usatoday24

China just reminded you who moves the most pieces

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The United States has been trying for months to open an exit door in one of the territories where China retains the most industrial power: rare earths. We’re not just talking about mines, but about processing, magnets, permits, entity lists and a supply chain that connects defense, automotive, semiconductors and advanced technology. What we have seen now is a fairly direct reminder of that reality: Beijing has targeted American companies that are part of that attempt to build an alternative. The measurements. China’s latest move materializes on two levels. On the one hand, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce added ten American companies to its list of entities, which in practice means restricting operations with them. Those affected include MP Materials, owner of the Mountain Pass mine in California, as well as USA Rare Earth and Aveox. On the other hand, the Chinese Ministry of Finance announced purchasing restrictions on another 46 American companies in the defense sector. Beijing presented the measure as a response to the “unjustified” inclusion of Chinese entities on the US list of “Chinese military companies” and as a way to protect its “national security and interests.” The immediate context. The move comes less than two weeks after the Pentagon will reinstate Alibaba, Baidu and BYD to a list of Chinese companies considered a risk to US national security due to their alleged links with the People’s Liberation Army. Chinese companies denied such military connections. Therein lies one of the keys to the movement: Beijing presents its response as a response to Washington’s decisions. Washington’s plan. The United States has begun to move with unusual intensity, according to CSIS diagnosis. The think tank outlines an industrial policy strategy that combines more than $7.3 billion in capital, direct investments, public financing and procurement commitments to accelerate magnet mining, processing and manufacturing. The Department of Defense, for example, agreed to take a $400 million stake in MP Materials and set a floor of 110 dollars per kilo for ten years for its production of neodymium-praseodymium. It’s a lot of money, but also a race against industrial deadlines. The difficulty. CSIS noted that the April 2025 restrictions on heavy rare earths and permanent magnets caused rapid disruptions in allied defense and industrial chains, and exposed the fragility of a system that then remained highly dependent on Beijing. Nevertheless, Financial Times collects a cautious reading of China’s recent move. An American executive in the Asian giant, cited anonymously, described it as “measured and symbolic,” because companies in sensitive sectors, such as defense technology, already have very restricted access to contracts from the Chinese Government and Army. Are rare earths important? The key is that rare earths are neither a laboratory oddity nor a footnote in the trade war. They are much closer to our daily lives than it seems. These 17 elements appear into components such as magnets, batteries, phosphors and catalysts, which are then used in sectors such as healthcare, transportation, electricity generation, oil refining and consumer electronics. That is, we are not just talking about minerals: we are talking about tiny pieces that can end up in a wide range of devices, including military components. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | In China, a university student can now study a degree in one of its best businesses: rare earths

China has found an unexpected shortcut to bring AI to millions of homes: the robot vacuum cleaner

