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Cybertruck sales are so bad that Musk has started buying them himself

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Six years ago, Tesla had the entire industry in awe. They had just announced the Cybertruckwith that futuristic design that left no one indifferent and Elon Musk boasted of his success: They had reserved 200,000 units in just three days. Things have changed a lot since then. Throttle problems, tires that don’t hold up and even pieces that fall off in motion. Sales are disappointing, so much so that Musk is starting to buy his trucks himself. What is happening. That Tesla is having difficulty selling its truck It’s no secret. In 2023, Musk said they would be able to sell a quarter of a million Cybertrucks a yearbut the reality is that in 2024 they sold 50,000 units and this year things look worse. According to ElectrekMusk has come up with a way to mitigate these numbers: have his other companies buy Cybertrucks. From one pocket to another. In addition to Tesla, Elon Musk also owns SpaceX and xAI, two of the companies that have begun acquiring Cybertrucks. We don’t know exactly why, but according to Elektrek, “hundreds” of Tesla Cybertrucks have been seen being delivered to the xAI offices this weekend. On the other hand, Many more Cybertrucks are being seen at SpaceX. Wes Morrill, chief engineer of Tesla Cybertruck, confirmed in Xthat SpaceX’s fleet of vehicles was being replaced by Cybertrucks, although it did not say how many they had purchased. Disappointing sales. Although Tesla sales are starting to pick upit’s no thanks to his truck. In March of this year they had to reduce production line because they had only sold 6,500 units and they moved workers to the manufacturing of the Tesla Model Y. In the third quarter of the year they have only sold 5,385 units, which represents a drop of 63% compared to the same period last year. It is estimated that this year they will sell 20,000 units. These are figures very far from Musk’s dream that he intended to sell between 250,000 and 500,000 Cybertrucks a year. Overstock. Is a serious problem for a car manufacturer because it blocks resources from the production line and storage. Tesla Cybertrucks pile up and the company needs to release them selling them cheaper than planned. Rumors suggest that Tesla has even considered selling it in Chinaa market where They were not planning to enterbut due to its size it could be the solution to the poor sales figures. The problem is that they would have to make changes to its design because it is dangerous for pedestrians, the same reason why not sold in Europe. Image | Amparo Babiloni, Xataka In Xataka | Everything that the Tesla Cybertruck wanted to be without success is the impressive Lamborghini Rezvani Knight

The North Koreans are hungry, so they have started hunting tigers. It’s just the tip of the iceberg

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North Korea It is a unique country. so unique as airtight and, therefore, fascinating. Know What is an ordinary day in Pyongyang like?the capital, is tremendously complicated. On the one hand, we have the official speech of prosperity and normality. On the other hand, the stories from people who have been within its borders. But sometimes there are accidents and information is leaked, such as the systematic hunting of any animal that weighs more than 500 grams in order to survive another day. And the problem is so brutal that there are already those who point to a strong risk of “defaunation” of North Korea. In short. Joshua Elves-Powell is a researcher who, a few weeks ago, presented a study which analyzed North Korea’s wildlife trade. Obviously, obtaining first-hand information in the country seemed complicated, but Powell had an ace up his sleeve: the testimonies of 42 North Korean defectors. During 2021 and 2022, participants spoke in both South Korea and the United Kingdom and their testimony was devastating: North Korea has been hunting animals for decades to trade with them… and to eat them. In a serious study, these sources should have a first and last name, but due to the unique conditions of this studyit must be noted that the research was reviewed by the UCL Research Ethics Committee. The sample was large: all were over 18 years old and had left the country between 1950 and 2020. black market. Some context. In the 1990s, North Korea’s economy collapsed. In a period of famine, people do whatever it takes to survive, and the humanitarian crisis transformed the country’s relationship with its wildlife. According to testimonies, professional hunters, but also soldiers, black market regulars and wildlife consumers, set out to hunt animals like tigers and other species. The objective was not only to eat them (that too), but to sell them. One of the participants commented that he had been involved in the illegal trade of tiger bones from the Pyongyang Zoo in 2020 and had been able to obtain bones from professional hunters between 2014 and 2020. The hunted is not only sold on the local black market, but also in countries such as Chona or Russia. This clearly violates international conservation obligations and is supported by the seizure of products from time to time, such as the shipment of more than 100 bottles of tiger bone wine at the border between the two countries. Goals. What do they hunt? The research shows that virtually all native mammals weighing more than 500 grams are a viable target. Apart from Siberian tigers (of which part of their hunting is mentioned for food) and Amur leopards (food too), found in a tremendously sensitive moment Due to their scarcity, the prey are the following: Deer: for their meat and pieces such as antlers. Wild boars: for their meat. Asian black bears: get meat, bile, paws and skin. Asian badgers: to create medicinal oil. Porcupines: for their quills. Otters: for fur and trade. Red fox: skin. Gray wolf: fur. Raccoon: for its meat and for trafficking. Defaunation. This hunting is not usually done with firearms, but with an extensive network of traps that add a problem to the list: being an indiscriminate capture, non-target species fall, such as the Bengal cat (Prionailurus bengalensis). This massive hunt is causing what they have qualified as a “defaunation” process that implies that a scenario is occurring in North Korean forests in which there is no longer any fauna. It is something that affects both North Korea and the neighboring areas of China, Russia and South Korea. The Amur Lepartum And the State? in the garlicaccording to these informants. The problem is that we are talking about a market to, above all, create products focused on traditional medicine. For example, deer antlers are the essential ingredient for producing ointments with healing properties and Asian badger oil is used to treat skin conditions. In fact, there are hunters authorized by the State who must present pieces as a tribute and it is ensured that the country itself raises certain animals (such as bears for their bile) to obtain resources that are export to neighboring markets. They do so in facilities that operate under a façade of legality, but supposedly feeding the black market. Someone do something. Powell’s study presented the information and those defectors allowed us to know that side of North Korea. But of course, doing something is complex. Animal organizations consider that the country is a “black hole” for the recovery of fauna because there are no efforts to protect biodiversity. They denounce that it is a market that violates efforts to recover endangered species and, in addition, is a risk to public health. They call for international pressure, using these refugee testimonies as evidence, and specifically allude to China, asking to tighten monitoring of illegal imports. Finally, there is a call for North Korea to join the CITESthe treaty that regulates international trade in endangered species. And this, unfortunately, sounds quite complicated. Images | Uwe Brodrecht, Ltshears In Xataka | This rocket-shaped skyscraper is the “worst building in the world.” And it’s in North Korea, obviously.

