Oppo rearma in Europe based on AI, quality and durability to try to conquer a saturated market

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In recent years, Oppo has gone through a Restructuring stage in its global strategy. While in 2022 and 2023 the company had to leave several European markets due to different Legal disputes with Nokialittle by little he is returning with a renewed strategy to consolidate your presence in a market that over the years is increasingly competitive. Currently Oppo is the Fifth brand that sells more devices in China And, together with OnePlus, it is part of the conglomerate BBK Electronicsthat also controls brands as live and realme. Its expansion in Europe Not only does it seek to recover the land lost so farbut also position yourself solidly in the competitive segment of the mid -range with devices as interesting as the new OPPO RENE13 SERIES. As is We already did in 2023we have had the opportunity to spend a few minutes with Billy Zhang, vice president of OPPPO and currently responsible for the brand outside China in addition to Neil Monger, director of OPPO product marketing for Europe, to understand how the company’s strategy is evolving and what role the new Oppo renov13 play throughout this process. OPPO’s strategy to continue growing in Europe Regarding what are Oppo’s intentions in our territory, Billy Zhang explained that the brand No specific market share objectives are set or income in Europe. “Our approach is to understand the market well and offer high quality products and services. The results will be a consequence of how good we can meet demand,” he said. The Oppo Reno13 is the great bet of the mid -range brand Currently, Oppo has made its presence in Europe one of the most important in the sector and is that, as in China, it is also the Fifth brand that sells more devices in the European market. During 2024 He managed to register a Growth of 13% and reach a total of 4.1 million devices soldso its dimensions are increasingly important within our territory. One of the keys to its strategy is being the investment in retail. The company has announced an investment of 500% in the coming years to strengthen its presence both in its own e-commerce and in marketplaces and Amazon seeking not only to improve distribution, but also to offer a more accessible purchase experience and close to the European consumer while reinforcing its presence in the largest possible number of means. “Our approach is to understand the market well and offer high quality products and services. The results will be a consequence of how good we can meet demand.” In addition, something that caught our attention is that Zhang said that “a product always has to meet the user’s needs as he expects”, but “he cannot sacrifice the profit margin just to enter a price war.” At this point, Oppo clearly seeks unmark the strategy of other Chinese brands They seek to offer as much as possible. Of phones folding to artificial intelligence, what has changed in OPPO? The smartphones market changes rapidly, there is no doubt about that. In 2022, Zhang said that “perhaps in five years we are very important in the global folding phone market. Maybe number one.” However, the panorama has changed since, although Oppo continues to bet on folding With models such as OPPO FIND N3now the artificial intelligence It is the central axis of its strategy because the market claims. According to Neil Monger, The AI ​​is among the three functions most demanded by userstogether with the camera and design, so they have had to adapt their strategy towards that direction. Monger says that his approach is to “optimize and make accessible the functions of the AI ​​that already exist to offer a durable and quality experience” and, obviously, that has made its Partnership With Google it is essential today. Oppo’s AI has become one of its basic pillars In addition, I also wanted to ask about the possible additional cost when using the service that could come in the future, and the answer was very clear: Oppo does not plan to monetize the functions of AI on its devicesalthough it does not rule out exploring business models around them. “As technology progresses, costs will be reduced and we will find the best time to evaluate new options.” According to Neil Mongger, the AI ​​is among the three functions most demanded by users, together with the camera and design Does this mean that the company will set aside other projects to give AI ABSOLUTE? It is evident that no. Folding models are still very present within the company’s catalog and even mid -range devices are also being very reinforced to get a greater presence in the market, so everything seems to be much more focused on meet your customers than anything else. What a difference from the reinde13 from the rest of the devices from their competition During this interview there was something that surprised me a lot and that, among the aspects most valued by European consumers when buying a phone, we met the Durability of devices. Oppo has responded to this demand improving the materials and the construction of the reindeer13, again, with the clear intention of listening to what your community and the market in general. The brand claims to have introduced “Aerospace grade aluminum frames, increasing flexion resistance by 20% and water resistance by 36%”, so that on that side it seems that we can be calm. In fact, During the presentation itself We were able to verify that the reinde13 equip specific camera modes for use equipment under waterso they have really taken it seriously. Another key point is software support. While marks like Google, Samsung and even honor They already offer up to seven years of updates in their high ranges, Oppo has extended its five -year support in the Reno13ensuring that devices will keep at least 80% of their original performance capacity during that period. The doubt that assaults us now both in Oppo and in many other brands is whether … Read more

Mediamarkt’s best offers during his Flower Power campaign. IPhone mobile, Nintendo and more

