English in Madrid

Source:  Danie Franco en Unsplash World's oldest person, French nun Sister André, dies aged 118 The world's oldest person, French nun Lucile Randon, has died aged 118. Ms Randon - who assumed the name Sister André when she took holy orders in 1944 - died in her sleep at her nursing home in Toulon, France. Born in 1904 in southern France, she lived through two world wars and dedicated much of her life to Catholicism. "Only the good Lord knows" the secret of her longevity, she told reporters. Born when Tour de France had only been staged once, Sister André also saw 27 French heads of state. A spokesman from her nursing home, David Tavella, shared news of her death with reporters on Tuesday. "There is great sadness but... it was her desire to join her beloved brother. For her, it's a liberation," Mr Tavella said. Sister André was said to have a close relationship with her brothers. She once told reporters one of her fondest  memories was their safe ...

Source: Helena Lopes en Unsplash Give millennials £10,000 each to tackle generation gap, says think tank Resolution Foundation proposes ‘citizen’s inheritance ’ to help redistribute wealth to young Every person in Britain should receive £10,000 when they turn 25 to help fix the “broken” inter-generational contract between millennials and baby boomers , an influential think tank has proposed following a two-year study. The payment, described as a “citizen’s inheritance”, is intended to redistribute wealth at a time when young people need it most to find housing, return to education or start a business. It is also intended to reduce resentment towards baby boomers (born 1946-65) who have typically done better out of the housing market and pensions than any subsequent generation. The idea has emerged from the Resolution Foundation’s inter-generational commission, which has been working on the issue for two years and has now published its final report. The panel was ch...

Deaths outnumber births in Spain Recession and high unemployment have encouraged many citizens to (1) seek/search/look better prospects abroad Spain , long concerned (2) for/of/about its ageing population and emptying countryside, has passed a milestone in population decline, recording more deaths than births in the first half of this year. Deaths exceeded births by more than 19,000 in the first half of 2015, a turnaround from a year earlier when there were nearly 4,000 more births than deaths, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said. Spain has not consistently experienced more deaths than births since its 1936-39 civil war or the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, according to news reports . Deaths (3) shortly/briefly/quickly exceeded births in early 1999, but demographers considered that a blip , while now they see it as the start of a longer trend . The INE predicted last year that a trend of more deaths than births would begin in 2015 and the gap would continue t...

Source: You Tube (ben ravensfan02)   Key words: Ann Timson handbag robbery Handbag- wielding grandmother first interview: 'somebody had to do something' A grandmother who (a) beat off a gang of six jeweller's shop robbers with her handbag has (b) given her first interview, saying she (1) risked her life because "somebody had to do something". The woman, who did not want to be (2)  named, was (3) captured on video beating away the men, who were wearing crash helmets and carrying sledgehammers , as they (4) tried to rob the Northampton store. She (c) said: "I was standing talking with a woman when I (d) heard a commotion and I (5) looked across and (e) saw six young men on scooters. "At first I (f) thought one of them was being (g) set upon by three others. What (6) concerned me was that too many people just (h) stood around watching as if they were in shock and nobody was doing anything." She (i) told the Northampton Chronicle a...

Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com "After trying for 44 years to have a baby, she and her husband decided to try in vitro fertilization. On their third attempt, they succeeded. She gave birth to two boys and a girl." (WWMT News) At age 66, Bhateri Devi is now the mother of triplets. She conceived the children via in vitro in order to provide heirs that could take over her and her husband's land, but some critics say she is too old for the treatment. We're analyzing coverage from WWMT, Gather.com, CNN, True/Slant and Asia News International. A writer for Gather thinks there's no way a woman nearing 70 could manage the responsibilities that come with taking care of a newborn, let alone three. "...is it too old? I think so. There is a reason nature prevents it and we have no business trying to outsmart Mother Nature." An infertility specialist at a Delhi hospital tells CNN that she wouldn...

Source:  Element5 Digital en Unsplash Obama hails the 106-year-old black woman who symbolises the spirit of his triumph Barack Obama highlighted the life of 106-year-old black voter Ann Nixon Cooper as capturing the spirit of his election triumph. 'She was born just a generation past slavery , a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky, when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons - because she was a woman and because of the colour of her skin,' he said. 'And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America - the heartache and the hope, the struggle  and the progress, the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed : "Yes we can."' Mrs Cooper has seen 18 presidents come and go and outlived most of them, but, like all black Americans, she had to wait until 1965 to gain the right to vote - when she was 63. Born Ann Louise Nixon on January 9 1902 ...

Source: cottonbro 106-year-old voter chooses Obama A 106-year-old American nun living in a convent in Rome could well be one of the oldest voters to cast a ballot in the 2008 US Presidential election. Sister Cecilia Gaudette, who last voted for President Eisenhower in 1952, has registered to vote and says she will vote for Democrat Barack Obama. Although hard of hearing , she keeps herself informed by reading newspapers and watching TV at the convent. "I'm encouraged by Senator Obama," she says. "I've never met him, but he seems to be a good man with a good private life. That's the first thing. Then he must be able to govern," she adds . Sitting in her modest office in the convent where she has lived for the past 50 years , the diminutive nun appears uninterested in the row inside the American Catholic church over Senator Obama's support for pro-choice policies on abortion. Asked about her hopes for the US under an Obama preside...

Source:  K. Mitch Hodge en Unsplash 105-year-old virgin says no sex the key to long life A woman celebrating her 105th birthday says that celibacy and staying single has been the key to her long life. Clara Meadmore, a retired secretary, who still has her own hair, teeth, and sharp wit , never had time for a family and lived alone until going into care . She said: "I've always had lots of platonic friendships with men but never felt the need to go further than that or marry." Miss Meadmore, who was born in Glasgow, and lived in Canada and New Zealand, before settling in Cornwall 40 years ago, also added that she had never had any interest in sex. "I imagine there is a lot of hassle involved and I have always been busy doing other things," she said. "When I was a girl you only had sex with your husband and I never married. I grew up in an era where little girls were to be seen and not heard so I had to learn to stand up for myself and earn my o...

Source:  Ekaterina Shakharova en Unsplash 70% of Spanish grandmothers care for young Lack of state care in Spain for children under three is forcing grandparents to forget the idea of a relaxing retirement and has led to the rise of the so-called super abuela or "super granny". A government report yesterday says 70% of Spanish women over the age of 65 care for their grandchildren and 22% of them do so every day. Of the 1.5 million children under the age of three in Spain, 45% have a place in a state or private playschool . The rest are cared for by family members, usually grandparents. The report by the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (Imserso) warns that many grandmothers may say they enjoy the experience of looking after grandchildren but in fact put themselves under extra stress . Anna Freixas, an education specialist at the University of Cordoba, said grandmothers who looked after their grandchildren did not help the bigger problem of sexual ...