Mobile Tech & Gadgets

The 13 nominations for ‘Emilia Pérez’ are another historic triumph for Netflix. But a hugely controversial one

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‘Emilia Pérez’, the film by Jacques Audiard that tells the personal journey of the head of a Mexican cartel who undergoes a gender change operation, is the production with more nominations this year for the Oscarsa total of 13. It thus surpasses other rivals that were believed to be equal or even above, such as ‘The Brutalist’ or ‘Wicked’, with 10 nominations each. However, this film produced by Netflix does not come without controversy, something that at the moment does not seem to be affecting his career. The nomination count. In its 13 nominations there are main categories such as Best Film, Best Lead Actress (Karla Sofía Gascón), Best Supporting Actress (Zoe Saldaña), Best Cinematography, Best Direction or Best Adapted Screenplay. The rest are divided between Best Editing, Best International Film, Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Best Music and Best Sound. Significantly, despite the 13 nominations, it cannot win more than 12 awards, since in Best Original Song it opts for two songs, of which it can win a maximum of one. Another triumph for Netflix. Although it is no longer new, once again Netflix has won more nominations than any other Hollywood production company, traditional or newcomer to the industry. There are a total of 18 nominations for the platform, since those for ‘Emilia Pérez’ are joined by ‘The Only Woman in the Orchestra’ for Best Documentary Short, ‘Anuja’ for Best Live Action Short, ‘María Callas’ for Best photography, ‘Six Triple Eight’ for Best Song and ‘Wallace and Gromit: Revenge Served with Feathers’ for Best Animated Film. It is not a new situation for Netflix, which has been every year since 2020 the most nominated studiowith a high so far of 36 nominations in 2021. Controversial AI. During its time at the Cannes Festival (where it won the Jury Prize and Best Actress for its female cast), the film was unanimously acclaimed, but after three also very celebrated awards at the Golden Globesthe film hit theaters, and the controversy began. The first protests were for the use of AI: similarly to how has happened with ‘The Brutalist‘ with her dialogues in Hungarian, ‘Emilia Pérez’ has used the Respeecher program to get Karla Sofía Gascón to sing outside her vocal range, and also to touch up the Spanish accents of Zoe Saldaña and Selena Gomez. But that has only been the beginning. trans rejection Despite the visibility of Karla Sofía Gascón being the first openly trans actress to be nominated, as she was the first to win at Cannes, and also the first nominated at the Golden Globes, the transgender community has criticized the film for its vision. schematic and Manichaean that it presents. It has been said that the vision of transsexuality is made from a completely CIS perspective, creating a film focused on trans problems but with only a transgender interpreter. The activist and philosopher Paul B. Preciado, for example, asked “to European binary cinema to stop using our trans bodies to plant their amusement parks.” Unreal Mexico. However, the en bloc rejection occurred when the film reached Mexico, where it premiered in January and where the issue of drug cartels is especially sensitive. The country’s media have criticized her almost unanimously. The popular Mexican actor Eugenio Derbez has defined Selena Gómez’s performance as “indefensible”, being one of the most ridiculed aspects of the film on the internet. In general, the vision that is not very empathetic towards the victims, but very compassionate towards the criminal protagonist, has also been highly criticized. Header | Netflix In Xataka | Netflix breaks subscriber records, but stops reporting its numbers. The reason: it can’t grow any more

Spain will manufacture the electric car that Europe needs. And Stellantis’ commitment to Vigo and Zaragoza is the proof

