Madrid

In the face of the fires that devastate Madrid, Ávila and Toledo, Starlink supports free with its satellite internet service

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The fires that They devastate the Community of Madrid, Ávila and Toledo They have become hell for thousands of families. The list of evacuees and confined almost reaches 100,000 peoplebut it has not been the only aggravating factor, since many of them have also lost the possibility of communicating with other people. Given this blackout, starlink communicated to users who will be able to connect directly with the mobile phones of those affected through their satellites, without the need for antennas or additional applications. What has happened? The fire has destroyed antennas and fiber cables, in addition to generating interference that has further complicated communications in the area. While Movistar, Orange and Vodafone worked on the ground to restore their networks, from BandaAncha confirmed that many users were beginning to witness a change in their networks. And several people claimed to see the “Orange Space X” network on the interface of their mobile phones. Satellite connectivity. Starlink itself confirmed through its official account on X, ensuring that “Starlink Mobile is providing free connectivity to MasOrange and Movistar customers in the regions affected by the forest fires near Madrid.” The same goes for Movistar, Orange and Vodafoneteleoperated companies that have confirmed the activation of this emergency satellite service in their networks. The company explains that families, communities and companies with compatible LTE phones can continue to communicate by SMS even if terrestrial networks do not work, since mobile phones automatically connect to this satellite network. Of course, they warn that the service “will work better with a clear view of the sky”, since it requires a direct connection with satellites in low orbit. Months in testing. According to they count From Broadband, Orange had been testing for months in Valladolid to offer mobile satellite coverage directly to conventional terminals, thanks to a special permit from the Ministry to use its terrestrial frequencies from space. Everything indicates that this technology being tested has been advanced and urgently activated through an agreement between the Ministry, Orange, Movistar and Starlink, also opening the signal to other operators in roaming mode to provide coverage in the fire area. Without European alternatives would you be. The service is not suitable for browsing the internet or making calls. Its capacity is limited to sending SMS and very low data usage. But in an emergency situation, that connection thread can make the difference, allowing you to notify that you are safe, coordinate an evacuation or for rescue teams to locate someone, just when traditional telephone towers have been disabled by the fire. In the absence of European alternativesStarlink is positioned as one of the most effective solutions to obtain satellite connection in domestic environments. Today there are several European agencies that are sending satellites to low Earth orbit, although most projects are not aimed at offering Internet connection on a commercial level, but rather are specialized constellations for companies, governments, teleoperators, defense or aviation. Some well-known proper names are OneWeb, the Luxembourg SES either Hispasatthe latter being a relevant actor in Spain, Portugal and Latin America. All of them are beginning to move, but at a pace and efficiency that is still much lower than SpaceX. This means that in emergency situations, such as the one thousands of families in Spain are experiencing with the fires, communication depends on a completely private company. Hence, the fact that there is a European alternative, detached from the control of a private company of the stature of SpaceX, is important and makes sense as part of the technological sovereignty strategy of the continent. And now what. Starlink had already resorted to this same free connectivity formula in other disasters, such as the earthquake that shook Venezuela just a few weeks ago. In Spain, for now, the service remains as an emergency measure and not as a commercial launch. Orange had already planned to market this technology in the future, but its actual deployment as a public network has arrived earlier than expected, driven by the magnitude of the fire. It will be necessary to see if, once the flames are controlled, the service is withdrawn or if this crisis accelerates its definitive release to the market. Cover image | The reason and Starlink In Xataka | The Ministry of Labor reminds that no one has to “choose between their security and their job”: four days of paid leave

