Mobile Tech & Gadgets

Europe wants users to verify their age to navigate the Internet. Google does not need it: you can estimate it with AI

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In February Google advertisement They were going to start starting an experimental system based on AI and automatic learning (Machine Learning) for Estimate the age of users of its services. That technology, initially thought to avoid access to adult content on YouTube, will now serve much more, although for now it will be restricted to the United States. Automated restrictions. If Google detects that a user is under 18 in the US, it will apply the same restrictions that it applies when users are proactively identified as minors – for example, when creating Gmail accounts. Thus, it will enable reminders to go to sleep on YouTube, it will limit content recommendations and disable both personalized advertising and access to Adult applications in Play Store. What happens if AI is wrong. If Google’s system incorrectly estimates that a user is under 18, said user will be able to send a photo of his identity card (in the US, that of driving usually), of a credit card or even a selfie. First, that Google ends up having a photo of those documents It is quite disturbing. Second, the selfie option is especially surprising, because a priori might not be enough to verify that someone is not a minor. Remembering How-Ord.net. Microsoft a decade ago launched an AI experiment according to which a user could upload a photo of one or more people, and the service He tried to guess the age of those people. The tool quickly went viral, but it was also controversial because of its possible impact on privacy. A study Of 2022 he revealed that various systems of this type were quite precise when guessing age in young people, but not so much in older people. Companies specialized in this area as Yoti explain that The margin of error is already reducedand its system has an average 1.3 -year error in young people between 13 and 17 years old. How to estimate the google age. Google’s age estimation model will use the existing data of its users, including the websites they visit, what type of videos do they see on YouTube or how long their accounts have had. What about privacy. According to Google, this approach “does not imply the collection of additional data”, but of all that information that you already have thanks to the profiles that users use to access their services. They also ensure that they will not share that estimate with apps or websites. Goal already implemented A similar system on Instagram months ago. The age verification fever. The movements in this regard are increasingly striking. Before the excuse for companies and governments to spy on us and knew more about us was the terrorist threat. Now it is that minors They can access adult content. There is a unique fever for developing age verification systems everywhere, and we are seeing it especially in Europe … and the United Kingdom. The United Kingdom teaches us how the future can be. One of the first countries to move in this area is the United Kingdom, which these days these days has activated its regulation so that minors cannot access adult content. The age verification systems must be present in all types of platforms, something that has been especially controversial there and that has generated a surprising (or perhaps not so much) Collateral effect: British users They have begun to subscribe in mass to VPN services to avoid having to pass those age verification controls. The EU wants its own “pajporte”. The controversy introduction of the Digital portfolio beta In Spain —Popularly known as “Pajortport” – is one of the great steps that EU member countries are facing the future European digital identity. Among the options that will enable this mobile application will be to verify the age of the users, and in fact the Spanish initiative is serving as inspiration For a European system. Said system, yes, is not exempt from controversy. It remains to be seen if the Google system is really effective, and if it is, how its deployment progresses and what impact that has on the intentions of various countries to control the age of users. In Xataka | Allowing an app to “all photos” of our gallery looks like the most harmless action in the world. It is not at all

In 2011 a group of investors bought 80,000 bitcoins. They have been sold by 17,000,000% more expensive

