Perhaps they’d fixed another hole.Nothing of the sort: the deluge began again last week. First on Thursday one of the little pateras, the migrants’ boats, arrived in the far south of the island, at a place with fabulously broad, long, sandy beaches, lined with the apartments of Germans and Britons, called Morro del Jable. Around Christmas, terrible tragedies were reported ­ a boat with 10 corpses aboard, all dead of cold and thirst, another with 13 dead among dozens who were barely alive.Then came a lull of more than two weeks. No arrivals at all, though the Atlantic from here to Laayoune, the nearest port in Western Sahara, was playfully mild under balmy, cobalt blue skies It’s the manoeuvres, suggested the man at the Red Cross. The Spanish and Portuguese navies were reported to be doing joint manoeuvres in the channel, trying out new radar with laser gear, trying to monitor the African coast as precisely as they would a harbour Perhaps the new kit was working.

More than 7,000 illegal immigrants from Africa clambered ashore these islands last year, mostly on Fuerteventura which is the closest of them to the African coast That’s 20 per day on average. Given the climate of public paranoia, perhaps the word armada comes to mind. But do those words square with the evidence of one’s eyes?
This was another huge weekend for Africans in the Canaries. You might call it an invasion. It’s a good sign.”Patients in pyjamas watched from a courtyard and crossed themselves when they heard John Paul’s voice on speakers..

Monsignor Francesco Lambiasi, of the youth group Catholic Action, said: “The Pope showing himself today augurs well for the future That means we can feel reassured. Even on 17 May 1981, four days after he was wounded severely by the Turkish terrorist gunman Mehmet Ali Agca, John Paul read a radio message from his hospital bed.Beneath his hospital window on Rome’s northern outskirts, students from Toledo chanted in Spanish, “John Paul II, the whole world loves you”. Tucked into the massive bouquet of roses, yellow and white to recall the colours of the Vatican coat of arms, was a note believed to have been signed by the Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi. A message wishing the Pope a “prompt recovery” arrived at the Holy See on Saturday from the Russian Orthodox Patriarch, Alessio II, in Moscow.Yesterday is believed to have been the first time since his election to St Peter’s throne in 1978 – when his sporty appearance led him to be dubbed “God’s Athlete” – that the Pope did not deliver a brief message on Sunday at noon. “The Pope gave his blessing in playback,” the Associated Press reported.Whatever the case, the effort by the Pope to get up from his sickbed so he could be wheeled to the window in his traditional white cassock and skullcap to wave slowly to the faithful live on television was a tremendous relief to the world’s one billion Roman Catholics.

Despite the cold but sunny weather, the Pope remained at the open window for the 10-minute Angelus, making the sign of the cross after the blessing.As a measure of John Paul’s widespread popularity and respect, al-Jazeera television in Qatar – al-Qa’ida’s channel of choice for its pronouncements on the war against the West – interrupted its regular flow of news from the troublespots of the Middle East to broadcast live footage of the Christian leader’s remarkable fight for recovery.One of the most spectacular expressions of solidarity the Pope has received from a seemingly unlikely quarter was a 6ft-tall high floral composition sent to the hospital by the Libyan embassy in Rome. And researchers say casualty rates for cyclists in Europe are 5 to 10 times less than in the UK.. There’s an extraordinary sound echoing down the corridors of power. A group of middle-aged women in the Palace of Westminster are shrieking with laughter, a noise which is only punctuated by the tap-clickety-tap of metal on wood. If someone were to put their head round the door at this moment, they would get the fright of their lives. In the centre of the room, a female backbencher is dancing on a table while, in the corner, there are glimpses of female flesh as latecomers do a quick change into tap shoes and T-shirts. Welcome to the wonderful world of the Division Belles, Parliament’s very own tap troupe.

As “Blair’s babes” swept into office in the Labour landslide of 1997, there was suddenly an enormous number of female MPs in this traditionally male bastion. Blears saw the opportunity to start a group that would encourage Parliament’s new girls to socialise and have some fun together, even if only for one hour a week.”It’s all about learning something new”, enthuses Meg Munn, the member for Sheffield Heeley. “And having fun”, adds Bev Hughes, the member for Stretford and Urmston. “And being normal”, continues Dari Taylor, the member for Stockton South, without a hint of irony.Taylor thinks that Blears’s efforts have been worthwhile. “Westminster can be a lonely place for a woman when you arrive” she says, to murmurs of approval from the group, “and a group like this is a great way of getting to know other women.”The one hour per week is a regular Monday-night fixture at a Westminster gym. The Belles are taken through their paces by a professional dance teacher, Karen King, whose patience is often stretched. While there are some experienced tappers, like Blears, there are some who came to the Belles with no prior experience of dancing.