Viewers please note: This Internet newscast is a verbatim transcript of our evening television newscast. Where speakers use Kriol, we attempt to faithfully reproduce the quotes using a standard spelling system.
Fisherman murdered on high seas, one charged
Thirty-three year old Kirk Smith, a fisherman by profession and father of three girls, became Belize’s seventy-seventh murder victim on the high seas. Smith’s body was brought in by skiff from Turneffe Island last Friday night. There is much speculation on the motive behind the killing, but this morning police arrested and charged a Sarteneja fisherman for the crime of Murder. Marion Ali has been following the incident since Friday and has details in the following report.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Twenty-nine year old Marcos Moh appeared before Chief Magistrate Margaret Gabb this morning to face a charge of Murder. Police say Moh, who had been working at a fishing camp near to Smith’s camp on the Turneffe Caye range, did not act alone but he was the man who pulled the trigger.
Superintendent Julio Valdez, O.C., C.I.B. “These persons were on the island, these other persons drive pass pan wah boat and they start to fire at them. That’s what we got right now.”
Marion Ali
“At close range?”
Supt. Julio Valdez “We believe so, yes.”
Marion Ali
“And then at the time, they were in their boat retrieving lobster traps.”
Supt. Julio Valdez “Yes, so when they were in a boat another boat passed, fired at them. The other two persons jumped in the sea and one person got shot, that’s Mr. Smith.”
Smith’s body was brought in late last Friday evening in the boat in which he was killed while he and two other colleagues were retrieving lobster traps. Still slumped over, Smith’s body had a bullet wound which penetrated his abdomen and lower back. The two workmen reportedly escaped gunshots when they jumped into the water. Smith’s common-law wife, Maxine Zelaya, told News Five today that she felt they targeted her husband because of envy.
Maxine Zelaya, Common-law Wife, Deceased “He’s someone who’s always generating to make money. They way he works, a lot of people envy him for the way he works.”
Marion Ali
“Somebody would want to put a hit on somebody for that?”
Maxine Zelaya “Because then he work and then if you are sea and you have a camp out there and I have a camp, the water is not for none of us; competition. It’s not really who has the most things, but if you can set out more for everyone, if you can set out more or enough traps, you mek more money. And then Kirk is someone that he will set as far as he can and if they believe that he is just making too much money or he is in the area, they set in the area, he is set in that area they would want him dead because they believe he is making too much money and that is not so. Because he set in an area in the lagoon and he would go as far as he can that he can have enough traps that if he goes out there he could bring home something.”
Zelaya says she knew something was wrong the moment Smith’s two workmen, Trevor Johnson and Jason Westby, showed up at her house on Friday. That’s because the group had just gone out to sea two days earlier and were not due back for another few days.
Maxine Zelaya “When I saw his workmen come in and I ask them where he was Friday evening, they said they shot him and he dead out at sea. They said that this guy just came up when he was in the boat and just shot him. It was two of them and this one Marcos Moh he just came and just fired a shot without asking no questions or anything, just straight at Kirk.”
But while police are not yet certain what the exact motive of the killing was, they are sure it was triggered by a previous conflict.
Supt. Julio Valdez “We recovered an AK forty-seven along with some rounds we believed was the weapon used in the shooting of Mr. Smith at the Turneffe Island. So yes, we did recover the weapon; an AK-forty-seven.”
Marion Ali
“Does police believe that the two had any previous conflicts prior to the murder?”
Supt. Julio Valdez “So far, from what we got, we do believe they had a misunderstanding before. The motive for the shooting at this time of day, we cannot say but we do believe that yes, there was some misunderstanding happened between both of them from before. I don’t know what kind of misunderstanding they had, but something happened between the two of them—not the two of them, but fishermen out there they have some kind of rivalry or something out there and we believe that yes, this person had some kind of misunderstanding, thus resulting in the shooting.”
Marion Ali
“Could it have been over lobster traps? I’m made to understand that it was just an envious relationship between the two which had grown to...”
Supt. Julio Valdez “At this point in time, it can be possible. Anything can be possible.”
But while Zelaya says she finds strength in God, she has a message for Smith’s killer.
