running

In the middle of the heat wave, there are trains in Extremadura that are running out of air conditioning. For Renfe there is only one culprit: the heat

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It is July 13 and it seems that we have settled into a perennial heat wave. And the forecasts for the coming days are not particularly promising. For this reason, it is still very important to avoid the central hours of the day and those of maximum heat to carry out outdoor activities… and other indoor activities, such as traveling by train. At least, that is what they are denouncing from CCOO, who assure that the Madrid-Extremadura trains travel without air conditioning on a regular basis. a complaint. This is what they have done at CCOO, who assure that “very frequently” the Alvia trains that travel between Madrid and Extremadura are registering failures in the air conditioning systems during heat waves. Miguel Fuentes, Secretary of Mobility of the union, assures in this statement that “this is not a one-off incident, but rather it is something systematic that is occurring in the heat waves of recent years and is creating a painful spectacle that is detrimental to the health of train users and the workers themselves.” Roasts. According to CCOO, these failures are being recorded in the Alvia S730 series trains when “outside temperatures are higher than 35 or 36 degrees.” In that case, they point out, “the air conditioning of several or all of the cars stops working and turns the trains into an oven.” The situation, despite the union’s complaint, is not new. a few days ago, The Extremadura Newspaper I already reported this incident on one of the Alvias that connect Madrid with Badajoz. That day, they point out, the passengers of the affected car were relocated to the free seats of the cars where the air conditioning did work. “In Madrid it was very hot, in Atocha, more of the same, we were looking forward to getting on the train, especially because of the concern of heat stroke and it turns out that the car runs out of air, it was the finishing touch,” said one of those affected by the Extremaduran media. What does Renfe say? In Xataka We have contacted the company who point out that “the trains undergo periodic inspections and are prepared to withstand temperatures between -10° and 40ºC” and that they understand the situation expressed by CCOO. However, they accept the following: “In exceptional circumstances, when outside temperatures exceed 40ºC as in the current heat wave, the train systems can activate automatic protection mechanisms to avoid major breakdowns. This happens because the pressure of the refrigerant gas shoots to critical levels, causing a temporary stop of the equipment until the system stabilizes. During that time, it is not possible to restart the air conditioning, which can generate incidents in the interior temperature of the train” That is, it is so hot outside that the train needs to protect itself to continue running. And when this happens, the train itself has to choose between continuing to move forward despite limiting or eliminating some functions (such as the air conditioning of one or more cars) or moving forward. Have measures been taken? Renfe assures that, without the possibility of modifying the trains, measures are being taken to safeguard the comfort and health of passengers. However, they assure that they are studying new measures that respond to the union’s requests. These measures would, therefore, be an addition to those already applied. According to the company: When these weather conditions occur, the sale of tickets is stopped to leave places free and to be able to relocate passengers. If conditions do not allow safe travel, alternatives are sought such as transferring to a fully air-conditioned train or even traveling by road. A real problem. In Xataka We have explained that heat can generate a real problem for people’s health because “kidnaps the blood”. And when we face very high heat on a sustained basis without barely moving, we are buying many tickets to faint and, if necessary, suffer heat stroke. That is why traveling refrigerated on a train is especially important. They collect in Today that between May and July there are already 15 incidents with the air conditioners that have caused Renfe trains to be left partially or completely without refrigeration. They look at Spain. The news comes just when Spain has been set as an example in countries that live above the Pyrenees. And in Germany, France or Denmark they have observed what Spain, Portugal or Italy are doing in the face of heat waves and What can they apply so that trains are not canceled?. And in these countries the railway service has been suspended because the companies were not able to ensure the health of the passengers. In the region of Bavaria (Germany), 40 degrees were recorded inside some trains. We now know that our trains, at least in part, are also not guaranteed to operate at full capacity. Photo | Falk2 and windy In Xataka | “We have six kilometers that have melted due to the heat”: in the face of extreme temperatures, France needs to Spanishize its roads

