rule

We have been growing rice for 9,000 years under the same thermal rule. We’re about to break it forever

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The rice It is not just another cerealbut it is the fundamental pillar that supports the diet of more than half of the world’s population. For millennia, humanity has relied on its ability to thrive in different latitudes and feed entire civilizations, but now we are about to bring this ancient crop to to unknown territory due to the increase in temperatures we are experiencing. They are documenting it. Rice has a limit to the conditions it can withstand in order to thrive, and science has sounded the alarm by pointing out that the thermal tolerance of rice has remained practically constant for the last 9,000 years, but now, in a matter of decades, we are about to break this barrier. A thermal limit. The research work has focused mainly on cross-referencing archaeological data from millennia ago with contemporary records of cultivation and future climate projections. In this way, after tracing the evolution of rice cultivation over the millennia, researchers discovered that its historical limits have barely changed. This means that ancient civilizations planted rice under temperature conditions surprisingly similar to the maximum temperatures supported by the current varieties we use. This is why the bug, evolutionarily speaking, has not adapted to extreme heat that it had never experienced before. The increase in temperature. The study estimates that, towards the end of the century, the geographical area that will exceed thermal thresholds could multiply between 10 and 30 times in the main rice-growing countries of Asia. This means that the regions that are now the world’s rice granaries could become biologically hostile to the plant, not allowing it to grow. The first cracks. It is not necessary to go to the year 2100 to see the effects of this crisis, but thermal stress is already affecting rice fields. This is evidenced by a recent study that analyzed the practical cultivation of rice in China and showed that global warming is already altering the rules of the game. According to this workthe increase in temperatures is causing alterations in the life cycles and flowering of the plant, in addition to a worse use of the thermal resource in several of the most important rice-growing areas of the Asian giant. In other words: extreme heat is desynchronizing the rice’s biological clock, making the plant less efficient at growing and producing grain. Its consequences They do not focus only on withered plants, but also translate into a drastic drop in production globally. Already in 2017, published research warned of plausible rice yield losses under future climate warming, and now we are seeing that the hotter the heat, the less grain per ear. The social problem. Something to keep in mind is that, although the increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide can increase plant growth, the reality is that its effects are distributed tremendously unevenly. Here science warns that these climate alterations are increasing the achievement gap between low-income and middle- and high-income countries. This also means that, while the richest nations will be able to invest in new infrastructure, cooling systems for crops or genetically modified varieties to be more resistant, the nations most dependent on rice will suffer the onslaught of production losses without being able to do almost anything. Race against the clock. A priori, we cannot trust that the natural evolution of rice will save us, because if we look back, we will see that if the thermal limit of the crop has not changed in 9,000 years, it will not do so magically in the next five decades. This means that alternatives must now be considered to save the most basic food or even prepare for a restructuring of agricultural areas in Asia. In Xataka | Spanish rice is discovering that there is something worse than droughts and pests: rice from Myanmar and Cambodia

Science has a new magic number (and a golden rule about how to give them)

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One of the mantras that has been repeated on numerous occasions is that yes or yes you have to take 10,000 steps a day in order to enjoy good health. Our activity bracelets are partly to blame, since they even give us prizes for reaching this goal or remind us that we have not managed to reach it. But this number was born as a marketing strategy in Japan in the 60s and now science is making more and more nuances with respect to this figure to give more importance to how it works. The study. The most recent evidence we have in this regard is found published in the prestigious magazine The Lancet in July 2025, which combined 57 studies and analyzed 31 different cohorts of people in order to reach the most robust conclusion possible. The results. In short, we can affirm that the mantra of taking 10,000 steps is more than dismantled, since already reaching 7,000 steps a day means having 47% less mortality from any cause, and 25% less risk of suffering from cardiovascular disease compared to those who only take 2,000 steps a day on average. This is what different reference organizations in the world of cardiology also point out, such as the American College of Cardiology, who claim that the health benefit follows a curve in which the biggest drop in mortality risk occurs before reaching 10,000 stepssetting the new goal at 7,000-8,000 steps per day. It’s not worth the walk. For many, all the steps on the physical activity counter are the same, whether they are the first ones in the morning to go to the bathroom or the ones we take while window shopping at the mall. But the reality is that they are not ‘productive’ steps, since to reach these 7,000 steps that do not ensure a reduction in mortality, the intensity of the walk matters much more than the number. How to get here. Here Harvard Health sums it up perfectly aim that walking becomes a moderate aerobic exercise only when we increase the intensity until we notice a higher pulse and more demanding breathing. To get an idea, if we are here, we can put ourselves in the situation where we can still speak, but only in short phrases. If we want to have a figure on the table, we can stick to reaching 100 steps per minute, which can be around 4.5 km per hour if we also want to do it on a treadmill in the gym. It’s important. Doing these steps daily is important, since it has been shown that adequate walking speed is directly linked to a significant reduction in cases of heart attack, stroke and heart failure, especially in people who already suffer from hypertension. Images | Drazen Zigic in Magnific In Xataka | Tell me how fast you walk at 45 and I’ll tell you how your brain ages: The science behind the ‘sixth vital sign’

