2025-06-25 - Greater Belize Media

“Shyne” Barrow Welcomes “Uncle Mike” Back as Party Chairman

Moses “Shyne” Barrow has welcomed Michael Peyrefitte back as party chairman for the United Democratic Party.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Barrow thanked Peyrefitte for rescinding his resignation and praised Vice Chairman Alberto August for his interim leadership.

As previously reported, Peyrefitte’s return comes just months after he abruptly resigned, only six days after the UDP’s major general election defeat on March 12.

Since his resignation, internal divisions and tensions have escalated, most recently at a failed National Party Council meeting on June 14.

According to Peyrefitte, both sides of the divided party reached out and urged him to return. He stated he initially resisted but ultimately felt “obligated” to come back. “I’ve presented to the parties involved that I have a certain vision… We are in discussions… I am fully prepared to take charge… up until the point where we have a national convention,” he said.

Peyrefitte said that he has full support from the party’s top figures and added, “If it doesn’t work out, I can always resign again.”

According to Barrow, the party’s next steps include setting a date for the National Convention, reinstating members, and addressing key organisational matters that are “in line with the agenda to reunite and rebuild as we prepare the Party for transition to new leadership.”

KHMHA PR Manager Denies Claims that Nurses Abandoned Babies During Sickout

A sickout by over 40 staff at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority (KHMHA) reportedly disrupted essential services on Tuesday, but management is saying that the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) remained fully operational.

KHMHA Public Relations Manager Tylon Tillett refuted a report by Facebook blog Belize News Network (BNN) which claimed nurses abandoned critically ill babies in the NICU.

Tillet called the report “totally false and misleading.” He said, “As the Public Relations Manager of the KHMHA, I am appalled at the level of skull duggery this so-called media network has stooped to,” he said.

“I urge the public to not be mislead by an obvious political arm that slanders the professionalism of the nation’s national referral center in protection of political interests,” Tillett added.

According to Tillet, “All the staff of the NICU was present today… 8 nurses cared for 13 babies.”

Meanwhile, the CEO of the KHMHA, Chandra Nisbet-Cansino formally declared a trade dispute with the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority Workers’ Union (KHMHAWU) and requested the establishment of an Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal.

Cansino accused the KHMHA Workers’ Union (KHMHAWU) of “violating the law” and “putting the safety of patients at risk” after the reported sickout. “Despite an offer being made for their consideration, the KHMHAWU has proceeded with industrial action as opposed to negotiation,” Cansino said on Tuesday in a letter to the Minister of Labour.

Environmental Task Force Formed After Years of Weak Enforcement

A National Environmental Enforcement Task Force has been formed. The task force is expected to adequately respond to what environmentalists say are persistent failures in environmental regulation and oversight.

A statement from the Department of Environment (DOE) says the task force is composed of “key regulatory agencies, was established during a meeting held to address longstanding challenges in compliance monitoring, enforcement capacity, and inter-agency coordination.”

Monthly meetings are expected to target violations linked to large-scale developments and chronic non-compliance with environmental clearance conditions. However, critics note that the DOE’s renewed urgency shows years of inaction, particularly as public pressure mounts over unchecked development and the lack of accountability in high-risk environmental zones.

Discussion points at the task force’s launch included the classification of environmental offences, the need for updated legislation, and plans for shared public awareness campaigns.

“This national task force represents a unified response to Belize’s urgent environmental challenges and underscores the government’s commitment to sustainable development, community well-being, and environmental justice,” DOE said.

Trump Says Iran Nukes ‘Obliterated,’ Intel Disagrees

In the tense days leading up to the U.S. military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear sites, the White House and Republican congressional leaders coordinated a strategic messaging campaign to rally support and maintain a unified stance on Capitol Hill, according to CNN.

Emails circulated between June 14 and 17 reveal a deliberate push to reinforce President Donald Trump’s hardline position on Iran’s nuclear ambitions. One such email, sent to congressional offices on June 17 with the subject line, “POTUS has made it abundantly clear; Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon,” included statements from Trump and testimony from General Michael Kurilla, head of U.S. Central Command, asserting that Iran was dangerously close to nuclear capability.

