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Samsung launches the Fold8 with passport format and the question is not only why this format, it is why now

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As already marks the summer tradition in the tech universe, Samsung has just presented new foldables. The different thing this time is that there are no longer two, but three models presented and the novelty is that the Galaxy Fold8 launches a new passport type formatmore square and compact when folded and more panoramic when open. The question we ask ourselves is why this format? But above all, why now? Samsung was a pioneer in folding products and has been betting on two very specific formats for eight generations now, the Fold and the Flip. That they add a third format is striking because it is the first time that Samsung does not set the standard and follows that of others. Let us remember that this format was first explored by OPPO with the OPPO Find N2and later by Huawei with the Huawei Pure X. The difference, and it’s not just any difference, is that this is the first to be sold in Spain. Returning to the question of timing; with the serious crisis of components that we are going through, with prices through the roof and manufacturers dropping that Maybe we don’t need a new high-end every yearSamsung arrives and presents not two, but three folding ones. And also taking risks with a new format. We have come to London to learn first-hand about Samsung’s new launches and we have taken the opportunity to ask Javier Vitón, product manager at Samsung Spain, about these issues. Before continuing, we remind you that the members of Xataka Xtra can access discounts, benefits and exclusive opportunities in the Samsung online storein addition to exclusive raffles, a private Discord server and a growing catalog of discounts and advantages on digital services. You can join the community for only 30 euros per year. A foldable for each type of client Samsung’s foldable trio for 2026 Samsung launched the first Fold in 2019 and in 2020 the Galaxy Z Flip. Since then, they have remained faithful to these two formats, with a clear distinction to the type of user they were aimed at: the Fold for those looking for maximum productivity and cutting-edge specifications, and the Flip for a younger audience and with a more affordable price. The new Fold with passport format is placed halfway between both: It has the advantage of a much larger screen, but when folded it is more compact than the classic Fold. Javier Vitón tells us that “We do not like to see the folding family as a family of devices tiered in specs and prices, but rather as a device for each type of person.” The Fold8 Ultra is the model for those who “want to get the most out of that large screen and be able to multitask with the highest product specifications,” while the new Fold8 is “perfectly suited to consuming multimedia content” and the Flip is more aimed at “very expressive young people.” In 2013 Samsung already said what they wanted to offer a mobile for each type of user and today, thirteen years later, we see that The strategy hasn’t changed much. “What we are looking for is a device for every need,” says Vitón, adding that the strategy goes beyond folding “Also with the S, the Galaxy A family… there is surely a product that can fit for each customer.” However, it is still curious that, in the midst of a component crisiswith the prices of RAM and memory through the roof, Samsung has decided to launch a third folding mobile phone. David Alonso, vice president of Samsung, is aware of this problem, but as he stated in statements to Xataka, “our scale, technological capacity, strategic alliances and supply planning allow us to respond with greater flexibility while maintaining investment in innovation to minimize its impact. The highest priority for Samsung is to ensure availability and stability of supply, compliance with our commitments to the consumer and offering real value to the user.” “Even in a complex context, we believe it is important to continue expanding the category with differentiated proposals” In his own words, “the arrival of Galaxy Z Fold8 responds to this long-term commitment. We have identified a clear evolution in the way people watch content, read, browse and play from their mobile, and this new format offers a more natural and immersive screen, allowing us to offer the lightest Galaxy Z Fold to date.” For Alonso, “even in a complex context, we believe that it is important to continue expanding the category with differentiated proposals that respond to real needs.” The strong point of the Fold8 This is what a 4:3 video looks like on the Fold8 and Fold8 Ultra The new Galaxy Fold8 was born after analyzing user behavior: “It has a 4:3 screen format that is ideal for consuming games, playing multimedia content such as videos or movies or watching sports.” In the image it is clearly seen: The videos adapt much better to the internal screen of the Fold8 than that of the Fold8 Ultra. In some videos that are more panoramic we still have the classic black bands at the top and bottom, but they are much thinner and the screen is better used. Regarding the external screen, Vitón tells us that “it has a 10:16 format that adapts perfectly to consuming social networks” and also highlights that it is very comfortable for writing. Unlike the Flip screen where we can only open some apps, here we have a perfectly functional mobile phone, only with a much more square format than we are used to. From what I have been able to try, I have found it quite comfortable, although I have to say that handling it with one hand seemed somewhat complicated at first. We’ll see in the review. The elephant in the room: the foldable iPhone Perhaps the answer to the question of why now is related to a fact that is difficult to ignore, and that is that everything indicates that Apple … Read more

