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how to check the status of the declaration you have submitted in 2026

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We are going to tell you how to look at the status of your 2025 Income Tax return already submitted. The Income Tax campaign is already underway, and you can access the draft online either from your mobile to present the statement. And once you do, you can check its status to find out how the Treasury process is going to verify it or if there is any problem. When you send your declaration to the Tax Agency, it will review it and agree to start the payment or collection process. And if something doesn’t add up, then they will start another verification process. Therefore, if you see that it is taking a while for the money to arrive or that you have not been charged, you can check the status to know if the Treasury is doing any verification about the statement. Check the status of your declaration To see the status of your return, you must enter the Tax Agency website on the page agencytributaria.es/AEAT.internet/Renta.shtml. Once inside, click on the option Draft/declaration processing service (Direct Income and WEB Income) that will appear at the top in the options of the section Featured Managements. Before going to the draft, you will first go to the page where you should identify yourself as a citizenso that the Treasury can use your personal draft. To identify yourself you can use your digital certificateincluding the FNMT certificate and that of DNIethe PIN code or Mobile Key, or the reference number. This will take you to the index of topics about Income Services 2025. On this page, right in the header you have a section called Declaration status. This is where it will tell you what the status of the income is, and these are the possible statuses that you can find: Your declaration is being processed: It means that the Treasury has your data, but has not yet reviewed it. Your statement is being verified: The Treasury is proceeding to review your data and verify that your declaration is correct. The declaration with the indicated amount has not been recorded or is in process. Check the amount: It means that there is a problem, and that you will have to contact the Tax Agency to try to verify and solve it. Your declaration has been processed by the Tax Management bodies, and the refund requested by you is estimated to comply, without prejudice to the verifications that may be carried out later by the Tax Agency bodies.: The Treasury has verified your data and everything is correct. Therefore, your return is being processed. Your refund has been issued on day XXX to the ESXXX account. If you have not received the amount in 10 days, go to the Tax Agency delegation/administration corresponding to your tax domicile.: The Treasury has already sent your money to the bank account that appears on the declaration. The process of receiving the money may take time depending on the bank, but the Treasury has already paid. You can also check the income status from your mobileusing the official app of the Tax Agency, the AEAT app that you can find for Android on Google Play and for iOS in the App Store. Inside here, go to the section Income 2025 and, if you have submitted the draft, it will tell you the status it is in. In Xataka Basics | Income Guide 2025: calendar, previous steps and how to prepare for the 2026 declaration

