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Boeing wanted to get back on track with Starliner after its most difficult year. The contract with NASA just changed in a key point

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For years, Starliner was presented as Boeing’s opportunity to aspire to a leading role in American manned flights, in a scenario in which SpaceX I moved faster with Dragon. The contract signed with NASA in 2014 It represented that opportunity: six manned flights and an open door to a new cycle of missions. Eleven years later, the situation is different. That agreement has been adjusted and the next mission has become an exam without people on board. That agreement placed Starliner within the program with which the US space agency sought to guarantee two different US vehicles to the International Space Station. The idea was clear: have more than one capsule capable of transporting astronauts, long-term planning and autonomy in low orbit. That document established that, once the ship was certified, Boeing would operate six manned flights for regular rotations. All this with an eye on the station’s deadline, scheduled for 2030. A shortened contract, by mutual agreement. NASA and Boeing have decided to modify the conditions of the original agreement and reduce the number of guaranteed flights. Instead of the six manned missions planned after certification, the new scenario includes a mission without astronauts, intended to validate the system, and up to three crew rotations. In addition, there are two optional flights that NASA can activate depending on its mission needs. This review also reduces the value of the contract, which goes from $4.5 billion to $3.732 million, after deducting $768 million. Starliner-1 changes roles. This mission without astronauts has a name: Starliner-1, and it has become a key piece of the system validation plan. NASA will use it to send cargo to the International Space Station and verify, in real conditions, that the changes introduced after the manned flight in 2024 offer sufficient guarantees. The target date remains no earlier than April 2026, provided the spacecraft successfully completes testing, certification and pre-launch preparation. A history of setbacks: The first warning came with flight OFT-1 in December 2019, when some problems prevented for Starliner to complete the planned profile and approach the International Space Station. The mission had to be terminated early. In 2022, the OFT-2 flight managed to reach the station, but problems appeared in several thrusters. Two years later, during the first manned flight, several thrusters failed again on approachwhich led NASA to order the return of the ship without the astronauts. NASA and Boeing engineers inspect the Starliner spacecraft after landing in White Sands, New Mexico, during the OFT-2 orbital test in May 2022 When NASA decided that Starliner would not bring Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams back, they both extended their stay on the International Space Station much longer than planned. In total it was nine months, until the agency scheduled a Dragon flight with two fewer astronauts than usual to have enough space. That landing, in March 2025, allowed the return to be completed and confirmed that the evaluation process on Starliner was still open after the 2024 manned flight. Meanwhile, Dragon. In parallel, Dragon began operating with astronauts in 2020 and was progressively incorporated into NASA’s regular planning. Since then, the SpaceX capsule has covered the planned rotations within the Commercial Crew Program, becoming the vehicle regularly used to access the International Space Station. In August 2025, the Crew-11 mission was completed, and Crew-12 is scheduled for February 2026. NASA has booked additional flights with Dragon until the station’s operational end, scheduled for 2030. Less flights, less income, more pressure. The contract modification also means a change in Boeing’s position within the program. The reduction of the total value to 3,732 million dollars implies 768 million dollars less compared to the original figure, with fewer guaranteed flights and a greater weight of optional missions. According to Reutersthe company has invested more than $2 billion since 2016 in this development, which adds relevance to Starliner’s performance in upcoming flights. Despite this, Boeing says it remains committed to the program. Redundancy against the clock. For NASA, Starliner remains relevant because the agency wants two independent systems that can transport astronauts to the International Space Station. Steve Stich, head of the Commercial Crew Program, summed it up by pointing out that the plan involves certifying the ship in 2026, scheduling its first manned rotation when it is ready and coordinating future flights according to the operational needs of the station, which will remain active until 2030. Maintaining this double capacity is key so that the agency does not depend exclusively on a single vehicle. What happens from now on will depend on the outcome of the next flights. If the system manages to be certified in 2026, Starliner can still participate in up to three crewed rotations, with two additional options subject to NASA decision. Boeing maintains its commitment and suggests that the ship could have a place in commercial projects after the end of the International Space Station, although these scenarios are yet to be defined. The opportunity has not disappeared, but it no longer looks as much like the one signed in 2014. Images | NASA (1, 2) | Boeing In Xataka | Starship’s great hope has gotten off to a bad start: a new and painful explosion

Renewable gasoline and diesel are the last bastion of combustion cars to be able to circulate in Europe: they have a difficult time