Maxine Zelaya “I hope they can go out there and dive the seas for what they were fighting for. I hope they can go out there and dive and enjoy themselves diving and making the money that they took away from him and the life they took away from his kids and the money to take care of his kids. The dream of his kids, he was a role model not only to his kids, but to everyone out here. And I hope they are happy with it because you know weh happen? When the hands of death knock at their door, I hope they will be strong and can be strong and take it. Because you know what happen? That was my foundation. I hope they can live with the tears that my three daughters will shed for the rest of their lives because tears is something really powerful.”
Reporting for News Five, Marion Ali.
When Marcos Moh appeared in Court, he could not be offered bail because of the nature of the offence and was remanded in custody until October twenty-second. It is believed that Smith was standing at the bow of his boat when the fatal shot hit him. Jason Westby and Trevor Johnson, who were with Smith, were not injured. According to police, Westby jumped into the water when the assailant’s gun jammed and Johnson, sped away and managed to escape.
4 Mexican soldiers released with undeclared weapons
Four Mexican soldiers are on their way back across the border after they were released by police. The four were apprehended just before ten on Monday night on the Northern Highway when they were found with an undeclared weapon. The soldiers reportedly arrived at the Burrell Boom checkpoint in a white Mazda four-door car bearing Mexican license plates. When local police officers searched their vehicle they discovered a nine millimetre gun in the glove compartment which the soldiers had failed to declare, nor could they provide a valid license. The soldiers, whose names were not released, were kept in custody until shortly before four this afternoon when they were given back their weapon and allowed to exit the country in their vehicle. The release of the soldiers, according to Press Officer with the Mexican Embassy, Marcelino Miranda, is in line with a section of the Geneva Convention, which requires countries not at war with each other to hand over military personnel.
Marcelino Miranda, Press Officer, Mexican Embassy “In this case, members of an army, according to international law, they receive a different treatment by the authorities of a country.”
Marion Ali
“I’m just trying to see the balance here.”
Marcelino Miranda “Actually, this is related to international law.”
Marion Ali
“That each country should abide by.”
Marcelino Miranda “Exactly, each country because the people in this case, those four Mexicans are members of the Mexican army. In this case the international law applies to members of any country.”
Marion Ali
“So if the four Belizeans who are in the Mexican prison, if they were soldiers they would have been released as well?”
Marcelino Miranda “Actually, this part of international law I’m talking about is applied to any members of any army. So this part of international law applies for a member of an army from the Mexican army, from the Belizean army; from any army in the world.”
Meanwhile, four Belizeans, all employees of the Las Vegas Casino in Corozal, remain in prison in Chetumal pending trial for an incident in July in which they entered Mexican territory following a shootout at the casino.
High profile trial of Brannon brothers murder adjourned
The high profile Brannon brothers murder trial has been adjourned until next Tuesday. The case against Taejdron Bennett and Joseph Kee was set to commence in Belmopan this morning in front of Justice Troadio Gonzalez, but was pushed back due to the addition of a new attorney. This morning attorney Michael Peyrefitte notified Justice Gonzalez that he had joined the legal team of the accused which also includes Dickie Bradley and Ellis Arnold. Peyrefitte then asked for an adjournment so that he may become familiar with the case and Director of Public Prosecutions Cheryl-Lynn Branker-Taitt offered no objections. Bennett and Kee are accused of fatally shooting Phillip and Kevin Brannon near their parent’s home on Albert Street West. The Brannon brothers, along with their brother Basil and a cousin had just left a concert at the Belize City Centre when they were pursued and shot. Their other brother and the cousin were injured during the shooting and as a result Kee and Bennett were additionally hit with two counts of Attempted Murder. A third man, Ricky Aguilar, was initially charged in connection with the incident, but those charges were later withdrawn.
Step-father of 11 month old baby charged with neglect
And in the Magistrates’ Court in Belize City today, twenty-nine year old Edward Sandoval, the stepfather of an eleven month old baby boy was charged with Child Neglect after the child suffered a fractured nose on October ninth. Sandoval, a construction worker of Barracat Street, pleaded not guilty to the charge and was offered bail of five hundred dollars. While the case was adjourned until November twenty-ninth, Magistrate Alberta Perez pointed out that Sandoval might not be the right person to be charged since he is not the biological father of the child and that the Department of Human Services needed to look into the case. Sandoval reported to police that the child was left in his care by the mother, twenty-three year old Barbara Fernandez. According to Sandoval, he was reading a book when he heard the baby crying and then found the baby on the floor. When the child was taken to the K.H.M.H., the doctor certified that his nose was swollen and fractured and that his forehead was also swollen.
