ISSUE NO. 1644
5 - 11 January 2017
COSTA DE ALMERÍA
YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION
Singer blackmailed Spanish star takes down extortionist By Matthew Elliott A blackmailer who tried to extort Almeria’s biggest celebrity with ‘compromising images’ of the star has been jailed. The man was sentenced to nine months for demanding cash from singer David Bisbal in return for not releasing the images publicly. The Grammy-winning, platinum-selling star, one of Spain’s most celebr a t e d p o p e x ports, brought a private cas e ag a i n st t h e m a n , named i n t h e Al m e ria court as 34-year-old Oscar B. The m a n , wh o h a s a lengthy criminal record, had managed to get a hold of the Almeria-born singer’s private mobile phone n u m b e r. He w ent t h r o u g h t h e star’s contacts, identified which ones he had an intimate or close relations h i p wi t h , a n d a s k e d them for photos, pretending to be Bisbal himself. Alarmed by the change in tone and strange requests, his friends contacted Bisbal s epara t e l y, sh o c k i n g h im with the news that he was being i m p e r so n a t e d . T h e 37-year-old singer then received an email from Oscar B, claiming to have ‘incriminating e v i d e n c e ’ an d
threatening to go public unless he was paid. Prosecutors said Bisbal went straight to the police. Armed with email and text message evidence, as well as courtroom testimony from th e s in g er ’s sister, the con-
viction was a straightforward affair. The court heard how Oscar B, a Catalonia native, incessantly asked for photos a nd informa tion from Bisb a l ’s
celebrity friends in the hope of blackmailing them too. B is ba l ha s re le a s e d s ix studio albums, selling more tha n five million c opie s worldwide. He is a huge star in Latin America and a ls o a n a c tor, re a lity TV star, and songwriter. He has never forgotten his Almeria roots and regularly makes music videos for the local government, helping encourage millions of tourists to visit the place he still calls home.
BISMAL BLACKMAIL: Ordeal is over now the culprit has been jailed.
WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM
Wet ‘n’ dry ALMERIA Province registered what was probably the strangest year in history for weather in 2016, with an all-time low for rainfall followed by surprisingly violent storms. As experts announced that it had been at least a century since the province had seen so little rain, on November 19 the situation changed drastically as the heavSee page 2 ens opened.
Safety measures ALMERIA City will be running an intense anti-terrorism operation in the background during the Three Kings’ parades. The Ministry of the Inte-
rior and National Police force issued instructions across the country following the Berlin terrorist attack. See page 5
Official chat MOJACAR Mayor Rosmari Cano, accompanied by Maria Luisa Perez, councillor for non-Spanish speaking residents, and Emmanuel Agüero, councillor for tourism, were recently interviewed on Spectrum FM, the local English language radio station. Richard Shanley invited the mayor and councillors to his programme Almeria Today, which is broadcast on Mondays to Fridays from 10am to noon. See page 8
Nature’s call A NEW Andalucian government decree has permitted inclusion of various natural spaces in Almeria in the European Natura 2000 ecological network. The gypsum Karsts of Sorbas, Sierra Alhamil-
la and Tabernas Desert were declared to be ZEC (special conservation areas) under the decree, thus allowing European recognition of their status. See page 10
Fireman sham FOLLOWING months of doubts and numerous changes of tune, the mayor of Albox finally kept his word and closed down the fire station, forcing the provincial council to take over. Mayor Francisco Torrecillas had initially announced that the council would cease to provide the service from January 1 onwards. See page 56