The Supreme Court has declared the rule illegal, but the money is not going to return

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The Low Emission Zones of Madrid operated for years with regulations that the courts ended up declaring it illegal. During all that time, many fines were imposed and processed that thousands of drivers paid, and the City Council is clear about one thing: that there will be no refunds. What exactly happened. The Supreme Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) annulled part of the ordinance that regulated ZBEs in Madrid in December 2024, following an appeal presented by the Vox municipal group. The court considered that the economic impact report was insufficient, since it had not been correctly assessed how much it would cost citizens and small businesses to adapt to the movement restrictions, nor had less restrictive measures with equivalent effects been explored. As the ruling was not final at the time, the City Council continued to apply sanctions while appealing to the Supreme Court. However, the TSJM rejected the appeal on April 15with a sentence of 2,000 euros to the City Council for the expenses of the judicial process. Why there will be no refund. Vice Mayor Inma Sanz counted that current jurisprudence prevents giving retroactive effects to sentences when the sanctioned rule was in force at the time the fines were imposed. Along the same lines, the delegate of Urban Planning, Mobility and Environment, Borja Carabante, defended that the sanctions were placed under a regulatory framework that was valid at the time. The point that remains in the air. The City Council’s position is not completely uniform. Municipal legal services are still studying what to do with the fines imposed in the ZBEs of Plaza Elíptica and Centro (the two special protection zones) during the period between the TSJM ruling (December 2024) and the entry into force of the new ordinance (March 2026). It has been more than two years in which fines have continued to be imposed with a regulation that a court had already declared null. Carabante acknowledges that “whether or not” these specific sanctions are being assessed. The new ordinance as a shield. The Town Hall approved last month a new Sustainable Mobility Ordinance, correcting the previous one based on the indications indicated by the TSJM and keeps all ZBEs operational. The Consistory argues that this new ordinance leaves the sentence without practical effect, since it provides a solution to everything that the TSJM had requested. Among its novelties is that the vehicles of registered residents without an environmental label can circulate in Madrid as long as European pollution limits are respected. Opinion division. The Associated European Motorists (AEA) organization has publicly demanded to Mayor José Luis Martínez-Almeida the annulment of all sanctions imposed until the publication of the new ordinance in the official gazette, on April 6. According to data from the AEA itselfbetween September 2021 and November 2025, the City Council imposed more than 3.3 million fines related to ZBEs for a value of more than 650 million euros. Its president, Mario Arnaldo, consider that “hundreds of thousands of drivers” have been sanctioned with fines of “dubious legality” through a strategy designed to continue collecting while the judicial process lasted. What those affected can do. The Supreme Court’s decision does not automatically annul any fine, but it reinforces the options of those who want to appeal them. According to the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU), the situation varies according to each file. And those who appealed at the time and still have the procedure open have a better chance of recovering the money. However, the organization says that those who paid without appeal face a more complicated path, having to go through requesting full nullity. The OCU ask to the City Council to cancel the non-firm sanctions ex officio and return the amounts already collected in files still open, without transferring to the citizen “the burden of legal uncertainty created by an annulled ordinance.” Cover image | Madrid City Council In Xataka | 400 cameras and an ambitious goal: the first metro driven 100% autonomously in the Community of Madrid

The science of learning dismantles the mathematical rule of the fashionable study method

