record

How China has managed to rescue its astronauts in record time when it took the US months

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Last year, Boeing starred in a space drama that kept the world in suspense: the Starliner crisis. After discovering leaks and failures in its propellers, NASA took months between deliberations, tests and safety meetings to finally decide that the astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams They would not return in their ship, but would wait for SpaceX’s Crew-9 mission to return. Now, China has faced a similar scenario that it has resolved in a few days. The haste has its explanation. A cracked window. The news broke on November 5. The Shenzhou-20 mission, crewed by Chen Dong, Chen Zhongrui and Wang Jie, was preparing to return to Earth after six months at the Chinese Tiangong space station. However, during inspections prior to undocking, the astronauts detected an anomaly that so it was not made publicbut that we now know: “small cracks” in the external glass of one of the capsule windows. After analyzing photographs and running simulations in wind tunnels, CMSA (China Manned Space Agency) engineers determined that the damage had possibly been caused by the impact of micrometeoroids or small fragments of space junkcompromising the structural integrity of the ship. The conclusion put Chinese astronauts in a bind: the capsule “did not meet the conditions for a safe manned return.” The game of chairs in orbit. Unlike the International Space Station, the Tiangong space station cannot accommodate six astronauts for a long time, so the Shenzhou-20 crew had to be brought in as soon as possible. China always maintains a Shenzhou ship and a CZ-2F rocket ready to take off in case of emergency. However, on this occasion, the CMSA ruled out launching the new Shenzhou-22 spacecraft to bring back the three stranded astronauts because it “included instrument upgrades for which the outgoing crew had not been trained.” The solution chosen to bring the crew back was, therefore, to do so aboard the Shenzhou-21 ship that had arrived with three other astronauts two weeks earlier. A literal change of chairs (they had to move the adapted seats from one ship to another) and with a single sacrifice: leaving the three crew members of the Shenzhou-21 at the mercy of a compromised ship (the Shenzhou-20) in the event of an emergency. In summary. The three outgoing astronauts They landed safely on November 14 aboard the ship of his three incoming companions. The reason why this exchange of ships was faster than in the case of the Starliner or, a year earlier, the Russian Soyuz MS-22, was, on the one hand, that the Tiangong station is not yet large enough for six people to live in, and on the other, that the replacement ship was already there. What cost NASA months of risk analysis and public relations management with Boeing, China solved in a matter of days thanks to the availability of spacecraft. The logistical sacrifice is that the crew of the Shenzhou-21 (which will stay in space for six months) has had to give up their “lifeboat” until the Shenzhou-22 spacecraft is launched without a crew as a new return vehicle. The Shenzhou-20 will return empty to analyze its damage on the ground, if it ultimately survives re-entry. Image | CGTN In Xataka | The only photo you need to understand the scale of what Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ company, has just done

The automobile industry in China has broken a new record, and sales in Europe have not been the only ones that have contributed

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The Chinese automobile industry has reached an export value of 798.39 billion yuan (about 96.9 billion euros) in the first ten months of 2025, according to data of the country’s General Customs Administration. It is about an increase of 14.3% compared to the same period of the previous year, and this is one more example of China being one of the main vehicle exporting powers in the world. And it is that besides Europethere are already other markets of great interest for the country. A sector that drives foreign trade. While China’s total merchandise exports grew by 6.2% In this period, the automotive sector almost tripled that rate of expansion. Mechanical and electrical products accounted for more than 60% of the country’s exports, with automobiles and semiconductors as the main drivers of this growth. In October alone, vehicle exports rose 34% year-on-year. The role of electric and hybrid. Behind these figures are brands such as BYD, SAIC and Chery, whose electrified models have conquered new markets in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. Although the Customs Administration has not broken down the types of vehicles exported, sector data suggests that electric cars and plug-in hybrids are largely responsible for this boost. China is moving its production towards higher value-added segments, and the automobile is a key piece of that strategy. Who buys Chinese cars. ASEAN (Southeast Asia) remains China’s largest trading partner, with a total trade volume of 6.18 trillion yuan (up 9.1%), according to the General Administration of Customs. The European Union followswith 4.88 trillion yuan and a growth of 4.9%. The figures once again highlight how emerging regions and traditional European markets continue to absorb a good part of Chinese automobile production, although with different dynamics. The weight of private companies. Private Chinese companies have also played a determining role in this growth. According to the official dataaccounted for 21.28 trillion yuan in foreign trade (imports and exports combined) during the first ten months of the year, an increase of 7.2% year-on-year. And in addition to the companies that have state protection, there are also private companies that are experiencing great growth thanks to their international expansion. Warning signs on the horizon. Despite the good time, October has marked a turning pointas China’s total exports fell 0.8% year-on-year, the first setback in several months. Some analysts attribute this decline to an already very high comparison base, since 2024 was a record year. Also to fewer working days due to holidays and, above all, to weaker demand from the West. In fact, trade with the United States fell 15.9% in the first ten months of the year, according to the same source. What’s coming. Automobile exports are expected to close 2025 above 2024 levelsalthough probably at a more moderate pace. Demand from abroad is beginning to cool and trade restrictions in some markets, such as Europe, are tightening for China. Even so, the country’s automobile sector continues to demonstrate a capacity for growth greater than the rest of its manufacturing industry. It remains to be seen how long he can keep up the pace. Cover image | Michael Fortsch In Xataka | I have tried the BYD circuit in China: an underwater YangWang, a 29 meter dune and a car that turns by itself

