Important Note: This Internet version of 7 News is a verbatum
transcript of our evening television news script. Many interviews on our newscast
are conducted in Creole. In the interest of clarity for our foreign readers,
we attempt to paraphrase the Creole quotes in English
Tonight, a police officer is said to be in stable condition after he was reportedly shot this afternoon. Sgt. Dalon Kelly was shot this afternoon in the Maya Ranch Area of Georgeville - where he is stationed.
Half an hour ago, Police reported that they have detained one man and seized a 9mm pistol as part of the investigation into the shooting.
Initial reports indicate that at approximately 3:30pm Sergeant Kelly, along with other police officers, responded to a report of a disturbance in the Maya Ranch area, located approximately four miles along the road to Mountain Pine Ridge. During the course of the police response to the disturbance, Sergeant Kelly was reportedly shot by the suspect.
Kelly was transported to the hospital where he is currently undergoing treatment and is reported to be in stable condition.
For context we note that 7News has been following up on a land dispute between squatting farmers and private land owners in this area since January - when there was a complaint of attempted murder by the property manager. He claimed one of the farmers tried to shoot him and run him over in the presence of forestry officers. Police were also a part of the response to the dispute in that conflict-heavy area.
Heartbreak in the south tonight following the death of a three-year-old boy. Little Asher Mejia was reported missing on Sunday afternoon, sparking a search that ended in tragedy when he was found drowned in the sea off Punta Gorda town. Our reporter Jaleeza Roberts went shout today and has this report:
Three year old Asher Mejia, the youngest of 7 siblings, was found in the water here, near the wharf on Front Street in Punta Gorda Town, across from St. Peter Claver School shortly after midday on Sunday.
The child had been missing from his home for a few hours and frantic searches led his brothers here - where he was found unresponsive in the water.
A truck driver told police that three of Asher's older brothers were already looking for the child in the area. Moments later, one of them pulled the boy from the water. Desperate attempts were made to resuscitate him, with the truck driver performing CPR police rushed him to the PG hospital - where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "On Sunday 15th of March 2026 sometime after 12 midday, Punta Gorda police were advised of the presence of a young minor namely 3 year old Asher Mejia who had suffered from a drowning incident near St Peter Claver school in that town. Police responded and they ferried the young Mr Mejia to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Initial investigation suggests that sometime around 11:00am Mejia is believed to have left his residence and his parents was of the view that he had accompanied siblings of his to a nearby store to purchase snacks it was only when those siblings returned and Mejia was not along with him that they were aware of his disappearance. Efforts were made to discover him and that concluded when he was found in the sea in the aforementioned area."
The toddler's death has stunned and saddened the southern town as the child was only 3 years old and comes from a known family:
Jahrine Avila, Deputy Mayor - PG "This is a very unfortunate situation that happened here yesterday in Punta Gorda Town and of course we're all saddened by this news but just to put comment, we just want to share that this is a police matter and investigation that is going on. We don't want to add any prejudice to this investigation at this time but we do offer our sincere condolences to the family."
"I do know the child, he visited the Punta Gorda library two weeks ago for Child Simulation Month."
"He was a very smart, friendly child, he enjoyed engaging with the toys when visiting the library and of course the church that they attend so I know him to be a very sweet child, he's only 3 years old so that's as much as I can say."
Three years old - but questions are being raised about what kind of supervision he had at home - where his father is a pastor and his mother is a domestic. He had disappeared just the days before and turned back up.
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "What I have been advised by OC Punta Gorda is I think some 3 days prior his parents would have visited the Punta Gorda Police station and reported him missing after their efforts to locate him proved futile however shortly after that he was located in a, I believe a little dog house in a neighbors property the parents suggested that given on this occasion that he had done similar in the past and they had not reported it immediately and this is the result."
A result of a child alone, adrift at sea. Most alarming is that the wharf is a mile from his home on Pampana street -a 15 or 20 minute walk even for an adult:
Reporter "In a case as this one, do police look at charging for negligence?"