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When it comes to studying anything, almost all of us want to have a system that allows us learn quickly and efficient. This is where we can turn to the Internet, where there are numerous pages that promise us almost miraculous systems to pass easily, and one of them is the 2-7-30 method. But… What does science say about this system? What is it about? This method focuses on a system where you have to review the information exactly 2, 7 and 30 days after having addressed it on the first occasion. Something that is quite similar to what we want to achieve with the flashcards. Something that a priori seems quite simple to put into practice, but which can generate quite a bit of fear by leaving a topic shelved for so many days in the last round. It gives good results. But it is the best from the point of view of science, and to understand it, we have to go to the basics of how our memory works. And this method is based on the spacing effectwhich undoubtedly far surpasses the classic ‘binge’ the night before an exam, where you try to get all the data in in a matter of hours. Here, a classic meta-analysis published in 2006 in Psychological Bulletin, analyzed 839 measures in 317 experiments and confirmed that distributing practice over separate intervals dramatically improves retention. But even in the past, other studies suggested that repeating material over time consolidates memory much more efficiently. Recovery practice. There is no point in spacing out the reviews if, when day 2 or day 7 of the method arrives, we limit ourselves to passively rereading the notes. Here different studies have shown that actively trying to remember information produces much more lasting learning than passively re-studying it. In this way, forcing the brain to “rescue” that data strengthens neuronal connections, and science points to the advantage of active remembering over traditional binge-watching methods, such as making conceptual maps. The enemy to beat. The concept of reviewing in increasingly longer windows of time is born from the need to combat our natural decline in retention. This is where a work on the “forgetting curve” by Hermann Ebbinghaus comes into play, which demonstrated that we lose most of the newly learned information within hours or days if we do nothing to retain it. More modern replications of this idea confirm that this initial rapid forgetting is real and useful to contextualize the problem, although researchers depend on different factors and not only the strict passage of time. That is why the idea we should stick with is that every time we review the information, the forgetting curve resets and its slope becomes gentler so that it takes longer to disappear. The myth of exact numbers. Although it has been shown that spacing study days, in reality science does not identify 2, 7 and 30 days as a universally valid pattern for all learning and people, but will depend on many factors. Here, a study published in 2008 showed that the optimal interval between reviews depends on the retention interval we are looking for, but that the spacing changes radically if the objective is to remember something for an exam that is due in a week versus if we want to remember something in a year, as can happen in an opposition. In this way we get the following pattern: If the exam is in 1 week, the reviews should be separated by just 1 or 2 days. If the exam is in 1 year, Reviews should be spaced several weeks or even a month apart. Images | freepik In Xataka | SQ3R technique: the study method that helps you understand the subjects, not just remember them

For centuries price has been a sign of quality. Generative AI is breaking that rule in dozens of sectors

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For centuries, price has served as a cognitive shortcut. If something costs a lot it is because, for one reason or another, it must be worth a lot. An Armani suit, Bang & Olufsen headphonesa McKinsey report. The number has always served to convey certain information to us before seeing the product. It was compressed reputation. With the arrival of generative AI, that is ending in many sectors. Today a logo can cost 15 euros or 15,000. And be the same logo. A market analysis can come from a consulting firm with offices on three continents or from a guy in pajamas who knows how to wear Deep Research. The report may be indistinguishable. In fact sometimes the second one will be betterbecause the guy in pajamas understands the sector and the consultant assigned the junior who was free. AI is breaking the link between production cost and final result. Something very similar to what Antonio Ortiz, AI popularizer and former final boss of this house, in “Artificial Intelligence and unlinking effort and result“. If anyone can generate in minutes what previously required teams, weeks, and invoices with many zeros, price no longer communicates much about quality. It’s starting to be noise. and this will force a signal migration. From ‘how much’ to ‘who’, to ‘how’ or ‘why’. The questions that will matter are going to be “who signed this?”, “what process followed?”, “what human decisions were behind it?” That is, the process will become the product. It is already beginning to be seen with design studios that They obsessively document any iterationor consultancies that not only sell you the deliverable but also also access to the reasoning of their partners. More and more we are digital artisans who charge for showing how we work and not only for what we deliver. AI has made production almost free, so we are being flooded with digital content of all kinds, so scarcity shifts to criteria. Knowing what to ask for, what to discard, what makes sense and what doesn’t. to good taste. AI can do almost anything, and what it can’t, it will learn next year. Deciding well what to do and what not to do is still expensive. There, for the moment and luckily, there is no shortcut. Featured image | Xataka In Xataka | The AI ​​of 2026 brings an uncomfortable truth: the most useful will be the one that watches us the most