the war in Iran has put it in check

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Between Galicia and Tehran there are more than 5,000 km and the situation experienced in the Iberian Peninsula bears little or no resemblance to that which crosses the Persian Gulf. However, a server here, who writes these lines from Galician lands, has found that the situation in the Middle East has turned his travel plans upside down. And he is not the only one. Throughout Europe (and beyond) thousands of people are rethinking their vacations due to instability in the Gulf, which already threatens alter the flows of international tourism in the short term. The reason is very simple: the Middle East is not only a key player in the oil market (something already crucial in itself), it is also a key player in the map of air interconnections, especially between Europe and Asia. And that affects those who plan to fly this year to Vietnam, Japan or Thailand, among other destinations. A turbulent sector. Beyond Iranian politics, the energy market or the general threat that the rise in crude oil ended up moving to the shopping cart, there is a sector that is suffering in a very special way from what is happening in the Middle East: tourism. The Gulf is not only one of the great lungs of the oil industry, it is also a crucial piece on the tourism map. Firstly, due to the growing attractiveness of destinations like Dubai, especially among expats. Second (and this is the key) because in recent decades the region has managed to establish itself as the great connecting node between Europe, Asia and Africa. How important the Gulf is to the operations of international airlines became clear in the days following the US-Israeli attack on Iran. Tehran’s response, which launched attacks on its neighbors in retaliation for the support they provide to the United States, left out of play to airports such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha or Kuwait (among others), unleashing what some analysts consider the biggest crisis aeronautics since the pandemic. Was it that serious? Yes. And so we tell you at the time. That airfields like Dubai had to close their doors for security reasons affected thousands of Western expats who suddenly found themselves without options to return to their countries. The situation reached the point that some drove for hours to try their luck in Oman. Others paid large sums to charter jets. The fact is that the expats were not the only ones harmed. The ‘shock wave’ of the war also hit Western tourists who were on vacation in Asia and overnight they found that the Middle East terminals where they had to make a stopover to return to Europe (Doha, Dubai, Abu Dhabi) were blocked. A young Spanish woman complained in X those days of being “stuck” in Thailand. “The flights are for 4,000 euros or there is overbooking“, he lamented. The Government ended repatriating tourists from the Middle East. And the hangover came. This was more than a week ago, but that does not mean that the waters have returned to normal in airport operations, much less in the tourism sector. To begin with, because part of the Gulf is still an untouchable area for airlines. It comes with taking a look at Flight Radar’s flight monitoring maps to see the huge gap which remains open mainly on Iran, Iraq, Syria and Jordan. Emirates advertisement. Airspace slopes. The reality as of March 17 is that the war continues to condition airline operations in the area. In your last part Regarding traffic, OPS Group confirmed on Monday that a large part of the airspace in the Middle East remains marked by conflict, either closed (Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait and Syria) or subject to more or less restricted operations, as is the case above all in Israel, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar. In fact the platform remember that the most common corridor in the Persian Gulf for flights between Europe and Asia remains greatly altered by the war, which is leading airlines to look for alternative routes, either diverting north, towards the Caucasus, or south, through Egypt, Saudi Arabia or Oman. What do the companies say? The Middle East not only stands out for its geographical position. It is also home to some of the most important airlines in the sector, such as Qatar Airways, Emirates and Etihad. And their grills are still far from being normalized. Just yesterday Al Jazeera informed that Qatar Airways has announced a program of limited flights to and from Doha due to the war. In fact, its operations will remain restricted at least until March 28. “Qatar Airways’ scheduled flight operations remain temporarily suspended due to the closure of Qatari airspace,” explains the company. “The airline will resume operations once the Qatar Civil Aviation Authority announces the full and safe reopening of Qatari airspace.” She’s not the only one. Etihad Airways too indicates on their website which, at least for now, “operates a limited program of commercial flights between Abu Dhabi and several key destinations.” It even gives the option to change reservations at no extra cost. Qatar announcement. “A reduced schedule”. Another company that has not returned to normal is Emirates. In the last hours I published an update in which it clarifies the status of its flight schedule: “Following the partial opening of the region’s airspace, Emirates operates with a reduced flight schedule.” Lufthansa has also suspended operations with Dubai, Dabi, Amman and Ebril until next week. Connections with Tel Aviv, Beirut and Tehran remain marked and in some cases will not be recovered until late April. In general, the specialized environment Condé Nast Traveler informed on Friday the 13th that there are a significant number of airlines with their operations altered in one way or another. What can we expect now? The situation in hubs like Dubai has improved since the total blockade that followed the attack on February 28, but the panorama continues not to be what it was before that date. Dubai … Read more

how to check if it is down or if it is your problem

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Let’s tell you how to tell if claude is down and it doesn’t work because of a bug that is happening to everyone. Like any other online service, artificial intelligence as Claude They can also have problems and fall. They can be specific errors that are solved immediately or larger ones that take hours to solve. When this is the case, there is always a moment of confusion in which you doubt whether it is a general error or just your fault, and we are going to tell you how to do this check. These crashes can be due to problems with the servers, a cyber attack and many other reasons, but the first thing is always to check if it has really crashed or if the problem is yours. How to check if Claude is down To check if Claude suffers a general fall, you will have to use one of the websites specialized in detecting these problems that can occur. These are websites in which users report drops, and you can see the level of these reports in a graph. When the graph goes up a lot, it’s because there is a massive problem. It’s not you, everyone is reporting these bugs. The best option on Claude’s profile on Down Detector, which you can access on the web downdetector.es/problemas/claude-ai. Here you can see in real time the number of problems reported by users in the last 24 hours. The higher the reporting curve, the bigger and more people the fall will be affecting. You can also search for information on some social networks such as Threads, Bluesky, Mastodon or When you see that the fall is general, there is nothing you can do to solve it. You will have to wait for Claude’s owners or the downed service to fix the problem. It is also convenient that pay attention to a possible communication after solving it in which they give some kind of explanation. In these communications they should clarify the type of error they have had, and even warn if it is due to a hack that has exposed user data. In Xataka Basics | The best prompts to save hours of work and do your tasks with ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or other artificial intelligence

The measles outbreak is close to 8,500 cases and puts the health status of the country in check

