Spain

The “best mechanic in Spain” says that leaving the car parked for a long time causes “irreversible damage.” It’s not as terrible as it seems

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Any object that uses mechanical components is something that should be used from time to time. Although we are talking about cars here, it is not exclusive to cars. If you have one bicyclesome automatic watch either photo cameras old, it is something that you most likely have in mind. And the thing is that, with the passage of time, the liquids dry out or become stuck and the components can begin to suffer from corrosion. That’s exactly what happens to a car. When a vehicle is not movingthe moving parts lose lubrication and the liquids always remain in the same places. It is also easier for corrosion to appear. In short, it is the same case as the previous ones. With the difference that a car is an object that usually weighs between one and two tons and is designed to move at high speeds on the road, leaving aside its maintenance clearly puts our health and that of the rest of the drivers we meet on the road at risk. But what should we fear and what can we not worry about? For the best mechanic in Spain in 2023, the problem is obvious: “irreversible damage may occur.” a long, long time In 2023, Javier Sendín, from Talleres Cardiocar de Salamanca, was chosen as best mechanic of Spain for The Official Workshop Community. This award delivered annually and over the years it has brought together more than a thousand participants. The winner is chosen after online tests in which theoretical questions are presented and, phase by phase, it ends up deciding who is the best in Spain. In The Vanguard They have contacted Sendín to ask him about some risks that we should not overlook when maintaining our car. Whoever was the best mechanic in Spain has remembered the importance of not forgetting of a vehicle because we cannot expect that after a long time without starting, the car will be in perfect condition. “Although it may not seem like it (leaving the car still for weeks), this can be harmful. Components such as the suspension are affected, since the silentblocks and other rubber pieces tend to dry out or warp when left in the same position for weeks or months. It is also very negative for the battery, both in thermal vehicles and, especially, in hybrids and electric vehicles (…) there is a risk of irreversible damage.” What “the best mechanic in Spain 2023” claims is undoubted. The question is how much time has to pass for the damage to be especially noticeable. The truth is that if a car remains stationary for a few weeks, the damage is still minor. For example, it is not good for tires spend a lot of time supporting the weight of the car in the same position as deformities may arise. Despite this, in less than a month you will not notice substantial changes. Of course, keep an eye on its pressure so that when you get going again everything is in the best state. The battery is the other problem that can appear when the car has not moved for a long time. Especially if its useful life is already on its last legs, it is not a good idea to leave the car stationary for a long time. Yes indeed, if only a few weeks passthe worst that can happen is that the battery is completely discharged. However, if the battery is in good condition, may take more than two months to download. If we contemplate this happening, a good idea is to unplug the battery completely. So, when should we start paying real attention to our car? The American Automobile Association recommends that we put more emphasis on car care when they pass more than 45 days immobile. In that case, you should try to keep the car indoors and in a dry place. In this way, the car is more protected from corrosion and components that suffer from changes in temperature and humidity, such as tires, are more protected. Among the advice given from RACE There is checking the levels of the car’s fluids: brakes, coolant or oil. And with the passage of time, part of them may evaporate or have dried out in some specific points. Keep in mind, however, that again we are talking about months with the car stopped and not a few weeks. In that case, do not force the mechanics excessively when putting the car back into operation since we will not be risking any breakage. In fact, it is estimated that until after three months Since the car came to a complete stop, the components will not start to cause real problems. That is why possible damage from having the car stopped is not the most common case. Yes indeed, from the RACC They also recommend paying close attention to gasoline. First of all, we should not rush the tank to the maximum since impurities always remain at the bottom of it and it is easier for them to end up damaging a component such as the spark plugs. But if the car has been stopped for a long time it is not good to leave it loaded with fuel either. Over time, it loses properties. If we have a classic car that we use a few times a year, it is best to leave some gasoline in the tank but renew it shortly after we get going. You don’t have to use up the tank but you also don’t have to leave the car forgotten with a full tank. We talked, once again, about leaving the car sitting for months. Photo | Felix Neudecker and Sten Rademaker In Xataka | The “one minute rule” or how to always keep your car ready and avoid breakdowns worth 3,000 euros

The best-selling car in Spain is the Dacia Sandero. And we are teaming up with France to defend the jump to electric cars

