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Delaying the closure of a single plant forces us to redesign the entire energy map of Spain

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Right in the middle of a relentless political and business battle to extend the life of the Spanish atomic park, the harsh reality of the market has imposed itself. While top executives discuss the long-term future, the present has hit the table: the owner of the Almaraz II nuclear power plant notified the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) of an unscheduled shutdown of its reactor and its decoupling from the electrical grid. The alarms did not go off due to a security problem. In fact, the incident was classified as level 0 (no significance for security) on the international INES scale, to which we have had access. The real reason was purely economic and motivated by causes related to the electricity market. As explained The Extremadura Newspaper, The recent succession of storms triggered renewable production —sinking electricity prices— which, added to an “unaffordable tax burden” that represents more than 75% of its variable costs, made it completely unfeasible to keep the reactor on. The recent pulse: from disconnection to extension This disconnection collides head-on with the intense corporate movements of recent weeks. At the end of October, Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy presented to the Executive a formal request to postpone until June 2030 the closure of Almaraz, whose two reactors were scheduled to be disconnected for 2027 and 2028. But the ambition of the sector does not stop in Cáceres. According to Five Daysthe president of Iberdrola, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, has confirmed that they will request the expansion of other plants in the future, ensuring that “most of them can reach 60 and even 80 years.” This position is supported by technical and logistical arguments from the industry. As detailed in The Economistthe CEO of Endesa, José Bogas, aspires to prolong “in round numbers about 10 more years” the entire Spanish nuclear park. Bogas argues that it does not make logistical sense to proceed with the complex dismantling of two groups of the same plant on different dates (2027 and 2028). Meanwhile, the CSN is already analyzing the documentation to issue its mandatory report, foreseeably in summer, as reported in a press release from the regulator itself. The possible extension of Almaraz has opened a huge gap between two irreconcilable visions of the energy transition. In the block of those who defend extending atomic life, economic and labor arguments set the pace. According to the statements of Ignacio Sánchez Galán collected by Vozpópulinuclear power plants are a key element in reducing the price of electricity. In fact, the president of Iberdrola recalls that European countries that lack this type of energy, such as Italy and Germany, pay “about 20 euros more” per megawatt hour for electricity compared to Spain and France. Added to this defense of competitiveness is the warning about the direct impact on the final consumer’s pocket. A recent report from the OBS Business School alert that if Almaraz closesthe inevitable dependence on gas would increase the electricity bill by around 23% for households – between 150 and 250 euros more per year – and up to 35% for industry. Beyond the receipt, there is the territorial factor. The College of Industrial Engineers, in statements to The Energy Newspaperremember that this plant not only generates 7% of the electricity in all of Spain, complying with the highest international safety standards (WANO 1), but is also a vital economic engine to sustain 4,000 direct and indirect jobs that stop depopulation in the region. However, against this position stands a solid wall of detractors who see the extension as an imminent danger for the green transition. A joint investigation by the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), prepared on behalf of Greenpeaceconcludes that extending Almaraz for just three years would mean “momentary relief, structural damage.” Researchers calculate that this decision would cost consumers a cumulative extra cost of 3,831 million euros between now and 2033 and would stop up to 26,129 million euros in investments destined for new clean energies. From Greenpeace they also point to the so-called “plug effect”: since nuclear is an inflexible technology that produces fixed gear regardless of demand, it often forces us to disconnect or waste renewable energy—free and clean—in times of high sun or wind. This situation generates a climate of enormous concern in the green sector. In an interview with InfoLibrePedro Fresco, general director of the Valencian renewable employer association Avaesen, warns that granting a “mini-extension” of three years would be the worst possible scenario. In his opinion, this movement would send a message of total uncertainty to investors, threatening to stop the development of future renewable projects in its tracks. The “Domino Effect”: rewriting the energy map The true background of this battle is that Almaraz is not an isolated piece. As several experts warn he Vigo Lighthouse and andl Newspaper of Extremaduradelaying the closure of the Cáceres plant would unleash an unstoppable “domino effect” throughout the national territory. If Almaraz is delayed to 2030, its closure would coincide in time with that of Ascó I (Tarragona) and Cofrentes (Valencia). The electricity companies assume that the Government would also have to postpone these closures to avoid overlapping the gigantic and complex work of dismantling four reactors simultaneously. This would also force the closures of Ascó II, Vandellós II and Trillo to be pushed well beyond 2035, blowing up the current National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). The final decision is in the hands of the Executive, which for the moment maintains its position. The Government has marked three non-negotiable red lines to accept any change: that it guarantees radiological safety, security of supply and, above all, that it does not cost consumers an extra euro or imply tax reductions for electricity companies. And this is where the circle closes. As Galán insists on Vozpópulithe plants bear an enormous tax burden of “30-35 euros per megawatt hour.” Without a tax reduction, electricity companies threaten economic viability; but without profitability, it is the market itself that, as … Read more

