All posts by Carmen Gomaro

Carmen Gomaro - leading international news and investigative reporter. Worked at various media outlets in Spain, Argentina and Colombia, including Diario de Cádiz, CNN+, Telemadrid and EFE.
INTERNATIONAL

Biden and Netanyahu see the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia as possible

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The first meeting between the American president, Joe Biden, and the Israeli head of government, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the latter returned to power at the end of last December has been marked by their common desire – and today more public and optimistic than ever – the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia, cooperation to avoid a nuclear Iran, the Palestinian question and the Israeli judicial reform plan that raises tensions in Israel and fears in Washington.

The meeting was not held in the White House as Netanyahu would have liked, but in New York due to the discontent of the Biden Administration over the proposal for changes to the judicial establishment that has unleashed an unprecedented crisis in Israel and due to the composition and statements of the ultraconservative coalition.

“Under your leadership we can make history,” Netanyahu told Biden in reference to his efforts to sign a pact with Saudi Arabia that includes the normalization of relations between Israel and the great power of the Persian Gulf..

“I believe we can forge a historic peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia.”. A peace will go a long way toward ending the Arab-Israeli conflict, achieving reconciliation between the Islamic world and the Jewish state, and promoting genuine peace between Israel and the Palestinians.. It is within our reach,” Netanyahu declared at the beginning of the meeting in which Biden advanced issues that were going to be discussed, indirectly alluding to the proposal that could weaken the Israeli Supreme Court: “We will discuss the values of democracy that are the heart of our alliance and the importance of checks and balances, the two-state solution (Israel and Palestine) and ensuring that Iran never has a nuclear weapon and also on Saudi Arabia”.

“If 10 years ago they had said that there would be normalization with Saudi Arabia, they would have said that we drank something,” Biden said ironically.

Visit marked by the internal crisis and the Saudi option

By getting on the plane on Sunday night, Netanyahu abandoned the protests in his country against the controversial plan for changes in the judicial sphere, but the protests do not abandon him in the United States.. Whether in San Francisco last Monday when he had a talk with Elon Musk broadcast on his social network

Differences that have multiplied since last January 4 when the new Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, announced his judicial project, surprising even his own party (Likud) and Government.. His proposal, answered by massive demonstrations that took place in the streets of New York these days, has contributed to straining relations with the United States.

According to the White House, Biden expressed his concern to Netanyahu about the proposed changes to the judiciary and asked that they be made with broad consensus in Israel.. Meanwhile, outside the hotel, hundreds of Israeli and American Jewish protesters demonstrated against “the attack on democracy.”.

“Mr. President, one thing is certain and will never change: Israel's commitment to democracy. We will continue to defend the values that our two proud democracies hold dear,” said Netanyahu, who hopes to return, this time to the White House, at the end of the year.

This Wednesday, however, Netanyahu was not received in Washington but at the hotel in New York where Biden is staying on the occasion of the UN General Assembly.. For any Israeli prime minister, including Netanyahu in the past, receiving an invitation to the White House was an expected and important procedure that symbolizes the close bilateral alliance.. Since Levi Eshkol in 1964, Bibi has needed the most days (265) from the formation of the Government to the meeting with the American president. It is also perhaps the first time that the Israeli premier must convince him that he will not do anything to challenge the foundations of his country's democracy and the principle repeated in the White House of “shared interests and values.”

The meeting has served to significantly raise expectations of a Saudi-American-Israeli agreement in the coming months. Biden, Netanyahu and the Saudi crown prince, Mohamed Bin Salman, share the interest in a pact that would depend, according to various sources, on permission for Riyadh to have a civil nuclear program and on Israel's commitment to pay with the Palestinian currency.. That is, take “very significant steps on the ground in favor of the Palestinian people” as requested by Saudi Arabia as a condition of the agreement.

Biden is aware that Netanyahu leads the most right-wing coalition in Israel's history, including two ultranationalist parties that do not give him room to maneuver to make “major concessions” to the Palestinian National Authority.. The big question is whether this agreement will break his Government or the composition of his Government will prevent the agreement.

Beyond the dramatic influence in the region and in their respective countries, the normalization of relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia would be an enormous political success for Netanyahu at a time of great internal crisis, massive protests and the most negative polls in the last decade.. Also for Biden, who seeks a great achievement in foreign policy ahead of the presidential elections. The two leaders need each other to achieve their long-awaited desire.

“Even when we have differences, my commitment to Israel is ironclad. Without Israel, there is not a single Jew in the world who is safe,” Biden concluded.

Netanyahu, Zelensky and Erdogan

On Tuesday, Netanyahu met with several leaders such as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Ukrainian President Volodomir Zelensky and, for the first time, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan..

In the first meeting since the Russian invasion in 2022, Netanyahu promised Zelensky that his country “will continue to help Ukraine on humanitarian issues, including the fight against landmines.”.

“I informed you about the Russian attacks on our cities, ports and critical infrastructure using Iranian drones. We share concern about the growing military cooperation between Russia and Iran,” Zelensky tweeted, still hoping for help from Israel's great enemy to Russian President Vladimir Putin in the war in Ukraine leads Netanyahu to supply weapons to his army.

