lack

The lack of generational change has opened a job opportunity for thousands of young people in Spain: bus driver

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The driver shortage In Spain and Europe it has generated an opportunity for those looking for a stable and well-paid job. Municipal companies are fighting to hire new talents who want to train as drivers of their city buses. The lack of generational change in passenger transportation is a problem that affects many local companies, which cannot fill the vacancies left by retiring drivers. The shortage of drivers in Spain and Europe. According to published data According to the European employment body EURES, in 2023 there were 105,000 vacancies for bus and coach drivers in Europe, which represents 10% of all positions in the sector and an increase in vacancies of 54% compared to the previous year. In Spain the situation is not better. The driver shortage already an officially recognized structural problem. The deficit affects both the freight and passenger transport sectors, and contrasts with the surplus in other professions such as administrative or technical personnel. The forecasts of the transport sector is that, by 2026, 37,000 new bus drivers and about 126,000 truck drivers will be needed. Why are there drivers missing? Among the structural factors that aggravate the shortage of drivers, the absence of a generational change. According to a report According to the Spanish Bus Transport Confederation (CONFEBUS), the aging of the workforce is one of the main reasons for this shortage. Data recorded by the International Road Transport Union (IRU) included in the EURES report indicated that, in many European countries, less than 5% of drivers are under 25 years old. Furthermore, the incorporation of women to the sector is very low, since only 12% of drivers in the EU are women. He sector It estimates that it will need about 24,000 new drivers per year to compensate for the rate of retirement of current staff. CONFEBUS also recognizes that working conditions in the sector Nor have they helped to attract young people: long hours, irregular shifts, temporary contracts and poor family conciliation. Access to training and certification is another obstacle, since the obtaining the CAP or the D permit entails a high cost, especially for young people or migrants who do not have sufficient economic resources and find there a barrier to accessing these jobs. Government aid for training. Precisely to alleviate this economic obstacle when obtaining permission to transport goods and passengers, the Government has promoted a Royal Decree which gives the green light to the Reconduce Plan, which offers aid of up to 3,000 euros to cover the costs of training and obtaining a bus or truck driver’s license. This helps is directed to people who want to train in the road transport sector and is available to cover the costs of the necessary courses and exams. The conditions to access this aid include being registered in the National Youth Guarantee System and meeting the age and training requirements demanded by the Ministry of Transport. Driverless buses. Faced with a prospect of constant staff shortages due to the progressive aging of the population, more and more city councils are deciding to start pilot tests with autonomous buses on their streets, not without some reluctance among the current driver templates. For example, in August the first test of this style was launched in Barcelona, ​​allowing a driverless bus to cover a short 10-minute stretch in open traffic. Our colleague Iván Linares tried it in first person. Madrid has just started a similar test autonomous bus, although in this case its scope of circulation is limited to Mercamadrid. These projects seek to modernize urban transportation and guarantee mobility, although they are still in the experimental phase, so they do not represent a short-term solution to the problem of driver shortages. In Xataka | Barcelona has grown tired of fining 80 cars a day for invading the bus lane. So he’s going to start monitoring them with AI Image | Wikimedia Commons (KingValid04)

The lack of additives at low-cost gas stations does not keep drivers up at night. That’s why Moeve wants to be more Ballenoil