running in San Fermín recording it with glasses. The Police have another opinion

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Smart glasses have just collided head-on with the San Fermín running of the bulls. It is the new legal outrage of the most guarded confinement. The legal key is in the Pamplona running of the bulls ordinance: prohibits carrying cameras, mobile phones or “any image or sound recording medium” within the route and reserved fences. Article 4.11 of the Municipal Enclosure Ordinance makes it very clear. Unless expressly authorized, if you do so, you expose yourself to sanctions ranging from minor (601 euros) to very serious (6,000 euros). The video, shared by TikTok and accumulating almost 20,000 views, it shows that adrenaline-inducing moment of jumping and warming up before running in front of the halters. In first person, the video partly boasts about being able to record it and skip the lockdown ordinance. Since they are not carried in the hand, the glasses are considered a recording device that can distract, hinder the race and compromise the safety of runners and third parties. Before Meta there was GoPro. Is it worth recording the running of the bulls rather than running it? The suggestive idea of ​​using glasses has collided head-on with arrest. Tracking the user’s account, the Municipal Police of Navarra did not take long to identify the foreign runner wearing the Ray-Ban Meta. It was during the second running of the bulls of San Fermín 2026. It is neither the first time nor will it be the last. During the last years there are some other runner who chose to carry a camera knowing that he is “strictly prohibited“The Foral Police confiscated it. And although there are people covering the LED of this type of viewers to record without anyone noticing, that does not mean that it is legal: the Spanish Penal Code considers it a crime that, if by recording, it violates the “privacy of the other”, with prison sentences of one to four years and a fine of twelve to twenty-four months” Smart glasses and the law. Whether it is a cell phone, a GoPro or a drone, even if the support is more discreet and “modern”, recording is prohibited. The problem is that we come across a certain legal loophole because in Spain there is no specific law that says “Ray-Ban Meta is prohibited” in the abstract. What applies is the regulations of the event and, where applicable, data protection and security regulations if third parties are recruited without a legal basis. In a lockdown, the key is not so much technology as context. Jurisprudence or legal debate usually follows two paths: public security and image treatment. In a massive and sometimes dangerous event like San Fermín, the first weighs more, because the City Council considers that recording from within can cause tripping, divert attention or even put other runners at risk; The second, privacy, appears as a reinforcement if third-party images are later disseminated without consent. Four centuries before the bull. Ironically, the running of the bulls began as a tolerated infraction, and later became the regulated festival that every Pamplona resident knows: in the 16th century the young men began to run in front of the bulls, in 1776 the fence was established and in 1867 Pamplona formally regulated it by ordinance. Then came the starting rockets, the second rocket in 1927 and, already in the 20th century, the assistance protocols and professionalization with health devices, a safety manual and the entire police liturgy. The rules also provide that “anyone who litters the road and public spaces will be punished” and, unfortunately, it is not difficult to find glasses, even glass, along the route. In fact, you cannot stay on the tour if you are drunk or under the influence of drugs, but tourists usually ignore these rules and “a fine always falls on someone who is clueless.” With or without consent. Even worse are the cases of recordings of girls without your consent. An example is found in the penalty of 10,000 euros from the AEPD for recording a person in the street without permission and disseminating the video on networks, as in relation to the April Fair. Organic Law 1/1982, which regulates the fundamental right to honor, privacy and one’s own image, is clear about this type of illegitimate interference. At least, and with the second running of the Sanfermines in 2026 over, everything is functioning with ritual normality: short and very fast running of the bulls and with a controlled injury toll—just two injured per pole—, while the city continues to shield the race with more surveillance, more preventive messages and more awareness than ever about risky behavior. Images | Flickr (Paul Mison, Antonio Sánchez Serrano) In Xataka | There are people covering the LED on Meta’s glasses to record secretly. The company has just made a drastic decision In Xataka | Soon you won’t need to remember anyone’s name. Meta’s glasses will do it for you

The Rhine is running out of water due to heat waves. And that is a logistical and energy disaster for Europe

