Month: May 2025

The Granada particle accelerator is born today. Thanks to him Spain has the key to nuclear fusion

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Today is a crucial day for IFMIF-DONES (International Fusion materials irradicion facility demo-eraned neutron source). This very important scientific project is closely linked to ITER (International Thermonuclear Experctor reactor), The experimental reactor of nuclear fusion that An international consortium led by Europe He is building in the French town of Cadarache. Ifmif-Dones, however, resides in listening to, a town in the province of Granada. The construction works of this last installation began in mid -September 2022, but today it is a very important day for both Granada and all of Spain. And it is because the Council of Ministers will approve today the investment of almost 200 million euros required by the start of the construction of the IFMIF-DONES linear particle accelerator. This machine is the authentic heart of this scientific installation, and, therefore, the ingenuity that will place Spain in The nuclear fusion map. The tuning of this linear particle accelerator will cost approximately 450 million euros, although the Andalusian Board will contribute half of this money. However, this is the cost of the accelerator; The IFMIF-Dones project will completely cost about 700 million euros. Spain will contribute half of this capital. To this figure we must add another 50 million to carry out its implementation. In addition, the operation of this avant -garde research center will have an annual cost of about 60 million euros, of which Spain will assume 10%. It may seem a lot of money, but we must not forget that those responsible for the project are convinced that The economic and scientific return Ifmif-Dones will far exceed your cost. What is Ifmif-Dones and why it is crucial for the future of nuclear fusion Ifmif-Dones is one of the three fundamental pillars of the nuclear fusion building in whose construction the European Union is involved. The other two are iter and demo. The experimental nuclear fusion reactor that is currently being built in the French town of Cadarache seeks to demonstrate that the merger at the scale that man can handle works, and also that it is profitable from an energy point of view. However, Iter does not aspire to produce electricity. That will be demo’s task (Demonstration Power Plant), an installation that will take the technological advances that will have shown to function correctly in Iter and take them one step further to establish themselves as The authentic precursor of commercial nuclear fusion reactors. However, without Ifmif-Dones there will be no demo, so Granada is now the center of attention. The fusion of a deuterium core and another tritium triggers the production of a helium core and a neutron that is fired with an energy of about 14 MEV To understand in all its extension what is the role of the IFMIF-DONES project, it is necessary that we briefly review the foundations of nuclear fusion. One of the biggest challenges facing the technicians who are involved in the tuning of nuclear fusion reactors by means of magnetic confinement, such as Iter, consists of recreating inside the vacuum chamber of these sophisticated machines the necessary conditions so that the deuterium and tritium nuclei are merged. However, this is not everything. When this reaction takes place the fusion of a deuterium nucleus and another of tritium triggers the production of a helium core and a neutron that is fired with An energy of about 14 MEV (Megaelectronvolts). The problem is that the neutron lacks net electric charge, so it cannot be confined inside the magnetic field that, however, does retain the deuterium and tritium nuclei, which have positive electric charge. This is the reason why when it originates as a result of the nuclear fusion reaction, this neutron is fired towards the walls of the vacuum chamber with enormous energy. This particle is very important because in practice it will be closely linked to the production of electrical energy in nuclear fusion reactors, but, at the same time, it represents a very aggressive form of radiation that can significantly degrade the materials used in the reactor. The components that will be most affected by the direct impact of high energy neutrons and the most intense heat flow are the internal wall of the vacuum chamber and the Blanketthat it is a mantle that covers it and that has as its purpose Regenerate the tritium that it is necessary to use as fuel in the nuclear fusion reaction. This is the reason why it is crucial to develop new materials that are able to support the flow of neutrons and guarantee, therefore, that the reactor will have a prolonged operational life. IFMIF-DONES linear accelerator will produce high energy neutrons with the intensity and volume of irradiation necessary to test candidate materials This is, neither more nor less, the purpose of Ifmif-Dones. And to carry it out it is necessary to put ready -to -set facilities to allow the technicians involved in the project to evaluate the properties of candidate materials to intervene not only in demo, but also in future commercial nuclear fusion commercial reactors. The task of this project invites us to intuit what the heart of Ifmif-Dones is: a source capable of producing high energy neutrons with the intensity and volume of irradiation necessary for Test candidate materials. And this source of neutrons will be nothing other than a linear particle accelerator that will help IFMIF-DONES scientists to try, validate and qualify the materials that in the medium term should reach future electric power production plants through fusion. Image | IFMIF-DONES In Xataka | Iter has faced one of the great challenges of nuclear fusion: prevent plasma from 150 million ºC to destroy the reactor

