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Something which has also occurred in the Las Veronicas area of Playa de Las Americas in South Tenerife and other points of the Canary Islands, the BBC report that "Photographs in the Greek and UK press have shown young drunken Britons having sex in bars and other public places." "The town has seen behaviour including drunken orgies, vomiting in the streets and frequent fights. Police have closed down several of the most notorious nightclubs."

Greek outrage over drunken Brits

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A Roman Catholic bishop on the Spanish island of Tenerife has ordained a man as a Catholic priest despite the fact that he is married with two children. The 64-year-old former Anglican pastor, David Gliwitzki, was ordained in La Laguna on the Canary Island. The Bishop of Tenerife said the move was a unique exception within the Spanish Church.

Spain gets first married priest

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Eagle, which was in its first day of a 19-day transit from Tenerife to Bermuda, its last port call of a four-month summer training deployment, supplied the passengers of the disabled vessel with 150 bananas, 51 pounds of cooked kidney beans, 40 pounds of cooked rice, and 13.5 gallons of bottled water.

Eagle Helps Disabled African Vessel

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As the seasons change, so too do the waters upon which the world's cruise ships travel. Each fall, vacationers have the chance to experience extraordinary voyages aboard cruise ships 'repositioning' from one seasonal destination to another. These unusual seagoing journeys offer travelers a one-of-a-kind travel experience - an opportunity to embark on voyages offered only once or twice a year to ports not normally found on contemporary cruise itineraries. Following gives a sample of some CLIA member lines' 2005-2006 repositioning cruises, with several having calls in Tenerife and the Canary Islands.

As Ships Position To New Regions Passengers Can Join The Adventure

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The Coast Guard Cutter Eagle, the service?s three-masted sailing vessel, is not just another pretty ship. On Aug. 16. the crew of the 295-foot, square-rigged barque helped save 100 West African migrants found drifting 35 miles from the Canary Islands. At 9 p.m., watchstanders sighted two flares coming from a 50-foot vessel and launched the Eagle?s motor surfboat to investigate.

Tall ship Eagle helps rescue drifting West African migrants

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A tropical front was the cause this morning of the series of storms to to hit the Canaries with torrential rains, principally in the islands of Gran Canaria and Tenerife and, were the worst in many years.

In Arico and Fasnia in Tenerife, the amount of rain that has fallen in the last 24 hours is the most seen in living memory, even in winter.

The rains which fell in the south of Tenerife today were the heaviest in a decade. In parts of Candelaria, more than 50 liters per square meter were recorded, something not seen there in 80 years.

Meterologists appeared baffled today, saying "this is not usual". Storms normally arrive in the Canary Islands from the north and it is rare for them to come in from the south, as they did this morning.

The unexpected weather front generated serious problems today with traffic, caused various damages to buildings and, there are reports that some flights had to be redirected.

Whilst all this extra water is good news for reforestation efforts, it could seriously prejudice the quality of the grape harvest, unless there is sun within the next few days.

Un frente intertropical provoca tormentas en toda Canarias

Las lluvias caídas en el sur de Tenerife son las más abundantes de esta década

Labels: Tenerife Weather, Weather

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The environmental department has declared three areas of high risk from forest fires in the Canary Islands; in Gran Canaria, La Gomera and El Hierro. The public is prohibited from entering the high risk areas.

The island councils of Tenerife, La Palma, Lanzarote and Fuerteventura did not include any areas of high risk.

Medio Ambiente declara tres zonas de alto riesgo de incendios en las Islas

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Emergency services of the Canary Islands government declared a state of alert this afternoon in Tenerife, because of the possibility of further heavy rains on the island within the next few hours.

Civil Protection have reiterated their recommendations to not leave the house, unless it is necessary, store away any objects that could fall, and to take extreme precautions on the roads.

Decretada la situación de alerta ante las fuertes lluvias en Tenerife

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There are times when it seems like Tenerife's most important annual event never ends, because as soon as one year's Carnaval ends, then preparations for the next need to begin. It probably takes all year to stick on the feathers and sew the sequins on the costumes alone.

And, indeed, the councillor of Fiestas yesterday proposed that shopkeepers and official Carnaval groups hold a masked ball on Saturday, October 29 to "fire the starting pistol" for the official preparations for the 2006 Carnaval in February.