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Measles has ceased to be a latent threat and has become a worrying statistical reality in Mexicoas the latest consolidated data from February 2026 have pointed out. These leave no doubt that the country is going through its most complex outbreak in decades, accumulating 8,459 confirmed cases since the start of the crisis in 2025. It’s already worrying. The situation has escalated to such a point that the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has issued a clear warning: If the chain of transmission is not cut in the coming weeks, Mexico could lose its status as a measles-free country. X-ray of the outbreak. The figures are compelling and draw a map of active transmission in the 32 states of the republic. Although the problem is national, the intensity is not homogeneous, since there are points where positive cases are much more evident. This is something that can be seen in the reports of the Ministry of Health (SSA) of Mexico, which indicates that so far in 2026, 2,143 cases have been reported. But the current epicenter is in Jaliscowhich is where 1,245 cases have been concentrated, representing almost 60% of the reports this entire year. Historical accumulated. Since February 2025, the state of Chihuahua leads the accumulated total with more than 4,400 cases, now followed by the rebound in the west of the country. But the most tragic thing is undoubtedly the human losses, since they have already been confirmed 27 deaths since the beginning of the outbreak in February 2025, with two recent deaths recorded in Tlaxcala and Michoacán This is in addition to the fact that the most vulnerable population is the youngest children, who are between one and four years old. Something that also makes it act as the perfect vector to infect the older population and those at greater risk of suffering from a more serious disease. The root of the problem. Experts point out that it is necessary to have a herd immunity to be able to apply containment to this serious health problem. And for such a contagious virus, at least 95% of the population is required to be vaccinated, something very similar to what was noted in the Covid pandemic in our environment. And the problem is precisely in low vaccination coverage that exists in these regions, causing many to not reach this percentage. And, despite the fact that the SSA reports the application of more than 11.8 million vaccinesthe spread of the virus suggests that there are still susceptible population groups, especially those where there are a greater number of cases right now. Use of face masks. As already happened in the COVID pandemic, there are some states such as Jalisco or Nuevo León that are evaluating the use of masks or face coveringsespecially in closed spaces and with a large influx of people. This is a simple containment barrier to prevent spread while the population finishes its vaccination schedule. The ultimatum. On the technical side, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) has launched an extension until April to evaluate whether Mexico has achieved endemic transmission of this virus. This is something that is achieved when there is no continuous circulation of the virus in a territory for 12 months. Mexico has been fighting this outbreak since February 2025, and if transmission continues uninterrupted beyond the calendar year, measles will once again be considered endemic (typical of the region) and not an imported case. In addition to this, PAHO has confirmed that Mexico currently accounts for 71% of the cases on the entire American continent, a figure that forces health authorities to rethink the containment strategy to prevent its spread to the rest of the neighboring countries. What’s coming The next PAHO meeting in April will be critical in this regard. The decision that Mexico lose “measles-free” status It is not just a diplomatic label, but it implies greater costs in epidemiological surveillance, potential barriers in tourism and the confirmation of a major setback in the country’s public health status. Intensive campaigns are underway, but with the virus present in all states and active community transmission, the Mexican health system faces its most important test of the post-COVID era. A global problem. Although the news focuses on the many cases in Mexico in this case, the reality is that In other parts of the planet cases have also increased. One of the clearest examples is in the United States, where the CDC has raised alarm bells after observing how cases are multiplying in a matter of months. In Spain Official data also indicate that, while in 2023 only 14 cases were recorded, in 2024 they increased to 229 cases and in 2025 the forecast points to almost 400. Images | NIH Ed Us In Xataka | The myth of 37º: it is increasingly clear to us that there is no “normal” body temperature

Someone has paid 2.4 million for a check for 500. It bears the signatures of Steve Jobs and Wozniak

