The University of the West Indies (UWI) Global Campus Guild of Students has taken steps in response to mounting student concerns over the proctoring of upcoming quizzes in select undergraduate programmes.
Last week, the UWI Global Campus announced that it will administer proctored quizzes using Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor between April 21 and May 16, 2025. UWI urged students to prepare by ensuring a stable internet connection, webcam, microphone, and a quiet space.
However, the backlash was fast and furious.
In a memo dated April 5, the Guild acknowledged students’ worries and confirmed that it has initiated dialogue with key academic leaders. The Guild has reached out to Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Francis Severin, advocating for a reconsideration and potential postponement of the current quiz proctoring policies. According to Guild President Ramone Babb, Dr Severin has committed to holding a meeting to seek a constructive and student-centred resolution.
UWI students have launched an online petition calling for the university to stop using Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor for online assessments. The petition argues that the software is invasive, discriminatory, and causes unnecessary stress.
Students cite technical issues, limited access to reliable internet and devices, and challenges faced by those with disabilities as major concerns. They also question the ethics of AI-based surveillance and call for alternative, less intrusive methods of assessment.
The petition appeals to UWI administrators to prioritise equity and student well-being while upholding academic integrity.
Belize’s protected areas are set to benefit from a new partnership between the Protected Areas Conservation Trust (PACT) and the Belize Fund for a Sustainable Future. Both organisations have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen financing for Belize’s National Protected Areas System (NPAS).
According to a statement, the partnership aims to improve the coordination and effectiveness of funding for the country’s protected areas.
The MOU focuses on key areas such as joint resource mobilisation, standardising financing policies, and increasing stakeholder engagement. It also includes plans for public outreach, including a National Conservation Summit in 2025, to raise awareness about conservation efforts.
Over the next five years, both organisations will work together to support the country’s natural heritage to secure long-term sustainable funding for Belize’s environmental initiatives.
Why would Belize’s Ministry of Education (MOE) issue a warning notice against a promising 20,000-acre university? While it has been over 2 months since the notice was issued, the school has been in the works for years.
For over a decade, The Ultimate Business University (UBU) has been planning to build a massive, Harry Potter-inspired campus in Belize. The size of the school campus would be nearly three times the size of Belmopan.
Except, not any student would be able to enrol in UBU. The university will be “a non-profit organisation designed to support youths at risk”, according to its website. These youths will be U.S. citizens under the age of 18 who would be emancipated and then brought over to Belize on full scholarships.
The day that MOE issued the warning notice, News 5 contacted the ministry’s Chief Executive Officer, Dian Maheia. According to her, the ministry received a query about UBU, which prompted MOE to look into the university. The ministry’s research came down to issuing a warning stating that UBU “is neither legally registered nor authorised to operate as an educational institution in Belize and that it has no official affiliation or recognition from the Ministry of Education.”
On February 5th, the former Minister of Education, Francis Fonseca, told reporters that his team was alerted, and the ministry was forced to take action. “It was brought to the attention of our communications team that these things were being posted and notices being sent out. So we had to take action,” he said.
Some of these “notices” were actually being sent out to Belizeans who were being recruited to be part of the project. The recruitment process was being done through LinkedIn, a platform professionals use to network, share career updates, and find job opportunities or business collaborations. The Belizeans that News 5 reached out to reported that they were contacted via LinkedIn directly by the founder of UBU.
Most of the names of these Belizeans were also found on UBU’s official website. They were listed as part of UBU’s team alongside the job title or responsibility they would be contributing to the university. Some of these same Belizeans were not aware their names were listed out already, with one saying that they made an application but never received confirmation of the position.
Meanwhile, Fonseca pointed out that the lack of background information about the people behind the school and the large-scale features it plans to implement does not sound “feasible or logical.” He added, “We get lots of proposals from institutions all over the world. You don’t know who the people are; you don’t know anything about them. My own view is that that would not be something that we would consider at all.”
He added that the government needs to be really cautious when considering institutions that want to establish in Belize. There are often concerns about entities that exist to exploit vulnerable people, which is a major reason why the government must always verify the legitimacy of any school operating in the country. “There’s a legal procedure in place for you to apply. Especially if you want to open some offshore school. Especially for those kinds of institutions, because so many of them have been associated with scams, fly-by-night institutions that are just taking people’s money,” Fonseca said.
According to the former minister, there is a legal process for applications of this scale. As stated in the ministry’s notice, UBU has not followed the legal process.
The BBC reports that US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick defended the country’s decision to impose tariffs on the uninhabited Heard and McDonald Islands, home to only penguins and seals. The tariffs, aimed at closing “ridiculous loopholes,” would prevent other nations from shipping goods through the islands to the US, Lutnick told CBS.
Australia expressed surprise at the move, with Trade Minister Don Farrell calling the decision a “mistake” and a result of a “rushed process.” In response, Lutnick argued that leaving any areas off the tariff list would allow countries to bypass US regulations. “The President knows that, he’s tired of it, and he’s going to fix that,” he said.
The tariffs come amid a broader defense of President Trump’s new trade policies after US stock markets suffered a major drop. Transshipment—shipping goods through one port to another—is common in global trade but can enable data manipulation, according to Pew Charitable Trusts. The NGO estimates that millions of dollars worth of tuna and similar goods are illegally moved in this manner annually in the Pacific.