It is to be a grand, end of summer ball at which the 2006 Carnaval poster design will be presented and the organizers will award a prize of a holiday for two to Venice for the most original mask.

El Carnaval comienza en octubre

Labels: Carnaval

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The BBC reports that the two Britons have appeared in court after a British teenager was allegedly raped in a bar in Tenerife. The 18-year-old woman says she was attacked on Monday in a hostess bar in the resort of Playa de Las Americas.

Pair accused over Tenerife 'rape'

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Canary Islands local TV station, TV Canaria, celebrates its sixth anniversary on August 21, with projects for incorporation into the digital network, to achieve 100% coverage in the islands and the expansion of the channel in America, among others.

TV Canaria is characterized for it programs with specifically Canarian content; those dedicated to the national parks, the flavour of the islands or the series, "Canarias, un paseo por las nubes". Literally, "a walk on the clouds", helicopter documentary of the islands.

The channel is also present at the Carnavals and at all the important festivals. In six years, they have become the forth most watched TV station in the archipelago and have announced that they are preparing a new, innovative, schedule for 2005-2006.

La Tele Canaria cumple 6 años con proyecto emisión digital y en América

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The dog, or "can", the historical symbol of the Canary Islands from which they take their name, has begun to disappear from official use.

The elimination of both dogs from the shield of the Canary Islands, on official forms and public buildings, has generated some controversy, not just because of the cost, but because the Canarian people have been very attached to "man's best friend" for centuries.

The Canarian executive is justifying the decision to change the "corporation mark", so that it is more modern and easier for citizens to identify with, which has both detractors and those in favour.

The Government plans to put an end to a symbol that has been tradition in the island since 1722, the year in which 18th Century historian, José de Viera y Clavijo, wrote about the shield with a dog on each side for the first time.

The first mention of the dog in relation to the Canary Islands goes back to the Mauritanian King Juba II, who, between 30 and 25 BC, had sent a marine expedition that came across the islands. The discovery was described extensively by Pliny, who wrote that the Canaries received this name "for their dogs, two of which were sent to Juba".

The Canary Dog is one of the oldest symbols of the history of the Canary Islands and has existed since the time of the aboriginals.

Even at that time, they formed part of their myths, according to Fray Juan Abreu de Galindo in his "History of the Conquest", who wrote that the inhabitants of Gran Canaria and La Palma shared the belief that demons appeared to them "like great fleecy dogs".

Archaeological excavations in several burial caves in Tenerife have shown that the dog was buried with his master, so it could "guide the soul to the region of the dead", writes historian, Manuel Curtó, author of the book, "El perro de presa canario, su verdadero origen". (The true origin of the Presa Canario.)

Nevertheless, in spite of these facts, there are other explanations for the name of the archipelago:

Historian, José Juan Jiménez, of the Museo de la Naturaleza y el Hombre (Museum of Nature and Man) in Tenerife, says the Canaries, in reality, owe their name to the "cannis marinus", a species of large monk seal that populated the coasts until the 15th Century.

Via the extinction of this species, brought about by the colonizers, attracted by their skins and, a translation error by Pliny, left out their existence entirely and turned history towards the dogs.

Contrary to what happened with the seals, the mixing of breeds between local and foreign dogs, did not bring an end to those native to the islands, because the Bardino has survived to the present day.

The relevance of dogs in the Canaries since the aboriginal era, has given their inhabitants an identity of their own and, has served them well for three centuries. Their image has been one of the most representative of the islands, becoming characteristic of them.

The positioning of the dogs, on guard, horizontal, on the shield and the flag of the Canary Islands, which at the moment are unmovable, because to change it would require a change in the Statute, is not an aesthetic one, but one that represents the force of the animal.

The English dogs that decorate the plaza of Santa Ana, in Vegueta, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, which arrived in the island in 1895 are another example of the tradition of the dog in the Canaries.

Currently, preparations are underway for a project, "Gran Can", organized by the Town Hall in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, in which 60 large sculptures of dogs, in fiberglass, will be placed in the streets of the city from October to December.

A clear sign that, even if they change the corporate image of the Government of the Canaries, the dog will, for the moment, maintain it's position in Canarian tradition.

