capital

Now a Chinese giant wants to turn it into the storage capital

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Navarra is a consolidated world leader in renewable energy, especially a leader in wind energy: back in 1994, it built its first park and since then it has not only dressed some of its most iconic mountains with wind turbines, but has also created a powerful business ecosystem around them that has earned it the nickname of being the Silicon Valley of wind turbines. The starting point. This industrial and technological tradition has laid the necessary foundations to be a pioneer in the next step of the energy transition. After almost three years of contacts and visits, Navarra has closed the agreement to install a Hithium Energy Storage battery gigafactory. As summarized the president of the Foral Community: “We know that China has decided to go out and invest in Europe and these are opportunities that Navarra cannot miss.” The project. The Government of Navarra together with Hithium Energy Storage will form a joint venture through the public company SODENA for the construction of a plant that will manufacture lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells and assemble complete stationary storage system batteries (BESS batteries). The agreement signed in China contemplates an investment of 450 million euros, according to Qui Tangdirector of Strategy at Hithium, and the creation of around 700 jobs, with the possibility of a second phase that would add about 300 more, as collects News from Navarra. Still with some to be closed, the start of production has been set for 2027 and the location with the most votes for its installation is the old BSH plant in Esquíroz/Ezkirotz, just five kilometers south of the Navarrese capital. Why is it important. The great pending issue for the European energy transition involves stationary batteries: without the capacity to store electricity generated by the sun and wind, the electrical system cannot absorb more renewables without compromising the stability of the network. Europe has a lot of installed generation and little of its own storage industry and that gap is precisely what Hithium comes to solve. On the other hand, manufacturing within the EU allows it to avoid tariffs and other bureaucracy that Brussels applies to Chinese energy products. For Navarra the impact has several levels. Beyond the obvious economic investment and employment, it represents a logical evolution: from becoming a benchmark in clean energy generation to becoming the manufacturing hub for the storage systems that will allow it to be managed. But Hithium will also be the second battery factory in Navarra: Hyundai Mobis already has its own in Noainalthough oriented towards electric vehicles. With this arrival, Navarra consolidates an industrial ecosystem around energy storage at the level of few European regions. Context. The movement comes at a time of reconfiguration of European industrial sovereignty against third parties through the Net-Zero Industry Act (NZIA). That Hithium chooses Navarra makes it possible for its production to carry the “Made in EU” label, thus complying with the sustainability and regulatory standards of the old continent. Navarra already had installed power and leading engineering companies, but it lacked the capacity to store energy. In the midst of the global energy crisis, demand for large-scale storage solutions has skyrocketed and Hithium was looking for a strategic port to supply the European market. The Foral Community has forged this agreement slowly, as the counselor explains of Industry, Ecological and Business Digital Transition of the Government of Navarra Mikel Irujo, after three years of negotiations and seven visits. In fact, Navarra has carried out a strategic project that was initially aimed at Euskadi, as ElDiario.es points out. Who is Hithium?. It may not be as well-known as CATL, BYD or Huawei, but Hithium Energy Storage Technology is a giant in its segment and is also a real teenager. Founded in 2019 in Xiamen (Fujian Province) by Wu Zuyu, engineer specialized in batteries and ex-CATLthe world’s largest manufacturer in the sector. Of course, unlike CATL, whose main business is batteries for electric vehicles, Hithium focuses exclusively in stationary storage for the electrical grid. Less media coverage than electric cars but essential for the energy transition. In record time she has gone from being unknown to becoming one of the leading manufacturers global stationary storage battery companies with a presence in more than 20 countries and more than 1,200 engineering professionals in a workforce of 8,000 people. The one in Navarra will be Hithium’s second factory outside of China (the other is in Dallas, Texas) and will be the company’s reference base for all of Europe. Yes, but. Although the agreement has been signed, Chivite itself has warned that there are still administrative steps pending and the location is still unclear. On the other hand, the joint venture with the participation of SODENA implies that the risk does not fall solely on Hithium: if the project is delayed or does not reach the objectives, the Navarrese citizens assume part of the consequences. The commitment to local employment is explicit and the Provincial government has promised to monitor itbut there are already precedents that invite caution. Leaving aside this specific case, there is a technological question that remains unanswered: Europe has foreign dependence on rare earths or semiconductors and this risk also affects batteries. It is true that a Chinese gigafactory on European soil generates local employment and produces within the EU, but the technology, intellectual property and strategic decisions continue to be made in China. In Xataka | The solar miracle that went wrong: Spain produces more electricity than it can manage In Xataka | We have a problem with heat in buildings. A Navarrese investigation knows how to cool them without air conditioning Cover | Hornsdale Power Reserve and Pamplona City Council

Saudi Arabia wants to invest 38 billion dollars to be the capital of gaming. The Iran war is going to ruin everything