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Whether for lack of infrastructure, strict regulationsocial perception, or by many other factors, electrification is a process that is advancingbut very slowly. Meanwhile, more than 20 million diesel and gasoline vehicles continue to circulate in Spain, many of them more than a decade old (or two). However, there are solutions that try to make this energy transition more bearable, and one of them involves the use of renewable fuels. What exactly are these fuels?. They don’t have a single drop of oil. They are produced from organic waste such as used cooking oils, animal fats, forest waste or crop remains. The catalytic hydrogen generation process transforms these wastes into fuels with properties similar to those derived from petroleum, but with a key difference: the CO₂ they emit when burned is the same as that which plants have previously absorbed from the atmosphere. Here we would therefore speak of a closed cycle, unlike fossil fuels, which release carbon stored underground for millions of years. Emissions. Repsol states that its Nexa diesel can reduce net CO₂ emissions by up to 90% compared to conventional diesel, while your Efitec Nexa gasoline discount more than 70%. In this case, although the engine continues to emit CO₂, it was already in the atmosphere before being converted into fuel. However, there is a nuance: nitrogen oxides (NOₓ) continue to be generated during combustion, because they come from nitrogen in the air when exposed to high temperatures. And for now, studies show conflicting results, with some indicating slight increases in NOₓ with certain biofuels, while others like the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory they conclude that renewable diesel reduces both CO₂ and NOₓ. What is consistent is the reduction of particles and soot. Full compatibility with current cars. This is probably its biggest practical advantage. Any diesel or gasoline vehicle can use these fuels without technical modifications. There is no need to change the engine, adapt the tank, or install new pumps at gas stations. In the case of Repsol, its Nexa diesel also complies with the European standard EN 15940 for paraffinic fuels, and Efitec Nexa gasoline with EN-228. In addition, the company ensures that, thanks to its high cetane number, it improves combustion, reduces engine noise and has a cleaning effect on the injection system. Where to find them in Spain. Repsol clearly leads the deployment, with more than 1,000 stations that offer Nexa diesel and with the goal of reaching 30 stations with Efitec Nexa gasoline by the end of the year. BP too offers HVO (hydrotreated vegetable oil) in strategic locations such as Tafalla, Getafe, Villacastín Norte or Olaberria, although its network is more limited and is oriented towards professional transport. To locate them, the most practical thing is use web search engines of each company, since they include filters to find gas stations that offer renewable fuels. It is worth remembering that the conventional diesel sold at practically all gas stations in Spain already contains up to 7% biodiesel (B7 label), but it is not comparable to a 100% renewable fuel if we stick to emissions. Cost and availability. Price is one of the main obstacles. Nexa diesel costs approx. 10 cents more per liter than conventional diesel, placing it in the range of premium fuels. Renewable gasoline follows a similar trend. Furthermore, although Repsol has expanded its network, coverage remains limited outside large urban centers and main corridors, especially in terms of renewable gasoline. Industrial production. Repsol produces renewable diesel in its Cartagena refinery and 100% renewable gasoline at the Tarragona plant. The company assures that it has been researching these processes for more than twenty years in collaboration with Honeywell. In 2026, the opening of a new facility in Puertollano with capacity for more than 200,000 tons per year is planned. Who is using them already?. In addition to the fact that anyone can now go to a Repsol gas station to try these fuels, their use has transcended commercial vehicles. And they have been tested in competitions like the Dakar Rallyand even sustainable fuels are used on commercial flights. Also transport companies such as Scania, Alsa or Grupo Sesé have signed agreements for adoption. An intermediate solution. The current European regulations The CO2 emissions test for new vehicles measures emissions from the tailpipe. With this approach, the result is zero for an electric car, but not for one that uses renewable fuel, even if it is carbon neutral in its entire life cycle (from production to consumption). It is for this reason that the industry and defenders of these fuels are asking for a change in the methodology so that the complete life cycle of the fuel is considered. Repsol and other players in the sector They ask for adapted taxation and long-term objectives that provide stability to investments. The Spanish mobile fleet has an average age of 14.5 years and it has more than eight million vehicles that are more than two decades old, according to data from ANFAC (Spanish Association of Automobile and Truck Manufacturers). Therefore, renewable fuels could be an intermediate alternative in this stage of energy transition, especially since they do not leave millions of drivers behind. Cover image | engin akyurt In Xataka | In 2001, Renault launched a car ahead of its time: it was a miserable failure that now has another chance

