#CoVId-19 Madrid

[catarsissegovia]

[covid-safer-hotties]

Also preserved on our archive

ByCarly Cassella

Fatigue is one of the most frequent and debilitating symptoms of long COVID, and yet it is also one of the hardest to measure objectively.

A new study suggests the extreme mental and physical fatigue experienced by many long COVID patients is, in fact, observable in the central nervous system.

Scanning the brains of 127 long COVID patients, scientists found some parts of the brain were communicating with others in a slightly altered way.

These regions include the frontal lobe, the temporal lobe, and the cerebellum, and while it's not clear how long the changes might last, the pattern could be used to identify those battling ongoing fatigue.

"These findings suggest a role of central nervous system involvement in the pathophysiology of fatigue in post-COVID syndrome," write researchers at the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain.

"The existence of several brain characteristics associated with fatigue severity detected by magnetic resonance imaging could constitute a neuroimaging biomarker to objectively evaluate this symptom in clinical trials."

The frontal lobe is the part of the brain associated with higher executive functions, like planning, reasoning, and problem solving. Meanwhile, the temporal lobe is associated with memory and processing, and the cerebellum is linked to movement, posture, and balance.

All three areas have previously shown changes in connectivity among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME).

CFS/ME comes with many of the same symptoms as long COVID; however, it remains unclear how the two illnesses relate.

Recent findings suggest brain changes associated with long COVID mirror those of CFS/ME, but further research using larger and more diverse sample sizes is needed.

The new study on long COVID, led by neuropsychologist Maria Diez-Cirarda, does not consider CFS/ME, but it analyzes the brain scans of 127 people who had contracted SARS-CoV-2 at least three months before. Around 74 percent of participants were female, and most had only been sick with COVID-19 once.

Roughly 87 percent reported symptoms of global fatigue, including physical or mental fatigue, and 86 percent said they were suffering from cognitive complaints, like memory, attention, or processing issues.

Ultimately, those with global fatigue, physical fatigue, or cognitive complaints showed reduced connectivity between the frontal and occipital brain regions. They also showed increased connectivity between the cerebellar and temporal areas.

Mental fatigue, however, stood out. It was associated with distinct changes in the left prefrontal areas, the anterior cingulate, and the left insula – the central hubs of a known mental fatigue network.

Changes to white matter were also found in the brains of long COVID patients with lingering fatigue. White matter contains the nerve fibers that connect neurons, and these are covered in white sheaths, which protect and allow messages to be sent faster.

In long COVID patients, the recent study suggests that physical and mental fatigue is "partly related to several microstructural changes, including demyelination."

Demyelination is when the insulating sheath that protects neurons and transmits electrical signals is damaged, resulting in reduced functionality, such as muscle weakness, blurry vision, or slurred speech.

Interestingly, the current brain study found no changes in gray matter, which contains the bodies of neurons. Previous studies have shown reduced gray matter in COVID patients, but this shrinkage was recorded during or shortly after an infection, and it may not last over the longer term.

Given how malleable the brain can be, it's important that future studies investigate the changes of long COVID over greater lengths of time. Further research could also investigate how fatigue due to long COVID compares to other conditions, like ME/CFS or multiple sclerosis.

"The involvement of the central nervous system in the pathophysiology of fatigue in post-COVID syndrome paves the way for the use of non-invasive brain stimulation techniques to alleviate fatigue in these patients," the researchers conclude.

The study was published in Psychiatry Research.

Study Link: www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165178124003986?via%3Dihub

[whilereadingandwalking]

In March 2020, I left Spain in a state of panic and tears. Covid-19 was a global emergency, but I had to snake maskless through crowds of hundred panicked tourists, shove myself into airplane seats, overuse my hand sanitizer, stand in endless Madrid & London airport lines, overhear racist remarks and people coughing into the air, for 36 hours straight. I got home sure I had Covid, cycling between a selfish sadness of my dream trip being canceled and overwhelming, isolated panic.

I recognize 2020 me, but 2024 me is utterly changed. From the little things (playing Animal Crossing with my sister with 900 miles between us, a Studio Ghibli movie marathon, the little neurotransmitters that make my nerves act wrong) to the big (watching my friends birth entire humans, seeing loved ones almost die, losing my job), I am new. I’m grown up now. I was 25 in Spain, now I’m 30.

Tomorrow, I’m going to step off my airplane, and I will be in Seville. Where I left off. The pandemic isn’t over, but it does feel like things have come full-circle. My family and I will go to Granada after that, and then I’ll go to Madrid. The dream cut short in 2020 will be completed, by a much different me. If I could see that me—maybe as I step off, she’ll be stepping on, in that same pocket of space—I would tell her that it will all be too much. But that she is going to find so much confidence and conviction in herself, up ahead. That she will survive it. That amidst all the pain, she’ll have so, so many adventures.

And I’d promise her: You will be back.

[pedripics]

hi! may i ask you something about this Super League? im confused because im new here. and what about that 1 billion euros for? thank you

Hi, of course 🫶🏻

The Super League is a rather complex topic, so I'm gonna give you a short summary and a longer version with the history and stuff under the cut.

In short, the Super League is a proposed football competition for football clubs in Europe that is aimed to rival the UEFA competitions, such as the Champions League, Europa League, and Conference League.

Format (this is the new version they just released):

It would include 64 men’s (spread across three leagues) and 32 women’s teams (spread across two leagues) playing midweek games in a league system across Europe. All clubs would play in groups of 8 – home and away – resulting in a guaranteed minimum of 14 matches per year. At the end of the season, a knockout stage of 8 clubs will be played in each league to determine the league champions. There would also be annual promotion and relegation between the three/ two leagues. The idea is that it would not interfere with domestic leagues.

History:

Proposals of Super Leagues in European football have been around for decades with the earliest ideas dating back to 1968. There were attempts to create a 'Super League' in 1987 and 1990 but they were abandoned after UEFA and FIFA threatened to sanction all involved clubs. In 2009, Florentino Pérez (president of Real Madrid) began planning a 'Super League' because the Champions League, in his words, was too "obsolete and problematic for the quality of the sport and an obstacle preventing clubs from growing their businesses and developing infrastructure." That idea resurfaced in 2020 when big clubs started suffering financially from the Covid-19 pandemic and ongoing debts. That got American investors interested who pledged US $5 billion towards its formation. In January 2021, FIFA and all six football's continental confederations (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, OFC, and UEFA) issued a statement that rejected the formation of any breakaway European Super League and that they would ban any club or player involved from any competitions organised by FIFA and its six confederations.

