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China manufactured more solar panels in one year than the planet can absorb. Now the market is devouring itself

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

In early 2026, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz shook energy markets. Consumers, frightened by the volatility of fossil fuels, looked in all directions for alternatives. What they found was a disconcerting paradox: the planet had—has—a historic surplus of clean, cheap energy. There was no shortage of solar panels. There were plenty of them. And no one really knew what to do with them. Economist Adam Tooze summed it up bluntly in his column Financial Times: “Clean energy, on a scale that would have seemed utopian at the time of the Paris Agreement in 2015, is now within our reach. The price of solar panels has plummeted. And yet factories are paralyzed.” It’s not rhetoric. It’s a diagnosis. After a huge increase in investment since 2020, Chinese companies reached a production capacity of 1,000 gigawatts of solar panels per year. To get an idea: in 2023 global demand was only 451 GW, according to Energy News. Chinese production of solar cells that year—588 GW—already doubled international demand. And they continued building. The result was what economists call “involution”: a spiral of destructive competition where companies destroy each other with none winning. More than 40 Chinese manufacturers have gone bankrupt, been acquired or delisted. A third of the staff of the surviving big five were laid off. JinkoSolar, the world’s largest supplier, registered in 2025 a drop in revenue of 29%, a drop in gross profit of 86% and net losses of 4.45 billion yuan. In this way, in June of last year, more than 30 manufacturers They agreed to an OPEC-style pact to stabilize prices and curb supply. Six months later, the result was a disaster: far from stabilizing, production reached historic highs, installations tripled and losses continued to accumulate. “Since when are solar panels just another commodity? They are a technological miracle. They make us cultivators of the sun,” details Adam Tooze in his column. And in all that time, the price of a solar module fell to $0.10 per watt, according to EnkiAI —well below the $0.16/W production cost of the most advanced TOPCon modules. It is, strictly speaking, the largest climate technology sell-off in history. This is not a steel crisis. It’s something else When economists talk about Chinese overproduction, the debate usually revolves around steel, cement or electric cars. But Tooze makes a distinction worth hearing: Solar panels are no ordinary commodity. They are the result of half a century of research—from NASA spinoff programs in the 1970s to the big energy push of the Carter era—and, along with batteries, they are the master key to a sustainable future. Wasting that surplus is not just an economic problem. It is a civilizational irrationality. According to the OECD, China invested less than $18 billion in sector support over 15 years to build an industry capable of providing more clean energy than the world can easily absorb. That figure is less than the cost of building a medium-sized international airport in Europe, or what the US spent on a single Gerald Ford-class aircraft carrier. The concentration of power in the supply chain is also unprecedented in the history of energy. China controls more than 80% of the entire global solar production chaindirect result of the plan Made in China 2025 with which Beijing decided to stop being the world’s cheap factory and become its technological supplier. By the end of 2025, its operational module capacity exceeded 900 GW, several times the total global demand. The five largest Chinese manufacturers concentrate more than 50% of the market. LONGi Green Energy alone shipped more than 45 GW in 2025 – more than the entire US domestic manufacturing capacity (73 GW). Never in the history of energy has a single nation so completely dominated a key technology for the decarbonization of the planet. Not even oil at its peak. And the climate paradox is painful: since the Paris Agreement of 2015, a scale of deployment like the current one would have seemed like science fiction. The goal was to stop global warming. The instruments to do so are manufactured and stacked in warehouses. What fails, Tooze points out, is coordination: what Keynes would call a global “chaos,” a catastrophe of collective planning. The global bet Chaos has its own correction mechanisms, even if they are painful. In China, the crisis has already forced the Government to act a few months ago, Beijing called for ‘concerted efforts’ to end price war. The proposed measures include capacity control, minimum guideline prices, mergers and acquisitions, and intellectual property protection “to promote the high-quality development of the photovoltaic industry.” In practice: the Chinese State orchestrating an orderly rescue of the sector that it itself encouraged to grow without limits. The consolidation had already started before. In August of last year, several players in the sector launched a plan for large manufacturers to jointly invest $7 billion in buying and closing the least efficient facilities, according to OilPrice.com. In practice, a cartel to stop the bleeding. Prices already reflect the shift. According to ABC SolutionsChinese modules have risen between 10% and 20% in 2026 due to the adjustment of overproduction and new logistics tariffs. Wood Mackenzie forecasts a further rise of 9%. The window for the big bargain is closing, although prices remain historically low. The critical variable for 2027 is how the surplus is resolved: through orderly consolidation or through new business disruptions. Meanwhile, Chinese foreign business continues to boom. As Tooze points out in the FTexports of Chinese solar technology to virtually every country except the United States are skyrocketing. And manufacturers have evolved: they now integrate batteries into systems to offer greater stability to the grid, pushing the product towards the complete solution instead of the isolated module. Storage batteries, which They have also reached historical lows in cost Pushed by the same dynamic of overproduction, they thus complete the package: panel plus storage, at a knockdown price. Domestic demand will also recover. China exceeded 1,230 GW of installed solar capacity … Read more

