English in Madrid

Fran Rivera: Bullfighter sparks revenge porn row in Spain A top Spanish bullfighter has drawn a fierce backlash for his comments on the case of a young woman who killed herself days after a sex video featuring her was widely shared. The 32-year-old mother-of-two, named by Spanish media as Verónica Rubio, took her own life on Saturday. It is being treated as a case of revenge porn - the non-consensual sharing of sexual images online.  Last week work colleagues had shared the video, reportedly recorded five years earlier, before she was married, by a former partner. Spanish media report that she hanged herself the day after her husband saw the video. "It's not manly to make a video like this go viral," the famous matador Fran Rivera, 45, told Espejo Público, a television programme, when asked about the case. "But men, and I say this because I'm a man, were unable to have such a video and not share it." Although he also said that the de...

Source: The Guardian Key Words: May resignation speech Ever since I first step p ed through the door behind me as Prime Minister, I have striven to make the United Kingdom a country that works not just for a privileged few, but for everyone. And to honour the result of the EU referendum.  Back in 2016 , we gave the British people a choice. Against all predictions, the British people voted to leave the European Union. I feel as certain today as I did three years ago that in a democracy, if you give people a choice you have a duty to implement what they decide. I have done my best to do that. I negotiated the terms of our exit and a new relationship with our closest neighbours that protects jobs, our security and our Union.  I have done everything I can to convince MPs to back that deal . Sadly, I have not been able to do so . I tried three times. I believe it was right to persevere, even when the odds against success seemed high. But i...

Source:  Ivan Bandura on Unsplash Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri fuel stereotype that women are "subservient" - UN report  The report notes that the inability for female-voiced assistants to respond to insults can highlight female "powerlessness". Artificial intelligence voice assistants, such as Amazon's Alexa and Apple's Siri, are perpetuating and spreading gender stereotypes, says a new UN report. Titled "I'd blush if I could", the report from UNESCO says the almost exclusive market of female voice assistants fuels stereotypes that women are "obliging, docile and eager-to-please helpers". And with assistants responding to requests no matter the manner in which they are asked, this also reinforces the idea in some communities that women are "subservient and tolerant of poor treatment". Canalys, a technology research company, has estimated that 100 million "smart speakers", which are use...

Source: Wikipedia (Chmee2) London Marathon's last finisher 'ignored and laughed at ' The last finisher at Sunday's London Marathon has said she had a "brutal" experience being ignored and " sniggered at" by stewards . Mum Kerrie Aldridge, raising money for a miscarriage charity , said the course was being cleared as she completed the marathon in nine hours and 11 minutes. The criticism comes after another woman said she was called "fat and slow" by contractors at Sunday's race. London Marathon organisers apologised, adding they were investigating. Stewards were dismantling the course - including taking down mile markers and barriers - as Ms Aldridge from Cardiff finished the event, which attracted a record 42,549 runners. She said she was forced to drink from half-empty discarded bottles of water because the refuel stops were no longer manned . To make matters worse , she said some contractors were rude to her wh...

Source: Wikipedia Judge rules museum ' rightfully owns' Nazi- looted painting A Spanish museum is allowed to keep an artwork that the Nazis took from a Jewish woman in 1939, a judge ruled . Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum has fought a 14-year legal battle in the US with the family of Lilly Cassirer. Ms Cassirer was forced to trade the valuable Camille Pissarro painting for her freedom as she tried to flee Germany, just before the war. A federal judge in California ruled that legally it belongs to the museum, which acquired it in 1993. According to Spanish law, if a collector or museum does not know that an artwork was looted when they acquire it, then they are legally entitled to keep it. But the judge, John Walter, criticised Spain for not keeping to the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art - an international agreement to return Nazi-looted art to the descendants of the people they were taken from. Some 44 nations, including Spain, signe...