The memory of young people is deteriorating at a record pace. Science thinks it knows why

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The memory problems among youth are beginning to be worrying. This is what a new study scientist published in the magazine Neurology and that tries to answer why this happens and above all the reasons that exist for our youth to begin to be in decline in regards to to your memory. The surprise. What can logically be expected is that with the passage of time and accompanying aging, memory problems begin to appear that anticipate dementia. But in the United States, after analyzing millions of people, they have seen that the population most affected by this ‘mental fog’ is precisely the youth. And the result in this case is very important: self-reported cognitive problems among young adults aged 18 to 39 have almost doubled in the last decade. But it is something that we are not understanding. The study. To reach this conclusion, a total of 4.5 million people who responded to the national survey of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) from the CDC and collected between 2013 and 2023. In this way, there was a truly large sample of people to analyze, although limited only to the United States. The results in this case were quite clear: the prevalence of adults reporting a cognitive disability increased from 5.3% in 2013 to 7.4% in 2024. But what was truly interesting came when separating the results by demographics: In young people aged 18 to 39, the rate skyrocketed from 5.1% in 2013 to 9.7% in 2023. This group is, in fact, the driver of the overall increase in the entire population. In those over 70 years of age we saw a decrease in prevalence from 7.3% to 6.6%, when logic tells us that it should increase. Other factors. In order to know the reason for this increase, other factors behind the respondents had to be traced as well. In this case it aimed at the income level: Have low income with less than 35,000 dollars a year left us with a prevalence that increased from 8.8% to 12.6% With high incomes (>$75,000) the rate was much lower, although it also dropped from 1.8% to 3.9%. But the same thing happens with the educational level, where young people who did not even have high school went from 11.1% to 14.3% while those with university degrees increased from 2.1% to 3.6%. And even in order to obtain much more information, they wanted to analyze the prevalence according to the race of young people, where it could also be seen, for example, that Asian adults are the ones who reported the least cognitive problems. Specifically, the data is the following: American Indians/Alaska Natives: continue to have the highest prevalence, rising from 7.5% to 11.2%. Hispanic adults: saw a significant increase from 6.8% to 9.9%. Black adults: The rate rose from 7.3% to 8.2%. White adults: increased from 4.5% to 6.3%. Asian adults: Consistently maintained the lowest rates, going from 3.9% to 4.8%. What is happening? With all the data in hand, it is logical to think about what is happening so that young people increasingly have more cognitive problems. And for researchers there is not only one valid answer, but there are several that are being proposed. The first of them is that there is greater awareness about this problem, and that is why there are more people who raise their hands when presenting it and have no doubts when it comes to seeking help. But there are also other factors such as economic stressors or work problems that seem to be contributing to these trends. All this without forgetting that the greater presence of digital tools may have meant that our memory is not as trained. But all the social and economic factors we face today can also mark an important milestone when it comes to the real burden on our minds. This ‘overload’ can condition the appearance of these highly relevant cognitive symptoms. Images | Eliott Reyna Milad Fakurian In Xataka | Finding a job had always been a good way to escape poverty: in Spain it is no longer true

BYD has built a megafactory in record time. And it’s not just a car factory: it’s a city