The fire in Madrid forces the evacuation of an essential facility for NASA

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The advance of the fire through the southwest of Madrid has placed the focus on Robledo de Chavela, one of the municipalities affected by the emergency. There is also a communications complex that is part of the NASA Deep Space Networkused to maintain contact with missions located at enormous distances from Earth. The teams work to protect facilities whose importance is not always evident from the outside. What happens there affects a space infrastructure of international scope. The clearest warning came from the Government delegate in Madrid, Francisco Martín, which ensured that the installation “she is in a critical situation” and that the troops were doing “the impossible to protect her.” The fire was also going through its “peak moment”, with the head of the fire beyond the capacity to extinguish, according to the Community of Madrid. The approximately 90 workers at the complex have been evacuated and there is no longer any personnel inside the facility, so it is not yet possible to confirm whether the flames have penetrated the facilities or caused damage. Xataka has contacted the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, and the Ministry of the Interior. From the center they have told us that They are coordinating with NASA headquarters and that they hope to have information soon. Interior had not responded at the time of writing this article. One of NASA’s three doors to deep space The threatened facility is the Madrid Deep Space Communications Complex, known by its English acronym, MDSCC. Located in Robledo de Chavela, it belongs to the National Institute of Aerospace Technology and operates in collaboration with NASA. The facility has six large satellite dishesamong them one 70 meters in diameter and several 34 meters. They are all part of the Deep Space Networkthe international infrastructure used by the US agency to maintain communications with ships exploring the Solar System. Madrid is one of the three pieces that support the global coverage of this network. The others are located in Goldstone, California, and Canberra, Australia, strategically placed so that the Earth’s rotation does not interrupt contact with the ships for too long. When a mission disappears below the horizon of Robledo de Chavela, it may enter the field of vision of one of the other two centers. This relay makes it possible to maintain practically continuous communications and distribute the tasks of monitoring, transmitting orders and receiving scientific data. The scale of that activity is measured across the Deep Space Network, not by independent facilities. According to NASA, lto network serves more than 40 missions and a specialized team distributes the antenna time between the three complexes according to the visibility of each ship and the objectives of tracking, science and data return. These missions do not constitute, therefore, an exclusive portfolio of the Madrid station. The agency itself describes these antennas as an “indispensable link” with vehicles that venture beyond Earth. A recent example allows us to better measure this role. On June 23, New Horizons controllers confirmed that the ship had woken up normally after 321 days of hibernation. At that time it was about 9.5 billion kilometers from Earth, so the signal took approximately 8 hours and 52 minutes to arrive. Confirmation reached the mission operations center in Maryland through the Deep Space Network station located near Madrid. For now there is no official confirmation of damage, but it is not possible to rule it out either. Those responsible for the complex will not be able to check the status of the buildings, equipment and antennas until they can return to the premises. NASA has DSN Nowa tool that normally allows you to check which network antennas are active and which ships they communicate with. The page is currently out of service for updating work, a circumstance that does not allow conclusions to be drawn about the operational status of the Madrid station. Images | POT In Xataka | If you live in Madrid and want to see the total eclipse on August 12, write down these 52 towns

If you live in Madrid and want to see the total eclipse on August 12, write down these 52 towns

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If you are thinking see the solar eclipse on August 12 in the Community of Madrid You will like to know that 52 municipalities have been enabled for this. This was announced by the Minister of the Presidency, Justice and Local Administration, Miguel Ángel García Martín, in an informative meeting, as explained from The Economist. There will be observation posts in 51 locations and a festival in another: Buitrago del Lozoya. Of course, it should be noted that not all of the announced municipalities will be able to see the eclipse in its entirety. What is the list of towns to see the solar eclipse in Madrid? The towns announced by the counselor are the following: We are Sierra Prádena del Rincón Braeyes Piñuecar-Gandullas Berzosa del Lozoya The Serna del Monte Gascons Villavieja del Lozoya Old Bridges Gorge of the Mountains Lozoya Canencia Valdepiélagos Cabanillas de la Sierra Navalafuente Coldscraper Talamanca de Jarama Valdeolmos-Alalpardo Torote Ash Soto del Real Meco The Saints of La Humosa Daganzo from Above Pezuela de las Torres Navacerrada Becerril de la Sierra Olmeda de las Fuentes Moralzarzal New Baztan The Mills Ambite Medium Col Manzanares Hole Old Apiary The Molar The Cabrera Saint Augustine of Guadalix San Sebastian de los Reyes Three Songs Villarejo de Salvanés San Lorenzo de El Escorial Robledo de Chavela Villamantilla Chinchon Chapinería Brunete San Martin de Valdeiglesias Navas del Rey Santa María de la Alameda Torrejón de la Calzada Tajuña pear trees Up to Tres Cantos, with this included, are the municipalities within the strip of totality. In the rest, you will only be able to see the solar eclipse partially, since the Moon will not completely cover the Sun and, therefore, the typical night in the middle of the day that characterizes eclipses will not be fully visible. Regarding the festival to be celebrated in Buitrago del Lozoyawill take place in the Riosequillo Swimming Pools Recreational Area and will feature informative, scientific, educational, cultural and family activities. In addition, there will be food trucks, music, children’s games and workshops throughout the day. Is one of the many festivals that will be celebrated throughout Spain on the occasion of this astronomical phenomenon. A map to plan If you want to know how long the totality will last in each of the indicated towns, what the quality of the sky is like or if they are small charming municipalities, you can plan with the help of our interactive map. Furthermore, this is not only useful for observing the solar eclipse in Madrid. You can choose your ideal observation point anywhere in Spain. Start by deciding if you want to see it in the strip of totality or if a partial eclipse closer to home will do. The good part is that next year we will have another total eclipse in Spain and many of the places that have been left out this time will be in its totality strip. Do you want to wait or do you prefer to see it now even if you have to travel? Image | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | Leo Hernández, eclipse hunter: “I knew that whenever I could or life allowed me, I would try to travel to see more”

