Basketball fans are in for even more thrills this season as teams battle it out across two conferences, the Toucan and the Maya, for a shot at the ultimate prize: the Benny’s Jaguar Cup. Much like the NBA’s Eastern and Western Conferences, this format adds a new layer of competition and strategy. Teams will have to dominate their conference before earning the right to compete for the championship title. Doctor Paul Flowers explained that this setup is designed to raise the stakes and keep fans on the edge of their seats all season long.
Dr. Paul Flowers, Chief Financial Officer, B.P.B.L
“One of the key things we did was create conferences, we created the Maya conference and the Toucan conference. Why the Maya and the toucan, it is because our identity is from the Maya from tourism. Tourism is our biggest foreign reserve earner and what do they advertise every day, the jaguar, the Maya community, so we try to cap the rainforest. That is why in a brainstorming meeting, Dr. Gordon and my son, Paul Flowers Jr. came up with this concept of this is a jungle, survival of the fittest who will be the apex predator. The apex predator is the jaguar. The jungle is what we market, and the jungle has been the place that nobody wants to go to because you go in there and don’t know up from down and nobody can find you. That is what the BPBL is. You want to win the Jaguar Championship and stand as the apex predator; you must follow a gauntlet.”
Just weeks ago, a disturbing video sparked national outrage; a young horse named Wannie was seen being brutally assaulted by a group of young men. The footage, which went viral in April, set off a firestorm of anger and reignited calls for stronger animal cruelty laws in Belize. But tonight, there’s a glimmer of hope. Wannie, once the face of that heartbreaking moment, is now on the road to recovery, thanks to the swift intervention of the Belize Agricultural Health Authority, Reimer’s Feed Mill, and the Animal Medical Center. Together, they stepped in to treat his wounds and provide the care he desperately needed. On Wednesday night, Reimer’s shared a heartwarming update on Facebook: a video showing Wannie looking healthier, calmer, and more at peace. His wounds are healing, his spirit is lifting, and his journey has become a symbol of resilience and compassion. While Wannie’s story is far from over, it’s already a powerful reminder of what can happen when a community comes together—not just to condemn cruelty, but to champion kindness. And as calls for justice continue, so too does the hope that Wannie’s recovery will inspire lasting change.
A grieving family in Ladyville says they’ve been denied the chance to properly mourn their loved one, all because of the State of Emergency (SOE) regulations. The family of Nelson “Mung” Henry, who was murdered on May fifth, claims police stopped them from holding a wake, an important tradition in Belizean mourning customs. Under the SOE, it’s illegal for three or more people to gather in designated areas, a rule that authorities say applies even to wakes. Henry’s death is believed to be linked to the same gang feud that triggered the SOE in the first place. But for his family, the pain is now twofold: losing a loved one and being blocked from saying goodbye in the way their culture and community have always done. Despite the emotional plea, the Belize Police Department is standing firm. At a press conference today, officials showed no signs of backing down on the enforcement of SOE rules. So, what about sporting events in these same areas? That’s the question reporters put to the head table today, raising concerns about inconsistencies in how the rules are being applied.
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
“Remember the State of Emergency regulation prohibits certain things, the loitering, the gathering of three or more persons, so several things are restricted under the SOE. So once those areas fall under the SOE, the regulation prohibits certain things from occurring. Any gathering of three or more persons is restricted under the state of emergency.”
Paul Lopez
“What about sporting events for example?”
Dr. Richard Rosado
“Any gathering over three or more persons is restricted under the state of emergency, those areas that are designated under the state of emergency.”
Stacy Smith
Inspector Stacy Smith, Staff Officer
“Indeed as the commissioner rightly mentioned when areas are already designated as state of emergency there is an import of monitoring activities. What we have seen or known in the past is that many of these wakes are a catalyst for incidents that arise after. So, yes the wake limits three or more persons, but if the wake is to happen it has to happen in a very organized way that does not spill out into the street in terms of loitering. Whenever it is that a lot of persons are gathered in these areas of course it is the import of police to ensure they properly police those areas.”