The psychological barrier of 100 euros per video game is closer than ever. And the owners of ‘GTA VI’ have opinions

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Barely a five years ago We asked ourselves If 80 euros for a PlayStation 5 game was a lot or little. Today the thing has gone to more. Because of the latest movements in the industry and although no company has decided to take the final step, the psychological barrier of 100 euros already has more than “psychological” than authentic barrier. Because we already have it on the horizon. The Take-Two CEO, of course. The last comment On the price of the games it has been from the Take-Two CEO (owner of Rockstar), Strauss Zelnick, who has spoken of “variable prices” when asked about ‘GTA VI‘. The game, he says, must be in proportion to the experience offered: “Our goal is to create The best entertainment in the world and take it to all consumers, wherever they are, and for that We must offer value“, he says, while defending the price of 50 euros for ‘Mafia: The Old Country’, also of the company. It makes sense, but it hurts the same. The variable price, on the table, has logic: if the game is a blockbuster that It has cost 200 million dollars It will have a more expensive price than an indie production with a team of five people. But before that logic we find more or less arbitrary increases, that have been much discussed and that actually have a lot of industry’s score to see how far the machine can be forced. For example, in the announcement of his imminent switch 2, Nintendo talked about games such as ‘Mario Kart World’, with a price close to 90 euros In its physical edition. The fallacy of entertainment. Meanwhile, we continue to see opinions such as Shuhei Yoshida, responsible for the PlayStation brand, today retired, and that said in an interview that “I think it remains a bargain (the price of 80-90 euros) considering the amount of entertainment that the highest quality games provide compared to other forms of entertainment.” It is a fallacy that has been widely refuted: The “Cost per hour” as a value measure and consequent excuse to raise prices blur the quality of experience in favor of the number of hours, and has taken us, over time, to A large amount of filling and superfluous material in video games. To 80 those of PS5. The last time we saw such an aggressive price increase was when PlayStation 5 imposed as a rule for its AAA games the 80 euros. At that time, We adjust prices to inflation From the video game industry until its beginnings and we conclude that they were not as expensive as they seemed: the current 80 euros of PS5 equals almost 120 that the Super Nintendo games cost or the almost 400 of the Neo Geo games in the nineties. Have we gone to better? Are games cheaper now? The numbers seem to secure it. Cheaper, but no. As Baitybait explained In a video about games pricesif we adjust to inflation today’s games are not so expensive. But the truth is that market circumstances have changed since the time of the Super Nintendo. They have changed, for example, certain sales strategies (before a game was a game and point; now there are special editions, microtransactions, DLCs and then launch complete editions …). The digital games market has also changed, now predominantand that has not brought with it a price decrease even though it is cheaper for companies. And it has changed, in short, the fact that the number of releases has multiplied by ten, so the expectations that the player handles with each new game are very different from those that were handled in the eighties or the nineties. Currently investing in a game is not an action as carefree as before: each game is required much more. Therefore, the games are comparatively the same or even cheaper than before, but the player’s psychology has changed greatly. Header | Rockstar In Xataka | People are completely obsessed with the ‘GTA VI’ trailer. And you are looking for clues and theories in every detail

What is and how the app works to find aid, scholarships and subsidies of the creators of my citizen folder

