state

The emptied rural Spain has been revealed as the great energy engine of the State

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Spain is a State full of contrasts. At a demographic level, the population density is concentrated in Madrid and coastal cities, that is, 30% of the territory concentrates 90% of the people. It is “tight Spain.” The rest, approximately five million people, occupy 70% of the territory, in the interior of the peninsula. More people consume more resources, which puts two realities on the table: Madrid consumes more and generates less energy than anyone else and that emptied Spain is the energy engine of the State, as the report summarizes “The energy transition in the Spanish rural environment” prepared by Monitor Deloitte. The most striking fact: 84% of renewable energy generation comes from rural environments. Context. In the collective imagination we associate energy production with large nuclear or fossil fuel installations, but nothing is further from current reality. Spain is carrying out an energy transition collected in the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan with the objective of reaching 81% electricity generation from renewables. And it’s on the right track: the report of the Spanish Electrical System of Red Eléctrica for 2023 It showed that it had already exceeded the 50% quota. At specific moments, has reached 100% supply. Listing renewable sources by their importance, we find wind energy prominently, followed by photovoltaic and hydraulic energy. Where. In rural territory, in that sparsely populated place where natural resources and space abound. The report highlights regions such as Castilla-La Mancha, Castilla y León and Aragón as hubs precisely because of their availability of soil and climatic resources (radiation and wind). Why is it important. Because the State needs that emptied Spain and its resources to successfully carry out its energy transition. Without that territory or its available resources, there is no decarbonization or energy sovereignty. Obviously a paradox occurs: that the most populated places are those that produce the least energy and vice versa, which generates a territorial imbalance. However, this deployment of infrastructure can become an opportunity to promote local employment and thus establish the population. Finally, agrivoltaics is revealed as a way to modernize the agricultural sector, making it possible to make cultivation for food compatible with energy supply, all on the same soil. In figures. In addition to this substantial share of 84% of renewable energy from rural areas, the report reveals other interesting figures: There are 15 provinces with critical population density (

Google is going to build a mega data center in a state where the drought is atrocious. Your cooling plan: use air

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The American state of Texas has been dealing with heat wavesdroughts and a increasing pressure on its aquiferswhich makes it on paper one of the worst places to set up a data center. Well, Wilbarger County in Texas is just the place chosen by Google to set up your next data center. But big tech hides an ace up its sleeve: it is not going to use water for cooling, but air. Context. Briefly, a data center is an industrial facility full of servers where information transmitted over the internet, such as AI responses or your Google photos, is stored and processed. And if your personal computer requires cooling when it has been working with a certain intensity for some time to dissipate heat, more of the same with servers, which operate 24/7. The usual thing in these plants is to use thermal dissipation systems with water, either with chillers, evaporation or direct cooling with immersion, thermally efficient solutions, but problematic if water is scarce. The problem? That Texas is an oven that is not for buns: its drought is pressing. But Texas is not a foreign place for Google: it has been in that state for more than 15 years, where it has operational centers in Midlothian and Red Oak and already plans to build two more campuses in Armstrong and Haskell Counties. It’s very serious. The project. The Wilbarger County data center will reduce water use so much that it will restrict its application to basic campus uses such as kitchens and services. As? Google has not provided details of the technology, only that it will be advanced air cooling. Cooling with air in such a hot scenario implies greater energy consumption, so the problem now becomes electricity. What Google proposes is a “Power first” model. In short: the data center goes hand in hand with its own renewable electricity generation plant. Google’s energy partner for this project is AESone of the largest producers of renewables in the US, with whom it has a 20-year energy purchase agreement at an agreed price. This is how both win: AES has stability to build the plants and Google has the guaranteed supply and price. Furthermore, according to Google, they already have the land and the interconnection signed, which saves bureaucracy and launches the project into the construction phase. Why is it important. Because according to EESI estimatesa medium-sized data center can consume 416 million liters per year for thermal dissipation alone, the equivalent of a thousand homes. And if there is a shortage of water, allocating it to meet the needs of a data center is hardly justifiable. Wilbarger’s project solves this with air cooling, removing the precious commodity of water from the equation, but also from the electrical grid itself: Google cooks it and Google eats it (with the help of AES). Given that the demand for computing continues to grow, a model that does not consume water or overload the network emerges as a solution to a resource management problem. In figures. For Google, Wilbarger County is not a pilot plant and its size demonstrates this: 0 liters of water for cooling. The project will provide 7,800 MW of power to the Texas grid. The agreement between the technology and energy companies is for 20 years. Google advertisement an investment item of 40 billion dollars for Texas in November 2025 and has provided a $30 million fund to boost energy initiatives in Texas from 2026 to 2028. It won’t be easy. Although Google has been cryptic when it comes to reporting what the technology, its capacity and needs will be, the reality is that when cooling with air in a hot climate, the pressure is transferred to the electrical grid. On the other hand, and although this specific project points the direction of a possible solution to this problem, we will have to see if and how it can be scaled, because there are more and more data centers and the climate is increasingly more extreme. In Xataka | Google doesn’t have rockets, but it is going to install data centers in space. SpaceX and Blue Origin rub their hands In Xataka | Data centers in space are the finger, Google’s purchase of an electrical company is the Moon Cover | Google Data Centers and Ganapathy Kumar