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“Hodl“It is the preferred word of cryptocyerents. It is not an acronym, but a kind of meme or internal joke that is simply a variation of the English verb” hold “(maintain, endure). That term contains a good part of the philosophy of these users, which believe that cryptocurrencies They are a long -term bet that it is necessary to maintain for years to obtain the maximum benefit. There are people who are demonstrating that the thing works. 17,000,000% benefit. Last week, A “whale” (Whatle) Bitcoin sold 80,000 bitcoin for 9,500 million dollars. A user in X (formerly Twitter) detected that mass transaction and the Implicit traceability of the block chain De Bitcoin allowed to know that these bitcoins were acquired (or probably undermined) in 2011 and at that time they had a value of $ 54,000. That means that in these 14 years the benefit of those who sold them has been simply amazing: 17,000,000%. But it is not the only one. Another early cryptocrevent Roger see– It also recently sold another 80,000 BTC. Acquired them in 2014 for $ 210,000, and at the beginning of the month the transaction was detected according to which he had sold them for 8,600 million dollars. Your benefit: 4,000,000%. Multimillionaire whales. There have been additional movements that are also very striking although comparatively are in the shadow of the previous two. At the beginning of July two bitcoin portfolios that had been inactive for 14 years transferred 10,000 BTC each to other different wallets. In 2011, those 10,000 BT had cost $ 16,000, and now their joint value would be around 1,000 million dollars. Bitcoin at maximum. These transactions have occurred Just with Bitcoin achieving historical values. On July 14 the cryptocurrency reached $ 123,000, although since then there has been a small correction and the current value is around $ 118,000. Hodl and strong will. Some users joked by saying that this seller will end up regretting when (or rather “yes”) Bitcoin reaches a value of one million dollars, but the truth is that those who have sold are a spectacular example of that Hodl philosophy. Keep your bitcoins all these years has had to be an exercise of extraordinary patience, especially when at this time There have been numerous increases (and descents) important that surely caused great temptations to sell then. They resisted, and now they have seen the reward. Exceptional demand. As they point out In CointegraphBitcoin’s demand is so spectacular that for example the sale of the 80,000 BTC (0.4% of the amount current today) was “completely absorbed by the market” almost immediately. Movements of this magnitude were supposed to affect the price of Bitcoin, but they did not barely. The immediately posterior impact was sensitive (3.5% value drop) but then the side effects of that sale They have been apparently nil. There are analysts who They point that what has happened suggests that BTC will continue to rise soon. Image | KANCHANARA | Erling Løken Andersen In Xataka | Bitcoin reaches a historical maximum exceeding $ 118,000. A bullish rally driven by the hug of institutions

How it works and how to avoid this method to steal mobiles in summer

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Summer arrives, and with the new baking of methods that criminals use to steal. In this case Let’s explain the trap of the false tourist and google mapsa type of thymus that is being seen in cities like Benidorm, and for which it is convenient to be prevented. We are going to start the article explaining the mechanics and the procedure of this deception with which thieves can try to steal your mobile phone. Then we will give you A series of tips To prevent this robbery and to avoid that if they manage to steal your mobile, you can make many misdeeds. How this scam The way of proceeding of thieves is so simple that it is difficult not to fall into the trap. To begin with, a stranger for the street getting through a disoriented tourist That is looking for your hotel. Here, it is normal for us to stop helping. This supposed tourist Ask you to look for your hotel on Google Maps in order to know how to get to him. Then you take out the mobile, unlock it and start looking on Google Maps. That is, just when you unlock the mobile the thief takes ittake it from the hands of a pull and run with the device. The biggest problem of this trick is that The thief takes your mobile already unlockedso you can access your photos, your conversations at WhatsApp or your documents. You can access sensitive information and even impersonate you in WhatsApp chats to ask for things or money from your acquaintances. How to avoid falling into the trap Unfortunately, these types of traps and tricks to steal mobile They are difficult to detectsince they play with our mood to encourage others. The most important thing is be aware that you don’t know the other person and take a series of precautions. The first thing is try verbally Any unknown person instead of quickly getting the mobile. And if there is no choice but to do it, then have well subject the device While you proceed. Pay attention to the movements of the other person, and always try to have two hands on him and have him grabbed hard. Do not trust yourself. There are also A series of precautions to take when you are travelingsince in a tourist city there are more possibilities that there are attempts to rob. For example, Activate additional block for sensitive appsputting an extra layer as a trace block, recognition or even Pin to apps such as the bank, your photos or whatsapp and social networks. Come on, in addition to screen blocking, you activate a specific blockade for apps, something you can do on both Android and iOS. It can be annoying when using them daily, but will save your data if someone steals your mobile already unlocked. Have active mobile location systems to know where you are stealing, and try the mechanisms to block it remote or turn it off so that thieves cannot use it. For this, access from another device will be needed, so you have the family systems configured to be able to block it from the mobile of a spouse or family. In Xataka Basics | Broken rearview scam: how it works and how to avoid the scam in which they hit your car and leave you a note to cheat and steal