If Spain wants to imitate China and be a “country of engineers”, this map reveals the extent to which it has a problem

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An essential requirement for an energy and digital transition to occur in Spain is that there are enough engineers to cover demand. While it is true that there are more and more degrees that have the last name of engineering, the reality is that there are fewer and fewer professionals with the legal capacity to execute the transformation of the state, such as collects the Third Report from the Institute of Graduates in Engineering and Technical Engineers of Spain. In addition, the offer is being concentrated in specific communities. And that is a problem. Why is it important. Enabling engineering is that which grants legal powers for infrastructure and safety, for example what is behind ensuring that a bridge does not fall. With classic branches such as Civil, Mining or Naval Engineering decimated, Spain would lose autonomy and competitiveness by having to resort to imports to sign its essential projects. Jose Antonio Galdón, president of INGITE, deepen on the consequences of this fact: “On the students, who access Degrees with an Engineering denomination without a clear professional exit, and on society, which needs engineers with powers and responsibility to guarantee the safety, quality and sustainability of infrastructures and services.” On the other hand, the lack of complete supply in certain communities forces talent to emigrate, emptying technical capacity to regions that need engineering professionals to develop and establish their industry. Engineers are going to be needed. Two decades ago, those studying engineering represented 24% of the total number of university students and today that weight has fallen to 17%. as detailed by the COIGT. The engineering They are the ones that have lost the most students and also this one concentrates around computer engineering and emerging technological branches. Although the global female quota in engineering is 23%, it is precisely in these branches where it is most concentrated. On the other hand, Engineering such as Mining and Energy, Topography, Civil or Naval continue to decline and in some Autonomous Communities they already have less than 10 graduates. Although there are thousands of graduates each year, it is estimated that in Spain will have a deficit of 200,000 engineers in the next decade to meet demand. More engineering but less enabling. The IGNITE report confirms a phenomenon that has been registering for a long time in previous analyzes: Non-qualifying degrees, that is, those that do not allow the exercise of the regulated profession, have increased massively and now reach 53% of the total. On the other side of the scale, those enabling them are stagnating and even decreasing in some autonomous communities. The decline has been especially serious in places such as Asturias (-28.56%), Castilla y León (-28.79%) or Extremadura (-34.02%). The report makes a special mention: La Rioja. The small upstate community takes the cake with explosive 190% growth in engineering. But in small print: the fault lies with the non-qualifying degrees, which have grown by 431%, going from 433 to 2,289 enrolled. At the opposite extreme is Extremadura, which has the greatest drop in students, with 20.25% less. Engineering students from CCAA in Spain. INGITE Spain at two speeds. According to the reportthe Autonomous Communities that concentrate the largest number of engineering students and graduates are in Andalusia, Catalonia, the Valencian Community and the Community of Madrid. In addition to obviously because its population is larger, also because only Andalusia, Madrid and Catalonia have all the branches of engineering, revealing a territorial inequality in access to studies. The gap between public and private. The phenomenon of non-qualifying degrees is especially important in private universities, a type of center that grows out of control in the statealthough unevenly. Thus, while in the Balearic Islands, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura there is no this type of center and Galicia opened the first in 2022-2023, in Madrid there are 13 according to data from the Community itself. Since the 2015 – 2016 academic year, the autonomous communities where the number of degrees in private entities has grown the most has been Andalusia (from two to nine), Aragón (from three to nine) and La Rioja (from two to seven). In Xataka | If the question is which countries have the most workers with higher education, the answer is not Spain In Xataka | The university degree with the most job opportunities in 2025 looks into a great abyss: that of a future conditioned by AI Cover | INGITE

