Month: March 2026

is running out of room to store oil

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At this point, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in Iran is a reality that the world assumes with resignation. But while the West looks askance at the geopolitical tables, in Iraq the situation has gone from concern to financial panic. The phenomenon. As you point out oil priceUnlike neighbors such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, Iraq does not have alternative routes to avoid Hormuz, nor does it have a sovereign wealth fund to serve as a cushion. Its dependence on oil revenues is absolute. Today, cornered and with water up to its neck, Baghdad has had to swallow pride and look north to resurrect a problematic and rusty infrastructure as the only way to survive. A country without space to store its own crude oil. As detailed Reutersproduction in the main fields in southern Iraq – the country’s true economic engine – has plummeted by 70%. They have fallen to just 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) simply because oil tankers cannot leave the Gulf and storage tanks are overflowing. As pointed out by an analysis in Argus MediaIraq has had to turn off the tap of about 3 million bpd, completely stopping giant fields such as West Qurna, Majnoon or Halfaya. Faced with this scenario, the emergency solution has been to dust off the old oil pipeline Kirkuk-Ceyhanwhich connects the north of the country with Türkiye. This is a route that had been inactive due to damage since 2014 and that has been a constant target of sabotage since the 2003 invasion. From propaganda to damage control. Facing the gallery, the official speech is triumphalist. According to a statement collected by state agency Iraqi News Agency (INA)the reopening of the Sarlo pumping station has been celebrated by the North Oil Company as a resounding “technical and administrative success”. For the Iraqi authorities, recovering this export route represents a “strong return to the forefront” that demonstrates, they say, the country’s iron will and the ability of its engineers to resurrect a strategic infrastructure paralyzed for years. However, the reality behind the government window is much more precarious. Does this mean that Iraq has solved its problem? At all. Faced with institutional optimism, geopolitical analyst Bachar el Halabi offers a harsh reality check: “This is not a recovery of exports, it is damage control.” El Halabi explains that this pipeline will initially provide about 200,000 or 250,000 bpd of federal flow from Kirkuk. A figure that is useful for the heads of the state agency, but that is a tiny fraction if we compare it with the 3.4 million barrels that Iraq usually exports from the south in peacetime. The global market has barely blinked. According to oil pricethe news of the reopening caused Brent crude to drop slightly from $103 to $101 per barrel, but warns that this volume will not make any real difference to global supply. The final diagnosis of El Halabi is blunt: “Iraq’s oil system has been totally exposed. This agreement is for stabilization, it is not a resolution.” The historic pact (and the call from Washington). To ensure that crude oil flows again to Türkiye, Baghdad has had to sit down to urgent negotiations with its historical internal rivals: the Kurdistan Regional Government (Erbil). In this unprecedented pact, federal production from Kirkuk will travel alongside that from Kurdistan through the same tube, the revenue will go directly to federal coffers in Baghdad, and a joint committee has been created to oversee it. But this agreement has not emerged from nowhere. The United States has pulled the strings in the shadows. So much Reuters as analyst Bachar el Halabi confirm that there was a direct intervention from the White House: a phone call between President Trump’s envoy, Tom Barrack, and the Kurdish Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, was the key that managed to break the historic blockade between Baghdad and Erbil. The shadows of the agreement. Despite the handshake, the pipeline is surrounded by threats. The first major obstacle is physical security: pro-Iran militias have been attacking energy infrastructure in Kurdistan for some time. Can Baghdad really guarantee international oil companies that their facilities will be safe from “mistakes” or deliberate attacks? Furthermore, the political wounds remain open. lTensions had recently escalated because Baghdad attempted to impose a new electronic customs system, something Erbil saw as a frontal attack on its autonomy. For its part, Kurdistan had been accusing the federal government of imposing a “suffocating economic blockade” on them. And hanging over all of this is a diplomatic humiliation that no one wants to mention out loud. Baghdad, being the Arab capital politically closest to Tehran, had to wait until the 18th day of the war to dare to ask Iran for permission to move some of its own oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Hostage to its own geography. Iraq has managed to save a match point critical short-term financial. Thanks to emergency diplomacy and strong pressure from Washington, the country will be able to enter the minimum dollars necessary to pay public salaries and avoid an imminent social collapse. However, this crisis has exposed its greatest weakness. Lacking alternative infrastructure and economic diversification, Iraq is confirmed as the great hostage of the war in the Middle East; an oil giant that, to survive, has had to entrust its destiny to an old patched pipe. Image | Photo by SELİM ARDA ERYILMAZ on Unsplash Xataka | By bombing Ras Laffan, Iran has done something else by retaliating: it has unlocked the ultimate energy crisis