Vasquez charged with Harm/Driving under the Influence
Ramon Vasquez, the owner of the Channel Nine television station, is out on a two thousand five hundred dollar bail tonight. Vasquez was taken to court this morning and was charged with Causing Harm to police constable Newton Martinez and driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Vasquez pleaded not guilty and his case was adjourned to November twenty-sixth. According to police, while on mobile patrol they intercepted a Dodge Ram Pick-up truck. The driver, Vasquez, appeared intoxicated and he was ordered to stop. Police discovered a beer bottle on him while he sat behind the steering wheel. According to Martinez, Vasquez grabbed him on his left forearm and scratched him while he was being taken to the police station.
Man fined $150 for counterfeit blue note
A man who was found with a hundred dollar counterfeit note, has been fined a little more, one hundred and fifty dollars. And twenty-two year old Roger Pott also lost his job at Habet and Habet Hardware Store. Magistrate Sharon Frazer gave Pott until November thirtieth to pay the fine and if he doesn’t, he will serve a two-month jail sentence. This follows a police search on Pott at the Buca Shell gas station at Mile two and half Northern Highway, where Pott and another man were spotted by the police standing near a car that had broken down. The counterfeit note was found in the pocket of Pott’s jacket.
Traffic accident leaves 1 dead, 1 injured
One man is dead tonight after he succumbed to injuries he received in a traffic accident on the western Highway. Forty-three year old Daniel Douglas died at the K.H.M.H. after he sustained a deep cut wound to his nose. According to reports, shortly before six on Sunday morning, Douglas, along with twenty-three year old, Brenda Nicole Requeña, were en-route to Belmopan when between miles thirty-nine and forty, they crashed into the rear end of a white freight liner truck. Investigations revealed that the truck was driven by forty-one year old Transito Lopez of Bella Vista Village in Stann Creek. Lopez told police that his truck was parked on the left-hand side of the highway and he was unaware that a car had collided into the truck until he experienced rear wheel problems miles later. Police say that upon reaching the scene, they found Requeña sitting in the driver’s seat of a Toyota Camry with a large cut wound to her forehead. Douglas was apparently thrown out of the vehicle and landed three feet away. Both Requeña and Douglas were transported to the K.H.M.H and five hours later Douglas died during treatment. Requeña is in critical condition.
Ice Cream parlor jacked by three armed men in San Pedro
It wasn’t the ice cream but the cash that was too sweet to resist in an early morning hold up in downtown San Pedro. Manelly’s Ice Cream parlor, located only a few doors away from the Belize Bank was robbed at eight a.m. this morning by three men. According to the owner, forty four year old Helly Del Valle, she normally opens the business at ten a.m. but this morning she changed her routine. Del Valle and two assistants, Mariela Rotana and another woman identified as Clementaina, would have used the time to clean up the business. The three women entered through the back door and soon after, three masked men followed and one of them placed a sharp object on Del Valle and demanded to know where she kept the money. She then pointed to a bag which contained the cash which the robber took and then escaped through the same rear entrance. Police investigators say that they are closing in on the culprits and expect to make arrests soon.
Step-father charged with carnal knowledge of 14yr old
There are new reports of cases involving carnal knowledge. On Sunday, a fifteen year old girl reported to police that she visited a friend at his workplace in Orange Walk Town where he had sexual intercourse with her. Police have detained eighteen year old Felix Caliz pending charges of Carnal Knowledge.
In another case; this time in southern Belize, a fourteen year old minor of Jacintoville has been the victim of sexual abuse. The child’s mother reported to police that last Wednesday, she found her husband having sexual intercourse with the minor and according to the child, the abuse started since she was nine years old. The child says she kept the incident quiet because she was under threat from her stepfather.