We tend to think that the war of extermination was invented by the modern State. A mass grave from 2,800 years ago has just destroyed the myth

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There is an almost romantic tendency to idealize the remote past. Perhaps, inspired by the myth of the “noble savage” they often let’s imagine prehistory and the first societies as peaceful environments where extreme violence and systematic was an aberration or, in any case, an invention that came with the help of more modern times. But the reality is that if we had a time machine, this would be one of the few places where we would have to travel. A reality. Archeology has an uncomfortable habit of unearthing truths that do not fit our prejudices. The latest blow to this idyllic vision that some may have comes from the Balkans, specifically from a mass grave in Gomolava from 2,800 years ago that reveals a calculated, selective and brutal massacre against women and children. A mystery. In the 9th century BC, during the first Iron Age, the Carpathian and Balkan region was inhabited by societies that we today consider primitive. Specifically, they could be found semi-nomadic groups and sedentary communities who were beginning to clash for control of the territory. But here there were neither states nor regular armies. In this way, when archaeologists found a huge mass grave with the remains of 77 individuals at the Gomolava site, the first hypothesis was the most logical for the time: a catastrophic epidemic devastated everyone. However, a new study published in the magazine Naturehas completely rewritten the history of this site, combining forensic, genetic and isotopic analyses. Annihilation. Here the DNA was clear, since there was no trace of deadly pathogens. In this case, people died not from a disease, but from an outbreak of deliberate violence that has shocked the scientific community. Not only because of the violence, but because of the demographic profile, since 70.8% of the adults were women and 66% of the total were children and adolescents. Here the forensic analyzes revealed a terrifying pattern, since the vast majority had injuries at the time of death in the skull. Thus, they were forceful blows inflicted from above, suggesting that the attackers could have been on horseback or executing the victims while they were kneeling or subdued. Why children and women? The answer is pure strategic calculation, since the study of isotopes and DNA revealed that, with the exception of a mother and her two daughters, the victims were not related to each other and came from various regions with varied diets. But it was not a simple robbery gone wrong, but rather an interregional selective annihilation designed to wipe the reproductive future of rival groups off the map. And, in a context of profound social restructuring and territorial conflicts in the Carpathian Basin, eliminating offspring and those people who can produce even more offspring, such as women, was the most brutal and effective way to assert power in an area. Without a doubt, a great strategy to prevent anyone from claiming rights in that area. Ritual. To add another layer of complexity to this dark episode, the burial was not improvised. Contrary to what happens in many mass graves that are quickly made to throw the corpses, andIn this case they took their time. Investigators saw that the victims were buried next to bronze jewelry, ceramics and even sacrificed animals, so it was quite taken care of. Here the theory proposed is that it is a “macabre demonstration of power”: an act where the brutality of the massacre coexists with the socioeconomic value of the victims and the need to maintain the funeral customs of the time. Image | Sarah Nylund (Nature) In Xataka | When did human beings start “cooking”? The answer lies in some carp from 780,000 years ago.

