During his official visit to Taiwan, Prime Minister John Briceño had the opportunity to meet the recently elected president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Lai Ching-te. PM Briceño reiterated Belize’s support for Taiwan’s inclusion in international fora, including the UN and related agencies.
Dr. Lai Ching-te as Taiwan’s fifth democratically elected president, with ceremonies featuring street performances and a military display in Taipei.
Prime Minister Briceno expressed his pleasure at standing alongside regional leaders from the Caribbean, Central America, and South America. PM Briceño says he looks forward to continued positive and mutually beneficial relations with President Lai Ching-te and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim’s administration.
During his visit, Briceño met with Belizean students and the diplomatic team led by Ambassador Dr. Candice Pitts.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) is pursuing arrest warrants for Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas leader in Gaza, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the October 7 attacks on Israel and the ensuing conflict in Gaza.
ICC prosecutor Karim Khan says that the ICC is also seeking warrants for Israel’s Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and two other senior Hamas leaders: Mohammed Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, known as Mohammed Deif, the leader of the Al Qassem Brigades, and Ismail Haniyeh, Hamas’ political leader.
This action marks the first time the ICC has targeted the top leader of a U.S. ally, placing Netanyahu alongside figures like Russian President Vladimir Putin, who faces an ICC arrest warrant over the Ukraine conflict, and the late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, who was under an ICC warrant for alleged crimes against humanity at the time of his death in 2011. Khan’s simultaneous pursuit of arrest warrants for Israeli and Hamas leaders may draw criticism for seemingly equating a recognized government with a terrorist organization.
Khan mentioned that his team has gathered substantial evidence to support the arrest warrant applications, including authenticated videos, photographs, and testimonies from eyewitnesses and survivors.
He also asserted that Israel has the right and obligation to recover the hostages, but must adhere to legal standards in doing so.
The body of a male person was found early this morning in San Ignacio Town, Cayo. Preliminary investigations suggest that the body was found after six o’clock at Victor Galves Stadium.
According to reports, the deceased was seen with stab wounds to the back and neck. Police are investigating.
Public outrage is increasing by the minute as more social media users view a video of a man abusing a male child. The disturbing video was posted on Facebook.
The police say that an investigation has been launched.
The heartbreaking video shows the man throwing the boy to the ground. He slaps and kicks the vulnerable boy repeatedly. The boy cries as the man continues to attack him.
Public Outrage as Man Caught Abusing Child
During one of the instances, a woman intervenes. News Five has not confirmed where the incidents took place.
At today’s police press briefing, A.C.P. Hilberto Romero, Regional Commander, Eastern Division, told reporters “an investigation is being carried out in regards to that video that was on Facebook.”
On Facebook, users are expressing their disgust at the man. One wrote, “This makes my stomach turn, I am so angry. That man is a perfect example of what ails this nation. Disgusting. Fire him. Jail him. Somebody deal with ah.”
Another said, I hope he is found and rots in prison…”
Public Outrage as Man Caught Abusing Child
Earlier today, UNICEF issued a release calling for urgent action to end violence against children. UNICEF said it is “gravely concerned by the spike and gravity of incidents of violence that have been impacting children in Belize over the last couple of months.”
The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has concluded the Article IV consultation with Belize, endorsing the staff appraisal without a formal meeting.
Economic Performance in 2023:
Belize experienced moderated economic growth and inflation in 2023. Real GDP growth slowed from 8.7% in 2022 to 4.7% in 2023, driven by sectors such as tourism, construction, retail, wholesale trade, transport, and business process outsourcing. Inflation decreased from 6.3% in 2022 to 4.4% in 2023, largely due to lower transport and utility prices, despite rising food costs. The fiscal position remained robust, but debt dynamics became more challenging. The overall fiscal deficit widened, influenced by a reduced primary surplus and increased interest payments on external debt. Public debt slightly declined from 67% of GDP in 2022 to 66% in 2023 following the acquisition of the Port of Belize and the settlement of foreign investor litigations.
Future Economic Outlook:
Real GDP growth and inflation are expected to further moderate. Growth is projected at 3.4% in 2024 and 2.5% from 2025 onwards, with inflation anticipated to drop to 1.3% in the medium term, aligning with declining commodity prices and global inflation. The primary balance is expected to remain at 1.2% of GDP from FY2024, with public debt projected to decline slowly but remain above 50% of GDP through 2034 due to slower nominal GDP growth and high global interest rates. Key risks include higher global food and fuel prices, prolonged high global interest rates, and climate-related disasters.
Executive Board Assessment:
Belize’s key policy priorities involve reducing public debt to 50% of GDP by FY2030 by raising the primary fiscal balance to 2.0% of GDP from FY2025 onwards. This entails increasing priority spending on infrastructure, targeted social programs, and crime prevention, financed through additional revenues and expenditure reprioritization. Structural reforms aimed at boosting inclusive and resilient growth and vigilant financial stability measures are also crucial.
Achieving a 50% public debt-to-GDP ratio by 2030 would ensure debt sustainability and fiscal buffers. This target, aligned with investment-grade emerging market economies, would likely maintain debt below the 70% GDP target in the 2021 Medium-term Recovery Plan. Attaining this goal requires fiscal consolidation to raise the primary balance to 2% of GDP from FY2025, supported by a medium-term fiscal strategy and a potential Fiscal Responsibility Law with robust fiscal rules.
Revenue and expenditure measures can enhance the primary surplus and fund essential spending. Broadening the GST base, increasing excise taxes, rebalancing manufacturing taxes, and improving revenue administration can boost revenue by 2.2% of GDP. Reforming the PPPO could reduce government spending by 0.1% of GDP. Savings would support a higher primary surplus (0.8% of GDP) and expand priority spending (1.5% of GDP), fostering medium-term growth and resilience. Priority spending includes infrastructure improvements, renewable energy investments, childcare and training subsidies for vulnerable women, targeted transfers for food security, and climate-resilient infrastructure.