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You may already be using Chinese AI at home without giving it much thought. Not necessarily in the form of a chatbot, nor as a hidden function on the mobile, nor as another promise within the television. Maybe it’s in something much less solemn: a robot vacuum cleaner that runs across the floor of your living room while you do something else. The history of the robot vacuum cleaner did not begin with devices running around pointlessly. He Electrolux Trilobitemarketed in Europe in the early 2000s, and the Roomba Intelligent FloorVacpresented by iRobot in 2002, already incorporated sensors and navigation routines to move around a home with a certain autonomy, although their capabilities were far from current ones. What has changed since then is the perception layer: advanced models no longer just detect walls or stairs, but build richer maps, recognize objects and make decisions with more context. Electrolux Trilobite The scale data helps to understand why this story is not just about technological curiosity. According to IDCthe global home cleaning devices market reached 32.72 million units in 2025, up 20.1% from the previous year. Within that universe, smart robot vacuum cleaners remained the main category, with 24.12 million units and a growth of 17.1%. IDC measures shipments, not installed homes, but the scale helps to understand the dimension of the phenomenon: we are talking about tens of millions of home cleaning robots moving through the global market in a single year. AI also enters the house through the floor The most striking thing is who occupies the center of that category today. In the first three quarters of 2025, the global Top 5 of smart robot vacuum cleaners consisted of five Chinese brands: Roborock, Ecovacs, Dreame, Xiaomi and Narwal. The consulting firm speaks of a reorganization of the market, with 17.42 million units shipped in that period and a year-on-year growth of 18.7%. The reading is quite clear: China is not entering this sector as an aspirant, but as the block that sets the commercial pace of an increasingly technological category. And here the interesting thing begins: we are not just talking about a cleaning product. An advanced robot vacuum cleaner is probably one of the most complex home devices we can have moving around the house, because it must clean, orient itself, avoid problems and make decisions in an environment that changes every day. When he avoids a wire to avoid getting trapped, surround a sockdistinguishes a carpet or adapts its route room by room, there is more than just aspiration: there are sensors and artificial intelligence. Xiaomi H50 Pro At Xataka, for example, we have tested the Roborock Saros Z70, a robot vacuum cleaner with a robotic arm capable of lifting objects weighing up to 300 grams. In our experience, it reached for a sneaker, and Roborock claims it can also pick up socks, small towels, or tissues, although it doesn’t always recognize everything it finds. When we talk about the artificial intelligence race, we usually look towards the great models: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, DeepSeek or Alibaba Qwen, systems designed to summarize, schedule or respond from one screen. That terrain is still the most visible, but it is not the only one. China is also pushing a much more physical and everyday path: products capable of bringing perception, navigation and decision capabilities to household tasks. The iRobot case summarizes the change of era very well. Roomba made the idea of ​​the robot vacuum cleaner famous, but the company no longer occupies the central place it had for years: it was left out of the Top 5 global smart robotic vacuum cleaners indicated by IDC and declared bankruptcy before pass into the hands of the Chinese firm Picea Robotics. This, added to the most recent market data, suggests that the old Western benchmark lost ground while a new generation of Chinese brands conquered the market. Images | Roborock | Electrolux | Xiaomi In Xataka | A man tried to control his robot vacuum cleaner with a remote control: he ended up having access to 6,700 devices around the world In Xataka | The problem is not that there is AI on TikTok. It’s already more than half of what you see as soon as you enter.

the biggest naval battle you’ve ever seen on television

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It’s been two years since the second season of ‘The House of the Dragon‘ in HBO Max will end, just before one of the key moments of the series: the Battle of the Gorge. This is how this third year of the series based on the work of George RR Martin begins, and it does so with extraordinary reviews, which equal the good times of ‘Game of Thrones’. Will the rest of the season live up to this vibrant start? The second season not only experienced a drop in audience with respect to the first one that made one think that the goose that laid the dragon’s eggs was beginning to look suffocated. There were also complaints from many viewers, who had the perception that the entire year had been a preparation for a naval battle that was about to begin just as the season ended. There was a reason: the season reduced its number of episodes from 10 to 8, and the showrunner Ryan Condal had no choice but to leave the battle for the season that begins now. The Battle of the Gorge is the largest naval conflict in the entire history of Westeros, and pits the forces of Rhaenyra Targaryen, under the command of The Sea Serpent, against the fleet of the Triarchy, allied with the Greens, to break the blockade on King’s Landing. Condal acknowledged that the Gaznate sequence took four years to materialize, and that Even with HBO Max’s budget, it was not clear if it could be filmed on the scale it required.: with dragons, ships and multiple combat fronts. And of course, in the tradition of the series, we will see an important character die who will mark the rest of the season. The third season incorporates several characters from George RR Martin’s book ‘Fire and Blood’: James Norton as Lord Ormund Hightower, Tommy Flanagan as Lord Roderick “Roddy the Ruin” Dustin, Dan Fogler as Ser Torrhen Manderly and Annie Shapero as Alysanne Blackwood. Although without a doubt the most suggestive character will continue to be Rhaenyra: Condal said of her that when a character is told that the gods have chosen him to rule and he has the power of six dragons behind him, “at some point he begins to believe his own legend.” Interesting territory to explore this third year. In Xataka | Tomorrow on Netflix, the film that last year caused people to riot in cinemas around the world

