places

the one that places Ulysses on the islet of Perejil for seven years

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What if Ulysses was trapped on a Spanish islet? Yes, that Ulysses, the Homeric one, the same one who managed to stop the Greek army, who defeated Polyphemus with lies and avoided the misfortune of being drowned by siren songs. Discussion issue For decades, the thesis that it proposes is Victor Berard. In 1902 he published ‘Les Phéniciens et l’Odyssée‘ and in it he emphasizes that the Odyssey is not a story, it is a geographical document, a poetic painting but faithful to a concrete reality. And the key to everything is that triangular islet of 15,000 square meters, without drinking water, without inhabitants, 200 meters from the Moroccan coast. That is the island of Perejil today, remembered by many because in 2002 it was the protagonist of an armed incident between Spain and Morocco that was resolved on July 20, after an eviction by Spanish troops of the Moroccan gendarmes that had occupied it. Every little there is noise around the boulderso there will be some magic in there. Was Ulysses imprisoned there? One hundred years earlier, a French professor and the rector of the University of Salamanca agreed that Ulysses was kept locked up there and, in fact, that the name of Spain was born from there. This is big and I want to explain it well. Bérard baptized his method “topology”: under each Greek name he looked for the Semitic original, because the Hellenes, arriving later, translated the Phoenician toponym without completely erasing it. Applied to Calypso, for example, the method gives this: Ogygiathe island where the nymph holds Ulysses for seven years, is Parsley. The Odyssey cave fits with the royal cave—entrance 20 meters high by seven or eight meters wide, two interior rooms. And the nymph’s name comes from “kalypto”, which is to hide in Greek. Hiding Island. From there, Bérard maintains, comes “I-spania“. And from there Spain. From thesis to literature. Eduardo Gómez de Baquero, known as Adrenio after the character of Baltasar Gracián, was a furious columnist in magazines of the time, with thousands of columns. He summarized the discovery of the thesis in the Cartagena newspaper ‘The Era‘, on June 10, 1902. Seventeen days later, Miguel de Unamuno signed in the magazine ‘Around the World’ your own article“Spain-Parsley and the Island of Calypso”, published on June 27, 1902 (its reissue can be found, volume VI). The great of the Generation of ’98, philosopher and total writer, puts the tie to the thesis, celebrating Bérard’s ingenuityand sneaks in an anecdote from his Greek teacher Lázaro Bardón about the Guadix River (Semitic + Arab + Spanish. From Arabic wadia word that is usually used interchangeably for both valley and river). He only has one but: he prefers Basque. According to him, Spain comes from “ezpaña”, lip, due to the shape of the peninsula on the map of Europe. And accept the rest. On July 25, 2002, five days after the Perejil crisis was resolved, El País took the opportunity to republish the article by Unamuno. It is curious because serious philology had barely documented it. Already in 1904, reviews of Bérard’s book in the ‘Revue des Études Anciennes’ and the ‘Revue des Études Grecques’ separated the wheat from the chaff. The principle of topology seems unquestionable to them: yes, human settlements follow laws that derive from their environment. It’s just that in the application to this specific case, not so much. Georges Radet said that admiration that prohibits criticism is not worth much. Ogygia, that nonsense in question. The location of Ogygia remains one of the most disputed questions of the Odyssey. A study by the University of Malta counts at least twelve candidate islands throughout history, from Ozoni (Greece) to Corfu. It is that island that exists everywhere and at the same time nowhere, the prison for the daughter of Atlas that also served to trap Ulysses. And here, the investigation placed Bérard and, later, the author LG Pocock as the responsible for identifying Ogigia with Parsley. The dominant candidate since Antiquity is another: Gozo, in the Maltese archipelago, already proposed by Evémerus in the 4th century BC and by Callimachus in the 3rd BC Strabo and Plutarch, meanwhile, placed Ogygia directly in the Atlantic Ocean. A recent volume from the École française d’Athènes closes the historiographic debate: Bérard’s theory has no support in the literary tradition and no one took it up afterwards; Its value today is to serve as a counterweight to the “Greek miracle” and to an ahistorical reading of Homer—especially from the more nationalist German prism. Explain where Spain comes from. The good thing is that that thesis may well help us identify another name. The origin of “Spain” is documented. The thesaurus of historical toponymy of the Ministry of Culture places the consensus on a Semitic root – Ugaritic, Phoenician or Hebrew – from the second millennium BC, although it disputes the meaning. The most popular version, that of Samuel Bochart in 1646, is “land of rabbits”: it is based on Catullus, who calls the peninsula “cuniculous.” Others read “northern coast” or “metal coast.” And a nuance that Bérard ignores is that the Phoenician word “is-pan-ya” never appears in any registration. So it is pure linguistic reconstruction. From Bacchus (Bacchanal theory), from the god Pan… Iberia is the town of the Iber River and Hispania is many more things: the Phoenician theory says that Hispania was the nomenclature adopted by the Romans. Isidore of Seville focused more on native origin. The founder, Hispalo, son of Hercules, was the one who coined it by accident, when moving Hispalia to Hispania. And, thus, the beautiful Hispalis and current Seville would have given its name to our entire great nation. It is impossible to clarify completely. The islet remains. 74 meters high, rock and bushes and a cave capable of housing 200 men according to the Mediterranean route of the time. And parsley, of course, the plant that gives it its name in Spanish, which according to the Odyssey itself … Read more

