happy

The hoteliers promised them happy with the huge business of the terraces. Until the new antitabaco law arrived

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Spain is a country of Terraceum. It was before and it is much more (if possible) now, with the memory of the COVID-19 still present and while the country gradually becomes a huge tourist power that is on its way to the 100 million visitors foreigners The hoteliers have not been oblivious to that pull and have turned the terraces into a fundamental part of their turnover, especially in summer. Now they fear that THE NEW ANTITABACE LAW put it in danger. Goodbye, terraces (with smoke). The government wants the roads of the tobacco industry and the hospitality industry to pass separately. Completely. In 2006 there was a first step in that direction with the Law 28/200515 years ago progress was made with a Legislative reform And now the Executive wants to make another movement that would completely banish the smoke from the bars terraces. This is expected by the legislative draft that He has just received the approval of the Council of Ministers, a document that still has a parliamentary route ahead (in fact it does not even guarantee its approval in the lower house), but that has already done Jump alarms Among the hoteliers of the country. Of bars, cigarettes and vapers. Although it does not collect All changes to those who aspired by the Ministry of Health, The new regulations It is clear in two key aspects. First, in equating electronic cigarettes to conventional tobacco. Second, at the time of veto That people smoke (or vapee) on the terraces. Moreover, the department of Mónica García has not stayed there and advocates a sharp prohibition of tobacco in “closed public spaces and an expanded list of exterior environments”, among which includes all those enclosures in which shows, sports facilities, parks, transport stations, educational centers and (of course) are the tables that the bars take out abroad. Pending jobenes. It is not the only thing that the government has in mind, which aspires that adolescents find it even more difficult to hook themselves. The new standard not only restricts the sale of tobacco (and the rest of the products that the law quotes, such as electronic cigarettes) to minors, but directly forbids smoking. It also veto any advertising and demands a more precise labeling, although it leaves out the generic packaging that doctors ask. “A severe threat”. The proposal has not liked the hoteliers, who have not taken long to warn of the coup that will be advised by the ban. The collective He raised his voice Already on the same Monday (after the Council of Ministers gave its placet to the draft law) to question the effectiveness of the norm and remember that today smokers and non -smokers live in the terraces without problem. “It goes against the hoteliers, not against tobacco. On our terraces there has always been a peaceful coexistence and with respect to people who do not want to smoke,” claims José Luis Álvarez, president of the hospitality of Spain, on the bill. It is not the only voice in the sector that points in that direction. The employer Otea, hospitality and tourism in Asturias, insists In his “resounding rejection” to the veto and warns that the new restriction represents “a severe threat” for business. What do they argue? The hoteliers wield several arguments. The main one is that they believe that the law will condemn smokers to closed private spaces, such as houses, and stir a problem (in their opinion) non -existent. “There is currently a good coexistence between smokers and non -smokers on the terraces,” claims The employer, who claims to have a 40DB study that shows that 56% of Spaniards do not believe urgent to prohibit tobacco on the terraces. Moreover, a large majority (82.5%) He is convinced that customers will continue to smoke in the immediate vicinity, “hindering the work” of those who work in the bars. Camareros … and police. Another of their fears is how tourists will fit the veto, customers who may not know the ban when they feel on a terrace and take a cigarette. “It will generate special confusion among the millions of tourists visiting Spain every year, a country where the tourism sector represents one of the main economic motors,” They censor. The president of the hospitality of Spain, José Luis Álvarez, is even more graphic and warns that the waiters will have to “make police”, warning the clients of the ban. Looking at Europe.. “There is only one country throughout Europe where smoking is not allowed, Sweden. And we are going to be Spain, that we have more tables and more chairs than all Europe, which prohibit smoking from tourists on our terraces,” regretted Yesterday the sector leader in an interview with four. The association recalls that when France decided Give yourself with standards To restrict tobacco he opted for “Exclude expressly“The terraces not to damage their economy. The norm French aspires to get “the first generation without tobacco”, so the smoke will veto in outdoor spaces, such as beaches, gardens, marques and playgrounds, but leaves out the electronic cigarettes and does not play the chairs and tables that their hoteliers place outside their establishments. The value of a terrace. The speed and forcefulness with which the hoteliers have come out to show their discomfort is not surprising. On the contrary, it confirms a reality: the enormous weight that the terraces have been acquired in the accounts of the bars and restaurants. There are several factors that explain it. One, key, is the antitabaco standard that has been applied so far and its interior restrictions, but others are added, such as the effect of the pandemic or the policies adopted by Some municipalities What have reduced tax burden of the terraces. The result is that the terraces have been expanding through the squares, streets and sidewalks of the cities, a growth that has sometimes generated friction with the neighbors. In Sevillewhere at least in 2023 there were around 1,300 businesses With evenings, the … Read more

