Spain

a polar Spain in the middle of a world above average

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The climatological autumn has its days numbered and is going to say goodbye in style. After a little rain and mild temperatures, the cold returns to our latitudes. And he is going to do it with force. However, that is not the worrying thing. The worrying thing is what comes next: that in the rain department, we are going to lose a good part of December. “Three days of pure cold.” That’s the summary of the rest of the week. And so says Roberto Granda, one of our greatest temperature experts. As explainedthe cold has already been noticeable in Tuesday’s lows. We have seen “drops of up to 4 and 6 degrees across the board.” Wednesday will be the coldest day of this episode with widespread frost and much of the interior of the country below 10 degrees. However, the coldest night will be Thursday and the minimum temperatures will be below five degrees in most of the peninsular territory. And after? Then we will have a reminder that we are still in autumn. One of those seasons in which the atmosphere casts lots for what is going to happen just before it happens. In this case, despite there being many scenarios on the table, the most likely is that at the end of the week a ridge will settle over Spain to collapse almost immediately, allowing a trough from the north to approach our positions. That would mean more rain: not a lot, but it’s something. Above all, because they may be the last for a long time. The European model has changed its forecast and everything seems to indicate that A NAO+ will be imposed during the first week of December. NAO positive? In general terms, the North Atlantic Oscillation It is the ‘dance’ between the Azores anticyclone and the Icelandic low, the two major atmospheric phenomena that govern the meteorology of the North Atlantic. When the index we use for “measure who is winning” is negative, the Azores anticyclone is weaker than normal and, for this reason, it cannot block the deep Atlantic storms. The direct consequence is that they circulate further south than usual: right at our latitude. yes how everything seems to indicate the NAO becomes positivenot a drop of moisture will enter from the west. The storms will move towards high latitudes (near Iceland and the Nordic countries) and, although stability will not be absolute, the situation will be very dry. Good news for tourism, I guess. Because as explains Samuel Biener“a predominant flow from the west or southwest, the temperatures could be between 1 and 3 ºC above the average in the center, northern third and on the shores of the Mediterranean” during the December long weekend. We do not have any quantification of what will happen in the south and in the Canary Islands, but we can get an idea. Image | TropicalTridBits In Xataka | The last hope of winter in Spain is desperate, but increasingly possible: the breaking of the polar vortex

BYD pours cold water on its hypothetical factory in Spain

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BYD does not have a plan on the table to open a factory in our country. At least, that is what Alberto de Aza, general director of BYD for Spain and Portugal, maintains, who in an interview with EFE has stated that the company is focused on its Hungarian factory. According to De Aza, there are neither production problems nor are there intentions to open a plant in Spain. BYD is interested in Spain. Spain has sounded strong on two occasions to be the home of a BYD car production plant for Europe. He did it first in 2023 when it was learned that the company was touring Europe looking for a location to a factory. Before the end of that same year, we knew that Hungary had been chosen. Now, information has suggested that BYD is once again studying the opening of a factory. And, according to ReutersSpain was once again one of the first candidates. Its operating costs and good performance in the country seemed to be two incentives to take into account for the future. There are no plans. That is what Alberto de Aza, general director of BYD for Spain and Portugal, answered in an interview with EFE. The head of the company in our country has indicated that “there is no specific plan at this time to implement a production center in Spain.” The response is a bucket of cold water to the information that indicated that Spain was the first on the starting line of this new race. In fact, just a few days ago the Generalitat of Catalonia confirmed that they had held conversations with company representatives. And shortly before, in October, the De Aza spoke of Spain as “an ideal place” to expand the company’s European manufacturing. For now, Hungary. At the moment, BYD seems to be focused on opening its plant in Hungary. Everything indicates that “you’ll see later.” And the company has started very strongly in our country but a good part of the European market is resisting. The commitment to plug-in hybrids at attractive prices, such as the BYD Atto 2 DM-i It is confirmation that they try to find solutions and alternatives. To this we must add that the company has faced some complications related to its Hungarian plant. The first is whether you are using enough local employees. The second is whether it is going to create a sufficiently dense industrial network around it. complicated lace. BYD is not the only company that is in the eye of the European Union for how they manufacture (in this case, hope to manufacture) their cars on European soil. At the moment, electric cars coming from China are taxed with specific tariffs for each company but not so with plug-in hybrids. To avoid this specific and general tariff (10% on imports arriving from China), Chinese manufacturers talk about producing in Europe. However, the European Union closely monitors how these cars are manufactured. And there is talk of producing vehicles using almost assembled kits that arrive in Europe by boat and are given the finishing touches on European soil. Something like if a puzzle of 1,000 pieces arrived assembled without joining four large groups of them. This, European regulators assure, might not be enough to skip tariffs. It is a practice that already has delayed the arrival of the electric Omoda 5 to the Barcelona factory, for example. Spain, why? To the above we must add a detail: Spain has moved into a complicated game of balance with China. In addition to the fact that our country offers lower operating costs (labor or energy) to manufacturers compared to other European nations, the truth is that there is another point of view. In the final approval of tariffs on Chinese electric cars, Spain veered from a resounding “yes” to abstention. Shortly after its application, it was leaked that the Chinese State had ordered its manufacturers stop all investments in the countries that supported those tariffs. Italy, for example, would have been one of the most affected countries. Since then, it has been leaked that BYD was interested in Spain to house a new European factory. But also CATL reached an agreement with Stellantis to launch a battery production plant in Aragon. It is no coincidence that Spain has pampered its relations with China lately. Photo | Mercedes and Xataka In Xataka | “They assemble Chinese cars with Chinese components and Chinese personnel”: the EU is beginning to suspect the manufacturers’ plants

