death

Iran has spent decades excavating its “missile cities.” Satellite images have just revealed that they are a death trap

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For years, Iran has shown the world tunnel videos endless tunnels dug under mountains, with military trucks circulating between missiles lined up as if they were cars in an underground subway. It was understood that many of these facilities extend kilometers underground and are part of one of the military fortification programs. most ambitious in the Middle East. What almost no one knew until now is to what extent this gigantic hidden labyrinth could become a key piece of the current conflict. The cities, but with missiles. Yes, for decades, Iran has excavated an extensive underground base network known as “missile cities”, complexes hidden under mountains and hills intended to protect its enormous ballistic arsenal against air attacks and guarantee the regime’s retaliation capacity even in the event of open war. There are numerous videos Officials released in recent years where we could see long tunnels illuminated by artificial lights, windowless corridors and convoys of trucks loaded with missiles ready to move to the surface, an entire military architecture designed to hide thousands of short and medium range projectiles away from spy satellites and enemy bombers. Some installations even incorporate silos dug into the rock or mechanical systems on rails to move missiles within underground galleries, a perfectly assembled choreography reflecting a strategic project conceived to ensure arsenal survival Iranian in a protracted conflict. The images that reveal the paradox. However, the war has begun to show the unexpected reverse of that strategy. Recent images from space have revealed Smoldering remains of destroyed launchers and missiles near the entrances to several underground complexes, a sign that systems hidden underground are becoming extremely vulnerable at the moment when they must go outside to shoot. It makes sense. American and Israeli surveillance planes, armed drones and fighters They patrol constantly over the areas where these facilities are located, observing the entrances to the tunnels and attacking the launchers as soon as they appear on nearby roads or canyons. In other words, what for years was a system designed to hide mobile weapons It thus becomes a relatively predictable pattern: tunnel entrances, exit roads and deployment areas that can be monitored from the air and destroyed as soon as activity is detected. From strategic refuge to death trap. They remembered in the wall street journal A few hours ago this change has revealed a structural problem in the very concept of missile cities. Underground complexes are very difficult to destroy from the air, but they are also fixed installations whose location is known by Western intelligence services. In practice, this means that much of the arsenal remains stored in specific places while enemy planes continually fly over the airspace, waiting for the moment when the launchers come out to act. Many military analysts summarize the dilemma in a simple way: What was previously a mobile and difficult to locate system is now concentrated in fixed points, which facilitates its surveillance and reduces its capacity for surprise. Commercial satellite images themselves show destroyed launchers As soon as they left the mouths of the tunnels, fires were caused by leaked fuel and access to facilities bombed with heavy ammunition. Missile base north of Tabriz in Iran. The image on the left belongs to February 23, the one on the right from March 1 after the first attacks The air offensive against underground infrastructure. As the first week of war approaches, the military campaign has begun to focus increasingly on these infrastructures. They told Reuters that the first phase of the attacks focused on destroying visible launchers and surface systems capable of firing at Israel or US bases in the region, while the second stage aims straight to the bunkers and buried warehouses where missiles and equipment are stored. Israeli aviation, with American support, has attacked hundreds of positions and has managed to drastically reduce the number of launches, while an almost constant air offensive that hits targets continues. both in Iran and Lebanon during the same missions. The stated objective is to progressively degrade Iran’s ability to launch ballistic missiles and drones until it is completely neutralized. Missile base north of Kermanshah in Iran. The image on the left belongs to February 28, on the right it belongs to March 3 A gigantic arsenal underground. The actual scope of these facilities remains difficult to determine. There are military estimates that place the Iranian arsenal before the war between about 2,500 and up to 6,000 missilesstored in different facilities throughout the country, many of them excavated under mountains or in remote areas of the territory. Despite the attacks, Iran has managed to launch more than 500 missiles against Israel, US bases and targets in the Gulf since the start of the conflict, although many have been intercepted and the pace of salvos has decreased rapidly. That drop suggests that attacks on launchers and storage centers are beginning to erode the country’s ability to respond. The strategic dilemma. The result is a strategic paradox that is just beginning to become visible. Missile cities were designed to protect the core of Iranian military power and ensure its ability to retaliate, but in a scenario where the enemy dominate the air and watch constantly the entrances to these complexes can become choke points for the arsenal itself. Iran has spent decades excavating these underground bases with the intention of making its missiles invisible. But satellite images of the war are showing something very different: that this labyrinth of tunnels, designed as a shelter, can become one of its greatest vulnerabilities when the launchers are forced to surface under the look constant flow of planes, drones and satellites. Image | X, Planet Labs In Xataka | We had seen everything in Ukraine, but this is new: neither drones nor missiles, bulldozers have reached the front In Xataka | You’ve probably never heard of urea. The missiles in Iran are destroying their production, and that will affect your food