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The chinese automotive industry has one goal: flood the west with their cars. BYD is one of the companies that, while wanting to take over the national market, wants a good slice of the international pie. For this you have as many employees as a small countryand to carry out its vision it has the most beastly car factory you can imagine. This is the Zhengzhou plant, and more than a factory, it is a city. Gigafactory? Best Uberfactory. Everything that surrounds the Zhengzhou plant It is imposing. Starting with the times, BYD and the Henan government they signed the project in September 2021, in just one month the works began and less than two years later the factory began production. His ability It is imposing and, already in its first operational phase in April 2023, it demonstrated that it could have a ability 400,000 vehicles annually. Not only did they get it up and running in record time: its dimensions are also impressive. The plant is estimated to have an area of ​​10.68 square kilometers in factories alone, but when the project comes to completion, it will occupy about 130 km². Context. Ten times more than Tesla Gigafactory in Nevadawith its 12 km², and larger than the area of ​​the city of San Francisco (it is approximately 120 km²). It is not unusual for large technology companies to have “cities” under their control and, without leaving China, Huawei has a similar campus (and another that copy different European cities). But BYD is overwhelming. More than cars. The factory is a “living” project of which four phases have been completed so far. The first two have focused on the production of cars, but as we said, we are talking about a factory that goes beyond vehicles. The third phase launched a plant for the battery manufacturing and the fourth has the necessary facilities for the production of semiconductors. They are underway new phases to expand production to two million vehicles annually and it is estimated that the facility generates a complete vehicle every 50 seconds. Technology. This is achieved thanks to an automation rate of 98%, one of the highest in the automotive industry worldwide. For example, the welding process is carried out with 91% robot labor and there are hundreds of them operating in other sectors, such as assembly or logistics. It is not due to a lack of human work, since the factory currently employs about 60,000 people, 90% of them coming from Zhengzhou or its surroundings and there are plans to reach up to 200,000 employees in 2026. Imagine all of Salamanca working in the same factory. Independent Republic of BYD. That is why we are not just talking about a factory: it also has housing and everything necessary is being built to make it a full-fledged city. Apart from housing blocks for employees, the megafactory has canteens, commercial areas, recreational facilities such as soccer fields and other areas for playing sports, as well as an internal transportation system. It also has additional facilities to carry out tests on their vehicles, such as a 1,758 meter circuit with nine curves, sand dunes to carry out off-road tests, a 70 meter pool (this is where you can see the Yangwang U8 in action) and multifunctional areas to carry out braking, acceleration and other more specific tests, such as autonomous parking. Apart from testing, it is like an amusement park for those who want to see the benefits of the brand’s EV cars. International connection. In the end, it is a mix between ambition and space (something that is abundant in China), which gives rise to a city focused on a single task: producing new energy cars with which China is setting the standard globally. In addition, it is an economic engine for the region and such a strategic element that, in 2024, Zhengzhou inaugurated the International Land Port with a one kilometer railway line to the BYD base. In this way, BYD can produce cars and instantly send them by train to the international market. It is also easier to load them into RO-RO boats with capacity for reach Europe in three or four weeks. Such is the importance of Zhengzhou for the company that its seventh ship car carrier was named after the city. Images | BYD In Xataka | Volkswagen is determined to copy China to make its electric cars attractive in Europe: put a gasoline engine in them

A player has an insane record, 40,000 games purchased on Steam. That there is a badge to reward him is what is disturbing

