Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
In July we told you about the Dangriga Town Administrator Austin Petillo who was basically pushed out of his post by the mayor, Robert Mariano. In that case, the Mayor felt the Administrator was getting in the way of his management style.
Well, now the same thing has happened in the other southern town, that's Punta Gorda.
Frank Tyndall was recruited by Mayors Carlos Obeah Galvez as the Town's Administrator in mid March - but this morning he was sent home.
Why? Well, Tyndall told us he can't discuss it because he's reserving his legal rights. But sources tell us that he and the mayor Carlos Obeah Galvez had been at odds for weeks reportedly because the mayor wanted more direct control over the council's finances.
Insiders tell us that he felt Tyndall was obstructing him - and presumably that's why he was sent home today for being, quote, "unprofessional and insubordinate".
We did reach out to Galvez for comment, but up to news time he had not responded to our request.
A British soldier - who was vacationing to visit his Belizean girlfriend in December 2022 - was accused of savagely beating her up, and abducting her in her vehicle. But, Perry Stratford got off very easy in December of 2023 when supreme Court Judge Ricardo Sandcroft made a mind bending ruling and found that because he is a British soldier, the Belize justice system had no jurisdiction to try him here in Belize. That is even though the offences were committed while he was a visitor, not attached to the BATSUB unit. But this was the judge's interpretation of what is known as the Status of Forces Treaty- which governs relations between Belize and the British Forces and gives soldiers immunity from criminal prosecution in Belize.
Well, the DPP challenged that in the court of Appeal and the prosecution has been vindicated. The court found that the provisions of the Status of Forces Agreement, quote, "which purport to exclude the jurisdictional provisions of Belizean legislation and which impact upon the constitutional rights of victims in Belize, do not apply. Accordingly, for these reasons, the respondent Perry Stratford is subject to the jurisdiction of this court."
Justice Bulkan then found that Justice Sandcroft erred in applying the treaty and finding that Belizean courts have no jurisdiction over the respondent. The higher court also stressed that the treaty especially cannot apply to Stratford since he was not a member of BATSUB at the time of the assault.
With that he allowed the Crown's appeal of the judgement.
The only problem is Perry Stratford is long gone from these shores and is not expected back to face charges. The DPP's office says it is, quote, "exploring the avenues available to us."
Yesterday we told you that just under half a pound of cocaine was found on a boat belonging to Minister Andre Perez. The vessel was docked at a boatyard, where it had been for the past six months. The ComPol explained that they found no evidence that Minister Perez had anything to do with the drugs, and that it was a peddler who might have escaped to Corozal.
But over the weekend when the media tried to ask Minister Perez about it, he was inexplicably tightlipped and fled from the cameras.
Reporter: "Do you we know who these peddlers are?"
Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy "No idea."
Reporter: "Do they know security in the area?"
Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy "I've cooperated with the police and everything. No comments. That's nothing to worry about."
Reporter: "You don't think anyone is trying to set you up?"
And the PM doesn't believe Minister Perez was being set up. Actually, he gave credit to the peddler for coming up with what he referred to as an "ingenious" plan to try and hide the drugs from the police.
John Briceno, Prime Minister "No I don't think someone is trying to set him up. I think someone was smart because Andre has not been using his boat, it's just docked there for more than six months, he has not used the boat and they felt that if they put anything there, the police will not think about going to search his boat but they didn't care if it was Honorable Andre Perez's boat, they went to check and they found drugs but it has been abundantly clear that Andre has not been using his boat and, you have to give it to them, they're quite ingenious. They tried to - you hide it in front of everybody in effect."
It wasn't a break in, but an inside job that led thieves to make off with a prorated 32 brand new air conditioners at Benny's. According to police the Benny's Warehouse Manager reported that on Friday whilst doing inventory he discovered some missing items. That led him to the warehouse cameras, where he saw a female employee, 40 year old Xenia Sosa, the Pickup Supervisor repeatedly over a period of weeks handing over 12,000 BTU Rheem air conditioner units valued at $1,315 dollars each, to a man in a pickup. Another employee, this one a Shift Supervisor was also seen doing the same. Turns out, the man who was coming to pick all this up - was a relative of theirs who hadn't purchased anything - it was a daring scheme to directly pilfer inventory from the warehouse.
Reports tell us that as many as 33 air conditioning units were stolen - and each has two large parts - over the period of a few weeks.
But, based on what was seen on the surveillance video, Xenia Sosa - who turned herself into police - was only charged for 3 counts of Theft.