In 2023 New York closed the tap to Airbnb to protect his home. Two years later, only hotels are happy

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To desperate problems, imaginative solutions. A few years ago New York decided to stop the housing crisis which has long dragged with a measure that put the focus directly on Airbnb. The baptized as Local Law 18 made renting floors to tourists, for short stays, of less than 30 days, results Much more complicated and thus achieve a double objective: enforce the sector regulations and protect the low housing offer in the city. The norm premiered just two years ago. And the balance is far from being the ideal. A name: Local Law 18. New York is not the only city that has proposed to limit the supply of holiday rental. Something have done in Florence, London, Barcelona either Madridto name just a handful of examples. The attempt of the Big Apple resulted in particularly media, both because of the repercussion that the city has and its content. The known as Local Law 18approved in September 2023, imposed limitations to those who were dedicated to lease their houses for periods of less than 30 days. From entry NY demanded that the Caseros register and prohibited AirbnB (and similar platforms) to manage reservations if the accommodations did not meet that requirement, a measure similar to that incorporated with Spain with their “Single record“Not only that. In addition to registering, the law established that the landlords must comply with certain guidelines That in practice it limits who (and especially how) can be put in the market: nothing to rent whole houses, only rooms, the hosts must be present and the number of guests is also very restricted. A double objective. With the new standard the New York authorities pursued two goals. The first, to facilitate the coexistence in the apartments blocks in which residential and holiday floors lived. The second (and most important) Palliar The housing crisis that dragged the city. Two years later the communities of neighbors of the Big Apple may have fewer problems with groups of noisy tourists, but there are serious doubts that the second purpose, the really ambitious, has been achieved. The best test was left a few days ago by the newspaper The Wall Street Journal in A broad analysis With a title that is at the same time a sentence and demonstrates that (at least) the debate remains open: “The campaign against Airbnb in New York has not improved the housing offer.” Although since September 2023 New Yorkers have more complicated to offer their floors in Airbnb or Booking does not seem that this has translated into a distension of the residential market. On the contrary, The newspaper affirms Conservative: “It is more difficult than ever finding an apartment to rent in the city.” And that is something that can be checked by consulting both prices and housing stock available in NY. What do the data say? That New York floors have not stopped becoming more expensive in the last two years. Zillow shows for example that the average long -stay rental price is now in $ 3,750150 more than a year ago. “The law does not seem to have a significant impact on getting leases more affordable,” confirms a TWSJ Jonathan Miller, manager of a real estate appraisal company. According to its calculations, the market has even reached a historical maximum of $ 4,700 per month in Manhattan, although it acknowledges that factors such as lack of new work influence that figure. Airbnb also handles data that show that NY tenants do not have it easier today than before the local law 18. The platform is an interested party and that must be taken into account when driving Your figuresbut they are eloquent: the New York City rental index rose 8.1%, that of Manhattan 8.6%, Brooklyn 7.7%and Queens 6.5%. The portal also warns of the “load” involved in rental for the pockets of the periphery families. “Almost three million New Yorkers pay more than 30% of their income for rent,” prevents. A percentage: 2.45%. It is not just about the cost of rent. The housing stock available in NY still is not what is said Boyante, which a priori would facilitate prices to soften. Miller assures That last July the vacancies for residential rental in Manhattan marked a meager 2.45%, near the historical minimum. In that same idea affects Airbnb, which a few days ago launched A statement regretting that, despite the fact that short -term rentals in New York have fallen more than 90%, “rental vacancies have dropped 0.5%” with respect to 2023. And everything, insists the platform“without signs of a significant improvement in housing availability.” But … how is it possible? The million dollar question. And it has no easy answer. To start there is something obvious and that is that the NY market It takes time facing challenges such as the rise of rentals or the shortage of the stock, which do not respond to a single factor. In addition the Big Apple is not the only US region that has dealt with The increase of housing, aggravated by the lack of new work. In your analysis TWSJ It provides data Interesting that helps to understand why local law 18 has failed to reverse the trend and its effect has barely appreciated: although two years ago there were thousands of floors available to tourists on Airbnb, they actually suppose only a small part of NY’s huge real estate cake. In early 2023 in the city there were around 38,500 Airbnb units, As needed The economic newspaper, a very low fact if one takes into account that in the free market there were more than one million residential units. Right now the special compliance office has registered only 3,000 rentals in the short term that the strict requirements of the law meet and can be announced legally. That does not mean that the remaining thousands of floors are leased by New York families that use them as stable and permanent homes. Another fact: 35,000 homes. There are owners who, not being … Read more

