city

Organilleros are part of the cultural fabric of Mexico City. The problem is that there is no longer the one to manufacture the instruments

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The music is The language of the soul, and a universal language. The streets of large and small cities in half the world have musicians of all kinds that make a living, do so by hobby or to entertain in an act that would shudder to the SGAE. In Mexico, that street music is tradition, one that remains alive thanks to the organilleros. They have a couple of centuries behind them and the saddest thing is that they are the perfect example of natural obsolescence: organillos will not die because there is no one who wants to touch them, but because there will be no one who knows how to repair them. The organ. The figure of the organillero may be far away right now to those who live in Europe. It is possible to see them at popular festivals in some German municipalities, but it is somewhat more anecdotal and reserved for concrete moments than anything else. In Mexico, the thing changes: there are still listening daily in cities such as Mexico City. Also in Buenos Aires or Santiago de Chile. The cylinders The curious thing is that the organilleros were born in Europe, such as Organillos. It is a portable mechanical instrument that was invented in the 18th century, but that was perfected when it arrived in Germany during the nineteenth century. The box can be decorated with the reasons you want It is a mechanical instrument with cylinders that have protuberances or perforations that rotate through a crank and activate a series of tabs. In doing so, an internal flame expels air through tubes, which are those that produce musical notes at predefined height and rhythm due to the cylinder itself. You don’t have to know music, go, you just have to turn the crank. Crossing the puddle. In Germany they were tremendously popular, but also in Italy, France, the Netherlands or Spain. Each country could adapt them to their popular songs and the organilleros went through the streets and squares entertaining the room of the pedestrians. It was a way to popularize music and, at some point at the end of the 19th century, they arrived in Mexico. It was a bombing. Ganoa. ‘Wagner and Levien’ was a musical instrument house founded by German immigrants who not only brought the organs, but also rented them to those who wanted to make a living playing on the street. They continued to be manufactured in Germany, so it was necessary to import them and it is said that the most important in this regard was Gilberto Lázaro Gaona. HE esteem that there were 250 organillos that acquired in the 1930s, coinciding with the moment in which they stopped manufactured in Germany. And they are the ones that, modified to reproduce Mexican popular music, have been circling through the streets of the city. Tradition. These organs weigh their own. Some get to overcome the 50 kilos and, although there are models that can be carried in tow, the most common is to support them on a stick or on a wheel support that facilitates transportation. The organilleros are wearing their traditional uniform and are dedicated to … that, to turn to the lever to activate the mechanism and color some of the transitted streets in the city. Obviously, thanks to the sensitivity with the animals, now it does not happen, but before these organilleros could carry a monkey that collected the donations and completed the show. Also in Chile Controversial and counterpoling. They are, therefore, part of the cultural fabric of Mexico City and, as happens so many times, there are tourists who do not see those local traditions with good eyes. Famous was the case of an American tourist who complained through social networks because of the sound of this instrument. They soon Fall criticism that did not harass the young woman, defenders of the trade of the organilleros, of the cultural importance they have and, why not say it, of that zeal for the homeland that sometimes exalts when we feel attacked. In extinction. Now, the organilleros seem to be far from disappearing, but another song is what will happen with the organ. Due to the use, possible accidents and friction between the elements, these organs are wearing and must be repaired. Do you remember the 250 pieces that Gaona imported? Well, it is estimated that the rest were lost, they were stolen or sold to collectors, and those 16 are those that continue to rent to the organilleros. And the person responsible for that business and its repair is, as we read in Unknown MexicoMarcela Silvia Hernández Cortés, Gilberto daughter -in -law. Her husband was the one who had the business and she taught her because the two men told her to dedicate himself to the kitchen when she tried to learn the trade. Legacy. After the death of her husband, Marcela learned on her own to repair these organs that, if they have survived, is thanks to her expertise and dedication. The sad thing is that there is no school of organizers, nor new pieces, because the factories closed and the hope of the artisan, as he commented on the news, is that their granddaughters continue with the legacy. “It is very laborious, but sometimes I look good,” Marcela said in the news, who also comments that, beyond the tradition, the organizing trade is an opportunity for people of a certain age who have run out of work and that they cannot, for whatever reason, access one. The artisan is a precious profession and, as we saw with the popular response to the video of the American tourist, the role of the organillero is respected and appreciated by the Mexicans. So much that there is Organizations that work to conserve this tradition. Images | RDEMINICIS (WMB) (2), JMILLAN325, Luisalvaz In Xataka | Listen to music while you work will improve your cognitive abilities: you just have to choose the right one for each task

We thought we had seen everything about the futuristic city of Neom. A document has revealed what Saudi Arabia hidden: its cost