If the question is how to avoid heat stroke in summer, in Japan they have an increasingly popular answer: thermal bracelets

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It happened ago just over a year. Montserrat Aguilar had completed her day as a cleaning service worker in Barcelona when, already at home, collapsed and died. He had spent hours sweeping the streets of Raval in the sun on a day when temperatures in Barcelona exceeded 35ºC. Although at the beginning of 2026 the family I was still waiting based on the results of the final autopsy, his death unleashed a intense (and bitter) debate about the conditions faced by workers who, like her, walk the streets during heat waves. This year in Barcelona they wanted to cure their health with technology well known in Japan: bracelets capable of anticipating heat strokes. What has happened? that in full extreme heat wavewith the thermometer exceeding 40ºC In Barcelona, ​​the Barcelona City Council has decided to reinforce the security of the operators who provide public services on the street using technology. A few weeks ago he distributed 1,400 bracelets thermal among the staff responsible for keeping the city clean, providing public lighting and taking care of the garden areas. Is it the only measure? No. The Newspaper precise other measures with which Barcelona wants to prevent extreme temperatures from taking their toll on those who work on the street. For example, adapting the workday of gardeners in summer, advancing the start and end times to avoid the most dangerous periods, or adopting special protocols, designed for the dog days. Is it enough? No. Sensors and protocols are welcome, but unions insist they are not enough. “Non-exposure is the best prevention,” claims Carlos del Barrio, from CCOO, in The Newspaper. Workers’ representatives recall that “no measure is sufficient on its own” and demand greater investment to, among other things, add air conditioning to cars. Without going any further, the Commissions remember that a relevant part of the fleet is still not acclimatized and there are even vehicles (such as irrigation vehicles) that have the engine located right under the seat, something not very desirable in August. How do the bracelets work? They basically fit the operator’s wrist and control their temperature. When they detect that it rises too high and approaches dangerous levels, it emits a signal (vibrates and lights up) so you can take action. In Barcelona has it happened before. When this happens and the thermal bracelet issues its warning, the operator must stop, find a shady place, drink water and inform his supervisor. The bracelet itself will inform you with a light signal (green, in this case) when you are ready to continue. In the specific case of Barcelona, ​​Parks and Gardens has invested almost 60,000 euros in sensors from the company Metalco, devices designed to warn the user “two levels before” of heat stroke. “It is set to activate the alarm when the deep temperature reaches approximately 38ºC.” That is the general guideline. In practice, the sensor must take into account the conditions of each user. The Department of the Interior has also opted for a similar solution, with devices for the Mossos and firefighters. Is it something new? Thermal bracelets have been used for a long time. And they are certainly not exclusive to Catalonia or Spain. As I remembered a few days ago The Confidential There is a Japanese company that has been dedicated to them for a few years now: Biodata Bankcreated in 2018 and with headquarters in Tokyo. Its catalog includes Canaria+, a bracelet designed to detect “subtle changes in thermal stress” and that helps the wearer control their rest, hydration and food. When the sensor detects that the body is having difficulty dissipating heat, it issues a warning with light, sound and vibration. The moment it thinks the risk has disappeared, it reports again with a green light. “We felt it was necessary to have a system in place and take action before a person collapsed,” explains the company’s CEO, Takeshi Anzai. Regarding his bracelet, he clarifies that “the algorithm adapts” to whoever uses it, although it starts from four levels. The first is free of danger, with the temperature below 37ºC. The second rises to a maximum of 38.3ºC and reveals a “latent risk.” With the third (37.7-39ºC, depending on the person) the alerts go off. The last, the most critical, ranges from 38.7 to 40ºC. Is it only used in Spain? At all. In fact Japan is another good example. Last year the World Economic Forum actually dedicated an extensive report to the “lessons” that the country offers to overcome extreme heat waves and among its resources included wrist sensors designed to detect sudden increases in body temperature and, thus, prevent heat stroke. One of the organizations that has opted for them there is the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which has distributed thermal bracelets among elderly people with reduced mobility, teachers and students who go to public schools and certain workers who have to work outdoors. “In Japan last year the number of people urgently transported due to heat stroke exceeded 100,000. In cities like Tokyo, the demand for ambulances became so high that authorities issued alerts asking the population to make appropriate use of emergencies,” remember Anzai. Images | Barcelona City Council 1 and 2 and Biodata Bank In Xataka | The French are so desperate about the heat wave that they have started painting the outside of their houses with chalk

If the question is how to prevent our car from being an oven, some German experts believe that we have been making mistakes all our lives.