“Do not try to become a man of success, but rather a man of value”

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

In the history of humanity (and it is not short) few people have achieved a recognition levelprestige and admiration comparable to that of Albert Einstein. His last name has in fact become a universal synonym for brilliance. When someone stands out for his intellect we call him “Einstein”, just as we refer to sharp minds as “sherlocks” or the more attractive people like “Apolos”. However, despite this universal fame, the German physicist had a very clear vision about what a man should pursue in his life if he wants to feel fulfilled. For him the secret of happiness is not so much in “success”, money and applause as in becoming a person of value. Going back to 1955 The world said goodbye to Albert Einstein on April 18, 1955, when an aneurysm ended his life in Princeton, USA. He was just 76 years old, a Nobel Prize in Physics and unanimous recognition for having revolutionized our understanding of the universe with his theories. Shortly before he died, chance would have it that Einstein received a visit at his home in New Jersey from a peculiar group of people interested in chatting with him about something quite different from the theories of relativity or the curvature of light. What his guests wanted to talk about was meaning of life. The delegation in question was made up William Hermannspoet and personal friend of Einstein; the editor of Life MagazineWilliam Miller, and the latter’s son, ‘Pat’, a young man who was beginning his university studies at Harvard. As I would later explain in the article As Miller wrote about that meeting, Pat was an admirer of the German physicist and a science enthusiast, but for some time he had been “stuck in a kind of philosophical nihilism” that threatened to ruin his career. “He wondered what was the point of human effort if the universe was dying,” Miller says in his chronicle, published in May 1955. The goal of the editor life It seems that it was not so much about getting explosive statements from Einstein for a report (in fact, Miller himself recognize that were planted in your house without warning) as offering some “inspiration” to your son. The idea must not have displeased Einstein, who spent the next few minutes chatting with the group about issues as diverse as science, religion or politics, although the conversation gradually drifted towards philosophy. —Does experience give us the truth? —asked Pat Einstein. —It is a difficult question —acknowledged the Nobel Prize winner—. You are always seeing things without being sure if you really see them. Truth is a verbal concept that cannot be subjected to mathematical proof. As the debate delved into epistemological questions, Miller took the opportunity to slide what he considered “the philosophical dilemma” that his son was struggling with: “He doesn’t find any reason to strive to achieve something.” —Doesn’t the question of the undulation of light awaken your curiosity? —Einstein replied. – Well yes. “I guess so,” Pat justified. —Then don’t stop thinking about the reasons for what you do, about why you ask what you ask. The important thing is never stop asking questions. Curiosity has its own reason for being. One cannot help but be amazed when contemplating the mysteries of eternity, of life, the wonderful structure of reality. It is enough to try to understand a little of that mystery every day. Never lose your holy curiosity. At that point, Einstein gave Pat one of his lessons more valuable. —Do not try to become a successful man, but rather a a man of value. Nowadays, those who get more out of life than they contribute are considered successful; but a man of value gives more than he receives. Before saying goodbye, the physicist gave Pat one last piece of advice: — Don’t stop marveling. Although Einstein left profound reflections throughout his life, that invitation to prioritize “value” over “success” has become one of his maxims. most popular. Perhaps the greatest of all. AND it makes sense. Science has already warned of the risks What the search for other people’s approval has for our health (both emotional and physical) or how important issues such as socialization either generosity. Images | Wikipedia Via | Pure People In Xataka | François de La Rochefoucauld, philosopher: “We are never as happy or as unhappy as we believe”