INTERNATIONAL

Leopoldo López, Venezuelan opponent: "The only way I could be in my country is dead or imprisoned"

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That the blood of brave men runs through the veins of the Venezuelan Leopoldo López is as true as that he is the great-great-grandson of a niece of Simón Bolívar – the American liberator – and great-grandson of Eudoro López – who faced the dictator Gómez in the 20th century -. More facts. He stood up against Hugo Chávez in 2007, mobilized an entire country in 2014, put Nicolás Maduro on the ropes, survived the dungeons of Chavismo, his family was in danger, he was the protagonist of a complicated escape from Venezuela and, now, he seeks union of the world's dissidents against dictatorships.

This journey is the story of 'They want us dead' (Espasa, 2023), a book that is published today by the Spanish writer Javier Moro, which is reminiscent of another of his novels, 'Paths of freedom' (Seix Barral, 1992). In both, tribute is paid to those who risk their lives in search of justice, but it is with the story of this former political prisoner that they wanted to narrate the “truth, because that was not told, the truth of the tyrants,” explains Moro, “who are the ones who send the disinformation that has even the Venezuelans themselves confused.”. “It is the truth about them [Leopoldo López and his wife Lilian Tintori], about the victims, about the eight million who have had to leave the country, about those who have suffered from that horrible regime,” adds the Planeta Prize.. In short, the story of a “hero”, as the author describes the Venezuelan leader, whose feat he compares to that of the Russian Alexei Navalny or the Nicaraguan Monsignor Rolando Álvarez.

A “hero” always dressed in white – like in this interview – who never imagined that the stories of his ancestors, of dictatorships and forced exiles that he heard at home, of memories of black and white photos, would one day be repeated in a Venezuela that knew at some point what democracy and prosperity were. “I never thought that I would live them in the 21st century, in color, that we would return to that cycle of persecution, prison and exile”. For López as for Moro, 'They want us dead' is an opportunity to know the “truth” because “we have been the target of many lies, attacks, slander, manipulation”. And, above all, so that one understands “what the murder of democracy and freedom in Venezuela has been.”. In addition to returning the Latin American country to the “information cycle”, since “the tragedy continues, it has worsened.”

There are two images, collected in the book, that summarize López's sacrifice. The moment of his surrender to justice, after being accused without evidence of encouraging violence in the massive demonstrations of 2014, and the reunion with his family in Madrid, in 2020, after fleeing Venezuela through Colombia. The two most difficult decisions for the Venezuelan opponent – and for his wife, who one day had to accept that marrying that man was also making a commitment to her country forever – and with great global media impact.. In the years that separate both milestones, “Venezuela has continued on a path of deterioration, there was a mirage last year promoted by the dictatorship and other interests that the country was fixed and that is not true. Today, unfortunately, it is a much more unequal nation than it was when Chávez arrived,” says the Venezuelan leader.

And how has López changed in all this time? “I think I have faced very extreme realities: loneliness, prison and injustice, and I have learned from that. I feel like a better person after everything I have experienced. I have much more humility in understanding the complexity of what we have to do, the suffering of all,” he responds..

He still remembers his routine in prison, the one that helped him overcome life behind bars: “Praying, reading and exercising. “I did that every day with Spartan discipline.”. The entire process he experienced linked him to the reality of thousands of Venezuelans (due to the lack of access to drinking water or electricity, among other shortages).. “It was very hard, but also a lot of growth and, despite everything, I do not harbor resentment, I do not look back with anger, expecting nothing in return, what I did (surrender myself) was by my own decision”. The same courage that prompted him to escape his country, something that has not been viewed favorably by all Venezuelans and about which López is emphatic: “I understand the frustration that we all have that we have not yet left the dictatorship.. If I could be in Venezuela, I would be, but the only way I could be today is dead or in prison and I also have a responsibility to my family, and I think there is a lot I can do being away.”

Leopoldo López in his escape from the Nicolás Maduro regime towards Colombia, crossing the Orinoco River. Courtesy of the López-Tintori family

Since his Spanish exile, moments have arrived for reflection and new initiatives. Currently, he is working to articulate the World Liberty Congress alliance, which aims to unite all dissidents in the world.. The thesis of this group is that “dictatorships are united, but the pro-democracy movements are disunited,” explains López, who asks for “much more” from the international community.. “The first mistake is to think that the international community is a homogeneous group, that is not true. The democratic international community is less than the autocratic one. 70% of the world's population lives under autocratic regimes and the United Nations [which these days holds its General Assembly] is a club of autocratic countries where democratic countries have a minority,” details the former prisoner of Chavismo.

Although the war in Ukraine has taken other scenarios around the world to the background, Venezuela is currently experiencing an important situation.. The opposition is immersed in primaries to choose a candidate to participate in the elections. “Today there are no conditions for elections in Venezuela, however, 2024 is an opportunity to rebuild a cycle that allows us to mobilize again, to massively organize citizens inside and outside the country,” he points out.. “Venezuelans are still fighting and hoping to achieve a transition towards democracy,” adds López..

The mediation of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero is also present in Moro's book, since the former Spanish president is also part of this story. For López, “he was never impartial.”

The other main protagonist of this story is Tintori, who quickly assimilated her husband's decision and got to work.. Made 174 trips abroad. López celebrates that in a short time “he became the voice of Venezuelans.”

Another important 'character': Juan Guaidó (today exiled in the United States). “He had to lead one of the most complex episodes, but he did it with great courage. What was achieved with the interim government is one of the hardest blows that has been dealt to the dictatorship, because Maduro's legitimacy was ripped away,” according to the opponent.

