Where In The World is Hope The Harpy?

Hope the Harpy Eagle

7 News Belize – The Hunt is on for Hope The Harpy Eagle – who’s gone missing again. Like Carmen Sandiego, her sponsors are asking where in the world is Hope the Harpy?

There are only an estimated 25 of the majestic birds of prey known as Harpy eagle in our forests and maybe that’s why concern is growing for Hope the Harpy eagle who is said to have gone off course during one of its customary flights over the country. The eight year old eagle that graces one of the 60 cent stamp edition of the Belize postal service is said to have been last sighted and tracked in the Blue Creek area.

Sharon Mattola, Director, Belize Zoo
“Hope is not the most behaved harpy eagle, if hope was then he would stay in the Selva Maya, he would hunt his iguanas, take the odd kinky juno again, dine on colatis, but no he’s got to be travelling too far south, and we know from our radio tracking, that he is now on the cusp of Spanish Lookout. It’s not in a hunting mode, it’s no other reason than I’m just a curious bird and I’m having a look around, and that’s how Harpy eagles are, they are extremely intelligent.”

Known as one of the top predatory birds indigenous to this area, an area which stretches from the Southern tip of Mexico to the Northern tip of South America, the Harpy eagle’s greatest enemies are climate change, deforestation and man.

Sharon Mattola
“Over the years…”their population have been reduced significantly, mainly due to hunting pressure. They are fierce looking birds, and they are big and they look mean, but having studied them and having worked with two of them at the Zoo I can tell you they have the most gentle natures, they really do, however if you do not know that I think intrinsically and instinctively, you fear them, and that’s what’s led to them getting shot and persecuted over the years.”

While the life span in captivity for the Harpy eagle is an estimated 40 years, in the wild that estimate is said to translate into a gamble.

Belize Takes Over SICA Presidency

Central American Integration System (SICA)

7 News Belize – Belize has taken over the pro-tem presidency of SICA – the Central American integration system. It’s the third time since Belize was admitted to SICA in 1990 that it holds the rotating presidency of the group which has membership of 7 nations. Today CEO in the ministry of foreign affairs, Alexis Rosado discussed the significance:

Alexis Rosado – CEO – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“It allows us an opportunity not just to participate in the process but also to influence decision making and also to help in the prioritization of different issues, Belize as chair will be able to bring in a higher weight in respect to the material that SICA engages in. And as I said earlier our own individuality the distinction of us being Central American and Caribbean at the same time bring some weight to it and we hope that we could achieve a better integration, a better collaboration between the regions. We think it has a lot of meaning.”

Jules Vasquez
“We hear of regional integration and obviously Belize struggles both these regions, but how fully integrated are we in terms of the CARICOM region we are geographically apart and you need to take two flights from any Caribbean nations to arrive in Belize and in Central America we are to a large extent culturally apart. So while we straddle both worlds it seems that we occupy neither world.” (more…)

Belize National Basketball Team edges out Trinidad at Centro Basket

Belize National Basketball Team at CentroBasket 2010

Channel 5 Belize – The Belize National Basketball team took on the top rated Venezuelan team on home turf and on Friday night it bombed the visitors by a twenty point margin. On Saturday the local boys headed for Santo Domingo on Saturday for the Centro Basket Games. At the opening game this morning against Trinidad and Tobago, Belize maintained the lead throughout, comfortably defeating its opponents. We begin with highlights of the game with News’ Five Isani Cayetano.

Isani Cayetano, Reporting

Team Belize, led by Milton Palacio, earned its first victory in the 2010 Centro Basket Championship today when the boys representing the Jewel squared off against Trinidad & Tobago inside the Palacio de Deportes in Santo Domingo. Belize’s appearance in the regional tournament comes almost a year after an extraordinary display of skill and sportsmanship at the COCABA Games held in Cancun last year. That qualifier brought the home team one step closer to a likely appearance in the 2012 Olympics.