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Rarely can it be said that France and Spain are teaming up to achieve the same objective. At the same time They torpedo themselves as much as they can on the high speed railway or what they face each other directly because of the energetic connectionsthe electric car seems to have united the two countries. At the same time that the European Union seems to be cracking regarding its positions on the electric car, France and Spain have not hesitated in positioning itself to defend possible modifications to a regulation led by Germany. The Germans are pushing to open the door to combustion engines and countries like Italy seem convinced that it is the way to go. However, from Spain we have put many efforts to electrify our industrywe are embracing a good part of the models that should power Europeans in the coming years. France has also done everything possible to embrace the technology that, until recently, almost all of Europe defended as the best for the future. What is being played? The eternal and convoluted European bureaucracy In 2023, European countries They voted to ban combustion engines from 2035. The ban left almost any technology that did not rely on electric or hydrogen out of play. First of all, we must understand what the European Union roadmap is. The plan is to drastically reduce the volume of emissions from heavy and light transport. Among the measures proposed, 2025 should be the year from which manufacturers would receive a fine of 95 euros for each car sold and for each gram of CO2/km exceeded in their average emissions at the end of the year. This has not been fulfilled and the manufacturers, who They expected billion-dollar fineswill be accountable in 2027 taking as reference the average emissions for the period 2025-2027. That is, if everything remains the same, whoever does not comply in this year 2025 must compensate in the coming years. From 2030, the emissions limit is drastically reduced. The 49.5 gr/km of CO2 raised They leave any car with a combustion engine that is not highly electrified in the lurch. In fact, with the changes approved for plug-in hybrids, their sale is not a great guarantee when it comes to lowering emissions. Reducing these involves, yes or yes, selling electric cars. And when 2035 arrives, cars with combustion engines that emit CO2 will not be able to be sold. This is important. The original wording spoke of “polluting emissions” and was finally changed to “CO2 emissions”. This makes sense because a fuel cell car can generate some polluting emissions in its electrolysis process but does not emit CO2. The first draft left everything that was not electric out of the market. Finally, it was approved that cars with combustion engines will be prohibited from emitting CO2. But also the door was left open to e-fuels or synthetic fuels. These fuels trap CO2 for their production, so it is considered that the emissions produced in the engine are being compensated. Europe still has to debate whether to finally approve the proposal that would allow these cars to be sold. The intention is that, if approved, these cars They will only be able to circulate with e-fuels and they must have sensors to prevent them from operating with traditional fuels or a mixture of synthetic and traditional fuels. But, in addition, the 2023 approval in which the ban on selling cars with combustion engines was confirmed already included the obligation to present a report before December 31, 2026 by the European Commission reporting on the progress that was being made. This report has been brought forward to 2025 and it is being studied. It will depend on him whether, finally, any type of modification is carried out. Europe divided Faced with this situation, Europe is divided. Despite the votes and the fact that the regulations should be firm, countries such as Germany and Italy and manufacturers are pushing for the current ban on combustion engines not to be maintained as drafted in 2035. Spain and France have presented a document in which they reaffirm their position in defense of the current prohibitions. This comes after the European Commission confirmed that will advance the review at the end of this year of the current state of the regulations, which can open the door to modifications and more lax regulations. In it document They reject favoring the use of plug-in hybrids since they consider that they emit more polluting particles than those reflected in the current tests and assure that “subterfuges should not be enabled that allow us to escape the ‘zero emissions’ objective for 2035”, in words collected by EFE. The document is, as we said, the response to the pressure that countries like Germany and Italy are exerting. The Germans have even asked, directly, that the ban on selling cars with combustion engines be eliminated. They assure that allowing synthetic fuels will leave us with “cleaner mobility”. Italy is the other big obstacle that the French and Spanish are encountering. Since Giorgia Meloni came to power has pointed out the regulations as wrong already approved that should prohibit the sale of engines that generate CO2. Like France and Spain, Germany and Italy also go hand in hand but in this case they have signed a document in which they consider that the current emissions regulations contemplate “disproportionate penalties.” And here comes what can change everything. In Germany and Italy they believe that the volume of emissions must be taken into account “throughout the entire value chain or through the use of renewable fuels.” That is, each brand should be analyzed taking into account how many emissions it produces not only during the burning of the fuel in its engines, but also during its production. The final objective seems clear: if the manufacturer saves on emissions during its production, the engines should have room to expel that CO2 that the brand is already compensating during its production. That is, … Read more

