My name is Mr. Sabastian Caal and I live in the village of San Benito Poite, Toledo. I have lived here in my village all my life. My father and mother have lived here all their life. My grandfather passed on our traditions to my father, who in turn passed them to me and my two sons. We villagers in San Benito live off the land, do our farming producing rice, corn and beans.

In an article published week before last in THE REPORTER, Alejandro Vernon was very critical of Amandala because we were negative towards the proposition of taking the Guatemalan claim to the Court of Justice. One of the adjectives he used to describe Amandala was “defeatist,” because we felt that only the Guatemalans could win at the court in The Hague. (Reference the ECONOMIST quote above, Hando, would you say the Americans are “defeatist”?)

Belize this morning held official ceremonies in the Capital City, Belmopan, inaugurating the new CARICOM passport as a part of the suite of initiatives under the agenda of the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME).

Repeated sightings at Turneffe Atolls.... Michael Hancock, a veteran dive master of Amigos del Mar in San Pedro Ambergris Caye, is the first to turn in a specimen of the exceptionally beautiful but threatening, predatory lionfish, caught last Thursday at a depth of 60 feet below the sea’s surface on the leeward side of the Turneffe Atolls, south of San Pedro and offshore the Belize District.

Daily, nightly, during the PUP 10 year reign of plenty…spending (‘98-‘08), notable do-nothing leaders of Her Majesty’s then number one Opposition party, the UDP, (and how the hell did that party ever form the government, cuate?) set up shop at Brad’s, a popular business place reportedly owned by a gentleman of Chinese descent. I read in the Belize Times (BT) that they sat under the eaves of this Brad’s near to the old Farmers Market, on their fat you-know-what, all day long and until late into the night, eating noodles, drinking beer, and playing dominoes (or is it pitti-pat?).

Near the conclusion of the 20th Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government on Friday evening, March 13, CARICOM chairman, Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow, identified the global economic and financial crisis and the harmful effects of that fiasco on the Caribbean region as the issue of top priority discussed over the two days of business meetings, held at the Radisson Fort George Hotel in Belize City, Belize starting Thursday morning. Pic. Caption: Chairman Barrow (Belize), Manning (T&T), and Douglas (St. Kitts/Nevis)

Round two of the legal battle between KREM Radio and Sagis Investments Limited is slated to begin on Wednesday, March 18, in the Court of Appeal. Sagis is challenging the decision made last May by Dr. Abdulai Conteh, Chief Justice, who dismissed Sagis’s application asking the court to grant the company 10% shareholding in KREM.

Senior Counsel Lois Young has been restrained from representing, advising or in any way assisting Christine Perriott in her legal quarrel with Belize Telemedia Limited for compensation. That was the ruling handed down by the Honourable Justices of the Court of Appeal this morning following more them five hours of submissions made on Friday by attorneys on behalf of Telemedia and Young respectively.

GDP growth expected to slow in 2009... The world news continues to be inundated with reports of the ongoing global financial crisis, which has hit even the strongest of economies in the developed world. Belize has not escaped unscathed, and experts predict that it will be months before the deterioration in the world economy is turned around in the latter half of 2009.

Bannister Island Resort lies nine miles southeast of Belize City. The three-acre resort is blessed with about five hundred feet of white sandy beach, where cruise ship tourists stop off to bask in the sun and take in a few hours of the paradise-like atmosphere that the “Adventure Coast” of Belize offers.

After cruel death of Chinese worker, Chinese Association demands hanging! An attempted robbery in Orange Walk descended into a gun battle between cops and robbers – the prime suspect, police say, being a man who had been one of their own. That man is ex-police constable Kevin “Cowboy” Alvarez, 32, who was shot in the upper left abdomen. However, the deep tragedy is the brutal murder of robbery victim, 38-year-old Hui Lin Chen, a store attendant who had his throat slit by the robbers.

Twenty-six riders took off at 7:00 a.m. this morning on this one way journey to Belmopan, half of the distance that the Elite riders will do on March 8. The race started at Leslie’s Imports, and finished on the first hill on the Hummingbird Highway after the roundabout at Belmopan’s entrance, for a total of 50 miles.

The debut screening of Evolution, a Belizean-made documentary of the real life story of famous Belizean entertainer, Berne Velasquez, is set to happen at the Princess Hotel and Casino at 3:00 and 4:30 on the afternoon of Saturday, March 28, in Belize City, and on the 29th at the Movie 7 Theatre in San Ignacio, Cayo, at the Old Mall.

I voted for you - We understand that in Cabinet there is this thing called “collective responsibility”, where any decision made in Cabinet has to be supported in public by all members, even if individuals disagreed behind closed doors. Any member who disagrees with his Cabinet in public is obligated to resign