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Turning $500 into $2.4 million could be anyone’s wet dream cryptobro, but the story at hand It has nothing to do with investment. The protagonist is a small piece of paper, and not just any one, but one that was key in the creation of one of the most important technology companies of our era: Apple. lto auction. It occurred a few days ago via RR Auction. The object auctioned was the $500 check that Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak signed in March 1976 and its final price was $2,409,886, 4,800 times its original value. The check is encapsulated in a plastic casing and its authenticity and quality is certified with a “MINT 9” note, which indicates that it is in a perfect state of conservation. The first check. Throughout their time together, the Apple founders signed many checks, but this one is special because it is the first of all. Furthermore, getting the money was not easy. At that time neither of the two steves He was rich, so Jobs had to sell his van and Wozniak his HP 65 calculator. At the time of his signature, there were still 16 days left before the official birth of the company, so we can affirm that he was a key player in the birth of Apple. The assignment. We already know who the senders were, but who was the receiver? The check is made out to Howard Cantin, who at the time was designing printed circuit boards at Atari. The commission for which he received this amount was to create the plaque that would carry the Apple Ithe company’s first computer that went on sale a few months later. When it was time to get paid, Steve Jobs offered Cantin shares in Apple, but Cantin preferred money. Little did he know that the company would be worth $4 billion. It was not the only thing that was auctioned. The check was the star object of the Apple 50th anniversary auctionbut there were many others such as the opening document for Apple’s first bank account, which sold for $828,569. The Apple poster that Jobs had hanging in his living room was also sold for $659,900 and the most expensive: the prototype of the Apple I board, which reached $2,750,000. In total, the auction has raised more than $8 million. In Xataka | Einstein’s first violin had passed unnoticed. Until an auction house put it up for sale. Image | Wikipedia

how to check their status and the dangers of river overflows with infoAGUA

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Let’s tell you how to look at the state of the reservoirs and the dangers of river overflows. For this we are going to use infoAGUA, an application promoted by the General Directorate of Water and with official data from the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation and the Ministry for Ecological Transformation and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO). With this application we will have all the information related to water in Spain in a unified and centralized way. It’s like an alternative to Google flood risk mapbut with the official information. You can download the application for free on Google Play for Android and in the App Store for your iPhone. Look at the level of reservoirs and flood zones When you open the app, you will go to a simple screen with few options. Here, To see the information on the reservoirs, click on Quantity of Water Resourceswhich will take you to a screen where you have the option Cartographic Viewer to view information on a map. This will take you to a screen where you can see the general level of reservation capacity of each hydrographic district. This will allow you to see at a glance the regions where the most water is being stored. But you can zoom in to get more information. If you zoom in you will begin to see all the reservoirs in the areas you have approached. If you click on one of them you will be able to see at what level is this reservoir that you have chosen. You will be able to do this in as many as you want. Also you will have rain gauge information to know how much it is raining in specific areas. In Xataka How to know if you live in a flood zone with this map On the main screen you also have the section of Flood risk. This will show you in red the Areas with Significant Potential Risk of Flooding (ARPSI), and in shades of blue the flood zones in general. On this map you will also be able to zoom in and explore specific areas. In addition, if you click on these areas you will also be able to see the level of water rise that may exist in this place. In Xataka Basics | Google flood risk map: so you can see if you live in an area that is at risk

Tokyo was one of the few megalopolises that had kept housing prices in check. That’s over

