CARICOM Youth Ambassador and Chairman of Red Bank Village, Kenroy Cal, stands accused of rape. According to police, a 21-year-old from Independence Village reported to police that on Sunday, August 18, 2024, sometime after 3:30 a.m., she was taken to a dark building behind Delicious Restaurant in Santa Cruz Village by an acquaintance she had accompanied to the Happy Ranch nightclub and whom she identified as Kenroy Cal.
While inside the building, Cal allegedly forcibly touched her inappropriately and threatened to harm her if she screamed. She expressed fear for her safety as another individual, known as Ralph, stood guard at the entrance.
According to the report, Cal then allegedly removed her clothing, turned her around, and raped her.
The victim managed to push him away, quickly grabbed a piece of clothing, and ran towards her friend, who was calling for her. Both women went to the Santa Cruz Police Station.
News Five reached out to Cal via Facebook for comment.
The People’s National Party categorically condemns what it describes as the shocking decision by the People’s United Party to authorize a staggering payout of $6.9 million in taxpayer dollars for land, a sum grossly inflated compared to the Belmopan City Council’s valuation of merely 1/20th of the sale price.
A release from the party says, “This is an outrageous misuse of public funds, especially given that the proposed national referral tertiary care hospital was intended to be constructed on the grounds of the University of Belize, Belmopan – at no cost for land use. We implore the Government to urgently reconsider this decision. The selected property is not suitable for such a critical healthcare facility, and the excessive cost is an affront to prudent fiscal management.”
The PNP says that public monies should be spent judiciously, particularly when funded through a US$45 million loan from the Saudi Arabia Fund for Development. it says that it is time for the Government to demonstrate true responsibility and redirect this vital investment to better serve the people of our nation.
The Atlantic hurricane season officially began on June 1, but on Tuesday, we entered the “season within the season”—the period when tropical activity in the Atlantic is at its most intense.
This peak period, which runs through October 10, includes the overall peak of hurricane season on September 10. Remarkably, two-thirds of all hurricanes occur during this time as activity surges.
This surge is fuelled by a combination of atmospheric conditions across a vast area of the Atlantic, including low wind shear, warm sea surface temperatures, increased moisture, and atmospheric instability. These factors come together most powerfully from August through mid-October, creating an ideal environment for the formation and intensification of tropical systems. September, in particular, is the most active month, with a large area of the Atlantic becoming a hotspot for development.
During this period, tropical waves emerging from Africa and moving into the Atlantic are often more organised and developed, increasing their chances of evolving into hurricanes.
While the likelihood of hurricane formation decreases after mid-October as atmospheric conditions become less favourable and potential formation areas shrink, the threat persists until the official end of the season on November 30.
Chairman and CEO of Belize Broadcasting Network (BBN), Ramon Vasquez, stepped back from his role as standard bearer for the United Democratic Party (UDP) in Belize Rural South for the upcoming General Elections.
The announcement was made on August 20, 2024, in a statement issued on BBN’s official Facebook account. The statement explained that the decision followed “extensive discussions with the board of directors” at BBN. The statement emphasised that the move was made to maintain the television station’s “identity, neutrality, and independence.”
Vasquez’s departure comes after other candidates, including Jazelié Azueita and former Mayor Daniel Guerrero, were removed or withdrew from the race due to internal conflicts within the party.
BBN stated that Vasquez and the network will continue to provide news, entertainment, and daily programmes to the public.
Official Statement:
“August 20, 2024
RE: Withdrawal of Candidacy for Belize Rural South
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
After extensive discussions with the board of directors for BBN Tv,
(Belize Broadcasting Network) Ramon Vasquez of BBN Tv has agreed to withdraw his candidacy for Belize Rural South for the upcoming General Elections. This is in regards to maintaining the integrity of the Media Station’s Identity and Core values of Neutrality in Politics and its Independence in the public domain.
Ramon Vasquez and BBN Tv will continue to serve the General Public in its Capacity of providing News, Entertainment and Daily Programs.
Carlos Fuller, Belize’s Ambassador to the United Nations, called on all states under colonial rule to seek independence. This call was made during an international conference organised by the Baku Initiative Group (BIG) on June 20, 2024, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The conference was titled “Towards Independence and Fundamental Freedoms: The Role of the C-24 in Ending Colonialism.” Fuller emphasised the importance of territorial integrity and self-determination. He also commended the Baku Initiative Group for their work in safeguarding workers’ rights and opposing colonialism.