His survival in China right now hangs from a thread

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This time the joy has lasted little to Nvidia. Finally, like We explain to you on July 15the company directed by Jensen Huang has made the Department of Commerce review its regulation and allows you to sell The GPU H20 for artificial intelligence (AI) in China. “The US government has assured us that licenses will be granted. We hope to start deliveries soon,” Nvidia said In a statement. The H20 chip is very important for Nvidia because it has opened the doors of the Chinese market again. The reception that Chinese companies initially gave to this GPU was very good despite the fact that the capacities of this chip are clearly lower than those of the other proposals for this company. In fact, the US Department of Commerce allowed its sale in China because this integrated circuit fulfilled the restrictions that had imposed. And despite its limitations its sales in China 50% quarter to quarter grew Since he arrived in this market in mid -2024. The administration of the cyberspace of China is investigating Nvidia Surprisingly this scenario He has put Nvidia in Añuro. And, once again, the reception of the H20 GPU in China is being so good that this American company has run out of units. According to ReutersNvidia has commissioned TSMC for the manufacture of no less than 300,000 units of this chip to be able to respond to the current demand from China. Blessed problem. However, the company’s engineers have been working on A new GPU with Blackwell microarchitecture The latest generation that is intended to occupy in China the place of the H20 chip. Cyberspace administration is the main Internet regulatory body in China Anyway, everything is not going well for Nvidia. And it is that the administration of the cyberspace of China, usually known as CAC for its denomination in English (Cyberspace Administration of China), he has decided Thoroughly investigate the H20 GPU. This institution is the main Internet regulatory body in China. It is mainly responsible for the censorship and control of the contents published in the Network, the supervision of technology companies and compliance with the Data Security Law and the Personal Information Protection Law. However, this is not at all the first time that the CAC makes noise in the West. And is that on March 31, 2023 launched an investigation as its purpose audit Micron Technologythe largest American memory chips. On this occasion, the CAC has decided to investigate Nvidia because it suspects that the H20 Chip could incorporate a back door of difficult location by Chinese experts. If so, the possibility of China to use this GPU could be possible. At the moment the CAC has limited himself to questioning those responsible for Nvidia in China and ask them to demonstrate that the H20 chip It does not represent a threat to interest and security from the country led by Xi Jinping. At the moment we do not have much more information, but presumably Nvidia will do everything in your hands to guarantee your survival in the Chinese market. After all, during the last fiscal year, which expired on January 26, 2025, China represented approximately 13% of total income of the company led by Jensen Huang with a figure of about 17,000 million dollars. Image | Nvidia More information | Nikkei Asia | SCMP In Xataka | The US gives Huawei a great opportunity: to get its new chip for AI with the Nvidia market in China

Spain thought its position regarding the closure of nuclear. That has just changed

