Department of Environment investigating; meanwhile, settlements still being worked out in Azteca, Imagine/Dreamer cases... The Department of the Environment (DOE) reports that they continue to work out settlements with the owners of the yacht Azteca, which dropped anchor on Belize’s Barrier Reef off San Pedro Town in April, and M/V Imagine and M/V Dreamer, catamarans registered to the U.S. Coast Guard which came loose from their buoy during a storm in mid-May and ran over some coral patches northeast of Ambergris Caye.
I write to take umbrage with certain unsubstantiated and damaging allegations made about the role of the Central Bank (CB) in your headline story titled “Whodunit?” in your Amandala, Tuesday Issue No. 2337 of Wednesday, June 10, 2009. I write specifically about your section captioned “Was the Central Bank sleeping at the wheel?” and in particular to your overreaching conclusions contained therein. I quote:
San Victor resident, 21, shot in face; contrabandists broke into the police station to regain their uncustomed goods... Residents of San Victor Village in the Corozal District, apparently angered over the loss of reported contraband goods and the shooting of one of their own in a confrontation with Customs officials this afternoon, took matters into their own hands and later stormed the Douglas Police Station, in the Orange Walk District, in an attempt to get back the goods.
The debate over whether the Maya should be allowed to have official papers declaring that they are titleholders for lands across 38 villages of Toledo was resurrected inside the courtroom of Chief Justice Dr. Abdulai Conteh Wednesday morning, when the Maya Leaders Alliance (MLA) and the Toledo Alcalde Association (TAA) on the one hand, and the Government of Belize on the other, appeared as dissenting parties to argue the landmark case.
Abusive husband remanded for breaching protection order filed by long-suffering wife... The case of a woman suffering domestic violence and abuse, reportedly inflicted by her husband for over 17 years, nearly took a tragic turn when she went missing this week. However, late word to Amandala from the family of Nathalie Chan, 38, of Corozal Town, is that she has been found safe and sound and is resting with family members in Ladyville tonight
In the Supreme Court of Justice Adolph Lucas this week, a jury is hearing testimonies in a case involving three men who are on trial for allegedly raping a 17-year-old high school student in 2005. Attorney Kevin Arthurs is defending Roman Petzold, while Carlo Mason is defending Albert Foreman. The third man, Francis Lopez, is unrepresented by an attorney. The men are each facing one count of rape, after the victim gave a statement to police about the incident, some two weeks after the alleged sexual violation occurred.
Ministry of Health advises continued vigilance; Belize still clean despite global pandemic’s spread through Central America, Caribbean... Some two months after the first reported introduction of the influenza A (H1N1) virus (colloquially known as “swine flu”) in our northern neighbour, Mexico, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a phase 6 alert level after the virus was detected to be spreading person-to-person in the Asia and Oceania region, in addition to North America. The virus is now the first pandemic in 40 years.
“…there is a hand of the State behind this opposition…” alleges Cristina Coc, on the volatile issue of land ownership... The rumblings of dissent among the Maya people of Toledo over a movement to have their lands formally acknowledged by the government as inherited property, but blocked off as communal parcels rather than individual lease lands, swelled on the grounds of the Battlefield Park today.
A friend of mine lent me a book which is the Report of the Sugar Industry Commission of Enquiry (1969) British Honduras. While reading this book I came across information that during the time Tate & Lyle had it under their ownership from 1961 until 1969 they lost 6 million dollars. Do you believe that? Yes, I thought so. The majority of my people are so innocent. My ancestors the Maya had predicted the birth of a new era by 2012. The tsunami, earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, disappearance of islands, continents, the showing up of islands where there were none etc., is nothing new in the history of mankind. Just that these and other things are not taught to you by the Christian educational system. You are kept in the dark. Whenever there is going to be an earthquake there is a roar that sounds like a 12-ton dump truck, and just before that sound finishes the earth starts shaking from below upwards; it takes a few seconds and afterward it shakes from left to right or vice versa. All this takes place in some seconds.
First quarter report: GOB got a fifth of $16 million crude export earnings... Amandala has received multiple queries at our news desk from members of the public wanting to know what’s happening with the oil, and how much is the Government getting from this handsomely priced resource. Sad to say, the news we’ve learned is not good.
Dharmendra Tekchand Motwani, 39, a salesman of the Netherlands, was forced to pay a fine of $30,000 after being caught trying to leave Belize with United States currency and cheques which he failed to declare to the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) on Saturday.
NBA finals fever is so high that one of the Belize City radio stations is using the ABC television audio feed and broadcasting it along with input from two or three local commentators. The idea was interesting. If you had to be in a vehicle, then it was one way to keep up with the score.
A week after accidentally running over a 4-year-old girl she was taking care of at the National Showgrounds in Belmopan, a Roaring Creek woman has been arrested for a string of traffic offenses. Yvette Bush, 37, faces single counts of manslaughter by negligence, causing death by careless conduct, driving a motor vehicle without due care and attention, and driving a motor vehicle while not holding a valid driver’s license.
School likely to close; alternative emerges as students prepare for graduation... With about a month to go before the end of the school year, the teachers of Western Christian Academy and Ontario Christian School, both located in Ontario Village, Cayo District, have been out of class all of last week, except for Tuesday, over disagreements with the school management.