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "We have recorded statements and those statements will be forwarded to the office of the Director of public prosecutions for their guidance what I will comment on is that the area where the child was found is reported to be some one mile away from his home so this suggest that there was for a considerable period of time this child walking on the street and that for me presented an opportunity for persons to have intercepted him and done the needful. This is not the first instance I could recall with much regret, the instance with baby Orellana from Stella Maris where he was seen on the street and again persons did not intercede. I know Easter is coming up shortly and there will be more children who will be at home and though we encourage parents to improve their supervision there is also a role for those in society to play when these incidents happen and they observe these very young children or children with diverse abilities on the street and without proper supervision."
Police are now reviewing surveillance cameras in the area to see how he entered the sea.
We did speak to the Asher's father, who declined an on-camera interview. He said he who rejects claims that he and his wife were not taking care of their son, offering that his 6 surviving children are evidence that he knows how to care for young ones.
Last week we told you about the elderly Canadian man found dead on a Catamaran that was adrift in Belizean waters - about 8 miles off Caye Caulker. Only his wife was onboard - and she was the one who made a distress call to a passing cruise ship.
Today police confirmed that it was not foul play:
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "In reference to the death investigation of Thomas David Harman which commenced on Wednesday 11th of March 2026 on Friday 26th of March the body of Mr Harmon underwent an autopsy examination where at the conclusion the findings was that he died as a consequence of multiple blunt force traumatic injuries due to a fall from height."
Reporter "No foul play is suspected then?"
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "As stated the conclusion of the pathologist is that he fell from a height and the circumstances are such that he was onboard a boat so I don't know if it is that the assumption would be somebody would have been up on the sails with him because that is the suggestion that has been given. However as I would have indicated on the last occasion this is not a matter that falls within Belize's jurisdiction. Nonetheless, we have done our due diligence in terms of securing and processing the scene and obtaining relevant evidential material should the persons who have jurisdiction which would be the flagship of the country for which Mr Harman is a national that we are able to competently provide them with that information for them to carry further investigation if they believe that foul play is involved."
There were more than 2 dozen evidence markers on the ground following last week's murder near the East Collet Canal. A mother was grazed and both of her children were shot, but only one of them survived, and today police told us who they charged for murder and attempted murder.
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "As a consequence of Police's ongoing investigation into the shooting incident which claimed the life of Clinton Pou police have formally arrested and charged Luewin Link, a Belizean of a Belize district address, for the crime of murder. Link was additionally charged for the crime of attempted murder, use of deadly means of harm and dangerous harm in relation to Kiandra Pou."
"The angle that is being pursued is in relation to the shooting incident the murder of Mr Saldano."
"No other person is being sought at this moment however the investigation continues."
Reporter "Were you able to retrieve the fire arm?"
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "Not to my knowledge."
Today Luewin Link was arraigned in court and remanded.
There was another shooting in the city last night but it was non fatal - and may have been self inflicted. ASP Stacy Smith told us more.
ASP Stacy Smith, Police Staff Officer "Police are investigating a shooting incident which resulted in the injury of Eric Mahler a 24 year old Belizean off Faber's Road extension address, the investigation commenced on Sunday 15th of March 2026 at approximately 6:45 PM when officers were alerted to the sounds of shots being fired on Fabers Road. Police responded where they observed some expended shells on the scene and they later visited the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital where they spoke with Mr Mahler. Surveillance footage has been obtained and are being reviewed and as additional progress is made in this investigation the media will be advised."
Initial police investigation suggests that Mahler was on a when he may have accidentally shot himself in the foot.
We told you last week that Lemonal Villagers have been losing their pets to a jaguar in their area. Over the weekend that jaguar - a male named Anri - was captured for the second time. Anri got his name because he was first found near the Agriculture and Natural Resource Institute in Stann Creek after he had killed up to 20 dogs.
While the zoo was instrumental in his first capture, the Forestry Department and CSFI later put a GPS collar on the jaguar and set him free in the north, where he eventually made his way to Lemonal and returned to preying on dogs.
And though he was captured again, this time, Anri might not make it back out into the wild. Courtney Menzies has this story.
This is Anri - the jaguar that's been terrorising the villagers of Lemonal. He was first captured last year, relocated, and found his way back to a populated area.