Ryanair launches an advertisement at the inauguration of its new hangar

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The airline opens in Madrid-Barajas its largest hangar in Europebut he has also taken advantage of the showcase to send a warning to the Government: if airport taxes continue to rise, growth in Spain will continue to fall. The crossing with Aena is still validand the airline seems to have its priorities very clear. new hangar. This week Ryanair opened the doors of its new maintenance center in Madrid-Barajas. With 22,000 square meters and capacity for seven aircraft, it is the largest hangar in its entire European network, an investment of 25 million euros that, according to The company will generate 700 qualified jobs among engineers, mechanics and technical personnel. The space, previously operated by Iberia, brings the total number of Ryanair maintenance lines at the airport itself to eight. The underlying message. The company has also taken advantage of the inauguration to launch a new offensive against the current airport policy. Its CEO, Eddie Wilson, warned that Ryanair’s ability to continue investing and growing in Spain “has practically hit its ceiling”, attributing this to the deterioration of the country’s competitiveness. The event was attended by the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who thanked the airline for its commitment to the capital and was in favor of reducing burdens on the operator. Growth. According to Wilson, this summer the airline will barely grow 0.5% in Spain, compared to 11% in Morocco or 9% in Italy, markets that it considers direct competitors of Spanish tourism. Furthermore, the company has already cut three million jobs in two years in the country. For Wilson, the question is simple: “Why invest in additional capacity if prices are going up and you can invest in other places where they are going down?” shared The Spanish. The target of criticism: Aena. The low cost has been in tension with the airport manager for months. Ryanair reproaches that Aena’s last rate increase, 6.5%, already had effects on traffic at regional airportsand warns that the proposal to increase rates by an additional 21% (plus inflation) in the next five years could compromise the competitiveness of the entire network. Wilson pointed out He also stated at the inauguration that large airports such as Madrid, Barcelona, ​​Malaga and Alicante are going to be expanded “at an exorbitant cost” to, in his opinion, justify these increases, when the growth in traffic could be absorbed without the need for new infrastructure or increased rates. However, Wilson himself recognized to El Español that with Aena “they work well operationally.” Pressure. The inauguration of the hangar comes at a time of strong tension between Ryanair and the Spanish administrations on several fronts. The most recent confrontation is the fine of 107 million euros imposed by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs for the collection of hand luggagewhich the airline considers illegal and has taken to the European Commission. In this context, Wilson’s speech also works as a pressure lever: the airline remembers its weight (62 million annual passengers, 109 aircraft in 11 bases, a total declared investment of 11,000 million euros in Spain) to demand more favorable conditions. What can happen now. If Aena rates continue to rise, Ryanair has few incentives to grow at regional airports and has hinted that cuts could also come this winter at some large airfields. The opening of the Barajas hangar, and the Seville maintenance centershows that the airline has no intention of leaving Spain, but that it is reorienting where and how much it grows. Cover image | Markus Winkler In Xataka | Global air traffic has a problem: Ukraine and Iran have created a funnel that is driving up prices

One of the biggest mistakes we are making as a society is assuming that living tired is normal.