The shadow of threat always hangs over López, because those who raise their voices 'They want us dead'. A title extendable to other places in Latin America. “Venezuela is only a link in a broader chain,” concludes Moro.

INTERNATIONAL

Russell Brand, the fallen icon of the British left

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Before falling into disgrace, Russell Brand (Essex, 1975) was the wayward comedian of the Tory era, promoted to the altars of comedy after his time in Hollywood and his famous and fleeting marriage to the singer Katy Perry. Upon his return to the United Kingdom, the foul-mouthed comedian carried his quirky air as a messiah of the British left, as the conservative tabloids viciously remember these days.

He wrote columns in The Guardian, directed a special issue of The New Statesman (in which the singer Noel Gallagher and the author Naomi Klein participated, among others), rose to the stratosphere on social networks, signed million-dollar contracts for his books with HarperCollins and Random House (from his memoirs “Booky Wookd 2” to the manifesto “Revolution” to “Recovery: How to Break Free from Addictions”).

Ed Miliband, then leader of the Labor Party, consciously chose him in 2015 for the final stretch of his campaign, in a barely ten-minute interview in the kitchen of his house, with the mission of reaching young voters thanks to the irresistible popular pull of Russell Brand (who nevertheless recognized his internal resistance to voting).

Even then, suspicions arose about the erratic and abusive behavior of Brand, who was arrested in 2001 for “indecent exposure” for appearing semi-naked in front of the cameras of MTV, the network that made him famous, at the Labor Day demonstrations.. The following year he was fired from the radio station XFM for reading “pornographic material” on the air, as Guy Adams recalled in The Daily Mail.

Despite the warnings of his number two, Ed Balls, Miliband finally decided to go to Russell Brand's kitchen to explain, among the inevitable jokes, his desire to overthrow David Cameron and “change the country” (all this one year before the vote in favor of Brexit).

That bet is now costing Miliband dearly, who pretended to be a “feminist” politician and is now forced to renounce, like so many others, his friendship with the controversial comedian.. Russell Brand is seeing them in all colors after the accusations of rape and sexual assault that have sunk his reputation in five days on both sides of the Atlantic, with comedies like “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” or ” Bedtime stories” (retitled “Beyond dreams”).

The worst of nightmares looms over Brand at 48 years old, married as he is for the second time to the Scottish blogger Laura Gallacher, with whom he has two children and another on the way.. The world is literally sinking underfoot following the shocking revelations by The Sunday Times and Channel 4.

A woman, known as “Alice,” claims to have had “an emotionally abusive relationship” with Brand in 2016, when she was 16, including at least one violent episode of oral sex against her will.. The same woman claims that the comedian even sent a car with a BBC driver to the school gate and hid it in public by claiming that she was his niece.

The second victim claimed to have been raped by the actor in his own home in Los Angeles, during his period of maximum fame in Hollywood (the tabloids remember how one of Brand's most controversial gags was one in which he sardonically confessed: “I raped to a woman once…. I killed her later.

A third woman claimed to have been a victim of sexual assault at the hands of Russell also in Los Angeles, when she was working with him and he tried to kiss her and take off her clothes, while she resisted by hitting him.. The fourth incident allegedly occurred at a Manchseter hotel in 2014, where another woman claims she was the victim of “emotional and physical abuse” by the actor.

Scotland Yard added a previous episode to the account this week: an alleged sexual assault that occurred in 2003 in London's Soho.. London police have spoken to and assisted the victim, although they have not yet announced the opening of an official investigation.

The lynching of Russell Brand has meanwhile become a national sport. Newspapers – from the right and the left – crucify him every day on the front page. YouTube announces the suspension of income from its account on the channel (more than six million followers) for “violating the content creators' responsibility policy”. The BBC and Channel 4 have meanwhile opened internal investigations and have purged the comedian's appearances on their platforms.

Russell Brand himself has had to suspend his national tour after his last performance on Saturday at Wembley, where he hung up the “no tickets” sign despite the scandal. The comedian tried to defend himself beforehand with a video alleging that the abusive relationships accused of him were “consensual” and fueling the theory, shared by thousands of followers, that we are facing a conspiracy against him.

Brand actually joined the ranks of conspiracies during Covid, accusing Bill Gates of being the black hand behind the pandemic and orchestrating the “great reset” with the implementation of a world government. YouTube actually suspended his videos last year for “promoting misinformation about vaccines”, which forced his exile on the Rumble channel, the same one used by the misogynist “influencer” Andrew Tate (who, by the way, has sent him his solidarity). .

In recent months, Brand has openly questioned the official version of the Ukrainian war, siding with Putin and accusing the American government of provoking the conflict “to protect local neo-Nazis.”

For five days now, there has been no talk in the United Kingdom about anything other than the life and missteps of Russell Brand, which has served Rishi Sunak's Government and the Tories wonderfully as a smokescreen in the face of their accumulation of postponed problems. until new notice. Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has in fact taken advantage of the situation to reignite the cultural battle, with his statements to the BBC about the protection that Brand, winner of a Bafta and three British Comedy Awards, has had for decades: “The entertainment industry You have a lot of questions to answer…

HEALTH

First results of the Sensogenoma project: patients with dementia have greater sensitivity to music

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“We want to know the genetic melody of music”, find out which molecular switches are 'on' and 'off' when we listen to a song and explore its therapeutic potential.