But while Anri had been prowling in the dark and killing dogs for some time, he was finally caught on Sunday in a trap which used a dead calf as bait. The cage was placed in Nicole Anthony's yard - the resident who we spoke to last time.
Anthony told us that while she's glad Anri won't be eating any more dogs, she feels that the entire situation could have been handled better.
Voice of: Nicole Anthony, Resident, Lemonal "I spot the light at the cage at the back and I saw two red eyes moving and I was like, yes, we got him, and I called out to the young man in the house to traverse with me further in the yard and when I spot it properly direct on the cage, I saw it eating on the dead calf."
"We didn't get any disclosure about this animal because they tracked it, they knew where it was, whenever they came in the village, they could have told us where the jaguar was situated. Also because on the lovefm morning show, I heard Mr Pinelo say the trap was set there one or two days before but the trap was in the yard from February 25th."
"And this is when it already killed 13 dogs it went in that cage. It was not only Bruno, but poor little Bruno became a celebrity overnight in death but it was not only Bruno that was killed by the jaguar."
She added that she knows jaguars will always be lurking around their area, but she believes the communication between the Forestry Department and the residents could have prevented a lot of lost pets.
Nicole Anthony, Resident, Lemonal "I personally am not upset, I know my dogs got killed but I know those are endangered species and their habitat is all over the country, Belize is very small and those things as much as us have to survive. What I am upset about is that they could have notified us so that better precaution could have been taken. Thats the only issue I have that they didn't communicate with us from the beginning so we could have done something like protect our animals."
"I believe that we weren't respected enough and that's what is upsetting because they could have notified us that there would not have been a meeting yesterday because the jaguar has been caught but they could have come and highlighted the do's and don'ts, but not only that, they could have given us more information about it, it already gave us hell so we just wanted to know but yes they chose not to have the meeting again but they could have informed the chairlady."
And today the Chief Forest Officer explained that there was a lot of chaos surrounding Anri's capture and that was one of the reasons why there was a lack of communication.
But where is Anri now? According to John Pinelo, his injuries are being treated and he is not being kept in the small metal cage he was captured in.
John Pinelo, Chief Forest Officer "Anri is being assessed as we speak. It is being held at a location up north. And we have a full time vet doing a health assessment on the animal. Preliminary report is that it is riddled with screw worms, and one of its canine is freshly broken. So those are two things that need to be addressed immediately and will take a few weeks off to deal with. With screwworms, we can't just take out the the larva and let it go. The bugs will just fly back and pitch there and get it infected again. So it has to be treated, but, it is being held at a safe location."
"When we got the animal, its entire face was was bleeding, its nose was bleeding, and I was made to understand that people who were hitting it put bars in his face. So that might have been one of the reasons for the break as well. I can't blame anybody. Like I said, any of those two options might be the reason why, but we realize that it does have a canine missing that would need to be extracted Because if it is left like that, they get infected, it can kill the animal."
"Anri is being held in a fairly big enclosure. And, take my word for it, it cannot harm itself in the building that it is in."
Pinelo added that due to his broken canine, it is unlikely that Anri will be released back into the wild.
John Pinelo, Chief Forest Officer "I don't think, it can be re-wilded but, I will wait for the experts to give me that determination. Almost certainly If it cannot, it will need to go to a zoo. I have already spoken to Mr. Poot from the zoo. He is willing to take the animal if that is the option that we make. But for right now, we will have to address the immediate health issues with the cat and try and get it as healthy as it can be before we decide where it goes. Like I said, almost certainly it will not be released again."
And while Anri was stressed after his capture, Pinelo reports that he is much calmer today.
Tomorrow, we will bring you the story of two other conflict cats who were captured and rehabilitated by the zoo as part of their Human Jaguar Conflict Program.
Joseph Budna has not been in the headlines recently but he's still imprisoned in Guatemala City serving out his sentence - after he was extrajudicially extradited from Belize. But might he be returned to Belize soon? Well this morning the Prime Minister explained that he will propose a prisoner exchange to the Cabinet in order for Budna to be back on Belizean soil, but still serve the remainder of his sentence. Here's what he said this morning on LoveFM's morning show.