depends on something more difficult to replace

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Europe has just learned an uncomfortable lesson. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the European Union moved at unprecedented speed to cut the umbilical cord of Russian gas. He succeeded—more or less, because It has been a story in fits and starts– with REPowerEU: new infrastructures, supplier diversification and painful but effective adjustments. The metals are coming. However, in the background, a deeper vulnerability that is difficult to reverse has been consolidated. As Richard Holtum, director of Trafigura, warned, in his column for the Financial Times“Europe has stopped being dependent on Russian gas and has become vulnerable in something even more structural: its metal supply chains.” And that, according to himself, has a very simple and very serious consequence: “Without critical metals there are no semiconductors, no renewable energy, no military equipment, no artificial intelligence.” The continent has emerged from a trap to enter a labyrinth. The labyrinth of critical metals. The root of the problem is twofold: an overwhelming dependence on foreign countries and a silent erosion of European industrial capacity to produce and transform the minerals that sustain the modern economy. Holtum sums it up with a devastating fact: Europe has not built a single new refining complex since the 1990s, and in the last decade it has closed or cut about a third of its existing ones. Meanwhile, China deployed a deliberate strategy to absorb global refining capacity, the key link in the chain. Today controls between 70% and 90% of global processing of many essential metals. The figures confirm it. A European meta-analysis, published in Springer Naturereveals that the EU does not produce any of the gallium, germanium, vanadium or rare earths that it consumes; only residual percentages of lithium (0.1%), cobalt (0.5%), nickel (1%) or natural graphite. The same study concludes that the community objective of covering 10% of its needs for critical raw materials by 2030 is simply “unrealistic” for most metals. Europe depends almost entirely on others to access the materials that make it possible to manufacture everything from batteries to advanced weapons. Added to this structural weakness is a problem of scale: demand will multiply between six and fifteen times between now and 2050 due to the electrification of transport, the massive deployment of renewables and accelerated digitalization. The Union needs more metals than ever just when it has the least capacity to produce or refine them. A strategic industry that is reeling. The impact is already visible. According to Euronewsthe European steel industry speaks openly of “survival” in the face of the flood of heavily subsidized Chinese steel and punitive American tariffs. The chemical industry, another historical pillar of the European industrial fabric, is going through even more severe deterioration: closed plants, evaporated investments and a growing consensus among analysts that “deindustrialization is no longer a risk: it is a reality.” The irony is bitter. The EU wants to electrify everything, but it does not control the minimum materials for that electrification. Wind turbines contain more than 8,000 parts, many containing critical metals; solar panels generate increasing amounts of waste whose recycling is still in its infancy; 85% of a turbine can be recycled, but almost no one does. What should be the European passport to energy autonomy becomes a bottleneck that threatens to stop factories, delay infrastructure and undermine the green transition. China, from supplier to industrial minotaur. Friction with China is no longer just commercial: it is structural. Beijing has tightened its export controls on critical metals in the last year. According to the World Economic Forum, Recent restrictions on rare earths, gallium, germanium and antimony have raised prices, forced European plants to shut down and generated a climate of permanent uncertainty for entire industries. can be explained with a recent example: To obtain import licenses, German companies must provide the Chinese government with extremely detailed information: manufacturing diagrams, photographs indicating where rare earths are located in a product, customer lists, inventory volumes, production data for the last three years and future forecasts. Meanwhile, the German government acknowledges that it does not even have that level of detail about its own companies. The paradox is evident: China knows more about the German industrial anatomy than the German state itself. That asymmetry fuels a form of surgical coercion: delaying a critical license here, slowing a key flow there, straining bilateral negotiations, pushing through rotating checks every six months. The underlying message is clear: whoever depends, obeys, or better known as “Second China Shock”. A response that arrives late. The European reaction is underway, although many recognize that it is late. According to the European CommissionBefore the end of the year, Brussels will present the new RESourceEU plan, aimed at guaranteeing supply, creating strategic reserves, strengthening agreements with third countries and boosting mining and refining within the EU. To this will be added the creation of a European Center for Critical Raw Materials, in charge of coordinating joint purchases, monitoring risks and acting as a nerve center for industrial intelligence. The Commission’s work program for 2026, under the motto “Europe’s Independence Moment”also places access to raw materials at the heart of its sovereignty strategy. Along with strengthening defense capabilities, protecting critical infrastructure and promoting innovation, Brussels admits for the first time that without stable access to essential minerals no industrial autonomy project is viable. The return of stockpiling. One of the most relevant developments is the debate on strategic reserves. According to a Financial Times reportthe EU will launch a consultation to decide which metals to store, how much to buy and how to finance it. It is a profound change: Europe has had oil reserves for decades, but has never considered storing critical minerals. However, an obvious problem arises. Some materials—such as lithium hydroxide, recalls Fastmarkets—have a useful life of just six months even when stored correctly. Others, such as certain metal oxides, require very specific humidity and temperature conditions. And in the case of metals such as gallium or germanium, buying massively would imply acquiring them from China. … Read more

In Ukraine, the difficult thing is not to replace a drone, but its pilot. So Russia has started the hunt with something unprecedented: Rubikon