The military action has come at a steep human cost. According to Iranian state media IRIB, at least 627 people were killed and nearly 4,900 injured between June 13 and June 25 during the conflict between Israel and Iran. The Iranian Health Ministry said that 86% of the deaths occurred immediately at the scenes of Israeli attacks.

Despite early U.S. intelligence assessments suggesting that the strikes may have only temporarily disrupted Iran’s nuclear program, President Trump dismissed those conclusions during a NATO summit press conference on Wednesday. “They didn’t see it. All they can do is take a guess,” Trump said, insisting the facilities were “obliterated.”

He also criticised media coverage of the strikes, accusing outlets like CNN of “demeaning” the U.S. military operation and demoralizing pilots involved in the mission. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth echoed Trump’s defense, calling skepticism over the impact of the strikes “an insult” to military personnel.

KHMHA CEO Accuses KHMHA Worker’s Union of “Putting Patient Safety at Risk”

The CEO of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority (KHMHA) has accused the Workers’ Union of “violating the law” and “putting the safety of patients at risk” after over 40 staff members reportedly called in sick on Tuesday, which caused disruptions to essential services.

In a letter to the Minister of Labour, CEO Chandra Nisbet-Cansino formally declared a trade dispute with the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority Workers’ Union (KHMHAWU) and requested the establishment of an Essential Services Arbitration Tribunal.

“Attempts made to resolve the issue have been futile. The Authority maintains that the KHMHA staff do not qualify for a pension under the Pensions Act,” Cansino said in the letter. “Despite an offer being made for their consideration, the KHMHAWU has proceeded with industrial action as opposed to negotiation.”

The KHMHAWU recently rejected the government’s proposal of a 4% ex gratia payment towards retirement benefits for staff covering 2001–2017. The union called it a step back from earlier promises and criticised the hospital’s portrayal of basic benefits as generous incentives.

The hospital says the union failed to report a trade dispute as legally required. The sickout affected units such as dialysis and radiology, where several patients had to be sent home.

A text message sent to KHMHA staff informed them that “radiologists have call-in sick. Due to this, we will not be able to facilitate ultrasounds and contrasted CT scans.”

The Ministry of Labour is now being asked to intervene to facilitate resolution under the Essential Services Act.

Caribbean, Europe and France Join Forces to Stop Gun Smuggling

According to the Caribbean Investigative Journalism Network, between 2010 and 2021, firearms and ammunition trafficked from the United States to the Caribbean were transported through a variety of methods. The most commonly used were ocean shipping companies, which accounted for 24% of cases, followed closely by shipping companies with unspecified modes, also at 24%. Commercial passenger planes and unspecified methods each made up 17% of trafficking routes. Shipping companies by air were used in 7% of the cases, while postal and fast parcel services were responsible for 10%.

The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), the European Union’s EL PACCTO 2.0 programme, and France’s ALCORCA initiative have launched a five-day regional firearms training workshop in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.

The event marks the first tripartite collaboration among the three entities, aiming to bolster the region’s collective ability to combat transnational organised crime and illegal arms trafficking. This is an issue speakers described as one of the most critical public security challenges facing the Caribbean.

Lt. Col. Michael Jones, Executive Director of CARICOM IMPACS, warned that the proliferation of illicit firearms is driving gang violence and homicide rates across the region. “These instruments of violence fuel gang warfare, drive up homicide rates, and undermine the peace and stability essential for our sustainable development,” Jones said.

Michel Segura, Deputy Director of EL PACCTO 2.0, described the training as a landmark in international cooperation. “This training represents more than a technical event. It is a common vision for a safer, more prepared, more connected regional space to fight against firearms trafficking,” Segura said.

Videsh Maharaj, Permanent Secretary in Trinidad and Tobago’s Ministry of Homeland Security, revealed sobering statistics: the Caribbean experiences violent death rates nearly three times the global average, with over half of all homicides involving firearms. He noted that between 2009 and 2018, more than 22,000 illegal firearms and over 300,000 rounds of ammunition were seized in CARICOM countries. From 2018 to 2022, U.S. authorities traced 7,399 firearms recovered in the Caribbean, 73% of which originated in the United States.