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Spain is one of the European countries where the most workers They link their psychological discomfort to work and, in fact, sick leave due to mental disorders have more than doubled since 2016. That’s the bad news, the good news is that we’re starting to know why. Although that, if we are honest, if we think about it, it is not such good news either. we have become accustomed We have normalized being exhausted… According to the OSH Pulse 2025 survey of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work40% of Spanish workers link their stress, anxiety or depression directly to work. The European average, to contextualize the problem, is 29%. Only four countries (Greece, Finland, Cyprus and Poland) surpass us. …and we know exactly why it happens. In 1993, Bruce McEwen and Elios Stellar developed the idea of ​​’allostatic load’. That is, the physical and psychological ‘wear and tear’ that the body pays for adapting again and again to chronic or repeated stress. It is not a small price: the cardiovascular, metabolic, immune and neuroendocrine wear and tear is enormous and has consequences. A 2021 systematic review makes clear that a high allostatic load is related to increased all-cause mortality, cognitive impairment, chronic fatigue syndrome, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and psychiatric disorders. It is logical: when stress mediators (cortisol, adrenaline, etc…) remain chronically activated, the brain gets used to it, the body begins to work above its capacity and the systems suffer. Furthermore (and this is very curious) it seems that chronic stress deteriorates the same brain areas that allow us to realize that we are wrong. The (not so great) Spanish paradox: Our country not only has some of the worst work stress data in Europe, but the preventive resources They are among the lowest on the continent. That is, we have a problem, but we are not spending too much money to solve it. And it’s just a question of money. According to the same survey, 54% of Spanish employees fear that revealing a mental health problem will harm their career. And how do we solve it? Normally, experts understand that there is an individual approach, a union approach and a health approach. In Spain (and here the media is very much to blame) we tend to focus on the individual who, furthermore, is the one who less evidence of systemic efficacy has behind. So maybe the only thing we can do is start taking it seriously. Image | Luis Villamil In Xataka | Only one in four Spaniards has rested on vacation. The culprits: work anxiety and the inability to disconnect

Denmark was so clear that the US was willing to invade Greenland that it prepared a plan: dynamite the island

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Greenland, with just 56,000 inhabitants, is the largest island in the world and is home to one of the most critical infrastructures in the Arctic for route control and military surveillance. During the Cold War, this remote territory came to concentrate early warning systems capable of detecting missiles in a matter of minutes, remembering that, sometimes, the most isolated places are also the most strategic on the planet. Last January everything was about to blow up. What was never told. At the beginning of 2026, Europe assumed in silence a scenario that until recently seemed unthinkable: a possible direct military confrontation between NATO allies. The repeated threats of the United States on Greenland, added to recent precedents of rapid interventions in other countriesled several European capitals to consider that a military operation was plausible within weeks. A coordinated reaction was then unleashed that, seen in perspective, suggests that the continent was much closer of a global conflict than has been publicly acknowledged. The unpublished plan. What happened we now know thanks to two European officials who have confirmed a report published on DR, the Danish public broadcaster. Apparently, Denmark took an extreme and unprecedented decision within the Atlantic alliance: to prepare the destruction of their own infrastructure key to preventing an American landing. In essence, they were prepared with troops deployed in Greenland who transported explosives with the objective of fly the tracks Nuuk and Kangerlussuaq landing site if an invasion began, a measure intended to block the arrival of military aircraft and forcing any operation to become an openly hostile and much more costly act. Kangerlussuaq Airport The inevitable war. Far from being an isolated reaction, the Danish movement was supported by unprecedented European coordination, with France, Germany and Nordic countries deploying troops, naval assets and logistical support under the umbrella of military exercises that in reality hid operational preparations. The objective was clear: create a tripwire luck multinational that would make a rapid takeover of the territory impossible and force the United States to confront not one country, but several, drastically increasing the political and military risk. Prepare to combat an ally. The level of preparation reveals the extent to which the threat was perceived as real, because in addition to explosives, medical supplies were sent and blood reserves to deal with possible casualties, which implies that it was not just symbolic deterrence, but rather a scenario in which open combat was contemplated. In the words of European officials, the situation was possibly the most serious since World War II, an indicator of the extent of a crisis that strained the very limits of Western security architecture. The turning point. The trigger was the combination of rhetoric and action: after a military operation American in another country, the threats against Greenland were no longer interpreted as pure political pressure and came to be seen as a real risk immediate operational. From that moment on, Europe stopped trusting that diplomatic deterrence would be sufficient and began to act as if intervention could occur. wheneveraccelerating deployments and plans that were originally planned for later. We barely escaped. The end we know him. The crisis was finally deactivated through negotiation and international mediation, but it left a most disturbing conclusion: Europe came to assume a probable scenario war with the United States and designed its own sabotage measures to prevent a rapid occupation. That calculation – preparing to destroy key infrastructure, dynamiting part of the island itself before relinquishing control – reveals the extent to which the situation was on the verge of escalating into conflict. of unforeseeable consequencesand suggests that what happened was not an isolated episode, but a warning of how fragile even the strongest alliance can become when first-order strategic interests come into play. Image | Algkalv, Chmee2/Valtameri In Xataka | The melting of Greenland ice is not only facilitating access to its minerals: it is revealing nuclear submarines In Xataka | Russia and China already had an advantage over the US in the Arctic. After Greenland, it has multiplied