His answer is called Zhuri and it already works

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USA takes years working on methods to obtain solar energy directly from space. What is known as space solar energy is shown as an improvement on the conventional solar plants that we have here on Earth. The density of solar energy in orbit is six times greater than on Earth and the problem of weather interference is eliminated. However, it is true that there are quite a few technological obstacles that must be resolved. Although Europe, the United Kingdom and Japan have already made some proposals, the United States has a very prominent activity around the implementation of this type of projects. Therefore, it was to be expected that sooner or later China, the North American country’s eternal space rival, would join. After presenting several proposals project, Zhuri has finally been selected, with which Xidian University it has already started to work. From geostationary orbit to your electrical devices. The Zhuri mechanism, which means “chasing the Sun” in Chinese, consists of several steps. First, a 4.8-meter dome-shaped mirror suspended on a 75-meter tower is used, which is responsible for concentrating sunlight on a series of panels, similar to those used on Earth. This sunlight is used to obtain electricity, which cannot be transmitted directly in space, so it is then converted into microwaves, which can travel more efficiently. These then pass to a rectifying antenna, known as a rectenna, whose role is to transform these microwaves back into direct current electricity. That is the electricity that reaches the Earth. Other devices. In addition to the mirrors mentioned, Fresnel lenses of 2 to 7 meters wide have also been tested, as they are capable of focusing light even more efficiently, with less expenditure of materials. They even include cooling liquids that help manage solar heat, avoiding some of the inconveniences that it could cause. The first tests have been a success. In the first tests, scientists from Xidian University have obtained energy in the order of kilowatts, so for now the results are very positive. They are not alone. In the United States there are several projects aimed at obtaining solar energy directly from space. For example, Caltech has been researching in this area since 2013 and has already carried out some experiments in orbit in 2023. Also some private companies, as Goalplan to power their data centers with space solar energy by 2030. And, of course, the United States government could not be absent. The ARACHNE project, of the Air Force, is based precisely on this same goal. On the other hand, in Europe the ESA has the project Solaris and UK Space Solar. Both plan to start operating in 2030. And above all, Japan stands out, which has been researching in this area for decades and was one of the first countries to test wireless power transmission. Not to be confused with Reflect Orbital. The United States has other similar projects, as Reflect Orbitalbut they should not be confused, as they are much more controversial. With them, what reaches the Earth is not electrical energy, as with everything we have mentioned so far, but rather sunlight itself, which is “squeezed” even during the night. The objective of both types of projects is similar, but the means are very different. Beware of challenges. All countries that have tried to obtain space solar energy have encountered the same challenges. For example, they highlight problems in addressing the ease of deployment of folding or self-assembling structures, achieving precise microwave aiming, and ensuring the safety of the beams, both for the environment and for aircraft crossing the area where this electrical energy is being obtained. To address some of these handicaps, China uses modular units that fly in formation rather than a single massive structure, thereby improving endurance and making maintenance easier. Short term goals. Logically, the ultimate goal of this type of project is to bring solar energy to any part of the Earth. However, for now, we want to go step by step and achieve small preliminary challenges, such as wireless charging of satellites in orbit or the supply of lunar bases in orbit or on the lunar surface. Image | POT In Xataka | We knew there was water on the Moon, but not why some craters were empty. Finally we have the answer