What is ‘meta prompting’ and how to apply it

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, DeepSeek and others artificial intelligences (AI) allow us to interact with them using natural language. And it’s fantastic. A decade ago this possibility plunged us into the realm of science fiction, but today, fortunately, anyone can use these AI. And you don’t need to know anything about AI or technology. There is no doubt that the possibility of asking questions and making requests in our own language is a huge advantage, but it is important that we keep in mind that the quality of the answer that an AI will give us depends largely on the quality of our request. From the prompt we use. Because a prompt It is, precisely, an instruction or request that we give to an AI. A prompt elaborate and meticulous define the context What AI should take into account, what role the model should take, what response format we need and what objective we pursue. The problem is that preparing such a detailed request is not always easy. And, furthermore, it can be a bit cumbersome. Fortunately, this problem has a solution: goal prompting. And it can help us get much more out of any AI in a very simple way. The “prompt over the prompt” trick the word goal It comes from Greek and means “beyond” or “above.” He goal prompting is literally thinking about the prompt before writing it. If we say to an AI “explain special relativity to me”, we will get a generic response. Correct, but generic. And the AI does not know who the response is directed to, in what context we are going to use it, or what level of detail we need. The problem is not with the AI; lies in the instruction we have given you. However, if we tell you the following: “You are a physics teacher for high school students. Explain special relativity to me using only everyday analogies, without mathematical formulas. I want the students to intuitively understand why time passes more slowly at very high speeds. Maximum 300 words” Language models are extremely context-sensitive tools We will get a much more detailed and useful answer. Of higher quality. However, and here comes the really interesting part, the way to put the goal prompting What we propose consists of ask AI to help us generate the prompt that we are going to deliver to you. Language models are extremely context-sensitive tools. For this reason, the same question asked in two different ways can produce radically different answers. He goal prompting Take advantage, precisely, of this sensitivity in a conscious way. A very simple way to put this idea into practice is to add the phrase “Before responding, rewrite this prompt to make it more precise and effective. Then respond using that improved version” right after our initial request. If, for example, we say to ChatGPT: “Explain special relativity to me. Before answering, rewrite this prompt to make it more precise and effective. Then answer using that improved version” Will prepare the following prompt: “Explain Albert Einstein’s theory of special relativity to me as if it were an introductory college physics class. Start with the historical context that led to its formulation, clearly state its two fundamental postulates, develop its main consequences (time dilation, length contraction, relativity of simultaneity, and mass-energy equivalence), use intuitive examples and thought experiments, include the essential equations, and explain what experimental evidence has confirmed it. End with a summary of the key ideas and their impact on physics modern.” It is evident that this second option defines the context much better than our initial request. And it allows AI to give us a higher quality response. If we do this same experiment with Claude we will obtain the following prompt advanced: “Explain to me Einstein’s theory of special relativity: its fundamental postulates, the most important physical consequences (time dilation, length contraction, mass-energy equivalence) and why it represented a break with classical physics. Use concrete analogies and an intermediate technical level.” Again we will obtain a much more satisfactory answer. He goal prompting it does not make AI something it is not. It doesn’t give you capabilities you don’t have. What it does is eliminate the ambiguity between what we want and what the model interprets. The clearer we are when defining the context, our objective and the format we expect, the less the AI will have to improvise and the better the result it will deliver to us. Image | Generated by Xataka with a prompt created by Claude and submitted to ChatGPT In Xataka | ChatGPT blocking mode: what it is, what it is for, who can use it and how to activate it In Xataka | AI is replacing one of the most hated jobs in the world: the tailcoat collector

On Saturday, June 13, a designer fan (Dyson style) arrives at Aldi with a 20% discount