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Moeve has changed its strategy and has done so in a big way. In just 12 months, the company has converted 50 of its service stations traditional to Ballenoil, its low-cost brand. And since this type of gas stations began to become popular, the ‘lack’ of additives It has not been a concern for consumers who, above all, prioritize their pockets. The transformation has been especially intense since this summer, when the oil company decided to accelerate the process of further prioritizing its low-cost brand in strategic points throughout the Peninsula. Transformation. The old one Cepsa bought Ballenoil in November 2023 with a clear objective: to challenge Repsol for the crown, which maintains the largest share of the Spanish market. But it is not only about growing the number of gas stations. And it seems that Moeve has understood that the future involves being present in two worlds: the premium, where it maintains its traditional brand, and the low cost, where the customer seeks to fill the tank at a lower cost. From Moeve confirm to the Vozpópuli medium that “both premium and low cost are important to respond to the expectations of our customers.” The perfect timing. Although fuel prices have fallen since all-time highs which they reached after the Russian invasion of Ukraine (when they exceeded two euros per liter), continue to remain at high levels. The liter of 95 octane gasoline exceeds 1.45 euros on average and diesel is close to 1.40 euros, according to data from CincoDías. Logically, given the rise in fuel prices, many drivers are looking for specifically economical gas stations, and that is where the low-cost ones come in. All in a context in which traditional oil companies focus on attracting customers through their promises of premium fuel and additives. Figures. The integration of Ballenoil has made Moeve exceed 2,000 service stations in the Iberian Peninsula for the first time, reaching 2,040 gas stations, according to 2024 financial data. The figure is expected to increase before the end of the year. The pace of transformation accelerated in June, when 16 stations changed their image in a single month. Just like affirms In the middle, during September and October the conversions continued, prioritizing territories where the company already has a greater presence. Madrid leads this transformation with nine gas stations that become Ballenoil, followed by Barcelona, ​​Navarra, Albacete, Ciudad Real, Granada, Seville and Badajoz. The Ballenoil network has also allowed Moeve to penetrate areas where it did not previously have a presence, especially in Catalonia, the Valencian Community, Andalusia and several regions of Castile. The rise of low cost. Low cost gas stations already represent 20% of all stations in Spain, according to inform the EconomíaDigital medium, with more than 2,400 installations spread throughout the country. As the media explains, the savings for the driver can exceed 0.18 euros per liter compared to traditional brands, a difference that ends up being noticed with each refueling. And the forecasts point high, which could mean a major structural change in the national oil panorama. Ballenoil, Plenergy and Petroprix are leading this transformation, betting on automated systems and simplified infrastructure that allow them to reduce costs. Manuel Sáez, CEO of Ballenoil, declared to CincoDías that the objective is to “exceed 380 operational service stations” in the second half of the year and “reach 500 throughout 2027.” Competence. Ballenoil has reached 350 service stations in Spain, becoming the leader in number of points of sale within the low cost segment. Plenergy follows closely, with 340 gas stations (331 in Spain and 9 in Portugal) and plans to reach 370 this year. However, Plenergy leads in business volume: closed 2024 with 1,385 million liters sold, a growth of 43% compared to the previous year. For its part, Petroprix, with 165 stations in Spain, has opted for a different strategy, prioritizing international expansion in markets such as Portugal, Chile, Panama and Poland. Cover image | engin akyurt In Xataka | Catalonia wants to make variable speed limits a reality. And he is already experimenting to improve the sleep of his neighbors

The lack of commitment to the position

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Such and As I explained An expert in LinkedIn racing, the personnel selection processes have become a play in which each character must play their role to convince its interlocutor. In the same way as The curriculum must be adapted To respond to the profile of the job offer to which it is postulated, interviews with recruiters require a previous job to convince them that they are facing the right person to cover the vacancy. Prepare a job interview. Adriane Schwageris CEO and co -founder of Growthassistant, a personnel recruitment company. The directive has more than 20 years of experience in recruiting people for all types of profiles and has shared its most important advice for candidates in An interview for CNBC: Arrive prepared. According to Schwager, in the last five years it has noticed a decrease in the level of preparation of candidates for the personnel selection processes. “In fact, I am surprised at the number of times that people do not do their homework. Here is something very basic that I see that the candidates are not doing, which is (understanding): what does the company that is interviewing you?”, Says the recruiter. Investigate the company. The recruiter ensures that the job interview is the perfect time to demonstrate interest in getting the position you are running. Not only because you need employment or For salarybut because the candidate really aligns with the values ​​of the company. A common mistake that the expert has observed in recent years is that many candidates do not investigate what the company does before attending the interview. Schwager points out that it is something that used to remember university students that were presented to their first interviewsbut every time he meets more experienced profiles that do not even bother to know minimally what the company in which he wants to go to work is dedicated. Show interest from the beginning. Knowing your interlocutor in a job interview does not require great effort and provides an important advantage: it denotes a real interest in the position. Schwager emphasizes that it is positive when, naturally, a candidate mentions something about some publication in LinkedIn or X’s profile of the company during the course of the interview. This shows that the candidate has had the interest of navigating the profiles of the company and knowing their situation, giving rise to the conversation already begging in a favorable way to their interests, changing the predisposition of the interviewer. If you have a lot of interest, points high. On the other hand, the expert suggests not conforming only with the established hiring channels, but, if you really are interested in the position, communicate with the superiors to show interest in him. Schwager assures that some of her stronger hiring have been to people who contact her directly through social networks, showing great interest and knowledge about the company. These candidates tend to be more committed and focused on the hiring process. Companies seek commitment. According to Report data State of the Global Workplace 2024 Prepared by Gallup, 62% of employees consider that they have very low levels of commitment to the company, while 15% of the templates are in an active disconnection situation. Only 23% of employees are committed to their job. It is estimated that those Low levels of commitment They generate losses to the global economy of 8.9 billion dollars. For this reason, companies are prioritizing the commitment of their new employees above other factors. Showing that commitment during the selection process gives candidates some extra points in your choice. In Xataka | “I am very perfectionist”: the answer that recruiters no longer want to hear in work interviews Image | Pexels (Tim Gouw) *An earlier version of this article was published in September 2024

