Wednesday 30.06.04
TUI have announced they will be increasing the availability of their all inclusive holidays to the Canary Islands for the Summer. The president of TUI, Michael Frenzel, recently met with Canarian hoteliers to assure them that the Canaries were their most important market and that last year their sales were spectacular despite the Iraq war with 2.8 million TUI customers visiting the archipelago.

165 elderly from Adeje recently travelled to Andorra this month for a week organised by the council for the elderly. It was a chance for the older people of the municipality to enjoy the scenes and culture of this beautiful Pyrenean country. The itinerary included various excursions to Valle de Ordino, Soldeu, Rabassa, the parliament and government buildings. One of the days was dedicated to a visit to the virgin of Lourdes in France, a religious place where thousands visit every day.

The popular Socorro beach in the Los Realejos area in the north of the island was closed for bathing on Thursday due to a 13 year old girl being attacked by a fish which according to biologists could have been from the shark family, but of an inoffensive shark. The child was given medical assistance on the beach but was taken to a hospital in Puerto de la Cruz where she was given the all clear after receiving an injury in the foot of about 15 centimetres. The local mayor of the municipality instructed the local police to close the water for bathing and an investigation has taken place with the collaboration of the Guardia Civil. The beach has now been re-opened.

South Tenerife municipality Arona just keeps on growing and the population is expected to top 80,000 by the end of the year.
That worries Mayor José Alberto González who described the 12% annual growth rate as untenable and undesirable.
The European Union recommended manageable yearly increases of 2-3%, but the alarming population boom was putting pressure on services that were having problems meeting rising demands.
Education, roads, health and energy were among the sectors trying to cope and some had reached saturation point, said the Mayor.

Tuesday 29.06.04
The regional confederation of businesses (Coreco) recently met with the councillor for industry, commerce and new technology of the canaries, Luis Soria. The meeting was to discuss the huge problems that affront the sector regarding the loss of takings this year. A 35% drop in the Las Palmas province and 25% in the Santa Cruz province brought on by the lack of tourism.
According to the president of the confederation, Luis de Miguel, puts the blame on various reasons including family debt, the international uncertainty and of course the drop in figures of tourist visitors including some hotels offering all inclusive packages. He didn't seem to think there was going to be an immediate solution in the tourist sector.

The president of Binter Canarias, Pedro Agustin del Castillo, announced in a recent press conference the arrival of a newly acquired aircraft, ATR-72 which means the company can now make international trips in a more improved aircraft. They have requested a rise of 0.5% euros on their tariffs to cover the cost of the petrol rises, although Adán Martin is not in agreement and has asked for more "low cost" flights.

A company who swindled 45,000 Spanish with the phone lines 906,907 and 806 has recently been dismantled by the Guardia Civil. The final part of their Operation Sable took place recently with the dismantling of the company's web site. Originating from Madrid, the company illegally obtained over 35 million euros. 5 people have been arrested in Madrid and it was found they had created 150 web pages of music, travel, cars, pornography to name but a few which obviously had been used to commit the fraud.

Fred Olsen line plans to increase the Tenerife-La Gomera ferry service with six daily crossings from Los Cristianos to San Sebastián and five in the other direction.

Friday 25.06.04
Tenders are being invited for improvement work on the Carretera General del Sur passing through San Miguel. A 1.3km stretch of the road, which carries nearly 5,000 vehicles daily, is in a poor state of repair and Tenerife Cabildo has set aside 900,000 euros for a resurfacing programme.

The Guardia Civil from Los Rodeos airport intercepted a suitcase containing 10 kilos of cocaine which had arrived from Caracas in Venezuela. Officers from the drug squad inspecting the flight found the luggage containing the cocaine. The police analysis found that the drug was of first class quality. The police are carrying out investigations to determine the owner of the luggage and questioned various passengers from the flight.

The councillor for tourism, Sebastián Martin, has announced good results given out by the Arona tourist board during the recent conference organised by the Canarian government for the tourist markets of the eastern block countries and Austria.
During the event it showed the increase of interest that these countries have for the Canarian islands and in particular Arona which has risen considerably. The hoteliers also taking part in this congress think that the tourist sales of these countries will compensate the figures with these new markets. The number of travel agencies that took part has risen from 375 on last year to 445 this year.
The councillor said that the interest shown from the eastern European countries, for the Canary islands is the quality of the hotels, the beautiful landscapes, the sport, the food and the Canarian traditions. The local tour operator Canary Travel expect a good rise in their contracting of holidays to Tenerife with an extra flight which has been put on during this summer.