Spain has to get serious about dental anesthesia

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Going to the dentist is a visit that may not be very pleasant and that can cause great fear in some patients due to the pain or discomfort that may arise from undergoing a treatment such as treating a cavity. This has made it popular in recent years to sedate patients who are more afraid or who are going to undergo long treatmentsbut this has left very bad news in the last week. The case. The focus on sedation procedures has been placed in the focus of public opinion after learning the death of a six-year-old girl after dental treatment with intravenous sedation in a clinic in Alzira (Valencia), and the admission to the ICU of another one who was treated at the same dental center. These two tragic events, which are currently being investigated, have raised many doubts about this procedure, how common it is and, above all, how it is regulated in our country. Because logically it is something really shocking to go get a tooth filled or have a root canal and not survive the procedure, when a priori it seems like something completely safe. Although there is one detail that sometimes we completely miss: anesthesia (even if it is sedation) is not nonsense and has very important risks that not everyone can control. Sedation in dentistry. To understand this situation, you must know that in dentistry there are different levels of anesthesia depending on the procedure to be used. The most common is undoubtedly the one in which an anesthetic medication is pricked into the gum itself (something that hurts quite a bit) to be able to do a filling or an extraction. A local anesthesia that disappears after two hours and does not last longer and that the dentist himself can apply after interviewing the patient and asking about his or her allergies. But beyond this ‘normality’ we have other treatments for patients who fear being in that situation or who are going to undergo annoying and long procedures. Here you bet on a ‘conscious sedation‘. In this case the patient maintains protective reflexes and the ability to respond to commands such as opening your mouthbut remains completely relaxed The problem is that the border between “conscious” sedation and deep sedation (where this type of reflex is lost) is quite blurred, especially when powerful intravenous drugs are used in the pediatric population. Precisely for this reason scientific societies They have been demanding for years that these techniques be regulated and are executed only with specifically trained personnel and in environments prepared to respond to an emergency in seconds. Because in part, the safety of anesthesia It is thanks to the professionals who administer it daily, controlling all the patient’s parameters and having a lot of experience behind them with these drugs. Because a drug of this style seems harmless, but the reality is that there are many emergencies that can arise from the use of anesthetics, such as the great feared malignant hyperthermia. The regulations. Procedures of this style They have regulation which right now is fragmented. That is, there is no state standard that applies to all clinics in the country, but rather it depends on each autonomous community through its authorization decrees. Even so, different common elements are repeated in the regulations that are: Specific authorization to administer intravenous sedation or advanced anesthesia techniques. In the case of Alzira, that authorization did not exist. Something that also raises questions about how he could access these drugs without authorization to do so. Existence of a doctor responsible for sedation who may be an anesthetist or a dentist specialized in these techniques. But the important thing is that it is a different person than the one doing the treatment so that they can monitor the patient. Specific training in sedation, airway management and also accreditation in cardiopulmonary resuscitation techniques. Patient monitoring: the clinic box must have at least monitoring of constants such as blood pressure, heart rate or oxygen saturation. But you must also have the appropriate equipment to deal with an emergency in the middle of the intervention. ​ In Catalonia, for example, the Official Col·legi d’Odontòlegs i Stomatòlegs maintains a specific registry for clinics authorized to perform sedation, with personnel, equipment and audit requirements. Other communities, such as Madrid or the Valencian Community, include the demands in orders of technical-sanitary requirements for health centers and in their catalog of authorizable activities. ​What a mistake. The information that has emerged from Alzira’s case illustrates well the clash between real practice and what the regulations require. The Ministry’s reports now indicate that the dental clinic was authorized as a dental center, but not to perform sedation on patientsdespite the fact that he administered drugs this way to a six-year-old girl at the hands of an anesthetist who also is being investigated. Now it is something that is in the hands of justice that also contemplates the possibility of poor condition of the medication used to sedate patients. After the death of the minor, doubts have arisen from associations of anesthetists warning of the “serious risk” of perform sedation outside the hospital setting or without specifically trained personnel, and remembering that even “conscious” sedation can quickly evolve into life-threatening respiratory depression. The combination of younger age, intravenous route and an environment possibly not prepared to the level required by best practices constitutes a high-risk scenario that the regulatory framework precisely aims to avoid. A regulation with obstacles. Although many communities have been fine-tuning their regulations, several legal and technical reviews highlight that the regulation of sedation in dentistry in Spain remains scatteredunequal between territories and, in some cases, ambiguous regarding who can do what and under what conditions. In some autonomies, complex sedation and general anesthesia are regulated in detail, but “conscious” sedation in consultation, especially when they switch to intravenous medications and benzodiazepines, remains in an area where interpretation weighs more than a unified framework. What should we look at? With this unfortunate case, … Read more

