Belizean music promoter Cyril Uruwei is entering the political arena and intends to challenge incumbent Area Representative Doctor Louis Zabaneh in the Dangriga constituency. Shortly before noon today, Uruwei made his way over to the People’s United Party’s headquarters at Independence Hall where he submitted an application to run against Doctor Zabaneh in that division. According to Uruwei, his foray into electoral politics is the result of a lack of development in his hometown.
Cyril Uruwei
Cyril Uruwei, Aspiring Candidate, P.U.P.
“I was born and raised in Dangriga. I’ve never really thought about going, getting into politics, especially at this level, but Dangriga has been downtrodden for too, too long. There are so many things that we need that we haven’t been getting. We have so many talented youths, we have Hubee, we have Supa G. Most of the ones that make it out of Dangriga da outta dehn own mind, outta dehn own creativity. If we have more opportunities, if we have our representative going to speak for us and ask for us, on our behalf, we can do a lot more in Dangriga. So, I have experienced firsthand the current area rep and I am dissatisfied, Dangriga is dissatisfied, so that’s what moved me to come to this juncture.”
Isani Cayetano
“You have submitted an application to run in a convention against Dr. Louis Zabaneh. Talk to us about the confidence that you have in this particular political endeavor.”
Cyril Uruwei
“I am self-made, self-made. Ever since high school and, for the record, the farthest education I have is high school. I have spent all my life in self-development. I’m a digital marketer, I’m a five-hundred hours certified yoga teacher, I am well read and I love people and love Dangriga. I have a passion for my people, for my culture and I don’t see that in Louis [Zabaneh].”
This afternoon, Doctor Zabaneh also spoke with News Five regarding the challenge and provided and update on the works that have been taking place in his constituency. Zabaneh has been in office since November 2020 when he was elected under the People’s United Party.
Dr. Louis Zabaneh, Area Representative, Dangriga
“Our party has a mechanism in place and the Prime Minister and the party chairman opened up the period for persons to apply which I believe closes today. But at the end of the day, I can speak to the things that I have worked on, the things that I went through when I had to apply for the first time and I believe I brought to the table over thirty years combined work experience, academic achievement and that is what I presented to the people, I said based on this background that is here, that I am sharing with you, that you all are able to go and verify, I would like the opportunity to serve the people of Dangriga constituency and I was very humble and honored to have been accepted to do so.”
Isani Cayetano
“Dr. Zabaneh, as area representative for Dangriga, how would you respond to the criticism that some would say you seem to be disconnected from those on the ground, in terms of being able to provide the services that the constituency needs?”
Louis Zabaneh
“If you go and talk to the people of Dangriga you would find that that’s not the case. On the contrary, you would see me very active in the community. Being a minister of state in government also means that I have those responsibilities, so it’s not everyday that I can be in the constituency itself. people on the ground are able to see what has been achieved. I’ve worked very hard in various areas based on the promises I’ve made, the areas of priority that I was guided by the people to do, education, we’ve done quite a bit in that area. Besides Plan Belize that has free education now and we have Delille [Academy] and we have ANRI under that program. We’ve done over five hundred scholarships, preschool all the way to university and we’ve also brought ANRI to life again, it was dormant. We’ve also brought the ITVET back to life again. We also have the infrastructure. For the first time, Dangriga has seen in a short period of time, coming from central government, eighteen streets and these are not short streets, long streets that have been paved. The villages, we have Hope Creek and we have Sarawee, for the first time they have paved streets, we’re working on their sporting facilities, for example.”
The European Union has contributed six million dollars to the Office of the O.A.S. in the Belize/Guatemala Adjacency Zone. The funds will be used to support the O.A.S. in its ongoing work to maintain peace between Belize and Guatemala through its verification exercises and cultural investments. A cooperation agreement was signed today at the Office of the O.A.S. out west. Representatives from the European Union, ambassadors from both Belize and Guatemala, as well as the Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amalia Mai was present. C.E.O Mai described the E.U’s financial support as a lifeline for the project.
Amalia Mai
Amalia Mai, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“I always have to recognize that they have gone far beyond the issue of verification. They have now included the cultural aspect, the peace aspect has always been there. But I have found that the trainings being conducted here through grants have been extremely good for both communities on both sides of the adjacency zone. You have extended a lifeline for this project and I can only know and recognize what you said earlier that after the ruling of the court the project takes a new fashion and I am also very happy that you recognize that we will keep knocking at doors for the demarcation of our borders. That will have to come. You cannot have a court ruling and not be ready for that. So we have to prepare for that. We have to prepare our friends for that moment. I think it is going to be we estimate sometime next year after the oral hearings which we don’t have a date but we believe it will be sometime in the first quarter of next year we should have a decision from the I.C.J. I think on both sides of the fence we have done the right thing. I can’t speak for Guatemala but I think we recognize the referendum, taking this issue to the international Court for a definitive solution has been the right move but both governments from the Guatemala and from Belize. The process was emotional and extensive at times but both populations decided that going to the I.C.J. is the right thing.”