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For years half the planet (and another half as well) viewed Tokyo with a mixture of admiration, curiosity and envy. While other metropolises were dealing with increasingly expensive housing, which was expelling the most humble families, the Japanese capital made headlines On the contrary: in 2023 there were who presented it in fact as “the last big city with affordable housing.” At least if we were talking about rents. And that was the most populated city of the planet. There is signs that that is changing. Tokyo’ the affordable‘. Binyamin Appelbaum, columnist for The New York Times, I told it very well in 2023: while a couple on the minimum wage was unable to pay the rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the New York area, another Japanese couple with the same conditions (full-time work and the legal minimum wage) could afford equivalent housing in at least half a dozen districts of Tokyo. The Japanese capital was a benchmark, the example of rentals within reach of any pocket. “The last big city with affordable housing”, titled at full blast around those same dates the Australian newspaper Financial Review. Tokyo vs Manhattan. The data confirms that Appelbaum was not wrong. Although living in Tokyo is far from cheap, in 2023 the city had a residential offer large and diverse enough to not suffocate its residents. Even the most humble. In 2024 Michael Amerson, analyst at the US Department of Housing, explained that renting a one-bedroom apartment in central Tokyo cost around 80,000 yen, about $500. Other sources speak of between 630 and 1,580 dollars per month, but even those figures are far from the 4,000 that is asked for a home of the same type in Manhattan. “Unlike other metropolitan areas around the world, Tokyo has avoided a housing crisis. Residents can enjoy a vibrant urban lifestyle without having to shoulder the financial burden that residents of many other large cities bear,” pointed out Amerson. The reason? To a large extent Tokyo real estate culture. Unlike what happens in other metropolises, the Japanese capital has “an accelerated cycle of housing demolition and reconstruction,” which makes it easier to adapt to the needs of the market. But… And why is that? “People treat houses like cars,” Appelbaum joked in 2023. New construction is prioritized to such an extent that its weight in the market far exceeds that of other cities. Between 2013 and 2018, new housing represented 86% of sales in Japan, while in the US that percentage is usually around 15%. Unlike what happens in other cities that prioritize the conservation of their old buildings or pamper their historic districts, something different takes precedence in Tokyo: urban renewal. It is not just a question of the market or urban regulation. That way of thinking connects with his planning style and the history of a region forced to deal with natural disasters who has also seen how fire and the bombs They affected part of his assets. Added to this are regulatory issues that facilitate the progress of the works and their commitment to tall buildings, homes that are often small by European standards and with few green areas. Signs of change. In recent months, however, some media outlets have stopped talking about the virtues of the Tokyo model to become a question: “Is it still affordable to live there?” That is the doubt that I left bouncing in September The Japan Times in a article in which he confirms that (at least if we talk about the buying and selling market) the city is no longer within reach of any pocket. Tokyoites have encountered a price increase that affects both new housing and second-hand properties. And the latter usually wake up little interest among buyers. a study from the Tokyo Kantei company shows that it is no longer strange that the average price of a used apartment of 80 square meters exceeds 100 million yen, around 540,000 euros, with year-on-year increases that are even above 30%. Are there more indicators? Yes. They are just that, indicators, but at a minimum break the rhetoric that has surrounded the Tokyo real estate market until now. There are studies that speak of year-on-year price increases of 9% or even more than 60% if the focus is expanded and the data from 2021 and 2025 are compared. Prices are also growing in the metropolitan area (although to a lesser extent) and seem to be also affecting the rental market residential. In practice, this means that a family that a few years ago could acquire Quietly, a modern three-bedroom, 70 m2 apartment near the center of Tokyo for just over $400,000 is now forced to look at real estate agencies in other areas. And it doesn’t seem like that’s going to change. The latest data from Tokyo Kantei show that the price of a 70 m2 second-hand apartment is around 114 million yen, 34% more than in 2025. And what is the reason? Better to talk about “reasons”, in the plural. The analysts who have been launched To speculate on the reasons for the price increase, they point to the increase in material and labor costs, the influence of the pandemic on buyers’ tastes (they are now looking for houses with more rooms), the effect of historically low interest rates or simply the increase in demand for housing in Tokyo. While the rest of the country loses population, the capital remains more or less stable either even win residents. Exploring the market. There is another factor that helps understand Tokyo’s price rise, one that also has slipped in in it political debate: home purchases by foreigners, including those for speculative purposes. The weakness of the yen, the fact that Japanese real estate was more affordable than that of other countries and the lack of restrictions on foreign purchases has attracted the interest of investors of other nationalities, which has in turn been felt in the price per m2. The data are certainly eloquent. In … Read more

two different versions, millions of accounts in check and one good idea

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If you’ve received a message from Instagram asking you to reset your password in the last few days, you’re not the only one. A quick look to Reddit or social networks like X/Twitter evidence that it is something quite common at the beginning of 2026. In fact, there are those who assures have received these messages on several occasions this week, including a few times a day. what has happened. Numerous Instagram users have detected unusual activity related to mass password reset requests. More specifically, they were receiving password reset emails that looked legitimate without having requested it first. Two versions that explain it. Following that massive request and speculation, on January 9, the antivirus software company Malwarebytes made public a data leak. Just a few hours ago, Instagram pronounced. The versions of each one: According to Malwarebytes, a group of cybercriminals “stole sensitive information from 17.5 million Instagram accounts, including usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and more.” It is not mere scraping, but an authentic doxing kit found on a popular cybercrime forum. From here, there were two options: either we were facing an automated brute force attack where legitimate “I forgot my password” emails were generated and, within the chaos, a malicious email was sent so that you click on a false link. Or that Meta had executed a defensive Instagram reset of those accounts it considers compromised. According to Instagram, they have fixed an issue that “allowed a third party to request password reset emails for some people. There was no breach of our systems and your Instagram accounts are secure.” He closed the explanation with an apology for the inconvenience. Tap to go to the post Why is it important. Instagram minimizes the impact of this incident by calling it a “software problem” and not a systems breach since technically, if they did not enter their servers, they do not consider it a hack. In any case, this alleged data leak contains usernames, real names, physical addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses. The level of risk is high insofar as this exposure of confidential personal information is of such caliber that it breaks the barrier between the digital and the physical. Exposing who you are online also jeopardizes real-world security. The reports detail that parts of that database are being marketed on the black market, sorting them into batches based on countries and numbers of followers. That is, prioritizing high-profile accounts such as influencers or business accounts. What should you do now. To begin with, under no circumstances touch on the links that appear in the emails, no matter how real they may seem. From here: Change Instagram password from the app, in ‘Settings and activity’ > ‘Account Center’ > ‘Password and security’ > ‘Change password’. Use a long, robust and unique one. Configure the Two-Step Authentication that you will find in the ‘Password and Security’ section of the app, following the previous route. Better avoid the SMS option. Likewise, it is advisable to log out on all devices and, in case you have received several messages, check if the emails are truly from Instagram through the ‘Emails from Instagram’ option in the settings. If you detect any, delete them. In Xataka | “You can’t trust your eyes to know what’s real anymore.” Instagram CEO announces that the feed is dead In Xataka | Instagram has wreaked havoc on tourism in half the world. AI has arrived to multiply it by a thousand Cover | Solen Feyissa and Gemini