El can, símbolo de Canarias, comienza a 'desaparecer'

Presa Canario Canary Dogs

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Owing to floods caused by the intense rains that have fallen in the islands today, a situation of "terrible chaos" was created on Tenerife south's motorway, with 20 km traffic jams in both directions between Tenerife Sur airport and the Adeje roundabout. Guardia Civil said, at 16:15, that there was total congestion and were asking drivers not to use the road. The island council ordered it closed at Torviscas.

La Guardia Civil avisa de un colapso de 20 kilómetros en la autopista Sur de Tenerife

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Owners of bars and restaurants estimate that around 1,600 million euros will be lost when the new no smoking laws that are presently going through parliament come into force. Dionisio Lara, president of Businessmen for Quality Leisure Time, added that it will be very difficult for society to isolate the 11 million smokers adding that it was unfair of the law to require the owners of the premises to act as policemen. He explained that the 10,000 euros fine to the owner of the bar or restaurant if anyone is found smoking on the premises will oblige them to enforce the law with a rod of iron, meaning that they will very probably lose customers or pay the consequences at a very high price.

New no smoking law will hit profits

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Recently released statistics would appear to disprove the perceived idea that there are ever more cars clogging up the roads of Tenerife. Gridlock doomwatchers will be miffed to learn that the total number of registered vehicles in this province has fallen by 3,337 over the past year, from 605,283 to 601,946. Not so spectacular when you consider the decrease is spread between four islands, but definitely a step in the right direction.

Decline and fall ?

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One of Santa Cruz?s worst eyesores, the subterranean walkway which links the city with the port, is currently undergoing a much-needed makeover. Some 800,000 people pass along the tunnel every year to get to and from the port and car park. Many of them are tourists off the cruise ships whose first impression of Santa Cruz can be far from favourable given its deplorable state.

Portside underpass gets a lift

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A ?Please Help Me Find My Son? leader in a Doncaster newspaper resulted in the telephonic reunion of a 56-year-old Doncaster mum and her 37-year-old son, living in Tenerife. Mark Hobbs had lost touch with his family who had not heard a word from him for five years.

Prodigal found in Las Américas

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In a move that earned a few disgruntled murmurs from the smokers out there and plaudits from the green faction, the Spanish government recently created one of the biggest no-smoking areas the world has seen when it rushed through emergency legislation to ban the habit in mountain greenery nationwide until November.

Although the situation has been handled with the utmost discretion in order to avoid causing unnecessary alarm, the authorities last week admitted that in Tenerife alone there have been 29 outbreaks of fire since the beginning of summer.

Forest fire alert; no smoking in the woods, please

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The number of registered unemployed in the Canary Islands was down by 4,700 in the second quarter of this year. The total number of jobless stands at 115,800 and the rate of unemployment among the active population is running at 12.38%, according to official statistics.

But while the politicians interpreted the figures optimistically, trades union leaders viewed the scenario in a more gloomy light. A spokesman for CC.OO said the highly seasonal nature of the labour market in this region makes for a situation in which jobs are created with the same ease with which they are destroyed and warned that the situation is having negative repercussions on the fragile economy of the islands.

Do unemployment statistics reveal sub-economy trend?

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Puerto de la Cruz?s pride and joy, the Lago Martianez, is once again up and running after months of work on some very special improvements. The complex is able to accommodate over 5,000 people and has been a popular spot for tourists and residents since its beginnings, back in the 1970?s, when renowned Canarian artist Cesar Manrique?s design was completed and opened its doors for the first time.

Pride of Puerto reopens

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The family of a well-known British businessman who died after a fall on holiday say their lives are in limbo until the coroner releases his body for burial. Father-of-three Malcolm Sellars, aged 48, was enjoying a break in Tenerife when he slipped and fell down a flight of stairs leading to a beach. At first he appeared fine, but later complained of stomach pains and collapsed at his hotel after being violently sick. Malcolm, who owned a gift shop in the UK, was rushed to hospital, but died on the operating table after complications developed.

Source: The Paper

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A leading local vulcanologist has declared that the seismic activity situation in the archipelago can currently be categorised as one of ?total normality? which is to say frequent, low intensity movements very similar to those registered in past years.

All almost quiet on the seismic tremor front

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Increasing and seemingly unrelenting pressure from immigration on the education system in the Canary Islands has forced the regional authorities to give the green light to the creation of 27,345 new school places within the year to cater to children of newcomers who have arrived in the archipelago over the past ten years. Some sixty new schools will be built while 42 existing centres will have to be enlarged to cope with demand.