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At the beginning of March Neom He was news again. Satellite images through Google showed that the expansion of its port had experienced a significant transformation as Part of oxagonthe “Pata” futuristic “leg” of Neom. Once again, the hyperbole flooded a project that was born exaggerated and that, perhaps, dies exactly the same. Dreams and chaos. We have treated countless times the project in Saudi Arabia. Neom is An ambitious project destined to transform the country into a global center of technology and businesses, which faces serious problems that have questioned their viability. As we will see below, despite the 50,000 million dollars already invested, uncontrolled costs, mass delays and a management model full of illusions and financial concealment have turned this megaproject into A monumental challenge For the heir prince Mohammed Bin Salman (MBS). A start to trompicones. The spectacular Inauguration event On October on the island of Sindalah, with the presence of celebrities such as Will Smith, Tom Brady and Alicia Keys, today it is seen from another perspective. The reason? One was hidden less glamorous reality: The constructions They were incompletethe budgets had been tripled and the heir prince himself was unexpectedly absent, a gesture interpreted by many as a sign of disapproval. Not just that. Weeks later, the CEO of Neom It ended up being replacedand a new executive team took control in a desperate attempt to straighten the project. Futuristic promises vs reality. No doubt, Neom was conceived as a city of the future with science fiction elements, including in equation A The Linethat pair of skyscrapers 170 km long and 500 meters high (then trimmed in the budget); Trojenathe skiing station in the desert; Oxagona kind of floating business and industrial district; either Sindalaha spectacular luxury resort in the Red Sea. However, reality It has been very different. Delays of more than three years in Sindalah, which still does not open its hotels or golf course, while Neom has to face A cut of your first phasewhich puts at risk attract the necessary population to justify the investment. To this we must add overflowing costs: It is estimated that Neom It will cost 8.8 billion dollars By 2080, more than 25 times the annual budget of the country. Plus: obvious logistics challenges, since construction in the desert lacks the necessary basic infrastructure (labor, roads, ports and electricity). The mega projected port for oxagon The financial disaster is uncovered. And so we arrive at the news of this week that has made the viability of the project jump through the air. An internal report of more than 100 pages, Reviewed by The Wall Street Journalhas revealed that the executives of Neom, with the support of the consultant McKinsey & Co., have been altering financial estimates to justify the increase in costs. In other words: the report found “evidence of deliberate manipulation” of figures to hide the real expense. In trojena, for example, when the cost is shot at 10 billion Of dollars, instead of reducing expenses, income expectations were inflated, artificially raising hotels and luxury camps rates. There are more. For example, the projected rate of a boutique hotel It went from $ 489 to $ 1,866 by night. And luxury “glamping” rose from $ 216 to $ 704 per night. McKinsey, who has charged More than 130 million dollars A year in fees for Neom, he validated these projections after another advisor refused to do so, according to the audit. The role of the prince. We already counted a few weeks ago that the project has started A monumental palace For the man behind the pharaonic project. The heir prince has been directly involved in each key decision, supervising architectural designs and promoting ideas Inspired by video games and science fiction movies. Some of its proposals include a “zero gravity” architecturethat challenges physical laws; or “El Candelabro”, a 30 -story skyscrapers suspended face down from a bridge; either Floating theaters between skyscrapers and a amusement park 300 meters high. When engineers have tried to reduce The Line height to save costs, Bin Salman He rejected the ideainsisting that the 500 meters high should be maintained. In another case, when The Line’s original architect, Thom Mayne, wanted to express concerns about excessive costs, Neom’s executives simply They blocked their access to the prince. Cuts and crisis. It has been the consequence. With the out of control costs, the Saudi government has begun to modify the deadlines and expectations. The initial construction of The Line was reduced from 10 km Just 1.5 km. A 30 km tunnel For trains it was canceled by excessive uprights. Finally, the goal of having the first functional section by 2030 has Delayed at 2034. That said, and despite the measures adopted, the prince and the Saudi Sovereign Fund They are still betting on the projectalthough they have begun to describe it as “a generational investment”, instead of an immediate growth source for Vision 2030. Time, of course, will issue a sentence, but today is approaching an example of quite unrealistic planninguncontrolled expense and lack of financial supervision. The futuristic city of the desert, conceived as the “civilizational revolution” of Prince Mohammed Bin Salman, seems to be trapped in a clash between fantasy and reality, already despite the billions of inverted millions, its success remains, at least, highly uncertain. Image | Google In Xataka | How much money Elon Musk has: how the fortune of the man who plans the colonization of Mars from a social network is distributed In Xataka | Who are the largest millionaires in Spain: the list of the ten richest people in the country

There is a roundabout collapsing access to Granada. The City Council wants to fix it by putting the traffic lights