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For two years, Ukrainian drone operators had managed to maintain a decisive tactical advantage: the ability to detect, harass and destroy Russian positions with an agility that Moscow could not match. Pilots worked in small teams, in makeshift basements or camouflaged trenches, piloting from a distance FPV that turned the front into a transparent space where the enemy could rarely move unobserved. All that has changed with an appearance. The dark turn. Yes, that domain has been abruptly broken with the appearance Rubikona Russian unit created to track, locate and eliminate not so much drones as to those who operate them. The testimony in the financial times by Dmytro, a Ukrainian pilot and former rapper, summarizes this change of era: he went from being a hunter to being hunted in seconds when a Russian drone detected him on a reckless walk. That moment, which two years ago would have been exceptional, has become part of the daily routine on a front where the survival of the operator has become a strategic objective for Russia and a critical weak point for Ukraine. The result is a complete investment of roles: Innovators, previously almost untouchable, are now a priority target. Rubikon structure and ambition. This Russian elite corps is not simply a drone unit, but an organization of about 5,000 troops endowed with ample financial resources, tactical autonomy and a defined mission: deny Ukraine the ability to operate its drone network. Unlike the heavily bureaucratic operation that characterized the Russian army in the early stages of the war, this unit acts with speed, initiative and an approach more reminiscent of the Ukrainian groups it seeks to destroy. Their main task is not to attack the infantry on the front line, but penetrate behind the frontup to 10 kilometers in depth, to destroy logistics vehicles, ground robots and, above all, locate the operators who control the Ukrainian defensive swarms. Emblem of the elite Russian unit And much more. For Russian and Western experts, Rubikon functions as a development center of unmanned systems: trains other units, analyzes tactics, refines procedures and continually adapts its way of operating. Each technical or doctrinal improvement that emerges from Rubikon ends up radiating to the rest of the Russian army, which explains why the Ukrainians detect unexpected qualitative leaps in the performance of enemy drones. This ability fast learning It is one of the most disturbing elements, because it allows Russia to correct in months the technological gap that Ukraine built for years. The new invisible dimension. The combat is no longer limited to the visible sky, but is fought in a domain more abstract and lethal: the electromagnetic spectrum. Both Ukraine and Russia deploy electronic intelligence stations, signal guidance equipment and jamming systems capable of defeating, jamming or even hijacking adversary drones. This rivalry makes any radio broadcast a potential risk. Operators, no matter how hidden, need clear lines of sight, elevated antennas, and transmitters relatively close to the front, factors that Rubicon systematically explodes. Their teams track antennas on hills, thermal shadows in forests and emissions that reveal the presence of a pilot a few kilometers away. Andrey Belousov inspecting the Rubikon unit The signs. The inhibitorsdespite their usefulness, generate visible electrical signatures that can attract attacks. And in the midst of these maneuvers, both sides resort to signal hacking video to observe enemy cameras or locate the exact source of a remote control. Expert Tom Withington resume this complexity with a precise image: it is a game of cat and mouse where physics dictates the rules, and where each action leaves a trace that the opponent can exploit. Pressure on the pilots. Plus: unlike the Russians, Ukraine lacks the necessary troops to maintain continuous shiftswhich creates physical and psychological exhaustion that becomes as dangerous as the enemy itself. Zoommer, a Ukrainian soldier from a small drone unit, explained in the Times that Rubikon can operate without breaks because it has enough staff to rotate every few hours, while they must remain alert almost all day. The arrival of this unit to Pokrovsk area (a city that has been in a desperate defensive struggle for a year) has transformed life on the front, going from manageable days to a constant tension in which any movement can mean death. Before, says Zoommer.the area was almost “a vacation”, now it is an invisible hell where every antenna, every fleeting signal and every movement outside the trench can be a fatal mistake. This pressure has forced the Ukrainians to change routines, camouflage positions with extreme care, hide transmitters, disperse equipment and create anti-drone cells that act as a defensive mirror of Russia’s own tactics. The loss of transparency. Drones had provided Ukraine with a crucial tool: the ability to see and hit farther and faster, giving its defenders situational transparency that compensated for numerical inferiority. According to the RUSI analysisup to 80% of current casualties are attributed to drone operations, underscoring their central role in a war in which artillery and infantry depend on these mechanical eyes. What’s happening? Than Rubikon and the like have eroded that advantage in forcing Ukraine to reallocate resources from offensive missions to the protection of its own operators. The result is that, while Russia advances at an increasing pace, Ukraine devotes more efforts to stopping than hitting, losing the initiative at a critical moment in the conflict. Moscow has quickly absorbed the enemy’s lessons and turned them into doctrine, a process that would normally take years and that here has been compressed into months, tipping the balance on an increasingly dynamic front. Psychological warfare. The latest analysis show that the front is no longer defined only by the technology deployed, but by psychological pressure endured by Ukrainian operators and by the transformation of the Russian army towards a more agile structure, represented in Rubikon. The pilots, who have become priority objectives, live under constant tension that forces them to minimize any movement and operate with the permanent feeling of being watched, because … Read more

Aragón has just activated its second major data center project. The bet goes through a challenge that is difficult to ignore

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Aragón is going through a unique moment: in just a few years it has gone from competing to attract data centers to announce three mega facilities new ones promoted by Forestalia that aim to strengthen their position on the European cloud map. The announcement by the regional government comes in the midst of a race to attract technological investment, but also in a territory where the electrical network works to the limit and every great project depends on decisions that have not yet been made. The result is a scenario as ambitious as it is full of unknowns, which will determine the real impact of this expansion. How these digital complexes work. A data center is, in essence, a technological heart that stores and processes information for millions of users and companies. Every series that is streamed or every operation carried out in the cloud passes through servers that require stable power and constant cooling. That is why the choice of location is so relevant: electrical capacity and operational security are needed. Aragón has been gaining ground on that map and today is seen as a strategic option for new facilities. The project. The Government of Aragon has detailed that the Búfalo Project includes three data centers in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, backed by an investment of 12,048 million euros. The deployment includes DCM Data, DCM Dédalo and DCM Blue, whose works would begin between 2028 and 2029 and will extend for approximately eight years. According to official estimates, the construction will generate about 30,000 temporary jobs. In the operational phase, each facility will add hundreds of workers, with a total that clearly exceeds a thousand stable positions. Aragón on the international board. The accumulated investments in data centers exceed 70,000 million euros and place the community in the same conversation as consolidated European hubs. According to the President of the Government of Aragon, Jorge Azcón, the computing capacity that is being configured rivals that of Dublin and Paris and aspires to approach that of Frankfurt. The regional Executive also states that the data that will be managed will have a European scope, from Germany or France to Italy and the United Kingdom, reinforcing the international dimension of the project. Distributed renewable self-consumption. The Government of Aragon presents self-consumption as a distinctive element of the Búfalo Project, since approximately half of the energy consumption will be associated with wind and photovoltaic parks powered by Forestalia. This volume of generation allows for a renewable supply, although it does not eliminate dependence on the general network, which will provide the rest of the energy. The underlying idea is to combine own generation with existing infrastructure to sustain large-scale facilities. Press to see the message in X The word “self-consumption” may lead one to think that data centers and renewable plants share the same physical space, but this is not the case. Forestalia is setting up parks in various regions of Zaragoza and Teruel, located where the natural resource is most favorable. The data centers, as we say, will be in Magallón, Botorrita and Alfamén, and the connection between both worlds is made entirely through the Red Eléctrica network. It is a distributed scheme that coordinates generation and consumption without a single energy campus. A network to the limit. Aragon produces more electricity than it consumes and exports about 54% of its generation, but that abundance contrasts with a distribution network that functions practically at maximum. A report published in September 2025 sets its occupancy level at 94.3%, well above the national average of 84.3%. This saturation leaves little room to incorporate large consumers such as data centers. The result is a paradox: available energy, but an infrastructure incapable of delivering it to all projects. Projects that have already reached their peak. The bottleneck is not a future hypothesis, but a reality that already affects several operators. According to Heraldothe data centers in the pipeline have requested more than 6,000 MW and only a part has firm access, with cases such as Vantage, which has 90 MW authorized despite aiming for 300. Microsoft also depends on tenders in saturated nodes. The Government itself recognizes that everything will be linked to Red Eléctrica’s planning and the decisions of the central Executive. Water, a debate that is still open? The cooling of data centers has generated concern in Aragon since Amazon asked for late 2024 48% more water for the complexes that already operate in the region. Ecologistas en Acción and the Tu Nube Seca Mi Río platform then warned of the water impact of these facilities in the midst of a structural drought. Azcón maintains that future Forestalia centers will use a closed circuit with “practically imperceptible” consumption and affirms that the debate “is over.” In any case, everything indicates that this matter remains under public scrutiny. To facilitate the path of the Buffalo Project, The Government of Aragon has declared the initiative as of Autonomous General Interest, a figure that allows procedures to be simplified and the different administrations involved better coordinated. This declaration speeds up procedures, but does not resolve the main point of friction: the available electrical capacity. Hence, the regional Executive insists on its willingness to work with the central Government and Red Eléctrica, the only actors that can modify the network planning. Real progress will depend on those decisions. The announcement of the three new data centers, together with the rest of the initiatives in the pipeline, places Aragón at a decisive moment to consolidate its presence on the European cloud map. The investment is notable and so is the promised employment, but much of the result will depend on decisions that are not entirely in the hands of the community. The region has shown intention and movement, although it remains to be seen what the real scope of this bet will be. Images | İsmail Enes Ayhan | Jorge Azcón (X) In Xataka | The European Commission’s pendulum with AI is real: it will sacrifice privacy to … Read more