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

Although there are exceptions, for the most part fans do not match the decoration of the house. They are devices that we do not always have in the same room, so they are usually in the middle and their designs are not too elegant. But as we say, there are exceptions. Aldi usually brings many devices to supermarkets, either through its online store or physical stores. And of course, among them there are some fans. In fact, next Saturday, June 13, the Ambiana fan with a quite elegant design that will also be on sale with a 20% discount, going from 49.99 euros to 39.99 euros. However, if you don’t have an Aldi nearby or if the online store sells out quickly, Amazon has a fan with a practically identical design. It’s about the fan Joccawhose price is 59 euros. Jocca – Bladeless fan The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A fan with a good design The Ambiano fan arrives betting on a particular design, but also on a more than decent technical sheet for the little it costs. On the one hand, the minimalist aesthetic will make it go more unnoticed at home; and calm, The blue strip is an LED light, and you can change color or turn it off. This fan does not have blades and incorporates a motor that reduces mechanical vibrations, something to keep in mind if we do not want it to be heard too much, which is interesting to use while we sleep. It has several speeds and comes with an automatic oscillation system, distributing the air evenly throughout the room. ⚡ IN BRIEF: Ambiano fan offer today ✅ THE BEST Your design: It is a very minimalist fan that goes unnoticed at home. Its price: It can be purchased on sale as soon as it reaches the online stores. ❌ THE WORST It helps with the heat, but… After all, it is a fan, so it does not cool the room. 💡 BUY IT IF… You want a fan that doesn’t stand out in your home, that is cheap and that also makes little noise. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You want a device that allows you to cool the room. In that case, it is better to take a look at the air conditionersalthough they are more expensive. You may also be interested Philips Bliss Ceiling Lamp with LED Retractable Fan Blades, 3 Blades, 106 Cm Wingspan, 4500 Lumens, White Light Adjustable from 3000 K to 6500 K, Dimmable to 5%, Remote Control, White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Cecotec Digital Tower Fan with Timer and Remote Control EnergySilence 890 Skyline. 50 W, 30” (76cm) Height, Oscillation, Copper Motor, 3 Speeds, 3 Modes, Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 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 | Aldi and Compradicción (header), Ambiano In Xataka | Buying guide for connected fans: recommendations for choosing a “smart” model with WiFi and six models from 50 euros In Xataka | Silent ceiling fan: which one to buy? Tips and recommendations

The James Webb has just done something we have never achieved with an interstellar visitor: read its chemical composition

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

Every time an interstellar visitor approaches the vicinity of Earth, a great stir is generated in all kinds of more or less specialized sectors. There are those who see it as a golden opportunity to learn a little more about our neighboring planetary systems and also those who fear them, considering them as a possible extraterrestrial technology. We saw it in 2017 with Oumuamua, in 2019 with 2I/Borisov and last year with comet 3I/ATLAS. We don’t talk so much about the first and the second, but about the third studies continue to be published. For example, one that has recently been made known, in which, thanks to James Webb, has been achieved for the first time analyze the chemical fingerprint of an interstellar object. Very rare gases for our solar system. Thanks to the MIRI spectrograph, the James Webb’s specialized mid-infrared instrument, it has been possible to analyze the chemical composition of 3I/ATLAS. This is because different chemicals reflect light differently. By analyzing the resulting spectrum, different gases can be identified. In this case, water vapor was detected beyond the nucleus, possibly due to the melting of ice grains present in the comet. In addition, both methane and carbon dioxide were identified very close to the core. It is the first time that methane has been identified in an interstellar visitor. The proportion of these last two gases in relation to water is very high. Too much for what is normal for comets in the solar system, which is why the idea that this visitor came from some other very remote place continues to be supported. MIRI shows the interstellar comet in three different wavelengths of light and illustrates where the different gases were located at the time the comet was observed. Two key dates. The measurements with the James Webb Space Telescope were carried out on two different dates. On the one hand, between December 15 and 16, 2025 and secondly on December 27 of that same year. At that time, our star visitor began his return journey after going around the Sun. The Sun is essential. Attempts had been made to identify the gases of this comet before. However, the methane remained hidden until this point. The authors of the study believe that this is because it had remained hidden in its depths, under the ice, and that it took the Sun to melt part of that ice for it to emerge to the surface. The search continues. When 3I/ATLAS approached our planet, many instruments took the opportunity to land on it and try to obtain as much data as possible. A good example of this is the JUICE probe, of the European Space Agency. While the initial goal of this mission is to study Jupiter’s icy moons, it was in the right place at the right time when we welcomed our mysterious visitor. The ESA calculation which would be their closest ship at the time of the approach, so they used it to take information about the comet in November 2025. This was sent to Earth in February 2026, so since then there have been scientists working on its analysis. The study that has now been published is possibly just the first of many. And 3I/ATLAS has already left, but the interest in knowing everything possible about it stayed with us. Image | International Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/B. Bolin | NASA, ESA, CSA, STScI, M. Belyakov (Caltech), I. Wong (STScI), Image Processing: A. Pagan (STScI) In Xataka | Avi Loeb believed he had found aliens. Does anyone have a simpler explanation: pollution?