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Spain is A country of roundabouts. And although they are born to relieve traffic circulation, it is common manage to generate the opposite effect. This is the case of the roundabout that joins the highway of the GR-30 Circunvalación with Fernando de los Ríos Avenue, in Granada. A quite complex point of union between key points of the city such as the highway itself, the Nevada shopping center, the hospitals area and several of the most inhabited peoples of the city. This point, located in the municipality of Armilla, will be the second in Spain to incorporate traffic lights with artificial intelligence. Its objective is clear: replace the work of the Local Police for hours. The Rotunda del Chaos. Imagine a roundabout that joins the main highway of your city with the most busy shopping center of it, the university access zone, one of the main hospitals (not only of the city of Granada, but of the surrounding villages), and the main towns of the city. Insured chaos. This roundabout, located at the foot of the GR-30 highway, is famous for the amount of traffic jams that are generated at peak hours, from morning to the afternoon. It is usual to find local police officers regulating traffic at critical moments of the day, but now the City of Armilla wants to go one step further. Traffic lights with AI. The mayor of the town of Armilla, Loli Cañavate, explains to Granadahoy That the implementation of traffic lights with artificial intelligence is scheduled to replace the work of these mobility agents during tips. How will it work. The traffic light system will allow them Adapt in real time to vehicle flow. How will they do it? First, several traffic lights will be installed at the different access points to the roundabout. A total of five tickets distributed in the GR-30 descent, the departure of the Albán Park area, the departure of Fernando de los Ríos Avenue in the Granada direction, the departure from the Health Technology Park and the departure of Fernando de los Ríos Avenue Direction Armilla. The traffic camera system will collect updated information about traffic, and this data will be used so that traffic lights can regulate the circulation opening and closing the tickets to the roundabout according to the congestion zones. A little step towards the inevitable. The case of Granada is particular, since this roundabout will end up in a underground process to completely avoid this decongestion. However, the implementation of smart traffic lights begins to gain more and more strength. Neighboring countries, such as Germany, They started with pilot tests More than two years ago. The result? An improvement between 10 and 15% in the fluidity of traffic, with a scheduled improvement margin up to 30%. Without going as far, in cities like Córdoba There are already traffic lights with artificial intelligencealthough in this case with a system aimed at that pedestrians with reduced mobility can cross more easily. Specifically, if the traffic light detects that we have mobility problems, it is open for a longer time. In Xataka | Spanish traffic lights are more dangerous than the rest for a peculiarity. And the DGT knows Image | Eliobed Suárez

A Venezuelan invented a city without law in the middle of an island. Now the millionaires who followed him do not know how to escape

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In recent history there are several examples of projects of private for profit that sought to redifing the concept of governance and economic development combining libertarian, neoliberal and corporatist principles in the same cocktail shaker. ShenzhenIn China, it began as a special economic zone in 1980 and grew from being a fishing village to a metropolis with a GDP of 482 billion dollars. And there we have Neom in Saudi Arabiaalthough it is about to see that this future is confirmed. In any case, none as prosperous. A radical experiment. Located on the island of Roatán, Honduras, Prospera It was conceived as A libertarian citywith an independent fiscal and regulatory structure Designed to attract investorstechnological entrepreneurs and defenders of the free market. Created by the Venezuelan Erick Brime, a former manager of Investment Funds, the community operates under its own legal code, minimum tax rates and a digital judicial system administered by Arizona’s retired judges. With a 1% corporate tax rate And without capital gains taxes, the enclave was presented as an alternative to the Honduran system, seeking to demonstrate that the free market economy and the minimum government intervention can generate prosperity. Millionaires to the race. As we said, since its foundation in 2017, the city attracted the interest of Silicon Valley investors. There, people like Brian Armstrong (CEO of Coinbase) and Peter Thiel, who saw in prosperous space for technological and financial innovation. The community also became a meeting point for Biohackers and cryptocurrency, organizing conferences with the motto “Make Death Optional” and facilitating the installation of biotechnology and nuclear energy companies. However, the ambition of the project soon crashed with the political and social reality of Honduras, triggering a crisis that now threatens to dismantle its existence. Millionaires who look so happy do not know how to get out. The collapse of the legal framework. Prospera’s existence was possible thanks to the Employment and Economic Development Law (Zedes), approved during the mandate of former president Juan Orlando Hernández. What happened? That Hernández was arrested and convicted in the United States for drug trafficking, and her successor, President Xiomara Castro, went on to qualify the project as a creation of a “narco-regime.” In 2024, the Supreme Court of Honduras declared unconstitutional the law of the Zedesquestioning the legality of Prospera. Given this threat, Brime sue Honduras for 11,000 million of dollars before an international arbitration tribunal, claiming that the revocation of its special status constitutes an illegal expropriation. At the same time, hundreds of thousands of dollars have been spent in Lobby in the United States Congress seeking to press the Government so that sanction Honduras if it does not protect investment Foreign in Prospera. The community is revealed. In addition, the problem for these “investors” was aggravated when the rejection of the central government of the “city” added local leaders and indigenous communities In Roatán. Moreover, the Crawfish Rock community, which borders Prospera, has denounced that the project represents A threat to its territory and way of life. Tensions about access to water and territorial expansion have resulted in clashes between prosperous employees and local residents. A regulatory paradise. If you wonder why so many millionaires came to Brime, the answer is in one of the most controversial prosperous aspects: Your self -regulation modelwhere companies can choose between regulations from 36 different countriesSo even create their own regulations, provided they hire civil liability insurance. Hence, it has become a refuge for high -tech and biomedicine sectors, including startups on extreme longevity and prohibited experimental therapies in the United States. Who is it? Bloomberg had A few days ago in a special about the city that among the companies that have established operations in Prospera Oklo stand outa startup backed by Sam Altman that develops small nuclear reactors, biotechnology companies, some dedicated to unregulated medical treatments, and a large amount of Investors in cryptocurrenciesattracted by the possibility of paying taxes with Bitcoin. In any case, and despite its success by attracting private capital, the lack of a clear tax framework has generated those Frictions with the local government. The mayor of Roatán, Ron McNab, has criticized that Prospera uses the island’s infrastructure Without paying municipal taxeswhich aggravates urban problems such as lack of roads, drainage and safety. Model expansion. As Prospera’s viability in Honduras has become more uncertain, Brime and businesswoman Magatte Wade have launched a new project: Africa prosperan attempt to replicate the model in African countries. Apparently, Sub -Saharan Africa is seen as a fertile land for this type of projects due to its rapid urban growth and high demand for private investment. Of course, Wade has emphasized that his intention is to avoid mistakes made in Honduras and work in collaboration with local governments. A libertarian utopia. Thus, which began as an experiment in self -government has evolved in A legal, political and social struggle With the Honduran government and the premises In “Weapons” against this invented city. While Brime and his allies press for the international recognition of Prospera, local resistance and government actions have turned their dream and that of investors into a nightmare with a figure to settle: 11,000 million dollars. The curious thing about this story is that, far from trying to put an end, Prospera’s fate could be replicated in other places and, if necessary, determine the future of other autonomous cities worldwide. If you manage to survive and give you the right, a precedent will sit for many other similar projects. If it fails, it will reinforce skepticism about The viability of these libertarian enclaves in countries with fragile political and economic contexts. What seems clear is that the confrontation between Prospera and Honduras is far from ending, exposing fundamental challenges of private cities: can a corporation replace a state? Or maybe the big question: how far does the right of a community come to self -govern? Image | Zaha Hadid In Xataka | How much money Elon Musk has: how the fortune of the man who plans … Read more

