resigning from his seat or abandoning his constituents, despite Barrow’s claims.
Panton Pushes Back: “We Will Not Resign”
Tracy Panton, the Area Representative for Albert, also pushed back against Barrow’s claims in a letter addressed to her constituents and the general public. Panton reassured the people of Albert that she had not resigned from her responsibilities, nor had Faber, despite Barrow’s assertions to the contrary.
Panton emphasised that while Barrow and the UDP’s Central Executive Committee may claim otherwise, they do not have the authority to remove duly elected representatives without following the Constitution. “As much as the Leader of the Opposition and 15 members of the UDP’s Central Executive Committee purport that we have resigned, they have NO such authority. While they may choose to disregard the Constitution of the UDP, they cannot disregard or usurp the supreme law of the land,” Panton wrote.
She accused Barrow of acting out of desperation and vowed to continue serving the people of Albert with “unwavering commitment.” Panton also condemned Barrow’s attempts to force her and Faber to vacate their seats, describing his actions as those of a bully. “I do not cower to bullies or dictators or the Leader of the Opposition’s minions, for that matter,” she asserted.
Political Showdown Looms
As the situation unfolds, the public will be watching closely to see how this power struggle within the UDP plays out in the next sitting of the House of Representatives. Barrow’s reliance on constitutional provisions and party rules to justify his actions could set the stage for a significant legal and political battle.
Meanwhile, both Faber and Panton remain firm in their positions, denying any wrongdoing and reiterating their commitment to their constituents. Faber, in his open letter, vowed to uphold the principles of democracy, while Panton declared it the “privilege of my lifetime” to serve the people of Albert.
The upcoming House session promises to be a critical moment in determining whether Barrow’s efforts to remove these two influential figures from their positions will succeed or if Faber and Panton can fend off yet another attempt to oust them from the UDP and the House of Representatives.
Digital transformation in the Caribbean took a significant step forward as Senators Carolyn Trench-Sandiford and Isabel Bennett-Moody participated in a key workshop in Miami focused on digital economies. The event, titled “The Role of Parliaments in Transforming Digital Economies in the Caribbean,” took place on September 7 and 8, 2024.
The workshop gathered lawmakers and senators from 13 CARICOM countries and the US Congress to discuss how parliaments can drive digital change.
The sessions covered how to create and support policies that enhance digital growth. The workshop provided a platform for sharing useful strategies and ideas.
All travel expenses for Trench-Sandiford and Bennett-Moody were covered by the event organisers.
Women entrepreneurs in Belize are set to gain significant support as the Development Finance Corporation (DFC) and the Belize International Network for Women in Business (NIME) announce a new partnership aimed at advancing women-owned businesses and driving economic growth in Belize.
The partnership is designed to align DFC’s goal of becoming the “Bank for Women” with NIME’s mission to support women-led enterprises. In an official press release, it states that DFC will provide financial resources and business development support to NIME members. “We are proud to partner with NIME to support the growth and success of women-led businesses in Belize… By providing the necessary tools and support to women entrepreneurs, we aim to create lasting, positive impacts in both their personal and professional lives,” stated DFC.
NIME echoed this sentiment: “Our aim is to continue to establish synergies with institutions like DFC who understand the importance of investment in women-owned businesses and the support needed for our women entrepreneurs at the micro, small, and medium levels.”
On Monday, we told you about the murder of twenty-six-year-old Dornell Talbert in Scotland Halfmoon Village. But his story did not end with just a homicide. Tonight, his mother is up in arms because her son’s body was wrongfully cremated. Stephanie Talbert travelled to Belize from the U.S today to say her last goodbyes. Her son’s funeral was scheduled for Sunday September fifteenth. When she arrived and reached out to the funeral home she contracted, Munnings Funeral Home, she was informed that Dornell Talbert’s body was cremated on Monday. The circumstances that led to the error, however, are not as clear. There are still questions to be answered. We spoke with the mother about the unfortunate mix-up outside the K.H.M.H. morgue. We also heard from Andrew Munnings, the owner of Munnings Funeral Home. He told us that he is taking full responsibility for the anguish the family is facing.
Stephanie Talbert
Stephanie Talbert, Mother of Deceased
“I the look for understanding, I the look for answers because I just come back in the country today and I come to bury my son, I the come for a body and now they the tell me they bury my son. We never agree for no cremation. We agree for a body, to do the service with a body. Now, the cremate my son. I font have closure. How will I get closure for my son, when I don’t see him.”
