COVID-19 has become the modern day plague of the 21^st century and the people of all nations have come to the stark reality that the virus will probably be with us all for much longer that we think.

But today August 11^th. 2020 could be a critical milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 Virus which has killed more than 740,000 people at this news writing and is predicted to kill more than 3 million people worldwide by years-end, if no vaccine is developed.

The Russians have announced that they have developed and registered the 1^st. COVID-19 Vaccine.

The news was delivered to the world by the Russian leader ‘Vladimir Putin’ in a press conference earlier today.

The primary news organizations of all major countries has carried the news, and if proven to be effective, it will surely be another “Sputnik Moment” for the Soviet Union. (Russia)

The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Guardian, and all over the world, including The Indian Times and news outlets In Africa, Europe and major TV Stations in the U.S has carried the news with a dash of skepticism, that questions the validity of the announcement and also points to the traditional phase trials that is normally done for a vaccine to be approved for widespread use.

Other countries have already announced that they will work with the Russians to produce the vaccine.

The state of Parana in Brazil announced that they will meet with the Russian ambassador on Wednesday to discuss a co-production agreement. – which should not be a surprise to most, since Brazil has the second highest number of COVID-19 deaths; only the United States has more than Brazil.

If proven effective against the COVID-19 Virus, the Russians will probably rack up a lot of ‘brownie-points’ all over the world, as people are wanting effective solutions no matter where it is made or created.

This is “Big News” with a grain of caution salt.

For this historic announcement to be made by the president of Russia himself is probably the biggest thing to happen on the global-stage since the Russians were the first to orbit a satellite in space, known as the ‘Sputnik Moment’ for doing it before the Americans.

If effective the Russians would get an extremely high windfall profit for the new drug, as hundreds of millions of people worldwide would seek the vaccine.

The traditional view of the Russians as the bad-guys and or adversaries would surely be different if this is really a solution to the scourge called COVID-19.

Shortly after the news was announced on Tuesday August 11th. The financial and stock-market news channel CNBC in the U.S reported “that the surge of the stock-market was a reaction to the announcement that an effective vaccine was developed”.

. . . . . . . . . .* * * *. . . . . . . . . .

In Belize City
Late Sunday Evening and into the wee-hours of Monday morning we kept track of how the rain fell non-stop for hours. Knowing that many of the low-lying streets and neighborhoods in the city and rural communities will be flooded, some as high as 1-2 feet.

All that rain was from the outer-bands of Tropical Storm AMANDA, the first named storm of the eastern pacific, ( eastern pacific storms have different names than storms in the Atlantic/Caribbean basin).

As the saying goes, a little bit of rain is always good, but this was coming down by the bucket load, the ‘Belize National Met Service’ said that this weather will continue for another day and then some sunshine on tuesday, then more heavy rains.

At mid-day the Gov. of Belize issued the following FLOOD WATCH ALERT
– – – go here for the PDF version – – –

In Neighboring Countries, AFP Reported that
“Tropical Storm Amanda, the first named storm of the season in the Pacific, killed 10 people as it lashed El Salvador and Guatemala on Sunday amid flooding and power outages. El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency for 15 days to cope with the effects of the storm, which lost strength later in the day as it moved into Guatemala. The fatalities were all recorded in El Salvador, senior cabinet official Carolina Recinos said, adding that one person is reported missing. In the capital, San Salvador, 50 homes were damaged by rain and powerful winds, while 23 vehicles were swallowed by a sinkhole, Mayor Ernesto Muyshondt said. “We are experiencing an unprecedented situation: one top-level emergency on top of another serious one,” he said, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic in place before the rain hit.”

The official start of the 2020 hurricane season is June 1st. to November 30th.. But there has already been two named storms., Arthur on May 16th. and tropical storm Bertha on May 27th.

The latest word from the Belize National Meteorological Service (BNMS) is that “hurricanes and cyclones may form outside the official hurricane season”.

There is also a FLOOD ALERT for this weekend, due to a tropical wave that is approaching Central America. The digitalBelize.LIVE weekend audio report was made at 7pm Friday May 29th. from the Belize National Met Service.

Today (May 29th.) a list of the new names for the season was released by BNMS

The National Met Service said, via a press release
“The 2020 forecast is suggesting that tropical cyclone activity will be above normal in the Atlantic Basin (North Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico). The prediction is for there to be thirteen to nineteen (13 to 19) named storms, of those six to ten (6 to 10) are expected to become hurricanes and three to six (3 to 6) are expected to become major hurricanes (Category 3 or stronger).

An average season in the Atlantic Basin consists of twelve (12) named storms, six (6) hurricanes and two (2) major hurricanes. The main factors that were used to forecast an active 2020 Atlantic hurricane season are:

What Does this Mean for Belize?
There is no strong correlation between the number of storms or hurricanes that form in any given season to the number of storms that make landfall in Belize. One or more of the 13 to 19 named storms forecast to develop this season could hit the country, or none at all. Therefore history teaches us, as a nation located in such a vulnerable area, we should be prepared each year no matter what is the forecast is. – end quote –

This morning – (Thursday, May 28th.) – at approximately 6am a twin engine ‘Hawker 800 Jet’ (also known in the British military as 125-700) made a ditched landing near the village of Sarteneja in northern Belize.

No drugs were found on the aircraft or in the area, but the $2-$3 million U.S dollar Hawker 800 jet-aircraft is of such a high value that it’s cargo (if there was cargo) must have been much more valuable than the aircraft for it to be abandoned by the occupants.

The location of the aircraft and the proximity to both land and sea, and Mexico is of notice to law enforcement in all countries in the region.

