News in Brief - 23.07.2010

News in Brief

Police fire broadside at TV pirates
A HUGE international television scam involving pirated signals has been smashed by Spanish police.
All but two of the 27 people arrested were living in Spain, and up to 77 in all have been implicated in the operation, which featured 57 inter-connected servers in several EU countries.

Each server could send the signals to as many as 150 users, who were charged a monthly fee of 15 euros.

The Europol police operation remains open and more arrests have not been ruled out.
The Spanish National Police said the gang used a pioneering system to offer pay TV channels over the internet, using a method known as “card-sharing”.
Incredibly, they were able to redistribute the signal obtained from a single, legitimate subscriber.

The gang used private internet forums and chat rooms to operate their business successfully.

The inquiry was carried out by the BIT, Technological Investigation Brigade of the Spanish National Police.
They have seized 62 decoders, ten computers, 15 hard disks, four pen drives, three routers, 34 cards and five card-readers.

Spain’s 25 servers were based in Córdoba, Jaén, Sevilla, Cádiz, Almería, Barcelona, Alicante, Murcia, Gran Canaria, Guipúzcoa, Mallorca, Madrid and Orense.

Tenerife Lan Party 2010
The fifth edition of the six day festival - Tenerife Lan Party (TLP 2010) is the biggest festival of new technologies in the Canaries.
It runs until Sunday [25th], at the International Exhibition and Conference centre in Tenerife and has over 1,000 registered participants representing a record enrollment compared to other years.
The event is among the top three of more than 200 festivals of its kind to be held in Spain. The Tenerife Lan Party was elected by public vote the best festival of its kind in 2009 in Spain.

 

 

Potato workshop
The Centro de Conservación de la Biodiversidad de Tenerife y la Asociación de Cosecheros “La Papa Bonita” of Icod has organised a "Workshop on identification and potato tasting" aimed at restaurant professionals in Tenerife.
The event will be held at Hotel Monopol in Puerto de la Cruz with representatives from the restaurants La Retama (El Sauzal), La Gañanía (Puerto de la Cruz), Hotel Bentor y restaurante El Duende (Los Realejos), restaurante Lucas y  Tasca El Tapias (La Orotava) y restaurante Azafrán de Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
The event is a workshop to identify the different varieties of potatoes which are planted in the beautiful northern area of Tenerife plus tasting the various types; the potato tasting will be accompanied by wines from the Bodega de La Orotava Tajinaste.
The activity aims to help professionals identify the differences between potato varieties for ease of recognition in the market, while appreciating the different sensory aspects offered by the different varieties.

 

 

 

Food to be improved in Canarian schools
The Spanish government’s health department agrees with Autonomous Communities to improve food in schools.
The Inter-Territorial Council House National Health System has approved a consensus document with recommendations on nutrition in schools.  The document was presented by the Spanish Food Safety Agency (AESAN) and is a text that aims to help combat the rise of overweight and obesity among the young.
It is the first time for an entire set of common standards on nutritional characteristics of the menus in school canteens to be set.
Limits are established for products that can be purchased at vending machines located in schools. The main purpose of the document is to help reduce obesity and overweight among the young.  According to the data, one in four children are overweight and obese in Spain.
According to data available at present, one in four Spanish children is overweight or obese and this condition has tripled among children in the last twenty years.  In addition, approximately 7% of health spending is spent on obesity in Spain.
 
To help ensure that these figures do not continue to grow, the document seeks to establish common criteria first for the whole territory of the nutritional characteristics of the menus by age group, its energy content, the frequency of consumption of different food groups the size of the rations.
In preparing the document, which is based on international recommendations many experts have been involved, from the Ministry of Health and Social Policy, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education.  Moreover, it has received the endorsement of the scientific societies integrated into the Spanish Federation of Societies of Nutrition, Food and Dietetics (Fresno) and associations of parents and COFAP CEAPA of the Spanish Federation of Associations Engaged Social Restoration (FEADRS), the Spanish Association of Food and Latex Allergy (AEPNAA) and the Federation of Associations of Celiac Spain (FACE).
Among the main aspects are the laws on food safety, the recommended consumption frequencies for the different food groups, the recommendations on the organization of canteens, safeguards for school feeding with food allergies and intolerances and nutritional criteria to ensure a healthy supply of vending machines, canteens and kiosks, schools and colleges.
One of the main objectives of this initiative is to strengthen the role of school canteens as supplemental educational services to education.  To do this, should promote health education, hygiene and nutrition, and other values associated with coexistence or leisure.
As for the menus, they must provide food contributions in quantity and quality sufficient to satisfy the nutritional needs of school children according to school age.  To achieve these energy contributions and provide a varied and balanced diet, the meals served must be developed taking into account the frequency of consumption of different food groups.
Furthermore, the rations provided on each plate must be proportionate to the age group of schoolchildren.  To this we must add that all meals served in school canteens are always supervised by health professionals and specific accredited training in nutrition and dietetics, so as to ensure that are varied, balanced and adapted to the nutritional needs of each group age.
The document also recommends that the time devoted to meals is not less than 30 minutes so that students can enjoy them in a relaxed manner.  At the same time it is recommended that water is the only drink to accompany meals and that, for example, limiting the use of pre-cooked products.
To cater to students with intolerances, food allergies and / or latex safe, specific training will be encouraged teaching staff or specific staff recruited in the canteen service so they can detect and prevent possible health problems associated with nutrition.
The consensus document also addresses the existing food supply vending machines and canteens, kiosks or related facilities located within schools.  The contents of this offer must be consistent with the nutritional recommendations for school-age population.
Ensuring an adequate supply vending machines in schools is one of the claims that makes the European Parliament resolution of September 25, 2008, White Paper on European strategy on health problems related to nutrition, overweight and obesity. The resolution calls on member states to stop selling in schools, food and drinks high in fats, salt or sugar and poor nutritional value.  In the same line, said the Senate in the report of the presentation for the study of child and adolescent obesity in Spain (2007), which should promote the sale of these machines healthy products and avoid the publicity of the least appropriate.
In this line, and to promote the consumption of adequate food, the document sets limits on fat, sugar and salt, to be met by products that are offered in schools and that are packaged, either individually or boxes. 
These limits are:
•       The maximum energy of 200 kcal.
•       35% at most of the calories come from fat (this limit does not apply to nuts with no added fat, since fat is present in them naturally).
•       10% at most of the calories come from saturated fats (this limit does not apply to nuts with no added fat).
•       Absence of trans fatty acids, except those present naturally in dairy and meat products.
•       30% at most of the calories come from total sugars (this limit does not apply to fruits and vegetables, fruit juices and will not count in milk and dairy products).
•       A maximum of 0.5 g of salt (0.2g sodium).
•       Not contain artificial sweeteners.
•       Not contain caffeine or other stimulants, except those naturally present in cocoa.