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The debate on a possible extension of nuclear plants has returned to the scene and has turned on the media focus. The electricity insists on lengthening their operation beyond the expected, but the executive denies that formal negotiations are being maintained and refers to the conditions that already set as essential. A letter and three conditions. Iberdrola and Endesa sent a joint letter to the government will make more or less a month. In it, they proposed to reopen the debate on the progressive closure of the nuclear park – which contemplates the shutdown of the Seven reactors between 2027 and 2035– With the argument that maintaining operational some centrals would reduce the cost of electricity for consumers. According to the countrythe Government responded by another letter signed by the Ecological Transition Minister, Sara Aagesen, opening to assess the proposal under three immovable conditions: that there is no additional cost for citizens, that the security of the supply is guaranteed and that the plants comply with the standards of the Nuclear Safety Council. So far they “dialogue.” According to eldiario.esthe government considers the letter of electricity as a declaration of intentions, not a formal request. In addition, Naturgy and EDP – also minority owners of some plants – did not sign the document, which leaves Iberdrola and Endesa alone. The debate intensifies. The situation is complex for a primary reason that is not technical, but the economic viability of nuclear. As the confidential explainedelectricity consider that operating with the current fiscal charge is unfeasible if the market price does not exceed € 65-70/MWh. In contrast, projected prices are around € 55/MWh by 2030. In this context, the Endesa CEO, José Bogas, raises the government a fiscal reduction, especially autonomic taxes (such as the one already eliminated in the Valencian Community) and the Enresa rate, which finances the dismantling of the centrals and waste management. However, according to the miteco, this fiscal reduction would involve damage to citizens, and therefore clashes frontally with their red lines. Almaraz, the first thermometer. The immediate focus is at the Almaraz nuclear power plant (Cáceres), whose first reactor must close in November 2027 and the second in October 2028. Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy – his three owners – have not yet met to approve the necessary investments that would allow their operation beyond those dates. The meeting scheduled for June has not been held, and sector sources admit that it will not occur before September. Meanwhile, companies prepare a new proposal that, According to El Confidencialcould be presented after summer at a meeting not yet confirmed with Minister Aagesen. The plan would be to offer a tax reduction in exchange for prolonging the activity of some centrals until 2030. However, the Ministry insists: if the conditions do not change, there will be no negotiation. A hot topic in Congress. The debate is more than served from the political field. On the one hand, the Popular Party preparing one Law proposition to extend the life of nuclear. The proposal would have the support of several regional governments of the PP – as Extremadura and Community Valencian – and the parliamentary support of Junts and ERC, which have shown flexibility in Congress in relation to the revision of the nuclear calendar. However, the government has reaffirmed its position. As El Confidencial recalledPresident Pedro Sánchez was bluntly in Congress last May, accusing PP and Vox of acting as “amateur lobists” of the electric. “If companies want to keep the centrals open, they pay them, not the citizens,” he settled. Facing an ambivalent European framework. In addition, the legal position of nuclear energy in the EU adds complexity, since European regulations do not consider nuclear energy as a renewable source. This is established by Directive 2018/2001 (Red II), a vision that has also adopted Spanish legislation. However, in 2022, the European Commission took a partial turn by including this technology, under certain conditions, In the so -called “green taxonomy”next to the natural gas. This classification allows certain nuclear investments to be labeled as sustainable from the climate point of view. As Miguel Huarte expanded has indicatedthis places the nuclear in a normative gray area: it is not renewable, but free of emission in its operation. And while France or Belgium have already chosen to extend their atomic parks, Spain maintains the opposite course. Accelerating another route. At the same time, the miteco has processed this July 31 a new Royal Decree by urgent route to reinforce the electrical system. As you have indicated in a press releaseit is a technical standard that does not directly address the nuclear calendar, but it does signal to a reinforcement of the electrical system by means of supervision, electrification of the demand and promotion of energy storage. Among other measures, the proposal increases the technical control of Electricity and CNMC, promotes renewable hybridization with storage systems and limits speculation on connection points. Although the text does not mention the nuclear, it reinforces the idea that the government bet remains clear: moving towards a 100% renewable mix. A door ajar. The crossing of cards between electric and government has served more to draw red lines than to open doors. What is played, beyond the kilowatt, is the country’s energy model: one where renewables are implacable and nuclear tries to scratch time under the promise of stability. But as well He has pointed the newspaper.Without a formal proposal and without an explicit resignation to tax privileges, electricity will continue to wait at the gates of a ministry that, for now, remains firm: either they meet the conditions, or the closing calendar will continue its course. The future of Almaraz – and perhaps that of the entire nuclear park – will be decided, if, after summer. And with many more letters even to play. Image | Foronuclear Xataka | Spain was supposed to have a “antiapagones” plan. It has encountered an insurmountable obstacle: politics