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A new wave of extreme heat is hitting the heart of the European continent, and the consequences go far beyond the records in thermometers or the fact to see raised tram tracks. The Rhine River, Western Europe’s most important river highway, is seeing its water levels plummet and the result is that a logistical bottleneck is being generated that threatens the supply of fuel and fundamental raw materials for Europe. The worry. The alarm has begun to be raised when it has been detected that the barges that navigate the river can barely carry half of their capacity, putting the supply of an important part of Europe in check. And all because of these heat waves that we are experiencing in Europe. To understand the magnitude of the problem, you have to look at how inland navigation works, since the Rhine is not limited to water crossing Germany, France, Switzerland and the Netherlands, but is an industrial artery. Literally, coal for thermal power plants, chemicals for industrial giants, oil or automotive components are transported through this river. The drought. When the flow of the river begins to decrease, its depth also decreases, and this collides with vessels that have a critical threshold. This means that if the water drops below a certain level at key points such as the famous Kaub bottleneck in Germany, captains are forced to drastically reduce their load to avoid running aground on the river bottom. This makes load 50 or even 30% of the boat’s capacity It is not an exaggeration, but a physical necessity. This triggers a domino effect that means that, if a ship carries half the load, it takes a second to do the same work. And since there are no infinite ships, transportation prices skyrocket and goods either do not arrive on time or become very expensive. It’s not just the Rhine. Although the exact impact figures should always be taken with caution because they vary greatly depending on the stretch of the river and the type of vessel, the general diagnosis is incontestable. Here the Joint Research Center of the European Commission has studied in-depth how limitations due to low water levels impact European rivers. Its scientific framework perfectly explains the current collapse, since low levels not only reduce cargo capacity, but completely alter continental logistics flows, drastically increasing operating costs. The reasons. Here the different institutions are clear that the problem lies in the lack of rain in spring and the lower amount of snow accumulated in the Alps during the winter, which causes the river to lose its natural “reserve” for the summer. But also, the Rhine is clearly warming. This not only has clear economic effects, but also serious ecological impacts on the river’s fauna, which in turn forces additional restrictions to be imposed. The new normal. What we are seeing this year does not seem like an event that remains a simple anecdote to tell our grandchildren, but rather the different evidence indicates that seeing low flow will be increasingly frequent due to climate change. The proposed solution involves the use of AI to predict exactly when we will see these very low flows to optimize the supply chain, or simply build flat-bottomed boats with better drafts to be able to continue transporting cargo when the river is at even lower levels of flow. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | Global warming has stepped on the accelerator at an unprecedented rate and we are getting closer to the point of no return

Mistral CEO warns Europe that time is running out to build its own AI infrastructure

