Costa Maya Fesitval presents Miss Belize & Mexico

Miss Belize

She is no other than Belize’s representative for the La Reina de la Costa Maya Pageant, Miss Felicita Arzu. The 24-year-old brunette, “Leesha” as she is affectionately known, is a Communication Studies lecturer at Muffles Junior College in Orange Walk Town. As a determined promoter of education, Leesha followed in the footsteps of her mother and two sisters who have been committed and dedicated educators. Education is key and the role of an educator is imperative to any society. During her free time, Leesha enjoys reading, dancing, singing, traveling, socializing and listening to a wide range of musical genres. The five foot eight inch beauty has graced the stage as Belize’s beauty ambassador for the Miss World pageant in December 2007 which was held in Sanya, China. Holder of the title Miss Orange Walk 2004-2005, Leesha also has a passion for music and was also crowned Love FM’s Countrywide Karaoke Champion in 2004 and Fiesta FM’s Karaoke Champion that same year.

Miss Mexico

Marliese Edelmann Ayala proudly represents Miss Mexico for this year’s Reina de la Costa Maya Pageant. Having participated in Nuestra Belleza Mexico 2008, Marliese believes she is well equipped and prepared to vie for the coveted crown. The five foot seven brunette enjoys reading and dancing. Marliese proudly took part in a promotional video for her native hometown of Chiapas entitled “Yo soy Chiapas” and included participation of Reyli Barba and Enrique Virrueta. Branching out into acting, Marliese is preparing for her participation in Ciudad de Mexico (Mexico City).

The Costa Maya Committee continues with more announcements as the festival nears. An office has been secured, thanks to Atlantic Bank, and it is located Black Coral Street at the old Nancy’s building (phone – 226 4153). Booths are being sold for the festival days and interested parties are being asked to contact committee member Jan Brown at 226-2059.

5 confirmed cases of Influenza A H1N1 in Belize

Press Release - Government Press Office - Ministry of Health - July 7th, 2009 - The Ministry of Health wishes to inform the public of five (5) confirmed cases of Influenza A H1N1 in the country of Belize.

These results were received today through our reference laboratory CAREC.
All the five positive cases came from the Corozal district and linked to the Casinos in the Corozal Free Zone. These individuals have been treated and are recovering at home.

This highlights the increased surveillance which the Ministry had put in place at the initial response to Influence A H1N1.

The Ministry is awaiting the results of fifteen other suspected cases majority of which presented mild flu-like symptoms.

The Ministry continues its heighten surveillance and awareness campaign to contain this situation.

The Ministry of Health encourages the public to continue washing hands with soap and water, covering your coughs, seek medical attention if you present any flu-like symptoms and stay at home until your symptoms are resolved.

The Ministry would also like to inform the public that there is no need at this time to limit any mass gatherings.

KIA Field trip to Bacalar Chico

Valentine Rosado, CORAL’s field representative in Belize, continues on his efforts to bring together stakeholder groups from across the country to collaborate on local conservation initiatives that support standards implementation, reduce reef threats, and create meaningful opportunities for local communities to save their coral reefs by supporting marine protected areas.

One huge effort is education and through this the Kids in Action (KIA) program was implemented. Through the program, students have the opportunity to visit marine reserves and parks to find out the importance of the region and how to help in the conservation efforts.
This part Saturday, KIA was back in action and this time a trip to Bacalar Chico was in order.

At Chac Balam, students were taught about the importance of mangroves, the various mangrove species found within Belize, and just how the work they way they do.

At Rocky Point, students found the massive rock formations very interesting. They took time to explore and wade in the shallow waters.

Traveling through the lagoons, Rosado explained the importance of these valuable water systems.

Maya pottery was also seen and Rosado described the Mayas route between Mexico and Belize at the time trade was at its peak.

The KIA trip was made possible through the kind assistance of Ramon’s Village and captain Heriberto Palma. For further information on KIA contact Valentine Rosado at 602-2100.

PRI wins Federal election in Mexico

Yesterday millions of Mexicans went to the polls in all 32 states to choose the composition of the new House of Representatives. At the same time, elections took place in six states to choose a new state governor. With over 95% of the vote counted, the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI) headed by Party Leader Beatriz Paredes Rangel swept the polls winning the majority of seats in the House of Representatives and also winning five of six state governor seats that were up for grabs in Sunday’s election. The results took President Felipe Calderon’s Partido Acción National (PAN) by surprise after political pundits in Mexico had projected a clear win for the PAN prior to Sunday’s election. The PRI won governorship in the states of Campeche, Colima, Querétaro, Nuevo León and San Luis Potosí. The PAN narrowly won Sonora.

The Instituto Federal de Elección (IFE) stated that there was a national voters turnout of 44.70% translating to 33, 951, 277 voters. In an exclusive interview with our colleagues at La Universal Newspaper the PRI Leader Rangel is quoted as saying that, “the PRI is stronger than before and we are well ahead, ready for the big win in the next presidential election in 2012.”

Tropic Air utilizes new terminal

Tropic Air began utilizing its newest home located on Coconut Drive. Their new dispatch lounge was designed with customers' comfort in mind. Included in the lounge is a huge beautiful aquarium that is simply outstanding. Management of Tropic Air could not be more pleased with the outcome of the building and state that this is the first step in upgrading their services and infrastructure countrywide. Groundbreaking for the new building began on July 4th, 2008.