Albarracín is one of the best places in Spain to see the eclipse. And also the biggest cartographic hell in the country

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What if when you changed streets in your town you moved to another? How does this affect the cadastral level? What demonym do you use if in reality your region is “kidnapped” by others? In Spain there is a riddled place in its cartography and that place is called Albarracín, a municipality in the province of Teruel (Aragón) which, for centuries, was surrounded by villages that sought autonomy, organized themselves into their own community and ended up purchasing their independence in 1689, which fragmented the term into 24 municipalities that today act as enclaves within their territory. A political-administrative delirium that goes from the medieval to the modern and leaves us with an impossible map that on August 12 will also be one of the best viewpoints of the total eclipse. A map full of holes. To the southwest of Teruel and with just over a thousand inhabitants, Albarracín is one of the strangest terms in Spain. Within its term there are “islands” that do not belong to Albarracín, but to villages separated centuries ago. 24 independent municipalities, just like that. These fitted pieces de facto delimit the territory, generating a network of villages that turns the map into a puzzle. And how does this affect day to day life? For example, selling a plot of land in Albarracín requires surgeon-like precision. Before closing the operation, it is necessary to check with a magnifying glass which municipality governs that land, if the plot matches exactly between Cadastre and Registry, and if its boundaries have changed due to the history of the municipal area. In such a fragmented area, the problem is usually not “the sale” itself, but the identification of the property: if there are discrepancies in area, space or limits, if rectifications, annexes or extra certificates appear and, sometimes, topographic measurements to prevent the buyer from inheriting a lawsuit or a tax surprise. Something as obvious as in which municipality the IBI is settled is here a geological escape room. At a legal level, Any conflict of boundaries, easements or discrepancy between Cadastre and deed may delay the signing. A problem of mountains and boundaries. First it was an independent manor (that of the Azagra). Later, after the conquest by Pedro III in 1284, the Christian repopulation of the area and the definitive incorporation of the city to the Crown of Aragon around 1300, Albarracín remained the center of a large mountain territory. At the beginning of the 14th century, the towns of the mountains began to organize themselves into a supra-municipal entity distinct from the city to manage mountains, pastures and taxes and, above all, to gain margin against the Albarracinense tutelage. That early structure had few powers at first, but over time it reinforced its autonomy and prepared the ground for jurisdictional rupture. Buy independence. In 1689 the point of no return arrived, when that entity was formalized as the Community of Villages of Albarracín. A jurisdictional separation granted by Charles II himself. Thus he managed to definitively separate from the city. The villages paid 45,000 ducats to achieve full jurisdictional separation, becoming their own municipalities under the umbrella of the Community. From this process, among others, Bronchales, Gea de Albarracín, Orihuela del Tremedal, Tramacastilla, Griegos, Jabaloyas or Villar del Cobo were born, which today circumvent or directly pierce the original terminus. It’s sesmas time. To understand this community we must talk about its four “sesmas” (Jabaloyas, Bronchales, Royuela and Frías). These blocks grouped villages and resources into subdistricts. Each municipality inherited scattered plots, hills and pastures, creating a mosaic that makes you laugh at private property in Ireland. Small portions nested within each other whose seal, under political geography, has its own administration: they are defined as enclaves. And in Albarracín they are counted in dozens. Wars and Carlists. The Community of Villages remained a public law institution for almost two centuries, coexisting with the city of Albarracín. Until the Carlist Wars and their great liberal provincial reform dissolved it, in 1833. The Spanish administrative map was reorganized and Albarracín, with a Carlist tendency, was occupied by liberal troops, punishing the region for a conflict that neither went nor came to them. But no one beat the stubborn ones and the new division maintained the multiplicity of municipalities. Decades passed and these municipalities continued to function independently within the province of Teruel. We are already talking about the 20th century and even the 21st: Albarracín is a heritage and tourist reference. In 2003, the Government of Aragon created the Sierra de Albarracín region through Law 1/2003which once again grouped Albarracín and its 24 municipalities into the same regional entity. The region respects the municipal boundaries, so the cartographic hell persists, but with a layer of supra-municipal coordination that is reminiscent of the ancient medieval community. Total eclipse over the labyrinth. As the great Bonnie Tyler sang, may she rest in peace, the “total eclipse” will bathe these lands. Cartographic irony wants the total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026 to cross Spain from west to east at sunset and cross the Sierra de Albarracín. This area is, without a doubt, one of the best viewpoints in the entire world. In Albarracin, The partial eclipse will begin around 19:36:45totality will begin at 20:30:59, reaching its maximum at 20:31:46 with the Sun only 6 degrees high and magnitude 1.032. It will end at 20:32:32, with the end of the partial around 21:04, already close to sunset. And what are the best viewpoints? Note: the natural space of Rodeno, that of Muela de San Juan in Griegos, that of Santa Barbara in GuadalaviarEl Batán in Tramacastilla and Carrizuelo in Villar del Cobo, although Santos de la Piedra in Pozondón and Alto Cabezo in Saldón are also great. Let us keep in mind that, for the eclipse, what is important is the west orientation, the height and a clean horizon. The Sierra de Albarracín starts with that natural advantage: little light pollution, high relief and a network of ideal … Read more