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First it was footballafter video games. Saudi Arabia wants to become the world capital of entertainment at the stroke of a checkbook (and at the same time whitewash his authoritarian regime). Now their plans are in jeopardy because of the war in Iran. 38,000 million. This is what Saudi Arabia plans Invest to become a gaming powerhouse. However, the conflict in the region and Iran’s attacks have put their plans in check. In an interview during the Game Developers Conference echoed by Bloombergthe CEO of Savvy Games has said that “This escalation clearly does not benefit the region and will likely change or cool the perception of it as a stable and calm place where people want to go.” He hopes that the war will end soon and they can continue with their business plans. Entertainment capital. Savvy Games Group, subsidiary of the Saudi Sovereign Fund (the same as bought Electronic Arts for 50,000 million), has very ambitious plans for the region, such as the esports district in Qiddiya Citya megaproject focused on entertainment where there is giant amusement parksstadiums for video game competitions and much more. Their plans go beyond buying companies, they want to hold events that attract gaming enthusiasts. In 2025, Rihyad hosted the Esports World Cup, an event that lasted seven weeks and featured events related to up to 25 esports. They also want to attract foreign investment and large video game companies to move there. It sounds great, until the threat of Iranian drones appears and the dream is shattered. Vision 2030. All this is part of a long term plan promoted by Prince Mohamed bin Salmán since 2016, whose main objective is to diversify its wealth beyond oil and turn the country into an attractive destination for investors. This serves another purpose: to project a more moderate image beyond its borders. Iran attacks. Iran has targeted key infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, such as the Ras Tanura refinery and the Shaybah sitemilitary bases with American presence such as Prince Sultan and, on the rebound, even residential neighborhoods and diplomatic areas of Riyadh. Several of these attacks were intercepted, but it is clear that Saudi Arabia is a target for Iran. There are other companies concerned, such as Wynn Resorts, which is building the country’s first casino on the artificial island Al Marjan. They had to stop the works a few days ago due to the conflict, but They have already resumed work. Image | Wikipedia In Xataka | The US has turned off the tap on satellite images of the Iran war. A Chinese startup has left it open

The United Kingdom has opened the kamikaze drone that exploded at the European base. The surprise is capital: it is not from Iran, it is "made in Russia"

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In Ukraine, the drone remains knocked down have converted in one unexpected source of strategic information: Engineers and analysts often rebuild their interior piece by piece to trace their origin, their electronics, and the supply networks that make them. IF you want, a kind of “military archeology” or “war unboxing” that has become common practice in modern conflicts, where a single microchip or a navigation module can reveal geopolitical connections much broader than a simple attack appears. The same thing just happened, but in Iran. A drone and a new unknown. When a kamikaze drone hit against the British air base of RAF Akrotiri, in Cyprus, seemed like another episode within the increasing escalation of drone attacks in the Middle East. However, analysis of the remains of the device by British intelligence has revealed an unexpected detail: inside there was a Russian military navigation system Kometa-Ba sophisticated component designed to resist electronic interference and improve the precision of attacks. The discovery surprised British researchers because the device had been launched by a Iran-aligned group from Lebanon, making the incident the first tangible evidence of Russian military technology used in an attack within the regional conflict. In Xataka Satellite images have revealed that Iran knocked down four of the US’s eight unique defense systems. If they reach zero a new war begins The track that connects two wars. The Kometa-B system is not just any component. It is about of a module which had already been detected in drones intercepted on the Ukrainian front, where Russia uses it to improve the navigation of its weapons against Western electronic warfare systems. Finding it inside a drone that ended up exploding in a European military base suggests that some of that technology has come out from the Ukrainian theater of war and has reached the military ecosystem surrounding Iran. That technical detail has opened a new line of concern among Western intelligence services: the possibility that Moscow is providing equipment, electronics or technical knowledge that is increasing the effectiveness of Iranian attacks and those of its regional allies. An alliance that is becoming closer. The discovery fits within a strategic relationship which has been deepening since the start of the war in Ukraine. During the early years of the conflict, Iran provided Russia with technology to make drones of Iranian design (especially variants of the Shahed model) that Moscow has used massively against Ukrainian infrastructure. Over time, Russia began to produce their own versions already introduce improvements electronics and navigation. Now the indications are that some of that cooperation could have been invested: Components or systems developed in the Russian military industry would appear in weapons used by militias aligned with Tehran on other fronts. {“videoId”:”x89xg5y”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”American aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford – CVN 78″, “tag”:”Ships”, “duration”:”145″} Russian intelligence in the shadows. He discovery of the drone It also coincides with information from Western officials who claim that Moscow has been providing Iran with intelligence information on US military positions in the Middle East, including the location of warships and aircraft. I counted the weekend in an exclusive the Washington Post that such support could explain the increasing precision of some recent attacks against Western military infrastructure and radar systems. Iran has limited space capabilities, with very few of its own satellites, so access to data from Russian observation systems would be a significant advantage for planning more selective attacks. In 3D Games Children under 5 years old in 2026 will never have to work, according to Vinod Khosla. This is what the great era of AI abundance has in store for us Regional conflict with echoes of global war. If you also want, the appearance Russian technology in an attack against a British base suggests that the war in the Middle East could be becoming increasingly intertwined with the strategic confrontation that already exists between Russia and the West since 2022. For Moscow, an escalation that keeps the United States and Europe focused on another front may have strategic advantagesfrom the distraction over Ukraine to the rise in oil prices. Although the Kremlin has avoided getting directly involved in the war, and even Trump maintained in the last hours a first conversation telephone with Putin, the presence of your technology on the battlefield and suspicions about intelligence sharing point to a familiar pattern of indirect conflict: a scenario in which great powers do not fight each other openly, but their weapons, their data and their influence begin to appear in increasingly unexpected places and uncomfortable. Image | National Police of UkraineRAF/MOD In Xataka | The US has begun to take on one last suicidal mission: enter Iran to remove a 441 kg buried “treasure” that gives meaning to the war In Xataka | The war in Iran has confirmed what was sensed in Ukraine: battles are won long before the first missile is launched (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news The United Kingdom has opened the kamikaze drone that exploded at the European base. The surprise is capital: it is not from Iran, it is “made in Russia” was originally published in Xataka by Miguel Jorge .

