country

Spain has been an untouchable power of Mediterranean tourism for years. A country steps on your heels: Türkiye

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With tourism recovering (and even overcoming) the pulse I had before the pandemic, Spain is not the only country that seeks break records and crowned at the top of the podium of international destinations. About 2,500 kilometers from the Iberian Peninsula there is another country, also bathed in the Mediterranean, with a powerful offer of beaches, culture, heritage and gastronomy that struggles for Get a hole in it World top 3 of tourism, a select club now basically reserved to France, Spain and the US. Which? Türkiye. All this accompanied, of course, of a powerful flow of billions of dollars in income for the sector. A for the Top 3. Türkiye is determined to increase at the top of the world tourism ranking. He left it Of course in April his minister of the branch, Mehmet Nuri Ersoyduring a forum organized in Eruzurum, northwest of the country: “In 2024 we managed to become one of the four largest tourist economies in the world, but we will not stop there. Our goal is to be among the first three countries in tourism.” Same message He movedThese days Mehmet İşler, vice president of the Turkish Hotel Federation (Türofed), insisting that the “objective” of the sector is to turn the nation into “one of the three main” powers in the sector. “We have gone from being an affordable holiday destination to be a recognized tourist center,” He claimed in statements collected by Hürriyet Daily Newsthe oldest newspaper in Türkiye. How many tourists do they receive? According to The data Disseminated by his Ministry of Tourism and Culture, in 2024 Türkiye received 62.3 million visitors who translated into income from value of 61.1 billion of dollars. The figure however has a “but”: those 62.3 million include both the 52.6 million of international tourists who passed through the country during the year as the nearly 10 million Turks residing abroad and visited their homeland. The nuance does not mean that the trend of international tourism has been clearly positive in Türkiye. Those 52.6 million foreign visitors suppose A historical record and Improve 9% The result of 2023. The rise also moved to the money generated by the sector: the 61.1 billion dollars registered by the Turkish Statistical Institute (Tüik) reflect an year -on -year increase of 8.3%. And how is 2025? The year has also started with the occasional joy for the Turkish industry, although with nuances. The income flow grew 5.6% during the first quarter to place in 9,450 million Of dollars, but the general balance of visitors was not so good: it stayed at 6.7 million foreign tourists, 5% less than last year. The objectives for this year are ambitious, according to Hürriyet Daily: reach 65 million visitors and shoot the billing at 64,000 million dollars. Expanding the photo. To appreciate the growth of Turkish tourism, however, to take perspective and follow its evolution over the last years. He Historical record De Türsab show that in 2017 the country received around 32.4 million foreign visitors. In 2024 they were 52.6 millionso the increase was 62% in less than a decade. In cash and sound money, that boom resulted in an increase even greater of income Climbing in the ranking. Thanks to this growth Türkiye sneaked first in the Top 10 of the great international destinations and climbed positions in that table. The World Population Review website places it in The sixth place In 2024, behind France, Spain, USA, China and Italy. In other classifications (2023) occupies the fifth. It would actually be various criteria When ordering destinations, such as the flow of international travelers, the weight of the tourism sector or the volume of income. During Your intervention In Erzurum, Ersoy claimed that Turkey managed World Tourism Organizationhe trusted to be fourth in 2024. Important how much … and where. The growth of Turkish tourism does not respond only to the attractiveness of Istanbul or Capadocia, its landscape and gastronomy or the government’s commitment to boost the sector. 2024 data show that it has managed to become strong in certain key markets, such as Russian or Iranian. The first, who now see their flights to Europe for The answer From the West to the war in Ukraine, they grew 6% to add 6.7 million of travelers, almost 13% of the total. Iran received about 3.2 million tourists, 31% more than the previous year. Other key markets were the German, the second main issuing market, with 6.6 millionthe British (4.4 million) or the Bulgarians (2.9), also of course from the Turkish citizens who live outside the country and fly to visit their nation. In 2024 they touched the 10 million. In the first three months of the year the demand punctured in the Russian, German and Iranian markets, so Türsab trusts in alleviating its fall with China, Germany or the United Kingdom. The figures import (all). Turkey tourist emerge is interesting because it has not only translated into more visitors. That trend has come accompanied by greater income flow in a country that, Recognize Ersoyit has been proposed to “prioritize quality over quantity”. “The objective is not only to increase the number of visitors, but go to tourists with high expenses not related to accommodation.” For now, 2025 would have started with an increase in almost 5% In the average spending per traveler. And how does Spain affect? Spain and Türkiye may be separated by thousands of kilometers, but in a way they point to the same markets thanks to their heritage offer, Sun and beach. Although their sector drinks largely from Russian and Iranian markets, Turkish hotels have attracted an intense flow of German and British travelers, very relevant markets for Spanish tourism. Only in 2024 both countries added 20% of foreign demand. Turkish growth in those key points could threaten that of Spain, which It goes now Towards the barrier of 100 million of foreign travelers. In his favor Türkiye has another great asset: prices. Although the fees of their hotels … Read more

The percentage of GDP that each country allocates to Defense, exposed in this graphic with an unavoidable protagonist