connect Madrid and the Atlantic with a canal

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If all roads lead to Rome… Why couldn’t Madrid have at least one that connected it directly and, above all, navigably with the Atlantic? The idea sounds macaronic, but for a while it seemed to take on all the logic in the world in the man’s head. king Philip II. He had reasons to love it, of course. At the end of the 16th century Spain received baited ships with the generous treasures arrived from the Americas in the form of precious metals, spices and wood that were unloaded in the south of the country. From there they had to continue to Madrid, court seaton a journey almost as complicated and dangerous as the voyage across the Atlantic. In your journey towards the center of the plateau The carts had to cross paths that today would make even the most painted of people hiccup, roads that were poorly maintained and that became muddy every time it rained. As if that were not enough and as a cherry on top, there was the constant stalking of the bandits of Sierra Morena. Result: transportation was complicated, not without risks and made the merchandise more expensive. Philip II wanted to remedy all that. (Commons) And I thought I knew how. In Flanders He had seen the benefit that could be obtained from river transport thanks to locks and canals, elements that, he concluded, could also well be used in the Iberian Peninsula. In the 16th century there were no swamps to hinder the passage of ships, the flow of the rivers favored it and…—that is the key—Portugal was under the rule of the Austrianswhich made it easier for Madrid to look, not at the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Cádiz or the Cantabrian Sea, but directly at Lisbon. With an eye on Portugal The father of the idea, the mastermind in charge of convincing the many skeptics and carrying out such a technical challenge was the Italian Juan Bautista Antonellia military engineer who had already served under Charles V and noted for his fortification designs. In April 1581 Antonelli obtained a royal certificate which gave him carte blanche with a clear purpose: “to recognize and see the Tagus River from the town of Abrantes (…) to Alcántara to see how it could be made navigable.” The ultimate goal of the company, however, went beyond the Portuguese or Extremadura border. What was proposed was expand channels so that ships could navigate the Tagus from Lisbon to Aranjuez and continue from there along the Jarama and Manzanares. April 25 Bridge, which spans the estuary of the Tagus River in the Lisbon area. As detailed by Pedro Gargantilla in the diary ABCthe tremendously ambitious idea was to enable a navigable route of about 600 kilometers that would overcome 650 meters of elevation difference. Antonelli did not beat around the bush and shortly after presented to King Philip II in the Cortes of Tomar a project that would allow the Tajo to be crossed between Lisbon and Alcántara, in Extremadura. Austria liked the idea. And he liked it so much. Savoring the advantages that the project would bring for commerce, its benefits for the Royal Treasury and even the prestige it would give him beyond the borders of his empire, the monarch did not take long to roll out the red carpet to Antonelli. Three months later, Felipe II released funds and gave instructions to the mayor of Alcántara and the authorities of Castile to fix things for him. as easy as possible to Italian. Two years later, in 1583, Antonelli concluded the works to condition the Tagus between Alcántara and Abrantes and in 1584 Philip II himself traveled from Madrid to Aranjuez to see with his own eyes how that company was progressing. he was so excited and whom he had trusted so much. At the beginning of 88—remember the Royal Academy of History (RAH)—a test was even organized with seven barges that traveled in 15 days between Toledo and Lisbon. The counterarmy in Lisbon. Did that mean that the project was already on track? Did the people of Madrid see how Philip II’s dream of seeing the galleons arrive at the gates of the capital came true? Was the bank of the Manzanares prepared for a deployment of docks, docks and mooring bollards? Not quite The delirious dream of Philip II encountered three implacable enemies: death, lack of funds and… England. And all three struck in such a short time that they knocked out the plan. The first blow came in March 1588 with the death of Antonelli. His replacement at the head of the project was taken by his nephew, Cristobal de Roda Antonellibut the company no longer raised its head and just ten years later its other great promoter, Philip II himself, died. The project was also not favored by the enormous investment allocated by Austria to the “Invincible Army” with which he intended to bend the pulse of England nor the serious economic difficulties that the State treasury went through. If that scenario was not complex enough on its own, some time later, in 1668, it was added the “divorce” with Portugalwhich complicated a project that aspired to skip The Stripe. The dream of opening a navigable canal between Madrid and the Atlantic in the 16th century was simply frustrated. From revolutionary infrastructure it became curious chapter in the historical chronicle of the Austrians. In the 19th century, the railroad buried the canal forever. Of course, the idea continued for a long time after Philip II and Antonelli were buried. Throughout the following decades, other renowned technicians and monarchs of the House of Bourbons, such as the engineers Luis Carduchi, Carlos Lemaur, Felipe IV, Fernando VI, Charles IIICharles IV or Ferdinand VII, also proposed improving river communications, although not always looking to Portugal. Interest shifted to the south or even to the waters of the Cantabrian. His efforts also left a mark perfectly visibleeven today. Fruit of that desire to improve communications … Read more

Tokyo has four times the population of Madrid and traffic jams are non-existent. The secret is called Shako Shomeisho

