7 - 13 September 2017
Vuelta arsonist addicted THE arsonist who torched the Aqua Blue Sport team bus is a pyromaniac who has been arrested more than 60 times for starting fires. Shockwaves were felt across the global cycling community as the Vuelta a España team bus was destroyed in Almeria last week. The Irish-based team’s bus was charred beyond repair by the time firefighters put out the early morning blaze. Police have since identified the culprit only by the initials PVR. He is a Barrio Alto resident, aged 55, who has been arrested 49 times by National Police and 13 times by the Guardia Civil. In the vast majority of cases he set fire to public benches and bins. The experienced firefighter used an accelerant and litres of fuel in torching the team bus and was arrested the same day. Aqua Blue Sport spokesman Niall O’Connor said the team were “devastated” and denounced the “cowardly and callous act.” Nobody was injured but the damage is estimated at more than €300,000. Miguel Angel Lopez won Stage 11 of the Vuelta as it passed through Almeria, edging out Britain’s Chris Froome. Amid rainy conditions, the professional cyclists were accompanied by more than 120 Guardia Civil officers.
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Radical preachers have targeted Almeria
Trojan horse
Photo credit Facebook/Juan Cano
ISSUE NO. 1679
PRAYER: Muslim celebrate feast of the lamb in Almeria. By Matthew Elliott A leader of Almeria’s Muslim community has confirmed that at least one radical Islamic preacher has worked in a local mosque. Abdallah Mhanna, president of Almeria’s imams, said an extremist cleric had tried to influence believers. The former university professor would not name the man or the mosque but said that he and other community leaders were constantly vigilant against the threat. His remarks came in an extensive interview with local Spanish media. Mhanna recently led more than 1,000 Muslims in prayer at the Mediterranean Games stadium during a religious celebration. A minute’s silence was held
for the victims of the Barcelona terrorist attack, which killed 16 people and injured 128. In an address to the worshippers, Mhanna condemned “all terrorism” and proclaimed Islam a religion of “love, peaceful and cooperation of all mankind. This is our message to every ignoramus that links Islam with terrorism and fanaticism,” he said. In the interview Mhanna claims that all 85 mosques in Almeria are properly controlled and that the radical Salafist preacher who infiltrated one was quickly sniffed out. He arrived in 2004 and allegedly told a congregation that he felt no sympathy for 9/11 victims.
Other suspicions of extremism surfaced between 2002 and 2010, with nothing in recent years, he told the newspaper. The only threat is from temporary imams who are sometimes drafted in from abroad for holiday cover, he argued. Mhanna urged the Spanish authorities not to follow the CIA method of surveillance, which involves dispatching undercover agents to mosques. This might uncover one cell, he said, but lead to the creation of another 15. Almeria has a greater proportion of Muslims than any other province in Spain, with around 85,000, roughly 12 per cent of the population.
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Police off beat for pensions LOCAL POLICE numbers across Almeria Province fail to live up to EU requirements. There are supposed to be at least two officers for every 1,000 inhabitants. To meet that criteria the province needs another 127 fully trained officers on the streets. Instead there will be just 20 new recruits in the next three years. There are currently just 262 Local Police officers on active duty. Within a few years, around 60 are expected to retire, almost a quarter of the entire force. Given the relatively low retirement age, more than 100 will likely be gone within a decade. The problem is that the province has a small quota of public positions paid for by Madrid. Already 70 per cent of spaces are filled by police and firefighters. The rest are needed for administrative roles.