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Talking about war is looking at Ukraine and Russia. The contest between the two countries It is dilated from its start in 2022, but there are many countries that are in a War situation (between them or internally) and many others in constant tension, such as Myanmar, India and Taiwan with China either Poland with Russia. And that implies one thing: They spend more money in defense. Not only them: the world is spending more money on that militarization, and in this graph prepared by Visual Capitalist We can clearly see the military spending of each country in proportion to its GDP. Spending compared to your GDP. The gross domestic product is a A country’s economy indicator. It is the sum of all the goods and services that occur within a country for a year and, if it goes up, it means that the economy produces more. If you go down, on the contrary. That money has to be reinvested, and what we are seeing is that there are countries that are increasingly investing more money from their GDP in defense. For the elaboration of the graph, the data of the International Stockholm Institute for Peace Research -sipri- and, although these data are public, there are cases such as Russia, Saudi or China Arabia in which estimates have to be resorted to. The evergreen trio. In the infographic Ukraine stands out as the country that more money in relation to its GDP has invested in defense. It is estimated that Ukraine allocated $ 64.7 billion to His military arm. It is, with a lot of difference, the country that is making the most effort in the world in this regard, but the funny thing is that others with a much lower defense percentage, reach Astronomical figures. This is because the GDP of these other countries is much higher. Thus, we see that Israel with its 8.8% of GDP in defense, Algeria with 8% or Saudi Arabia with 7.3% or approach a Russia that invests 7.1% of its GDP, which translates into about 149,000 million dollars. Then we have Chinainvesting 1.7% of its GDP – about 314,000 million dollars – and the true monster: a United States that, with its 3.4%, is estimated to invest about 997,000 million in defense. Logical. As we say, it has all the meaning that is the countries with greater tension that most invest in defense because it is not necessary to have an open war to be in those first positions. An example is Poland, which has increased spending due to recent tensions with Russia. Another example is that of Algeria, which in 2022 allocated 4.1% of its GDP to Defense and in 2024 the figure folded to 8% due to the dispute of the Western Sahara with Morocco. Alcista Trend. According to the SIPRI, although not all NATO members fulfilled their objectives, something for what Trump is pushingmilitary expenditure did increase in all of them. The aforementioned United States represents 66% of NATO spending And more than a third, they alone, of the world military spending. And the situation is far from sending. In 2023, global military expend Cold war. For contextualizing something else, the agency estimates that the United Kingdom increased its military expenditure by 2.8%, France by 6.1%, Sweden in 34% and Mexico by 66% during the last year. In total, taking world GDP, it is estimated that the world spent 2.5% of it in the army, when the last years had remained around 2.2%. And that before Europe installs rearme. In Xataka | To hunt Russian drones, Ukraine is resorting to a revolutionary technique … from World War I

Mexico had its own Alcatraz 130 km from the country. Fortified islands housed the most dangerous murderers of the nation