In case of need, that AI is from the State

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The Pentagon dropped the bomb a few hours ago. Anthropic has until this Friday at 5:01 p.m. to agree to have its AI models used for whatever the Pentagon deems appropriate. It is something that is turning the conversation on its head upside down. ethical use of AIbut more important than that, it puts on the table a very clear intention on the part of the United States: that if they consider that all resources must be used in matters of national defense, all resources belong to the State. And that’s where artificial intelligence from private companies comes in. In short. Dario Amodei is the CEO of Anthropic. The name may sound more familiar to you. Claudeone of his models. These are very versatile, but they have a red line very clear: They cannot be used for mass surveillance of US citizens (be careful with the nuance). Nor for the development of weapons or the use of autonomous weapons controlled entirely by AI. And this is something that conflicts with what the Pentagon wants: to use Anthropic models without restrictions. Why Anthropic, you might ask? Well, because this company offered its tool to the Government for the symbolic price of one dollar, which earned them a contract of 200,000,000 dollars. The move did not go badly, and little by little their models were integrated with those of Palantir. Now, the US wants to have an ‘unleashed’ AI, but as my colleague Javier Lacort explainsthe laws and ethics of the United States Armed Forces are based on the fact that a soldier can and must disobey a manifestly illegal order. An AI can do whatever you want it to do. A lever from 1950. A 200 million dollar contract is juicy, but seeing the nonsense that is continually invested in AIit’s pocket change. Anthropic would have it as easy as refusing and clearing the way for someone else to take his place in the Pentagon, right? Well… it’s not that simple. And it is not for two reasons. The first is that it is already highly integrated into all the systems, processes and services that the Department of Defense uses on a daily basis. It is too big a ship for it to change course. He “knows” too much about the interiors of those systems that must be highly secret. But the most important thing is that the United States has a lever to take over whatever it wants. The only thing you have to argue is that it is due to a need for national security. In 1950, during the Korean War, the Defense Production Acta law that grants the president powers to secure supplies necessary for national defense. This, for example, gives the Government power to require companies to prioritize contracts with the State to allocate materials, services and facilities. Also allow aid to expand productive capacity and, ultimately, put the largest companies in the country to work depending on what is needed. Too powerful to be private. This document has been expanded and expanded over time, since the needs of 1950 are not the same as those of later decades, and in 2023 the Executive Order 14,110. It is one that forces the owners of the most powerful AI models to notify the Government when they train systems that may pose a risk to national security, the economy or public health. After him, other drafts have been signed expanding the demands on AI, but the truth is that the Pentagon does not need to publish anything new to pressure Anthropic. Under Title I (ordering that certain products or services be provided to the Government), the Pentagon could take over Anthropic’s AI to carry out its designs. The support is what we have already mentioned: that “national defense.” And, in practice, it is defined that, if the company does not want its AI to do certain things because of that kind of moral code, if it becomes the property of the Pentagon, the ethical barrier can be eliminated. Disciplinary punishment for the “AI woke”. And now, the big question. Can Anthropic say something like “look, you keep the 200 million and each to their own”? Well no. Or not in such a simple way. I have already commented that Claude is too deep into the Pentagon systems (to the point that he was used in the operation to capture Nicolás Maduro) and “knows” too much. She’s very integrated into the Pentagon’s classified systems, and as we can guess, they weren’t going to let her go that easily. And that’s where the figure of Pete Hegseth comes in. He is the Secretary of Defense, and he has qualified that Anthropic moral standard like that of an “AI woke.” Yes… Because Google, OpenAI and xAI allow that the Government uses its models in any “legal” scenario (for the Government, of course), but not Anthropic, and in addition to the lever of the Defense Production Act, the United States can harshly punish the company. If they do not “give in” to their requests, they could identify Anthropic as a company that puts the country’s supply chain at risk. It would be cLike the Huawei veto a few years ago, but to a national company. In practice, US companies would not be able to work with Anthropic. That is to say, the country has a couple of good “arguments” for Anthropic to hand over that moral bar. Learning. It won’t be that long until 5:01 p.m. on Friday, February 27, when we will know if Anthropic agrees by hook or by crook to the Pentagon’s “requests.” What is clear is that this is a lesson. Not so much for American companies that, in the end, operate under the umbrella of the Defense Production Act, but for those of the rest of the world. Specifically, the European ones. And I’m thinking about the space race. Europe, like China, Russia and the United States itself, has embarked on the new space race. They are … Read more

We send you a free VPN so you can watch football for free. Sincerely, the US Department of State

