Topic: Spain Turns to Corruption Rehab for Officials Who Can’t Stop Stealing

Carlos Alburquerque isn’t your typical rehab candidate. He’s a 75-year-old grandfather living in Córdoba, a city in southern Spain. He was a town notary before he retired in 2015. He hasn’t touched drugs or alcohol in years.

卡洛斯‧阿布奎基不是常人眼中該進勒戒所的人。他住在西班牙南部哥多華市，是個75歲的祖父。2015年退休前他是市鎮公證人。他已多年沒碰毒品和酒。

But his isn’t your typical rehab program: It’s an 11-month boot camp to reform corrupt Spanish officials and “reinsert” them into mainstream society.

但他接受的並非一般勒戒計畫，而是為期11個月的訓練營，目的是改造西班牙的貪官汙吏，並將他們「重新注入」主流社會。

“Repairing the damage is what is left for me in this life,” said Alburquerque, who is serving a four-year prison sentence for stealing around 400,000 euros (nearly $500,000) in his work drawing up contracts and deeds.

阿布奎基說：「這一生只求彌補過錯。」他在草擬合約和地契時私吞約40萬歐元（近50萬美元），被判入獄4年。

Over the course of 32 sessions in an austere conference room in Córdoba’s penitentiary, Alburquerque will be monitored by a team of psychiatrists. He will sit for group therapy sessions with titles like “personal abilities” and “values.” He is, in some ways, the guinea pig of an experiment meant to answer an age-old question: Buried deep in the soul of a swindler like Alburquerque, might there be an honest man?

在哥多華監獄一間簡樸的會議室內進行32次療程期間，阿布奎基將受到一組精神科醫生監控。他將參加「個人能力」和「價值」等團體治療課程。某種程度上，他是一個實驗的白老鼠，實驗旨在回答一個老問題：像阿布奎基這種騙子的心靈深處，會有個誠實的自我嗎？

That such a program exists in Spain may say much about the country’s belief in second chances as it does about how corruption has captured the public imagination here. Flip open a newspaper or turn on the radio: You will hear of schemes, scandals and skulduggery.

西班牙有此計畫，說明該國相信第二次機會，以及貪腐問題受公眾注視。翻開報紙或打開收音機，你會聽到陰謀、醜聞與詐欺。

Ángel Luis Ortiz, a former judge who now runs Spain’s prisons, said the boom-bust cycles of Spain’s economy had led it to a long history of fraudsters and betrayals of public trust.

曾任法官、現在主管西班牙監獄的安赫爾‧路易斯‧歐提茲說，西班牙經濟的盛衰循環，造就了詐欺和背叛公眾信任的悠久歷史。

But at least, corruption rates in Spain were no worse than in other European nations, Ortiz said, just 5% of all crimes.It was Spain’s will to rehabilitate the offenders that set it apart from the rest, Ortiz said.

歐提茲表示，西班牙貪瀆率並不比其他歐洲國家高，僅占所有刑事案件的5%。西班牙想讓罪犯自新，才是它有別於他國之處。

Nine prisons are running programs so far, which began in March. Prisoners don’t get reduced sentences for joining, but officials say participating is looked on favorably when it comes time to request parole.

目前已有9所監獄實施這項從3月開始的計畫。囚犯不會因為加入而獲減刑，但參加者申請假釋時會加分。

Yet for all the volunteers, Ortiz still thinks his biggest challenge may be convincing Spain’s corrupt officials that there actually might be something wrong with them.

雖有不少人自願參加，歐提茲仍認為，最大挑戰可能在於讓西班牙的貪腐官員相信，他們可能真的有問題。

For that, the government turned to Sergio Ruiz, a prison psychiatrist who helped design the program. Ruiz said that in addition to getting participants to recognize their flaws in group therapy, inmates would eventually be asked to participate in “restorative justice” sessions where they would ask for forgiveness from their victims.

政府為此求助於監獄精神科醫生塞吉奧‧魯伊茲，他幫忙設計了這個計畫。他表示除了讓參加者在團體治療中認識到自身缺陷外，最終還會要求他們參加「修復式正義」的課程，請求受害者饒恕。Source article: https://udn.com/news/story/6904/5495283

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Topic: ’Best birthday present ever!’ says Spanish diver after saving trapped whale

In a gripping underwater rescue, Spanish divers have freed a 12-metre long humpback whale entangled in an illegal drift net off the Balearic island of Mallorca.

在一起扣人心弦的水下營救中，西班牙潛水夫在巴利亞利的馬約卡島外海釋放了一隻纏繞在非法流刺網中的12公尺長的座頭鯨。

One of the divers, 32-year-old marine biologist Gigi Torras, said last Friday’s rescue and a little gesture of appreciation from the giant mammal were also a birthday present for her - the ’best ever’ in her words.

其中一名潛水夫，32歲的海洋生物學家吉吉．托利斯說，上週五的營救和來自這隻巨大哺乳類的一些謝意表現，也是給她的生日禮物－用她的話說就是「歷來最棒」。

The weakened whale had been spotted by a ship about three miles off the eastern coast of Mallorca, prompting Palma de Mallorca’s Aquarium marine rescue centre into action.

