Mobile Tech & Gadgets

We all turn on our emergency lights when we get into a traffic jam. The DGT knows that we are doing it wrong

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It is more than likely that when you got your license They won’t mention it, but get into a traffic jam It is easy to turn on the emergency lights while braking. It is something almost instinctive, a warning for the one that goes 120 km/h behind you realize that you don’t brake for no reason. And if you don’t, you’ve probably seen it. However, the curious thing is that the General Driving Regulations do not contemplate this action. Because we do it to avoid accidents, but with the law in hand, the use of warnings It’s not what we have to do when we get into a traffic jam.. And yet, there are even new cars that activate them automatically if the system notices that we brake repeatedly. The most curious thing is that it is not bad nor is it a fault. Simply put, the law was written for cars from another era. Although current cars have been eliminating more and more buttons, relegating them to the screensthe emergency lights is one that has remained a physical and tactile piece. It is logical because it is a security element and it is one that we have well located in the control panel. When braking in traffic jams, it is almost a reflex for many drivers to use the emergency light button to warn those behind them of the situation. In fact, some new cars activate them automatically if the sensors (the accelerometer or the brake pressure sensor) detect a sudden deceleration or if the ABS comes into play. If the braking is progressive, they are not activated automatically. The use of emergency lights in a traffic jam: yes, but no (and vice versa) But… what does the law say? As our colleagues remember Motorpassionhe section C of article 109 The General Traffic Regulations of 2003 establish that the correct way to notify those behind us about this situation is: “The intention to immobilize the vehicle or to brake its progress considerably, even when such events are imposed by traffic circumstances, must be warned, whenever possible, by repeatedly using the brake lights or by moving the arm alternately up and down with short and quick movements.” The problem is that theory is one thing, but in practice, if we are slamming on the brakes It is difficult to walk by lifting your foot off the brake.. Much less by lowering the window and warning with signs. It is much easier to turn on the emergency lights, and the person in the back will also see them better than if we put our arm out the window. Why does the law say this? Because it is an article written in another era. It is an anachronism resulting from times in which the ABS It was not so present and in which, to avoid the wheels locking and the car skidding, we did have to lift our foot off the brake. In this way, we were automatically alerting the person behind us. Therefore, the law does not say that we put on the emergency lights in a traffic jam, but they are not going to fine us for it because the DGT understands the good intention when it comes to notifying other drivers about an anomaly in traffic. In fact, the fact that the law does not establish it, but the cars do, speaks about the discrepancy between the “strict law” and reality. The DGT itself advertises it: In fact, here comes the technicality of “whenever possible”a legal hole that protects us when turning on the emergency lights. Now, where it is mandatory to give these lights is when we cannot travel at the minimum speed on the road. That is, if we are in a traffic jam on a highway and we do not reach half the speed of the road, we will have to turn on our lights. Section 3 of article 49 says: “When a vehicle cannot reach the minimum required speed and there is a danger of overtaking, direction indicator lights with an emergency signal must be used while driving.” Will the regulations be modified at some point to reflect the current situation in which all cars launched these last 21 years Do they have ABS? It is not known, but since it is a universal code to alert of the situation, I imagine that it will not be one of the Administration’s priorities. Of course, you have probably found someone who has used them excessively, giving you a scare for no reason when you turn them on in a non-critical situation. And that, precisely, is what happened with some models from the 2000s that turned on the emergency lights automatically, even when braking to exit the highway. For example, early models of Citroen C4 either Peugeot 307 who were ahead of the rest with something that wasn’t going entirely well. Images | Kathy, Prithivi Rajan In Xataka | The V-16 beacons are here to stay (whether we like it or not): this is all there is to do in case of a breakdown

Russia has shown on video how to hunt drones with shotguns. And he has also revealed what he did not want us to see