Tropical depression threatening southern Belize
Since the beginning of October, Belizeans have been keeping their fingers crossed hoping that the month would pass quickly without any threats from natural disasters. Today it appears it’s not meant to be as around nine this morning tropical depression number sixteen formed just off the coast of Honduras and heading to southern Belize. According to Acting Chief Meteorologist Ramon Frutos, they have been monitoring the situation since the weekend and he advises residents in low lying areas to do the same as recent rainfalls can complicate matters.
Ramon Frutos, Acting Chief Meteorologist “The general track of all the models combined have this thing moving westwards into southern Belize, so it is possible that tropical depression sixteen could intensify into a tropical storm tomorrow and if it reaches that strength before the tropical depression south of Puerto Rico, it will be called Marco. If the centre of tropical depression number sixteen remains offshore, then it is very possible that it could intensify into tropical storm tomorrow. That is something we will continue to monitor very closely and keep the general public abreast. What we are worried about in connection with this system is the rainfall it is bringing. The hurricane centre is predicting some four to eight inches of rainfall associated with tropical depression number sixteen as it moves over northern Honduras, north-eastern Nicaragua and southern Belize. In the hilly terrain and mountainous terrains of the region including southern Belize, they can expect rainfall in excess of fifteen inches and this amount of rainfall and the amount that we have been getting over the past couple of days could be very dangerous because it will cause rapid runoff and flash flood conditions in the hilly terrain of the Stann Creek, Toledo and even Cayo District. How early can this begin to materialize or occur? It could be as early as tonight or during the day tomorrow and Thursday night. My advice is for our citizens living in low lying areas close to rivers in the flood plains areas—because many of our communities in the south and central part of Belize are in the flood plains—should continue to monitor this very closely and begin to make preparations in case they need to evacuate and the evacuation could occur in the middle of the night so we should be prepared.”
District Emergency Committees have been notified of the storm and are on alert. As for the new Doppler radar, Frutos says it has been installed but it is still being tested and won’t be ready until the beginning of next month. The hurricane season closes at the end of November.
Kevin Herrera leaves Chamber of Commerce after 11 years
He has been at the helm of the Chamber of Commerce for eleven years and now Kevin Herrera is calling it quits. During his tenure, Herrera was the driving force behind many accomplishments, including a growth in the Chamber’s assets and membership and he also championed constitutional and legislative reforms. Herrera is leaving the Chamber at the end of October to take on new challenges elsewhere in the private sector. But according to Herrera, though he may be leaving, he still intends to be on the forefront of discussions that impact economic development.
Kevin Herrera, C.E.O., Chamber of Commerce “A big part of my terms of reference was the time I spent trying to bring back financial stability to the chamber. I think within a couple years with a lot of hard work, a lot of sacrifices, a lot of belt tightening, we were able to do that. I think we’ve also been able to work with members and members have confidence with us over the years and I think that also helps. We’ve also spent a lot of time consulting on various issues with our membership and driving many issues within the community over the years. Another huge achievement or accomplishment, as I see it, is many of the constitutional and legislative reforms that we had championed over the years. I think back especially in the tough times in 2005 when all the world was imbalanced. I think the chamber played a major role in pushing of the reform issues that we were talking about, especially the ten point reform agenda which as you know all resulted in the Finance and Audit Reform Act of 2005. But along with that, we’ve also addressed many trade issues over the years. We’ve done a tremendous amount of training for the private sector.”
Jose Sanchez
“Where should we expect to see you next?”
Kevin Herrera “I will be working with the oil industry for a couple years so I think I’ll be dealing with many of the overall issues relating to that industry. So I look forward to a change of scenery. But I also intend to remain active on the issues that affect us.”
Herrera disclosed that he will be the country manager for CHX Capital Investments, an affiliate of B.N.E. Though the investment company is still in infancy stage, it currently has diverse investments in the oil industry in Belize.
Bureau of Standards launches code of standards
World Standards Day dates back to 1946 when it was first established in London. But Belize didn’t join until 2003 when CARICOM, as a regional body, signed on. And while little is known of it, the Belize Bureau of Standards is putting World Standards Day on the local map. It is launching a code for standards under the theme, “Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings” to create awareness on safety measures in commercial, governmental and residential buildings. The overall objective is to ensure that structures are safe for the general public. According to the presenters, they are targeting students studying in related areas to get the information out.