prepare more than 1,000 euros

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With the brief message “it’s here, reserve Steam Machine“, Valve has just revealed the price of the PC that was destined to bring the experience of the exceptional Steam Deck to the big screen. Announced in November of last year, the PC-console has been kept in a mysterious limbo due to the price of the components, but the rumors sounded, they were not flattering for anyone who wanted one and we have to say that they have ended up being confirmed. Because the Steam Machine, which does not come with the most cutting-edge components, part of the 1,039 euros in its configuration with less storage and without a controller, but it reaches around 1,428 euros in a pack with the controller and 2 TB of memory that makes the set move away from the PCs with which it sought to compete. Because, at the time, projections placed it between 750 and 900 euros in the most pessimistic estimate. But, as often happens, reality has ended up being harsher. The price of the Steam Machine We had been reading rumors and leaks for weeks about the supposedly imminent launch of the Steam Machine. In fact, Valve was expected to shed light between the 22nd and 23rd, with the issue of price being the main issue to be resolved. Because with the current situation of the components and the appearance of Valve’s boss, Gabe Newel, asking for “help” to buy RAM in the face of the tremendous rise in prices, it was already hinting that the system would be expensive. The time has come and those most pessimistic forecasts have been fulfilled to the letter. The Steam Machine prices are as follows: 512GB Steam Machine – 1,039 euros. 512GB Steam Machine with Steam Controller – 1,108 euros. 2TB Steam Machine – 1,359 euros. 2TB Steam Machine with Steam Controller – 1,428 euros. There’s not much more. The machine is still a PC with an AMD Zen 4 architecture processor with 6 cores and 12 threads, custom RDMA3 RAM with 28 CUs and 8 GB of GDDR6 VRAM and another 16 GB DDR5. The system is the best thing about the machine, being a SteamOS that gives us Steam Deck users so much joy, but the software is not the most cutting-edge for a machine that must fight against consoles like PS5, Xbox Series X and, in one or two years, PS6 and Project Helix. Valve never announced an official price for the Steam Machine, but when its characteristics became known, possible prices began to appear depending on the hardware that the PC mounts. And, beyond any other consideration, the reality is that the timing could not have been worse for the launch of the machine. Unlike Sony with PS6, Valve was forced to launch the Steam Machine because it was already announced and with each passing day two things happened: the price was going to be higher because the situation with RAM/storage does not give a respite and, furthermore, every day it was more outdated on a technical level. Steam Machine release and pre-orders Aside from the price, Valve has revealed the reservation system for the Steam Machine. On the website, you must select one of the four models, select a Steam session and place the request until June 25. It will be then that this reservation period will close and Valve will hold a draw among those interested to establish the order in which they will be sent the emails formalizing the reservation. Once we have the email, we will have 72 hours to formalize the payment. All other reservations after June 25 will be added in order to a virtual queue, but seeing the problems they have restoring the stock of the Steam Controller, it is very possible that once the units they have are sold out, it will take us a while to see units in the store again. In development…

you register or you will pay the fine on the AP-68

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Spain is immersed in a campaign to eliminate tolls from our roads. Even though Europe demands the opposite from usthe Government has been eliminating all payment obligations as concession contracts come to an end. so many that Spain will add 1,000 more kilometers to the road network that we maintain with our pockets coming directly from the shadow tolls with which some sections of the first generation highways are maintained. Last year, the Government has already assured that was not going to raise new tolls or raise existing onesdespite the rumors and pressures from Europe (and within Spain) They were going in that direction. The position has been to raise the barriers and that, this year, releases the AP-68 toll. A road on which it will not be necessary to pay… in some sections. And the fact is that payment for use on this road will be maintained in the Basque Country and Navarra. A new free flow toll As pointed out by some local media such as Álava Diarythe AP-68 highway that connects Bilbao with Zaragoza will be toll-free in the Basque section. Although the rates remain the same, they point out that the step should be more attractive because starting in November the rates will be reduced. At the moment, it is stated that the intention is to reduce the toll by 70% for passenger cars and 50% for heavy transport. That is, it would go from a payment of 22 cents/km to a payment of 6 cents/km. Regarding their passage through Navarra, no prices have been defined although it has been made clear that there is an intention for the vehicles to continue paying for use, according to the latest news. The price, however, is not yet defined. But the big news is that Álava will use a system of “free flow toll” which, at least initially, will be combined with the classic barriers. This system is already used on the Basque highway A-636 between Beasain and Bergara from 2022. With it, waiting times are reduced since there are no windows but, if you have only passed on time, you must be very careful not to get a fine. And, as we say, in this case there are no barriers or booths. Here, the driver registers on a website with a license plate number and with each step the current account becomes smaller. Simply, the gantries calculate the kilometers traveled and then add them up to pass the payment. It is similar to a Via-T but, as we say, there are no barriers to stopping. In the case of Álava, as we said, the system will be combined so that those who are regular users will be able to pass without stopping and at the end of the day they will be charged for the corresponding trip. But if you pass punctually, on vacation, for example, you will have to stop at the barrier or have registered in advance. If not, you will face a fine. It remains to be seen how much the penalty is if the driver fails to register and does not pass through the barriers. In the case of the A-636, it is 150 euros, according to the Consolidated Text of the Provincial Highways and Pathways Standard of Gipuzkoa. Of course, as we say, in the case of Alava (at least for now) there will be the possibility of paying the toll at the window. Photo | Vasyatka1 (1) and (2) In Xataka | Spanish roads have a serious maintenance problem and construction companies have a solution: make you pay for it