They are a quick way to check that the flight is going well

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The process of entering a plane is anything but placid: a queue that seems eternal, making sure you don’t lose your luggage, your identification and other valuable objects, making sure you find your seat and where to put your suitcase. And in the middle, a lot of people in the same situation as you and who seem infinitely slower and more annoying than you. But that’s it, it’s already happened: you’ve already sat down, you’ve fastened your seatbelt and you’re waiting for takeoff. My condolences if it has touched you in the middle. If you are in the hallway, congratulations: you will be able to stretch a little more and get out more easily. And if you are at the window, you can better observe the takeoff and landing and rest your head. And furthermore, you will see better that triangle over the window. A triangle to enjoy the views and verify that everything is going well Sometimes it is red, sometimes it is black and it is not on all the windows: in fact there are usually one or two triangles on each side of the cabin and at a certain height above the seat on the side wall, which is why you may never have noticed them. Because we usually know where the nearest emergency exit is (thanks to the explanations of the flight attendants team), but the triangle is not so easy to see even though it is of crucial importance. In fact, you may have never seen it, but the cabin crew is very clear where it is both before and during the flight. As explains aviation expert and former commercial pilot Daniel Bubb, those triangles indicate the windows from which there is better vision of the wings. It is clear that in that window you can take very cool photos for Instagram, but the reason for being is different: “Helping crew members when there is an emergency or a failure in the flaps, slats, engine or other parts (…) It allows them to identify the location of the problem more quickly.” Knowing this, if you see the cabin crew looking out of that window from time to time it may give you a little respect, but a relatively frequent check does not mean that something is wrong, since it is also used to verify that the wing is deicing correctly and that everything is going well, he adds. Small, private planes and some older models do not have them as long as the triangles They are not mandatory but they are useful for the crew, but it is normal that you will find at least two. Each of them is located on each side of the plane, just above the window that lines up with the edges of the wing on the outside. Of course, if the plane is larger, there may be two triangles on each side, thus marking the leading edge and trailing edge of the wing. To that seat in aviation is known like the “William Shatner Seat”a cultural nod to the episode ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet’ of “The Twilight Zone“ October 1963 where Shatner saw a gremlin on the wing of the plane. I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing it, but yes that Simpsons reference in a House of Terror special. Going in that seat has its advantages. The first is obvious: it offers a magnificent point of view for taking photographs and videos. However, it can also be useful if you are not too excited about flying: you can see for yourself how everything is fine and the de-icing process before takeoff. In addition, it offers a smoother flight sensation as turbulence and abrupt landing and takeoff are less noticeable. It sounds so appealing that the next question would be to know which row that seat corresponds to, but as there are different models and configurations of airplanes, there is no single answer. Of course, if you want to increase the probability that it will be your turn, look at the seat map and select the ones closest to the ends of the wing. If one day you are lucky and your assigned seat is that, enjoy the views. In Xataka | Few people know what the red balls on high-tension cables are for: they are a simple way to save lives Cover | Photo of Edwin Petrus in Unsplash

Asturias has the electrical network so saturated that a simple failure would be enough to put the supply in check this summer