We have been believing for decades that the Great Pyramid was built at one time. The latest analysis places it more than 20,000 years earlier

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(Fortunately) the world is full of monuments as ancient as they are impressive, but few, very few, are comparable to the Great Pyramid of Giza. Almost 140 meters high, thousands of years old and an immortal testimony to the power of Ancient Egypt. It has such magnetism that every year they visit it millions of people arrivals from all over the world. But… What if we have been wrong about its origins for decades? What if instead of becoming 2,500 BCas we have always believed, rose up ago more than 20,000 years? What if Pharaoh Cheops was not its true promoter, but simply renewed it? All those questions have been left by launching a new (and controversial) study. What has happened? That Egyptology has just been shaken by unusual news in modern archaeology: a study that has turned upside down the dating (and origins) of the Great Pyramid of Gizaone of the most iconic monuments not only in Egypt or Africa but on the entire planet. Until now, experts agreed that the monument was built in the time of Khufu, around 2589-2566 BCbecoming one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and the tallest structure in the world for 3,800 years. For Alberto Doninian Italian engineer from the University of Bologna, that estimate falls short. Very short. In fact, he has published a study in which he traces the origins of the pyramid back to more than 20,000 years. What dates do you handle? After analyzing several points of the pyramid, Donini has come to the conclusion that the reference date to talk about its origins should be another: 22941 BC That is, their calculations indicate that the structure is around 24,900 years old. Before continuing, it is important to clarify one detail: its analysis does not seek to set specific dates, but rather to establish a time frame for the construction of the monument. What does that mean? That, in reality, what Donini has done is calculate that there are 68.2% probability that the period of construction of the pyramid is framed in a window that extends between 38,903 and 10,979 years ago. The calculation of 24,941 years would therefore be a simple arithmetic mean that serves as a reference. If instead of talking about antiquity we talk about calendars, this means that, according to the estimates of the Italian engineer, the most famous structure in Giza was probably built between 36878 and 8954 BC What is it based on? Donini’s work is not controversial only because of its conclusions. It is also because of its methodology, the calculation system it has used. Its main tool is Relative Erosion Method (REM), a formula that dispenses with documentary sources to be based fundamentally on what the rocks say. Literally. What the REM does is analyze the erosion of the pyramid blocks to, based on their level of wear, date them. Said like this, it sounds simple, but what the engineer has done is somewhat more complex: he selected 12 different points spread across the base of the Great Pyramid and then compared their different levels of erosion, looking at aspects such as the holes and cavities opened in the rock by rain or the roots of plants and the natural wear and tear caused by wind, sand and the constant passage of people. And has that been of any use? Yes. The analysis has yielded a disparate range of dates. At one of those twelve points, the REM suggested an estimated age of 5,708 years. In others the estimate was 17,955, 30,375 or even more than 50,000 years. It may sound strange considering that we are talking about a single monument and it is logical to think that all its blocks have been there for the same amount of time, but many factors influence erosion: from the position of each stone, which determines its exposure to wind and rain, to its mineral composition. It’s still a strange thing, isn’t it? Yes. And no. It is true that the engineer obtained very different dates, but this is explained by another peculiarity of the Great Pyramid. The monument did not always have the appearance we see today. In it 1303 AD The area suffered an earthquake that affected the white limestone blocks that originally covered the structure. That material was later reused in buildings in Cairo. Although it may sound like an archaeological tragedy, it offers experts like Donini a real opportunity. The reason? They now have blocks that have been exposed to erosion almost since the construction of the Great Pyramid and others that have only been exposed to erosion for 675 years, when the earthquake left them bare. This contrast partly explains why when applying the REM method Donini obtained such a broad time frame, the same one that later led him to propose an antiquity of 24,941 years. Issue settled, then? No. The study has only served to stir up the debate. And it is more than understandable if we take into account several keys. First, the dating turns upside down everything we thought we knew about one of Egypt’s most famous monuments. Among other things, he questions whether Pharaoh Cheops was its main architect and slips that he could have limited himself to reforming it. Furthermore, Donini’s study has another handicap: it is preliminary and has not been peer-reviewed, which heats up the debate (even) more. He himself has admitted that REM calculations are influenced by factors that must be handled with caution, such as the variability of erosion processes or the wear and tear that mass tourism may have had on certain parts of the base of the pyramid, altering the calculations. Images | Wikipedia, Alessandro Zanini (Unsplash) and 2H Media (Unsplash) Via | 3D Games In Xataka | Egypt is creating a new tourist mega-destination. There are those who see it as a threat to the oldest monastery in the world