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The US State Department has announced one of the most unusual moves in recent digital diplomacy: the launch of freedom.gov, a portal designed to help citizens in Europe and other regions circumvent content restrictions imposed by their own governments. Among many other implications, this would allow LaLiga’s indiscriminate IP blocking to be avoided, which would make freedom.gov a great way to watch football for free via IPTV. What irony. what has happened. The Trump administration, under the direction of Undersecretary of Public Diplomacy Sarah Rogers, has announced this project that would offer VPN-type tools to route traffic through US servers. According to Reuterswhich cites three sources familiar with the plan, the launch was scheduled for the Munich Security Conference, but was delayed for reasons that the State Department has not clarified, although some of Rogers’ team’s own lawyers are known to have expressed internal reservations. Europe censored, and rightly so. The DSA The initiative is a frontal attack on the most recent European digital regulations, and especially the Digital Services Act (DSA). In the EU, large technology platforms face million-dollar fines if they do not quickly eliminate hate speech, disinformation or terrorist propaganda. For exampleX (formerly Twitter) received a fine of 120 million euros last December for non-compliance with the DSA. This protection of this type of speech was also clearly reflected in the efforts that Germany made in 2024: nearly 500 removal orders of content related to terrorism, which ended up resulting in more than 16,000 deleted contents. The freedom of expression argument. From the perspective of Washington—or more specifically, the Trump administration—these laws are a cover to silence conservative voices. Freedom.gov is like a shield under the umbrella of freedom of speech. One that would allow any citizen to access content blocked in their country. The domain, which was apparently registered on January 12, currently only displays the National Design Studio logo, the words “fly, eagle, fly” and a login form. The promise at the moment is that said platform will not track the activity of its users. The networks breathe fire. The comments on social networks have been numerous. Reception of the news mixes disbelief with sarcasm and the indignation. In Bluesky and Maston the most repeated criticism is that of double standards: the US trimmed funding the Tor project while at the same time building a portal for European citizens to access prohibited content. Renee DiResta, journalist for The Atlantic, summed it up well with the question: “Is the State Department going to set up a Nazi website?” Other comments opt for humor and compare this initiative with the 4chan platform (“4chan.gov”, they said some), known for its controversial lack of censorship. Transatlantic tension. Brussels maintains that its regulations protect European democracies from extremist propaganda, a strong argument considering that the continent experienced totalitarianism firsthand. That an ally like the United States actively encourages disobedience to local laws and invites Europeans to bypass blockades is disturbing. The paradox is notable: the same country that for years warned of foreign interference in its internal processes is now studying offering tools precisely to do the same in Europe and other regions. This affects Tebas and LaLiga. The measure could have a curious side effect and become the worst nightmare for Javier Tebas and LaLiga. Tebas, president of that organization, has for years led the most aggressive legal crusade in Europe against illegal streaming football broadcasts. He has been pressuring operators for years to indiscriminately block IPs corresponding to IPTV services. The effectiveness of these measures depends on a fundamental assumption: that users do not have easy, free and reliable access to a VPN. Thebes knows this, and in fact These days he has attacked two suppliers of this type of services alleging that new court orders force them to also block said IPs. Freedom.gov threatens precisely that scenario. If the portal ends up functioning as a secure tunnel to American servers, any fan of soccer broadcasts in Spain would have a couple of clicks away with a perfect tool to mask their IP, avoid their operator and transparently access the illegal IPTV channels that LaLiga was blocking with its legal efforts. Therefore, there would be no need to pay a subscription to NordVPN or its rivals or configure anything: just enter the freedom.gov domain. LaLiga Indian in November 2024 that in Spain “live sports content is pirated more than 25% above the European average”, which amplifies this potential impact. The irony is extraordinary. A foreign policy maneuver designed to promote the Trump Administration’s peculiar vision of freedom of expression could turn the Washington government into the ideal solution for “free football” in our country. Image | Chris Robert | Peter Glaser In Xataka | Football has become the anchor of operator subscriptions. And LaLiga is making more money than ever

India wanted to impose an indelible state app on all mobile phones. In a matter of days he had to take an unexpected turn