Bar terraces have been colonizing the squares of Spain for years. Logroño is proving how difficult it is to change it

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The terraces of the hoteliers have become a huge hot potato for town councils. It’s nothing new. Their coexistence with the neighbors, especially in the most touristic neighborhoods and with the greatest concentration of homes (as happens in many historic centers) led years ago to not a few town halls to take action and declare acoustically saturated areas. However cases like the one from Logroño They remember that the terraces continue to be a focus of debate. And above all, it is not always easy to balance the interests of bars and neighbors. There, in fact, they have generated a thorny controversy. Why Logroño? Because your City Council has proposed updating the terrace ordinance. In fact the document will pass today by the local plenary sessionheaded by Mayor Conrado Escobar and where the PP has a majority. The new standard will bring important changes for the sector and comes preceded by an intense debate. However, if there is something that stands out (or not) it is for having managed to be the target of criticism from both the neighbors of the historic center as well as the hoteliers. Both are suspicious of the rule, although for different reasons. What does the ordinance say? The Town Hall defend that “rearranges” the public space and “reduces” the hours and surface of the terraces. To be more precise, the municipal government highlights three points. The first, a significant cut in the hours of these facilities: from Sunday to Thursday their maximum time will be 00:00 and on Fridays, Saturdays and the eve of holidays, 1:30 a.m. “One daily opening hour is reduced from Sunday to Wednesday, two on Thursdays and a half on weekends with respect to the current norm,” clarify from the Consistory. And the other two objectives? They go through the “reorganization of public space”, restricting the surface that the terraces can ‘colonize’ to give “priority” to pedestrians and increasing the occupancy rate. Another of the guidelines that will appear in the ordinance has to do with the number of tables and chairs that each premises can install to seek “proportionality between the space occupied and the square meters that businesses have granted in their licenses.” The maximum allowable surface area will also suffer a snip: from 120 to 100 m2. What do hoteliers say? Which is a bad idea. And that will have consequences that go beyond the sector. In statements collected by Europa Press, Hostelería Riojana warns that the ordinance “destroys an essential part of the activity of bars, cafes and restaurants in the city” and warns that the terraces are “a hallmark” of Logroño, one that from now on “will be disproportionately limited and restricted.” “It puts Logroño’s tourism at risk and therefore the viability of the hospitality sector in the city, since part of its income comes from these spaces,” they insist. The hoteliers go further and point out that with the new ordinance the City Council “does not ensure the proper balance” in the coexistence between neighbors and businesses and leaves local hoteliers in a delicate position, “increasing legal uncertainty and encouraging arbitrary decisions.” In summary, the sector considers that the rule represents “a real setback” for tourism and demands that the City Council review it. In fact, in June he submitted more than twenty pages of allegations to the draft, although most of them did not materialize. And the neighbors? They’re not much happier. At least those in the historic center. The association Old Town Lawsuit already has shown his discomfort and they accuse the mayor of showing “feeling” toward “the lobby hotelier”, wasting in the process the opportunity to improve the current rule. “It is a cowardly ordinance, which has nothing to do with the one proposed by the municipal technicians a few months ago and which, in practice, means removing four tables and half an hour less than the one that is especially generous with the hospitality industry and anachronistic regulations of 2012, which had turned Logroño into the paradise of drinking and drunk tourism.” Is there any more lake? Yes. One of the keys to their anger is the differences between the draft standard and the final project. As you remember, the first document advanced the closing on weekends at 1:00 a.m., when the tables should have been cleared. The Government ended up incorporating an amendment that raised the limit at 1:30 a.m. the days of greatest demand, such as Fridays, Saturdays and holidays. Another of the most sensitive changes is related to the authorized size for terraces based on the surface area of ​​the premises. If the useful area was taken as a reference, it would have been transferred to the real area, which includes bathrooms, kitchen or warehouse. The Town Hall itself remember that the preliminary project was approved in February and later went through a phase of allegations before receiving a first approval in May. Does it only happen in Logroño? No. A year ago we told you how Seville wanted to review its ordinance to facilitate coexistence between the terraces of candlelights and the neighbors, which also sparked considerable debate there. Other locations, such as Madrid, Vigo, Barcelona either Malagato name just a handful of examples, have seen firsthand how complicated it is to regulate terraces. In the background is the enormous weight they have in the Spanish sector: a 2021 report published by the Madrid City Council estimated that terraces, “a substantial source of income”, provide between 20 and 25% of business billing. The calculation was made in the middle of a pandemic, but it is still revealing. Images | Logroño City Council and Chris Arnold In Xataka | The hoteliers promised themselves happy with the enormous business of the terraces. Until the new anti-smoking law arrived