pay you more than what they charge

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Here where you see me, with my 52 years behind me, I am one of those who can tell—young people, don’t be scared—that I lived in a time when we children returned “the helmets.” My parents bought glass bottles (beer, wine, soda) for which they paid a “deposit” for those containers. When they consumed them, our parents sent us children to return them. You would go down to the neighborhood “bodega” – that’s what they called it in my house – and that man, I still remember his face, would take the bottles, place them in plastic boxes (clinc, clink) and give you a few pesetas for them that you would then give to your parents. They paid you to recycle. And that idea is coming back strongly now. Recycling what is a gerund. The problem of packaging recycling is not technological. The solutions have been around for decades. The problem is human behavior. Getting millions of people to change a shopping routine as ingrained as ours requires more than just an advertisement on TV that encourages us to recycle because it’s good for the environment. BonÀrea has been testing a solution to the problem for two years in Tarragona and Guissonaand data from their pilot project suggests that they may have found the key to solving the problem. The 50 cent margin trick. He ReturnA system It works in a really simple way: the customer pays 0.45 euros as a deposit when purchasing a meat tray, and receives 0.50 euros when returning it. Five cents difference in favor of the consumer. It’s a small detail, but not accidental, because you don’t get back exactly what you put in, but rather you get a reward for returning that container. There is a big psychological difference between “getting yours back” and “making money by returning it”, and the data confirms this: the return rate is 60% and more than 72,000 single-use trays have been returned in this pilot phase. Reusable trays. The objective is to completely change the economic equation. A single-use container has a production, transportation and waste management cost that must be amortized in a single use. A tray like those from BonÀrea and its RetornA program, which aims to be reused 50 times, distributes that cost over fifty cycles, which in theory (in theory, hopefully in practice) allows the final price of the product to be adjusted. It is the difference between the traditional “make, use, throw away” model and a more “circular” one in which the packaging has a residual value. A great idea, but not for everyone.. The problem with packaging return and recycling systems like this is logistical. Someone has to collect the containers, clean them with sanitary guarantees and then reintroduce them into the company’s operating cycle. BonÀrea can do it because it controls the entire chain, from production to sale, without intermediaries. You can apply traceability to each tray, guarantee its cleanliness and manage that recycling without depending on third parties. In a conventional distribution chain in which external suppliers intervene, things become significantly complicated if one wants to achieve the same efficiency. The debate over SDDR systems. In Spain we take time living with a problem in the Deposit, Return and Return Systems (SDDRwhich would be something like “incentivized recycling”) for beverage containers, for example. In countries like Germany or Nordic countries They have been applying these systems for decades with return rates greater than 90%. The beverage industry has been resisting the implementation of something like this for years because they would be the ones who would have to finance the system and bottlers have been investing in these “one-way” distribution chains for decades. The solution adopted in Spain has been to opt for recycling in containers as an alternative, but the results in terms of a real circular economy are significantly worse. The BonÀrea experiment shows that when there is a clear economic incentive and a controlled logistics chain, things work. RetornA is going to expand. The pilot project has gone so well that starting in the second quarter of 2026, RetornA will be extended to all 460 BonÀrea stores in Catalonia. The total investment will exceed 10 million euros, and has the support of the Waste Agency of Catalonia. The company is in fact expanding the products that use the system, starting with chicken fillet and gradually adding other references. The next step will be to extend it to the rest of its stores throughout Spain, where it has more than 600 establishments. But. There is a question that remains unanswered. What BonÀrea has demonstrated with its pilot is that the system works when the consumer has a direct economic incentive, the logistics platform is integrated and controlled by the company and that operating cycle is relatively short. What’s not clear is whether that 60% rate will be maintained when the system scales to 460 stores and millions of transactions, or whether it will eventually erode with day-to-day friction. We will see if those five cents manage to win the battle that recycling has been losing for decades. Image | Joana Costa | BonÀrea In Xataka | We have been recycling the garbage we produce for decades. Experts say it has been of no use.