The Spainsat NG II satellite is cutting-edge technology Made in Spain

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More than one team of engineers stayed up late from Thursday to Friday to watch the launch of the Spanish Spainsat NG II satellite live. With its successful deployment, Spain is placed at the forefront of European defense from space. On board a Falcon 9. In the absence of European alternatives, the Spainsat NG II took off from Cape Canaveral, in the United States, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch, however, was impeccable. The rocket placed the satellite into geosynchronous transfer orbit, completing a new generation constellation for the Spanish Armed Forces. The most advanced in Europe. The second launch of the Spainsat NG program, operated by Hisdesat (now part of Indra) for the Spanish Ministry of Defense, is the culmination of years of development and strategic investments to redefine Spain’s autonomy and climb positions in Europe and NATO. Composed of the twin satellites NG I (launched in January) and NG II (launched yesterday), it is designed to guarantee secure, reliable and uninterrupted communications, both for Spain and its partners. In any circumstance. The new satellites are true orbital fortresses. The Spainsat NG incorporate advanced technologies protection against interference attempts (anti-jamming) and identity theft (anti-spoofing). They are even reinforced against high altitude nuclear phenomenameeting the strictest NATO requirements. This capacity for resilience is precisely what makes Spain climb positions in the Atlantic Alliance. In a modern war scenario, the first battle would be fought in the electromagnetic spectrum, as the Ukrainian war and dependence on Starlink demonstrated. The ability of a country to maintain command and control of its operations, even under nuclear or electronic warfare attack, is a capability that very few countries possess. Made in Spain. But what really distinguishes this project is the qualitative leap for the national industry. 45% of the Spainsat NG system has been manufactured in Spain. The jewel in the crown is PACIS3, the technological heart of the satellite, which includes an active X-band antenna developed by Airbus Defense and Space in Madrid. This antenna, the most advanced in Europe, is the equivalent of 16 traditional antennas and allows the satellite adapt and change your coverage up to 1,000 times per second In practical terms, the satellite can not only resist jamming, but can geographically locate the source of the attack on Earth and nullify it. All this while redirecting its communication beams to the areas of operations that need it. For its part, Thales Alenia Space integrated the complete Communication Module of both satellites. To this end, it built a new state-of-the-art clean room at its Tres Cantos facilities. It is the largest satellite system ever assembled in Spain: a structure of more than two tons and six meters high. Image | Airbus In Xataka | Europe has done the only thing it could do to compete with SpaceX and China in space: merge its largest companies

Spain wants to show that it can live without nuclear weapons. The problem is that he is still testing how

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Spain is experiencing a decisive moment in its energy policy. While the Government defends an orderly closure of nuclear power plants and relies on an experimental digital system to stabilize the grid, large electricity companies warn that the transition It is being faster than safe. At the epicenter of this tension is Almaraz, the Extremaduran power plant that refuses to turn off its reactors and that has once again divided technicians, politicians and neighbors. The nuclear dilemma. The closure of the Almaraz nuclear power plant in Cáceres is officially set for 2027 and 2028, but the debate over its future has returned with force. Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy agreed to present to the Ministry for the Ecological Transition a formal request to extend their activity until 2030. They will do so, they say, out of “responsibility with the supply” after the voltage failures recorded in recent weeks that “they reactivated the risk of blackout”. Companies have, for the moment, given up asking for tax reductions. Their message is different: Spain, they argue, is not prepared to disconnect from the atom. “Nuclear is the system’s anti-blackout shield,” says the CEO of Iberdrola Spain. However, the Government does not move. The Minister for the Ecological Transition, Sara Aagesen, has reiterated the commitment to the closure calendar agreed in 2019, which foresees the nuclear blackout between 2027 and 2035. Only if three conditions are not met: security, guarantee of supply and zero cost for the taxpayer, will the Executive would reconsider his position. A model in testing. The core of the controversy is not only political, but technical. The Executive’s plan involves replacing the stability offered by nuclear and thermal plants with a digital voltage and frequency control system based on renewables. In theory, wind and solar farms will be able to simulate electrical inertia —the ability to resist sudden changes in frequency— through advanced electronics. In practice, the model is still in the testing phase. According to Energy NewsRed Eléctrica (REE) is developing new control tools to integrate non-synchronous generation, but still without complete validation. Additionally, new digital control algorithms have not been tested on a national scaleand its reliability at high power has not yet been demonstrated. Sources from the Ministry of Ecological Transition cited by El Periódico They admit that full stability of the system “will only be possible when all renewable plants are digitally synchronized with the operator”, a process that – they acknowledge – “will still take time.” The network under surveillance. Aware of these risks, the CNMC approved an emergency modification of the operating procedures (OP 3.1, 3.2, 7.2 and 7.4) to reinforce the stability of the system. In practice, they are standards that determine how Red Eléctrica must react to variations in voltage and frequency, and allow it to act with more flexibility in times of risk. However, not everything went as planned. As energy expert Joaquín Coronado explains on his networksthe CNMC stopped the complete approval of OP 7.4 when it detected that the new model required responses that were impossible for many conventional plants to comply with. Several generators alleged that too rapid a reaction could damage the machines or generate additional oscillations, something the CNMC acknowledged in its resolution. The regulator asked Red Eléctrica to “intensify coordination and temporarily make the requirements more flexible”, making it clear that the problem was not one of inertia, but rather speed of response. A pulse of time. The electricity companies’ proposal to extend the first Almaraz reactor until 2030 and the second until 2029, would give three additional years to the current calendar. However, the Nuclear Safety Council requires that documentation be submitted before November 1 to begin the decommissioning process. In parallel, the Government of Extremadura has announced that it will reduce the regional “ecotax” by half if the plant remains operational, a gesture that the central Executive views with suspicion. “Taxpayers cannot pay more to maintain a plant that had to close,” recalled the Government delegate in Extremadura, José Luis Quintana, in statements to Canal Extremadura. Mobilization in the streets. While the technical and political debate becomes entangled, the residents of Almaraz took to the streets. Last Marchhundreds of people marched under the slogan “Yes to Almaraz, yes to the future,” in a protest supported by mayors of nearby municipalities and nuclear sector associations. In their arguments they defend their position in favor of nuclear power for fear of job loss, a population exodus and the fall of the local economy. But not everyone shares that enthusiasm. Ecologists in Action criticized the presence of local authorities at the protest and asked to accelerate a “just transition” that generates employment alternatives. “You cannot continue tying the future of a region to an industry that promotes environmental and health risks,” the organization said in a statement. Europe looks at Spain. While France and Belgium extend the life of their reactors until 2060, Spain remains firm in its nuclear closure. The Enresa fund to dismantle the plants drags a deficit of 11.6 billion euros. The electricity companies cite this as proof that closing early makes the system more expensive; The Government replies that extending it would jeopardize the ecological transition. The peninsula remains an “energy island” with only 3% interconnection with France, which amplifies any failure. And more and more experts repeat the same thing: the problem is not the speed of the transition, but that the network and the rules They are not getting stronger at the same rate.. A still uncertain future. Almaraz has become much more than a power plant: it is a symbol of the tension between climate urgency and energy security. The Executive insists that Spain will be able to sustain its network with renewable technology and digital control; Technicians and electrical companies ask for caution. Meanwhile, Red Eléctrica engineers fine-tune algorithms, the CNMC approves regulatory patches and the residents of Almaraz prepare for a future that, for now, continues to depend on its two reactors. Spain wants to turn on … Read more