We also heard from Marianne Van Steen, the Ambassador of the European Union to Belize. She explained why the E.U. continues to back the work of the O.A.S. financially. Ambassador Van Steen lauded the decision taken by both Belize and Guatemala to place the border dispute in the hands of the International Court of Justice. She noted that funds will aid the work of the O.A.S. for the next three years which will likely extend beyond the time the I.C.J. hands down it decision on the border dispute.
Marianne Van Steen
Marianne Van Steen, E.U. Ambassador to Belize
“Everytime I go back and I am explaing to my colleagues in my office and in Brussels that this is exactly the kind of project we should be supporting and we should continue to support because it is all about peace and conflict prevention and peace has always been at the core of the European Union. We have seen the important work that has been done by the mission here in the adjacency zone and the uncertainty of the border between Belize and Guatemala could indeed lead to tensions and that is exactly what we don’t want and why we are supporting this project. Let me express here again the E.U.’s appreciation of the decision taken by the two countries, by Guatemala by Belize to have agreed to ask the international Court of Justice to examine the matter to commit to its ruling once established and to have initiated under the guidance under the compliment of the O.A.S., a political diplomatic process of coming closer together, dialoguing, talking to each other whenever that appears necessary and useful. I very much hope this project is going to be the last one. We are very much expecting that the ICJ will issue its judgment within a year from now. I think that is more or less within our perspective and that will not end the work that has been done. We will continue here for another three years.”
In the bustling halls of Toledo Community College, a transformative movement is underway. Students and faculty have joined forces to tackle one of society’s most pressing issues: bullying. Through an innovative approach to competency-based learning, Toledo Community College is rewriting the narrative on preventing bullying. Sabreena Daly tells us more in this week’s Look on The Bright Side.
Jeremiah Logan
Jeremiah Logan, Student, Toledo Community College
“I believe a bully is someone who doesn’t love themselves to a certain extent that they want to hurt you. They want to make you feel bad about yourself. If you’re a bully, then you’re always going to try to do negative things. Sometimes people who are bullies are people who have low self esteem, who are being treated badly, probably at home, and they don’t know how to control themselves. So they go on, you know, they bully others to get that comfort.”
Jeremiah Logan is a proud member of this year’s graduating class at Toledo Community College. Known for his easygoing nature, he holds kindness and humility as core values. Ironically, these very qualities made him a target for bullies.
Jeremiah Logan
“Well, my experience is that, you know, um, because I’m a male, people would expect me to, as they say something to me, I would be a bit more rowdy with them, but I walk away. So, for these reasons People think I’m kind of soft, I’m weak, or so, but I try to, you know, be more, be more on the upper side and not to engage myself with any kind of conflict.”
A similar experience was shared by Lynel Arzu, also a member of this year’s graduating class. Bullies targeted her because of her skin color.
Lynel Arzu
Lynel Arzu, Student, Toledo Community College
“My experience with bullying I would say is that I was a part of being discriminated against because of my skin color. It was something hard to deal with because there wasn’t much of my skin color where I used to live. So it was really hard fitting in. And I remember I used to try to go out of my way to make myself be seen or heard because no one really wanted to listen to me or hear my ideas, which were very brilliant. They would always say, Oh, you’re not smart. You’re black. You look like a monkey.”
T.C.C. has a population of over seven hundred students. Vice Principal Joanna Monk explains that while the wellness center and counselors educate students on STIs, teenage pregnancy, bullying, and mental health, she collaborates with parents to address significant student issues.
Joanna Monk
Joanna Monk, Vice Principal, Student Affairs, Toledo Community College
“They come to me when we have, you know, much larger issues that we need to address so we have to reach out to our parents, to solve difficulties that students are having, so we work hand in hand. Now, the Wellness Centre, our counselors, they also do a lot of education on pertinent social issues affecting teenagers; STIs, teenage pregnancy, bullying, you know, mental health awareness, all those things that they are also responsible for engaging students in. I’ve noticed that it’s a post-pandemic issue, particularly the amount of online cyber bullying has increased substantially since the pandemic. I think it was always, if you’re, if you’re my age, you always remember that there was somebody who was trying to steal your money or shove you around, and that was the bullying that we dealt with. But this is very different because this is saying horrible things about people, derogatory things. that really have an impact on people’s mental health.”
The Ministry of Education, through its competency-based curriculum, champions innovative approaches to education, promising a more impactful learning experience. Althea Sanchez is an English teacher who challenges her students to confront bullying.