The tourist occupation for last month fell by 9 points in May and came out as an average of 55% within Spain a drop of 9.2% compared to May 2003. The hotel prices decreased in the Balearics and Canaries but rose in Andalucia according the national institute of statistics. The canaries registered 368,941 visitors, 39% of those were Spanish and the rest were foreigners among a full total of 2,615,310 staying an average of 7 nights. The full total of visitors to the 2 provinces of the Canaries worked out about half and half, 49% to Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and 51% visiting Santa Cruz de Tenerife who had an occupation of 57.6% and 54% respectively.

Thursday 24.06.04
Up to May 31st, the town hall of Tenerife had distributed over 27,000 vouchers which enables people to use public transport free of charge. The voucher scheme has benefited more than 21,000 people including those aged over 65 or those with a disability. According to Titsa, these groups of people mainly use the bus services between 9am and midday which does not affect the capacity of the buses at peak times.

A young man has died following a traffic accident during Sunday night in the municipality of San Miguel. A 20 year old man died in the accident and another six aged between 18 and 22 were injured. The youngsters were driving in the Santa Cruz direction when 3 vehicles collided, one of which went up in flames. Guardia Civil officers and the local police closed the road and traffic was diverted, while the emergency services and fire brigade attended the scene. The fire was extinguished and one of the injured trapped in a car was rescued.

Amarilla Golf residents have been promised an improvement in telecommunications services. San Miguel de Abona Mayor Arturo González was meeting Armando Santana Ozollapa, Telefónica's Canarian territorial director, to sign an agreement for a project costing 450,000 euros that will provide homes with telephone and Internet access. A six-month work programme to install a cable should begin in the next few weeks.

The airlines have programmed 104.968 flights in the Madrid airport of Barajas for the months of July, August and September. AENA confirm this further to the provisional details given to them by the airlines which can vary according to demand. The number of flights planned for the summer months represents an increase of 6.2% on the figures of 2003. The most popular tourist destinations of the travellers who fly through Barajas are the islands of Canaries and Balearics, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Egypt, Prague and Turkey. The main months for the most flights will be July, August and September. During the first and last day of the Spanish holidays when the airport expects a maximum occupation, AENA in collaboration with the state security forces and the police will reinforce the service given to passengers.

Wednesday 23.06.04
It has been plane sailing for Tenerife's ports and airports this year.
Southern Reina Sofía Airport handled a May total of 832,706 passengers - 521,634 on regular flights - which was a 15% improvement on the same month of 2003.
Freight carried showed a marked increase of 62.4%.
In the North, Los Rodeos' passenger total of 272,835 - all but 635 by regular flights - was 8.5% up on last year.
During the first four months of this year, 1,608,801 passengers used Tenerife ports, 2.64% more than in the same period of 2003. In April alone, the number was 436,555.
Capital Santa Cruz' port welcomed 566,911 passengers from January-April, a 9.9% increase.

The launch of San Miguel de Abona's Equal Opportunities Plan for Women attracted an audience of 500. The project has been put together by the Social Services Council and area representative Sonia Cristina León said there were initial inquiries from more than 200 local women aged from 16-75 interested in such diverse subjects as health, education, environment and the family.

The tourist sector forecast a busy summer this year. Hotel owners are looking at the situation optimistically and believe they will have a decent occupancy for the months of July and August. A survey considers that 64% of the division predict that the occupation will be good for the summer months against the figures maintained and registered in January.
The occupation in the Canaries will be very similar to that registered from the Balearic Islands who all say they will increase on the registration figures of last summer. The last details given by the survey of tourist movements showed that in the first 5 months of the year there were 18.2 million tourists in Spain which shows an increase of 3.8% on the same period last year. In May there were 5 million tourists, an increase of 4.6% on last year.

