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citizen science prepares for the great blackout of 2026

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He solar eclipse on August 12, 2026 will be a great opportunity for enjoyment for the general populationbut also a unique moment for scientists from very diverse disciplines. For just a few minutes, animals change their behavior, the skies become dark, with less light pollution because it’s not time to have the streetlights on, and our own physiology possibly undergoes changes as well. We have already talked of a citizen science project that aims to verify how the solar eclipse affects our heart rate and even our respiratory rate. But it is not the only study in which citizens can contribute their grain of sand. Currently, there are also projects aimed at study light pollution and the behavior of flying animals. Citizen science to study light pollution A solar eclipse is an ideal time to study light pollutionsince it is getting dark in a time zone in which there are no streetlights on yet. It really gets dark and, therefore, the sky can be seen much more clearly. A shame we only have a couple of minutes to enjoy it. Luckily, although two minutes is very little time for enjoyment, it is more than enough to do a small study on light pollution. The project, named EclipseDSMhas been developed by scientists from Catalan, Galician and Navarrese research centers and aims to distribute photometers throughout the entire strip of totality so that citizens themselves are in charge of collecting data with which they can establish the differences between the real night and the night generated by the eclipse. We want to study whether the lights in towns and cities are adequate Anyone who wants can sign up in a form on the website, which indicates the three ways to get photometers. For starters, it can be made at home. On the website you can download some instructions manufacturing with link to all materials. Most of them can be obtained on Aliexpress, with a very low price. In total, the entire photometer could be obtained for 30 euros. The problem, as explained from Sinc Agencyis that there has been a shortage of one of those components. Therefore, there are two other options. The first is to attend one of the workshops that the Eclipse DSM team will carry out in several areas of the strip of totality. There, participants will be able to make their own photometer and take it home. If this is not possible, there is always the option of ordering it directly through the indicated email, although it is important to note that units are limited. With all this, data will be obtained that will be used to study the more efficient ways to illuminate rural and urban environmentsreducing light pollution as much as possible. It’s simple. If the changes in sky illumination are not too great in a specific town, it may be because the luminaires installed there are less polluting than others with which more important changes are reported. Animals once again take center stage during a solar eclipse In 1932, a scientist named William Wheeler did what is possibly the first citizen science study during a solar eclipse. He asked people who lived in the zone of totality of an eclipse that they would observe around them and pay attention to all the changes in nature that caught their attention. With this, he received more than 500 testimonies about animals and plantswhich laid the foundations for many studies that came later. Now, a group of scientists from the Spanish Research Network in Ecoacoustics (REIE) has made a new call to citizens to listen to nature through the ECOECLIPSE project. To participate it is necessary to have a autonomous sound recorder and be able to locate it in an area where it can be reached at least 98% complete during the solar eclipse of August 12, 2026. In this case, the recorders will not be distributed. Participants must already have one. However, it has been reported that an app will be announced later with which you can participate. without the need for this device. What is known at the moment is that the recorders They should be placed two days before the solar eclipse and collected two days after. Although all types of sounds will be recorded, we want to examine above all the activity of birds and batsin order to check how this astronomical phenomenon affects them. If you want to participate in either project, you still have time. Science needs you. Image | Bryan Goff (Unsplash) | Magnificent In Xataka | A third of Spain will be completely dark for a minute or two. The astronomical event of the century is approaching