Althea Sanchez
Althea Sanchez, English Teacher, Toledo Community College “We were discussing a new topic, persuasive writing, and we were talking about the three appeals, Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, and I wanted a project that highlighted the students’ creativity, and also highlighted a social issue that many of our students were facing. And at the time, a lot of bullying videos were coming about, and other scenarios were coming about, and other situations, and I thought we needed something to highlight that issue, especially with our students because they experience it. I said it would be a perfect time to actually showcase that. And send a message out to the school population that bullying is not okay.”
These three persuasive appeals are often used together to create compelling arguments and effectively influence the audience’s beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors.
Jeremiah Logan
“We did ethos, pathos, and logos, whereby the ethos is based upon your character, the pathos is based upon your emotions, and the logos is based upon facts and data.Based upon someone’s character that causes you to want to bully them and your emotions is how you respond to the bullying if you’re aggressive towards it if you’re passive or so and the logos is based upon the facts like if you go and start a problem, some people you would say they fight fire with fire and then they have some whereby they would just walk away. So the outcome of our video was that the person got sent to the principal’s office where they got either expelled or suspended. And then they have in the other videos where the outcome of the bullying was death or suicide or depression or so.”
The assignment proved effective, as the students understood the concept being shared. But what Sanchez did not expect was how moved she would be by the message.
Althea Sanchez
“They were very emotional for me when I watched them. I myself was a student of T.C.C. and I was bullied also. So to see them actually highlighting different aspects of bullying and the fact that they themselves were victims of it really resonated with me and the fact that they and the teachers threw themselves into this project, and they did so excellent, Iit was emotional. It was captivating, and you can see the message being important. I brought it to the attention of our VPSS, Ms. Joanna Monk, the idea I had, and I told her that since we have a Facebook page, I would love if we can showcase the students projects on our Facebook page, to show it on social media, to have the wider population view it and see that you’re not alone when it comes to bullying, and everyone experiences bullying at some level, and there’s ways that you can actually mitigate that.”
Joanna Monk “When I saw the videos, I was so impressed that they really, there was one of them that actually gave me shivers when I saw it. That these are issues that are actually impacting students. And that it’s something we have to absolutely address. We have to identify where students are being bullied, how they’re being bullied, and how we address it.”
The activity provided an opportunity for students to simulate bullying, as well as its effects on victims. The students feel that they’ve created a lasting legacy for generations to come.
Sabreena Daly
“What do you think will be the impact of this project that they carried out?”
Althea Sancez
“I think it links back to the competency base that we’re doing now with the new curriculum. And it’s all about authentic, realistic, showing the kids that you can go beyond the classroom. And that’s what I wanted to showcase with our kids that shows your competency. You have collaboration, you have digital literacy, you have communication, and all of that, I think it works perfectly with what the ministry has aligned for us.”
Sabreena Daly
“So now that you are graduating from the school, a school that has sent a strong message against bullying, how do you feel?”
Lynel Arzu
“I’m so, I’m filled with joy. I actually am because bullying is nothing nice.”
Jeremiah Logan
“Hopefully this helps someone. Hopefully this changes someone’s mentality towards someone else. So I believe we left a great impact and hopefully there’s better to come.”
Last week, Belize’s U18/U20 athletes travelled to Costa Rica to compete in several sporting events. During the two-day event, the athletes won several medals.
In the U-20 category, Kali Magana, the reigning Central American 400m champion, continued her reign by winning both the 800m (2:19.82) and 400m (56.06) events. In the U-18 division, Jouvann Morgan impressed with two medals in the long and triple jumps, achieving a personal best of 5.85m in the long jump (bronze) and a personal record of 13.36m in the triple jump (silver).
Dario Crunckshanck secured a bronze in the high jump with a personal record of 1.85m, while Summer Francis earned a bronze in the U18 shot put with a new personal best of 10.24m. Other notable performances included Ruper Cardinez’s personal best of 11.25 in the 100m finals, Kamron Gentel’s personal records of 11.39 in the 100m and 23.13 in the 200m, and Aquile Flores’ 200m personal record of 23.80.
Nathan Pettingale set a new personal record in the javelin with a throw of 40.73m, finishing 4th, while Elvis Guzman’s 41.33m throw in the U20 javelin earned him 8th place in the finals. Emiain Sandoval reached the finals in the U18 100m with a personal record of 13.23, and Tamiai Bennett cleared 1.40m in the high jump for 7th place.
NOAA National Weather Service forecasters at the Climate Prediction Center predict above-normal hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin this year. NOAA’s outlook for the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which spans from June 1 to November 30, predicts an 85% chance of an above-normal season, a 10% chance of a near-normal season and a 5% chance of a below-normal season.