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Let’s explain What is and how the app works Help linesa public administration tool created by those responsible for My citizen folder. It is a new tool to centralize procedures, in this case related to aid you can get. We are going to start the article explaining what this application is and what you can do with it. Then we will tell you how it works and how you can use it to request various types of help, either to train or to undertake, independent or other things. What is the Aid lines app Help lines is an official application of public administration. It seeks to centralize information on all kinds of aid that the government gives, as well as scholarships or subsidies. Therefore, it is another application as interesting as My citizen folder either Midgt. In this application you can find subsidies, aid, scholarships and awards from all administrations. Therefore, it is basically an index to find this type of aid. The application has a search engine With various types of filters and options. You can search only in some provinces or specific communities, choose the type of aid, the convening body, or the subject with which it is related. Even if you have already heard of some help you will be able to search for your reference number. For the rest, it is a fairly simple application. Your interface is clear, in each type of help you have A complete description including the deadline to request it, and little else. It serves what it serves, it does well, and that’s it. How to use help lines The first thing you have to do is download application Help linesavailable In Google Play For Android and In the App Store From your iPhone. It is a totally free application, and that you do not need to log in. When opening the app for the first time you will have to accept the privacy agreements and their terms and conditions of use. The application itself is very simple. You only have three sections, one start with information about the latest aids issued, the Search and Favorites section. In the main one, you will see all subsidies, awards, aid, scholarships in general nationwide, as well as its location, responsible administration and the term date. If you enter the search engineyou can make simple searches or use the advanced ones. In the advanced searches section you will have many fields that you can specify, including subjects, type of aid, the convening organ or the geographical scope, in addition to the publication or limit dates. In the geographical field you can choose national, international or those of concrete autonomous communities. Everything to try to refine the type of help to the maximum and why you need it or where. When you press one of the aid you will enter your file. In it you will have all the information, including description of the aid and the beneficiaries to know if you can opt for it. Also the convening organ, the geographical scope or the deadlines. In addition, you will have external links to expand the information entering the aid website or to request it directly. Finally, at the top of the file you have options to share it or to mark help as a favorite and thus be able to access from the corresponding section without having to look for it again. In Xataka Basics | New public transport aid: free fertilizers and with discounts that return to 2025

Europe has started a race against the clock. And China has entered to make prices more expensive

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Winter has left Europe with reservations practically empty and needs to reach a level of 90% before November. Meanwhile, China has emerged as a direct competitor in the global gas market, putting Europe in a counterreloj race to guarantee its supply before prices shoot. Short. The European Union will have to spend 10,000 million euros more than last year to fill its gas reserves, According to the Financial Times medium. The reason behind this increase is due to a colder winter, an increase in demand for less renewable generation and greater dependence on liquefied natural gas. The background. It all started with the war in Ukraine, since until that moment Russia supplied about 40% of the gas To the EU. However, commercial reprisals and sanctions drastically reduced that supply, to the point that an agreement has been signed to fully close exports in 2027, According to Euronews. A vicious circle. The European bloc had to look for other alternatives, such as the GNL imported from the United States and Qatar. However, it continued to supply Russian gas Through third countries or by calls “Ghost ships”. At the same time, the European Union was trapped in a price instability cycle, caused in part by the spot market dependence for LNG purchases. As He explained The London medium, this situation caused governments to compete with each other to ensure cargoes, inflating prices and generating distortions in the market. Flexibility in storage. Given the difficulties in maintaining 90 %reserves, the European Commission is considering granting greater flexibility in the storage objective, especially after Germany – the country more dependent on gas – requested adjustments to avoid price peaks in summer. However, in parallel, Germany has reached an agreement with France to receive energy support through the nuclear energy supply. A strategic movement that seeks to ensure its energy stability while storing objectives are readjusted. This measure aims to relieve pressure on markets, although it generates uncertainty due to the possibility that changes are not promulgated in time. The recharge dilemma. According to Kuhanathan, an analyst from Allianz Trade, has declared Financial Times That many gas merchants are delaying reservation recharge, waiting for prices to fall further. However, this attitude could generate a sharp increase in demand at the end of summer, shooting prices just before winter. In addition, Peder Bjorland, Vice President of Equinor Gas Commerce, has warned in the same medium that Europe will have to pay higher prices to overcome Asian competition if China’s demand is replenished. China, a determining factor. The largest world buyer of liquefied natural gas is China. Last year, LNG’s Chinese demand was reduced due to an unusually favorable climate and economic slowdown. This drop in consumption allowed Europe to access cargoes that, otherwise, would have gone to Asia, contributing to stabilize prices in the short term. However, projections for the coming months indicate a possible rebound in Asian demand. The commercial truce between Beijing and Washington, Recently announcedcould activate an increase in Chinese industrial activity, which would raise the demand for LNG, According to estimates of the Financial Times. In addition, a hot summer in Asia can further increase gas consumption, putting Europe in a direct competition situation with Asian buyers. According to Morgan Stanley analysts for the same medium, this additional pressure would boost gas prices up to 10%. A decisive actor. During the commercial war with the United States, Beijing He hinted that he could sell American liquefied natural gas to Europe, but the situation has taken a totally different nuance. Now it is key to observe The development of the Power of Siberia 2 gas pipeline With Russia, as well as China’s ability to DNA. Leaving the framework of the global energy future open. Image | Pixabay Xataka | Putin’s not so secret plan to survive without Europe: a giant gas pipeline to China