There is a Spain built on urbanizations. And this INE map reflects it graphically

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The graphics are just that, graphics, but there are some that reflect reality better than the most polished of mirrors. The INE has just demonstrated it with an infographic which summarizes the key ideas of his last gazetteerits detailed catalog of “towns”, a broad and diverse label that includes both municipalities (from capitals to towns) and smaller and more isolated nuclei. It may seem like a simple statistical curiosity, but it reveals questions about the history, demographics, and the social and economic challenges of each community. One country, a thousand strays. If you walk around your municipality and pay attention to the license plates that identify each neighborhood, you will see that there are certain words that are repeated over and over again: road, place, valley, cove, path… If you take the car and go to the other side of the country, it is likely that this list of terms will change completely. The reason? A cocktail of linguistic, demographic, social and historical factors. The topic is so interesting that the INE dedicates it a whole section. The Spain of urbanizations. What does it show the database from the INE? That there is a part of Spain in which the most used word is not ‘vega’, nor ‘valley’, nor ‘source’, nor ‘cove’, but a term that has more to do with the hand of man than with geographical features: ‘urbanization’. To be more precise, what the INE analyzes is the most repeated word in the names of the singular entities of each autonomous community. That is, all that “habitable area” of a municipal area that is clearly differentiated from its surroundings. So to speak, it is the most basic unit, formed by nuclei and which are then grouped to make up parishes, councils and towns. Going down to detail. When analyzing each region, INE technicians verified that the most repeated term to designate these nuclei varies greatly from one point to another in the country. For example, in Galicia it is ‘outeiro’in Asturias ‘riba’, in Castilla y León ‘vega’, in Extremadura ‘vera’, in the Balearic Islands ‘cala’, in the Canary Islands ‘lomo’ and in Andalusia ‘fuente’. If we look at Catalonia the most frequent word is ‘can’ (house of), in the Basque Country ‘elexalde’ (a reference to the antechurches) and in the Community of Madrid the most used term is ‘valley’. The surprise comes when we look at Murcia, Castilla-La Mancha, Aragón and the Valencian Community. In these four regions, the most frequent name does not refer to geographical features or natural enclaves, such as ‘sources’. No. The majority word is ‘urbanization’, which tells us about its nomenclature, but also about development at an urban, historical and socioeconomic level. Does it show anything else? Yes. The INE graphs reflect that the population is not distributed equally throughout the Spanish territory. What’s more, there are profound differences between one region and another. The clearest case is made by the comparison of Galicia and Castilla y León. Although the latter is the largest community in the country, with about 94,244 km2‘only’ 6,181 unique population entities are distributed throughout its territory. They may seem like many, but they pale when compared to the 30,518 in Galicia, which does not reach 29,600 km2. The data is interesting because it gives us a clue about the territorial structure of each region and its level of fragmentation. After all, and in the words of the INE itselfa singular entity is a “clearly differentiated” inhabited area within a municipality, to such an extent that it has its own specific name. After Galicia, the region with the highest number of settlements of this type is the Principality of Asturias (6,983), Castilla y León (6,181) and Catalonia (3,910). Despite its size, Castilla-La Mancha has ‘only’ 1,708 and Aragón does not reach 1,600. More than just curiosity. The data is striking, but if the INE calculates it it is not out of statistical curiosity. Their tables demonstrate that singular entities tell us a lot about the population structure of a territory… and its aging, with all the challenges that this implies. The smaller the settlement, the older its neighborhood appears to be on average. For example, in singular entities with less than 50 residents the average age is 54.4 years, but the figure drops to 46.6 if we talk about entities where between 500 and 1,000 people live. If we go to those of more than 10,000, the average age drops to 44.1 years. Although in Spain there are thousands and thousands of unique entities made up of only a few dozen people, their weight at the population level is very low: they host only 1.2% of Spaniards. Images | Google Earth and INE In Xataka | In Burgos they have had an idea so that emptied Spain does not devour it: take care of food for the elderly