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During the years of Russian invasion of Ukraine we had seen many tactics that copied techniques and weapons from the past. For example, the use of the Davis cannon of the First World War, or the application of anchored shotguns on airplane wings. In fact, the use of shotguns and rifles from the last century has become a normalized scenario over the months due to the lack of modern artillery. Russia has now shown in a video how to hunt drones. Although he has also inadvertently revealed another detail. Shotguns in the front. The silent battle that is fought every day between Russian boats and swarms of FPV drones in the Dnieper has revealed now one of the most unexpected tactical turns of the war: the resurrection of the shotgun as a survival tool on a battlefield dominated by sensors, radio waves and munitions costing just a few hundred dollars. The viral sequence recorded from the helmet of a Russian marine, it offers a deceptively heroic portrait of a crew sailing at full speed through narrow channels while shooting down drone after drone (up to 13), although the meticulous analysis of each fragment shows that the initial epic falls apart as soon as the details are examined and what is behind it is understood: a fragmented combat, recorded on different days, in which the probable casualties are left out of the shot and where the electronics have as much weight as the shots. The mirage of the mission. They counted it analysts at Forbes. What seems like a single continuous episode in reality It’s a montage of multiple confrontations, where the sky changes color between shots and where the marines shoot at both real threats and invisible threats, lost among interference and gusts of wind. The barge sails while three shooters with semi-automatic shotguns, an automatic rifle and a light machine gun try to keep at bay drones that explode at the slightest contact. Thirteen devices fall, but the editing hides both the failures and the side effects. Two explosions centimeters from the hull leave doubts about possible injuries that are never shown, while a revealing detail (a Marine who already has a tourniquet placed preventively on his thigh) speaks of very specific expectations: the probability of being hit is not a hypothesis, but an assumed fact. Elite unit supported by electronic warfare. Forehead to the ‘Mobiks’ sent to slaughter with weeks of instruction and precarious material, this unit stands out for modern equipmentfor the shooting discipline and for the hidden arsenal that really explains part of their survival: a antenna constellation electronic warfare mounted on the boat. These inhibitors, with a range of between 50 and 100 meters, turn many drones into uncontrolled projectiles that fall by pure gravity. The shotgun just finish what electronics has already weakened. In an environment where FPV munitions explode even when the operator loses signal, the difference between living or dying depends not solely on aiming, but on the ability to blind the drone before it gets too close. That is why the shots show drones collapsing far from the effective range of the shooters: they did not fall due to an accurate shot, but due to interference. The limits of the shotgun. That a shotgun can take down an FPV at close range is so true as misleading. The scene has fueled a narrative of false confidence that the soldiers themselves deny off camera. There are testimonies of teams that five drones were shot down followed to fall before the sixth when they ran out of ammunition, or patrols that aimed and fired until the last cartridge before a device entered through the window and destroy the vehicle. If you like, the arms industry has also adapted: Benelli already produces models specific “anti-drone”equipped with tungsten ammunition, and foreign donors have sent hundreds of semi-automatic shotguns to Ukrainian units. But the tactical principle does not change: a shotgun does not compete with the mass production of drones. It is a desperate tool to gain seconds in an environment where each drone costs less than a box of ammunition and where both armies manufacture them by the millions. Desperate defense. He video ends with the boat rescuing another group of marines: one is wounded, others advance with two weapons in their hands, and the scene, far from glorifying the resistance, underlines the true tactical message. The shotgun works, yes, but only when the number of drones is small, when the shooters are trained, or when there are active inhibitors and when luck is on the side. The complete story, the one that never goes viral, remembers that for every boat that returns, another does not. In the Dnieper War, the shotgun is not a weapon of air supremacy: it is the final spark that is fired when all else has failed, a defense of last resort against a swarm cheap and numerous which is redesigning the way armies move, attack and survive. A shotgun may give you time, but in an FPV-saturated front, that time may not be enough. Image | RUSSIAN MOD In Xataka | Ukraine has just reduced what took days to two minutes. And then he began to crush the most feared Russian weapon: his kamikazes In Xataka | The new peace plan in Ukraine has been reduced to 19 aspects. The problem is that the key point measures 900 km

There’s a reason Vigo is advertising its Kawasaki Christmas. One that has nothing to do with Japanese tourists