Douglas Morrison, Chairperson Engineering Department, U.B. “Here at the University we are training technicians, which will eventually be the engineers of this country. And therefore, if they don’t understand standards, construction standards, how to put it together then this country will not develop.”
Jose Trejo, Acting Director, Belize Bureau of Standards “Standards is something we have to build on in this country and we have to make sure it is at the tip of the tongue of every Belizean. It is more to promote, to have some public awareness of what standards is all about. Today’s session is basically a spin-off of what is going to be the Caribbean Development Bank Funding for a budget for regional building standards. So what we hope to achieve at the end of the day is a harmonization of standards across the region in terms of a building code.”
Phillip Waight, Chairman, Central Building Authority “What happen is when you establish standards, there is basically two aspects: one, from the workmanship as well as the material you’re being utilized. So basically, it’s marrying the engineering aspect along with the workmanship. If you look at areas where they have substandard structures then you have disasters occurring to both people living there and everybody surrounding. If we do not adhere to standards, if we do not build according to a code, then you find you’re creating problems not only just for the people directly who live there but overall. So if you look at the Belama structure, it’s not just the building that you should take in but the whole comprehensive thing—drainage, roads, elevations, filling up and all that.”
Police team up with Red Cross for training on social issues
In collaboration with the Belize Red Cross’ “Together We Can” project, the Belize Police Department’s Community Policing Unit is conducting a three-day training session with thirty-six police officers. The training is being held at the Yabra Youth Friendly and Community Drop-in Centre and addresses various issues including values and attitudes, sexuality, communication with young people and HIV/AIDS.
Douglas Hyde, Youth Programme Coordinator, Police Dept. “This training specifically is focusing on three areas: awareness, empowerment and capacity building. The police officers will be trained in areas of HIV and AIDS, STIs , health related issues, but also will look on effective way of communication and also youth friendly services—how to work with young people. At the end of the sessions, officers will receive certificates certifying them as instructors, trainers through the Belize Red Cross Programme, but also these officers will go back and do sessions and trainers with other police officers and also with other young persons who they work with on a daily basis.”
The training ends on Thursday and the officers will receive certificates for completion of the programme.
30 special constables join police force in fight against crime
While some were offering training, a group of thirty Special Constables were sworn in during a ceremony at the Raccoon Street Police Station in Belize City. The ceremony on Sunday marked two days of rigorous training received by the Special Constables. The programme, spearheaded by Deputy Officer Commanding the Eastern Division Police Formation, Senior Superintendent Robert Mariano, aims to complement the regular element of the police force in the fight against crime.
Chiquibul faces massive deforestation
Encompassing two hundred and forty-six thousand acres of land, the Chiquibul National Park is the largest protected area in Belize. But most of the reports on this newscast about the area centre not around its beauty, but on the destruction of its resources by our neighbours to the west. And instead of getting better, the situation appears to be worsening. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports from the Cayo District.
Rafael Manzanero, Executive Dir., F.C.D. “The main, main key thing that we do is to generate information about to what is occurring on the ground.”
Kendra Griffith, Reporting
Since 2006, Friends for Conservation and Development has been co-managing the Chiquibul National Park along with the Forest Department and as such is responsible for its day to day management.
Established almost twenty years ago as a youth environmental group, the N.G.O. operates from its head office in San Jose, Succotz in the Cayo District. Rafael Manzanero is its Executive Director.
Rafael Manzanero “The Chiquibul National Park is perhaps one of the most challenging areas to manage because of a forty-five kilometer area that we share with Guatemala and also as a result of the many years of inactivity in terms of monitoring and surveillance, it was an area that was abandoned in terms of management and so there have been a lot of challenges and threats that right now we are trying really to control.”
The Guatemalan trespassers cut xate, hunt animals, log, and even clear the forests to plant corn and grow cattle.
Rafael Manzanero “We are facing a nation that is much more larger in scope, larger in population, and larger in terms of the poverty levels in Guatemala. We know already that some fifty thousand people migrate annually from the highlands in Guatemala and coming down to the Peten area. So that is a pressure point and these people are seeking new lands and looking at new opportunities. So this is going to be a current of activities along our frontier. And so as a country we feel that we need to put forward more determined action to combat something like this.”