Four days (or more) of unlimited data is a huge price

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Nobody likes to be left without Internet, but much less when we are traveling. If you don’t want to use roaming or public WiFi, you can always buy a SIM card at the destination, although this can be a hassle and not cheap. The solution? A eSIM installed on your mobile and you forget about problems. You have a very good option with eSimFLAG: if we use the code ‘XATAKA’ we will get three days free contracting at least four days of unlimited data. eSimFLAG – 4 days of unlimited data The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Unlimited data in more than 170 different destinations This promo is quite interesting if we plan to travel soon, such as next Easter. The code that we indicated above is already active and will be until next April 17so we have plenty of time to use it. For example, if right now we contract seven days of unlimited data in Japan and use the code ‘XATAKA’, it will only cost us 15.60 euros (outside of the promo, 27.30 euros). So with all destinations. Why choose an eSIM instead of a conventional SIM? In line with what we told you above, the key is in comfort. It installs in just a few minutes on your mobile, without having to use the typical spike that comes in the boxes. In addition, you install it once and forget it, so if you travel again in the future and use eSimFLAG you will not have to install it again. Another important point is the peace of mind that an eSIM provides in this type of case. Since you are paying for unlimited data, You will not have any scare in the form of a kilometer bill as could happen if you use your company’s roaming. And, if you set it up at home before leaving, you’ll already have Internet once you get off the plane. eSimFLAG offers its service in more than 170 countries, so it is very useful. Having unlimited data, We can continue using WhatsApp or Google Maps at our destinationmaking the trip a much more comfortable and simple experience. And if you do it at a reduced price with this promo, all the better. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | eSimFLAG In Xataka | eSIM in Spain: all operators, compatible devices, prices and conditions (2026) In Xataka | eSIM or virtual SIM: what it is, what advantages it has and what is its compatibility in Spain