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Beach in the morning, visit to the beach bar and nap in the rented house. It doesn’t sound bad. You leave the beach bar with your belly full and your soul intoxicated with the sweet feeling of carelessness that invades you when dessert arrives and you say “why wouldn’t I eat that three-scoop ice cream.” But when going to the car, the harsh reality. The sun beats like never before. Touching anything inside the car is risking a trip to the hospital with a second-degree burn, and there doesn’t seem to be a way to lower the temperature inside. “But I put the parasol on”you will say. But… oh, friend. What if you have put it wrong? What if you have done everything backwards? That is what the German experts from the ADAC defend, a kind of German RACE famous for its reliability studies but they put the focus on everything that revolves around our cars. And his last publication is a good example of this. More “fresh” The automobile club ADAC has published an article in which it explains what temperature a car reaches in the sun and what measures we can take to reduce the temperature we will find inside. It must be taken into account that the temperature of the cabin in a car is not only important to avoid burns when touching the steering wheel or gear lever. According to the DGTdriving indoors that exceeds 30 degrees can have effects on our body similar to driving under the influence of alcohol. Therefore, when we get to a car that is parked in the sun, it is important to try to lower the temperature as soon as possible. The best idea is to launch what went viral as “the japanese trick”: open the windows and fan the car with the door itself to move the air inside and try to get it out as soon as possible. If you turn on the air conditioning, you must play with it to throw it at the feet or the ceiling depending on whether or not we are driving and the windows are open or not. But to make the task easier, it is very important to take precautions beforehand. One of them is, of course, the parasol. From the RACC they assure that using the sunshade can reduce the interior temperature of the vehicle by up to 11 degrees. We arrive at our destination, we grab the sunshade in the upper area and make sure that it covers the entire surface of the windshield, we close the car and we leave. Sure? What the ADAC experts say, this is not the best way to act. To do this, they have put five exactly identical Dacia Sandero in the sun and have looked for the best way to ensure that the temperature in the cabin is as low as possible. In his study, the car that was unprotected reached an internal temperature of 53ºC (blessed 53ºC if we compare it with the temperatures that the interior of our car can reach in the sun in Spain) and the lowest temperature had been achieved by covering the car with a tarp that reflects the sun’s rays. Obviously, this option is the least practical due to the size of the tarp that must be moved in the trunk and the inconvenience of putting it on and taking it off. Of course, the 43ºC achieved inside made the difference. The second least useful option was to put a white cloth over the car. In this case, the temperature reached was 50ºC. And here comes the interesting thing because it is the option that we use the most. The experts tried putting the sunshade inside the car, under the windshield, and outside the car, over the windshield. And the result was that putting it on the windshield reduced the temperature by 4ºC compared to putting it under the glass. In fact, putting the sunshade over the windshield left the temperature at 45ºC, very close to the best option. On the contrary, installing the windshield in the traditional way left the interior temperature at 49ºC. “Semi-garage” is Google’s translation of putting a tarp on the car to cover it The truth is that it makes sense. When the sun acts directly on the glass of the car, it heats up and acts as a magnifying glass, so the temperature in the cabin rises even more. Besides, his own glass emits more heat inside when it is hot, which is why it is not entirely advisable to buy a car with a sunroof without a curtain if you live in especially hot climates. In this case, the heat from the glass is projected onto the heads of the passengers. By placing the windshield inside we prevent the rays from directly hitting the glass and, therefore, its capacity to retain heat and raise the temperature further is lower. In that case, what we should do before leaving is to “grab” some ribbons from the parasol when closing the doors so that the parasol does not fly away. Photo | Andrew Bone In Xataka | The best way to use air conditioning in the car: the keys to fighting the heat

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

In Spain more than 40,000 tourist apartments have ‘disappeared’. The question is whether we are facing the end of their bubble