Azure is being for the AWS was for the Internet

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Microsoft has made history by joining Nvidia in the exclusive club of the four billion dollars after Spectacular results that demonstrate how their commitment to the cloud and AI has completely transformed the company. Why is it important. Satya’s decision to reposition Microsoft as a company “Cloud First“A decade ago it has turned out to be one of the most successful strategic bets in technological history. Long before The arrival of chatgptMicrosoft decided to focus on building the infrastructure that would feed the AI revolution. In figures. The numbers of the latest quarterly results published are overwhelming: 76.4 billion dollars in quarterly income (+18%). Net profit of 27.2 billion (+24%). Azure exceeding 75,000 million annually with a growth of 34%. These figures fired the company’s action in the After-Hourswhich has catapulted the stock market capitalization above the four billion. The context. During the Ballmer era, Microsoft seemed condemned to be a desk for desktop software. Windows kept dominating, but the future pointed to the mobile and cloud. Nadella’s arrival changed priorities: less Windows, more digital infrastructure. His alliance with Openai in 2019 It ended up being visionary, since he assured access to the most advanced models without astronomical development costs. The alarm signal. Microsoft plans to spend 120,000 million dollars annually in data centers, quadruplying the investment of 2023. The financial director, Amy Hood, has confirmed that “the demand continues to exceed the supply” and that all this expense is “directly linked to contracts already signed.” It is the most expensive arms race in the history of technology. Yes, but. Success generates new problems to solve. The relationship with Openai has been tensioned and Microsoft has diversifying towards models of Grok and calls not to have all the eggs in the same basket. Copilot makes Microsoft continue to dominate in the business market with its 100 million users, but it is still far behind Chatgpt or Gemini, who multiply their adoption. And the winner is … Nadella has shown that deep business transformations are possible. From a Microsoft anchored in software licenses to a digital infrastructure power that competes from you to you with Amazon Web Services. Azure has not only grown: it has become the backbone of the AI era, processing the most demanding workloads of the planet. Script turn. For the first time in its history, Microsoft has publicly revealed the specific income of Azure and not only the accumulated of its division. Thus breaks years of opacity that Even former Steve Ballmer had criticized. Transparency comes just when the division has become its main growth engine and the most valuable asset of the company. In Xataka | Microsoft is in benefits records and also in dropout records. Satya Nadella explained this paradox Outstanding image | Microsoft, Xataka

torpedoed the liberalization of merchandise transport

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We wrote in Xataka Just a few hours ago Ryanair had on his head The most expensive fine (more than 107 million euros) that had imposed a company in our country. The figure almost tripled the second classified, dump, which He was also sanctioned by the government in relation to its hand luggage policy. Now, it is possible that the list made by Facua Have to update. Because the Supreme has confirmed the penalty of 50 million euros that the National Commission of Markets and Competition (CNMC) imposed Renfe for torpedoing the liberalization of merchandise transport. The figure, they say in The confidentialhas been confirmed by the magistrates and leave the possibility of increasing the sanction by 15 million euros in the hands of the National Court. Therefore, the fine could reach up to 65 million euros. A fine and two payments According to the Supreme Court, the CNMC acted correctly when it imposed a sanction of 49.9 million euros to Renfe accusing it of “incurring a collusion infraction by participating in a market distribution strategy that hindered competition in the railway transport of goods.” That punishment came in 2017. Then a sanction of 49.9 million euros was imposed on Renfe Operadora and 15.13 million euros to Renfe merchandise that should be paid separately. In addition, a sanction of 10 million euros also imposed on the Deutsche Bahn group. According to the CNMC, Renfe and Deutsche Bahn, the first and second market operator, signed in 2008 an agreement that distorted the liberalization of merchandise transport in Spain “reducing the competitive pressure between them and consolidating the existing situation prior to liberalization.” With these agreements, “the public entity agreed to more beneficial conditions with the Deutsche Bahn group exclusively. Among them, the offer of traction services in a generalized way or the absence of penalties in the event that Grupo Deutsche Bahn annulled railway traction services. Renfe submitted the rest of the operators to more burdensome conditions, denying their requests for traction services for regular traffic services.” The same is what the Association of Private Railway Companies (AEFP) argued, who promoted demand At first, when they understood from the private sector they were receiving discriminatory treatment and less beneficial than that of Deutsche Bahn. Until now, the National Court has issued two sentences in which it ratifies the fines. In the second of them it made it clear that a violation of the principle was not being incurred non bis in idem. That is, Renfe was not sanctioning twice for the same fact. Given these setbacks, Deutsche Bahn imposed a appeal that has resulted in the Supreme Court. The same did Renfe, who also imposed cassation resources that should be valued by the Supreme Court and that in 2022 began to receive setbacks from the High Court. On this last occasionaccording to it The confidentialthe National Court did not correctly value the arguments of the plaintiffs and did not motivate why he rejected his allegations. Therefore, as regards Renfe, he has confirmed the sanction of 49.9 million euros but sends the second part of the fine, the 15.13 million euros, back to the National Court to value it again. Photo | Nelson M. Silva In Xataka | In his most fateful summer, Renfe’s ambitious bet for the Avril trains has begun as one would expect: regular

