Today in Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Wednesday

Top Madrid museum opens Gaza photo exhibition

One of Spain’s best-known art institutions opened an exhibition on Tuesday featuring photographs taken by photojournalists in war-torn Gaza, aiming to awaken "sleeping consciences" in a country that has already been at the forefront of highlighting the humanitarian calamity in the Palestinian territory.

The temporary show at Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, Gaza Through Their Eyes, shows residents of Gaza receiving humanitarian aid, children attending improvised schools amid ruins, and families enduring daily life in the midst of widespread destruction.

The museum organised the free exhibition in collaboration with UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, and it will remain on display in the main hall until October 19th.

"These photos document the bombings and devastation in the Gaza Strip, the forced displacement of the population, and the targeting of civilian infrastructure," said Raquel Martí, head of the Spanish branch of UNRWA.

Guillermo Solana, the museum's artistic director, added that the organisers hoped the images would serve "as a wake-up call for those who still refuse to see and turn away from what is happening."

To protect the safety of the participating photojournalists, the 27 photographs on display are unsigned. Israel has barred foreign reporters from Gaza, forcing international media to rely solely on local journalists and photographers.

Press freedom group Reporters Without Borders reports that over 210 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Israel launched military operations in the coastal enclave in response to the 7 October 2023 attacks by Hamas.

"These are not distant images. They are human gazes that compel us to recognise the dignity of a people who are suffering," Culture Minister Ernest Urtasun said at the exhibition's opening.

Spain's Nadal complains of AI advertising scam using his image

Former tennis superstar Rafael Nadal said Tuesday an artificial intelligence likeness of him is being used to advertise without permission.

"Together with my team, we have detected that fake videos generated by artificial intelligence are circulating on some platforms, in which a figure that imitates my image and voice appears," said Nadal in a statement on social media.

"In these videos, advice or investment proposals that do not originate from me are attributed to me. This is deceptive advertising."

The 39-year-old Spaniard, a 22-time Grand Slam winner, retired from tennis in November 2024 after competing for his country at the Davis Cup.

Barça's Camp Nou return held up again by permit issue

Barcelona must wait to return to their renovated Camp Nou home after the city council turned down their request for an essential permit on Tuesday.

The Spanish champions were hoping to host Real Sociedad there on Sunday in La Liga with a reduced capacity crowd of 27,000.

The Catalan giants will instead hold the game at the Olympic stadium on the city's Montjuic hill, where they played for the previous two seasons during works at Camp Nou.

"The club continues to work on obtaining the necessary administrative permits for the opening of Spotify Camp Nou in the coming weeks," said Barcelona in a statement.

"Currently, the club is working on the new amendments that the council has shared today."

European crypto fraud ring smashed

European authorities have taken down a long-running cryptocurrency fraud operation that conned more than 100 victims out of at least €100 million ($118 million), EU judicial body Eurojust said Tuesday.

Police raided properties in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Romania and Bulgaria, arresting five suspects, including the alleged mastermind behind the scam.

Victims were promised huge returns on cryptocurrency investments via professionally designed online platforms, Eurojust said in a statement.

The money handed over was then diverted to Lithuania for laundering.

"Once victims tried to recover their investments, they were asked to pay additional fees, after which the website that was used for the fraud disappeared," according to Eurojust.

"Subsequently the investors lost most, or in some cases, all of their money."

The scheme had been running since at least 2018, spanning some 23 countries, according to Eurojust, which coordinated what it called a "major operation".

The 100 victims also came from a variety of European countries, including Germany, France, Italy and Spain.

The alleged ringleader is suspected of large-scale fraud and money laundering.