Police did manage to recover 2 of the split unit AC's. The rest were likely sold on the cheap.
Last week we told you about one E-bus that was stoned by a pedestrian who smashed the glass. Well, there was another E-Bus attack - and it happened over the weekend.
Today in court, the KBH Security Guard 27-year-old, Bernard Humes pleaded guilty to damage to property. He said he was not in a rage but claims the driver cut him off and would not listen to him. And so he banged on the door but it broke by accident. Humes said he never meant it and that he was willing to pay back for the damages. But the Magistrate couldn't order compensation, however she did fine him $700 which he must pay by December 31, 2024, in default, six months imprisonment.
A 22 year old man has been remanded for raping a 23 year old woman with Down Syndrome.
It happened in a village in Rural Belize so we will not release the name or image of the accused to protect the victim.
This afternoon, the accused - who is form the same village - appeared unrepresented before a Magistrate in Court #5 where he was read a single charge of rape.
He allegedly attacked the woman whilst she was sleeping inside her home. The accused was remanded until December 2, 2024.
A second person has been charged in connection with last week's major drug bust in Belama Phase 3 - which also turned up the drug known as Crystal Meth.
40-year-old Sheldon Lionel Flores is the nephew of Audrey Penelope Maheia, whose home was raided by police on September 26.
Flores was taken into custody over the weekend and escorted to the Belize City Magistrate Court yesterday, where he was arraigned on four drug-related charges. These include three counts of possession of controlled drugs with intent to supply after 19 pounds of Marijuana, 1.6 ounces of methamphetamine, and 0.09 ounces of cocaine were found. Flores was also charged with the possession of 1.76 ounces of suspected marijuana. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Senior Magistrate granted bail of $5,000. Both Flores and Maheia are scheduled to return to court on November 27, 2024.
Last Friday, Maheia, who is wheelchair-bound, was also charged with the same four offenses. She pleaded not guilty and was granted bail.
Last week we told you about the poll from Viking Strategies to sample Belizean public opinion on politics and the state of the country. While it's a detailed and lengthy poll, which found, for example, that, quote, "Corruption remains a major issue for Belizeans, with dissatisfaction over the handling of governance by both major political parties." - The PM discounted that, saying views like that have more to do with perception than reality.
And while he is perceived as among the most popular politicians, the good ole PM says it's things like washing the dishes at home that keep him grounded.
John Briceno, Prime Minister "I have taken a look but have not had a chance to really sit down and study but things that jumped out to me overall are that people are happy with the government and that they believe that we've been doing a pretty good job, but like in everything, there's always more to be done. The issue of corruption, the numbers have gone down somewhat but people are still concerned about corruption and rightly so because it's just people's perceptions. In many instances, it's perception and it will take some time to be able to win back the people's full confidence and for corruption not to be in the top of their minds because they recognize that the country's going in the right direction for the first time since these polls are being conducted, the majority, more than 50% believe that we're going in the right direction, but yes, crime is an issue, we know that, corruption is always the perception there and it will take time for us to be able to address those issues."
Reporter: "You are the most popular politician in the country, how do you take to that?"
John Briceno, Prime Minister "Humbled but we just have to continue working, that's all I can say. Continue to work and continue to keep your foot grounded."
"I have to give credit to people like Rossana and Jaime and even my children because when I get home, Rossanna will tell me, well, today is your turn to wash dishes, so I have to wash dishes. And then I have close friends like Narda and Stewart and Eamon and them and Jaime who would always be calling my attention if they believe they see something is going wrong so you need people that can tell you, not everything is perfect. If you're doing something wrong that they can call you and I think that helps you to keep you grounded in politics."
But right now the PM isn't too popular with the NTUCB or the Feinstein Group. We told you about the correspondence between the three parties, and the union's very long list of questions regarding the compulsory acquisition.
But the PM said that they're not getting into any arguments and advised NTUCB that they have bigger problems they should be focused on.
John Briceno, Prime Minister "I will start off by this again. Mr Price used to have many sayings and one of the things that struck me, he always told me, he said when your opposition starts to praise you, sit back and think what foolish thing you have done. And I say that to make the point that I am not surprised by the response of the Feinstein's group but I am not going to go into a back and forth with them, we have responded to the NTUCB, we firmly believe we are doing what's in the best interest of this country and once you keep that and once you know that what you're doing, you continue doing as best as you can."
Reporter: "Do you look at the merits though especially as former Minister of Natural Resources of that other piece of legislation particularly as the NTUCB is saying we could avoid litigation using that legislation, the promoter's one."