Carrefour demolishes the price of this Samsung Miniled Smart TV with 55 inches, Alexa and Dolby Atmos

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From time to time, stores like Carrefour – we also tend to see it in El Corte Inglés – they release offers that can only be accessed online, so they are not available in physical stores. This is the case of the Samsung Qn85D TV, which will be Available on offer until May 26 With two configurations that remain at a very good price: Of course, at this time, Amazon has the cheapest TV in its 55 -inch settings. It can be found in the store at a price of 669 euros. Samsung Qn85D (Neo Qled, 55 inches) * Some price may have changed from the last review A TV with Alexa, film director and neo -right screen The Samsung Qn85d It is a high -end Smart TV that stands out both for its image and sound section. Mount a very good Neoqled screen and 55 -inch miniled backting. It also offers both 4K resolution and 100 Hz soda rate, image format compatibility HDR10+ and Film Director Mode To watch movies and series. On the other hand, it also has an excellent audio section that stands out mainly for its speakers, which offer both a 40W power as compatibility with Dolby Atmos. Although this section is quite complete, the TV has Q-Symphonya Samsung technology that we also see in sound bars and that, together on both devices, can offer a more complete and more enveloping experience. And regarding connectivity and other functions, Samsung QN85D smarts comes with Alexa Integrated (Amazon’s voice assistant), his operating system is Tizen, comes with function Multi-View To divide the screen and watch two different contents at the same time (useful for, for example, watch TV while choosing a Netflix movie or series and comes equipped with Four HDMI portsa pair of USB and Wifi and Bluetooth ports, among other connectivity options. You may also interest you Samsung Sound Bar HW-S700D/ZF 2024-Ultra Slim Design, Dolby Atmos Wireless, Q-Symphony, 3.1 channels and Spacefit Sound * Some price may have changed from the last review Xiaomi TV Box S (3nd gen) – 4K Ultra HD, Powerful processor, 2GB RAM, 32GB Smart TV Box memory, Google TV, Dolby Vision, HDR10+, Dolby Atmos, DTS -X, Wireless Project, Wifi 6, Black (version is) * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Wutichai1983 in FreepikSamsung In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which to buy and seven recommended 4K 4K In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which to buy and seven recommended models from 140 euros

An incidence of Telefónica is affecting the emergency telephone 112. There are alternatives for those affected

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An incidence in Telefónica’s infrastructure is causing some problems in fixed lines in various regions of Spain. Especially striking is the impact that this incidence is having on the emergency telephone number, 112. What happened. As indicated In the countrya spokesman for Telefónica reveals that “we have done some network update works that have affected specific services in some companies. We are working to solve it.” Several regions without 112. There are several autonomous communities and regions that Sen have been unable to receive calls to their 112 emergency services by Telefónica clients in these areas. Some of the alternatives are: Aragon Government: 683 638 273/683 134 645/660 705 897 Basque Government: 902 112 088 Generalitat Valenciana: 96 342 80 00 Others affected. In Extremadura too have warned problems And they indicate that they are “working early so that they do not affect the citizen”, but there are no alternative numbers. The same happens in 112 of Andalusia, where It is indicated That this incidence begins to recover in this autonomous community. In it release of the Junta de Andalucía indicate the following: “It should be noted that, this morning, the company Movistar had scheduled an intervention at 03.00, from that moment on, the outgoing calls have begun to be felt, although without affecting the calls of the citizenship that have only been affected in the early morning.” Others get rid. In the Generalitat of Catalonia indicate that the incidence has been minimal “and contingency systems have operated and now work normally.” In 112 of the Community of Madrid There are no notices And it does not seem that there has been an impact. The 112 of Castilla y León also seems to be free of incidents according to those responsibleand the same happens In Galicia either in the Balearic Islands. Other autonomous communities such as Canary Islands, Murcia, Navarra or Cantabria do not register notices in their accounts in X, for example. Irregular impact. The incidence seems to irregularly affect Telefónica customers. From the Department of Security of Telefónica indicate that around four in the morning they have begun to detect “problems with some of the calls that entered the Call Center “. In development …