If anyone thought that no one was going to want the statue of a 300 meter bull in Spain, it is because they know very little about Spain.

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in summer we count the beginning of something that was difficult to catalog. The Spanish Academy of Bullfighting launched the proposal to build a monumental sculpture of none other than 300 meters in the shape of a bulla statue that aspired to become a tourist and cultural icon comparable to structures such as the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty, taking as its hallmark a symbol historically associated with Spanish imagery. If there was any doubt about the reception, there are already cities giving everything for “their” bull. A symbol. What we know: that the project foresees an open metal structure, of a modular type, with viewing points on the horns and a commercial and cultural complex at its base, financed with private capital but conditional on the receiving municipality giving up a large plot of land (at least 650 meters long) and assume urban integration and permits. Although the idea started as a sectoral initiative aimed at reinforcing the public presence of bullfighting, the mere announcement, of course, has generated opposite reactions: while for some it is an opportunity for international projection and an economic claim, for others it is an aesthetic and ethical provocation that aims to whitewash a controversial practice with art. The race begins. At this time we know something else: there are “cakes” to be obtained monster. After the initial rejection of Madrid, Castilla y León has taken advantage by concentrating the majority of the candidates and placing Peñafiel and Valle de Valdebezana in an advanced phase by having delivered specific location plans, which places them ahead of other municipalities that have only expressed political will without proving technical feasibility. Peñafiel, with a deep-rooted bullfighting tradition and an urban environment that already has the Plaza del Coso as a singular element, it has claimed to have a “privileged” location that would meet the requirements and that could also be provided with complementary services in the future, avoiding the need for provincial or regional support by having a PGOU that allows it to grant licenses on its own. Extra ball. The Academy demands, as a next step, the higher institutional support except in those cases in which municipal planning allows acting without this filter, which has redoubled the interest of competing municipalities in ensuring their administrative legitimacy as soon as possible. The economic argument. The promoters defend that the structure would be a tourist attraction engine capable of activating commerce, employment and notoriety for the host town, especially in territories of inland Spain with problems of visibility and population flight. It is proposed that the monument would act not only as a visitor attraction, but also as a consumption anchor in its immediate surroundings thanks to restaurants, shops and thematic cultural programming that would allow the tourist flow to leave local income and prolong the stay in the destination. Hence municipalities like Peñafiel or interested towns in Zamora and Salamanca see this option as a way to complement or reorient their tourist offer beyond seasonal campaigns or specific events, without direct budgetary cost if the bulk of the investment ultimately remains in private hands as the promoters promise. What people say. The initiative is not exempt from rejection: Opposition public officials consider it extravagant, disproportionate and out of context, while animal rights groups and critics of bullfighting denounce that the sculpture constitutes a symbolic glorification of a practice associated with animal suffering, disguised as monumental art and intended to provoke rather than unite. This front further argues that the scale distorts the landscapeimplies extreme visual impact and transfers to the public space an identity icon that does not have social consensus, which would turn the monument into a permanent focus of dispute. The tension between both narratives (territorial revitalization vs. symbolic imposition) has already accompanied the project since its embryonic phase, anticipating a debate that could intensify if the choice of headquarters crystallizes in a specific location. Peñafiel one step ahead. Thus, Peñafiel is currently positioned as one of the more serious candidates by having that bullfighting tradition, explicit political will and apparent urban planning capacity to house such a structure, to which is added the identity argument of being able to go from being known for its unique Plaza del Coso to hosting what would be the greatest architectural symbol of modern bullfighting. Meanwhile, local authorities recognize the magnitude of the challenge logistical and anticipate a long process, although they consider that the reputational and economic return would justify the bet. The Bullfighting Academy continue evaluating plans, accessibility, impact and viability, while other localities finalize institutional support to avoid losing position. The project thus enters a decisive phase in which vision, land, permits, social legitimacy and strategic impact are confronted before a destination is selected for an object that, not yet built, already produces political, aesthetic and cultural effects. Image | Spanish Academy of Bullfighting In Xataka | Someone thought it was a great idea to propose a sculpture of a bull over 300 meters high. There are already cities waiting to welcome it In Xataka | The “cayetans” are going to make noise in the squares. And it’s not just because of the love of bullfighting.