Europe has decided to take action against Moscow’s hybrid war. So Germany has started hunting for Russian drones

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Which started as a succession of technical incidents and contradictory testimonies did not take long to shake the governments of the old continent, mobilizing ships and planes, and forcing Berlin to rewrite the rules about when and how something floating above our heads can be knocked down. On that invisible chessboard there was a question that everyone avoided answering: who really presses the button that launches these devices, and for what purpose? Now, Germany and the rest of Europe seem to agree. The invisible front. we have been counting. Europe has entered an unprecedented phase of aerial vulnerability. In just a few months, a wave of incursions by unidentified drones (some over airports, industrial plants and strategic centers) has forced the closure of airspace, diverting flights and putting on alert to the forces navies of several countries. In Germany, air traffic disruptions have been multiplied by 33% in a single year, and what began as a succession of isolated incidents has become a continental phenomenon that many attribute to a hybrid offensive orchestrated by Russia. And more. These raids, without constituting a formal act of war, are part of a destabilization strategy broader that combines cyberattacks, sabotage and technological intimidation to gauge NATO’s reaction and test European response capacity without crossing the threshold of direct confrontation. Germany changes doctrine. Until recently, German authorities were limited to detecting drones, without being able to intervene on them. However, the magnitude of the raids (which forced even at closing of Munich airport and left thousands of passengers stranded) has forced a legal change of enormous significance. The Government of Friedrich Merz has approved a bill authorizing the federal police to shoot down drones that violate German airspace or represent an immediate danger, using everything from kinetic shots to laser weapons and electronic jamming systems. It is not a trivial topic. It is about the first modification of the police law since 1994, and its parliamentary approval will place Germany at the level from France, the United Kingdom, Lithuania and Romaniacountries that already allow the active neutralization of unmanned aircraft. The Executive has also announced the creation of a national anti-drone unit that will be in charge of neutralizing low-altitude devices, while those with greater power will remain under military jurisdiction. Between safety and climbing. The approval of this law reflects a dilemma that crosses all of Europe: how to respond to Russian hybrid aggression without provoking an escalation of war. Chancellor Merz himself has acknowledged that many of the intercepted aircraft appear to be carrying out reconnaissance flights, without weapons, but with clear strategic intentions. At the same time, Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt has underlined that operations in urban environments must be governed by the principle of proportionality to avoid collateral damage. Fear that a misidentification could lead to a diplomatic or military incident keeps security forces on edge. a constant balance between firmness and prudence. Meanwhile, Germany modernizes its defense with systems such as the Rheinmetall Skyrangerdesigned to neutralize swarms of drones in the middle of a hybrid war, and strengthens its coordination with NATO in the face of the risk that the technological frontier will also become a political frontier. The risk of the “gray zone”. Recent incidents in Poland, Estonia and Romania (where Russian drones and MiG-31 fighters have violated allied airspace) have prompted NATO to review its rules of engagement. Countries bordering Russia, backed by France and the United Kingdom, have proposed more aggressive measures: allow pilots to open fire without visual confirmation, arm surveillance drones and carry out military exercises on the same border line. Although some allies advocate containment to avoid a direct clash with a nuclear power, others maintain that the only effective deterrence is the visible action. Washington has pushed to relax response rules and even has suggested that the Alliance should “shoot Russian planes” that enter its airspace. In other words, the debate has revealed the tension between European caution and the American desire to regain the initiative against Moscow, in a context in which the war in Ukraine and Russian aerial provocations threaten to overflow the limits of conventional war. Europe and the air shield. The idea we count recently. While NATO refines its protocols, the European Union is trying to strengthen its autonomous capacity against hybrid attacks. The president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has proposed lifting that “drone wall”a network of sensors, radars and weapons that protects the eastern flank of the continent. Brussels is also preparing sanctions and restrictions to the movement of Russian diplomats suspected of directing sabotage operations, while allocating community funds to finance anti-drone systems in airports, ports and power plants. The initiative seeks not only to reinforce physical security, but also to respond politically to the Russian attempt to sow division within the EU. “Russia wants to divide us; we must respond with unity,” has warned von der Leyen, stressing that defense against gray war cannot be limited to reacting, but must focus on active deterrence. Europe in transformation. The drone challenge has forced Europe to recognize that 21st century war is not fought only with tanks and missiles, but also with algorithmsautonomous swarms and information saturation. The German law authorizes the demolition of unmanned aircraft, military coordination of NATO on the eastern flank and the new European strategy air defense They are part of the same response: that of a continent that adapts to an enemy that does not always show itself. In the diffuse space of the hybrid warwhere a civilian drone can become a strategic weapon and a cyber attack an act of war, the border between peace and conflict has become more blurred than ever. Germany, the industrial and political epicenter of the old continent, seems to have understood that security is no longer measured in battles, but in reaction seconds. And as the Ukraine war redefines the global balance of power, Europe rehearses its own defensive revival: a forced transition from pacifism to pragmatism, in which each downed … Read more