The death of ‘El Mencho’ sends a worrying message

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2026 will be remembered in Mexico for several reasons. One, scheduled, is the celebration of the world cup. The other, unforeseen, is death this sunday of Nemesio Oseguera, alias ‘El Mencho’, one of the most important names in international drug trafficking. The unknown now is to what extent both events will overlap and if the second will influence the first in some way. It is not a question that we ask ourselves, but a murmur that is beginning to sound in the sports press around the world, from the United States either South Korea. The reason is very simple: the same country that in the last few hours has postponed matches due to the violence unleashed by the death of ‘El Mencho’ will have to host national teams that will compete in the World Cup in four months. What has happened? That the fight against drug trafficking has written a key chapter in Mexico. An operation orchestrated by the Mexican army with the support of US intelligence ended on Sunday with the death of Nemensio Rubén Osegeuera‘El Mencho’, leader of the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). The news is important for several reasons. First, due to the relevance of the protagonist, ‘El Mencho’, who, as detailed by the Secretariat of National Defense, died while being transferred (already injured) to Mexico City. Click on the image to go to the tweet. And who was it? Despite having maintained a low profile and low visibility, Mencho had managed to become one of the most relevant leaders of American drug trafficking. Also one of the most sought after in the world. The US even offered 15 million dollars to whoever facilitated his arrest. The reason is the reach of the CJNG, an organization with diversified businesses, tentacles throughout Mexico (and part of the US) and a power that has already demonstrated in several occasionswhether executing judges and high officials or even shooting down helicopters with cannon fire. For the Government of Donald Trump ‘El Mencho’ was also “one of the main traffickers of fentanyl” from America. Has it had repercussions? Yes. And that is the second reason why Oseguera’s death is so relevant. The operation deployed on Sunday in the mountains of Jalisco has triggered an earthquake that has spread through Mexico with roads closed and episodes of violence that, for example, have led to a dozen of States to suspend their school classes and have affected part of the country’s air traffic, with the cancellation of hundreds of flights. The Mexican newspaper The Financier speak directly of “a wave of violence.” The local and international press inform of blockades and attacks on businesses in Jalisco and other Mexican states and the authorities have identified more than 252 roads with cuts in twenty regions, although they guarantee that 90% have already been resolved. That has not prevented Canada or the United States have advised its citizens to avoid going out in certain areas. Has it affected anything else? Yes. Beyond traffic, logistics, education or commerce, the tumults unleashed in certain parts of Mexico by the death of ‘El Mencho’ have been felt on two fronts. One is tourism. As reports the BBCthe Puerto Vallarta airport has suffered cancellations and diversions, a relevant fact considering that it is one of the most popular destinations in the country. Added to this are messages from Canada and the United States, but also from nations such as the United Kingdom, Australia or New Zealand, asking their citizens for caution. Another front that has not been immune is sports. Especially football. After what happened yesterday, at least two matches of first level. One was the women’s classic between Guadalajara and América, which was to be played at the Akron stadium (Zapopan). The other, the scheduled match between Querétaro and Juárez, from Liga MX, in the state of La Corregidora (Querétaro). Is that important? That the violent reactions to the death of ‘El Mencho’ affect tourism and (above all) the football agenda could seem like a minor issue if it were not for the fact that 2026 is not just any year for Mexico. In a few months the country will become, along with the US and Canada, World Cup host. In fact, the stadium where Querétaro and Juárez were due to meet yesterday will soon host a friendly match between the Mexican team and Iceland. The Akron stadium (the same one where Guadalajara and América should have played) will also be the scene this summer of several events in which teams from Korea, Colombia, Uruguay and Spain will participate. Can it influence? Of course the coincidence has not gone unnoticed. In Spain, sports media such as BRAND either ACEbut they are not the only ones. The South Korean media The Chosun had an impact in the last hours on the same idea and reporter Ephrat Livini slid in your analysis of what happened to The New York Times (TNYT) a key fact: “Much of the violence occurred in Guadalajara, a center of 1.4 million inhabitants that is home to the World Cup.” The problem is not only the violence unleashed in the last few hours. The key is what happens from now on and the multiple scenarios that are opening, among which includes a possible internal war within the CJNG to succeed the fallen boss or an offensive by rival cartels to dispute his territories. A few days ago (before the death of ‘El Mencho’) the newspaper The Time revealed since Mexico has redoubled its vigilance against the possibility that, taking advantage of the World Cup, Colombian drug traffickers may enter the country posing as fans. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Now that the most wanted cartel in Mexico has died, three disturbing possibilities open up. And they all point to the same place: the US