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In December we rescue A true story which possibly served Michael Bay for his film ‘La Roca’, set in Alcatraz prison. Actually, it wasn’t so impregnablebut the jail (now converted into a tourist visiting space) has become notic again because Trump considers The idea of ​​recovering it as “home” for the most dangerous criminals in the United States. The truth is that, before Alcatraz, Mexico already had such a prison. From prison to sanctuary. For more than a century, The Marias Islands They represented the confinement, exile and hardness of the Mexican Penitentiary System. A story that changed from the definitive closure of its prison in 2019, when the remote archipelago in the Pacific began a surprising and unexpected transformation towards ecotourism and environmental conservation. Located about 130 kilometers from the coast of Nayarit, the four islands, and in particular Mary Motherthey went from being the last Insular Criminal Colony from America to become a Biosphere Reserve managed by the Mexican Navy. In 2022 the visits organized for tourists began under strong security measures and with limited routes, where visitors can travel both the wild nature and the historical traces of a prison past plagued with dark stories. Penitentiary facilities still visible (such as cells, surveillance towers and a maximum security module) are now combined with hotels, trails, lush vegetation and endemic species that have survived thanks to isolation for millions of years. Violence, punishment and resistance. Founded as Prison in 1905the Marías Islands housed many of the more dangerous criminals of the country, together with political dissidents, poor peasants and religious leaders during different historical stages. There were also opponents of the Government of Álvaro Obregón, Catholics in the time of the Cristero Warand figures Like the writer José Revueltassymbol of intellectual dissent. The prison regime varied over time, since semi -liberated modalities in which some inmates lived with their families, even closed structures such as Maximum security section Open in 2011 after the militarization of the criminal system during the war against the narco. In these facilities, described as replicas of American prisons, prisoners lived with extreme punishments, such as the existence of a metal cabin that functioned as a solar heat torture chamber. In fact, The BBC counted that rumors of undercover executions and clandestine burials are still persists in the other islands of the archipelago, occasionally frequented by illegal and drug traffickers. Overpopulation During the last decades of operation as prison, serious overpopulation episodes were experienced, particularly notorious in the 2000s. The angels Times counted and testimonies collected by Mexican media Like the universal and Processat some times they came to live More than 8,000 inmates In precarious conditions, in facilities originally designed to house much less. An especially shocking example was reported by a former inmate who, in 2022, recalled that 500 women They shared only five bathroomssituation that described how to live in a “chicken coop.” Although as we said, in the beginning the prison had a relatively open regime (even allowed some inmates to live with their families), the hardening of the penitentiary policy after the War against drug trafficking In 2006 and the opening of the maximum security module aggravated overcrowding. Complaints of insufficient rations and lack of medical care derived even in A riot in 2013after which the module closed. The combination of structural deterioration, lack of resources and social pressure ended up leading to definitive closure of the prison in 2019. Biodiversity Then came the “second life” of the islands. Despite its gloomy legacy, the natural wealth of the archipelago has survived and even flourished. Since 2010, when the prison still worked, UNESCO recognized the Marias Islands as a biosphere reserve for its unique ecosystem, composed of dry forests, mangroves, coral reef, coasts and endemic fauna such as the Loro Tres MaríasMapaches and rabbits that do not exist anywhere else on the planet. Many of these species suffered during the penitentiary period (they say Some inmates hunted snakes to make belts or trafficked parrots with the help of relatives). Today, the National Commission of Protected Natural Areas (Conanp) works with the Navy to protect this biodiversity, although the challenges are maintained, especially For illegal fishing. Despite the restrictions imposed since 2000 and reinforced in 2021, scientists such as Marino Octavio Aburto-Opeza Biologist warned that Companies still operate that offer recreational fishing or with harpoon without effective control, which puts at risk the fragile ecological balance of the area. Tourism (responsible). Today, visits to María Madre have become a strange mixture of biotourism and historical memory. Tourists, mostly Mexicans, are attracted to both the wild and The history of suffering inscribed in cells, corridors, murals and cemeteries. It explained the BBC With examples, such as the tomb of “El Sapo”, an alleged state murderer Macheted killed For their cell partners, or the esculos of octopus made by inmates who decorate still closed rooms, episodes that generate an environment between the surreal and moving. In short, although the current approach gives priority to contact with nature and environmental education, the main attraction for many remains the same as in Alcatraz: the possibility of walking for what was once a penitentiary hell. Thus, in the experience of the visit two stories live together: that of an infamous prison that functioned as a tool for social control and repression for more than a century, and that of a resilient ecosystem that now seems to offer a promise of redemption through responsible tourism and collective memory. Image | Vallee, Rawpixel In Xataka | The incredible story of the men who escaped from the Alcatraz prison with spoons, false hair and a homemade boat In Xataka | The Japanese who built a replica of his cell in his garden because his sentence seemed little: he did not get out of there again

In Europe, more rent among women always equals less children. A country has managed to change it: Sweden

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A while ago Martin Kolk, a demographer from the University of Stockholm, asked an interesting question: does the income level influence the number of children who have men and women throughout their lives? And if so, to what extent? To answer these issues he dedicated himself to combing the fertility and income databases of his country, Sweden, of the last decades. The result He published it In 2022 in Population Studieswhere it reveals a change in tendency in Swedish society that, like Kolk himself stands outcould move to other nations. Your conclusion It is as simple as it is interesting: Sweden seems to have ended The paradox that often the richest people are the least children. Issue of children and money. Having children demand money. Last year Save the Children He made accounts And he concluded that, on average, in Spain he leaves 758 euros per month, if they have as soon as all the factors involved in parenting, from food to education, health or the need for a broader housing. Despite that reality (paternity costs) there are many low -per capita income in which the fertility rate is Very superior to that of other richer nations. For example, it occurs with Niger and the United Kingdom. The other question. Another phenomenon that demographers have observed in the past, such as remember The Institute for Family Studies (IFS), is that in the rich countries women with the highest level of education and labor perspectives have fewer children. “While the theoretical arguments that (…) affirm that the richest parents should be able to have more children, industrial societies of the twentieth century have shown the reverse pattern,” Kolk points out. The United States offers A good example: The highest birth rate is achieved by the poorest families. The big question is … Is that trend still true? Diving between data. To answer that question and others as to what extent the income affects birth or, in reverse, how motherhood in income influences, Martin Kolk opted for a peculiar strategy: took into account the accumulated income by its compatriots throughout its life, analyzing in detail the 40 -year Swedish data and income for each birth cohort. Its analysis covers a wide period that extends to the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, valuing the “accumulated income” in Swedish crowns. The analysis, of course, has its biases. Kolk focused only on the Swedish population, leaving even the people who had emigrated. However, his work is thorough: he analyzes people between the ages of 20 and 60, valued the income that they “accumulate” when they reach 50 years and took into account factors such as available income or aid to fatherhood. Men: richer, more children. In the case of men, he appreciated a fairly clear relationship between accumulated income and fatherhood that has not left great surprises over the years. “The richest men are the ones who have the most children and that pattern has accentuated over time. At higher income, more children,” Comment The Stockholm expert, which even warns: “It is increasingly frequent that men with very low income do not have children.” In his study, Kolk points out that it is not so much that the richest men accumulate a lot of offspring as it is more frequent that they have two, three or four offspring compared to other men with a more adjusted income level. And what about women? It is there where research gets interesting. Among the Kolk women did appreciate a trend change. And of course. While between those born in the 1940s and 1950s, lower income (accumulated income available) was accompanied by more children, which did so over the subsequent years (between 1960 and 1970) showed the opposite photo: the highest income indicated greater offspring. “The trend is reversed: the pattern is more similar to that of men”, Confirm. The full photography is somewhat more complicated. Women with the highest income, for example, are not necessarily those who have the greatest number of children and the trend is not exactly the same if we talk about “accumulated income” or profits. But from the University of Stockholm they appreciate in any case a “significant change” in the fertility pattern of women. And a change that breaks with what was the general tonic for a long time. “The results contrast with those of many other high -income countries in the twentieth and twenty -first centuries, in which researchers have shown that it was more common to have many children among men and women with lower income.” Looking for the causes. Detected the change in trend, the next question is obvious: why? What has caused it? Kolk points to social changes (especially those related to the labor market) and family policies of Sweden. Unlike what could happen decades ago, when many of the women who had children were housewives dedicated to home care, now “women do not have to choose between having children and follow a career.” “What is observed is a transformation of a society where women, to some extent, had to choose between a professional career or have children to a society in which these decisions no longer have to make.” Among the women of the 1940s and 195th, those of lower income were often housewives. It is demography … and above all it is economy. The study shows another valuable reading, especially for countries that have seen how their fertility descended over the years. Research shows that in general people with very low income levels do not usually have children, something extensible to men and women. Also clarify that this pattern “It has accentuated over time”which confirms to what extent the economic factors influence motherhood. “Today, an increasing number of women and men with low income in Sweden decide not to have children,” concludes The expert as an example. “The paradox is left behind”. For IFS Kolk’s research reveals that “at least in Sweden the paradox that the richest people have less children seems to be left behind,” … Read more