Software engineers have become AI overseers. Another profession is going the same way: lawyers

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

AI already writes faster than many professionals, making it a powerful ally in administrative and legal textsthus lightening the most tedious workload for humans. The problem is that it is an efficient tool, but not infallibleso supervision of its results is necessary. That is, it saves you only part of the work, but maintains the obligation to monitor the results. That is just what the TSXG has put on the table in one case which affects a Galician lawyer, against whom the Galician High Court has opened a case for procedural bad faith after detecting a written appeal with AI in which he had invented 24 legal quotes to argue it. The resource under suspicion. The Superior Court of Xustiza of Galicia maintains that the document presented “multiple spurious citations, non-existent resolutions, others that have nothing to do with what was discussed, or directly invented.” According to the Galician court, the appeal accumulated a series of errors that cannot be attributed to human error, but rather respond “to a notable lack of diligence in professional performance.” The resolution adds that the text followed a “curious structure in the way it was written”, something that the court relates to the use of free generative AI. Although, above all, the TSXG disgraces the lawyer for the lack of subsequent verification to stop the “constant ‘hallucinations’” of the system. Lack of review. As the Galician court’s brief highlights, the procedural bad faith of which the lawyer is accused does not lead to a malicious use of deception, but rather “evidence conduct revealing obvious negligence on the part of someone who, considered an expert in procedural rules and respectful of the deontological principles of his profession, entrusted his work – to what we believe -, without further review, to what the algorithm proposed, omitting the diligence of verifying the existence of what he cited, trusting perhaps in which the abundance of references would not only go unnoticed by this Court, but would also give authority to its assertions.” That is, it is a warning to navigators that AI can speed up writing, but it does not know if a sentence exists or if a decontextualized quote serves to support a legal argument. That process of screening and supervision is still human, and that role of supervising results will be a key piece in the future of the practice of law. Engineers have already changed. The process of changing roles that the legal profession will undergo in the very near future (in fact, as we see, it has already begun) with the arrival of AI is not something new. Software engineers and programmers were the first to experience it. AI is gaining prominence when writing the code of large technology companies like googleMicrosoft and even Anthropic already generates much of its AI with its AI But, at the same time, the engineer has not disappeared, but has gone from having a role as a producer to one of a supervisor who analyzes the results provided by the AI. By that same reasonthe technological have reduced the hiring of junior personnel, who until now were dedicated to those more tedious tasks, and have accelerated the hiring of seniors with the most trained eye for detect errors and inconsistencies in the code. From legal advisor to legal supervisor. The comparison between what is already evident in big technology companies and what is coming in law firms is quite evident. AI is not going to end the figure of the lawyer, but it will generate a shift in work roles towards the supervision of legal texts. In fact, as how I collected Reuterssome law firms are already requiring their junior associates to know how to use and supervise AI. We are only facing one of the cases derived from the improper use of AI in legal texts that have been occurring in recent months. According what was published by Iberley In February, the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands established a financial penalty for a lawyer who had used AI to generate an appeal that contained a total of 48 jurisprudential citations. invented by an AI. Regulate the use of AI for judges. In reality, the impact of AI in the legal field goes beyond its use in drafting routine legal resources and briefs. In Spain, judges have already been sanctioned for using ChatGPT in drafting something as compromised as a sentence. In April 2026, the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ) opened a file to a magistrate for having “evaded his jurisdictional functions” by leaving the drafting of a sentence in the hands of an AI. As a result of this case and other controversies, the General Council of the Judiciary has had to approve a “guide” aimed at the use of AI in the judicial career, so that it is established how this tool should be used so as not to incur a neglect of one’s legal responsibilities. Who knows if one of those new professions to be created in the future it will be that of supervisor of sentences. In Xataka | “Unpresentable” and meaningless: the court declares a dismissal unfair due to a letter generated with an AI Image | Unsplash (Romain Dancre and Solen Feyissa)