Tuesday 22.06.04
An urgent call has been made for a new traffic circulation plan for the South Tenerife fishing village of Las Galletas to prevent traders going out of business.
Residents association Sol de Sur de Las Galletas, said some businesspeople had already gone bankrupt and closed their doors since the current one-way system was introduced.
A spokesman stressed the need for a return to two-way circulation, particularly on Avenida Fernando Salazar, and a reduction of the peak hours traffic jams caused by traffic lights at the entrance and exit to the Arona village.
Lack of sufficient parking spaces also aggravated the problem because some drivers avoided the area during business hours.

A 62 year old British man has been arrested in connection with fraud in the South of Tenerife. He is alleged to be the administrator of a company that has cheated an unknown number of holiday makers out of 370,000 euros. The police brigade against drugs and organised crime have said that the majority of the con artists were Italian. The gang operated by conning innocent tourists into paying a down payment of anything between 1000 and 2000 euros for illegal timeshare. They would then send false contracts by fax asking them to transfer the money to a bank account in Los Realejos in the north of the island. The money was then drawn out and the contact number deleted. The Italian branch of Interpol already have the details and descriptions on yet another case that gives the Canarian islands a bad name.

Tenerife has a plan of action in the event of a volcanic eruption.
Island President Ricardo Melchior, his Canary Islands' counterpart, Adán Martín, and Madrid's man in the archipelago, José Segura, signed an agreement that would see a co-ordinated civil defence operation set in motion if such a disaster threatened.
A blueprint has been prepared along with a programme of appropriate operational procedures for taking preventive and protective measures.
A handpicked committee would activate the plan's various phases with operational groups taking care of safety, logistics, health and social needs.

Tenerife Cabildo have decided to speed up the island ring road project designed to improve connections between North and South by having route modifications ready in eight months. Refinements are needed on the section taking in Santiago del Teide and Guía de Isora to preserve an important
area under cultivation.

Friday 18 .06.04
A new ambulance on 24-hour call-out has been attached to the fire station on Las Chafiras industrial estate in South Tenerife, offering a quick response to emergencies on the nearby TF-1 motorway. SUC, the Canarian Emergency Service, has provided the vehicle for San Miguel de Abona municipality as a boost for the South's resources in the light of a rapidly increasing population. The ambulance will serve principally Las Chafiras, Parque de la Reina and El Médano, but will also offer back-up for Granadilla and Los Cristianos units. It is the fourth SUC vehicle with a fire station base, following examples at capital Santa Cruz, Icod de los Vinos and La Orotava.

A 6 year old girl was rescued by the emergency services when her arm was caught in the filter of a swimming pool in an apartment block in Playa de Las Americas. The child was in the shallow end of the pool and was not in any fear of drowning, but the filter had to be cut to remove the trapped arm.

The councillor for education in San Miguel town hall, Milagros González, has authorised 8000 euros for the local education system. The majority of the money will go towards end of term trips, parents associations, school bus services and computer equipment for the local schools. The secondary school in San Miguel will also be given 3000 euros for a machine to control the attendance of the pupils and the rest of the money will go towards school transport including organisation of activities and excursions all year round.

The residents association of Playa Paraiso in Adeje have officially complained to the local town hall regarding the hotel "Bahia Principe" for the continuous trouble and noise. The case has been going on since October last year and finally after an inspection the hotel was ordered to pay a fine of 6000 euros.

Drivers are warned that the northbound slow lane of the TF-1 will be closed near the Candelaria junction during this weekend. Adolfo Hoyos, director of works for the motorway widening project between Santa Cruz and Güímar industrial estate, said the closure was necessary to level a high embankment posing a threat to road users through possible landslides.

Thursday 17.06.04
Cabildo vice-president José Manuel Bermúdez recently met with representatives of the island's main tour operators to start a new era of cooperation with a better flow of information in a bid to improve Tenerife's tourism promotion.
The first agreement reached was on the idea of implementing common strategies to be launched in order to reach a consensus and maximise on experience and efficiency in the different markets and products.
The tour operators stressed the need for far greater unity in the island's promotional campaigns and also for the Canary Islands in general. They also outlined the need to improve the way the island is viewed in the main countries that send holidaymakers to Tenerife.
Another agreement reached was to improve the information channels to visitors on any public works to reduce to a minimum the negative effects that these may have on the island's image because of the inconvenience caused to tourists during their holidays

Three individuals aged 15, 26 and 33 have been arrested in Granadilla after they burgled a bar kiosk in the town. The Guardia Civil were called to the local church square where recent fiestas had taken place and found an average of 550 euros worth of drink had been stolen from the kiosk after it had been forced open. The police managed to recover a large amount of the stolen goods and the 2 adults were detained at the law courts in Granadilla while the minor was transferred to the local department for youngsters.