turning the “sea of ​​death” into a carbon sink

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For decades, the Taklamakan desertin the Chinese region of Xinjiang, has had a nickname quite eloquent: “the sea of ​​death.” And it is no wonder, since it is the second largest mobile dune desert in the world and a place where, historically, whoever enters does not usually leave. But faced with this major problem with sand for the surrounding areas, China decided to find a solution. The solution. China since 1978 has been waging an ecological engineering war against sand with a very specific weapon: the Three North Shelter Belt Programbetter known as the Great Green Wall. A name that seems to come out of Game of Thrones, but its objective is to stop erosion and sandstorms. But a new massive study published in PNAS has just revealed an unexpected and monumental side effect: human intervention has turned the edges of one of the driest places on Earth into an active carbon sink. The data. The study has focused on 25 years of data obtained through field work and also with satellites. What the team has found on the margins of the Taklamakan is what they call a “cold spot” of carbon dioxide. This means that in reforested areas the concentration of CO₂ is between 1 and 2 parts per million smaller than in the surrounding environment. And although it may not seem like much, in climatology it is an outrage. The trend in this case is quite clear, since The vegetation cover is increasing every yearand there is also a tendency for soil and plants to be “eating” more carbon than they are emitting. How is it possible? The million-dollar question here is pretty clear: how do you keep 66 billion trees alive in a place where it barely rains? The answer lies in water management technology and species selection. In this case, the project does not focus on planting oaks or pines, but is based on Extremophilous species like him Tamarixhe Haloxylon and the Euphrates poplar, which are plants evolutionarily designed to survive on very little. But the technological key has been the use of drip risk with saline water. Origin of water. China discovered that under the Taklamakan there are immense aquifers, but they are too saline for traditional agriculture. However, these “halophytic” plants can tolerate it, so it seemed like it was done on purpose. That is why groundwater is used to irrigate the protective strips that exist, especially around the famous tarim desert highway. The result with this is that soil moisture drops drastically between waterings, but the plants survive. And, although the salinity of the superficial soil increases, studies indicate that it is manageable in the long term and does not salinize the deep layers. This has made it possible to complete in 2024 a “green belt” of 3,046 kilometers that encloses the desert, stabilizing dunes that previously moved meters each year. Its stability. Unlike the Great Green Wall attempts in the Sahara, which have suffered from political instability and a lack of continued funding, the Chinese project has maintained its course since 1978. This continuity has allowed a “40-year experiment” that is now bearing fruit with important conclusions. The Chinese authorities themselves cite that national forest coverage has gone from 10% in 1949 to 25% today, thanks in large part to this project. As a result, in places like Maigaiti in Xinjiang, sandstorm days have dropped from 150 a year to fewer than 50. It is not the panacea. The source article warns of the limitations of this project: photosynthesis and carbon sequestration are strongly correlated with seasonal precipitation. This means that at least 16 liters of rainfall per month is needed in high season to maximize its effect. But behind it is climate change that is drastically altering rainfall patterns in Central Asia, which could weaken the carbon sink. Although what is happening in Taklamakan is causing a paradigm shift, since now where we see reforestation of deserts, we also see a way to cool our planet by reducing the concentration of CO₂. Images | Wikipedia Jasmine Milton In Xataka | Someone has counted each and every tree in China. Because? Well because now it is possible

The Ministry of Labor wants death leave to be extended to 10 days. Obstacle: Congress

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The Ministry of Labor plans to approve by royal decree law the extension of leave for the death of family members up to 10 days. Although the formula would allow its entry into force immediately after the Council of Ministers, there is a risk that the measure will end up being overturned later in Congress. Just like share El País, the Secretary of State for Labor, Joaquín Pérez Rey, confirmed this Tuesday that “the intention would be for the rule approving leave for bereavement and death to be an urgent rule” and that his “predisposition is to do so through a royal decree law shortly.” The Government’s strategy. By processing the norm as a decree law instead of as an ordinary draft law, the ministry led by Yolanda Díaz seeks to ensure that the extension of permits is applied immediately, without waiting to complete the entire parliamentary procedure. That would make the measure come into force the day after its publication in the BOE, although it then requires validation by Congress within a maximum period of one month. According to account In the middle, during that period, workers who suffer a family death could now access extended leave. Agreement. Job agreed with CCOO and UGT On December 15, the paid leave for the death of a spouse, common-law partner or relatives up to the second degree (parents, children, siblings, grandparents and grandchildren) was extended from the current two days (extendable to four in the event of displacement) up to 10 days. These could be used continuously or discontinuously within four weeks after death. Furthermore, just as share El País, the agreement includes a new 15-day permit for palliative care, divisible into two fractions over a period of three months, and one day of leave to accompany someone who is going to receive euthanasia, regardless of family ties. Rejection. The employers’ association CEOE and Cepyme have opposed the proposal because they consider that “it represents a new attempt to transfer to companies the cost and responsibility of public policies on care that corresponds to the Administration,” as they indicated in a statement. The lack of consensus in social dialogue marks the position of the PP, which has already announced its vote against following its criterion of rejecting labor measures that do not have the joint support of unions and employers. Key vote in the air. Parliamentary arithmetic turns Junts and PNV into decisive pieces in approving or not the measure. Just like they point From El País, the Catalan nationalists have already joined together with PP and Vox to overturn the reduction in working hours and have maintained very critical positions with other proposals rejected by unions and employers, such as the increase in the self-employed quota. For the measure to be approved, the Executive would need the support of the entire left plus the support of Junts and PNV, or at least the yes of one and the abstention of the other. Comparisons with Europe. Labor has been highlighting Spain’s delay compared to neighboring countries in regards to death leave. From the middle they point out that Portugal extended the paid leave for the death of a spouse in 2023 to 20 days, equal to that of children, while in France 12 working days are granted for the death of children and 14 if the deceased is under 25 years of age. According to the ministry, the current two days in Spain are insufficient to face a duel. A controversial vote. The decision to take the measure through a decree law responds to a clear intention to make it difficult for the opposition to reject it, since it is a measure of high social sensitivity. “suffering from the death of a son or daughter” is “not a question of the right or the left,” counted Pérez Rey in the middle. Cover image | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | Deepfakes are much more than a bad joke. Now the Government wants them to be a violation of the right to honor