Current 'European Super League':

In April 2021, Pérez announced the formation of the 'European Super League' (ESL) via a press release signed by twelve clubs that signed up to be involved (Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Inter Milan, Juventus, AC Milan, Atlético Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Real Madrid). The aim was a new competition that "provides higher-quality matches and additional financial resources for the overall football pyramid, provides significantly greater economic growth and support for European football via a long-term commitment to uncapped solidarity payments, which will grow in line with league revenues, would appeal to a new younger generation of football fans, and also would improve VAR and refereeing." Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Juventus were the three leading clubs. There is much more to the financial aspect of it (like solidarity payments, welcome bonuses, participation payments, commercial revenue, etc.), but that's rather complicated and depends on what newspaper you wanna believe.

Reception:

The announcement led to a joint statement from the governing bodies of the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A condemning the formation, with all governing bodies declaring to prevent the ESL from proceeding any further. Football governing bodies from Germany, France and Russia released similar statements. UEFA reiterated their statements made in January 2021, warning that any clubs involved in the Super League would be banned from all other domestic, European and world football competitions and that players from the clubs involved would also be banned from representing their national teams in international matches. (The Premier League and their governing body FA ruled out barring the six clubs from domestic competitions and preferred to not take legal action.) Numerous politicians expressed their opposition to the proposal of the ESL. Amongst commentators, footballers and managers, the ESL sparked contrasting opinions. Media companies were mostly opposed to the idea (which does not come as a surprise as ESL promises free viewing of all live matches). Many football fans, including the fans of the involved clubs, were not in support of the idea of the ESL. The backlash led to nine clubs (all clubs, except FC Barcelona, Real Madrid, and Juventus) announcing their intention to withdraw from the project in April 2023. However, eight of these nine clubs remained involved as stakeholders. In June 2023, Juventus announced their decision to leave the Super League project after facing a rumoured 5-year ban from all European competitions if they went through with the project. (That only leaves FC Barcelona and Real Madrid)

Legal issues:

In May 2021, the Super League filed a complaint to the Court of Justice of the European Union against UEFA and FIFA for their proposals to stop the competition. UEFA had opened disciplinary proceedings against FC Barcelona, Juventus, and Real Madrid, which were threatened to be excluded from all UEFA competitions, in order to sanction them but these measures were stayed until further notice as a result of the rulings from the Spanish commercial court and Swiss authorities. In June 2021, the Swiss Department of Justice and Police and the Spanish Commercial Court referred the issue to the Court of Justice of the European Union to question whether UEFA and FIFA have violated two articles of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union. Article 101 prohibits cartels and other agreements that could disrupt free competition in the EEA and Article 102 aims to prevent businesses in an industry from abusing their position or taking action to prevent new businesses from gaining a foothold in the industry. On 21 December 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that FIFA and UEFA's rules, which banned clubs from joining rival competitions, such as the Super League, are contrary to EU law. UEFA's and FIFA's rules making new football projects subject to their prior approval are also unlawful.

What does the ECJ's ruling mean:

The ECJ's ruling is binding and not subject to appeal. The ECJ's decision on UEFA's rules does however not rule on whether the Super League should (or is allowed) to exist. UEFA needs to change and clarify its rules now to comply with EU law. Once the regulations are updated, the Super League will still need to acquire authorisation to set the competition up. The ruling basically gives companies like A22 the right to pitch a new football competition and for their application to be judged on criteria which are "transparent, objective, non-discriminatory and proportionate".

Revival of the project:

In December 2023, A22 announced a new, updated proposal (which I already explained under format). However, many clubs have issued statements opposing the idea (including clubs, who were once involved in the ESL). As of right now, Real Madrid, FC Barcelona and SSC Napoli have issued statements in support of the ESL. There are reports about various clubs from Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and other European leagues who are keen on joining (but no official statements from the clubs).

Why could Barça and Real Madrid receive €1 billion?

I believe this has not been confirmed by A22, but it has been reported by various newspapers. They would receive €1 billion as a reward for their loyalty, as they are the only two clubs who remained firm on their decision to take part in the Super League. That would obviously only happen if they find enough teams to set up the ESL.

[voodoorhythmrecords]

the Monsters

you're class, i'm trash

LP+DL

This is the 2nd edition of the Monsters 'you're class, i'm trash, from 2021 (first edition was yellow and with a 7" single) this second edition is pink/red 180g vinyl and with a printed inside poster Booklet.
The Monsters where founded in 1986 in Bern, Switzerland, as an alternative to the popular music culture of the time (disco, pop, top 40 rock). After 8 full lenghts and countless shows all over the globe, Europe, North and South America, Asia etc, all of their concerts and tours were canceled in 2020 and the whole world was put on hold (Covid 19 pandemic) so the band had time to create a new album to write, spend two weeks in the practice room and then record it for three days at the Shirt Off Studio in Bern together with Sebastian Zwahlen. Voila! 13 rough diamonds, loud and lively sounding tracks, all recorded completely live and without any frills overdubs (only vocals). With only 120 words on the album they are the undefeated champions of the lyrical minimalism of punk rock history, please enjoy 'smell my tongue', a working class song that is about daily ass licking or 'gimme germs' which deals with the constant sterilization of society, or 'electro bike asshole' a shot against the Tesla and co generation or in 'stranger to me' where you look in the mirror and no longer recognize yourself. Cover artwork is by Bernese surrealist Jerry Haenggli 

BANDCAMP: https://the-monsters.bandcamp.com/album/youre-class-im-trash

the Monsters - live

20.02 - Zürich - Zukunft - CH

21.02 - Frankfurt, Zoom - DE

20.03 - Marseille, Le Molotov Club - FR

21.03 - Valencia, 16 TONELADAS | ROCK CLUB - ESP

22.03 - Bacalona, Estraperlo - ESP

23.03 - Madrid, Sala El Sol - ESP

25.03 - Paris, Petit Bain - FR

26.03 - Bruxelles, Le Botanique - BE

27.03 - Köln, Gebäude 9 - DE

28.03 - Eindoven, V.O.F. Café Wilhelmina - NL

29.03 - Utrecht, dB´s - NL

30.03 - København, Loppen - DK

31.03 - Hamburg, Hafenklang - DE

01.04 - Berlin, Neue Zukunft - DE

03.04 - Wien, Chelsea - AT

04.04 - München, Feierwerk - DE

05.04 - Winterthur, Gaswerk - CH

[louistomlinsoncouk]

It was not his first time in Spain, far from it. However, it was the first time that Louis Tomlinson gave a concert at the emblematic Wizink Center in Madrid, and also alone. The Briton visited the capital in what was the second event – ​​of a total of three – scheduled by our country (after Bilbao and before Barcelona) to present his second studio album with his world tour Faith In The Future World Tour.