The best horror movie of this winter has been released. And the protagonists are the owners of a home in Spain

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The abrupt rise of the garbage rate that has exploded throughout Spain is not the result of a improvised decision of each town hall, but rather of the rush to have arrived at the last minute. Namely: of the obligatory application of Law 7/2022 (transposition of European directives) which orders that the waste service should no longer be partially financed by general taxes and be paid 100% by a specific rate based on the “polluter pays” principle, eliminating the structural deficit that many municipalities had been carrying. What has happened? That the “garbage” is more noticeable in some places than others. The normative origin. The norm established a maximum period until April to incorporate it into ordinances, which has meant that municipalities that delayed its application have communicated the charge practically at once, with increases that in some cases double or triple previous receipts and are already reflected in the CPI with an increase 30% year-on-year in the cost of the service, despite the fact that not all municipalities have implemented it yet, which anticipates additional increases when the deployment is full. In other words, curves are coming. Cangas de Morrazo as epicenter. As it is, the first public implosion has happened in Cangasin Pontevedra, where neighborhood anger became an episode of public order with councilors escorted by the Civil Guard and throwing objects after approving an ordinance that in bars went from 107 to 1,236 euros and in homes it practically doubled receipts, accumulating more than 8,000 signatures against an increase perceived as abrupt, without a transitional phase or prior dialogue. Hoteliers allege unviability when passing bills from 1,400 to more than 3,000 euroswhile regretting that the process was carried out without calling affected actors before approval, which has turned a legal requirement into a political trigger, in a framework where the service had 17 years without updating rates and was deficient in more than two million per year, compensated via general taxes that can no longer be used for this purpose. The inequalities. The law requires a rate, but does not dictate how to calculate itwhich has generated a mosaic of municipal models with disparate criteria: cadastral value, water consumption, number of registereduse of the premises, area or even flat rate per home. This diversity implies that citizens of adjacent municipalities pay very different amounts for an equivalent service, something already warned by the FEMP and by Treasury inspectors as a sure source of massive litigation. The recent annulment by the TSJ of Castilla y León, an ordinance from León opens a path that businesses, schools and sectors especially hit with receipts are already exploring up to 30,000 euros. Experts warn that the reference to the cadastral value may constitute a vice of illegality by disconnecting from the actual generation of waste and functioning de facto as an improper surcharge of the IBIwhich could reproduce a similar scenario to the municipal capital gains: imposed instrument, politically supported, challenged in a cascade and finally revoked, with an obligation to return it to whoever has resorted to it within the deadline. Europe: obligation and margin. Political tension is fueled by a deliberate misunderstanding: Brussels demands compliance with recycling, reuse and circular economy goals, but it does not force that the instrument is a rate nor does it mark the calculation formula. In fact, it was the Spanish legislator who chose this path and transferred the technical and political responsibility for executing it to the city councils, without defining a uniform standard cost methodology or setting national equity criteria. The result is a double cross reproach: The city councils accuse the Government of imposing an obligation without an application manual and the Government points to Europe to cover a decision of internal design with inevitability, while the citizen perceives that they are beginning to pay directly for a service that already existed and whose cost structure is not explained precisely, which erodes the social acceptance of the tax. Economic effect. The rate not only makes household and business bills more expensive, but reorder incentives: If the deficit can no longer be covered by taxes and must appear on the invoice, the system penalizes waste volumetrics and rewards separation and reduction practices where ordinances have introduced bonuses linked to the use of brown containers, composting, door-to-door or clean points. However, and very importantly, in large cities many current models do not reward individual behavior, proxy rules apply (cadastral, surface, neighborhood) and generate equal payment for neighbors with radically different behaviors, something criticized from environmentalism for diluting the environmental purpose of the norm. Meanwhile, the jump 30% in CPI and business cases with receipts multiplied by three have produced not only social irritation but fear of a massive wave of resources, in a context in which city councils acknowledge that they are already preparing legal defense anticipating that the rate could become a new fiscal front with a path to court. Conclusion: a sinvivir. The crisis of the “garbage” It is not born in the amount but in the combination of inexcusable legal obligation, abrupt transfer to the taxpayer without cushioning, disparate heterogeneity between municipalities, poor communication, absence of national guidance and a highly fragile legal system that opens the door to serial litigation. Cangas has been the first burst visible of a phenomenon that is structural: Spain has made it a norm to finance waste with taxes pass them on in full as a rateand this simultaneous redesign without homogeneity or pedagogy has coincided with inflationary cycles, accumulated business burdens and distrust of administrations, producing a perfect storm that mixes environmental compliance, fiscal shock and perceived legitimacy. Image | Daniel Capilla In Xataka | If you own a house, chances are you have a new problem on the horizon: the garbage rate. In Xataka | “Garbage tourism” arrives in Spain: when the next town is your landfill