At the start of the latest State of Emergency, police swept up one hundred and eighteen individuals for questioning. But now, only forty-nine remain behind bars at the Belize Central Prison, leaving many to wonder: what happened to the rest? Today, the Commissioner of Police Doctor Richard Rosado addressed that very question. He explained that while many were initially detained, not all had enough evidence against them to justify extended detention under the SOE.
Richard Rosado
Dr. Richard Rosado, Commissioner of Police
“Individuals are just detained. We started with a hundred and eighteen individuals detained and after the extensive and rigorous interview only forty nine detention order was issued. If there is no merit or after we asses the material if there is no evidence for us to keep them longer they are released. The primary objective is to allow investigators to conduct their investigation without hindrance from the criminal elements and our main objective is to ensure we solve those violent crimes without any hindrance.”
Commissioner of Police Doctor Richard Rosado is yet to indicate if the state of emergency will be extended after the first month expires. We will continue to follow.
From the streets of Belmopan to the negotiation table at the House of Culture, the Joint Union Negotiating Team brought their demands straight to the government on Tuesday afternoon. At the top of their list: an eight-and-a-half percent salary adjustment to help offset frozen increments and the rising cost of living driven by inflation. Inside the meeting room, the Briceño administration sent in a high-powered team—Deputy Prime Minister Cordel Hyde, Education Minister Oscar Requena, and Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance Christopher Coye, to lead the talks. Outside, a small but determined group of union members staged a peaceful protest, keeping the pressure on. After five hours of intense discussions, a proposal was finally placed on the table. Both sides agreed to take it back for further review. The outcome of these talks could shape the future of public sector pay, and tensions remain high as workers wait to see if their demands will be met.
Paul Lopez, Reporting
Backed by a wave of support from Friday’s demonstration in Belmopan, the Joint Union Negotiating Team (JUNT) entered the House of Culture on Tuesday afternoon with renewed energy and a clear message: it’s time for action. Leading the charge for educators was Belize National Teachers’ Union President Nadia Caliz, who took on the tough task of representing teachers at the table. With public officers and educators united, the unions made it clear they’re not backing down.
Nadia Caliz
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teachers Union
“Very positive, very optimistic and we are not backing down. If you notice, I am happy to see my teachers. I am pleased. Let us hope when I come out it is exactly what they want or more.”
Tuesday’s meeting between the Joint Union Negotiating Team and the government followed a set agenda, but not everyone was happy with the order of business. Salary adjustments and increments, the unions’ top concerns, were placed low on the list. Instead, discussions kicked off with committee reports and talks on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement. As the hours wore on, union reps stepped out of the meeting room, twice, to huddle in private. We later learned they were weighing proposals and counterproposals, signaling that the talks were anything but routine.
Nadia Caliz
“It was cordial, until we got to a point where the demands of the workers were not taken seriously, and I had to let them know, because for me we have a mandate to strike, I had to let them know that as of today I am sending out what I need to send out. We all had to caucus after that, because the members don’t want to hear anything other than their demands. So they caucus, we caucus and they made a proposal and that is what we are going to take back to membership.”
How can union members make an informed decision on a government proposal that hasn’t even been put in writing? With only verbal exchanges and no official document to review, union leaders are left in a tough spot, expected to consult their members on terms that haven’t been clearly laid out. It’s a sticking point that could stall progress and raise concerns about transparency in the negotiation process.
Cordel Hyde
Cordel Hyde, Deputy Prime Minister
“I think we had a very constructive meeting, we discussed the issues in length and I think we reached some level of overstanding. Of course, these things are subject to agreement of Cabinet and agreement of the membership of the unions.”
Oscar Requena, Minister of Education
“I do not want to speak to the specifics because we do have our proposal. We need to go back to Cabinet and thereafter we will be able to speak to the specifics.”
The Public Service Union may have called Tuesday meeting a success—but not everyone was convinced. PSU President Dean Flowers told reporters the session went well, but behind the scenes, there was visible pushback from within. During a Tuesday night Zoom call with P.S.U. members, Union Senator Glenfield Dennison didn’t hold back, writing in the chat: “Government killed our movement with one meeting. My two cents.”