John Briceno, Prime Minister "You see but in the promoter's act, what they do not understand is that the promoter's act, the two parties have to agree and right now there's no agreement and so we'll never have an agreement when one promoter is asking for US$50 million and one dollar and fifty cents, I think about 25, per head tax in perpetuity for 23 acres that's unreasonable so it will never happen so the only option we have is the compulsory acquisition. But again, the first process, you put it out there, the owner comes and says this is what I want, you have a negotiation and if you can't come to an agreement, then the courts will decide how that's going to be resolved."
Reporter: "In relation to the indemnity for Stake Bank, you didn't answer all the details that the NTUCB was asking for. They want to see whatever was signed."
John Briceno, Prime Minister "Because it's not necessary, the money is in the bank, the indemnity is there, the Cabinet has approved that. That was abundantly clear what was there. The NTUCB should be looking after their workers and stop worrying about these things, they have so much things to do, that we have to do. Let's see how we can continue to create opportunities for people and for workers and create better working conditions for them. That's their mandate and they're forgetting what their mandate is all about."
Conch season opened today - and so you can get your ceviche, conch soup and fritters starting tonight.
But while fishermen feel the stock is sustainable for the rest of the season- they also. Lament new and inexperienced fishers who catch conch that are too young. Today the Supervisor of the Enforcement Unit at the Fisheries Department says they're taking steps to educate young fishers. He also added that, as more fishers become aware of the importance of sustainable fishing, the less they fish illegally.
Hampton Gamboa, Supervisor, Enforcement Unit, Fisheries Dept. "What we are planning to do in the near future and actually we're in the process of doing revisions to some of our SI's and our regulations before this year is over so in terms of licensing I know we are about to embark on a first time or new fisherfolk entering into the industry for them to do an apprentice program whereby they come in and they will, as first timers, they will go through a training identifying the different fisheries regulations, the different fisheries laws and so on for them to be abreast with it so that they know and we go through some practical sessions with them in weighing of conchs, lobsters, measuring so they have previous knowledge before they're actually given an actual license for them to go out and work in the industry."
Courtney Menzies: "We know that the night before a season opens, whether lobster or conch, you guys go out in full force because a lot of fishers are out there trying to come up before everybody else, did you encounter any boats out there fishing illegally?"
Hampton Gamboa, Supervisor, Enforcement Unit, Fisheries Dept. "I must say we jut came back from Lighthouse Reef and over the past two days from Saturday, we went out there from about Thursday, Thursday, Friday there were no boats on the entire atoll until about Saturday midday a couple of boats came over so we did some checks of these vessels, ensure everybody have their licenses for the appropriate areas, they're vessels have is for that area and has all the color coding and so on so people are complying and for the past three days even up to last night we have been checking every vessel that comes on the island and the same thing we were doing at Lighthouse we were doing in Glover's and Turneffe doing the same thing as well we had a team leave Belize City and went as far south as in front of Placencia ensuring that people who coming out have the appropriate license and for the appropriate area."
"So far at least over the past week where I've been working in the area some of the fishers are actually like, Mr Gamboa, we have to try and take care of what we have because yes cost of living is going up and the stocks they have to ensure that they do their part. Most of the captains of those vessels, they echo the same sentiments."
The conch season will remain open until June 30, 2025.
Tonight, the middle east is on the precipice of a widening war as Israel has invaded southern Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah, and Iran has launched scores of ballistic missiles at Israel.
And though these theaters of war are far away, the Government of Belize says it is, quote, "gravely concerned by the recent escalation of death and destruction spreading from the Palestinian territories of Gaza to the West Bank, and now to Lebanon. The increasing violence against civilians caused by the Israeli state, in particular….threatens to ignite a full-scale conflagration of unimaginable consequences." End quote.
The statement continues, quote, "This cycle of violence is illegal, immoral and inhumane. It must stop. Israel must immediately abide by the decisions of the International Court of Justice, agree to an effective ceasefire, allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza unimpeded and lift the illegal siege of Gaza."
The statement also calls for, quote, "an immediate, unconditional release of hostages held by the resistance groups and by the Israeli state."
But the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister were in Mexico City today for the change of presidential command for President-Elect, Dra. Claudia Sheinbaum. Sheinbaum is from the same party as her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - and cordial relations with the Briceno Administration are expected to continue.
The Prime Minister will return to the country on October 3, 2024. During his absence, Hon. Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, will hold over as Prime Minister.