Broncano has broken the only unwritten rule of ‘La Revuelta’ with Rosalía. And thanks to that he has managed to overwhelm ‘El Hormiguero’

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In a season that is being characterized by the comfortable and placid victory of ‘El Hormiguero’ in practically every night in which he faces ‘La Resistencia’, it is a real surprise that Broncano’s program ahead of his rival in a clear and indisputable way. What is not at all surprising is how he has achieved it. He has resorted to the number one obsession currently in Spain as a whole: Rosalia. The data. Rosalía has helped Broncano achieve nothing less than his historical maximum quotawith 20.4% share and peaks of 27% in its final stretch. It is also their largest victory against ‘El hormiguero’, with a 5.2 point advantage in strict coincidence. La 1, thus, leads on Monday with one tenth ahead of Antena 3. It is the first time, in addition, that the program reaches 20% of share. ‘El Hormiguero’, of course, has not done badly: Andy (of Andy and Lucas) makes 15.3 of shareand both leave behind Temptation Island 9′, which with 1,344,000 also marks its own season high. Why has he achieved it? Rosalía’s participation in the program was partially out of the ordinary in the program, although at this point the Broncano team has become accustomed to surprise the publicespecially with the most relevant guests. First, Rosalía arrived at the theater with a spectacular reception, integrated into an original fictitious “neighbors’ meeting” scene with figures such as Pedro Almodóvar, Manuela Carmena and La Zowi. During the interview he improvised acapella a fragment of her song ‘La perla’ and shared with the audience a cake that she baked herself the night before. (But above all) why he has achieved it. since last week It was known that Rosalía would attend the Broncano program. The expectation was such that RTVE made an exceptional decision: to promote the interview on news programs and other programs on its schedule. This is an unusual decision for ‘La Revuelta’, which has sometimes started its program without a clear guest (as happened with the controversy by Jorge Martín), something that Motos, thatAnnounces all the guests of each week in advance, it cannot be allowed. But after some hearing results manifestly inferior to those on the Antena 3 program throughout 2025, TVE knew that it had the most important guest of the year on its hands, and it could not stop announcing it. Grow without stepping. Since its premiere a little over a year ago, ‘La Revuelta’ stood out for standing up to ‘El Hormiguero’ without needing to steal your audience. A new audience that usually does not watch television at that time joined the Access to watch Broncano’s program, which is a very notable phenomenon on television, where the public moves from one program to another, usually to the detriment of rivals. This time, Broncano unleashed this strange phenomenon again: neither Motos nor ‘Temptation Island’ made numbers lower than usual (in fact, they were pretty good), but he won the game handily. Rosalía, the definitive cultural artifact. Rosalía has managed to be a transversal phenomenon that unites different generations and social strata. From the teenage audience to older fans, which has undoubtedly benefited ‘La Revuelta’. With that ‘Lux’ that achieved 42 million views in 24 hours despite the previous leak, Rosalía not only reveals herself as a singer, but as a cultural event. The surprise presentation in Callao brought together thousands of fans who overwhelmed the center of Madrid: no other Spanish artist generates this level of unanimous media attention, nor the ability to paralyze the country when they announce something new. In a fragmented cultural panorama, divided into dozens of niches, Rosalía’s merit is doubly striking. In Xataka | The exception of ‘El Hormiguero’: no ​​successful program in the history of Spanish TV has lasted so long

There are green, orange and even purple USB ports. The color rule that indicates your generation is extinct