a revealing map that anticipates several demographic challenges

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The old continent is older than ever, literally. Because Their average age is already around 50 years old. and the birth rate shows that except in Monaco, our sons and daughters they are not enough replacement (the “magic” number is 2.1). So much so that it can be said that Europe is shrinking, something that It hasn’t happened since the black plague. Old Europe vs young Nigeria. The latest Eurostat update gives an average birth rate of 1.38 babies per woman in the EU and 3.6 million births in 2023 for a population that around 450 million. If we set a “Eurovision” and expand the borders, including states like the United Kingdom or Russia, the figure rises to 6.3 million. It is still little, especially if we take into account that only in Nigeria 7.5 million were born in that same year, has a birth rate of 4.5 babies per woman and that the middle ages around 18 years old. A huge lake is in the making. Note: in Nigeria there are 222 million inhabitants. A picture is worth a thousand words. In Brilliant Maps have synthesized this data into a very simple map with this devastating fact that shows the rapid population growth of Sub-Saharan Africa, specifically Nigeria, which has one of the youngest populations in the world. A single country, with a much smaller area, surpasses an entire continent in births. Brilliant Maps map with data from Our World in Data In perspective. Taking United Nations data for Europe and Nigeria from 1900 to 2100 (until 2023 the data is accurate, from then on the UN predictions are used) the evolution and trend leaves no room for doubt about the change produced in the last century in figures: In 1950, 12 million people were born in Europe and 1.7 million in Nigeria, which had a population of 548 and 37 million people respectively. In 2000, 7.3 and 5.5 million were born in Europe and Nigeria, which had a population of 728 and 126 million people. By 2100, less than 5 million births in Europe compared to 6.6 million in Nigeria and 592 million inhabitants for the old continent compared to 476 million in the African country. The turnaround is such that on reddit there is a graph which, although more qualitative than quantitative, sums it up well: The population difference between Europe and Africa. reddit Why is it important. Beyond statistical curiosity, we are facing a paradigm shift that will define the 21st century. If “demography is destiny”, how they attribute to Auguste Comte, Europe aims for change (renew or die, never better said). Of course, Nigeria’s population explosion is not la vie en rose either. In Europe. Europe’s demographic winter is raising alarm bells for its welfare state simply because the population pyramid is inverting, thus threatening its intergenerational social model: first, delaying the retirement age. On the horizon, the cut of benefits even though there are many people who “the cannon life” is not sticking. On the other hand, the market has found a vein in the “silver” economy in the form of care for the elderly: without going any further, those related professions are already applying for rise like foam in the coming years. In Nigeria. Having 7.5 million new people in a territory is quite a challenge. On paper, it is a fantastic opportunity to train and employ a mass population that can drive massive economic growth (as has China in recent decades). The problem is not doing it and finding yourself with unemployed and frustrated youth. On the other hand and regardless of this difficulty, such a high population increase translates into high pressure on its current infrastructure, for example there will be an urgent need to build schools or hospitals. The communicating vessels. Given the previous perspective, the migratory flow is as inevitable as it is necessary. From old Europe, in search of labor to fill vacancies and thus manage its decline without losing its standard of living. From young Nigeria, to alleviate internal population and infrastructure pressure. A symbiosis not exempt from cultural frictions, culminating identity tensions in the rise of the extreme right and the flight of talents in the African country. In Xataka | If you were born today you would be born at 17.5% in India: the map that shows the distribution of world birth rates In Xataka | Where the world’s next 1,000 babies will be born, in a surprising map Cover | Brilliant Maps