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When the United States Claude Mythos blocks people from outside the USsends a clear message: it is a cutting-edge export technology subject to control, like chips are. And in that scenario, Europe is practically an observer: the old continent is a pioneer in legislating AIbut its infrastructure, business ecosystem around it, and LLM models are behind what the United States or China have. Simply put, Europe depends on third parties for the best AI. But that can change. A little less than a month ago, Arthur Mensch appeared in May 2026 before the French National Assembly with another very clear message: if Europe wants to stop being an observer and descend into the mud, it has to do it now. Time is running against them. The deadline given by the co-founder and CEO of the main European artificial intelligence company is short: two years. The warning from the CEO of Mistral AI. In his exhibition, Arthur Mensch gave a warning macroeconomic with concrete figures: Europe has approximately two years to build its own AI infrastructure, or it will be structurally subordinated to American technology companies. If it does not arrive in time, Europe will become “a vassal state.” The future if we don’t achieve this is dark: “Once the supply is monopolized by American companies, we will suddenly run out of supply and will no longer be able to transform electrons into tokens.” His argument is technical but with a political background: whoever controls the calculation controls the economy. AI is not just another digital service: it is the infrastructure on which everything else will work. Like electricity or roads, but privatized and in foreign hands. Why is it important. Because under this approach, being dependent on third-party AI is not only a mere technical issue, which is no small thing considering its use in critical sectors such as defense or banking, it is also a serious problem of productive sovereignty and balance of payments. The CEO of Mistral refers to AI as a strategic asset, in the same way that gas is. Europe had a hard time understanding the cost of its energy dependence on Russia and Mensch’s argument is that the old continent is making the same mistake. In statements to CNBCdelved into the impact on the macroeconomy: “You cannot afford a trade deficit of one trillion if you really want to remain competitive in the race” because every euro that Europe pays to US companies for AI services is financing the competitor’s R&D. And that money is not coming back. Furthermore, we have already seen that using AI will be increasingly expensive, so much so that There are companies like Uber or Microsoft cutting licenses. Imagine if what depends on AI is your safety. Context. The game board shows that Europe does not exactly start with a good hand: according to data from Epoch AI, collected both by the US Federal Reserve as by RAND Europethe United States controls 74% of global high-level computing for AI, China 14% and the EU just 4.8%. He Draghi report of September 2024 has already identified that much of the blame for Europe’s productivity gap with respect to the US lies in the technology sector, or rather, the absence of it. One year later, Draghi himself was pessimistic: barely had been fulfilled 11.2% of almost 400 recommendations. In detail. Europe has already started with the plan action plan called “AI Continent” which is committed to tripling the capacity of data centers and deploying up to five gigafactories, but the question is whether it will be enough and if it will arrive on time. Without going any further, the 500,000 chips in these gigafactories planned are very far from what there is in the US: by the end of 2025, OpenAI I had already planned exceed one million chips. Mensch did not stop at warnings, but made concrete proposals. The first of them: use public procurement as a lever. Given that 50% of European GDP is generated through public spending, it is clear that it is a magnificent instrument to catalyze this development. On the other hand, Mistral is exploring the development of its own chips and has already announced a new data center in France. Yes, but. The main argument against Mensch’s words is obvious: he is one of the major stakeholders in the policies he proposes. Mistral has 1,000 employees, a valuation of 12 billion euros, a target of 1 billion euros in revenue by the end of 2026, this year it has invested 1 billion in R&D and approximately 75% of its sales are in Europe. On the other hand and for the moment, not having your own servers does not mean not being able to use AI, of course, being clear that it is a third party who dictates the conditions, prices and limits of that access. In Xataka | Europe wanted to set an example to the world with its AI Law. What you are achieving is becoming evident In Xataka | To become technologically “independent” from the US, the European Union already has a plan: four desperate measures Cover | Flickr and Wikimedia Commons / ALEXANDRE LALLEMAND | Igor Omilaev | Markus Spiske

What science says about mixing CrossFit, Hyrox and running to get you ‘clubs’

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Traditional weight rooms are changing, and where previously routines divided by muscle groups and the atrocious fear of doing cardio because it “destroys the muscle” reigned, today we have a hybrid training that aims to prevail among all gym lovers. New trend. Disciplines like CrossFitthe explosion of events like Hyrox and the fashion of combining heavy weight lifting with running They have created the figure of the total athlete who leaves nothing aside. But, beyond the marketing that this sports strategy may have, what really happens to our body when we try to be the strongest and the fastest at the same time? A myth. For years, a thought that has been on the minds of many athletes is that running has an “interference effect” with their bodybuilding routines. The reasoning here was that resistance training such as cardio sent molecular signals opposite to strength training, limiting muscle hypertrophy, which is what is sought in the gym. But now there are many nuances about it. For example, an analysis published in 2024 analyzed 59 studies with more than 1,300 participants and pointed out that in women, combining strength and cardio does not produce any interference significant in leg strength. In the case of men, there is a small interference in the development of lower body strength when mixing both modalities, but minimal. That is, it does not justify leaving it aside if we want to improve our health as a priority over hypertrophy. What is the best training? As we have mentioned, hybrid training groups traditional strength exercises with cardiovascular training, such as running on a treadmill. But the reality is that there are many options available, such as Hyrox or CrossFit, and each one has its own peculiarities. Hyrox. A hybrid training that combines 8 kilometers of running interspersed with 8 bodybuilding routines and is often defined as the definitive hybrid test. But here a study from 2025 pointed out that the aerobic factor is the undisputed kingthat is, Hyrox considerably increases people’s aerobic capacity and this is essential to determine the quality of life in old age, since, in addition to cardiorespiratory improvement, it also makes oxidative metabolism more efficient and muscular endurance. Contrary to what many believe when seeing heavy sleds, maximum strength is not a key predictor of success in this competition, but rather it is a systems sport where the entire body is mobilized and makes our cardiovascular system play a leading role. CrossFit. This presents a better metabolic profile, since, by addressing 10 different physical domains, it is postulated as a more complete but less specialized discipline. Here the science indicates that CrossFit dramatically improves cardiorespiratory fitnessoxidative metabolism and muscle resistance. But in addition to all this, it also stands out for the high levels of motivation and adherence thanks to the community component that it has associated. How to do it. If we want to join the hybrid fever, how do we prevent cardio from eating into our strength gains? Here the key seems not to be in stopping training, but in programming each of the steps we take in the gym, since the interference depends directly on the modality, frequency and duration of aerobic exercise. For example, running interferes much more with leg strength than cycling, due to the eccentric muscle damage caused by the stride. One of the most important points here is that, if we want to improve strength over cardiovascular endurance, the best always is to do strength exercises first before starting to run on a treadmill in order to have greater strength gains. When to start. If you want to join this combined exercise fever, the reality is that there is nothing that can stop a person as long as they do not have an injury or a doctor’s recommendation not to do high-intensity exercise. It is true that on the first occasions it may be interesting to go to a personal trainer or a gym where they also have specialists who can develop the best hybrid training plan. And, although this modality is not going to take us to a bodybuilding platform, it does prepare our body for any situation and above all for a much higher quality old age. Images | Alora Griffiths In Xataka | The 11 best apps for exercising at home