Spain has never been a land of skyscrapers. Now someone wants to build one for luxury tourists in Malaga

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Malaga is known for the Alcazaba, Gibralfaro or its Cathedral. If Hesperia and the Qatari fund Al Alfia manage to move forward with their plans, in not too long it will also be for another building, one that will also mark their skyline: the Port Tower. The project is not new (it has years on the table) and has generated considerable controversy in the city, but its promoters have just made it clear that they are not giving up: after receiving green light of the Port, the companies that are trying to move it forward have organized an event to share dates, data and investments. Their objective is to demonstrate that they are still committed to building a 144-meter tower in a country, Spain, that stands out for its little hobby by the skyscrapers. What is the Port Tower? A megaproject which has been in the offices of administrations for almost a decade and (above all) generating debate in Malaga. And the “mega” thing is more than justified in this case. At least if we pay attention to the latest data broken down by their promoters. The idea is to build a skyscraper 144 meters high, 59 meters wide and 19 meters wide at the end of the Levante dock, in the middle of the port, near the maritime station where the cruise ships dock. The tower will act as a huge hotel 382 roomsbut its promoters they insist in which it will arrive accompanied by a much more ambitious and useful infrastructure for the city that will cover, in total, 54,000 square meters. “The hotel will be located in a currently depressed area, where there is nothing, and we are going to recover that environment for the city and the citizens,” slide from Hesperia, a fundamental piece in its promotion together with the Qatari fund Al Alfia. Is more information known? Yes. Both about the hotel itself and the urban development that will accompany it. The icing on the cake will be the skyscraper: 144 meters high whose centerpiece will be accommodation focused on the high-net-worth clientele that comes to Malaga. The objective, in fact, is for it to operate as a five-star Grand Luxury hotel and be managed by an international chain (there are already interested parties). Beyond the hotel, the complex will include a 2,500 m2 auditorium, underground parking, a restaurant, a plaza and a 1.3 km boulevard with viewpoints, a bike path, green areas… The development companies in fact calculate that the complex will cover around 54,000 m2. “It is not a speculative project, it will have a return for the developer, but above all for the city because it creates many public spaces,” investors claim in The Opinion of Malaga. How much will it cost? There is talk of an investment of about 200 million eurosalthough initially the figure was quite inferior. This high amount (along with the special status of the land) explains why the promoters insist on the “transformative” and social dimension of the project and the return it will have for Malaga. The reason? To begin with because the promoters they do not rule out qualify for European funds and have support from the administrations. Before even thinking about financing, the project must nevertheless get its future cleared by the Council of Ministers, for which it is key that its public utility be demonstrated. Why is it news? The initiative is by no means new. A quick search in the newspaper archive arrives to verify that he has been chaining procedures for years, a complex path during which he even changed his star architect: the Valencian José Seguí He moved not long ago to the Londoner David Chipperfielwinner of the Pritzker Prize (the Nobel Prize for architects) in 2023. In recent weeks, however, the tower has been in the news again for two reasons. The first came in October, when the Port Authority gave the green light to the complex and allowed him to move on to the next stop in his processing: the State Ports table. There they must study it in depth before it reaches the Council of Ministers, which must rule on whether the hotel complex fits into the Levante dike. That is, whether or not it authorizes the hotel use of that space. The second reason why the tower is being talked about these days is because its promoters, Hesperia and Al Alfia, have organized an act to emphasize that they are not giving up. In fact, the quote served to explain details of the Chipperfield project and outline the schedule managed by the companies: their objective is to resolve the pending issues “in the medium term” to start the works as early as 2026. According to their estimates, the work will last about three years. Will that be possible? First, the project must overcome certain obstacles. And not all of them have to do with financing. The project needs the green light from the Council of Ministers and Óscar Puente, Minister of Transportation, since has warned that the Executive will not move until it knows the judicial resolution to the appeals presented by the Defendamos Nuestro Horizonte platform and the Academy of Fine Arts of San Telmo, critical of some aspects of the project. They are not the only ones. ICOMOS, linked to UNESCO, has warned also the landscape impact of the tower. Spain, country of skyscrapers? Although in Spain there are skyscrapers like the Crystal Towerin Madrid, of 249 m, and in Andalusia itself we find the Seville Tower (180.5 m), the truth is that our country does not exactly stand out for its large buildings. Some time ago Skyscrapercenter made a ranking with the nations with the highest number of towers that exceed 150 meters and Spain occupies 32nd place, behind other European countries, such as Germany, France or the United Kingdom. The Malaga tower is a reminder of one of the controversies generated by this type of structures: its impact on the landscape … Read more