Paul Lopez
“Who cremated the body?”
Stephanie Talbert
“Some Chico, a guy name Chico take the body Friday and cremate the body without authority from Mr. Munning. He told them that they have a cremation, but it was for a woman. Why would you take a man body go cremate him. How could you mistake a man for a woman, how could you do that? Without authority, you need death certificate, you need the postmortem paper. How could he burn that body? How will I have closure for my son? He said he misunderstood, he only hear cremation and he went and cremate the body. I dah wah strong woman. I ask God for strength daily, I ask him for strength. One thing I could always say about my son. He was not a coward. I did not raise a coward. He died because he lived his life how he was suppose to live his life. He is not a coward. Now they take everything from me. They killed him, I didn’t get to see him not I came to see the body and I wont get to see him. Now I have ashes.”
Paul Lopez
“You have some questions to answer today, what went wrong?”
Andrew Munnings
Andrew Munnings, Owner, Munnings Funeral Home
“What went wrong, and as I told the family, when I am busy, when we are at a funeral, what happened Monday is that my daughter was sick, so we were out. Levia Funeral Home is our third-party home. If we have to pick up a body from the Boom Medical College after an autopsy, we will call them, and we would pay them two-fifty to move the body from Boom to KHMH. What happened that day, up to this point, I still want a lot of answers from him. But, as I told the family I am not going to put the blame on him, I am not going to throw him underneath the bus, I take full responsibility, simply because you trusted me with your service. We had a cremation on that day, but the daughter of the person we should cremate did not come in, so I called him like nine in the morning and I told him the cremation is cancelled, however we have a body from boom that we must bring to KHMH. Even KHMH we waited after five that evening for the body to return. Up to the morning of the cremation, up to this afternoon, we don’t know anything. When the uncle came into my office this morning for a quotation, everything was normal, it was when I reached out to the morgue and I asked, they said you guys can proceed. But his body is not there. When the guy Chico called me, he is the owner of Levia’s Funeral Home, he is the one that personally went to pick up the body. When he told me he was about to pass for his cremation payment. Which payment, I don’t have any payment for you. When he told me he burnt the young man he picked up form Boom. Literally I felt like I was dreaming. I have never experienced anything like this in my life, because you have heard about it on the news in the past and I have always said to myself, you don’t ever want to go through anything like that. My thing is why I blame myself is simply because you could have a high business ethics, but you must know who you hire to work with, they might not have that same ethics as you. I am not going to push him underneath the bus. I am not going to do that. You guys trust me to take care of your loved one, and honestly, I will never tell the family I understand what you are going through. I don’t. I will not pretend to.”
One person is dead, and the fate of another victim is unknown, following an accident between mile thirty-six and thirty-seven along the George Price Highway earlier this afternoon. Around twelve fifteen p.m., a blue Ford Escape was travelling in the direction of Belmopan when it collided with a white van transporting a pair of tourists from Jaguar Paw, severely injuring the passengers inside the vehicle. News Five’s Britney Gordon was on the scene with more details.
Britney Gordon, Reporting
Another person is dead following a road traffic accident at midday. Since the beginning of the week, at least three people have died in a fatal collision. Today, while travelling in opposite directions along the George Price Highway, two vehicles collided, injuring five people and killing at least one. Marvin Virula was among the first responders to arrive on the scene. He tells us how he stopped to offer his assistance.
Marvin Virula
Marvin Virula, Witness
“When I just get here I just see that smoke from the speaker mi di come, I guess it’s because the radiator broke up and stuff. Deh one deh mi look really bad. And ney ones mi still need to be assisted. So they mi have our next pickup truck and a older guy and a younger guy when mi assist to, they bring them out and try to give them shades and so on and actually band one of them up, because of the injury weh he mi had. And afterwards, gone to this vehicle because we realized the person’s still alive in there. And at the time, then we had more people stop by decide to cut the seatbelt because one of the guys, we actually think, there’s one person in there, but when we got closer, we realized two in there, but one motionless, right? I guess, maybe he probably got an impact, but we managed to cut the seatbelt and then give ah wa lee space to make ih breathe.”