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There was a time when everything was easier. If the USB port was white, it was slow; if it was black, it was standard; and if it was blue, it was the fastest. That rule that helped us Easily identify USB-A generations It’s gone. The arrival of new standards, charging functions and brand marketing has meant that today we find a wide range of green, orange and purple ports that no longer mean much. Image: StorageReview The original color code. The current chaos, as we explain in our guide to the USB standardit was not planned. The USB-IF organization tried to standardize it: white corresponds to USB 1.x, black for USB 2.0 (480 Mbps), and blue (or turquoise) for fast USB 3.0 (5 Gbps). First confusion. That is a product of the charging ports: the first problem came when colors began to be used to indicate power functions, not just data transmission. This is how the yellow, orange or red ports arrived. These usually indicate an “Always on” or “Sleep & Charge” function, which means that the port continues to provide power even when the computer is turned off or in sleep. More speed, more colors. To differentiate USB 3.1 (10 Gbps) and 3.2 (20 Gbps), the standard suggested the color turquoise blue, or failing that, red. Here the system began to leak. And the final blow came from marketing. A purple USB cable for a Huawei device indicates that it supports SuperCharge, its fast charging technology. Image: Reddit The rule became extinct completely when the brands decided use colors as corporate identity. The most famous case is that of Razer, which dyes its ports a characteristic lime green. Likewise, if you see a purple port, it’s probably from Huawei. The Chinese manufacturer uses them to identify its devices compatible with SuperCharge (its fast charging system), although technically it is still a USB 3.1 port. Chaos also in names. If there is already a mess with the colors, there is also a mess with the names: USB-IF itself has contributed by renaming the standards. USB 3.0 was renamed “USB 3.1 Gen 1” and is now “USB 3.2 Gen 1.” In parallel, USB 3.1 is now “USB 3.2 Gen 2”. This makes it almost impossible for a user to know what they are buying without looking at the fine print, a mess that the Wi-Fi Alliance solved much more elegantly. with standards such as Wi-Fi 5, 6 or the most recent Wi-Fi 7. The real culprit: USB-C. The final nail in the color coding coffin is the USB-C connector. It’s just a reversible connector, but what’s inside is chaos: the same USB-C port can be a slow USB 2.0, a USB 3.2 or a very fast Thunderbolt 4. The only way to differentiate them is to look for the lightning bolt logo that characterized Apple. Or read the device’s spec sheet because color, unfortunately, no longer means anything. Image | Xataka In Xataka | How to prepare a USB to use it on your mobile phone, tablet or Smart TV and expand its memory

Word accustomed us to press control + s to save files. The automatic save comes willing to impose its own rule

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One of the most entrenched habits among whom we use Word is to ensure save the document as soon asand not only that: also that it is in an easy to remember location to recover it later. For many that translates into clicking control + s (or control + g) or clicking on the mythical 3½ -inch floppy icon, that the new generations are barely identified. But things are changing in the most famous text processor. Tell the Automatic Guardian Microsoft wants Word to definitely hug automatic saving in the cloud. In practice, this means that the next time we believe a document, It will be generated automatically in OneDrive or in any other service that we have configured as default. Instead of using the first fragment of the text as a name, as is the case now, Word will apply a format of the “Document + Date” type. For example, if we create one today, it will be called “Document 28-08-2025”. Of course, the user can change that name at any time or even discard the document completely. When closing it, Word will show a Emerging window asking if we want to rename it, keep it or eliminate it. The experience is quite similar to that already offered by Google Docs or the own Word online: Documents that are created and automatically stored in Google Drive or OneDrive, without the need to do anything else. And it is no accident. Microsoft’s commitment to functions such as this not only seeks to improve the experience, also tries to maintain the relevance of Word and the Office ecosystem in an increasingly competitive environment. How a statista analysis points out, Google Workspace has managed to consolidate as a powerful alternativeboth for private users and for educational and business environments. Although Word and Office continue to lead the world office of office suites, with more than 45% share, Google products have won a solid position. The change, however, has not been well received throughout the world. On the advertisement page, Some users have left comments of the style: “I do not understand the logic of this function“Or” You have no idea how your customers use Word. “ Although the function will reach all users in the future, for now it is only available for members of the Insider program. And it will not be mandatory. Microsoft will allow you to return to the traditional system. As detailed by the company, the new Word settings will allow you to choose the cloud storage supplier by defaultNot only OneDrive. You can also deactivate automatic save and save documents directly at home. From Redmond they argue that this novelty responds to a matter of security and comfort. Avoid file loss and facilitate access from any device thanks to the cloud. Beyond the concrete changes, what is at stake is somewhat greater. Word has been among us for more than 40 years and has been part of Office’s hard nucleus since its inception. But today competes in a scenario where he is no longer the only reference. There are more options, with different use philosophies, and many of them advance quickly. Images | Microsoft In Xataka | Microsoft has put co -pilot in Excel. And you have also notified that you do not use it if you need the results to be correct

