largest

China aims to break records with the largest ice park in the world. And he has already begun to lift it block by block

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At the end of November, in Harbin, the image is repeated every winter, with a scale that has not stopped growing in recent editions: cranes, machinery and workers begin to raise structures on a surface that weeks later will become walls, towers and slides made of ice. According to official dataconstruction is advanced this year thanks to the ice stored during the previous season and preserved for more than ten months. This material allows work to begin even before the river freezes completely again, with the aim of preparing an area that this winter will have 1.2 million square meters. Harbin Ice-Snow World It has grown from a local celebration to a seasonal theme park that rises again each winter. It functions as an enclosure with defined entrances, circulation areas, walkable structures and spaces to stay for hours, especially when it gets dark and the lighting changes the perception of the place. It is not just a setting for photographs, but a park designed to be walked, used and visited for a few weeks, while weather conditions allow it. When ice stops being landscape and becomes infrastructure Upon entering the venue, the experience is more similar to that of a theme park than a temporary exhibition. You can walk between buildings, climb platforms, slide down ramps or access areas prepared for snow activities. The architectural elements are not presented as immobile pieces, but as part of the route. For this edition, those responsible have announced spaces intended for ice fishing, cross-country skiing and collective snow gamesas well as an additional stage that will complement the cultural activities of the already usual Dream Stage. The proposal does not focus solely on showing structures, but on facilitating their use within a planned and temporary environment. Before erecting ice structures, Harbin already celebrated winter through local practices. Hand-carved ice lanterns began to be used in the city in the middle of the last century and gave rise to the first Harbin Ice and Snow Festival, held on January 5, 1985. indicate official pages. The jump to the current format came in 1999, when Harbin Ice-Snow World was created as an independent venue, with specific access and design. Since then, the evolution has been constant: more surface area, greater volume of materials, presence of machinery and planned construction processes. The park, under construction in November 2025 Harbin has turned winter into a source of economic activity. According to data released by Xinhuathe city received 90.36 million visitors during the last season, with estimated income of 137.22 billion yuan (almost 17 million euros), an increase of 16.6% compared to the previous year. Ice-Snow World does not explain these figures on its own, but it acts as one of the main focuses of attraction and as an element that concentrates tourist services, accommodation, restaurants and transportation during the weeks in which it remains open. The construction mobilizes technical profiles, operators and specialists in structure and lighting, while the opening requires personnel for visitor service, security, maintenance and tourist support. Many of these roles are temporary, but require prior coordination and planning. When comparing Harbin to other major winter events, such as the Sapporo Snow Festival in Japan or Quebec Winter Carnival in Canadathe difference is not only in size, but in structure. Sapporo distributes its sculptures in various urban spaces and Quebec combines culture, parades and outdoor activities, but neither of them functions as a theme park concentrated in a single venue, as occurs in Harbin. Harbin uses hundreds of thousands of cubic meters of ice and snow, according to official data, and builds walkable structures that are part of the route and not just the landscape. It is not so much a festival as a temporary recreational facility. Harbin Ice-Snow World has been integrated into the city’s tourism calendar as a seasonal facility. It is built every year, it opens for a few weeks and It is dismantled when temperatures no longer guarantee stability. This temporary nature does not prevent its planning: the prior storage of ice, the mobilization of workers and the associated services indicate that it is an organized activity and not simply a one-off event. The park functions as a generator of temporary employment, concentrates the winter tourism offer and channels activities that are subsequently complemented by the interior ice and snow enclosure, designed to operate all year round as an extension of the exterior park. There is no pretension of permanence, but of repetition adjusted to the climatic conditions. This repetition has allowed the consolidation of technical, logistical and tourist processes linked to winter as a seasonal economic resource. Images | The Harbin International Ice and Snow festival | Harbin Government In Xataka | Someone wants to build a 144 meter high skyscraper in the middle of the port of Malaga. The reason: luxury tourism

In 2011 Japan closed the largest nuclear power plant on the planet. Now he has decided to reopen it in the midst of the energy debate