The surroundings of the venue presented a lot of agitation and movement. Long lines formed to buy the merchandising, while other groups of friends immortalized the moment on Avenida de Felipe II before validating their tickets and crossing the doors towards the track or their seat on the track. Many dared to follow a non-imposed dress code with red clothing, in honor of the aesthetics of their second album.

Once inside, the excitement and desire to see their favorite artist multiplied as the minutes passed and the songs of the two opening acts that opened the show: The Academic and The Lathums. Now, the people who were already filling the space enjoyed and gave themselves to these two bands, applauding each song they heard, who returned the affection (and the opportunity to play before an international audience) giving the best of themselves).

After these two performances, nervousness began to be felt in the atmosphere. It was after nine at night when the Wizink Center finished filling up to capacity, despite not hanging the sold out sign. It should be remembered that the last time Louis Tomlinson was in Spain he did so in 2020 – just a few days before a global health emergency was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic – at La Riviera, with a capacity of just over 2,500. Therefore, multiplying attendance capacity tenfold in two years is quite a feat (even coming from a former member of the successful boyband One Direction).

Minutes later, the premises plunged into darkness to give way to shouting that rose to the ceiling of the building. Tomlinson's band appeared on stage first and, finally, the one from Doncaster made his way to the center of the stage to start his show to the rhythm of The Greatest. The lighting was dyed red to continue with Kill My Mind, Bigger than me, Holding on to Heartache and Face the music.

With this first block of songs, one thing stood out above all else: the noise became thunderous. In the best of the senses. The choruses of the audience could be heard, on some occasions, even above the artist's voice, proof that everyone who came there was willing to give up their last breath. And we don't know if it was because of singing from the depths of his gut, because of the heat, or because of a surge in blood pressure, but the fainting occurred throughout the two hours that the concert lasted. Fortunately, the emergency services always acted as quickly as possible thanks to the help of mobile phone flashes.

"Madrid, Spain. Thank you so much to each and every one of you for coming. This is my favorite part of my job," Louis said on a night when he wasn't particularly talkative. He himself was honest and admitted to being "especially exhausted." However, the love and the "incredible" welcome from his fans in the capital undoubtedly gave him enough "adrenaline" to go out through the big door.

A constant reminder of your past

The setlist included, along with small bursts of pyrotechnics, We made it, Paradise, Chicago, High in California and Written all over your face. Tracks from a very Britpop second album that is reminiscent of the pop/rock of the 90s and 2000s, and the sound of bands like Blur, Oasis or Arctic Monkeys, with whom Tomlinson grew up (and has reflected their influence on Out of my system or Copy of the copy of the copy or the rocker version of Back to you).

What's more, the 31-year-old performed a cover of 505 by the group led by Alex Turner. And, of course, he gave away two versions of the discography that saw him born and grow musically. He performed Night Changes and Where do Brokens Hearts Go, by One Direction. Melancholy made an appearance here, but also with Angels Fly.

When it was time for All This Time, Louis even sat on the stage twice, as if wanting to capture that moment to engrave it in his memory. Rainbow colors were projected across the Wizink during She's Beauty We are World Class, blending in with all the LGBTI flags that were flown.

It is surprising that he is the former member of the boyband with the fewest monthly listeners on streaming platforms, when the madness he unleashes wherever he goes is impressive (you just have to remember his last visit to La Resistencia). So, maybe it's not so much about quantity (or numbers), but about quality. And his fans have given him the opportunity to do what he really wants, and he has given his fans the creation of a movement where there is only room for affection, unconditional support and hope.

Tonight, Louis Tomlinson will be at the Palau Sant Jordi Barcelona.

[louisupdates]

Cabe recordar que la última vez que Louis Tomlinson estuvo en España lo hizo en 2020 —tan solo unos días previos a declararse una emergencia sanitaria a nivel mundial por la pandemia de COVID-19— en La Riviera, con un aforo de poco más de 2.500. Por tanto, multiplicar por diez en dos años la capacidad de asistencia es todo una hazaña.

[It is worth remembering that the last time Louis Tomlinson was in Spain he did so in 2020 – just a few days before a global health emergency was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic – in La Riviera, with a capacity of just over 2,500. Therefore, multiplying attendance capacity tenfold in two years is quite a feat.]

- Louis Tomlinson desata la locura y nos llena de esperanza en su primer Wizink Center de Madrid, Los40 [6.10.2023]

[eopederson]

Escultura de Miguel Cervantes de Saavedra, Plaza España, Madrid, 2016.

Shakespeare family coat of arms, Folger Shakespeare Library, Washington, DC, 2020. (Taken a few weeks before COVID-19 and closure for reconstruction of the library rendered it inaccessible.)

Both Cervantes and Shakespeare died on 22 April 1616.

[jartita-me-teneis]

@rosamariaartal En estas manos estuvo el control de la pandemia en Madrid.

@DEGOUGES_NET

Isabel Ayuso (2020): "Además, genéticamente el COVID-19 - por lo visto - tiene algo que nos asemeja [con los suramericanos]. En cuanto a la virulencia del mismo en el organismo. Es algo curioso que genéticamente nos ha unido mucho".

[theshowliveontour]

Niall Horan, who has been traveling through Europe for just over a month with the first leg of his world tour , presented The Show: Live On Tour last night at the Wizink Center in Madrid . The last time he set foot in the capital of Spain was in 2018, with the Flicker World Tour. On that occasion, La Riviera hosted the Irishman's concert; a room of 2,000 people that was nothing like the more than 80,000 (in Wembley, for example) that he was able to gather during his time in One Direction.

It is also true that, six years ago, Niall took his first steps alone. He had to not so much start from scratch, but rather be cautious, tread carefully and test the waters. Build his own identity apart from the boyband that had given him everything (without forgetting his origins).

His good work led him to publish a second studio album Heartbreak Weather, whose concert series – under the name Nice To Meet Ya Tour – was suspended due to Covid-19. Fortunately, the pandemic passed and the singer continued making music... until publishing The Show , his most recent album.