The mansions of the most exclusive urbanization in Spain are usually a mystery. Marc Márquez has opened it up a little

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The MotoGP rider has had no shame in reveal the value of his mansion in La Finca, along with other details about how he manages an asset that exceeds 80 million euros. Far from the clichés of the millionaire athlete, Márquez talks about fiscal responsibility, professional advice and a clear philosophy: money has not changed his lifestyle (or at least not in everyday things). The mansion as an investment, not as a whim. Marc Márquez has resided since 2022 in La Finca, the most exclusive urbanization in Pozuelo de Alarcón, where he has neighbors such as Cristiano Ronaldo or Cristina Pedroche. His property, valued at around 10 million euros, has 1,300 square meters distributed in seven rooms, a gym, a two-story swimming pool and a minimalist aesthetic with straight lines and light tones. When asked about the price, the pilot responds: “10 million? Around there. That area is around there. But it is an investment,” according to declared on Imagin’s ‘The End of the Month Podcast’. He also states that “the house is paid for.” This case, in fact, It was owned by Mariano Díazformer Real Madrid player and current Deportivo Alavés forward. The jump to Madrid. The move from Cervera to the capital was not just a matter of comfort. According to revealed to ‘Todo Circuit’the decision was motivated by medical reasons, being close to his doctors after the injuries that have marked his career, and by logistical efficiency. “I save hours on the train, with events and commitments,” he explained. The Finca also offers you the privacy you are looking for, being a refuge where you can disconnect from the circuit without fanfare. The lesson of the first million. The path to economic stability began in 2013, when Márquez won his first MotoGP title at just 20 years old. That bonus of more than a million euros opened his eyes about money management. “More than 50%, bam!, Treasury. 10% for the manager, training motorcycles…”, remembered in that same interview. It was then that he met the lawyer who still advises him and learned the importance of not losing his mind: “They told me: ‘it seems like a lot, but it’s little, leave it in the bank.’” Since then, he assures that his advice is provided by a lawyer and an accounting manager, without limited companies. “I am self-employed, I am not a company, I do not have a SL,” he says. An empire beyond motorcycles. In addition to his residence, Márquez has diversified his assets with investments in the audiovisual sector with his brother Álex. They participate in companies such as Fast Brothers Productions, dedicated to film and series production, and Café Para Muy Cafeteros, focused on podcasts. They also founded Vertical Management SL, specialized in representation and advice of athletes and content creators, together with Vertical Content Creators SL and Bamboleo Events SL, the latter focused on organizing sporting events. With this network of companies, he not only manages his image, but also builds a professional future that will be very good for him once he retires from his profession. 2025, year of 10. His season with Ducati has been historic: he has won his ninth world title, achieved 11 victories in grand prix and 14 in sprint. This, according to Forbes, has reported him extraordinary income that totals more than 5 million euros in bonuses, in addition to his base salary of 12 million. Added to this are sponsorships with brands such as Estrella Galicia, Alpinestars, Shoei or Audi, which represent a substantial part of a total assets that exceeds 80 million euros. Money without posturing. “I’m lucky that money hasn’t changed my lifestyle,” says Márquez. “I have the same time with my friends anywhere, I don’t need to show off.” He has no debts, declares himself self-employed and maintains a low profile. “I don’t want to be in the newspapers or anything like that,” he confesses. It is the same solvency with which he rides a Ducati: a cool head, long-term vision and feet on the ground. In Xataka | An atoll in the South Pacific has become a magnet for millionaires. Its great attraction is not its beaches, it is its banks

While everything is going through the roof, a product is cheaper than ever in Spain: cocaine