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Neither collecting neither gambling addiction: This is pure and simple accumulation. But with a clear objective: to obtain the badge that recognizes the possession of no less than 40,000 games in Steam. An achievement that has already been recognized by databases like SteamDB and that undoubtedly leaves anyone breathless who thinks that the store’s seasonal sales get a little out of hand. We are nothing more than insects contemplating a giant. Sonix the Collector. The milestone has been reached by the user Sonix (SonixLegend), who has become the first person to have more than 40,000 games in his library. The badge is “Game Collector: 40,000+” (the highest of this type that can be achieved) and, according to SteamDB, Sonix reached 40,029 games on September 23, 2025. It now has 40,366. In addition, it adds 22,136 DLCs and the thing does not end here, since it maintains a wish list with 26,936 titles. More data? His favorite game is ‘Alien Swarm’, a semi-unknown free-to-play multiplayer shooter from 2010 to which he has dedicated a whopping 551 hours. A paste. Steam estimates the value of the Sonix collection at $250,041 based on the lowest prices available, but the current total cost would exceed $612,072. And since this includes both purchased titles and free games and promo codes, it is impossible to calculate the true value of what has been purchased. Sonix is ​​based in Shanghai, and has been active on Steam for fifteen years. Your profile shows a level of 303, which is equivalent to activity well above average. Other beasts. The Sonix brand is closely followed by other compulsive buyers. Ian Brandon Anderson is close to achieving the coveted badge, with 39,786 games and is closely followed by a third user, ikun, with 36,888. Interestingly, the three largest collectors achieved new records for the number of games purchased on the same day. We don’t know if it specifically means anything, except that Steam continues to be in enviable health, and that this form of compulsive collecting is not an isolated eccentricity of Sonix: at this moment there are almost 20 users with more than 30,000 games, and the top 50 are all above 22,000. Collecting is not what it used to be. Without a doubt, digital collecting has very different nuances than that of accumulators of physical material: the capacity to store digital material, for example, is practically unlimited. And the constant flow of very substantial discounts in stores like Steam itself makes it possible for collections to multiply at a very notable speed. Or put another way: without realizing it, your Steam library has hundreds, perhaps thousands of items? You have to make a very consistent effort to reach those extremes in physical video game collecting. Playing is another story. Of course, playing all these games is impossible, and we enter into issues that have little to do with the enjoyment of what was purchased: reaching the figure of 40,000 games purchased regardless of what they are or, in the case of physical collecting, buying catalogs of consoles that in a high percentage are made up of low quality games, but that must be had due to completism. There are already studies that define this completism as a form of behavior that has little to do with the acquisition of something we like for our enjoyment and, in these cases, talk about addiction It is not completely left out of the equation. Header | Erik Mclean in Unsplash

Immediately afterwards, they gave China a new railway record

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China has been celebrating these days, as the National Day festivities have coincided with the Mid-Autumn Festival. And like every year, there is a larger influx of people who take public transportation from what is already usually China. In this aspect, its railway system has once again set a record. On October 8, China Railway Zhengzhou Group transported more than a million passengers in a single day, establishing a new historical mark and demonstrating once again the capabilities of its high-speed train infrastructure. Quite an achievement. During the entire festive period (October 1 to 8), China Railway Guangzhou Group moved 21.8 million passengerswhich represents an increase of 5% compared to the previous year. The first day of the festivities marked a milestone, with 3.5 million travelers in a single day. The data from the Ministry of Transportation reveal that about 82% of Chinese travelers chose the high-speed train as a means of transportation during these dates. Featured cases. The Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong line recorded 955,000 trips during the festive period, with an increase of 29.35% year-on-year. On October 4, this connection transported 135,000 passengers in one day, 40% more than the previous year. According to A spokesman for the passenger services department of China Railway Guangzhou Group, “the coincidence of National Day with the Mid-Autumn Festival caused a significant increase in passenger flow, mainly driven by tourism and family visits.” Click on the image to go to the post How have they achieved it? To manage such a volume of passengers, the railway authorities deployed an operational strategy which included extraordinary trains, connections with multiple units, circular routes were established, night services increased on days of higher demand and additional carriages were coupled to regular trains. During the holidays, the Guangzhou Railway Group operated an average of 3,419 trains of daily passengers, with 358 extra services. Increasingly popular destinations. These data, however, reflect only part of the picture. The Ministry of Transportation amounted to approximately 1,240 million interregional travel during the first half of the festive period, reaching historical highs. Only on Saturday, October 5, 301.29 million trips were registered, 6.1% more than the previous year. Frontline cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen were the most popular destinations, along with tourist enclaves such as Chengdu and Xi’an. High speed train as favorite. These records once again cement high-speed rail as the backbone of transportation in China, while also reflecting the vitality of the country’s tourism and mobility sector. The Chinese railway network, which is crowned as the largest in the world at high speed, it does not disappoint in infrastructure capacity and operational efficiency, especially in times of mass events. In Xataka | China has just redrawn the map of strategic minerals: its new rules on rare earths target the United States