“Cyclical” productivity sounds great as a way to organize work according to the rule. The problem is that it’s a bluff

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Patricia Gosálvez told that for some time now talks about how to organize the work agenda according to the phase of the menstrual cycle have been the order of the day. There are different approaches and different discourses, but the general idea is the same: “do social tasks when you are ovulating and reserve planning and solitude tasks for your period days.” We knew that ‘cyclical productivity’ swept TikTokWhat we didn’t realize was that he was already proselytizing among the management class throughout the country. And we shouldn’t be surprised. A priori, the idea sounds like empowerment and militant feminism. The question, however, is whether it makes any sense. But… what exactly are we talking about? In general terms, we can see it as a work adaptation of something that has been talked about for quite some time: the cycle syncing. A self-care practice in which things like diet, exercise routines, or lifestyle habits are adjusted to match the hormonal fluctuations of the menstrual cycle. Applied to the workplace, the month is divided into four phases and tasks are distributed: planning is reserved for bleeding, during the follicular phase work is brought forward, ovulation are “ideal days to negotiate, ask for a raise and everything that needs power and security” and the luteal phase is fantastic for detailed work. It sounds good, but it’s a bluff. Especially since the model assumes a hormonal cycle that most women don’t really have. In general, cycle syncing is right that there is an infradian hormonal cycle (that is, with a period longer than one day), but it jumps to the idea that it is a closed scheme that is easy to program without a break in continuity. In fact, there are two large systematic reviews on this sort of thing that do not support the ideas of cyclical productivity. According to the latest meta-analysis from 2025there is no robust evidence that cognitive performance (neither attention, nor memory, nor executive function, nor spatial ability) changes over the cycle. On the other hand, the most robust studies of physical performance also find that the cycle effect is “trivial”. This does not mean that menstruation does not have an impact very significant in the lives of women and that pain in many cases is a huge problem. It doesn’t even mean that PMS doesn’t exist. What this means is that the hormonal cycle does not seem to serve to schedule tasks with that level of detail in the general population. But it does have a problem. And behind the façade of ’empowerment’, the truth is that there is a very problematic message that “women’s competence fluctuates with hormones.” It is something that reinforces stereotypes and, as we have seen, is a lie. As the endocrinologist Carme Valls said to Gosálvezis an idea that “makes women too biological, too animal.” And he does it without contributing too much. Above all, because as Valls continues, in a normal cycle the variability is minimal: “40% of women hardly feel anything.” That is to say, although from an individual point of view knowing the cycle is very useful, from a population point of view it introduces noise. The problem is not the initial intuition, nor the idea that talking about the rule is good. The problem is the promise of productivity associated with it. A promise that, as we see, in general terms has no relationship with reality. Image | Annika Gordon In Xataka | Period pain in adolescence is not “normal”: massive study links it to increased risk of chronic pain in adulthood

Voyager 1 will reach a light-day distance in November, but this will be its last major record