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The tourist rental business is no longer what was. Or that at least is the message that the real estate market seems to be sending, according to recent reports published by two organizations that (from different perspectives) know the sector well: the Bank of Spain and Fotocasa. The first warns in his annual report 2025, published just a few weeks ago, of the departure of tens of thousands of homes from the vacation rental market. The second, Fotocasa, speak directly of a “puncture” of the business, with a “flight of owners”. The big question is… Why? Cycle change? It is still too early to talk about a change of cycle, but the latest data from Fotocasa Research and the Bank of Spain (BE) suggest that something is changing in the country’s vacation rental market. Although tourism still booming and it’s not crazy that Spain reaches this year for the first time the 100 million of foreign visitors, the market is emitting signals that suggest that renting an apartment on Airbnb, Booking, Vrbo or Holidu is no longer the business it was a couple of years ago. Interest in buying apartments for tourist rental is falling and the number of landlords who decide to put their homes up for sale to leave that market increases. What do the figures say? That something is moving in the sector. Still very timid, but perceptible. The percentage of buyers who acknowledge that they are looking for a home to use as a vacation rental is reducing little by little. If in 2024 they represented 3.4%, in 2025 that percentage was reduced to 3% and the latest survey, corresponding to the first semester, places it at 2.8%. “Although the tourist modality continues to represent 3% of purchase operations linked to a second residence or directly to investment, the trend shows a progressive reduction in interest in this model,” comment the platform, which sees a loss of “attractiveness” of the sector. Is it the only indicator? No. The market also suffers at the other end, that of the sellers. Fotocasa Research has detected an increase in the number of landlords dedicated to tourist rentals who are trying to get rid of their homes. That is to say, there are fewer people interested in entering the vacation rental market… but also more people who are already in it and want to leave. The trend is once again tenuous, but eloquent. In 2024, 1.8% of the owners who went to real estate agencies to sell their homes dedicated them to vacation rentals. In 2025 the percentage was very similar (1.6%), but this year it has risen to 3.1%. “It represents practically doubling the weight recorded two years before and shows that more and more owners are choosing to abandon the tourist rental segment,” they explain from Fotocasa. And what does the Bank of Spain say? In your latest annual reportpublished a few weeks ago, the BE confirms that vacation rentals are deflating. To be more specific, its technicians documented an increase in the number of tourist apartments between 2021 and 2024, which placed the total stock at 400,000 homes that last year. In 2025, however. The average was 355,000 homes. The latest data from the INE show that in May they were advertised on online platforms in Spain 341,001 homes tourist, also far from the 381,837 registered a year before. That means between 40,000 and 50,000 fewer homes on the market. In some regions thousands of properties have been erased in recent years or even more than 10,000, such as happens in Alicante. What is the reason? For María Matos, spokesperson for Fotocasa, there is little mystery. If vacation rentals “are losing part of the attractiveness they had in recent years” it is mainly due to three factors. First, because investors are “reorienting” their strategies, looking for “stable alternatives.” Second, vacation rentals have lost profitability compared to a few years ago. And third (but not least), the changes at the regulatory level. “It responds to a context of greater regulatory uncertainty in which the regulations have been modified throughout the year,” comment Matos. The truth is that in recent years both the central government and some regional and municipal administrations have taken steps to prevent the flight of housing from residential to vacation rentals and, in the process, alleviate the rise in rents. Weight of tourist homes in the rental market of: Urban Area Center of the tourist area Malaga 29.9% 44.6% Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 12.9% 26.9% Seville 12.1% 44.9% Santa Cruz de Tenerife 9.6% 8.2% Palm 7.6% 0.7% Valencia 5.7% 9.8% Barcelona 4.0% 22.2% Madrid 2.8% 14.9% Saragossa 1.4% 14.9% Total Spain 10.8% 10.8% Has it changed that much? Yes. BE himself recognize that “regulatory limitations” on vacation rentals have taken their toll on the market, as has the transfer of homes to the seasonal rental market. It comes with taking a look at the newspaper archive to find town councils and autonomous communities that in recent years have applied moratoriums to the granting of new tourist rental licenses or toughened its regulations. The most forceful change was applied last year by the Government when it activated a single short-term rental registry, although this measure received a blow of the Supreme Court a few months ago. Another important regulatory change is that, since April 2025reinforces the weight of neighborhood communities when deciding whether or not they can operate housing for tourist use in their buildings. Will it be noticed in the market? Just because tourist apartments lose strength in the market does not mean that the price of residential rentals will go down. The B.C. remember that, in general, its weight is limited in the Spanish market. According to their calculations, vacation homes represent 1.5% of the total housing stock, although that percentage has fine print. If we talk about the rental market, its relative weight rises to 10% and if we refer to specific regions with strong tourist demand, that footprint skyrockets. In … Read more

Centuries ago someone thought it was a good idea to paint over a Rembrandt painting. The question is why the devil erased a man with a turban

