Weekly round-up: Stories you may have missed

With Storm Goretti bringing chaos to the islands it would be easy to miss some of other news that the BBC has reported in the Channel Islands this week. Here's our round-up of some of the other stories from the past week.

The number of cruise ships due to come to Guernsey in 2026 has decreased compared to last year but bosses remain confident about visitor numbers.

This year, 51 cruise ships are expected to arrive at the island, which is 13 fewer than in 2025.

Guernsey Ports said while ship numbers are down, the capacity size of the larger ships will bring more visitors, with up to 50,000 expected this year.

Mark Renouf, cruise operations manager at Guernsey Ports, said in addition, 2027 is expected to bring a "significant increase" in passengers to the island, if all provisional bookings are confirmed.

Jersey's tourism promotion agency has launched offers on hotels, flights and ferries to entice more people to holiday in the island, after a drop in visitors last year.

Visit Jersey has launched a new web page with deals for tourists and begun advertising more in the UK, including in London underground stations.

Latest figures for the year up to October found 424,400 people had visited the island - 93,300 fewer than the same period in 2024.

Christopher Peach, general manager of the Radisson Hotel, said he embraced the initiative but added: "Unless we are proactive ourselves, nothing's going to change."

Jersey's constables have opposed plans to give alcohol licensing powers to the gambling commission.

In December Minister for Sustainable Economic Development Kirsten Morel put forward a proposal to update alcohol licensing laws by moving responsibility for alcohol licensing from the Royal Court to the Jersey Gambling Commission.

His proposal also included bringing policy decisions, such as drinks promotions, into the control of the States Assembly rather than the Attorney General.

The committee for constables put forward an amendment to Morel's proposal which said they wanted approval powers as they already had experience in alcohol licensing and stakeholder engagement.

One of the longest surviving World War Two veterans in Guernsey has died at the age of 104.

John Barnes was born in London but moved to the island in 1961 for work.

The Royal Navy Lieutenant Commander shared the story of his service with BBC Radio Guernsey for the Island Memories Project in 2025.

He told Guernsey's Lieutenant-Governor Lt Gen Sir Richard Cripwell, who was doing the interview, that his biggest contribution to the war effort had been sinking a German U-boat.

The head teacher of the only school in Alderney has decided to take early retirement after more than 30 years in teaching.

Wendy Wilson, head teacher of St Anne's School, began her career in schools in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

She was appointed deputy head in January 2017 and became head teacher in May 2022.

Wilson said ending her career at the end of the 2025–2026 academic year is the right time to begin a new chapter, which allows her to spend more time with family and friends.

The head of the Church of England in Guernsey, the Very Reverend Tim Barker, will retire from his role on 31 July.

Mr Barker has been the Dean of Guernsey since 2015, a position appointed by the Crown.

He said he had written to the Bishop of Salisbury and Guernsey's Lieutenant-Governor to announce his decision to retire shortly before his 70th birthday.

Barker said he planned to return to England and his time in Guernsey had been a "great privilege" and "richly rewarding".

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