setting a time in Spain will always leave losers

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The week started with Pedro Sánchez announcing that “the Government of Spain will propose to the EU to end the seasonal time change”. Immediately afterwards, the marmorena got involved. And not because the idea does not have popular support: when in 2018 the European Commission held his famous public consultation On the subject, 8 out of 10 people were in favor of ending it. The problem is another and much more thorny: what schedule do we stick with? The experts are clear about it. In fact, the consensus between specialists from the SES (Spanish Sleep Society) and many other international companies It’s surprising: science is with winter time. It is the time that (on paper) ensures better alignment with natural light, limits “social jet lag” and appears to consistently yield better health and safety results. “Winter time makes it easier to have more hours of sleep and a more natural awakening that coincides with dawn. If there were a permanent summer time, in the winter months there would be a lack of light in the morning and in the summer months an excess of light at night, a situation that imbalances the internal clock and can cause poor performance and vulnerability to certain diseases,” explained the SES in its public positioning. Martín Olalla, the great Spanish expert on these topics and a historical opponent of the elimination of change of seasonal time, often insists that the evidence makes it clear that the benefit is very limited. However, when choosing one of them, the winter one wins. And then everything becomes strange. Because, although no one says it explicitly, in the popular imagination “permanent schedule” is associated with an “eternal pseudo-summer” full of long afternoons to comfortably enjoy the little leisure that day-to-day life leaves us. But let’s face it, that’s not going to happen. Daylight saving time has problems. The main one is that enjoying “long afternoons” throughout the year condemns the west of the peninsula to sunrises around ten in the morning. For landing it in a specific way. In A Coruña, in the middle of the winter solstice, dawn at 10:03 in the morning and it would get dark at 17:01. Something that is, clearly, unfeasible. A zero sum game. In the end, the seasonal time change is a compromise solution that tries to adjust the civil time to the variability of the days. It is probably a bad solution, but it helps mitigate the problems that would arise when opting for either of the other two schedules in a stable manner. After all, with winter time Galicia, Asturias, Extremadura and western Andalusia would win; while they would lose the Mediterranean and the Balearic Islands. We would avoid very late sunrises in winter and we would improve sleep, health and the morning security. The problem is that you kill the afternoons, which is the only socially attractive thing about making a permanent schedule. And that “game” is not only regional. It is also economical. There are economic sectors such as tourism or hospitality, that prefer bright afternoons; but there are many others, such as school or industry, that prefer earlier sunrises. Sometimes, phrases like “the time zone or time that corresponds to us” give the impression that the schedule is something ‘natural’: that the clock is neutral and all we have to do is adapt to it. But not. Nothing is neutral: opting for daylight saving time, winter time or daylight saving time is deeply political. Something that, whether we like it or not, prioritizes some over others. It’s not a problem, what we have now does too. The problem is another. It is walking towards the abolition of the time change without being aware of it and, above all, without being prepared for it: thinking that abolishing the time change will end all our chronoproblems is ‘magical thinking’. It will create others and, for the first time in more than a hundred years, we will not be able to blame it on the seasonal time change. Image | Moncloa | Jon Tyson In Xataka | The war that ended at two different times: the time change has been giving Spaniards headaches for almost a century