The best offer for Samsung’s premium range mobile phone has arrived

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Foldable separately, the Galaxy S26 Ultra It is the best phone that Samsung has launched so far. As usual, it has been receiving different discounts throughout all these months that it has been available, although never one as big as the one you have todayJuly 15: we can get it for 953.10 euros in the official Samsung store. We tell you how. Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra 5g 6.9″ 256gb Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links One of the best Android phones there is It is a great price if we take into account that the mobile, launched at the beginning of the year, has a RRP of 1,449 euros for its version with 256 GB of storage. The way to get it for 953.10 euros is very simple: if we enter the Samsung page, we will automatically receive a code with an extra 10% discount (it’s at the top of the screen). With it and using Bizum as a payment method, we will keep the mobile phone for the 953.10 euros which we mentioned above. It is cheaper than the Galaxy S26 launch, since it cost 999 euros. If we also ask the expert chat on the Samsung website for an extra code, we will receive a free charger. The Galaxy S26 Ultra is one of the best phones of 2026. One of the most notable things about it is that it has a 6.9-inch AMOLED screen that has debuted this generation a cool privacy featureexclusive for the moment of this mobile. Furthermore, it is a beast in terms of power It refers to the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 and its 12 GB of RAM. To all this we must add that it is also one of the best options at the software level thanks to One UI and all its tools, such as Galaxy AI. Finally, we cannot forget that it has seven years of guaranteed updatesthat its fast wired charging is now 65 W (in the previous generation it was 45 W) and that it has a very versatile camera system. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: galaxy s26 ultra offer ✅ THE BEST Historical minimum price: It is still a mobile phone worth more than 900 euros, although it has a huge discount that leaves it as a candy if you are looking for the best Samsung mobile phone. A mobile that will last you many years: Power, outstanding software, good camera and seven years of guaranteed updates. You won’t have to change your phone for a long time. Your privacy screen: This function, which is currently exclusive to the Galaxy S26 Ultra, will keep prying eyes away from your mobile. ❌ THE WORST It doesn’t have the same battery capacity as some of its rivals: Although it has a 5,000 mAh battery and is very well optimized, Samsung has not yet made the leap to silicon-carbon. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for one of the best Android phones on the market and your goal is not to have to change your phone for many years. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… Do you prefer to wait for the price to drop further or do you want to save as much as possible by going for the previous generation with the Galaxy S25 Ultra. You may also be interested OPPO Find The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Apple iPhone 17 Pro MAX 256 GB: 6.9-inch screen with Promotion, A19 Pro Chip, the Longest autonomy in an iPhone, Pro Fusion camera system, Center Stage Front camera; cosmic orange 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 | Alejandro Alcolea,Samsung In Xataka | Best mobile phones 2026. Which one to buy based on use and six recommended models In Xataka | Best Samsung phones in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and five recommended models

China closes the helium tap and the US becomes the great beneficiary of the Iran war

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The US has become the main supplier of helium to Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, and its market share will likely continue to grow. This is the conclusion of the analysis of customs data that has been done Nikkei Asiawhich places Washington as the great beneficiary of a crisis that combines the war of USA and Israel against Iran and the export restrictions imposed by Beijing. Be that as it may, it is not a minor trend. Helium is an irreplaceable gas during the chip manufacturing process because it is necessary for cooling wafers and in plasma etching or photolithography. In this context Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are three of semiconductor ecosystems most important on the planet, with TSMC, Samsung and SK hynix at the helm, all of them redirecting part of their supply towards the United States. The trigger has been twofold. On the one hand, the crisis in the Middle East has cast doubt on the Asian supply chain amid fears that a de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz further complicate access to helium and liquefied natural gas. And on this already unstable ground, China has decided to tighten the screws as much as possible. China has turned off the tap at a very delicate moment The Chinese Government announced on July 10 a temporary veto with immediate effect to helium exportsrelying on its Foreign Trade Law and without giving further explanations. The Ministry of Commerce and the Chinese Customs Administration frame this measure in the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, which threatens to cause new bottlenecks in a gas essential for manufacturing integrated circuits. China only produces domestically around 15% or less of the helium it consumes However, at this juncture we are interested in specifying China’s real weight in this market. This country only produces internally around 15% or less of the helium it consumes, so depends on imports from Qatarwhich generates approximately a third of the world’s supply. For this reason, its dependence on the outside borders on critical levels, with estimates that range between 80% and 90%. A quick note before moving forward: Helium is irreplaceable in semiconductor manufacturing because it cannot be synthesized industrially. It is extracted from natural gas deposits with unusually high concentrations of this element, and is used in wafer cooling, plasma etching, chemical and atomic layer deposition, lithography support, and leak detection. Japan and South Korea, exposed in a very different way The exposure of each country to this scenario varies significantly. In 2025, Japan was already obtaining around 60% of its helium imports from the US and 37% from Qatar, which has allowed it to pivot relatively quickly. South Korea, on the other hand, depended on Qatar for 64.7% of its importsa fact that has forced Samsung and SK hynix to move urgently and accept higher prices in new long-term contracts with Linde and Air Products. Helium now joins the rare earths, gallium, germanium and graphite as another chapter in the geopolitical struggle The manufacturing of memory chips is very demanding with the consumption of this gas due to the repeated high-temperature etching and deposition processes required by advanced 3D stacking. Many semiconductor industry analysts expect that American industrial supplierssuch as Air Products, Linde or ExxonMobil, are the big beneficiaries of the tightening of global supply. Be that as it may, helium now joins the rare earths, gallium, germanium and graphite as another chapter in the geopolitical struggle for the resources that support the semiconductor industry. Image | Yuri Shkoda More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | Yttrium is another of the many “rare” metals that only China exports. The US just found out the hard way