The comic-with Malaga is a milestone for the city and for Spain. His challenge is now to find out what kind of event he wants to be

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Malaga will have Your own comic-withwith the denomination of official origin of what is the Convention of Comics in particular and entertainment for the most famous and influential Fandom in the world, the world, the Comic-Con de San Diego. It will be the first time that the brand leaves the United States and will be held in the Andalusian city between Thursday, September 25 and Sunday 28 of this same 2025, according to The South newspaper advances. Malaga, how beautiful you are. The news He caught the fandom by surprise At the beginning of the week: we will have Comic-Con in Malaga, a candidacy that the organization of the original event has been working with the Junta de Andalucía and the City of Malaga. Before the final approval, a Comic-Con delegation examined spaces, communications and other infrastructure, according to means like Malaga’s opinion. The intention of this first edition outside the US is to strengthen the Comic-Con international brand with a European branch, and in principle this collaboration will last three years, after which the contract will be considered to renew. The comic-with is the comic-with. That the comic-with land in Spain is extraordinary not only by the brand itself, but for our tradition of comics related events, abundant throughout our geography and with a particular identity. Perhaps the salt of the Barcelona comic is the one that approximates him the most, although he focuses exclusively on comics, unlike the comic-with. Other conventions in Spain. The different and failed intentions of doing something closer to the American experience in Madrid have resulted in not very lucid events, such as Multiple expocamic mutations. At the end of March the promising is celebrated I Madrid comic Fairof more informative than commercial ambitions. And Malaga has had its own convention, the Freakcon, this more verbenera, and which is held in May in Torremolinos. Comics? One of the first doubts that this event has raised has been the first names associated with it, which are not mostly national or international, but fmasters who have rarely been linked to the industry. And yes, the Eternal Paco Roca or Carlos Areces and Álex de la Iglesia, historical fans to the medium appears. But names also appear there that have little or nothing to do with the industry, such as film directors Joaquín Mazón, Daniel Sánchez Arévalo, Icíar Bollaín or Santiago Segura, fond of the medium and scriptwriter under pseudonym in the nineties of the ‘small and vicious pornographic comic. It is clear the openly pending orientation of the cinema that this event has. All for tourism. There is another essential aspect to understand this comic-with that escapes the strictest limits of the comic: the Palace of Fairs of Malaga will be the center of the event, but it has already been spoken with the organization of satellite locations in other spaces of the capital, some of them outdoors, to house presentations, encounters and parallel shows. Let’s not forget that the Andalusian Tourism Office is involved in the organization, and that there is the substantial precedent of the Latin Grammy in Sevillethat They left according to South An economic impact close to 50 million euros and more than ten thousand visitors. International visitors and the good infrastructure of the city to transport and accommodate them have done a lot to make the candidacy. The price issue. The sudden of the ad and the strange list of guests to start with the guests has made the first suspicions of the fans lift, which all orbit around the price of the event. The possibility of bringing internationally renowned personalities and in the amount that San Diego does is unlikely, because the price would shoot: remember that the Comic-with is no longer only an event of editorial releases (as in Spain with the Saló or the Book Fair), but of ads of the great producers: Marvel and Warner leave some of their bombings of the year for those days for those days for those days for those days, Robert Downey Jr. and His return to MCU as Dr. Doom. Entering is not free. That attraction not only for comics readers, but for all types of audiences, and for an international demography, is a remarkable problem: the entrance for Saló It is at 10-18 eurosthat of the comic-with goes to 80 dollars It is impossible for us to maintain that cost if you want the company to be profitable, where the Spanish fan has even problems to pay for an autograph, a very widespread custom out. Minor stars. Is the Comic-with to submit only to minor or local stars so that the price is not dismissed to limits that the Spanish public would not pay (how many fans would they be willing to get rid of one hundred euros for a Selfie With Ryan Reynolds?)? It is a great possibility, unless Málaga trusts that its tourist attraction (and the date: just when summer heat is vanuing) attracts economies with the most resistant portfolio. So for now, doubts are more than the certainties around the comic-with. The main one, as adapting to the Spanish Fandom an event that owes it too much, by definition, to the US characteristics. Header | Gage Skidmore In Xataka | Marvel revolutionizes the comic with the reappearance of Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom and advances of Avengers and Fantastic Four

