Last week Friday night at 8:30 in Belize City, it was the usual frenetic hype at the Radisson for the SCA Prom. But then suddenly, there was an explosion and sparks. A camera-man taping the event captured it:..
So what cause the transformer to explode, leaving more than a thousand people without light? Well, onlookers tell us that it's aluminum streamers or confetti which bridged two electrical wires on the lamp-post and caused the transformer to go "boom!"
BEL says it was caused by a balloon which touched the high voltage line. BEL dispatched a crew and power was restored shortly after.
Prom goers and their entourages are regularly warned to cut down on the confetti and balloons specifically because of this electrical hazard.
A Fair For The Future
It was all about health today at the Constitution Park where the Gateway Youth Center hosted their 4th annual health fair. Now it's hard to get a bunch of kids to listen to grown-ups talking about healthy tips on how to live a long life, but one of the main coordinators says it is definitely worth a try to get the message out there. Here is more.
Erolyn Sebastian - Counselor, Gateway Youth Center "This is Gateway's 4th annual health fair, so every year we try to find a different location so we can touch base with different people in the community. We have different organizations and ministries here today, we have individuals from BFLA, from VCT, we have from OCEANA, Red Cross, BCVI and we have our Gateway youth center members out here, diabetes society, cancer society."
"Every year we try to do this health fair to bring awareness to the importance of health, pretty much. Our theme for this year is Boardwalk of nutrition: Live Well, Work Well, Play Well, a student came up with this idea actually and he explained that the importance of that theme is in order to do anything you need a good nutrition, in order to work well you need good nutrition play well and live well so that is pretty much the importance or that is why we try to have this health fair every year so that we can remind young people and older people it is important that you take care of yourself physically, emotionally, spiritually you name it."
The event was part of education month activities.
Law Enforcement Got Love For Students
Yesterday students at the Muslim Community School in Belize City received a huge donation of school supplies ranging from pencils to backpacks from the Coast Guard. We found out more about the inspiration behind the donation.
Sr. Supt Howell Gillett - Commander Southside "What we are doing here is to show that both governments are committed. The Belizean government, as well as the US government, are committed to helping young people to get to that next level which is becoming a positive role model, becoming a positive adult. This is just one of the many things we are doing in a partnership which happens to be at this time the US southern command and the Belize Coast Gaourd. We are so pleased to do this and we hope that this type of engagement can happen on all schools in region 1."
Lt. Gilroy Lewis - BNCG Cadet Coordinator "The significance of this donation is to assist the students in achieving academic excellence in their schools. We have twenty cadets from the Muslim Community School. We have a similar number in four other schools. We chose this school first because we are going from here northward."
The Coast Gaurd will also make donations to four other schools.
PM Calls Hypocrisy On Immigration Criticism
Last night's newscast was loaded with comments from Prime Minister Dean Barrow who had a scattershot press conference to discuss all things current.
Well, we have a bit more for you from that press conference, specifically, when he was asked about the wisdom of splitting the Immigration Department into 2.
Legislation has been passed to break that department into 2 separate Sections. The first will be in charge of granting nationality and passports, and the other will be responsible for immigration and border management.
Last week we had PUP Senator Eamon Courtenay's harsh criticism of the Barrow Administration's decision to do this. He says it will allow the Immigration Department to become more vulnerable to the abuses and corrupt acts exposed during the Senate Hearings on Immigration.
The Prime Minister was asked about that criticism, and he called it political opportunism:
Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow, Prime Minister "That's nonsense, that's ranked political opportunism with no substance to back it up at all. I don't see how trying to rationalize the operations of the department, trying to decentralize with a view of greater efficiency ought to lead to hanky panky but in any event. You're right in saying that the bifurcation while now a matter of law has not yet been implemented, has not yet been operationalized and I believe that there are many logistical difficulties to be sorted out so I would have to refer to the two ministers. This is not just for immigration but for the ministry of public service, there are issues having to do with job classification, various attendant issues so I'm not quite sure when the operationalization will be effected but certainly there is no doubt for second guessing at all on the part of cabinet as to the wisdom and necessity as a matter of fact for the bifurcation eventually to take place."
PM on Palestine Slaughter
The Prime Minister was also asked to comment on the Israeli-Palestine territorial dispute that has once again become deadly.
As we told you, the United States Government has upended decades of international consensus to let Palestine and Israel settle their territorial dispute over the Holy City of Jerusalem. It's been a bitter dispute where these 2 Middle Eastern Countries have been fighting over who should be allowed to make Jerusalem their capital.
On Monday, the US moved their Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, throwing support behind that country's claim to the disputed city. It immediately sparked widespread protests on the Gaza Strip, which ended violently when the Israeli Military opened fire on the Palestinian protesters killing 60 civilians, and injuring approximately 2,000 in total. Of that amount, 450 suffered from gunshot injuries inflicted by the Israeli military with live rounds.
On Tuesday, former Prime Minister Said Musa, who is of Palestinian decent, called on the Belize Government to join the rest of the international community in condemning the actions of the Israeli military. The press asked the Prime Minister about that yesterday, and here's what he had to say:
And as we told you, Guatemala has followed the US, and has also moved its Israeli Embassy to Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales were among the officials who attended the inauguration ceremony of the new Guatemalan Embassy Headquarters in the disputed city.
The Israeli Prime Minister is quoted as saying, "I look forward to assessing with you the practical ways... that we can advance this friendship and this alliance."
Email
Print