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If you walk around Kawasaki these days (lucky you) you will probably come across an image that will catch your attention, one that has little to do with Japanese traditions and landscapes or with the avalanche of tourists that the country of the rising sun suffers. What will probably make you jump is finding a sign in the middle of Kanagawa announcing Christmas in Vigo, a mupi with a photo of XXL luminous tree of the Galician city and a message that invites you to travel the 11,000 kilometers that separate both towns. It could be an anecdote (one more related to the Vigo festivals), but that image tells us a lot about the fever for decoration Christmas that Spain experiences. Vigo Christmas in Japan? That’s how it is. It was the mayor of Vigo himself, Abel Caballero, who was in charge of showing it on networks. On Tuesday he hung up a photo in which a promotional poster for the Olympic Christmas is seen in what looks like the street of some Japanese city. The advertisement shows garlands, the XXL luminous tree erected in the heart of Vigo and a message in Japanese. “Christmas in Vigo is already in Japan,” Caballero wrote in his tweetwhich is already on its way to 220,000 views and 650 likes. Is it a surprise? Not really. In October Knight has already advanced that this year Christmas in Vigo would be announced with 820 posters distributed throughout (almost) the entire world. Most of those mupis (629) would be distributed across thirty Spanish cities, especially Madrid, Malaga, Bilbao and Seville, and another 142 were reserved for neighboring Portugal. The rest would travel the world. The Council boasted that it would take 15 to Paris, 10 to Rome, the same number to New York and 14 to Kawasaki. “This time Christmas will be in Japan for the first time.” Is it the first time? More or less. The jump to Asia is a novelty, but in 2024 Vigo already surprised to some tourists with promotional posters distributed in cities such as London, Paris, Rome or even the Big Apple. “I thought it was a mirage. I was seeing this in the distance and I couldn’t believe it,” joked in X Héctora reporter who encountered a mupi in the middle of Manhattan that read, in large golden letters, “The World’s best Christmas is in Vigo.” How much do these posters cost? In October, when he announced the new campaign, Caballero assured that at least this year’s is “free” and “costs nothing” to the City Council. Last year the Vigo newspaper Metropilitango.gal pointed that the mupis had been installed after reaching an agreement with JCDecaux. But… Who visits Vigo? If we base ourselves on studies on hotel occupancy by the INE, basically Spaniards and visitors from other areas of the EU, especially Portugal. Of the 537,500 travelers counted throughout 2024, 62.7% resided in Spain and 23.9% in one of the remaining EU countries. Of these, Portugal was the most popular market, with almost 77,000 tourists. Among the countries analyzed by the INE, the United States (14,800), Germany (11,800) and Italy (11,200) followed, far behind. From Japan, the market on which the City Council has now set its eyes, only 700 visitors who ended up staying in hotel establishments in the city. And at Christmas? The photo is not very different from the rest of the year. According to the data provided By the Vigo City Council, during Christmas 2022-2023 tourism was mostly national. That campaign was still marked by the shadow of the pandemic, but the data is conclusive: the City Council assures that some 5.3 million visitors arrived in Vigo and that the main foreign nationality was Portuguese, with 140,118 people, 2.6% of the total. French, British, Italians and Americans totaled 68,400. The hotel occupancy data from the INE show a somewhat different picture. In December the institute counted only 62,900 touristsof which 62% were Spanish and 30.5% Portuguese. The sum of French, Italians, British and Americans in fact barely exceeded 1,100. It is not surprising if one takes into account the limited supply of connections that Peinador, Vigo airport, has (right now Aena reports only five routes). Is there Japanese tourism? If we base ourselves on the INE, no. In December 2024, the INE did not count not a single Japanese visitor in the hotels of Vigo. In addition to how complicated and expensive it is to fly between Japan and the Galician city, this absence is largely explained by the behavior of Japanese tourists. Although the country is recording a record arrival of foreign tourists, the number of Japanese traveling abroad still quite below from pre-pandemic data. In fact in June Turespaña I trusted in which the influx of Japanese to Spain recovers its “pre-COVID” levels this year. Why advertise there then? In view of these data, why has Vigo distributed 14 mupis by Kawasaki and 10 in New York? Does Caballero aspire to attract tourists who live on other continents, thousands of kilometers away? The Consistory speaks to show Galician Christmas to potential tourists from other countries, but the measure is probably explained with another word: virality. Caballero’s tweet is a good example. In just a few days his photo of mupi has achieved several hundreds of thousands of views on X and has made headlines on media from Spain. Just as their estimates do about what Christmas means for Vigo: between 800 and 1 billion euros of economic return with a deployment of 6.3 million “visitors” in just two months, which is more than the total number of tourists who stay in hotels in Galicia in a year. The 14 mupis of Kawasaki may see them only a small portion of the 1.5 million people who reside in that Japanese city, but of course they have reached, via networks and media, thousands of people who live in the market that really interests Vigo: the rest of Spain and (especially) Galicia. Does virality … Read more

Today we know how to solve crimes with scientific precision. And we owe it all to a lady with a dollhouse