A century ago Denmark built an island to defend its capital. Now it is full of tourists and is sold for ten million

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The world has started 2026 slope of an island linked to the Kingdom of Denmark, but Greenland is not the only island dependent on Copenhagen that makes headlines. In it Øresund Strait There is a small Danish island that in recent weeks has also sparked interest due to its history, status and (above all) ownership. His name is Flakfortet and in this case, unlike Greenland, there would be no problem with Donald Trump controlling it. Of course, first you would need to go through the cash register and pay 10 million euros. The reason: Flakfortet is actually an old military fortification built on an artificial island and in private hands that has just gone up for sale. What has happened? that the Danish real estate market has incorporated an unconventional piece: a maritime fort built on an artificial island. That’s what they advertise on their page. Lintrup & Norgarta Danish firm specialized in real estate that for a few weeks advertise the sale of the Flakfortet fortress, located in the Øresund Strait. The property is offered for 74.5 million of Danish crowns, equivalent to about 10 million dollars. “The island has modern facilities and historic structures and is visited by thousands of people each year,” highlights the agency. The announcement has attracted the attention of media outlets such as the German newspaper Bildthe specialized medium Yacht or the Danish public broadcaster TV2which specifies that the complex reaches 30,000 square meters (m2) and there are around 10,000 built. Among its facilities, the island includes a large marina and a heliport. But what is Flakfortet? A vestige of the First World War. And a huge and picturesque reminder of the turbulent start of the 20th century. Flakfortet is a maritime fortress built on Saltholmrevan artificial island built from tons and tons of stone, concrete and sand in the Saltholm Strait. In fact, it is located between saltholm island and Copenhagen. Flakfortet was not the result of a whim or megalomania. It was promoted at the beginning of the 20th century, after the Defense Agreement of 1909 with which an attempt was made to improve the fortifications (land and sea) that protect Copenhagen from enemy attacks. To be more exact, his works were developed between 1910 and 1916. And what was it used for? The idea was to shield neighboring Copenhagen by sea. Hence, Flakfortet was projected as a true fort, capable of hosting around half a thousand soldiers and equipped with powerful cannons. Danmarks Nationalleksikon remember which in its day was equipped with howitzers, half a dozen cannons and anti-aircraft artillery. However, its role during the two great conflagrations of the last century was rather modest. In fact, the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, with the project still uncompleted, frustrated the plans to equip it with modern howitzers. In the 40s it was occupied by the Wehrmacht and in the 50s it returned to Danish hands, although without much success. At the end of that same decade it closed as a naval anti-aircraft fort and during part of the 1960s it hosted the HAWK 541 Squadron of the Danish Air Force. Over time it was rented to the Copenhagen Sailing Union and was converted into a marina in the 1970s. And in recent decades? His military past is behind him. After the Danish army decided to abandon the fort the weapons were dismantled and the casemates abandoned. As the 20th century progressed, the soldiers gave way to sailors who arrived aboard sailboats, tourists and history lovers fascinated by the fortification’s past. The next major chapter of his chronicle was written in 2021, when Denmark sold the island to Malmökranen AB, a Swedish company that acquired it for around 400,000 euros. It may not seem like a lot of money, but the company had to invest significantly more to remodel the facilities and modernize its services, which includes a restaurant, a desalination plant that supplies the island with drinking water, and generators. These improvements, added to a ferry service that connected the island with Copenhagen and the interest aroused by the fort’s military past, explain why Flakfortet attracted up to 50,000 visitors in high season. Good business, right? If we ask Malmökranen right now, the business seems to involve more the sale of the island than its direct management. And it’s not something new. In 2015 the complex already looked for a buyer without much success. More than a decade later, its owners have decided to try again, asking for even more money for facilities that have a port and heliport. The agency in charge of the sale wait that the island will attract the interest of specialized investment firms or millionaires looking for a “secluded and quiet” property. Nor do they rule out that the Danish State itself decides to recover Flakfortet because it considers it “a critical infrastructure” and its location. If it is finally an individual who takes over its reins, they should keep in mind that they cannot do whatever they want with the old fort: since 2002 It is considered a historical monument, so any significant work must have the OK of Heritage. The island must also remain open to the public. Images | Wikipedia and Google Earth In Xataka | China has been dumping tons of sand into the ocean for 12 years. And now we are seeing islands emerging in the middle of nowhere