insurers have started to turn their backs on them

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Since the end of 2022 we have witnessed, live, the artificial intelligence revolution. The launch of ChatGPT opened a stage of investment and expectations that has elevated actors like NVIDIA and has placed OpenAI among the most influential startups. But every revolution has a reverse. As AI advances, so does the list of demands and the question that no one can avoid: who bears the risk when something goes wrong. In the United States, every technological advance comes accompanied by an avalanche of lawsuits. It’s not just a habit: it’s part of the system. If a company does something that generates profits but can also cause harm, sooner or later someone will take it to court. And that’s why insurance exists, to convert a future risk into a present cost. The model has worked for decades, but artificial intelligence is starting to test it like no other sector before. Cases that are pressing now. OpenAI and Anthropic have been the first to see how far the risk bill can go. The first faces lawsuits for the use of protected works to train models and for a civil liability case after the suicide of a teenager. In both cases, the costs are not only in the millions: they set the tone for a litigation that threatens to spread throughout the sector. What policies cover today. For now, the AI ​​majors are operating with conventional policies, similar to those of any technology company. According to the Financial TimesOpenAI has hired Aon to design coverage that would be around $300 million, although not everyone involved confirms that figure. It is a significant amount, but insignificant compared to possible claims of billions. In practice, insurers recognize that the sector does not yet have “sufficient capacity” to protect providers of large-scale models. Why do they back down? The aforementioned newspaper points out that Aon did not want to comment on specific companies, although its head of cybersecurity, Kevin Kalinich, admitted that they do not have sufficient capacity to cover model providers. He further explained that what insurers fear is that a failure by an AI company will become a “systemic, correlated and aggregate risk.” Plan B: Self-insure. With insurers folding, AI companies are seeking refuge in themselves. OpenAI is apparently considering setting aside funds from investors or even creating a captive —a kind of own insurer that serves to cover internal risks when the market does not want to do so. Anthropic has already done it: it allocated part of its capital to a $1.5 billion deal with writers. They are solutions that buy time, but do not guarantee stability if the next court ruling triggers compensation. What changes for the rest of the sector. The impact goes beyond OpenAI or Anthropic. Startups and smaller providers are already noticing how premiums are rising, coverage is reduced, and launch times are lengthening due to legal requirements. Legal uncertainty has become another fixed cost. In the absence of a clear formula to measure AI risks, insurers treat them as potentially catastrophic. And that makes each experiment, each new model and each line of code more expensive. What to watch from now on. The coming months will be decisive to see if the insurance sector manages to adapt. Financial Times points to new formulas that cover chatbot errors and AI-generated content, although for now they are limited trials. Companies, meanwhile, are preparing their next defense: diversifying funds and protecting internal structures. The artificial intelligence industry has not stopped nor does it seem like it will. But its expansion is beginning to touch the limits of a system that does not yet know how to measure these risks. Insurers tread carefully, regulators watch from the sidelines, and companies are forced to improvise in certain cases. Images | vecstock (Freepik) | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 In Xataka | “These are things that a university student would get in trouble for”: Deloitte delivered a report made with AI to Australia

The US studied what would happen if it enters war with China. Now he has started a career desperate to double missiles