John Briceno, Prime Minister "I'm going to to recommend to Cabinet and we've been discussing it in a few minutes is to see if the from government to government asks for Budna to be returned to Belize, but to go to jail. We do that with Mexico from time to time we have prisoner exchanges, but the agreement is that you have to spend the time in jail. So I don't know how much years he has left in his case over there. So if he has 10 more years, for instance, we will give an assurances to the government of Guatemala that he will spend the time in jail here."
Host "Do you see us getting closure on this whole investigation? Because unfortunately, it's one of those things that keeps coming up and people are looking at it."
John Briceno, Prime Minister "We have given a free hand to the DPP, so it's on the DPP hands."
Budna was sentenced to 25 years in Guatemala in 2013 - and escaped back to Belize in 2019.
And though our newsroom - along with XTV - was waiting outside to speak with the PM after the show, he slipped past us and got into his vehicle, claiming that he had to get to work. It's the third time in a week that he's denied giving interviews to the press. The first was at the House Meeting on Tuesday and then on Wednesday at the Ministry of E-Governance's MOU signing.
Here's how the third snub in a week looked this morning.
And maybe he was rushing to Belmopan for the next signing - to which the press was not invited.
Today the Prime Minister signed a loan agreement with the Taiwan ICDF to expand and rehabilitate the Philip Goldson Highway.
The second loan targets improving Belize's work force by modernizing employment services with the help of IDB. At the signing ceremony, MIDH Minister Espat underscored the importance of the Goldson Highway:
Julius Espat, Minister of Infrastructure "It is my distinct honor on behalf of the government of and the people of Belize to participate in today's signing ceremony for the co financing agreement that will support one of our country's most important transportation investments. The expansion and rehabilitation of the Philip Goldson Highway, the project represents a major step forward in our national commitment to modernizing critical infrastructure and strengthening the backbone of Belize's economic connectivity. The Phillip Goldson highway is more than just a roadway it is one of Belize's most vital transportation couriers linking Belize City with the northern districts and serving as a key route for commerce, tourism, agriculture and international trade. Everyday thousands of Belizeans depend on this highway for work, business, education and family life, ensuring it is safe, efficient and resilient is there for a national priority. Through this project approximately 26.5km of roadway will be be rehabilitated and upgraded to modern engineering standards. The scope of works include the reconstruction of the road base and sub base. Improvements to both vertical and horizontal alignments to enhance safety upgrading drainage systems to reduce flooding vulnerability and the installation of new road safety features and delineation. Additional improvements will include hot mix asphalt pavement, construction of sidewalks and side drains and the installation of a concrete roundabout to improve traffic management and safety."
Karla Gonzalez, Country Representative for IDB "This program addresses the challenge and is designed to expand opportunity by helping Belizeans enter the labor force and build in demand skills through relevant quality focused training in priority sectors as tourism, business process outsourcing and communication technologies this program will strengthen the labor department and its ten offices countrywide. Employment services will become more responsive and more effective through digital job matching platforms improved labor market information systems and enhance case management, the program focuses on young people, women and migrants addressing key constraints to participation such as digital training and access to child care. Furthermore, the focus on employability Is part of the continuous work that the IDB and the government of Belize are doing in education."
The joint Public Accounts Committee met on Friday in Belmopan. It's the most powerful committee in the house - because through years of political reform it has come to be chaired by the opposition and populated by a majority of non government members.
That alone makes it the most powerful house committee - and on Friday - when they met to examine the reports of Auditor General, Maria Rodriguez and review matters with regards to the spending of public funds, she gave a withering account of the state of government record keeping and accountability for public spending.
She offered the following assessment in reference to the 2016 - 2017 audit of the government's finances, which - as she described it - is made up of just numbers on a paper - with no verification:
Kevin Herrera, Senator "What and what a disclaimer means and I know you explain why you give one, but what does a disclaimer mean?"
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "It essentially means that I cannot confirm the reliability of the financial statements nor their accuracy."
Kevin Herrera, Senator "And does that also mean that these financial statements cannot be relied on by users?"
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "Fully agree. Fully agree. The statements, the way they are presented, we cannot rely on them at this point."