There are American and Europeans fed up with the lack of “traditional values” of the West. So they are moving to Russia

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Surprising data were known last May: more and more Americans sought to leave the country to Live in Europe. The problem: that the old continent seemed to be closing its doors with migratory policies stricter. What very few anticipated is a new migratory current: that of Westerners who, seeking to recover the “traditional values” that have been lost … and end in Russia. The attraction for the Russia of War. I told it last week The Financial Times. In full invasion of Ukraine and under an increasingly repressive regime, a group of Westerners has chosen to move to Russia in search of what they perceive as “traditional values” in front of a west who consider decadent. Among the most notorious cases is Derek Huffman’san Arizona welder and father of six children, who emigrated with his wife and children alleging rejection of “LGBT indoctrination”, immigration and insecurity in the United States. To accelerate the obtaining of Russian citizenship, he decided to enroll in the Army and fight in Ukrainedefending Even on YouTube that he did to gain respect and a future in his new country. His extreme case has received criticism and also media attentionbecoming a symbol of a reduced but very publicized phenomenon. The “visa of shared values”. Moscow launched in 2024 A special visa For disenchanted western, which facilitates permanent residence to about 150 people per month, a measure that reminds of Soviet propaganda that opposed a corrupt West to a supposedly moral Russia. Although in numbers they are just A few hundredtheir stories receive great diffusion in YouTube channels with Professional productionseveral of them linked to Russia Today According to researchwhich suggests a state effort to amplify the narrative of Russia as a refuge for the conservatives of the West. Examples and integration networks. There are many more cases in addition to the Huffman, such as The one of the Feenstraa Canadian family with eight children who settled on a farm in Nizhni Nóvgorod and reached almost 200,000 subscribers On YouTube, or Stephen Shoresan American computer scientist turned to orthodoxy who claims to feel freer in Russia against the “culture of cancellation”, although he lives under the threat of Ukrainian drones. At the institutional level, figures such as Maria Butina (former Russian agent deported in the United States) and businessmen such as The German Jakob Pinneker They help these immigrants to integrate, facilitating their installation and extolling the “family order and values.” Contradictions and realities. While the Kremlin exhibits these cases as proof of its appeal, the reality is that tens of thousands of Russians They have fled since 2022 to avoid mobilization, political repression and international isolation. In the country itself, thousands of people fulfill condemns for protesting against war or publicly disagree with the regime. The paradox It is evident: Those who come from the West Echoes of the Cold War. What we see today has clear historical parallels with the Soviet strategy during the Cold War. At that time, the USSR I tried to attract to intellectuals, artists and western militants who felt marginalized or frustrated with the capitalism and politics of their countries. Many communists and supporters They traveled to Moscow convinced That there they would find equality and social justice, some even acquired Soviet citizenship or were used in propaganda campaigns that showed the “exploitative west” against “socialist paradise.” The most emblematic case was that of The deserters North Americans who, after the Korean or Vietnam War, sought refuge in the USSR or allies like Cuba and North Korea, converted in trophies ideological. Strategic background. The flow of Westerners to Russia is minimal in figures, but useful in the propaganda plane. Under the official narrative, it reinforces the idea that Russia is not isolated and that even citizens of the Western enemy seek refuge under their flag for reasons of values ​​and morals. In the geopolitical plane, it points to an attempt to counteract the story of a country in crisis and project the image of cultural strength against a fragmented West. Of course, social also reveals the existence of disenchanted minorities In Europe and the United States that, not finding lace in their societies, becomes something very similar to useful pieces for Moscow’s speech. Image | RakoonDerek Huffman/YouTube In Xataka | More and more Americans want to live outside the US but they have a problem: Europe is closing its doors In Xataka | Digital nomadic visas: the countries hook to attract the best digital talent without paying the cost to keep them