The mayor of Arona, José Alberto González Reverón, has threatened to close locals if they cannot control their refuge. He confirmed that the local police are controlling 20 black spots in the tourist areas of Los Cristianos and Playa de Las Americas and he is prepared to close a local within 48 hours if they don't comply with refuge laws in the municipality.

A 40 year old British man has been detained by the local police in Costa del Silencio for assaulting his partner. The Police were called to a block of apartments where it is alleged that a couple had been arguing. On arrival they found the woman had been badly beaten in her face and body and reported that her boyfriend was responsible. He was found in their home and arrested.

The budget for the new bus station in Guia de Isora has been agreed at 370,000 euros. The first part of the works includes demolishing the supports and retaining walls of the plot adjacent to where the new building will be.

Wednesday 16.06.04
A 48 year old Italian man has been detained for fraud against a couple who were buying a property in the agency where he worked. In 2003 they bought a property that was going to auction to the value of 38,500 euros. As it was an auction the deal was in cash which they passed to the agency but have still not received keys to the property. The man insists that there were problems with the paperwork of a legal aspect.

The blue flag has been awarded to Playa de la Arena in the municipality of Santiago del Teide for the 17th consecutive year. The prize makes this beach the most award winning of the whole of the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. The blue flag is a recognised symbol which demands levels of sanitation on a national level, the presence of adequate cleanliness showing no sign of waste or dumping, and excellent beach emergency service. Playa de la Arena is 175 metres in length and is between 50 and 75 metres in width. It has 9 public bathrooms and 20 showers which are excellent for the disabled, an emergency point, and a doctor and a nurse who are both situated 20 metres from the beach. The mayor of Santiago del Teide, Juan Damián Gorrin Ramos, said he was very happy to receive this prize yet again for his model beach here in Tenerife.

Two men have been killed in a small aircraft used for performing aerial stunts in the north of Gran Canaria. The pilot, a German who lived in Fuerteventura and his Spanish co-pilot died on impact. They were taking part in an Aircraft exhibition in the city of Las Palmas. The aircraft was in perfect condition and the pilot had 12,000 flying hours with this type of plane. It seems they were doing a loop in the air watched by various spectators when the plane started to speed to the ground.

Puerto de la Cruz and the Orotava Valley have chosen Gran Canaria as target area for their first inter-island tourist promotion. Cabildo Vice-President José Manuel Bermúdez saw the campaign, with a budget of 850,000 euros, as a chance for Canarians to get to know their own region better and enjoy it. From June 18th to the 20th, a hundred Gran Canarian agents will pay a familiarisation visit to the two Tenerife areas.

Tuesday 15.06.04
The consortium for prevention and extinction of fires and rescue have incorporated another 37 fireman who recently took part in an entrance course after passing their initial tests which were carried out over the last few months. The course took place in the Canarian academy for security and consisted of 320 hours including practical classes taken by professionals. The councillor responsible for this sector said that the new fireman are being assigned to different stations where they will be assessed every 6 months and will have to complete a period of 2 years in practice before incorporating indefinitely.

5 Britons who are part of a band who specialise in stealing and falsifying travellers cheques have been detained by the national police in the south of Tenerife. It appears that they have been cashing travellers cheques of various entities that had been stolen from their owners in their countries of origin and cashed here in the south.

The cabildo have announced their intention to restore a degraded forest area in the Teno rural park. The project counts on the backing of the European Union together with the enterprise Life-Naturaleza and an investment of nearly 375,000 euros, 4% of the total provided by the island institution. On the forecast, the performance will extend during 3 years and will carry extra actions such as the reduction of the erosion and the elimination of overgrazing which will increase the quality of atmosphere for the bird species that habit the area. The councillor responsible for the environment and landscape confirmed that despite the great pressure this humane activity receives our duty is to make possible and preserve this wealth and embark on programmes to recuperate its surface.