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It had been a while since it was rumored but it has been a official communication from Stellantis which has settled the matter: the STLA Small multi-energy platform is awarded to Spain. The Vigo and Zaragoza plants have their future guaranteed by producing the smallest electric or electrified cars of the automotive group. In addition, Stellantis has also confirmed that it is working on a project to modernize the Villaverde plant in Madrid and give it life beyond the current production of the Citroën C4. The announcement of this award is really important for the Galician and Aragonese plant that in recent years They have feared for the future of their jobs. Furthermore, without leaving Aragon, the confirmation that Stellantis will manufacture its electrified B segment cars there is an endorsement of the joint plans that it maintains with CATL to build a huge battery plant for electric cars next to Zaragoza. The electric car that Europe needs to succeed In your path towards cleaner mobilityIn 2025, Europe will have one of its first touchstones. The new emissions regulations will force us to significantly reduce the combustion car market and increase, even if artificially, the market share of electric and plug-in hybrids. Even if this requires reducing the production of vehicles with combustion engines. Manufacturers who do not act in this way will have to face billion-dollar fines which will be calculated from 95 euros for each gram of CO2 exceeded (the fleet average must not be higher than 93.6 gr/km of CO2) and car sold. In addition to balance your production, Stellantis will pay Tesla to reduce their polluting emissions and present themselves to the European Union under the same group. With this panorama, Europe will have to take a breath and cross its fingers before checking If the customer is willing to pay what the manufacturers ask for for smaller electric cars. The reception of those of 25,000 euro vehicles will be key to understand if the goals set regarding emissions are realistic or, on the contrary, have been overestimated. In that price range, compact and smaller electric cars are the ones that will have to be attractive enough to convince potential clients. These cars are the ones that Stellantis will manufacture on the platform STLA Smalla base that allows vehicles mounted on it to achieve ranges of up to 500 kilometers. But, above all, they have the advantage of being multi-energy and, therefore, offering hybrid versions (plug-in or not) of the same car. This platform has been the one that has been awarded to Vigo and Zaragoza. It is an especially important announcement since they keep alive two plants that last year produced 890,000 vehicles (one in every three cars of all national production), according to Five Days. The economic newspaper assures that, although there is no official data, Stellantis’ investment in modernizing the Vigo and Zaragoza lines for its STLA Small will be around 900 million euros and that, in total, 5,000 million euros will be invested in our country if added to the amount of the new CATL battery plant in Zaragoza. This combo of a car production plant and batteries for said cars is great news for workers. It must be taken into account that, beyond European trends, countries such as France They are betting heavily on electric vehicles of the size that Vigo and Zaragoza will manufacture. It is not only a question of how many electric cars are sold in Spain. Furthermore, Spain is positioned as an interesting country to produce automobiles that, in addition to having a lot to gain from customers, are of special interest to manufacturers. The new regulations will force them to sell more electric vehicles, so greater competition is expected at the most reasonable prices. The award of STLA Small also confirms that Spain is making a especially competitive gap between countries willing to manufacture cars that leave very little profit margin for manufacturers. The smaller and more electrified a car is, the less profit a company can make from it, which is why Spain feared that part of the production of these cars would end up in Eastern Europe. Morocco either Türkiye. As is now happening with Stellantis, the Volkswagen Group also confirmed that Martorell will be the indicated factory to produce its smaller electric cars. An investment that also adds a billion-dollar battery plantthat of Sagunto. The energy and labor costs in Spain are being quite an attraction for manufacturers who have important conflict fronts open in Italy either Germanywhere they propose thousands of layoffs or factory closures. Photo | Stellantis In Xataka | The ghost of PureTech engines haunts Stellantis: it will pay for repairs from 2022 to 2024 if these conditions are met

the future where AI works for us from the computer is beginning to become a reality

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OpenAI presented ChatGPT in 2022. In 2023 it arrived GPT-4 together with the innovator ‘Her’ style voice mode. In 2024 the reasoning model debuted o1. And 2025? The AI ​​company just announced Operatora product that promises to become one of the great protagonists of the year. Sam Altman and his team have presented live How does this tool work that puts people at the center of the scene? AI agents. Currently, as we’ll see, it can perform some actions in the browser, although the ambition is that, over time, it can handle more sophisticated tasks. This is what Operator looks like in action We are witnessing an initial launch. Operator is still in the research phase, but OpenAI has made a publicly available preliminary version which can be accessed from operator.chatgpt.com. The limitation? That not everyone will be able to have access to it. At the moment, it is only available for ChatGPT Pro users, the level of 200 dollars per month. The company has also noted that access to its latest product is limited to the United States. He has said that “it will take a while” to reach Europe, and that it will be available to more users “in the coming months.” The staggered launch likely responds to regulatory issues, as we have seen in the past with products that landed in the US market first. In development. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | “The objective is not to compete with ChatGPT”: we spoke with the creators of ALIA, the 100% Spanish AI, to understand its future