A year ago, the Sensogenoma project was launched with these words from its creators, Antonio Salas, principal investigator of Genetics in Biomedicine (GenPoB) and the Genetics, Vaccines, Infectious Diseases and Pediatrics Group (GenVip); Federico Martinón, principal investigator of the GenVip Group and coordinator and head of the Pediatrics service of the University Hospital Complex of Santiago and Laura Navarro, musicologist, doctor in Musical Education and project coordinator.

Twelve months after those statements, the first results have just come to light and give clues as to why, as several studies point out, music has a beneficial effect on people with cognitive impairment..

According to studies carried out, which have analyzed the transcriptome – the genetic changes that occur in response to changes in the environment – of 1,200 patients with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's and a similar number of controls, music in patients with these neurodegenerative pathologies generates a different genetic expression than that produced in healthy people.

“Not only do they express different groups of genes, but they also do it in a different way,” explains Antonio Salas, who clarifies that patients with dementia show a greater sensitivity to music, in the sense that, in them and in comparison With healthy people, the number of genes that are modified is greater. “Music modifies the expression of more than twice as many genes as in people without diagnosed pathology, and many of these genes are related to neurodegenerative processes.”

One of the aspects that has caught the attention of researchers the most is that, in the patients studied, the musical stimulus causes the vast majority of genes to be expressed in the opposite direction to how they are expressed in the disease.. “A person with Alzheimer's has altered genes in one direction, but music causes those genes to be expressed in the opposite direction.”. It is intuitive to think that this effect of music has a compensatory effect on the genes altered in Alzheimer's, as if it were a therapeutic effect,” continues Salas..

Proof of concept

“We must keep in mind that this is a proof of concept,” Martinón intervenes.. “With this first stone we have been able to demonstrate, first of all, that the technical proposal was feasible, that the cutting-edge techniques that we use in infection or vaccine research can also be sensitive enough to measure the musical effect in a healthy person. or sick,” he emphasizes. “But, in addition, although the sample size is still small, it has also made it possible to show that there is a different expression in people who have degenerative neurocognitive disorders compared to healthy people. And, furthermore, this differential expression is as if it were in some way compensating for the genetic pathways that are altered by that underlying disease,” he adds..

Some of the genes whose expression has been altered are TMEM38B, MPT, CIGYF1, ADAMTSL4 or GATA2. “There is a long way to go until we know the specific role that each of them plays in the response to musical stimuli,” say the researchers, who are seeking the financial support necessary to develop the research at a good pace..

The results now presented are the result of a pilot experiment that was carried out on September 30, 2022.. Before and after a concert held by the Royal Philharmonic of Galicia, scientists took samples from the attendees and, later, using state-of-the-art technology, analyzed the changes in the expression of the genome of each of them..

The repertoire, secret until the day of the concert, consisted of pieces by Vivaldi, Mozart, Ravel and Gardel.

On September 29 and 30, a second edition of Sensogenoma will be held, with a new concert also in collaboration with the Royal Philharmony of Galicia, the musical group SANARTE and the Auditorio de Galicia.

“In the first experimental concerts we took very valuable samples that are being analyzed. In this next concert we want to introduce new things. For example, although the repertoire is also secret, I can anticipate that there will be two different parts, to be able to compare two different music stimuli.. For this reason, we are also going to collect samples during the break to see if different musical stimuli also generate different responses,” says Laura Navarro.. In addition, he explains, samples will also be taken from blind and hearing-impaired people to evaluate the effects of music on genetic expression in these groups..

“To investigate you need first ideas and then resources. We have the first ones. We lack financing. This is a project at the frontier of knowledge and, therefore, more risky than other research projects.. But the fact that the pilot part has already shown that it is feasible to measure what we wanted to measure and, in addition, also shows that there is a differential response between people with neurocognitive disorders and healthy people is a greater guarantee for promoters or patrons to want to associate their image with this project, which is going to have a lot of scientific significance and may have important clinical repercussions,” claims Martinón. “We invite everyone who wants to participate on a small or large scale in this project that has a great scientific dimension, but also social, cultural and art,” he concludes..

SPAIN

The independence movement uses the premiere of co-official languages in Congress to boast of being "different nations" and the PP denounces that it only seeks to "promote" Sánchez

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As always when a great novelty occurs, curiosity and confusion mix.. Curiosity was quickly satisfied as the deputies took their seats and found themselves on the table with what will be their new inseparable device from today to follow the plenary sessions: headphones and a hip flask with which to listen. simultaneous translation into Spanish of interventions made in Catalan, Basque or Galician. And then there's the confusion, which looks like it will take a little longer to resolve.. Because it will take time to adapt to the new use of understanding interpreters and for all the paraphernalia that is needed to overcome its filming phase.

Galician has been the first co-official language that for the first time has been used with absolute normality in a Plenary Session of Congress. “It is a double honor,” were the first words of the socialist José Ramón Gómez Besteiro in that language, while the deputies put their hands to their ears to bring the receiver closer.. The PSOE parliamentarian has mixed Galician and Spanish to present what has been the object of the first multilingual debate in the history of the Chamber: the processing of the reform of the regulations to make official the use of Catalan, Basque and Galician on equal terms. conditions that Spanish. That is, it is possible to intervene in those languages during plenary sessions and committees or when drafting the texts of the different parliamentary initiatives.