Immigration boom obliges expansion on the education front

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A flare called the attention of the US Navy Training ship, The Eagle, allowing them to save the lives of almost 100 illegal immigrants on board a clandestine fishing boat, in waters 23 miles of the coast of South Tenerife on Monday night.

Among the 97 people on the ancient 20 meter vessel, the majority of whom were very young and none were above 30 years, were a baby of under two years, the mother and another child of 10 or 12, as well as the two crew, accused of trafficking in human lives.

A number were taken to hospital with dehydration and, according to the medical staff who attended them, had been several days without food. Reports of stomach pains led medical staff to believe that they may have resorted to drinking sea water.

Some of the immigrants have commented to health workers that they had indeed thrown the bodies of the two people who had died during this sad voyage, overboard into the ocean. The fishing boat, which had no rudder, no engines, nor fuel, would have condemned them all to a certain death if they had not been spotted.

Una bengala salva la vida a las 97 personas hacinadas en el barco de inmigrantes a la deriva

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National Police in Tenerife have detained two British citizens, accused of the rape of a British woman. One of the men is said to have raped the young woman in the interior of a bar he runs and to which she had gone for a drink, while the other remained outside to prevent the woman's brother from entering to come to her aid.

Dos británicos, detenidos por violar a una compatriota en un bar de Tenerife

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Austal Limited this week reported an AUS$35.5 million (about US$ 27.3 million) net profit after tax and outside equity interests for the year ended June 30, 2005, up 76 percent from AUS$20.1 million last year. Rothwell noted that significant deliveries included the 127 m trimaran ferry Benchijigua Express to Fred. Olsen, S.A. for operation in the Canary Islands.

Austal's Rothwell upbeat as profits soar

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A WOMAN was found partially-undressed with a man in an airliner lavatory at 30,000 feet, a court heard. Amber Staines admitted assaulting a stewardess who had been called to the bathroom to investigate what was happening. Staines had been on a late-night flight from Tenerife to Manchester when the incident happened in February.

Sex romp at 30,000 feet

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A total of 132 illegal immigrants were rescued today in waters around the Canaries, 95 on their way to Tenerife on board a wooden fishing boat. Another 37 were found 135 miles from Gran Canaria.

The Unites States Navy training ship, The Eagle, located the fishing boat (which had neither name nor flag), some 23 miles off the coast to the south west of Tenerife, shortly after she had left port in Santa Cruz, where she had been anchored since last Thursday.

This has proven slightly embarrassing for the local government who can't understand why our own resources had not located these boats. It is thought that the lack of radar coverage in the area, caused by the shadow cast by Mount Teide, could be the problem.

It appears that the fishing boat had been at sea for two months, since departing, presumably, from some point on the coast of Africa. The two crew, from Cape Verde, have been taken into police custody.

Some 25 or 30 of the 95 required hospitalization for dehydration and starvation, although none of them are in life threatening condition. No bodies were discovered when the boat was towed into port at Los Cristianos, despite earlier reports that there were at least two dead. The bodies could have been pushed overboard.

Rescatan un total de 132 inmigrantes en Canarias
Localizan otro barco de irregulares con varios muertos y unos 30 graves

The Eagle is a three-masted sailing Barque with 21,350 square feet of sail. It is homeported at the CG Academy, New London, Connecticut. It is the only active (operational) commissioned sailing vessel in the U.S. maritime services. Source: About.com U.S. Military.

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The deceleration in the British market is having a negative effect on the Canarian tourist sector, overall in holiday apartment rentals.

Apartments are the preferred type of accommodation for British, Scandinavian and Dutch tourists. With less British and no significant rise in other markets, apartment owners are losing money.

It is also true that some need renovation in order to compete and, that investment is needed to improve quality and to modernize. Industry representatives are looking for more concessions from the government to help improve competitiveness in the sector.

In Tenerife, though, the president of the business sector is optimistic that "the good times are coming back" and that British tourists, the island's principle client, are still coming to Tenerife.

La caída del turismo británico pasa factura a los apartamentos de Canarias

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The Canarian government has demanded that airports' authority AENA intervene in the strike by Iberia ground staff that left 6,000 suitcases on the ground at the airport in Lanzarote, on Sunday.