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“I believe we had a very respectful meeting as we always do. While we can get emotional at times, respect is always maintained. We went into that room with a mandate from our collected membership. We did waver with that demand. We stuck it out. The Cabinet subcommittee considered the request and made an offer. They now go back to get the endorsement for that offer. Once Cabinet endorses that offer and our membership accepts that offer when it is presented, we will all be in a very good place. But I can say today was a successful round of negotiations for the most part.”
The standoff has reached a boiling point, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. Will teachers accept the government’s latest offer? Or will they hit the streets in a bold two-day national shutdown? The answer could shape the public service’s immediate future and it’s coming soon. Reporting for News Five I am Paul Lopez.
With a twenty-one-day notice before the Belize National Teachers’ Union is set tostrike, union leaders say their latest sit-down with the government felt different, in a good way. Following Tuesday’s negotiations, P.S.U. President Dean Flowers and B.N.T.U. President Nadia Caliz expressed cautious optimism, calling the meeting one of the least heated in recent memory. As details of the discussion begin to surface, so does pushback from union members and the wider public. Some are questioning whether the outcome truly reflects the demands on the ground, and whether enough progress was made to call off the looming strike.
Dean Flowers
Dean Flowers, President, Public Service Union
“I think in terms of us have been here before, it had to do with the ten percent salary cut and the economic impact it had, not only on our members, but the wider Belizean community. So, those meetings were very tough, in my view, tougher than the meetings we had today. The actions taken three or four years ago had far reaching implications that we are still wheeling from and recovering today. And today we were able to demonstrate to the government that dah nuh only three increments we lose mih breda, you have to compound that. We demonstrated to them that one single public officer at the age of twenty would have lost ninety thousand dollars over his or her career.”
Nadia Caliz
Nadia Caliz, President, Belize National Teachers Union
“They have agreed for us sit down every year to look at inflation and based on that formula we will be adjusting salaries. We don’t have to be on the streets lobbying, advocating for an increase. That is what is different this time around.”
As the government grapples with a ballooning wage bill, union leaders are making one thing clear: that’s not their burden to carry. Prime Minister John Briceño has pointed out that a large chunk of government spending goes toward paying teachers and public servants, a concern as salary negotiations continue. But the Joint Union Negotiation Team isn’t losing sleep over it. According to Sharon Frazer, President of the Association of Public Service Senior Managers, the unions are focused on fair compensation, not the government’s budgeting woes.
Sharon Frazer
Sharon Frazer, President, A.P.S.S.M.
“You have to understand that we don’t hire anybody, successive governments have come in and they have done the hiring, so that from what we have seen, although nobody has given us the actual figure in terms of how many persons are employed by the government of Belize, particularly within the public sector, at the end of the day they are doing the hiring, so if it is bloated, if there are ghost workers, they are responsible. We wouldn’t take any responsibility for that and we agree they should not be spending money and not getting value for money. That is why we are here. Part of our collective bargaining has to do with performance, having to do with being accountable, ensuring we give government value for money. At the end of the day I don’t want anybody to feel this is all about money. We recognize. I don’t want anybody to think we are condoning a bloated government, a bloated public service, a bloated anything. In fact, we want, we have been asking for the numbers, we have been asking how many people are employed by government. They are the ones not giving it to us. In fact I will tell you today, brother Dean was saying he was prepared to resign to go look for those persons. That is what he said.”
Nearly a year after the arrival of the E-buses in Belize City, the Belize City Council has introduced the e-Ride Taxi Service in the city. These are a part of the council’s E-Mobility Pilot Project, which seeks to offer Belizeans sustainable and reliable transportation options. However, these celebrated additions did not come without a steep price; with the e-Ride taxis requiring a two-hundred-and-twenty-three-thousand-dollar investment from the council. Considering these heavy costs, we spoke with Mayor Bernard Wagner, on whether the E-buses project had been a lucrative investment.
Reporter
“Have you made your financial assessment of the electric city bus service, is it financially feasible or does it still require a subsidy?”
Bernard Wagner
Bernard Wagner, Belize City Mayor
“The bus? No the bus has been doing pretty well. Like I told you from last year, that on an average for those in buses earn the city, about ten thousand per week. That has been average. We have seen a bit taper, tapered off, and we figured that would be in the neighborhood of eight thousand per week for two buses. We are not fully across the entire city. So that is expected, but we see it as a viable project going forward.”