We believed that what we learned from the coronavirus would help us better resist other epidemics. The flu shows us that

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Five years have passed since the beginning of the pandemic caused by SARS-CoV-2, the Covid-19 virus. In those first months, some wondered what lessons we could learn of past epidemics, such as the “Spanish flu” of 1919 that we could apply to the new epidemic. The question now is another, the opposite, we could say: what can we learn from the pandemic that will help us with epidemics such as the seasonal flu. And above all, why It seems that we have not learned these lessons still. Although the fight against Covid brought with it extreme measures such as confinement, measures that are neither necessary nor implementable in epidemics like the one we see every winter associated with any of the flu viruses, it is possible to look back to find measures that we can put into practice, especially if we present symptoms associated with the flu or a cold. Perhaps the first lesson that Covid taught us regarding the flu is that it is possible to stop the transmission of this virus: the winter between 2020 and 2021 was the winter without flu: the measures to keep the spread of the coronavirus at bay made the incidence of the flu would fade away. This had another impact: the disappearance of a strain of the virus, the one called B/Yamagata. The extinction of this influenza B lineage It is still shrouded in a certain mystery, but what we do know is that since 2020 there has been no news about this strain. But the pandemic too he left us lessons that we can apply, if not in our daily winter life, at least when we notice the appearance of symptoms that we associate with flu or colds (similar but not identical), such as general malaise, runny nose, irritation of the respiratory tract or fever . The pandemic encouraged the study of the transmission of respiratory viruses, of how aerosols containing these pathogens travel through the air. Some of this knowledge can be useful to experts, being extrapolated to other similar viruses, such as the coronaviruses that cause some of the typical colds of these dates and the flu itself. Keeping distance is one of the advice that health authorities give to those who present these symptoms, something that can undoubtedly remind us of social distancing of the pandemic. The transmission of respiratory viruses is usually similar, and in these cases, keeping a certain distance from the other person can be helpful in preventing contagion. Another recommendation that we can find in the guides is to properly ventilate the spaces. Whether in our home, offices or on public transport, adequate ventilation can also hold the key to avoiding new infections. Of course, masks provide a physical barrier to the spread of the virus. Although health authorities recommend resting and avoiding going outside when we suffer from diseases such as the flu, masks can be of great help in cases where that option is not available. Another useful lesson is in testing. Rapid Coronavirus tests were of great help in keeping the spread of the virus at bay and some tests soon incorporated the possibility of looking for the presence of other pathogens, such as the flu. During the pandemic we became familiar with this type of rapid tests, now a lot cheaper and more affordable that five years ago. However, its current use may not be as widespread as might be expected in the context of seasonal influenza epidemics. Similarly, the pandemic enabled new advances in vaccine development, but also laid the foundation for more efficient vaccination campaigns. Also what has been learned by scientists and authorities may be of help when dealing with annual flu outbreaks. Forgetting what was learned And why do we forget these lessons? Forget it’s part of our natureit may even make sense in many contexts, including Covid. Forgetting can make work easier of our brain, but it is also important for our mental health. The process of forgetting is very visual: we associate the Covid era with images such as masks or empty streets. The memory of masks (or forgetting them) may be especially relevant precisely because it is an element that can make it difficult to spread the flu and other diseases of the respiratory system. The lessons not only can they be valid when considering strategies to deal with seasonal flu. In recent years we have witnessed various bird flu outbreakswith the active outbreak in the United States among the most worrying. The virus has reached numerous people and, although so far no infections have been detected among humans, a few weeks ago the first person died as a result of the outbreak. The ramifications of this outbreak have been significant. The outbreak has not only affected wild and poultry birds, it has also affected cattle and cases have even been detected in the country’s pigs. In recent weeks we saw that the virus was circulating again among poultry in Europe, so the possibility of this zoonosis continuing to spread is not negligible. In Xataka | Thousands of people have survived without suffering from Covid. Now they are helping us learn more about the disease Image | Anna Shvets / CDC