the trial that shocked Spain and that, 30 years later, we do not know what it turned out to be

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Florentino Fernández testified from Madrid, Chiquito de la Calzada from Málaga, and a judge had to ask if he had literally pronounced “black lake, white lake.” Thirty years after that sight, almost as surreal as the character himself, not even its protagonists agree on how the subject ended. The clone. On September 18, 1995, Telecinco premiered ‘Tonight we crossed the Mississippi’, a late night presented by Pepe Navarro that combined interviews, social chronicle and sketches. It was in this hodgepodge of excesses that Lucas Grijander, played by Florentino Fernández, appeared: an imitator who reproduced the invented language, gestures and cadence of Chiquito de la Calzada, then at the height of his popularity after becoming famous as a comedian after turning 60. The man from Malaga did not take long to take the matter to court. That sinful fistro. Grijander It was not a disguised imitation: He lived in the fictitious republic of Chiquitistan and repeated jokes and phrases modeled after those of Chiquito. He said “See you later Lucas” and “For the glory of my mother”, he wore Chiquito’s characteristic printed shirts and filled his speech with little screams and small heel-toe-heel jumps. The success of Florentino Fernández’s character accelerated Chiquito’s transformation into a pop icon to the same extent or more than the activity of the original Chiquito himself. In fact, his fame was so enormous that he generated his own exploitation, Crispín Klander. The documentary. All of this is told by Javier Morales and Juan Zavala in the upcoming Movistar+ documentary ‘The Other Chiquito’, which also contextualizes how the original phenomenon cannot be understood without the context of a Spain that was emerging from the hangover of 1992 and that found in the humorist’s absurd language a kind of collective refuge. In parallel, the private networks, newborn and still without established rules, competed for formulas capable of hooking the midnight audience. Diego San José, creator of the original idea of ​​the documentary, wonders if Grijander was plagiarized or Fernández literally created “another Chiquito.” What Florentino Fernández says. In 2017, on the occasion of Chiquito’s 85th birthday, Florentino Fernández recalled the litigation in the program ‘Dani & Flo‘. The comedian from Madrid avoided the word “plagiarism” and spoke of a complaint for impersonation, which affected not only Lucas Grijander but also Crispín Klander. The process had moments that bordered on involuntary comedy, such as the judge’s famous question about whether he had pronounced “black lake, white lake.” Fernández expressed his admiration for the comedian at all times and assured that the conflict was resolved amicably. There is some personal blogs about television who contradict him, and say that Chiquito lost the lawsuit without taking any compensation, but officially, it is not known. In fact, this documentary void is what the production itself promises to explain. Morales and Zavala have described the litigation as something that transcends the anecdote and define the case as “a wound that Chiquito carried until his death,” from which it is understood that the lawsuit did not have a satisfactory conclusion for the comedian. In the end, one of the great judicial mysteries of modern Spain comes from one of the most excessive and brilliant comedians that our television has ever produced, the original Chiquito. Pure Celtiberia Show. In Xataka | 13 geniuses of Chiquito that made him the most wonderful comedian of his time

