August 22nd News Ibiza

Taxi Strike
Ibiza will be without a taxi service for 24 hours starting from 8a.m. on Monday 27th August, it was announced on Wednesday. The measures have been agreed by all of the associations of the five municipalities, after one of their members was attacked by two men in an illegal taxi during the early hours of Tuesday morning. The incident occurred on the Avenida Santa Eulalia when the illegal taxi tried to force the licensed taxi off the road, as the driver was heading for a nearby taxi rank. The pirate taxi tried to get ahead of the other car for a second time before both cars stopped and there was a confrontation between the three men, which resulted in the taxi driver being held by one man, whilst the other hit him several times in the face.
That morning a meeting was held between all the taxi associations and the strike action was called. The president of the Ibiza Town taxi association, Jose Seraffin, said that the assault had been the final straw. He claimed that his members have to put up with constant insults and threats by the pirate taxis, and that Tuesday saw the thin line being crossed. He said that his association had made numerous complaints about the precarious situation in which they have had to work over the last few years but that the Consell continued to ignore their pleas. He continued that his members believed that the strike, while regrettable, was the only way forward. He said that if the administrations really wanted to put an end to the problem of pirate taxis, then they could do so. He added that if the problem was not resolved soon, his association would call for further strikes in September.
The Consell Insular was quick to act, and the minister in charge of transport, Albert Prats, called for an emergency meeting this Wednesday with all the Town Halls and taxi associations invited. He said that the strike would cause untold damage to the reputation of the island, and that it should be avoided at all costs. He said that the assault had been regrettable and that the safety of taxi drivers was of utmost importance to the Consell.
The Councillor for Transport at the Town Hall of Ibiza, Joan Rubio, repeated that the assault was shameful and promised to do everything in his powers to try and reach a solution with the associations. After an initial meeting with some members, Rubio remained confident that the strike action could be avoided.
For their part, some of the illegal taxi drivers said that they thoroughly condemned the assault, and claimed that, as much as anyone else, they did not want these confrontational people acting as pirate drivers. They urged to be included in the meetings and said that they were only doing a job that was needed on the island during the busiest months. They estimated that there were around one hundred unlicensed taxis on the road during August and claimed that their work was only benefiting those who were not prepared to wait hours for a licensed vehicle.

AROUND THE ISLAND

Tomato Fears
The director of Agroeivissa, Joan Mari, the fruit and vegetable cooperative on the island, claimed that the outbreak of the plague, Tuta absoluta, was extremely worrying and warned that it could spread to other vegetables. The insect, similar to a caterpillar and originating from South America, lays eggs within the vegetable which then hatch and feed on the inside. The insects quickly spread and are extremely difficult to control once they have started to breed. The insect was discovered amongst the tomato crop on a farm in es Canar. As soon as the discovery was made, the crop was picked and burnt to try to stop the spread of the insect. Reports of a similar plague in San Antonio were denied later in the week.
The news came on the back of positive statistics released by Mari showing a rise in sales of 27 per cent for July, in comparison to last year. The figures were in line with promises made two years ago by the thirty associates, to increase both production and sales by 20 per cent every year. Mari said that the biggest seller in July was again the watermelon, with over two hundred tonnes being sold. This was followed by tomatoes and melons with just over ninety tonnes of each sold.
Mari said that the tomato plague would not affect sales at the moment as there were still considerable stocks of the vegetable remaining that would last at least until the end of September.
Later in the week the technical director of Agroeivissa confirmed that 250 traps had been laid to try and halt the spread of the lava across the island.

Traffic Solutions
A combined effort by the local police and Guardia Civil proved a success, as they tried to control the traffic problems that have become synonymous with Sundays at Benirras. The beach to the north of the island, near the port of San Miguel, attracts hundreds of people every Sunday for a sunset, which is accompanied by the drumbeat of the many amateur musicians that also converge on the area. The afternoons have become more and more popular over the years but are now producing serious traffic problems that the mayor of San Juan, Antonio Mari Carraca, has vowed to put a stop to. The situation was highlighted two weeks ago when an emergency vehicle called to the beach could not enter the area due to the high number of vehicles blocking the entrance.
Police diverted all incoming traffic away from the beach and towards San Miguel from where people had to park and walk. Authorities said that the situation would be monitored over the next few weeks, but that a solution would have to be found.