“This is a great struggle. Countries need to fight for their freedom,” Fuller stated. He shared Belize’s own experience, noting that the country achieved independence in 1981 after a prolonged struggle and diplomatic efforts. “Striving for independence is a long struggle that requires perseverance and a demonstration of your core principles,” Fuller said. “It took us until 1981 to achieve independence. We had to convince our neighbours to the north. Panama and Caribbean countries joined us, and we spread the message to a wider audience, engaging Europe, Africa, and East Asian countries.”
Fuller likened the process to a marathon, acknowledging the difficulties involved. “All these countries around the world supported our fight for independence. This allowed us to approach the United Nations and become a member of the United Nations,” Fuller said.
Researchers are investigating if bats’ ability to manage high sugar levels could lead to breakthroughs in diabetes treatment. Wei Gordon, a biologist at Menlo College, studied fruit bats in Belize during the sixteenth Bat-a-thon, an annual event that convened 80-some researchers at Belize’s Lamanai Archaeological Reserve.
Gordon found that fruit bats, which feed on what she calls “nature’s candy,” can handle large amounts of fruit without developing diabetes. “These bats control sugar like it was nothing,” said Nadav Ahituv from the University of California, San Francisco.
Gordon’s research, published in Nature Communications, showed that fruit bats have more pancreas cells for insulin production and genetic traits for rapid blood sugar regulation.
Meanwhile, in another study, Jasmin Camacho from the Stowers Institute examined nectar-feeding bats, which consume even more sugar. “These are basically hummingbirds of the night, drinking floral nectar,” said Camacho. Despite their high intake, these bats stay healthy, potentially due to their constant flight, which might help manage their blood sugar.
Both Gordon and Camacho’s teams hope their findings on bats’ sugar metabolism could lead to new approaches for managing diabetes in humans.
The Briceño administration paid a whopping six point nine million dollars for fifteen acres of land in Belmopan and that sprawling property which belonged to businessman Kevin Zheng will be the site for the university hospital. The price tag for the acreage sold to the Government of Belize has been described by independent valuators as costly. While the purpose of the acquisition is for a public good, many are left to wonder whether the Ministry of Natural Resources could have gone about obtaining the land through other means. Earlier today, News Five sat down with former Prime Minister Dean Barrow who shared his thoughts on the controversial land purchase and the steps that G.O.B. could have followed. We begin our newscast tonight with that one-on-one conversation.
Dean Barrow
Dean Barrow, Former Prime Minister
“There’s no doubt that in my mind, that that’s a legitimate public purpose. When government decides to acquire compulsorily for a public purpose, one of the things that the land owner can always question by going to court is whether the stated public purpose, or the public purpose stated by government is indeed legitimately a public purpose. In this case, if you are talking about acquiring land for a public hospital, it seems to me that there is hardly any doubt that that constitutes a public purpose. The law actually says that when the minister declares something to be for a public purpose, that is his definition alone is prima facie evidence that it is for a public purpose, but prima facie means that it is rebuttable. There is a presumption that it is for a public purpose which the landowner can rebut. But in a situation where you are talking about a public hospital, it is hard to see how any successful argument can be made that that is not a legitimate public purpose. It is relatively straightforward, there is a Compulsory Acquisition Public Purposes Act which has been used time out of hand for exactly the purposes for which the law is designed. So, once there is a legitimate public purpose involved, the government has nothing to worry about in terms of acquiring private property. It is absolutely provided for under the law. This is not anything peculiar to Belize, any civilized democratic, progressive society does afford that sort of right to a particular government. The public interest, the larger good must be allowed to override the personal interests of individual citizens, so long as the individual citizen is going to be properly compensated for the dispossession of his or her property.”
Former P.M. Barrow, himself a seasoned attorney, also outlined the steps that could have been taken to acquire the property in question, including compensation once the land had been vested in the Minister of Natural Resources.