The most expensive set of Lego to date does not be happy for all fans

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October will be the month in which Lego fans will have before them The most expensive set in the company’s history: The Death Star Wars star. A thousand dollars have allowed the company to beat its own record of crazy prices with a piece that has more than a meter high. An authentic Mostreco whose extra contents included in the set will salivate more than one fan of the construction games and devotees of the galactic franchise. Some figures. That said: more than 9,000 pieces make up the set, where no less than 38 minifigures based on the characters in the movies can be placed. We will have all the expected guests: Leia, Han Solo, Chewbacca, the Droids, all kinds of imperial forces including Darth Vader and the Emperor, and several versions of Luke Skywalker (with the black suit of ‘The Return of the Jedi’, dress of Stormtrooper next to Han Solo …). Curiosity: some unexpected detail such as the inclusion of a Beach Tropperthe Stormtropers in a swimsuit that made their debut in the 2006 ‘Lego Star Wars II: The Original Trilogy’ video game. Everything expected in the death star. How could it be otherwise, this death star includes stays taken from the original trilogy, from the garbage crusher to the throne room of ‘The return of the Jedi’, to recreate a final duel with all details. Some fan will put the nerves when you see places from two different films in the same star, but the set must be interpreted as a tribute outside the Continuum space-time. Or something like that. If you want it. If you have a thousand dollars, which is not little conditional, and you are willing to spend them on a Lego set, possibly be a member of the Lego Insider Club, and you will have anticipated access to the set, from October 1, three days before the rest of the mortals. Both one and the other, who buy the set before October 8 will receive as a gift a tie Fighter, the appropriate size to place it in their place in this death star (although there are protests from the community because the ship appears in the promotional images, and from October 8 that piece will not be included in the purchase). Some protests. There are already some lucky disappointment to whom they are more satisfied. Among the complaints that have been in the community in recent weeks, especially, the quality of the figures, lower than expected: most are recycled from previous sets, something unusual in the most expensive sets. In addition, they are not even the best quality figures, as with C3PO, which has been represented before in more detailed figures and better valued by the community. There have also been protests because, unlike previous death stars, the set It is not a sphere, but a section of the structure. Question of taste, but It is one of the complaints They circulate online. Varied opinions. This type of sets, getting bigger and linked to franchises such as Marvel, Star Wars or Harry Potter, among many others, receive All kinds of opinions. There are those who think that franchises have creatively ruined Lego, but the truth is that Your economic recovery After a huge stage of crisis, everything owes these large, expensive and very clearly oriented to the adult public. And if it depends on a certain generation between X and Millennialit is clear that nostalgia is the trigger to be thrown. If this set works commercially, it will be difficult for it to be the last. Header | Lego In Xataka | LEGO is an empire of the toy and has already made its incursions into the cinema. Now the next level is raised: video games

The hoteliers promised them happy in a summer of record tourism. Until the ghost reserves arrived