Now it is not available on iPhone in any country

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If you thought to play ‘Fortnite‘This weekend from your iPhone, you will find a surprise. Today, the popular Battle Royale of Epic Games It is not available In none of the applications for iOS available in the European Union. The withdrawal occurs just after Epic tried to relaunch the game in the American App Store. Epic itself He explained in His official X account that “Apple has blocked our Fortnite presentation, so we have not been able to publish it in the US App Store. UU. Not in the Epic Games Store for iOS in the European Union. We regret to announce that Fortnite will not be available for any of the world until Apple unlocks it.” “Fortnite” screen capture in Epic Store in iOS Behind the scene. The problem has arisen after a chain of decisions. May 9, as Epic communicated publiclya new version of ‘Fortnite’ was presented to review by Apple, an essential step to return to the App Store. Days later, CEO Tim Sweeney He affirmed that They had retired that first presentation and sent a new version on May 14, which included a global update with the aim of launching it simultaneously on all platforms. Apple responds: there is no blockade, but conditions. An Apple spokesman declared Bloomberg that The company has not blocked the game as such, but asked Epic Sweden (the European Epic Division) to send the app again without including the US store “not to affect Fortnite in other geographical areas.” Apple argues that it has not removed any already published version of ‘Fortnite’ in European alternative stores. Epic does not accuse Apple of withdrawing ‘Fortnite’, but of preventing the sending of its global update. From Cupertino they ensure that the refusal is because this version also included the US store, and that it had to be presented separately. The result has been that the game cannot be downloaded in Europe, Although it had been available for months thanks to European legislation and distribution by independent stores. A conflict that does not end. This episode is only the last in a long legal battle between both companies. The confrontation began in 2020, when Epic integrated its own payments within ‘Fortnite’, challenging the rules of the App Store and giving rise to its expulsion. Since then, the conflict has gone through several judicial phases, with partial resolutions on different fronts. At the end of April, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers issued a sentence that Disassembles part of Apple’s business model: it ordered to eliminate commissions on external payments, among other measures. The ruling, very critical of the strategy followed by the company in recent years, has been key for Epic Games to reactivate his attempt to return ‘Fortnite’ to the American App Store after almost five years of absence. And now what? At the moment, it is not clear if Epic will decide to send a new exclusive version for Europe, which would allow to restore ‘Fortnite’ on the iPhone of the community block, or if Apple will finally accept its return in the US. Everything will depend on whether what Apple is fulfilled considers a technical requirement or if we are facing a new EPIC strategic pulse to press Apple publicly. What is confirmed is that, according to EPIC itself, ‘Fortnite’ cannot be played in iOS in any country. Images | Epic Games In Xataka | At 15 he won 400,000 euros in Fortnite tournaments and his mother took him out of school. This has been since then

In 2023 some explorers entered a remote cave in Mexico. They found the last archaeological treasure of the country