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The Government of India movement to force a security app to be installed On all mobile phones sold in the country it has lasted less than a week. On November 28, the Ministry of Telecommunications sent a private communication to the manufacturers in which it gave them 90 days to comply with the measure. However, the general rejection of public opinion, doubts about its impact on cybersecurity and the apparent opposition of some manufacturers have forced a change in plans. The order began to gain public relevance when its internal details became known. Reuters noted that The Government not only requested the mandatory presence of Sanchar Saathi in new mobile phones, but also its incorporation in those already in the supply chain through software updates. The agency also reported that the initial instruction specified that the application could not be disabled. What is Sanchar Saathi. The program’s own website define the tool as a public service aimed at empowering users against fraud and device theft. It is available as a mobile application and also as a web portal, from where it is possible to temporarily lock a lost phone, track subsequent use attempts and, if recovered, reactivate it. The Government frames these functions within a broader digital education effort, with end-user security materials and advisories. From security discourse to doubts about surveillance. The debate intensified when opposition figures and privacy specialists They questioned the initiative. In his opinion, an application managed by the State, coupled with such a broad mandate, required additional guarantees to rule out intrusive uses. Organizations such as the Internet Freedom Foundation They asked for transparency and access to the full legal text. Under pressure, Scindia publicly defended that “spying is not possible” with Sanchar Saathi and denied that the app can be used for surveillance. Opposition from manufacturers added pressure to the process. Reuters indicated that Apple had no intention to comply with the order as it was proposed and that it would convey its objections to the Government, while Samsung and other actors expressed similar reservations. According to sources cited by international media, the companies questioned whether the instruction had been issued without prior consultation and warned of its impact on the privacy policies of their ecosystems. The context was not minor: India has become one of the fastest growing markets for smartphones, especially for companies like Apple and other large manufacturers. An express reverse gear with success figures in hand. The rectification came on December 3, when the Ministry of Communications published a note announcing that mandatory pre-installation was no longer necessary. The decision was justified by the “growing acceptance” by Sanchar Saathi, which according to the Government now has 14 million users and allows around 2,000 frauds to be reported daily. Only the previous day, 600,000 new registrations had driven tenfold growth. Scindia then insisted that “spying is not possible”, despite the skepticism of specialized groups. In recent years, as reported by BloombergIndia has driven decisions that have forced big tech companies to readjust, such as demands for access to encrypted information or recent attempts to have manufacturers distribute the GOV.in public app suite. All of this occurs in a market that is strategic for Apple and Google, both in sales and production. The withdrawal of the mandate makes it clear that these dynamics continue to evolve and that balances will likely continue to be redefined. Images | Ministry of Communications of India | Piyanshu Sharma In Xataka | There are 500 million users who could perfectly upgrade to Windows 11. The problem is that they don’t want to

NVIDIA and OpenAI know that the AI ​​bubble can burst in their faces. His solution: let dad pay for the state

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Too big to fail or, in English, “too big to fail.” It is a theory of economics and finance which argues that certain corporations, especially banks, are so large and so interconnected that their failure would have catastrophic consequences for the global economy and therefore must be rescued by governments. The speech gained traction in the 2008 financial crisis and is beginning to sound again from the mouths of NVIDIA and OpenAI, no less. Government support. At an event of WSJSarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI, stated that the company will not go public in the short term (she says until at least 2027) and that its priority is growth and investment in R&D, above profitability. The most striking part of his speech was when he said that they hope that the government will support the financing of future agreements related to data centers. That OpenAI is burning astronomical amounts of money to lead the AI ​​race is something we have been discussing for a long timebut it is the first time that they directly appeal to the state to guarantee it. Shortly after, Friar collected cable in a post on LinkedIn: “OpenAI does not seek government support for our infrastructure commitments. I used the word ‘support’ and that confused the message,” but the seed was already planted. Depreciation. OpenAI is closing deals to secure computing capacity. We have seen it with his alliance with NVIDIAwith amdwith Broadcom and more recently with amazon. The complexity of the situation is that the depreciation rates of AI chips remain uncertain. As it says Washington Post’s Gerrit de Vynck in XOpenAI is going to need the best chips to be at the forefront of the AI ​​market, but financing this demand is not the same if the life cycle of the chips is seven years, as if it is only two years. The money is flowing, the question is for how long. In this uncertain scenario, government support would act as a safety net so that banks and private equity firms would feel more comfortable and continue releasing billions for OpenAI. China will win. NVIDIA is also appealing for government involvement in subtle ways. In a Financial Times event in London, Its CEO Jenshen Huang has warned that “China is going to win the AI ​​race.” Their arguments are that China has more flexible regulation and government subsidies for the energy your data centers needthat It is not little. This energy advantage allows China to compete even if they cannot buy NVIDIA’s most powerful chips. Huang doesn’t say it directly, but it is a clear wake-up call: either you subsidize the energy our data centers need or China will win. The fear. The question has been hanging over the air for a long time: Are we witnessing a new bubble? The investor Michael Burry thinks soand he is not just any investor, he was the one who made gold when the real estate bubble burst in 2008 (the movie ‘The Big Short’ is based on his story). The thing is, Burry just bet short against NVIDIA, which recently It was valued at 5 billion dollars. Fear of the bubble continues to grow, according to a Coatue report and the number of fund managers who believe we are in a bubble increased to 54% in October, up from 37% in July this year. 48% of the S&P 500 index corresponds to AI-related stocks. Fountain: Bianco Research Numbers. The fear is not at all unfounded and all you have to do is take a look at the numbers. Account Tomás Pueyo in Uncharted Territories that the economy should be in recession, but the numbers show the opposite and AI is behind this growth. The S&P 500 index is through the roof and 48% of this growth corresponds to AI-related stocks. The share price is far above what it was in the dotcom bustall with ridiculous benefits. And that’s not all, the economic growth of the United States in 2025 is due almost entirely to the construction of data centers for AI. According to the Economist Jason Furmanwithout taking data centers into account, the GDP of the United States would have grown only 0.1% in 2025. The creator of the newsletter Today in Tabs He gave a very graphic example: “Our economy could be reduced to three AI data centers in trench coats.” Tightrope. Returning to OpenAI, its financial director assured the Financial Times that it could be profitable simply by stopping investing too aggressively since it has a “very healthy” margin structure. The thing is, they can’t do it. OpenAI needs to achieve AGI, its great promise and the only thing that could justify this insane investment. If it fails, will cause a shock wave that can impact NVIDIA, AMD, Oracle… and end up dragging down the global economy. The competition tightens, Anthropic is eating the business market’s toast and Google is not only winning every time more users with Geminireached record revenue in the last quarterwhile OpenAI lost $11.5 billion in the same period. It doesn’t look good. Images | Wikipedia In Xataka | NVIDIA will invest 100 billion in OpenAI so that OpenAI buys chips from NVIDIA. And it’s a disturbing sign