Internxt reactivates its star promo with a 90% discount

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When it comes to looking for cloud storage, there are certain things to look at before choosing. The number of GB, the price or the tools included matter, but also the security of our data. In that sense, the ideal is that it offers what is known as zero-knowledge encryption (or ‘Zero-Nowledge’). And that’s where Internxt comes in, which is also on sale: with the code ‘XATAKA’ their plans for life start from the 190 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Cloud storage that you will only pay once Let’s go in parts: what does this zero-knowledge encryption mean? In many cloud services, the files we upload are encrypted once they reach the server. This can cause them to be intercepted before arrivingin addition to the possibility that the company itself can access them. With zero knowledge, those risks disappear. The reason is very simple: the files you upload to the cloud They will be encrypted before uploading and not after. In this way, we will only be the ones who can access this data. What’s more, not even Internxt itself will be able to access them, so we will have a very high degree of privacy. Additionally, Internxt is open source, so anyone can audit it. More things to keep in mind. Internxt is a European company, so the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will apply, which has much stricter rules on privacy. and gives more rights to users. Now, let’s talk about the promo. Internxt’s most basic plan (called Essential) has a regular price of 1,900 euros if we choose the lifetime plan, which we will only pay once and that’s it. However, with the code ‘XATAKA’, its price remains only 190 euros and, in exchange, we will have 1 TB of cloud storage plus a VPN and antivirus. Below we leave you, as a summary, what their other two plans include and what price they have: Premium Plan: 3 TB of storage, VPN, antivirus and cleaner per 290 euros (instead of 2,900 euros). Ultimate Plan: 5 TB of storage, VPN, antivirus, cleaner and meet per 390 euros (instead of 3,900 euros). 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 | Internxt In Xataka | Google Drive alternatives: the best cloud storage services for your files In Xataka | Change Drive, iCloud or Dropbox for a European alternative: step to follow and what you should take into account

This is what the Horizontal Property Law says about it

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“Football is football”, said Serbian midfielder and coach Vujain Boškov. It may be a bit obscure, but the phrase captures well the magnetism of the beautiful sport and its ability to mobilize an entire country. It comes with walking around any city in Spain these days. No matter where you are, north, south, east or west, coast or mountain, chances are you will find red flags hanging from the balconies, a spontaneous way to support the National Team. But… Can they fine you for doing so? Fines for hanging the flag? Exact. If you open Google and search on the topic you will find a good handful of articles that, for weeks, warn that hanging the Spanish flag from your balcony can be expensive. It is even likely that some of those articles have reached you through networks. The formulation changes, but its holders They are categorical and leave the same threat, sanctions of several thousand euros: “The Horizontal Property Law confirms it: hanging the Spanish flag on the balcony during the World Cup can lead to fines for the owners of up to €3,000.” And is that true? Most of these posts refer to the Horizontal Property Law (LPH), the ‘bible’ in everything that refers to coexistence between neighbors in buildings, so the easiest thing is to go directly to it. In the standard we see several articles about what can and cannot be done in homes and common areas, including facades, but there is no direct reference to the placement of a flag. And even less so if it simply hangs from the balcony. To be more precise, in the seventh article (point ‘1’) the LPH says: “The owner of each apartment or premises may modify the architectural elements, facilities or services of that one when it does not undermine or alter the security of the building, its general structure, its configuration or external state, or harm the rights of another owner, and must previously report such works to the person who represents the community. In the rest of the property he/she may not make any alterations.” Does it say anything else? Yes. In the article 9 The LPH also leaves an interesting indication: the owners must “respect the general facilities of the community and other common elements, whether they are for general use or exclusive to any of the owners, whether or not they are included in their apartment or premises, making appropriate use and avoiding at all times causing damage.” The rule reminds us that every owner has a responsibility: “Maintain his own apartment or premises and private facilities in good condition, in terms that do not harm the community or other owners, compensating for any damage caused by his carelessness or people for whom he is responsible.” Does a flag represent an alteration? That’s the key. The owner of a home cannot modify the aesthetics of the façade, but it is questionable whether the simple placement of a flag can be interpreted as such. I admitted it recently the government in damn.es: “In the case of a flag, it can hardly be considered an alteration of the façade because it is not a structural element.” The key is how that flag is displayed. If the homeowner makes a “facade modification”, drilling or installing a rigid and permanent structure, such as a fixed pole that protrudes, there could be a conflict, but the reality is that in the vast majority of cases that circumstance does not occur. People simply hang flags from balconies or windows with zip ties, clips, or other temporary fasteners. In fact, it is not the first time that flags have been hung during a World Cup and most disappear after the tournament. Mystery then? No. Beyond the LPH, there are other regulations that could come into play, such as municipal ordinances or community bylaws. Let’s start with the latter. Communities can provide themselves with internal rules that regulate coexistence and what can be done within a property, but these guidelines are by no means omnipotent. Guillermo Cerdeira, professor of Civil Law, explains for example to Newtral that a neighborhood agreement prohibiting the installation of flags would likely be “illegal.” In any case, if there is a conflict with the community of owners, that does not have to result in fines either. If there is a disparity in criteria as to whether or not it alters the aesthetics of the façade, it would go to trial and, at worstthe neighbor who installed the flag would have to remove it, pay for the necessary repairs to the façade (if any) and face legal costs. What about local ordinances? It is the other factor in the equation. Especially because not all properties are the same. Regardless of what the LPH or the community statutes say, a newly built building in a modern residential neighborhood is not in exactly the same situation as an old property located in a historic center with heritage protection. In the latter case, modifying a façade can lead to sanctions of several thousand euros. That is in fact the reference taken by the articles that talk about sanctions, not the LPH. In any case the focus of the problem would be the same: the structural modification of the façade. So much damn.es as Newtral They have spoken with several city councils to find out if they have specific ordinances that regulate this issue (including Madrid and Barcelona) and the answer is the same: no. What do they say exactly? “As long as it does not involve a fixed installation or an alteration of the façade, it does not generally constitute a municipal administrative infraction,” Barcelona clarifies. “Any conflict related to the use of common elements of the building corresponds to the private sphere.” This is not the first time that Spanish town councils have been forced to talk about the issue. It happened last October, coinciding with Hispanidad, when a hoax circulated that there was fined 600 euros hang the … Read more