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The nuclear debate, which Japan thought closed, returns to the scene. The authorization of the governor of Niigata to reactivate Kashiwazaki-Kariwa, the largest atomic plant in the world, has set off alarms: citizen distrust, the shadow of Fukushima and doubts about whether TEPCO is the right company to lead the country’s new energy stage are emerging. A new nuclear revival? The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant, managed by Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), has not produced a single kilowatt since 2012. The closure was a direct consequence of the 2011 tsunami and the three meltdowns from Fukushima Daiichia blow that left reactors with similar designs under suspicion. That technical coincidence was enough to keep its seven reactors on hold for more than ten years, despite the fact that the plant was essential for the electricity supply of northeastern Japan. According to Japan TimesHideyo Hanazumi has authorized a step-by-step reactivation that will start with reactor 6—one of the most recent and powerful—and that, later, will also include reactor 7. Altogether, the complex exceeds 8,000 MW of capacity, a figure that not only imposes: it maintains it as the largest nuclear facility on the planet. A significant change for the Japanese country. Kashiwazaki-Kariwa has gone from a technical project to a strategic move. As reported by the Financial TimesTokyo trusts that its reactivation will contribute to lowering the electricity bill and ensuring energy sources with fewer emissions, at a time complicated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the fall of the yen, which makes fossil fuel imports more expensive. Japan, which before Fukushima generated almost 30% of its electricity with atomic plants, fell to practically zero after the disaster. Since then 14 reactors have reopened and others await local or regulatory approvals. The government aims for nuclear energy to once again represent 20% of the mix in 2040. In addition, TEPCO would improve its annual accounts by around 100 billion yen thanks to the restart, according to Japan Forwardat a time when it continues to face enormous costs for the dismantling of Fukushima Daiichi. The reactivation process. The restart will begin with unit 6, which already has fuel loaded and will begin commercial operations before March of next year. To move forward, TEPCO must respond to the Government’s demands, which include updating all security systems and improving emergency evacuation plans. The process has not been easy. As detailed by Japan Timesthe plant passed safety reviews in 2017, but then suffered a veto from the Nuclear Regulatory Authority due to deficiencies in anti-terrorist measures, lifted in 2023. In addition, TEPCO had to incorporate biometric controls and correct security flaws after new internal incidents. Is there controversy? Yes, and a lot. According to a survey cited by the BBC50% of Niigata residents support the revival, while 47% oppose it. However, almost 70% express their concern because the person operating the plant is the same company that caused the accident. From Japan Times He adds that the rejection intensifies in some of the towns located within 30 kilometers of the plant, where the majority fear a new disaster or distrust the company. Another source of discomfort, also pointed out by this medium, is that the electricity generated is not used in Niigata, but in the Tokyo region. The political dimension is equally tense. Hanazumi, aware of the sensitivity of her decision, has announced that he will submit his continuity as governor to the vote of the prefectural assembly, the only body that can remove him. But there is something else at play. The reopening of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa is seen as a pillar to ensure the country’s energy security and avoid possible power outages in Tokyo. It would also allow reducing electricity rates that have increased notably since 2011. At the same time, Japan is not only restarting reactors: it is also is planning the construction of new plants with fourth generation reactors, which would mark a new chapter in the country’s energy policy. More than a return to the atom. The country that one day vowed not to depend on atomic energy again has ended up returning to it, driven by necessity, geopolitics and the urgency to decarbonize. It remains to be seen if this decision will also ignite the confidence of a citizenry that still carries the memory of Fukushima or if, on the contrary, the return to the atom will deepen a division that has been open for more than a decade. Although the governor’s approval is the decisive step, there are still procedures: the prefectural assembly must debate and vote on the decision in December, and the Japanese nuclear regulator must complete the formal procedures for reactivation. Image | IAEA Imagebank Xataka | In 2011, Japan promised itself not to bet on nuclear energy again. Until he met reality