Finland has realized that its welfare state is not enough to avoid the birth crisis. Now look for how to stop it

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The world has been looking at the Nordic countries for decades with a mixture of admiration and envy for their model of social welfare. A clear example is Finland, a benchmark in education, aids to motherhood and spent in social benefits. None of this, however, has prevented him from seeing how his birth rate it contracts little by little. In fact, the fall has been so forceful since 2010 and its rate is at such low levels that the Government has decided to hands to work. Now you have a diagnosis… and a formula with 20 ingredients. What does the data say? That Finland has a birth problem. A particularly complex one. The statistical basis The World Bank shows that its birth rate has plummeted over the last six decades, going from 2.7 during the baby boom to 1.3 in 2023. The decline was particularly sharp between the 1960s and 1970s, followed an oscillating curve until the last decade and accelerated again towards 2010. latest data of Macrotrends show a slight recovery, but the rate still remains far from past values. Why is it important? Because it shows that Finland has a problem, one recognized without half measures by the Government itself. “Finland’s birth rate has been declining rapidly over the past 15 years. In 2024 the country’s total fertility rate became as low as 1.25,” recognized last March the Ministry of Social Affairs, which admits that although Finland is not the only country dealing with this challenge, the collapse there has been “exceptionally rapid” in the last decade and a half and threatens to become an economic and social challenge. “Finland’s rate has fallen to a historic low and the decline has been more pronounced than in the other Nordic countries. There is a considerable gap between the ideal number and the actual average number of children. It is essential to find solutions to reduce the gap,” advocated in spring the Minister of Social Security, Sanni Grahm-Laasonen. In 2023 the indicators of the neighbors Norway and Sweden there were around 1.4 children on average per woman, also far from the replacement rate that allows countries to stay away from immigration. Why is the birth rate falling? That’s the million dollar question. And the one that the Finnish authorities did a while ago. To answer it in 2024 the Government commissioned a report which had to clarify the factors that hinder the country’s demographic engine and (just as important) explore possible solutions. The task was relevant because, as the Executive assures, in Finland there is “a big difference” between the number of children that couples want to have and those they have. “Studies show that Finnish family policy has favored both well-being and birth rates and continues to play an important role. However, the current decline is mainly due to the fall in the number of first births and the increase in the proportion of childless people,” reflect Professor Anna Rotkirch, from Väestöliitto (the Finnish Family Federation), one of the experts who participated in the preparation of the birth report. Did you identify the causes? Yes. And no. The Government quote somebut he also recognizes that there is no “clear reason” that alone explains the decline in birth rates. “Therefore there are no easy solutions to stop it,” the Ministry of Health resigns itself before listing some factors that come into play, such as cultural changes, unstable relationships, health, the situation of the labor market and income or the problems of reconciling professional life and parenting. The NPR organization was recently one step further and interviewed experts and young Finns to find out how they approached parenthood. Poa Pohjola and Wilhelm Bomberg, aged 38 and 35, are the first ones he cites in his analysis: the couple has been together for about three years and last July they had their first baby, although Pohjola admits that not so long ago he believed he would never have children. “It seemed impossible to me,” the woman confesses. His case is paradigmatic because it agrees with a phenomenon that Finnish researchers have observed and can be extended to many other countries, including Spain: delayed maternity and the increase in people who directly choose not to have children. In the case of Finland this has led to a fertility rate slightly lower to that of the EU average and nations such as Iceland, Denmark, Sweden or Norway. Does it matter beyond Finland? Yes. And it matters because Finland offers a particularly interesting case study. As remember Liisa Siika-ahofrom the working group of the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, “in Finland benefits and services for families are relatively good.” In fact the Nordic countries they usually stand out precisely because of the facilities they provide for having offspring. Specifically Finland does it in aspects such as incentives, education and paid leave. “We can no longer claim that our good family policies explain the good fertility of the Nordic countries,” points out to NPR Annelie Miettinen, from the state agency Kela. “What baffles researchers is how this can be true, because all of these countries are relatively good at offering family support,” Miettinen said, “but there are really no good explanations for today’s very low fertility rates.” Just as it happens in Spain if the country is managing to weather the demographic storm is basically thanks to the immigration flow. How to solve it? A few months ago the Government made public a report on the topic that includes twenty proposals focused on the family and birth rate, all based on the premise that the commitment to early childhood education, family leave and economic support will boost birth rates. Until it is confirmed, the Health Department itself remains cautious. “In Finland the benefits and services for families are relatively good. This means that there are no areas where simple changes can be made,” takes on Sikka-aho. “However, all systems require maintenance and that is what many of our proposals address. It is unlikely that … Read more