Their companies lack the scale of their rivals

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The Japan government needs its semiconductor industry to be great again. The biggest. In fact, it was in the past. In 1988 NEC, Toshiba, Hitachi, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi, Matsushita and other Japanese companies hoarded nothing less than 50% of the chips industry. However, Today none of these companies It is positioned among the leaders of A sector dominated with iron fist by Taiwanese, American, Dutch, South Korean and German companies. Japan is currently investing more money in its sector of integrated circuits than the US, Germany, France or the United Kingdom. Not in terms of net value, but its effort is greater if we weigh the investment of these countries on their gross domestic product (GDP). The US dedicates 0.21% of its GDP to its semiconductor industry, and Germany 0.41%. France, according to Nikkei Asia0.2%, and, finally, the United Kingdom 0.04%. The difference is very significant and puts on the table the effort that Japan is making with 0.71% of its GDP. However, this country will not be easy to compete from you to you with Taiwan or South Korea in the integrated circuit industry. Toshikazu Maeda, the general director of the company specialized in the manufacture of equipment to produce Marumae chips, holds that many Japanese companies lack the necessary scale to compete effectively and increase their income. In fact, he regrets that most of the Japanese companies are not growing in full rise of the artificial intelligence (AI). To remedy it, it proposes a solution: smaller companies should merge to grow and be ready to react to the next great opportunity. Rapidus is Japan’s best option to compete with South Korea and Taiwan Japan currently has dozens of very specialized small businesses that manufacture components for ASML either Tokyo Electronwhich are two of the largest manufacturers of photolithography and wafering processing equipment. As Maeda defendsits production capacity is too modest to compete with giants from other countries, such as South Korean companies Samsung or SK Hynix, which produce some of their integrated circuit manufacturing equipment, or the American applied materials, among many others. However, if we stick to the manufacture of Japan Chips already has a company that aspires to compete with TSMC, Intel or Samsung. Rapidus corporation It has been expressly created to replace Japan at the forefront of integrated circuits. Interestingly, it is a very young company. It was founded on August 10, 2022 By the Japanese government With an initial capital of 7,346 million yen (just under 46 million euros) contributed by, and here comes the interesting, Sony, Toyota, Nec, Softbank, Kioxia, Denso, Nippon Telegraph and Mufg Bank. The initial capital invested in the constitution of this company is not very bulky, but there is no doubt that the companies that participate in it have an indisputable relevance in the sectors of technology, automotive and telecommunications. Japan currently has dozens of very specialized small businesses that manufacture components for ASML or Tokyo Electron Rapidus is currently putting a circuit manufacturing plant integrated in northern Japan, in the city of Chitose (Hokkaido), in which it plans to produce semiconductors of 2 Nm. The first prototypes of these chips They are already readybut large -scale manufacturing will not arrive at best until 2027. So far there is nothing really surprising because presumably at that time TSMC, Samsung and Intel will already be manufacturing integrated circuits with comparable lithographs. What is causing the new Rapidus factory to monopolize the looks of the semiconductor sector is that, according to Atsuyoshi Koike, which is the president of the company, it will be completely automated. Its purpose is resort to robots and AI To set up an automated production line that will be specialized in the manufacture of 2 Nm chips for AI applications. Its plan consists, in short, to produce integrated circuits faster, with a lower and more quality cost. To manufacture these semiconductors, equipment of extreme ultraviolet lithography (UVE) produced by the Dutch company ASML, and practically all manufacturing processes are automatic. However, the tests of test and validation, interconnection and packaging of the chips are still largely carried out manually in most manufacturing plants. According to Rapidus, its automation technology of all these processes will allow you to reduce the delivery time of your chips by 66% compared to the times they usually offer TSMC and Samsung. If this Japanese company finally achieves its purpose and its competitors do not improve its efficiency will be able to deliver its semiconductors In a third of the time spent by their rivals. A priori is a stinging enough asset for Rapidus to grow in a perceptible way, although for the moment it is just a conjecture. Whatever this company seems to have everything well tied. More information | SCMP In Xataka | Japan takes the initiative with nuclear fusion and sets an extremely ambitious date: the 2030s In Xataka | Japan has taken the carrier to dominate the chips industry. Prepare a 325,000 million dollar plan

It is not that Russia is lack of artillery, it is that from the space its armor park is being empty