Welcome to the first floating city on the planet

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

A few years ago, French Polynesia signed an agreement to study the creation of the first semi-autonomous floating city of the world. The project was never built, but it showed that the idea of living permanently in the ocean was no longer a simple science fiction fantasy. Now we are closer than ever. A floating city larger than many municipalities. Yes, the idea seems taken from a fantastic novel, but its promoters assure that it is still alive three decades after being conceived. He Freedom Ship has been presented as a gigantic floating city almost 1.6 kilometers long, about 240 meters wide and 30 decks high, designed to house about 80,000 people between permanent residents, visitors and crew. With an estimated cost of 12 billion poundswould be several times larger than the largest current cruise ships and would have the capacity to accommodate a population similar to that of a medium-sized city, becoming one of the most ambitious mobile structures ever imagined. Live in the sea without needing to touch land. The concept breaks with the traditional logic of cruises because it is not designed to take trips, but to become a place to live permanently. Some 50,000 residents could make their home there as the city slowly sails around the world, completing a circumnavigation of the planet approximately every two and a half years. Due to its size, the ship would not be able to dock in conventional ports, so it would remain in international waters and use ferries and auxiliary vessels to connect with the mainland. The inhabitants would have access to differentiated neighborhoodsinternal transportation systems through trams, kilometers of pedestrian walkways and large green areas distributed throughout the structure. A city on a single roof. There is much more, as the designers intend for its inhabitants to find practically everything they need without leaving the ship. He project includes homes, hotels, schools from primary education to higher education, hospitals, banks, offices, convention centers, museums, concert halls, sports facilities and a huge commercial offer. It is also they contemplate a stadium with capacity for 15,000 spectators, a water park, large restaurant spaces, aquariums for recreational activities, discos and multiple leisure areas. The intention is to reproduce the operation of a conventional city by transferring all its essential services to a floating platform capable of operating autonomously for years. Thirty years chasing the same dream. The history of the Freedom Ship It began in the nineties with the American engineer Norman Nixon. Although the project was presented publicly on several occasions, it never obtained the necessary financing to start. After years of inactivity, the initiative has regained momentum under the direction by Freedom Cruise Line Internationalwhose officials assure that there is enough interest to even justify the construction of several units. The current priority remains raising the enormous initial capital needed to begin work, a challenge that remains the main obstacle to transforming the spectacular illustrations into a tangible reality. Giant construction on the high seas. If funding is secured, the plan is to make the hull in sections in Indonesia and later assembled at sea. Those responsible believe that construction could be completed in three or four yearsalthough they maintain that the first residents could begin to settle before the work was completely finished. Unlike conventional cruise ships, maintenance would be performed continuously while the structure remains operational in the water. The economic model is also intended to resemble the of a traditional cityrenting or selling commercial spaces to companies and entrepreneurs instead of centralizing all businesses under a single management. Nuclear energy and ecological ambitions. One of the most striking aspects of the project is the possibility of using nuclear energy to boost the gigantic platform. Its promoters argue that this solution would drastically reduce emissions associated with maritime transport and keep a floating city of similar size in operation. Furthermore, they affirm that the vessel could participate in ocean cleanup initiatives during their journeys and become a laboratory for new forms of sustainable coexistence at sea. They also highlight that, by staying away from ports, it would avoid part of the tourist saturation problems that some current cruises generate in highly visited destinations. Between utopia and reality. The magnitude of the project explains why many observers continue to view it with skepticism. No floating city of such dimensions has ever been built and the investment required far exceeds that of the largest existing cruise ships. However, its promoters insist that the combination of permanent housing, commercial activity, tourism and specialized services could make the model viable. Meanwhile, the Freedom Ship continues to occupy a unique place among the great technological utopias contemporary: a vision of mobile cities navigating the planet that has been trying to abandon paper for thirty years to become a reality. Image | Harbor Rear In Xataka | If the question is what is the largest sailing superyacht in the world, the answer has a lot of history: the Orient Express In Xataka | We believed that cruises had already taken everything to the limit: with the ‘Hero of the Seas’, Royal Caribbean believes that they have not

Archaeologists have found the bodies of two women embracing in a medieval tomb. Now they are a huge mystery