The good news for Russia is that the earthquake occurred in a remote area. The bad is that he concentrated his nuclear submarines

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Yesterday we woke up with the news of A historical earthquake In an area of the planet that you had not heard in life. Makes sense, Kamchatka It is located at the easiest end of the Russian Eastern Eastern region, such an inhospitable place that has a “good” side of history: we had to tell human casualties in Russia. However, and due precisely to its geographical situation, that is where Moscow keeps part of Its nuclear arsenal. The epicenter of Russian underwater power. Yes, the Magnitude 8.8 earthquake who shook Kamchatka’s peninsula, one of the more powerful registered In modern history, he has put one of Russia’s most sensitive military facilities under the international focus: the naval bases of Avacha Bay. The movement, which generated tsunami waves in the Pacific and coincided with the eruption of the klyuchevskaya sopka volcanothere was only 100 kilometers from the heart of Russian nuclear deterrent power in the Far East. Although the Moscow authorities assure that There are no fatalities No serious damage, doubts revolve around the real state of Rybachiy, the main base of Russian strategic submarinesand from the Naval Complex of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Rybachiy: the bastion of nuclear deterrence. The Rybachiy base It houses the backbone of the underwater strategic fleet of Russia in the Pacific Ocean: The SSBN of the Borei and Borei-A classsuccessors of Ancient Deltacapable of carrying intercontinental ballistic missiles with nuclear heads. This installation, complemented by shipyards and missile load springs, represents a Central Piece of the Triad Russian nuclear, designed to guarantee the ability to retaliate in case of global conflict. In the area they also operate advanced attack submarines, like Yasen-M (indicated by the United States as one of the main threats under water), in addition to Oscar units and other submersibles of nuclear or conventional propulsion. The vulnerability of these assets in the face of extreme natural phenomena now generates serious unknowns. The Belgorod factor and the possesson weapon. To uncertainty is added the fact that Russia plans to move to Mysterious K-329 Belgorod To this same base. This submarine, the longest in the world, is a deep version Modified of the Oscar II class conceived to transport intercontinental nuclear torpedoes Poseidona strategic system also baptized as Status-6, designed to mock defenses and generate radioactive tsunamis. In addition, Belgorod is designed for underwater intelligence missions and undercover operations. The mere possibility that it would be in Avacha Bay during the earthquake The strategic interest of the natural catastrophe. Immediate technical risks and facilities. At the moment there is no clear evidence of damage to infrastructure or docked units. Bay’s own geography could have acted As a natural shield against the impact of the waves. However, they pointed out the Twz analysts that even minor variations of the sea level can cause critical problems: from submarines, violently hitting their ties (incidents known as Allision) until the entry of water in open gates or in ships subjected to maintenance. The robustness of the facilities, built with the hypothesis of an attack Nuclear in mind, reinforces the thesis that the damage has been limited, but does not completely eliminate uncertainty. The problem of concentrating a point. Beyond the punctual situation, the earthquake It exposes a structural dilemma: the risk of concentrating a substantial part of the Russian nuclear deterrence in a confined geographical enclave. The Avacha Baywith its shipyards, arsenals and strategic units, it constitutes a critical objective both from the military and natural point of view. The threat of an enemy attack was planned in design of the bases, but not that of a seismic phenomenon of historical magnitudescapable of questioning the safety of a key piece of the Russian nuclear triad. Strategic implications. In the background, the episode demonstrates how the stability of the world nuclear arsenal can depend on unpredictable natural factors. A single earthquake, in Second issueyou can compromise operability of strategic submarines whose function is to ensure the balance of nuclear terror. The fact that Kamchatka combines geological vulnerabilities With military assets In addition, the fragility inherent in global deterrence systems reveals. The international community, and especially the rival nuclear powers, will carefully observe the reports that emerge from Moscow, aware that nature, unlike strategic calculations, is impossible to deter. Image | Russian Ministry of Defense In Xataka | Iceland has a key Atlantic corridor for Russia. So the US has sent its first nuclear submarine In Xataka | A British nuclear submarine has discovered a Russian ship in front of its submarine cables. The second time in three months