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You imagine the scene and smile. It is perfect to become the seed of a script that ends up winning an Oscar. You, along with dozens of other male criminology students in the room, are greeted by a woman in her 50s who looks like an endearing grandmother. You go to the next room and in it you find a doll house which, they order you, you have 90 minutes to examine. “They sent me here because they told me it would be a training visit,” you protest internally. When you look at the recreation you begin to perceive the macabre aura of the event. The mental image of what a toy house must be is broken inside you when you see that the cloth and porcelain romper is a headless prostitute thrown on the bathroom of a room to which over the years, you notice, the same squalor that has characterized the life of its guest has been attached. There’s more: one thing catches your attention, just one of hundreds. Some lines drawn in chalk on the miniature ironing board in the corner of the room. They mark the price that the utensil must have had when they bought it several years ago. You look at the whole and the level of detail The entire room is such that you start to get dizzy from the puzzle you have to solve. But there is no room to be stunned. The strange grandmother at the beginning had already warned you: you have 90 minutes and there is not a single one to lose. Frances Glessner Lee, dollhouses and the true origin of CSI Frances Glessner Lee, whom we know today as “the mother of forensic science,” he didn’t have it easy to get to where he did. If it were not for a concatenation of circumstances, it is likely that this police branch would have lost one of its most valuable and, of course, curious pedagogical milestones that we have known. Born in Chicago in 1878, Lee was the daughter of John Jacob Glessner, owner of the successful International Harvester company. Motivated by her childhood and teenage readings of Sherlock Holmes, she longed to dedicate herself to the exciting world of homicide investigation. At the end of the 19th century, the typical thing for society ladies was not to go to Harvard and then dedicate themselves to solving crimes, but get married and start a family. They forced this on him when he was 20 years old. He divorced and waited for his father and brother to die so he could inherit the family fortune and finally be able to make his own decisions. In all that time his concerns never went away. He studied criminology in Boston, He donated part of his inheritance to Harvard to open a brand new forensic medicine department there and he got to work. At 52 years old. Throughout her life, Lee founded the Harvard Medical School and served as an advocate for absolute rationalization in police investigation. among many other thingsbut the great work of his life was another: his Limited studies of unexplained deathsa series of 19 dioramas or small miniature doll houses that represented complex crime scenarios that would be analyzed by future students of Criminology or Forensic Investigation. As a socialite, Lee used her money and social skills to make your way into the world of men and convince them to participate in your proposal. The cottage seminar by day, opulent parties at the Ritz Carlton by night. Fourteenth State Police Homicide Investigation Seminar, November 17-22, 1952, at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Harvard Medical School. Read to the right. Harvard Medical Library and Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine. Complete photograph of your death: every object around you counts If something stands out all the biographies of Lee It is his unhealthy passion for detail. The passages about his works are an endless collection of nouns and adjectives. The cans of food in the cupboards, the fogged-up mirrors, the half-peeled potatoes, the overflowing ashtrays, the unmade beds, the open oven faucets, the pieces of wood under the nails, the violet stains observable on the subject’s face. The backyards and fire escapes hidden from view of investigators and that Mrs. Lee ordered from specialized carpenters just so that no element of the room imagined in her mind escaped her control. Only one thing escaped him: it is not possible to distinguish rigor mortis in a doll. For all this only Lee can know how many months or years was able to dedicate to each of the jewels in his gloomy collection, which cost as a result of 3,000 or 4,000 dollars of those of that time piece by piece and that involved both work and love: all the textile elements that we see in the dioramas were made by her herself. The Bounded Studies are not only a pedagogical tool, but also a theoretical proposal on the tangible, material aspect that surrounds the reality of human death. As if each object, each frayed blanket and each photograph on the front page of the newspaper that has the figure of a murdered man at its feet, also became part of the same concatenation of events that led to his death. Pure chaos theory applied to forensic architecture. As we have learned later, the houses became so complicated that many students were not able to find the appropriate solution as to how the hypothetical crime had occurred, but rather that they were simply left unable to give a single answer. A pedagogical legacy still to be resolved Of the 18 dioramas that Mrs. Lee made, we only know the answer to 13 of them. Over the years, no one has been able to solve five of these simulations that are still considered some of the most arduous homicide scenes in history. Its creator took the secret of those five rooms to the grave: she agreed if the participant proposed the correct … Read more

Your IP address can allow them to locate or impersonate you. You can protect it with a VPN for less than 2 euros per month

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Nothing has to happen to us by regularly using the Internet, but we are never exempt from all risk. There is a factor that we do not usually give much importance to in terms of security and that is actually quite relevant: the IP address. How can you protect yourself? The simplest and most comfortable way to do it is, without a doubt, with a VPN. It is undeniable that there are free ones. These work and can be a specific resource if we need it, but in the long run they are not worth it. Nobody gives anything for free, so the normal thing is that they are full of advertising or something much worse: that they are not as safe as they say they are. We have an economical and quality alternative with Surfshark: Black Friday gives us its VPN for only 1.99 euros per month. Surfshark Starter Subscription – monthly The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A quality VPN for less than the cost of a coffee As we say, keeping our IP address safe is important. Through this, the web pages we browse or even cybercriminals They can get to know our approximate location. Not only that, but it is also the door to our identity being impersonated on the Internet, so they can carry out attacks or illegal activities impersonating us. With a VPN activated, these risks disappear. This Black Friday also makes it easier for us to have to make a smaller investment. Right now and until next December 2, we can get the Surfshark Starter plan for 1.99 euros per month in its two-year modality. This, in addition to VPN, comes with an extra tool called Alternative ID. All without forgetting that with a subscription we can use the VPN on all the devices we want. If we are looking for a greater dose of security and we don’t mind spending a little more, perhaps the Surfshark One subscription is better for us. This includes everything that the Starter plan has, but goes further with a lot of extra tools. Its price is not much higher: goes out to 2.19 euros per month. This is all it brings: VPN. Antivirus. Real-time alerts on email breaches, credit card and ID data theft. Private search tools. Personal data security reports. Webcam protection. Anti-spyware and malware protection. Surfshark One Subscription – monthly The price could vary. We earn commission from these links We have an extra alternative called Surfshark One+. This subscription, as its name suggests, is a superior version of the previous one. The biggest difference, besides its price (which costs only 4.19 euros per month), is that it comes with a tool that is used to delete our data from databases. We cannot forget a detail that affects the three subscriptions that Surfshark has. All of them have these prices in their two-year modality, but right now include three extra months. One more reason to opt for one of them if we are looking for more security on the Internet. 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 | surfshark In Xataka | Public WiFis: why they are dangerous and tips to connect safely In Xataka | The best solutions to protect your data and your company’s IT equipment