when Albacete set the record for a capital at -24ºC

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Europe has started 2026 with cold. Very cold. But even the icy winds that have hit part of the continent and the peninsula these days, sinking the thermometer below 15 ºC, they pale when compared to what Castilla-La Mancha experienced in the early stages of 1971. That year left a meteorological curiosity in Albacete, a record that has remained unbeatable since then in the historical records of the Aemet: the coldest temperature ever remembered in a provincial capital, neither more nor less than -24 degrees. The most curious thing is that not even that value (more typical of other Siberian latitudes) marks the record of cold registered by the agency in Spain. “Extreme values”. The Aemet not only helps us know the weather in the ‘future’, to know if this week it is going to rain or be sunny, we should dust off the winter scarves and gloves or we can give the anoraks a break. The agency also allows us to know what the weather was like in our cities 10, 30, 50 years ago… even more, almost a century ago, something that is possible thanks to its series of “absolute extreme values”. The service (available online) details the record measurements associated with each weather station since 1920. What does that mean? That we can know the record values ​​of rain, temperatures, snowfall or gusts of wind captured by each of the stations managed by Aemet in the 50 provinces of Spain, in addition to the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. Their data must be handled with some caution (especially in comparisons) because they are subject to important handicaps. Aemet does not clarify, for example, whether all the sensors have been operational for the same amount of time or how long each one has been working. Another key fact is that within the same region (or even locality) there may be thermal differences or significant rainfall. It all depends on where the sensor is installed. A station located in a port area may collect very different values ​​than another located within the same municipal area but in the heart of the urban area or in a higher area, such as an airport. In fact, it is not strange that Aemet has sensors that collect information near the terminals. provincial capital lowest temperature Date Madrid -15.2ºC 01/16/1945 Barcelona -10ºC 02/11/1956 Valencia -7.2ºC 02/11/1956 Saragossa -11.4ºC 02/05/1963 Seville -5.5ºC 02/12/1956 Malaga -3.8ºC 02/04/1954 Murcia -7.5ºC 01/16/1985 Palma de Mallorca -10ºC 02/12/1956 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 6.5ºC 03/27/1954 Alicante -4.6ºC 02/12/1956 Bilbao -8.6ºC 02/03/1963 Cordova -8.2ºC 01/28/2005 Valladolid -18.8ºC 01/03/1971 Victoria -21ºC 12/25/1962 To Coruña -4.8ºC 01/07/1985 Grenade -14.2ºC 01/16/1987 Oviedo -6ºC 01/07/1985 Santa Cruz de Tenerife 8.1ºC 02/22/1926 Pamplona -16.2ºC 01/12/1985 Almeria 0.1ºC 01/27/2005 San Sebastian -12.1ºC 02/03/1956 Burgos -22ºC 01/03/1971 Albacete -24ºC 01/03/1971 Santander -5.4ºC 01/21/1957 Castellón de la Plana -7.3ºC 02/11/1956 Logrono -11.6ºC 12/25/1962 Badajoz -7.2ºC 01/28/2005 Salamanca -20ºC 02/05/1963 Huelva -5.8ºC 02/17/1938 Lleida -15.4ºC 01/02/1971 Tarragona (Reus Airport) -8ºC 02/11/1983 Lion -17.4ºC 01/13/1945 Jaen -8ºC 02/11/1956 Cadiz -1ºC 02/11/1956 Ourense -8.6ºC 12/25/2001 Girona -13ºC 01/09/1985 Lugo -10ºC 12/23/2005 Caceres -5.8ºC 02/11/1956 Guadalaraja -11ºC 01/28/1952 Melilla 0.4ºC 01/27/2005 Toledo -14.4ºC 01/18/1945 Ceuta -0.4ºC 01/05/1941 Pontevedra -5.5ºC 12/10/1922 Palencia -14.8ºC 01/04/1971 Royal City -13.8ºC 01/03/1971 zamora -13.4ºC 01/03/1972 Avila -16ºC 01/15/1985 Huesca -13.2ºC 02/12/1956 Basin -17.8ºC 01/03/1971 Segovia -17ºC 01/06/1938 Soria -15ºC 12/17/1963 Teruel -21ºC 01/12/2021 One piece of information: -24ºC. Taking into account the above, the historical record of the Aemet leaves a curious fact, one that I remembered recently in X Vicente Aupí, popularizer and astrophotographer: on January 3, 1971 Albacete the thermometers dropped neither more nor less than -24º. The data was obtained at the air base and is interesting for several reasons. Not only is it the lowest value recorded in the city since records began, it is also the coldest confirmed in a provincial capital. Freezer records. The next lowest value among the provincial capitals was experienced by Burgos that same day (January 3, 1971), when the mercury dropped to -22. Vitoria and Teruel follow in the ranking. The first recorded -21 ºC on Christmas Day 1962, the second endured the same temperature on January 12, 2021. These are surprisingly low data, although in recent decades Aemet has reported a few measurements below -15º. Meteorological bulletin of January 3, 1971, when the station located in Albacete recorded a minimum of -24 ºC, a record value among the provincial capitals of Spain. Extract from the meteorological bulletin of December 17, 1963, when a minimum of -30 ºC was recorded at the Calamocha-VOR observatory station, province of Teruel. to stay at home. The most striking thing about January 3, 1971 is that the thermometer not only collapsed in Albacete. Another interesting resource that Aemet offers is the newspaper archive of the ‘Meteorological Bulletin’a part edited by the agency’s predecessors between March 1893 and well into the 21st century. On its website today we can consult practically all of its digitized issues from 1894 to 2007. Among them is the census of that Sunday, January 3, 1971. And what does it tell us? That day the people of Albacete were not the only ones who faced a wave of polar cold. Although the city took the cake, in Burgos they scored -22º, in Valladolid, Teruel and Daroca -19º and -18º in Cuenca or La Molina. Some of these values ​​were also obtained at aerodromes, just as happened in Albacete, where that day the thermometers they did not go beyond -6º. In all the provincial capitals of Spain, that day the mercury did not rise above 10 ºC, the maximum recorded in Almería, Cádiz and Castellón. The coldest day? Yes. And no. The figure for Albacete is a record among provincial capitals, but in Spain we have endured even colder days. At the end of 1963, the residents of a small town in Teruel saw how the mercury dropped until it reaches -30 ºC. That is the surprising minimum temperature recorded on December 17 of that year … Read more