Kevin Herrera, Senator "So to a large extent, these financial statements are relatively useless except that it gives an insight into the situation that exists."
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "Yes, yes. It's just, it's basically numbers that we cannot confirm. And as such, as Auditor General, I don't want to say everything is okay because we cannot confirm them. The lack of reconciliations, the lack of source documents.
"What I think is happening or happened back then is that they were posting but did not have any intent of retaining the source document. Typical examples, if when you go to make a simple purchase to any business, if you don't get an invoice back from that business to go and pay, you don't know what you're paying for."
"And we've done investigations where the invoices that are attached to the SmartStream payment, and then you visit the business, the business has a complete different source document than what the accounting officers have in their ministry."
"So you find that while we're paying for a tablet, that person actually got a laptop. At this point, even the losses, if there was any, we cannot even quantify to the assembly as to whether there was any loss because we cannot go through a bank statement."
"We cannot go through check stubs. We cannot go through reconciliations to see what has transpired. So there is a high possibility that fraud may have occurred and we cannot pick up on it. It is really a big systematic issue."
"Nobody is really worrying or concerned about these source documents. And it's not something 10 years ago. It is existing right now. We can visit entities and they are saying they don't have source, they don't have documents for present year."
And apart from gaping documentary gaps - there is also no reconciliation. This is business basics, ensuring that two sets of records - usually an internal balance and an external statement are in agreement. For example with a bank reconciliation, a company compares its internal record of cash against the statement provided by the bank.
But, with government? Nah, none of that:
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "At the level of Accountant General's Department, reconciliation is highly, highly important. She manages all the bank accounts for the government and what we saw is that these commercial bank accounts were not being reconciled."
"Not even the ones from central bank are being reconciled, which is a big problem. But even in individual ministries, when you visit and do individual audits of these ministries, bank reconciliation is not being carried out."
"It's a big issue. Circumstances or excuses are that we have too much to do, it's too much in our hands and I have nobody to do reconciliation. But reconciliation is part of the accounting process. There is no way you can tell yourself that I manage a bank account and I don't reconcile."
Kevin Herrera, Senator "There are reconciliations in other areas as well that are not taking place."
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "Yes, definitely. It seems not to be a practice. It has been ignored for many years. And even when you highlight it to them, this is important."
"The excuses are, I don't have who to do it. I don't have... But finance officers are employed for that reason to reconcile the bank accounts."
And, when the 2016-2017 audit was being compiled - Rodriguez said she did not get cooperation from key CEO's:
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "We wrote the CEO to invite for the meeting and the CEO did not respond. So it went as high as the CEO."
Kevin Herrera, Senator "When you say the CEO did not respond, means that person just ignored your request for cooperation within the department?"
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "You see, when they don't respond, that's how exactly it looks. It could be that they missed my email, it could be that it went to spam, it could be that it went to the junk. But we ensure to copy their finance officers."
"So even if the CEO did not see, someone within the management team would have seen the email and could have brought it up to the CEO's attention. So clearly, that is how it appears, that you do not want to collaborate."
Kevin Herrera, Senator "This was across the ministries?"
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "For 2016-2017, we did have some delayed responses, but most people responded. I highlighted the lands department because the lands department is part of our regulations in the financial orders to review for areas of revenue."
Kevin Herrera, Senator "And the CEO in that ministry..."
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "Did not respond to the request for meeting."
And, Rodriguez explained that this process of locking out the constitutionally enshrined Auditor General persists to the present day:
Maria Rodriguez, Auditor General "That I was trying to do cash surveys, a simple routine cash survey, which is to just check the cash pan to see that what you collected yesterday is correct. And I was not allowed to enter two entities."
"And I will highlight it because this is my opportunity. BAHA and Border Management Agency told my staff that they are not government entities. And I fully disagree because the Constitution gives me all the right to go and do a cash survey to these authorities."
"So I want to put it out here. It will be placed in my subsequent audit report because it is important to highlight this. I am still receiving rejection from government entities."