All AI companies promise that the AGI will arrive very soon. The problem is that chatgpt is not the way

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In December 2022 chatgpt He left us speechless to all. However, two and a half years later we have a problem: it does not seem that after all this time I can go to much more. It has improved, yes, but in the meantime we are moving away from the great promise of AI, which is none other than going beyond and that someone manages to reach what is known as the General Artificial Intelligence. And it seems clear that this path, that of Chatgpt, is not the good to get it. Promises, promises. A few months ago Sam Altman called the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and He said that the AGI would arrive before it ended its mandate. It is a message that has been repeating for months, although then spoke of “A few thousand days“Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, believes that It could arrive beforein 2026. Elon Musk – who promised that he would have a totally autonomous Tesla in 2016 – agreed and pointed at 2026 as the year we will have an AGI. All are hypeptimists for a simple reason. Money. Like Altman, all who defend the rise and development of AI and the imminent arrival of the AGI do so to raise more and more money for their companies. We know that developing, training and running models of ia costs true fortunes, but the progress in this field seems to be slowing down. Doubts with climbing. There are many who believe that the current strategy of climbing the models – give more GPUS and get more data to train them – no longer compensates as much as before. The latest versions of the great foundational models exceed their predecessors, yes, but not in a striking way. It’s as if we had touched the roof. This is not the way. And for months the voices of experts have begun to be heard making it clear that other solutions must be sought. Nick Frosst, a student at Geoffrey Hinton and founder of Cohere, is clear that current technology is not enough to reach an AGI. What the generative AI does is “predict the next most likely word”, but that is very different from the way humans think. Lecun believes that we will take a long time to achieve an AGI. Personalities respected in the world of AI such as Yann Lecun, head of the division of AI in the finish line, are clear. Models as chatgpt They will not be able to match human intelligence. Also ensures that achieving a human level AI It will take a long time: Nothing “a few thousand days” as Altman said. And Sutskever coincides. This openai co -founder, is also skeptical with the potential of the generative AI, which according to him It is barely improving. His new startup, Safe Superintelligence, aims to create a superintelligence with “nuclear” securityalthough at the moment there have been no details about the strategy they are following to achieve it. It is not of course the one that followed when it helped create chatgpt. A recent survey to an academic association of experts in this field They thought the same: Three quarters of those who responded do not believe that current methods serve to end up developing an AGI. The generative AI is not a miracle. As they point out In The New York Timeswhat chatbots like chatgpt or other developments in this field is to do one thing very well, “but they are not necessarily better than humans in others.” According to him there is a certain temptation to think of these chatbots as something magical, but “these systems are not a miracle. They are very impressive gadgets.” Chatgpt does not challenge what he knows. Thomas Wolf, co -founder and Chief Science officer of Hugging Face, is clear that the generative AI is very good, but is far from taking us to an AGI. What we have, he explained a few weeks ago, is like “a country full of people who tell us yes to everything.” Chatgpt does not challenge us, but he does not challenge what he knows either. “We need a system that is able to ask yourself things that nobody had thought Or that nobody had dared to ask, “he said. Many challenges ahead. Among the differences between AI and human intelligence is that the latter is linked to the physical world: part of our intelligence is to know when to turn the toast, for example. There are advances in robotics and sensors that can help solve such problems, but this is a good example of how there are still many challenges to overcome to achieve that general artificial intelligence that is supposed to match (or overcome) to human intelligence in all disciplines. And the Ias that reason? The generative AI companies have found a small respite with the modes of reasoning of their chatbots. Here we find a singular advance that allows AI to respond more precisely and detailed thanks to “thinking” their answers and following a process of “reasoning” that tries to imitate the human. However, this does not seem to take us to an AGI, and again these modes of reasoning are rather a way to try that the answers are something better and do not see “hallucinations” by the chatbots. In spite of everything, Chatgpt and its rivals continue to make mistakes in this and the rest of the ways. Odds. On the horizon some possibilities appear. The current approach based on neural networks accompanies the approach of symbolic systems (based on rules) that can help provide elements such as deductive reasoning or abstract knowledge management to current models. It also works on training of models with physically precise virtual environments and in the so -called systems of meta-learningwhich allow to train new neural networks quickly and with a limited data set. But companies need products to sell us. These approaches to the development of new research roads are there, but the problem … Read more

