International
Argentine Jorge Fernández Díaz wins the 81st Nadal Award with ‘El secreto de Marcial’
The Argentine writer and journalist Jorge Fernández Díaz has won the 81st edition of the Nadal Novel Award, endowed with 30,000 euros, with his autobiographical work ‘El secreto de Marcial’, which the winner of the award, Editorial Destino, will publish on February 5.
In the proclamation ceremony, Fernández Díaz, who had presented himself to the award under the pseudonym of Daniel Ocampo, has won the Nadal with a novel that had the provisional title of ‘Marcial’.
Previously, in the same evening, the winner of the 57th edition of the Josep Pla Prize for Catalan Prose was announced, endowed with 10,000 euros, which has fallen to the scientific popularizer and educator David Bueno, hidden behind the pseudonym of ‘Carro de Foc’, for ‘L’art de ser humans’, an essay that proposes a fascinating journey through the arts, neuroscience and education, which he had presented with the fictional title ‘Quan l’esser humà despierta’.
After the jury’s verdict was made public, Fernández Díaz, whose name coincidence with the former PP Minister of the Interior has not prevented any jokes, recalled that Nadal “is one of the world’s great prizes.”
“I am the son of two Asturians who emigrated to Argentina in the midst of hunger and fear of the post-war period after the Spanish Civil War and who built an epic emigrant in an immense Spanish community, forgotten and today in the process of extinction,” confessed the Argentine journalist, who wants to dedicate the winning novel precisely to “that forgotten community in which I grew up.”
A few years ago, in 2001, Fernández Díaz wrote the successful novel ‘Mamá’, which he dedicated to his mother Carmina, an Asturian who was sent to Argentina at the age of 15 to flee poverty in the post-war period of Francoism.
The author now focuses on ‘El secreto de Marcial’ on “the most mysterious person”, his father, Marcial Fernández, who in ‘Mamá’ was “a secondary character, a chapter, because for some reason he was a hermetic person, who was present in an exceptional way.”
For the winner of the dean of the Hispanic literary awards, “there is only one mother, but every father is an enigma” and, for that reason, he decided to solve it: “My father did not have the tools to communicate with me, and his only way, the only sentimental education he bequeathed to me was to watch together some of the classics of old Hollywood, some films that I have later revisited.”
Since Marcial Fernández died in 2005, his father became “a kind of literary ghost” who challenged him to try to write about him.
“My father gave me for lost when he found out that I wanted to be a writer and it is an ironic turn that my father returns to Spain in the form of a novel and tonight,” he said excitedly.
In Fernández Díaz’s opinion, his father was the archetype of “those tough men not trained for the paternal-child relationship, a facet that he left exclusively in the hands of the mother.”
Although he tells the life of Marcial, the writer has also wanted to narrate the life of the Spanish community in Argentina, which “had great importance at the time and is on the verge of extinction with some of its members already in the ages.”
The novel, the author points out, takes place in a different Buenos Aires from that of Marcial, where a family investigation takes place looking for the secrets of this enigmatic man, a research that takes the reader to Asturias.
In the same evening, previously, the 57th Josep Pla Prize for Catalan prose was presented to the biologist, researcher and science popularizer David Bueno, for his work ‘L’art de ser humans’.
After knowing the verdict, Bueno said that “this award is not the end of anything” and about the award-winning work he commented that it is “a fascinating journey through the arts, neuroscience and education, which redefine the way we perceive the world and ourselves.”
In the usual evening that opens the literary course of the year every January 6 in Barcelona, which this year has remembered the centenary of Ana María Matute, personalities from the cultural, political and economic world have attended, headed by the president of the Generalitat, Salvador Illa, and the Minister of Culture, Ernest Urtasun.
International
Gates Foundation to close by 2045 as Bill Gates pledges to donate $200 Billion
When Bill and Melinda French Gates established the Gates Foundation in 2000, they envisioned an organization that would continue its work for decades after their deaths. But now, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he doesn’t want to wait that long to give away most of his fortune.
On Thursday, Gates announced that he plans to donate “virtually all” of his estimated $200 billion fortune over the next 20 years and will dissolve the foundation on December 31, 2045.
The announcement comes amid deep cuts by the Trump administration to funding for health, foreign aid, and public assistance programs — the very causes the Gates Foundation supports. The shift raises concerns about setbacks in global health research and critical development initiatives.
Gates says he wants to accelerate the foundation’s work in global health and equity, and hopes the move will inspire other billionaires to follow suit. In a blog post published Thursday morning, he emphasized that the foundation’s final phase should serve as a model for large-scale philanthropic impact.
This new pledge builds on Gates’s long-standing commitment to philanthropy. Alongside French Gates and Warren Buffett, he co-founded the Giving Pledge in 2010, which encourages billionaires to donate the majority of their wealth either during their lifetimes or in their wills. The campaign now has more than 240 signatories worldwide.
International
Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of endangering the world’s poorest children
Bill Gates, co-founder of Microsoft turned global health philanthropist, sharply criticized Elon Musk in a recent interview with The New York Times, saying the tech billionaire is “the richest man in the world and is involved in the deaths of the world’s poorest children.”
At 69, Gates announced that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation will cease operations by 2045, and he urged the next generation of billionaires to step up. However, he expressed concern that today’s wealthy individuals are less committed to humanitarian work than they were two decades ago.
He cited Elon Musk as a prime example: “He’s the one who cut the USAID budget. He shredded it — all because he didn’t attend some party that weekend.”
Gates argued that Musk “could have been a great philanthropist,” but instead, “the richest man in the world is now contributing to the deaths of the world’s poorest children.” He pointed to how cuts to USAID have disrupted essential programs fighting HIV, malaria, and polio.
Gates called on the global elite to do more: “It’s not that we’re running out of rich people. There will be more, and they’ll reflect on what AI has done — or hasn’t — and what governments have done — or haven’t.”
Looking ahead, he urged future billionaires to commit to greater philanthropy, especially as his own foundation phases out: “The rich of today should do more. The rich twenty years from now should do more.”
Despite his criticisms, Gates maintained his trademark optimism. He dismissed fears that repeated U.S. administrations will continue cutting humanitarian budgets: “I don’t think there will be administration after administration slashing these things. If we look 20 years ahead, I believe we’ll continue reducing child mortality.”
Gates also expressed faith in artificial intelligence, suggesting it can provide medical expertise in remote regions on par with doctors with decades of experience — potentially even better than what’s available in wealthy countries.
International
VP JD Vance to World Cup visitors: “Enjoy the game, then go home”
U.S. Vice President JD Vance issued a light-hearted but firm warning to international visitors planning to attend the 2026 FIFA World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“We know we’ll have visitors, probably from close to a hundred countries. We want them to come. We want them to celebrate. We want them to enjoy the games,” said Vance during a press conference on Tuesday focused on the organization of upcoming major sporting events in the U.S.
“But when it’s over, they’ll have to go home,” he added.
Vance, speaking in a joking tone, also mentioned Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, saying, “Otherwise, they’ll have to speak with Secretary Noem.”
The comment came during the first joint working session aimed at preparing for the 2026 World Cup, which will feature 48 national teams and take place across multiple cities in North America.
Gates Foundation to close by 2045 as Bill Gates pledges to donate $200 Billion
Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of endangering the world’s poorest children
VP JD Vance to World Cup visitors: “Enjoy the game, then go home”
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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