A family wanted to live with only solar panels, well water and a garden. Until Italy took away her children

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High in a forest in Abruzzo, Italy, a stone house now stands silent. Until just a few weeks ago, that place was the self-sufficient refuge of Nathan Trevallion, Catherine Birmingham and their three children. But a few days ago, a judge decided to remove them of family custody for living disconnected from the grid, without schooling and in an environment that he considered unhealthy. The resolution started a fire political and social in Italy. What for the family was a self-sufficient life project—solar panels, well water, compostable toilet, garden—has become a court case with enormous international repercussions. The story, however, goes beyond an Italian court order. It is the symptom of something bigger: a growing movement in Europe—and also in Spain—of families and communities seeking to get out of the urban grind, disconnect from the electrical grid and live self-sufficiently. How far does the freedom to choose that lifestyle go? And where does the State’s intervention begin, especially when minors are involved? The case that divided Italy. The family, of Australian and British origin, had been living in a forest in Palmoli since 2021. The house was precarious but, according to themenough: electricity with solar panels, well water and an outdoor composting area as a toilet. In autumn 2024, all were hospitalized due to accidental mushroom poisoning. That episode set off alarm bells for social services. According to Corriere della Seraa technical report described the home as “ruin” and “without adequate conditions for minors.” That’s when social services intervened. The lack of schooling of the minors, the absence of pediatric follow-up and the almost total isolation in which the family lived set off all the alarms. Following these reports, a court in L’Aquila ordered in November the withdrawal of parental authority and the transfer of the children to a center, where the mother could stay next to them. The decision has caused a real political earthquakewhere political leaders and several judicial associations denounced pressure from the Government. At the same time, more than 150,000 people signed online petitions demanding that minors return to their parents. Off-grid: from bucolic dream to global phenomenon. To understand the background, just open Instagram. As Ethic magazine explainsit is enough for the algorithm to detect a certain interest in self-sufficiency to fill the feed of videos of families drying their own food, women showing their renovated campers or couples who live half a year off what they grow and collect. life off-grid or “self-sufficient” has become an aesthetic, philosophy and even aspiration for emotional disconnection. But it is also political. The same medium reminds that a small part of the movement arises from groups “sovereign citizen“who reject the authority of the State. They are a minority, but they exist. The majority, on the other hand, opts for the off-grid for reasons of sustainability, teleworking, search for autonomy or reaction to the climate crisis. Also out of fear: there are communities —like the ecovillage of Tamera, in Portugal— that are preparing for a possible collapse of the current model. In Sweden and Finland, the governments have released official guides to prepare for extreme scenarios. Spain is not far behind. The movement off-grid It has also taken root. It is no longer a thing of hippie ecovillages of the 90s: today it is embraced by engineers, teleworkers, urban families suffocated by the cost of living and foreigners from northern Europe who seek autonomy and nature. In the Karrantza valley (Bizkaia), for example, a family left town to produce their own energy and grow their food, a model that is repeated in the Basque Country, Cantabria or the interior of Spain, where many opt for hybrid solutions—solar panels, wood stoves and water recovery—combined with public school and community life. At the same time, ecovillages such as Matavenero, Lakabe or Arterra Bizimodu, according to elDiario.esconsolidate rural repopulation based on sustainability and self-management. And adding to this trend is the arrival of new off-griders foreigners. As Euroweekly points outmore and more British, German or Dutch families buy farmhouses in Catalonia, the Alpujarra or Castellón to disconnect from the grid. Some stories border on the epic: an English couple built their life from scratch with yurts, dry toilets and rain catchers. What they are looking for – a lower cost of living, teleworking, autonomy or simply another way of living – comes with a price: living with wild boars, storms and no less bureaucracy. But legally how is the matter? The contrast with Italy becomes evident when Spanish regulations are analyzed. In energy matters, the framework is clear: Royal Decree 244/2019 It allows self-consumption and does not require contracting electricity supply. Living with isolated solar panels, batteries or small generators is perfectly legal as long as the installation meets safety standards and is carried out by a licensed professional. Legalization is not strictly mandatory, but it is advisable to access public aid, obtain certificates or take out specific insurance. Something similar happens with water. The Water Law establishes that groundwater is public domainso any well—with few exceptions—must have authorization from the corresponding Hydrographic Confederation. Drilling without a permit or extracting water from a protected aquifer can lead to significant penalties. In other words, you can live with your own well, but the collection must be regularized. The point that makes the difference. When it comes to housing, living in a remote area is not illegal as long as the construction has the necessary documentation: license, occupancy certificate and minimum health and safety conditions. But if minors live in that environment and the house presents risks to their well-being, authorities can intervene. However, the determining point is in education as in Italy. Unlike other European countries, Spain required by law that all minors between 6 and 16 years old are educated in recognized centers. He homeschooling is not regulated and, in practice, it is considered illegal. A family that decided to educate their children exclusively at home would face truancy proceedings, visits from social services and even judicial measures in serious … Read more