It’s a possibility that the group, coached by former NBA player Marques Johnson, is trying to make a reality and today on the hardwood the boys did not disappoint. The match-up was off to a sloppy start but as the minutes flew by the highlights kept coming. Capitalizing on a pass at half court and maneuvering inside the paint to give Belize a three point lead at the start of the third quarter was point guard Milton Palacio. Palacio takes it to the hole over two defenders and makes the lay up look quite easy.

At the other end the Trinis bury a deep jumper inches shy of the three-point arc to bring the game to within one point. During the timeout the Trinis try to regroup their defense as their head coach analyzes the plays being ran by our national team.

Elsewhere in the ballgame Keith Acosta dishes from inside the paint to number eleven, Kenton Paulino, who sinks the pill from behind the three point line for a nine point lead. Another highlight came when Palacio, on the go, dished to Alex Carcamo who closes in for the two-handed jam over Trinidad’s center. Belize’s first match ended with a nine point win over Trinidad and Tobago with a final score of 80-71. Following the game News Five spoke with Head Coach Marques Johnson who commented on key contributions made by Keenan Jordan to their first victory. (more…)

Concern Over British Review of Military Base In Belize

British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB)

Belizean.com – There is some concern in Belize this week over a British review of all military bases overseas including Belize. On 29 June Lord Michael Aschroft as reported by the Lords Hansard asked in the House of Lords, “To ask Her Majesty’s Government what are the plans for the military base in Belize; and whether Kenya is being considered as an alternative.”

In response, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence Lord Astor of Hever stated that “The Ministry of Defence is facing significant financial pressures and we must, therefore, focus our resources on our key areas. All activities, including our military basing overseas, will be reviewed as part of the ongoing Strategic Defence and Security Review.

According to a report in a local newspaper, Major Stephen Swan, a representative for the British Army Training Support Unit (BATSUB) in Belize, stated that in about six weeks, the U.K. Government will begin to look at all overseas bases, including the training bases in Brunei, Kenya, Canada, and Belize. The only military posting that will be exempt from the review, said Swan, is Afghanistan.

Swan said that the base in Belize began as an operational peace-keeping base because of the conflict with Guatemala over Belizean territory. BATSUB was established on 1st Oct, 1994, on the demise of British Forces Belize, to support Land Command exercises. It is primarily used to train British troops in jungle operations and tactics. The previous defense review was carried out a decade ago and the current exercise is part of the new British government’s cost-cutting measures.

Team Belize’s Weaknesses Exposed Versus Venezuela

Belize National Basketball Team Coach

7 News Belize – The Belize national basketball team leaves for the Centrobasket tournament in the Dominican Republic tomorrow. The tournament is an Olympic qualifier and the delegation is about 30 persons.

Before they leave, the team is playing a pair of friendly games against Venezuela. Game one was played last night at the city center which was the first chance for the Belizean fans to see the national team play. But as we found out – it is very much a work in progress.

Jules Vasquez Reporting
The Belize team started out the game running off forced turnovers – Darwin Puppy Leslie finishes on this one and on this one big man Sonny Watson runs the length of the floor for a dunk and once it was running in transition, the team looked great it looked like an exhibition. Team Belize took a commanding lead early. But when the adrenalin wore off and those shots started to miss the Venezuelans – a very disciplined cohesive unit started executing in the half court – using size and shooting – and by the end of the quarter that 11 point lead was doing to 3.

And while Belize still had its flourishes here you see Charlie burgess to Alex Carcamo on a fast break alley oop – which sent the crowd wild – Venezuela’s superior shooting – saw them take the lead – never to look back. Even as Milt Palacio tried to keep the home team in it with this trademark length of the court drive as the game progressed those flashes of brilliance were no match for offensive precision and at the half Belize was down 6.