has just invested them in the second largest purchase in its history

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Pontegadea was born as an investment instrument for Amancio Ortega to channel the billionaire dividends that the millionaire obtained for your Inditex shares. These successful investments have turned Pontegadea into the second empire billionaire fashion mogul (and now also from brick). In this dynamic, Ortega has just received the second distribution of Inditex dividends in 2025, for a total amount of 1,552 million euros. This payment has served to cover the second largest purchase in the history of Pontegadea: “The Post” in Vancouver (Canada). Again, homemade from Amazon. Amancio Ortega’s last big purchase has been an enclave in the center of Vancouver. According to published Bloomberg, it is a complete block of offices in which the city’s old post office is joined with two imposing glass and steel buildings of 22 and 19 floors respectively. The name of the complex arises precisely from this historical origin of the Canada Post post office: The Post. The complex is made up of two office towers occupied by Amazon. In this way, once again, Amancio Ortega becomes Jeff Bezos’ landlord by purchasing another office building from which the ecommerce giant operates. In addition to Amazon, Ortega will be the homemade from other multinationals such as Starbucks, Oakberry or Loblaws City Market. 680 million dollars. The purchase of The Post is one of the greater investments of Pontegadea in its history, only surpassed by the purchase of the Royal Bank Plaza office complex (in Toronto), in which the Ortega real estate investor was left about 800 million euros in 2022. According to advanced Green Street Newsthe purchase of The Post has been closed for 1.1 billion Canadian dollars, which in exchange is equivalent to about 680 million euros. Its previous owner had remodeled the property into about 102,193 square meters of offices and about 17,200 square meters of commercial space. 2,000 million invested in one year. So far this year, Pontegadea and its subsidiaries They have completed 13 purchase operations and investmentwith just over a month left until the end of the year. According what was published by The Newspaperin the 13 operations that Pontegadea has closed in 2025, the real estate company has invested a total of 2,119 million euros. This amount makes 2025 the third year with the highest investment in the company’s history, only behind 2022 (with an investment of 2,783 million euros) and 2019, with 2,320 million euros. There are plenty of dividends. Amancio Ortega, as majority shareholder, controls 1,848 million Inditex shares or, which is the same, 59.294% of the company, through his companies Pontegadea Inversiones and Partler 2006. For this participation, Ortega has received around 3,104 million euros in two payments in 2025. The last of them, of around 1,552 million euros, was received just before this latest purchase became official. That means that although 2025 could be considered one of the busiest years Pontegadea investorwould still have a surplus of 985 million in its cash. He still has a month left and Black Friday in between. In Xataka | How much money Amancio Ortega has: how the fortune of the richest man in Spain is distributed Image | The Post, GTRES

There are so many English people living in Alicante that the largest British pub chain has decided something: open there

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The millions of British tourists who land in the province of Alicante each year will now have a piece of their country just before they leave. As if Benidorm, Torrevieja or the entire Costa Blanca had not been enough, next January the first Wetherspoon in all of continental Europe will open at the Alicante–Elche Miguel Hernández airport. A “100 Montaditos British style”, but installed in the boarding area and designed, paradoxically, for those who are already queuing to return to the United Kingdom. The very British landing. According to The Guardianthe chain has confirmed that its premiere outside the United Kingdom and Ireland will be in Alicante, where it will open a newly built pub called Castell de Santa Bàrbera (when in Valencian it would be Castell de Santa Bàrbara), in “homage” to the fortress that crowns the city. This is a striking move for the company founded by Tim Martin more than four decades ago and which had never operated on continental European territory. For its part, as The Independent has detailedthe store will open every day from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. and will be located in the departures area, aimed mainly at British people returning from vacation. The space will be about 93 square meters and will have an outdoor terrace. In addition, the menu will replicate 90% of the typical Wetherspoon pub menu: full English breakfasts, fish and chips, burgers and pizzas. Even so, it will also incorporate some typical Spanish dish such as garlic prawns or Spanish tortilla, an adaptation that the company has already confirmed. The choice is not accidental. British tourism in the province of Alicante is one of the most important in the region; Benidorm is well known for this. According to data collected by La Vanguardiaalmost 90% of English people choose the province as their favorite destination. Although a decade ago the owner publicly celebrated Brexitthe chain has recently experienced slowing growth in the UK: like-for-like sales of 3.7% in the first 14 weeks of the financial year, lower than in previous years. According to The Telegraphthe company is suffering from the increase in labor, energy and tax costs, which has led its president to explore new markets, and hence its strategy focused on airports: places where traffic is guaranteed and the clientele is usually predisposed to consume, even at times when most bars would not open. A British icon, almost invisible for Alicante. Despite the commotion that the news has generated in the province, the truth is that this first Wetherspoon on the European continent will be out of reach of the general public. It will be necessary to pass security control to access, which makes it a rarity: a British icon installed in Alicante, but almost invisible to the people of Alicante. Although Alicante will be the first, it will not be the only one. Tim Martin has reiterated in different British media that his intention is to open “several pubs abroad in the coming months and years, including some in airports”. The new location at Alicante airport will, therefore, be a test by fire. One last drink before heading home. Alicante can now boast of having the first Wetherspoon on the continent, although only travelers who fly will be able to enjoy it. For British tourists, it will be the last sip of home before returning; For the province, further proof of the weight that this market has in its economy. Time will tell if this little pub next to the departure gates is the start of a new European conquest or simply a last pint in the sun before heading home. Image | FreePik Xataka | Years ago Alicante thought it was a good idea to build an artificial island with a luxurious restaurant. It didn’t turn out as I expected