create a reserve capital

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Tokyo is the capital of Japan. That’s been the case since quite a while. Yeah the debate which two of the country’s main parties have embarked on comes to fruition, the Japanese institutional reality could nevertheless undergo a radical change: Tokyo would be joined by a ‘backup capital’a city that would take over if necessary. The goal: decentralize the nation… and ensure that Japan won’t be knocked out if a natural disaster or emergency hits Tokyo. What has happened? That Japan has opened a debate that affects its economy, population, politics and above all the territorial and power balance of the country. Your goal: decide if you should have a “backup capital”a secondary capital that helps decentralize administrations and encourage economic development beyond Tokyo. It may sound strange, but one of its purposes is to assume government functions in case Tokyo suffers a disaster. Where does the debate come from? The local press began to talk about the matter even before the Liberal Democratic Party and Nippon Ishin (JIP) reached a coalition agreement. In fact, in September The Japan Times counted as it was among the “key” issues that the opposition wanted to discuss with the leader of the LDP, Sanae Takaichi. Since then it has remained on the table, with an agreement between both formations to advance their development next year and a open debate about what the creation of a backup capital would mean. Why a ‘substitute’ capital? For several reasons. One of the main ones is to prevent the Government from being paralyzed in the event that a natural disaster (or any other emergency) hits Tokyo, although that is only one of its purposes. In the background is the desire to correct the excessive political, economic and demographic concentration that Japan suffers from. “We must aspire to a country that avoids excessive concentration in Tokyo and is not too dependent on it, a place that is an economic zone that can counteract Tokyo and serve as a backup capital in times of crisis,” claims Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the JIP. Is it that important? Over the last few months, both ideas have been emphasized: the advantages that a secondary capital would have economically, politically and to decentralize the country and also to prevent Japan from being paralyzed in the event of a disaster. “The main importance of the concept of reserve capital lies in the dispersion of disaster risk and is a fundamental issue for national crisis management,” highlights Seitaro Hattori, governor of Fukuoka. In fact, Hattori focuses so much attention on that aspect (that the secondary capital can take a step forward in case of emergency) that he advocates locating it in a place where the risk of a large earthquake in the Pacific that affects Tokyo also punishes the secondary capital is minimized. “Fukuoka is a major city with a low disaster risk, as is Kitakyushu.” And what city do we choose? That’s the big question. There are those who fear that the true purpose of JIP is to merge the districts of the city of Osaka to give them a format similar to that of Tokyo, a change that would pave the way for it to become the secondary capital of the country. Reserve capital status would bring relevant advantages, such as tax exemptions. Right now in Osaka the metropolitan government assumes the provision of certain services, such as water supply, firefighters or urban planning. More local tasks, such as garbage collection, social services or education, depend on the districts. The JIP has been wanting to adapt Osaka to a model more similar to that of Tokyo for some time, claiming its benefits. Without success. Are there more names? Yes. Other names have also been mentioned in the national press, such as Sapporo or Fukuoka. “If we were to imagine an earthquake in the Nankai Trench, the city of Fukuoka, on the coast of the Sea of ​​Japan, would be the least at risk of simultaneous damage. In terms of response capacity, Fukuoka is a suitable location,” claims Takashima. Images | Louie Martinez (Unsplash) In Xataka | Japan keeps setting tourism records, so it has an idea: charge three times as much to leave the country

A tiny Spanish town with 13 houses can’t take it anymore. A murder has turned it into the capital of crime tourism