The Machada del One overcoming the container record on board

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Much of the world economy moves by boat. HE esteem That between 80% and 90% of merchandise trade around the world is transported by boat, and to sustain that spine, we need huge ships. There the Porteneroauthentic titans that seem a lie that are maintained on the water and that are capable of transporting, of a tacada, a couple of tens of thousands of large containers. There are no larger ships than the “new” Megamax class. And within it is one who has just burst the transport record: The One Innovation. Megamax. It is the largest class of modern boring partners. It emerged as a natural evolution of the ULCV, or ‘Ultra Large Container Vessels’, because it seems that wearing 20,000 TEU was not enough for current trade. Teu means ‘Twenty-Foot Equivalent Unit’, a standard for containers that allows us to compare between ships and that means that if a ship can transport 20,000 TEU, it can move 20,000 containers. If the ULCV moved that amount, the megamax can between 21,000 and 25,000 TEU, being able to load 24 rows of containers … wide. It is an absolute barbarity and is touching the limit of what a channel like Suez’s can house: if they were wider, accidents could occur Or, directly, Do not go through the channel. And taking into account the Importance of these few points in world tradeor widen the passages, or accommodate the ships … One Innovation. Is the name of Third type of largest container of the world. Its capacity is 24,136 TEU and is only behind the OOCL Spain (and the rest of the OOCL megamax class) with its 24,188 TEU and the MSC Irina (and the rest of the MSC Megamax) with its enormous Capacity for 24,346 TEU. To house so much load, the dimensions They are up to it: 399.95 meters long. 61.4 meters wide. Depth of 33.2 meters. 16.5 meter draft. It is like a Empire State Buildingbut horizontally and floating. And it has the ability to transport 25 container levels (imagine a container pyramid, go), with 24 rows along, another 24 wide and 2,000 of those containers having connection with cooling systems. The other ships look like toy Record. Reaching the maximum capacity of each ship is complex. In fact, the three mentioned are extremely similar in size, but that one can with 200 containers more than another respond to issues of logistics and internal organization rather than to the dimensions of the ship. How to play a game of ‘Tetris‘Superoptimized, ultimately. Well, despite being the one that has the most capacity, the One Innovation has just beat the capacity record on a trip. Again. If a couple of years ago you already set the 22,000 TEU brand, this September He did it again with 22,233 teu loaded in a single operation in the port of Singapore (One of the most important on the planet). Complex logistics. In terms of capacity, it represents 92% of their maximum, so they can continue experimenting to load even more. Now, this is not something that can be done in any port. The One Innovation is designed for the Asia-Europa route, being able to stop in strategic ports such as Xiamen, Singapore, Rotterdam, Southampton or Algeciras. It is a connection between the main Asian and European centers, for which a very specific machinery is needed that manages to load and download huge amounts of containers. And this is something that not all ports are designed or can face. We talk about channels about 20 meters deep, cranes of about 70 meters of range and lengths between 450 and 500 meters so that ships can dock. That without counting the necessary defenses in case there are accidents or calculation failures. Necessary (and we will surely go more). As we say, ships of this size are necessary and are constantly used both for efficiency when moving a lot Energy efficiency. Instead of making multiple trips, in one and thanks to that massive capacity, it can move load through the world. In addition, they seem essential if the wishes of the ‘are fulfilled’New Silk Route‘That China is promoting to create more efficient trade routes between Asia and Europe, but also with Africa, a region in which China has enormous interest both for its resources as for enhance markets such as cars. Images | Shotbyp4ul, Kees Torn In Xataka | The European supply chain depends 100% in China in many cases. This chart illustrates its vulnerability

This cyclist touched the world record through Eurasia. Then he arrived in Russia, and since then he cannot leave