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Those who are dedicated to probing the coca market have encountered a curious phenomenon: while the CPI rises and the prices of products such as the coffee either cocoacocaine undertakes the reverse path. Its cost seems to be in free fall. If a few years ago there was talk of more than 30,000 euros per kilogram of white powder, today there are sources that place it at barely 13,000a collapse that also coincides with an apparent increase of traffic and a high consumption. A difficult equation to solve. What do the figures say? It is not easy to talk about cocaine trafficking and the price. There is data and people dedicated to studying it, but for obvious reasons much of the information available is based on estimates. I shared the last one a few days ago The Catalan Newspaper in an extensive report in which he assures that right now a kilo of cocaine on the black market is around 13,000 euros. The same newspaper recalls that not so long ago a kilo brick was around 20,000 euros, but if you use the newspaper archive you will find information which show that a mere decade ago it was priced at between 27,000 and 29,000 euros in the Rías Baixas or even above 30,000 in Madrid and Valencia. What’s more, just a few months ago The Voice of Galicia assured that the official reference with which the Ministry of the Interior worked when calculating the value of the seized drugs set the value of a kilo at just over 30,500 euros. Is it something new? No. And that’s the curious thing. The media has been reporting on the drop in the price of coca for more than a year, sometimes with slight swings. Now does it The Newspaperbut a year ago I did it the Galician press and in 2023 it had the same message ABCwhich already at that time included the words of Fernando Iglesias, head of the Customs Surveillance Service in Galicia: “Its price has plummeted and that leads to a brutal offer.” “Cocaine prices have been devalued by almost half compared to just a few years ago, and that is a very clear indicator of the current abundance of this drug,” agreed the head of the Galician Foundation against Drug Trafficking. According to the data what he was driving at the time ABCthe kilo of Colombian coca that 20 years ago was paid for 30,000 euros had gone to price 17,000. Prices, however, always refer to a kilo. Curiously, this accelerated cheapening of drugs does not seem to have transferred to the street. Where the gram still costs the same than before: it remains around the 50 and 60 eurosdespite the fact that those who handle large quantities of drugs do so at a much lower cost. Are there more trends? Yes. Again they are based on estimates and indications, but they are just as interesting. The first tells us about the type of drug that is consumed. Not only has a kilo of coca become cheaper, it also seems to be purer. That at least is what emerges from the data from Energy Control, an agency dedicated to analyzing samples delivered by anonymous buyers. Their studies show that, on average, the samples that arrive have a purity that exceeds 70%. Other studies They have also noted an increase in purity. What about consumption? If there is a clear (and relevant) trend, it is the one that tells us about demand, which can be analyzed based on two key clues: studies on consumption and seizures of caches. In the first case (demand), the European Drug Report 2025 stands out, which reveals that Spain is the country with a highest percentage of population that has taken coca at some point in their life. The figure here reaches 13.3%, well above France and Denmark (9.4%). Do we have more clues? Yes. The European study, presented in June, slid that there are indications that consumption is increasing in the EU and even advised administrations to prepare for a rebound in demand for treatments. The percentage of people who admit to having tried the white powder also has been increasing over the last few years. The latest EADES survey (2024) indicates that 13% of individuals from 15 to 64 years old admit having used cocaine at some time, which marks the maximum in the historical series. In 2022 that indicator marked 11.7% and if we go to the early years of the 2000s the data was even lower. The Man Project Observatory also has noted its increase among users seeking to detoxify: in a matter of a decade it has gone from being the main addiction of 27% of users to extending its shadow to reach approximately 41%. What about seizures? They are another thermometer. At the end of the day, whether more or fewer caches are ‘hunted’ depends on the authorities’ aim, but also on the intensity of traffic. The Newspaper remember that the police only manage to seize a relatively low percentage of all the drugs that arrive at the ports. In the absence of more updated data, the 2024 Annual Drug Statistics published in July by the Intelligence Center against Terrorism and Organized Crime (CITCO) shows that last year Interior recorded an increase in cocaine seizures of 5.2%, which places them at approximately 123 tons. “There is more cocaine than ever”recognize police sources to The Newspaper about the situation that exists in cities like Barcelona. The same medium specifies that in 2023 and 2024 Customs Surveillance located just over 60 million tons of coca hidden in containers arriving by sea from South America. The reason for these data? One possibility is a change in routes that reduces the volume traveled through Holland and Belgium and places Spain as a gateway to Europe. What about the prices? If demand does not seem to be suffering… Why are prices falling, at least in the channels where kilos are moved (another … Read more

Half of Spain is on alert due to snow and yet AEMET has not issued a single red notice: what is happening here?

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“Historical Polar Beast“, “New Philomena“, “the polar storm that threatens Spain“: Much has been written about the intrusion of cold air that is causing drops in temperatures, snowfall and trouble throughout the north of the country. And not always without reason. In fact, the Junta de Castilla y León has declared the alert for snowfall in the provinces of Burgos, León, Palencia and Soria. And yet, AEMET has not issued a red weather warning. What is happening here? QTo start: everything is working normally. And we must not forget that AEMET and Civil Protection do not do the same work. The State Meteorological Agency is limited to issuing weather warnings that are based on physical and objective thresholds. Civil Protection, on the other hand, declares the alert based on the expected impact (on the population and/or infrastructure). In this sense, they are not things that can be linked directly. And what is happening these days is a textbook example. AEMET has not activated red warnings, simply because snowfall exceeding the highest thresholds is not expected. Yes, the snow level had dropped a lot… but in reality, no one expected a lot of snow to fall. This does not mean, as is evident, that it is not an important episode; Only it is not an extreme episode in purely meteorological terms. In social terms, it is different. Because as Víctor Gonzalez explained There are a series of factors that make this relatively small winter storm something to take into account. To begin with, it is the first episode of snowfall at low levels of the season. As with heat waves in summer, the first ‘episodes’ are always more dangerous because they ‘catch’ the population unprepared. Especially when (as is happening now) that episode comes earlier than usual, when winter hasn’t even started yet. In addition, it coincides with very busy days (because we are talking about a very busy weekend). An important lesson: When we talk about meteorology, it doesn’t just matter how much snow falls, how hot it is going to be, or how much water a storm will dump. What really matters is when, where and on whom it falls. As Víctor González said“If this same episode occurred on a Tuesday in February, perhaps the alert would not have been declared.” Image | ECMWF | Alev Takil In Xataka | AEMET is clear about what we can expect from the polar storm that threatens Spain: the question is whether we are prepared

What is this subscription, what does it include and how much does it cost in Spain?