Russia’s ace up its sleeve is a nuclear plant

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Russia is quietly managing to expand its dominance in the nuclear sector. Recently, the Kremlin has announced the construction of more than 10 nuclear plants in different allied countries, has now decided to put its flag in the arctic with a floating nuclear plant. In short. The Akademik Lomonosov nuclear power plant has generated its first billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) of energy, according to Rosatom reports. The floating nuclear power plant located in the Arctic region of Chukotka has also completed its first fuel cycle. In addition, the nuclear plant, which has been in operation for more than five years, is currently satisfying more than 60% of the area’s energy demand. Floating nuclear plant. A concept designed to bring clean and stable energy to remote or difficult-to-access regions, such as the Arctic. In this specific case, the central Akademik Lomonosov It is built on a boat. The Russian floating nuclear plant in more technical terms It is operating with two KLT-40S nuclear reactors, similar to those used by nuclear icebreakers, capable of generating electricity and heat for isolated communities or mining projects. Furthermore, its design is designed to operate in extreme conditions, although poses challenges related to nuclear safety and environmental impact in vulnerable regions. Other operations. Originally planned to replace the Bilibino nuclear plant, the Akademik Lomonosov It also provides additional services, such as desalination of up to 240,000 cubic meters of water per day, and supplies energy to a population of 5,000 people, including mining operations in the Baimskaya mineral area. It is not the only plant. The American company Westinghouse and the British Core Power have joined forces to develop floating nuclear plants equipped with ultra-compact eVinci reactors. These fourth-generation modular reactors can generate up to 5 MWe and operate for more than eight years without the need for refueling. In addition, its compact design and complete factory assembly has facilitated its maritime transport, offering a clean and flexible energy solution for islands, ports and coastal communities. West looking in the rearview mirror. Between the sanctions for the Ukrainian War and the divisions for gas from from Russia. The Kremlin has found its spearhead in the nuclear sector to dominate a large part of the geopolitical framework. Currently, Russia dominates 27% of the world’s conversion capacity and 39% of the global uranium enrichment market, a situation that highlights energy dependency of Western nations. As the West strives to reduce its energy dependence and achieve its sustainability goals, Russia continues to consolidate its global influence, using both technological innovations and key natural resources. The Ural country’s rise in nuclear capacity will increase this new year 155%, reaching 950 gigawatts in 2050. Image | Rosatom Xataka | The investigations into the cut submarine cables in the Baltic have taken a turn: it was not Russia, it was inexperience

the best way to watch free and legal television on your mobile is back stronger than ever