When we flew over the area in May, the clearings were easily spotted... and since then other borderline flights have revealed more. The incursions, says Manzanero, have been occurring since the 1980s and have been steadily escalating.
Rafael Manzanero “I don’t think we understand the magnitude of the problem and that is what we are trying to resurface. We are trying to say that it is not five acres, it is not ten acres, we are talking about massive deforestation problems that are occurring at the hands of people that are not even Belizeans and this is really a cause of alert for us now.”
Operating with a meager staff of ten persons of ten persons, F.C.D. relies on partners such as the Forest Department, Belize Defence Force, Police Department and even their N.G.O. counterparts in Guatemala to conduct patrols.
Rafael Manzanero “In order to stop it, in order to at least control it, we certainly need to Guatemalan support and that comes from the governmental sector of course. It is something that Belize government needs to be much more in terms of bringing out the real situation and what is happening. What we are proposing is to put in another two observation posts along the border, particularly in areas that are more susceptible right now for Guatemalan incursions and that would be along the Valentin area and along another point which is called Sevada, which is more in the southern edge of the Caracol Archaeological Reserve. The third component is then really to patrol more along that border.”
The demarcation of the northern boundary line of the Chiquibul National Park by Trekforce and the establishment of an observation post near Rio Blanco some five hundred and thirty-five meters from the border have greatly assisted the F.C.D. The NGO is also in the process of developing a management plan for the area.
The Chiquibul is filled with wildlife and has the largest known network of caves in Central America and is also home to the highest point in Belize. But one of its major benefits to Belizeans and even Guatemalans is water. In November the F.C.D. will embark on a project to encourage twenty-two communities along the Chiquibul Maya Mountains to protect that “Blue Gold.”
Pedro Chan, Environmental Educator, F.C.D. “The objective of this campaign is to target the people from this community to instill in them water conservation, consciousness and to instill in them a higher conservation ethic. Another objective of the campaign is to work closely with the private sector.”
Rafael Manzanero “These protected areas were made considerably for the protection of watersheds. It is really is beyond the scope of in terms of pricing gold. Water, we need it and that really comes from those mountains, so we ought to protect it.”
Kendra Griffith reporting for News Five.
Funding for F.C.D.’s activities comes from organizations such as PACT, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund and the Nature Conservancy.
James Adderley has weekend sports
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and we’re glad you could join us for this portion of Sports Monday.
The B.P.F.L. rolled out its opening schedule in the 2008 RF&G playoffs over the weekend and despite inclement weather nationwide, all eight teams in the post season saw action. We’re inside the M.C.C. Grounds for yesterday’s clash between the number one seed F.C. Belize and Benque D.C. United who comes in bursting with ambition today. Nevertheless, it’s the host team probing early with this ground ball delivery that forces Jeromy James to foul goalkeeper Luna. James then displays this nice first touch in traffic to launch a left foot successfully smothered by the keeper William Luna. At the other end Elias Donaire gets a look at goal only to be victimized by an inadequate first touch. On the next F.C. offensive push Cristobal Gilharry launches this power shot that he certainly would have wanted to reset. When Gilharry serves up this beauty to Byron Usher, it sets F.C. Belize up for the 1-zip lead but the Benque defense hangs on tight. We’re twenty-nine minutes in when Donaire finds Habib Cano who picks out Miguel Aguilar and Alden Augustine is beaten as Benque takes a 1-zip lead. Stunned, F.C. Belize tries to recover immediately on this play but Benque defense man Allan Ponce slams the door shut. Off the ensuing corner kick, Benque again displays determined defense to keep the scoreboard unchanged. In the meantime, this effort that culminates with this dangerous back to the goal shot from Miguel Aguilar forces Augustine to come up big and he does. At the forty-second minute of the ballgame this quick left foot splice from Jeromy James is misplaced by Luna. The attempted clearance rebounds off Smart Omoruyi and we have a tied ballgame at one apiece.