An orbital computing network designed for AI

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Just a few minutes after noon on May 14, a Long March 2D rocket took off from Jiuquan’s launch center with an ambitious objective: to put into orbit the first 12 satellites of the “Three-Body” computer constellation. It is the official beginning of which China presents as the first supercomputing network distributed in space, a movement that marks a before and after in the race to move artificial intelligence beyond traditional data centers. A scale jump: from data centers to space. The constellation, led by Zhejiang Lab and developed in collaboration with the company Guoxing Yuhang (Ada Space), is part of the so -called “Star Computing Plan”. This first mission, called 021, has placed in the same orbit 12 smart satellites with names that honor Chinese cities such as Neijiang, Haikou or Taizhou. Each of them is equipped with an intelligent calculation system and laser connectivity up to 100 GB/s to form an interconnected orbital network. According to the official information published by the Chinese Government and collected by media like Xinhuathese first satellites total a capacity of 5 pops (peta-operations per second) and have in conjunction of 30 TB of storage on board. What are pops? HkexNews explains that 1 pops equals a four -year period (10^15) of operations per second. China’s goal is to deploy a constellation that, According to the information that Spacenews managescould reach 2,800 satellites, with a total capacity of 1,000 POPs. An orbit laboratory. Each satellite has a space computer developed by Zhejiang Lab, with a capacity of up to 744 tops (thera-operations per second) per unit. In addition, they are accompanied by a model of 8,000 million parameters, specially designed to operate directly into orbit. This allows real -time data processing tasks without the need to send all the information to land stations. Use cases: from natural disasters to astronomical science. The satellites They are designed To offer very specific services: Gamma ray detection, generation of 3D digital twins of entire regions, remote observation with processing on board and monitoring of natural phenomena. One of them even includes an x ​​-ray polarimeter Developed by the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of Guangxi, designed to detect Gamma explosions and activate in second coordinated observations with other missions. Besides, According to Ada Space herselfthe data collected will also serve for civil applications such as emergencies, immersive video games and smart tourism. A orbital cloud under sovereign control. Behind the deployment there is a geostrategic ambition: build a spatial computing infrastructure under Chinese control that combines global coverage with energy efficiency and low latency. Unlike land data centers, satellites can use solar energy continuously and do not require active cooling systems. What’s coming: more power, more satellites. Ada Space has already confirmed that is working on a second generation of satellites with even more power. The objective is clear: validate the computing architecture distributed in orbit, climb it and turn it into the nucleus of a space cloud capable of operating large -scale AI models without depending on the terrestrial infrastructure. Images | Ada Space In Xataka | We knew that the space spheres were at some point in the universe. We have a new theory about its origin

The remote roads of Teruel are filled with trucks loaded to the top of clay. The reason: Ukraine