The world is running out of data to continue training AI. China has an ace up its sleeve

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The models of artificial intelligence (AI) have a problem that more powerful chips cannot solve: they are running out of data. Epoch AI, a nonprofit research organization specializing in scaling AI models, warns with 80% certainty that the high-quality text available on the Internet will be exhausted sometime between 2026 and 2032. The reason is very simple: AI laboratories have been extracting everything the web has to offer for many years, and current models already train on data sets that approach the theoretical limit of the information available. When that gold mine empties, data volume scaling will stop working. And if this scenario occurs, AI development will most likely slow down. We still do not know what strategy US companies are developing to solve this problem, but we already know what is China preparing. His biggest rival. In fact, Xi Jinping’s government has decided that this shortage is an opportunity. This week the China National Data Administration published a draft outlining its action plan with a clear objective: to build an ecosystem of validated data by 2028 that will fuel the next generation of AI models. China’s bet is already on the table The document prepared by the National Data Administration identifies which specific sectors are priority objectives for information generation and certification. Some of them are scientific research, manufacturing, agriculture, energy, transportation, finance, healthcare, education and e-commerce. However, his plan does not stop at traditional sectors. China has a structural advantage that no Western laboratory can easily replicate And it also plans to cover cutting-edge fields with quality data, such as AI applied to robots, autonomous driving, low-altitude aviation or biomanufacturing. These are, precisely, domains whose data is not on the internet because they come from sensors, actuators and physical environments. Achieving them requires having industrial infrastructure, and in this scenario China has a structural advantage that no Western laboratory can easily replicate. However, this is not all. The document prepared by the National Data Administration explicitly encourages the expansion of the supply of text, code, images, audio and video necessary to train systems capable of complex reasoning, agentic behavior and control of intelligent robots. In fact, it’s an almost exact description of what the industry calls next-generation models. They are not just systems capable of answering questions; They will also be able to plan, act and operate in the physical world. The availability of high-quality multimodal data, especially that coming from real industrial environments, is today one of the least discussed and most determining bottlenecks in the AI ​​career. In a scenario where access to cutting-edge chips is restricted by US export controlsdata becomes a competitive advantage. If China can’t win the hardware race, it can try to win the fuel race that that hardware needs to be truly useful. Image | Daoducquan More information | SCMP In Xataka | The condemnation that afflicts China: after decades of manufacturing a competitive desktop processor, it is six years behind

The biggest problem with living on the Moon is its nights. NASA believes it has found the solution to avoid running out of electricity