Breast Feeding Decline
The Govern Balear announced that they would be starting a campaign on the importance of breast-feeding after statistics revealed that the Balearic Islands fell short of national recommended requirements. With the birth of infants on the increase 11,000 were born on the islands last year, an increase from 2000 of 30 per cent the Govern wants to remind mothers of the importance of breast-feeding. The statistics revealed that just half of new mothers now breast feed their newly born babies, with only a quarter doing so for the first six months.

Poor Rentals
The Association for Rent-a-Cars on the island stated last week that the month of August will be the only month in which most companies will rent their entire fleets. Although it was predicted that during July all of the cars would also be rented every day, it did not turn out as planned, and the average rental for the month was a disappointing 80 per cent. This, added to the poor months of May and June, left most companies facing the prospect of losses for the season or merely breaking even. A spokesman for the association lamented that like most businesses on the island, the season was dictated by the club culture on the island, and that highs and lows were very much based around the opening and closing of the clubs.

Rubber Recycling
A total of 281 tonnes of rubber tyres were recycled in the first six months of the year, according to Signus Ecovalor, the non-profit company in charge of the collection procedure. Measures were brought in at the beginning of the year to ensure that the major producers of tyres were also responsible for the recycling of old tyres. Their reuse is diverse, and includes artificial grass and flooring for childrens playgrounds. The figures were described as encouraging but ones that could be improved.

Emergency Services
The coordinator of the 061 emergency service claimed that he needs more resources, claiming that the situation is, at present, saturated. Gustavo Albert said that one of the proposals is to have two of the vital support ambulances (UVI), sent out to victims whose lives are at risk, running 24 hours a day. Currently only the UVI ambulance based out of Ibiza runs non-stop, with the San Antonio based vehicle working just twelve hours. This means that the UVI will sometimes have to make the long journey to San Antonio, leaving the rest of the island without cover.
The UVI ambulances have been called into service 1,442 times in the first semester of this year, four per cent more than in 2006. In the case of emergency transport, where the patients life has not been at risk, there were a total of 2,986 services run in the first six months, seven per cent more than last year. In Formentera this number reached 181, an increase of ten per cent.
Albert went on to say that the normal ambulance service was also being stretched and that there had been many occasions where the UVI unit had been sent out to cover the emergency ambulance. He finished by claiming that staff numbers were low and asked for more personnel to add to the 18 currently working on the island.

Blackout
Lightening caused several houses in the north of the island to be left without electricity for 9 hours on Sunday night. A transformer became damaged in the incident, which also left several users in the San Miguel, Benirras, Portinax and Cala Xarraca area without power for up to an hour. The work was described as complicated by the electric provider, GESA, as the changing of a transformer is a long process requiring several hours work.

September Occupancy
The positive news continued last week, with each of the different Hotel Federations in the Balearic Islands, claiming that the end of the season will be the best for the last 15 years. In Ibiza, hotel occupancy is set to break the 80 per cent barrier for the first time in years, as the Spanish, German and British markets make something of a revival, compensating for the loss of the Italian market. The figures were described by the president of the hotel federation in Ibiza, Roberto Hortensius, as extremely positive and better than had originally been expected at the beginning of the season. The occupancy in 2006 was 79.9 per cent, but is set to reach between 82 per cent and 85 per cent this year.
The news came on the back of the latest figures from the airport for the week, which showed that 210,050 users passed through the airport, 9.6 per cent more than last year. The figures came out at the same time that the Airport Authorities revealed an increase of 7.7 per cent in passenger numbers during July in comparison to last year.