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When China raised the curtain of your military parade staged much more than arms power which has. It was a clear and direct message that had its reaction a few days later, when the United States moved its new platform from missiles to Japan. It was then discovered that, if missiles, there are 3,500 pointing In the same direction. Since then, the United States has started a desperate race: to double its own missile manufacturing for what may happen. The strategic awakening. I told it in an exclusive The Wall Street Journal. The Pentagon has turned on all alarms in the face of the evidence that its missile arsenals would not reach to sustain a prolonged conflict With China. Russian Ukraine invasion and mass consumption of interceptors In Europe the fragility of the American industrial base had already made clear. However, He counted the medium What was the twelve between Israel and Iran, in which Washington launched Hundreds of high -end missiles to support their ally, which finished emptying the deposits and precipitated a shock plan. The message that circulates in the pentagon’s offices is clear: the current arsenal is not enough to defend Taiwan or the allied bases in the Pacific if a direct confrontation with Beijing explodes. The new creation. To face that reality, the Department of Defense has created an extraordinary body, the Munits Acceleration Councilpersonally directed by Deputy Secretary Steve Feinberg, who calls the main executives of the industry every week to demand immediate increases. The strategy seeks to duplicate, and even quadruplethe production of the twelve missiles considered critical: from the Patriot interceptorsto him Standard Missile-6the Long Range Anti-Ship Missilesthe Precision Strike and the Joint Air-Surface Standoff Missiles. The Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegesh, and the Chief of the General Staff, General Dan Caine, They have presided Meetings with giants such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon or Boeing, but also with new actors such as Anduril Industries and with key component suppliers, from solid propellants to batteries. The destroyer of guided missiles USS John Paul Jones (DDG-53) of the United States Navy launches an RIM-174 Standard Eram (Standard Missile-6, SM-6) The industrial bottleneck. The challenge is monumental. The complete manufacture of a missile can take up to two years. The production lines have cooled after decades of divestment, secondary suppliers have disappeared and critical pieces such as Boeing front search engines have become true bottlenecks. Expanding shifts, add square meters and form specialized personnel require billions of investment and firm purchase commitments. As Experts remembercompanies do not produce without contract: they need guarantees that the pentagon will not withdraw financing in the middle of the effort. Even so, some suppliers have taken steps in advance. Northrop Grumman, for example, has invested More than 1 billion in expanding its rocket engines capacity, with the expectation of doubling production in four years. Patriot Priority: Patriot. The most urgent case is the Patriot PAC-3whose global demand has shot himself. In September, the army gave Lockheed a contract of almost 10,000 million of dollars to manufacture 2,000 missiles in three years, but the objective of the pentagon is to reach that same figure Every twelve monthswhich means quadruple the current rhythm. To do this, Boeing has been seen forced to expand Thousands of square meters of its plant to assemble more search engines, while Lockheed studies new investments in assembly lines. The spokesmen insist that they can deliver above their declared capacity, but all claim more money and multiannual commitments that give stability to the productive jump. Precision Strike Missile New acquisition model. The pressure is such that The army announces “Massively substantive changes” in the way of buying weapons. Formulas such as licenseing technologies to third parties are explored, attract private capital or guarantee registration programs to give demand visibility to the entire supply chain. Trump administration already It allocated 25,000 million extra in five years through Big, Beautiful Billbut analysts agree that it will be necessary to multiply For several orders that figure to meet the objectives. The effort, in addition, is part of a greater debate: how to maintain an industrial base capable of sustaining high intensity wars in a world where arsenals are consumed in weeks. Background: China. The ultimate reason for this acceleration is the perspective of a War in the Pacific. A confrontation By Taiwan I would demand simultaneously American and Allied Bases, guarantee maritime runners and face a Chinese Navy increasingly equipped with hypersonic missiles and drons swarms. American superiority will depend not only on the quality of its systems, but on their ability to replace them quickly in case of prolonged conflict. Pentagon fears Discover too late that does not have the necessary volume to hold the pulse. Hence the race against clock to turn the industry into a large -scale war arsenal. The risk of the gap. The acceleration effort reveals the structural contradiction of the West: weapons every time more sophisticated and faces which are consumed at an industrial rate, in front of adversaries willing to flood the battlefield with solutions of low cost and mass production. In that sense, Ukraine’s lesson seems clear: millions of millions of dollars They can be exhausted In a matter of months, and rebuild reserves it has been. If the United States wants to maintain its deterrence against China, it must demonstrate that it can sustain not only technological innovation, but also the mass production on which the survival of its network of alliances depends. Image | Lockheed Martin, Mapn, Us Navy In Xataka | Satellite images have revealed that China has turned its oriental coast into a war zone: 3,500 missiles point to Taiwan In Xataka | After the demonstration of China’s force, the US moves a card sending its new missile platform to Japan