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High in the Catalan Pyrenees, among clouds, forests and cows grazing in the rain, Tor risesa village of just thirteen houses where three decades ago a crime occurred that forever marked its inhabitants. In 1995 appeared the body of Josep Montanéknown as Sansa, with an electric cable around his neck and the corpse dragged to his kitchen. It was the third murder in fifteen years in a place too small for so many deaths. Today it seems the decoration of the mythical “A crime has been written”. National myth. History recovered this weekend the new york times as an example of a type of tourism which has been added in parallel to that of sun and beach. What seemed like a rural reckoning became, over time, a a national story about greed, secrets and institutional abandonment. the mountain, shared since 1896 by the town’s families under an ancestral agreement, had become the object of dispute between those who dreamed of a lucrative ski resort and those who wanted to preserve their peasant life. The conflict, fueled by smuggling interests and disputes over ownership, culminated in the judicial grant of the mountain to Sansa and, five months later, in her death. Then came the cultural phenomenon. From tragedy to true crime. The Catalan journalist Carles Porta, then a young reporter, was the one who turned the Tor crime into a media obsession. It started with a television report In 1997, he continued with a book in 2005, a podcast very successful in 2018 and a documentary series in 2023 that transformed the small town into the epicenter of Spanish “true crime.” Porta, fascinated by Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood, found his own Holcomb in that Pyrenean valley and turned the story in an industry. Over the years, the public’s fascination with unsolved crimes attracted visitors from all over the country: curious people, mystery fans and hikers who wanted walk the stage of the murder, staying at Sansa’s old house or posing in the places where the police found evidence. Some even recreated the crime scene. with cables around the necka morbid parody that the neighbors watch with a mixture of bewilderment and resignation. Tor Municipality Crime tourism. The Times remembered that media notoriety brought money, but also disfigured life in Tor. In summer, the streets are filled of cars, the houses become scenery and the neighbors become involuntary characters in a story that never ends. In the Alins family hostel, at the foot of the mountain, phrases by Porta and bottles of liquor with quotes from his book hang, while the visitors ask relentlessly “who killed Sansa.” Merce Turallols, who was a girl when the body appeared, admits that fame has benefited the family business, but he confesses that the residents can no longer stand the circus: in the busiest months, you can’t even park and eccentric tourists tour the town disguised as victims. And more. “One arrived with a rope around his neck,” they remembered in the report. Porta himself, now producer of documentaries for Disney Regarding other cases, he recognizes that Tor’s has become his personal legacy, a phenomenon without end. The man assures have new clues (a possible hitman who lives in Miami) and the intention to close the case with a fiction series, but the people, who never saw justice or rest, feel that the journalist has exploded its tragedy to the limit. Town turned into a stage. Thus, going through Tor today is like going through a museum of rural crime: the local guide point out the places where the body was dragged, the house where a hippie committed suicide, the abandoned car of some smugglers, the meadows where neighbors charged tolls to those who crossed with goods from Andorra. Everything has become anecdote for visitors who seek excitement, while local people demand something as simple as mobile coverage or tranquility. Pilar Tomàs, who lives across the street from Sansa’s old house and was the one who found him dead, serves homemade food in her restaurant full of strangers. He appreciates the increase in clients, but would like a life without cameras nor curious. He joked in the media that if Porta has benefited so much from the case, he could donate at least enough for a telephone antenna. The rise of crime tourism. The call “dark tourism”sordid or thanatotourism has ceased to be a rarity and has consolidated itself as a global trend that turns tragedy into destiny. From the streets of Barcelona’s Raval, where the crimes of Enriqueta Martí either of the “Arropiero”even the towns devastated by the civil war like Belchitethe tourism industry has been able to capitalize on human fascination with death and evil, an interest as old as the shows of the Roman circus. According to the criminologist Vicente Garridothis attraction responds to the mixture of fear and curiosity in the face of the unknown, but today it takes the form of guided routes, theatrical visits and immersive experiences where the visitor seeks to understand (or feel) the echo of horror. New narratives to enhance it. Series and podcasts true crime have reinforced this phenomenon, generating a media aesthetic that romanticizes murder and transforms the victims and executioners into cultural characters. In Spain, theplaces like Torwith their story of unresolved deaths, symbolize that dilemma between memory and commodification: what for some is an economic opportunity and visibility, for others is the trivialization of a tragedy that is still alive. He crime tourism It grows, and with it the ethical question that accompanies it: how much knowledge and how much morbidity there is in looking head-on at the scenes of horror. Image | jqmj (Queralt) In Xataka | Sordid tourism: 17 places for those who travel looking for horror In Xataka | Italy’s tourism has a challenge worse than massification: mafia souvenirs. has started to ban them

His name is Run-ri, they come from China and they are transforming the capital of Japan

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Last February they were revealed Several graphics They found two things. What Japan is living a boom of “foreigners” arrivals As it is not remembered, and that this volume of travelers has triggered a flag above others: China. Then it was known that Japanese art schools had become In “Passport” For young Chinese, and who began to give them neighborhoods with Chinese than Japanese. Now the run-ri has landed. The birth of a phenomenon. I explained it a few days ago The Financial Times. The massive arrival of the Chinese middle class to Tokyo has resulted in an unexpected and deep phenomenon. What began as individual decisions, motivated by the search for stability, personal freedom and a safer life for their children, has become a migratory wave baptized as run-riterm that combines the idea of ​​prosperity and flight with the word Japan. Unlike previous migratory waves from China, these families arrive With considerable assetsa marked obsession with education and the firm conviction that Tokyo offers a more fair, rational and balanced environment than contemporary China. The 2020 pandemic and Shanghai’s confinement in 2022 acted as Psychological inflection point: Many discovered that the State could ignore the middle class, and decided to escape towards a perceived country as stable, safe and without extreme nationalisms. Tokyo as a refuge. Japan, despite his economic stagnation From decades, it offers social peace, reliable medical services, safe streets and an open education system in a context of Birth in collapse. That has facilitated the integration of thousands of Chinese children In public schools in Tokyoalthough he has also created an environment of fierce competition academic among newcomers. The epicenter of this transformation It’s bunkyodistrict that has become an educational and residential pole of this new diaspora. However, this concentration also generates tensions. The Times told Cases of some immigrants, such as CAO, an executive who sought to move again to escape the same rivalries and community dynamics that fled in China. Economic impact and effects. Chinese capital flow has caused a remarkable rise In real estate prices From Tokyo, especially in exclusive neighborhoods such as Azabu, Aoyama or Toyosu Bay. Real estate in luxury towers are sold up to 20% to buyers with Chinese names, and the Toyota Alphard It has become a status aspirational symbol among newcomers. For some, Tokyo is investment and second residencefor others, a definitive retreat. At the same time, a network of clandestine banks facilitates capital exit From China to Japanwith backpacks full of yen changed discreetly in improvised offices. This money circuit, in which families of High Chinese officialsunderlines the magnitude and complexity of the phenomenon. The cultural dimension. Plus: Run-ri is not limited to the economic. Together with high -level businessmen and professionals, a growing number of intellectuals and dissidents It is installed in Tokyo. Libraries Like Nowhere Party or One Way Street They have become spaces of freedom where prohibited books circulate in China and critical debates with Beijing are organized. Some, like him dissident jiathey find in the Japanese capital a shelter to live without fear, although they also feel the weight of having abandoned the political struggle in their country. The convergence of Chinese wealth and intellectual capital in Tokyo is configuring A unique community that mixes economic ambitions with cultural and political drives, to the point that analysts warn that Beijing could increase its surveillance on these networks. Japan, between opportunity and suspicion. For an aged country and in demographic declinethe arrival of these immigrants could become a revulsive, providing entrepreneurial energy and new innovation networks. Some economists even speak of the birth of Japan as a “migratory superpower”capable of integrating foreign talent without formally opening its doors. Of course, not everything is optimism: nationalist parties already They have warned of the risk of a real estate bubble caused by Chinese buyers, and sectors of the Japanese population perceive as humiliating that richer citizens of the neighboring country challenge the historical status of Japan as the most prosperous nation of Asia. Uncertain future. In short, the Run-ri phenomenonalthough incipient, its magnitude grows at a dizzying pace: it is estimated that in 2025 the Chinese in Japan They will reach the million. If the nation manages to manage this flow without becoming a cultural and economic shock, Tokyo could be consolidated as the largest integration laboratory of the new Chinese elite abroad. On the contrary, if it does not, the rise of social and political tensions could tarnish what for thousands of families has become the “Bolthole of the rising sun ”: a shelter to rebuild their lives away from a Beijing that they no longer feel like a home. Image | Pexels, Shankar s. In Xataka | A phenomenon that has already happened in New York is spreading throughout Japan: neighborhoods with younger than Japanese In Xataka | The Chinese are traveling in mass to Japan and not just for tourism. Many of them arrive so as not to return