Health Payout
The Balearic Government received 3.87million from the Health Department of the central Government last year to help cover the costs of the medical attention afforded to non-residents. During the tourist season the public hospitals of the islands are inundated with cases of Spanish and EU-residents using their services. The Government recognises the huge cost of this additional work, and therefore makes the yearly pay out. However the Balearics spend far more than they are paid, and for this reason the former president, Jaume Matas, demanded that the amount be increased to 15million.

Tech Unfriendly
The Balearics is the region with the fewest computers per pupil in Spain. A report produced by the Education Ministry shows that there are 13.4 pupils in the Balearics to every computer. This stat falls far short of the 8.8 average in the rest of the country. On the back of this new information, teachers on the island have pleaded for more resources.

Health Increase
A total of 220,000 foreigners within the Balearics now possess the medical card needed for free health care on the islands. This is an increase from July 2006 of 20,351 people, or 16.4 per cent. The stats were announced as the Govern Balear revealed the new card which is to replace the old one. Already 25,000 of the new cards have been sent out and it is hoped that over the next year, everyone will have received the new card. As of July 2007 there are a total of 1,031,606 cards within the Balearics, an increase over the year of 4.1 per cent.
This year the Govern Balear has agreed an increase of 14 per cent in funding for the health service, which equates to 146million more. In total, the Govern has set aside 1,060million to cover the cost of the free health service.
It is important to remember that you need the card every time you attend a hospital or public medical centre on the island. This is the only method used at the moment to record the identity and medical history of the patient.

Hamilton Break
The British Formula One driver and leader of the current race for the title, Lewis Hamilton, took a break last week from the ongoing dramas within his race team, aboard a private boat in the waters off Ibiza. Hamilton was a guest on board the boat owned by Mansor Ojjeh, the multi-millionaire Syrian businessman who co-founded the McClaren formula one team with Ron Dennis. However Hamilton was not just invited to spend a few days on the boat because of his connection to the team, he is also dating the 18 year old daughter of the millionaire, whose father is estimated to be worth around 150million.
Despite rumours, it was later revealed that Fernando Alonso was not on board the yacht.

Abortions Increase
Abortion rates increased in 2006 within the Balearics by 12.6 per cent, as 2,761 women voluntarily brought a premature end to their pregnancy. Of this total 44 per cent were of foreign origins, with the majority being from Latin America. Ninety-five per cent of the procedures were carried out in private clinics. In total there were 110 abortions carried out in Ibiza. The figures came after comments from the health minister, Vicenc Thomas, who said that they were studying ways of offering the morning-after pill free.

Discount Concern
There was concern in the Consell on Friday as it was announced that the introduction of Click Air would affect the discounts received by residents on journeys to the mainland. Travel agents have revealed that the launch of Click Air, the low-cost airline of Iberia, which from 1st October will service all flights from Ibiza to Barcelona, has put in jeopardy the discount system, as passengers stopping in Barcelona are now being forced to buy two separate tickets, and are therefore losing their discount on the second ticket. A spokesman for the Travel Agents association said that the new system meant that those carrying on their journey with Iberia would not receive the discount on the second ticket, as Click Air was being run as a separate airline to Iberia and so the second flight does not take into account the fact that the passenger started his journey in the Balearics. He continued by saying that many travellers would be affected, and that it would force people wanting to receive the discount on their entire journey to pick other stopover airports like Madrid and Valencia. However this would mean that most journeys would have to start later, as there are very few early morning flights to these cities.
The spokesperson for the Consell, Pilar Costa, said that the situation was very worrying, and promised that her party would do everything possible to try and rectify the current problem.