Félix Bolaños listens to a speech in Congress with a headset. Juan Carlos Hidalgo EFE

The majority of deputies that make up PSOE, Sumar, ERC, Junts, PNV, EH Bildu, BNG and CC have approved by 176 votes in favor and 169 against the admission of this change to processing and by 179 votes its processing by single reading. It will be this Thursday when, in an express procedure, the Congress regulations will be officially updated after a new vote.

The premiere of the co-official languages, which has been brought forward a few days before the change in regulations by imposition of the Congress Board, dominated by PSOE and Sumar, has led the spokespersons of the groups proposing the change in regulations to make a display of the use of Galician, Catalan or Basque to claim this “symbolic step”.

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Spain. The premiere of the co-official languages in Congress, in images
  • Editorial: EL MUNDO

The premiere of the co-official languages in Congress, in images

But it has also served for the independence parties to present this novelty as an empirical demonstration that Spain is a “plurinational State” in which the Basque Country, Catalonia and Galicia are different nations, “with their own idiosyncrasy and their own reality.” linguistic and national”.

The spokesperson for Junts, Miriam Nogueras, has defended that this moment “evidences the unstoppable path towards freedom”, alluding to the independence of Catalonia.. And he has slipped that his party does not even exclude the unilateral route. “This is not about fit, it is not about matches, it is not about reunion. This is about the country, this is about the nation, about the mentality of the State, about a relationship of equals, about making ourselves respected” and about “not giving up any of the paths to achieve it.”

Nogueras has assured that Catalan deputies have the right to use their language, “a right that we have always had but that had not been respected, like the right to self-determination, which we will talk about in a few weeks”. Thus, he has delved into what “defines” them.. “It is an affirmation of our identity, a celebration of our history and a vindication of our rights as a nation,” he concluded in a speech that culminated with a “visca Catalunya lliure.”

“We are nations without a State and that is what is becoming evident today,” claimed the spokesperson for EH Bildu, Mertxe Aizpurua, “we are different nations, we have our own identity and we form our own community.”

In a speech, in which he used Basque and Spanish, he denounced that the Basque language continues to receive “secondary” treatment in the State or “discriminated against” in Navarra and has criticized the defense of its incorporation into Congress under the “story of wealth” because it places it on a “folkloric level.”

A deputy helps a fellow member put on the headset. Juan Carlos Hidalgo EFE

The first intervention only in Catalan was made by Gabriel Rufián. The ERC spokesperson has defined it as a “revolutionary act” and “an honor”, but has denied that bringing Catalan to Congress represents a “victory”: “I refuse that my culture and my language require losers. “There are no losers here, at most there are ignorant ones.”

Rufián has criticized the “fragile and toxic patriotism” that seeks to demonize co-official languages: “The rights of some are not being violated. Everyone's are being recognized after 40 years. Language not only serves to communicate, but also to represent what you are.”

Néstor Rego, from the BNG, has influenced the roadmap that the Government partners seek to establish after achieving the use of co-official languages. He has said that this means “an incentive to continue moving forward, a wake-up call to the Government”, which he warned of its objective “sooner rather than later” is “the recognition” of “a nation with rights” that can exercise them to be ” a free and prosperous Galicia with a fully normalized language.”

For the rest, PSOE and Sumar have enthusiastically defended the arrival of a multilingual Congress. And they have done it using Galician. The socialist Besteiro has celebrated that “a certain historical anomaly” is overcome with the normal use of languages and that it is a change to “move forward.”

For her part, Marta Lois (Sumar), also using Galician, has defended linguistic diversity as a reason for “pride” and has pointed out that it has to be the “first step that must be accompanied by other steps” in the recognition of a “plurinational” state.

PP, Vox and UPN have been in the block against. The popular deputy Borja Sémper, who has interspersed phrases in Basque at various times, has defended the co-official languages as the heritage of Spain and also Spanish as a common language to promote dialogue between Spaniards. For this reason, he regretted that the goal of “those who aspire to division” is to use Congress to “despise what is common, the Spanish” taking advantage of “the arithmetical needs” of the PSOE to “create more confusion.”

Sémper has criticized that nationalists and independence supporters “manipulate” languages politically in search of “normalizing the division”. In addition, he has delved into the fact that the PSOE in 2022 rejected a reform similar to this one with its votes. Now, the “prancing” and “somersaults” of the socialists, the PP deputy has delved into, are only explained by the fact that Pedro Sánchez needs the votes of the pro-independence supporters.. That, he concluded, is doing “canelo”, which “is not speaking Catalan”, but rather “looking the other way”.

Alberto Núñez Feijóo, during the Plenary Session of Congress this Tuesday. Juan Carlos Hidalgo EFE PP: “An alibi”

The leadership of the PP has left the chamber en bloc, with Feijóo at the helm, and has indicated that the use of co-official languages even before the Congress regulations are changed “is an alibi.”

“It is not about promoting languages but about promoting a candidate” (Pedro Sánchez), sources from Feijóo's team have assured.. “If it were to promote languages, we would be in favor,” they have pointed out, but they believe that what this reform seeks is to “advance in plurinational Spain” and try to ensure that “Spanish stops being the common language.”

Asked about the phrases that Borja Sémper has pronounced in Basque from the rostrum, the sources have clarified that “what he has done has served to clarify that the regulations previously allowed not to use an earpiece” by saying some single phrase, translating it immediately.

