The practice of foreign ships carrying the Belizean flag has again brought this country into disrepute.
This time, a Belizean flagged vessel is accused of attempting to smuggle military-related contraband, such as small arms or missile-related items between North Korea and Burma - in violation of a United Nations resolution.
The New York Times reports that Gary Samore, special assistant to President Barack Obama on weapons of mass destruction, confirmed reports of the incident, which happened last month.
The New York Times said the ship was intercepted south of the Chinese city of Shanghai by a US destroyer on May 26.
Samore identified the cargo ship as the M/V Light registered in Belize, whose authorities gave the United States permission to inspect the ship.
The US destroyer McCampbell caught up with the Light somewhere south of Shanghai and asked to board the vessel under the authority given by Belize.
The paper, quoting unidentified US officials, said the North Korean refused four times. But a few days later, it stopped dead in the water and turned back to its home port, tracked by US surveillance planes and satellites.
We were unable to get comment from Immarbe the International Merchant Marine Registry Of Belize.
KHMH To Get Major New Unit
The Karl Heusner Memorial will have a new million dollar Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. But it's not a unit within the hospital - it will be a self-contained unit to be built on existing piles in open space on the hospital compound.
It's the work of US based Project C.U.R.E. the Ministry of Health, and the Special Envoy for Women and Children, Kim Simplis Barrow.
The effort was launched today as the team handed over a grab-tub of medical equipment and supplies as well as high value, health oriented gift items for children:…
Kim Simplis Barrow, Special Envoy for Women and Children
"We got a donation from Project Cure of equipment for Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and we got a donation from Proc International - the Proc shoe and they donated thousands of Proc shoes for the children of Belize and so we are distributing them here and we will have some more and we will be going to different schools and giving them out. we also got a donation of hygiene kits for children that every parent should have - a package of hygiene kit at home for children if they get a cut or if they have a headache - there is a Tylenol or if they have a cough; there is a medicine for cough there and different things. We are also here for the groundbreaking ceremony of the new children intensive care unit."
"We are talking about more than a million dollars. For now the Gobie Foundation has pledge a million dollars through their Gobie Challenge and we are working with him and we are hoping to secure that by the end of this year."
Jules Vasquez
"So how soon in the best case scenario do you expect this pediatric unit will be a reality?"
Kim Simplis Barrow, Special Envoy for Women and Children
"By the end of next year - the end of 2012. It's something that I've been working on for a while now. I visited the hospital about a year ago, I did a tour of the hospital and I really saw the need for an intensive care unit at the hospital and initially we wanted to just refurbish an area at the pediatric ward but it really wasn't optimal. This is very important because this is for all children. This is like on the top of my list. I really want to get this done."
Mayor Gets The City Fit
And while the children will have a new pediatric unit, the adults are being urged to avoid the hospital with a new healthy living initiative.
On Saturday morning, dozens of city residents joined Mayor Zenaida Moya for the launch of her "Get UP And Run" programme.
Participants came from four zones to converge on the city center for a launch - here's how that went….
Mayor Zenaida Moya
"I am extremely, extremely please, we thought that because it was a Saturday we are going to do our best to bring people out and we did do our best to do adequate promotion. The promotion could have gone longer but we did a promotion this week and I am pleased that so many people have turn up out here. People started registering - as a matter some people came out from 20 after 5 and it went right up when we had to leave at 6:30 and the rest just had to join in."
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