The national police have recently arrested a 27 year old man of Indian origin in the south of Tenerife for a fraudulent offence. It is alleged that a British couple went to the Police after buying various electric items in a bazaar using their credit card. When checking their receipt they discovered there was another amount for 945 euros. On investigation a man who worked in the shop had invented a purchase to steal the money hoping that the couple wouldn't discover the fact until they returned to the UK.

A new residents association called Por Tu Barrio, El Valle has been formed in Valle San Lorenzo, Arona, to try to bring improvements to the developing area. Initial main concerns are an infant's and primary school, a shortage of health services, the need for more parking spaces, security and a leisure area for children, young people and the elderly.

Monday 14.06.04
The mayor of Santiago del Teide, Juan Damián Gorrin Ramos, has assured that the road works in the area of Playa de la Arena will be finished in July. This was originally a job that was going to take a year, but should now be finished in just 7 months. Work should have started last November but only began in January because of the Christmas period.

A 37 year old man from Cadiz has been detained by the national police for the recent murder of a 62 year old Italian in Los Cristianos. He has confessed to badly beating up the man and driving over him with his car. He then left him in the middle of the night in the old port area of Los Cristianos in front of the Costamar apartments. The injured man was rushed to the local hospital but unfortunately died on arrival. The intense work of the forensic experts working close with the police and the special homicide team led to the arrest of the man who worked in a hotel in the area and was the owner of a red Seat Cordoba.

A new Tenerife advisory body will be formed in an attempt to improve the quality of life for the disabled. Known as the Island Council for the Disabled, it will be created shortly by the Cabildo to channel data and carry out a study of the hardships and needs of this section of the community. The council will also co-ordinate and pinpoint clear courses of action to guarantee essential care for disabled people. The next full session of the island authority was expected to approve the formation of the body which follows a proposal put to Social Affairs.

The city council of Guia de Isora will soon begin a programme of works to 'decontaminate' areas along the coast of San Juan and Alcala.
It will mainly be the sewage system that receives attention in time for the summer months when it is vitally important to eliminate insects that proliferate the area. The work will take one week to complete and will also include the cleansing of streets and street furniture within the public zone.

A Tenerife municipality is pioneering a bilingual education programme in the Canary Islands. Garachico Secondary Education Institute's 2004 to 2005 school year includes teaching in English from a programme of courses such as sculpture, social and natural sciences, ethics, physical education and music. The project is authorised by the Canarian Government's Education Council and they confirmed it should be treated as a novel, unusual and innovative experience.

Friday 11.06.04
The national police have finally arrested a 37 year old Portuguese man for a number of criminal offences dating back to 2001 when he was speeding on the TF1 at 185 km an hour. The police consider this man as a "dangerous delinquent". He is accused of a number of offences including, violent robberies and attacks, and various traffic offences to name but a few. It appears that he fled the island in 2001 before he was arrested for crimes which had taken place all over the island. He actually returned in May of this year sparking off "Operation Fado", and after the theft of a vehicle in La Laguna at the end of May, Police again started their search for this criminal. He was detected in the Playa de Las Americas area and after a car chase he was finally caught in Las Galletas by plain clothes officers when he brought the car to a standstill thinking he was safe.

The councillor for planning and works from the Granadilla Town Hall, José Antonio González Cejas, has looked at the results of the recently opened roundabout in San Isidro and assures that this move has eased the flow of traffic in a great way. He went on to say that they know it is not the solution for the increase of traffic in the area but it has improved the problem in the Avenida Santa Cruz.

A 40 year old Columbian woman has been arrested in Reina Sofia airport for carrying half a kilo of cocaine in her shoes, it seems that the woman had arrived on a flight from Madrid and appeared on a database for having previous offences concerning drug trafficking and the police were on the alert. Within the arrival lounge her luggage was checked and when nothing was found they proceeded to search her and 6 plastic bags were found with suspicious substances which turned out to be cocaine, she was also carrying 5400 euros in cash.