SPAIN

Sánchez avoids direct references to the amnesty and refers to "whenever it's time"

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The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, is convinced that he will form a government, and that to do so he will be able to reach an agreement with Junts per Catalunya. For the moment, the inexcusable condition set by that party is an amnesty. The second vice president of the Government, Yolanda Díaz, declared on Sunday in La Vanguardia that, in exchange for this amnesty, JxC must renounce unilaterality in the declaration of independence. Sánchez, for his part, does not speak out.

“I will speak when it's my turn,” the acting president said this Tuesday in an informal chat with journalists at the United Nations headquarters, in what seemed to be a clear reference to the moment in which he will be entrusted with the constitution of the Government by the King, given the foreseeable failure of the investiture of Alberto Núñez Feijóo. The acting president did not mention the word “amnesty”, although he insisted time and again that Catalan society has endorsed a policy that is based “on coexistence and harmony”, and recalled that less than 10% of society Catalan is committed to unilaterality, in what seems to be a reference to the votes obtained by JxC on July 23. According to the President of the Government's approach, the other 90% of Catalonia is asking for an agreement.

The implicit corollary of this argument is clear: either JxC agrees to renounce unilateralism in the search for independence or it remains outside the Catalan political sphere and its decline ends up becoming terminal.. The question is what this training can ask for. The answer is simple: amnesty for all those prosecuted for the events of October 2017. In that, Sánchez did not want to enter.

But it seems clear that this is already becoming one of the axes – if not the main axis – of the negotiation. The acting president also avoided commenting on whether the eventual pardon would be before or after his inauguration and the constitution of a new Government.. The strategy of both JxC and the Republican Left of Catalonia (ERC) is to first achieve the amnesty and then negotiate to reach an agreement with those prosecuted for the referendum of October 1, 2017.. In 2020, ERC's abstention from Sánchez's investiture allowed him to become president.

Sánchez downplayed the tensions over this possible agreement within the PSOE, among which were those launched by former president Felipe González.. Sánchez insisted that the PSOE as such has not commented on the negotiation, but showed absolute confidence that, when it does, it will be to support “four years of progressive Government.”. But the acting president insisted that, according to the Statutes of the PSOE, once the investiture agreement was reached, the militants and sympathizers should ratify it.

The head of the Government compared his management with those of his predecessors, Felipe González and José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, who, he said, modernized the PSOE to adapt it to the historical moment they were in and then moved Spain forward.. Sánchez also insisted that his relationship with Yolanda Díaz is very fluid and that he keeps in regular contact with her.

The one he did not spare attacks with was Feijóo. The head of the Executive redoubled his criticism of the general secretary of the PP at his rally on Sunday, whom he accused of being weak and of being subject to the orders of what he called “the hard wing” of the PP; constituted, according to what he said, by the former president José María Aznar and by the president of the Community of Madrid, Isabel Díaz-Ayuso. Sánchez described the protest event called by the PP for next Sunday as “nonsense” and insisted that it is typical of a leader without any type of autonomy.

Following his usual strategy, Sánchez insisted on putting the PP as the only partner of Vox, and downplayed the protest made this Tuesday by the deputies of the latter party to leave their headphones in the president's empty seat as a protest at the entry into office. vigor of the use of Catalan, Basque and Galician in the Congress of Deputies.

Finally, the President of the Government admitted that his interlocutors in the US ask him about how the government formation process is going, but that they do so without signs of concern or concern.. Sánchez met on Monday in New York with representatives of the television and Hollywood giant NBC, which in turn is part of the cable and internet company Comcast.. Sánchez said he was unaware of the very harsh editorial published two weeks ago by the Washington Post with statements by its former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Arancha González Laya, in which the Editorial Board of the American newspaper stated that “Spain has been taken hostage by a faction of separatist extremists.”

One of the most striking characteristics of the informal meeting with journalists was how Sánchez grew as he spoke, so that he went from initially being “reasonably optimistic” about the possibility of an agreement that would allow his inauguration as head of the Government, to affirm, 25 minutes later, that it does not contemplate an electoral advance.

SPAIN

The EU postpones sine die the decision on the co-official languages and Spain asks in a last attempt to "prioritize Catalan" over Basque and Galician

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The European ministers have postponed this Tuesday, sine die, the decision on the Spanish request for Galician, Basque and Catalan to be official languages. They want more time to study and debate the proposal, they want legal reports, a cost estimate and an assessment of what the impact could be on the functioning of the European Union.

The 27 have not put a veto on the table, not at the moment, although unanimity is required for approval.. Spain has offered to assume all the resulting expenses, has assured that it is “good for Europe” and is in line with the “multilingualism objectives set out in Article 3 of the Treaties” and has even, in an unexpected turn, offered ” prioritize Catalan” and leave the other two for later. But even so, the General Affairs Council has decided to postpone the debate until they have data, reports from the services of the institutions and more clarity. Which in the best case scenario will be many months.

That the Spanish motion, which was express for debate and approval, was not going to come out was no surprise.. Many countries have made it clear these weeks, publicly and privately, that this was not the way to address the issue.. They understand Spain's hurry, the political relevance for the Government, but they believe that things cannot be done that way. “The Government has fulfilled its commitment,” the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, assured from Brussels.. “Today we have launched the reform of regulation” 1/58 that affects the linguistic regime of the Union. It was all Spain could do, because the decision belongs to everyone.