The improbable world capital of the VPN

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In the offices of the Cyber ​​Citythe new Technological Campus of Vilna (Lithuania) that houses 3,000 employees, Vytaautas Kaziukonis (in the upper image) moves his hands while explaining something that seems to challenge all business logic. The Surfshark CEO, one of the most popular VPNs in the world, has just described how your company works completely independent of Nordvpn, although Both belong to the same group since 2022. “Everything is separated: servers, applications, code, infrastructure. It would be very easy to merge everything, but then we would kill creativity, we would kill the brand identity,” he says while on the glass wall behind him the stickers of Signal and Tor are seen in the developer’s laptops. Subtle signals of the company’s culture. The history of how Lithuania, a country of just 2.8 million inhabitants, became the world epicenter of digital privacy is as unlikely as the business strategy that Nord Security has chosen: to keep alive and compete with each other to the two greatest brands of VPN of the planet. From vile with privacy “When you are a small country, you can’t do business just for the local market. It is too small, so you automatically think about the world,” explains Kaziukonis during our conversation at the Surfshark offices. This forcedly global mentality is just a piece of the Lithuanian puzzle. Vytaautas kaziukonis, CEO of surfshark. Image: Xataka. The transformation began when foreign companies established technological centers after the independence of 1990. International banks needed developers and created demand, universities responded with specialized programs. But when Lithuania became “too expensive” for some, the talent remained. “Those young people learned how to do international marketing, how to develop global products. Some left those companies and created their own startups,” the CEO continues. The result: four technological unicorns in a country with the population of Galicia or the province of Valencia (The most famous is Vinted). To internationalize the comparison, Austria, “an old and rich country in the heart of Europe” with triple population, He recently got his first unicorn (Bitpanda), says Kaziukonis with a smile that suggests national pride content. The fusion that was not fusion On February 2, 2022, the world of cybersecurity witnessed something unpublished. Nord Security, owner of Nordvpn, announced Fusion with Surfshark To create a giant valued at 1.6 billion dollars (which would duplicate to 3,000 million just a year later). But here comes the turn: They didn’t touch anything. “People assume that when there is a fusion, everything integrates. We did exactly the opposite,” explains Marijus Briedis, Cto de Nord Security, in a talk in their facilities. Surfshark offices are in a different building on the same campus. The equipment is not mixed. Infrastructure remains separate. Even security audits are made separately. “We could save short -term money by merging everything,” admits Donatas Budvytis, surfshark cto. “But We would kill innovation. We have people here who have been working in Surfshark for eight years. For them, Surfshark is part of their identity. If we simply crush everything … “. Image: Xataka. Nord Security headquarters entrance. Image: Xataka. The strategy reminds how the Volkswagen Group has kept Volkswagen, Seat and Skoda with separate identities even though they share platforms, engines and even factories. Nord Security maintains the same level of separation. Both proposals reduce the monthly price by more than 50% if one or two years are paid. There you can see well how both brands aggressively encourage long -term commitments. The real business is not to be cheap, but in seem cheap while you ensure early payments of years. “We never try to position Surfshark as the cheap option,” Kaziukonis replies when I mention the price difference. “Our goal was always to be an affordable solution for as many people as possible.” The invisible technological career In the laboratories of both companies, internal competition produces constant innovations: Surfshark developed Nexusa network that connects all its servers in a global mesh, allowing functions such as Dynamic IP Automatic every 5-10 minutes. Nordvpn responded with Nordlynxits implementation of the Wireguard protocol that promises to be “hundreds of mb/s faster.” “If you look at the independent audits, sometimes the performance is better in one and times in the other,” says Dominikas Virbickas, Nordvpn engineer. “That shows that they are really different infrastructure.” Paranoia for privacy permeates everything. Both companies have traveled to Solo-RAM servers, where all the information is deleted with each restart. The policies of No-Logs They are audited annually by Deloitte. “In 2024, we received a judicial data application,” reveals a Nordvpn transparency report. “We couldn’t provide anything because we had nothing”. Beyond the VPN tunnel Nord Security’s real bet goes beyond VPN. During the presentations, it is clear that the vocation of the company is to build a complete digital security ecosystem. NordPass For passwords, NordLocker For encrypted storage, but also more ambitious products. THREAT PROTECTION PRO It is your response to malwarecapable of blocking threats at the URL level, not just domain. “Traditional antivirus come from the world of files. We come from the world of connections,” explains Rokas Slavinskas while presenting NordStellara tool that monitors the Dark Web in search of business data leaks. But perhaps the most unique movement is that of Incognia service that automatically contacts more than 400 Brokers of data to request the elimination of personal information. “Last year we completed 90 million elimination applications,” says Sarunas Sereika. “This year we point to 300 million.” And then it is Sailyyour entrance to the market esim For travelers. It is the only brand in the group that does not carry “Nord” in the name. In fact it has its own visual identity. “We launched four months earlier than planned, with the supplier contract signed three weeks before and confirmed data plans three days before launch,” Briedis confesses. “Now is our fastest growing startup.” The true Moat Lithuanian During lunch at a traditional Lithuanian restaurant, the inevitable question arises: can this model of independent brands last? The VPN industry is … Read more