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Let’s tell you what it is the price and features of the subscription AI Plus from Google. This is a lower subscription than Google AI Pro, which retains things like access to the most advanced models of Geminibut cut back on the use of other additional tools. This is a movement similar to that of ChatGPT Gowith which Google tries to make the artificial intelligence payment. Because 20 euro subscriptions are excessive for most users, so they have decided to try a much lower one. We will tell you the characteristics and comparison of the other subscription. What is Google AI Plus Google AI Plus is the name of the cheapest subscription to use paid Gemini. Gemini is the company’s artificial intelligence, and its free version is quite limited in terms of access to more advanced and powerful models. The solution if you want greater access to Google’s most powerful AI is to pay, and this is a subscription that seeks to be more affordable. Google initially created two paid subscriptions. For “ordinary” people it offered AI Pro with a price of 22 euros per month, and for more advanced users another price of 275 euros per month. Clearly, even the “cheapest” one was excessive for most users, so they decided to create one more step, a cheaper subscription. By paying this subscription you will have access to Gemini 3 Pro or the new models that arrive in the future. Access will not be any more limited than the most expensive subscription, but wider than in the free version. You’ll also have access to AI interactions with Gmail and other Google services, video creation, and more. Google AI Plus vs AI Pro Google AI Plus Google AI Pro Gemini App Access to Gemini 3 Pro, and Deep Research in 3 Pro. Videos are also generated with limited access to Veo 3.1 Greater access to Gemini 3 Pro, and Deep Research on 3 Pro. Videos are also generated with limited access to Veo 3.1 flow Access to the AI ​​tool for film creation, being able to create scenes and stories, with limited access to Veo 3.1 Greater access to the AI ​​tool for film creation, being able to create scenes and stories, with limited access to Veo 3.1 Whisk More complete access to creating videos from images with Veo 3. Expanded access to creating videos from images with Veo 3. Credits 200 monthly AI credits for Flow and Whisk 1,000 monthly AI credits for Flow and Whisk Notebooklm Access to the research and writing assistant with expanded access to audio summaries, notebooks, and other resources. Greater access to the research and writing assistant with 5x more audio summaries, notebooks, and other resources. Gemini in google apps Access Gemini directly in Gmail, Docs, and Google apps. Access Gemini directly in Gmail, Docs, and Google apps. Also to Vids. Google Home Premium Standard No 30 days of Gemini event and feature history Gemini Code Assist and Gemini CLI No More model requests per day on Flash and Pro models in Gemini CLI and Gemini Code Assist IDE extensions Jules No Higher limits when using Jules, the asynchronous scheduling agent for software developers created by Google Storage 200 GB of total storage in your Google account, to use in Drive, Gmail or Photos 2 TB of total storage in your Google account, to use in Drive, Gmail or Photos Price 7.99 euros per month 21.99 euros per month As you can see, the 8 euro subscription already gives you access to Gemini 3 Pro and Deep Research, as well as video generation with Veo 3.1. The more expensive version has broader limits of use, but the economical one is already an interesting gateway, also for creating videos from images. One of the differences is seen in the number of monthly credits for Flow and Whiskwhich is five times higher than the most expensive subscription. The same thing happens with NotebookLM, which has five times more limits in the Pro version, but in the Plus you already have access. The same thing also happens with the possibility of using Gemini in Google apps, such as Gmail or documents, you have it in both subscriptions. The main difference comes with three additional tools. The most economical subscription does not include the additional benefits of using Gemini on your smart speakersuch as a greater history of events and functions. You also don’t have access to special options for creating code or scheduling agents. For this you will have to go to the Pro subscription at least. There is also a difference in storage that is added to your Google account. In the Pro version it is still 2 TB, but in the Plus you already have 200 GB, which is more than the 15 GB that Google gives you for free. Google AI Plus Price Google AI Plus is priced at 7.99 euros per month. There may be times when there is a temporary promotion, such as two months at 3.99 euros and then return to the normal subscription. But the full price is eight euros per month. In Xataka Basics | The best prompts to save hours of work and do your tasks with ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot or other artificial intelligence

Ukraine has returned from Europe with 250 fighter jets under its arm. The problem is that only Spain has told him the truth