drill a well 40 kilometers deep offshore

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Paper supports everything. A business breakfast on a sunny patio on the California coast, too. In this way, between cups of coffee, croissants and toast with jam that come and go, in 1957 a group of scientists from the picturesque American Miscellaneous Society (AMSOC) when two of them, the geologist Harry Hess and the oceanographer Walter Munkdecided to launch a research proposal: open a huge hole in the Earth. And huge is not an exaggeration. What Hess and Munk proposed was to drill a kilometer well that would allow reaching and extracting a sample of what is known as Mohorovičić discontinuitythe limit between the Earth’s crust and the mantle, a strip located at a depth between 25 and 40 kilometers on the continents and 5 to 10 km if the ocean floor is taken as a reference. What’s more, once they were digging, they could even obtain a sample of the planet’s own mantle. “It sounded so simple and logical” The idea sounded delirious, but it was 1957, the space race gained strength and with Cold war As a backdrop, the US looked with interest at any project that would allow it to demonstrate its scientific power to the USSR. Besides, as Willard Bascom would recognizefrom AMSOC, the proposal seemed most reasonable when listened to with a hot coffee in hand, among colleagues and letting yourself be caressed by the morning sun on the Pacific coast. “The project sounded so simple and logical at a business breakfast on a sunny patio,” I wrote some time later about that peculiar brainstorming. Whether or not it turned out to be simple—which, spoiler: no, it wasn’t—the idea came to fruition. Its promoters knew how to take advantage of the strong winds of international rivalry and revealed how much the Russians were advancing in the field of science and how they looked with interest at Mohorovičić’s exploration of discontinuity. 57 was the year of the launch of the Sputnik Soviet, so the strategy worked and the drilling project ended up gaining the backing of the National Science Foundation (NSF), a government agency created seven years earlier. They named the adventure Mohole Projectcombination of “Moho”, the abbreviation of Mohorovičić, and “hole”, hole, in English. Short Simple. Easy to handle and understand. Everything that was not going to be the scientific challenge itself. “Where do we get the money?” It was not, however, the only question that scientists had to resolve. Another, equally or even more crucial, was “Where to drill?” The answer was a very specific location in the Pacific, near Guadalupe Island, off the coast of Mexico. And there was a good reason for that. If the efforts were focused on the ocean floor, the team would have to drill significantly fewer meters of the Earth’s crust, a non-negligible advantage when the target is kilometers deep. The various problems The problem, of course, is that this requires operating from a boat, in the middle of the ocean, among the waves, and deploying the drilling equipment over more than 3,000 m of depth. “It’s like trying to work on the Earth’s surface from a helicopter, half a mile up,” explains to Vox geologist Donna Blackman. Today, with the Japanese ship Chikyu opening record wells, an international fleet that includes modern drilling vessels such as the Noble Globetrotter I—the one at the top of this article, built twelve years ago—and researchers reaching marks of 8,023 meters underwater, the challenge may sound less impressive, but in the 1950s it was. Oil companies had not yet embarked on drilling in such deep waters and undertaking an undertaking like the one proposed by AMSOC required first answering a series of technical questions: How to keep the ship stationary in the middle of the ocean to deploy the drilling equipment? Dropping anchors was not very practical given the enormous distance at which the seabed was located, so the final solution was to use a propeller system. They had to apply the same ingenuity to solve other equally or more difficult questions: How to deploy the pipeline at such low levels and between strong currents? How to drill with the depth required to reach Moho? And once these challenges are solved, how do we get the samples up to the ship? With a plan drawn up, in 1961 the scientists set sail aboard the ship CUSS I heading to Guadalupe Island to deploy what was supposed to be the first phase of Project Mohole. The technicians drilled half a dozen wells in total, the deepest of 183 meters and at an underwater depth of 3,600 m. The machinery penetrated 13 m into the basalt of the upper oceanic crust. That was very, very far from 6,000 meters necessary to reach Moho and the mantle, but it was quite a feat which even led President John F. Kennedy to cable the National Academy of Sciences to celebrate what he considered to be “a remarkable achievement, a historic milestone.” However, neither Kennedy’s good words, nor the promise of the company, nor the ability he had demonstrated to overcome technical challenges helped the Mohole Project go much further. In 1961, the Mohole project started, with the aim of drilling through Earth’s crust to the mantle. John Steinbeck (yes, winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature 1yr later) was on the ship & I’ve just found his amazing (genuine joy plus snark) article: https://t.co/CPEB7mCf9q pic.twitter.com/DymGw2ta4o — Helen Czerski (@helenczerski) December 21, 2021 Drilling holes in the ocean floor was expensive and in 1966 the US Congress decided that it was not interesting to continue paying for it. Add to that bureaucratic errors, the dissolution of AMSOC in 1964 and differences between the members of the team about what the next steps should be and you will have the epitaph of a project that, nevertheless, is remembered as a special chapter in 20th century science and served to demonstrate the interesting possibilities of drilling the ocean floor. The Mohole Project It didn’t mark the end … Read more