Generation Z is breaking a rule Baby Boomers have always followed: don’t talk about money

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Nightly, in The Revoltdozens of guests face two of the most uncomfortable questions that can be asked of a person: about your sex life and about money. With the arrival of sex education to the classrooms, the taboo of talk about sex has been reduced, but when it comes to talking about salary, almost everyone hesitates. They change the subject, let out a nervous laugh, or dodge the answer as best they can. Money is still the true taboo of spanish after-dinner. Outside of Spain, something similar had been happening for decades. There was no talk about salary, neither with friends nor family. That unwritten rule, which boomers and generation X strictly followed, generation Z is definitively breaking. We don’t talk about money. The silence about money did not come out of nowhere. It has roots in social comparison: talking about what you earn puts you in a success or failure scaleand that is uncomfortable. The ethics of effort also weigh, the idea that having little money is synonymous with little ambition, something that in Spain is also mixed with a religious component that associates wealth with greed, as the economist Joan Tubau said. in an interview for The World. The sociologist Iván Parro matches in which money stopped being just a means of exchange and began to become a means of identifying social status. Having or not having money defines, in part, your place in the group. That’s why building a wall on your salary also protects your ego. Nobody wants to expose their position on that scale in front of others. Generation Z does not shut up. Mary Julia Koch, editor of the Wall Street Journal, explained it in one of his interventions in Fox Business. His generation has grown up publishing his entire life on social networks: romantic relationships, friendshipsuniversity life and work. Talking about salary was, according to her, the next logical step. And that step is already being taken on a massive scale. According to a Stepstone study74% of those under 30 years old already talk openly about their salary, compared to less than half of those over that age. Economic pressure helps to understand this opening: high rents, precarious jobs and a generation that needs to compare figures to know if they are being paid well. “Generation Z and Millennials are increasingly better informed about the salary they can expect, as they discuss it more openly than older generations,” the report notes. In Spain it is still difficult to talk about money. Here the change goes more slowly. According to data from a Younited analysis collected by The Newspaper51% of Spaniards prefer not to talk about money openly, and up to 60% of those under 40 believe that it should not be done in public. Culture is important, but so is the lack of training. The Bank of Spain itself makes it clear in its latest Financial Competencies Survey: almost half of the population considers that their knowledge is low or very low. When you don’t know how something works, it’s easier to avoid talking about it than to risk appearing ignorant. A new language to talk about money. This change in tone also has its own face in Spain. Streamers like Ibai Llanos have managed to talk about salariesrents or mortgages sound like a normal conversation and not a meeting with the bank, something that has helped the creators become the gateway to financial education for many young people. The secrecy of a lifetime is being dismantled little by little, between reels posted on social networks and a generation that already sees silence about money as more of a disadvantage than a taboo. In Xataka | If the question is how much money does it take to be happy in Spain, a study has the answer: double what you earn Image | Unsplash (Marionel Luciano, Emil Kalibradov)

the surreal meeting of Juan Roig and Ana Botín with IShowSpeed ​​at the World Cup