The blue Ford Escape was travelling from the direction of Belize City, carrying two passengers, while the white van contained a Belizean tour guide and two American nationals. Virula says that just minutes before the collision, he saw the blue vehicle overtaking him on the road. The sight of a mangled vehicle in the middle of the highway, just moments later, was harrowing.
Marvin Virul
“I actually mi dih drive coming this way too and this vehicle passed me mussi like, after the whole scene and everything, I can’t remember everything exactly how it happened. But I’d say maybe five minutes he mi pass me and I mi frightened to see that he had an accident, and middle of the street the driver, the tour guide, said that what happened is that they, I don’t know if they had a blowout or they just lose control and he gone from one side to the next and he couldn’t avoid it, and that da when he had the impact against he.”
The passenger in the Ford Escape was motionless when responders arrived to assist, while the driver was still breathing. The injuries suffered by the passengers in the van were not life threatening and they were taken to the Western Regional Hospital for treatment. Due to the accident, traffic was backed up for over an hour, stretching the length of mile thirty-six. Truck driver Jorge Escalante was one of the first drivers to encounter the accident on the road.
Jorge Escalante
Jorge Escalante, Witness
“When I was coming, me see the big accident and there was some vehicle crossing through the side. But when after come the police, I mih have to slow down and stop. Because, suddenly they hurry and come and put the cones. And so I deh right ya maybe one hour and a half, something like that or more.”
As a truck driver, Escalante remains hyper-vigilant of accidents he may encounter on the road, but he says that an incident of this severity is something that he cannot describe.
Jorge Escalante
“They tek out one person from the vehicle. And they ker the one who was in the middle of the road there. Maybe one alive and one dead.”
Britney Gordon
“So what was that like for you? Seeing that as a driver that drives on these dangerous roads every day, to see first hand, something like that in front of you?
Jorge Escalante
“You can’t explain that because it’s something in the dark. Something just like frighten. I can’t explain that.”
Virula sprang into action to help shortly after realizing that the victims needed assistance. He was fueled by adrenaline due to the intensity of the moment.
Britney Gordon
“How does it feel, to know that you came in such close contact with an accident of this severity?”
Marvin Virula
“Like I tell you, when you run into these things, actually mi gone live and then I cut off my live fi actually start assist. But within that, I di try bring back memory to exactly what point they passed me and I can’t remember, because too much excitement of seeing this thing and it’s sad, to say things like that because as you get there you see the person to bleed a lot. You could ah mi clearly see that the driver mi still alive, but you coulda mi see that ih need assistant like right away.”
Although the cause of the accident is still under investigation, Virula believes that first responders should be stationed along the highways, particularly around times of public celebrations, should accidents like this occur.
Marvin Virula
“Try call police, ambulance and so some other guys they said that they done call and then they come, when then things happen. I don’t know, I believe they should have an ambulance just to linger on, between denyah long stretch right there, where, especially for, like a day when a lot of activities that happen or things like that, because people sometimes tend to be, maybe they noh di drink all day, but they got wah two three alcohol drinks inna ney system. It woulda good fi have, like I said, certain areas just have an ambulance dealing about, that when you had this happen, they should be the first ones fi deh deh. If the police could reach afterwards, but the ambulance are the ones that could assist them people to survive.”
Tragedy struck in the quiet community of San Felipe, Orange Walk, late Monday night, where a deadly collision between a vehicle and a cow claimed one life. Authorities have confirmed that the incident occurred on the main highway, just outside the village. News Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
A man lost his life in San Felipe Village, when the motorcycle he was driving on Monday night struck a cow that had wandered onto the road. It happened in this area of the road, where cattle ranches are located. The driver, eighteen-year-old Alvin Guardado, who was traveling alone at the time, died the same night.
Police inform that sometime around eight-thirty on Monday night, Guardado was driving a black Honda one-ninety motorcycle towards San Felipe Village when he ran into a cow in the road about a mile before the village. Guardado was flung to the pavement and suffered severe injuries to his head. He was transported to the hospital before authorities arrived at the scene, but hospital personnel at the Northern Regional Hospital could not save his life. The family, overcome by grief, declined to give interviews on the incident, but information reaching our newsroom is that Guardado was on his way home after visiting his girlfriend when the incident happened.