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If we want to build bases on the Moon or on Mars, we must work on the development of technologies that make the lives of lunar colonists easier. For example, it is important to think about ways to obtain energy. In the case of Mars, there are already scientists working on methods to obtain electricity using carbon dioxide from your atmosphere. But the ideal would be to be able to use batteries. They would have to be rechargeable batteries, since there are no containers for batteries on the Moon (on Earth there are, throw them away where they belong). The problem is that lunar nights are very long, so solar energy cannot be used to obtain electricity to recharge them. Therefore, NASA scientists they are already working in rechargeable batteries that generate and store energy in a very original way. Only two ingredients. The battery in question, called a regenerative fuel cell, contains hydrogen and oxygen gases, which combine to give rise to water. In this reaction, heat and electricity are generated, which can be used to supply the devices necessary for astronauts’ daily lives. Once no more energy is needed, the water molecules break down, giving rise to hydrogen and oxygen, which are saved for when it is necessary to start again. Thus, the fuel is not wasted. It regenerates. Big as a human being. Let’s not think about small batteries like the ones we use at home. Not even in batteries like those in a car. This regenerative fuel cell is much larger. It is practically the height of a human being and the length of a sedan car. First tests. In 2025, the basic components were tested to verify that the previous design technology was viable. Right now NASA scientists are doing more advanced tests, with the aim of analyzing whether the fuel regenerates properly. In a test cell, the system can be operated remotely. Furthermore, once the test has started, it can continue autonomously, without intervention from the researchers. Learnings. Everything is expected to go well in the tests. But, in any case, there will be learnings that serve to perfect the device. After five years of development, the prototype has advanced a lot, but these types of experiments are what really help to perfect a technology of this caliber. Heading to the Moon. Once the tests are completed, the goal is to repeat them in an environment that simulates lunar conditions. Theoretically, the battery is designed to withstand the extreme temperatures of the Moon, even on its cold two-week Earth nights. If all goes well, the technology would be ready to be used. in the Artemis program. This is the objective with which this battery of 270 sensors and 1,000 components was designed. There will be time to think about Mars. At the moment, the closest target on the horizon is our satellite. We need energy to stay on its surface. Image | NASA/Magnific In Xataka | We have not yet colonized the Moon and we have already filled it with garbage: there are even abandoned golf balls

The oldest train line in Spain is still running 180 years later. And it moves 40 million passengers

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It is very likely that you have also done the exercise but I don’t know if the subject fascinates you as much as it does me. Have you ever thought about how far and how close we are from our great-grandparents and our great-great-grandparents? The City of Wonders by Eduardo Mendoza explains wonderfully how Barcelona became a technological centrifuge at the end of the 19th century and the first decades of the 20th century. When Onofre Bouvila arrives in Barcelona, ​​the city is very different from the one in front of him when the book ends. A little before what the book tells, Barcelona had already begun to assimilate some technological advances that would be difficult for the average citizen to conceive. One of them was the railway. In 1848, the first train line on the Peninsula was inaugurated in Barcelona.. It’s Barcelona-Mataró. 30 kilometers in half an hour And, indeed, the Barcelona-Mataró is not the first Spanish train line but it is the first on the Iberian Peninsula. Actually, the first train line in Spain is the one known as Havana-Güines Since on November 19, 1837, the first service between these two towns was launched. The objective was to transport the sugar and honey that was produced in the first of these towns from Güines to the port of Havana. However, the first train on the Iberian Peninsula I would have to wait another decade. It was not until October 28, 1848 when the first train from Barcelona left towards Mataró surrounded by the music of the Artillery Corps and the curious who came to Doctor Aiguader Avenue. They explain in The Vanguard that the commotion was considerable to the south of the Parque de la Ciudadela and next to what is now the Estación de Francia, because the atmosphere vibrated with the excitement of witnessing a historical event in our country. The train had 24 cars and had capacity for 900 people. They had almost 30 kilometers ahead of them, which when the service was transformed into a regular line could be covered in 35 minutes without stops and an hour of travel if it stopped at intermediate stops, leaving far behind the five or six hours that had to be spent if traveling by stagecoach. The smoke, coal and soot did not deter those who, according to the Catalan newspaper, sneaked onto the train to be part of that first cap journey. Before, a few lucky They had already had the opportunity to travel between the two cities by train. And a few weeks before the big day, two rehearsals were carried out to check that everything was perfect and worked as it should. It was the result of the work of Miguel Biada. Miguel Biada i Buñol He was a merchant mariner who became a promoter of the first train line on peninsular soil. Although he was born in Mataró, he earned his living as a merchant in the Caribbean where, already in Havana, he had been part of the group of businessmen who promoted and carried out the first Spanish train line, the aforementioned Havana-Güines. Back in Spain, the businessman pushed to push ahead with that first train line that, according to some researchwas projected on the international gauge. These sources suggest that Madrid was required to opt for what It would later be known as Ancho Ibérico. A decision that condemned Spain to be isolated from the European railway network and that It still has its consequences today.. Finally, as we said, the first train line in mainland Spain started in 1848 and became a complete success. In the first year, 675,828 passengers boarded the train among whom, unfortunately, was not its promoter who had died that same year in April. Nor did the five people who, they say, have any good luck. The Vanguardwere run over and killed that first year. These deaths did not put a stop to the expansion plans. And the railway had come to stay in the Iberian Peninsula. It did so decades behind other European countries, but the expansion was so rapid that In 1866 Spain had already accumulated more than 5,000 kilometers of roads. Today, the Barcelona-Mataró has extended to the Massanet-Massanas station and is more than 70 kilometers long. Obviously, it is the first Rodalies line in Barcelona, ​​the one known as R1 that today starts from Molins de Rei and moves almost 40 million passengers a year. Photo | Illustration and photography collected on Wikimedia In Xataka | The Madrid Cercanías have become a nest of problems and delays: their solution is new “megatrains”