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Mediamarkt has begun the spring time opening a new campaign called Flower Power. Until next March 31 We can take advantage of the numerous offers that the store has launched, so in this article we have gathered the five best offers in Apple mobiles, Nintendo consoles, sound bars and more. iPhone 16 Pro by 1,099 eurosa minimum historical price in one of the best purchase options within the Apple mobile catalog. Nintendo Switch Oled + ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder’ by 359 eurosan interesting pack that includes both the console and a video game (the pack appears below, just below the price of the console). iPhone 16E by 659 eurosApple’s last mobile has dropped (more) in price. ‘Death Stranding: On The Beach‘ by 59.99 eurosHideo Kojima’s next video game can be reserved cheaper by adding it to the shopping basket. Sonos Beam Gen 2 by 369 eurosa very good sound bar with Wi -Fi and Alexa incorporated. iPhone 16 Pro We have been finding very good discounts on the different Apple devices for several months, and this time Mediamarkt wanted to hit the table to launch the one that is one of the best for the moment. He iPhone 16 Pro has dropped to 1,099 euros in what has become a New historical minimum price. So far, we had not found the iPhone 16 Pro so cheap, and in this case it is the model in its 128 GB configuration. The highlight of Apple’s mobile is Rear cameras modulehe camera control buttonwhich can be very useful at certain times, and its excellent construction .. * Some price may have changed from the last review Nintendo Switch Oled + Super Mario Bros. Wonder Mediamarkt, as we usually see, has re -launched a good discount on a pack that has been taken out of the sleeve. The store has a Nintendo Switch Oled Next to the video game ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder‘For alone 359 euros. To access the offer we have to look just below the price of the console, since The store has not opened a pack file because it is a temporary offer. Nintendo Switch Oled + Super Mario Bros. Wonder * Some price may have changed from the last review iPhone 16E He iPhone 16E It was launched with certain criticism related to its price. The good thing is that it was launched with an offer, and the best thing is that now we have even cheaper. Mediamarkt has dropped (even more) the price of Apple’s mobile and now we have it for 659 euros. The 16E iPhone stands out mainly for the performance provided by chip A18, for compatibility (when available) Apple Intelligence and for its good autonomy. * Some price may have changed from the last review ‘Death Stranding: On The Beach’ There is a lot of expectation for ‘Death Stranding: On The Beach‘, and it is not surprising. Hideo Kojima raised an interesting premise in his previous installment that left us wanting to know a lot, much more. Sam Porter has a new appointment with us on June 26although we can “advance” reserving the video game in Mediamarkt. Because? Basically because adding it to the purchase basket stays for 59.99 euros Instead of 79.99 euros, a good price for a video game that has not yet been released. Death Stranding 2: On The Beach (MediaMarkt offer only by adding the video game to the shopping cart) * Some price may have changed from the last review Sonos Beam Gen 2 If what we are looking for is to give an extra touch of power (and quality) of audio to our TV, and we look for something that is good, beautiful and not too expensive, the sound bar Sonos Beam Gen 2 Now it has a most interesting price. By 369 euros We can have a sound bar at home with Bluetooth and Wifi which includes voice assistant Alexa. In addition, it has a compact and elegant design, it works with AirPlay 2 and with Google Assistantoffers a very good audio quality and is compatible with Dolby Atmos. * Some price may have changed from the last review Some of the links of this article are affiliated and can report a benefit to Xataka. In case of non -availability, offers may vary. Images | Apple, Nintendo, Kojima Productions, Sonos In Xataka | Best iPhone. Which to buy and recommended models based on budget, tastes and quality price In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which to buy and seven recommended models from 140 euros

Digital serendipia is in danger of extinction. Internet understands us too well

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Serendipia, that valuable finding that happens while we were looking for something else, It is in the process of extinction if we talk about the Internet. The increasingly precise recommendation algorithms have locked us in bubbles of very comfortable convenience, but also sterile. We no longer lose ourselves on the Internet – from there the “navigate” -. And that is the problem. I think of my adolescence, in the first decade of this century. An any night, listening to Rock & Gol, who combined rock and football, wanted to hear comments on that glorious stage of Valencia, but suddenly something different sounded. It was not the commercial pop of melancholic latest adalescents (“I loved it so much …!”), Nor the first Reggaeton that we met. Was ‘E-Pro’, from Beck. Those four minutes changed my perception of what music could be. Today I do not seem to me from the other Thursday, but at that time it made me want to hear a type of music that until then did I know. It was an accident, a fortuitous collision with something that I had never actively looked for because I didn’t even know that it existed. He simply reached my ears without ever having reproduced anything similar. Today, with Spotify suggesting songs millimetrically refined to my tastes – declored and inferred, Grrr – I wonder Where are those transformative accidents for current adolescents. It is a paradox: the more sophisticated the technology becomes to “meet us”, the less opportunities we have to know something really new. Our algorithms have confused “relevance” with “familiarity”, offering us barely noticeable variations of what we already consume. As Antonio Ortiz said in “Internet was dopamine, AI will be oxytocin“, We have optimized platforms to maintain our attention, not to expand our horizons. Captive, not creative. When was the last time you discovered something really unexpected in your Feed? Not something tangential to your usual interests, but something totally new, discordant, something that made you rethink ideas and expand towards a new taste. The digital explorer of yesteryear, which sailed hyperlink in hyperlink to the final P2P, has been replaced by the passive consumer that slides the finger in an infinite flow of pre -healing content. In its improvement, The algorithms have eliminated friction, and with it, the generative spark of the disagreement. It is not good news. The horny is that this algorithmic refinement comes just when we need divergent thinking. The real innovation, which changes paradigms instead of optimizing the existing, arises precisely from unexpected connections, from the collision between disparate ideas. Silicon Valley was built on serendipias: Stewart Brand finding inspiration in the native Americans to create the Whole Earth CatalogSteve Jobs captivated by calligraphy which would end up deeply influencing the design and DNA of the Mac. Until the very concept of hypertext he was born from an analogy with how the human mind works: not linearly, but by unexpected associations. It is not just a matter of innovation. Also of civic health. Before, physical newspapers forced us to pass pages where we found, unintentionally, discordant opinions with ours. Now Discover is in charge of filtering. Now, ours feeds They are so Tunis that can spend months without giving ourselves with an idea that really confront our convictions. The algorithm, in its eagerness to maximize our permanence time, serves only what confirms our presuppositions. Or in the case of X, What will make us foam through our mouths. This overallization of digital consumption has created a strange phenomenon: we had never had access to so much information and yet our mental worlds are increasingly narrow. The variety has been sacrificed at the altar of personalized experience. It is still symptomatic that some of the most powerful voices after these designs They do not want to put their own creations in the hands of their children. We go to an internet where each click It is premeditated, where the following recommendation is predictably interesting. In the name of efficiency we are sacrificing that glorious digital disorder That, like garbage DNA in our genome, could contain the germ of the next great innovation or simply those findings that change the cultural consumption of the rest of our life. I wonder how many songs of Beck – not songs by the Californian musician, but the concept of music that breaks with our previous beliefs – we are missing, especially today’s teenagers, trapped in loops of algorithmically perfectly perfectly sterile content. Maybe it’s time for demand the right to digital serendipia. To ask ourselves if we want an internet that understands us too well or one that may still surprise us. In Xataka | Shy from the world, we are losing the Internet Outstanding image |