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The new European trip of the president of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has finished in Spain and has crystallized into a military agenda that aims to reconfigure the Ukrainian air force over the next decade, based on political agreements of enormous symbolic scope. If nothing goes wrong, the Ukrainian nation has nothing less than 250 European fighters under his arm along with a huge aid package and arsenal. The problem is that the financing is very uncertain and its execution is very distant. Aerial reconstruction as a continental ambition. In Paris, the Ukrainian president signed a letter of intent to acquire up to one hundred Rafale fightersdevices that France presents as the heart of the future defense of Ukraine, complemented by Samp/T systemsnew generation drones, guided munitions and incipient industrial cooperation to manufacture interceptors on Ukrainian territory. The French bet aims to elevate Ukraine to European technological standardintegrating it into a long-term security architecture and relying on a financing framework yet to be defined, where the European Union and frozen Russian assets appear as the great promise, although deeply controversial. The political gesture, celebrated as historic in parisresponds to the French ambition to lead the regeneration of Ukrainian air power and to reinforce the role of its defense industry in a continent that is rapidly rearming. Doubts about the bet. Diplomatic enthusiasm contrasts with operational uncertainties. They remembered TWZ analysts either The Wall Street Journal that Ukraine does not have of the financial margin to pay for neither the acquisition nor the maintenance of a hundred Rafale, and France is going through a period of budget fragility which makes sustained long-term commitments difficult. The idea that Europe could finance the purchase through new joint debt mechanisms or from income generated by frozen Russian assets divides the states members and poses enormous legal risks, especially for Belgium, which holds most of those funds. Added to this is the industrial reality: the Dassault production chain is saturatedwith deliveries committed for years, and the manufacturing of 100 additional devices would require extraordinary efforts. The perspective of a parallel program, with 150 Swedish Gripen also agreed in the preliminary phase, increases doubts about whether Ukraine could sustain, train and maintain such a vast fleet of 4/5th generation aircraft. For many, the initiative reflects more a political movement to keep France at the center of the Ukrainian equation and to boost European industry in the face of a United States more distantthan a realistic military acquisition plan in the short or medium term. A Gripen fighter The military horizon. Zelensky’s trip has also highlighted the arrival of a winter that anticipates a new Russian campaign focused in energy infrastructure and strategic cities. France insists that Samp/T systems are demonstrating remarkable effectiveness against Russian missiles with a complex trajectory, even higher, some French commanders claim, than the performance of the Patriot in certain scenarios. In parallel, Paris reinforces its role as a provider of interim air capabilities, including Mirage fighters and precision ammunition, while promoting a future coalition of countries Europeans willing to guarantee the security of Ukraine after an eventual ceasefire, a project still impossible as long as Moscow rejects any negotiation. This strategy, which attempts to combine immediate support with an architecture of long term securityreveals both French determination and the continent’s real limitations in simultaneously sustaining the current war and future rearmament. Among others, Spanish military aid to Ukraine will consist of 40 IRIS-T missiles Spain and the contrast with the promises. The final stop of the trip, in Madrid, has revealed a very marked contrast between the declarative exuberance of some allies and the measured (and often austere) approach of the Spanish Government. Spain announced a package of 817 million of euros, which includes 300 million in nationally produced weapons, 215 million channeled through European programs and additional 100 million to acquire US missiles through PURL initiative of NATO. It is a significant effort in political and logistical terms, but modest in comparison with the great European powers and especially small in the face of the air ambitions presented in France or Sweden. In practice, it is a calibrated support for immediate needs from the Ukrainian winter: anti-aircraft missiles to repel drones and protect critical infrastructures, plus a commitment to accelerate joint industrial capabilities in areas where Spanish companies (with Indra at the head) can offer practical solutions such as deployable radars or anti-drone systems. Spain and realism. If you also want, the Spanish case reflects a much more realistic line than that of other countries visited by Zelensky. Since the beginning of the war, Spain has contributed with useful materialsbut in many cases coming from surplus (Leopard 2A4 retired, M113 obsolete, Hawk batteries aging) and has prioritized its participation in European programs where the direct cost to its budget is lower. In comparative terms, and especially measured as a percentage of GDP, Spain is far behind of the hard core of military support for Ukraine. However, what it offers now is probably more sincere and sustainable: an acceptable package, focused on urgent and realistic needs, that does not promise fighter fleets, perhaps impossible to finance, or industrial projects that exceed national capacity. Spanish extra ball. Furthermore, Spain stands out where other countries they can’t: in the reception of refugees, in the medical rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers and in light but reliable industrial cooperation. So, on that journey that began with spectacular advertisements in Paris and Stockholm, the Spanish stop has served to balance in a way the expectations. In that sense, Spain appears as one of the few allies that gauges its support by looking ahead. the budget figuresavoiding promising what it will be difficult to fulfill and remaining firm in what it can offer: a modest but operational contribution. Image | Ronnie MacdonaldTuomo Salonen, Air and Space Army Ministry of Defense Spain In Xataka | Europe already knows the arsenal it needs for rearmament. Now the most difficult thing remains: how to make it arrive in time if Russia attacks … Read more