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The initial idea of ​​Adrián Beltrán and Yekaretina Katiya Pavlova, Mexican guide the first, Russian speleologist the second, had little to do with archeology. In September 2023, both professionals decided to take their bártulos behind their backs and enter the Tlagoococ cavelocated in the middle of Sierra de Guerrero (Mexico), to map their galleries. Once there they discovered, however, something that made this goal happen to the background: after traveling 150 meters to the bottom of the cave and entering a submerged passage, the couple met with An archaeological treasure hidden for several centuries. The legacy of an ethnicity already extinct, The tlacotepehuas. In a remote cave in Mexico … The Cave of Tlayócoc, in the Sierra de Warrioris well known in the area for its natural resources. It provides water. And a guano that farmers usually resort to pay their orchards. What was not known until Beltrán and Pavlova entered the cave in September 2023 It is also hiding a valuable archaeological treasure that will allow historians to expand their knowledge of pre -Hispanic cultures. To get to him the guide and the speleologist entered 150 m in the cave, submerged to move towards the grotto and reached a camera. What did they find there? Two bracelets made with shells arranged in stalagmites. The image was so shocking that, as I would report later Pavlova to the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH), the first thing that came to mind was that it was garbage. Maybe plastics. When he approached and looked at those more close pieces, he realized that he was facing something different. “It was very exciting! An experience similar to discovering a well of more than 300 m inside the cave. Here we were lucky,” Recognize The Russian cartographer. Was that all? No. In the area there were more pieces, including another bracelet, a large shell and fragments of black discs, similar to pyrite mirrors. Pavlova took photos and raised some theories about the possible origin of all that, but decided to leave the discovery in the hands of experts. He notified the discovery and the ejido authorities and the Carrizal de Bravo Surveillance Committee were responsible for ensuring that the site was not looted. Recently local authorities decided to go further They asked the INAH Let the cave register again. The area is not easily accessible, it is located at an altitude of 2,387 meters and to get to it you have to cross ravines, a river and a road where travelers risk finding snakes or pumas, but in March a team of experts registered the site. Thanks to this work today we have a more precise idea of ​​the archaeological treasure of the Tlayócoc cave: 14 pre -Hispanic objects Among which include bracelets and stone discs similar to pyrite mirrors. Clearing unknowns. Archaeologists recorded in total three shell bracelets, a fragment of bracelet of also malacological origin, the shell of a giant snail (experts believe that of the species Strombus sp.) perforated and with decorations, a fragment of carbonized wood and remains of stone discs, but also fixed in the environment. In the camera they observed, for example, the stalagmites had been retouched during rounding their shape. When examining in detail the bracelets also verified that they were made from shells (TRIPLOFUSUS Giganteus) that someone had dedicated themselves to decorating with engravings of symbols and anthropomorphic figures, including faces, brands in the form of “s” and lines in Zigzag. The brands, the position of the bracelets and the shape of the stalagmites suggested a theory to the experts: the cave was a ritual place. “Possibly the symbols and representations of characters in the bracelets are related to pre -Hispanic cosmogony regarding creation and fertility,” Comment Cuauhtémoc Reyes, of the INAH Guerrero Center. Why is it important? Clarified what and where was another pending question: when. Archaeologists concluded that the pieces are from the post -classic period and were probably placed in the cave between the years 950 and 1521 AD, which leads them to think that they are related to the Tlacotepehua culture, which inhabited that region several centuries ago. “It was a branch of the Tepuztecas, an ancient group that lived in the mountains and was dedicated to working the metals, hence its name,” adds archaeologist Pérez Negrete in A statement of INAH. There are also bracelets that remind other pieces located in guerrenses deposits and farthest areas. “Find of great relevance.” The phrase is again from Pérez Negrete, who insists on the scope of the discovery. “With the study of the contextual relationship of the pieces of the cave, we can interpret symbolic notions, cultural, manufacturing and even commerce aspects, to characterize pre -Hispanic societies settled in the Sierre de Guerrero,” claims. Experts also handle very little information about the Tlacotepehua culture, which It ended up extinguishing at the beginning of the viceregal era. As if that was not enough, the INAH remembers that it is the first time that its experts go to the community of Carrizal de Bravo, which marks “the beginning of a campaign” to promote the awareness and preservation of heritage. Images | Cinah Guerrero and INAH (Katiya Pavlova) In Xataka | We have found remains of an unknown civilization in Mexico: the closest thing is an artistic style of Bolivia and Peru

A country has literally found the bomb -proof solution to the large electrical blackouts: Ukraine