Belize just celebrated reef week, but over the weekend, gill nets were discovered in one of the biggest and most prized reefs in this hemisphere. The Corona Reef lies between Belize and Guatemala and though it is a marine treasure, the Belize Territorial Volunteers along with XTV's Mose Hyde pulled up several gillnets from the area. Based on these videos provided by PGTV, it does not seem like any marine life was caught in the net.
Today, HelpAge Punta Gorda hosted a Health and Wellness Talk focusing on obesity, bringing over 30 elder persons together. During the activity, attendees received obesity education and dietary health awareness guidance, while health personnel also conducted BMI readings and blood pressure screenings. We spoke with Chairperson Lynessa Duncan who explained it:
Lynessa Duncan, Chairperson, Helpage Punta Gorda "We had a health and fitness session with HECOPAB and Hillside and Miss Bennett from HECOPAB she did the, the topic was obesity and hillside did the stretches with the elderly."
"It's very important to get the elders active and out, many of the times we focus on the youth than the elders and so with Helpage we advocate for the elders."
"Currently we're trying to do a fitness session every Friday, we will call it fitness Fridays but it's once a month."
The event took place this morning at the Robert K. Pennell HelpAge Center.
The Ministry of Immigration has partnered with UNHCR's UN Refugee Agency and the Government of Japan to enhance Belize's Asylum System. It's being done through the implementation of innovative digital solutions and improving data management and collection.
The system is being designed to modernize registration and case processing, improve the accuracy and reliability of data, and strengthen preparedness for increased asylum needs, while ensuring confidentiality and data protection.
Here are the highlights from the launch ceremony today in Belmopan:
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration "I welcome the opportunity to join you for the launch of the project support to strengthening the asylum system and protection for refugees in Belize. This initiative is a result of the strong relationship among the government of Belize, the government of Japan and the United Nations high commission for refugees. Though we are here representing institutions even as individuals we all believe in justice, responsible governance and protection for persons who seek safety and stability. I extend this sincere appreciation to the government of Japan for its generous financial contribution of $667,000 US dollars to support this initiative. This investment increases our national capacity and reinforces the systems that protect individuals who seek international protection within Belize."
Mariya Voloshkevich, Head of UNHCR Belize "The main goal of the project is to support the government of Belize develop a modern digital asylum case management system to streamline registration, case processing and reporting alongside digitalization.The project will also support the government in reviewing and harmonizing the refugees act and related legislation. This work is essential to ensuring that Belize's legal framework is coherent and aligned with international standards and equipped to provide clear, fair and protection sensitive passkeys for those seeking asylum."
H.E. Ryosuke Yamakura, Ambassador of Japan to Belize "Japan values its longstanding friendship with Belize and we are committed to working closely with our partners to support initiatives that uphold human dignity thank you."
And finally tonight we note the passing of a well loved sportscaster and educator, Ruben Morales Iglesias. The 65 year old died this afternoon after suffering a stroke last week which sent him into a coma. He was taken off life support this at 4:30 today.
He was a career sportscaster who started his career decades ago at the Broadcasting Corporation of Belize and then transitioned to LOVE FM and later to Breaking Belize News.
Iglesias was well regarded for his deep knowledge of sports and his lively, passionate delivery.
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Tonight, a police officer is said to be in stable condition after he was reportedly shot this afternoon. Sgt. Dalon Kelly was shot this afternoon in the Maya Ranch Area of Georgeville - where he is stationed.
Heartbreak in the south tonight following the death of a three-year-old boy. Little Asher Mejia was reported missing on Sunday afternoon, sparking a search that ended in tragedy when he was found drowned in the sea off Punta Gorda town. Our reporter Jaleeza Roberts went shout today and has this report:
"On Sunday 15th of March 2026 sometime after 12 midday, Punta Gorda police were advised of the presence of a young minor namely 3 year old Asher Mejia who had suffered from a drowning incident near St Peter Claver school in that town. Police responded and they ferried the young Mr Mejia to the hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Initial investigation suggests that sometime around 11:00am Mejia is believed to have left his residence and his parents was of the view that he had accompanied siblings of his to a nearby store to purchase snacks it was only when those siblings returned and Mejia was not along with him that they were aware of his disappearance. Efforts were made to discover him and that concluded when he was found in the sea in the aforementioned area."