Belize has an almost perfect geographical location for traffickers, who have been using very sophisticated means of transport their illicit cargo. so-much-so that it is a challenge to one of the most advanced country in the world, the United States, where most illicit drugs are destined for.

A Sophisticated Game Of Cat & Mouse ( the mouse are very hi-tech)
Back in January, an extensive news article in Forbes Magazine said that the U.S. Coast Guard Could Face A Narco Submarine Epidemic In 2020 , Drug traffickers have even hired submarine designers and engineers from eastern-block countries to help them design and build subs.

Below: U.S Coast Guard intercepts a narco sub heading toward the U.S

This is a new / developing / Breaking News to digitalBelize.LIVE & Channel1Belize.com

Earlier today (May 27th.) the commissioner of police issued a memorandum to all police officers of the importance to keep up the enforcement of the new COVID-19 laws that are intended to protect everyone; and also to remind officers to use good discretion in this new normal of wearing face mask.

The official word on the SOe (state of emergency) states that it will continue until June 30th, but may be revised before that date, depending on, if the ‘COVID-19’ situation diminishes or increases.

The new-normal ‘Requiring Face-Mask’ has been a challenge to everyone, in most instances the person or person’s are not intentionally disobeying the law., but in some cases, there are people who do not want to abide by that simple requirement.

The extremely strict regulations (new Laws) are intended to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The fine for not wearing a ‘face-mask’ while in any public space is a whopping $5,000.00, and the penalty for illegally crossing the border into Belize is ‘Straight to Jail’ no questions asked.

So far 817 people have been arrested for not wearing a face-mask or face covering since the SOe came into effect on April 1st. and extended to June 30th. and 194 people have been arrested for being outside during curfew hours of 8pm to 5am.

The following is a recent memorandum issued by the COMPOL to his officers in the field.

Commonwealth Day: May 24 (old tradition)

Sometime in the 1990s ‘Commonwealth Day’ was renamed ‘Commonwealth & Sovereign’s Day’, by the government and those who were the organizers of events for the holiday, and to celebrate local cultures and the importance of being a part of the Commonwealth of Nations.

Every year on May 24, the people of Belize observe Commonwealth Day. The routine events are horse races in Boom, youth events, and various gatherings in recognition of the Belizean culture. But since the COVID-19 crisis, none of the usual events will be held.

History of Commonwealth Day in Belize
The origin of Commonwealth Day goes back to the end of the 1800s, a time when Queen Victoria was perceived as a motherly figure that strongly represented the expansive British Empire. There were suggestions by many for a day that would honour her 67 year reign as queen of the British Empire.

After Queen Elizabeth died in 1901, the efforts of the ‘Earl of Meath’ to create a holiday to honour the creation of the Commonwealth of Nations was achieved, and an unofficial holiday was set-aside which was called ‘Empire Day’ and was set to be May 24th., the birthdate of Queen Victoria. It wasn’t until 1916 that Empire Day became an annual event.

For several decades Belize (British Honduras) participated in the Empire Day ceremonies. But as Britain’s global power waned and political views towards British imperialism grew strong, Empire Day converted to a more mundane British Commonwealth Day in 1958 and then again to Commonwealth Day in 1966.

The An·tith·e·sis Of The Name ‘Common-Wealth‘
In many of the countries that are part of the Commonwealth, the standard of living is very far from the wealth of others and definitely far lower thaN the standard of living in Britain. Why such a word was chosen to describe a day to observe the membership in the group of nations is rather facetious or even cunning.

In Bangladesh, one of the poorest nations on earth, and a member of the Commonwealth of nations, the average monthly income of its 165 million citizens is (one hundred seventy) $170.00 US Dollars / month.

We added up the population of all the Commonwealth countries, and it seems that 2.4 Billion people will be on holiday tomorrow, May 25th. 2020.
1. Antigua and Barbuda
2. Australia
3. Bangladesh
4. Barbados
5. Belize
6. Botswana
7. Brunei
8. Cameroon
9. Canada
10. Dominica
11. Fiji
12. The Gambia
13. Ghana
14. Grenada
15. Guyana
16. India
17. Jamaica
18. Kenya
19. Kiribati
20. Lesotho
21. Malawi
22. Malaysia
23. Malta*
24. Mauritius
25. Mozambique
26. Namibia
27. Nauru
28. New Zealand
29. Nigeria
30. Pakistan
31. Papua New Guinea
32. Republic of Cyprus*
33. Rwanda
34. Samoa
35. Seychelles
36. Sierra Leone
37. Singapore
38. Solomon Islands
39. South Africa
40. Sri Lanka
41. St Christopher and Nevis
42. St Lucia
43. St Vincent and the Grenadines
44. Swaziland
45. The Bahamas
46. Tonga
47. Trinidad and Tobago
48. Tuvalu
49. Uganda
50. United Kingdom*
51. United Republic of Tanzania
52. Vanuatu
53. Zambia
54. Zimbabwe

For more Information @ Research URL: Wikipedia

Some data and text collected from G.O.B webpages

Written & Compiled by digitalCaribbean.Live – digitalBelize.LIVE staff reporter:  digitalCaribbean.LIVE@gmail.com

The peaceful seaside Tourist-destination of Hopkins has seen more than its share of violent crime in the past few years, and today another statistic has been added to the homicide numbers in that southern village in the Stann Creek District.

Police are investigating a double murder in the village of Hopkins. At approximately 9am this (May 22nd 2020) morning police were called out to a location in the village. They found the bodies of 2 men, one of them is an American national and the other is a Belizean national.

The Belizean man have been identified as Quintin Espinosa, 55, who had a gunshot wound to the head, and American national Roland Burley, 70, who also with a gunshot wound to the head.

More details about this developing news story will be available VIA Updates, on this page.