The US was prepared for total destruction in the cold war. This map for nuclear apocalypse illustrates it

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The launch of Nagasaki and Hiroshima atomic bombs It was a turning point. Practically, marked the end of the Second World War while starting a Cold war in which the United States and Russia were carried away by nuclear ecstasy. The two powers engaged in a nuclear career without controlbut it is not that they developed the crazy bombs: there were also lists of enemy objectives. And on an interactive map prepared by Future of Life We can see about 1,000 objectives to which the United States would launch a nuclear bomb. But there were many more. The map. In 2015, a study of the United States Strategic Air Command was declared – SAC – that showed a thousand potential objectives in the case of nuclear war. If this possibility flew over the heads of some with the recent Ukraine War, imagine the stage in a cold war in which you could have the feeling that the enemy could squeeze the “button” at any time. There are more than 800 pages in which the objectives of these strategic bombings with nuclear weapons are detailed to erase any enemy presence. In it map From the George Washington University we can not only appreciate some of the main objectives, but the secondary objectives of each of them. For example, if we select Berlin, we can see the objective list And consequences of that study of 1956. Beyond the cities, another priority was the aerodromes, keys to a Soviet counterattack, specifically those located in Belarus. Easting east. Apart from military objectives such as strategic points and aerodromes, the listIt includes more than 1,200 cities of the Soviet block. It is where we can see that more dots are gathered on the map of Future of Life and range from cities of Eastern Germany to China. Moscow would fall into the Red Square, directly (and on this map we can see the Impact of different bombs in any city). The Asian giant, will fight or not next to the Soviet block in case of war, was something that did not matter to SAC. He treated them as hostile, selecting military objectives, but also the Beijing capital. And something that several of the bombed cities have in common is that the SAC already assumed objectives of “population.” The bombs. The plan was well mounted because there was not only a list of objectives, but also the type of weapons that would be used. They would use a combination of atomic and thermonuclear weapons with yields between 1.6 to 15 megatons. Far from the 50 megatons of the Soviet Zar pump, but much more than the 16 kilotons of Little Boy and the 21 kilotons of Fat Man, which wreaked havoc in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, respectively. The megabomba. We have talked about the tsar pump, or tsar bomb, and in the United States there was also talk of it in 1956. It is not only the bomb that has caused the largest nuclear explosion so far, but it was 3,000 times more powerful than ‘Little boy’. The Russians had that bomb and the United States wanted an equal. In the declassified material, it is detailed how the SAC wanted a 60 megatones bomb. Not only did they identify him as something key in order to be tremendously deterrent but, in case of Soviet surprise attack, they could launch it at a strategic point to “ensure significant results even with a very small force.” In that nuclear ecstasy, the nuclear physicist Edward Teller (“Father” of the bomb H) proposed 1,000 metatones dissositive and up to 10 gigatons. 10 gigatons equals explosive power 670,000 times greater than that of the Hiroshima bomb. Luckily they did not do it, since affirmed that “would contaminate the earth”In the end, the US did not develop such a monstrous bomb. Nor the 60 megatones that the SAC wanted. And the media. And, within the plan, it also specified how the pumps would be launched. There were two systems: for the delivery of B-47 bombers, the United States would use its bases in the United Kingdom, Morocco and Spain. They would also use the B-52 from the US, although they were starting their journey. For the missile system, the eyelets would be loaded in the Snark, Rascal, Cross Bow and IRBM missiles. The first was a failure in the evidence and the great priority of President Eisenhower were the IRBM. These intermediate -reach ballistic missiles projected scope of up to 2,700 kilometers and the idea was to deploy them and throw them from the United Kingdom. Insured mutual destruction. But well, the United States had its Soviet axis attack plan, but the USSR also had its own. In the Soviet plans the Western military infrastructure, the industrial centers and large cities in both the US and its allies entered. They would do it by hydrogen pumps, tactical pumps that could mount on torpedoes and missiles released from mobile platforms. But although the logic could not reign in the massive development of weapons, the fear and that position of both ‘Mad’ countries did, or ‘insured mutual destruction’ that marked that, if a country launched a nuclear attack, automatically the other would respond with a proportional force. This led to threats over the years (such as the deployment of American missiles in Türkiye and Italy or the subsequent crisis of Cuba missiles, but fortunately it did not reach more. And what happens today. In 1986, the two countries reached the zenith of their nuclear arsenal and, from that moment, they dismantled much of their arsenal. The USSR came to have more than 40,000 heads while the United States reached 23,317, but as we say, different pacts and that tension that dissipated with the fall of the Berlin wall caused them to get rid of much of its arsenal. The problem is that other countries -china- have developed and are found enhancing its own nuclear arsenaland in recent years there is a kind of new … Read more