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Spain has an extension of 506,030 square kilometers and 48.35 million people live there. Japan has an area of 377,974 square kilometers where 124.5 million people live. In the city of Madrid it is estimated that they live 3.23 million peoplewhile in Tokyo a total of 14.22 million people. The difference is even more striking if we take into account population density. In Madrid there are 5,265.91 inhabitants/km², while in Tokyo it rises to 6,501.58 inhabitants/km². Which of the two cities is hell to drive? If you cast an eye on photographs of Japanese citiesyou may have noticed that there are many, many people walking and on public transport. But how many cars do you see on the street? The answer is simple: very few. If we attend to the 2021 dataSpain had 29,875,896 million cars in use, while in Japan there were 76,702,773 cars. How can it be that a country with a much smaller surface area and that is on its way to tripling our population? don’t be a car hell If it has a density of cars per person very similar to ours (629 cars/1,000 inhabitants for Spain compared to 609 cars/1,000 inhabitants for Japan)? They have achieved this, of course, by forcibly limiting the number of cars that can be owned in large cities where, logically, a greater number of cars should accumulate. As? The secret is Shako Shomeisho Although the car density per inhabitant is very similar to that of Spain, the truth is that it plummets if we focus on large cities. In Japan it is estimated that each household owns 1.06 cars of the total. That figure plummets to 0.32 vehicles per household in Tokyo. The big Japanese city is, in fact, the rich city where cars are used the least. According to Deloitteonly 12% of daily trips in Tokyo are made by car, while 17% are made by bicycle. Figures that cannot be understood without two express prohibitions: that of parking on the street and that of buying a car… without space to park it. And a little luck. Andre Sorensen, professor of urban planning at the University of Toronto, says that part of Tokyo’s success in achieving this low vehicle density begins with a coincidence. At the beginning of the 20th centuryonly 15% of Japanese lived in cities. That figure is now 91%. Tokyo (above) and Rotterdam (below) two examples of cities rebuilt after World War II. Source: Google Maps The explosion came with the end of World War II. The cities were devastated and the growth in Tokyo was so chaotic that buildings began to grow uncontrollably, one close to the other. You can compare with photographs from Google Maps how Tokyo grew, completely uncontrolled with countless tiny plots, and how Rotterdam grew, with planning studied to combine green areas in residential areas. Sorensen explains that this population explosion caused the flourishing of narrow streets that made it difficult for vehicles to pass through and store them. The wave of workers to the cities forced the institutions they will turn to public transport and in 1957 the first measure was taken to harshly regulate car use in cities. And, in turn, a good reason to discourage its use. Since then, a law has been applied that prevents parking cars on the street. What is common in any European city is strictly prohibited in Japan. The fine is also not nonsense. They apply penalties of up to 200,000 yen for leaving the car parked irregularly, which entails a fine of more than 1,200 euros. Just a few years later, in 1962, the Shako Shomeisho. This name refers to the certificate that the buyer of a car must present when purchasing the vehicle. This guarantees that that person has a place to park the car. That is, you have a parking space where you can park your car every night. If you do not have a garage space, you will be prohibited from buying a car. Kei Cars, like this Daihatsu Copen, do not need to have a parking certificate except in Tokyo and Osaka This Shako Shomeisho does not apply to Kei Carssmall Japanese cars that measure less than 3.4 meters in length, 1.48 meters wide and 2.0 meters high and with engines less than 660 cc that cannot exceed 64 HP of power. The problem is that street parking options are minimal and parking in a public parking lot is very expensive. Shako Shomeisho the price of land has skyrocketed of the parking lots. In fact, the expensive thing is not buying a car, the expensive thing is getting the chance to buy a car. Is something similar to what happens in Singapore with a subtle difference: there are spaces available to park cars in Tokyo that sell for more than one million euros and the advertisements themselves already reflect the performance that can be obtained by allowing the rental of vehicles by the hour. And it must be taken into account that not all parking spaces are valid. The garage where the car is stored must be less than two kilometers from the habitual residence and to obtain the certificate it must be possible to corroborate this with plans or, even, the entrance and exit measurements of the garage are required. If the car is too big, the buyer may have problems getting the certificate approved by the authorities and may not have anywhere to park it… or rent it. The solution can go through rent the garages But there are neighborhoods where monthly rents can easily go above 500 euros (about 77,000 yen). In some very specific places in the most expensive neighborhoods, the spaces They are quoted with rents above 700 euros (110,000 yen). As it could not be otherwise, houses for sale are offered with skyrocketing prices when the combination “downtown” and “parking space” go hand in hand. With offers that exceed 3.5 million euros (550 million yen) for 130 m2 houses… And with space … Read more