Scotland has grown tired of tourists on its difficult inland roads. So he put a special plate on them

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Every year hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of British tourists travel to the Canary Islands to enjoy a relaxing holiday on their beaches. It was not the case of Robert Marshall. From his visit to Tenerife he came back with a much less pleasant experience, the “horrible” feeling he had when he sat behind the wheel of a car and wanted to drive around the island without being accustomed to its signs, its roads or something as ‘simple’ as drive on the right side. From that trip Marshall returned home with something more than “stress” of the experience: an idea so that the same thing would not happen to any other tourist. Marshall is neither a politician nor an expert on mobility, but he does know about tourism. After all, he is the owner of a hotel located in the Highlands, the Scottish Highlandsa region that has experienced its particular tourist boom in recent years thanks to its mountains, castles and coast. When Marshall traveled to Tenerife some time ago and drove around the island, he understood much better the difficulties that foreign tourists encounter when traveling on the roads of their homeland. Added to the challenge that driving a new vehicle, in a new country, with unknown roads, customs and perhaps even rules, is the change of driving direction: on the left in the United Kingdom, on the right in most countries (including Spain). In his case, the result was a “horrible” experience that left him “completely stressed”. “When I reached the roundabouts, the intersections, as soon as I started the trip, I was going in the opposite direction to the one I usually drive. All the controls and buttons were in a different place. I kept shouting at my partner: ‘I wish these people knew that I was a tourist,’” remember. The sensation was not entirely unknown. He himself had seen how stressed foreigners get when they have to do the opposite and get behind the wheel of a car on the narrow, winding roads of the Highlands. To solve it, Marshall had an idea: What if drivers could actually recognize tourists? What if there was a simple way to identify the cars of travelers who do not know the area or are not used to the way of driving in a certain place? Would it help the rest of the vehicles you share the road with to be more understanding or even more cautious? The result of those reflections is the Tourist Platea registration for tourists. The idea is similar to that of the plate that identifies new drivers: a sign that warns other drivers that whoever is behind the wheel is not used to the area, something that the Tourist Plate achieves with an adhesive rectangle designed for the back of the car. White background, a large green T for “Tourist” and reflective surface to ensure that the plate is visible also at night. “It’s a simple idea, but it has generated conversation about road safety,” celebrates Marshall. And so much. The proposal has aroused the interest of media such as BBC, cnn, The Telegraph either The Timesamong others. And although a priori the plates have not been approved by any authority, Transport Scotland recently suggested to the cnn and BBC that in his opinion there is no problem in showing them. Stickers are sold by £9.99 on the Tourist Plate and Marshall website assures which already has orders from countries like the US, Pakistan or India. That the idea arose right in the Highlands is no coincidence. The region is experiencing a particular tourist boom thanks in part to the success of the route North Coast 500where visitors circulate who (like what happened to Marshall in Tenerife) are not used to Scottish roads, single-lane roads and driving on the left, which has resulted in a higher accident rate. Official figures show accidents in Scotland caused by drivers traveling on the wrong side they shot up 46% in one year: from 24 collisions attributable to “inexperience of the driver on the left” in 2022, the following year it rose to 35. The balance of recent years also leaves victims and accidents caused by Italian, German or American travelers. The Scottish police have even worked with the US embassy to raise awareness tourists about the importance of being cautious behind the wheel. For now, the Tourist Plate seems to have worked for Laura Hanser, activist of A9 Dual Action Groupa group that calls for improvements to road safety in the A9 road. Hanser recently decided to go from theory to practice and tested the ‘tourist license plate’ by adhering the sticker to his own car. “I drove down a single lane road at 80 km/h. I let different vehicles catch up with me. You could clearly see that it took them a couple of seconds to notice and then they slowed down when they recognized that I had that license plate on the car,” Hanser relateswho trusts that the sticker will help foreigners “acclimatize to your environmentthe car and the environment in which they are. “The infrastructure of the Highlands is under great pressure from the influx of tourists. Anything we can do to help, prevent or raise awareness can only be seen as positive,” he concludes. In Xataka | Ibiza is fed up with the waves of tourists every summer. And it has begun to limit them by leaving them without a car Images | Tourist Plate, Robert Bye (Unsplash) and Bo&Ko (Flickr)

From Europe its “welfare state” was envied. But it is increasingly difficult to pay, and France is the best example

