Topic: Canary Islands

Top 5 ways to save on your summer vacation

If you're pining for a summer vacation but worried about costs, consider how Wayne and Pat Dunlap of Del Mar, Calif., managed to tour 51 countries over two years, marvel at the Egyptian pyramids, scale a New Zealand glacier, and visit Laotian Buddhist monks all for less than $100 a day. "We often stayed at guesthouses and hostels, ate at local family restaurants, took public transportation, and in some cases, traveled on cruise ships offering reduced rates," says Mr. Dunlap, author of the travel book "Plan Your Escape." This year amid price worries and higher summer airfares, especially to Europe such ingenuity could prove essential. Here are five cost-cutting strategies that can help:

Parliament to 'Booze Britain': Try temperance – at least twice a week

Binges and weekend blowouts are so widespread in 'Booze Britain,' according to a new report, that Parliament has tried to define 'sensible' drinking.

West Africa Rising: Could Guinea-Bissau jack up fishing rates on the EU?

The once debt-encumbered country’s four-year fishing agreement with the European Union expires next month. The world’s wealthiest monetary zone currently pays just 7 million euros or $10 million a year.

South Africa's new Internet cable link could bring economic boom

A new $650 million cable system connecting southern Africa with West Africa and Europe will double the capacity of South Africa's mobile phone and Internet networks.

Global sports trade: athletes hurdle national borders for a better life

Runner Mohamed Marhum left behind poverty in Morocco to become a gold medal hopeful for Spain in the 2012 Olympics. The global sports trade is drawing more scrutiny as athletes trade talent for naturalization.

Alberto Contador, 2010 Tour de France winner, cleared of doping allegations

Alberto Contador was cleared of doping allegations by the Spanish cycling federation just weeks after it had proposed a one-year suspension for the three-time Tour champion.

Shark attacks: researchers say 'fight back'

Shark attacks went up in 2010, with at 79 unprovoked attacks reported. Experts give advice on how to fight back if attacked by a shark.

Lunar eclipse tonight: How it helps the search for extraterrestrial life

The moon's ruddy color during the lunar eclipse tonight is caused by sunlight filtering through Earth's atmosphere. It's what astronomers look at when distant planets pass in front of their own stars.

Laura Dekker to set off on 'round-the-world' sailing adventure

Laura Dekker, the Dutch teenager who recently won a court ruling to allow her to sail around the globe, will launch her trip Saturday from Portugal.

Bullfighting ban in Spain? Catalonia says no more; activists target Madrid

Bullfighting ban legislation was signed in Catalonia on Wednesday marking Spain's first major region to adopt a bullfighting ban. Activists are targeting Madrid next.

Ingredients for life detected in deep space

Astronomers using the William Herschel Telescope in the Canary Islands and the Hobby-Eberly Telescope in Texas have detected anthracene, a complex organic molecule that can produce the building blocks of life.

'Cannibal' star observed devouring planet

The Hubble space telescope has spotted a star in the act of consuming a planet that is skimming around it.

New 'temperate' exoplanet hints at solar system like our own

Astronomers have for the first time made detailed measurements of an exoplanet in the temperate zone around its star. Their conclusion: It looks a lot like a planet in our solar system.

Beware the Ides of March? A look at March 15 in history

Julius Caesar was forewarned about the "Ides of March." March 15 wasn't his best day.

Spain pressures Morocco over rights activist, reopening colonial wounds

Rights activist Aminatou Haidar, who is pushing for Western Sahara's independence from Morocco, has been on a hunger strike in Spain, prompting Spanish pressure for her to be let back into the country. But some Moroccans see a double standard.

Why Morocco welcomed human rights activist Aminatou Haidar home by arresting her

Human rights activist Aminatou Haidar, dubbed 'Gandhi' for her efforts to win Western Sahara's independence, launched a hunger strike after Morocco deported her this weekend.

A politically perfect summer vacation for the Obamas

Set free in Spain with a sandwich and a bottle of water

Photographer Charlie MaHoney offers a window on the lives of African migrants in Barcelona, Spain.

Smarten up naval sonar to save the whales

Obama can silence harmful echoes from the Bush administration.

Hundreds of African migrants die in shipwreck off Libya's coast

Noise pollution threatening marine life

Ship engines, seismic air guns, and advanced military sonars are making the world's seas and oceans so noisy that they threaten the lives of marine animals that rely on sound, wildlife experts told a UN panel Wednesday.

How air imperils the sea

Rising levels of carbon dioxide make oceans more acidic, putting shellfish, corals, and more at risk.