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In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes into spacewith the aim of studying the outermost planets of the solar system. Both carried out their mission successfully, so they were entrusted with a new task: to become the first ships to travel beyond the confines of our solar system. They also made this check on its target list, always Voyager 1 slightly ahead of its twin. Now, it will also be the first to reach a new milestone: positioning itself at a distance of one light day from Earth. It has been known for a long time that this was his next challenge. Now, thanks to the statements that NASA has made to the media IFLSciencewe know exactly the date and time you are expected to achieve it. Goal almost achieved. According to NASA, Voyager 1 should reach the distance of 1 light day from Earth on November 18, 2026, at 10:16:07 UTC. The time could vary slightly, but in principle, according to calculations made by Voyager mission engineers, those are the predictions. Many achievements in its history. Voyager 1 was released in 1977. In 1979 he arrived in the neighborhood of Jupiter to observe and photograph it up close. Thanks to their work, two new Jovian moons and a thin ring around the planet were discovered. Then, in 1980, it arrived at Saturn. It also discovered a new ring and even more moons: a total of 5 satellites. Uranus and Neptune were left to its twin, Voyager 2, so after Saturn it continued its journey beyond the solar system, leaving the heliosphere behind in 2012. It then became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. The keys to its maintenance. In these years, it has been necessary to turn off little by little many of the instruments of the Voyager probes to save battery life so that they can continue with their journey. For this reason, it has been several decades without taking images. The last was the famous pale blue dot, which was photographed on Valentine’s Day 1990. Thanks to these savings, it continues to send data regularly to Earth, although the further away it is, the more it costs. Energy that runs out. The Voyager probes they get their energy thanks to three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), which convert the heat generated by the decay of plutonium-238 into electricity. This is what has allowed them to continue working for so long. In 2011, for example, the two probes they generated just under 270 watts, which is about 76% of the power they started with. Thanks to the shutdown of instruments, the gum has been stretching until today, with the possibility of breaking a new record next November. However, 0.8% of power is lost each year, so it is estimated that by 2030 they will no longer obtain enough energy to be able to capture data or communicate with Earth. They will continue to wander through interstellar space, but subdued and silent. And then what? It is estimated that Voyager 1 will take about 40,000 years to approach the closest possible star. It may plunge into another planetary system, which who knows if it will have life or not. If it has it, it will carry a message from Earth, since, like Voyager 2, it carries on board a golden record with greetings in 55 languages, along with music and 116 images and sounds of Earth. None of the engineers who wrote that message will ever know if anyone reads it. We don’t even know if humanity will still exist by then. But when we talk about space, uncertainty is often the norm. For now, it is better to think about the nearest horizon, which is the one in which Voyager 1 breaks one more record. There are only a few months left until he achieves it. Images | POT In Xataka | The rescue of Voyager 1 has begun. With 8 KB of memory, a programming language from 1957 and unparalleled lag

A heat wave is about to “scorch” all of Europe. So France has been the first to open a melon: ban alcohol

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The summer of 2026 has started in a big way, with much of Europe charredthermometers climbing to record values and governments wondering how on earth to tackle the risks that the heatwave has for the health of the population. In France they have been clear: declaring war on alcohol. With dozens of regions On red alert due to extreme heat, the French authorities have decided to put limits on the consumption of beer, wine and cocktails. It may seem shocking in a world that usually goes for beers (or drinks) to cool off, but it makes all the sense in the world. And for several reasons. Europe is burning. It may sound exaggerated, but if at any time it is justified to talk about temperatures scorching in Europe it is now. In Spain the first heat wave of the summer has sent the mercury skyrocketing above 40º in several parts of the country and the situation is not much better in other parts of Europe, such as Germany, Italy, United Kingdom or Belgium, where thermometers have reached (or easily exceeded) 30 degrees. Beyond the weather reports, the heat has already forced sports events to be cancelled, interrupt rail services or launch alerts. The objective: avoid episodes like the one in the summer of 2023, when another extreme heat wave left more than 62,000 dead in Europe. This same Sunday, Madrid decided, for example, to suspend the broadcast of the match with Saudi Arabia on the XXL screen in the Plaza de Colón. The reason: the forecast before 39ºC was reached. Like a ‘frying pan’. Another country that has not been spared from the heatwave is France. Over there 53 million people They were yesterday in areas with first or second level heat alerts. In fact, the country left an unpublished image: 35 of its 96 continental departments were on red alert and another 45 on orange. Faced with such a panorama, the authorities have decided to close at least 845 schools and adapt the schedules of hundreds of other centers to avoid the hottest hours. And that is just one of the measures activated by the Government. In Paris, for example, the Prefecture asked to the organizers of outdoor sporting events to cancel their tests in order to avoid unnecessary risks. An “explosive” mix. In France the Government encountered more than just heat. The dog days coincided there, among other events, with the Fête de la Musiquea festive day during which open-air concerts are organized and thousands of people celebrate in style in the streets, squares and parks. “Heat wave and Music Festival: an explosive combination that worries law enforcement agencies,” titled yesterday one of his chronicles on the BFM channel before remembering that Météo-France has extended the red alert to 49 departments. Stop alcohol. That parks are opened, classes suspended or races postponed to combat the heat wave is hardly surprising. What is most striking is another of the measures adopted in France: restrict the alcohol. As reports the France24 networkthe French authorities decided to ban drinking in public spaces in certain departments of the country, especially affected by the extreme heat wave. The sales restrictions lasted between early Sunday and Mondaywith the sight set especially at the Fête de la Musique and other celebrations planned throughout the country. Closed bars. “The prefects will issue decrees prohibiting the consumption of alcohol in public spaces in the departments on red alert,” the Government warned in a statementin which it also warned that events organized by the State itself and its agencies would close their bars. As if the message were not strong enough, the mayor of Paris warned to his neighbors about the risks of excessive drinking: “The combination of alcohol, heat and proximity of water are three factors that do not mix.” But… Why? The decision may seem shocking, but it makes perfect sense. And for several reasons. To begin with, by restricting alcohol consumption, especially during a day marked by street parties and concerts, the Government has wanted “preserve emergency services and medical care” and that “health personnel focus on caring for the most vulnerable.” In short: fewer drinking-related emergencies (falls, drownings, comas, fights…) so as not to neglect the real priority: the heatwave. In Paris, where the alert was activated, consumption was banned of strong drinks, such as high-proof beers, liqueurs or fortified wines, on the banks of the Seine and the Canal Saint-Martin precisely to avoid ‘scares’. Those who wanted to drink had to go to licensed bars, pubs or cafes. “Without realizing it”. There is another reason why the decision of the French authorities is totally logical. As explained on Saturday in France Info the Minister of Health, Stéphanie Rist, by drinking a beer or a glass of wine we may have the impression that we are cooling off, but we are really boycotting the mechanisms our body uses to self-regulate. “You become dehydrated three to four times faster without even realizing it.” Alcohol has a diuretic effect and blocks vasopressin, remember from RFIwhich means that the ‘normal’ functioning of our body is altered. We go to the bathroom more, we sweat less, our body temperature rises and we become dehydrated, something that is not particularly advisable when we live in a region on alert for high temperatures and the thermometer exceeds 35º. “The body’s internal thermostat stops reacting correctly to overheating signals; our body no longer knows when to sweat and dilate blood vessels,” insist the French Institute of Health (Inserm). Images | DAT VO (Unsplash) and Venus Major (Unsplash) In Xataka | We are at 44 degrees and AEMET says that the worst is yet to come. The good news is that we already know when thermal relief arrives.