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Last July 28 is He published a study of the Institute of the School of Economy of kyiv where the situation of the vast Soviet arsenals that Russia had been using since the beginning of his invasion in Ukraine was analyzed. The analysis left no doubt: they were exhausting shipments from the main Russian military stores. Now, this study has added graphic evidence. The decline of reserves. Yes, in Another study recent intelligence of Ukraine, based on satellite images and published by the Jompy researcherit is confirmed that Russian tank reserves are entering a critical phase of exhaustion. The detailed monitoring of military deposits shows that the constant extraction From armored, together with the industrial disability to restore them to the necessary rhythm, it is racing in a accelerated way of Moscow to sustain the war in Ukraine with modern combat cars. Exhaustion and obsolete tanks. The nerve center of this deterioration, according to satellite imagesis the 1311 deposit, where they are withdrawing around 20 T-72b tanks a month. If that rhythm is maintained, the warehouse will be empty before the end of the year, an unexpected fact even for analysts who follow the evolution of Russian material. This emptying adds to the exhaustion of stocks close to the Uralvagonzavod plantmain tank factory in the country. Even more revealing is that 1311 no longer counts With T-80BVwhich suggests that Russia would have completely consumed that line of reserves. The presence of T-80ud In base 22 it does not alter the panorama, as these vehicles are not suitable for reconditioned. Given this shortage, they have begun to be extracted T-55 and T-62tanks of the fifties and sixties whose reappearance in Omsktransash indicates a forced setback towards obsolete models. The problems of the industry. The lack of recent updates in the images of Base 6018 points to the fact that Omsktransash, one of the pillars in armored repair, faces It would be difficulty to maintain an adequate restoration rhythm. The need to resort to infantry combat vehicles (BMP), which originally were not part of the lots stored in 1311, reflects the improvisation with which Russia is trying Cover empty in its mechanized arsenal. The general picture reveals an industrial pressure that fails to sustain the war demand, partly because vehicles extracted are in deplorable conditions after storage decades. A Russian T-80BV No strategic reservations. Once 1311 is emptied, Moscow will be forced to resort to Deposits 349 and 2544where the T-72awith 586 and 215 units respectively. However, most are in poor condition, which limits the real effectiveness of this resource. The projection is bleak: when these reserves are exhausted, Russia will depend almost exclusively on T-55 and T-62, which represent barely 16% of the inventory of armored prior to the invasion of Ukraine. Quality degradation is evident: of third generation models, relatively modern, to platforms that decades ago they are considered overcome in any scenario of contemporary war. And without artillery. It We count A few weeks ago. The decline is not limited to tanks. Previous reports had already indicated that Russia has consumed almost Half of your reservations of artillery towed in the Shchuchye deposit, which housed about 50% of all this material in the country. In addition, the pace of reactivation of pieces It has collapsedbeing currently more than four times lower than that registered in 2022, confirming the progressive inability to reconstitute the power of terrestrial fire. A step back. The news has a clear background: the wear war in Ukraine has led the Russian army to a point where its formations are experiencing a “DESMECCANIZATION”that is, a setback from the classic model of armored regiments to infantry -centered units that advance in motorcycles, light vehicles without protection or even on foot. This phenomenon does not imply that Russia is losing war, since its numerical superiority in personnel allows you It limits severely Moscow’s ability to transform those tactical advances into deep and strategic ruptures of the enemy front. Strategic implications. This panorama suggests that Russian war machinery faces a Structural limit difficult to overcome. The apparent initial abundance of Soviet reserves is being replaced for the urgency of resorting to material practically museum. Each T-62 or T-55 deployed on the front not only lacks the necessary benefits against drones, anti-tank missiles and guided artillery, but also exposes crews to crews A higher risk In modern fighting. The loss of contemporary armored armies will reduce the Russian offensive capacity, will make it slower and will force their controls to rethink mechanized assault strategies, which have already shown vulnerability in Ukraine. Image | Google Maps, Jompy/X, Alan Wilson In Xataka | The war in Ukraine, far from approaching its end, has added a disturbing ingredient: an unexpected “friend” for Russia In Xataka | It is not that the war has entered its Mad Max phase, is that Ukraine is using the trucks we saw in the movie

The network did not collapse due to lack of energy, but for lack of control. Renewable continues to be connected as if they were passive

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Almost two months after the blackout that disconnected Spain and Portugal, the government has made public a technical report that focuses on a very specific problem: the lack of tension control at critical moments, especially in renewable parks. Is it possible? As the engineer and energy expert Xavier Cugat has pointed out in networks, the debate on voltage control in renewable facilities is not only a technician: There are technologies that already allow it. One of them is SMA’s ‘Q at Night’ system, which allows solar plants to provide reactive energy even during the night. The idea is clear: if a solar plant can continue to support the network even without sun, part of the stability problem can be mitigated. This does not directly solve the lack of inertia, but complements the voltage support and improves the resilience of the system. Reactive energy The principle is simple but effective. SMA photovoltaic investors, equipped with the Q at night function, They remain connected to the network even when they are not generating active energy (that is, when there is no sun). This allows them to inject or absorb reactive energy as needed, contributing to maintain tension within acceptable margins. In case of high penetration. This type of energy is key to avoiding tension instabilities. In this particular case, it is for a network with low presence of conventional plants. Although it does not contribute inertia, it allows plants to support tension balance and remain connected to critical events instead of disconnecting preventively. So the issue of inertia? This is where it is necessary to clarify. The Government report has made it clear that collapse was not a consequence of a frequency fall, but of a cascado of over -overdations. Even in a scenario of greater inertia, over -overdrafts would have also produced, according to the report. Therefore, the lack of inertia was not the direct cause of collapse; The collapse was the one that caused the fall in frequency. During the blackout, different plants were disconnected preventively when detecting overtheions. The problem is that, according to the report, several of these disconnections occurred before even the maximum limits allowed by the regulations were reached. In other words: they did not respond properly to the network conditions. A system not adapted to its own transition The problem seems structural: the electricity grid has not evolved at the same rate as the massive renewable deployment. With 82% clean generation and the least amount of operational synchronous plants throughout the year, the system faced an explosive cocktail: a lot of distributed generation, little centralized control and little response capacity against critical events. In just 12 seconds, the entire Iberian system of the rest of Europe was disconnected. A transition without security network. The blackout was a symptom, not an anomaly. Spain leads the renewable transition, but without a prepared network, each advance becomes vulnerability. The voltage control, the response to incidents and the ability to maintain stability without large machines spinning are the great challenge of the new energy paradigm. Image | Pexels Xataka | 49 days after the blackout, the government has published the official report. Against all prognosis, he points to a culprit