Morocco has started one of the most ambitious projects in the history of Africa

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Morocco has begun to build its stretch of the Nigeria-Charuecos gas pipeline (NMGP), a megaproject of 25,000 million dollars that stands out not only for its scale, but for its geopolitical implications. The energy map of Africa and its connections with Europe will change. A 6,000 km corridor. Moroccan Energy Transition Minister Leila Benali, announced the start of the works. The stretch of Morocco will cost about 6,000 million dollars, and will serve as the future dorsal spine of the Kingdom Gasist Network. This initial segment will connect the port of Nador, on the Mediterranean coast, with the city of Dajla, to the south of the country. The entire Transaphrican gas pipeline will be extended through the Atlantic coast to connect Nigeria’s vast gas reserves with Morocco. From there, it will be exported to the European market, confirming Rabat as a first level energy hub. A pharaonic project. The infrastructure is designed to transport up to 30,000 million cubic meters of natural gas per year and guarantee the supply of 13 African countries. The gas pipeline will leave from Nigeria, crossing the coasts of Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bisáu, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco. In addition to promoting industrial development and access to the energy of 400 million people, NMGP foresees Extend the supply to the European Gasist Network Already African countries without coast: Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali. Engineering studies They ended in 2024the environmental and social impact analysis of the southern section are missing. And the Algeria gas pipeline? The project directly rivals the Transaharan gas pipeline (TSGP), The initiative backed by Algeria to bring the same Nigerian gas to Europe through Niger. However, political instability in Sahel, especially after the coup d’etat in Niger, has put the viability of the Algerian corridor in serious trouble, granting a strategic advantage to the Atlantic route of Morocco. Where 25,000 million will come from. For Nigeria, the gas pipeline is the cornerstone of its “Gas Decade” initiativea strategy to monetize national reserves of six billion cubic meters of natural gas. For Morocco, the project is the spearhead of its “Atlantic Initiative”, which seeks to turn the country into a strategic corridor between Europe, Africa and the Atlantic. Ensuring 25,000 million dollars is the main obstacle. The project will make a final decision on the investment at the end of 2025 that will be the fire test, although it has already aroused the interest of entities such as the Islamic Development Bank and the European Investment Bank. How to protect thousands of kilometers of pipes that will cross 13 nations, some with unstable political environments and doubtful security, will be one of the great discussion points. The fact that investing in fossil fuel infrastructure In full green transition it is the elephant in the room. Image | NNPC In Xataka | The US has had an idea to feed its AI: build its data centers next to natural gas deposits

PLD Space has a detailed plan to become the European rocket factory. And the pieces have started fitting

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With Miura 1, PLD Space became the first private company in Europe to successfully launch a suborbital rocket. Since then, the Spanish company has stepped on the accelerator with a project in mind: launching Miura 5 in 2026. Today the first orbital rocket in Spain is not a project, but a tangible reality that is being assembled in Elche. PLD Space It has already manufactured All its components and prepares to start your engines for the first time. The Treprel-C roars in Teruel. A rocket is, in essence, an engine with a large fuel tank. Miura 5 will have five Treprel-C engines fed by turbobomba in its first stage, generating a combined thrust of 950 kN, 30 times more than Miura 1. The development of the most important component of the rocket advances to counterreloj. The company already tested in its test banks of Teruel’s airport combustion cameras, validating manufacturing technologies such as copper and nickel electrode. The turbobombs, the largest developed by a European startup, They were also tested with a complete ignition before its final integration into the engine. Elements such as gas generators and cryogenic valves were designed, manufactured and tested internally following the lessons learned during the development of MIURA 1. A process that has culminated with the start of the engine series manufacturing: there are already four engines of the Teprel-C family in production for the final qualification campaign. Aluminum plates have gained shape. Parallel to the development of engines, the construction of the rocket structure itself advances at a good pace. In a recent videoThe company details how its Elche factory has been working on the molding and the test of the metal structures (the fuel tanks) and of composite materials (the separation module between stages and the cofia that will protect the satellites of the customers). These components have already undergone all kinds: tests at room temperature, cryogenic, and with compression and flexion loads to ensure that the structure will support the brutal conditions of the launch. The idea is to refine the design with the results of the prototypes to maximize their performance. After validating the engineering models, PLD Space is now manufacturing the final qualification components, the step prior to the series production of Miura 5. The launch ramp is running. The company signed a development contract With the French Space Agency (CNES) to build its own launch complex in the European Space Port of Kouroou, in the French Guiana. The civil works will begin this summer in the same place where France launched its first rocket, the Elm-Diamant. The location is unbeatable: its proximity to Ecuador will allow optimizing the trajectories of Miura 5 and launching heavier loads with less fuel. But PLD Space does not conform and has also signed an agreement with Oman to build a Second launch base In the Etlaq Space Puerto. This movement will give direct access to the Mercado de Oriente. A plan to be the European rocket factory. At the same time that Miura 5 develops, PLD Space is raising an industrial complex to manufacture it in series. The company has designed a plan to climb its production to 32 units per year by 2030. This industrial effort is based on a supply chain of almost 400 partners, mostly Spanish and Europeans, which has invested 50 million euros Since the beginning of 2024. PLD Space has chained a series of crucial milestones that draw a very clear and ambitious roadmap, as European confidence demonstrates. Back of the European Space Agency. PLD Space is already officially one of the five companies preselected by ESA to guarantee sovereign access to space in Europe. The European Launcher Challenge has awarded contracts of up to 169 million euros to the five companies, among which are the French Maiaspace, the British Orbex and the Germans Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg. PLD Space has proposed to Miura 5 as its immediate operating pitcher already His future heavy and reusable rocket, the Miura Nextlike the next step. The ESA final decision will be taken in November 2025, but the pre -selection already positions the Spanish company as a key actor and an industrial leader in the European launch sector. Image | PLD Space In Xataka | 12 years after making fun of Spacex and his idea of landing rockets, Arianegroup is creating a European mini-falcon 9