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It happened a few hours ago. Among the multiple calls that the Spanish Government has received from countries, worrying about the emergency situation after The national blackoutone did not go unnoticed. Zelensky, president of Ukraine, called Pedro Sánchezand not only to show your support, but to provide all the necessary help. After all, if anyone knows about blackouts, that is the nation of the East. They have learned to survive in the dark and Russian bomb proof. The devastation of the electrical system. From the beginning of the large -scale invasion in February 2022, Russia has directed a good part of its attacks against infrastructure Ukrainian energy. Last summer, Ukraine had lost and in just three months More than nine gigawatts of generation capacity, more than a third of the one it owned before the war. According to Ukrenergo dataThis would be equivalent to the total demand of countries such as the Netherlands at peak hours, or even the sum of Slovakia, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia. Winter. All state thermal plants were destroyed and all hydroelectric plants had suffered damage to missiles or drones. The strategy of Russian attacks was clear: it was not only sought to destroy military capacity, but to break the soul of a society through forced darkness, interrupting the most essential: Heating, running water, elevators, communications, operating rooms or the simple possibility of maintaining an organized civil life. Today, and according to the UN agency for refugees, More than 60% From the country’s electricity generation capacity it has been destroyed or useless. In a country where winter is not only a station but an existential threat, running without energy is running out of heating, without water, without communications. For millions, electricity represents the last bastion between dignity and precarious survival. Survive blackouts. He told the last July the BBC that the blackouts in Ukraine had become a presence as constant as the war itself. In cities such as Odessa, Kyiv or Zaporizhzhia, electricity was an intermittent luxury, a resource that appears and disappears under the buzzing of the generators or the sepulchral silence of the fallen network. In that context, electricity ceased to be just a comfort to become the threshold between life and death. Cases like Tetiana’smother of a child with serious disabilities, who lives that truth every day: her son depends on breathing machines, feeding and receiving medication. Without stable supply, his life hangs from a thread. In your home, prolonged blackouts (sometimes twelve hours a day) force to constantly feed a gasoline generator that, in addition, must stop every six hours so as not to overheat. When your child convulses, the minutes without mobile or ambulance coverage are transformed into torture. In words to the British environment“You can die if you don’t receive oxygen. I am missing words.” Thus thin is the line between chaos and survival. Scheduled cuts. In August of last year there was a substantial change in the struggle of Ukraine to the blackouts. A Mondayhundreds of missiles and Russian drones fell on the nation. First the electricity was cut, then the water. That day marked the Greater Russian air attack against Ukrainian energy infrastructure since the beginning of large -scale invasion. The bombing continued the next day, raising the number of deaths to twelve and leaving millions of people throughout the country. The largest private energy company in Ukraine, DTEKmade a decision: Apply scheduled cuts In multiple regions: Kyiv, Odesa, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk. On the periphery of the capital, the neighbors began to live with six hours of blackout followed by two hours with electricity, in the early morning. A rhythm that allowed planning (even if not resting). Loading with energy. The result of the situation is that Ukraine has learned to live with the blackouts. What would have paralyzed the country before, today faced with Decentralized solutions. In Kyiv, the so -called “invincibility points” offer citizens electrical charge and the Internet during the cuts. But many do not even go to them: they have made portable batteries an object as essential as mobile phone or keys. Most shops, from street stalls to shopping centers, already have their own generators. In fact and as we said, that buzz of its engines has become the usual soundtrack of the blackouts. Examples Told the CNN Maksym Holubchenko, a 25 -year -old barista in the capital, that his cafeteria remains open thanks to one of those generators. However, it does not supply to cover all the demand: in winter you can maintain the operation, but in summer they must turn off the air conditioning and parts of the coffee maker so as not to overload the system. Adaptation is not comfortable, it is simply the result of an urgent need, and a resistance without alternatives. For Inna, an 87 -year -old woman from Odessa, the current situation arouses ancient echoes. “I already survived World War, so I have some experience … I bought candles,” He reported. His story underlines a painful paradox: a modern, European country, with full integration ambitions in the West, forced to technologically retreat, to depend on the rudimentary to face the essential. The candles, thermos, the portable loaders, the calendars marked by electric cuts … make up a new normality born of the energy siege. Go to the bank without light. Before prolonged blackouts caused by Russian attacks on energy infrastructure, the National Bank of Ukraine has also launched the Power Banking Projecta network of autonomous bank branches designed to operate without depending on the electricity supply. These “unwavering” offices will be equipped with generators, special communication channels, ATMs, additional and effective personnel available, allowing citizens to access essential services such as money withdrawals, payments, transfers, currency change and financial advice even during prolonged cuts. In addition, a “National Roaming System” Between ATMs, with unified limits and without commissions between banks, initiative already adopted by entities Like Oschadbankto guarantee equitable cash access throughout the country. Broken as a resistance symbol. In short, Ukraine applies preventive cuts Not only … Read more

Spain made the subsidies covered to Ryanair an art. Now another country follows its path: Morocco