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Internet piracy is at a critical juncture, with the biggest counterattack from governments, security forces and rights owners that we have seen in many years. Pirated IPTV accounts for most of the attacks, with large police operations to end pirate football and even prison sentences just for sharing a legal signal. Some countries like Spain even contemplate the possibility of fine illegal IPTV users. In the midst of this chaotic situation, many users are returning to the safe side, to legal apps; and the good news is that you don’t have to pay to watch high-quality content completely legally. We have a good example in TDTChannelsan app that has not had a few problems, but is now better than ever. TDTChannels is an app for watch tv for free on our devices and without having to configure anything. In reality, it is an app that uses IPTV technology, but unlike others, it is based on completely legal IPTV lists; That is because the included channels already broadcast openly over the Internet, so the servers of this app do not host any type of pirated content. This app only connects us with the official server that already broadcasts live on the Internet, but it is much easier to use and change between channels. The last time we talked about TDTChannels, its situation was not good, after have been expelled from the Play Store for unknown reasons; Although the app was still available to download from its website and worked without problems, the millions of Spanish users who use Android phones could no longer find it in the official Google store. Fortunately, on December 19, Google backed down, and TDTChannels is again available for download in the Play Store; This way, we just have to enter the store from our mobile phone and search for TDTChannels to download it safely and directly. That’s not the only good news that the TDTChannels development team has for its users. The app started the year with new channelsboth television and radio, available without having to do anything; For example, 101TV Costa del Sol and Noticias Telemundo are now available, in addition to the Elite radio stations. Channels have also been updated so that they are available again, especially some local and regional channels such as 7 La Rioja. Continuing with this pace, TDTChannels also announced an important change in its operation. Specifically, as of the last update lists in W3U format are no longer available; This format for multimedia content is one of those used to share IPTV or music lists, but it is no longer compatible with TDTChannels. Instead, users can continue using lists in M3U format, which are much more popular, in addition to M3U8 and compatible with Enigma.

Japan’s biggest enemy has left a $90 billion bill in the nation’s pocket: climate change

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Few things are more accurate in understanding a problem that affects everyone than appeal to the stomach. In March of last year, Japan woke up to news that made more than one person raise their eyebrows. Wasabi was experiencing a “bittersweet” moment (curry rice tooin fact). The reasons stemmed, first of all, from international demand due to the success of the nation’s cuisine. However, there is not enough wasabi on the planet to satisfy everyone, and part of the blame lay with a usual suspect that threatens many of the planet’s crops: climate change. The last bill of the nation is an announcement to sailors. The economic catastrophe of climate change. Japan, a country with a long history of natural disasters, faces an unprecedented increase in the costs derived from climate change. Despite its recognized expertise in risk management and disaster resilience, the country continues to suffer some of the highest economic losses on the planet. To give us an idea, according to a report from the International Chamber of Commercebetween 2014 and 2023, Japan accumulated Climate-related losses totaling a whopping $90.8 billiona figure only surpassed by the United States, China and India, nations considerably larger in population and territory. Not only that. The projected future costs are even more alarming. An analysis conducted last December estimates that if current global climate policies continue, Japan will face damages worth a total of 952 trillion yen (about $6 trillion) until 2050a figure that far exceeds the nominal value of its current economy, estimated at 591.9 billion yenaccording to the Cabinet Office. The problem of not being able to stop it. As we said, Japan’s disaster history is extensive, with devastating events like the Noto earthquake in 2023, Typhoon Hagibis in 2019 either the earthquake and tsunami that occurred in March 2011. In this regard, recent warnings about a possible megaquake in the Nankai Trench have further highlighted the constant threat facing the country. In fact, the nation ranks sixth in the Disaster Risk Index of the telecommunications company Intersec, which evaluated the economic and human losses of almost 160 countries between 2000 and 2024. The country registered total economic losses of 2.35 billion dollars and 543 fatalities and/or injuriesadjusted to its population of 124 million. Image of the 2011 Tsunami The “urban” layout, another problem. Furthermore, the pattern that we see in all natural disasters such as those that occurred in l is repeated.The Los Angeles fireseither DANA in Valencia: Inhabited areas in disaster-prone areas. In the case of Japan, the combination of its extensive coastline, the high concentration of assets in densely populated urban areas and the scarcity of natural resources make it a highly vulnerable enclave to large-scale disasters. Despite these risks, Japan has managed to mitigate the loss of life by advanced risk management strategiesas early warning systemsresilient infrastructure and emergency response plans. However, the economic costs continue to increase exponentially. The price of inaction: it is urgent to take action. They told in Japan Times A week ago, the impact of climate change is also increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events in the country, such as floods, typhoons and forest fires. In this regard, a study by the International Chamber of Commerce analyzed almost 4,000 extreme events that occurred between 2014 and 2023, concluding that Global economic losses amounted to 2 trillion dollars. Japan was among the most affected countries, with economic costs higher than those of Germany (although below those of India). The impact in Japan. Economic losses resulting from natural disasters amounted to 320 billion dollars worldwide last yearof which only 140 billion were insuredaccording to the report from the insurer Munich Re. This figure represents the fifth largest loss since 1980 and is significantly higher than the averages of recent decades. In Japanese terms, it is expected that Climate change will reduce the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by almost 10% annually if more ambitious policies are not adopted to mitigate its effects. In fact, an economic model from the Asian Investors Group on Climate Change estimates that Total economic losses until 2050 will reach 970 trillion yenwhich is equivalent to the loss of hundreds of thousands of yen per Japanese household annually. By then, projections indicate that Japan will be more affected than the United States and Europe. Initiatives and adaptation. It is possibly the big question facing Japan and the entire planet, what can we do to mitigate disasters or adapt? In that sense and despite the gloomy perspectives of the studies, the Times emphasized that Japan has the potential to lead the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions through development of innovative technologiessuch as advanced batteries and offshore wind energy. According to a recent report, if the country adopts a net-zero emissions scenario by 2050, the economy could benefit from a boost of 13.6 trillion yen annuallyplus savings of 40 trillion yen per year compared to current climate policies. In addition, Japan has also taken a leading role in funding international initiatives to help vulnerable countries. For example, has contributed $10 million to the United Nations Loss and Damage Fundaimed at mitigating the impact of climate change in developing nations. Insurance and the Japanese pocket. It is the last leg of that global enemy, one that directly affects the nation’s pocketbook. Japanese households are already experiencing the impact of climate change through increased insurance premiums. In October 2024, the country’s four main insurers increased fire insurance rates by an average of 10%marking the fourth increase since 2019. Furthermore, Japan’s General Insurance Tariff Organization has explicitly linked these increases to the increasing risk of disasters induced by climate change. Additionally, and according to climate campaign group Insure Our Future, climate change-related disasters accounted for more than $600 billion in insured losses between 2002 and 2022. Data and more data, figures and more figures, which only highlight the urgency of more effective climate action to avoid or mitigate greater economic and social impacts of a common enemy. Image | 岩手県宮古市, … Read more