IBIZA TOWN

Work Continues
More than one hundred workers from various organisations are still working on ensuring that the beaches around the island remain fuel free. Nearly a month after the sinking of the ship, Don Pedro, 12,000 metres of barriers remain in place to stop any surviving fuel reaching the shores. Most of the work is based around Talamanca, and although all of the beaches originally affected by the spillage were described as clean, the work of the various organisations was described as vital to ensure that the situation remains safe.
The majority of the work involves ensuring that the barriers around some of the beaches affected remain in place. With the changing tides and rough seas, this has now become a daily, very time-consuming job. Also included in the number of workers remaining are those employed in the extraction of the fuel, which was said to be nearing completion by Friday. It was also confirmed on Saturday that the barriers would be removed once all of the fuel had been removed.
The technical director for emergency procedures on the island, Pablo Garriz, said that those still working in the area included volunteers from the Red Cross, the public company, Tragsa, and personnel from the Coastal Department.
By the end of the week, Iscomar, owners of Don Pedro, announced that the Dutch company, Weijsmuller Salvages, had extracted one hundred and fifteen tonnes of fuel from the vessel, and that they were very satisfied with how everything was taking shape.

Boats Towed
The Port Authorities have so far removed six boats illegally anchored in the entrance to the port of Ibiza. The action was taken after two accidents the previous week, due to the illegal anchoring of a considerable number of boats off the coast of the island, which also led to the fast ferry from Ibiza to Denia being delayed for three hours.
On Monday the Guardia Civil began the task of warning all of the vessels anchored near to the harbour that they would be towed if they were not immediately removed. The majority of owners co-operated and found other places to moor. However there were a few boats that remained empty during the morning and were eventually towed away. The owners of the six boats, three registered in the United Kingdom, two in Germany and one in Spain, will now have to pay a fine of 6,000 in order to recover their vessels.
A spokesman for the Port Authorities said that the action had been taken following the incidents last week, and admitted that the situation had become out of control. He said that on an average day in August there were currently around one hundred boats moored just outside the marina attempting to save the high costs of mooring in the port.
However the owner of one of the boats towed, claimed that the situation was such due to the lack of places available on the island for boats of a specific length, and demanded that action was taken to improve the problem.

Green Light
The president of the Consell Insular, Xico Tarres, revealed on Monday that his administration would pay for the work desperately needed to the entrance road of Ibiza Town in front of the Diario de Ibiza offices and the multi-cinema complex. Tarres said that the importance of the road had grown considerably over the last few years as the town continues to grow on the other side of the highway. He said that the road now dissected the town and had become far too dangerous. He continued that a road of this size, with this amount of traffic, should have the correct amount of overhead crossings, traffic lights, lighting and pavements.
When mayor of Ibiza Town, Tarres was keen to have the work done, but could not raise the necessary funds, as the Consell at the time did not deem the project a priority. However, Tarres has now given the green light for his successor to begin work on the project. It is now up to the new mayoress, Lurdes Costa, to decide if the work is of primary importance.

SAN ANTONIO

Holidaymaker in Trouble
A British holidaymaker and ex-soldier, who had recently served in Afghanistan, was arrested on Monday after injuring three police officers in a scuffle. According to police sources the incident began in the entrance to a bar, after the tourist was told that he could not continue drinking in the street from his glass beer bottle. The man was said to have then insulted the officer and punched him in the face. He was then surrounded by other officers and hauled to the ground, two more officers being injured in the arrest.
However the holidaymaker, 22 years old, claimed that he did not touch the officer and it was in fact someone who had been standing next to him. He admitted that some officers were injured in the ensuing scuffle, but said that he had only merely been defending himself. He claimed that he was hit several times by police with their batons but could not reveal any injuries, whilst the police officers were all sporting bruises and injuries to their arms.
The defendant faces a year long jail sentence, and a fine of 900 euros if found guilty.

Nightclub Fire
The popular nightclub in the centre of the West End, Play 2, had to be evacuated last week after a small fire in the interior of the building. The incident occurred at 5.10a.m. last Sunday morning, which meant that fortunately the club was not busy at the time. However, staff took the precaution of emptying the club as others successfully brought the fire under control. Two fire engines soon arrived on the scene but merely had to check that the building was empty as the fire had been put out. Although the blaze produced a great deal of smoke, nobody needed medical attention.