South Korea has done an exercise with its F-16. They have mistakenly bombard a city near the border with the north

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The F-16 They are possibly one of the most popular fighters. These are monomotor combat airplanes developed by the American General Dynamics that went from being listed as “light hunting” to evolve to versatile. Inside, one of the most common air weapons on the planet: the pump without guide Mark 82. Up to eight of them have fallen near the border with North Korea by error. The incident. Two KF-16 fighters of the South Korean Air Force (Rokaf) They accidentally launched eight bombs MK-82 on a village/city in the Nogok area, on the outskirts from Pocheonabout 40 kilometers from Seoul and no less than 32 kilometers from the border with North Korea. Because? The error occurred shortly after 10 am during a real fire exercise in preparation for joint maneuvers with the United States. As a result, 15 people were injuredtwo of them in serious condition, and dozens of residents were evacuated, in addition to destroying, among other things, a church. The causes and the answer. The first investigations indicate that the pilot of one of the planes incorrectly introduced coordinates of the objective, causing the fall of the pumps in an inhabited area. However, it is not yet clear why the second plane also launched its explosive load. The South Korean Air Force has suspended all exercises of real fire to clarify the facts and have formed an emergency committee to investigate what happened. In An official statementthe authorities expressed their apologies and have promised assistance to those affected. Damage and testimonies. The explosions caused severe damage to infrastructure local, including homes, trucks and, as we said, a church. The impact of the pumps was strong enough to shake a center for people over more than half a kilometer from the place. Among the testimonies collected by local media, residents have described chaos scenes, with smoke rising to heaven, broken pipes and people trapped in vehicles. A witness reported that some houses They were “games in half” and that several people were injured inside a car en route to a construction work. Impact on joint safety and maneuvers. In addition, the incident occurs at a time of High voltage in the Korean Peninsulawith South Korea, the United States and Japan concerned with the growing military alliance Between North Korea and Russia. Seoul has repeatedly denounced that Pyongyang has sent soldiers to fight in Ukraine, and South Korean intelligence sources say that recently More North Korean They were deployed in the Russian city of Kursk. Plus: accidental bombardment has happened a few days before the start of the joint exercises called Freedom Shield, scheduled to start next Monday (from March 10 to 20). Although the South Korean authorities have ensured that the incident will not affect the development of these maneuvers, the security of real fire exercises has been, in question.