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Ryanair will stop offering 800,000 places This summer of 2025 in Spain. It was an announcement that fell like a bomb in the middle of the dispute that government and airline have open in relation to the rates that Aena charges the companies that operate in their airports. According to Ryanair, Las Aena rates They are abusive and from the company that manages Spanish airports they defend themselves ensuring that they are essential to guarantee, among other services, the security or cleaning of the facilities. The problem is that Aena had these frozen rates from 2021 and thus had to remain until 2026. However, last year they rose and although The CNMC frozen the rate againnow companies pay 4.9% more than before. In the middle of the dispute, Ryanair was also fined by the State for breaching, in his opinion, the regulations of the hand luggage. Together with other low-cost companies such as Vueling, Norweigan, Easyjet or Volotea, the Irish company was punished but it was also the one that took the worst part: a sanction of 107.78 million euros. This cluster of circumstances led the company to press where it hurts the most in Spanish air mobility: Provinces airports. Ryanair announced that he partially abandoned the airports of Vigo, Santiago, Zaragoza, Asturias and Santander. But, above all, he announced that he was completely left by Jerez and Valladolid. The movement has not been there because In its February statementRyanair already announced that he considered taking action in the same direction if the context did not change. A threat that has recently reiterated. However, then Eddie Wilson, his CEO, already pointed out that “Aena’s decision not to encourage airlines to use the missed capacity of their regional airports has forced Ryanair to relocate aircraft and capacity in more competitive European markets, such as Italy, Sweden, Croatia, Hungary and Morocco, where governments encourage actively growth. “ Now we check the consequences. Empty seats “Ryanair’s airplanes They will attend where there is business opportunity, whether by direct market or by public subsidy. “This is how Víctor P. currás summarizes in The Faro de Vigo The situation with which they have been found in the Galician city with the 61% reduction of the activity of the Irish company in its city. When Wilson pointed out that they would fly to countries “where governments incentive” did not lie. Ryanair has closed a line between Vigo and Barcelona that maintained an average occupation of 90% in favor of a New route to Morocco where just 9% of the seats are busy. These flights are those corresponding to the route that Ryanair has opened with origin in Madrid or Lanzarote and destination Daklha, a Moroccan city in the Sahara that is trying to promote itself as an active tourism. It is another measure within a project you want Transform the city into an economic complex reference in the area. The intention is to turn the city into a showcase for the world during the 2030 World Cup (What Morocco shares with Spain). This is the reason why Ryanair flies with such a low occupation to the Moroccan city. Fatim-Zahra Ammor, Minister of Tourism of Morocco, announced the arrival of the company A few months ago. Behind, obviously, a juicy subsidy in the form of an advertising contract for Ryanair. They collect in the Galician environment that the occupation rate has been poor. The best data has arrived from Madrid with just over 50% occupation. However, the reserved places have been deflating on the Route of Lanzarote to the point of not even reaching 10% of the total offer. This way of acting is nothing less new. In fact, in eldiario.es They explained well that the subsidies camouflaged as advertising contracts to keep the routes in provincial airports alive are a constant for years. By suppuerto, Ryanair has benefited in this way to act. Three examples. The Cantabria government delivered 18 million euros in public promotion to Ryanair. Vigo maintained a route with London in exchange for a disbursement of 625,000 euros in the form of an advertising contract. With the suppression of this connection, Vigo wants sanction the airline with more than 17,000 euros for breaking the contract unilaterally. In 2019, Ryanair maintained routes in Spain by value of 239 million euros of public moneyaccording to ELECONOMIST. Ryanair now applies in Morocco the same formula he has applied in Spain. The company has used Spanish airports in the provinces to press and, aware that New aircraft will not reach them In the short term, these advertising contracts are especially juicy when reorganizing their routes. Photo | Nastya Dulhiier In Xataka | Ryanair does not “fine” if you lose your flight: simply relieved you in the following for a cost of 100 euros

While reservoirs from all over the country reach record figures, Spain still has a black dot of the drought: Almería

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For eighth consecutive week, Spanish reservoirs have risen again. It was to be expected: the same rains that have “bitter” vacations to many during Holy Week are now becoming good water news. For the first time in many years, Spain has exceeded the 75% barrier in reservoir water. And yet, this enthusiasm does not reach a very specific area of ​​the country: The Southeast. Where the rains do not arrive. If we see an autonomous map of the country’s water reserves, we will see all of Spain in blue (light, medium or dark). All except Murcia; That, at 36.49% of its capacity, it can only appear in colors close to orange or red. And, although Reservations have grown a lotthe safe basin is still very touched with 10 points less than the historical average. For more Inri, it cannot be said that it is a management problem (although the management of the basin has always been a controversial issue). It is something that extends, as I say, to all southeast. The province of Alicante is at 31.75%. That is to say, above the terrible data last yearbut without reaching the average of the last decade. And then there is Almeria. Almería? What happens in Almeria? That hides among the excellent data from Andalusia (60.59%) and the more than good of the Andalusian Mediterranean basins (55.54%), The province of Almería has a huge problem: its reserves are 11.16%. Slightly better than a year ago, but still below Lbetter 2024 data. Almería’s problem with water is not new. That’s true. If we look, the historical average of the last 10 years in The province is 13.13%. Very slightly above the current figures. And we talk about a place with a huge weight of water intensive industries (agriculture and tourism); one that, in addition, is suffering like nobody Desertification problems and overexploitation (and pollution) of aquifers. As They said a few weeks ago from Ecologists in Action“Seeing Llover away the ghost of drought”, but in areas like Almeria that drought has been anywhere. It is a false impression that only management can difficulty. Lose the water war. At least there are three Almeria regions in which drought not only persists, but It is completely chronified: Níjar, Sierra de los Fizodes and El Levante. And that we talk about the Spanish province that adds the greatest number of rafts of different sizes and characteristics (27,000according to the latest estimates). In 1987, “the first reports on the deterioration of the aquifers of the Dalías field were announced, the point where intensive agriculture was born.” And the problem has only increased: “Every year, Almería starts its agricultural campaign with a structural deficit of around 200 cubic hectometers.” The story is simple, too simple. Almería wanted to become the great laboratory against desertification, but has become a battle territory. A battle that little by little We are losing. Image | Alicia Camacho In Xataka | Arid soils are devouring Almeria, Murcia and Alicante faster than we expected. And it does not seem that we can stop it