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For less than a minute, the president of a bank with almost a hundred billion capitalization spoke like a salesperson from one of its branches. Next to him, the owner of the largest supermarket chain in Spain was waiting for his turn to introduce himself. He streamer The one they were addressing, and which broadcast the match live, is IShowSpeed, with 57 million followers on YouTube. And I had no idea who these gentlemen were. What happened. On the night of July 14, Spain beat France 2-0 and sealed its place in the final of the 2026 World Cup. Among the VIP audience, along with Timothée Chalamet, Javier Bardem and Usain Bolt, were Ana Botín, president of Banco Santander, and Juan Roig, president of Mercadona. They both went to greet Darren Watkins Jr., the streamer known as IShowSpeed, which broadcast the game live. The exchange began with introductions. “It’s like the Walmart of Spain,” they explain pointing to Roig in reference to Mercadona. Botín was not far behind: he defined his bank as “the JPMorgan of Europe.” A few seconds later the commercial offer arrived: “You have to open an account at Openbank”, and ended with a sales pitch which surely captivated Speed: “We pay you 4% for your savings.” The young man managed to tell Botín that he would have to give him “a good credit rating”, but he responded between surprise, curiosity and pure stupefaction. Who is Speed? At just 21 years old, Watkins Jr, or IShowSpeed, has accumulated more than 57 million subscribers on YouTube, and more than 150 million followers across all of his networks. He has been broadcasting live from the stands for weeks at the 2026 World Cup, after his favorite team, Portugal, was eliminated in the quarterfinals. On the night of July 14, the Spain-France match, its live broadcast from the AT&T Stadium reached nearly 58 million connected accounts. That’s why it was Roig and Botín who approached him, and not the other way around. No conventional advertising campaign would have put them in front of a comparable audience, much less that profile: young, digital and absent from traditional channels. Who are the other people? The older ones, we say. We know this very well, but it doesn’t hurt to remember it, because it is their insane fortunes that turn this talk in the box into a piece of Celtiberian memorabilia to take into account. Booty has a personal assets of 350 million euros (Santander has a market capitalization that has touched 100 billion euros this year). A considerable fortune, but far from the 8.8 billion that Forbes attributes to Roig in his latest list of the greatest Spanish fortunes. Rich folks. Throughout the conversation, Roig does not utter a single sentence in English. It is his companions who present it, who seek the comparison with Walmart and act as interpreters. It is a very particular and very Spanish folksiness, which leads Botín to compare Mercadona and Santander with giant American businesses. And it’s not because they lack size or importance, but they find a very simple way to make themselves understood with Speed. Recent rich. This folksiness comes from the fact that Spanish wealth is not the inheritance of several generations of nobles. Mercadona was already born in democracy, when Roig bought Mercadona from his father along with his brothers and his wife, when the chain had eight stores; today exceeds 1,700 and employs nearly 110,000 people; Botín presides over a bank founded by his family in which he maintains a relevant but purely management position. But the type of wealth they represent does fit with a broader and documented pattern of how the Spanish business class was formed: at the death of Franco, two hundred families controlled more than a third of the shares of the country’s large companies and banks, a network of power very close to the State. It is not the aristocracy that endures in the United Kingdom or the United States, the famous old money that goes back generations in the past. In Spain we have rich people from powerful but self-made families, which explains this attitude that leads a multimillionaire to calmly sell the advantageous conditions of an account in her bank: the money has been inherited, but not from generations, they are provincial families with power, and hence the attitude towards the young influencerwhich they see as another possibility to make money. Even with the rich, Spain is different. In Xataka | Mercadona is doing the opposite of other large companies: freezing Roig’s salary to reinvest it