From Europe its “welfare state” was envied. But it is increasingly difficult to pay, and France is the best example

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Europa presumed for decades of having found the perfect formula to combine economic prosperity with social justice: hospitals open to all, affordable universities and worthy retirements after a work life. That pact between generations, envied on the other side of the Atlantic, became the identity mark of the continent. And yet They begin to become visible. And one of its banners wobbles: France. A price too high. I told this week The Washington Post. Europe lives a historical crossroads: the social model that guaranteed universal health, accessible education and decent retirements begins to show cracks that can no longer be hidden. France It is the epicenter of that tension. There, the runaled public debt, political paralysis and succession of Fallen prime ministers In just fifteen months they show deep wear. The State Spend more than any other country rich in social protection, but that expense seems unsustainable in a context of low growth and growing polarization. The recent resignation From Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu, unable to agre as inalienable. Model under generational pressure. There are more, since, in France, new generations feel that they inherit a system that they cannot sustain. He Post counted Cases of young people such as Anastasia Blay, who depend on intermittent subsidies to survive, convinced that they should not load with the mistakes of the past or give up a decent life. In front of them, retirees like Christine Boucau-Podorski They defend The pensions achieved after decades of hard work and are willing to limited sacrifices, but not losing acquired rights. This struggle between young and old reflects the intergenerational shock that crosses To all of Europe: Who pays the invoice, what benefits should be preserved and to what extent intergenerational solidarity can continue to be the base of the European social contract. Germany and France Wobm up. Fragility is not limited to France. Germany, the other great Historical support of the European Union, faces industrial recessiondeterioration of infrastructure and a government that admits since “the current system is unassumable.” Political tensions are intense, with the social democratic opposition refusing to accept drastic cuts and the extreme right by capitalizing citizen discomfort. Meanwhile, the Ultras games grow On both sides of the rhine fed by social disenchantment and the feeling of stagnation. The paradox is that Italy or Spainonce considered weak links, they exhibit today greater stability macroeconomic than European locomotives. The center, formerly balancing, has become the area of ​​greatest uncertainty, which weakens the European project at a time of growing external threats. The southern paradox. It is quite striking that countries historically seen as fragile, such as Spain and Italy, today appear (either They seem) as relatively more stable. Italy, after decades of political instability, lives its strongest period with a controversial government that has even achieved An improvement of the credit rating. Spain, meanwhile, has reduced by half unemployment in the last decade and maintains growth above the European average, despite spend less on well -being than France or Germany. This roles investment shows to what extent the clichés of the southern Europe have been exceeded: the Mediterranean nations, previously accused of fiscal laxity, seem to have learned to navigate austerity, while “the rich north” It sinks in its own budgetary rigidity. The perfect storm. The challenge is aggravated by external factors that multiply internal pressures. The Russian Invasion of Ukraine pushes to increase the defense expensejust when public coffers They are already exhausted. China Compete fiercely With European industry, from electric cars to nuclear energy, eroding the international position of German and French manufactures. And the United States, far from offering security, Add uncertainty with a president who changes position in a matter of days and threatens tariffs to his own allies. Europe must decide If prioritize shield Your welfare state, to reorient resources towards military security or find a balance that does not sacrifice either global competitiveness or social cohesion. The great unknown. Experts Like Andreas Eisl They argue that the dilemma is first of all politician: it is not if Europe can maintain its social model, but to what extent it wants to do it and what sacrifices is willing to assume. Attempts to apply cuts, such as 44,000 million euros proposed in the budget that demolished Prime Minister François Bayrou, have caused A massive rejection on the street and fed polarization. However, mathematics is relentless: with a aging populationa Birth in Declive and one Increasing resistance To immigration, the fiscal base narrows while the needs increase. Europe may not be on the verge of a Greek collapse, or it does not seem, but the sustainability of its “way of life” indicates that it has ceased to be An unquestionable dogma. And that is, perhaps, the true battle of the future: if the old continent manages to reinvent his social contract without dynamiting him in the process. Image | Pexels, Martin Greslou In Xataka | Spain has a big problem with the generational relief of the labor market: 3.5 million young workers are missing In Xataka | Birth in Poland is a disaster and hotels have had an idea: money for those who conceive in a stay