Ukraine has just opened the tanks used by Russia. The surprise is capital: West has manufactured them

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In the war there are also “unboxing”, but of combat drones. In fact, this is how they have been revealed from hidden messages of the troops of Moscow, until The origin of the vast majority of technology components (with big surprises). It was also revealed to what extent China is part of the war machinery, or even that the power of these unmanned combat planes has Nvidia as an engine major. What we did not know so far is what was inside the Russian tanks. Foreign dependence. Yeah, Revelation of Ukrainian intelligence on the massive use of Western and Asian teams in the production of Russian tanks has revealed to what extent Kremlin’s industrial self -sufficiency It is compromised. He Updated report Del Gur details more than 260 high precision machines employed by uralvagonzavodthe only great manufacturer of combat cars in Russia and responsible for the entire range of T-seriesfrom the V-72 veterans to him T-14 Armata. Made in the West. The majority of these teams, which include American vertical lathes, Italian folding German machining centers and presses, were acquired in the fifteen years prior to 2022during military modernization prior to the invasion of Ukraine. In other words, although they do not constitute violations of the most recent sanctions, their presence in Russian factories raises a continuity problem: Without spare parts or software updates, armored production runs the risk of degrading quickly. The central role of Uralvagonzavod. Based in the urales, Uralvagonzavod It concentrates the heart of the Russian capacity of armor, holding a production that is estimated at 20 to 30 new tanks per month, despite the pressure of the war. In 2024 he opened a equipped engines plant with European CNC machinesevidence of how even in the middle of the war campaign Russia continued to benefit from foreign technology through indirect routes and third countries. The gur warns That these deliveries, although more complicated and expensive due to the sanctions, have not stopped, which keeps alive the assembly line of the Russian armored ones. The paradox is that the Soviet industrial prestige, once a symbol of self -sufficiency, now rests largely on the legacy of foreign machinery. The strategic dimension. The Published list By Ukraine, which also collects 42 types of equipment from Austria, Japan, South Korea and China, points to a broader pattern: Russia uses a total of 1,396 foreign machines in 169 factories linked to the invasion. Each of these teams It is documented through contracts, recordings and files of state acquisitions, which gives the probative weight to the complaint. The Ukrainian message seems clear: when cutting access to spare parts, technical fluids and software licenses, the Russian military industrial base can be strangled. kyiv has proposed Reinforced diligence measures, such as adding GPS trackers to exported machines and demanding in situ inspections, in order to prevent their products from ending up holding the enemy war industry. Vulnerability mirrors. We have counted before. The finding of Western components and Chinese in drones long -range manufactured by Moscow, local versions of the Iranian Shahed, reinforces the thesis that the Russian military industry depends critically on foreign pieces. Kremlin can hide this weakness With propaganda On its technological autonomy, but in practice its war machine is based on gears manufactured in countries that are today part of the Block that sanctions it. Putin himself, aware of the limits of production, He publicly admitted In April that “there are not enough weapons”, reflecting the tensions between the self -sufficiency discourse and the reality of an industry that, without access to the West, runs the risk of being paralyzed. The industrial Achilles heel. If you want, the Ukrainian complaint converts the Russian dependence on a strategic Achilles heel: while its army spends armored in the front at a higher pace, the ability to manufacture new depends on Machines that do not control. If the sanctions manage to isolate Moscow with spare parts and services, the ability to sustain their war effort could deteriorate irreversibly. When exposing these vulnerabilities, kyiv not only seeks to weaken the enemy, but also directly involve To Western manufacturers and governments in the supervision of their export chains, remembering that another battle is fought in the Ural workshops: that of the industrial pulse that can decide war. Image | Вталий кзьин In Xataka | Ukraine has opened the most advanced Drone Kamikaze in Russia. Now they know what the key to their power is: nvidia In Xataka | Ukraine has hunted an “invisible” drone of Russia. The surprise has been capitalized when opening it: it is “made in USA”

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