China will bring together more than 300 humanoid robots in a half marathon. The goal goes beyond running

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Seeing more than 300 humanoid robots preparing to run a half marathon in Beijing has something of a futuristic image, yes, but also quite a declaration of intentions. The appointment, scheduled for April 19 within the framework of The Beijing Yizhuang Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon in 2026 is not presented as a simple flashy exhibition, but as an event in which China will bring together dozens of brands, teams and systems to test them before the public. What we have before us is not just a race: it is another way of showing us to what extent humanoid robotics has become an area that the country wants to take very seriously. New edition. Last year, Beijing had already held a half marathon of humanoid robotsbut now the leap is evident: preparation has mobilized dozens of teams and has forced the organization of large-scale night tests to check that everything works on the ground. Xinhua reported that more than 70 teams participated in the last comprehensive test held between the night of April 11 and the early hours of the 12th. More than resistance. The interesting thing about this appointment is not only in seeing which robot can withstand the distance better, but in observing how it travels it. Both autonomous navigation and remote control equipment participated in the previous tests, which will allow different technical architectures to be shown. That nuance matters a lot, because it shifts the focus from the simple spectacular image to something more useful for reading the moment of humanoid robotics in China. What is at stake is not only completing the journey, but also checking what degree of autonomy and what type of control can be sustained in an open environment. The names of this edition. If there are robots that help to better read the level of this appointment, those are the ones that arrive with clearer objectives and a more recognizable profile. The Beijing Humanoid Robot Innovation Center has confirmed the participation of Tiangong Ultra and Tiangong 3.0, with three units of the former competing completely autonomously, without human navigators or external guidance signals. Unitree has also confirmed the return of the H1, in a version adapted for long distances. Added to this is the presence of Lightning and Yuqi Boy, the two models with which Honor enters this race. What China wants to teach. This race can also be read in a much broader way. It is not only about seeing dozens of humanoid robots facing a half marathon, but also about interpreting the message that China projects with that image. Humanoid robotics has become one of the areas in which the country wants to make its position clear.. And few formulas are as effective to do so as taking that bet out of the laboratory, turning it into a public event and showing it on a stage capable of attracting attention inside and outside its borders. Images | Beijing Government In Xataka | Anthropic was the “don’t be evil” of AI for developers. Now he’s squeezing them all