The time it takes to get to a highway anywhere in Spain, on a revealing map

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Faced with the pressing housing problem in Spain In large cities, one of the simplest solutions for those who can afford it is to leave stressed centers such as Madrid or Barcelona in search of more accessible municipalities and properties. How much? It depends on your budget, what your work is like and what the destination location offers you in such objective terms as services and infrastructure. And there is one essential to move: the distance to a main road. I speak with knowledge of the facts: this was a key factor when choosing a municipality to buy an apartment months ago. My new location has direct access to the highway and getting from there to my trusted padel club in Pamplona is 10 minutes longer than doing it from my old apartment, located in the center of the Navarrese capital. Although it is not ideal, my pocket has appreciated it and the sacrifice is profitable for me. Now, having chosen an idyllic municipality in the Navarrese Pyrenees would have been a very bad idea in terms of mobility (although bucolic on days like today). That was my personal decision, but given the prices, I know that I am not alone: ​​from buying in the capital to doing so in a municipality in the province there are price variations of up to 131% in Madrid or 126% in Álava, according to the latest Idealista study that collects La Razón. Because if the price of the property in Villagónadas de Abajo is the lowest in the province but it is where Cristo lost his lighter, already such. Well yes: the price differences are abysmal and the communications are too. An x-ray of territorial inequality and Spanish orography This map created by Digital Cartography With data from the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, this is evident. The cartography collects the minutes by car to a highway or highway from a good part of the Spanish state (if there are no this type of roads, as happens in Ceuta or Melilla for example, then they do not appear) with information from 2022. To see everything in a more intuitive way, they have used the colors of the traffic light, where green is what can cost you up to 20 minutes and red goes from one hour to 133 minutes in the maroon areas. The access time to a highway or highway in Spain. Digital cartography with data from the Ministry If we superimposed a physical map with a demographic one we would find a clear diagnosis of red zones in critical areas such as the Asturian massif and the Pyrenees, the muga with Portugal (especially in Zamora, Salamanca and western Extremadura), the Iberian System and the maximum expression of “Empty Spain” in the south of Teruel, the north of the basin and areas of Guadalajara or the Betic Systems. We know that in communications Spain It is a centralized state with Madrid as the nerve center and the lines of these main roads, although they do not appear on the map, can be intuited. Without going any further, it is not too difficult to imagine where the A-2 goes to Barcelona or the A-6 to A Coruña. That is the first clue as to why we find such an uneven map: the radial network model, which leaves enormous gaps in peripheral areas that are not linked to large state/European corridors. Obviously the extreme orography of the Pyrenees or the Iberian System makes construction difficult on a technical and economic level (it is not that it is not possible to lay out viaducts or tunnels, it is that it makes the cost skyrocket), but the Average Daily Intensity mandates: for a public work to be approved there is a cost-benefit analysis and if an area has a low population density, the ADI is low, making it difficult to justify the investment. On the other hand, there are environmental restrictions: some of these red zones coincide with national parks or protected areas. In this scenario, obtain a Environmental Impact Statement (mandatory in projects of this magnitude) is an impossible mission. The small print. Something that I greatly appreciated when I returned to Navarra is that there is no traffic… compared to Madrid. The rush hour for leaving work or school may be noticeable in a few minutes of delay, but it is light years away from the traffic jams that I have had to suffer in return or bridge operations when I lived in the state capital. Because although in Madrid almost everything is green, in practice those minutes correspond to a distance traveled respecting the limits of the road and assuming fluid traffic. In Xataka | This is the DGT map to visualize where there are active V-16 beacons in Spain. There is another more useful unofficial map In Xataka | Europe’s passenger car industry, in a revealing map that makes it clear who is the real “engine” of the EU Cover | Digital cartography

This is the impressive interactive map to see the Earth in 4K live from space and monitor satellites

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Cartographically speaking, our planet is fascinating: its evolution over time, what it’s really like taking into account the precision of physics and of course, per se: the mountain ranges, the irregularities of the coasts, the tectonic plates… all of that looks great from space. And be careful, because the space that surrounds the Earth It is full of satellites: only Starlink ones around 15,000 units. But satellites allow us to have a fabulous view of the earth. And in fact, some of the main space projects that monitor the Earth have their recordings open, without going any further, what the International Space Station “sees” either NASA events They are available to anyone. The problem is that not everyone knows it, nor do the tools shine for having a clear and intuitive interface. So to someone who loves astronomy it occurred to him to create it to follow from satellites to shooting stars or racing cars. SatellitesArg Although you can see the Earth from space live and in 4K without doing anything, it is worth setting your location for a more personalized and precise experience of everything it offers. From here, there are several ways to select a satellite to follow, some as intuitive as tapping on “Satellites” and selecting from the list (there are some as popular as Starlink or BlueWalker 3) to see, for example, the ISS live camera. However, you can also save them to your favorites. Another interesting option is “Visible Passage”, which is what happens when a satellite crosses the sky illuminated by the Sun while it is night in your location. To do this, simply select a specific satellite, open it on the map and click “Visible path”. Within “Best steps” those satellites that will be highest and brightest in the coming days are shown. Likewise, there are filters to, for example, see only the steps at dawn or dusk. The “Radar” option is used to locate a specific satellite, something especially interesting if done from a mobilesince with the help of the compass you can hunt it at some point in the sky. You can also view those that are nearby, use augmented reality to superimpose the trajectory using your phone’s camera. Although you can see in real time, you can also go back to monitor past trajectories and have access to astronomical events, the phases of the moon and even have a map of the stars in the sky. But even if you don’t take advantage of all those functions, the option to see the Earth in real time in 4K by tapping on “ISS Live Camera” It is simply spectacular. In Xataka | This map shows what the Earth will be like in 250 million years. If it comes true, Spain will be very lucky In Xataka | The Earth has moons that we don’t know about: exploring them is key to revealing the secrets of our solar system