Dean Barrow, Attorney-at-law
“The minister, no doubt, after consultation with his cabinet colleagues decides that there is a piece of private property that the government needs to acquire, the minister, having come to that decision will publish a declaration in the gazette notifying of his decision to acquire that particular piece of property. That notification, that gazette publication will contain all the necessary particulars. He must publish two declarations but there is an interval of six weeks between the first and the second publication. That six-week interval must be used by the minister to invite the landowner to negotiate because it is always better if the acquisition can be done by way of a voluntary sale which will make it then not a compulsory acquisition. More likely than not, while the minister or the authorized officer so designated by the minister must engage in that kind of good faith negotiation process, more likely than not it will come to naught because no doubt the landowner is going to want far more for his or her land than the government is prepared to give. But once the government has conducted or engaged in that sort of an effort to see whether there can be a voluntary transfer for an agreed price, if that doesn’t work then the minister publishes his second declaration after the intervening period has elapsed. And immediately after that second declaration is published, the land vests in the minister, in the government and thereafter, it is just a matter of the government carrying out the public purpose which the land now vested in the minister or the government, carrying out the public purpose for which it was acquired. Of course, there is the question of compensation.”
We also heard from the Leader of the Opposition, Moses “Shyne” Barrow on the government’s decision to acquire fifteen acres of roadside property for the construction of a new hospital in Belmopan. He described it as corrupt and outrageous. Barrow also revealed that the United Democratic Party will be joining a group of civilians that has organized a protest for Friday morning in front of the Prime Minister’s office in Belmopan. Here is what he told us.
Moses “Shyne” Barrow, Leader of the Opposition
“To me, this cannot be described as anything other than corruption. When you look at the fact that the parcels of land that are nearby and these parcels of land are fifteen acres was assessed by the Belmopan City Council at a hundred and sixty-nine thousand for one, because I believe it is fifteen acres and another hundred and add, for a total of three hundred thousand. That was the assessment. I don’t know if that was corruption on the part of the Belmopan City Council so that they could pay less taxes. But that was the going rate. So, to go from three hundred thousand to about seven million is absolutely outrageous. What makes it more outrageous is that you have UB that has eight hundred acres that we would get for free. What makes it even more outrageous is the fact that you have the honorable prime minister who came to the House of Representatives and said that the Saudi Fund gave Belize ninety million dollars in order to build a tertiary level hospital and we are building it on the University of Belize Campus and it will be a teaching facility and this is what was presented to the people of Belize and this is what was passed n parliament. And to come back and say there was a feasibility studies and experts that came and said it wouldn’t make sense, no one is buying that. So to make the investment of seven or eight million in the University of Belize to create the necessary infrastructure so that you can have a hospital there, that would be the proper investment. You are helping the constituency of Belmopan. You are benefiting the students and future students to come. That would be a benefit to Belize, to our national university for generations to come. This would have become a hallmark accomplishment for the Briceno administration. But this just shows how greedy, how glutenous they have become.”
The location of the proposed University Hospital to be constructed in Belmopan continues to be a concern for both the public and governmental bodies. Initially, the hospital was to be built on the University of Belize property, but that was ruled out as an option by government officials. On Friday, Minister of the Environment, Orlando Habet, told us that an assessment would be conducted on the property purchased by the Government of Belize., the question of whether the smell or possible leakage is a risk for the safety of the hospital was raised, since there are sewage treatment ponds located near the land. Here’s what Chief Environmental Officer Anthony Mai had to say.
Anthony Mai
Anthony Mai, Chief Environmental Officer, D.O.E.
“Well, I’m not sure. We haven’t received anything in the D.O.E. I haven’t been given any details of the project per se, so it’s difficult to say. And I’m very cautious about basically giving an opinion on something that I don’t have critical information on. The way the Department of Environment works is we use scientific information to guide our decision, and only through the use of data can we give such an input. So at this point I’m not too sure. So I’ve read that there is the potential, possibility, likelihood, and danger of seepage of sewage ponds. And obviously there are different types and so forth.”
Reporter
“You’ve never had any such concern from that particular one?”
Anthony Mai
“Not from that particular one. I think a component of that project is concrete in terms of funds. I know that an upgrade, we granted environmental clearance for an upgrade a couple of years ago, maybe five, six years. The upgrade included the installation of I think a dry bed. And I think they lined one of the ponds and they also included UV light for disinfecting the waste before it goes into the environment. So there have been some improvement to that facility over the years.”
Reporter
“You know how big they are?”
Anthony Mai
“I can’t say from the top of my head, but we have the data in the office in terms of the size of the pond.”