is running out of room to store oil

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At this point, the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz due to the war in Iran is a reality that the world assumes with resignation. But while the West looks askance at the geopolitical tables, in Iraq the situation has gone from concern to financial panic. The phenomenon. As you point out oil priceUnlike neighbors such as Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates, Iraq does not have alternative routes to avoid Hormuz, nor does it have a sovereign wealth fund to serve as a cushion. Its dependence on oil revenues is absolute. Today, cornered and with water up to its neck, Baghdad has had to swallow pride and look north to resurrect a problematic and rusty infrastructure as the only way to survive. A country without space to store its own crude oil. As detailed Reutersproduction in the main fields in southern Iraq – the country’s true economic engine – has plummeted by 70%. They have fallen to just 1.3 million barrels per day (bpd) simply because oil tankers cannot leave the Gulf and storage tanks are overflowing. As pointed out by an analysis in Argus MediaIraq has had to turn off the tap of about 3 million bpd, completely stopping giant fields such as West Qurna, Majnoon or Halfaya. Faced with this scenario, the emergency solution has been to dust off the old oil pipeline Kirkuk-Ceyhanwhich connects the north of the country with Türkiye. This is a route that had been inactive due to damage since 2014 and that has been a constant target of sabotage since the 2003 invasion. From propaganda to damage control. Facing the gallery, the official speech is triumphalist. According to a statement collected by state agency Iraqi News Agency (INA)the reopening of the Sarlo pumping station has been celebrated by the North Oil Company as a resounding “technical and administrative success”. For the Iraqi authorities, recovering this export route represents a “strong return to the forefront” that demonstrates, they say, the country’s iron will and the ability of its engineers to resurrect a strategic infrastructure paralyzed for years. However, the reality behind the government window is much more precarious. Does this mean that Iraq has solved its problem? At all. Faced with institutional optimism, geopolitical analyst Bachar el Halabi offers a harsh reality check: “This is not a recovery of exports, it is damage control.” El Halabi explains that this pipeline will initially provide about 200,000 or 250,000 bpd of federal flow from Kirkuk. A figure that is useful for the heads of the state agency, but that is a tiny fraction if we compare it with the 3.4 million barrels that Iraq usually exports from the south in peacetime. The global market has barely blinked. According to oil pricethe news of the reopening caused Brent crude to drop slightly from $103 to $101 per barrel, but warns that this volume will not make any real difference to global supply. The final diagnosis of El Halabi is blunt: “Iraq’s oil system has been totally exposed. This agreement is for stabilization, it is not a resolution.” The historic pact (and the call from Washington). To ensure that crude oil flows again to Türkiye, Baghdad has had to sit down to urgent negotiations with its historical internal rivals: the Kurdistan Regional Government (Erbil). In this unprecedented pact, federal production from Kirkuk will travel alongside that from Kurdistan through the same tube, the revenue will go directly to federal coffers in Baghdad, and a joint committee has been created to oversee it. But this agreement has not emerged from nowhere. The United States has pulled the strings in the shadows. So much Reuters as analyst Bachar el Halabi confirm that there was a direct intervention from the White House: a phone call between President Trump’s envoy, Tom Barrack, and the Kurdish Prime Minister, Masrour Barzani, was the key that managed to break the historic blockade between Baghdad and Erbil. The shadows of the agreement. Despite the handshake, the pipeline is surrounded by threats. The first major obstacle is physical security: pro-Iran militias have been attacking energy infrastructure in Kurdistan for some time. Can Baghdad really guarantee international oil companies that their facilities will be safe from “mistakes” or deliberate attacks? Furthermore, the political wounds remain open. lTensions had recently escalated because Baghdad attempted to impose a new electronic customs system, something Erbil saw as a frontal attack on its autonomy. For its part, Kurdistan had been accusing the federal government of imposing a “suffocating economic blockade” on them. And hanging over all of this is a diplomatic humiliation that no one wants to mention out loud. Baghdad, being the Arab capital politically closest to Tehran, had to wait until the 18th day of the war to dare to ask Iran for permission to move some of its own oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. Hostage to its own geography. Iraq has managed to save a match point critical short-term financial. Thanks to emergency diplomacy and strong pressure from Washington, the country will be able to enter the minimum dollars necessary to pay public salaries and avoid an imminent social collapse. However, this crisis has exposed its greatest weakness. Lacking alternative infrastructure and economic diversification, Iraq is confirmed as the great hostage of the war in the Middle East; an oil giant that, to survive, has had to entrust its destiny to an old patched pipe. Image | Photo by SELİM ARDA ERYILMAZ on Unsplash Xataka | By bombing Ras Laffan, Iran has done something else by retaliating: it has unlocked the ultimate energy crisis

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