The eggs are so expensive in the US that a new phenomenon ravages on the border with Mexico: its smuggling

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The egg crisis continues to whip the United States. Also Many other countriesbut the United States is starring in a time when the price of eggs is true Economic thermometer. After an increase of more than 50% year -on -year in January of this year and some forecasts of increases of more than 41% throughout 2025, there are those who are already resorting to something worthy of the dry law or the prohibited products. Because yes, there is something that concerns US border agents as much as drug trafficking: illegal traffic of Mexican eggs. Egg. The United States has lived for years a negative spiral in regards to its eggs. Just a year ago we echoed how US consumers warned that His eggs were increasingly fragilefinding more and more pieces of shell when they broke them. It is the result of a cluster of factors: a Aviar flu that has ended with millions of birds and the need to sacrifice as many millions, as well as the need for keep to their heavier laying chickens more time in activity. The more the chicken, the less eggs and of lower quality it produces, but the farmers are forced to keep them because the consumption wheel cannot stop. And national production is already quite touched. In summary: there are no eggs and the demand is still there, which has caused the Average price From a dozen eggs it would reach $ 4.95 in January and $ 5.90 in February. Eggs smuggling. The worst has not happened: not only is it not expected, as we say, that the situation improves, but that two festivities such as the Jewish Easter of April 12 and the Christian Easter on April 20 are approaching, in which the eggs have a leading role. The shortage is causing restaurants that charge a surcharge if an egg plate is requested and the illegal import of eggs is already a topic of conversation in the country. A case that demonstrates the unreal situation is the one that recounts The Wall Street Journal: In one of the border steps of El Paso, in Texas, the agents stopped a vehicle with almost 30 kilos of methamphetamine, but what really caused their alarms to jump were several egg trays that also went in the vehicle. Because, given this situation, there are already those who are happening Mexican and Canadian eggs within the American border. Booming interceptions. According to the CBP, which is the US Customs and Border Protection office, “eggs interceptions” have increased 36% in this fiscal year. In Texas it has increased by 54%, but in other areas it has doubled. Roger Maier is the spokesman of the CPB in El Paso and does not discover America by stating that “the price difference is the reason: it is approximately one third of what it costs in the United States.” When we talk about the dozen costing $ 5.90 on February, we talked about that, an average. They can find themselves cheaper, but also much more expensive. There are cities in which prices are more than $ 10 per dozen. In Mexico, they are below two dollars, so it is so attractive to put them illegally in the country. I go shopping to Mexico. And here there are two other added problems. There may be anyone who wants to trade with those eggs, but border agents comment that what are being found are many travelers who cross from one country to another with dozens of eggs for personal use and are not aware that they are prohibited products. If they declare the load, there are no problems, but many do not and try to hide the eggs in different ways inside the vehicle. Added difficulty. When they are caught, the eggs are requisitioned and, as with other products, they are taken to incinerators in which they carbonize. To curl the curl, during Easter, Mexicans empty and decorate eggs. They fill them with confetti and other elements and cannot be eaten (there is no food matter there), but in the WSJ article the agents already comment that they will have to make sure that these eggs, called ‘Cascarones‘, they really don’t have any egg inside. National measures. The authorities’ response to this problem is a series of actions to help fight the price escalation. On the one hand, the US Department of Agriculture has allocated 1,000 million dollars that add up to 2,000 million since 2022 to improve biosecurity in farms, help affected farmers and investigate vaccines. On the other hand, more eggs are importing from countries that comply with US sanitary norms. As a short -term solution, they want to import eggs, but it is always key that the sanitary standards are met, since each country has its own. Türkiye, for example, has already begun to export Containers with 15,000 tons of eggs. Search for solutions -legals-. There are also people who do not resort to the smuggling of eggs, but to the search for alternatives so as not to depend on a market that has become a real Russian mountain. One of those solutions is … to rent chickens. For 600 dollars, six months, a company rents you A two chickens kitadvice and what is necessary to maintain them this time. The direct accounts do not come out: if two chickens put 12 eggs a week, there are 312 eggs in those six months, united in 26 dozen. Five dollars the dozen, there are $ 130 if you buy them directly. The problem is no longer the price, but there are establishments They run out of their daily cargo in just a few minutes. There are companies in the US that already rent chickens kits with chicken coop so that they give eggs for six months World problem. There is a lot of talk about the United States, but in other countries the thing is not much better. Spain, and Europe, are examples. The ghost of the aviar flu is there, … Read more