In celebration of International Day Of Older Persons- which is observed today, The Belize Helpage Branch has organized a week full of activities for its members. Today's activity was a day of self care for the ladies. Jomarie Lanza stopped by and has this report.
It's pampering time for these ladies over at the Helpage center. Every year in celebration of International day of older persons, their members are treated to pedicures, manicures and other spa experiences thanks to volunteers and the organization. Their Chairperson told us more:
Marilyn Ordonez, Chairperson, Helpage "Today the first of October is when we celebrate the International Day of Older Persons. And it's a week of activities that we are doing to celebrate that day. We started on Sunday with a church service and then yesterday we had a day in the park hosted by the mayor of Belize city with fun activities for them. So today we are doing a little pampering for them where we provide again we are partnering with human services to provide manicure and pedicures for the older persons and then we also have other volunteers who are doing hair braiding in the back , as you can see Marisha she works here at the secretariat and then we have another person volunteer Leannie, she will be coming in to do massages with them."
It is important to ensure inclusivity within the older population, acknowledging that they too can use some good old TLC - it's not just pampering, it's also respect:
Marilyn Ordonez, Chairperson, Helpage "The theme for the international day of older persons is aging with dignity. The importance of strengthening care and the support systems for older persons in Belize. And the theme addressed not only in Belize but worldwide and in the district so we have other help age centers who are doing similar activities like us and what we found is that our older persons if we leave them at home not doing anything then they age quickly they don't grow because as you know, as you live you grow you don't stop growing and so brining them to activities. We have activities every week during the week and today is letting them feel special giving them that care that should be shared with them showing them love."
And today's spa day is just the start of a week filled with activities dedicated to celebrating them and the role that they play within our society as elders.
Marilyn Ordonez, Chairperson, Helpage "We have tried to do it every year so that once a year even though we do activities with them throughout the year today they feel special as we celebrate them."
Jo- "Is this something that the ladies they look forward to as well?"
Marilyn Ordonez, Chairperson, Helpage "Oh yes, yes they look forward to it because after today, tomorrow we will be sharing medical information with them on diabetes we try and find topics that are relevant to them so tomorrow we will talk about diabetes because that is so very prevalent and then on Thursday the secretariat provides meals on wheels for those older persons who can't come so we do have some shut ins at home who gets a meal. And then on Friday we will take them to Banana Bank on a field trip and some may do horseback riding and some may swim because they have a pool so they are looking forward to that. They always love a field trip."
The week's activities are being observed under the theme: "Ageing with Dignity: The Importance of Strengthening Care and Support Systems for Older Persons in Belize."
In June we told you about the The Taiwan Technical Mission Women's Empowerment Project and its outreach to the Tumul Uj Women's group in Toledo.
Well, the program arrived at its completion on Friday and a closing ceremony took place in Pueblo Viejo. Here are highlights:
Oscar Requena, Area Representative, Toledo West "I remember when Dalia started putting this group together and she said we have a group here and minister Dolores came I thing that was about two years ago, about three years ago, and when she met with the group and she encouraged the group and said one of the things you have to do is that you must stay together you must be United together you must work together so that you can achieve great things and today this is a testament that you have stood together you have united you have worked together and you are achieving great success congratulations ladies and gentlemen. And so for those who might be asking what is the meaning of Tumul Uj, Tumul Uj means new moon and for those of you who take the time out to enjoy the moon the different phases of the moon. The new moon presents a new beginning it's a new opportunity it's an opportunity to be motivated and to think you know futuristic to think positive that good things are going to happen and that is what we are seeing today that great achievements are being achieved by these women who have stood together and worked together."
Dalia Sho, Founder of Women's group "It has been a very tedious three months but I am glad to say that at the end the women, the women that have participated have come a long way from not knowing how to pedal a machine to now I can say that they have sown their own, the clothing they graduated in today is the Mopan wear and they constructed, I am proud to say they are the ones that produce their outfit today so in order to say the ladies have learnt so much not only the culture well but also the uniforms and the office outfits, baby's clothes so many other designs and styles when it comes to clothing and textile. And I would like to say this has been an opportunity for them to help themselves being an entrepreneur because as you heard some of them are single mothers some are self challenged so that is the reason why we really support this project. My myself on my part I push it a lot because I want to help the ladies economic wise."
Works to upgrade the Caracol Road continue and now - huge bridge beams are in motion to replace the Guacamallo bridge.