Europe’s passenger car industry, in a revealing map that makes it clear who is the real “engine” of the EU

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Even though it is submerged in a deep crisis of competitivenessIt’s no secret that The automobile industry is one of the driving forces of the European Union. Thus, it is responsible for 8% of its GDP (figures collected by CCOO) and employs 13,000 million people, including direct and indirect jobs. Of course, the EU is large and the distribution of its factories presents enormous divergence. Although there are things that don’t change. The European Automobile Manufacturers Association has an interactive map which is quite good to see what the distribution is like quantitatively, insofar as it shows even the few electric battery plants on the old continent, but if you are more interested in the qualitative and only passenger cars, there is a clearer map: that of World Wide Mobility. And beyond a barrage of concentrated icons that are difficult to distinguishshows in general terms the main brands that are produced or assembled there, production volumes and the percentage they represent of the total. Which countries are the engine of Europe in the automobile industry The data on the map dates back to 2024 and shows a figure of 11.4 million passenger cars manufactured in the European Union, which are essentially concentrated in three states in a non-uniform manner: Germany, Spain and the Czech Republic. World Wide Mobility Germany, 12 points. The leading country in the old continent when it comes to motors is, of course, Germany: it is not only the largest producer by volume with more than four million passenger cars and a 35.7% share, but also the one with the densest network of high-tech factories. Own brands stand out such as Volkswagen and its five factories that include the headquarters in Wolfsburg, BMW with four factories, the three of Mercedes – Benz or the two of Audi, Porsche or Opel (Stellantis). But it also has plants from foreign companies, such as Tesla in Grünheide (Berlin) or the North American Ford in Cologne. Much lower but still outstanding silver is Spainwith a share of 16.4% and almost two million cars assembled in the state. With the high efficiency per flag (in the words of the Spanish Minister of IndustryJordi Hereu), has fewer of its own brands but in exchange it is the nerve center for foreign groups. Thus, in addition to Martorell’s own SEAT/Cupra, legendary highlights include the Volkswagen factory in Landaben in Navarra, Stellantis distributed in three plants, both of which are Renault, Ford in Almussafes, and the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing plant in Alava. And be careful because it does not take into account the reactivation of the old Nissan factory for Chery/Ebro EV, already operational. Third place belongs to the Czech Republic with 12.7% and almost 1.5 million passenger cars, which together with Slovakia (fourth with 8.7% and almost a million cars) form “the Detroit of Central Europe“. A bronze achieved thanks to the importance of Škoda and the growing impact of Hyundai and Toyota. In fact, Slovakia It has the highest car production per capita on the planet: over there Large SUVs in the most premium segment are manufactured of the Volkswagen group in its factory in Bratislava, but it also houses manufactures of Kia, Stellantis or Jaguar and Land Rover. Romania and Hungary below demonstrate a reality: the strength of the Central European axis in this industry. France deserves special mentiona country with historically mythical brands that have been relocating production, but which still houses five plants of the Stellantis group and four of Renault, as well as foreign brands such as Fiat. And if we go to luxury, Italy and Sweden appear on the map, with high-end brands such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg or Volvo, although their figures are lower. In Xataka | There is a Europe that is suffocating to pay for housing and another that lives in peace. And this map shows the differences In Xataka | All the car plants in Europe (including the few battery-electric ones), on a map Cover | World Wide Mobility

Bringing fiber to rural Spain does not come cheap. This interactive map tells you exactly how much it cost