There are people buying land, farms and pig farms in Spain. And those people are investment funds

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If this were not an article by Xataka, if it were a novel by Michael Ende: the story would begin with a top-down shot of the Segrià fields. We would see farms and more farms, cereal fields, irrigated orchards, roads, the Segre winding through the plain. And, as we got closer to the ground, we would see a flood of little gray men with briefcases full of money. The argument would be obvious: the field is for sale and the funds have gone out to buy. 34 million pig heads. That is Spain: the undisputed leader of European pork, the third producer worldwide. A giant, no matter how hackneyed the metaphor may be, with feet of clay. And the Spanish countryside has many problems, but the most worrying (because it has no solution — neither easy nor difficult) is its exasperating lack of generational change. Thousands of farms are on the brink of disappearance simply because no one wants to take charge of them once the owner retires. And that “nobody” doesn’t include the funds? Not until very recently. Agriculture was an unsexy sector for financial capital, but now the situation has changed. We have seen it with agriculture: aggressive field management can generate a lot of income (even if it is at the cost of large negative externalities). Now, in addition, today two great factors have joined the celebration of capital: the first is that the mass of exploitations without relief is enormous. The second is that the processes of integration of farms with the meat industry have reached a point of no return — “the field” and “the industry” are now almost synonymous. A sea full of sharks. But, if that were not enough, the pressure on aquifers and international volatility are turning the agricultural world into a difficult place for small farms. Only large corporations have the lungs to dive into such tough markets. Is this bad news? If we look at the Spanish movements from a more international perspective, I’m afraid so. The Californian case is a warning for sailors: large funds are buying properties solely and exclusively for your water rights. And so, as seen in the last droughtit’s a huge problem. A problem that adds to environmental conflictsto rent captureto agricultural changesto the industrial dismantling of emptied Spain. A strange future. As I said before, Spain is the great agricultural power of the continent. In fact, little by little, it has become one of the great world powers in the marketing of agricultural products. But it will not be easy to stay there, the financial funds They are the best example and the problem is that everything seems to indicate that, along the way, the Spain we know will not be recognized by “not even the mother who gave birth to it.” Image | Annie Spratt | Markus Winkler In Xataka | The great paradox of Spanish olive oil: although it grows 15% a year, more than 500 olive oil mills will close in the next decade

There are foreign bus companies trying to compete with Alsa and Avanza. And Spain is making it impossible