SAN JOSE

Puig den Serra Demolition
The Town Hall of San Jose announced on Wednesday that they will demolish the house at the centre of the Puig den Serra scandal, if the owners do not comply with the court order. The licence was granted to a company based in Luxemburg in 1992, but was proclaimed illegal after a trial in 2004. The owners of the property have until next month to present to the Town Hall the plans for the destruction of the property, or else, confirmed the Town Hall, they would take the appropriate action themselves and send the costs on to the owner.
The mayor continued by referring to the case of the illegal apartments in the Cala Pinet building. Four of the apartments in the complex in Cala de Bou were built illegally, and a court hearing last year ordered their demolition. However a subsequent agreement between the former mayor, Serra Escandell, the promoter of the project, and the man who made the official complaint meant that the order was not carried out. Josep Mari Ribas said that the apartments would have to be demolished, and that the agreement between the three parties had no legal basis.

Tarida Fire
A fire in the Cala Tarida area led to six houses being evacuated, as the blaze spread over 9,000 square metres. The fire started at around 4.30p.m. on Thursday in the countryside close to the Las Playas complex. Emergency services were soon on the scene and decided to evacuate the six houses as the fire blazed out of control. The houses were then sprayed with water from the helicopters in the area to prevent any damage to the buildings.
In total seven firemen, three local police officers, the Guardia Civil, volunteers from Civil Protection, a helicopter and two planes, one of which had flown in from Majorca, were involved in the fight against the spread of the fire. After struggling for several hours, the team eventually brought it under control at around 8p.m., although fire crews stayed until the early hours of the morning to ensure that there was not a reoccurrence. Although investigations are continuing, it is unsure how the fire started.

Man Arrested
A British man was arrested on Tuesday for an alleged sexual assault on an Italian tourist in her hotel room. The incident happened at the Hotel Club, Playa den Bossa as the girl was in the bathroom drying her hair. She suddenly felt a man come from behind and touch her breasts. On witnessing the event, the girls roommate started to scream, alerting staff at the hotel. The man then tried to make a run for it but his passage was blocked by a member of the hotels cleaning staff who was injured as she stopped the man escaping.
In the initial trial on Wednesday the man said that he had merely entered the room to warn the girls of a suspected thief in the area, after seeing someone suspicious in the corridor. On seeing him in the mirror, he said that the girl received a shock and started to scream. He claims that he then tried to put his hand to her mouth to calm her and accidentally touched her breast. When her roommate also started to scream he instinctively started to run. The trial continues.

New Plans
The Town Hall of San Jose has rejected the proposed construction of the annex road which had been planned to join up Playa den Bossa with the Algarb School. This diversion, known as Matutes curve because of the way it veered toward the Matutes owned warehouse, Zumos Naturales, was heavily criticised when the entire project first came to light. It was deemed as unnecessary at the time by the anti-motorway group, an opinion which has not changed since.
The Councillor for town planning, Josep Antoni Prats, said that the Town Hall had asked the Govern Balear to reconsider the plan. It has also presented several improvements to the original project including an overhead walkway in San Jordi. He claimed that the new road now cut through the town, making it an extremely dangerous place for pedestrians.
The motorway was due to be completed this winter but has been put on hold after the PP-run Consell behind the project lost the last elections. In one of his first speeches as president of the new Consell, Xico Tarres said that the project had been temporarily put on ice, and only that which was vital to road safety would be finished immediately.
His words were backed up by the Environment minister, Albert Prats, who said that as well as the diversion, the tunnel in San Rafael would not be completed. He also revealed that the illumination in the tunnel was costing taxpayers 350,000 per year.