A US company sees reasons to try it in 2026

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The nuclear industry has been looking for years for the moment of SMRs, smaller, cheaper and more versatile fission reactors. A Californian startup called Deep Fission believes it has the key to getting them off the ground: bury them. 160 free atmospheres. Most of the world’s commercial reactors run on pressurized water. To do this, the water that cools the core must remain liquid at more than 300ºC, which requires an immense pressure, around 150 to 160 atmospheres. On the surface, this translates into steel vessels of enormous thickness and cost. The Deep Fission proposal harness the brute force of gravity to eliminate that problem. Placing the reactor a mile underground, inside a well filled with water, the column of liquid itself exerts a natural hydrostatic pressure of 160 atmospheres. There is no need for a complex pressure vessel: the reactor water is kept in a liquid state without wasting energy or exotic materials. There is another advantage. The second key point is the mineral environment. Instead of building reinforced concrete domes to contain radiation in the event of an accident, Deep Fission takes advantage of the environment. The solid rock at that depth acts as a natural and inexhaustible retaining wall. Petroleum engineering. What Deep Fission proposes is to use standard fuel (low-enriched uranium), but with fracking and oil drilling techniques, extracting heat as if it were geothermal. Its Gravity reactor is a 15 MW module narrow enough to fit into a drill hole about 76 centimeters in diameter. But the economic promise is immense: a cost of 50-70 dollars per MWh and an 80% reduction in civil works, which would be completed in months. There is a but. Although Deep Fission has already announced a portfolio of potential clients in Texas and Kansas, its design has an Achilles heel. At the same time that burying the reactor protects it from tornadoes, plane crashes or terrorism, it creates a logistical nightmare for its maintenance. In a normal plant, if a valve fails or a sensor breaks, technicians can access auxiliary areas by taking precautions. Here, everything would be 1.6 km deep. To refuel or repair a breakdown, the entire module would have to be hoisted to the surface using cables, as if it were a miniature submarine. Today there is no regulatory framework for “deep well reactors” anywhere in the world. Still, Deep Fission promises to have a pilot ready by July 2026.

There are those who think that the housing crisis can be solved by building. At the Polytechnic University of Catalonia they believe they are wrong