turn them into the largest battery network on the planet

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In Spain, if you ride a self-consumption system with solar panels at home and you generate more energy than you need, there is a mechanism called simplified compensation through which you can return that energy to the grid and receive an economic bonus. Well, China wants to bring this concept to its electric cars. what’s happening. They count in Rest of World that the Chinese government is developing two-way charging stations for electric cars. The goal is for cars to charge during off-peak hours (when energy is cheaper) and be able to return energy to stabilize the grid during peak demand. According to government testsowners could earn 1,400 yuan for each download, about 170 euros. The plan. At the moment the system is being tested and 30 bidirectional charging stations have been installed in nine different cities. The plan is to have 5,000 by 2027 and by 2030 they expect the energy capacity to reach 1,000 million kilowatts. Why is it important. China is not only the largest manufacturer of electric vehicles in the world, it is also the country with the largest fleet of electric cars in the world, with more than 40 million vehicles in circulation. If they manage to implement it on a massive scale, they would also have the largest network of electric batteries available that would help them diversify energy sources, reduce dependence on coal and stabilize supply. Others have tried. China is not the first country to have this idea. According to the V2G-hub listthere are around 150 similar projects around the world, many of them already abandoned, but others still underway. However, none have come close to nationwide adoption. In Spain there have been at least six initiatives, one of them still underway in Menorca. Challenges. Bidirectional charging faces many challenges and technical difficulties. To start the price. A bi-directional charger costs between $2,100 and $2,800, almost triple what a normal charger costs. It is the main reason why scaling such a system is complicated, but in China they have the advantage that the government is betting heavily on subsidizing energy. Another difficulty is that not all cars are compatible with this energy, so its mass adoption would be delayed at least until a greater number of vehicles support it. Finally, there is the issue of battery degradation, a major consumer concern that could slow adoption. Electrostate. Not long ago China was the biggest polluter of the planet and, although still depends a lot on coal to generate energy, it is giving a radical turn to become an “electrostate”. The bidirectional charging initiative is another example of China’s commitment to investing in renewables. There are more, like construction of the largest solar park on the planet in Tibet or the giant Three Gorges Dam, so big that even changed the rotation of the Earth. Image | Kindel Media, Pexels In Xataka | China has created the largest kite in the world with a very clear objective: to make its energy extremely cheaper.

The largest nuclear power plant in Europe has been connected to diesel generators for a month. It’s as encouraging as it sounds.