SANTA EULALIA

Jesus Bandits
A police operation carried out over the last few weeks has helped to dismantle a gang of thieves who had robbed several houses in the Jesus area. The four men so far arrested include a local man, two Catalans and a Romanian. The four men were detained in a car park in Santa Gertrudis, after they had robbed a house in the area and were setting fire to the car. The men always used stolen cars in their raids, and it was not abnormal for them to try and destroy the cars afterwards.
The police had been following members of the gang for days and when they were given the opportunity, were on hand to make the arrests. During the investigation police had tried to arrest some of the men before, but they had got away, having run over the foot of one of the officers trying to make the arrest. Sources revealed that the investigation was continuing, and further arrests were not ruled out.

Traffic Lights
The Town Hall of Santa Eulalia announced last week that they have asked permission from the Consell Insular to install traffic lights at the junction of Cap Martinet and Cala Llonga. The crossing has long been a trouble spot and neighbours have been asking for such measures to be taken for years.

FORMENTERA

San Ferran Delays
The mayor of Formentera, Jaume Ferrer, has vowed to continue with the traffic control at the San Ferran crossing, which is causing traffic jams in all directions. The junction had become an accident hot spot before the controls were undertaken. The problems begin at around 7p.m. as a large number of tourists leave the beach and head for the kiosks to watch the sunset. In their impatience to arrive, many people ignored the give-way signs, leading to numerous accidents in previous summers. However, this season Ferrer has risked the wrath of the tourists by ordering police controls at the junction, which have meant long queues in all directions. However the mayor said that he would prefer the journey to take ten minutes longer and for everyone to arrive safely, than the alternative of previous summers. He admitted that a permanent solution had to be found, and said that the reorganisation of traffic was vital.

Illegal Fishing
Four arrests were made in Formentera over the weekend for illegally fishing in the marine reserve. The first detentions were made on Saturday morning just off the coast of Punta Prima, when marine security detected bubbles rising to the top of the water. They immediately dived down to discover two divers carrying out the illegal practice. They immediately contacted the submariners of the Guardia Civil who were quickly on the scene. They waited by the boat of the two men who, as they surfaced, tried to escape, disposing of the fish caught in the process. However the men and their catch were recovered by the officers and the two Italians were arrested. It was soon discovered that the men were also using oxygen cylinders, a practice also illegal throughout Spain. The Italian men now face a fine of anywhere between 300 60,000.
The second arrests were made the following day, and although less spectacular, may result in similar fines. Two Majorcan men were caught fishing inside the reserve and had already captured numerous fish below the fifty centimetre limit allowed.
The arrests now bring the total to seventeen and were described as a warning to others that the illegal capture of fish will not be tolerated. However, the main problem comes in winter as the Ibicencan fishermen use the area to fish for personal consumption.

Bus Improvements
The tourist minister for Formentera, Josep Mayans, has announced that one of his priorities for 2008 will be the installation of a night-bus service to connect the main tourist centres of the island. He hoped that this would reduce the use of vehicles on the island, especially mopeds. He said that the Town Hall would offer discounts for extended use, and try to make deals with tour operators to encourage tourists to use the bus. He continued by saying that he hoped to fit the buses with a special GPS system so that screens at different bus stops on the island would be able to show exactly when the bus was due to arrive.

CRIME & INCIDENTS

Car Chase
An argument between a group of youths ended with a car chase lasting over fifteen kilometres and ending at the airport. The incident began after the sale of an ecstasy pill outside a nightclub on the San Antonio-Ibiza road. The sale was made by twins from the mainland to a group of Spanish tourists from Madrid. One of the girls in the group swallowed the pill but immediately felt unwell. The group became angry and demanded their money back from the twins, claiming that the pill they had been sold was bad. However the two tried to make their escape in a car, but were followed by the group of eight in two other vehicles. The chase lasted around ten minutes with police alerted to the situation after one of the cars was seen going down a street on the opposite side of the road. Police joined in the chase, which eventually ended with all ten being arrested just outside the airport building. The girl was taken to a medical centre in Ibiza town, but was later released with no adverse affects.