The more you know about the blackout in Spain, the less guilty the lack of inertia seems to be renewable

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The historic blackout that paralyzed the Iberian Peninsula on April 28 It continues to generate questions waiting for an official report. The narrative that pointed at a low inertia of the system due to the high penetration of renewable energies as guilty of collapse has begun to make waters. The data suggest a concatenation of more complex failures, where inertia, although it played a significant role in its final phase, does not seem to be the trigger for the energy zero. Context. Until now, experts They placed in the center of the debate The inertia of the electrical system, the capacity of the large rotary machines of the traditional plants to resist sudden frequency changes. The inertia in the European interconnected system is provided by large turbines and synchronous generators that rotate at a speed of 50 cycles per second to maintain the frequency of 50 Hz. High penetration of renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic or wind solar, which are coupled to the network by power electronicsthey do not contribute this inertia inherently, which from the beginning was indicated as the root of the problem. Inertia was correct. However, Vice President Third Sara Aagesen said in the Senate that, in the moments before the blackout, the peninsular electrical system had a level of inertia “according to the recommendations”, according to the data that Red Electrico shared with the government. In statements collected by Europa PressAagesen specified that this level was 2.3 seconds, exceeding the target of two seconds established by the Entso-E European Operators network. Joan Groizard, Secretary of State for Energy, reinforced this idea pointing out that “many European systems frequently operate with inertia lower than those that had the peninsular electrical system in the moments prior to zero of 28th.” These official statements deflate, in part, the theory that a critical lack of inertia was the root cause of the incident. A sequence of anomalous events. The investigations point to a series of disturbances that preceded the blackout. Both Aagesen and Groizard talk about the detection of oscillations in the European electrical system hours before the failure. A first “anomalous” oscillation of 0.6 Hz was recorded at 12:03, whose origin, detected in Spain, France and even Germany“It is still known,” according to the minister. A second “usual” oscillation of 0.2 Hz was perceived at 12:19, even in areas as far as Latvia, Groizard said. Next, the three generation loss events occurred: in just over twenty seconds 2.2 gigawatts were disconnected in the provinces of Granada, Badajoz and Sevilla, between 12:32:57 and 12:33:17. These events coincided with a “situation of overwhelming in the peninsular electrical system, whose cause and consequence are still to be specified.” A problem of surge. Groizard speaks of voltage peaks as the root of the blackout, clarifying that “the main shooting factor is associated with over -overdraft.” But the government has not been the first to divert the focus of inertia. Luis Badesa, professor at the Polytechnic University of Madrid, pointed in a previous analysis That “two failures are almost very unlikely and point to a common event”, raising as suspicious the “surge in 400 kV lines of the southwest, perhaps linked to the previous oscillations.” The non -return point came, according to Badesa, at 12:33:20, when “Iberia loses connection with France and becomes an electric island; immediately, the centrals are massively disconnected.” Then, with the electrically isolated Iberian Peninsula, it is when synchronism is lost with the European continent. At that moment, with 59% of electricity from solar and 11% wind, inertia is insufficient. Then, the lack of inertia did not help. It is at this time, with the disconnected peninsula, when the inertia of the system becomes crucial. According to Badesa: “With little inertia, the frequency began to go down and to change very quickly.” This rapid frequency variation would have caused the shot of the protection relays of numerous centrals, “finishing off the blackout.” The lack of inertia “aggravated the final problem because he made the Rocof jump, but the origin was in several almost simultaneous generation cuts” previously, Badesa explained, stressing that “no operator designs his network to support three groups out of the service when he is isolated.” In other words, “the low renewable inertia did not cause the initial ruling, but it yesterday accelerated the collapse once Iberia remained alone.” Waiting for the official report. The available information suggests that the April 28 blackout was not a direct consequence of the low inertia due to renewable penetration, but the result of a complex chain of anomalous oscillations in the European network, followed by multiple almost simultaneous generation losses, possibly linked to overcoming. The preliminary conclusion is that the stability of a network with increasing weight of renewables does not depend only on inertia, but on the general robustness of the system in the face of multiple contingencies, such as interarene oscillations. For the definitive conclusions, we will have to wait for the official report, the Government hopes to have “in less than three months.” Image | Diego Delso (CC By-sa 4.0) In Xataka | After the blackout, the government defended the nuclear closure because “in Spain there is no uranium.” Reality is more complicated