Felipe II wanted to build an XXL channel from Madrid to Lisbon. Now the city has recovered it inspired by ancient Egypt

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When the workers are excavated in a city with the solera and patrimonial wealth of Madrid the ground can become a box of surprises. The team in charge of the expansion of Metro Line 11, which during its excavations at the future Madrid Rio station recently proved it. He found himself With a wall of the Real Canal del Manzanares, the Gran river path dreamed by Felipe II. The structure has value, that was clear from the beginning, but it was so delicate and was in such a complicated area that a doubt arose: how to rescue it? Simple: ‘Looking’ to Ancient Egypt. Underground Award. If Spanish architects know something, it is that when you hurt a shovel in a city and excavas enough it is not strange that archaeological remains begin to emerge. It has happened in the works of Expansion of line 11 of the Madrid Metro. A few months ago The operators who are responsible for horating the ground for the future underground network and the Madrid Rio station found more than rocks: they located remains of the Real Canal del Manzanares. Click on the image to go to Tweet. Curious yes, surprising no. The finding is interesting and will help us know better The old channeling who aspired to connect Madrid and Lisbon with barges, but did not catch off experts. “It has been no surprise to meet this section of the channel here,” I commented In spring a The country Archaeologist Esther Andreu. It is not the first finding in the environment and experts have been in charge of keeping tables and examining the area with laser scanners. What is the real channel? Maybe The craziest dream From Felipe II, that one day, back in the 16th century, he wondered why he could not have Madrid his own port with the Atlantic. Sounds macarronic, but what the monarch had in mind was to imitate the model of locks and channels he had seen In Flanders and create a river route that connected Madrid with Aranjuez and then continue through the Tagus to Lisbon … and America. The project, huge, required a 600 km navigable route capable of saving 650 m slope, as Pedro Gargantilla requires in ABC. With honey on the lips. The project advanced and In 1584 Felipe II himself came to travel from Madrid to Aranjuez to verify in situ the progress of the company. However, neither its real effort, nor that of the engineer behind the project, Juan Bautista AntonelliNor the implication of the monarchs that followed Felipe II on the throne (especially Carlos III) served to make the structure reach the size with which the Austria dreamed. Stayed in a channel of 22 kilometers of extension (far from the initial objective), 14 meters wide and three of draft, with ten locks, header, jetty and houses for workers. Against the project they played several factors, in addition to their considerable technical complexity. The first varapalo was the death of Antonelli in 1588, which happened complications with financing, the distancing Politician with Portugal and, already advanced time, in the 19th century, the growing competition of the railroad, which caused the infrastructure Stay in disuse. That did not prevent the Royal Channel from remembered as an emblematic project whose remains, as Metro has verified, continue to rest under the feet of Madrid. What to do with the remains? The million dollar question. The wall has a heritage and historical value, that is clear, so it would not be unreasonable to do the same as in other stations and expose the vestiges in Madrid Río itself. But one thing is to remove and handle wood remains, small stones or metal parts and a very different manipulate a structure of several tons. How to move it? How to get it out of its original site without destroying it? The questions are brought because, like Andreu explains in ABCin the unearthed section the Royal Channel was about nine meters wide and 1.5 deep. “It was not very deep, it passed parallel to the Manzanares channel. The water flowed because it was built at the same water table of the river,” he recalls. Before the Brete of having to move that huge structure without deteriorating it, those responsible for the project made a curious decision: ‘look’ to ancient Egypt. “A very complicated order”. The company perhaps scared other archaeologists, but not Miguel Ángel López Marcoswith extensive experience in the recovery of the colossi of Amenophis III in Luxor and that it has already been involved in the ‘rescue’ of other pieces of the Madrid heritage, such as The last vestiges from the San Gil barracks. That callus and previous knowledge have helped him to face the Real Canal project, a task that admits, it was not simple. “The commission was very complicated by the situation of the wall embedded in the tunnel and the characteristics of the fragile and mechanical resistance,” account. Metal cage and steel rollers. How did he solve it? The first conclusion reached by López Marcos is that “the extraction should be in block.” “Disassembly would cause the disintegration of the wall, which does not have the necessary consistency,” Clarify The expert before pointing out that conventional engineering lacks resources to “guarantee” the conservation of that kind of structures. It is nothing new. The same challenge has already been found in Egypt, where he can often resort to heavy machinery that facilitates the task. To solve it López Marcos and his companions had to pull ingenuity. The team designed a protective cage, a shield that allowed it to dig under the structure and dispose of a base with steel bars. Everything firm enough to endure a 14 tons structure. Hydraulic beams and cats allowed them to advance the operation and descend the remains of the wall at a sufficient height to move it to a crane truck. To facilitate the movement of the cage with the stones the team also handled steel rollers. Objective: … Read more