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

There are eternal hugs, there are mysterious hugs, there are hugs with so much sentimental charge that only those who melt into them understand them and then there are hugs like that of the two corpses from the Middle Ages. located a few years ago next to Opole Cathedralin southern Poland, which add up to all these characteristics (and some more). When archaeologists discovered their intertwined bodies underground in 2023, they began to ask questions that they hoped to resolve by analyzing DNA samples. They have achieved it… halfway. Experts now better understand who the bodies belonged to, but are even more confused about how to interpret their eternal embrace. In a place in Poland… To understand the mystery you have to go back three years ago, between May 2022 and November 2023when a group of archaeologists began to excavate around the cathedral of Opolea small city in Upper Silesia (Poland) located on the banks of the Oder River. The origins of temple They date back to the 11th century (in the 13th it was expanded thanks to the support of the local nobility) and researchers hoped that their tombs would help them better understand the funerary rituals of the time. In total they discovered 46 burialsalthough there was one in particular that caught his attention: a grave that contained two skeletons, baptized ‘nº31′ and ’32’. What was so special about them? To begin with, his tomb was located in the northern area of the cathedral, near the walls and foundations of the temple. That is relevant in itself because not everyone could hope to have their remains rest in a place like that. When both bodies were buried, in the Middle Ages, the burial areas so close to the consecrated temple and its relics were usually reserved for the most powerful and wealthy people. The bones fell apart 154cm deep and were very deteriorated by the passage of time, which greatly complicated their identification. The reason: they were once deposited in the ground, only with shrouds and on stretchers, so parts of the skeleton have been lost and others are fragmented. An enigmatic position. Although the above is interesting, there was another reason that made archaeologists interested in bodies numbers 31 and 32: their posture. The first skeleton (31) reveals that the body was buried face up, in the position in which the deceased were usually buried. The 32nd, however, was lying on his side, leaning on his side, with one leg half bent and his right arm stretched under his partner’s skull. The composition is as clear in 2026 as it probably was in the 13th century: both corpses they are hugged in a position that denotes intimacy. Add and continue. Those in Opole are not the first centuries-old burial sites in which we have found hugging bodies. In 2007 We saw something similar in Mantua, where archaeologists also discovered the remains of two bodies buried 5,000 years ago in an intertwined position. And that is just one of several examples. We located another one in 2015 in the Peloponnese, where a couple from 3,800 BC was found buried in a similar pose. And what does it mean? The big question. The most logical thing is to assume that the two people buried in Opole maintained such a close relationship that those who survived them believed that it was most appropriate to bury them together, in an intimate position, with their bodies intertwined. The key is… Why? Were they family? Did they have a romantic relationship? It is not a simple question because by asking it from the 21st century we run the risk of trying to answer it with a presentist approachbased on our own vision of the world. The DNA wild card. To clear up unknowns, a group of researchers turned to DNA analysis. Their goal was to subject the bones unearthed next to the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Opole to an archaeogenetic examination in search of some answers: What age and sex were both deceased? Were they family? Maybe they were father and son, brothers, an uncle and his nephew? The results have just been published in an article published in the magazine Archaeological Science: Reports and they are surprising. Although the bones have degraded and do not allow tooth enamel to be analyzed, a study carried out by experts from the Kiel University Yes, it has revealed three clues. First, the bodies belonged to two people who were around 40 years old. Second, both correspond to women. And third, there was no relationship between them. There is a link, but… what? “Our DNA analysis shows that the two women were not closely related by blood, but genetics cannot tell us how they were socially or emotionally connected,” recognize to The Country Joanna Romeyer-Dherbey, one of the researchers who signed the paper and who highlights how “extraordinary” it is that centuries later archaeogenetics can reveal to us the secrets of two people buried together. If they were not direct relatives, and in view of how they have been found buried, does that mean that the two women from Opole were lovers? Are we looking at a homosexual couple buried together and embracing in the middle of the Middle Ages? Researchers cannot rule it out. Nor affirm it “with confidence”. Theorize yes, but with caution. What your article does insist on is the call for caution: “Archaeologists should avoid projecting modern cultural categories onto past practices when material evidence does not distinguish between multiple plausible explanations.” After all, both women could be lovers, but also friends, relatives without a biological link (through adoption, for example) or even members of the same religious community. To put it another way, what if they had tragically died at the same time and the community decided to bury them together? Are there more clues? Yes. One. and it is fundamental. The bodies have not only appeared in the same grave, in a position that denotes an embrace. … Read more

Orange has taken complete control of MasOrange. European consolidation is one step closer