Between 1st and 31st October, Extremely heavy, 132 feet long bridge beams are being transported on the Philip Goldson Highway from Ladyville, along the Burrell Boom Road, the George Price Highway to Georgeville Village, and the Caracol Road to their final destination at the Guacamallo Bridge.
The MIDH advises that along that route, drivers may experience delays, especially at locations such as the Guanacaste Roundabout, the Caracol Road intersection with the George Price Highway at Georgeville and along the
Caracol Road.
This is due to the fact that the extremely long beams may not be able to navigate turns quickly, thereby requiring the assistance of heavy cranes that follow the beam transport. Since this is a month-long exercise, the public is advised to be especially vigilant and exercise extreme caution when approaching and navigating past the heavy equipment transporting these reinforced concrete beams - which may take up the entire width of the highway.
The PUP celebrated its 74th anniversary on Saturday with a National Party Council meeting followed by a buff party.
It had an all star cast of elected officials and cabinet bossand they even had a massive blue and white cake to cut.
It had the air of a party on MAX, and the PM said that if elections are called, he's fairly certain that they'll get another five years in office.
John Briceno, Prime Minister "When you look back and you reflect on the ups and downs that we've had over the course of these 74 years, it's amazing that the PUP have been able to keep it together. Despite us having our differences, we always remember what the PUP is about, which is the serve the people. And I've been telling people over and over, once we keep that in mind, that that's what drives us, to serve the people, I have every confidence that we'll be able to keep it together and to be able to continue to get the support of the Belizean people."
"I always start off by saying you could never take the people for granted and people could change their minds for whatever reasons. But if things stay as they are right now, I feel fairly confident when we call the elections that we are going to get a second mandate to continue to build on what we have done. We need to remind ourselves where we were, we were in a deep hole, we managed to come out of that hole and the country is moving forward and Belizeans are seeing it, Belizeans are feeling it, yes there's a lot more to be done, yes we can do better but the point is by any metrics that we want to use, or by any measurements you want to use that we have done exceedingly well beyond the expectations of most people over these past 2 and a half years. So I believe that when the elections are called, I think that we'll be able to get the support once again to continue building on what we have done for another five years."
And they're also celebrating having all 31 candidates ready for the next general elections. The last slot to be filled was Collet. In the 2020 Blue Tsunami, Oscar Arnold lost by a considerable margin.
This time, they've got a political newcomer, Devin Daly, to go up against the 5 term incumbent Patrick Faber.
The PM says they're confident Daly will put up a challenge.
John Briceno, Prime Minister "We wanted to ensure that we have winnable candidates. We didn't want to just throw someone in there to say we have 31 candidates. I set the timeline to the 31st of August, knowing full well that one or two might be kept back and we're looking hard to see how we can find somebody and we have a very good candidate and I think for the first time that the representative will have a very hard time, we have a very good candidate against him."
And while the PUP celebrated 74 on Saturday, the UDP celebrated 51 on Friday. Shyne Barrow gathered his loyalists at the party headquarters for what looked like a lively - if small celebration for party insiders.
Though the party is in the middle of a politically costly split, a release says, quote,
"We have within us the power to form the next Government of Belize once we stay focused and engaged with the people we want to serve."
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In July we told you about the Dangriga Town Administrator Austin Petillo who was basically pushed out of his post by the mayor, Robert Mariano. In that case, the Mayor felt the Administrator was getting in the way of his management style.
A British soldier - who was vacationing to visit his Belizean girlfriend in December 2022 - was accused of savagely beating her up, and abducting her in her vehicle. But, Perry Stratford got off very easy in December of 2023 when supreme Court Judge Ricardo Sandcroft made a mind bending ruling and found that because he is a British soldier, the Belize justice system had no jurisdiction to try him here in Belize. That is even though the offences were committed while he was a visitor, not attached to the BATSUB unit. But this was the judge's interpretation of what is known as the Status of Forces Treaty- which governs relations between Belize and the British Forces and gives soldiers immunity from criminal prosecution in Belize.
Andre Perez, Minister of Blue Economy 
"No I don't think someone is trying to set him up. I think someone was smart because Andre has not been using his boat, it's just docked there for more than six months, he has not used the boat and they felt that if they put anything there, the police will not think about going to search his boat but they didn't care if it was Honorable Andre Perez's boat, they went to check and they found drugs but it has been abundantly clear that Andre has not been using his boat and, you have to give it to them, they're quite ingenious. They tried to - you hide it in front of everybody in effect."
