EMERGENCY LINES OPENED FOR STRANDED TOURISTS

SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Friday April 16 2010

AUTHORITIES opened phone lines on Friday for passengers on flights cancelled following Wednesday's volcanic eruption in Iceland.

by JAMES TWEEDIE

The second eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in four weeks spewed a massive cloud of volcanic ash into the atmosphere. South-easterly winds have carried the ash across most of the European continent north of the Mediterranean.

Volcanic ash, which contains minute shards of glass, can cause engine failure when sucked into aircraft jets. Thousands of flights have been cancelled as a safety precaution.

Tourismo de Tenerife has asked hotels and tour operators in the south of the island not to take passengers to the southern Reina Sofia airport without first checking with airport operator AENA's crisis room by phoning 922 759 027 or 922 759 028.

Passengers seeking information should call AENA on 902 404 704 or +34 91 321 10 00 for those outside Spain.

Tenerife's tourist board Turismo de Tenerife has opened it's own free information line in English German, French and Spanish on 00800 100 101 00.

The mystery of the Guanches

The origins and language of the indigenous people of the Canary Islands remain a mystery, writes Dr Sabina Goralski Filonov Translation by James Tweedie The guanches, the aboriginals of the Canary Islands whose origin, lost in the mists of time, still arouses intense and passionate debate and great controversy about their origins and the how the seven Canary Islands were populated – which according to some studies occurred between 10,000 and 8,000 years BC. Literally, the word ‘Guan’ means man or person and ‘Chenech’ or ‘Chinet’ is applied to the island of Tenerife, thus meaning a man or inhabitant of Tenerife – although according to Núñez de la Peña, the Spanish named them the Guanchos during the conquest of the islands. But with the passage of time, experts in the subject are questioning whether the word Guanche was used to designate the primitive inhabitants of all the islands in the pre-Hispanic period. The term ‘Guanche’ has also ceased to be applied to the di...

Venezuela condemns MUD silence over terror attack

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Los Gigantes Beach Landslide Tragedy - Three Days of Mourning for Victims

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Ex-pats hail extinction of ‘mammoth’ development

Socialists and conservatives unite to defeat CC plan for Las Teresitas beach Protesters outside the town hall SAN ANDREAS residents are celebrating victory after Santa Cruz council voted to deny permission for a controversial development on Las Teresitas beach. by James Tweedie The Association of Friends of Anaga, Las Teresitas and its Coast (Asociacion de Amigos de la Playa de las Teresitas, Anaga y su Litoral), which includes a number of ex-patriots, mounted a demonstration outside Santa Cruz town hall on Friday September 18 to urge opposition councillors to “keep their word” and support a Socialist Party of the Canaries (PSC) motion against the mammoth development. Some wore long paper ‘noses’ and chanted “concejal Pinocho” – councillor Pinocchio – to express their distrust of local politicians. A coalition of small businesses in Anaga, the Friends of the Port group and environmentalists Ben Magec – Ecologistas en Accion also supported the campaign against the scheme...

Venezuelan opposition declares "Zero Hour" for regime change

Venezuela’s opposition declared “Zero Hour” in its putsch against the socialist government on Monday — emboldened by US support. Leaders of the Democratic Unity Roundtable (Mud) coalition gathered for the announcement of their takeover plan a day after their unauthorised referendum seeking a mandate for regime change. National Assembly vice-president and Popular Will (VP) acting leader Freddy Guevara said the Mud-controlled parliament would announce the results of the plebiscite on Tuesday. It asked voters to reject President Nicolas Maduro’s calling of a constitutional reform assembly demand the army support the opposition and back a “national unity government.” But before the announcement of the result Mr Guevara said the national Assembly would form a new government on Tuesday — a move beyond its constitutional powers — along with 1,020 local “Zero Hour committees.” He called a “national general strike” for Thursday while on Friday the assembly would again exceed its powe...

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