Euro Weekly News - Axarquia 4 - 10 May 2017 Issue 1661

Page 1

CAR WINNER!

ISSUE NO. 1661

4 - 10 May 2017

VIRGINIA PICKS UP HER NEW CAR SEE PAGES 10 - 11

A XARQUÍA - C OSTA T ROPICAL

YOUR PAPER, YOUR VOICE, YOUR OPINION

WWW.EUROWEEKLYNEWS.COM

Banderas bounces in

LUCKY ESCAPE: Maria and Shaza have arrived safely back in Torrox and even met the mayor.

Happy ending Relief after Dubai dad kidnap bid and Turkish prison By Matt Ford A Torrox woman who disappeared in Turkey will marry her partner following their dramatic return to Axarquia. Maria Jimena Rico, 28, vanished last week alongside her Egyptian girlfriend Shaza Ismail after the pair escaped from the latter’s disapproving family in the United Arab Emirates. “After all we have lived through, we want to tie the knot in two or three weeks,” Maria told a rapturous crowd in the town’s central square yesterday (May 3), before exchanging hugs with a smiling Shaza. The Argentine lived in Torrox for more than a decade before moving to London four years ago, where she met her wife-to-be. They were lured to Dubai after Shaza’s father lied about her mother being seriously ill, the family determined to ensure their daughter never returned to

the UK. After discovering the truth the couple fled to Georgia, from where they booked flights to London, but at the airport Shaza’s father burst in before faking a heart attack and ripping up his daughter’s passport and threatening to kill her. The Local Police became involved, and after refusing to arrest the irate parent they escorted the women to the Turkish border, which they successfully crossed because only Shaza’s old documentation had been destroyed. Their bad luck continued,

however, after they were arrested on suspicion of terrorism having made it to the Turkish capital Istanbul, although Maria is convinced that homophobia played a part. They spent three days languishing in prison, and were not offered food for the first 48 hours, before Maria managed to phone her family. “It was the worst moment of my life,” Maria told the crowd, insisting that they would still be behind bars were it not for “the pressure of the media,” after the story was picked up by major international news agen-

cies leading to the women’s release. “Now I want Shaza to start learning Spanish and enjoy the freedom we have here,” concluded the heroine after revealing that her partner will apply

HOLLYWOOD superstar Antonio Banderas set hearts aflutter as he visited a theatre named after him for the first time. Accompanied by his stunning 37-year-old partner Nicole Kimpel, the Malaga-born actor looked the picture of health as he toured the Malaga School of Performing Arts (ESAEM) after suffering a heart attack in January. Banderas had been planning the visit for months after ESAEM named their young artists’ theatre in his honour, and the beaming legend appeared delighted. “It’s very exciting, because when I was 18 or 19 there was nothing like this in Malaga, and now I have just seen what I dreamed back then,” he said. The visit follows his recent purchase of a penthouse apartment in the city’s historic old centre, and the 56year-old is seemingly set to spend more time in his home town in the future amid rumours that he is involved in a project to redevelop the port area.

ANTONIO BANDERAS: Stopped by the theatre named after him.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.