how a probe launched in 2006 woke up and warned Madrid from 9.5 billion km

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About 9.5 billion kilometers from Earth, a ship built by humans more than two decades ago continued to advance through a region of the Solar System that we barely know. He had left in January 2006had left Pluto behind and had been in hibernation for 321 days, almost silently, while its trajectory took it further and further away from us. So after almost a year, New Horizons sent the signal confirming his awakening. It did not bring spectacular images nor did it announce a great discovery: it simply told us that it had come out of its dream and was still in good condition. That signal did not respond to an order sent from Earth that same morning. Before going into hibernation, the team had uploaded a sequence of instructions to the main computer that told the probe when to wake up its systems. New Horizons executed that programming on June 23 and came out of hibernation without needing a new order from our planet. Only then did he send his message to us. When the Deep Space Network station near Madrid received itabout eight hours and 52 minutes had passed since waking up. From this station near Madrid confirmation was received that New Horizons had woken up and was still in good condition. Hibernating didn’t mean turning off the ship and hoping it would come back on months later. During that period, a good part of its systems remained disconnected to reduce consumption and wear, but the flight computer continued to monitor the general condition while the vehicle rotated stably on itself. Once a week, in addition, it sent a simple beacon to indicate if everything was still in order. This way, the team could know that New Horizons was still healthy without maintaining constant communication or unnecessarily occupying the ground antennas. The system that remained in control was not like the computers we carry in our pockets. The command and data management system is supported by a 12MHz Mongoose V processorprotected against radiation and designed to resist rather than run. This component distributes orders among the subsystems and executes routines that allow the probe to react without immediate intervention. Upon certain failures, the ship can initiate a recovery, switch to backup components, or send a request for help. At that distance, autonomy is not an added function, but a condition for survival. The probe also could not send each measurement at the time it was obtained. His observations were stored in two 8 GB solid state drivesa main one and a backup one, while the computer organized and compressed them for later transmission. Seen from our current devices, that memory is almost insignificant; in deep space, forces you to manage each data carefully. The team had to prioritize and wait until the vehicle could point correctly toward our planet. Discovering something was only the first part: we still had to get it to us. A space probe designed to last The next problem was keeping alive a machine that was traveling further and further away from the source of energy that illuminates our planet. New Horizons does not rely on solar panels, but rather a radioisotope thermoelectric generator that uses the heat released by the decay of plutonium-238 to produce electricity. The power it delivers slowly decreases over the years, so each instrument turned on implies a decision. On the other hand, the insulating layers retain the heat generated by the electronics themselves, while automatic heaters intervene when this protection is not enough. After visiting Pluto and Arrokoth, New Horizons continues to move outwards from the Solar System Finding us from the far reaches of the Solar System requires much more than turning on a transmitter. The spacecraft observes the stars and compares what it sees with a catalog stored on board to determine where it is facing. Its small thrusters then make the necessary adjustments to align the main antenna with the Earth. That antenna cannot move independentlyso the entire vehicle must be placed in the correct direction before starting unloading. Only then can the stored data begin a nearly nine-hour journey to us. The paradox of that hibernation was that New Horizons was still doing science. Although the controllers were not sending commands or downloading information, three instruments remained active to study the particles, plasma and dust surrounding the probe. SWAP, PEPSSI and accountant Venetia Burney continued to take measurements and retain them for when regular communication could resume. The mission had reduced much of its activity, but not its ability to observe: even during the longest sleep in its history, outer space continued to pass through its sensors. A ship launched two decades ago does not age like one of our devices: no one can bring it back, change a part, or connect it to a more powerful energy source. What the team can do is teach you how to better manage what you still have. Before its final sleep, New Horizons received a crash protection update to address the gradual drop in power and increased communication delays. Her awakening was not, therefore, an isolated trick, but the result of twenty years of learning to keep her alive from a distance. Images | NASA | In Xataka | NASA is looking for four people who want to live a year on Mars without leaving Earth

“Madrid is acting like a cheating administration that only wants to get the rooms from Madrid residents”