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During the summer the restaurants receive Anything else What tourists, reserves and customers eager for a meal that puts the perfect icing on your vacation. In addition to all that they receive seedlings. For a long time and for the despair of the hoteliers it is common for the high season to increase the ‘Ghost reservations’a phenomenon that is carrying the business economy and has already forced them to Adopt measures. After all, it directly affects its profitability. Ghost reservations? Yes. Maybe it sounds weird, but they are nothing new and certainly have little mysterious for hoteliers, their great victims. The ‘ghost reservations’ are reservations Fallutas that leave a hole in the dining rooms (and the accounts) of the restaurants: a client calls, reserve table for two, three, four diners (may even more) and then it does not appear. Not just that. Nor does it call in advance to warn, so that the business only has the option of filling your hole with another client, something that is not always possible. The Anglo -Saxons call it ‘No-Shows’ and against what may seem affect All kinds of premises: From taverns to Michelin star restaurants, in which those vacancies can translate into a hole in hundreds of euros. It happens frequently? Depends. If we talk about socks and take as a reference the whole sector and the year is not a especially serious problem. At least so shows the Thefork platform, which recently elaborated A study about “ghost reserves”. According to their records, between January and July there was not a single month in which No-Shows They were more than 3.4% of the total reservations. It is a low fact and also reveals a slight descent with respect to last year. If we ask certain hoteliers, the thing changes. A few days ago The voice of Galicia interviewed to the owners of a marswish from Santiago de Compostela who claimed to be receiving “more plants than ever.” And it is not the only business that complains. Another hospitaler of the city speaks of up to six No-Shows A day. In Segovia there are also professionals who They lament of customers who leave them lying without giving explanations (or with pilgrim justifications) after commissioning roasts and the newspaper Minorca It echoed In August of the discomfort of some businesses on the island. “It is a problem, almost in each shift there are cancellations. You are called and they tell you that they are on the beach or that they have left elsewhere and decide to stay,” Antoni Sansaloni, representative of the Menorcan Sector Association, censorship. Is there more data? Yes. Thefork wanted to scratch a little to know details of the phenomenon, which has given us Two interesting perspectives: The first is its geographical distribution; The second, its causes. According to their data, the province most harmed by No-Shows It is Segovia, where they are 5% of the total reservations. They are followed by Menorca and Ibiza, with 4.2% and 4% respectively. In the opposite pole are Biscay (2.5%), A Coruña and Murcia, where the percentage remains at 2.7%. As for the causes, Thefork Point out Basically three. 55% of respondents say they do not appear to reservations for disasters and forgetfulness. 38% argue that if they have left hanging restaurants it has been for “unforeseen” that have also prevented them from warning. And 7% allege that they don’t call to cancel reservations for “shame.” Hoteliers have a somewhat different perspective and They warn that there are customers who reserve in several restaurants simultaneously. Are they a serious problem? The platform calculates that it carries losses that can go Between 5 and 20%depending on the type of business. “The problem is that they make you a roast reserve, that you have to prepare the pig, and that remains in the kitchen,” comment to The advance From a Segovian grill. “It affects us little, but when they make us a big reserve and fail, they destroy us,” agrees Another professional. The complaint is extensible to restaurants with Michelin stars that also They have been found With large groups that do not present or cancel the reservation, “a task” for those responsible, who usually work with closed menus and buy fresh product based on scheduled services. If a customer does not present the business does not recover the investment. Does summer influence? Yes. It is easily confirmed with a quick search on Google. Hoteliers who complain about No-Shwos They usually point out also that the problem is aggravated during the high season, coinciding with the increase in tourism. It is not surprising if one takes into account that restaurants reserves in general. “The rest of the year does not usually happen. The people here are usually always going to the reservation,” Explain A place in Santiago de Compostela. From Segovia Apostillan Also that ghost reserves are noticed above all on weekends “more pointers”, in which they receive especially visitors from the capital. “We are the dining room of Madrid and these issues are accentuated above all on weekends or the bridges in which many people come.” “During the summer months, reserves in the restaurants in tourist areas increase considerably due to the presence of travelers, both national and international. As a result, in this period the non-shows grow exponentially,” They corroborate From the Thefork platform. And can it be avoided? If not to eradicate it to 100%, the sector has moved file to reduce at least the impact of ghost reserves on their businesses. It is increasingly frequent to meet restaurants requesting a card number such as guarantee or deposits or directly do not accept reservations. Thefork herself decided Some time ago Take letters in the matter and expel those users who accumulate a number of frustrated reserves throughout the year, a measure that adds to those that had already been applying before, such as prohibiting multi reservations for the same day. Perhaps the best known case of a ghost reserve that came to … Read more

Cabo de Gata promised them happy with the tourist pull of its beaches. Until the dunes became parkings

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He Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park It is an environmental jewel of the Mediterranean, but also an important claim for visitors who only in Julio saw how they accessed their regulated beaches and coves More than 15,000 vehicles. Combining these two facets is not always simple, as can be seen from The last complaint From Pacma, which warns that an important dunes zone has ended up “destroyed” and turned, at least in a simple parking. “It’s bleak,” he regrets animalist formation. What happened? Than the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park He is being a victim of his own popularity among visitors. This was denounced a few days ago the Pacma coordinator in Almería, Eduardo Milla, who has warned of the “serious destruction” of the dunar systems of the Para del Charcoa protected sand located between the beach of Cabo de Gata and that of the herb. To be more precise, Pacma complaint That the fence that protected the area is broken or dropped at several points due to the “lack of maintenance”, which allows the passage of people and even cars. “As a consequence, several Dunar cords have disappeared, transforming some of these areas into improvised parking lots.” Is it so serious? Animalist formation warns of the risks to the sand and that the achievements of the last and a half decade are cast. “What was protected for years has been suddenly unprotected,” Add mile. “Some dunes have become esplanadas to park. It is bleak how areas that took more than 15 years to recover have disappeared in a summer.” The Pacma coordinator in Almería goes even further and recalls that the Dunar Systems of the Arenal are “of the most important” of the Natural Park next to those of the amoladas beach, so it claims to the authorities that intervene “urgently” to “revert to the maximum” the damages. Is it the only complaint? Pacma’s warning is especially overwhelming for its content and has achieved A considerable echoespecially between The regional pressbut animalist formation is not the only one that has ruled on tourism in the protected area of Cabo de Gata-Níjar. In early August the Andalusia Board itself launched A statement To emphasize the importance of visitors acting “with responsibility” and “respect” in the park. “The conservation of this privileged environment is a collective task. The individual behavior of each visitor has a decisive weight. We make this call for consciousness and responsibility to ensure that the enjoyment of the park does not be detrimental to its future,” claims The organism director, Salvador Parra. And what do they propose? Among other issues, the Board remembers that it is forbidden to collect specimens of flora and fauna during visits (“They suppose a serious alteration of the ecosystem,” he emphasizes), throwing garbage or getting out of the marked paths. The Ministry too remember That certain activities, such as diving, kayak or fishing, must respect certain guidelines. On the mainland, free camping is not allowed or that motorhomas are at night outside the marked areas. What is the problem? The key slide the newspaper recently ABC in An analysis in which he points out the complicated balance to which Cabo de Gata is cornered: it is an environmental jewel, “one of the protected spaces of greater ecological relevance of the Western Mediterranean”, in the words of the Junta de Andalucía; But also an important tourist claim. Throughout last year the main facilities of public use of the park counted 38,400 people. According to The data That Europa Press handles, last month on the beaches and coves located west of the nucleus of San José, from Genoese to Cala Carbon, the entrance of more than 15,000 private vehicles was counted. That figure reveals a slight rebound (+3.4%) with respect to 2024, although it remains below the 2014 peaks. The daily average was thus in July in about 485 vehicles. Have more measures been taken? Yes. At the beginning of summer the Ministry of Sustainability and Environment He began to control The accesses to several beaches of Cabo Gata-Níjar precisely for the influx of car, a measure that will remain active until September 28. Canal Sur requires that those who want to access the beaches of Mónsul, Genoese or Cala Coal, among others, and park in one of their 399 places They must be done before with a six -euro ticket per vehicle. In The order In which he reports access restrictions, the Andalusian Board recalls that other years has been proven as “the agglomeration of people and vehicles” that are concentrated in the area during the summer deteriorate the coastal ecosystem. That without counting on the “serious problems of collapses in the access roads” that, the government warns, prevent both the minimum safety conditions “in case of emergency and the provision of basic services. Images | Stablemechanism (Flickr), Pacma and Wikipedia In Xataka | The north of Spain has been complaining about mass tourism for years. Asturias has discovered the bitter consequences of losing it