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Europa presumed for decades of having found the perfect formula to combine economic prosperity with social justice: hospitals open to all, affordable universities and worthy retirements after a work life. That pact between generations, envied on the other side of the Atlantic, became the identity mark of the continent. And yet They begin to become visible. And one of its banners wobbles: France. A price too high. I told this week The Washington Post. Europe lives a historical crossroads: the social model that guaranteed universal health, accessible education and decent retirements begins to show cracks that can no longer be hidden. France It is the epicenter of that tension. There, the runaled public debt, political paralysis and succession of Fallen prime ministers In just fifteen months they show deep wear. The State Spend more than any other country rich in social protection, but that expense seems unsustainable in a context of low growth and growing polarization. The recent resignation From Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, unable to agre as inalienable. Model under generational pressure. There are more, since, in France, new generations feel that they inherit a system that they cannot sustain. He Post counted Cases of young people such as Anastasia Blay, who depend on intermittent subsidies to survive, convinced that they should not load with the mistakes of the past or give up a decent life. In front of them, retirees like Christine Boucau-Podorski They defend The pensions achieved after decades of hard work and are willing to limited sacrifices, but not losing acquired rights. This struggle between young and old reflects the intergenerational shock that crosses To all of Europe: Who pays the invoice, what benefits should be preserved and to what extent intergenerational solidarity can continue to be the base of the European social contract. Germany and France Wobm up. Fragility is not limited to France. Germany, the other great Historical support of the European Union, faces industrial recessiondeterioration of infrastructure and a government that admits since “the current system is unassumable.” Political tensions are intense, with the social democratic opposition refusing to accept drastic cuts and the extreme right by capitalizing citizen discomfort. Meanwhile, the Ultras games grow On both sides of the rhine fed by social disenchantment and the feeling of stagnation. The paradox is that Italy or Spainonce considered weak links, they exhibit today greater stability macroeconomic than European locomotives. The center, formerly balancing, has become the area of ​​greatest uncertainty, which weakens the European project at a time of growing external threats. The southern paradox. It is quite striking that countries historically seen as fragile, such as Spain and Italy, today appear (either They seem) as relatively more stable. Italy, after decades of political instability, lives its strongest period with a controversial government that has even achieved An improvement of the credit rating. Spain, meanwhile, has reduced by half unemployment in the last decade and maintains growth above the European average, despite spend less on well -being than France or Germany. This roles investment shows to what extent the clichés of the southern Europe have been exceeded: the Mediterranean nations, previously accused of fiscal laxity, seem to have learned to navigate austerity, while “the rich north” It sinks in its own budgetary rigidity. The perfect storm. The challenge is aggravated by external factors that multiply internal pressures. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine pushes to increase the defense expensejust when public coffers They are already exhausted. China Compete fiercely With European industry, from electric cars to nuclear energy, eroding the international position of German and French manufactures. And the United States, far from offering security, Add uncertainty with a president who changes position in a matter of days and threatens tariffs to his own allies. Europe must decide If prioritize shield Your welfare state, to reorient resources towards military security or find a balance that does not sacrifice either global competitiveness or social cohesion. The great unknown. Experts Like Andreas Eisl They argue that the dilemma is first of all politician: it is not if Europe can maintain its social model, but to what extent it wants to do it and what sacrifices is willing to assume. Attempts to apply cuts, such as 44,000 million euros proposed in the budget that demolished Prime Minister François Bayrou, have caused A massive rejection on the street and fed polarization. However, mathematics is relentless: with a aging populationa Birth in Declive and one Increasing resistance To immigration, the fiscal base narrows while the needs increase. Europe may not be on the verge of a Greek collapse, or it does not seem, but the sustainability of its “way of life” indicates that it has ceased to be An unquestionable dogma. And that is, perhaps, the true battle of the future: if the old continent manages to reinvent his social contract without dynamiting him in the process. Image | Pexels, Martin Greslou In Xataka | Spain has a big problem with the generational relief of the labor market: 3.5 million young workers are missing In Xataka | Birth in Poland is a disaster and hotels have had an idea: money for those who conceive in a stay

In 2007, the Simpson movie could allow you to be a supprepisodium of the series. In 2027 it will have it much more difficult