Japan went to South Korea as a desperate measure for the lack of rice. They have not even solved a national emergency

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To understand what is happening in Japan we must go back in time. The summer of 2024 left A perfect storm On the basis of the nation’s diet: rice. A unprecedented shortage of grains in his own fields began to leave No stock to shops. Then, the tourist boom has duplicate the problem turning it into a historical crisis reflected in a fact: 30% more expensive was being paid. Given the danger to running without a basic pillar, the decision was made “Release” tons of your reservations. What nobody could anticipate. Foreign rice. In April, La Nación opted for another unprecedented decision in 25 years: Import rice From South Korea, an unthinkable measure in a society Historically reluctant to the foreign grain, but that was forced to make its customs more flexible to the vertiginous increase in the price of the national grain. With prices that They doubled their value Regarding the previous year (reaching 4,214 yuan by 5 kg in April) and with a government response that fails to contain the climbing, consumers have begun to look beyond their borders. Not just that. The Aeon chain He also announced which will begin to sell American rice Calrose starting next month, with a price 10% lower than the Japanese grain, a decision that could mark a turning point in consumption habits. In front of national rice. The arrival of South Korean rice, sold both online and in supermarkets, although even in small volumes (just two tons with another twenty on the way), marked a point of cultural and economic inflection. The nationalist preference for local rice, which had condemned to failure Previous attempts such as that of Thai rice in 1993, has yielded to the urgency of more accessible prices. The Guardian told Cases of testimonies such as that of Miki Nihei diner, who said not to notice any difference when eating Californian rice, and revealed a change in public perception: the quality of foreign grain was no longer a sufficient reason to resist, when the pocket suffers. The rice becomes a politician. Now, a few weeks after crucial elections for the Upper House, the government of the Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru ishiba is on the edge of political collapse Given the growing discomfort by the exorbitant increase in the price of rice, central food in Japanese food. With inflation that has reached the most symbolic product in the country, citizens have expressed their frustration in surveys such as that of the Kyodo agency, which places the approval of the Ishiba cabinet in a minimum of 27.4%marking a fall of more than five points in just one month. The pressure intensifies not only from the opposition, but also from its own Democratic Liberal Party (PLD), already weakened after lose most In the lower house last fall. THE DEBATE ON THE Impost to consumption Of 10%, that the government refuses to reduce despite popular claims, is emerging as the decisive axis of the electoral contest of July, with almost three quarters of voters asking for their total or partial cuts, especially in food. A late remedy. As we said at the beginning, in an attempt to contain the crisis, the government decided to release rice from the strategic reserves In March, a normally reserved measure For natural disasterswhich failed to stop the price increase. The price price in supermarkets reached practically Double of what cost a year ago. Although the price dropped minimally after the release of the first 300,000 tons, the results were disappointing. To reinforce his strategy, the executive announced the launch of another 300,000 tons Additional until July, with the novelty that part of these items will overcome wholesalers to reach the points of sale faster. However, More than 87% From respondents believe that these actions are insufficient, and citizens do not trust that trade negotiations with the United States focused among other issues in rice imports will be resolved in favor of Japan. From there to that leap For the search for “foreigner” rice In South Korea. A political fire. The theme has become more violent in recent days. It happened when the Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Taku Eto, unleashed A political storm and socially by declare that “he has never had to buy rice” thanks to the gifts he receives from his supporters. The phrase, pronounced during a fundraising party, was disseminated by the Kyodo and quickly replicated agency by other meansgenerating a wave of indignation in social networks where thousands of citizens, faced at record prices of the Japanese basic food, demanded their immediate resignation. Eto, visibly pressed, apologized the next day before the journalists, claiming that “he had exaggerated to please the public” and that his wife, after reprimanding him on the phone, reminded him that she Yes Buy Rice When it ends at home. Thus, he avoided responding if he will present his resignation, leaving the tension generated in full countdown to the key elections of the upper house in July. A market that does not supply. In short, the Rice search Out of the nation is not (alone) a commercial turn that responds only to the registration of the national product, but (also) to the suspicion of hoarding by distributors, logistics bottlenecks and a Shot demand For booming tourism. Given this panorama, the image of ishiba as an effective manager It wobblesand its refusal to touch the consumption tax is interpreted as disconnection with the real needs of citizenship. The rice crisis is not only forcing logistics and commercial adjustments, but also raises questions about the viability of food self -sufficiency in Japan, a country that for decades has shielded its agriculture with subsidies, tariffs and a national identity speech linked to the consumption of domestic rice. Suddenly, the rice not only feeds: it also marks the measure of discontent. Image | Ilo Asia-Pacific In Xataka | Japan had used its rice reserve against earthquakes or tsunamis. Now is your weapon against the price escalation In Xataka | In Japan there … Read more