We continue to find explanations for the fertility crisis in the most unexpected places, such as dog allergies.

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A 29-year-old Lithuanian woman was desperate before her problems conceiving. After trying it naturally without any results, she and her partner went to an assisted reproduction clinic, where she underwent two in vitro fertilization (IVF). Both failed. Anatomical and biochemical tests showed that, apparently, she should have no problems getting pregnant. But I couldn’t do it. After going through many specialists, an allergist found the key. The woman was allergic to her partner’s semen. And perhaps also that of any human being. Many allergies. According to a case report published in 2024 According to some of the doctors who treated her, the woman had a long history of asthma and allergies. He had long been allergic to mold, dust and cats. However, a series of more recent tests had also pointed to sensitivity to mites, pollen from various plants and some proteins from insects and dogs. What stood out above all was his allergy to the protein allergen 5 of Canis familiaris (Chan f 5). It is a protein that is in dog dander and urine and is responsible for a good part of the allergies to these pets. But there is something else. It turns out that in human semen there are proteins that look very similar to Can f 5. The woman acknowledged that after having unprotected sex, she often experienced symptoms like sneezing and a stuffy nose, so it all added up. Possibly, her body was reacting to some proteins in the semen, preventing her from getting pregnant. The definitive test. After reaching this suspicion, her allergist decided to subject her to a new test. In it, he was exposed in a controlled manner to his partner’s semen, with a clearly positive result. She was allergic to human seminal plasma. That is, the liquid part of the semen. This is rare, but not exceptional. There are 80 known cases worldwide and it is true that they can be related to infertility. The causes of infertility. Allergies are, broadly speaking, wrong reactions of the immune system. It confuses completely harmless proteins, such as some in dog dander, with pathogens, and reacts to them as if they were potentially harmful bacteria, for example. This reaction generates great inflammation; which, in this case, could also affect the reproductive organs, preventing pregnancy. Although there is something that doesn’t add up. IVF treatments consist of putting eggs and sperm in contact in the laboratory to obtain the embryo, which is then transferred to the mother. Therefore, she is not in contact with the semen, but with the already formed embryo. Despite this loose bangs, the doctors decided to try some of the usual treatments. Woman used to sneeze after having sex The treatment. Generally, these allergies are treated like any other: with gradual exposure to increasing concentrations of the allergen, which in this case would be your partner’s semen. The problem is that this treatment is not available in Lithuania. For this reason, women were prescribed antihistamines so that he could take them just before having sex. This way, you would avoid an exaggerated reaction of your body to the proteins in semen. There was no happy ending. Unfortunately, when the woman went for a check-up three years later, she still did not get pregnant. In addition, she had begun to experience new symptoms with sexual intercourse, such as burning in the vagina, inflammation of the eyelids, and watery eyes. The case report ends here. So far, the patient had not managed to put an end to her infertility. Maybe there are other reasons. The study does not mention whether your partner underwent fertility tests, although it is part of the routine in assisted reproduction clinics. They should have been done. Maybe there was something else and that’s why she didn’t get pregnant with IVF either. No further studies have been published, so we don’t know if he later succeeded. What is clear is that these allergies should be considered as a possibility in cases of infertility of unknown cause. It’s strange, but we see that it’s not impossible. Image | Magnificent In Xataka | It’s that time of year in Japan where everyone wears a mask. Blame it on World War II