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The history of sport is full of heroicities and records They seem impossible to beat. Also of moments of great cruelty, where the elite athlete “dies” on the shore, just a few seconds, meters or even centimeters of glory. Therefore, the story of a French cyclist who has been so close to being crowned with A historical deed It is being news these days. TO Sofiane Sehili44 years old, he only lacked Russia, and there it continues. An interrupted epic trip. As we said, Sofiane I was nothing to be crowned in the History books: Nothing less than a bicycle, without assistance, 17 countries from Cabo Dan Roca in Portugal to Vladivostok at the eastern end of Russia in just 62 days, which would have exceeded the 64 -day world record. After about 18,000 kilometers of inhospitable roads, storms, tremendous nights in Mongolian gas stations and China’s infinite steppes, he was at just 180 kilometers of your goal when He was arrested On September 2 by Russian border guards in the Irf region, accused of cross illegally From China despite having a valid visa. Your odyssey, narrated in videos They showed both the pain of pedaling with the feet sunk in mud and wet socks and the joy when contemplating wild horses and lonely landscapes, it has ended abruptly in a cell. The Euroasyatic labyrinth. The arrest occurred after VAryans frustrated attempts to cross the border between China and Russia. In official positions, the step was denied because only Chinese or Russian citizens can enter a bicycle, while in other steps only access by car, bus or train is admitted. After these rejections, Sehili tried to advance by a forest near Suifenhe and, by showing his passport to the Russian guards, It was arrested. Your partner, Fanny Bensussan, confirmed thatafter being rejected at the official crosses, he looked for alternative routes, which precipitated his arrest. The Ussuriysk court ordered its imprisonment until October 4 waiting for trial, without formal charges. From record to hostage. Sehili’s case cannot be separated of a pattern Increasingly evident in Moscow: the arrest of foreigners in what analysts and NGOs qualify as “hostage diplomacy.” Russia has accumulated notable history, such as the basketball player Brittney Grinerthe journalist of the Wall Street Journal Evan Gershkovich or the consultant Paul Whelanamong others, used as exchange sheets by Russians convicted in the West. French citizens have also suffered this policy, such as the researcher Laurent Vinatierconvicted of not registering as a “foreign agent” and recently accused of espionage at risk of Up to 20 years in jail. In this context, the imprisonment of a resistance athlete, although apparently the result of a border incident is also interpreted as a political movement of international pressure. The human dimension of the challenge. Beyond geopolitics, Sehili’s journey illustrates the hardness of the Ultra-resistance challenges. Throughout his journey, the man faced frozen nights in cement floors, hotels without minimal conditions, constant breakdowns, wind against and the wear of pedaling more than 270 kilometers a day. In his storiesmoments of absolute hopelessness were mixed (when he confessed not to want to move on) with moments of total serenityin which he recognized that these adventures made sense of his life. Human contact, such as the gesture of a Chinese woman who He offered hot food And he introduced his children after a rainy and cold day, worked as small reminders of the value of his trip. Disturbing precedent. That Russia has arrested a cyclist On the edge of a world record, it places resistance sport on unpublished field, where physical and personal challenges can collide with the political interests of the states. Sehili’s image, exhausted but determined to reach Vladivostok, contrasts with the reality of a converted border In political trap. His case, far from an anecdotal, emphasizes how even sports gestures can be trapped in a geopolitical scenario where governments They instrumentalize citizens foreigners to send forces of strength or to prepare future diplomatic exchanges. On the border between sports feat and repressive diplomacy, Sehili’s journey will remain as a symbol of the individual’s fragility in the face of power calculations. Image | Capture/ YouTube In Xataka | An hour, a bike and a cyclist: or how to break technological barriers in the record of the hour In Xataka | A 1978 day, Porsche tried to reach 240 km/h … with a bicycle. And ended up getting it