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The fact that he has been dead for more than three and a half centuries does not prevent him from Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijnone of the great geniuses of baroque painting, continue to surprise historians. And in the most unexpected ways. In 2014, one of his youthful works appeared by surprise at an auction held in Cologne. Now, with your attribution already confirmedthe experts in charge of cleaning the canvas have had another surprise: under a subsequent layer of paint they have discovered a man with dark skin, a black beard and a large turban. It was once painted by Rembrandt himself, but someone decided to retouch the figure to turn it into a venerable old man with a white, wrinkled face, gray beard, and a traditional Dutch cap. The question is obvious: Why? Isn’t that a Rembrandt? The painting Let the children come to me It was probably painted around 1627, when Rembrandt was 21 years old. However, it did not rise to fame until almost 400 years later, well into the 21st century. To be more precise, we must go back to May 2014, when the canvas was included in an auction held in Cologne with a fuzzy business card. Its owners presented it as a piece of the “Dutch school” dating back to the mid-17th century and sold it for 1.5 million euros. It was a good pinch, but it ended in pocket change when some time later it was confirmed that in reality that anonymous 125 x 109 cm canvas (with frame) was neither more nor less than a work from Rembrandt’s youth. Recently Sotheby’s he put it up for auction again with an estimated value of between 9.3 and 14 million of euros. The work before the restoration, with the added modifications. And the (other) surprise arrived. Such a record would have been enough to give the painting a prominent place in Rembrandt’s legacy. Recently, however, Sotheby’s revealed that the canvas hid another secret. What we have seen so far was not exactly what the Leiden artist painted, but rather a version adulterated by a hand less skilled with brushes, a contemporary artist by Rembrandt. There are those who even have a name: Claes Cornelisz Moeyaert. Given that experts believe that the Dutch painter left the work “partially unfinished”, working hard on the upper part of the painting and sketching the lower part, it is understandable that someone would want to finish it. The intriguing thing is that in doing so that anonymous hand did not simply follow Rembrandt’s design. In addition to finishing the canvas, he repainted it, erasing, adding and modifying it to taste. We know this because in recent years technicians have studied the work with X-rays and have dedicated themselves to carefully eliminating overlapping layers. Does things change that much? Yes. It comes with taking a look at the photos that were released on the day of the painting and those disclosed by Sotheby’s following the last auction to prove it. The motif of the painting is the same: the biblical scene, collected in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Lucasin which Jesus uttered his famous phrase: “Let the children come to me.” If we look closely, however, differences can be seen between its status in 2014 and 2026. The elimination of the repaintings changes the color, has made some figures emerge and eliminated others. A boy in the foreground who was wearing an ocher suit now looks how Rebrandt must have seen him, with his back bare. However the most powerful alteration It is another: we now know that one of the central figures in the scene was a dark-skinned man with a turban who the artist who retouched the work completely modified, turning him into a venerable old man. For some unknown reason, the original exotic turban ended up becoming a red Dutch hat and the black beard became a long, gray beard. The work already restored and as presented by Sotheby’s. More than a detail. That detail has attracted attention of media from half the planet. And it’s normal. There are those who believe that if Rembrandt initially opted for a man with a turban, surely Muslim, it was not for an aesthetic reason. He wanted to capture what he saw in part in his own country in the 17th century, a multicultural environment, marked by religious rivalries, the coming and going of thousands of refugees and the social tensions that this generated in the streets. As remember historian Andrew Graham-Dixon, “in 1627, when Rembrandt began the painting, Leiden was going through a humanitarian crisis.” “The Thirty Years’ War was at its peak and hundreds of thousands of people arrived as refugees in the Dutch Republic,” he adds. It is estimated that in 1626 alone approximately 10,000 refugees arrived in Leiden. …and more than paint. Was that context transferred to Rembrandt’s canvas? Did you want to capture the spirit of what you saw on the streets of your city, the position that in your opinion should be maintained towards refugees arriving from other places? “It depicted a mass scene of Christ welcoming children and families. It was very controversial at the time. There were people in Leiden who did not want to receive them,” Graham-Dixon abounds. “What we gather is that Rembrandt was on the side of humanitarian aid. So I think this is more than just a painting. It’s a statement of his moral stance.” The truth is that in the work we see a crowd in which religion is represented. Jewish and Christian. “It looks familiar”. The figure wearing a turban is not the only surprise. Experts have identified in it a self-portrait of Rembrandt himself, who represented himself at the top, as a young man who appears to be looking at the scene perched on a pillar, although in reality he is looking at us. “His physiognomy is familiar to us thanks to the numerous painted self-portraits, drawings and engravings that he made over … Read more

The big question in the middle of this terrible heat is whether we leave the air conditioning on or turn it off and turn it on again.