What if the constants of the universe are not so constant? We have taken an important step to know. The key is on the nuclear clock

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Atomic watches have meant a before and after in our ability to measure time in an outraged way. These types of watches are precise at such a level that some of the most exact ones would be discouraged in less than a second at the time in which the universe has been existing. Despite this, these watches are not precise enough to solve one of the most important unknowns in physics. Closer to the nuclear clock. Now, however, we are a little closer to achieving a milestone that can open the door to solve this type of doubts, Nuclear watches. These watches will allow us to advance several orders of magnitude in the creation of time measurement apparatus, ultra -precise watches to investigate the new physics. From atomic to nuclear. The nomenclature can lead to confusion, and when we talk about atomic watches and nuclear watches we are not talking about the same technology. While the mechanism of atomic watches depends on the state of excitation of the atom electrons; in the Nuclear watchesthis depends on the particles in nucleus. As its name indicates. Atomic watches depend on the transitions in the state of their electrons. When they absorb energy, they can “jump” in their state. Jumps that can be reversed, only when this occurs, it is the electron that emits energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation. Something similar occurs in the nucleus of atoms, only that, being the most isolated nucleus of other physical interactions external to the atom, the transitions of their subatomic particles would be even more precise and reliable than those that occur in the atomic “shell” formed by electrons. Torio-229. To make a nuclear clock work, we also need to transfer energy to the atom, to its nucleus, of course. When we hit the nucleus with a specific frequency of electromagnetic radiation, we can change its energy state, as if it were a switch. Nuclear watches, such as atomic, would only have to tell the energy changes in this context. The problem is that causing these jumps in the atomic nucleus is also more difficult. The main difficulty is to excite atomic nuclei enough to cause the “jumps.” To do this we must hit these coherent X -rays nuclei, a high frequency X -ray type and therefore high energy. So much that, in general we do not have the necessary instruments to produce them. “In general”. And, as with electrons, not all these “jumps” require the same energy. Almost half a century ago, researchers realized that the isotope atomic nuclei Torio-229 (229th) It had a jump that required the energy equivalent to that of ultraviolet light. When requiring less energy, building a laser capable of transferring energy to the nucleus, it became Something feasible. Half a century of work. The “Nuclear Transition” of Torio It was discovered in 1976. But that was just the beginning. And it would not be until 2016 that we would observe and measure it. Measure it is key, since if we want to force the transition we must know the exact frequency with which we have to “bombard” the atomic nucleus of this isotope to be able to force it and activate the process. How close are we really? A few months ago, a group of researchers He tested Some of the key elements behind this technology, which allows us to get an idea of ​​how close we are to be able to create a nuclear clock based on 229th. The team tested an ultraviolet laser capable of creating precise energy to force jumps in the state of the nucleus. He also studied a “frequency grid” to directly measure these jumps. In addition, they also studied the transition from Torio-229. The details of the study were Published in an article In the magazine Nature. From dark matter to universal constants. And all this for what? Do we really need more precise watches than atomic? The truth is that this new technology would have important benefits, first for the scientific community, but also for all citizens. These watches They can help us to improve technologies such as GPS and other navigation systems; And also global Internet synchronization, also making the connection faster and safer communications. We would also open the door to more precise measurements that help us clarify some of the mysteries that persecute physicists such as dark matter. Maybe more importantly, these watches could help us develop experiments that resolve One of the most important doubts of physics, the one of universal constants They are really constant And they do not change depending on factors such as the age of the universe or the frame of reference in which we find ourselves, as we until now assumed. In Xataka | Cosmologists are increasingly clear where the most energy particles in the universe come from Image | Nsit

Europe’s access depends on the United States. ESA has presented a strategic plan to become independent