“Madrid is acting like a cheating administration that only wants to get the rooms from Madrid residents”

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Since it was first approved under the name of Madrid Central, Madrid’s low-emission zones have lived on a tightrope. Now, like Madrid 360, Justice has been demanding that Madrid return the money to thousands of Madrid residents for two years. With their latest decision they are closer to achieving it. What has happened? The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has opened a separate piece within the execution of the ruling that annulled the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE) of Madrid in 2024. This decision arrives after Associated European Motorists (AEA) will demand that Justice execute the refund of the fines imposed with the previous mobility ordinance. At the moment, the Madrid City Council and the rest of the affected parties have a period of 20 days to present their arguments regarding this decision. And all this, why? To understand the story we have to go back to 2024. In Septemberthe TSJM declares the Madrid ZBE null and void, alleging that there was not a sufficient study of whether these low-emission zones could produce a “discriminatory effect for the most economically vulnerable groups.” In response, the Madrid City Council filed an appeal to the Supreme Court but this was rejected so the low emissions zone was now de facto cancelled. However, during that time, the Madrid City Council worked to modify its mobility ordinance and keep the ZBE active, which shields the entire city from the entry of unmarked cars. (from outside Madrid) and has two other interior areas of special protection. With the rejection of the appeal, Madrid would have to return the money for all the fines imposed from January 2022 until the entry of the new mobility ordinance but that is not happening. Not, at least, totally. What do they say at the Madrid City Council? In Xataka We have contacted the Madrid City Council who defend that “the sanctions imposed with the previous ordinance, and which exclusively affect Plaza Elíptica and Centro, the Special Protection Zone that annulled the TSJM ruling, will not be returned because they were processed with an ordinance that was in force” The answers to know what fines will no longer be collected must be found in the Madrid City Council website where it is specified that these are: Fines that are in process and have not been paid. Fines that have not been fully collected, even if they are being enforced. The first problem is that Madrid does not return the money for the fines paid and, in that case, the sanctioned driver has to go to court to claim the money. The second problem is that Madrid has only been returning the fines referring to the Low Emissions Zone of Special Protection of the Central District and Plaza Elíptica, two spaces with independent rules which prevents cars labeled C and B from parking on the street. In these areas, only the ECO and Zero emissions labels have free passage to circulate without restrictions. What do they say in AEA? What they defend in AEA is that the Madrid City Council must return all fines (those imposed in these special areas and those at the entrance to the city) regardless of whether they have been paid or not paid. The latest judicial movement, however, only affects fines that are unpaid. Mario Arnaldo, president of AEA, assures in statements to Xataka that Madrid “is acting like a cheating administration that only wants to get the quarters from the people of Madrid.” And it is that, according to the association’s calculations of drivers’ defense, between January 2022 and December 2025 (latest data available), Madrid has fined 3.4 million drivers for a value of 663.29 million euros. Of that money, 203.22 million euros are part of the fines for entering the Madrid municipality that the city refuses to return. In addition, the association remembers that Justice has already agreed with them in the appeals presented to receive money from fines already paid. This procedure must be done individually and what AEA pursues is that the Madrid City Council has to return all the money automatically. That is, the more than 660 million euros raised. So is it legal or not? Right now, breaking the rules of the ZBE in Madrid is grounds for sanctions. And the Madrid City Council hides behind the modification last April to keep alive this low-emissions zone that AEA has already resorted to when it understands that the problems for which the TSJM annulled the previous mobility ordinance have not been solved. At the moment “it has a presumption of legality,” AEA tells us. This means that the Madrid City Council has activated its ZBEs and punishes those who fail to comply with the rules, but Justice will have to decide in the future whether said space restricted to the most polluting cars is legal or, once again, falls into the same mistakes of the past. Photo | Korng Sok In Xataka | A very high percentage of the fines that are appealed in Madrid for the ZBE end up annulled: two reasons explain this

The parish of Folgueras de Cornás has found its number one enemy: an invasion of worms