An US Army has reached the happiest country in the world. His immense border with Russia has changed the panorama of Finland

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Finland lives A paradox. The nation became for the eighth consecutive year in the happiest country in the world, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 of the University of Oxford and the United Nations. However, and no matter how happy the lives of its citizens are, its geography has changed the geopolitical situation. While the country was crowned with such virtue, an United States army had come to prepare for “the worst.” Happiness. With an average score 7,736 out of 10the Nordic country maintained its leadership in a ranking based on the evaluation that people make of their own lives, through surveys that cover three years and measure subjective perception, social ties and trust. They accompany him in the top positions other nations of the North European Like Denmark, Iceland and Sweden, consolidating a pattern that highlights the virtues of strong social systems, access to nature, community cohesion and collective well -being as pillars of a satisfactory life. Harvard said that Finland’s persistent success was not noisy, nor depended on advertising campaigns, nor a national identity built on exceptionality. Rather, rather, on a Silent and robust balance between nature, social protection, free time, daily civism and an extended perception of security and mutual trust. Almost the same could be said of the rest of the “north” nations, the same whose geography could change the status quo. A new front. Almost along with New York Times counted A scene that had occurred in another area of ​​the nation. In mid -February, an emergency fictional message sent by Finland’s defense forces activated a large -scale military exercise: an enemy invasion required immediate assistance. Dozens of American soldiers, members of the newly created Arctic Division of the American Armythey left from Fairbanks, Alaska, and crossed the northern pole to land in Rovaniemi, north of Finland. Equipped with M-4 rifles, machine guns and rocket launchers, they were deployed in snowy forests, dresses with special white uniforms and steam waterproof boots. Although It was a drillthe geopolitical and climatic background endowed it with the most disturbing gravity: with the melting of the Arctic ice, this inaccessible region is inaccessible has now returned strategiccausing powers such as Russia, China, the United States and various European nations They actively train for a possible conflict in extreme conditions. The new Arctic centrality. According to Canadian General Robert McBridethe world’s armies have left behind the era of the “war on terror” to focus Your attention in the Arctica territory that, like We have been countinghas acquired prominence for its strategic value, natural resources and emerging transport routes. In that context, cooperation between Finland and the United States It has intensifiedespecially since Finland joined NATObecoming the country of the alliance with the most extensive border with Russia: 1,340 kilometers. The historical past (Finland He fought against The Soviet Union in World War II) reinforces the defensive nature of this relationship. “Russia will take everything that is not nailed to the wall,” recalled a said Finn -cited by Janne Kuusela, defense official, to the Times. Despite recent political changes and Trump’s verbal approach to Moscowin the icy field, cooperation between the two countries seems solid and determined. The United States Army displaced to the area Ice war. What’s doubt, put on the worst stage, the Arctic War It presents unique challenges. “It’s like operating in space. No one will come to help you. And the environment can kill you,” summarized the American colonel Christopher Brawley. The cardinal rule: stay dry. Finnish soldiers must pass An extreme test It consists of throwing themselves, with all the equipment on, in an open hole on an icy river, going quickly and changing clothes before suffering freezing, what they should do with the help of their classmates, since their hands stop responding in seconds. Jackson Crites Videman, a conscript of dual Finnish and American nationality, lived at 36 degrees below zero. We remember that Finland is one of the few democratic countries with conscriptionand before the latent threat of the east, ha Increased your budget In defense. Although the war in Ukraine has significantly reduced the Russian presence in the border region, the Finns calculate that it will only take between five and ten years to establish a tangible danger again. Preparations: Winter war. The designation in 2022 of the 11th Airborne Division of Alaska as the first and unique Arctic Division of the United States marked A doctrinal change. The US army tested new uniforms, combat skis and vehicles with caterpillars capable of climbing frost pending. During the drill in Finland, they showed a New transport model that climbs on the snow efficiently. Plus: Special rations For cold weather, with high caloric content, they reflected in the tests the amount of energy that simply demands to stay hot in that environment. And if winter imposes its rules, summer also does not offer relief in the enclave: with perpetual sun and without night, disappears The advantage of glasses Night vision, and when ice melts, the earth becomes an impassable lodazal of dense forests, rivers, lakes and marshes. No name, but with coordinates. Had the New York Times That, during the maneuvers, the troops took advantage of frozen rivers as improvised highways. With their rifles behind the back, they slipped quickly on the ice, in an environment that demands physical resistance and strategic clarity. Result? The exercise was finally considered a success For the commanders. Before the question of whether the proximity in recent times between Trump and Russia was a reason for concern, Finnish General Sami-Antti Takamaa was blunt to the middle: “It doesn’t worry me at all. The American airborne division has just arrived from Alaska. That is what matters to me.” Finland and NATO. Thus, and while the global geopolitical balance seems to stagger between tense alliances and resurgent threats, Finland, the happiest country in the world For eighth time With its 5.6 million inhabitants and an extreme geography, it emerges as one of the Defensive bastions more strategic in Europe. … Read more

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