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Those of us who live in urban areas take it for granted that we have fiber coverage, but there are many rural areas from Spain where fiber has taken a long time to arrive and even some where they are still waiting for it. To ensure coverage of the entire territory, the government launched subsidies for operators to deploy their network. Now we have a map to know the status of all deployments, interactive and non-profit. The map. It has been developed by Fernando García Álvarez, a software engineer who has contacted us to publicize his creation. It is an independent and non-profit initiative. Its objective was to gather all the information on fiber deployment plans, both the previous PEBA and the current UNICO plans in a single place, something that until now had to be consulted through various sources. His name is Fiber Programs and when we open it we find a heat map of the entire peninsula, with the red areas representing the areas with the greatest coverage and the yellow areas representing the least coverage. Detailed information. To obtain all the information on the different programs you have to zoom in and click on one of them. Here we can see which operator is carrying out the deployment, which plan it belongs to and other more in-depth data such as the total amount of the subsidy and the completion deadline. This is especially useful for those projects that are still underway because it allows you to know when a specific zone will be connected. Subsidies. That in 2026 there will be those who do not have a fiber connection is shocking, but there is a reason why there are still areas without this infrastructure: it is not profitable for operators to bring their infrastructure to an area where there are very few inhabitants. From this need was born the Broadband Extension Program or PEBA. The plan was active from 2013 to 2020 and subsidized almost 800 projects from more than 100 operators. In 2024, the UNICO Broadband plan took over the baton, with more than 18 million euros and with Avatel and Adamo as the main recipients of the aid. Spain and fiber. Although there are some areas left to cover, they are the least. The reality is that 95% of the Spanish territory has access to fiber optics, which places us well ahead of the European average, which is 64%. Our colleagues from Xataka Móvil made a devastating comparison: a town in Soria has better internet than Berlin. Image | Fiber Programs In Xataka | In 2023 Spain tried to create its own “Starlink” to connect the rural world: it has failed miserably

A comprehensive interactive map to explore all the blood circuses of the Empire

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If you are one of those (non-generic masculine) those who are fascinated by the Roman Empire, taking a little getaway to continue discovering ruins and fortifications probably seems like a good idea. Yes, there are classics within the state like Tarragona or Mérida, but if you fancy a more exotic and distant trip, Ephesus or Split are good candidates. The old continent is full of jewels (and even beyond, as long as Rome It covered three continents) Although “all roads lead you to Rome”, surely this Google Maps of the Roman Empire It would be useful for you to plan a route (and the Romans of the time, I won’t even tell you about it) and even better, this evolution. But let’s not fool ourselves, there are cities and cities and remains and remains. If you are going to prepare an excursion and your objective is visit a city of status within the Roman Empirethere is an unmistakable sign: the amphitheatres. Having an amphitheater was a luxury. May it remain in good condition today, even more Amphitheaters were a medal of prestige to a city. They did not build it just anywhere: those provincial capitals had it, such as the previously mentioned Tarraco and Emerita Augusta, as well as those cities founded for the retirement of their veterans (this is the case of Itálica). However, there were also cities that decided to build it as a thank you to the emperor or for the local elites to show off. And pragmatically, to carry out the maxim of “bread and circuses”. The amphitheaters of the Roman Empire. Via:Tataryn. Wikimedia It is estimated that in the Roman Empire there were about 230 amphitheatersof which only about 30 are moderately well preserved. The figure drops to 10 if they also maintain their full structural functionality, among them the Arenas of Nimes and Arles in France, the one in Verona, the one in Pula, The Djem in Tunisia and of course, Pompeii. The map above, courtesy of Wikipedia, is great to take a look at. but there is another interactive map of the Roman Amphitheaters much better. It uses the data of Sebastian Heath, PhD in Classical Art and Archeology from the University of Michigan, a key figure in the modern study of Roman amphitheaters, among other things for his approach to digitization through open data. Thus, it has its Roman Amphitheater dataset which serves as a base, combined in turn with the map of the Roman Empire from the Gothenburg Digital Humanities area. The result is a three in one map published on RAMADDA’s wiki-based open source data and content platform: Interactive map of the Amphitheaters of the Roman Empire. Ramadda The first and largest allows you to view the terrain, roads and main cities of the Roman Empire as you move or play with the zoom. When you tap on a city, you can see details on all three maps. For example, when you click on Segóbriga in Cuenca, information appears such as its name in Latin, when it was built, the capacity, the region… and on the left, its integration into the roads and a satellite view. Given the number of municipalities and places with Amphitheater, it is convenient to use the filters that appear in the upper area. Thus, we can sift based on the region of the time, its capacity or even easier, what state it currently belongs to. When selecting Morocco, several cities appear and one of them marked in blue: “Lixus”, next to Larache. In Xataka | The death of one empire is the birth of another: the graph that reviews the history of civilizations from 4,000 years ago In Xataka | The Google Maps of the Roman Empire: the map that allows you to plan a route at that time