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Europe is once again walking a nuclear tightrope. After more than three years of war, the largest atomic plant on the continent —the Ukrainian Zaporizhia plant— has gone from being an industrial symbol to becoming at a point of friction capable of triggering an emergency of continental reach. In parallel, other plants in the country operate at reduced power after attacks on the electrical grid. The situation is so unstable that the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, recently traveled to Kaliningrad, Russia, for emergency talks with the head of Rosatom, Alexey Likhachev, according to the Anadolu agency. It is a gesture that reflects the extent to which the risk is real. An attack that left two centers at minimum. According to a statement from the IAEAa military attack during the night of November 7 damaged an electrical substation critical to nuclear security. This incident left the Khmelnitsky and Rivne plants disconnected from one of their two 750 kilovolt lines and forced the electricity operator to order a power reduction in several of its reactors. Ten days later, one of the lines was still out of service and three reactors continued to operate at limited power. The agency emphasizes that these substations are essential nodes of the network: they allow the voltage levels that feed the security and cooling systems to be transformed and maintained. Without them, plants cannot guarantee safe operation. One month depending on diesel generators. The situation in Zaporizhzhia is even more critical. According to an opinion column by Najmedin Meshkati, professor of engineering and international relations published in the Financial Timesthe plant spent a full month without outside power after its two main lines were cut. During that time it survived solely on diesel generators, a resource that the industry considers strictly temporary: they are designed to run for around 24 hours, not for weeks. Technicians were only able to repair the lines under the protection of localized ceasefires negotiated by the IAEA, according to NucNet. Even so, one of the two restored lines was disconnected again on November 14 due to the activation of a protection system. Grossi summed it up like this: “The electrical situation at the plant remains extremely fragile.” The condition for a shut down reactor to remain safe. Although Zaporizhzhia’s six reactors have been on cold shutdown for more than three years, the plant requires a constant three to four megawatts to maintain cooling pumps and other essential systems, according to Meshkati. The professor emphasizes that even huge emergency batteries require external electricity to stay charged. It is a vicious circle: without the electrical grid, batteries are used, but without external electricity, these batteries cannot be recharged and, without both, the cooling systems fail. And without cooling the risk of nuclear fuel melting or overheating increases. The University of Southern California professor warns that this scenario reproduces the conditions that transformed Fukushima into a global disaster: “What turned an earthquake into a catastrophe was the total failure of the electrical system.” And he adds that, unlike 2011 in Japan, this time the risk comes from deliberate human action. A network reduced to its minimum expression. Before the war, according to the Kyiv Independentthe Zaporizhia plant was connected through ten power lines. Today it only has one or two operations and has lost all connection ten times since the beginning of the invasion. The IAEA itself has described the situation power plant as “extremely precarious” and “clearly not sustainable” when it depends for long periods on diesel generators. Short and medium term risks. The notices in the last report on Ukraine by the IAEA point in the same direction: the main danger is not a Chernobyl-type explosion, but a prolonged cooling failure. This scenario could cause overheating of the reactors in cold shutdown, damage to the spent fuel pools and a possible localized or regional radioactive release, with the consequent need to create an exclusion zone in the heart of agricultural Europe. For its part, according to Meshkatiadds two other relevant elements. On the one hand, it points out that a serious accident will exceed the economic impact of Fukushima, estimated at about $500 billion. An incident of that magnitude would affect agriculture, transport, supply chains and the European insurance market. On the other hand, he maintains that if Russia manages to consolidate the precedent that an occupying army can take control of a nuclear power plant and connect it to its own network, the global nuclear security architecture would be seriously compromised. It would be a precedent without equivalent since the creation of international standards that regulate the civil use of atomic energy. Is there a meeting point? The IAEA has acted as an intermediary between Moscow and kyiv on multiple occasions. According to the Anadolu agencyGrossi traveled to Kaliningrad to meet with Likhachev, director of Rosatom, in order to directly discuss the situation in Zaporizhzhia and the minimum conditions to guarantee nuclear safety. At the same time, the agency is trying to technically shore up the Ukrainian electrical system. According to their own statementshas so far coordinated 174 deliveries of essential equipment – ​​switches, electrical cabinets, radiation monitoring stations, vehicles and computer equipment – ​​worth more than 20.5 million euros, intended to sustain nuclear security in Ukraine during the war. Nuclear security supported by fragile cables Europe breathes thanks to a handful of cables repaired under fire and diesel generators that have already proven to be well beyond their limits. As the Financial Times explainsthe continent’s security depends on electricity continuing to arrive and on the parties respecting the fragile ceasefires needed to repair lines when they go down. Grossi summed it up with a mix of relief and alarm after the restoration of one of the lines: “It is a good day for nuclear security, although the situation remains highly precarious.” And the precarious thing, in this case, is that a new attack, a mechanical failure or a downed line is enough to bring … Read more

The largest telescope in the northern hemisphere is looking for a home. And the Canary Islands have just taken the lead

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Spain is getting closer to having in its territory the most powerful telescope on the entire planet, the Teinta Meter Telescope (TMT). Its location may finally be the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, which for many years has been the emergency ‘plan B’, in case the original idea of ​​having it in the United States failed. And in the end, due to a large set of triggers, La Palma is gaining a lot of strength. A change of direction. He original use of the TMT was intended Mauna Kea volcano in Hawaii. But it is a plan that was paralyzed due to the rejection of the native communities, who consider this a sacred place. Although it is not only the ‘fault’ of the natives, but also of the cuts that the Trump administration has made intended for research and science in general. Given this situation, Spain has offered to host the project in La Palma as announced by the TMT International Observatory LLC on your website. In this case, he thanks the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities for the offer made of commit to invest 400 million euros to install this telescope at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory. The next steps are focused on developing together with the Ministry a “detailed roadmap towards the possible realization of the TMT at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory”, with the aim of this project moving forward at this location. The importance of La Palma. The Roque de los Muchachos Observatory already houses world-renowned facilities such as the Canary Islands Great Telescope (GTC), which is the largest optical and near-infrared telescope on the planet. In addition, it participates in new generation projects such as the Cherenkov telescopes, dedicated to observing high-energy gamma rays. And this is something that the Minister of Science herself, Diana Morant, wanted to remember, who through from your X account has celebrated this advance as the necessary step to turn “the Canarian sky into the main observatory in the northern hemisphere.” Why it is important. The TMT is not just any project: its construction involves some of the most influential scientific organizations on the planet, such as the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) or the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy (AURA), which represents more than 40 academic entities from around the world. Beyond this, we are also talking about the TMT being one of the three reference telescopes globally along with the Extremely Large Telescope (ELT) in Chile or the Giant Magellan Telescope (GMT) being developed in the Atacama Desert. Its 30-meter diameter mirror, made up of 492 hexagonal segments, will make it a key tool for exploring exoplanets, black holes, dark matter and the formation of the first galaxies, with a resolution ten times higher than that of Hubble. Political impact. Beyond the astronomical potential, hosting the TMT would mean a leap in scale for Spain in its presence in international research, reinforcing the role of the Institute of Astrophysics of the Canary Islands (IAC) as a strategic partner in global scientific projects and attracting talent and technological investment. Images | Alin Corneliu In Xataka | Which telescope to buy to enjoy the nights and stars: 20 telescopes, binoculars, gadgets, accessories and more