And with said album, the artist returned yesterday, March 23, to a large venue and, of course, to meet again with the fans of our country, specifically, close to 17,000. With the lineup sold out for several months, Niall took to the stage to show that he is made to be a frontman and exude talent, sense of humor and charisma.

After having Tommy Lefroy as the opening act , the indie rock duo formed by Tessa Mouzourakis and Wyntel Bethel, it was the turn of THE SHOW in capital letters. An interlude composed of classics by Fleetwood Mac, Queen, ABBA (and even La Macarena by Los del Río) gave a clue about the musical theater setting of the 70s that had been chosen for this tour, as well as livened up the wait until nine at night, the time when the lights went out to raise the imposing beige curtain that occupied most of the stage.

The screens on the sides introduced the leader and his band, as well as welcoming the audience, who immediately expressed their enthusiasm with shouts and flashes . "Buenas noche, Madrid" gave rise to Nice to meet now, a song that started a two and a half hour long performance. They followed a mashup of Small talk with a version of Edge of seventeen , by Stevie Nicks; She's on the loose and On a night like tonight.

After these four songs, Niall greeted his audience: "Hello, Madrid. Welcome to The Show live on Tour, baby. Thank you for selling out at this venue . Are you ready to have the best fucking night of your lives? Come on, Spain! " he exclaimed. Next, he sat down at the piano to perform the song titled from his third album, The Show.

The rhythm, interrupted by the native language

Since We're Alone, Heartbreak Weather and Black and White heated up the atmosphere enough to delay for a few minutes the acoustic block that Mullingar had prepared. The singer and three of his musicians formed a circle on the catwalk that brought him a little closer to the fans in the front rows - a privileged position that some had achieved by sacrificing four nights spending the night at the doors of Wizink - to sing Science , This Town and You could start a Cult.

However, the constant cheers and ovations he received prevented for a moment from transforming the hectic atmosphere of that space into a calmer one . "Tranquilo, tranquilo," the host said in perfect Spanish. Some words that only provoked more applause and the unison chorus of a compliment that he still didn't know... until now. Despite being a great fan of our language, Niall was not familiar with the word "guapo" and, when he discovered what it means, he wanted to return the compliment. "You guys are beautiful [...] And you are very good singers," he said in English.

This would not be the only moment in which the normal rhythm of the concert would be interrupted. Horan's eyes fell on a banner, which said: "We sing you La Macarena and you dance ." And as an idol he owes himself to his audience, said and done. The young man dared to cross his arms and move his hips three times in a row, to the madness and amusement of those present.

The 'One Direction infection' is still valid

Songs like Heaven, Everywhere, Paper Houses, Meltdown, Still, Save My Life and Slow Hands —as a final culmination—completed the setlist, which differed in a couple of songs compared to the previous date in Assago (Italy), so just two days before. Before playing Mirrors , Niall revealed that he composed it in 2016 when he saw a girl crying in a cafe while on the phone. "Many times we are so busy with ourselves that we do not realize the lives that pass us by, nor what can happen to them ," he said, so it occurred to him to invent a story with this situation as the protagonist.

And, despite the fact that that year was the same year in which One Direction made their separation effective (after the publication of Made in the AM ), the truth is that the British boyband is still alive, very alive. Horan not only remembered the last time he set foot in Spain with the formation with which he achieved global stardom, "the Vicente Calderón stadium, in 2014", he also wanted to thank the loyalty and affection received after all these years . "You are incredible. Thank you for coming to see me. That this is my job will never cease to surprise me, and I will never get tired of giving concerts. I hope to continue doing it for a long time," he reiterated several times, visibly excited.

For this reason, he did not hesitate to perform Night Changes, an anthem not only for the directioners or for Niall, but also for Louis and Harry, who have also included it in their respective concerts. Nor did he hesitate to print his name on a T-shirt for the merchandising of Take Me Home , the second album whose cover shows the five members surrounding and climbing a London telephone booth. "Of course I'll sign it for you," she said, and madness broke out in the room.

[motsimages]

Jóvenes, sobre todo si vivís en Madrid, volved a poneros la mascarilla, que está la cosa a tope otra vez.

[realmadridfamily]

“I was in the hotel after the national team match (Belgium 2-0 England) and a photo of Mishel with a dog popped up on Instagram. I only watch profiles that I follow and I didn't know her but she suddenly popped up. I thought it was a very sweet photo and commented, "Cuties" not intending for her to respond to me. But it worked." - recalls Thibaut Courtois. It was November 2020, in the middle of the global crisis caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and no one, not even themselves, expected that this whim of fate would turn them into the heroes of a love story. «I saw the message and thought, “Okay, fine. – I will answer you. And I wrote : "Thank you." He immediately asked me how my day was, how everything was going, and I thought: "This guy is cute." - explains model Mishel Gerzig.

From that evening on, they started talking non-stop. Every day. Until almost six months later, in April 2021, they saw each other for the first time in Madrid. “And we never parted again.” she says, stroking his hand, and the bouncer smiles knowingly in response. This is the first joint session after the wedding, which took place last July in a fairy-tale castle on the French Riviera, and after a serious knee injury that has kept Tibo off the pitch since August. During the session, they share confidences, smile, hug and kiss between photos... They are in a state of absolute happiness that cannot be hidden.

ELLE : Your relationship started long distance, but what was it like the first time you met in person?

THIBAUT: It was in Barajas, at the airport. You could fly to Spain from France, so she first flew from Israel to Paris and from there to Madrid. Right after landing, she told me that she had a problem with her passport and that they wouldn't let her into the country. It was a joke, but I was shocked and started thinking about how I could solve it. I couldn't believe it, I felt terrible.

MISHEL: (laugh). I thought of this joke to break the ice because I was very nervous when I saw him.

T: She was traveling with her best friend and they spent the night at my house. But we slept separately! (laugh). We had been talking on FaceTime all the time for months, we knew each other very well, but we needed to meet in person. We didn't plan much. We went for lunch, dinner, walked, talked for hours... I tried to get a friend to accompany me to training or a match. In fact, Mishel sometimes visited Di Stéfano, where we were playing at the time. And everything came out naturally, it worked. She brought a suitcase for two weeks because she had the idea to go to Amsterdam to work and then she never left (laugh).