There is a Europe that is suffocating to pay for housing and another that lives in peace. And this map shows the differences

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Beyond the political ups and downs, corruption, unemployment, the war in Ukraine, or the (increasingly) convulsive scenario of international geopolitics, from time to time The CIS reminds us that there is a much more everyday problem that keeps us Spaniards up at night: access to housing. At the end of 2025 39.9% of those surveyed by the organization pointed out housing as “the main problem” facing the country. And it is normal if you take into account the mismatch between supply and demand, the pressure that carries out tourist rentals and (above all) the sharp rise in prices of recent years. Every time we talk about the residential market, however, the same question arises: beyond the exact cost of the square meter (m2), calculated by the General Council of Notaries, the executive or portals like IdealisticHow “unaffordable” is accommodation in Spain? What economic effort does it require from families? Is it more or less than what other European households must assume? Getting perspective Type of housing (in m2) available spending 40% of monthly income. ESPON, the program who is dedicated to studying cohesion of the EU, has published a series of maps that help answer these questions in a quick, direct and, above all, visual way. To prepare them, two parameters have been basically set: the prices of the real estate market for sales and rentals and the income data published by Eurostat. Everything divided by regions. By crossing them the organism has been able to carry out two calculations. The first is to estimate what type of housing (in m2) a person who allocates 40% of their income to this purpose can rent in each EU region. The second is what percentage of their rent that same tenant should dedicate if they wanted a 100 m2 house. Percentage of monthly income necessary to rent a 100 m2 home. ESPON does not stop there. He has also transferred those same questions to the buying and selling market residential. That is, what type of housing could a person willing to invest 40% of their annual income for an entire decade afford? And how many years would you have to endure that same budgetary effort if you wanted to buy a 100 m2 apartment? In both cases the maps are similar and they leave behind a series of conclusions, such as the profound differences that exist within the same country. “Regions containing and surrounding capital cities such as Paris, Berlin, Lisbon and Madrid tend to be less affordable compared to the rest of the nation. Additionally, coastal regions tend to be less affordable, which is also clearly seen in the Netherlands and Germany, Portugal, Spain and France.” Available housing (m2) investing 40% of the income for 10 years. Years necessary to buy a 100 m2 home investing 40% of the income. For example, while a Madrid resident willing to invest 40% of his annual income in housing would need between 20 and 25 years To pay for a 100 m2 house, a resident of the province of Teruel would need at most ten years of effort. In Barcelona it would need around 20-25 years while on the other side of the peninsula, in Pontevedra, between 15 and 20 years would be enough. The worst part in Spain is Malaga, the Balearic Islands and the Canary Islands, where ESPON calculates that on average a buyer would need to invest 40% of their annual income for more than three and a half decades. A very similar effort would have to be endured by the inhabitants of the Algarve, Setúbal, part of the Paris area, Monaco, Corsica or different points spread across Eastern Europe, where ESPON itself recognizes that “quite unaffordable” areas are concentrated. If we talk about the rental market, the panorama It’s not very different. A Madrid resident who would like to rent a 100 m2 apartment would need to dedicate (on average) between 80 and 90% of their income to it. The situation is worse in coastal points, such as Barcelona, ​​Huelva, Malaga and Eastern European regions. In the provinces of Zamora or Huesca they would be enough between 30 and 40%which is closer to the debt ceiling level than recommend assuming the experts. Images | Quique Olivar (Unsplash) and ESPON In Xataka | It is not a country for Spaniards: Madrid and Catalonia are losing national population while gaining foreign population

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