In Spain there is no summer without forest fires. Nor in which you do not talk about the fearsome rule of 30-30-30

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In Spain there is no summer without beaches. Nor without fire. Fire is hitting areas of Galicia, Castilla y León, Catalonia either Andalusia, sweeping hectaresforcing to evacuate hundreds of people and affecting even to icons like the place of Las Médulasin the Bierzo. With that backdrop, firefighters remain attentive to a key factor in forest fires. Which? The ‘rule of 30-30-30’. What is the ‘Rule of 30-30-30’? A formula that helps us understand when the elements play against firefighters and favor of forest fires. It is not new And it has above all a didactic dimension, but if something cannot be denied to the ‘Rule 30-30-30’ (o ‘rule of 30’) is that it is intuitive. Basically, what identifies are those scenarios in which the temperature exceeds 30ºC, the wind gusts exceed 30 km/Hy the relative humidity is below 30%, conditions that facilitate the expansion of the flames. Why is it interesting? Because as remember The University of Chile (Uchile) offers “an alert signal”, an indicator that recalls that there have been a cluster of “very favorable conditions” to spread the fire. “The origin of the term is not scientifically demonstrated, but approaches the conditions of extreme care that the manager should take knowledge to take measures,” Miguel Castillo explainsCenter researcher. The ‘Rule of 30-30-30’ stands out for its practical nature, especially when planning fire prevention strategies and informing the population. “It’s useful”, summarize The academic. “For example, if the meteorology indicates that in 72 hours a burst of permanent and dry wind will arrive and the conditions will not fall from the 30ºC or 32ºC, the communities should establish certain mechanisms.” Do more factors influence? Yes. Perhaps heat, intense winds and low humidity are “the ingredients of a perfect storm” for the spread of forest fires, but castle itself remember that there is another crucial factor: the human. Their own data The Ministry of Environment shows that a good part of the great fires that are declared in Spain cause them accidents, negligence or even intentionally. WWF in fact calculates that 95% of fires respond to human causes and 53% are deliberately caused. Man also influences the state of the fields and mountains. “The strong depopulation and rural aging, the cessation of traditional agricultural activities, the absence of forest exploitation and serious policies that manage the territory has transformed the territory,” Remember wwf. “This increase in forest surface does not translate into the increase in healthy, stable and diverse forests. The cultivated and grazing areas in the past are today covered by thickets, young pioneer or monoespecific rods that, without adequate management, are condemned to burn sooner or later. “ Is the ’30’ rule fulfilled? As Castillo recalls, the ‘Rule 30-30-30’ is useful when preventing disasters and alerting the population. Reality however is something more complex. A few years ago Civio analyzed The large forest fires registered between 2007 and 2016 and proved how many of them were adjusted to the ’30 rule’, that is, they had given the mercury above 30ºC, wind gusts of more than 30 km/hyo a humidity of less than 30%. What did you find out? That were adjusted to those parameters 72 of a total of 196 fires, about 37%. The key is again the one that slides the Chilean expert: at stake more factors enter the strictly climatic. “In the devastating expansion of a great fire you have to take into account other variables such as the type of vegetation and topography,” Comment Miguel Ángel Soto, from Greenpeace. Going down to detail. If we analyze the different factors of the ‘rule of 30’ separately, we verify, however, they do influence forest fires. Of the 196 registered fires between 2007 and 2016, in 153 the windfall exceeded 30 km/h. In 80 the temperatures reached or exceeded 30ºC. “The great fires occur by a cocktail effect: the more elements introduce in the shaker, the more possibilities you have to face an ungovernable fire,” agrees Soto “If the ‘rule of 30’ is fulfilled we will be facing the worst possible scenario, but if there are two variables it is also serious.” The last fires that have hit in recent days Galicia, Castilla y León, Andalusia either Cataloniasweeping thousands of hectares, have coincided with a heat wave. In the Bierzo, which has seen the medulla, the thermometer passes from 30ºC with relative humidity levels that have been below 30%. Image | Civil Guard (X) In Xataka | In 1993, an author predicted devastating fires in Los Angeles of 2025 and the “Make America Great Again”