A Catalan tells his most northern city experience in the world

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He Svalbard archipelago It is the most northern place in Europe. It is a huge ice cream far away above the Arctic Circle where about 2,500 people They are officially forbidden to die. There, right there, there is a Catalan. A Catalan? Indeed. Born in Sant Cugat del Vallès 29 years ago, Nil Rodés It has become the head engine of the Department of Geology of the University Center of the Svalbard Islands. And just being Interviewed in Via Lliure de Rac1 where it gives details about how it is to live very (but very) to the north of the polar circle. “A few months ago it is night,” Rodés said. “Between eleven and one, we now have a blue light (like the end of the day) and, for the month of March, there will be a sun.” It does not carry it very well and, in fact, the Catalan engineer takes advantage of the months of greater darkness to go outside the island. Of course, the doubt of whether “is something related to the Mediterranean blood” always because, in the five years he has been living in the north, he has met many people who worship the darkness “deep of the Arctic Night. An island without indigenous … There are no native peoples of the islands because it is too north. And the first stable inhabitants arrived with the mining companies that began to exploit the coal of the islands at the end of the 19th and early twentieth. Before that, there were only small fishermen bases that were used sporadically. The truth is that, anyway, there are not many natives in strict sense. It is prohibited to be born in the islands. When an advanced stage of pregnancy is reached, mothers have to go to Norway to give birth safely. In the same way, It is forbidden to die (and be buried) on the island. Except for cases of accidental deaths, no one dies there. … but with many bears. There are about 3,000 bears in the region compared to 2,500 people. 300 of those animals live on the main island (and that means that whenever you leave the settlement you have to be armed with rifles or guns of Bengal). In fact, there is a traffic signal in which the area is indicated in from which the safety of individuals depends on them same. And what does a “chief engineer” do on such an island? A good part of the activity of the islands has to see with education and research of all kinds (from questions related to climate or geology to studies on fauna and conservation of ecosystems). Do not forget that The “end of the end of the world” is right there. Rodés’s work has to do with the logistics and safety of all projects linked to geological research. As I say, the villages themselves are safe areas, but beyond those limits any unforeseen can be critical. To the limit of the impossible. According to Rodésthe site must really be overwhelming. A place where in winter it is not clear what is land and what is sea ice (beyond the “llaneza” of the land can give you important clues); and in which, for six months, they can only move with snow motorcycles. In recent years, the Svalbard Islands have only jumped to the media for the problems that the Ukraine War (and the associated sanctions)) created in the relationship between the capital of the islands (Longyearbyen) and a small Russian settlement (Barentsburg) at 50 kilometers. For the rest, it is a small haven of peace in Miad in one of the areas that more is changing due to climate change. Image | Janik Rohland In Xataka | A Spanish scientist in the most inhospitable place on Earth

The Atlantic has a ‘lost city’ with the key to life on other planets. Now is in danger

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The earth seems to have no secrets at this point. That if we talk about the earth’s part, of course, because although nWe are putting the batteries With the oceanic background, much remains to be known. And one of the examples is the lost city found in 2000, a set of structures in the middle of the Atlantic that are not only curious, but they help us with the most unexpected: Study extraterrestrial ecosystems. And, ultimately, determine the clues that must be followed to find life in the universe. Only. More than 700 meters deep west of the Mesoatlantic dorsalon December 4, 2000, some explorers in command of remote control submersibles found something surprising: a set of walls and monoliths that reached 60 meters high and had a curious bluish tone due to the foci of the submarines. These carbonated structures were something that the scientific community had never seen and was baptized as the ‘lost city’. Among that we love giving rimbombant names and that could resemble Atlantis, the marketing part was already made. Chimneys. The full name is, really, ‘Hydrothermal field of the lost city’, and it is the oldest oceanic ventilation site, at least what we know. It is estimated that he is about 120,000 years old and, during all that time, his chimneys have been expelling gases at temperatures between 40 and 90 degrees Celsius. These hydrothermal vents release methane and hydrogen, but are not volcanic, so they do not produce co₂, hydrogen sulfide or metals. With the passage of the millennia, that expelled material was accumulated in the form of columns and walls of Brucita, Aragonito and Carbonate of calcium, with a whitish color and very particular schegic texture. Point of interest. For the scientific community, the lost city is a mine. Its particular environment and the conditions of its formation, as well as its age, can provide clues about the origin of life on Earth, as well as a more detailed vision of the planet’s composition. Over the years they have been studying their materials and, in 2024, a group of scientists advertisement The recovery of a rock sample more than a meter long. With her, they hope to find crucial evidence about the origin of life on earth. There are some spectacular formations. Researchers at the University of Washington described some vents as structures that “cry” fluids that form carbonated structures of multiple tips as curious as the one we see in the photo that we leave just on these lines. But there are not only rocks in the lost city. Extraterrestrials. At that depth, without oxygen, with a highly alkaline and hydrogen, methane and other gases dissolved in water, we might think that it is a ‘lunar’ ecosystem in which life is impossible. Curiously, It is full of animals such as anemones, microbial communities, crustaceans, snails and, occasionally, deep fish. The question is how life can prosper when it comes to an environment in which there is no sunlight, there is no oxygen and both hydrogen and methane, they camp their wide. That is precisely what also called the attention Of the researchers because the study of this fact can give us clues about what kind of life or signs of life to look for in environments that can be similar, such as redry or Europe (Saturn and Jupiter moons). Threatened heritage. Writing this has given me to think about ‘Avatar‘Not only because the film has attractive extraterrestrial structures, but because its director, James Cameron, is a passionate about underwater expeditions. And something that happens in his film is that we arrive at another planet and sweep it to get resources. We must not go to Pandora -the planet of ‘avatar’-, we continue to see it in areas such as the Amazon. And that we destroy the lost city is something that researchers fear. Poland got In 2018, the exploitation rights of the seabed around the lost city and, although the hydrothermal field has no valuable resources for us, altering its surroundings could endanger the entire area. That’s why you are working so that the lost city is declared a World Heritage Site with the aim of protecting it as much as possible and being able to continue studying it. We will see what happens with an area that is not the only hydrothermal field in the world, but one whose particularities can help understand how life develops in extreme conditions and in similar extraterrestrial environments. Images | Cairns S, Kitahara M In Xataka | Half a year ago we discovered oxygen in one of the most remote places on the planet. Now we want to know more