一艘船隻在馬約卡東岸外海3英里處瞥見這頭衰弱的鯨魚，促使馬約卡島的水族館海洋營救中心投入行動。

After initial attempts to cut the net from a boat failed, divers plunged into the sea to remove the mesh with their knives in a daring 45-minute operation.

在最初從船上切斷漁網的嘗試失敗後，潛水夫潛入海中，在45分鐘的大膽行動中，用他們的刀子移除漁網。

Nicknamed "walls of death" for the quantity of other sea life they catch in addition to the fish they are set for, drift nets were banned by the United Nations 30 years ago.

流刺網有「死亡之牆」的綽號，30年前就遭到聯合國禁用，因為它們除了捕撈目標魚類之外，還能捕撈其他大量海洋生物。

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Spanish engineers extract drinking water from thin air 西班牙工程師從稀薄空氣中取水

A Spanish company has devised a system to extract drinking water from thin air to supply arid regions where people are in desperate need.

一家西班牙公司設計出一套系統，可從稀薄空氣中提取出飲用水，供應乾旱地區民眾急需的用水。

"The goal is to help people," said Enrique Veiga, the 82-year-old engineer who invented the machine during a harsh drought in southern Spain in the 1990s. "The goal is to get to places like refugee camps that don’t have drinking water."

82歲工程師安立奎‧韋加表示：「我的目標就是幫助別人。」他在1990年代西班牙南部大旱期間，發明這部機器，「目標就是供水給難民營這類缺乏飲用水的地方。」

The devices made by his company, Aquaer, are already delivering clean, safe water to communities in Namibia and a Lebanese refugee camp.

他的公司生產名為「Aquaer」的設備，已在納米比亞和黎巴嫩的難民營投入使用，提供潔淨、安全的飲用水。

The machines use electricity to cool air until it condenses into water, harnessing the same effect that causes condensation in air-conditioning units.

這種裝置的運作原理類似冷氣機的冷凝作用，利用電力將空氣降溫，直到凝結成水。Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1521149 ; https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/1467078

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Topic: Spain to make some train journeys free from September

Public transport prices on state-owned service across Spain have already been slashed in half in response to rapidly rising energy and inflation rates. Now the government has announced further 100% discounts.

為因應能源價格和通膨率飆升，西班牙各地的國營公共運輸價格已經下調一半，如今近西班牙政府更宣布新的100％減價方案。

As of September, passengers will be able to travel across various trains operated by public train network Renfe for absolutely nothing.

今年9月起，乘客將可完全免費乘坐由西班牙國家鐵路公司（Renfe）營運的多種列車。

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has announced that multi-journey tickets for trains operated by the network’s public services Cercanías, Rodalies and Media Distance (equivalent to local and medium-distance journeys) are to be free of charge from September 1 up until the end of the year.

西班牙總理桑切斯宣布，從9月1日到今年年底，西班牙國家鐵路公司將免費提供Cercanías、Rodalies和Media Distance營運的火車聯程車票（相當於本地與中距離旅程）。

The measure excludes single-journey tickets, or long-distance travels, according to public broadcaster TVE. Multi-journey tickets include a minimum of 10 return trips.

西班牙國家電視台報導，聯程票包含至少10次往返旅程，但排除單程票和長途票。

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Topic: Spain horse whisperer’s animals mirror stress sufferers’ state of mind 西班牙馴馬師的動物反映了壓力患者的心理狀態

In the Guadalix mountains outside Madrid, Argentine horse whisperer Fernando Noailles uses his animals to help people suffering from stress and anxiety.

在馬德里外圍的瓜達利斯山裡，阿根廷馴馬師費爾南多．諾瓦耶斯出動他的動物，來幫助蒙受壓力與焦慮的民眾。

The 57-year-old, who spent many years in the Patagonian wilderness living with horses, uses the animals as a way for patients to interpret and control their emotions.

這位曾在巴塔哥尼亞原野與馬兒生活多年的57歲男子，用這些動物做為病人解讀與控制自身情緒的一種方法。

People who come to his sessions spend time with the horses and learn through the movement of the animal what mental state they themselves are in, says Noailles, who charges up to 120 euros per session.

每堂課收費高達120歐元的諾瓦耶斯說，來到他課堂的民眾和馬兒共度時光，並透過馬兒的動作，來認識自身當下的心理狀態。

"The horse is a mirror," he says. "They are gregarious creatures, born to live in herds."

他說，「馬是面鏡子。」「牠們是群居動物，天生活在馬群裡。」

The therapy consists in monitoring how the horse responds to the client’s moods. From watching the horse’s reaction, the client learns how to identify and control emotions, he says.

這種療法在於監測馬兒如何呼應客戶心情。他說，從觀察馬的反應，客戶學會如何辨識和控制情緒。

"People in the first session, when they are in a difficult state of mind, see a horse that doesn’t stop, that moves, that even gallops. The horse is showing you a mind that doesn’t stop, that is tormented," he says.

他說：「處於困難心理狀態之中時，民眾上第一堂課，看著一匹動不停、甚至狂奔的馬兒。這匹馬對你顯示了一顆受到折磨的不停歇的心。」Source article: https://features.ltn.com.tw/english/article/paper/1530547 ; https://news.ltn.com.tw/news/world/paper/1205649

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