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Guarantee the technological autonomy of Europe in space will be key in the rearma of the European Union. He ESE Strategic Plan For the next 15 years it has just made it clear. The document, entitled “Strategy 2040: raising the future of Europe”, establishes as one of the priorities of the space agency to strengthen autonomous access to orbit and independent from NASA. At what point is that. With an annual budget of 7.7 billion euros, the European Space Agency has a powerful scientific exploration program: it has just presented The first Euclid space telescope data set, He is on his way to Jupiter’s icy moons with Juice and Has Hera traveling to the Dimorfo asteroid as a spatial defense mission. ESA also develops the Galileo navigation system of the European Commission, which is more precise than the American GPSis behind one of the most advanced land observation programs that exist: the constellation of Sentinel satellites, which is part of the European Copernicus program. Also together with the European Commission, ESA just closed An agreement of 10,000 million euros (between public and private funds) to build the constellation of Iris2 satellites. The objective: reduce the strategic disadvantage of Europe in front of the Starlink constellation and the incipient Chinese constellations. Europe also has a wide network of observatories and the ability to communicate with deep space with antennas in Madrid, Argentina and Australia. In fact, one of the NASA deep space network stations (DSN) has A station operated by INTA in Robledo de ChavelaMadrid, from where he communicates with his Martian rovers and other probes. What depends on NASA. ESA does not have its own spacecraft to transport astronauts. From the veto to Russia and its Soyuz capsules, it depends exclusively on the Crew Dragon ships of Spacex to access the International Space Station, either in NASA long -term missions or in commercial missions of short duration of the AXIOM company. The same thing happens with the Artemis missions to the moon. ESA is one of NASA’s most important partners in its lunar program. Plans to carry up to 1,500 kg of load With each flight of the Argonaut lunar moduleand has contributed a key component of the manned ship Orion: the service module. However, NASA has prioritized the presence of a Canadian astronaut in the Artemis II mission and A Japanese astronaut In the future of the launning. The giant’s rear. While that collaborates closely with NASA in many important missions, such as the detection of objects close to Earth, James Webb space telescope or the mission of recovery of land samples mars mars sample return (Now in pause), Much of its infrastructure follows the rear of the American space agency. Especially in launching capacity. In addition to the best funded space agency (25.4 billion dollars of annual budget), the United States has the most buoyant and advanced private space industry in the world. Spacex puts 80% of the mass that is launched globally a year, and is the only company, along with Rocket Lab, which usually reuses its pitchers. In recent years, Europe has had to launch some of its most important missions (including Galileo strategic satellites) in Falcon 9 rockets of Spacex for an internal crisis of pitchers. The European plan. For all the above, added to the political context, one of the central objectives of the EES in its Strategy 2040 is to reduce the dependence of the United States in spatial matters. A good part of their future public contracts will be oriented to boost the growth and competitiveness of the European private space industry. The goal is to generate more than 250,000 jobs related to space in Europe. At the same time, ESA will take advantage of its research facet to collaborate more closely with European universities in the development of new generation technologies. For this they need to attract talent to the careers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, so it starts from the work will be inspired by young people with space missions and the communication work of their astronauts, Among them Pablo Álvarez and Sara García. Reusable rockets. European releases have been stagnant in an inefficient duopoly: heavy satellites are thrown with French Ariane rockets and light satellites do it aboard Italian rockets Vega. Ariane 6 and Vega C are barely beginning to operate normally after erratic years, but its disposable nature puts Europe in a vulnerable situation against Spacex and the US New Space. Things are going to start changing. The German company Isar Aerospace could become this March 24 In the first European company that launches a commercial rocket, the Spectrum, to the land orbit. The Spanish PLD Space hopes to do it at the end of the year with the Miura 5ura rocket. There are only two examples of the effervescent panorama of European microlanzores, but all have in common the support of the ESA and ambitious plans to turn their rockets into reusable. Pld ha announced even a manned ship called lynx. At the forefront. Recovering the lost terrain with its own reusable rocket ecosystem and manned ships is only part of the plan. ESA also plans to expand its satellite constellations, lead the world in the elimination of space garbage, participate in future orbital stations and lunar bases, and develop high thrust engines such as Spacex or Blue Origin, for which you have granted A contract to the Spanish company PANGEA AEROSPACE. He does not expect to have everything ready suddenly, but the strategic plan projects an increase in launches from 2030 and an increasing capacity to launch heavier loads at more distant orbits, without depending on foreign pitchers and without neglecting the development of other technologies, such as advanced communications systems and autonomous capabilities for asteroid surveillance. In short, give the 23 member states that finance ES an autonomous access to space. A matter of money. In return, the European Space Agency asks Europe for something very concrete: more money. Its budget is less … Read more

North Korea has built a “Manhattan” of 10,000 apartments … only for the most loyal to Kim Jong-un