you will have to pay more to enjoy the best places

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When entering the Cinesa website to buy a ticket at some of its cinemas, which are included in this pilot experience, the seat selection process has changed. A notice appears warning that the prices of the seats will be variable depending on their position and the seat map shows areas with different colors, each with a different price. Same screen, same sound and same movie, but the price changes depending on where you sit. Cinesa test. The leading cinema chain in Spain, with 35 complexes and more than 400 rooms throughout the countryhas launched a pilot test in three complexes: Nassica (Madrid), Salera (Castellón) and Parque Principado (Asturias). The first rows and the sides have a lower price than usual, while the central area, which has the best visibility, carries a supplement. The advance notice warns: “We are testing a new system that allows you to choose where you want to sit based on the price that best suits you.” Prices in Nassica, For example, They range from 8.40 euros for the areas closest to the screen to the standard price, ending with a supplement for the central seats, with the VIP seats (a category that already exists before the pilot) being the most expensive. The pilot is neither indefinite nor generalized, and Cinesa’s own notice warns that the company is testing the response before making any decision about its extension. Currently, Cinesa has 35 multiplexes throughout the country. They already tried. Cinesa belongs to Odeon Cinemas Group, the largest exhibitor in Europe, with a presence in nine countries. And Odeon, since 2016, has been owned by AMC Theatres, the largest cinema chain in the world. In February 2023, AMC launched Sightline at AMC: a pricing system by seat location with three levels: the first rows and seats for people with disabilities were renamed Value Sightline, with a reduced price. The center seats became Preferred Sightline, with a supplement. The rest, Standard Sightline, maintained the usual price. The show premiered in three markets (New York, Chicago and Kansas City) with the intention of extending it to all AMC locations in the United States before the end of the year. Five months later, AMC canceled the show. The conclusions after analyzing the data were that three out of four spectators who previously chose the central area continued to choose it with the supplement, but lowering the price of the first rows had not increased their occupancy. Essentially, people were still sitting in the same places. Cinesa Airlines. There is a lot of reading comparison of this action of Cinesa with the airlines’ pricing policy, but it is not entirely accurate. On a flight, the difference between seats has a series of very clear additions: legroom, priority boarding… In a cinema, the difference is minimal and the different rates have been decided practically arbitrarily. The differentiation makes more sense in the theater or at a concert, where the different location can lead to considerable differences in the sound or what you see on stage, but this is not the case. The Cinesa case. Cinesa already has a differentiated pricing architecture depending on the quality of the seat or the type of experience thanks to the iSense, IMAX, ScreenX, chair-bedsPlus reclining seats and VIP seats. However, and although it is logical that the next step is to segment the rooms themselves, the reaction on social networks to the announcement has been mostly negative. At the moment, Cinesa has not responded to the questions we have sent them about this decision, so it is not clear whether the strategy it is pursuing is to earn more with the increase in the price of the central seats or to attract more audiences with the discount on the front and side seats. The door is open for competitors like Yelmo to follow in their footsteps. AMC in the US, precisely, stopped the experiment of these tiered prices because its competition kept them fixed, and the company judged that at the image level these fractional prices could be harmful. The key will be to check whether the Spanish public values ​​the location of the space or the savings for their pocket more. In Xataka | There are two reasons why Generation Z is returning to the movies: subscriptions and moving away from mobile phones