M: That's true! The pandemic started and I was in Israel. When I had the opportunity to travel, I wanted to resume modeling, but my plans changed (laughter). I planned to stay here for two weeks, but I stayed much longer. That's because we had so much fun together. We already knew that we understood each other well remotely, but we tested each other in person and our relationship was even stronger.

E: So much so that you quickly became engaged.

T: And I wanted it to be even earlier (laugh). In January 2022, I went to buy a ring with a friend and thought: "I want one too." We had only been together for a few months, but I knew Mishel was the love of my life. I decided to wait until June to do it in a unique way. She loves the sea, so I found the right moment, improvised during a trip to Positano and asked her. We didn't want to wait so long to get married, but due to the World Cup and other commitments with Real Madrid and the Belgian national team, it was difficult to find an earlier date.

E: Thibaut is an international football star. Did you feel dizzy when you entered his world?

M: At first, yes. I thought about how I would cope. Tibo attracts a lot of attention and generates a lot of noise, but I slowly got used to it. It's beautiful to see all the love it awakens in people.

E: Shortly after the wedding, an injury occurred. How did you survive it?

T: The first day was difficult. I wrote to Mishel: "I think I broke my knee in training."

M: I quickly took the car and drove to Valdebebas.

T: We went for an MRI, which quickly showed that I had a serious injury. I was still inside and they had already told Mishel and the physio what happened. When I came out, I cried, but then I felt people's support and I started thinking positively. You can't go back. Mishel helped me a lot, especially in the first month when I was limping and could barely move. Now I'm working hard to come back as soon as possible and be 100% healthy.

E: How did this situation change your daily life?

T: Now I spend more hours training, but I also have more flexibility when it comes to being with my children and Mishel. The good thing is that they adore her, so we spend a lot of time together. The injury made me look at everything from a different perspective. I love football and I miss it, but there are other things I love and want to do. This year I'm going to start my Master's in Sports Management and hope to graduate. We also have several businesses (he invested in the production of plant milk, in Neat Burger, vegan burgers, in which Leonardo DiCaprio and Lewis Hamilton are also partners; he has a Formula 4 team, TC Racing, and Mishel is preparing to open a beauty salon in Madrid), it is worth develop mentally and learn new things. We are both curious and excited.

M: I'm lucky that in my job I can move deadlines freely. Previously, I did it to be with him at important matches and support him. When he got injured, I changed my schedule to spend more time at home to help him. And now, when I feel much better, I have gone to work in the United States. For me, balance is the most important thing because I want to do both, have time for work, but also for my personal and family life.

E: Speaking of family, your Mishel lives in Israel. How do you deal with what's going on there?

M: All people who were born there have been up to date with the current conflict throughout their lives. It's not that you get used to it, but you grow up having it in your everyday life. I served in the military for two years, so I know this up close. It's very painful to see what point this has gotten to. My family and friends are seeing and hearing terrible things as we all know people who have been killed or injured.

T: When I was a child and saw this conflict on TV, I didn't understand anything. This is a delicate and complicated issue for those of us who are neither Palestinian nor Israeli. Now I have family and friends there, so I experience it more closely, but I am Belgian. I show my support and respect every opinion, as long as it is expressed in a polite manner. We are all human and no one wants innocent people to die. This is the most important. But now there is a lot of hate, especially online, there is a lot of division and it is very difficult. These are things that cannot be allowed because we all want peace.

M: I have been living with this confrontation for 26 years, but I want to be positive and believe that peace will come and that all innocent people will be safe.

E: How did your careers start?

M: I started when I was 13, participating in a beauty pageant in Tel Aviv. At the age of 16, I worked outside Israel for the first time, on shows and campaigns in Milan and Miami.

T: I have been playing football since I was a child. At the age of 16, I was lucky enough to join Genk, one of the best teams in Belgium. When I was 18, we won the league and that made me grow. Chelsea signed a contract with me and loaned me to Atlético Madrid. I didn't speak Spanish, but I felt it was time to leave, even though almost no one around me was supportive. The first weeks were difficult, but I immediately felt the warmth of the people. The crowd and the team welcomed me very warmly and that made me fall in love with Madrid and Spain. When I had to go to England, it was very difficult for me to adapt because I missed Madrid. That's why I was happy to come back in 2018.

E: First you were at Atléti and now at Real Madrid. Do you think people understand this?

T: I know this is hard to understand for someone who loves Atléti. For the three years I played there, I gave everything I had to win. But I'm an athlete, it's my profession and I have to improve and fulfill my dreams by making bold decisions. Of course, I respect my past and never forget about it.

E: What are your plans for the future?

T: Growing the family, that's the first. And helping people, and that's the most important thing to both of us. To come back well after the injury and be in the best shape. Develop businesses and continue to enjoy life together in Madrid, with family and five dogs. I love sports and will always be involved in it, but when I retire, I see myself coaching youth teams rather than senior teams. It's too much pressure and too much time away from home. I think Mishel would throw me out of it (laugh).

[covid-safer-hotties]

MPXV and SARS-CoV-2 in the air of nightclubs in Spain - Published March 24, 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the relevance of airborne transmission of respiratory viruses.1 The risk of airborne SARS-CoV-2 exposure in public indoor spaces, in addition to hospitals, has been debated but experimental evidence is scarce.2 The mpox (formerly known as monkeypox) outbreak, a WHO Public Health Emergency of International Concern, primarily affects men who have sex with men (MSM). Monkeypox virus (MPXV) transmits by contact with skin lesions, fomites, and respiratory secretions,3 but detection of MPXV DNA in hospital air samples opens the possibility of alternative transmission routes.

We monitored SARS-CoV-2 and MPXV genomes in the air in six bar areas and one dark room (sex room) in Madrid nightclubs frequently visited by MSM during four weekend days in 2022 (July 8, July 16, Aug 8, and Nov 5). To sample aerosols, air samples were collected in nanofibre filters3 located behind the club bar or in a central location of the dark room away from customers (>2 m distance), and viral genomes were detected by quantitative PCR.

All air samples from July were positive for SARS-CoV-2, with 12 (86%) of 14 samples containing more than 50 genomes per m3, and three samples even reaching more than 1000 genomes per m3. These findings were consistent with epidemiological data that showed a high prevalence of COVID-19 among people older than 60 years in Spain at the time. All except one of the air samples from August and November were negative for SARS-CoV-2. On July 8, which coincided with the gay pride parade in Madrid, MPXV DNA was undetectable in the air, with the exception of one sample, and on July 16, it was detected in two samples. MPXV in the air had increased considerably on Aug 8, with four (57%) of seven positive samples containing more than 100 genomes per m3, or even more than 1000 genomes per m3 in one case; this date coincided with the peak incidence of mpox in Spain. High viral loads in the air were detected in the dark room but also in bar areas, sometimes even at higher concentrations. MPXV was undetectable in November. Carbon dioxide concentrations were very high in all nightclubs, indicating poor ventilation and a high risk of airborne transmission.