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We could say without fear of being wrong that North Korea has a very clear plan in an economic key for this 2025: open (A little) abroad. How much? It will depend, not only on the nation itself, but on the rest of the countries and the ability to seduction for tourists from outside. Wonsan It will be the cornerstone that will define the rest of that expansion. And the locals? For them there is also great news: a new mega district in the capital, although it will not be for everyone. Hwasong and what we don’t know. North Korea has proudly revealed its new residential district of no less than 10,000 homes in Pyongyanga work that remembers the famous New York enclave and that symbolizes both the propaganda desire of the regime and some of its internal contradictions. Located In Hwasongthe new neighborhood of imposing skyscrapers and large avenues has been presented through the state agency KCNA as a sample of the Kim Jong leader’s commitment a with the improvement of the level of urban living. The official inauguration is scheduled for April 15day that, of course, has not been chosen randomly, since the birth of Kim Il Sungfounder of the country and grandfather of the current leader. The new urbanization represents the third stage of a ambitious five -year plan announced in 2021 for Build 50,000 apartments In the capital, an objective that is inserted into a greater offensive to renew infrastructure in a country whipped by poverty, international isolation and a wobbly economy. Luxury on the outside, doubts inside. Despite the images that show modern buildings and an architecture urbanistically imposing, including two towers linked by a bridge High, reality can be far from a luxury standard. Counted in a wide CNN report That, in North Korea, life on high floors is complicated due to the frequent power cuts left by inoperative elevators. In fact, that is the reason why the floors are assigned based on age of residents: young people occupy the upper floors, while the elderly receive units at low levels. This organization illustrates how structural deficiencies camouflage under a facade of urban modernization. Although Pyongyang enjoys conditions significantly better than other areas of the country, housing in rural regions and mining cities They are still precariouswith limited access to electricity, drinking water or basic sanitation services. The new district in Hwasong The modernization plan. The Hwasong project is not an isolated case. Adds to other recent urbanizations such as Look Scientists Street and Songhwa Streetthis last home of the second highest tower in the country, completed in 2022. All efforts of the regime to show a renewed image of the nation, while they underpin the cult of the personality of Kim Jong Un. Plus: As the state press explained, the leader has been directly involved in the design and planning of the new district, repeating the classical narrative of the regime that associate each achievement with your address staff. In fact, even constructions are designed to reinforce the country’s privilege system. As? Housing are assigned by the Government to people loyal to the regime or considered strategically usefulsuch as scientists, engineers or allegates of the party. Inequality. A report From the South Korean Institute of Civil Engineering and Construction Technology, it estimated that North Korea has enough homes only for 70% to 80% of their homes. Beyond Pyongyang, the housing situation seems critical. Despite the new projects in mining and rural areas, these works depend on the forced labor of soldiers and civilians, which work in hard conditions and Without worthy remuneration. Plus: Construction in North Korea is mainly driven By the popular armywhose participation not only responds to the magnitude of the works, but also to an ideological logic: each brick becomes a piece of propaganda that reinforces the image of the State as a modernizing force. Facade of glass. Although the regime promotes the speed with which it rates skid (as the case of the 70 -story building in Ryomyong New Town whose structure was completed in just 74 days), experts have expressed concern about The quality of the materials and technical supervision. In 2014, the collapse of a building in Pyongyangwhich allegedly housed dozens of families, highlighted the risks of an accelerated construction without adequate controls. The state press attributed the disaster to An “irresponsible supervision”without providing dead figures or assuming clear responsibilities, in a country where transparency is little less than non -existent. “Military” construction. It is another of the legs on which the civil “work” is sustained. The military apparatus it’s a central role In all these developments. With More than one million soldiers In active duty and a mandatory conscription system of at least ten years since the age of 17, the state labor becomes the main engine of these works. Even after serving their service, former soldiers are usually integrated into civil paramilitary forceswhich consolidates a system in which the population remains subject to state control through military obedience structures. Urbanization, therefore, not only responds to housing needs, but also to social surveillance and containment mechanisms. Reopening and isolation. In addition to everything described, the inauguration of the Hwasong district coincides with the first steps of North Korea Towards a reopening controlled after more than five years of closing by the pandemic. We have it: although the capital has remained mostly inaccessible, in 2024 the entry of A small group of Russian tourists. Another foreign group could only visit Rasona special economic zone near the borders with China and Russia. This still shy reopening context also serves as a backdrop to show internal achievements such as the new district, whose symbolic value exceeds the direct benefit that it can represent for North Korean citizenship. Seen this way, Hwasong is not only a residential district, but an emblem of how North Korea tries Project modernityhiding Behind concrete A reality closer to scarcity, control and structural inequality. Image | KCNA In Xataka | After years with its closed … Read more

Despite being one of the areas most affected by desertification, it is greener than 30 years ago

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On July 23, 1972, the first satellite of the Landsat program He left the Californian base of Vandenberg with the intention of thoroughly monitoring the surface of the Earth. During these 50 years, another more satellites have been completing the project by giving us the most precise radiography of the planet’s changes. A couple of years ago, a team from the University of Córdoba decided to see how Andalusia and its forests had changed. 28 years of images. That is what RESCATAR OF THE LANDSAT PROGRAM. Because what interested them were images capable of capturing information from certain electromagnetic spectra not visible to the human eye that allow studying the evolution of phenological changes (that is, changes in the relationship between climate and living beings). This is important because, traditional ‘field measurements’ They are not effective when monitoring extensive regions. That is, for years, we have been able to have a distorted image of reality. And what have they found? To start, that Andalusia is greener than 30 years ago. It is something that can collide, taking into account that Desertification processes seem to progress at a very fast pace in that same region of the country. But, on the other hand, it is something that We have seen all over the world. And why does this happen? According to Rafael Villarmain research on work He has just published in Ecological indicators, “The reasons are diverse and complex.” Things like “the abandonment of the fields after the rural exodus, the adaptation of plants itself to adverse climatic conditions (such as Pinus halepensis and Quercus ilex), The effects of atmospheric fertilization with CO₂, forest management and changes in conservation policies “could be some of them. However, as researchers point out, it is a statistical artifact. That is, Andalusia is average green; But if we look at concrete areas (such as Almería), this phenomenon does not occur or occurs very subtly. Aridity and desertification are also seen in NASA images. The example of the wild pine. The data of Cordoba researchers show how aridity shortens the season of Wild pine growth. It has also caused significant seasonal changes in the cork oak, the pine pine and the Piño Carrasco. And even growth seasons have been shortened in the olive tree and eucalyptus. But with wild pine the situation has been especially drastic. It seems a lie, but while Andalusia becomes greenera good part of it is suffering (and much). And what is all this for? Above all, to understand what is happening in our country and, incidentally, understand that reality is deeply paradoxical. Not only because two apparently contradictory results can be happening live and direct, but because we do not know what will happen in the future. Just looking closely at the world we live in and seeing how it changes we can prepare for the future. In that sense, “green” is always synonymous with hope. Image | Pilar Flores In Xataka | The forests move to the north: a study led by NASA has observed how trees take over the tundra