It is also one of the largest art collections in the world

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We are used to finding Juan Roig’s fortune in the lists of richest people in Spain. However, it is not so common to find his wife, Hortensia Herrero, on this type of list, who, as a partner and vice president of the main Spanish supermarket chainalso treasures an important heritage, not so much in economic value (that too) but in its artistic value. Specifically, Herrero has been included in the list of 200 biggest collectors internationally according to the prestigious magazine ARTnews. The role of Juan Roig’s wife as a patron of art was not well known despite the fact that she has been investing in works of art of great artistic value for more than a decade. The magazine highlights her status as “a prominent Spanish patron and philanthropist, married to Juan Roig, known for her commitment to the conservation of Valencian cultural heritage.” The beginning of a great passion. Hortensia Herrero has been intensely dedicated to art collecting since 2013. As and how does it count Herrero herself, her interest in art arose after a visit to Dallas to the opening of the exhibition “Sorolla and America” ​​where she met its curator, Javier Molins. It was at that moment when he decided to dedicate time and resources to this hobby, which over the years became a true passion supervised by Molins, who has served as a mentor and expert consultant. Since then, his dedication has been constant, visiting exhibitions and searching for the best works for his collection, which has allowed him to build a high-level selection recognized internationally. Your own art gallery. Since 2023, the co-owner of Mercadona manages the Hortensia Herrero Art Center (CAHH) in Valencia, which is a national reference. The exhibition center is located in the historic Valeriola Palace in Valencia, currently offers 3,500 square meters dedicated to contemporary art and houses more than 100 works by nearly 50 recognized artists, both national and international. “Who was going to tell me that this love of painting, which began at the age of 14, would end up becoming a passion that has led to the construction of this art center, now offered for Valencians and visitors to enjoy,” said the patron. on the web from the center. The project involved an investment of more than 40 million euros and has had the objective of bringing contemporary art closer to Valencians and visitors, stimulating dialogue between historical heritage and modernity. This commitment has allowed him to share a position on the list of the largest collectors of ARTnews alongside world figures such as Bernard Arnault, François Pinault, Jeff Bezos or investors Larry Fink (BlackRock) and Kenneth Griffin. It’s not just “love of art.” Beyond artistic interest, art continues to be one of the most profitable investments for great fortunes. This is confirmed in the report “The Wealth Report” prepared by the consulting firm Knight Frank. During 2023, the price of works of art worldwide increased by 11%, while luxury items such as jewelry rose by 8% and watches by 5%. On the contrary, collector cars fell 6% in their valuation. In the long term, art has experienced a cumulative growth of 105% in the last decade. These data reveal not only the taste and passion of great collectors like Herrero, but also the financial strategy that art represents among the main international investors. In Xataka | Who are the biggest millionaires in Spain: the list of the ten richest people in the country Image | Wikimedia Commons (Jlafuentesanchez)

The Fujian is officially China’s largest power catapult. Beijing already has a button to challenge the US Navy