The mayor of San Miguel, Artúro González, has applied for more police to increase the numbers in the Guardia Civil. He says that the number of local police in his area have had an increase every year but the Guardia Civil hasn't changed in 4 years. Artúro said that there was not enough Guardia Civil Officers not only in his area but also in Granadilla and Arico. At the moment there is only one patrol car on duty at night in the 3 areas. In San Miguel the local police is made up of 14 officers and will soon be joined by another 4.

Thursday 10.06.04
More than 32,000 people attended the 2nd edition of the Fayre Exposaldo in the International centre for Fayres and congress in Tenerife. The vice president of the Cabildo and Council for economic development, business and employment, Mónica Méndez, said that this convention had been very satisfactory not only for the huge turn out of the public, but the 118 business who took part to make it a success. The fayre gave the businesses who took part the opportunity to exhibit their product to the public before going on sale. The fayre was inaugurated by the president of the Cabildo, Ricardo Melchior

The national police have arrested 4 Nigerians in the Costa del Silencio area for selling drugs. The investigation started back in February when the police found that various individuals were dedicating their time to selling narcotic substances within the area. Between February and March the Police were keeping a close check on some apartments in the Silencio area and verified that the group were preparing, distributing and selling drugs. Operation Isis led by the SWAT team drug squad arrested 4 men of African origin in an apartment in Tenbel.

A group of Adeje residents enjoyed a recent cultural trip to Valladolid in the Spanish mainland organised by the Council for culture. There were 19 from Adeje accompanied by Gonzalo Delgado Diaz, the councillor for culture of Adeje town hall and the Priest for the church of Santa Ursula, Valentin González. They travelled the whole of the area of Valladolid and Burgos and Salamanca. One of the attractions on the itinerary was a visit to the monastery of Nuestra Señora del Prado, where the group could see the exhibition dedicated to the 500th anniversary of the death of Queen Isabel La Católica. Among the pieces exhibited included some sacred Canarian art of the period of the Spanish Conquest and the image of the virgin of Candalaria of Adeje. The mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodríguez Frago, met up with the group during the trip for the visit to the local town hall of Valladolid where the local mayor, León de la Riva gave them an official guided tour of the building.

Wednesday 09.06.04
The body of a woman approximately 50 years old has been found on the Las Canteras beach in Gran Canaria. The emergency services were alerted by some bathers who saw a body floating. On arrival they tried to resuscitate the body to no avail. The local police cleared the beach for the emergency services and the national police were involved in the confirmation of death. The beach is known for its heavy winds and high waves and is popular with surfers.

The mayor of Adeje, José Miguel Rodriguez Fraga, has said that he is satisfied with the re-establishing of rubbish collection and cleaning after the 4 days of conflict with the workers. He confirmed that in just a few hours the backlog had been taken care of within the municipality. He went on to say that now the town hall must look for an economic solution as the municipality and its residents are of great importance and with the growing number of tourists they should be looking to improve and respect the environment not vice versa.

A 70 year old from Asturias in north Spain and resident of El Medano caused an accident when he drove his vehicle up the wrong side of the TF1 motorway and could have cost the life of a 33 Cuban of Spanish nationality. It seems that the elderly man suffers from Parkinson's and the police think this might have something to do with this huge error. The man was travelling during the night and took the wrong turn at the junction at Las Chafiras in the Santa Cruz direction.

The council for tourism in the town hall of Santiago del Teide have announced their hotel occupation figures for May as 41%. A breakdown of the various tourist areas saw Los Gigantes with an occupation of 59%, Playa de la Arena with only 17% meanwhile Puerto Santiago came in with 46%. The councillor for tourism, Maria Ramona González Pérez said that its normal for May and she is satisfied with the figures.

Friday 04.06.04
A 3 year old girl was rushed to the hospital in Santa Cruz after being rescued from the sea in Las Galletas. A helicopter from the emergency services was in the area at the time and was able to make the rescue. On arrival at the hospital she was treated for suffocation but has since been moved to a childrens ward as her condition has improved.

South Tenerife residents have called on Arona Town Hall to improve the quality of Las Galletas beach to help boost the local economy. Members of Vecinos Sol del Sur Association, covering the fishing village and neighbouring Costa del Silencio, support a regeneration plan that includes turning part of the coastline into a sandy beach area along the lines of Las Vistas. The remaining stretch adjoining the harbour should be left in its natural state, but the association wants improvements to the sea walk and the link with Silencio plus the addition of a pavement, palm trees, flowers and other elements to raise the area's profile.