In India there are cities that have 40ºC on the street at 10 in the morning. So they have started living at night

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Spain is currently the best example of A problem much deeper that arrives with infernal heat in much of the planet: How to fight the fire with the working day (and life in general). Five workers died during the first heat wave, and that is why it is prioritized Adapt the day (or suspend it) when those hours arrive in which Sol does not let us move forward. And, meanwhile, in India it is 10 in the morning and they already have 40 degrees. How the hell do they do? Heat as law. He counted The New York Times In a report how fire is fought in the city More suffocating. In Sri ganganagara semi -desert region of the Indian State of Rajastáneveryday life has adapted to temperatures that, in the middle of June, reach 49 ° C. There, where dawn already begins at 30 ° C and by 10 in the morning the thermometer exceeds 40 ° C, heat is not a seasonal phenomenon: it is a structural condition that conditions work, health, rest and human relationships. The population, mostly agricultural and without access to comforts such as air conditioning, has developed A daily choreography that folds to the abrasing rhythms of the weather and the sun. Follow the sun. The key? The working days begin Before dawn: peasants and workers take advantage of the few fresh hours to work in the fields and constructions, before taking refuge where they can when the sun is It returns unbearable. The houses are emptied at noon, the markets close, and the few active services, such as street food carts, work under temperatures that melt the asphalt. The scene is repeated every summer with an increasing intensity, aggravated by a rising humidity that multiplies physical suffering. Sunset in Sri Ganganagar The thermal abyss. We go from Sri ganganagar to another “extreme” region. They explained In Bloomberg that in the western city From Ahmedabadwhere the thermometers They usually exceed The 45 ° C at the beginning of May, the fight against heat has also ceased to be a seasonal issue to become a structural need. In this environment, exposure to the sun is no longer just a job risk: it is a threat direct to healthfood security and economic stability of millions of people. For women Like Kunwar Ben Chauhanthat sells meat in the street and has suffered fainting, dehydration and economic losses due to the deterioration of its products, the extreme heat imposes impossible dilemmas: going to work and risk life, or stay at home and lose daily sustenance. Faced with this reality, groups such as Self-Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) Pioneer solutions like The parametric insurancewhich grants automatic economic compensation when the temperature exceeds certain critical thresholds. The measure, although modest, represents a vital lifeguard in an informal economy where many workers earn just three dollars daily. Ahmedabad Adaptation from below. In Ahmedabad, a more metropolis of 8.5 million Of inhabitants, resilience is built from the community fabric. In addition to climate insurance, initiatives such as ceilings coating With reflective paint and the installation of early alert systems are transforming the way heat is perceived and managed. The city, a pioneer in Asia del Sur, launched in 2013 Your own plan of action against heat after the devastating wave of 2010, in which they died More than 1,300 people and even 400 bats They fell dead by the burning air. Since then, the actions They have multiplied: Hospitals now have special rooms to treat heat stroke, dehydration and burns, community centers, temples and shopping centers become climatic shelters during the most extreme days, and awareness campaigns have been implemented through radio, neighborhood leaders and educators. The plan includes a alert system colored by colors that informs the population, and whose effectiveness has contributed to reduce mortality. Heat and health. Back to Ganganagar, He underlined the Times Other strategies. In the Chak Maharaj Ka clinic, patient flow increases as heat becomes unbearable. Those who suffer from previous diseases such as asthma or gastrointestinal conditions see how their ailments intensify, forcing medical staff to resort to rapid and palliative treatments. Most of the inhabitants have internalized basic strategies Survival: avoid going out in critical hours, hydrating with homemade solutions, or resting under trees when there is no other option. It happens that these methods only partially relieve a problem that threatens every aspect of life. In the epicenter of heat, in the city itself, the activity never stops at all. As In Ahmedabadworkers cannot afford to rest: if they don’t work, they don’t eat. Solidarity under the sun. Despite the relentless environment, gestures of daily humanity arise that become pillars of a shared ethic. At 3 in the afternoon, when the temperature reaches its maximum point in ganganagar, whole families go to the road with water cubes to offer relief to motorcyclists, truckers and travelers stunned by heat. The act, although simple, embodies a deep sense of charity in a society where doing good is seen as the way to Spiritual salvation. For many, giving water to a stranger is the only lasting legacy that can be offered in a world where everything else is Evapora Under the sun. Climate Innovation Laboratory. Behind the plan of action pioneer of the city of Ahmedabad there is a growing understanding that heat is not an anecdotal phenomenon, but a dangerous multiplier of vulnerabilities in a country where cities They grow disorderlycement replaces vegetation and global emissions have raised the average temperature of the planet in 1.2 ° C. From the pre -industrial era. Recent studies They warn that if global warming exceeds 2 ° C (one possibility every time closer) India will experience an increase Six older in the frequency of heat waves. Already today, More than 600 million Indians live under an unprecedented thermal threat. In that scenario, the city has become a Adaptation Laboratory urban, whose innovations (such as Insurance algorithm which contemplates variables such as night temperature, cloudiness and pollution) are being … Read more