The fortunes of its oligarchs are growing so much that they have broken a record

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While the offensive of Russian bombings It is intensified and Russia crosses New red linesthe international community (including USA) threatens these days with increase sanctions and blocks to the Russian economy. However, far from accusing the slightest wear after three years of blockages, Russian Milmillonarios have not stopped increasing their personal fortunes. It has been so much that in 2025 they have broken a joint fortune record adding 625.5 billion dollars. Russian fortunes boom in the midst of sanctions. In the last year, the total wealth of Russian billionaires has increased more than eight percent, placing a record of 625.5 billion dollars, according to published data by Forbes. This growth in its assets occurred despite the severe economic sanctions imposed by Europe and the USA After the invasion of Ukraine. In fact, the list of Millionaires of Forbes not only reveals that the fortunes increased, but after three years of war conflict, Russia increased The number of Milmillonarios, ascending to 140 peoplecompared to The 125 millmillonarios that the publication registered in 2024. Who leads the ranking of fortunes. According to the Russian edition of Forbes, Vagit Alekperovformer president of the oil company Lukoil, occupies the first place among the rushest Russians, with a fortune valued at 28.7 billion dollars. Alekperov has maintained this position on the list for the second consecutive year, despite having left the company’s address after receiving sanctions from the United Kingdom in 2022. He follows closely Alexey Mordashoventrepreneur of the metallurgical and energy sector, which has promoted second place with 28.6 billion dollars, improving its position compared to the previous year. In the top three, also figure Leonid Míjelsonwith a fortune of 28.4 billion dollars, thanks to its participation in Novatek (main gasist in Russia) and Sibur (petrochemical industry). Other usual names on the list are Vladimir Lisin, Vladimir Potanin and Guennadi Tombko, all with assets exceeding 20 billion dollars, thus consolidating the Energy sector weight and natural resources in the ranking of Russian wealth. New faces and rising sectors. The list of Russian Millionaires of Forbes includes new incorporations, which reflects the revitalization of different industries, despite the war economy that, according to the Latest bank reportsHe is damaging his economy. OK To what is published by The Moscow TimesRussian millionaires earned $ 22.5 billion only in the first six months of 2025. Among the newcomers stands out Vikram Puniaowner of the Pharmasyntez pharmacist, who debuts with 2.1 billion dollars, becoming the richest of the new members. These new millionaires come from varied sectors, covering from the pharmaceutical industry and food to technology and The energy. According to The data of ForbesRussia is the fifth country to the generation of new millmillionaires, being the United States, Germany, China and India the countries that lead the list of new additions. The lucrative war industry. A good part of the “miracle” of enriching itself in an economy under international blockages is explained by the close relationship Of these great fortunes with sectors linked to the defense industry and key raw materials for the country’s military apparatus. Russian billionaires come from industries Like oilgas, metallurgy – specially steel, nickel, aluminum and titanium – as well as technological and pharmaceutical companies, where state demand has shot in the current war context. The official expenditure in Russian defense will be at about 119,000 million euros in 2025, mainly financed by the Export of fossil fuels. These oligarchs, Far from distancing yourself Del Kremlin, have strengthened their loyalty, adapting their companies to supply materials, technology and military industry, as it was broken down into the Published research by Proekt. Sanctions? What sanctions. As seen on several occasions When trying to seize yachts And properties, avoiding international sanctions has been another key to economic success for this elite. Such and As they pointed out from Fortuneoligarchs resort to sophisticated financial structures, using fiscal paradises and allied countries free of sanctions and the creation of alternative channels such as cryptocurrencies. This has generated A debate About the real efficacy of sanctions to hit the Russian economic elite and the limitations of international tools to stop the boom of these heritage. In Xataka | The mystery of Putin’s fortune: it is believed that it exceeds Bezos or Zuckerberg but nobody knows exactly how much it has Image | KremlinUnspash (Matthew Lancaster)

Renfe has had a record summer of delays, and more than two million AVE travelers have run out of refund for changes

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Summer has been hard for rail transport in Spain. Four out of ten high speed trains They arrived late at their destinationbut only three out of 100 passengers were able to claim some kind of compensation, according to The world. The data comes after hardening Refund conditions of Renfe in 2024, the main reason why the figures contrast both with the data prior to the reform. Change of conditions. In July 2024, Renfe reformed Its ‘punctuality commitment’, multiplying the minimum delay time necessary to claim half of the ticket. If 15 minutes were enough to get 50% of the amount, now a full hour is needed. For total refund, the threshold went from 30 minutes to an hour and a half. The company justified this tightening as an “update” to continue being “the most advantageous for the traveler”, as the medium collects. Summer figures. As They point From the world, between June and August, 6,554 long -distance trains and AVE arrived with delays exceeding 15 minutes, affecting 2.5 million passengers. However, with the new rules, only 444,000 travelers were entitled to compensation. This means that more than 2 million users who would have received a refund with the previous criteria were left without it. This, according to the medium, would mean a saving of about 79 million euros only in these three months. Context. The reform is covered in the European Parliament Regulation of 2021, although at that time, Renfe offered much more generous compensations than the minimum required by European regulations. And while the EU forces to compensate with 25% of the ticket after 60 minutes late, the Spanish operator gave 50% with only 15 minutes. Now he has hardened his measures just when more delays are recorded. Problems that follow there. Minister Óscar Puente acknowledged in September that the rail system will continue to have incidents “at least two more years”, according to collect The world. The problems range from Fissures in Talgo S106 trains (which forced to withdraw the low cost services from AVLO on the Madrid-Barcelona route) up to infrastructure deficiencies caused by fireaccording to the medium. The alternative to service, the conventional bird, costs up to 34% more than the economic option eliminated. What comes now? Bridge has traveled to Germany To look for new trains in factories such as Siemens, recognizing that without renewing the fleet it will be impossible to improve the service, as collect The world. “We must not launch the bells on the fly, but if we do not renew the fleet, it is evident that we will not be able to improve in any case the service we are providing to the citizenship,” admits bridge. And in addition to having been a summer to forget in terms of ferroviar delays, it has also agreed that reimbursement conditions have also worsened. Cover image | Falk2 In Xataka | Renfe has a new and gigantic project in progress: a night train to connect Europe from this to west

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