While export data from the islands shows only minimal trade with the US in recent years, 2022 saw a spike with $1.4 million worth of “machinery and electrical” products imported from the territory. Also included in the tariff list was the British Indian Ocean Territory, which exported $414,350 worth of goods to the US in 2022.
Vendors at the Belmopan Market Plaza are facing mounting pressure from the Belmopan City Council to obtain individual trade licences or risk being forced to cease operations by April 15th.
At the centre of the dispute is a 30-year memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in 2021 under the previous city administration, which granted the plaza a blanket trade licence fee of $30,000 annually. The Plaza’s owners argue that the MOU was lawfully signed and formed the basis for major investments into the market space, which has become a vital hub for small vendors, farmers, and micro-entrepreneurs.
David Zabaneh, one of the directors of Belmopan Market Plaza, explained the background. “We got granted a trade licence in 2021 by the Trade Licence Board. With that trade license, we entered into a five-year MOU with City Council to conduct market day activities, and it was something that was, you know, renewable,” he said. He recounted that in 2023, the situation shifted when the then-landowner expressed a desire to sell. “Being that we already had the commitment to our vendors, we decided, you know, we have to see how we proceed to purchase this property and not let it get in the hands of any other investor… we’re for vendors first.”
Zabaneh said a new agreement was negotiated with the City Council that hinged on purchasing the property and securing it for continued use as a market. “That MOU was a 30-year MOU that really hinged on the investment to purchase this property. It’s a three-acre property. It’s in the heart of Belmopan, and it’s one of the best locations for business… with the proximity to government offices, banks, and just about everything.”
Based on the strength of that MOU, Zabaneh said they secured a loan and made significant investments in the space. “So here we are now with the council sending a letter saying that MOU wasn’t valid… and charging each vendor individually when we already have a blanket trade license agreement.” He added that such an arrangement is not unprecedented. “Maybe it’s new to them, but it’s nothing that’s unheard of to have a blanket or umbrella trade licence. They do this kind of arrangement all over the world. If you want to go check in the Commonwealth, you could find that being done.”
Zabaneh also raised concerns about the impact of the council’s decision on small businesses. “The fee we pay annually—we would see a huge reduction in that. We’d probably see a 90% or 95% reduction in that if they come in and charge vendors the trade licence. But on our end, we can’t allow that to happen because a lot of times the small business owners… they get undone by different administrations. And we’re just in a position where we have to protect.”
Meanwhile, the City Council has dismissed the MOU, claiming it is “null and void” and that the previous mayor acted beyond her legal authority. The council plans to begin assessing trade licence fees for individual vendors this week. With legal action already in motion, the fate of the Belmopan Market Plaza now rests on a potential court battle that could have wide-reaching implications for small enterprises in the city.
The Ministry of Economic Transformation (MET) says it has completed a joint mission with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), marking a key milestone for the “Program for Sustainable and Inclusive Belize”.
Held from March 31 to April 4, the in-country mission aimed to advance agricultural development efforts by prioritising sustainability, inclusivity, and economic opportunity. Throughout the week, representatives from MET, IDB, and IFAD met to discuss strategies that support smallholder farmers, producer groups, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The discussions also emphasised creating enabling environments, promoting gender equality, and empowering youth by improving access to productive resources.
Collaboration extended to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Enterprise (MAFSE) and the Ministry of Finance’s Central Executing Unit and included field visits to San Antonio in the Cayo District and Hope Creek and Santa Cruz Villages in the Stann Creek District. These site visits were key in identifying on-the-ground needs and opportunities for growth.
The mission supports the alignment of Plan Belize and the Medium-Term Development Strategy with the country’s wider economic transformation goals.
A Texas grandmother originally from Belize is facing possible deportation after she was accused of assaulting a postal worker with a weed eater during a confrontation in Spring, Texas. According to The Independent, Margarita Avila, a landscaper who has lived in the United States since 2001, was arrested and charged with assault – bodily injury.
The incident has now landed her in federal immigration custody.
According to a March 13 statement from Harris County Constable Mark Herman, “Margarita Avila was arrested and booked into the Harris County Jail, charged with Assault – Bodily Injury. Her bond was set at $100.00 out of County Court 3.” The statement also alleges that Avila struck a U.S. Postal Service worker with a weed eater, “leaving multiple welts on her arm and body.”
The altercation reportedly occurred while Avila was trimming grass near a mailbox. Authorities say a postal worker asked Avila to step back to avoid getting hit by debris, then tapped her on the shoulder when the request was ignored. That’s when Avila allegedly attacked.
But her family says the 52-year-old was acting in self-defense.
“She’s running away from a cartel that was threatening her life back in 2001 when she first came,” her daughter, Lisbet Azucena Avila, toldNewsweek. “And then when she left [for Belize] in 2012, she had to come right back six months later because the threat was still there.”
Lisbet insists her mother is in the U.S. legally and is seeking asylum. She fears deportation would place her mother in grave danger. “We don’t want to think about that because if my mom were to go back, that would be the last time that we see our mom,” she said.
Video footage from the scene reportedly shows the two women wrestling on a lawn but does not capture how the confrontation began. “With the wrestling and everything, that’s when you could see the weed eaters just like going different places,” Lisbet described. “My mom was put out there as her being the attacker but she’s really the victim here.”
The U.S. Postal Service told KHOU11 that the worker involved has been interviewed and is cooperating with management. No investigation has been launched by the postal service at this time.
Meanwhile, the charge has complicated Avila’s immigration status. She is now in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, and her family is fighting for her release.