spring will be hell for allergy sufferers

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Spring is just around the corner, and although for some it is good news for being able to start making plans outside the home more frequently, for allergy sufferers it is very bad news. Recent meteorology and the climate crisis have been simmering a scenario that experts already classified as extreme and that causes diagnosed allergy sufferers (and even those who are not) to start showing symptoms early. The experts. The Spanish Society of Allergology and Clinical Immunology itself has given the alarm voicesince the spring that we are about to begin is shaping up to be one of the most intense and harsh in memory for those allergic to pollen in Spain. And it is not that this year there is “a lot of pollen”, but what is happening is that the behavior of the plants is changing completely. The combination of very intense winter rains with very mild temperatures has generated an “explosive cocktail” that is already beginning to show its first symptoms. The pollen map. To understand the magnitude of the problem, you have to look at the figures from the SEAIC, which uses meteorological, hydrological and aeropolinic sampling data to draw up its annual forecast. This year, the south and the center of the peninsula bear the brunt, with ground zero in Extremadura, where forecasts point to skyrocketing ranges of between 10,000 and 12,000 grams per cubic meter in both provinces. In the case of AndalusiaWe must highlight Seville, where very high concentrations of 6000-8000 grams per square meter are expected, while in Jaén, the fact that it stands out for its wonderful olive trees means that it also faces “intense” levels. The center and north of the peninsula. MadridToledo and the rest of Castilla-La Mancha will range between moderate and high levels, easily exceeding the thresholds that trigger the most serious and annoying symptoms. But the good news is that the north of the peninsula, the Mediterranean coast and the Canary Islands will, in principle, register mild or moderate levels. The perfect storm. Historically, allergy temperatures followed a fairly predictable biological clock, but not anymore. The abundant rainfall that has drenched the peninsula during the winter months has left the land in optimal conditions. The plants, especially grasses and olive trees, have grown strongly, developing deep roots and dense crowns. Added to this is the second ingredient of the perfect storm: premature heat. The mild temperatures have caused pollination to come forward, and as the vice president of the SEAIC explains, the environment is increasingly “more hostile” for patients. Pollinosis is no longer an exclusive problem in May and June, but rather begins much earlier and ends later. Much more allergy. If we look at the trend that has been followed in recent years in this time of allergy, we can see that 2026 is fulfilling the trend that has been set in previous years, so we are talking about a new normal. A recent study from the University of Córdoba confirmed specifically, the pollen season in Spain has lengthened by about 25 days since the 1990s. The increase in temperatures and desertification are not only stretching the allergy calendar, but are introducing new allergenic species such as amaranths, in areas where they did not proliferate before. And other factors. Experts point out that the quality of the pollen is something that is also having a lot of influence this season. To understand it, we look at the increase in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which acts as a fertilizer for plants, which causes them, in addition to producing more pollen, to also express more proteins that are detected by our immune system, generating a greater response that gives us the classic allergy symptoms. Added to this is also the atmospheric pollution that weakens the respiratory mucous membranes and makes it easier for pollen to penetrate deeper into our lungs. Take action as soon as possible. With all this data, you have to start taking the treatment (when recommended by the doctor) when these dates are approaching and not wait until you start to feel the infernal itch in your nose or eyes. Besides, consult official sources pollen levels and wearing a mask at times of higher concentration of pollen to which one is sensitive is the most recommended today. Images | Brittany Colette In Xataka | It’s normal to make fun of the sudden matcha tea craze, but there is someone who does take it seriously: science

The US is preparing for what comes next

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If something is becoming clear these days, it is that very few kilometers of sea can condition everything the world economy. There are strategic passages through which a large part of the global oil circulates nearby, and when one of those points is blocked, the impact quickly spreads to markets, transportation and the price (and bill) of energy across the planet. A trap retreat. It we count a few days ago. In the midst of a conflict in which the Strait of Hormuz is practically closed and under constant threat, the United States took a striking decision: withdraw two of its three main specialized mine warfare vessels from the area and send them thousands of kilometers, first to Malaysia and now arrived in Singapore. These units are not accessory, but key to any attempt to reopen the sea route. Its absence in the immediate scenario breaks with the usual logic of concentrating capacities where the crisis develops and forces us to seek an explanation on another level. Possibly for this reason, the movement is not what it may seem at first glance. The real value. I remembered this week the wall street journal in a report that naval mines are one of the most effective tools to block maritime traffic, especially in a narrow point like Hormuz. They do not require large deployments, are difficult to detect and can keep a route closed for long periods. Cleaning them is, therefore, a slow, technical and risky process that requires very specific means. The ships of the Independence classwith their unmanned systems, helicopters and advanced sensors, represent precisely that capability. Without them, any operation to restore oil tanker transit becomes much more complex. View from the USS Tulsa upon arrival at Changi Naval Base Shortage at the most critical moment. The problem from the side of the United States is that it reaches this phase cwith limited resources. For years it has reduced its fleet of traditional minesweepers, retiring units without their replacements being available. fully deployed or tested in combat. New solutions based on drones and autonomous systems exist, but their number is small and their effectiveness in a real environment has yet to be demonstrated. In parallel, Iran has shown that it can sow mines and combine that threat with missiles, drones and attacks on ships, making the strait an especially difficult environment to operate in. Plan B. In this context, the analysts recalled by TWZ that the movement of these ships out of the conflict zone suggests a very different priority: preserve demining capacity in the face of a possible further deterioration of the current situation. The idea would be simple. Keep them away from attack range avoids the risk of losing hard-to-replace assets at a time when they are already scarce. In other words, it is a way to ensure that, when the time comes to reopen the strait, these very fundamental means remain available and operational. File image of an Avenger-class minehunter during an exercise Reopen, not just fight. Because the closure of Hormuz is not just a military problem, but economic. How have we been countinga significant part of the world’s oil and gas circulates through this route, and its prolonged blockage has immediate effects in prices, supplies and logistics chains. It happens that reopening it does not depend only on escorting ships, but on guaranteeing that the canal is threat free persistent like mines. This phase, slower and less visible, can be decisive in normalizing maritime traffic. The strategic signal. Precisely for this reason, the fact that these ships are now more than 6,000 kilometers of the conflict does not indicate that they have ceased to be relevant, but rather the opposite. Their value lies in the fact that they are necessary and fundamental for the next stage, not so much for the current one. Instead of using them in the most dangerous environment, the United States seems to choose to keep them intact for a time when their use will be essential. The evolution of the conflict. If you also want, the decision fits with a two-stage planning: first, manage the phase direct confrontation. And then, ensure the reopening of critical routes. He minesweeper movement It points out that Washington is not only focused on the immediate development of the war, but also on avoiding a prolonged blockade that would have global consequences. In that sense, more than a withdrawal, the current position of the minesweepers is an indication of how the end of the conflict is being planned and the conditions necessary to stabilize it… if that is possible. Image | USN In Xataka | If there was any “red line” left, Iran has decided to cross it just where it hurts the world economy the most: in Qatar In Xataka | Russia is not sending troops or weapons to Iran: it is sending something much more important to take down the US

