NTUCB’s no-show at SSB meeting puts “brakes” on BTL decision... Unions distrust GOB over BTL sale... The question of whether the Social Security Board (SSB) should invest $50 million to purchase 20% shareholding in Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL) is sparking more controversy, following a decision by the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) to absent itself from the Friday, October 29, 2010, meeting of the SSB’s board.

Ruthless Richard—a strong category 1 hurricane which pummeled central and southern Belize for 8 hours on Sunday evening with winds of nearly 90 miles per hour and torrential rains—has left substantial wreckage in its path, with $32 million in damages to the citrus industry. At last report, there were 831 homes either partially or completely damaged across 55 communities, during the course of the hurricane.

DPP says evidence “not strong enough” to prosecute Reyes... It was a sensational story when Corporal #910 Gavin Sanchez allegedly was shot and killed by his superior officer, Sergeant #714 Paulino Reyes, in the police barracks of the San Pedro Police Station on March 18, 2010.

3 men charged for murder; 1 woman charged for child stealing... A family is in a state of disbelief and intense agony as they struggle to come to terms with the possibility that an 18-year-old first-time mother, Raylene Dyer, a customer service representative at Ready Call Center, was brutally murdered because someone else desired her child.

There are major national security concerns coming out of Toledo again, after a Maya leader and a villager on an expedition were seriously wounded by persons they believe are Guatemalan xatéros.

M/Defence and Immigration blames “procedural errors”... 32 Asians entered Belize through the international airport, and disappeared! It was a major scandal during the previous administrations of both the PUP and the UDP, and now, allegations are that a human smuggling ring has been discovered – again.

“A murder every three days” - Last September had 11 murders – this September had 20. In 2009: Jan - 10, Feb 7 - , Mar - 12, Apr - 8, May - 8, June - 8, July - 7, Aug - 5, Sept - 11, Oct - 8, Nov - 2, Dec - 11 TOTAL - 97. In 2010: Jan - 5, Feb - 9, Mar - 11, Apr - 11, May - 10, June - 7, July - 12, Aug - 14, Sept - 20 TOTAL - 99

The Prime Minister described Godfrey Smith’s letter to Digicel as “anti-Belizean … completely reprehensible … outrageously unpatriotic, if not treasonous.” Prime Minister Dean Barrow today condemned the actions of former Attorney General, Godfrey Smith of Marine Parade Chambers, for making what he describes as “anti-Belizean,” “anti-patriotic” and “completely reprehensible” statements to an Irish investor negotiating to purchase shares in Belize Telemedia Limited (BTL).

His friend says Sherlock, found in the water half-naked, had an altercation with a bar girl before his death... The body of Sherlock Syfox, 23, a Belizean laborer and recent deportee from the United States of America, was found around 6:00 a.m., on Sunday, September 26, 2010, dead and floating in the water behind the Bellevue Bar on Southern Foreshore, wearing only black shorts; his cause of death has not yet been reported, as the post-mortem results have still not been released.

In an active hurricane season, in which Belize has already been struck by two tropical storms, Alex in June (which made landfall just north of Belize City) and Karl just last week (brushing by the Corozal District), both of which later became hurricanes, the fifteenth named storm of the season could be heading our way this weekend.

In death, she became a bright star in the Belizean sky. She has moved complete strangers to tears at her death, and for her funeral, she almost brought commerce in the old city to a standstill, a mark of respect for what her death represented to this tired, crime-ridden city.

About 9 bullets went into the house; the child was shot under her left armpit.... Mother: “Why did they come and shot up my home early in the morning…? My child was in her bed; she didn’t deserve this…”

Her “information” led to arson of $1 million property in PG... Witchdoctor told parents of missing children that they were “underground” in the destroyed property... A desperate father, deeply concerned about the fate of his two missing children, and angry with the police for their apparently lackadaisical approach to the investigation, fell into the clutches of a local “witchdoctor,” with the result that a million-dollar investment, business and a home, has gone up in flames.

Brother, 18, shot to death corner of Berkeley Street and Wagner’s Lane in 2008... Seventeen-year-old Jordick Thompson, an employee of Bottom $, is dead after being shot in the left ear by an unknown gunman as he was riding his beach cruiser bicycle through the rain last night.