While Europe was razed by black plague, an unexpected state applied epidemiological pioneer measures: Aragon

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The whole history of humanity changed one day of 1346 in front of the doors of the city of Caffa in the Crimean Peninsula. Between that day and the end of 1351, 70 million people died worldwide. That is, between 30% and half of the population disappeared from the surface of the earth. It is very difficult to ponder what the black plague meant. But not everywhere was the same. In the vicinity of Lake Issyk-Kul in the current Kyrguistan, Almost everyone died. In the crown of Aragon, The thing was different. Do not be misunderstood, we talk about a complex and diverse territory, the impact of black plague on the different kingdoms and counties was as terrible as anywhere; But, according to A recent study by Albert Reixach Salahe has just demonstrated that “urban governments began to try pioneer techniques that anticipated” what would later be applied in the rest of Europe. The laboratory of the continent. At first, like all, Aragonese communities resorted to religion. East of the Peninsula processions, public sentences and offerings to the saints were filled. It seems, 1384, the Municipal Council of Manresa tried to placate the “divine anger” prohibiting gambling. From whatever, it did not work. AND, According to Reixach Salathroughout the fifteenth century, the authorities began to add more concrete measures and, to put it in some way, more modern. For example, death registration systems were created (in Barcelona it was active since 1420). At the same time, Terrasa and Cervera began to apply mobility restrictions prohibiting entry to travelers who had been in locations with active cases. A lot of good ideas. Obviously, these answers were partial, clumsy, uncoordinated and reactive. A good example is that in 1458, the city ejected all the Mallorcans from its municipality. No matter that the island was one of the most controlled places in the Mediterranean. In Sóller, without going any further, there were permanent terrestrial controls for decades. However, numerous ideas were clairvoyant. We usually overcome the origin of the ‘quarantine’ to Venice or France, but (always According to Reixach Sala) We know that before that Cervera had already built preventive confinement barracks for anyone who returned to the city. In Valencia it also began to do a few years later. In the same vein, Mallorca had a kind of “Board of Health” since 1476 that introduced prevention measures, administrative regulations and generalized health measures. The grain and the straw. In 2015 Karolinska Institute of Stockholm when granted your youyou The Nobel Prize in Medicine. Many interpreted him as a prize for traditional Chinese medicine, but What they were rewarding It was a huge effort to carefully analyze each and every one of the remedies that the millenary Chinese civilization. Because, between superstition and care, there were good things: bright things. The same as in Aragon. Image | Pierart Dou Tielt, c. 1353. In Xataka | The black plague was a traumatic episode for the human being. But our immune system also improved

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