English in Madrid

Source: Wikipedia ( Anders Hellberg ) Greta Thunberg named Time Person of the Year for 2019 Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl who inspired a global movement to fight climate change, has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. The 16-year-old is the youngest person to be chosen by the magazine in a tradition that started in 1927. Speaking at a UN climate change summit in Madrid before the announcement, she urged world leaders to stop us ing "creative PR" to avoid real action. The next decade would define the planet's future, she said. Last year, the teenager started an environmental strike by missing lessons most Fridays to protest outside the Swedish parliament building. It sparked a worldwide movement that became popular with the hashtag #FridaysForFuture. Since then, she has become a strong voice for action on climate change, inspiring millions of students to join protests around the world. Earlier this year, she was nomi...

Source: Wikipedia ( Thirunavukkarasye-Raveendran ) The Christmas lottery launderers   Winning tickets are sought out by crooks looking to avoid pay ing tax on their ill-gotten gains   In the hours after the winning numbers in Spain’s massive El Gordo Christmas lottery are drawn every December 22, discreetly dressed men and women carrying suitcases stashed with bank notes fan out across the country headed for bars, lottery outlets, and banks before the fortunate owners of the prized tickets cash them in . Acting on behalf of   wealthy clients, their mission is to buy their winning tickets: they pay cash, ask no questions, and offer a generous bonus on top. It’s a very simple way to help reduce their clients’ tax bill. “Everybody knows that the Christmas lottery has always been used to launder money,” says veteran tax inspector José María Peláez Marcos, adding that it is almost impossible for the authorities to detect this kind of fraud. “Lottery ticke...