But the surprise has come from the decision to put Catalan before Basque and Galician.. “The presidency [which this semester corresponds precisely to our country] has verified that no one has expressed a veto. No Member State has vetoed,” Minister Albares highlighted.. “Some have asked for more time to analyze what the development and implementation would look like. We have agreed to continue working to respond and channel the comments,” he added.

One of the issues that countries like Sweden and Finland have expressed in writing, and many others in private, is the cost of adding three languages at once.. “Spain has indicated its commitment to assume any costs, as we have done since 2005 for administrative arrangements. And transitional periods and gradualness have been proposed. We have agreed to give priority to Catalan and then continue with the other two languages,” explained the Foreign Minister, who has come expressly to give political weight to the meeting, since usually in these European meetings the representative is the Secretary of State.

First and second language languages

The Government's decision is a blow for Basques and Galicians. Pedro Sánchez's Executive assures that “it is not discrimination”, but rather gradualness and realism. “The end of the proposal is clear, that the three languages form part of the EU linguistic regime. Some countries have argued that three languages at the same time was more difficult. So we have opened ourselves to prioritizing the language whose representatives have shown the most insistence on inclusion and which has 10 million speakers, so that it is the first in the deployment,” explained Albares.

Although in practice it is not very clear how it would be done, there are different possibilities. One, convince the 27 to accept the three languages at once, but only use Catalan for the moment.. May it serve as a battering ram to get used to and the others will be incorporated into the daily life of the EU later. Another option would be an intermediate status, so that they are used in some areas, but not in all.. Government sources pointed out the case of Gaelic, the last language recognized as official, which achieved that status but in practice has not been used in institutions for 15 years and still with certain limits..

The issue is forcing many capitals to take a stand. Finland does not hide its reservations, but its Foreign Minister, Anders Adlercreutz, wanted to show all angles. Upon his arrival in Brussels this morning, speaking in Catalan, he clarified his position. “I am a great friend of Catalan culture. Together we must defend the linguistic diversity of the EU, but we must also know the consequences of decisions. That's why it's too early to make a decision today,” he explained.. “We are going to help Spain as much as possible” but “for that we need legal reports” that help clarify how and where “regional languages” can be used,” agreed the French secretary of state for the EU, Laurence Boone.

At the end of the meeting, Adlercreutz explained that he did not remember any discussion in the room about prioritizing Catalan, nor that anyone expressed explicit reservations about including three languages at once.. The Finnish has admitted that it is probably easier to go little by little, “because one change is always easier than four changes”, and he sees more room for aspiring languages to be used in certain areas of work, without necessarily being languages. officers. Something that other countries, like Croatia for example, completely reject, for fear that there will end up being first and second category languages..

The issue will not change level, it will not rise to the heads of State and Government. It will continue to be the ministers or secretaries of State for the EU who will provide follow-up in the General Affairs Councils, but without any type of deadline in mind. Reports from the legal services of the institutions, and the European Commission, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament have one, normally take months for something of this style. The same goes for economic calculations.. It is a politically sensitive issue, and it is clear that among the 26 remaining community partners there is no urgency. On the contrary, the longer it stays in the refrigerator, the better.. There is a solid excuse not to run and little that can be done from the outside.

Furthermore, there is an additional angle that France in particular, but also others, take advantage of.. While Spain is betting on co-official languages, any possibility that in a future EU, expanded to more members, Spanish will compete to be in the group of working languages disappears.. Our country has several wars open for the use of Spanish, or rather, for not being able to use it, with historical blockades. On the side of patents or on the side of the exams for community oppositions. You can fight that battle or the other, but both, at the same time, will not be easy.

The BNG regrets the decision

“From the BNG, from Brussels, we regret the decision of the Spanish government conveyed today in the Council of the European Union to prioritize some languages over others,” MEP Ana Miranda reacted after learning of the conclusions of the meeting of the Ministers of General Affairs. of the European Union. In this sense, the nationalist deputy demands equal treatment for Galician by emphasizing that for the Bloc “there are no second-class languages.”

On the other hand, Miranda, who takes turns in the community seat with Bildu, criticizes the absence of deadlines to implement the official status of the three languages and points out that the Block hopes that “request a legal opinion on the consequences of the official status of Galician , Catalan and Basque and an analysis of its economic impact is not a maneuver to extend its implementation sine die”.

SPORTS

A goalkeeper condemns Atlético to purgatory in his last breath

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It was a match to choose between heaven and hell and what better place to do it than Rome, a place that has doors to both worlds. Atlético, on the other hand, had purgatory, but he did not choose it, but rather the inexperience of a Lazio that deserved more and could not find Oblak's goal until the end. Curiously, it was not a striker who did it, but the goalkeeper. Yes, as they read it. After a corner in the last minute, Provedel came in to finish like a howitzer and tied a game that seemed dead. [Narrative and statistics (1-1)]

The truth is that it was a tie of faith. A tie that deserved a return of honor to the stadium to the delight of an Olympian dedicated to his team. There are ties and ties and this one, of course, tastes very good. For the minute and for its protagonist. Lazio, as a certain Italian coach likes to say, came out with more energy than Simeone's team. Not that the Argentine coach who, perhaps spurred by the nice reception given by the Laziale fans, saw the first yellow card of the match for repeatedly leaving his technical area.. Something, by the way, that this year UEFA looks at with a magnifying glass since just 15 minutes later, Maurizio Sarri also saw it.