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In Spain, there are about 7.3 million homes with air conditioning and most of them don’t know what kind of voracious and carefree critter they have on their hands. They sense it, of course; They have heard rumors, it is true. But only when summer comes and it is eaten around 30% of the electricity bill It is when they understand the reality behind the ‘fresquito’. That’s when the moral debates also begin. And just when he is going to leave through the door, our protagonist takes control of the air conditioning, directs it towards the split and asks himself… should I turn it off or not? Is it better to turn it off even if when you return the house has become an oven and you have to cool it down again? Or is it true that turning on the device is so expensive that it is better to leave it running all the time? This is the story of how an old piece of advice has become so embedded in people’s consciousness that it continues to operate even though HVAC technology has changed. It is an answer, also, to one of the big questions of the summer. From “don’t turn it off” to inverter… As I say, air conditioners have changed a lot. Old compressors had very high consumption peaks and this is the origin of the idea that turning it off is expensive. But current investors They work in a different way and their speed is modulated so that the starts are smooth. However, this is more of a technical issue. The most important reason to turn off the air is another. Inside and outside. What really rules in all this is the heat outside the house, the heat inside and the insulation that separates it. The first two factors are important because heat enters the house at a rate proportional to that difference. That means, roughly speaking, that if the house is warm, the heat enters more slowly. In this sense, if we are going to go out for a few hours, it is best to turn off the air (or raise the thermostat a lot). He US Department of Energy He says it bluntly: the starting peak lasts seconds and you also have to pay for the machine hours. Is it a good idea to turn it on and off while we are inside? As the OCU recognized, An inverter should be left to regulate only while you are at home. (without constantly turning it on and off by hand) and turning it off “when leaving the room permanently.” In any case, the question that can save us is not so much whether we turn it off or not as how many degrees and how many hours we have it on. The world of air conditioning is full of myths: from those who think that setting the thermostat lower will cool the room faster to those who confuse the legal minimum for public spaces (27 degrees) with what experts recommend (about 24). The last thing to keep in mind is humidity… cooling may have become relatively trivial thanks to inverter technologybut dehumidifying is not so much. So in very humid climates it pays more not to turn off the air because recovering a comfortable environment costs more. But do we turn off or not? It depends on the situation. For a short getaway like picking up bread or running a quick errand, we can leave the air on. The difference is almost non-existent. If we are going to be away for a long time, it is better to turn it off or, at the very least, raise the thermostat. Image | Kien Nguyen In Xataka | Air conditioning in summer has a double standard of measurement: it cools us but gives us torticollis

While the heat ‘Spanishizes’ Europe at full speed, Spain begins to ask itself a key question: whether it will have to ‘saharize’ itself