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Since it was first approved under the name of Madrid Central, Madrid’s low-emission zones have lived on a tightrope. Now, like Madrid 360, Justice has been demanding that Madrid return the money to thousands of Madrid residents for two years. With their latest decision they are closer to achieving it. What has happened? The Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) has opened a separate piece within the execution of the ruling that annulled the Low Emissions Zone (ZBE) of Madrid in 2024. This decision arrives after Associated European Motorists (AEA) will demand that Justice execute the refund of the fines imposed with the previous mobility ordinance. At the moment, the Madrid City Council and the rest of the affected parties have a period of 20 days to present their arguments regarding this decision. And all this, why? To understand the story we have to go back to 2024. In Septemberthe TSJM declares the Madrid ZBE null and void, alleging that there was not a sufficient study of whether these low-emission zones could produce a “discriminatory effect for the most economically vulnerable groups.” In response, the Madrid City Council filed an appeal to the Supreme Court but this was rejected so the low emissions zone was now de facto cancelled. However, during that time, the Madrid City Council worked to modify its mobility ordinance and keep the ZBE active, which shields the entire city from the entry of unmarked cars. (from outside Madrid) and has two other interior areas of special protection. With the rejection of the appeal, Madrid would have to return the money for all the fines imposed from January 2022 until the entry of the new mobility ordinance but that is not happening. Not, at least, totally. What do they say at the Madrid City Council? In Xataka We have contacted the Madrid City Council who defend that “the sanctions imposed with the previous ordinance, and which exclusively affect Plaza Elíptica and Centro, the Special Protection Zone that annulled the TSJM ruling, will not be returned because they were processed with an ordinance that was in force” The answers to know what fines will no longer be collected must be found in the Madrid City Council website where it is specified that these are: Fines that are in process and have not been paid. Fines that have not been fully collected, even if they are being enforced. The first problem is that Madrid does not return the money for the fines paid and, in that case, the sanctioned driver has to go to court to claim the money. The second problem is that Madrid has only been returning the fines referring to the Low Emissions Zone of Special Protection of the Central District and Plaza Elíptica, two spaces with independent rules which prevents cars labeled C and B from parking on the street. In these areas, only the ECO and Zero emissions labels have free passage to circulate without restrictions. What do they say in AEA? What they defend in AEA is that the Madrid City Council must return all fines (those imposed in these special areas and those at the entrance to the city) regardless of whether they have been paid or not paid. The latest judicial movement, however, only affects fines that are unpaid. Mario Arnaldo, president of AEA, assures in statements to Xataka that Madrid “is acting like a cheating administration that only wants to get the quarters from the people of Madrid.” And it is that, according to the association’s calculations of drivers’ defense, between January 2022 and December 2025 (latest data available), Madrid has fined 3.4 million drivers for a value of 663.29 million euros. Of that money, 203.22 million euros are part of the fines for entering the Madrid municipality that the city refuses to return. In addition, the association remembers that Justice has already agreed with them in the appeals presented to receive money from fines already paid. This procedure must be done individually and what AEA pursues is that the Madrid City Council has to return all the money automatically. That is, the more than 660 million euros raised. So is it legal or not? Right now, breaking the rules of the ZBE in Madrid is grounds for sanctions. And the Madrid City Council hides behind the modification last April to keep alive this low-emissions zone that AEA has already resorted to when it understands that the problems for which the TSJM annulled the previous mobility ordinance have not been solved. At the moment “it has a presumption of legality,” AEA tells us. This means that the Madrid City Council has activated its ZBEs and punishes those who fail to comply with the rules, but Justice will have to decide in the future whether said space restricted to the most polluting cars is legal or, once again, falls into the same mistakes of the past. Photo | Korng Sok In Xataka | A very high percentage of the fines that are appealed in Madrid for the ZBE end up annulled: two reasons explain this

Madrid is preparing to have robotaxis this fall. The problem is that almost no one is clear how it is going to work.

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Madrid is about to become the first capital of the European Union with driverless cars circulating through its streets. Uber, Waymo, Cabify and several Chinese technology companies are already fighting for a million-dollar business that, according to current plans, should begin rolling out after the summer. Although there are still quite a few questions unresolved. What is happening. Uber was the first to announce the movement. In June confirmed an alliance with the Chinese technology company WeRide to operate in Madrid sensorized electric vans manufactured by Geely, the Chinese giant that also owns Volvo Cars or Polestar. To make it possible, Uber relies on two partners: Moove Cars, which provides the VTC licenses (of which Uber itself owns 30%), and Avomo, which is responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the vehicles and which already manages similar fleets in Austin and Atlanta. The legal framework. To launch a service of this type, three pieces were needed: regulation, licenses and fleet. According to share From El Confidencial, the first two were “the most conflictive” and had already been resolved, so now “it is the companies that have to take the step.” So, on the one hand, the DGT is in charge of homologating and technically certifying vehicles, while the Community of Madrid manages authorizations, insurance and the distribution of licenses between operators, based on changes in the regional Mobility Law. To avoid new conflicts with taxis, the regional government has chosen not to issue new VTC licenses, but rather to reuse existing ones with a limit of 100, to which a specific permit called “additional authorization for autonomous transport” will be added. According to El Confidencial sources, they point because the first pilots could start in central Madrid, Leganés and Móstoles, with Alcobendas also on the table. The Waymo mystery. Alphabet subsidiary has registered In just two weeks new companies in Paris, Amsterdam and Madrid (Waymo Iberia), adding to the one it already had in Munich since June. The name chosen for Spain, “Iberia” and not “España”, suggests that the company is also looking at Portugal, which has recently opened a legal framework favorable to autonomous driving tests. Even so, the commercial registration is only the first step, so it does not give us clues about a possible launch date, since to operate in Spain Waymo needs VTC licenses. Of the country’s three large fleets (Moove Cars, Auro and Vecttor), the first is already committed to Uber and WeRide, and Auro has confirmed that it is not negotiating with Waymo because it is focused on its expansion in Germany. This leaves as the only plausible way an agreement with Vecttor, the fleet owned by Cabify, which acknowledges maintaining “open conversations with the leading companies in autonomous mobility technology”, although it clarifies that, for the moment, “we do not have any closed alliance.” The Phoenix precedent, where Waymo just broke their alliance with Uber to recover its cars and operate with its own app, suggests that its long-term plan is to dispense with intermediaries as soon as it gains its own brand in each market. What Uber doesn’t count. The company announced in style that its robotaxis would arrive in Madrid before the end of the year, but for our part we did not receive a response from either Uber or WeRide about how many vehicles there will be in the first phase, whether the service will cover the entire city or just some neighborhoods, or whether any user will be able to order a car without anyone at the wheel. On the other hand, the DGT itself confirmed us last month that there was no request from Uber or its partners to test autonomous vehicles. The organization remembers that there are three test phases: a controlled one (maximum three cars, always with a safety driver), an extensive one (up to ten, also with a driver) and a pre-deployment phase, where the vehicle limit disappears and the driver becomes optional, although always supervised remotely. Right now, the only company in that last phase in Spain is Tesla, which test your FSD system with 30 vehicles throughout the national territory. The risks that Waymo already knows. Just like stand out From El Confidencial, the experience in the United States leaves two clear warnings. The first is vandalism, since in June, anti-ICE protesters burned five Waymo vehicles in Los Angeles, each valued between 150,000 and 200,000 euros, forcing the suspension of service in the city. The second, more serious for the business, are technical failures. And in just one month, Waymo had to first recall 3,800 cars for entering flooded roads and then 3,900 (97% of its fleet) for a software error that led them to sections of highway under construction. Despite this, the company defends that its cars suffer 94% fewer serious or fatal accidents than those driven by humans, and 84% fewer accidents with cyclists or motorcyclists. And now what. The calendar indicates that, starting in November, the first Uber robotaxis will begin to be seen in Madrid, with a safety driver at the wheel during the first months until the service becomes fully autonomous. The routes will be requested from each operator’s app and the cost is still unknown, but they are expected to be more expensive. Waymo is still a sea of ​​doubts, since it has a company created, but it still lacks a fleet partner to start. And at the bottom of the board we have Cabify and Bolt, who could be added later with vehicles from the Chinese companies Pony.ai or Baidu. Cover image | Hoseung Han In Xataka | A veteran Tesla engineer has summarized his workers’ feelings about the FSD: “We have all seen it fail”