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Spain has a problem with housing. That is an (almost) objective fact. The CIS says so, which places it as the great concern of the Spanish, but a quick review of the newspaper archive arrives to confirm it. During the last months few topics have generated more political debate or have taken out so many people on the street such as difficulties in accessing a home. What is no longer so clear is how to solve this “crisis” residential area recognized by the Government itself. Should we build more houses? Does Spain suffer from a housing deficit? Do we need more land to build? Usually the answer to those three questions is a strong ‘yes’. Now a new study signed by two professors of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC) and published in a magazine linked to the Ministry of Housing points out that perhaps we were wrong. What has happened? That two professors from the Higher Technical School of Architecture of Barcelona (ETSAB), Blanca Arellano-Ramos and Josep Roca-Cladera, have published a study about the problems that Spain is facing in terms of housing. The report in question is titled ‘Five theses about housing policy in Spain’ and is included in a monograph of CyTETa magazine published by the Ministry of Housing. So far nothing exceptional. The curious thing is that the text questions many of the ideas rooted in the real estate sector, such as that our country suffers from a housing deficit or needs more land to build. While the Bank of Spain (BE) estimates 700,000 homes the mismatch between supply and demand, the study questions whether there really is a ‘hole’ in the market or that prices will go down if we build more. Is there a housing deficit? As already indicated in its title, the article is structured around five theses. And the first addresses precisely that point: Does Spain suffer from a housing deficit? The question is interesting because it is one of the most deeply rooted ideas in the sector. The Bank of Spain itself has calculated that it would be necessary 700,000 houses to meet residential demand. For Arellano-Ramos and Roca-Cladera the reality is quite different. In his opinion, one cannot talk about a deficit without first taking into account the excess of housing accumulated between 2011 and 2021 and the stock of vacant properties. The researchers remember that between 2011 and 2021 the housing stock exceeded the growth in the number of homes by 959,554 units, generating a considerable pocket. In fact, they assure that in 2021 the “accumulated excess” was close to 8.1 million properties, a “‘cushion’ more than enough to absorb temporary housing deficits such as the one produced during the 2021-2024 period,” recalls the UPC in the statement in which he reports the study. What does that mean? That for researchers it is not so obvious that Spain suffers from a shortage of new housing. In their analysis they also remember that a good part of the excess of houses and apartments corresponds to second homes and empty homes. The INE itself estimates that at least in 2021 there were 3.84 million of uninhabited properties, 14.4% of the real estate stock. That percentage far exceeds what most experts consider “desirable” (5%), but at least in the statement The UPC does not address another fundamental aspect: the distribution of these wasted properties, if they are located in stressed markets, such as Madrid, Barcelona or Malaga, or in centers where demand is minimal or even non-existent, in the case of emptied Spain. What if we build more? That is the second question the researchers address. What if we build more homes? Would prices be reduced? Their response is once again skeptical to say the least: increasing buildings will not lead to greater social equity nor will it serve to soften prices. “On the contrary”, slide the UPC note. “According to the authors of the study, the solution is not to build more new homes so that the laws of the market balance prices. In addition to having serious environmental effects, what favors is the real estate bubble like the one that occurred around 2000.” What happens in other neighboring countries? Among other arguments, Arellano-Ramos and Roca-Cladera recall that the rise in prices is not a problem exclusive to the Spanish market, but rather something widespread on the continent. So the question is obvious: if the increase in prices is due to the imbalance between supply and demand, do the majority of EU countries share that same problem? “Is there simultaneously a restriction of supply in relation to demand occurring throughout Europe in relation to demand that explains the increase in residential prices? It does not seem that this is plausible. Therefore it is not reasonable, prima facieturn to the scarce construction of new housing as the main cause of the price of housing”, they reflect the authors before remembering that Spain has invested a higher percentage of GDP in construction than the European average. Do we need more land? The researchers also question whether in Spain the problem of lack of accessibility to housing can be explained by the scarcity of land. And to prove it, they go to the newspaper archive: between the late 90s and the early 2000s, buildable land was made available in the country, which allowed for “massive construction” of residential housing. This boom was not accompanied, however, by a reduction in the price of the square meter. Quite the opposite: residential prices increased, as in other parts of Europe. If Spain saw housing prices rise between 1996 and 2008, it was not because there was no land on which to build or build new homes. “Spain became more urbanized than ever and the result did not represent a reduction in prices, on the contrary,” underlines the UPC in your statementwhich recalls that between 2000 and 2012 Spain was the European country with the greatest “consumption” of land: more than 2,400 square kilometers (km2), almost as … Read more

The surprise is not that in 2025 Renfe will offer a real-time map of commuter trains. The surprise is that it does not seem to be made by Renfe

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Renfe has just launched a website that allows users to consult in real time the situation of Cercanías and Rodalies trains in the towns where this service is available. And despite what one might think, that website works surprisingly well. Suburbs in real time. On the web real-time.renfe.com It is possible to first select the urban center in which we want to carry out the query so that at that moment the interface zooms in on that location and its Cercanías train network is displayed. The map shows the network lines clearly, but it also shows the position of the trains on that network, which is also updated automatically. The new interactive Renfe Cercanías map works really well. When does that train arrive at that stop? Not only can we see the general situation, but we can also click on any of the train icons shown on the map so that a popup window appears in the browser. It contains information related to that train, which stop it is coming from, which stop it is going to, or its expected arrival. Are you late? Another interesting element of this website is that it offers extra information about the punctuality of each train. Above and to the right of each train icon appears a dot that can be of various colors. Green indicates that it is on time or less than three minutes late. Orange indicates a delay of between three and five minutes, and red reveals a delay of more than five minutes. Extra information. On the left side of the website it is also possible to select one of the network lines of each municipality, and even a station, which will make the website zoom in on that specific station. If we select a line we can also consult the available services, and specifically we can know which stations on that line have accessible trains and stations, and where we can find bike racks. The colored dots that appear at the top right of each train’s icons reveal how punctual they are being. A promising service. This website also allows third parties such as Google Maps to offer this service through their own platforms, and becomes a way to mitigate uncertainty about the network situation. Pablo Fernández Pastor, Director of Innovation and Digital Transformation of Renfe Viajeros, explains how “the trip as such does not begin at the station, it begins from the moment you are beginning to plan it.” Long distance services coming soon. Those responsible for the service have also indicated that starting in the first half of 2026, real-time information on medium and long distance services will be incorporated into this website. If this experience maintains what is currently being offered, we will certainly have a very useful real-time information service for users. a pleasant surprise. The launch of this service is surprising, especially because in recent years we have seen how the Renfe website was criticized for its usability, its erratic behavior and how it has worked during periods of high demand. This service represents an important step in the right direction for Renfe, without a doubt. Image | Renfe In Xataka | There are no more 20 euro tickets: the trains between Madrid and Barcelona have become very expensive again for a reason