the challenge of finding 500 billion dollars for the largest AI project

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He Project Stargate announcement This week was surprising for many things, but above all it was surprising for one: the 500,000 million dollars that will theoretically be invested in the next four years to achieve its objectives. The figure, absolutely colossalhas generated many suspicions. And rightly so. 100,000 million to start. Of that total figure, the announcement made it clear that the companies that provided the capital would invest “100 billion dollars immediately,” but even that does not seem easily achievable. SoftBank and OpenAI, those who will invest the most. In The Information reveal that SoftBank and OpenAI will contribute $19 billion each for the Stargate project. Bloomberg duck that both will also be the ones that will have the most participation in the final company: each will have a 40% participation. Musk attacks, Altman defends himself. The announcement of the project provoked a quick reaction from Elon Musk, who stated in X that “Actually they (the companies involved) do not have the money). He later added that “SoftBank has less than $10 billion guaranteed. I have good sources.” Sam Altman responded to those allegations hours later indicating that the data that Musk provided was “Incorrect, as you probably know.” Musk and xAI compete with OpeenAI and maintain a long rivalry, but here Altman surprised further telling Musk that “I truly respect what you have accomplished and believe you are the most inspiring entrepreneur of our era.” SoftBank under review. Analyst MG Siegler indicates in your newsletter that SoftBank has about $30 billion in cash. It seems to have room for that initial investment, but there are other data that work against it. As indicated user David Manheim on X, SoftBank’s investment fund has had notable failures in the past. On Wikipedia you can see how SoftBank Vision Fund lost $27.4 billion in 2022 due to several failed investments led by Masayoshi Son, the CEO of SoftBank. Among them is the investment of 100 million dollars in FTX, which then collapsed. OpenAI burning money. There are also questions about OpenAI’s ability to invest that amount. It is true that it has raised significant sums in the latest investment rounds, but the company is a money burning machine. Arab money and debt as exits. As the aforementioned Siegler article reveals, an important part of that investment may come from the United Arab Emirates through MGX, the investment fund. Another option is to resort to debt, which has already been very common in SoftBank’s investments (they have 150,000 million invested with that formula). Meanwhile, OpenAI looks for other girlfriends (Oracle). The project is also revealing other parallel movements. In The Wall Street Journal They highlight how OpenAI is beginning to look for options for its alliance with Microsoft, something that both have admitted. At OpenAI they complain that Microsoft does not give them the computing power they need, and they seem to be testing alternatives like Google. Perhaps Oracle is also among the candidates, especially now that it will be one of the participants (along with NVIDIA) in the creation of the large data center in Texas. It seems clear that OpenAI wants to not depend so much on Microsoft (or anyone) and Stargate may be a vehicle to achieve this. Image | TechCrunch In Xataka | The money invested in Stargate has a basic problem: there is no clear or agreed plan to reach the AGI