Canary Islands hotels led the way in April by topping Spain's occupancy table. A rate of 62% was recorded by the National Statistics Institute, beating the Balearics with 56% and Valencia with 54%. The national average was 50%. Once again, the Canaries proved to be the country's most popular destination for foreign visitors who accounted for nearly 276,000 of the month's 416,00 influx. A total of 2.9 million overnight stays were registered with 1.5 million in the Santa Cruz de Tenerife province.

A Tenerife municipality is pioneering a bilingual education programme in the Canary Islands. Garachico Secondary Education Institute's 2004 to 2005 school year includes teaching in English from a programme of courses such as sculpture, social and natural sciences, ethics, physical education and music. The project, authorised by the Canarian Government's Education Council, should be treated as a novel, unusual and innovative experience, said the local council.

Thursday 03.06.04
A 32 year old Spaniard and 30 year old Italian were recently arrested for fraud involving amounts of over 7000 euros. The two were working in different sports shops in the south of the island when the owners noticed discrepancies in the accounts and after investigations issued a denuncia.
The workers had been changing invoices to a lesser amount than was actually bought and were pocketing the difference.

Three youths, aged 16 and 17 were arrested in La Camella during a street party. The police were called to the village when residents reported that the youths were trying to steal from parked cars. When the police arrived the youths, all form San Miguel dispersed but were caught moments later.
On investigation it was found that windscreens had been smashed, driving mirrors snapped off and motorcycles had been pushed over.

Keeping the customers satisfied is the idea behind a scheme to introduce a free arbitration service to resolve disputes between tourists and businesses. Tenerife Chamber of Commerce has joined forces with the Canarian Government's Industry, Commerce & New Technologies Council to set up a system guaranteeing the protection of tourists' rights as consumers.
Arona, Puerto de la Cruz and La Laguna will lead the way as headquarters of future Schools of Tourist Arbitration, although offices dealing with such matters will spread to other islands. The Industry Council saw the scheme as the formula for a service of quality and clarity, offering a stable tourist image and a view of the archipelago as a first-rate destination.

A 46 year old man from San Miguel was caught off guard when stopped at a temporary road block in Playa de las Amercias. When the local police pulled over the man for a routine check they found that he was driving while banned and this was the second time he had been caught for the same crime.

Wednesday 02.06.04
The Guardia Civil and the local police of Granadilla detained 2 men aged 58 and 35 for threatening behaviour using a starting pistol and a pen knife.
It seems that the 58 year old threatened the other man with a starting pistol when he retaliated by producing a knife and threatening him back. The police were called and the weapons were confiscated.

Adeje dustmen were called out on indefinite strike by the works committee of the company with the concession for the southern municipality's rubbish collection and cleansing service.
The decision was taken after a meeting between representatives of the town hall, the company and unions failed to reach agreement.
Workers were asking for a 15% wage increase plus a bonus, but the local authority had offered only a 5% rise which one union member described as an insult.

Residents of Guaza are demanding the speedy introduction of a new road layout to reduce traffic jams clogging up the Arona town's main street.
Peak hour conditions were described as chaotic with vehicles often tailing back two and a half kilometres from the roundabout providing access to the TF-1, Los Cristianos, Buzanada and Valle de San Lorenzo.
Aggravating the situation were drivers using the parallel slip road to avoid queueing then trying to sneak back into the traffic stream near the roundabout to the annoyance of other road users.

Two young Iraqi victims of the war still raging in their country were enjoying a week in the sun as guests of the Canary Islands.
Ali Abbas, who lost both arms, his parents and five brothers in the conflict, and friend Ahmed Hamza, arrived in the archipelago as a result of a UK tourism fair trip by Canarian Government President Adán Martín and Tourism Councillor José Juan Herrera.
Ali, who now lives in London with his uncle, received a visit from the pair who invited him to a stay in the Canaries.
The youngsters were first welcomed to Gran Canaria, where Ali wanted to fulfil his ambition of swimming in the ocean, before travelling to Tenerife on a programme of visits.