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When in de February 2022 The Kremlin troops advanced on Ukraine a complex domino effect was activated that ended up letting himself be felt far beyond the battlefield. The war altered global geopolitics, the Financial systemthe agriculturethe energyhe air transportthe world market … and also (in a turn as unexpected as surprising) The national roads of the Maestrazgo and Bajo Aragón regions, in the province of Teruel. The pumps and bullets fly about 3,000 kilometers away, away from Aragon, but its effect is evident on Turolenses roads. There the war has unleashed an intense heavy traffic that is saturating the roads “Feeling of insecurity”. Aguaviva, more of Las Matas, Castellote, breast, mills and the Parras de Castellote are six municipalities of Teruel that in April They joined forcesnext to the town of Cuevas de Cañart, to send A joint letter to the Government of Aragon and the Provincial Council. In it basically they alerted a problem that worries the residents of the seven territories: in just a few years their roads have been filled with hundreds of trucks, which has generated concern for the security or the state of infrastructure. Accidents. The municipalities do not speak only of risks or abstract threats. His letter was written weeks after a truck collided Against a bus in Aguaviva and just two months after Another trailer I would have overturned after leaving the road, an incident that It was not new either. The result, as the mayor of Aguaviva recognized in April to the newspaper Heraldis that neighbors live with “a very large sense of insecurity.” That without counting on The deterioration which causes heavy traffic on tracks and roads that are not prepared for trucks. From asphalt to regional policy. The issue did not take to transcend the municipalities of the regions of Bajo Aragón and Maestrazgo to make the leap to regional policy. Teruel exists took the issue to the courts of Aragon, which A few weeks ago He claimed the regional government to seek a solution for Vials A-225 and A-226. In the background, the same problem: the transfer of hundreds of trucks, which according to some calculations overcome the 400 daily In Aguaviva, more than respectable figure if one takes into account that some live some 500 people. A few days ago the Diputación even went further and promised to invest 150,000 euros In the improvement of one of the roads affected by the trucks, the road that goes from the sale of La Pintada to Castellote by Molinos. A priori, money will be used to improve soft, correct the deformations caused by the daily transfer of trucks and renew the signaling. And why so many trucks? The key is what they transport. In their trailers they carry clay, raw material extracted from the MINES OF THE AREA For the ceramic industry and Castellón tile. That was for example the cargo of the truck that ended up colliding in Aguaviva against a bus or the one that overturned end of February. According to Ascer data (The employer of the sector nationwide) The ceramic industry represents around 22.2% of the industrial GDP of the Valencian Community and more than 32.2% of the total of Castellón’s GDP. As They point from The regionclay -loaded trucks leave Teruel and advance Morella, leaving an intense flow of vehicles that in some locations reaches several hundred daily. Recently the mayor of Castellote explained to The confidential That in the school where he works they have to keep the windows closed by the intense transfer of trucks that pass to about 300 meters from the center. “If I open them, I don’t hear the creatures,” he says. And what does it have to do with the Ukraine War? Simple. Ukraine is a huge supplier of the clay that is used in the manufacture of tiles. At the beginning of the war it was calculated that around the 70% of the raw material that imported the Spanish ceramic sector arrived from Donetsk, in the Donbás region. In February 2022 Ascer recognized his “worry” And the truth is that the sector has not taken to look for alternatives, including neighboring Mines de Aragón. In October 2022 Aragon News already pointed out that the clay mining of the region were seeing how their activity shot. If in 2020 the quarries of Teruel had produced a million tons, two years later it was expected that this volume exceeds the five million. And not just that. The increase in activity was accompanied by multiple studies to activate farms. The earthquake. Since 2022 the trend does not seem to have stopped. While Ukraine is still shaken by bombs and drone attacks, Teruel has seen how her clay mining was sued. The data of Aragon News are eloquent again: production has shot, with dozens and tens of permissions for farms. Joaquín Moreno, councilor of Utrillas and deputy of Teruel exists, calculates that with the outbreak of the Ukraine War the number of exploits and investigation licenses has been quintupled. Just a year ago Portsur de Castellón received The first ship With clay of Ukraine from the outbreak of the war, a cargo of 52,000 tons for the company Vesco Clays Spain. That has not prevented, however, that the peoples of Bajo Aragón and Maestranza warn of how they are affecting the changes in the sector to their roads. It is the (another) face B of the war between Russia and Ukraine. Images | Ministry of Defense of Ukraine (Flickr) and Manel Zaera (Flickr) In Xataka | Aragon wanted his children to eat more fruit at school. So he went to look for her 10,000 kilometers away

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