Madrid places the last piece of the park that will fly over the M-30

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The work on Parque Ventas in Madrid meets its deadlines and, in fact, is already has finished placing the 96 beams that will serve as support for the structural platform of the new space on the M-30. The idea is that this same space serves as a union for the districts of Salamanca and Ciudad Lineal, which have been separated for decades by the same highway. Meeting deadlines. Ten months after the start of work, the supporting structure is now complete. The delegate of the Works and Equipment Area of ​​the Madrid City Council, Paloma García Romero, has confirmed that, in addition to having placed the last beam, the roof development work is already underway and the first of the eight walkways that will give access to the park have been connected. The schedule remains unchanged and the opening is scheduled for spring 2027. Objective and figures. Parque Ventas has a platform 197 meters long and 16,370 m² in surface. This will fly over the 16 lanes of the M-30, the point with the highest traffic density in Spain, which supports about 150,000 vehicles per day in each direction. Its objective is to connect the neighborhoods of Salamanca and Ciudad Lineal, which have been separated by the same highway for decades. How it is built. The structure rests on piles founded between 16 and 17 meters deep. The 96 prefabricated prestressed reinforced concrete beams have been arranged in 32 transverse frames to the highway, supported on the edges of the platform and on piles located in the medians that separate the main lanes from the auxiliary ones. On those beams a concrete slab is now being laid 30 centimeters thick. The complete deck reaches 2.7 meters deep, with a middle layer of soil of 1.5 meters to allow for landscaping. Both the concrete and the prefabrication techniques have been chosen, according to the City Council, so that it affects traffic as little as possible during the works. Logistical challenge. Placing these pieces takes a lot of effort. According to counted A few weeks ago, Javier Nájera, head of the City Council’s structures service, told El Mundo that working during the day on that stretch could have generated delays of up to 14 hours. For this reason, the most critical operations were concentrated in summer, when traffic fell by 40%, and were carried out at night with cranes weighing more than 500 tons that, before six in the morning, had to be completely removed. The beams, weighing up to 200 tons and 40 meters in length, arrived from Rivas Vaciamadrid and Seville, since according to Nájera Manufacturing only from Madrid would be unfeasible for the pace they need. What will there be when it opens? The future park will include pedestrian areas, gardens with 591 trees and more than 48,800 bushes, more than 2,150 m² of meadows, children’s games, calisthenics equipment, a small grandstand for outdoor performances, two kiosks, fountains and street furniture. The eight walkways will connect the platform with both banks of the M-30, creating a green corridor between the Quinta de la Fuente del Berro park and the green area of ​​Ciudad Lineal. The other side of the project. The works progress, but not without disturbances. And the neighborhood platform AfectadosM30 has publicly denounced the impact of the nighttime operations on the more than 50,000 people who live in the surrounding neighborhoods. The platform also He contacted Xataka and questioned some aspects such as the discovery of underground water during the excavation, which forced the work to be readapted, or the final cost of the work. The City Council estimates the investment at 80 million euros, although the neighborhood platform elevates that figure up to 94.9 million if the modifications introduced after the initial award are included. What remains to be done. With the structure completed, the work now focuses on the concrete slab on the beams and the development of the roof. Next will come the waterproofing, the drainage system, the soil layer and, finally, the landscaping. Cover image | Google Maps and Madrid City Council In Xataka | The great artery between Madrid and Valencia had been awaiting renovation for years: 500 million euros will end the wait

Iceland was one of the last places on the planet that mosquitoes had not reached. That’s now history

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For centuries, Iceland has held the ‘privilege’ of being one of the few habitable places on Earth where mosquitoes did not exist, something that can be a source of envy for many, especially with the arrival of summer. All thanks to its particular climate, with constant cycles of freezing and thawing that prevented the larvae from maturing, it acted as an insurmountable biological shield. However, climate change and human action have just broken down this barrier and this Icelandic ‘exceptionality’ has ended. The discovery. The history of this biological invasion starts in October 2025where Björn Hjaltason, a resident of the Kjós region noticed the presence of some unusual insects in his garden. From there he wanted to see them closer, and to capture them he used a fairly rudimentary method based on some ropes soaked in red wine. With this trap he obtained three specimens that were immediately sent to the Icelandic Institute of Natural Sciences, where the entomologist Matthías Alfreðsson confirmed the unthinkable: they were two females and a male. Culiseta annulataa species of mosquito common in Europe, but which had never managed to establish itself on the island of ice and fire. How have they arrived? Their disembarkation in the country may have been conditioned to different situations, such as travel aboard ships that came from Europe or even in the landing gear of commercial airplanes. All this, added to increasingly higher temperatures in Iceland, means that we are facing a major ecosystem problem. A hot Arctic. This very rudimentary discovery has served as a substrate for a profound analysis that has been published in the magazine Science, where it is noted that the appearance of mosquitoes in Iceland is only the symptom of a radical transformation throughout the Arctic. And global warming is affecting this region at breakneck speed, since the Arctic is warming four times faster than the world average. This thermal increase is not only allowing invasive species to survive the Icelandic winters, but is causing a serious biological imbalance throughout the boreal region. A domino effect. The arrival of mosquitoes and the alteration of the populations of native arthropods is not only a problem of annoying bites for its inhabitants or tourists, but it is a threat for birds. Here the early thaw is causing the peak of insect abundance to no longer coincide with the breeding season of waders, leaving them without their main source of food when they need it most. Furthermore, the large swarms of mosquitoes in arctic areas are already affecting the behavior of reindeer, which spend vital energy fleeing from the swarms instead of feeding, compromising their winter survival. That is why experts point to the need to control the arthropods that arrive in the region and, above all, a tracking system for these ecological changes that are so relevant. Images | Andreas M In Xataka | Mosquitoes attack me in summer and I tried these TikTok tricks to get rid of them