Tesla popularized “invisible” car door handles. China has just handed down its death sentence

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In China they have been wanting for a long time ban retractable handles of the vehicles, a design commonly popularized by Tesla. It is no wonder, since over the last few years we have witnessed serious fatal and safety incidents involving this type of handles. The regulations will force many of the best-selling models on the market to be redesigned. what has happened. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology of China has approved a new safety regulation that will come into force on January 1, 2027. The regulation prohibits door handles recessed in the body and requires that all vehicles have visible handles and a mechanical opening system on each door, according to they count from Financial Times. Why is it important. The hidden handle design has become popular in recent years in electric cars. In China they had been following Tesla’s example for a long time, looking for a more minimalist aesthetic and small aerodynamic improvements. Virtually all of the major electric car manufacturers in China have models with retractable handles. However, these designs have proven to be dangerous in emergency situations. The trigger. A fatal accident in 2024 with Aito’s M7 SUV was one of the main triggers. Three people, including a two-year-old child, died after a crash. Videos shared on social media showed rescue teams breaking windows to try to save victims. As Aito explained in a statement, “the power and signal cables were immediately cut, preventing the handle controller from receiving the ejection signal.” The concern continued after two accidents with the Xiaomi SU7whose videos showed people struggling to open the vehicle doors to rescue those inside, without luck. What the regulations require. Just like they explain from CarNewsChina, the ‘GB 48001-2026’ standard states that each door must have a mechanical exterior handle located in specific areas of the door surface, with sufficient space for manual operation in emergencies such as deployment of restraint systems or battery problems. Electric handles must include independent mechanical mechanisms capable of withstanding forces of at least 500 N. On the other hand, inside, each side door must have at least one mechanical opening handle with graphic symbols of at least 100 mm × 70 mm and clearly visible instructions or pictographic symbols. Impact on the industry. The regulations will affect numerous models from manufacturers such as Xiaomi, BYD and others that have adopted designs similar to Tesla. Bill Russo, founder of Automobility, counted to FT that the standard will require changes to some models but not a complete redesign. “Many manufacturers already design alternative handle solutions for export markets with different regulations,” he explains. “With the new regulation, we will be ready to change any handle as the government wants,” Stella Li, executive vice president of BYD, told Bloomberg TV. Outside China. Perhaps the most notorious case is in the United States, where the issue of hidden handles is also being investigated. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration opened investigations on Tesla Model Y and Model 3 over concerns about the accessibility of their vehicles in emergencies. A particularly serious accident in California that caused the death of three teenagers in a Cybertruckwhere neither the occupants nor anyone close to the incident could open the doors through the hidden handles and reinforced glass, prompted Congress to take action and Tesla to announce a redesign of its handles. Cover image | Eyosias G In Xataka | Putting solar panels on an electric car sounds like a total win-win: the reality of extra autonomy is a bucket of cold water

There is a “nihilistic” penguin who decided to embrace certain death. The Internet has been obsessed with him for weeks