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During recent summers, as heat waves have spread their tentacles across the continent, we Spaniards have seen ourselves vindicated. At last, Germany discovered the napFrance would fall in love with the blinds and England would have to admit that dining late has its benefits. It was seen, let’s face it, as a cultural victory. We did not have the other side of the coin: that climate change is a treacherous animal and, while Europe flirts with our habits, customs and solutions, we are being forced to abandon them. The question was not whether we will manage to ‘Spanishize’ Europe; It was whether we are going to have to ‘saharize’ Spain. What we are doing is not enough… In the midst of a heat wave, it becomes evident that many of the things we have been doing no longer work. But the truth is that the heat is no longer “an isolated episode.” According to the State of the Climate of Spain 2025 According to AEMET, the average temperature has risen 1.75 °C since 1961. In 2025, 25 records were broken for warm days and none for cold days (when one would expect five of each) and, as far as we know, summer lengthens by about nine days per decade. The consequences have changed radically and can be seen with a single piece of information: the The need for refrigeration in Spain has multiplied by 2.6 between 1982 and 2022. In this sense, Royal Decree-Law 4/2023 has already certified the obvious: the Spanish working day has to be legally subordinated to the thermometer and to the AEMET notices. In Xataka Experts agree that opening windows at night and closing them during the day is no longer the best strategy against heat. …and, in fact, we are stopping doing many things. The nap is a good example: only 16% do it daily and the 60% of Spaniards never sleep. It is due to the social evolution of the labor market, it is true; but also because at certain temperatures, the nap is no longer restorative and we can only turn on the air conditioning. When talking about ‘Saharanization’ there is a controversial component, of course; but there is also a grain of truth. There is extremely striking thingsfor an average Spaniard (like drinking hot drinks because they help regulate body temperature more efficiently than cold drinks) that make all the sense in the world in a very hot climate. And it is reasonable to think that there are many of those things that we will tend to adopt. It has always been said that Islamic culture tended to conceive houses ‘inwards’ and gave a lot of weight to internal domestic life, but do we really believe that it is a free decision and not a cultural adaptation to a very warm environment? {“videoId”:”x8006fc”,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”How to sleep when it’s very hot and you don’t have air conditioning”, “tag”:””, “duration”:”217″} There is more, much more. Because the signs are there. Cities are reacting: Barcelona has gone from 197 climate shelters in 2021 to more than 500 this summerwith coverage of 99% of the population within less than ten minutes walk; Bilbao, for its part, has around 131 spaces. Leisure also changes and Summer bookings to Norway up 37% while the north of the peninsula gains tourists. That is, it is no longer whether we change “habits, customs and solutions” but how we do it. We should talk more about this because that is where a good part of our near future lies. Image | Sam Williams In Xataka |ENT doctors agree: “Sleeping with air conditioning forces the nose to work excessively” (function() { window._JS_MODULES = window._JS_MODULES || {}; var headElement = document.getElementsByTagName(‘head’)(0); if (_JS_MODULES.instagram) { var instagramScript = document.createElement(‘script’); instagramScript.src=”https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js”; instagramScript.async = true; instagramScript.defer = true; headElement.appendChild(instagramScript); – The news While the heat ‘Spanishizes’ Europe at full speed, Spain begins to ask itself a key question: whether it will have to ‘saharize’ itself was originally published in Xataka by Javier Jimenez .

If the question is whether your neighbors can prohibit you from having a dog, the answer is not in the Animal Welfare Law: it is in Vigo

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Can the community of owners of your building prohibit you from having a pet? The answer, as is usual when it comes to legislation and clash of rights, is a huge ‘it depends’. The Horizontal Property Law (LHP) says little about it and the animal welfare standard It even remembers that owners are obliged to keep their dogs, cats and other animals “integrated into the family nucleus.” Now, a sentence dictated in Galicia reminds us that the subject is much more complex and has chiaroscuros. There, in fact, a man has lost the legal battle to live with his poodle. Legal pulse in Galicia. Coexistence in neighborhood communities is not always easy. even less when a dog, cat or any other pet that can cause noise or dirty common areas is added to the equation. In a building in Nigrán (province of Pontevedra) these frictions have led to a legal pulse between the owner of a flat and the rest of his neighbors that has had an unexpected outcome: justice has endorsed that the latter (the board of owners) have the right to prohibit the former from living with their dog. It matters when and how. The sentence Galician, yes, responds to a case with very specific particularities. To understand it, we have to go back to 2010, when the residents of the property unanimously approved, in an ordinary general meeting, to prohibit the presence of any animal on the floors and common areas of the building. They only left one exception: guide dogs. In 2011, that decision was ratified as an internal rule that was incorporated into the community’s statutes, where it remains today. In theory, the pet ban didn’t cause any more problems until a few years ago, when one of the families in the building acquired a poodle. This led to the rest of the neighbors holding an extraordinary general meeting at the end of 2023 to revalidate the 2010 rule and reiterate the veto on pets. The dog’s owner did not like the decision, who went to court in March 2024 for what he considered an “abusive” rule and contrary to the Animal Welfare Law. Crossover of arguments. The Nigrán lawsuit is interesting because it demonstrates the legal intricacies that these types of disputes can have, but it is equally important to understand that the ruling responds to a very specific case. To begin with, there is a key fact that is responsible for highlighting the magistrate herself in her order: the neighbor in disagreement knew “the existence, content and purpose” of the community rule long before acquiring the poodle. What’s more, if the pet ban was approved in 2010, it was partly at the request of his father, who already lived in the property. In short: the affected party was informed of the ban. What did he then claim before the judge? That, in his opinion, the legal context of 2010 is not the same as that of 2024, when he presented his complaint. And it is not, he insists, because in September 2023 The Animal Welfare Law (LBA) came into force, a rule that recognizes pets as “sentient” beings. Did you convince the magistrate? No. Perhaps the legislation on pets is different today than in 2010, but the Vigo judge in charge of the lawsuit has seen it clearly: The LBA does not overthrow the board’s agreement. “It does not establish an absolute and unlimited right to own pets nor does it automatically repeal any community provision that regulates or limits said tendency.” “It does not eliminate the possibility of establishing legitimate limitations when they respond to reasons of coexistence, health or general interest,” he emphasizes. What exactly does the LBA say? The rule, which came into force three years ago, points out that owners of pets must “keep them integrated into the family nucleus, whenever possible due to their species, in good health and hygiene”, although it also specifies that when this is not feasible (due to their size or species) their caregivers must find them “appropriate accommodation”. He same article of the LBA makes it clear in any case that pet owners are obliged to adopt “the necessary measures” so that they do not cause “annoyance, danger, threats or damage” to other people, animals or property, which includes, among other things, preventing them from soiling public spaces. And the Horizontal Property Law? When it comes to coexistence and blocks of neighbors, the reference Bible is another norm, something older: the Horizontal Property Law (LPH). It does not address the issue of pets directly, but it does provide a series of important guidelines. The main one appears in article 7.2, which reminds that neither the owner of an apartment nor its tenants, if any, can carry out “activities prohibited in the statutes, harmful to the property or that contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illicit activities.” In cases like this it can end in trial. The value of the statutes. The ruling of the Vigo court recalls the weight of the decisions adopted in neighborhood associations, the statutes and the importance of the rules of coexistence being duly registered in the Property Registry. Also the nuance of whether the veto on pets is before or after a neighbor gets one and whether or not he knows this in advance. In any case the Galician magistrate slide An important fact: the LBA “does not establish an unrestricted right to the presence of animals anywhere.” Images | Charles Puaud (Unsplash) and Zhen Yao (Unsplash) In Xataka | Your cat asks you to cuddle and then bites you. It’s not evil, it’s that you don’t understand its signs