Esperanza Gracia had an early morning horoscope for 30 years. His reign ends because the predictions are already in other places

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Esperanza Gracia has announced the closure of its nighttime space in Telecinco alleging lack of hearing. The underlying reason for this cancellation is not precisely the decline of astrology, a phenomenon that is enjoying its best health in decades, but the collapse of the model that supported it: linear television in the early hours of the morning. Goodbye, Hope. Last Sunday, Esperanza Gracia sat down on the set of ‘Fiesta’ to announce that her very long journey presenting ‘El Horóscopo de Esperanza Gracia’ in the early hours of the channel was ending. Thirty years that were ending for a reason that the presenter made very clear in the interview: “At 2:30 in the morning, the older people who saw me are no longer there, neither is the next generation because they see other things, and the millennials and the Z see me from another side. So I have no audience whatsoever.” Reference astrologer. Funny He spent about seven years on TVE before joining Telecinco alongside María Teresa Campos: first in ‘Día a día’ and then in ‘De Sunday to Sunday’, with Belinda Washington. His own program started in 1999 and has been on the air for 27 years (which adds up to 30 in total with the network), becoming one of the longest-running programs on Spanish television. His question “Is there something that worries you, torments you or disturbs you?” became a pop catchphrase, one that she herself admitted “everyone started copying.” Astrology is not dying, it is moving to mobile. Just because Gracia leaves television does not mean that her audience has stopped consuming astrology. He simply does it somewhere else. On TikTok, the hashtag #astrology accumulates 4.5 million videoswith Generation Z as the main driving force. Gracia herself had already colonized that terrain: several of her videos on TikTok have more than a million views and on YouTube he has 78,000 subscribers with an average of 30,000 views per video. The same television format, the weekly ranking of signs, works vertically and in thirty seconds. There is business. The astrology app market reflects this migration with figures that are striking for an often ignored, but very profitable sector. Co-Star, the American app that combines NASA data with personalized astrological readings, went from 7.5 million users in 2020 to 30 million in 2023 The global market for this type of applications was valued around 3 billion dollars in 2024 and projects to reach 9,000 million in 2030, with an estimated annual growth of 20%. What does Gen Z like? The boom does not respond to a return to superstition. Generation Z consumes astrology with a different frame than previous generations: not as a prediction of the future but as a tool for introspection. A survey from February 2024 Among more than two thousand American adults, it was detected that 70% believe in astrology and that 85% have positive or neutral feelings towards it. 61% consider it a source of comfort in times of uncertainty. On the same date, another study reported that 63% of users belonging to Generation Z stated that astrology has had a positive impact on their professional decisions. As they explained, astrological content “does not need to be searched, it appears in the feed.” Like a fixed program on TV at 2:30 in the morning. Heirs of late-night television. For decades, the dawn of Spanish television was the Comanche territory of cathodic low cost: teleshopping, old movies, calling contests, tarots and moorings, contacts, jazz-pop groups. They accompanied insomniacs and night shift workers. This function has ended up being absorbed by Netflix, YouTube and TikTok itself, available without a grill and without time restrictions. Times change, Geminis with an ascendant in Capricorn continue. In Xataka | Horoscopes and other lies: why reading the horoscope (sometimes) makes us feel better

The first four places have records below 8 and that has never happened

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The best score in the history of one of the most difficult exams in the country has been obtained by a 41-year-old doctor with an academic record of 6.7. That phrase explains in a simple way why MIR 2026 has become in a detective movie. While the MIR Spain Association (AME) has requested an audit to the Ministry and there is anonymous testimony that accuses the applicant of copying, the interested party he denies it and offers himself to any verification. It’s morbid. It’s juicy. But it is much more than that. A statistical anomaly… According to the AME, the Ministry’s history shows that there is an abnormal pattern. In 2025the best position with a record of 6.75 was 1458. In 2024, it was 1374. This year, that position is 1. We have to go to 2021 to find something that high and it fell below position 200. But the anomalies do not stop there. According to the AME, the first four positions have records below 8 and no, it is not normal. Something strange had been seen at MIR 2025, but now the situation has become generalized. That is to say, the problem goes beyond whether number 1’s colleagues believe that she has copied or not. …which shows a systemic problem. And, although the Ministry has not yet commented on the matter, the truth is that the problems are piling up. He MIR 2026 is already accumulating delays in the admitted listserrors in academic scales, several resignations from the expert committeeetc, etc, etc. However, the “most difficult exam in Spain” has had problems for years. And it’s not even a Spanish problem. Last year, Argentina found a 33.6% increase in the highest grades with no apparent correlation with previous academic records. 141 applicants were forced to take the exam again and, although none of them achieved their previous scorethere were about 20 that were reported by the Ministry. The interesting thing about all this is the questions that remain open. Because if widespread fraud is demonstrated, this is not about a suspicious person, it is about an entire evaluation system that has entered into crisis; that must be reinvented from the roots. Can we examine today in the same way as before? Image | Duonguyen In Xataka | Artificial intelligences are close to beating doctors in the most difficult thing: understanding patients