"I do know the child, he visited the Punta Gorda library two weeks ago for Child Simulation Month."
Last week we told you about the elderly Canadian man found dead on a Catamaran that was adrift in Belizean waters - about 8 miles off Caye Caulker. Only his wife was onboard - and she was the one who made a distress call to a passing cruise ship.
There were more than 2 dozen evidence markers on the ground following last week's murder near the East Collet Canal. A mother was grazed and both of her children were shot, but only one of them survived, and today police told us who they charged for murder and attempted murder.
We told you last week that Lemonal Villagers have been losing their pets to a jaguar in their area. Over the weekend that jaguar - a male named Anri - was captured for the second time. Anri got his name because he was first found near the Agriculture and Natural Resource Institute in Stann Creek after he had killed up to 20 dogs.
"I spot the light at the cage at the back and I saw two red eyes moving and I was like, yes, we got him, and I called out to the young man in the house to traverse with me further in the yard and when I spot it properly direct on the cage, I saw it eating on the dead calf."
John Pinelo, Chief Forest Officer 
Joseph Budna has not been in the headlines recently but he's still imprisoned in Guatemala City serving out his sentence - after he was extrajudicially extradited from Belize. But might he be returned to Belize soon? Well this morning the Prime Minister explained that he will propose a prisoner exchange to the Cabinet in order for Budna to be back on Belizean soil, but still serve the remainder of his sentence. Here's what he said this morning on LoveFM's morning show.
John Briceno, Prime Minister
And maybe he was rushing to Belmopan for the next signing - to which the press was not invited.
"It is my distinct honor on behalf of the government of and the people of Belize to participate in today's signing ceremony for the co financing agreement that will support one of our country's most important transportation investments. The expansion and rehabilitation of the Philip Goldson Highway, the project represents a major step forward in our national commitment to modernizing critical infrastructure and strengthening the backbone of Belize's economic connectivity. The Phillip Goldson highway is more than just a roadway it is one of Belize's most vital transportation couriers linking Belize City with the northern districts and serving as a key route for commerce, tourism, agriculture and international trade. Everyday thousands of Belizeans depend on this highway for work, business, education and family life, ensuring it is safe, efficient and resilient is there for a national priority. Through this project approximately 26.5km of roadway will be be rehabilitated and upgraded to modern engineering standards. The scope of works include the reconstruction of the road base and sub base. Improvements to both vertical and horizontal alignments to enhance safety upgrading drainage systems to reduce flooding vulnerability and the installation of new road safety features and delineation. Additional improvements will include hot mix asphalt pavement, construction of sidewalks and side drains and the installation of a concrete roundabout to improve traffic management and safety."
Karla Gonzalez, Country Representative for IDB 
"What and what a disclaimer means and I know you explain why you give one, but what does a disclaimer mean?"
"Fully agree. Fully agree. The statements, the way they are presented, we cannot rely on them at this point."
Belize just celebrated reef week, but over the weekend, gill nets were discovered in one of the biggest and most prized reefs in this hemisphere. The Corona Reef lies between Belize and Guatemala and though it is a marine treasure, the Belize Territorial Volunteers along with XTV's Mose Hyde pulled up several gillnets from the area. Based on these videos provided by PGTV, it does not seem like any marine life was caught in the net. 
Today, HelpAge Punta Gorda hosted a Health and Wellness Talk focusing on obesity, bringing over 30 elder persons together. During the activity, attendees received obesity education and dietary health awareness guidance, while health personnel also conducted BMI readings and blood pressure screenings. We spoke with Chairperson Lynessa Duncan who explained it:
"We had a health and fitness session with HECOPAB and Hillside and Miss Bennett from HECOPAB she did the, the topic was obesity and hillside did the stretches with the elderly."
Kareem Musa, Minister of Immigration 
Mariya Voloshkevich, Head of UNHCR Belize
H.E. Ryosuke Yamakura, Ambassador of Japan to Belize 
And finally tonight we note the passing of a well loved sportscaster and educator, Ruben Morales Iglesias. The 65 year old died this afternoon after suffering a stroke last week which sent him into a coma. He was taken off life support this at 4:30 today.