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If in many years some historian were to investigate how the world has started 2026, they would find one of those surprises that raise eyebrows: humanity (or at least that part of humanity that rubs shoulders on the Internet) has started the year fascinated by a “nihilistic penguin”. With Ukraine at war, Trump threatening to annex Greenland to the US (by hook or by crook) and Nicolás Maduro detained In a New York prison, half the planet is dedicated to speculating why the hell one fine day in 2007 a palmiped from Antarctica undertook a suicidal trip that would have inspired himself Friedrich Nietzsche. It sounds bizarre, but it makes sense. What the hell is that penguin doing? It sounds bizarre, but for weeks thousands of people around the world have been asking themselves that same question: What is that penguin doing? The bird in question is a Pygoscelis adeliaean ‘Adelia’ like there are thousands of them in Antarctica, but which about 19 years ago came across the German filmmaker’s cameras by pure chance Werner Herzog while recording his documentary ‘Encounters at the End of the World’. The film lasts almost 100 minutes during which Herzog shows snowy plains, seals, underwater scenes and a multitude of frozen landscapes. At one point, however, his camera captured something curious, a detail that caught the attention of some critics years ago and now it has revolutionized half of the Network. The scene shows an Adelie penguin doing something totally counterintuitive. Without us knowing very well why, the animal begins to walk with a firm step away from the rest of its flock, entering between frozen mountains. Ahead, nothingness. No company. No food. That is, death. “But, why?“ The scene is shocking. First because it seems to go against the most basic common sense. At least the human one. Second, because of the surprising determination of the penguin, who sets off on his way without hesitation and only for a brief moment seems to stop to look at everything he leaves behind him. The third reason why it has captivated half the Internet is because Herzog himself was in charge of giving it importance and highlighting its drama. “But why?” he wonders the German filmmaker in the narration that accompanies the scene. After all, he only has miles and miles and miles of barren land ahead of him that take him further and further away from the safety of his colony and food sources. “It caught our attention. It wasn’t heading to the feeding grounds at the edge of the ice or returning to the colony. Shortly afterwards we saw it heading towards the mountains, 70 kilometers away. Dr Ainslie explained that even if he captured it and brought it back to the flock, it would return to the mountains. But… Why?” fascinated account Herzog. The full question would be a little longer: Why the hell would a penguin ignore its own survival instinct? There must be a reason, right? That is exactly what the documentary filmmaker proposed at the time and it has been worrying half the world for weeks. There is who has speculated that the penguin perhaps had a problem that altered its orientation or an ailment that affected its behavior. There is even talk of possible changes at an environmental level or of a exploratory instinct unconventional. If the panorama were not disturbing in itself, add Ainslie’s disturbing observation: it does not matter that Herzog or anyone else tried to correct their course. The animal would begin its deadly journey again almost instantly. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Is this something so strange? The penguin’s attitude does. Our attempts to find an explanation that fits our way of seeing the world (often from a anthropocentric optics), No. We humans have been debating for some time whether animals have something similar to a sense of morality. For example, we ask ourselves if in episodes that seem to us cruel There is a latent intention or they are simply the result of instinct. We have even speculated on the possibility of “altruistic” behavior in fauna. It may sound strange, but these are questions that have arisen in view of specific behaviors. A crow that finds a large amount of meat and decides warn others companions to share the feast, a whale investing time and energy in protect a seal harassed by killer whales, a duck that cares for a cub of another species, even putting itself in danger. Are those animals being generous? Are they selfless or do they act motivated by an instinct that, ultimately, seeks the preservation of themselves and their species? These are issues so complex that they have even given rise to scientific studies. What does it have to do with the penguin? Well, in recent weeks, after Herzog’s video once again gained popularity on the internet, many people have seen a 100% human attitude in the palmipede. Of course, one that has little or nothing to do with altruism or cruelty. What they appreciate is pure nihilismthe doctrine that embraces “nothingness” (hence its name, ‘nihil’) and denies the pillars on which philosophers have relied for centuries: the existence of religious, political and social principles and, in general, any foundation in morality. There is no purpose. Not even life has a meaning like the one that religions have sought for centuries. And what does Herzog’s penguin do if he doesn’t embrace that very thing, nothingness? Does it not evoke, in words by journalist Adil Faouzi, “a willful desertion of the logic of life itself”? The animal recorded by Herzog seems to capture these ideas so well, to condense them in such a powerful way, that many have nicknamed it: the “nihilistic penguin”. A little far-fetched, right? Depends. We do not know what motivated that small creature to undertake a journey towards its own death and who have tried Finding an explanation points (as we said before) to a possible illness or some type … Read more

The Zapotecs have been fascinating archaeologists for years. A 1,400-year-old tomb in Mexico has revealed how they viewed death