Navigating from Madrid to Lisbon, the pharaonic real dream that gave rise to the failed Channel del Manzanares

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The Manzanares river in Madrid has become one of the protagonists of recent days. March is being an extremely rainy month, so much that it has caused Solar energy ceases to grow in Spainbut has also caused the River overflow throughout the country. One of those rivers is Manzanares, which is usually a thread of water and Now it’s a torrent. But the river has not only become news for the increase in flow, but because during the works of Metro line 11 they have found a section of the real historical channel of Manzanares, an ambitious project that It was centuries on the table and that had a target target: join Madrid, Lisbon and Seville by boat. Felipe II’s dream Felipe II It is not just one of the most remembered kings in Spain: it may also be from Europe. Under his reign, The Spanish Empire reached its peak And it was a monarch interested in finance projects of several sciences. He also liked the sea, starting maritime engineering projects, stimulating the creation of large warships and the most ambitious of all: the idea of ​​making The main rivers of the peninsula were navigable. Another detail for which Felipe II is remembered is for the move of the capital of the country: he decided that Madrid would be the ideal location, so he transferred the court in full. But of course, Madrid did not have direct access to the sea and this was something important, especially for trade and those expansionist ambitionsso the project To open Madrid to the sea, he made eyes to the king. And the task fell into the hands of the Italian engineer Juan Bautista Antonelli. Nothing, something simple: Tajo, Duero, Guadalquivir and Ebro, among other rivers, would become navigable, with channels among them that would allow Madrid to have a way out of the sea and a river connection with some of the main cities of the country. For commerce, this was an extremely juicy idea between cities and between Madrid and European, Chinese, African and Indian cities. Fourth Lock of the Real Canal del Manzanares Felipe supported the project And he released funds to be carried out, but it was not going to be simple: a slope of more than 600 meters had to be saved and the necessary adjustments first to open Madrid and, later, that the 600 kilometers that separates the capital from the Atlantic coast were completely navigable. HE I would continue The route of the river and They would create 10 locks between the Toledo bridge and the Vaciamadrid jetty, many for a distance of just 20 kilometers. The capital would join with Aranjuez and, through the Tagus, it would have an exit to the Atlantic by Lisbon. A road was also projected to Seville. He did not set. Although the works are They started Among the Madrid and Alcantara Madrid nuclei, the money was not unlimited and the cocktail of technical difficulties, issues with private properties and, above all, The financing of the invincible Navycaused the money to be redistributed and the interior navigation project was saved in the drawer. He also influenced that, in 1588 Antonelli died and, in 1598, Felipe would. Madrid with double exit to the sea Later it was tried to recover, but the decisive moment came under the reign of Carlos III. Businessman Pedro Martinengo took the witness and presented In 1769 the project to recover the ambitious plan of Felipe II. The construction began in 1770 when Carlos III approved the proposal and the initial funds were in charge of Martinengo himself and private investors he had gathered. Under the direction of the businessman, the project advanced completing eight of the ten planned locks, but the costs were being tremendous and ran out of funds to continue. Martinengo had ruined, but Carlos III liked the projectso bought and thus officially became the Real Canal del Manzanares. The tenth lock Nor do we think that the monarch invested too much: he maintained what there was. Nor is it that he caught the economy at its most buoyant time and the river itself was not the most appropriate for navigation, since it needed water transvases to be able to operate correctly. Some companies were established, such as furnaces, but the channel was being underutilized. With Carlos IV, the thing didn’t improve either. Again, invested just as to maintain it, But in 1799 the disaster arrived: strong rains took part of the Gasco dam, a new construction on the Guadarraman that was the one that was taking the money. Another lock This set of misfortunes, and seeing that the Manzanares channel had been stagnant decades without contributing what was promised, caused the abandonment of the project until the arrival of a Fernando VII who tried to recover it, building the ninth and tenth lock and carrying the work until the vicinity of Vaciamadrid. But the work was not finished. Progress arrived Upon stopping, the channel was degrading, but the last nail in the coffin was the passage of time. In the time of Felipe II, the project could make sense. With Carlos III too, but already entered the 19th, things had changed a lot. The development of roads and, above all, the arrival of the railroad made the priorities change. Why keep investing a fortune to open Madrid to the sea when there were faster than the ship to transport goods? Apart from what The Manzanares channel looked like a money background wellin 1851 the Aranjuez train was inaugurated and, although with Isabel II some boats had sailed through the channel, in the second half of the 19th century it was decided to cut the tap of the funds. When not staying and being water is for a long time, health problems began to appear. The channel became a danger and, although maintenance work began again, around 1860 it was decided Cancel Definitely the pharaonic project. The irony: the railway bridge over the Manzanares … Read more

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