Young people have become more spiritual than the average in Spain. The problem for the Church is that no more Catholics

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Religion is the great terrain of certainties, but if what we are talking about is religion and youth ‘certainty’ is precisely what is in short supply. With the country talking about Rosalía dressed as a nun and the resurgence of the Catholicism among Generation Z, a new study prepared by a foundation linked to the State provides an alternative perspective: indeed, young Spaniards are more spiritual than the country average, but no more Catholics. In fact, the percentage of those who define themselves as such is much lower than the average for society as a whole. More religious, perhaps; but… The religion that Rome is looking for? What has happened? that the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundationan organization linked to the Ministry of the Presidency, has prepared a study on religion that leaves a few interesting conclusions. The main one (perhaps) is the one that suggests that to talk about religiosity and youth we increasingly need to resort more to nuances and less to pure colors. From black and white, we move to gray. At the moment the foundation has not published the full report, prepared after conducting 4,712 online interviews, but we can get an idea of ​​its content thanks to a progress published exclusively this weekend by The Country. What does the study say? To understand it, it is good to review a few figures. The first, the percentage of Spaniards who define themselves as religious believers. If we talk about the general population, this figure stands at 49%. In 46%, if we focus only on the Catholic faith. Things change when we examine the population by age and look especially at the youngest cohorts. Between 25 and 34 years old, only 31% of the population declares themselves Catholic and in the 18 to 24 year old segment the figure is even lower, 29%. What’s more, in the younger sector the mark of atheism, agnosticism or indifference towards religion stands out. Also the few people who pray or attend religious services. Do young people believe less? Depends. In fact, that is where the nuances that complicate the photo begin. The study shows that the percentage of young people aged 18 to 24 who define themselves as Catholic is lower than that of the population as a whole (29% compared to 46%), but that does not mean that they have turned their backs on religiosity. On the contrary. The report suggests that they have a strong spiritual streak, although one that is likely to raise eyebrows at Spanish Episcopal Confederation (CEE) or to any defender of traditional Catholic dogma. Why is that? Perhaps they are the least frequently defined as Catholic, but according to the information advanced by The Country Young people are the ones who most believe in the existence of “some kind of spiritual reality or life force.” Those between 18 and 24 years old are in fact the age group most convinced of the existence of a soul (59%), the one who most believes in life after death (40%), astrology (29%), clairvoyance (23%) or the “energies” that operate in our world (45%). Young people are also those who show the most interest in tarots (23%). They do it so much that their percentage exceeds that of young people who read the Bible. Spain, a religious country? Tapping the religiosity of a country is not an easy task. Not at least in Spain. A Google search arrives to find different studies that emphasize one detail or another. The study of the Pluralism and Coexistence Foundation (FPC) contrasts in fact with another published a few months ago by the CIS, which pointed out that the percentage of Spaniards who declare themselves Catholic around 52.8% (17.3% practicing and 35.5% non-practicing). Within the survey itself advanced by The Country There are apparent contradictions, such as that in Spain there are fewer monotheists (37%) than Catholics (46%). Does context matter? A lot. The study is interesting for what it says, but also for when it says it. It comes in the midst of a debate on the resurgence of faith among Generation Z and “green shoots” of religiosity, with Rosalía (and other artists) throwing winks at Catholicism, Hakuna moving crowds and the Church boasting of gathering together more than 20,000 young people at the Jubilee in Rome. And the truth is that there are signs that speak of change. Although if we analyze the data from recent decades we can see a secularization of Spanish society, in recent years the percentage of young people who declare themselves practicing Catholics has grown several points. In the 18 to 24 year old cohort, the proportion of believers who acknowledge never or almost never attending religious services, even has gone down. There are those who warn, however, that behind these figures there could be a “paradox”: “There are fewer people who believe, but among those who believe, more explicit forms of practices increase.” reflect Víctor Albert-Blanco, sociologist. Other authors even believe that winks like Rosalía’s are the result of the “deregulation of religious symbology” in a more secularized country. Does the study say anything else? Yes. And its conclusions are unflattering for those who want a return to Catholicism. For its report, the FPC asked those interviewed “what gives a lot or a lot of meaning to your life?”, focusing on eight different aspects. The most popular response was family (90%), followed by friendships (79%), personal growth (78%) and nature (71%). At the opposite end of the list is “religion or spirituality”, with only 31%. In fact, the percentage is lower than that of those who pointed out pets (47%) or social activism (36%). The picture is (even) clearer if we talk about the youngest population cohort, those between 18 and 24 years old. In that case, only 15% point to religion as a source of inspiration, almost four times less than those who claim that pets are what give meaning to their lives. Images | Vick Bufano (Unsplash) and British Province of Carmelites … Read more

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