Corozal North Area Representative Hugo Patt was noticeably absent from Monday’s Budget Presentation, but he says politics had nothing to do with it. Patt, who’s found himself at the center of the United Democratic Party’s ongoing leadership shake-up, insists his absence was due to a family emergency, not party drama. The controversy stems from a leadership shuffle following the March twelfth general elections. After Moses “Shyne” Barrow lost his Mesopotamia seat and Tracy Taegar-Panton secured hers in Albert, Patt, then acting leader, briefly took the reins. But in a surprising move, he quickly passed leadership to Panton, sparking speculation about internal rifts. Despite the political noise, Patt says his focus on Monday was family, not factionalism.
Hugo Patt, Area Representative, Corozal North
“I had an emergency with one of my sons, so I had to take him to the hospital. It really caught us off guard. We don’t plan for these things. While I wanted to attend the Sitting of the House, I had to take care of the health of my child. These things do happen from time to time. Friday I was there, I was a bit late, but yes, I was there at the inaugural sitting of the House of Representatives.”
Marion Ali
“I don’t know if you’ve heard but Mr Barrow says he blames you in terms of how things turned out with the whole handing over of the leadership after he handed it over to you. What are your thoughts about that?”
Hugo Patt
“He’s entitled to his opinions and his comments. Ms. Ali, we could lay the blame on anybody or we could blame everybody, but at this point in time, I don’t think it helps. Our supporters are really tired of the situation that we’re in and like them, and like me and many of us, we just want to see us get over the crisis that we have been suffering for the past months. So while everybody is entitled to his or her opinion, and if he’s to blame me and if anybody is to blame me, I can live with it, but my thing is this: I don’t think that blaming anybody will help. Finding excuses won’t help. We need solutions and I think that that is the way that we need to go.”
Marion Ali
“May I ask what happened when Mr. Barrow passed on the interim leadership to yourself? What happened between that point and when you handed it over to Ms. Panton?”
Hugo Patt
“From a legal standpoint, and from a procedural standpoint, yes, I am the acting party leader, but you know, I have not been shy about the fact that I have said that I have never wanted this position. And while, under the constitution, I just can’t hand over the leadership to Ms. Panton, I am willing to make sure that that process is followed.”
The political drama inside the United Democratic Party is not letting up. Today, Moses “Shyne” Barrow’s headquarters issued a fiery press release, warning Tracy Taegar-Panton to stop claiming she’s a member of the U.D.P. Barrow pointed to a recent court ruling by Justice Tawanda Hondora, which confirmed that Panton was expelled from the party back on August 28. According to the release, Panton had asked the court to declare her a U.D.P. member—but the judge declined, leaving the final decision in the hands of the party’s executive. Until then, Barrow insists, she remains expelled and has no authority within the party. Barrow even went a step further, calling on Panton to issue a public apology if she wants any chance at reconciliation. But not everyone in the party is backing Barrow. Hugo Patt, a key figure in the U.D.P., says as far as he’s concerned, Panton is still his leader. The leadership tug-of-war continues, and the U.D.P.’s internal rift shows no signs of healing just yet.
Hugo Patt
Hugo Patt, Area Representative, Corozal North
“As we speak, I think the only viable candidate and the only candidate that has in the indicated a willingness to lead this party is the Honorable Tracy Panton. So, she’s now the present Leader of the Opposition. And so, you know, it’s just a matter of processes for her to become the next leader of the U.D.P. I have said it openl, I support Honorable Tracy Panton to be our next leader. And all it will take this for us to do – from a legal standpoint and from a constitutional standpoint of the UDP to do what is necessary for Honorable Panton to become the next party leader.”
Marion Ali
“So if he happens to win again at that convention, are you willing to work along with Mr. Barrow as the leader of the party? He has said, you know, that he’s basically disappointed in your decision. How do you feel about him?”
Hugo Patt
“ I will respect whatever the decision of delegates is. I have never been the type of person who will go against anybody. I am a U.D.P. I never criticize any U.D.P. I have seen how people criticize one another. You have never seen Hugo Patt criticizing anybody. I believe that my job is first to serve the people of Corozal North; secondly to basically look at the flaws and identify the wrongdoings of the party in government. And that’s about it.”