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“It is the most relevant archaeological discovery of the last decade in Mexico.” Who is speaking It is Claudia Sheinbaum, president of the country, and although it is not unusual for authorities to resort to superlatives when presenting historical findings, in this case the enthusiasm of the Mexican leader seems more than justified. After all, it is not every day that we find jewels like the one that the INAH just located in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca: a tomb from 1,400 years ago that promises to reveal new secrets about one of the most fascinating pre-Hispanic cultures of pre-Hispanic Mesoamerica. Who is it? The Zapotecs. What has happened? That Mexico has shown (one more time) that still hides first-class archaeological treasures. Your Government has just announced the discovery of a 14-century-old tomb decorated with exceptional paintings and sculptures in the south of the country, in San Pablo HuitzoOaxaca. There the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) has documented a Zapotec tomb dated around the year 600 AD, a large and ornate mausoleum that stands out for its good level of conservation. Its structure and sculptures are so well preserved, in fact, that experts hope they will shed new light on the civilization that erected it. Is it so relevant? Yes. Perhaps the best proof is that the Mexican authorities have not spared congratulations and flattery when referring to the discovery, which the president herself has been in charge of presenting. “We are very proud of the most relevant archaeological discovery of the last decade in our country,” he said. claim Sheinbaum on social networks. Similar words have been used by the Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curielthat has emphasized that same idea: it is not just that the Oaxaca tomb is spacious or rich in decoration, it is that a good part of its structure has managed to remain intact for 1,400 years, so today it offers a valuable ‘historical window’ to historians dedicated to the study of the Zapotec civilization. “This is an exceptional discovery due to its level of conservation and what it shows about the Zapotec culture: its social organization, its funerary rituals and its worldview, preserved in architecture and painting.” What does the tomb show? A combination of murals and sculptures surprising. At the entrance to the antechamber we find a sculpted owl, an image that in the worldview of its pre-Hispanic creators symbolized night and death. The figure is fascinating because its beak hides another surprise: the stuccoed and painted face of a Zapotec lord. Because of this position it stands out, right at the entrance to the mausoleum, archaeologists suspect that it could be a portrait of the ancestor to whom the tomb was dedicated and to whom his descendants turned as an intercessor before the gods. Is there more? Yes. As we move forward we find a decorated lintel with a frieze made up of stone tombstones engraved with “calendrical names”. If we look towards the jambs, another surprise: the figures of a man and a woman dressed in headdresses. Once again, their position has led archaeologists to speculate on their possible role, which in this case would be that of guardians. Already inside the funerary chamber, the walls preserve parts of “an extraordinary mural painting” with ocher, white, green, red and blue colors. In them, their authors portrayed a procession of characters with bags of copal. What do we know about the tomb? Researchers will have to continue studying it to understand it better, but they already have some clues. For example, the dating: they believe that the tomb dates from the late Classic period, around the year 600. They have also come to the conclusion that its sculptures and mural evoke “symbolic representations associated with power and death.” Now it is their turn to continue deciphering its iconography and (just as important) to advance conservation efforts. INAH himself explains that its experts are working to stabilize the mural, which is in a “delicate” state after 14 long centuries exposed to changes in time and the advance of roots and insects. Who were the Zapotecs? If the tomb has generated so much expectation, it is not only because of its good general state of conservation. The tomb is also valuable because it opens a new window to the Zapotecsa pre-Hispanic civilization from Mesoamerica that called themselves Binniza (“people who come from the clouds.” As remember the Mexican Archeology platform, constitute the oldest group in the Oaxacan region and since at least 1400 BC they mainly inhabited the Central Valleys and their surroundings. Its peak was reached between the 4th and 10th centuries AD, with its settlement of Monte Albán standing out above all, one of the most relevant cities in Mesoamerica at its time. It is estimated that it hosted some 35,000 people. The region has such relevant historical and heritage value that in 1987 UNESCO declared the historic center of Oaxaca and Monte Albán as a world heritage site. In recent decades, archaeologists they had already found Zapotec tombs. Images | INAH In Xataka | If Spain believes it has a problem with droughts, it is because it does not know what led the Mayans to collapse: 150 extreme years

In 1987 a death was filmed so savage that people had to cover themselves. The trick to achieve it turned RoboCop into a cult work