France promised them happy with the Grand Nuclear Power Plant. Until the jellyfish swarms arrived

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In France, jellyfish have knocked out one of the country’s largest nuclear centrals. Yes, the same jellyfish you are on the beach. Although it sounds delusional, the company Électricité e France (EDF) has acknowledged that an incident with these jelly and transparent celentéreos has forced to pause four of the production units of The Gravian Plantlocated north of the country. The most surprising thing is that it is not something exceptional. What happened? The news has been given by EDF itself, which in A statement Posted yesterday explains that the Gravelines Nuclear Power He has seen how four of his six production units went out for a peculiar motive: jellyfish. The first three units (2, 3 and 4) were automatically disconnected on Sunday night following security protocols to protect the reactor. The fourth (unit 6) also automatically went out on Monday. What happened exactly? EDF is quite clear In this regard. The stops are explained by “the massive and unpredictable presence” of jellyfish in the drums of the pumping stations, located in the non -nuclear part of the plant. What happened is best understood by remembering that gravoras, a of the largest centrals From France, it is refrigerated with the help of a channel connected to the North Sea. The plant has water pumping stations that allow it to refrigerate the reactors. The jellyfish were located precisely in filters that are responsible for aspiring sea water to control its temperature. The four units that went out automatically (2, 3, 4 and 6) are also added to production units 1 and 5, which already They were disabled For maintenance work. Was there any danger? EDF too It is clear At that point. He assures that at no time there was danger and that what happened did not affect the safety of the facilities or meant any risk for the template or the environment. “The plant equipment has mobilized and perform the necessary diagnoses and interventions to restart the production units safely,” guarantees. At first He pointed out that the affected units could be operational again on Thursday, but Reuters slides That the schedule may not be fulfilled: the idea was to restart the four units today, but in principle it will only one. The rest will resume the activity little by little, progressively, until Friday. What jellyfish were they? The operator has not clarified it, but the Reuters agency holds that is about Pulmo rhizostomaalso known as Aguamala. Its presence in Gravelines could be explained by two factors: first the temperature of the sea, higher this summer, which favors jellyfish flowers and that these remain longer in the North Sea; Second, the force of the currents, which would have pushed the banks towards the channel and the central. Is it the first time that happens? No. It is not usual, but neither was it out of the ordinary. Gravelines already lived something similar In the early 90s and there are other plants distributed throughout the world that have encountered similar problems. Swiss Info appointment Specifically, US facilities, Scotland, Sweden and Japan, which would also have suffered them last decade. Its proliferation is explained by water warming and The overfishingwhich has punished tuna banks. In this case, jellyfish have affected a relevant plant for France, equipped with six units that produce 900 megawatts of energy each, near 5.4 Gigawatts in total. The idea is that from 2040 shelter two EPR2 reactors. Images | Joel Filipe (UNSPLASH), EDF and Wikipedia In Xataka | SMR reactors were supposed to save nuclear energy. The first of the West for now is far from it