More and more cities are saying goodbye to horse-drawn carriages for tourists. Málaga has decided that this will be its last year

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Malaga no longer wants horse carriages. That its City Council does not feel comfortable with the tourist buggies that still roll through the city is something known and that its mayor, Francisco de la Torre, recognized no holds barred in summer. What the coachmen who continue to exploit the 25 current carriage licenses probably did not imagine is the extent to which the Consistory is in a hurry to say goodbye to them. A few days ago De la Torre announced that his goal is to eliminate all cars this same yearwhich would bring forward the end of the concessions by a decade. Surprise to start 2025. 2025 has started with a surprise in the capital of the Costa del Sol. A few days ago, during the Debate on the State of the Cityits mayor announced that he wants this to be the last year in which horse-drawn tourist buggies roll through the municipality. And it was not limited to expressing a wish or a simple declaration of intentions. De la Torre revealed that the City Council is already negotiating with the coachmen who remain in the city. What exactly did he say? His speech It can be consulted in full on the Consistory’s website. And it’s pretty clear. “We have set ourselves the goal of completing the amortization of the licenses for the horse-drawn passenger transport service this year,” he says. the document. “There are 25 left and we are in talks with the owners to compensate them, since their concessions have almost 11 years of life left.” Animal welfare and image. The councilor goes further and give the reasons why the City Council wants to dispense with a service that, in reality, has been losing weight in the city over time. “We take this step thinking about the well-being of animals and the image that the city offers to the world. In 2025 there are much more efficient and respectful ways to move.” In case there were any doubts, De la Torre remembered that Málaga is already working on an electric bike loan service to reach 1,000 and more than 100 stations. “The sooner the better”. The important thing in the councilor’s announcement is not so much the substance as the tempo. That horse-drawn carriages have their days numbered in Malaga is actually nothing new. In 2018 elDiario.es published a report about the precariousness of stables, animals and workers, in 2023 Ciudadanos (C’s) presented a motion to eliminate the service and just five months ago, during an interview With the Efe agency, De la Torre himself admitted that the idea was to put an end to the carriages “the sooner the better.” The key: when. Although that was the slogan (eliminate the service as soon as possible), the reality is that the coachmen who continue to work in Malaga do so thanks to licenses that still have years of validity left. In 2015 An ordinance was approved that contemplated that the permits would remain in force for two decades, meaning that they would not expire until 2035. However, De la Torre assured in August that he had encountered “a certain receptivity” among the drivers to reach a consensus. The question remained as to how on track the talks were and, above all, when the buggies could be removed from the streets of Malaga. The surprise came when a few days ago the councilor revealed that the City Council intends for the service to be abolished now this yeara decade before licenses expire. And under what conditions? That is the great unknown. in summer the mayor I remembered that the 2015 regulation was accompanied by a plan to rescue concessions. And it doesn’t seem to have gone badly for him. If in their day they operated in Malaga 60 licenses and a decade ago there were 55 in force, today their number has been reduced considerably to remain at 25. The average price of the rescues has been around 35,000 euros, according to the data managed by Efe. Going into detail. Media like ABC, SOUTH DIARY and Digital Freedom They say that a payment of 120,000 euros per license would be on the table. ABC even precise that the sum would be paid in two payments of 60,000. The professionals who exploit these 25 licenses and have responded to the press recognize However, there is something that worries them as much or more than compensation: their future work. “I’ve been here since I was born, since 1998. I’m already 45 years old. Where are they going to want me?” he wonders one of those affected by the suppression of the service who also works with a license of which he is not the direct holder, as frequently happens in taxis. “I leave with one hand in front and one behind.” The mayor already has shown willingness to offer coachmen a training plan to find employment. Crossover of arguments. The debate about the continuity (or not) of horse carriages is more complex. In fact, there are a good handful of arguments both for and against. Their supporters allege that there are dozens of families who live off the service, the horses are “well cared for” and they wonder what will happen to them once the service is discontinued. “What’s going to happen to them? They’re going to the slaughterhouse.” Among the detractors, it is questioned the conditions in which the horses work or the image that the city conveys by maintaining the service and they argue, as De la Torre mentioned in his speech, that there are alternatives “more respectful” so that visitors get to know the urban area. To all this would be added a strictly practical matter: the high cost of cleaning and maintaining the streets, whose pavement ends up deteriorating due to horseshoes. Losing ground. Whether you share one position or another, the truth is that horse-drawn carriages have been losing space in the capital of the Costa del Sol. SOUTH DIARY remember that a few … Read more