AENA considered that the strike was "a labour conflict between Ibera and its workers", and outside of its control. However, the government takes the stance that AENA has a contract with Ibera to provide the handling service and that AENA, whose job it is to manage the airports, should ensure the service is carried out adequately.

Director General of Transport, Rosa Dávila, made it quite clear, saying that Ibera "cannot look the other way and have to give an adequate service in order to earn their money." Adding, "there has to be a decided intervention on AENA's part to put an end to this conflict".

El Gobierno exige la intervención de AENA en la huelga del 'handling'

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Following the arrest of sixteen people, including two British, after a drugs haul that netted 2,000 kilos of hashish off the coast of Lanzarote at the weekend, police have located a further 600 kilos of the substance in an Adeje apartment, where they also arrested a Moroccan, thought to be the head of the trafficking operation.

Hallan otros 600 kilos de hachís en el piso del supuesto jefe de la banda

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Demand this summer has risen, although prices are lower to attract clients, who increasingly wait until the last minute to book bargains.

The Hotel Association in the South of Tenerife, in a survey of 53,000 available beds, situated occupation levels during July at 72% - approximately 1.6 points above the same period last year. The councillor for tourism in Adeje placed July occupation at 77%, and expects August occupation to reach 82%. Even more optimistic data comes from Arona's Town Hall, which put hotel occupation in July at 85%, while they say that the figure for August could reach 98%.

However, although the demand has been maintained, profits have decreased. There is no exact data available, but in conversations with hoteliers in the south of Tenerife it is apparent that they have suffered decreases in profits over the last few years. This is a problem that has affected the whole country since the introduction of the Euro, which must compete with the dollar and the UK pound.

And, although the numbers of tourists have increased, so too have the numbers of competing tourist destinations.

Disminuye la rentabilidad en el sector turístico con respecto al año anterior

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The Canary Islands "naife", a popular tool for centuries with farmers in the islands, has it's origins in Albacete and Toledo in the 16th Century and gets its name from the English word, "knife". Indispensable in the cultivation of bananas, the major difference between the Canary Islands' and mainland versions is the size of its steel blade.

El "naife" canario un cuchillo de origen albaceteño y de nombre inglés

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The Consumer Price Index in the Canary Islands for the month of June dropped half a percent from the previous month. In the year to date, prices have increased 2.3%. Transport, followed by housing have been the biggest contributors to the rises, whilst clothing and shoes have seen the biggest reductions.

Los precios bajaron en las Islas un 0,5% en julio

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The first marriage between persons of the same sex took place last week in the Civil Registry in the Tenerife Capital. Two men were the first to say "I do" in the islands after the new law, allowing gay and lesbian marriages, came into effect. The couple, who did not want to be named, were joined in a brief ceremony in the wedding salon of the Palace of Justice, accompanied by their friends and family.

Se celebra en Canarias la primera boda entre personas del mismo sexo

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After deciding not to renew the contract with the current cleaning firm, which runs out in November 2005, Adeje (South Tenerife) town council has closed the doors to tenders from any Canary Island based firm. The council are inviting tenders for the new contract, only from companies whose average turnover over the last three years has been more than 6,000,000 Euros. No Canarian firm even comes close.

Las empresas canarias no podrán optar al servicio municipal de limpieza

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A new report from the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) warns that temperatures in Europe's major cities are rising.

The report analysed summer temperatures in 16 European cities over the last 30 years and found that in most of them, average summer temperatures were at least one degree Celsius higher over the last five years than they were 30 years ago. London showed the biggest increase, followed by Madrid, but, as the last couple of years have shown this phenomenon is also affecting the Canary Islands.

BBC: Europe getting hotter, WWF warns

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Reservoirs on the island of Tenerife are at 43% of their capacity, which means there should be no problems with agricultural supplies over the next few months. Water is also to be diverted from the desalination plant in Santa Cruz to areas in the north, where the levels in reservoirs are lower. In the south of Tenerife, reservoirs are at 70% of their capacity, while in the north they are at 30%.

With desalination and recycled water used for agriculture as well as parks and gardens, there is sufficient water at the moment to get through the summer and supply all cultivated areas of the island.

Los depósitos de agua de la Isla se encuentran al 43% de su capacidad