Stories about Belize from April, 2006
West Indian literature online
One of the crucial elements in the rapid development of the literature of the Anglophone Caribbean in the 1940s and 50s was a weekly radio programme called Caribbean Voices, broadcast from London on the BBC's Caribbean Service and produced by Henry Swanzy. Caribbean Voices featured stories and poems by West...
Caribbean: CSME provides chance for success
The Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME) may not “grab us”, says Francis Wade, but it may be the best shot the region has at a successful future.
Belize: VoIP blocked by local telecom
Melody reports that Belize Telecommunications Limited has been blocking VoIP connections in the country and calls for users’ assistance in surveying the effects of the blocking on their internet usage. “They have gone as far as jamming chat and messenger programs like GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Voice and other,” Melody...
Caribbean: Bureaucracy kills & biofuel
Taran Rampersad is starting a “death and injury counter” in response to the region's lack of action in the area of disaster preparedness. “My theory is that all the bureaucracy kills people in a way that could be seen as criminally negligent,” he says. And why isn't the Caribbean thinking...
Caribbean: Billionaires Investing in Local Telecoms
Last week Irish billionaire Dennis O'Brien announced his company Digicel was purchasing the Caribbean arm of Bouygues Telecom . This week Mexican billionnaire Carlos Slim announces he is purchasing three Caribbean and Latin-American subsidiaries of Verizon, an American telecom, writes (FR) InternetRapide.com. The Verizon subsidiaries to be purchased by Slim's...
Don't go near the sea on Good Friday, and other Caribbean Easter traditions
The Easter Weekend in the Caribbean arrives at the height of the dry season, with gorgeous weather and Christian traditions conspiring to make it a time both solemn and fun-filled. A popular Easter weekend activity is kite-flying, and a number of bloggers did just that on Good Friday. Barbados Free...
Belize: Iguana season
It's iguana season in Belize, writes Simone Engeln: “If you were to drive though Belize these days, you would notice people standing by the side of the road holding up Iguanas. These are not their pets. They are offering them to you to buy. Again, not to keep as a...
Caribbean, Venezuela, USA: CARICOM talks with US
Seeing it as evidence that the Caribbean has begun to resist the overtures of Venezuela's Hugo Chávez, A. M. Mora y Leon links gleefully to a Miami Herald article which states that CARICOM is exploring the possibility of holding free trade talks with the US.
Belize: Oil
Simone Elgeln gives an update on Belize's recent oil discovery and the efforts being made by the company which made the find to act the responsible corporate citizen: “The government needed a miracle and hopefully they got it in the form of this black gold,” says Simone. “Of course, we're...
Caribbean: Cruise ship cuts
One cruise line is planning to remove half its vessels from the Caribbean on account of high costs associated with hurricanes, says Mad Bull: “We are going to have to try to diversify into other areas, though I don’t know yet what they are. Our islands have a big challenge...
Caribbean: Hurricane forecast
Linda Thompkins reports on a recent meeting held to discuss the 2006 hurricane season and its implications for the Caribbean. The hurricane season begins officially on June 1.