A complicated summer can put the advances in recent months at risk

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Experts tell us that we are faced with a new change in the weather tendency. After a first half of the extremely warm summer, the second half of June He gave us a respite based on a reduction in temperatures and several tormentous episodes concentrated in the north third and in the Mediterranean basin. Now this slight respite has the days counted: the heat will return strongly and the rainfall is expected below normal even for the summer. How is this affecting reservoirs? How are our reservoirs? The Last data of the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge indicate a slight decrease in the embalmed water in the Spanish swamps in the last week. The reservoirs have passed to be at 68.4% of its capacity to 67%. A fall is significant of more than one percentage point In a week it is significant even taking into account that we are in summer, more if we consider the fact that this has been a wet week in several areas of the Peninsula, such as the northern third, Catalonia or the Segura basin. The good news is that, despite this descent, the water reserve It is maintained Above the average in the last five and ten years, and also above its level now a year ago. Different trends. This does not mean that the rains have not been worth In hydrographic data: the internal basins of Catalonia and that of the Segura have been the only two that They have resisted the pull this week. The former have managed to maintain their level of filling at 77.5%; And the second has seen its swamps to increase in volume compared to the previous week, moving from an average filling of 28.7% to 28.8%. In contrast, the internal basins of the Basque Country went from being at 90.5% of its capacity at 85.4%. With regard to the big basins, they all lost water, but the decrease was more marked in the Ebro, whose swamps went from being at 77.5% of their capacity to being at 74.4%, below the Catalan basins. A complicated August. August does not seem aimed at bringing an improvement in the situation. Monthly predictions The State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) indicates that the weeks ahead will be warmer and drier than it would correspond to the first weeks of August. The anomaly in rainfall will be mild, but will affect most of the country over the next weeks. Regarding the anomaly at temperature this will be more irregular. While we can expect a thermal anomaly between three and five degrees in most of the country, next week it is possible that the East Peninsular will see temperatures even somewhat lower than normal for these dates. In Xataka | The next great drought is a matter of time. It is the one we have to solve the problem of sediments in reservoirs Image | Niels Baars

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