It wasn't a break in, but an inside job that led thieves to make off with a prorated 32 brand new air conditioners at Benny's. According to police the Benny's Warehouse Manager reported that on Friday whilst doing inventory he discovered some missing items. That led him to the warehouse cameras, where he saw a female employee, 40 year old Xenia Sosa, the Pickup Supervisor repeatedly over a period of weeks handing over 12,000 BTU Rheem air conditioner units valued at $1,315 dollars each, to a man in a pickup. Another employee, this one a Shift Supervisor was also seen doing the same. Turns out, the man who was coming to pick all this up - was a relative of theirs who hadn't purchased anything - it was a daring scheme to directly pilfer inventory from the warehouse.
Last week we told you about one E-bus that was stoned by a pedestrian who smashed the glass. Well, there was another E-Bus attack - and it happened over the weekend.
Last week we told you about the poll from Viking Strategies to sample Belizean public opinion on politics and the state of the country. While it's a detailed and lengthy poll, which found, for example, that, quote, "Corruption remains a major issue for Belizeans, with dissatisfaction over the handling of governance by both major political parties." - The PM discounted that, saying views like that have more to do with perception than reality.
Conch season opened today - and so you can get your ceviche, conch soup and fritters starting tonight.
"What we are planning to do in the near future and actually we're in the process of doing revisions to some of our SI's and our regulations before this year is over so in terms of licensing I know we are about to embark on a first time or new fisherfolk entering into the industry for them to do an apprentice program whereby they come in and they will, as first timers, they will go through a training identifying the different fisheries regulations, the different fisheries laws and so on for them to be abreast with it so that they know and we go through some practical sessions with them in weighing of conchs, lobsters, measuring so they have previous knowledge before they're actually given an actual license for them to go out and work in the industry."
Tonight, the middle east is on the precipice of a widening war as Israel has invaded southern Lebanon in pursuit of Hezbollah, and Iran has launched scores of ballistic missiles at Israel.
But the Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister were in Mexico City today for the change of presidential command for President-Elect, Dra. Claudia Sheinbaum. Sheinbaum is from the same party as her predecessor Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador - and cordial relations with the Briceno Administration are expected to continue.
The Prime Minister will return to the country on October 3, 2024. During his absence, Hon. Cordel Hyde, Minister of Natural Resources, Petroleum and Mining, will hold over as Prime Minister.
In celebration of International Day Of Older Persons- which is observed today, The Belize Helpage Branch has organized a week full of activities for its members. Today's activity was a day of self care for the ladies. Jomarie Lanza stopped by and has this report.
"Today the first of October is when we celebrate the International Day of Older Persons. And it's a week of activities that we are doing to celebrate that day. We started on Sunday with a church service and then yesterday we had a day in the park hosted by the mayor of Belize city with fun activities for them. So today we are doing a little pampering for them where we provide again we are partnering with human services to provide manicure and pedicures for the older persons and then we also have other volunteers who are doing hair braiding in the back , as you can see Marisha she works here at the secretariat and then we have another person volunteer Leannie, she will be coming in to do massages with them."
In June we told you about the The Taiwan Technical Mission Women's Empowerment Project and its outreach to the Tumul Uj Women's group in Toledo.
"I remember when Dalia started putting this group together and she said we have a group here and minister Dolores came I thing that was about two years ago, about three years ago, and when she met with the group and she encouraged the group and said one of the things you have to do is that you must stay together you must be United together you must work together so that you can achieve great things and today this is a testament that you have stood together you have united you have worked together and you are achieving great success congratulations ladies and gentlemen. And so for those who might be asking what is the meaning of Tumul Uj, Tumul Uj means new moon and for those of you who take the time out to enjoy the moon the different phases of the moon. The new moon presents a new beginning it's a new opportunity it's an opportunity to be motivated and to think you know futuristic to think positive that good things are going to happen and that is what we are seeing today that great achievements are being achieved by these women who have stood together and worked together."
Dalia Sho, Founder of Women's group
Works to upgrade the Caracol Road continue and now - huge bridge beams are in motion to replace the Guacamallo bridge.
The PUP celebrated its 74th anniversary on Saturday with a National Party Council meeting followed by a buff party.
And they're also celebrating having all 31 candidates ready for the next general elections. The last slot to be filled was Collet. In the 2020 Blue Tsunami, Oscar Arnold lost by a considerable margin.
And while the PUP celebrated 74 on Saturday, the UDP celebrated 51 on Friday. Shyne Barrow gathered his loyalists at the party headquarters for what looked like a lively - if small celebration for party insiders.