Improving the business climate and developing a disaster resilience strategy (DRS) are essential for medium-term growth. Enhancing access to affordable credit for SMEs, digitalizing land and business registries, and improving government services are key priorities. A comprehensive DRS would support funding for climate mitigation and adaptation, reducing output volatility.
Increasing international reserves would strengthen the currency peg. Belize’s external position is strong, yet international reserves remain below the ARA metric. Fiscal consolidation and structural reforms to increase reserves would fortify the currency peg, especially with rising external financing needs projected when blue loan repayments begin in 2032.
Limiting central bank financing of the government, preserving financial stability, and strengthening the AML/CFT framework are critical. Reducing central bank financing gradually would decrease excess liquidity and support local capital market development. The central bank should monitor financial stability risks, enhance supervision of vulnerable institutions, and enforce the AML/CFT framework, particularly in the IFS.
The National Emergency Management Organization (NEMO) says it is actively responding to wildfires affecting San Pedro Columbia and nearby communities in the Toledo District. The Toledo District Emergency Operations Centre was activated last Thursday.
According to NEMO, an emergency meeting included representatives from the Fire Department, Forest Department, Ministry of Infrastructure Development and Housing, Ministry of Transport, Belize Defence Force, Ya’axché Conservation Trust, and Toledo Institute for Development and Environment (TIDE).
Initial assessments were conducted, and an action plan was created to provide immediate humanitarian support to affected families. NEMO says it maintained communication with the leaders of San Pedro Columbia, Crique Jute, Mafredi, and San Antonio.
An aerial reconnaissance confirmed the extent of the fire, assessed initial damage, and assisted in containment planning.
According to NEMO, there is no immediate fire threat to Crique Jute, Mafredi, or San Antonio.
Iran’s president and foreign minister have died in a helicopter crash during a period of heightened tensions in the Middle East. President Ebrahim Raisi and the foreign minister were found dead on Monday, hours after their helicopter went down in dense fog, leaving Iran without two of its top leaders amidst extraordinary regional turmoil.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei swiftly appointed a little-known vice president as caretaker to ensure that the government remained stable.
Iran has not provided a cause for the crash nor indicated sabotage, stating only that the helicopter fell in mountainous terrain during sudden, intense fog.
This incident occurs amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which has further destabilised the region.
President Raisi, a hard-liner and former judiciary head, was seen as a protégé of Khamenei. His tenure saw worsening relations with the West, uranium enrichment nearing weapons-grade levels, and the supply of drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine. His administration has also faced mass protests over economic issues and women’s rights, adding to the current sensitivities.
Opposition Leader, Moses “Shyne” Barrow says he vehemently denounces the “repugnant behavior of Sean Diddy Combs captured on the video in which he is seen physically assaulting Mrs Cassie Ventura-Fine.”
CNN aired security video that showed him beating singer Cassie in a Los Angeles hotel hallway in 2016.
Diddy took to social media on Sunday to apologize. “It’s so difficult to reflect on the darkest times in your life. Sometimes you gotta do that,” Combs begins in a brief recording shared on Instagram. “I was ****ed up … I hit rock bottom. But I make no excuses. My behavioron that video is inexcusable. I take full responsibility for my actions.”
In his statement, Shyne said “There is no place for Violence against Women anywhere on the planet.
In his statement, Shyne said “There is no place for Violence against Women anywhere on the planet. As a father of a precious daughter, a global citizen and the next Prime Minister of Belize I want absolutely nothing to do with people who engage in this pattern of diabolical behaviour.”
CNN’s report is the latest public relations crisis for the former hitmaker, who also finds himself at the centre of a federal investigation after agents raided his homes in Los Angeles and Miami in late March.
According to CNN, the investigation was handled by the Department of Homeland Security’s team that handles human trafficking crimes.
His name is Kareem Emory Hamilton and he has been charged with kidnapping. This is after a Belize City woman, Shandy Pech, reported to police that her five-year-old daughter was taken by a man. It happened on Thursday.
Wrapping herself in a towel, Pech ran up the street in the direction of the man. With the help of neighbours, they detained the man until the police arrived. Though Pech didn’t know the man, he identified himself to officers, revealing a past conviction for an unnatural crime against a child with special needs.
Belizean Patricia Arana, former Registrar of the Magistrate’s Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI), has been appointed as the new Resident Magistrate in Grand Turk, the nation’s capital. This is being reported by Turks and Caicos Weekly News
Arana was officially sworn in on Monday and has since commenced her duties in the new role. Arana initially joined the Judiciary of the Turks and Caicos Islands as Registrar of the Magistrate’s Court in April 2022. Before that, she served as the Deputy Registrar General at the Supreme Court of Belize.
Arana began her judicial career as a Magistrate in 2010 and was promoted to Senior Magistrate in 2015. As Senior Magistrate, she worked in several districts in Belize and acted as Chief Magistrate on multiple occasions. Additionally, she was seconded for two years as Legal Counsel to the Financial Intelligence Unit of Belize.
Arana is an alumna of the University of the West Indies, where she earned a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) Degree, and the Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica, where she obtained her Legal Education Certificate. Notably, she was awarded the H.H. Dunn Memorial Prize for Legal Drafting and Interpretation at the Norman Manley Law School.
Regionally, Arana serves as an Executive Member of the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers (CAJO) on behalf of the Judiciary of the Turks and Caicos Islands. She is also an active member of the Caribbean Association of Women Judges (CAWJ) and the National Garifuna Council (NGC) Orange Walk Branch.