Mercadona has grown so much in Spain that for the US it is no longer just a supermarket chain: it is a “cultural phenomenon”

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The US Government has noticed a growing “cultural phenomenon” in Spain, one especially interesting for its exporting companies and which comes accompanied by millionaire turnover figures. What phenomenon is that? Mercadona. Literally. In your report Retail Foods Annualthe US Department of Agriculture dedicates special attention to Juan Roig’s company and slips that its weight in the retail It already transcends the limits of the retail sector. He even theorizes about the formula for his success. Under the spotlight of Donald Trump. It is not strange that Mercadona makes headlines. After all, it has become a crucial piece of the retail Spanish. Your market share in the sector around 30% (in some regions already exceeds that percentage), far above other competitors such as Carrefour, IFA or Lidl, and has been expanding for the country. What is much less common is for the Valencian retail chain to make headlines because it has caught the attention of US officials, which is exactly what has just happened. Table extracted from the report of the US Department of Agriculture. Attention, USA exporters. Mercadona is cited at least seven times in a report 10 pages published a few days ago by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA), a document designed primarily for exporters from the country interested in the Spanish market. In it, the Washington technicians review the billing figures of Juan Roig’s firm, highlight its high weight in the sector (well above competitors such as Carrefour, Lidl, DIA or Eroski) and reflect on the keys to its commercial success. To be more precise, USDA recalls that last year Mercadona recorded sales worth an estimated $34.5 billion. The figure does not exactly match the disclosed by the company, but it is more than double that of Grupo Carrefour (12,000) and well above other well-established chains in the country, such as Lidl (7,500), DIA (6,150), Eroski (5,800) or Alcampo (5,500). “Mercadona occupies first place in the food retail sector in Spain, with sales almost three times higher than those of its second closest competitor,” check the reportwhich theorizes about the bet that has given the chain a market share of almost 30%. The formula for success. USDA highlights two features of the Valencian company. First, its Spanish food offering. Second, its strategic commitment to retail brands, especially Hacendado. “Private labels are very popular in Spain, driven by consumer attention to prices and quality. According to a study by the Aldi chain, Spanish households allocate 44% of their purchasing budget to private label products,” collect the reportwhich goes so far as to refer to the company as a “cultural phenomenon.” Is it something new? No. Washington is not the first to focus on the Valencian chain’s commitment to its own brands. A report from Kandar presented in 2024 by Promarca already pointed out the clear increase in distributor brands in Spanish supermarkets, a general trend that was accentuated in the case of Mercadona. Its external brand offering was cut by 45% between 2018 and 2023, while the value share of white label products reached 74.5%. Other sector reports have highlighted the same idea in recent months: Mercadona’s growing commitment to its brands. Added to this strategy are others deployed by the firm, such as the interest for foods already cooked and ready to eat. Roig himself has recognized openly that he is convinced that mid century Kitchens will disappear from Spanish homes, so people will eat prepared dishes. It is so sure of this that Mercadona has been betting on its section for years. “Ready to eat”. X-raying the sector. Beyond Mercadona, the report from USDA reveals some reflections on the food distribution sector in Spain. Its technicians are struck by, for example, the pace of opening of new stores (244 only between January and April of this year), the promotion of self-service stores and regional super chains (key piece of the national sector) or “the growing popularity” of healthy and convenience products. “Consumers are combining physical and online channels, favoring digital platforms for larger purchases and in-person purchases of fresh products. Retail strategies focus on efficiency, AI technologies, personalization and healthy products,” he comments. the USDA studywhich draws attention to the high “fragmentation” of retail trade and the concentration of the food sector, with Mercadona leading the way. Images | Mercadona, Gage Skidmore (Flickr) and USDA In Xataka | The shadow companies that are making gold with Mercadona: the silent success of Familia Martínez or Profand

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