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In 1987, the film director Paul Verhoeven gave a twist to action science fiction with RoboCop. In reality, that was a cocktail very much to the director’s liking where there was satire, cyberpunk and police thriller. The difference was that he did not limit himself to telling the fall and rebirth of a hero: he decided to win over the viewer with emotional hammer blows, with a death. so cruel and excessive that it was impossible to look at without feeling uncomfortable. The scene that changed everything. Alex Murphy, the protagonist, appears up to that point as a good cop thrown into a corrupt world, but the film doesn’t have time to build him up calmly, so it does it by the most brutal way: literally, it tear apart in front of the viewer so that, when he returns converted into a machine, he understands that what has been lost is not only flesh, but humanity. Verhoeven explained it with an almost religious and at the same time tremendously cynical idea: “if you want to resurrect Murphy as an all-powerful RoboCop, first you have to crucify him.” And that crucifixion, instead of being symbolic or elegant, is filmed like a physical nightmaredirty and painful, one designed so that the viewer cannot avoid the impact. The slaughter as a narrative. The sequence It is constructed like a public execution, with the criminals laughing in the background, and that is possibly the key to its violence: it is not just that it unlockis that along the way they humiliate him, turn him into a broken toy, and torture him as if the gang were enjoying the show. The scene is escalating until it seems impossiblewith the protagonist trying to understand what is happening to him while his body stops obeying him, and the band acting like real madmen. There is the moral trick of the director of RoboCop: The villains were absolutely grotesque, yes, but the film removes any sympathetic veneer from them and turns them into a total social menace. Thus, when the final shot arrives that puts an end to the execution, the viewer is no longer watching the typical “80s action” film, he is seeing the point of no return that makes the entire film, from that minute on, a story. of loss and revenge. The old school of effects. It is impossible to talk about this classic without mentioning what makes it unique. The how was filmed: no less than under the orders of the legendary Rob Bottin with an artisanal obsession that today seems unthinkable based on meticulously designed prostheses, molds, fake parts and physical tricks. In order for the mutilation to work without putting the actor at risk, a a fake hand From a real mold, it was reconstructed in fiberglass and divided into sections so that it could be “popped” with compressed air and stage blood without the need for explosives near the face. It wasn’t just an effect, it was a device home engineering: internal blood tubes, pressure control, parts that could be assembled and disassembled, and a repeatable explosion pattern to always nail the same result. “Death” was also filmed with a staging designed to hide the real and sell the fakewith raised floors, holes through which to put the real arm under the stage, and a member of the team moving from below a false arm attached with Velcro as if it were a living limb. The underground trick. Plus: Murphy’s death is supported by a secret choreography that the viewer never saw: operators out of shot, hidden mechanisms and an absurd number of hands working to make a second of screen seem like an organic nightmare. Not only that: a foam arm in disguise with a police uniform, a metal structure to hold it, hinges at the “elbow” and even a support anchored to the false floor so that everything could resist the violence of the effect. While the actor was dying and staggering above, below there was a team of professionals pumping blood by hand and adjusting compressed air. Even the shots that “break up” the armor were reinforced with simple but brilliant physical details, such as small charges of talcum powder to simulate fragmentation, a very cheap solution that, in camera, added texture and turned the scene into something tactile, with dust, impacts and material that seems to fall off the body. The Peter Weller doll. Another stroke of genius came with the moment of the auction: for a final shot that in the released version lasts a sigh, a Murphy’s full torsoa sophisticated doll with a latex face made from a mold of the actor, an internal fiberglass skull and mechanisms to move the neck, jaw and body. It was not a static mannequin, it was a creature manipulated by cablescapable of opening his mouth in a silent scream, leaning, trembling and reacting to the shot as if there was still life inside. The execution was designed so that the back of the head “jumped out” with a controlled explosionwith pieces pre-cut to break in a specific way and with the interior prepared with blood and soft fragments, so that the horror felt mechanical but compelling. In addition, the “sweat” detail was added with water sprayas if the doll was breathing for the last time, and a motor with vibration so that the body seems to tremble with fear, an almost obscene trick due to its human nature that returns to artifice. Censorship as an enemy. The most incredible thing is that, even so, what was seen in the rooms was a cropped version. RoboCop’s violence clashed head-on with the rating system of the time, and the film was given an X rating several times, forcing reedit, cut and sacrifice material until a commercially viable qualification is achieved. Paradoxically, the cut that helped save it was one that its own creators considered “shabby” or too obvious, the moment in which Murphy’s arm flies off pulled by a … Read more

the “death bloom” of Ceylon palm trees

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There are plants that are born and die in a year, but every rule there is an exception, with species that spend decades in silence, accumulating energy for a single, spectacular final act. This is the case of Corypha umbraculiferabetter known like Ceylon Palmwhich has flourished again in the Palmetum from Santa Cruz de Tenerife. An event that is historical because it occurs once every 30 or 60 years and that, on the European continent, can only be witnessed here. A special variant. The Corypha umbraculifera It’s not just any palm treesince it has the largest inflorescence in the world, with a branched structure that sprouts at the top and can reach between 5 and 7 meters in height. To give us an idea, only “the flower” is as tall as a two-story house. This specimen of the Palmetum, planted in 1997, began its reproductive process in October 2025 and after months of preparation, now in January 2026, the spectacle is fully visible from the so-called “Red Route” from the Tenerife botanical garden. A unique phenomenon. This is a species that has ‘monocarpy’, a scientific term to define the botanical suicide that this palm tree faces. In this way, the plant dedicates all its energy accumulated over decades to producing millions of flowers and, later, fruits. Once its reserves are exhausted, it dies. And it is something unique, since the Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife is the only garden on the continent that has managed to see this species bloom on two occasions (the previous one was a different specimen years ago). And its origin is not in the Canary Islands, but comes from Southeast Asia, where its leaves were historically used as paper for religious manuscripts. Why so much? The fact of having to wait 30 or 60 years to flower is something that responds to an evolutionary strategy of the species. In this way, by flowering only once in such an explosive way, it produces such a quantity of fruits that local predators such as rodents are unable to eat them all. Thus, the palm tree ensures that, even if it dies, thousands of its descendants manage to germinate. The process we are seeing now in Tenerife is the final phase of its life. According to the official records of the Palmetum and local media as Notice Diarythe process is slow, but unstoppable, since during the next few months, the flowers will give way to fruits and, gradually, the structure of the palm tree will wither until its final collapse. The Palmetum. This event is not just an aesthetic curiosity; It is a triumph for the Palmetum of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. This space, which is technically a botanical garden built on an old landfill, has established itself as the best collection of palm trees in the world in an urban environment and the truth is that it has managed to grow anything. For botany and photography enthusiasts, this is an opportunity that is unlikely to be repeated on European soil for decades. The “wonderful death”, as some local media already call it, is a reminder that nature has its own times, sometimes slow, but always relentless. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Finding a partner for the “loneliest plant in the world” has been one of the great challenges of botany. Now AI wants to solve it