It is not that mass tourism has settled in Madrid, Barcelona or Rome, it is that it has reached the Galapagos Islands

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Last summer, and while Spain declared war to the sector, vacation rental reached heights that until recently would have seemed more typical of a dystopia. In fact, the platforms began to do business by pool rental for hours. Meanwhile, in places like New York, those who turned off Airbnb in 2023, had discovered that two years later only The hotels are happy. With this scenario, the Galapagos Islands have found the problem at home. The arrival of Airbnb. I told it the new york times. In the Galapagos Islands, one of the most delicate natural environments on the planet, the rise of Airbnb after the pandemic has transformed the tourism landscape. Alicia Ayalaknown as “the queen of Airbnb”, symbolizes This twist: rents apartments at affordable prices that attract backpackers and middle-class families, in contrast to the elitist tourism that dominated for decades. Figures? There is more than 1,300 accommodations of this type compared to some 300 regulated hotels, which has generated an explosion of low-budget visitors who spend less and, according to critics, contribute to environmental deterioration and the trivialization of a declared place World Heritage. Impact and tensions. Criticism focused on the inability of short-term rentals to meet the strict environmental standards that do apply to hotels, forced to pay permits, provide funds for conservation and manage waste in a territory without drinking water or sustainable energy. The proliferation of uninformed visitors multiplies harmful behaviors: garbage on beaches, harassment of protected fauna or consumption of threatened species. In fact, researchers warn that uncontrolled tourism threatens to turn the islands into a “Venice of nature”, where the immediate economy takes precedence over the preservation of unique ecosystems. Mass tourism and local economy. The archipelago went from receiving 6,000 visitors annually in the seventies to a forecast of 300,000 by 2025driven by commercial flights, social networks and the appearance of cheap excursions replacing traditional luxury cruises. What is happening is a stage that repeats in the whole planet. This overcrowding has left family hotels with empty rooms, while they compete against Airbnbs that operate with lower costs and little supervision. At the same time, the tourism sector holds at 80% of 30,000 inhabitants, so the dilemma between immediate income and sustainability becomes more acute in an isolated environment that depends on expensive imports and limited services. The legal (and political) battle. Although the Ecuadorian Constitution and the special legislation of the Galapagos recognize the rights of nature and limit hotel development, the absence of specific regulation for Airbnb creates a vacuum (the problem is not only regulatory but also effective application of an already existing prohibition) that hosts have taken advantage of. The Ministry of Tourism has declared illegal many of these accommodations and has ordered closures, but lacks effective control mechanisms, while platforms such as Airbnb claim to comply with current regulations and ask for clear rules. UNESCO has urged Ecuador to slow growth and regulate digital tourism, although attempts by hoteliers to achieve changes have remained without an official response. Threats and uncertain future. To the tensions over tourism problems add up of illegal fishing, drug trafficking and, in August 2025, the merger of the Ministry of the Environment with that of Energy and Mines, interpreted by experts as a turn towards the exploitation of resources above conservation. In this context, the dispute between regulated hotels and Airbnb hosts reflects a deeper conflict: to what extent Ecuador is willing to sacrifice ecological integrity of the Galapagos to sustain their economy. Between the pressure of tourism growth, the lack of effective regulation and political signals that prioritize extraction over preservation, the future of the archipelago as a natural sanctuary remains, more than ever, in question. A version of this article was published in September 2025 Image | Diego Delso In Xataka | Mud houses were a symbol of poverty in the Himalayas. Until Airbnb arrived In Xataka | The CEO of Airbnb is clear that there are companies with too many meetings: his trick is to follow Jony Ive’s philosophy

To the question of which Spaniard has the highest quality semen, the answer is clear: it is not the people of Madrid.