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Almost two decades have passed since ‘The Simpsons‘They made the jump from television to cinema for the first time with a film that ended up becoming a Authentic global event. Now Disney confirms that a new tape is on its way, but the question is inevitable: do we need another Simpson movie in 2025? The second. The announcement of this new installment has simply made a publication in social networks of the image of a typical Donut Pink of the series, with ornaments in number 2 and the message “Homer’s Coming Back For Seconds”. Although there are no more details, we do have a date: July 23, 2027, which was initially reserved for a Marvel movie without announcing. In this way, there is no marvel movie among the premieres of ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘(December 2026) and’ Avengers: Secret Wars’ (December 2027). The first. Released in 2007, the first film raised more than 500 million dollars at the box office and showed that the yellow family was able to drag the spectators to the rooms. At that time, the series had two decades of life, and although it was already far from the golden age of the 90s, the series continued to enjoy a relevant status and maintained solid follow -up. In fact, it was a symbolic closure of an era of cultural influence, and the film was able to launch images that last among the most notorious of the franchise, such as the enraged mass of Citizens of Springfield or the presence of Spiderrdo. The status of the series. The Simpsons They just started, a couple of days ago, their season 37. His extreme longevity He has been accompanied by a decrease in the quality and cultural impact of his first years. In the 90s’The Simpsons’ They were a total reference in television humor and a satirical mirror of society, but in 2025 it works more as a established mainstream classic, valued more than anything by its legacy. For better. However, although it is far from the ferocity and impact of more independent series (and also successful, such as South Park or Rick and Morty). In The Simpsons They have shown signs of improvement. Yes, its golden age has already passed, but from a while this part tends to coincide in that From season 3 onwardsthe program has recovered narrative quality and characters development. It puts an end to the end, even if it is relative, to the decline that started around season 10, when the scripts began to be more repetitive and lost edge. The key to change. The scriptwriters of the last seasons are already professionals who have been educated with ‘The Simpsons’ within the cultural imaginary. Costumbrismo has given way to surrealism and self -conscious humor, and the characters are seen as icons, even giving way to a target humor of modern series. We have seen type episodes mockumentaryother dreamlike ones … If the new film wants to be more than a nostalgic artifact, we may see it more oriented in this sense, aware of the series category as a pop myth. A more traditional option, more sitcom type, would smell in rancid and outdated. 2007 vs. 2025. The cultural world of 2025 is very different from what it was when we saw the first film: it must be taken into account that at that time a movie of ‘The Simpsons’ could be considered an event, as we now see Marvel or ‘Star Wars’ movies. Now, with the competition of streaming And the cinema mainstream At a very different point of popularity and influence, the film must rethink its strategy. You just have to see how we access ‘the Simpsons’ itself: then it was a weekly premiere event, with repeated episodes daily. Now we have access through a platform to The entire Historical Archive of Seasonssomething that would have been unthinkable then. Without a doubt, they are variables that will influence the same conception of the film. Already then, this could not be allowed to be an elongated episode without more. Now, in addition, it must be aware of the Pop legend category of the mother series. Header | Disney In Xataka | The video game that never existed from ‘The Simpsons’: a technical demo of ‘Bug Squad appears!’ For Dreamcast

It seemed difficult for the Galapagos Islands to be more threatened. And then a watchmaking pump arrived: Airbnb

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This summer, and while Spain declared war to the sector, the holiday rental He reached levels that until recently they would have seemed more typical of a dystopia. In fact, the platforms began to do business to the Pool rental for hours. Meanwhile, in places like New York, who closed the tap to Airbnb in 2023, they had discovered that two years later Hotels are happy. With this scenario, the Galapagos Islands have encountered the problem at home. The arrival of Airbnb. I told the weekend The New York Times. In the Galapagos Islands, one of the most delicate natural environments on the planet, the rise of Airbnb after the pandemic has transformed the tourist panorama. Alicia Ayalaknown as “the queen of Airbnb”, Symbolize This turn: rent apartments at affordable prices that attract backpackers and middle -class families, in contrast to elitist tourism that dominated for decades. Figures? Today there is More than 1,300 accommodations of this type compared to about 300 regulated hotels, which has generated an explosion of low -budget visitors who spend less and, according to critics, contribute to environmental deterioration and the banalization of a declared place World Heritage. Impact and tensions. Criticisms focus on the inability of short rentals to meet the Strict environmental standards that do govern for hotels, forced to pay permits, provide conservation funds and manage waste in a territory without drinking water or sustainable energy. The proliferation of uninformed visitors multiplies harmful behaviors: garbage on beaches, protected fauna or consumption of threatened species. In fact, researchers They warn that uncontrolled tourism threatens to convert the islands into a “Venice of Nature”, where the immediate economy of the preservation of unique ecosystems. Mass tourism and local economy. The archipelago went from receiving 6,000 annual visitors in the seventies to a forecast of 300,000 in 2025driven by commercial flights, social networks and the appearance of cheap excursions replacing the traditional luxury cruises. What is happening is A stage that It is repeated in The entire planet. This massification has left family hotels with empty rooms, while competing against Airbnbs that operate with lower costs and low supervision. At the same time, the tourism sector holds 80% Of the 30,000 inhabitants, so the dilemma between immediate income and sustainability becomes more acute in an isolated environment that depends on expensive imports and limited services. The legal (and political) battle. Although the Ecuadorian Constitution and the special legislation of the Galapagos They recognize rights of nature and limit hotel development, the absence of specific regulation for Airbnb generates a void that the hosts have taken advantage of. The Ministry of Tourism He has declared illegal Many of these accommodations and has ordered closures, but lacks effective control mechanisms, while platforms such as Airbnb claim to comply with current regulations and ask for clear rules. UNESCO He has urged Ecuador to stop growth and regulate digital tourism, although the attempts of hoteliers to achieve changes have been left unworthy. Threats and uncertain future. To tensions for tourism problems are added of illegal fishing, drug trafficking And, more recently, the fusion of the Ministry of Environment with that of Energy and Mines, played by experts such as a turn towards The exploitation of resources above conservation. In this context, the dispute between regulated hotels and hosts of Airbnb reflects a deeper conflict: to what extent Ecuador is willing to sacrifice Ecological integrity of the galapagos to sustain their economy. Among the pressure of tourism growth, the lack of effective regulation and the political signals that prioritize extraction on preservation, the future of the archipelago as a natural sanctuary remains, more than ever, in question. Image | Diego Delso In Xataka | In 2023 New York closed the tap to Airbnb to protect his home. Two years later, only hotels are happy In Xataka | Airbnb has just eliminated 65,000 tourist floors. The problem is that consumption has found another 55,000

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