In second half play Benque uses this set piece for offense but good goalkeeping from Augustine keeps the score tied. Downfield, Byron Usher of F.C. Belize launches this individual effort but Luna would not allow him to break the tie on this trip. Meanwhile, folks it’s only desperate defending that prevents F.C. from breaking the tie on this press. Edon Rawley then fires this bouncer that is collected by William Luna. F.C. Belize keeps the pressure on with this corner kick but again Luna handles the situation. Folks, it’s F.C. Belize in the ascendency at this juncture but both Usher and James fail to impress the scoreboard on this push for goal. F.C. Belize keeps searching when Vallan Symms tries to pick out James as Luna intervenes nicely. Vallan Symms then decides to hook up with John Smith at the eightieth minute and this header breaks the tie. It’s a thing of beauty. F.C. Belize would hand on to the 2-1 big W in the first of this home and away series with Benque D.C.
In other results from week one of the RF&G playoffs Nizhee Corozal jerked Georgetown Ibayani 2-zip, Suga Boys Juventus ambushed the Belize Defence Force 4-2 and Llagulei sank San Pedro 2-1. Thus, in week two of the playoffs F.C. Belize travels to Benque D.C. in a bid to close out the series this Sunday, nineteenth October. Nizhee Corozal travels to Georgetown Ibayani and they’re in the driver’s seat. Suga Boys Juventus looks poised to eliminate the B.D.F. at the People’s Stadium this Sunday while Llagulei sails to San Pedro with a one goal lead. Of course, by Sunday only four teams will remain standing.
Over in the Super League, this weekend Texmar Boys blew out Tsunami 4-1, Lake-Collet Survivors clubbed Cayo South 5-2, Lucky Strike beat Western Rebels 2-1, Barrio Fino and Kraal Road settled for a scoreless draw, while San Felipe Barcelona and Valley Renaissance battled to a 1-1 stalemate. The standings after week seven finds Texmar Boys atop the standings with fifteen points, San Felipe has thirteen, so does Barrio Fino, Valley Renaissance twelve, Kraal Road ten, Cayo South eight, Lake Collet six, while both Western Rebels and Lucky Strike show three apiece at this time. Week eight brings us to the half way mark of regular season play in the Super League. On Saturday Valley Renaissance will host Lucky Strike, Lake-Collet gets a visit from Tsunami, Cayo South will hold fort inside Belmopan against Barrio Fino and Western Rebels journey to Texmar Boys inside the Michael Ashcroft Stadium. On Sunday Kraal Road takes on San Felipe Barcelona at the People’s Stadium.
In karate news, the Belize Shotokan Karate Federation did well in the World Shotocup at Toronto, Canada which concluded after five days on thirteenth October. Rhiki Alegria grabbed gold and silver in Kata and Kumite for eight to nine year olds. Hanna Diskin took home silver and bronze in the ten to eleven year old class while Luwani Nunez captured bronze in Kumite. The team arrives at eleven-fifteen a.m. tomorrow on American airlines. If you want to go meet them, you certainly have that opportunity.
In cycling news, under twenty-three year old Marlon Castillo, riding unattached, took the elite class of the fourth Annual Bypass Criterium staged yesterday at O.W. winning the sixty mile ride in two hours, twenty-three minutes and fourteen seconds beating out Gregory Lovell of Santino's by over a minute while teammate Darnell Barrow pulled up third. Nissan Arana of Team Typhoon was the first Orange Walk rider in a time of two hours, twenty-four minutes and thirty-five seconds. Big Mike Lewis took the masters class in that same time. Jairo Campos of Team Typhoon took the forty mile junior ride in one hour, thirty-eight minutes while Riis Cattouse won the five mile tinymites ride.
Finally folks, on the cycling calendar Sunday, nineteenth October brings up the second annual Dr. Rosado Classic at Ranchito Village, Corozal. You certainly won’t want to miss it.
That’s it for now though. We invite you back same time, same place, next week. Jah over all, I’m James Adderley.
Thirty-three year old Kirk Smith, a fisherman by profession and father of three girls, became Belize’s seventy-seventh murder victim on the high seas. Smith’s body was brought in by skiff from Turneffe Island last Friday night. There is much speculation on the motive behind the killing, but this morning police arrested and charged a Sarteneja fisherman for the crime of Murder. Marion Ali has been following the incident since Friday and has details in the following report.