that of 1755, the disaster that destroyed the city and changed science

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Earthquakes in Lisbon can be more or less intenseto have greater or lesser reach and unleash or not alarm, but since the mid -eighteenth century all (whether strong, medium or slight) have something in common: in addition to stirring the ground, they remove the memory. Ease in the Portuguese capital is synonymous with 1755. of disaster. Of destruction. Of Thousands of dead. And also, in its own way, of regeneration. It is so for a very simple reason: in Lisbon it is impossible for the soil to be stirred without the Lisbon remembers The drama that their great -grandparents lived (and perhaps some more tátara) on all the saints of 1755, when in a matter of a few hours the city trembled, burned and sank. Literally. The tremor recorded yesterday afternoon in the Lisbon Metropolitan Areaof Magnitude 4.7 And to which two other mild ones have happened today, 2.8 and 2.3they are no exception and (as has already happened with another similar In August of magnitude 5,3) dusting the memory of 1755. A November morning … The history of the earthquake that He swept Lisbon In 1755, there has been thousands of times and in almost all chronicles a circumstance is highlighted that continues to fascinate even today, 270 years after the disaster: its date. The ground trembled on the morning of November 1, All Saints’ Day, with the devotees Catholics praying in the temples and large amount of candles lit in honor of the deceased. Maybe it seems silly, but ultimately it turned out A key detail. Thanks to testimonies such as the English Reverend Charles Davywho remembered that autumal morning prior to the earthquake as the “most beautiful”, we know that Towards 9.30 a.m. The Lisbon gathered in the city’s temples felt a rumble. The noise was so intense, so loud, that Davy believed that it was a carriage march. “I soon disappointed myself, I discovered that it was due to a type of strange and frightening noise underground, similar to distant and hollow rumble of a thunder “, He recalled The British. It was right. That rumble was not caused by the wheels and horses of the horses as they moved on the cobblestone of Lisbon, but an earthquake that the researchers They still study today. In July 2021, without going any further, Nature public An article that deepened in Its causes and tectonic origin. What neither Davy nor the rest of the inhabitants of Lisbon could know in 1755 is that the city would not be shaken by a single earthquake. They happened two or three tremors Of which the second was, from afar, the most intense. Today it is estimated that it reached a magnitude of between 8.5 and 9 On the Richter scale, almost double that it shook yesterday the capital and superior to the one that hit Morocco in 2023. From the Institut de Ciènces del Mar They clarify In fact, one of the natural events is considered ” more destructive in history from Europe “. Temples fell. Palacios fell. Public buildings fell. And houses fell. Earthquakes and something else 1755 Maybe it is far behind in time, but the Lisbon of then reacted to the tremors in the same way that we would do today: they sought refuge. A good part of the survivors of the first earthquake, regardless of sex or rank ran to the great open square next to the Tajo River. There Mr. Braddick, an English merchant whose testimony He rescued years ago The BBC was found to swirled. There they cried mercy to heaven. And there they were surprised by the second shock of the ground, which like Braddick tells, “The ruin completed” of the buildings that had already been damaged. It is not necessary to imagine it. One of the forced stops for tourists visiting Lisbon is naked Gothic arcade of the church of Convent do carmoone of the architectural victims of that unfortunate day. Just as if a drama in three acts were, the earthquakes that shook Lisbon’s foundations were only the beginning. The earthquake generated a tsamot with waves of between six and nine meters(It was felt Also in Cádizleaving thousands of victims) that unloaded violently in the lower part of the city. In less than an hour The water crashed into the Paseo Marítimo, where it surprised not a few Lisbon who had sought refuge in La Ribera. There is even more. The disaster was accompanied by fires that were probably aggravated by the overturned stoves and the vote candles lit for the deceased. Years ago the National Geographic Institute published A monograph in which the devastation generated by the flames, which lasted for five or six days. “As soon as it obscured, the entire city It seemed to shinewith such a bright light that could be read. You could say without exaggeration that there were fires in at least one hundred places at the same time “, Reverend Davy recountswho confirms that the fires lasted almost a week, “without interruption.” A tragedy and a change The result? Just a few years later Voltaire I pointed critically in his work Naive that the disaster had taken “three quarters” of Lisbon. Other sources They go further And they suggest that the tremors, the tsunami and the fire “almost completely” the Portuguese capital and knocked down around 12,000 homes. The balance is in any case bleak, just like the balance of victims. Depending on the source that is handled, there is talk of 10,000 Deaths, 30,000, 60,000 or even 90,000. A barbarity if one takes into account that at that time Lisbon would have between 200,000 and 300,000 inhabitants. Such was the debacle that is told that Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, Marqués de Pombalhe advised King José I be pragmatic: he played “rescue the living and bury the dead.” The 1755 disaster was not only felt in the balance of deaths, injured, missing and buildings, squares, roads and crumbled temples. In its way … Read more