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It has been almost two years since China ended its long-awaited Fujian aircraft carrierits largest warship with cutting-edge technology for the nation. From then until now it has been going through different scenarios of tests and tests that will confirm reliability of what should be the spearhead for Beijing to compete in the same league as the United States. That day has already arrived. The naval power of the 21st century. China has made official the entry into service of Fujian, its first aircraft carrier with electromagnetic catapultsa milestone that marks a qualitative leap in the country’s naval ambition and in their direct rivalry with the United States. In a ceremony held in the port of Sanya, on the island of Hainan, President Xi Jinping performed the symbolic gesture of pressing the launch button from the ship’s control bubble, in an act that state propaganda presented as the beginning of a new era for the People’s Liberation Army Navy. Projection and vulnerability. With 80,000 tons displacement, 300 meters in length and capacity to operate nearly 60 aircraft, the Fujian becomes the jewel of the Chinese fleet, the third in service after from Liaoning and the Shandong. Its distinctive feature is the electromagnetic catapultsan aircraft launch system similar to the American EMALS that only equips one other ship in the world: the USS Gerald R. Ford. China has thus jumped directly from aircraft carriers with a “ski jump” ramp to a generation of electromagnetic propulsion directed personally, according to Beijing, by Xi. This technical advance has clear strategic implications: improves the rate of departures, reduces wear and tear on aircraft and allows the operation of drones or lighter devices, opening the door to a more flexible and modern on-board aviation. Fujian The jump and the dimension. The Fujian represents more than just a technical improvement: it is the first completely designed and built in Chinafree of the Soviet legacy that conditioned the previous ones. The Liaoning was originally a ukrainian helmet unfinished work of the eighties and the Shandong su national derivativeboth with STOBAR systems short takeoff. With Fujian, China abandons that past and exhibits its technological maturity, especially in a context of industrial rivalry with the United States, whose own EMALS program has faced years of failures and cost overruns. In contrast to the Gerald R. Ford problemsXi’s speech and the staging of the ceremony convey a message of effectiveness and national pride: that of a power capable of manufacturing its own cutting-edge ships while the adversary hesitates. The choice of the port of Hainan was also not accidental. from there, China control access to the South Sea and projects its influence towards the western Pacific and the Taiwan Strait. On that board, the Fujian is not just a ship, but a political statement about Beijing’s ability to contest global maritime dominance. Fujian Target of the future. However, the relevance of these steel colossi coexists with a paradox. While the great powers continue to invest billions in building them, the conflict in Ukraine has shown that he size no longer guarantees invulnerability. With low-cost naval drones, Ukraine has managed to disable much of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, inflicting a “functional defeat” without possessing a single aircraft carrier. The contrast is eloquent: asymmetric warfare reduces the effectiveness of the most expensive conventional weapons, but not their strategic value. In the case of China and the United States, aircraft carriers maintain their role as projection and deterrence instrumentsuseful for both combat operations and coercive diplomacy. Make fear. Washington continues to use them as pressure tool geopolitics: Donald Trump himself ordered the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford against Venezuela as a symbolic warning to the Nicolás Maduro regime. The scene, with an aircraft carrier escorted by four destroyers and armed with 70 aircraft, illustrates the extent to which these ships continue to be armed ambassadors of the superpowers, beyond their debatable military profitability. Global deterrence. Modern navies are aware that aircraft carriers are both a symbol like a target. During the Cold War, it was estimated that twelve conventional missiles to sink a super aircraft carrier. In 2005, the experimental sinking of the USS America required four weeks of sustained attacks, confirming its structural resilience, but also its exposure. In a scenario saturated with hypersonic missiles, swarms of drones and long-range anti-ship systems, its survival in real combat is increasingly uncertain. However, no other platform offers the combination of mobility, air capacity and logistical autonomy that an aircraft carrier provides. That is why China, despite investing in missiles to repel a US fleet off its coast, considers these ships essential for its own global ambitions. As pointed out analyst Nick Childsfrom the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Beijing understands them as an indispensable tool to project influence and support an eventual operation on Taiwan. Geopolitics of steel. we have been counting: the rise of Fujian is part of a broader strategy of naval expansion that has turned Chinese shipyards into the most productive on the planet. The country’s surface and submarine fleet is growing at a pace the United States can no longer match, and each new vessel reinforces the narrative of industrial self-sufficiency that Xi Jinping presents as an emblem. of the “national renaissance”. Facing eleven US aircraft carriers (ten nuclear and one conventionally powered), China has threebut with plans to build at least a nuclear one, the future Type 004which could directly rival the Fords of the US Navy. Unlike Russia, whose only aircraft carrier, the aging Admiral Kuznetsovhas been out of service for years and is headed for scrapping, China and the United States are today the only powers capable to sustain fleets with great oceanic projection. Europe, for its part, maintains a symbolic presence: the United Kingdom uses its aircraft carriers Queen Elizabeth and Prince of Wales on diplomatic or training missions, while France prepares its new future-generation nuclear aircraft carrier. Century of the seas and fragility. If you like, Fujian also symbolizes the meeting point … Read more

Archaeologists have been fascinated by the largest temple in the Mayan world for years. Now we know that it is a map of the cosmos