To our knowledge, this is the first evidence of airborne SARS-CoV-2 and MPXV in nightclubs. Aerial virus monitoring corresponded with epidemiological incidence, indicating that it is a reliable tool to evaluate environmental risks of infection. MPXV was previously detected in the air of health centre consulting rooms,4 and we showed high virus levels in the air of indoor public spaces, presumably exhaled from people who were infected with MPXV. This finding suggests that MPXV exposure occurs beyond skin or sexual contact, and future studies to address airborne monkeypox virus transmission are warranted. If COVID-19 or mpox cases rise in the future, people attending mass events or indoor public entertainment venues should be made aware of the risk of airborne exposure to these viruses.

[dweemeister]

Robot Dreams (2023, Spain/France)

There exists an assumption that one has to be an animator in order to direct an animated film. While most cinephiles might reflexively point to Wes Anderson (2009’s Fantastic Mr. Fox, 2018’s Isle of Dogs), I think Isao Takahata (1988’s Grave of the Fireflies, 1991’s Only Yesterday) the exemplar here. Even so, a non-animator taking the reins of an animated movie is rare. Into that fold steps Pablo Berger, in this adaptation of Sara Varon’s graphic novel Robot Dreams. Moved after reading Varon’s work in 2010, Berger acquired Varon’s “carte blanche” permission to make a 2D animated adaptation however he saw fit. Like the graphic novel, Berger’s Robot Dreams is also dialogue-free.

Beginning production on Robot Dreams proved difficult. Berger originally teamed with Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon (2009’s The Secret of Kells, 2020’s Wolfwalkers) to make Robot Dreams, but these plans fell wayside when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. His schooling in how to make an animated film would come quickly. Despite an increased appetite for Spanish animation worldwide (2019’s Klaus, 2022’s Unicorn Wars), poor distribution and marketing of domestically-made animated movies has often meant Spanish animators have roved around Europe looking for work. With a pandemic sending those Spanish animators home, Berger and his Spanish and French producers set up “pop-up studios” in Madrid and Pamplona, purchased the infrastructure and space needed to make an animated feature, and recruited and hired animators. Berger’s admiration of animated film fuses the lessons of silent film acting (Berger made a gorgeous silent film in 2012’s Blancanieves; in interviews, Berger cites Charlie Chaplin’s movies as having the largest influence on Robot Dreams, alongside Takahata’s films) to result in one of the most emotionally honest films of the decade thus far – animated or otherwise.

Somewhere in Manhattan in the late 1980s in a world populated entirely of anthropomorphized animals, we find ourselves in Dog’s apartment. Dog, alone in this world, consuming yet another TV dinner, is channel surfing late one evening. He stumbles upon a commercial advertising a robot companion. Intrigued, he orders the robot companion and, with some difficulty, assembles Robot. The two become fast friends as they romp about New York City over a balmy summer, complete with walks around their neighborhood and Central Park, street food, trips to Coney Island, and roller blading along to the groovy tunes of Earth, Wind & Fire. At summer’s end, an accident sees the involuntary separation of Dog and Robot, endangering, for all that the viewer can assume, the most meaningful friendship in Dog’s life and Robot’s brief time of existence.

If you have not seen the film yet, let me address a popular perception early on in this piece. Set in a mostly-analog 1980s, Robot Dreams contains none of the agonizing over artificial intelligence or automatons in fashion in modern cinema. There is no commentary about how technology frays an individual’s connections to others. Robot is a rudimentary creation, closer to a sentient grade school science project than a Data or T-1000.

So what is Robot Dreams saying instead? Principally, it is about the loving bonds of friendship – how a friend can provide comfort and company, how they uplift the best parts of your very being. For Robot, the entirety of their life prior to the aforementioned accident (something that I, for non-viewers, am trying not to spoil as Robot Dreams’ emotional power is fully experienced if you know as little as possible) has been one of complete estival bliss. Robot, in due time, discovers that one of the most meaningful aspects of friendship is that such relationships will eventually conclude – a fundamental part of life. And for Dog, Robot’s entrance into his life allows him to realize that, yes, he can summon the courage to connect with his fellow animals, realizing his self-worth. Perhaps Dog gives up addressing the accident a little too easily, but the separation of friends has a way of complicating emotions and provoking peculiar reactions.

On occasion, Robot Dreams’ spirit reminds me of Charlie Chaplin’s silent feature film period (1921-1936) – in which Chaplin, at the height of his filmmaking prowess, most successfully wove together slapstick comedy and pathos. On paper, pathos and slapstick should not mix, but Chaplin was the master of combining the two. No wonder Berger fully acknowledges the influence of his favorite Chaplin work, City Lights (1931), here.

Across Robot Dreams, Berger inserts an absurd visual humor that works both because almost all of the characters are animals and despite the fact almost everyone is an animal. A busking octopus in the New York City subway? Check. The image of pigs playing on the beach while sunburnt to a blazing red? You bet. A dancing dream sequence where one of our lead characters finds himself in The Wizard of Oz performing Busby Berkeley-esque choreography on the Yellow Brick Road? Why not? Much of Chaplin’s silent film humor didn’t come from his Little Tramp character, but the silliness, ego, and/or absentmindedness of all those surrounding the Tramp. In City Lights, humor also came from the rough-and-tumble edges of urban America. Such is the case, too, in Robot Dreams, with its blemished, trash-strewn depiction of late ‘80s New York (credit must also go to the sound mix, as they perfectly capture how ambiently noisy a big city can be).

Amid all that comedy, Berger nails the balance between the pathos and the hilarity – pushing too far in either direction would easily undermine the other. The film’s melancholy shows up in ostensibly happy moments and places of recreation: a realization during a rooftop barbeque lunch, the emptiness of a shuttered Coney Island beach in the winter, and an afternoon of kiting in Central Park. It captures how our thoughts of erstwhile or involuntarily separated friends come to us innocuously, in places that stir memories that we might, in our present company, might not speak of aloud.