The US has started evaluating the risks that runs if you attack Iran. What worries you most is a fearsome bomb: yours

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While the United States, in Trump’s figure, leafless the Margarita on a possible intervention American military against Iran, several scenarios open, all uncertain, and a technical, strategic and symbolic obstacle: the difficulty of destroying The ForDow Uranium Enrichment Center, a underground installation excavated deep in a mountain. In fact and, as we will see, Washington’s main concern at this time is a bomb … yours. Weigh the risks. He Financial Times and the Washington Post have published two reports on that moment of Impasse that is lived in the administration. While Trump holds intense meetings in the White House crisis room to decide if the United States joins the Israeli offensive against Iran, US intelligence and defense services draw an exhaustive map of possible reprisals that Tehran could trigger. Among the explicit warnings of the Iranian supreme leader, Ali Jamenei (who has threatened to cause “irreparable damage” if Washington intervenes), and the strategic memory of previous cycles Of climbing, the White House faces a decision that could mark the turning point In the conflict. Iranian response options cover A broad spectrum: Direct attacks against American troops or embassies in the Middle East, cybernetic sabotages, terrorist attacks, undercover actions through allied militias such as Hezbollah or hutis, and, perhaps the most serious from the economic point of view, the Ormuz Strait closurewhere a third of the world’s maritime oil travels. The dilemma of deterrence. The United States currently maintains some 40,000 military troops deployed in the region, with eight permanent bases in countries such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Catar and Arab Emirates, in addition to operational presence in other eleven key enclaves, including Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Oman. The Udeid Air Base in Catar, headquarters of the American central command, houses 10,000 soldiersand other facilities such as the Bahrain Naval Base or the infrastructure in Kuwait house tens of thousands more. Although all have aerial defenses, their geographical proximity with Iran makes them Vulnerable objectives Before a ballistic or cruise missile attack, drones or even irregular command incursions. Iran has a significant arsenal of unmanned projectiles and aerial vehicles, many of them of their own manufacture or adaptations of Russian and North Korean models, and although their response would not be immediate, the internal debate in Tehran about when and how to answer It could be intensified If Washington actively participates in the campaign. The threat of the Strait. He Ormuz narrowneuralgic point of global hydrocarbons trade, represents a Strategic risk first order. Iran has demonstrated in the past (as in 2019when it managed to temporarily paralyze 50% of Saudi production through a combined missile and drone attack) that can seriously affect the world energy market. If you choose to undermine the strait, use fast boats, submarines or coastal batteries to block the passage, the impact on oil prices It would be immediate and global. It happens that they will also It depends on the Strait For its own crude oil exports, which introduces a structural contradiction: damage ormuz would harm both their enemies and itself. Even so, like They point out analysts From the pentagon, deterrence based on mutual vulnerability does not guarantee containment if the survival of the regime is at stake. The precedent of hutis in the red seawhich have managed to interrupt maritime traffic despite weeks of US bombings, demonstrates the effectiveness of sustained asymmetric tactics even under constant military pressure. The mystery of a bomb. And here we reach the main theme from the perspective of the possible attack of the United States. In the heart of deliberations about this possible military intervention against Iran is the difficulty of destroying the center of Uranium enrichment of Fordow, that underground installation excavated deep in a mountain. He counted exclusive The Guardian that Trump has already been informed that the use of the GBU-57 pump could, in theory, Inspore fordow During a limited period of time, but according to sources close to the conversations, the president is not convinced of his effectiveness and has conditioned any authorization to attack the guarantee that the objective can be eliminated definitively. B-52 launching a MOP during the tests, 2009 Reasonable doubt. Doubts feed not only for the tactical complexity of the operation, but also of the evaluation of the Department of Defense: several experts They have warned Not even a GBU-57 pump battery would be enough to completely destroy Fordow, and that only A tactical nuclear weapon I could achieve it with certainty. In this regard, the British newspaper stressed that the option, however, has not been considered Formally and was ruled out in the meetings held between Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegesh and the head of the Joint Chiefs, General Dan Caine. GBU-57 limitations. It We count this week. It is a 13.6 tons pump capable of penetrate underground structures reinforced, the same one that has been the center of multiple debates in the Pentagon since the beginning of Trump’s mandate. The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DRA), responsible for testing and analyzing this kind of weapons, has pointed out that Fordow, about 80 meters underground, is beyond the operational reach of this ammunition without a PREVIOUS PREPARATION OPERATION that includes the destruction of aerial defenses, elimination of GPS interference and a possible saturation attack with conventional weapons to weaken the land. Even so, even under optimal conditions, the impact of a GBU-57 pump It could be limited to collapsing tunnels, sealing accesses and burying machinery under debris, but not to completely dismantle Iran’s nuclear capacity. The bomb, in addition, has never been used Under real conditions against an installation such as Fordow, which adds technical uncertainty to the already high political risk of initiating an open conflict. Absolute success or deterrence. The Guardian explained That for some high controls, the real problem is not the bomb itself, but the expectation of a “One and Done (unique and decisive attack) that does not conform to operational reality. The retired general Randy Manner, former Draw director, He warned that ForDow could be … Read more