Doomsday’ are released at the same time and Hollywood already wants to sell us a new Barbenheimer. But it’s not the same

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Warner Bros. and Disney are going to release their two big bets of the year (‘Dune: Part Three’ and ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘) on the same date: December 18, 2026. The industry has not seen something like this for years. In fact, we haven’t seen it since the Barbenheimer phenomenon, and the question is whether its effect at the box office can be repeated… when the two films share exactly the same audience. Dunesday, or whatever you want to call it. The two most powerful Hollywood studios, two of the most popular franchises in recent years, a single date. The industry already has a nickname for the event: “Dunesday“. But the fact that both coincide on that date does not respond to an agreed strategy. ‘Dune: Part Three’ arrived first in the pre-Christmas gap. ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ was initially scheduled for May 2025, but postponements derived from the strikes of actors and scriptwriters pushed it to where it is now, from where it is unlikely to move since on websites, networks and others there is a countdown in motion until the inevitable premiere. The Barbenheimer precedent. Summer 2023 was left for the annals thanks to the coincidence of two very different films, ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’, on the same weekend in July. The combined weekend exceeded $300 million in the US alonebecoming the fourth best in historyonly behind the three opening weekends of ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Star Wars: The Force Awakens’. Different audiences, even different motivations for going to the movies, but a curious, almost miraculous real possibility of doing a very rare double program on the same day. Why Dunesday is different. ‘Dune: Part Three’ and ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ don’t work like that. Both target similar viewers: devotees of science fiction and big-budget action, with a predominantly male base (this is important). Significantly or coincidentally, both feature Florence Pugh in their casts, which illustrates the extent to which they are not identical films, but do have their roots in a shared territory of blockbuster Hollywood. The idea of ​​Dunesday, as Variety says, is not to propose two different and complementary plans, but to fill the respectable with a giant dose of similar things. Why don’t they wiggle. That neither film wants to move from that date has a concrete explanation, prior to the invention of Dunesday: there are not many good gaps in that part of the year. Sony releases ‘Jumanji 3’ on December 11, a week early. Further back, the first weekend of December is usually a black hole at the box office (families are shopping, not in theaters), and Thanksgiving is traditionally occupied by Disney’s animated bet, because it is a more family-friendly box office weekend. December 18 is the best date available for two films that need a strong start. What if it works? If the experiment works, the combined box office could be among the best weekends in history. In any case, here we find the usual problem: that July 2023 generated a social phenomenon (costumes, double sessions planned weeks before, debates on networks, friendly rivalry between the actors of the films, who encouraged people to go to both) that was organized outside the industry. “Dunesday” arrives much more in advance and with a slight air of a commercial montage. That’s not going to make the films click, of course, but the truth is that we are dealing with phenomena with nuances that go in opposite directions. In Xataka | The reality of Spanish cinema: ‘Torrente’ has brought more people to theaters this weekend than any film since 2019

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