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The Spanish bus map is in the process of changing. Routes that do not make money, corridors that no one wants to access, companies that want to completely liberalize the sector and the doubt of, to what extent, foreign companies can enter to play in a foreign country. And Spain is trying by all means to ensure that the latter does not happen. What’s happening? If we adhere to Spanish regulations, right now a company dedicated to the transport of passengers by bus You cannot make international trips with stops to drop off and pick up travelers within Spain. Not, at least, permanently. The rule only allows this service to be carried out temporarily, in order to protect national routes. That is, this prevents a company from opening a route, for example, between Lisbon and Paris and from picking up and dropping off passengers within Spanish territory at its stops within Spain (in Madrid and Barcelona, ​​for example). It is understood that if this is possible it would be a direct competition to those who have been awarded those corridors. How do buses work in Spain? Spain uses a concessional model for its bus lines. This means that a broker goes out to tender and companies present their proposals playing with the price. The best offer is the one takes the concession and the one that begins to operate during the agreed years. The system has its advantages and disadvantages. Confebús, an association that defends this model, points out that it gives security to the client because transportation is guaranteed during the agreed years and a route cannot be abandoned. Companies like FlixBus are contrary because they understand that competition is limited and that they prevent the company from adapting to new circumstances. These circumstances, for example, leave some expired concessions or concessions that have never been put out to tender. It is especially serious on bus lines where a high-speed railway operates in parallel, since the train is much more competitive in price and time. Of course, the main people affected by the abandonment of these lines are the residents of towns with intermediate stops. And what about international travel? For some time now, Europe has wanted to liberalize the sector, as it has done with trains. Despite this, Spain is resisting and although at first it was proposed to jump to the direct competition model, finally we want to maintain the concessional system but with profound changes in the current map. With this system, services through cabotage are prevented. That is, the company picks up and delivers passengers within the same country along an international route. This is the argument of Avanza and Alsa to defend the latest ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union that has ruled in favor of Denmark before the opening of a file from the European Commission. However, the case that both companies put forward is not very representative of the open debate in Spain. What has happened in Denmark? Denmark has regulated the occasional bus service that operates through cabotage in the country to a maximum of seven calendar days in a month. The formula is also applied at other times in France, as both companies use in a statement collected by 20Minutes. Understanding that this contravened community rules, the European Commission has opened a file against Denmark but the Court of Justice of the European Union closes it, understanding that Denmark does not prevent the service, it only regulates it. That is, a company can act with a discretionary service through cabotage but within the regulations established by the country. But… what is discretionary? Here is a big part of the issue. European bodies have been discussing Whether or not Denmark allows cabotage service through discretionary routes but not regular routes. Discretionary routes are those that do not have a fixed route or established times. That is, they do not always leave on the same day of the week and at the same time from a specific city, for example. They are the typical routes for trips by tourists or supporters who go to watch a soccer match in another country. The limitation of those seven consecutive days within the same month that Denmark applies is designed so that foreign companies do not compete unfairly with their national companies, offering a regulated service camouflaged as discretionary. Implications in Spain? None. This is what FlixBus defends. The travel company maintains that this regulation, contrary to what Avanza and Alsa points out, has nothing to do with the regular and international routes that companies like them propose for our country. Routes in which they would use cabotage to make the line more efficient. They give as an example the route between Trier (Germany) and Madrid that FlixBus has requested with intermediate stops in Zaragoza and Barcelona that passengers could use to move within the national territory. The line has not been authorized and FlixBus appeals to the resolution of the European Commission of April 16 that forces Spain to open its lines to this service. Spain filed an appeal against this decision was dismissed by the Court of Justice of the European Union. What is Spain doing? Place all obstacles to the entry of new actors or the liberalization of bus lines, as demanded by Europe. The approval of the Sustainable Mobility Law On October 8, 2025, article 50 was eliminated, which allowed certain routes to be authorized in free competition. That is, for now, the battle to open new international routes that allow the transfer of travelers within the same country continues. Spain has the obligation to comply, if we adhere to what is required by the European Commission, but, for the moment, it still has not given the green light to this possibility. Photo | FlixBus and Eleazer Glez In Xataka | Until a few years ago, the towns between Madrid and Valencia had trains and buses. Now they only have one problem: the AVE

Renfe is achieving 96% punctuality in its service. But not in Spain, but in Mecca

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While AVE customers in Spain are very familiar with the wave of service delays, especially during this last summerRenfe boasts in Saudi Arabia of figures that seem from another world: more than 96% punctuality and “anecdotal” cancellations in the high-speed service that operates between Mecca and Medina, according to the company. The truth is that the Haramain High-Speed ​​Railway numbers contrast with what we have here in Spain. The Saudi showcase of Renfe. The Spanish company leads the consortium that manages this pioneering high-speed train in Saudi Arabia, responsible for the complete operation: from driving to ticket sales. Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, presented these data at the Saudi International Rail in Riyadh, where he assured that the project is “one of the most successful in the world.” The figures that Renfe displays outside the home. The Haramain connects Mecca and Medina over 453 kilometers, with stops at Jeddah and the international airport. According to Renfe, since its inauguration in October 2018, the service has transported 29.2 million passengers, with a year-on-year growth of 20%. In the last year, the operator claims to have achieved more than 96% punctuality, measured with a margin of up to five minutes late, and operated 70,000 consecutive services without a single cancellation. The litmus test of Ramadan. Just like show According to its figures, during the March 2025 campaign, the service mobilized 1.35 million pilgrims, 40% more than the previous year. 3,410 trips were made with up to 132 trains running on the same day. The average punctuality reached 98.5% in this case, says Renfe, without recording cancellations. These are figures that are hardly seen in the company’s Spanish reports. The contrast with Spain. Last summer four out of ten high-speed trains They arrived late in Spain. Between June and August, 6,554 long-distance and AVE trains suffered delays of more than 15 minutes, according to pointed out El Mundoaffecting 2.5 million passengers. However, only three out of every hundred were able to claim compensation after tightening reimbursement conditions that Renfe applied in July 2024. Now it takes an hour of delay to obtain 50% of the ticket, when before 15 minutes were enough. Minister Óscar Puente recognized in September that the system will continue to have incidents “for at least two more years.” What’s coming now. Renfe has reaffirmed its commitment to Saudi Arabia and its ambitious Vision 2030 plan, which includes new railway projects. Among them, a high-speed line between Riyadh and Qiddiya, whose tender could be launched in the first half of 2026. Cover image | Tim Adams In Xataka | Renfe has found a scapegoat for its problems on the Madrid-Barcelona line: Talgo and its AVRIL trains

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