Now we know everything that the new North Korea resort offers for 2,000 dollars. There is only one rule: be Russian

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The first time we listened to the idea there was talk of setting up a Benidorm species North Korean version. That first outline mutated until woning already North Korea in a holiday place. The doubt since then, and more after Its inaugurationIt was knowing what attractions this resort had in one of the most isolated enclaves in the world, and what guests would go to the call. All that and something else has just known. Exclusivity and Russians. I told this week The journal wallstreet through a trip that has lasted seven days. The coastal complex by Wonsan Kalmaone of Kim Jong’s emblematic projects to exhibit an image of modernity and prosperity in North Korea, opened its doors to foreign visitors for the first timealthough very selectively: Russian citizens could only access. Conceived in 2018 and announced by the leader himself in his New Year speechthe project was inspired by leisure destinations Like Benidormwith plans for hotels of high height, casino, shopping centers and an aquatic park. According to the Official propagandait is a sample of the “policy centered in the people” and the large investments of the regime in social welfare, although satellite images show that a good part remains unfinished. Pompa and reopening. The partial reopening of borders In Februaryafter the total closure by the pandemic, it has served at the same time to strengthen cooperation political and military With Moscow, in a context in which Kim has promised Unconditional support to the Russian war against Ukraine. The Journal told that the inaugural visit of 13 Russian tourists It coincided With the arrival of Foreign Minister Serguéi Lavrov, housed in the best hotel and personally received by Kim on his private yacht. Experiences. The group of the first visitors, composed of experienced travelers and High purchasing powerhe started his tour with three days in Pyongyang before moving to Wonsan. Although the initial plan was to fly, they were redirected on a 10 -hour train trip to cover the 120 kilometers to the eastern coast, a change attributed to preparations for the preparations for the Arrival of Lavrov. Once at the resort, they met deserted beachesan extremely attentive service and disposal of the staff to satisfy any request, from preparing custom breakfasts to deliver chairs and speakers in the sand. And more. The beaches, apparently, They are segregated For premises and foreigners, the aquatic park remains closed to the latter and payments are made with recharged electronic bracelets only in dollars, euros or yuan. Prices ranged from 60 cents of a beer and the $ 465 of a model of a HWASong-17 missilewhile some activities, such as the use of aquatic motorcycles or quads, were free due to the absence of fixed rates. The visitors claimed to have enjoyed an unusual freedom to take photographs, documenting curiosities such as imported Heineken beer, war toys and buses with propaganda slogans. Of inside doors. The Arrival of Lavrov It altered the routine of the complex, which was filled with North Korean visitors apparently belonging to the elite, identifiable by its careful clothing and latest generation mobiles, something uncommon in the country. More. The hotel staff apparently showed behaviors that They surprised to tourists, such as ignoring “not disturbing” posters or reducing the temperature of hot water without consent. In a striking episode, the medium that dozens of North Koreans were equipped with swimsuits And they threw themselves into the sea next to the Russian visitors, including the group’s own guide, who did not know how to swim and spent hours clinging to one of them. Objectives and projection. What’s doubt, Wonsan Kalma It is not only an leisure center, but a propaganda instrument that the regime uses to demonstrate that it can offer luxury and recreation despite international sanctions and internal precariousness. In the domestic sphere, access to North Koreans is expected to be used as Loyalty Award Politics, reinforcing the official narrative of prosperity under the direction of Kim. The initial restriction of Russian visitors underlines the narrow tune strategic with Moscow and adds an element of exclusivity that enhances its symbolic value. In this way, experts point out that attracting international tourism in volume It will be difficultsince most travelers interested in North Korea seek their capital, their ideological monuments and military enclaves, Not a vacation on its beaches. It does not seem to import much in Pyongyang, where the regime plans to receive a second group of Russian tourists shortly, using Wonsan as a showcase of his political alliance and as an outgoing exterior. A place where the hospitality and the staging reinforce the message that, even under sanctions, North Korea can offer experiences that it intends to present as exclusive and luxurious. Image | Clay Gilliland, Heute In Xataka | North Korea has built a resort so great that it now faces another problem: find tourists to fill it In Xataka | After years with its closed borders, North Korea has opened to foreign tourism. The price: more than $ 600

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