There are signs warning drivers to be aware of cattle crossing the road in that area. In the past, Orange Walk District has been known for accidents of this nature. Closer to the town itself, buffaloes and are taken to graze near the Philip Goldson Highway and the Bypass have been reported to cause accidents and have become a concern for motorists who use the roads. Marion Ali for News Five.
A House Meeting is scheduled for Friday and the Leader of the Opposition has officially informed the Speaker of the House of Representatives that Patrick Faber and Tracy Panton are no longer members of the United Democratic Party. The letter, signed by Opposition Leader Moses “Shyne” Barrow is requesting that the Speaker of the House, Valerie Woods, “declare at the next Sitting of the House of Representatives that Members from Albert and Collet have ceased to be members of the House of Representatives by reason of having been a member of a political party”. In summary, Barrow’s letter informs the Speaker of the House that Faber and Panton no longer represent the United Democratic Party in parliament. With such a declaration, questions have now arisen about the seating arrangements for the parliamentarians on Friday. Where will Tracey Panton and Patrick Faber be seated. The new space inside the George Price Center does not allow for a second row on the opposition’s side of the House. So, the most likely position would be further down the aisle, if the Speaker of the House is to honor this request. Collet Area Representative, Patrick Faber, has since come out to say that the letter is riddled with baseless claims that he has resigned from the United Democratic Party. In a Facebook post he noted that this is not the first time the opposition leader has wrongly invoked the Constitution for political gain. In his statement, Faber went on to say that, “Barrow’s actions display either a profound misunderstanding of the Constitution or a malicious intent to undermine my position”. We will continue to follow these latest developments.
Friday’s house meeting will be the first since the Briceño administration purchased the controversial piece of land in Belmopan, a few weeks ago, for the construction of the University Hospital. The sitting of the House of Representatives will also be held at the George Price Center for Peace and Development, while the Assembly Building is being refurbished. But will the elected members of the opposition turn out to support Shyne Barrow on any of these issues given what has been taking place internally. Here’s U.D.P. mouthpiece Delroy Cutkelvin.
Delroy Cutkelvin, Cayo Zone Coordinator, U.D.P.
“As an opposition, one of the main role of the opposition is to keep the government in check and in line, not just to win a general election. And this case in point that I raised underscores that. Here is an outrageous deal that the entire nation is revolted by and yoh cyant let we off di hook and we can’t let ourselves off the hook. We are the constitutional opposition.”
Isani Cayetano
“So this will be the first house meeting since that land was purchased, contentious as the issue is, Shyne Barrow will be there as the Leader of the Opposition. We don’t know exactly what the seating arrangements for the other dissenting to will be, God knows if Sista B or Hugo Patt will be there. So is he then to stand before the “Honorable House” and share his official position without the backing of the other four, considering how small as it is the opposition actually is?”
Delroy Cutkelvin
“Well I have no reason to believe that the representatives will not be there other than one particular member who we know has had her issues with attending house meetings for her reasons which I won’t try to defend at all. But I have no reason to believe that the honorable Hugo Patt will not be there. I have no reason to believe that the honorable Patrick Faber and the honorable Tracy Panton will not be there.”
According to Cutkelvin, despite the firmly held position of others in the echelons of the United Democratic Party, all attempts were made to resolve the issue between Party Leader Shyne Barrow and the Alliance for Democracy via mediation. That effort, nonetheless, also proved fruitless.
Delroy Cutkelvin, Cayo Zone Coordinator, U.D.P.
“When the central executive first met to consider this matter of this so-called breakaway group, there were some who came to that meeting with their minds made up that they were going to move swiftly to deal with this matter. There were others like myself, Diane, people like Lindsay Garbutt, people like Alberto August who said let us give an opportunity for a mediation process and there were some who said what if the mediation process yields no positive results? And I was quick to say, we have to be positive and optimistic that it will yield positive results because we all love this party.”
Isani Cayetano
“But it didn’t, hence the reason…”
Delroy Cutkelvin
“But I am just making the point that the party leader, the chairman and others have exercised great restraint in making certain decisive moves in terms of addressing what is happening here. So I am making the broader point that there is much democracy at work in the operations of the party because it was because of our insistence that we must give another opportunity to try to make this thing work. It’s because of that that we ended up with a mediation process in the first place and no one can rule out the possibility that some kind of mediation can happen still. I continue to maintain that the UDP has been through these kinds of tribulations and trials before and we have eventually worked it out.”