a footprint in the snow is a death sentence

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Ukraine is experiencing one of those winters that are not only remembered for the temperature, but for what the war does with her: constant below zero, snow, fog and entire cities forced to survive as if the 21st century had suddenly turned off. In this scenario, the cold is not a backdrop, but rather a damage multiplier. Winter as a weapon. Yes, winter in Ukraine worsens wounds, makes any displacement a punishment and, above all, turns civil infrastructure (heating, electricity, water) into the cruelest targetbecause it is not just about destroying military capacity, but about making everyday life physically unfeasible. Total thermal terror. Russia has intensified a campaign that aims directly at the thermal heart of the cities, seeking to make winter the dirty work: Drones and missiles hit substations, distribution networks and plants that support both electricity and district heating, not as collateral damage, but as a method. In kyiv, with millions of inhabitants, this translates in unheated buildingsentire days without supplies and a qualitative leap in anguish: breathing inside the house seeing your own fog, sleeping dressed in a coat, improvising heat with emergency solutions and assuming that, if you have a small child, courage is no longer measured in holding on, but in fleeing in time. The goal is not just to shut down the city, but to push it towards the psychological limit where people begin to consider concessions, internal fractures and political fatigue. kyiv, vulnerable from the air. The capital continues to be a symbol and that is why it is being punished insistently: Russia cannot take it with ground forces, but it can can make it uninhabitable with repeated attacks from a distance, and cadence matters as much as power. The blows come in waves that seek to cut theto city of the general network and, when the teams try to repair, hit again right where work is being done, with a direct human cost in injured or dead energy technicians. Thus, anti-aircraft defense becomes a race of attrition that consumes ammunition, and the local administration is forced to prioritize the minimum so that the city does not collapse (subway, water or critical services) while the rest falls into a domestic gloom where the cold rules. Towards war thermal. On the contact line, winter not only freezes bodies: also visibility. Russia has tried take advantage of the fog thick as a natural curtain to move units and attack when enemy drones see worse, but the advantage lasts as long as it takes the rival to adapt. Ukraine has responded with logical evolution: more equipped drones with thermal cameras capable of “seeing” through fog because they do not look for shapes or colors, but rather heat and infrared contrast. From there, the battlefield stops being a landscape of visual camouflage and becomes a physical map where what gives away is no longer what is seen, but what it emits. The disappearance of the tank. Russia, sensing the opportunity provided by the extreme cold, has begun to “delete” their armored vehicles of the thermal spectrum with camouflage like the Nakidkaa type of coating designed to break up the vehicle’s infrared signature and make it difficult for a sensor to pick it out from the icy environment. In a winter where the bottom is pure cold, any source of heat becomes a beacon, so the survival of heavy material depends less and less on its armor and more and more on his ability not to give himself away. This also reflects a changing era: protection is no longer just steel and mobility, it is signature management, discipline and deception against sensors that never blink. The new eye on the front. The war has moved from the visual plane to thermal with a crudeness that redefines even the idea of ​​“being hidden”: a drone with thermal scope It can remain over an area for a long time, feeding a chain of objectives where any human presence, equipment, battery or generator ends up giving itself away. The most punished is not fast movement, but stationary life: observation posts, command centers, rest areas, drone teams, shelters with stoves and generators, places where you live more than fight. First it is detected, then it is observed, confirmed and activity is collected, and only then comes the hit with FPV, heavy drones “Baba Yaga” type or artillery, often at night, when the darkness protects less than ever and the thermal contrast is maximum. Footprints reveal more than anything else The heat trap. They remembered in a report from the Financial Times that the most repeated mistake with the arrival of winter is to think about appearance and not physics: the entrance to the shelter is camouflaged, the outline of the trench is covered, a net is placed, and still the position shines in the infrared. They don’t have to see you, they just have to see the constant anomaly, the repetition of a hot spot day after day, which is what attracts the attention of aerial reconnaissance. Often, soldiers do not even betray the secondary signs: heated floor, a smoking fireplace, the breath from a generator, heat leaking through an intake, electronics on, or even engine exhaust. Traces as a sentence. An analyst said this week that, in the Ukrainian winter, walking can be leave a written signature on the ground. The freshly fallen snow, extremely reflective, turns into a “dark” surface for thermal cameras, and recent prints appear as a lighter trace, not because they are actually hotter, but because of an apparent contrast created by physical changes. Thus, the boot compacts the snow, alters its emissivity and generates a difference infrared detectable during hours when the cold is intense. In conditions like this, the landscape not only shows where someone is, but where they were, and that is the most terrifying idea: in the absolute white of the Ukrainian winter, the steps can be a coordinate and the trail a invitation to an explosive drone who no longer needs … Read more

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