European cars manufacturers promised them happy with the hydrogen battery. Reality has hit them

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In search by Eliminate fossil fuels From cars, electrification seemed the best option. Have 100% electric, hybrids and plug -in. However, some companies They seemed not to be convinced at all with the electric ones, so they began to boost the development of cars moved by ‘pilas’ of hydrogen. Some are getting off the shipand the last one is a Stellantis that has been closely to the controversy These last years. BMW has another opinion and defends that the hydrogen battery is a strategic alternative for Europe. Against what? Against China. Short. In a brief releaseStellantis (which, remember, is the megacompañía that arises after the Fusion of Fiat, PSA and Chrysler) He confirmed a few weeks ago that he interrupted his hydrogen fuel cell technology development program. They affirm that “the hydrogen market remains a niche segment, without perspectives of economic sustainability in the medium term.” And this affects all the divisions they were developing: Cars. Small vans. Large vans. Next steps. The company comments that the personnel who were doing R&D work related to hydrogen technology will be redirected to other projects and that now what it is to focus on what it sells: hybridization and conventional electric batteries. “We must make clear and responsible decisions to ensure our competitiveness and meet the expectations of our customers, as well as continue with our offensive of electric vehicles and hybrids of both passengers and light commercials,” explains Jean-Philippe Imparato, Chief Operating Operating Officer for Enlarged Europe. Issues. The main argument that underwent the hydrogen strategy, with cars on the street such as the Hyundai Initium or the Mirai de ToyotaIt was the speed of loading. If the electric took some dozens of minutes to achieve a decent autonomy, one of hydrogen was closer to the times of a gasoline/diesel. The problem is that it is not entirely true. Toyota has been one of those who More has driven the hydrogen batteryeven competing with hydrogen -driven cars, such as GR LH2 Racing Concept or the Gr yaris rally2 h2 concept For rallies, but in everyday use, hydrogen looks like everything except practical, away from that more classic “plugging and reproducing” liquid fuel. The reason? GR LH2 Racing himself needs a cryogenic system at the cargo station that maintains hydrogen at -253 degrees Celsius. This implies advanced isolation and advanced manipulation, which makes it very little practical out of a very specialized competitive environment. Among other thingssince the energy density of hydrogen is almost nine times lower than that of gasoline and storage is complex. Without ‘hydrogeneras’ there is no FCEV. Returning to Stellantis, the group was not working with the hydrogen pile for the distant future, but immediately. This year they were going to launch a new range of vans, the Pro one fed by hydrogenthat evidently will not see the light. And although there are still companies that keep some hope for the hydrogen pile, the truth is that without refueling points, technology seems unsustainable. In the United States, Toyota has faced collective demand by Mirai owners who ensure that the brand lied to ensure that reposting would be as simple as in a gasoline. There are practically no load points, with just a thousand open hydrogeneras worldwide for public use. And last year they began to close in Germany because they were not used. BMW and his “hold me the cubata”. Trucks are another song. The numbers are there, With strong consecutive falls in 2023 and 2024 that seem to have punctured, at least for now, that fever for the hydrogen pile for conventional cars. However, the turn comes from BMW. The German company has publicly defended that hydrogen is an opportunity for Europe not to depend so much on the China’s battery industry. And others like Volvo maintain projects Hydrogen for trucks. It has been the CEO who has insisted that Europe must bet on multiple roads and that, in a scenario in which China controls the production of Rare earth Essential to create batteries, and they are also the most manufactured batteries, Europe must have a BM plan, BMW has no car with a hydrogen battery and is working on a SUV that They will launch at some point in 2028. We will see how the market is then. Image | H2 Mobility In Xataka | Nikola had everything to revolutionize the world of hydrogen trucks. Now is on the verge of bankruptcy

Extremadura promised them very happy with its powerful Spanish tomato industry. Until China arrived