Pamplona is being invaded by thousands of white moths. The funny thing is that this is the only harmless part of the problem

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In recent days, there is a specific type of Navarrese videos that do not stop roaming the internet: storms of white moths invading entire houses, covering terraces and “taking” rooms. We are talking about white butterflies about four centimeters long that voraciously seek any point of light. The result is chairs, tables and columns, floors, ceilings and walls completely “upholstered” by them. I said “videos”, yes; but the word I was looking for was “nightmares.” And the funny thing is that this is the only part of the process (of the boxwood moth cycle) that is not really a problem. What is happening? Nothing new is actually happening. As predicted for weeks, the boxwood moth (Cydalima perspectalis) has hatched en masse in the Pamplona region, coinciding with the first heat stroke of the summer. It is not only that, as the local press remembersthese moths have caused problems before. It is that in the 2018-19 season caused a decline in the ‘bojedales’ of Atlantic Navarra which put the entire botanical community in the north of the country on alert. In other words, the new thing is the videos: the problem comes from further away than it seems. I mean, it’s a problem, right? The curious thing is that the moth (about 4 cm wingspanwhite and with nocturnal habits) is not usually so. In its adult phase it does not eat boxwood, It is not stinging, it is not dangerous for people or pets. It is very scandalous and somewhat annoying, but little more. The real problem is caterpillars and, as far as we are talking about moths, the damage has already been done. A sentence that already lasts 20 years. The caterpillars are monophagous. That is, they only eat boxwood; But, in addition, they eat it in a big way: they gnaw the leaves until the nerves are stripped. And it shows: according to the Ministry, after two years of ‘defoliation’ 72% of boxwoods do not resprout. It has been 20 years since the plague arrived in Europe and about 12 that arrived in Spain. However, today (and only in Catalonia) there are already 180,000 hectares affected. A third of everything in Catalonia. And now what? Little now. As I say, moths are annoying, but they are not dangerous. The authorities trust that it will be achieved a natural ecological balance that keeps the boxwood alive. The problem is that the climate works against us: if the heat continues to rise we cannot rule out several generations a year. And that would compromise everything. Image | Denis Chanter In Xataka | We are on the verge of the first heat wave of the year: an anomaly of up to 15 degrees never seen since 1950

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