People have started rowing to touch their ass to the statue of the bear in Madrid. Makes as little sense as it seems

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Recently Dublin’s City Council did something unusual: He put an escort To the statue of a woman to prevent tourists from groking her breasts. Before the Irish session had even thought about Raise the monumentdedicated to Molly Maloneto leave his generous bronze bust (discolored after years and years of touch) out of reach of the caresses of the visitors. Molly Malone’s is not a unique case. If you approach the door of the Sun, in the heart of Madrid, you can also check how the celebration Bear and madroño statue That decorates the square for almost 60 years has the innkeepers and a leg of gold color for the constant of tourists and neighbors. A two -colored bear. Few more emblematic places in Madrid than Puerta del Sol. And few more iconic points in the square (and the city in general) than the famous Bear and madroño statuea work by sculptor Antonio Navarro that decorates the area since January 1967, although since then it has already changed several times of location. If today you approach to see it, it is likely, however, two details that are relatively recent. To start it is likely to meet tourists queuing to take photos next to the Úrsido. If you look, you will also see that the animal is two colors. Most have a dark tone, but one of the legs and tail are somewhat clearer, almost golden. Actually both details are related. If the animal has “faded” it is largely because of the touch of visitors. @koda_009 If you are in Madrid or visit the city, you cannot go without touching the sculpture of the bear and the madroño at the Puerta del Sol. The monument is one of the most important symbols of the capital and, according to the belief, in addition to bringing luck, touching it also guarantees to return to the city. #Elosoyelmadroño #Madrid #Spain #Puertadelsol #Europe #Sabiasque? #Sabiasque #comunidaddeMadrid #SPain #for you #Solmadrid ♬ Original sound – Koda Is it a matter of good luck? The legend says to touch Malone’s breasts Bring good luckbut … why do people grocery the tail and the leg of the bear of the door of the Sun? Basically for the same. A quick search in networks reveals that there are people who believe What to reach the tail will bring you good luck and will help him return to Madrid. Other versions ensure that what you have to touch the bear is actually the heel or that the objective changes According to the origin Who is sovere to: If you are from Madrid you must go to the tail, if you are a visitor you have to touch the leg. A matter of superstition, as is the case with the statue of Malone or other sobbed sculptures, such as The porcellino from Florence, which also has the polished snout based on the handle of tourists, or The testicles of the famous Toro of Wall Street. There are even more rocambolescas legends, such as the one that argues that those women who deliver a flower, kiss and touch the penis of The Victor Noir statuein a cemetery in Paris, they will enjoy love and sex. THE KEY: IMITATION. Superstitions apart, the explanation of why people caresses sculptures is much simpler (and mundane). At least in the case of the Madrid bear. The key was given in 2023 Madrid_Secreto in Tiktok: people feel the impulse to play statues and over time that ends up leaving a mark on the surface of the monuments that attracts the attention of more and more people. Result: the habit grows and feeds up until it becomes tradition. The equation is completed with the best Selfiethe desire to return on vacation with iconic photos and the amplifier effect of the networks. @vanessaencinals Well I don’t reach but it’s my fourth time in Madrid 😂❤️ #fyp #Madrid #vacations #SPain #Osomadrileño #Granvia #Puertadelsol ♬ You can count on me. Amaia Montero. LODVG – Video Covers “I’ve seen it in Tiktok”. The million dollar question in the case of the Statue of Puerta del Sol is … who was the first to touch the sculpture? When did that derive in a tradition? And how has it expanded so fast? Recently eldiario.es He approached To the square to talk to tourists and even a guide and discovered several things. To begin with, the handle of the Úrsido seems to have started a few years ago, at least before the pandemic. The historian José Manuel Moreno, in fact, points out that “it is not a new fashion” and points out that there are other sculptures that are also a victim of the touch, such as The curious neighborlocated on the main street with Almudena. People touch their ass in search of the same: fortune. Another of the conclusions that are taken when talking to people who approach the statue to touch it is that, although the habit of the handle perhaps comes from years ago, it has expanded basically thanks to social networks. “I’ve seen it on Tiktok,” Recognize A young woman from Jaén. And the truth is that a quick search arrives for find A handful of videos in which people are seen playing sculpture and talking about their supposed effects to return to Madrid or have luck. Touch statues? That is the million dollar question. Is it okay to touch statues installed in public spaces, even to the point that your patina is affected? Should institutions avoid it? In the case of the Malone statue, the Dublinous authorities are clear, although it is true that in their case influenced that tourists focus (with jokes included) on the bust of the figure. “I don’t like it and put limits … wherever it can truly be a problem. But of course, it’s hard to define,” Moreno admits. In the specific case of Navarro’s sculpture, one of the factors that could have influenced the touching is The last reform of the environment, which banks … Read more

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