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More than market fluctuationsthe production costs or the rain. If there is something capable of removing the dream from Spanish farmers dedicated to tomato cultivation, China is. The Asian giant is the great tomato garden of the world and it is increasingly difficult to compete with its prices. Hence, in Extremadura, the region that More hectares dedicated to industrial plantations, recognize That today the competition of the Asian vegetable is its “biggest problem.” The big question is … What to expect from now on? Tomato “Made in Extremadura”. If we talk about Spanish tomatoespecially from industry oriented, Extremadura is the king. In the 2023 campaign, the 75% of the surface of cultivation of the country, at a considerable distance from Andalusia (11.3%) and Navarra (7.9%). And the percentage is even greater if we talk about production volume. In 2021 the regional government estimated that the surface dedicated to the crop was around 23,000 hectares. Throughout Spain it was around 31,000. A sector with swings. The tomato industry is powerful, but like many other crops is subject to the fields of the field and the market. In January, for example, Extremaduran farmers They alerted that the price of the fruit was below the cost of production: the vegetable ton was quoted at 107 euros in the private industry and 115 in cooperatives, far from the 140 reached in 2024 or the average cost of production of recent years, which It was 128. “The situation of tomato is unbearable. If urgent measures are not taken, many farmers will be forced to abandon the crop, which will seriously affect the sustainability of the sector and employment in the Extremaduran field,” warned At the beginning of the year Juan Metidieri, president of Aigg Extremadura Asaja. This year the culture surface will be reduced by several hectares, Precise The economistamong other reasons to avoid stock accumulation. China slopes. In the sector there is, however, something that rests so much or more than production costs or fluctuations in the price of the vegetable. Farmers have been concerned for a long time. Heavyweight of the world tomato market, China, which leads the “Top 4” next to the United States, India and Türkiye. According to data from World Population Reviewits production exceeded in 2022 the 68 million tons and a large part of that fruit ends in the world market -oriented market circuit. The problem is not so much the huge production of China and its prices and the pressure they exert in the sector. A few months ago, during An interview with Financial TimesFrancesco Mutti, the executive director of the sauce manufacturer who takes his last name, warned that much of the cheap tomato paste that arrives from China occurs in the Xinjiang region, where companies benefit from “very, very low labor costs.” That panorama and the different requirements facing European and Asian crops They worry Also in Extremadura. “It’s the biggest problem”. Its effect on the market worries so much that Domingo Fernández, president of APIS Group and manager of Agrifood Cooperatives of Extremadura, recognized recently to The economist that right now the Chinese tomato represents “the biggest problem.” The reason? In his opinion, the differences in controls in Spain and China derives in a “unfair competition.” Similar opinion shared Recently in Today José A. Gutiérrez, Farmer: “What we can not compete in the supermarket with products that enter Spain without those limitations. Compites against a Chinese tomato that has no traceability. It requires controls that are not appreciated in the market.” Are you worrying alone in Extremadura? At all. The sector has been on guard for Asian competition for years, something that is seen with concern both in Extremadura and in other regions or countries of Europe. In 2016 the Las Marismas Cooperativa, in Andalusia, He warned Of the challenges that Spanish farmers face: “They ask us for European quality at the price of Chinese tomato, something impossible taking into account the costs for the industry.” If someone has expressed themselves in a resounding and achieved echo manner in the sector, it is, however, the Italian Francesco Mutti, at the head of a business conglomerate dedicated to food that only in 2023 he billed 665 million of euros. Restrictions, tariffs? “We should stop the importation of Chinese tomato paste or add a 60% tax so that its cost is not so different from Italian products,” Mutti advocates before insisting that “more than 90%” of China’s tomatoes occur in Xinjiang, a region subject to scrutiny of the United Nations allegations of Human Rights against the Uigur minority, including episodes of forced labor. “We must protect them”. According to FTin 2024 China monopolized 23% of the global tomato production, several points above 18% of the previous year. Its production is also much cheaper: Chinese tomato paste costs about half that created in Italy. “We must teach our farmers to grow better, but also protect them from unfair competition. Otherwise, the result will not be a better environment, but to transfer our production abroad,” Mutti advocateswho has already sent his concerns to Brussels. The panorama, Remember Antonio Lucas MarínProfessor of Sociology and Economist, it does not seem simple: China The flow of Chinese tomato paste has been growing after the increase in energy and fertilizers in Europe. In the case of Extremadura, Asian competition will not be felt alone in Spain. The export community Thousands of tons of prepared or preserved tomato. “The Extremadura Tomato Transformation Industries have become the leading agri -food export sector Extremadura, ahead of the fruit. More than 80% of the total is allocated to the export market, with prominent markets such as France, the United Kingdom or Germany among many others,” he says A report on the production and economic footprint of the sector published in 2022. Images | Sue Thompson (Flickr), /Ricardo (UNSPLASH) and Lid (Flickr) In Xataka | The science of finding tomatoes that really know Tomate, that increasingly elusive holy grail

Toledo promised them very happy putting music at their festivities. Until the SGAE arrived with pending invoices

