ESQUEIXADA

Salt Cod with Onion, Tomato, Red Pepper, and Olives (Catalonia)

Esqueixada is a quintessential Catalan salad (esqueixar is Catalan for “to tear”). The main ingredient is always cod. Some versions also include green bell peppers; others eliminate the peppers altogether. I make mine with red only.

Ingredients

• 1 pound salt cod, desalted 
• 1 yellow onion, sliced into very thin rings 
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil 
• 2 tomatoes, cut into 1-inch dice 
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into ¼-inch-wide strips 
• ½ cup black olives 
• ⅔ cup Sherry Vinaigrette 

PREPARATION

Tear the cod into small pieces, discarding any skin or bones.
In a bowl, combine the cod and onion, and pour in the olive oil to cover.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or for up to a few hours.
Drain the cod and onion and transfer to a large bowl.
Add the tomatoes, bell pepper, and olives and mix well.
Drizzle with the vinaigrette and toss to coat evenly.
Cover and refrigerate until well chilled and serve cold.

(Spain recipes)

Pollution is the world's biggest killer

A new study has found that pollution is now the world's biggest killer. One in six deaths worldwide is because of pollution. This is 16 per cent of all global deaths. Most of these deaths were from non-infectious diseases caused by pollution. These include heart disease, lung cancer and stroke. The study was published in the medical journal 'The Lancet'. Researchers said most pollution-related deaths occurred in poorer countries. About 92 per cent of these deaths were in low-income nations, especially countries where there is a lot of economic development, such as India and China. Bangladesh and Somalia were the worst affected countries. Brunei and Sweden had the lowest numbers of pollution-related deaths.

Study co-author Karti Sandilya said: "Pollution, poverty, poor health, and social injustice are deeply intertwined." He added: "Pollution threatens fundamental human rights, such as the right to life, health, wellbeing, and safe work." He said air pollution was the biggest killer. Air pollution led to 6.5 million premature deaths. The second biggest killer was water pollution, which caused 1.8 million deaths. The next largest killer was pollution in the workplace, which was linked to 800,000 worldwide deaths. Scientist Dr Penny Woods said: "Air pollution is reaching crisis point." She said the people who pollution hit the hardest are those with breathing and lung problems, children and the elderly. (Breaking News English)

LOW SOCIAL STATUS BAD FOR HEALTH

A new study shows that having a low social status can be bad for our health. The study was on monkeys. Researchers from Duke University in the USA looked at the behaviour and health of 45 female monkeys and found that those with a lower social status had more health problems. The monkeys were split up into five groups of nine. The researchers gave the monkeys in each group time to get to know each other. Then they took one monkey from each group and put her into another group. This meant she was the "new girl" and was at the bottom of the group. When scientists checked the health of the monkeys, they found that the "new girl" was unhealthier than the other monkeys.

The researchers said that although their study focused on monkeys, the findings could also be true for humans because we share a lot of our DNA with monkeys. Professor Graham Rook, from University College London, told the BBC News that the findings of the study may also apply to humans. He said governments must understand that people with a lower social status suffer more from health problems. He said that just because "people at the bottom" have got cars and TVs, it does not mean they are happy. If they feel they are at the bottom compared with richer people, their health will worsen. People who are richer can live up to two decades longer than those who are poorer. (Breaking News English)

Why do children go to school?

What is school for? This may seem an easy question to answer, but a poll taken in the USA shows people have different opinions on why kids go to school. The poll is called the 'Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools'. It is from a global association of education professionals called PDK International. PDK asked Americans to name the biggest purpose of school. Just 45 per cent of people who took part in the poll said the main goal of school was to prepare students to pass exams. Around a quarter of people said the main purpose was to get kids ready to join the workforce. Just over 26 per cent of Americans believed the biggest reason for school was to teach children about citizenship.

Joshua Starr, CEO of PDK, said the poll questioned whether today's schools were doing the right thing. He said: "One has to really question whether the direction we've been going is consistent with what the public wants." He quoted from author James Baldwin, who said in 1963 that the purpose of school is "to ask questions of the universe and learn to live with those questions." Students had different ideas about what school was for. Elena Brankov, 15, said school was to teach children to be creative, to share ideas with others and to use technology to make the world a better place. Lyndon Bailey, also 15, said school, "is just to make poor kids into robots who work and make rich people richer". (Breaking News English)

The Butterfly Circus

Women do not get enough sleep

A new report says a lack of sleep can cause long-term health issues and even death. Women are more likely to have problems sleeping than men. Researchers from the Sleep Apnoea Trust Association questioned 4,100 adults. Apnoea is when breathing stops for a short time during sleep. Almost half of the women did not sleep enough. This compared to 36 per cent of men. Women were also more likely than men to wake up at night.

Health experts warn that feeling exhausted due to little sleep could be a sign of a serious problem. Many women do not know about the dangers. Only a quarter see a doctor about this. A sleep expert said: "Often women think that feeling exhausted is just part of modern life when in fact it could be something more serious….It leaves women at risk of reduced quality of life. Bad cases of sleep apnoea can cause heart attacks and strokes.

(Breaking News English)

Brain Divided

Madrid hairdressers offer free haircuts for the homeless

A group of Spanish hairdressers are using their Sundays to give free haircuts to the homeless along with a chance to tell their stories.

For a month, these three stylists have been giving up their Sunday morning lie-ins to head out onto the streets of Madrid offering free haircuts to the city’s homeless population.

Ana Cuenca, a trained hairdresser, was inspired to start the project with two friends, Cristina Medina and Jonatan Martín after seeing the work ofa similar social project in Australia. 

They got in touch with the man behind the project, Nasir Sobhani, to ask for advice and shortly after #UnCorteUnaHistoria (a cut and a story) was born.

"We saw what Nasir was doing in Australia and we wanted to reproduce it here in Spain," Ana tells The Local. 

"We got in touch with a hairdressing company here in Spain, Industrias Orial, and they donated all the equipment we needed," Cristina adds. "Everyone has been so supportive." 

The trio tend to set up their mobile hairdressers in some of the city's busiest areas, such as its main shopping street, the Gran Vía or one of its main squares, Plaza de España. (The Local es)