Although Atlético would be the first to shoot on goal after a Lino challenge, it was Lazio who imposed My way, Sinatra's song covered for the local anthem. The team rocked to the rhythm of Luis Alberto, a different footballer who jogs, not runs, remembers a certain Argentine footballer who recently won the world champion, bridging the gap.. The man from Cádiz has the magic of good soccer players from the south who are capable of finding spaces on foot.. He could have crowned his match with a flag goal if he had scored a beautiful volley from the edge of the area. The ball licked the post. Bad luck.

Tribute to Lemar

The one who did have it was Barrios. The Atlético youth player became the youngest footballer in red and white history to score in the Champions League, surpassing a teammate he had on the field, Saúl. In the 29th minute, the boy completed a great pass behind Molina, who was not having his best night, to make the first. The shot seemed easy for the goalkeeper, but a defender deflected it and…. luck also plays.

However, the goal was a reward for the youth squad's good performance and a tribute to Lemar, his teammate who had recently undergone successful surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon. The young man, almost making his debut in the Champions League, stood out in defense and attack.. The match didn't seem to bother him, although at half-time he had to be replaced by Giménez due to some discomfort.. Maybe it was physical, maybe inexperience had an influence.. Although as a sign of inexperience, that of Immobile, the captain of Lazio, and that he is 33 years old. He does everything well, but when it's his turn to finish, the night comes. The one he had after a bad clearance by Oblak was to put it in a video to the light blue youth players and explain to them that the dummy, and even more so when it is the Slovenian goalkeeper, is the worst place to shoot.

Lino's speed

It was the first clear of the second half and from there the game would open to places that Cholo does not like to travel.. Although Griezmann could have put the finishing touch right after if a bad bounce had not caused him to shoot high to the stands of the Curva Sud. The second half was a back-and-forth in which luck appeared again, but we all know that Morata is not exactly a player to buy lottery tickets from.. His shot was also deflected by a defender, although instead of going in, the ball hit the woodwork.. It wasn't the game for the Madrid native, but it could have been for Lino.

The Brazilian has emerged more determined than Riquelme to take over the left wing position after Carrasco's absence. The young man squeezed himself into the band to help Hermoso and Morata himself. Yes, as it sounds. He was capable of making the defense-attack transition at a speed faster than the eyes of this chronicler. He had the second in the 70th minute but, like Immobile, he finished in the center. Lazio didn't seem to have gunpowder until they found it in their goalkeeper. What can be said about that? A Roman miracle. A flying angel who came down from the sky at the last second to save his team.

SPORTS

Barça overwhelms Antwerp on another great night for Joao Félix

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Antwerp had to relive cruel echoes of the past in its debut in the group stage of the Champions League. As much as he initially tried to be the protagonist, remembering the best moments of his double victory against AEK in the qualifying phase, Barcelona forced him to put his feet back on the ground in the most forceful way possible. The final 5-0 with which Xavi's team spoiled the Belgian team's party, perhaps, brought back memories of their only participation in the top European competition so far, in the 1957-58 season, when Real Madrid knocked them out of bad way in the round of 16, beating them in Belgium by 1-2 and finishing the job at home with a devastating 6-0. Joao Félix, with two goals and an assist, was once again one of the standouts in a match in which Lewandowski, Bataille, with an own goal, and Gavi also scored.. [5-0: Narration and statistics]

Barça started the duel somewhat lethargic and Antwerp wanted to take advantage of it to take the initiative. Even though the Blaugrana made the first serious approach to the rival area, it was the Belgians who had the most possession and completed the most passes.. Until Xavi's men suddenly woke up. Joao Félix, precisely, was in charge of pouring the first bucket of cold water on his rivals after picking up a great pass from Gündogan and sending the ball far out of reach of the visiting goalkeeper in what, to tell the truth, was the first shot on goal of the meeting. And his second consecutive goal for Barça.

The Portuguese, in fact, would once again have a lot of prominence in the 2-0 action, just eight minutes after opening the scoring. A great diagonal from De Jong helped him get into the area first and then assist Lewandowski so that the Pole could score his fourth goal in a row so far this season.. And it wouldn't take long for Barça to give what already seemed like a cruel blow to Antwerp.. Bad luck struck the Belgians when the cross that Raphinha was looking for was poisoned when it hit Bataille's back and ended up in the back of the net to make it 3-0 on the scoreboard.

Joao Felix. Enric Fontcuberta EFE

After both teams went through the locker room at half-time, Antwerp seemed to jump back onto the field ready to at least close the gap a little.. However, it would be Barça who would punish the rival net again very soon.. Gavi, with a powerful shot from just inside the Belgians' area, would seal the 4-0 score before the first ten minutes of the restart were played.. The win caused Van Bommel's team to place their lines closer to their goalkeeper. Rather than thinking about getting something positive, the idea had become about finding the best way to avoid suffering more damage.

The clarity of the result also meant that Xavi did not take too long to make his first changes, which he would also take advantage of to promote the debut in the Champions League of Fermín López, who was one of the great sensations of the preseason.. Precisely, as Gavi's relief. The attitude of taking a step back, however, would end up costing Antwerp dearly.. Joao Félix, with a header after a good cross from Raphinha, put his hand on the scoreboard with his second goal of the evening. The Barcelona fans, in the final stretch, still had some more opportunities to make the distances even wider, but the scoreboard did not move again in what was another great night for the Blaugrana in Montjuïc.