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Who does not like a good verbena with his musicite and his dances. In Toledotodos the years celebrate the August Fair, the Corpus and other events and in all, of course, they put music. The problem is that between 2017 and 2021 the invoices were not paid to the General Society of Authors and Editors. Now they will have to pay more than 143,000 euros. Imposses. The Commercial Court No. 1 has issued a sentence and condemns the City Council of Toledo to pay the invoices not paid to the SGAE, which amount to 143,513.92 euros, plus 30,000 euros of coasts of the trial, as reported in Europa Press. Unpaid invoices correspond to the period between 2017 and 2021. Disproportionate. According to the City Council, the rates of these invoices were “arbitrary and disproportionate”, which is why they were not paid at the time. In addition, in the case of the Lux Toledo event they alleged that it was the company Actiona who should pay the copyright. In the case of this event, the judge cites in the sentence that if the company does not pay it, “the City Council would assume it subsidiaryly.” The City Council has already approved a credit modification to deal with payment. There have been more cases. Toledo’s is not the only case of a town hall to which the SGAE takes to court for non -payment. In September last year, Vigo had to pay more than half a million euros for not paying bills between 2018 and 2023. The list continues: Miranda del Ebro, Zalamea de la Serena, OBEJUNA SOURCE… Confusion. There are few municipalities that have left SGAE invoices without paying, it seems that they have agreed, but sometimes it is the result of ignorance. According to him Orb and Associated Lawyers Officewhen a City Council hires a band, it often occurs that “he has been hired as an interpreter, as a musician performer of his own repertoire and that the SGAE does not have the exclusive management of those works.” In addition, there is a lot of confusion around Who should pay when a public event is held. For example, although the City Council only gives the space and is a promoter who organizes the concert, corresponds to the City Council to pay the payment to the SGAE. Bad communication. There have also been cases such as Medina del Campo where the fault was the lack of communication. The SGAE did not communicate that they had to pay anything until 2007, when there were already 76,000 euros. Something similar happened in Miranda del Ebro When in 2018 the SGAE sent the invoices corresponding to 2014. Image | Pexels In Xataka | A town in Toledo has tired of the squatters. So you are offering a new service to your neighbors to put them

China promised them very happy with day 996. Until they realized that it was shot in the foot

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You enter to work at 9 in the morning and leave at 9 at night. So Monday to Saturday, with a single rest day. 72 hours per week. It may seem crazy, but it is known as Day 996 They have followed many Chinese companies in the technological sector for years. The Chinese government ended up taking letters in the matter Upon realizing that the endless days were not only bad for workers, they were also bad for the country. Culture 996. A few years ago, working 12 hours a day was common in Chinese technological. Richard Liu, founder of JD.com He described these “blessing” and Jack Ma, founder of Alibaba, said that “if you don’t work from nine in the morning at nine o’clock at night when you are young, when are you going to do it?”. The term 996 was coined in 2019 following a protest against this work model to which they baptized 996-Icua word game that referred to that day would take workers to the ICU. This movement unleashed a wave of criticism at the national level and it is believed that it was the seed that The Government prohibited it. The change. In 2021, with the marathon days at the point of view of the government, there were many companies that turned back and brought back the weekend of two days. There were also companies like Tencent that cut the daily work hours from 10 to 6 in the afternoon, from 996 to 1065. Why this change? Fed up workers. Day 996 has been gasoline for the growth of the Chinese technological sector and its end responds to several reasons. The most obvious is that the workers were fed up in these exploitation conditions in which there were even cases of deaths due to exhaustion. The government said in its ruling that “workers are entitled to rest and take a vacation”, but we must not forget that it is the same government known for go against unions and imprison activists. National consumption. Inhuman working hours were a shot in the foot for the Government’s development objectives. In 2021, Xi Jinping promoted the idea of the “Common prosperity”an initiative that intended to grow the economy both outside and within its borders. However, promoting internal consumption was not compatible with 12 -hour working days. Technological workers charged more than in other sectors, but if they spent all their awake weather inside the office, they had no chance to spend it. Birth. Birth problems in China come from afar, but before the problem was that There were too muchnow it is Just the opposite And schedule 996 did not play in his favor. They counted in This articlethat in Chinese companies there is an entrenched idea that they call “ascend or out.” This is the belief that if a worker does not rise to a high position before having children, he runs the risk of replacing him with someone younger. In addition, men who have children and work with these schedules cannot take care of them or home, which in many cases expels women in the labor market. This makes many workers delay the time of having children, some even completely renounce. All happy? Ending 996 benefits workers, but also plays in favor of these objectives. The labor market expands because there is no age roof so low, birth rate and domestic consumption rises. All perfect, or almost. The end of 996 has not left many workers for free, when Bytedance announced that its employees would not work on weekends, He did it together with a 20%salary cut. In addition, for many workers the nightmare is not over. Last year, the head of Baidu media published a series of videos in which he denounced that he was forced to be available 24 hours a day. Culture 996 is still rooted above all in citiesmaking many young people choose to go to smaller nuclei where life is calmer. Image | Amparo Babyloni, Xataka In Xataka | Deepseek marked a turning point in the AI race. Now another Chinese company wants to imitate its success: Kimi K2 is born

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