In the second half Milt Palacio again showed his explosive finish but team Belize could not get back into the lead Kenton misses flat from the field, Troyer misses, Keenan misses. Smothered by a zone defence – which forced outside shooting – when those shots didn’t fall from Kenton Paulino and Richard Troyer. By the end of the third quarter the lead had ballooned to 13.

In the fourth quarter it became clear that team Belize could not handle the zone and the only regular scoring came when it forced turnovers. On defence they couldn’t get stops and the Venezuelan shooters were merciless – Team Belize got it down to 8 with streaky shooting. But in the end Venezuela won 83 to 77 – a disheartening home loss but maybe some valuable lessons. (more…)

Moving the Tourism Industry forward

Belize Hotel Association

Channel 5 Belize – The tourism industry is currently in the slow season so stakeholders gathered today to take stock of the industry with a view to shore up the number of visitors to the Jewel. That was the focus of discussions by members of the Belize Hotel Association which held a general meeting at the Black Orchid Resort in Burrell Boom. The discussions centered on strengthening the marketing strategy to promote the services of the entire country. Seleni Matus, the Director of the Belize Tourism Board, explained the importance of amending the current strategy.

Seleni Matus, Director, BTB

“One of the objectives of my talk today was to re-energize the private sector and the industry on a whole. As many people know, the Belize Tourism Board is a big partner of the Belize Hotel Association as it is with many of the other tour associations like the other Belie Tourism Industry Association. So it’s absolutely important that we work together and to keep a pulse on what changes are occurring here on the local front, especially for the hotel sector, which is such an important partner of the overall tourism product that we offer. So my objective was basically to come in and to talk about more about the Belize Tourism Board’s efforts in terms of gearing up for a major shift in focus and priorities and it’s seventy-five days into this new job so it was a very short report out in terms of progress and advances being made so far.”

Jose Sanchez

“Okay, you mentioned a change in focus. What would be the new focus of our entire industry?”

Seleni Matus

“The first most important part of changes is revamping our marketing program. We’ve been doing a very good job. There’s always room for improvement and that’s what we’re focused on. So a big part of our push will be to really look at new ways to put ourselves in front of the daily lives of that target audience that we are bringing or would like to bring to Belize—we’d like to bring the story of Belize to. And so we’re talking about those tourists or those individuals in the U.S. and Canada that have a sense of adventure, want to experience a new culture and of course Belize has so much to offer in that regard. So we’re talking about younger as well as middle aged individuals who are looking to come out to places to places like Belize. Another important priority of ours will be to ensure that once the visitor arrives in Belize that we’re providing the best service possible and so we’re looking at elevating national standards for tour operators, tour guides, hotels, also ensuring that there is sustained training to help suppliers come up to standard and of course monitoring compliance to standards.”

Last year two hundred and thirty-two thousand tourists visited Belize. Matus said that in the first quarter alone for 2010, there has already been a five point eight percent increase. The BTB director also said one in every four jobs has a relation to the tourism industry.

Caye Caulker Lobster Fest back on track

Caribbean Spiny Lobster

Channel 5 Belize – The Caye Caulker Lobster Festival should was scheduled for last weekend. But Tropical Storm Alex changed those plans and the festivities had to be postponed on the day the crustacean should have been cooking on grills. The rains might have put a damper on the island but the chairman of the Caye Caulker Lobster Festival, Porfelio Guzman, said that the event will make its comeback very soon.

Via Phone: Porfelio Guzman, Chairman, Caye Caulker Lobster Fest

“On Saturday we were trying to have the opening but we were monitoring the weather through the internet and everything. And I was getting calls up to about three, four o’clock the morning asking me if there was still going to be a lobster fest because I don’t know which radio station was saying that Caye Caulker Lobster Fest was cancelled. I said I don’t know how comes it’s gonna be cancelled because no word has come to me yet. I told my members lets hold on and wait. So on Saturday morning, which was the twenty-sixth, at six in the morning I went on the internet and we were watching that the weather was right over us Belize. Right away I told them lets cancel this for a later date. We called the radio station right away and they put it over the air and so comes we cancelled it. Two, three days ago we sat down and decided on another date and we decided to put it on the tenth and eleventh of July.” (more…)

Belize Coalition to Save our Natural Heritage elects executive council

LoveFM – On June 8, World Oceans Day, a group of organizations and concerned individuals formed the Belize Coalition to Save Our Natural Heritage. The ultimate goal of the Coalition is to get a ban on all offshore oil drilling and a ban of all oil exploration and exploitation in protected areas. This week members of the Coalition met to elect an Executive Council which is being chaired by Geovanni Brackett of COLA.