As the film’s third character, New York City (where Berger lived for a decade) is a global cultural capital, a citywide theater of dreams, a skyscraper-filled signature to the American Dream. To paraphrase Sinatra, if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. But it tends to grind those dreams into dust. The city’s bureaucratic quagmire is lampooned here, as is its reputation for mean-spirited or jaded locals. Robot Dreams also depicts the visual and socioeconomic differences between the city’s boroughs. With such a jumble of folks of different life stations mashed together, Dog’s people-watching, er, animal-watching during his loneliest moments makes him feel the full intensity of his social isolation. With Robot, however, Dog has a naïve companion that he can show the best of the city to. Robot has no understanding of passive-aggressive or outright hostile behavior (see: Robot hilariously not understanding what a middle finger salute is – the only objectionable scene if you are considering showing this to younger viewers). Within this city of contradictions, Dog and Robot’s love is here to stay.

Though he is no animator, his experience in guiding Spanish actresses Ángela Molina, Maribel Verdú, and Macarena García in Blancanieves through a silent film was valuable. In animated film, there is a tendency towards overexaggerating emotions. But with Robot Dreams’ close adaptation of the graphic novel’s ligne claire style and the nature of Robot’s face, the typical level of exaggeration in animation could not fly in Robot Dreams. Berger and storyboard artist Maca Gil (2022’s My Father’s Dragon, the 2023 Peanuts special One-of-a-Kind Marcie) made few alterations to the storyboards, fully knowing how they wished to frame the film, and hoping to convey the film’s emotions with the facial subtlety seen in the graphic novel. Character designer Daniel Fernandez Casas (Klaus, 2024’s IF) accomplishes this with a minimum of lines to outline characters’ bodies and faces. Meanwhile, art director José Luis Ágreda (2018’s Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles) and animation director Benoît Féroumont (primarily a graphic novelist) visually translated Sara Varon’s graphic novel using flat colors and a lack of shading to convey background and character depth (one still needs shading, of course, to convey lights and darks of an interior or exterior).

Robot Dreams’ nomination for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature this year was one of the most pleasant surprises of the 96th Academy Awards. In North America, Robot Dreams’ distributor, Neon, has pursued an inexplicable distribution and marketing strategy of not allowing the film a true theatrical release until months after the end of the last Oscars. The film was available for a one-night special screening in select theaters in and near major North American cities the Wednesday before the Academy Awards. And only now (as of the weekend of May 31, 2024), Neon will release Robot Dreams this weekend in two New York City theaters, the following weekend in and around Los Angeles, with few other locations confirmed – well after interest to watch the film theatrically piqued in North America.

Alongside Neon’s near-nonexistent distribution and marketing of Jonas Poher Rasmussen's animated documentary Flee (2021, Denmark), one has to question Neon’s commitment to animated features and whether the company has a genuine interest in showing their animated acquisitions to people outside major North American cities. This is distributional malpractice and maddeningly disrespectful from one of the most acclaimed independent distributors of the last decade.

In Robot Dreams, Pablo Berger and his crew made perhaps the best animated feature of the previous calendar year. Robot Dreams might not have the artistic sumptuousness of the best anime films today, nor the digital polish one expects from the work of a major American animation studio. By film’s end, its simple, accessible style cannot hide its irrepressible emotional power. Its conclusion speaks to all of us who silently wonder about close friends long left to the past, their absence filled only by memory.

My rating: 8.5/10

^ Based on my personal imdb rating. My interpretation of that ratings system can be found in the “Ratings system” page on my blog. Half-points are always rounded down.

For more of my reviews tagged “My Movie Odyssey”, check out the tag of the same name on my blog.

[mariacallous]

Is the Cuban government on the verge of collapse? Has the moment that Washington has waited for, hoped for, and worked toward for 65 years finally arrived? Some U.S. officials seem to think so. But so eager are they to see the dream of regime change finally come true that they underestimate the Cuban regime’s resilience, skewing U.S. policy to the detriment of the Cuban people that they purport to support.

At a recent conference in Madrid, Brian Nichols—the assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs—gave a glimpse into how the Biden administration views Cuba’s current crisis. “Cuba is at a key moment,” he said, referring to recent protests over shortages of food and electricity in Santiago, the symbolic birthplace of Cuban revolutions. “And the solution is democracy.”

In a similar vein, U.S. President Joe Biden previously called Cuba a “failed state” following an unprecedented spate of nationwide protests that began on July 11, 2021. In normal usage, a failed state is one that has lost the capacity to govern its national territory. Haiti is a failed state; Cuba is certainly not. Nevertheless, the possibility that the protests marked the onset of a “people’s power” revolution caused Biden to freeze plans for relaxing some of former President Donald Trump’s draconian economic sanctions.

“After July 11, we hit the pause button,” said Juan Gonzalez, Biden’s National Security Council advisor for Latin America, in an interview with NBC.

Cuba was not a failed state in 2021, nor is it now—but its economy is failing under the combined weight of U.S. sanctions, misguided government policies, and the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” was designed to starve the economy of foreign exchange currency by curtailing travel, limiting remittances, impeding energy supplies, and coercing other countries into canceling medical services contracts with Cuba.

Just as these sanctions were taking effect, COVID-19 closed the tourist industry, the centerpiece of the Cuban economy, resulting in a loss of as much as $3 billion annually. When Trump blocked the wire service transfers of remittances and the pandemic prevented Cuban Americans from hand-carrying cash to help their families, annual remittances fell from more than $3 billion to just $1.9 billion in 2021. All in all, foreign exchange earnings dropped by some 40 percent.

With the economy under this severe stress, the government decided to undertake a long awaited currency and exchange rate reform that was poorly implemented, touching off runaway inflation that has eroded the real purchasing power of the Cuban peso by as much as 90 percent in certain informal markets.

As a result, Cubans are suffering critical shortages of basic necessities—food, fuel, and medicine. Electrical blackouts lasting half a day are common. Life has become so hard that more than 5 percent of the population has emigrated over the past two years, exacerbating the migration problem on the U.S. southern border.

On top of the economic crisis, Cuba’s leaders face unprecedented political challenges. Fidel Castro, whose prestige and charisma held the regime together through past hardships, is gone. His brother Raúl and the rest of the “historic generation” that brought about the revolution have stepped back from the helm, and their successors lack the credibility of the founders. The internet, and especially social media, have awakened Cuban civil society, confronting leaders with demands from below that they have no experience managing. Rising inequality, produced by the very market reforms that the government introduced to stimulate the economy, is exacerbating popular frustration.