AI is going to generate unprecedented wealth. The question everyone is starting to ask is who is going to stay with her?

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There is a hot debate surrounding the profitability of AI. For now, the wild investment in data centers It is not contributing at all to the growth of the US economybut there are those who believe that AI is already generating wealth, The problem is that we still don’t know how to calculate it.. Meanwhile, a crucial question is emerging in all of this: If AI ends up being the goose that lays the golden eggs, is it fair for companies to keep it all? Give back to the people. A few days ago, Donald Trump made a comment that went somewhat unnoticed, but is very relevant. During a conversation with reporters in the Oval Office, he said he hopes AI companies will “give something back to the public,” that is, to share the wealth they are generating. His exact words, according to Reuterswere: “I’m going to meet very soon with the 12 or 15 most important executives, and we are talking about giving something back to the public, and if we do that, the public will be very rich (…) I think they will do it, and I think that will make it very popular.” Why is it important. That the president of the United States mentions the possibility of sharing the wealth that AI is going to generate is a way of admitting what we have been observing for a long time: AI is reconfiguring the labor market and that for many people that means being fired. Of course, Reuters contacted OpenAI, Meta, Anthropic and Google to evaluate the president’s statements and none of them did so. Yes, but. These statements They arise in a context in which the popularity of AI among citizens is at a minimum, so it may be a way to appease the growing rejection in American society. According to a Reuters and Ipsos poll53% of citizens fear that AI will leave them or someone in their household without a job. Additionally, 73% were concerned about the increase in the use of AI. A public fund. It is one of the options that are circulating and that OpenAI itself recently proposed. The logic is that, since AI is going to generate a lot of wealth, the state buys shares and then distributes the profits among the population. That is, the state becomes a partner in AI and shares the return on that investment, like Norway’s sovereign fund with oil, but with AI as a resource. The other option would be to impose a tax on company profits, but for whatever reason they do not defend this idea as much. Qmaybe it’s not enough. The most apocalyptic scenarios They point to a future in which AI does all the office work. In one opinion column in Financial TimesVinod Koshla, founder of a venture capital firm, anticipates that AI will do around 80% of the economically valuable work that humans do today, causing massive unemployment. In this scenario, a sovereign wealth fund may not be enough, so it proposes several changes, such as equalizing capital gains taxes with wages, and creating a 20% “token” tax from 2030 on income derived from AI computing and replacing human payrolls with automated systems. This collection would first go to cover unemployment for those who lose their jobs and, if the bet on AI goes well, it could then be used to lower the cost of basic services that can be automated (healthcare, personalized tutors or legal assistance) so that they stop being a luxury linked to income. Image | Igor Omilaev in Unsplashedited In Xataka | The future of geopolitics is played in AI models: Claude Fable 5’s veto indicates that Europe is offside

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