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Our knowledge about the first Mesoamericans they just widened. And in a big way. A team led by professors from the University of Arizona has published a study with new revelations about Aguada Phoenixa site located east of the state of Tabasco, Mexico, near the border with Guatemala. Said like that, it may not seem like a big deal, but Aguada Fénix is ​​not just any place. When it was discovered, about five years ago, showed up as “the largest and oldest Mayan monument ever discovered.” Now we know that he also had some surprises in store for us. What is Aguada Fénix? To answer that question we have to go back a few years, to 2017, when with the help of lidar technology A team led by two professors from the University of Arizona (UA), Takeshi Inomata and Daniela Triadan, identified an ancient monument that until then had gone unnoticed in the state of Tabasco, very close to Guatemala. The laser beams, capable of passing through tree canopies and revealing three-dimensional shapes, showed nothing more nor less than a monument of more than 1,400 meters long, about 400 wide and between 9 and 15 high. That’s right from the start, because if you go beyond the central platform the set occupies much more spacewith roads and enormous pipelines connected to a nearby lagoon. Why is it important? Because of its reach. And historical relevance. When the archaeologists began to excavate and resorted to radiocarbon dating, they had another surprise: the complex had been built between the years 1000 and 800 BC, which was older than the archaeological site of Ceibalin Guatemala, considered the oldest ceremonial center. Aguada Fénix therefore left a double surprise for the researchers, as confirmed in 2020when announcing the discovery, the University of Arizona itself: not only was previous Ceibal, but stood out in size. In fact, it became the “largest known monument in Mayan history”, far surpassing the pyramids and palaces built during subsequent centuries. And why is it news now? Because researchers have not been content with presenting Aguada Fénix to the world. Over the last few years They have continued investigatingexpanding our knowledge of a complex that actually extends far beyond the central platform and the nine roads initially identified. Thanks to tools such as LIDAR, experts have found out that it extends kilometers further and detected an extensive hydraulic system with channels 35 meters wide and five meters deep with a dam. Have they discovered anything else? Yes. To begin with, Aguada Fénix probably served as a very special ceremonial center, a “cosmogram” that represented the order of the universe as its creators understood it. During the excavations they discovered a cross-shaped well in which they recovered ceremonial artifacts, pieces that offer us “unprecedented information about the first Mayan rituals.” To be more precise, they found jade axes and ornaments showing a crocodile, a bird and a woman giving birth. “It is like a model of the cosmos. They thought that it is ordered according to this cruciform pattern and that this is linked to the order of time,” adds Inomata. Ritual decorations? Not only that. When they reached the bottom of the pit, the researchers located another smaller cruciform structure with a new surprise. There they found mineral pigments, mounds of blue, green and yellow tones that mark cardinal points. “We knew that there are colors linked to directions, and that is important for all Mesoamerican peoples, even the Native American peoples of North America,” comments Inomata. “But we’ve never had pigments arranged this way. This is the first case where we found them associated with each specific direction. It was exciting.” And what were they doing there? Archaeologists believe that the different pigments and other materials were arranged as an offering and then covered with sand and earth. They also verified that radiocarbon dating dates them to around 900-845 BC. With all this data on the table, they do not rule out that people later returned to the monument to perform rituals and deposit objects. Another revealing fact is that the central axis of the Aguada Fénix monument seems to align with the sunrise on two very specific dates: October 17 and February 24, 130 days apart, which suggests to experts that it represented half of the Mesoamerican ritual cycle of 260 days. Inomata remembers that it would not be exceptional. The layout would agree with that of other Mayan sites. Why is it so relevant? Beyond the scope of the site itself, the new findings are relevant for what they tell us about the ancient inhabitants of the region. For a start, remember from the UAdebunks the old theory that Mesoamericans grew gradually and dedicated themselves to building increasingly larger settlements until they reached Tikal in Guatemala or Teotihuacán in central Mexico. Aguada Fénix is ​​long before the heyday of both enclaves, which does not mean that it is “as big or even bigger than them.” “What we are discovering is that there was a ‘big bang’ of construction at the beginning of 1,000 BC that no one really knew about,” reflects Inomata. With the discovery of the state of Tabasco it is confirmed that “from the beginning” there was large-scale planning and construction. Aguada Fénix is ​​so old in fact and anticipates so much of the Mayan apogee (around the 3rd-10th centuries AD) that experts are not sure whether its builders spoke Mayan languages. In any case they do admit “a strong cultural continuity” with later communities. How the hell did they build it? That is another of the most suggestive conclusions of the study that Inmoata and his colleagues have published in Science Advances. In it they slip a curious theory: although it is known that other enclaves, such as Tikal, in Guatemala, were governed by powerful monarchs, in the case of Aguada Fénix there are no indications that speak of powerful rulers with the ability to force their subjects to work. That does not mean … Read more

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