Yemen is one of the most dangerous places on the planet. And despite this there are Spanish tourists traveling to one of their islands

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Socotra is a paradisiacal archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, near the Gulf of Aden, just over 300 kilometers from the southern coast of Yemen, the country to which it belongs. Its biodiversity and abundance of native species earned it becoming a World Heritage Site 18 years ago. However, despite its idyllic appearance, for a few days Socotra has been something more: a large mousetrap in which they have been trapped. 600 touristsincluding 20 Spaniards. The reason? Socotra is full of corners instagrammablebut it is also (like the rest of Yemen) a destination that Foreign advises against visiting. What has happened? What was promised as a dream vacation on an idyllic island in the Indian Ocean has ended up turning into a nightmare. And all by the work and grace of the complex situation politics that Yemen is going through, marked by tensions between the Government and a separatist faction that at the beginning of December took control from two important provinces in the south of the country. With this backdrop, on December 30, the Executive decided to apply a air embargosea and land of several days that fully affected flights with Socotra, the largest of the islands that make up the archipelago of the same name. The territory was left without one-way services. No return. And how do I get out of here? That is the question that more than one in the archipelago asked. About 60,000 islanders who depend on Yemen reside there, but also hundreds of tourists. In fact, at the time of the cancellation of the flights, it is estimated that there were close to 600 foreigners. Although not all of them have the same nationality, they do share the same problem: How to leave the island? With flights cancelled, they were stranded more than 300 km from the coast. The regional deputy governor for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Yahya Saleh Afrar, was quick to clarify that the situation in Socotra is “good” and the archipelago “safe.” “Everything’s fine”, emphasized a few days ago after ensuring that tourists continued with “their activities thanks to the agreements of the tourism companies.” That does not mean, Afrar also acknowledged, that “a certain anxiety” about the situation spread among travelers. In fact, as soon as talk of evacuation began, the authorities they found each other with that “everyone wanted to travel, but they were afraid.” Does it affect Spain? Yes. Most of the 600 affected tourists are Russians and Polesbut the list includes travelers from many other countries: Brazil, Italy, Russia, Poland, the US and China… Also Spain. Local authorities have confirmed that there have been a variety of cases on the island “between 15 and 20” who suffer exactly the same fate as the rest of international travelers. Yesterday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured to the EFE agency that the group is fine, but is still on the island, with no choice but to extend their stay in Socotra. Everything indicates, however, that their ‘adventure’ will not last much longer. Why’s that? Because in recent days evacuation flights have begun to take off. The first one left on Wednesday with 179 people on board, another one followed yesterday with 145 foreign travelers and the idea, assures Swiss Infois that two more trips are scheduled today and tomorrow to get the rest of the tourists out of the archipelago. A priori and according to the data managed by EFEthe twenty Spaniards were still in Socotra yesterday, so they would fly today or tomorrow. Evacuations come after Russia and Poland They will confirm on Tuesday a new scheduled air route of the Yemeni national airline, Yemenia Airways, to Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia. As slide The New York TimesUntil now, tourists traveled to Socotra basically from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) aboard the Air Arabia airline. The change is interesting because both countries, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, are indirect protagonists of the Yemen conflict. The first supports the recognized Yemeni Executive. The latter (UAE) support the separatist forces. Holidays in Socotra? Like many other tourist destinations, Socotra has “a side A and B” for island lovers: it is a paradisiacal enclave, but clouded by the political scene. UNESCO stands out that the archipelago has “global importance” for its biodiversity, flora and fauna, with a great abundance of native species that are only found on its islands. The images that are shared on networks also show endless sandy beaches bathed by turquoise water, dunes and unique vegetation. The “B side” (much less friendly) is marked by the conflict in Yemen. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very clear. On your website make it clear which “advises against travel under any circumstances” to the country, including the island of Socotra, and invites any Spanish visitor to leave the territory “as soon as possible.” “Some agencies and tour operators organize trips to offshore islands, such as Socotra. This type of trip is discouraged due to the lack of safety guarantees and the possibility of problems returning.” Images | Valerian Guillot (Flickr) and Rod Waddington (Flickr) In Xataka | The Valencian Community has a single inhabited island. And when summer arrives, tourism is the least of their problems

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