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A year ago everything indicated that Asturias was going to become the new Spanish energy storage hub. But these plans, which were going to help integrate renewables, alleviate the grid and attract industry, collided with reality. Today, the panorama is very different. Not only has the region paralyzed new storage facilities, but an official report has just confirmed a more worrying diagnosis: Asturias is saturated with energy, but does not know where to put it. In short, the central area’s electrical grid is at its limit. The CNMC uncovers the problem. The trigger It is an apparently technical conflict between EDP (Hidrocantábrico Distribución) and Red Eléctrica de España for access to the Carrió substation. As local media have reportedthe distributor requested to replace two transformers to increase its capacity from 513 MW to 665 MW, but REE rejected it, arguing that the network could not supply so much simultaneous demand. This rejection took the case to the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC), which issued a resolution with a forceful message: the transport network in the central zone is saturated, it cannot grant new permits, there is “relevant overcapacity” and there is a “risk to the security of supply in the event of a simple failure, in the summer season.” Furthermore, the commission itself recognizes that the case dates back to 2007, when the separation between distribution and transportation occurred and assets were transferred to REE without documenting the guaranteed access capacities. As the official report explains, for years REE and EDP operated “as always”, but with opposite interpretations about how much capacity was really assured for the Asturian network. What does it mean to be saturated? Although it may seem like a technical concept, the CNMC has detailed in its report a more precise image of what is happening. To begin with, saturation means that the network cannot grant even one more access. The regulator detects a “total saturation of capacity, without the possibility of granting new access or connection permissions.” This means that no new industries, no renewable parks and no storage projects can connect: the grid is literally full. Added to this blockage is another underlying problem. The central Asturias network does not meet the minimum legal criterion known as N-1, which requires guaranteeing supply even if a key component fails. However, the CNMC itself confirms that this requirement is not met: If a transformer or main line falls, there is no alternative path capable of absorbing the energy, making any incident a potential risk. The situation is even more delicate according to the data. The regulator’s report indicates that two large electro-intensive consumers already absorb 686 MW, to which we must add the 200 MW that EDP needs to feed the distribution network. In total, more than 800 MW connected. The problem is that the safe capacity in summer – when the lines perform worse due to high temperatures – is 754 MW. In other words: there is more connected power than the network can safely support. And the room for maneuver is practically non-existent. According to the CNMC, if Cardoso’s 400/220 kV transformer failed, the entire area would be supplied only by a 220 kV line that does not support current consumption in summer. In practical terms, this means that any simple failure could trigger a real supply problem in the middle of the summer season. The point is that there is energy, but it cannot be moved. The paradox is evident: Asturias wants more renewables, it wants batteries, it wants to electrify its industry and it wants to attract new strategic projects. But all this growth requires a robust electrical grid with margin. And right now, that margin does not exist. Carrió’s transformers could handle more power, yes, but that is unimportant if the lines that connect them are already at their limit. Even the future conversion to gas of the Aboño thermal power plant —designated by the Principality as future relief— does not solve the current problem, because the bottleneck is in transportation, not in generation. How did we get here? In addition to the historical conflict between REE and EDP, a chain of factors have aggravated the situation. One of the most decisive is the increase in power assigned to some large industrial consumers. In 2022, Red Eléctrica granted an electro-intensive customer an increase of 132 MW, reaching 450 MW of power between Carrió and Tabiella. The regulator clarifies that this decision did not violate the regulations, but it does highlight the lack of coordination with EDP, which was not informed and saw how the capacity margin of the area was exhausted practically at once. Added to this problem is another longer-term problem. As El Comercio remembersthe necessary reinforcements for the central network have been planned for more than 20 years, but were never executed. The result is that Asturias faces industrial electrification and the growth expected for the coming years with a network that has not been updated at the pace of demand. The evolution of the local generation. The situation is complicated as cogeneration, a key technology for producing electricity and heat near industrial centers, has collapsed. According to figures published by El ComercioAsturias has lost 82% of cogeneration production in six years. This implies less energy generated at source and, therefore, more need to bring electricity from outside through a network that is already saturated. The economic and environmental impact is also notable: 60 million euros less industrial turnover and 230,000 additional tons of CO₂. And now what? The Asturian Government insists that the problem will be resolved with the 400 kV central ringa gigantic infrastructure included in the energy planning for 2030. This ring will double the electric transportation capacity in the metropolitan area and will allow it to absorb the planned industrial growth. For its part, Red Eléctrica you already have authorization for the new Cardoso substation, key to that ring, with an investment of 26.5 million euros. However, the CNMC warns that the problem is … Read more

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