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

Orange has taken full control of MasOrange after closing the purchase of the 50% that was still in the hands of Lorca HoldCo, the company owned by the KKR, Providence and Cinven funds. With this operation, expected for monthsthe French company becomes the sole owner of the largest telecommunications operator in Spain. The movement represents a very important step towards a long-awaited market consolidation which the large operators have been behind for years. One in which the fewer intermediate operators, the better for the giant operators. what has happened. On Christmas Day, Orange, Bouygues Telecom and Iliad (Free) announced the joint purchase of SFR for 20.35 billion euros. Agreement through which the three groups will share the clients, assets and frequencies of the second largest operator in France. The transaction, which will be closed in 2027 after passing the necessary regulations, follows the line of what happened in Spain: Orange has acquired MasOrange. The other half. Orange has acquired the remaining 50% of the capital of MasOrange, to date in the hands of his co-sharer Lorca. The agreement, valued at 4.25 billion euros, already has the necessary authorizations in Europe. Following this move, Orange now controls 100% of the operator’s capital, completely diluting MásOrange. Why is it important. Spain becomes the second most important market in Europe for Orange. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, MasOrange had 26 million mobile telephone customers and 7.1 million fixed broadband customers. Those numbers now belong entirely to Orange. “The acquisition of all of MasOrange is a strategic step in our “Trust in the Future” plan and reinforces Orange’s position in Spain.” Secondly, the movement advocates the European consolidation of the telecommunications market. The large groups are closing the circle: Telefónica, Orange, and Deutsche Telekom. The photo. Europe is one of the regions with the most operators per region, a total of 34 compared to 3 in the United States and 4 in the Chinese market. The major European companies need to continue absorbing their small rivals. Reason? The following: Proportionally, Europe has eight times more operators than the US and China, something that ends up translating into much more compressed margins and a drop in 41% in the market capitalization of the sector between 2015 and 2023. Without consolidation, European telecoms have a difficult time not depending on foreign funds and capital.

It is the country where it has been best implemented

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

When talking about countries with high productivity, all eyes tend to head to Germany or Ireland. However, the Netherlands has become a European benchmark when it comes to significantly reducing the volume of working hours in its days, naturally moving closer to the four-day week model. This trend draws attention both for its impact on daily life and for the country’s economic data, banishing alarmist theories. about economic ruin. According to an analysis of the Financial Timesthe Dutch enjoy a high quality of life, in part thanks to their system of Flexible, well-paid employmentwhich has evolved to prioritize personal well-being over the traditional model based on long hours. Netherlands and its reduced working hours. According what was published for the 4 Days Week FoundationThe Netherlands has structured its labor market in such a way that full-time is not the most widespread model and a large part of employees prefer to work fewer hours voluntarily. However, far from being conceived as a model of precariousness, it has become an example of balance between work and professional life. According to data According to Eurostat data from May 2026, the average working day in the Netherlands is the lowest in Europe with only 32.1 hours worked, compared to 36.6 hours per week in Spain or 35.6 hours in Ireland. According to data published by the Financial Timesaround 50% of Dutch people work part-time, and the proportion is even higher among women, who reach up to 75%. Not only do you work less during part-time hours. Beyond the obvious cutback that comes with working under a model of part timefull-time days are also among the shortest in Europe with 39.1 hours, only surpassed by Denmark with 38.7 hours per week. In Spain, the real full time It stands at 40.2 hours. Being shorter, the Dutch tend to compress it into four days instead of five. Bert Colijn, economist at ING bank, assured the Financial Times that “The four-day work week has become very, very common. I work five days, and sometimes I get criticized for working five days!” Higher productivity and better salaries. The Eurostat data highlight that the Netherlands is among the countries with higher productivity per hour worked, standing at 45.3 euros per hour, compared to 29.4 euros in Spain, but far from the productivity of Ireland, which far exceeds 76 euros per hour worked. This combination of high productivity and reduced working hours has meant that a situation of wage precariousness has not been generated; on the contrary, Holland has maintained salaries above the European average. According to Eurostat, The average gross salary in the Netherlands, adjusted by purchasing power (PPP), is 16.2 euros per hour, while in Spain it is 11.8 euros per hour. The European average is 14.9 euros per hour. The Netherlands does not have a four-day work week.. Strictly speaking, the Netherlands has not implemented any policy of reducing working hours (as Yes Spain tries to do it) or four-day work day. However, almost without intending to, the Dutch labor market has adjusted in such a way that, on a practical level, its companies have implemented the four-day working day without loss of pay after decades of conciliation policies. A version of this article was published in August 2025 In Xataka | Iceland has had a four-day work week since 2019. Seven years later, it delivers on all the promises of Gen Z Image | Unsplash (Isaac Maffeis, Isaac Burke)

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