Less science fiction is being written than ever, and the fault does not have the lack of ideas or the lack of readers

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Literary science fiction interests less than ever. Devoured by subgenres of fantasy with more popular pull, such as Romantasythe books that were previously guaranteed Best-Sellers are now only oddities, samples of a genre that is disappearing from libraries. Why has a genre that has been so popular now languishes? What has changed since a couple of decades ago was the king of the mambo of fantasy? Sales fall. In an article on reading habits, The Washington Post revealed A singular fact: only 12% of readers are interested in science fiction. The figures accompany that fall, to the point that in what we have been in, if we analyze the sales figures in the United States which provides publishers weeklyonly a gender book has sneaked into the top 10 of each year: ‘Ballad of singing birds and snakes’, very significantly the sequel to one of the great successes of the previous decade, ‘The Games of Hunger’. The power of Young adult. The science fiction had never sold as much as in the previous two decades, and all thanks to the dystopic and youth variants of the genre: 12 books sneaked into the best-sellers lists of the Decade of 10 and in the first ten years of the centurywith sagas such as ‘The Hunger Games’, ‘Divergent’, ‘The Host’ and ‘A Time Fold’. There was also space for adult science fiction, no doubt pushed by this receptive state for the genre, especially works of big names such as Stephen King or Michael Crichton. And now, al Romantasy. What makes all the meaning: simply the same readers who augated youth dystopias are now interested in genres such as light fantasy and Romantasy… And that is what occupies the highest positions. In the last two years, books and sagas of the genre such as ‘Alas de Blood’, ‘A court of roses and thorns’ or ‘blood and ash’ have almost totally dominated (especially the 2023 and 2024) lists. Authors such as Rebecca Yarros or Sarah J. Maas repeat, year after year, with a frequency that was only available to the aforementioned King or Crichton. Media avalanche. This change in interest within the fantastic genre of readers who propel sales is the most immediate reason for the descent of science fiction in sales lists, but there are other more endemic causes, not so apparent. One of them is the media ecosystem: The public’s taste for science fiction stories is satisfied with films and series, faster and less demanding to consume. As contradictory that may seem, the absolute relevance of fantasy and science fiction in the mainstream audiovisual has played against books: Who wants to read science fiction sagas if In the cinema it has it embodied more spectacularly? The dystopia is here. From a more sociological perspective, interest in science fiction may have dissipated because reality has advanced to any fiction. It is a recurring bitter joke to talk about how reality has exceeded before planned Future pessimistsas those presented at ‘Blade Runner’ or ‘The maid’s story‘. With the Truncated future sensation That it occurs to generation Z, it is normal for the romantic escapism of ‘blood wings’ to be preferable to reminders that ‘1984’ has come true by advancing on the right and without caught the irony. Creative crisis. To all this is added the creative crisis that crosses current culture and the fantastic genre in particular. Most of the productions that They triumph at the box office and in the book sales They are sequelae or belong to franchises. Science fiction has always been a genre that has fed on risk, innovation and new ideas and with this panorama, it is normal to be stagnant. A classic like Orson Scott Card (‘Ender’s game’) in an article entitled ‘Are we facing the end of science fiction?‘: It is said that “all the really good stories that were possible within science fiction have been written.” Is there salvation? Orson Scott Card himself details in that article that a possible problem of gender is that science gives rise to less narrative formats, such as space trips or stellar wars. Now science focuses more on “theoretical, or sub-psychopic, or trans-cosmic” aspects. But in those sections where authors such interesting and renovating such as Greg Egan arise, Liu Cixin either Ted Chiangperhaps away from the tastes of the general public, but more than trained to make the genre remain alive. And perhaps that is the key: what else does it give whether or not you enter the supervent lists, while the genre continues to innovate Header | Daniel in Unspash In Xataka | The 25 best science fiction books

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