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Semen also has geography. And in Spain, Madrid does not fare well. Let’s assume that semen quality has been declining for decades. In Spain it has fallen 28% in just 15 years, a 78% if we value the last two decades. That is to say, a concentration of sperm is produced so low that it is less than half of what it was in the 70s. And it continues in constant regression. With this breeding ground, the question is: and which region is coping best with this decline? Alcohol and coffee have nothing to do with each other. The investigation analyzed 386 men seen in seven Spanish fertility clinics—such as the Bernabeu Institute—between 2024 and 2025. After adjusting variables such as body mass index, exercise, and alcohol, tobacco, or coffee consumption, the authors observed that men from the north recorded the best seminal parameters, even when their habits were similar to those of other regions. This gives us a clue to talk about pollution, environmental inequality and public health. The results have been presented at the 42nd congress of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE). AND In it we can find clear differences in semen quality depending on the area in which the donors live. Those who win this game are the residents of the north, with Asturias and Cantabria far ahead of Madrid and the center of the peninsula. But there is fine print. More agile, faster. The total count of motile sperm is striking, almost double in the north than in the central area. In data: 94.35 million on average compared to 50.11 million in the central area. This index talk about health: “the northern region also presented the highest average sperm concentration (80.96 million/ml) and sperm motility (44.79%), compared to 55.4% in southern Spain and 53.4% ​​in the center.” If diet, exercise or substance use alone do not draw this map of semen quality, what does? The first conjectures point to a population that breathes worse, drinks and involuntarily incorporates into its body part of the atmospheric pollution, a mixture of industrial and agricultural toxins, where endocrine disruptors in plasticspesticides and everyday cosmetics. Out of the pot. Beyond Spain, the pattern repeats itself: studies with fertile men In cities such as Copenhagen, Paris, Edinburgh and Turku, they already showed in the early 2000s that the Finns had the highest sperm concentrations while the Danes recorded the lowest values, with also variations in mobility depending on the city. If we take a look at the retrospective analyzes of French donors found significant differences within the country itself in volume, concentration, and total number of sperm. The north wins again. In general, the men of the nordic west They have worse semen quality than those from the Baltic area, in parallel with a higher incidence of testicular cancer, another marker of male reproductive stress. Does better semen equal more pregnancies? Not necessarily, but almost. Let us keep in mind that, although the relationship with fertility is not linear, below certain thresholds of concentration and mobility, the probability of spontaneous pregnancy decreases considerably. To understand what “better semen” means, it is worth going down a level. According to the World Health Organization, reference values ​​are measured in concentration (millions of sperm per milliliter), ejaculate volume, percentage of motile sperm and proportion of sperm with morphology considered normal. It is necessary to distinguish between progressive sperm (the vanguard that advances efficiently), versus non-progressive and completely immotile ones. In morphology, the shape of the head, middle piece and tail (flagellum) is evaluated, since anatomical alterations can make fertilization difficult. Plastics and fertility. By the way: nitrile and latex gloves release plastic microparticles and contaminate environmental measurements does not invalidate that the presence of endocrine disruptors in human tissue does not affect male fertility. The evidence is solid. For example, a 2023 study that analyzed 6 human testicles and 30 semen samples found microplastics both in tissue and fluid: around 0.23 ± 0.45 particles per milliliter in semen and 11.60 ± 15.52 particles per gram of testicle, with sizes mostly between 20 and 100 microns, finding polystyrene in testicles and polyethylene and PVC in semen. The problem is broader. The taboo of male fertility, treated as a private matter, has obscured problems that can be investigated as a collective indicator. And this deterioration does not respond, or not only, to individual behavior. The greatest weight lies in the place you livenot in the genes you carry. A cardinal clue: of course smoking, drinking or moving more or less matter, but it does not depend so much on personal decisions. A debate that is more political than folkloric (and health and regulatory). A cocktail of bisphenol A, methyl, ethyl, propyl and butylparabens, benzophenones and phthalate metabolites is directly associated with significant reductions in total and progressive sperm motility. Therefore, Asturias beating Madrid is not something to celebrate, but rather to raise the alarm about the qualities of the water – it will not be that good -, what pesticides are used nearby and what mix of chemicals goes through daily life. The tip of an iceberg that does not lie in who comes out better off, but rather in the cost of those who come out worse off. Images | Unsplash (1, 2 and 3) In Xataka | We already know how much we Spaniards masturbate at work (and what is more important: which communities win) In Xataka | If you are worried about the quality of your sperm, science has a clear recipe for you: ejaculate more

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