Barcelona is the city of Spain with more motorcycles. Now the Generalitat considers limiting its circulation

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Spain has a mobile park of 4,162,850 motorcycles. Of these, 22.8% are registered in Catalonia. In total, there are 947,895 motorcycles that circulate through the streets of the Autonomous Community, according to Statistics Institute of Catalonia. The figure shows the enormous weight that the motorcycle represents In Catalonia. No other vehicle is so popular if compared to the total cars volume of the country. While motorcycles, as we said, exceed 20%, Catalonia has 13.8% of cars registered. Buses (14.5%) and vans and trucks (14.1%) are also far from the previous figure. Of the almost million motorcycles that Catalonia has registered, 713,033 of them are counted in the province of Barcelona. Anyone who walks through the city can verify that it is a boiler of two -wheeled vehicles. According to RACC data of 2022in the city about 450,000 motorcycle displacements occur every day. AND Already in 2019 it was alert of the difficulties that the city had to park all two -wheeled vehicles that circulate through its streets. For all of the above, the IMPULSE PLAN TO THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE 2025-2030 presented by the Generalitat de Catalunya herself in which a Reduction of combustion motorcycles with measures that facilitate their limitations. A plan that has been sold as the prohibition of motorcycles with combustion engines from 2030 (although this is not true) and that has raised blisters in the world of motorcycle who are considered discriminated against in front of any other type of vehicle. What happened? A controversial plan Presented by the president of the Generalitat de Catalunya, Salvador Illa, and collected on the official website of the agency, the IMPULSE PLAN TO THE ELECTRIC VEHICLE 2025-2030 It has been presented as the master lines to be followed in the coming years to transform the Catalan mobile park and gradually clean the pollutant emissions of the same. In that plan we can read initiatives such as TRIPPLY the penetration of electric vehicles In Catalonia to be at the middle levels of Europe, bend the number of public loaders (especially the rapids) and electrify 90% d the fleet of the Generalitat of Catalonia. In the program, which has five key points of action, there is no talk at any time to remove vehicles from the circulation or references to the low emissions areas of the Catalan cities and their restrictions by environmental label. Tours, buses, trucks or vans are completely omitted in the aforementioned plan. However, there is a clearly indicated type of vehicle: motorcycles. Literally, the plan includes in its second point that it will work on the following: “Promotion of the gradual limitation of combustion motorcycle. Parallel to the implementation of gradual restrictions on combustion motorcycles with environmental labels B and C, an industrial transition program will be established to promote the production, distribution and repair of electric motorcycles Although from some media and on social networks it can be read that Catalonia will prohibit combustion motorcycles from 2030, the truth is that this is not true. There is no established date in which it is specified that these vehicles will not be able to circulate through the streets. However, the warning that “the gradual limitation of combustion motorcycle” will be promoted, it gives an idea that the intentions of the Generalitat of Catalonia is to end motorcycles with environmental labeling B and C. Of course, Specifies that the intention is to promote the sale of motorcycles with cleaner labeling. The measure is controversial because, as they point out from Anesdor (National Association of Companies of the Sector Two Wheels), in the program No mention is made to other types of vehicles such as cars, buses, vans or trucks. That despite the fact that motorcycles are not contemplated in the prohibition of combustion engines for vehicles that are still going (we will see if definitively) in the European Union from 2035. They also emphasize that, at the moment, 58.1% of the motorcycles circulating in Spain have environmental labeling C. is another of the label paradoxes designed by the DGT. Collect in The confidential that the average data of Nox emissions of a Euro 5 motorcycle (DGT tag) reach 0.0156 gr/km. However, they point out in the digital medium, the environmental labeling is controversial. A Euro 6 car emits, average 0.3137 gr/km of Nox. That is, they have the same sticker despite having contaminated much more. That if they do not have Soft hybridization that has a minimum impact on the accounts but automatically delivers the DGT echo label. They also have Echo more polluting vehicles that the aforementioned motorcycles such as the CNG and LPG (0.0350 gr/km of NOX on average). Only gasoline hybrids They reflect better data but the difference is minimal (0.0133 gr/km of Nox). That is, no one has forbidden that motorcycles with combustion engines can circulate in Catalonia but the intention of the Generalitat is to promote those actions that limit their movements and press so that consumers jump to electric vehicles. Photo | Nan Zhou In Xataka | Runrún returns about changes in DGT labels: this is all we know

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