Two Fatalities
Monday and Tuesday saw two more people lose their lives on the roads of the island. The first accident occurred on Monday near the Morna mountain road. The victim, a British man, Mark Barlow, and for reasons unknown to police, lost control of the Kawasaki motorbike he was riding and crashed into a nearby wall. The accident occurred near to the popular tourist spot, Islas Blancas.
The second fatality occurred sometime after 5p.m. on the airport road. A German, Heinrich Hilgemann, was driving a Ford Ka accompanied by his wife, when they collided with a truck, and then against a wall. They had originally stopped at a garden centre on the road to buy some plants. The accidents took place as they tried to re-enter the busy highway. The wife of the victim suffered minor injuries and had to be taken to hospital.
These accidents were followed on Friday by the death of a 75 year old man as he tried to turn into the busy San Jose road. His car was hit by a rent-a-car driven by four Italian tourists, and pushed onto the other side of the road where it collided with another car. It is thought that the man died from a heart attack, as medical staff reported that his injuries did not seem too serious.
The deaths come on the back of a report which shows that the Balearics are one of only four autonomous areas (of the seventeen in Spain) where the death toll on the roads has increased during the first seven months of year. In total, 56 people have lost their lives on the roads so far this year, six more than last year.

Man Dies
A 50 year old British man, who died whilst kite surfing in Formentera last week, suffered a heart attack, it has been revealed. The accident happened last Tuesday in s´Estany des Peix, whilst the man was carrying out the sport, which is very much like normal windsurfing, but uses a kite to create great speeds across the water. Family members called for help after they saw the man in the water motionless. They at first believed that he had had an accident, but the body was taken to Ibiza, where an autopsy revealed that the man had suffered a heart attack.

Fire Escape
A mother and her 11 year old child had a lucky escape in Cala Vadella last week, after their house caught fire. The incident happened just after 8.30a.m. after a lighted incense stick set fire to a sarong. The fire quickly spread and destroyed both the kitchen and living room. The mother and her daughter were sleeping upstairs when the incident started, but fortunately were woken by the smoke produced. They made their way carefully out of the house and alerted neighbours. Fire crews were soon on the scene and the fire was extinguished by 10a.m.

NEWS FROM THE MAINLAND

Contamination Alert
The ship, New Flame, ran aground on Sunday morning off the coast of Gibraltar after a collision with an oil tanker. The vessel, which was transporting scrap metal at the time, was left in a precarious position with the bow of the boat submerged in the water and the stern sticking out. The accident was being investigated, but it is assumed that one of the vessels accidentally encroached into the path of the other.
The New Flame was carrying seven hundred tonnes of fuel and fifty tonnes of diesel. Fortunately the vessel was not damaged too badly, and at the moment there is no risk of leaks.
The other ship involved in the accident is the Torm Gertrud. The Danish registered oil tanker has a double layer and was built in 2002. Although the tanker remains anchored in the area, it was not too damaged in the collision and the 37,000 tonnes of crude that it was transporting remains safe. Although there is little risk of leaks occurring, it was decided to transfer the tankers fuel to another vessel which arrived on the scene for security measures.
The Dutch company, Wijsmuller, which was used by the authorities on the island to extract fuel from the sunken Don Pedro, have also been contracted to undertake the work of removing the fuel from the New Flame.

Explosives Found
French police discovered a warehouse packed with explosive materials on Tuesday, thought to belong to the terrorist group, ETA. The discovery in Biarritz is thought to be linked to the suspected terrorist, Jose Antonio Aranibar, who was arrested several months ago on terror charges. The arsenal included two ready made bombs, one hundred kilos of liquid explosives in plastic drums and two fire-arms. However the explosive liquid was described as out of date, leading police to believe that the person who originally rented the property was now out of service.
Police spent the afternoon questioning the owner of the store, showing him photos of several known ETA suspects to try and work out the identity of the man who came and paid six months up front to rent the facility. The discovery was described as further evidence that the group had stopped its ceasefire, and were preparing another reign of terror.

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