 

 

Prince Felipe opens Army museum

PRINCE FELIPE, son of Spain’s King and Queen, opened the new Army Museum in Toledo last Monday, calling it “the best in the world”.
The museum, which was transferred from the Palacio del Buen Retiro, in the heart of Madrid, to the El Alcázar in Toledo, is expected to attract 700,000 visitors a year.

But the opening was surrounded in controversy because the transfer was four years late. and the initial 27-million-euro budget had swollen by nearly 25% to 101m euros.
The Ministry for Culture contributed 75% to the cost of the new, 21-room, 8,000sq.m  facility, and the rest was met by the Ministry for Defence.


The moving of the museum, founded in 1803, has generated huge concern, not least when the extension built in Toledo revealed a succession of archaeological remains of Roman, Visigoth, Arab and Christian origin, which now form part of the new museum’s attractions.

The Museum Director, Antonio Izquierdo, who has been in the job for only two months, was accused of leaving out the “Division Azul” exhibit from the new venue.
But he blamed the omission on space restrictions, saying only 6,500 items in total could be exhibited.
Thirty pieces from the Division Azul, which Franco sent to support Hitler, are part of the Second World War display.

Defence Minister Carme Chacón said in her museum-opening speech that it had to be “absolutely rigorous” in its reflection of history.

 

 

Bay of basura
Forty volunteers, including divers and shore support staff have removed a ton of trash removed from the bottom of the bay in Los Cristianos.
The activity is driven jointly by the municipality of Arona, through its Environment department and the Port Authority of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
In the cleanup, volunteers were supported by a crane, truck and two boats, which helped to remove the heaviest materials found at the bottom of the bay.
Councillor for the Environment, Antonio Sosa, underlined "the importance of such activities is that users of both the bay and the port, are made aware that waste should not be dumped on the coast."
It was agreed with representatives of the port, the Neighborhood Association and the Commercial Area that the cleanup of the bay is carried out each year.

 

 

 

Digital music is taking over
 
DIGITAL sales in Spain now take up 26% of the music market, but a drop in CD sales meant overall figures were down 12.3% in the first six months of the year, against that 2009 period.

In fact only 57.1 million CDs were sold, compared with last year’s total of 76.9m, representing a decline of 21.3%.

It was the ninth consecutive six-monthly fall in sales, although the 29.5% increase in the digital market, worth 19.85m euros, was welcomed.

The figures were produced in a report by Promusicae, the music producers of Spain, whose president, Antonio Guisola, called for action to lessen the permanent exploitation of the country’s music industry.
Guisola, who said the business was in crisis and losing jobs, also highlighted the content freely circulating on the internet without any type of protection.

 

 

 

 Autism pavillion opened
The island councillor for Social Welfare, Cristina Valido, visited last week with ‘Apanate’ company president, José Luis Barquin the Resource Center for Autism in Tenerife – Creat, managed by the Parent Association for people with autism.
The centre in La Laguna, which has undergone several expansion works to build a new pavillion. The work has been supported by the Cabildo de Tenerife, through the Social Care Institute and Sociosanitaria, IASS and the Ministry of Welfare of the Canary Islands, through funding from the Spanish Plan for stimulating the economy and Employment, it has a budget of approximately EUR 350,744.
The new pavillion has a floor area of 350 square meters and consists of four workshops, a kitchen, three classrooms for individual therapy, a multipurpose room and 2 adapted toilets.  The infrastructure has attached a semi-covered sports court of 280 square meters.
The center is designed for use by persons suffering from autism.  It uses language specific colours and signage, so that different areas may be easily understood by users. It is expected that the therapy centre will be used about 60 people both children and adults.
Autism is a developmental disorder, a condition widespread, covering several areas of people’s development: social, communication and imagination.
Symptoms usually appear during the first three years of development and continue throughout life.  People with autism have difficulty perceiving the shared world and struggle understanding social behaviours and imitating them.
People suffering from this disability have very specific symptoms, such as severe deficits in social interaction, in communication and language, a tendency to withdraw from others, limited imagination, performing rituals without apparent function (repetitive movements, etc). Autism occurs one in 166 births.
Autism is a highly disabling disease, and although at present there is no known cure,  there is evidence that treatment carried out by therapists trained in specific techniques, possibly improve the quality of life of people with autism.
In this sense, Canary Apanate, is one of the pioneering associations with the largest number of users treated throughout Spanish. Currently, the comprehensive service is made available to user of all ages, with a day centre, workshops, entertainment, and respite care, diagnosis, assessment and family counselling, etc.

Apanate has currently 150 members and many more families waiting so their children can be treated.