The depth of people’s desperation and discontent is why some U.S. officials think the denouement of the Cuba regime may finally be at hand. U.S. analysts made that same mistake in the early 1990s, when the Cuban economy suffered a similar meltdown after the collapse of the Soviet Union. In 1993, a CIA National Intelligence Estimate predicted “a better than even chance” of regime collapse “within the next few years.”

In fact, official Washington has been predicting the Cuban regime’s imminent demise ever since 1959, when the Eisenhower administration expected to overthrow Fidel Castro’s revolutionary government before leaving office. When U.S. Ambassador to Cuba Philip Bonsal proposed offering Castro an olive branch to counter the rising influence of the Soviet Union, Assistant Secretary for Inter-American Affairs Thomas Mann replied, “Our best bet is to wait for a successor regime.” Subsequent U.S. administrations thought the Cuban regime would be toppled by exile paramilitary attacks, a comprehensive economic embargo, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and, finally, Castro’s death.

These predictions have been consistently wrong because they focused on the Cuban government’s vulnerabilities, neglecting its sources of resilience. First, despite widespread and deep popular discontent, there is no organized opposition able to mobilize and channel that discontent into a movement for political change. The one major attempt, in November 2021, to organize a nationwide “Civic March for Change” demanding political reform was a total failure. Today, most leading dissident activists are either in jail or in exile. The protests on July 11, 2021, and the recent ones in Santiago de Cuba were spontaneous outbursts of frustration over the hardships of everyday life, not the result of an organized opposition movement with staying power.

Second, although the Cuban political elite is clearly divided over economic policy, there is no evidence of any split over the fundamental structure of the political system. That is a critical difference from Eastern Europe in 1989. Ironically, U.S. hostility has strengthened elite unity, since Cuba’s leaders know that if they don’t hang together, they will surely hang separately.

Finally, there is no sign of disloyalty within the armed forces. On the contrary, the military enjoys exceptionally strong influence within the upper echelons of the Communist Party, and it manages key sectors of the economy. Its interests are well protected by the status quo.

With a cohesive elite, a loyal military, and no effective organized opposition, there is no plausible path to sudden regime transition in Cuba in the foreseeable future. Change will only come through evolution, not cataclysmic collapse. And regimes under siege are rarely disposed to embark on significant reforms. Former U.S. President Barack Obama recognized the futility of pursuing regime collapse, and he instead sought to engage with Cuba to shape its evolutionary change in a positive direction. But a normalization agreement reached a decade ago was quickly rolled back by the Trump administration.

Biden and his foreign-policy team are holding on to a Cuba policy inherited from Trump, built on the premise that there is no point engaging with a dead man walking. But the real zombie is U.S. policy, an “outdated approach that, for decades, has failed to advance our interests,” as Obama put it.

Even though the current U.S. approach has no prospect of producing regime change, it is impoverishing the Cuban people who Biden claims to support, deepening the humanitarian crisis on the island and accelerating uncontrolled migration—none of which serves the interests of the United States, let alone the Cuban people.

[beardedmrbean]

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has suspended public duties to "stop and reflect" on whether to remain in the job, after a court opened a preliminary inquiry into his wife.

In a statement, the Spanish leader said he urgently needed to decide "whether I should continue to lead the government or renounce this honour".

The court said it was responding to corruption claims against Begoña Gómez.

Mr Sánchez said he would make a decision on his future next Monday.

His wife would defend her honour and work with the judiciary, he said, to make clear there was no substance to the allegations against her.

The complaint against Begoña Gómez was raised by anti-corruption campaigners Manos Limpias (Clean Hands), who have taken part in a number of high-profile court cases in recent years and are led by a man linked to the far right called Miguel Bernad.

Manos Limpias put out a statement on Thursday signed by Mr Bernad acknowledging that its allegations might be false, because they were based on online newspaper stories: "If they are not true, it will be up to those that published them to take responsibility for the falsehood."

The Socialist prime minister said he would give a statement to the media on 29 April, after reflecting whether it was worth remaining in office "despite the mud" that the right and far right were trying to turn politics into.

In a lengthy statement on X, Mr Sánchez complained of a "strategy of harassment" over months aimed at weakening him politically and personally targeting his wife.

The court did not give details of the accusations against Begoña Gómez other than to say it had begun investigating allegations of influence peddling and corruption on 16 April.

However, the Cadena Ser website published details of the Manos Limpias complaint, which included a list of allegations culled from news websites including El Confidencial and Voz Populi.

El Confidencial reported on Wednesday that the inquiry was looking into Begoña Gómez's links to private companies that had secured government money or public contracts.

In particular, it cited a "sponsorship agreement" involving tourism group Globalia and a foundation she ran in 2020 called IE Africa Center. In 2020, Globalia secured a €475m (£407m) bailout for its airline Air Europa, as part of a series of government rescue packages for companies during the Covid-19 crisis.

The legal complaint was signed by Miguel Bernad, the head of Manos Limpias, which describes itself as a trade union and has in the past targeted politicians, bankers and King Felipe VI's sister, Princess Cristina.

Spain's conservative Popular Party (PP) demanded explanations in parliament earlier on Wednesday, to which the prime minister said simply that he believed in justice "despite everything".

Spanish media said he had left parliament for his Madrid residence visibly upset. Hours later he accused PP leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo of working with far-right party Vox to bring him down.

"I am not naive. I realise they are denouncing Begoña, not because she has done anything illegal - they know there is no case - but because she is my wife," he complained in his statement.

Political allies expressed support for Mr Sánchez, who has been in power since 2018, but his decision to suspend public duties comes at a tense time for his Socialist party ahead of European Parliament elections in June and elections in the Catalonia region of north-eastern Spain next month.

He was due to take part in a Catalan campaign launch in Barcelona on Thursday.

Pedro Sánchez leads an awkward coalition that includes two Catalan separatist parties, which were persuaded to support the government in return for an amnesty that covered a banned Catalan referendum on secession in 2017.

Without the support of the Catalan Republican Left (ERC) and Together for Catalonia (JxCat) he would not have been able to stay in power, following an inconclusive election last year.

Opposition parties were outraged by the amnesty, which also means the former Catalan regional leader Carles Puigdemont will stand in next month's regional vote, seven years after he fled imminent arrest and went into exile in Belgium.

Mr Puigdemont is still facing a terrorism case but believes the amnesty will enable him to return to Spain.