NOAA is forecasting a range of 17 to 25 total named storms (winds of 39 mph or higher). Of those, 8 to 13 are forecast to become hurricanes (winds of 74 mph or higher), including 4 to 7 major hurricanes (category 3, 4 or 5; with winds of 111 mph or higher). Forecasters have a 70% confidence in these ranges.
The upcoming Atlantic hurricane season is expected to have above-normal activity due to a confluence of factors, including near-record warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean, development of La Nina conditions in the Pacific, reduced Atlantic trade winds and less wind shear, all of which tend to favor tropical storm formation.
A summary infographic showing hurricane season probability and numbers of named storms predicted from NOAA’s 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook. (Image credit: NOAA)
“With another active hurricane season approaching, NOAA’s commitment to keeping every American informed with life-saving information is unwavering,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “AI-enabled language translations and a new depiction of inland wind threats in the forecast cone are just two examples of the proactive steps our agency is taking to meet our mission of saving lives and protecting property.”
“Severe weather and emergencies can happen at any moment, which is why individuals and communities need to be prepared today,” said FEMA Deputy Administrator Erik A. Hooks. “Already, we are seeing storms move across the country that can bring additional hazards like tornadoes, flooding and hail. Taking a proactive approach to our increasingly challenging climate landscape today can make a difference in how people can recover tomorrow.”
A summary graphic showing an alphabetical list of the 2024 Atlantic tropical cyclone names as selected by the World Meteorological Organization. The official start of the Atlantic hurricane season is June 1 and runs through November 30. (Image credit: NOAA)
As one of the strongest El Ninos ever observed nears its end, NOAA scientists predict a quick transition to La Nina conditions, which are conducive to Atlantic hurricane activity because La Nina tends to lessen wind shear in the tropics. At the same time, abundant oceanic heat content in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea creates more energy to fuel storm development.
This hurricane season also features the potential for an above-normal west African monsoon, which can produce African easterly waves that seed some of the strongest and longer-lived Atlantic storms. Finally, light trade winds allow hurricanes to grow in strength without the disruption of strong wind shear,and also minimize ocean cooling. Human-caused climate change is warming our ocean globally and in the Atlantic basin, and melting ice on land, leading to sea level rise, which increases the risk of storm surge. Sea level rise represents a clear human influence on the damage potential from a given hurricane.
A stage collapse caused by strong winds at a campaign rally in San Pedro Garza García, Mexico, resulted in nine deaths and 121 injuries. Candidate Jorge Álvarez Máynez was present but uninjured. Governor Samuel García Sepúlveda pledged to cover funeral and hospital costs for the victims, including a minor who died.
The incident, which happened on Wednesday was captured on video, showed a sudden gust causing the stage to fall, injuring many. Videos shared on social media showed the moment a strong gust caused the stage to collapse. Álvarez Máynez and his team can be seen running for cover as the structure, which included a large video screen, falls onto the stage and part of the audience area. Footage taken in the aftermath of the accident shows a large number of emergency vehicles at the scene, their lights flashing in the darkness, as injured people are carried away. The area was cordoned off and guarded by heavily armed security personnel.
Álvarez Máynez has suspended his campaign to focus on the victims.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador expressed condolences and urged an investigation. The accident occurred amid preparations for Mexico’s largest election on June 2, marked by significant political violence, with 28 candidates attacked and 16 killed this year. The presidential race features two leading female candidates, Claudia Sheinbaum and Xochitl Gálvez.
Pope Francis has attributed a second miracle to Carlo Acutis, moving him closer to canonization, the Vatican announced on Thursday.
Carlo Acutis, often referred to as the patron saint of the internet among Roman Catholics, passed away from leukaemia at the age of 15 in 2006. Known for his computer skills, Carlo used the internet to share his faith.
After his death, Antonia Acutis received messages from people worldwide claiming medical miracles, such as cures for infertility and cancer, after praying to Carlo.
Carlo’s path to sainthood began in 2020, when the Diocese of Assisi petitioned the Vatican. In February of that year, Pope Francis attributed the healing of a boy with a malformed pancreas to Carlo, marking his beatification. For canonization, a second miracle was required.
The second recognised miracle involves a woman from Costa Rica named Liliana, who prayed at Carlo’s tomb in Assisi on July 8, 2022. Liliana’s daughter Valeria had suffered severe head trauma from a bicycle accident in Florence on July 2. She required critical brain surgery with a low survival chance. Liliana’s secretary began praying to Blessed Carlo, and Liliana herself made a pilgrimage to Carlo’s tomb. That same day, Valeria began breathing spontaneously, followed by improvements in movement and speech. A CAT scan on July 18 showed the haemorrhage had disappeared, and Valeria was moved to rehabilitation on August 11. On September 2, Liliana and Valeria returned to Assisi to thank Blessed Carlo.