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I don’t want to imagine what it’s like to come home after a normal day and discover that I now have new tenants. The idea that thousands of worms have moved in with you, without warning, sneaking under the door. Well, now imagine Manuela Rodríguez’s face, neighbor of Folgueras de Cornásin the council of Tineo: he spent days putting up with the bad smell before packing his suitcase and leaving his own home. AND was not the only one: Several families had to abandon their homes due to a plague that has not subsided for almost two weeks. Who is the bug. Is called Mythimna unipunctaand in Spanish it accumulates half a dozen aliases: grass defoliating caterpillar, armyworm, cereal lizard. It is a moth of the Noctuidae family, native to America and today distributed throughout almost the entire planet. The larva measures between three and four centimeters, greenish or brown, with light longitudinal stripes. They come out to eat at night, in groups, and destroy the corn leaves until only the central vein is left. When the grass is exhausted, they march en masse toward the neighboring plot: hence the nickname “soldier.” And the damaged crop, that is, what they eat the most, is usually specifically ryegrass, the base grass of livestock farming in the area—very relevant in Asturias due to dairy farming. From the farm to the living room. The menu of this caterpillar is grasses: corn, oats, barley, wheat, grass. That is, no closets or clothes. The confusion with clothing is understandable—there is another moth, the textile moth (Tineola bisselliella), which does pierce wool and cotton—but it is a different insect, even with a different biological cycle. To kill them, you can use commonly used insecticides, by the way. What does happen is that, when food runs out in the countryside, thousands of larvae cross to the nearest homes, go through any crack under doors and windows, and many die right there. The result is a smell of decomposition. It is a pattern already described in other outbreaks of this pest: where the invasion is triggered, the larvae can clog exterior gutters and drains looking for moisture. In Tineo, the focus reached an old school, several farms and some homes. Why is it repeated?. And why more and more: the Ministry of Asturias maintains that the phenomenon is cyclical: it reappears every two or three years and is linked to heat. And this year’s temperatures, above 25 degrees, accelerate the reproduction of this type of caterpillars. Furthermore, the lack of rain pushes the larvae to look for moisture wherever there is it. In other words and using as a model feedback from a professional company: Climate change has not invented this pest because it has been on the peninsula for decades, but it does shorten its life cycle and adds extra generations per season, the same mechanism that triggers the fall armyworm in half the world. The more hot, dry summers, the more opportunities the armyworm has to complete an extra generation before the cold weather hits. The drama of the Cantabrian coast. Although what happened in Folgueras de Cornás is an important problem, it is not something local. In 2020, Astillero and Guarnizo, in Cantabria, lived the same script of soldier caterpillars devouring meadows and sneaking into homes in several neighborhoods. This same summer, Galicia drags another outbreak in Monterroso, Portomarín and Taboada. And they are capable of leaving corn plots completely defoliated in a matter of days. A pattern repeated almost every summer along the Cantabrian coast. The political fight, aside. In the background we have the government agencies, because the plague also generated noise from offices. The popular deputy Luis Venta Cueli accused the Barbón Government of “dereliction of functions”, and denounced that the official response to the neighbors’ request for help was that they could not act because the worm is not poisonous. It is not poisonous per se, although it can trigger an infectious chain. The technicians of the Animal and Plant Health Laboratory of Asturias They have already collected samples and are working alongside cleaning professionals. The authorized phytosanitary treatments on corn and ryegrass are complicated to apply when the crop is already growing tall. And on the street, there is no choice but to apply urban biocides on homes and public areas. The general director of Livestock and Animal Health, Rocío Huerta, asked for calm: the plague is common, cyclical, and the Principality acts with the same protocol that the PP governments apply in Galicia and Cantabria when it is their turn. A rancher from Ayones, Rosa López, interviewed about the issue, He said that the population grew from one day to the next and that it will be common for a rural environment, “but not here.” Because, although everyone agrees that the armyworm does not pose any danger to human (or animal) health, the fact that thousands of these bugs sneak into homes, no matter the cause, does not sit well with anyone. Images | Illustrative image of apartments in Navelgas / LVdT In Xataka | The boxwood moth has hatched in Pamplona en masse. The real problem is in its tracks. In Xataka | From pest in Southern Spain to “super food” for fish: we already know what to do with 60,000 tons of invasive Asian algae

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