Geovanni Brackett; Chairperson, COLA

“We decided that we needed the head, someone to chair and also we needed that executive structure that will facilitate the direction for this coalition because if you have notice it has grown at a very rapid pace. So we needed to start put into place the different mechanisms to allow it to function effectively. That executive is made up of a Chairperson, COLA, and I am the designated representative from COLA and we have two vice-chair APAMO (All Protected Areas Management Organization) and Oceana Belize. The chairperson from APAMO is Edilberto Romero and the Oceana Belize representative is Mrs. Audrey Matura-Shepherd, the Secretary is Belco and the representative from there is Candy Gonzalez and the Treasurer is from the Belize Audubon Society’s Anna Hoare.”

Brackett said they hope to engage in dialogue with representatives of the Government of Belize soon. (more…)

Belize National Basketball team prepares for Centrobasket Tournament

Milt Palacio

LoveFM – Love FM and Channel five have teamed up to provide coverage of the 2010 Centrobasket Championship in the Dominican Republic. The Belize National Team will be going up against the best of the best from the Central American and Caribbean Region. Thanks to this partnership listeners and viewers Love FM, Love Television and Channel Five won’t miss a beat. Love News spoke to Love FM’s Terry Gordon and William Neal from Channel five.

Terry Gordon; Marketing Manager, RSV Media Centre

“Love Fm and Love Television along with Channel 5 Great Belize Productions, their bid for the broadcasting rights was accepted. The same thing that you will be seeing on Channel 5 is the same thing you’ll be seeing on Love Television and airing on Love FM, so we will have a crew made up of our technician William Usher, Armin Arana, Brads Neal who will be doing analytical commentaries and yours truly who will be on the sidelines doing interviews.”

William Neal; Host, Open Your Eyes

“At the end of the day what we want is good coverage of our teams while they are aboard and the partnership between Love Fm and Channel 5 is just another example to show that the National good is created on any kind of individual. At the end of the day we want to make sure that people understand the energies that is being extended by our National Team and to be up to date with what is happening in Santo Domingo instead of waiting a week or days later to find out exactly what the results are.”

The National team, poised to play Venezula tonight and tomorrow night at the Civic Centre, say they have no trouble with chemistry as some of the same guys from last year’s CACABA Championship have been reassembled. (more…)

Researchers Explore Underwater Pools

LoveFM – Some of the results of dives in natural pools in Belize by a group of researchers earlier this year have been revealed. The dives are a part of a project funded largely by National Geographic and were conducted in several pools in central Belize in the Cara Blanca area. The researchers are primarily looking for archaeological remains underwater and hence the dives are being held in pools believed to have been sacred areas for the ancient Maya.

The team has been looking for offering from the ancient Maya and they have found what they believe to be Belize’s first recorded fossilized remains. These were discovered in fossil beds around sixty to ninety feet below the surface. Researchers have described some of their findings as including femur bones the size of a bowling ball, tusks and pelvic bones. Only a few small fossils were removed from the locations to determine whether they are indeed fossilized or bone. Furthermore, the dives have revealed that eight of twenty-five pools studied were likely connected through underground passages and are also indicating clues to past life.

One of the pools was found to be around two hundred feet deep and researchers believe that more significant Maya offerings are located at the depths of this particular location. The research is being conducted under the auspices of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, and the scientists plan to return for more exploration.