an electrical grid that works 24/7 with solar energy

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We tend to assume that solar energy is intermittent, but there is nothing that petrodollars can’t solve. And Abu Dhabi is precisely the first city in the world to announce a large-scale solar plant designed to operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The news. The pulse of the United Arab Emirates does not tremble investing what is harvested with its fossil fuels in renewable projects that will one day replace them. Its capital, Abu Dhabi, has just signed for 6 billion dollars the installation of a photovoltaic plant on a public service scale with a particularity. According to Masdar, the developer, it will be the first solar plant designed to supply clean energy 24/7 thanks to the combination of the Emirati sun, millions of solar panels and a huge storage system. The details. The huge project, participated by the state company EWEC (Emirates Water and Electricity Company), will combine a 5.2 GW photovoltaic plant with a 19 GWh battery storage system. Once connected, the plant will not only power millions of homes, but will be responsible for up to 1 GW of the grid’s base load, the minimum power required by the electrical grid that is traditionally covered by more stable thermal sources, such as coal. and gas. Alliance with China. As is happening in neighboring Saudi Arabia, the Emirates is strengthening ties with Chinese companies for this renewable drive. JA Solar and Jinko Solar They will supply 2.6 GW of solar panels each based on TopCon technology, which has higher efficiency and lower degradation rate. For its part, CATL will supply the batteries directly integrated into its HAVE storage systemwhich promises zero degradation in five years and a capacity of 6.25 MWh per container. POWERCHINA and the Indian multinational Larsen & Toubro will be in charge of the design and construction of the plant, which will generate 10,000 jobs. Green Emirates. The Abu Dhabi project, whose roadmap marks the start of operations in 2027, is framed in a long-term plan of the United Arab Emirates: the Energy Strategy 2050. The country hosted the COP28 summit, in which United Nations countries emphasized the urgency of installing more sustainable energy solutions. Sultan al Jaber, who chaired the summit, is also Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology of the United Arab Emirates and president of Masdar, promoter of the solar plant. “For the first time, we will transform renewable energy into 1GW of reliable baseload power, at unprecedented scale,” highlighted al Jaber in a statement. In Xataka | More billionaires, less oil: Abu Dhabi’s plan to become the new Singapore

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