Four Mexican soldiers are on their way back across the border after they were released by police. The four were apprehended just before ten on Monday night on the Northern Highway when they were found with an undeclared weapon. The soldiers reportedly arrived at the Burrell Boom checkpoint in a white Mazda four-door car bearing Mexican license plates. When local police officers searched their vehicle they discovered a nine millimetre gun in the glove compartment which the soldiers had failed to declare, nor could they provide a valid license. The soldiers, whose names were not released, were kept in custody until shortly before four this afternoon when they were given back their weapon and allowed to exit the country in their vehicle. The release of the soldiers, according to Press Officer with the Mexican Embassy, Marcelino Miranda, is in line with a section of the Geneva Convention, which requires countries not at war with each other to hand over military personnel.
Ramon Vasquez, the owner of the Channel Nine television station, is out on a two thousand five hundred dollar bail tonight. Vasquez was taken to court this morning and was charged with Causing Harm to police constable Newton Martinez and driving a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol. Vasquez pleaded not guilty and his case was adjourned to November twenty-sixth. According to police, while on mobile patrol they intercepted a Dodge Ram Pick-up truck. The driver, Vasquez, appeared intoxicated and he was ordered to stop. Police discovered a beer bottle on him while he sat behind the steering wheel. According to Martinez, Vasquez grabbed him on his left forearm and scratched him while he was being taken to the police station. 
It wasn’t the ice cream but the cash that was too sweet to resist in an early morning hold up in downtown San Pedro. Manelly’s Ice Cream parlor, located only a few doors away from the Belize Bank was robbed at eight a.m. this morning by three men. According to the owner, forty four year old Helly Del Valle, she normally opens the business at ten a.m. but this morning she changed her routine. Del Valle and two assistants, Mariela Rotana and another woman identified as Clementaina, would have used the time to clean up the business. The three women entered through the back door and soon after, three masked men followed and one of them placed a sharp object on Del Valle and demanded to know where she kept the money. She then pointed to a bag which contained the cash which the robber took and then escaped through the same rear entrance. Police investigators say that they are closing in on the culprits and expect to make arrests soon. 
Since the beginning of October, Belizeans have been keeping their fingers crossed hoping that the month would pass quickly without any threats from natural disasters. Today it appears it’s not meant to be as around nine this morning tropical depression number sixteen formed just off the coast of Honduras and heading to southern Belize. According to Acting Chief Meteorologist Ramon Frutos, they have been monitoring the situation since the weekend and he advises residents in low lying areas to do the same as recent rainfalls can complicate matters.
He has been at the helm of the Chamber of Commerce for eleven years and now Kevin Herrera is calling it quits. During his tenure, Herrera was the driving force behind many accomplishments, including a growth in the Chamber’s assets and membership and he also championed constitutional and legislative reforms. Herrera is leaving the Chamber at the end of October to take on new challenges elsewhere in the private sector. But according to Herrera, though he may be leaving, he still intends to be on the forefront of discussions that impact economic development.
World Standards Day dates back to 1946 when it was first established in London. But Belize didn’t join until 2003 when CARICOM, as a regional body, signed on. And while little is known of it, the Belize Bureau of Standards is putting World Standards Day on the local map. It is launching a code for standards under the theme, “Intelligent and Sustainable Buildings” to create awareness on safety measures in commercial, governmental and residential buildings. The overall objective is to ensure that structures are safe for the general public. According to the presenters, they are targeting students studying in related areas to get the information out.
In collaboration with the Belize Red Cross’ “Together We Can” project, the Belize Police Department’s Community Policing Unit is conducting a three-day training session with thirty-six police officers. The training is being held at the Yabra Youth Friendly and Community Drop-in Centre and addresses various issues including values and attitudes, sexuality, communication with young people and HIV/AIDS.
Encompassing two hundred and forty-six thousand acres of land, the Chiquibul National Park is the largest protected area in Belize. But most of the reports on this newscast about the area centre not around its beauty, but on the destruction of its resources by our neighbours to the west. And instead of getting better, the situation appears to be worsening. News Five’s Kendra Griffith reports from the Cayo District.
Good evening, I’m James Adderley and we’re glad you could join us for this portion of Sports Monday. 
