English in Madrid

Austrian heiress Marlene Engelhorn announces plan for €25m giveaway An Austro-German heiress is setting up a citizens group to decide how she should give away much of the fortune she inherited from her grandmother. Marlene Engelhorn, who is 31 and lives in Vienna, wants 50 Austrians to determine how €25m (£21.5m) of her inheritance should be redistributed. "I have inherited a fortune, and therefore power, without having done anything for it," she said. "And the state doesn't even want taxes on it." Austria abolished inheritance tax in 2008, one of a handful of European countries that do not impose inheritance tax - or death duties. Ms Engelhorn believes that is unfair. She is a descendant of Friedrich Engelhorn, the founder of German chemical and pharmaceutical company, BASF, and inherited millions when her grandmother died in September 2022. Traudl Engelhorn-Vechiatto's wealth was estimated by US magazine Forbes at $4.2bn (£3.3bn; €3....

  Brit chess prodigy tells Spanish court he was ' messing around ' when he joked 'I'm Taliban' and told pals ' on my way  to  blow up   the plane' in message that  sparked  fighter jet  escort  during easyJet flight to Menorca    A British  former  child  chess  prodigy has admitted in court he told his friends before  jetting to  Spain: 'On my way to blow up the plane. I'm a member of the Taliban.' But Aditya Verma insisted today as he  went on trial  that he was joking with his pals in a private Snapchat group before he was  hauled off  the flight. The 20-year-old student said he had 'no intention' of mobilising the two Spanish fighter jets sent to escort the  packed  easyJet plane he and 140 other  holidaymakers  were on as it  neared  Menorca along with police and firefighters on the ground.   Indian-born Aditya was 18 when he was  arrested ...

Doctor warns Dry January will 'never work' to help really 'detox' the body - and instead reveals the ways to reduce booze intake across the year Doctor Alasdair Scott has likened the effects of dry January to a ' crash diet ' It is a challenge that requires a person to stop drink ing alcohol for a month New year, new me - or so the saying goes, and there's no better time to commit to a month devoid of booze. Or is there?  Doctor Alasdair Scott, director of London health care service Selph, has branded Dry January a 'myth', while adding that you can't simply 'detox' your body of alcohol within one month .  Dry January is a popular personal challenge that requires a person to refrain from drinking alcohol for a month - often in the hopes of cancelling out the effects of a very boozy Christmas.  The medical expert and surgeon likened the trend to a 'crash diet', while revealing that it had very few health benefits, a...