In 1914 Russia decided to prohibit vodka to stop alcoholism. It was a disastrous decision

Exists A legend (not confirmed) that said that, when the final surrender of Nazi Germany was known in World War II, the jubilation with which it was held in the Soviet Union is counted as one of the drunkenness more epic in the history of ethyl celebrations. The myth did not stay there, since the story said the Victory Day It led to the closest to a “national alcoholic blackout”, leaving the nation Without vodka in just 24 hours. The truth is that, whether or not, it makes all the meaning of the world. They came from a prohibition that had resulted. An ancestral relationship. Counted in an extensive Report The Atlantic that the Russian inclination towards alcohol has religious and political roots. In 988, the Prince Vladimir chose orthodox Christianity in part for not prohibiting Alcohol consumption, unlike Islam. During the 16th century, Ivan the terrible established the first state taverns (the calls Kabaks) that they became Fiscal monopolies. In less than a century, a third of Russian men I was indebted With these drink houses. Already in the 18th century, Pedro the Great consolidated that institutional dependence: not only tolerated the alcoholism of his subjects, but punished wives They tried to get their husbands out of the taverns, and recruited ethyl debtors for the army. Arrived at the nineteenth century, the State obtained almost half of its income from the sale of vodka. Far from being an externality of the system, alcohol would be said that it became its collection engine. In this context, the Tsar was going to make a decision of Ajundia. Imperial abstinence. According to Timethe history of the Russian prohibition not only precedes the famous Dry American Lawbut it constitutes one of the most transcendental (and fatal) decisions of the Tsar Nicolás II. It happened in September 1914, when a few days after the death in combat of his cousin, the prince Oleg Romanovthe Tsar sent a telegram to his uncle Konstantin Konstantinovich announcing the definitive suppression of the state sale of vodka in Russia. That gesture, which apparently responded to a moral conviction and a personal loss, dismantled one of the pillars Economics of the Empire: For centuries, the State had maintained a lucrative monopoly on alcohol, generating up to a third of its income thanks to sales to the peasantry. When renouncing that source of financing just at the threshold of World War I, Nicolás not only unleashed a deep fiscal crisis, but also fragile social contract between the throne and its people. Nicolás II Catastrophic consequences. The problem was not only economic. The measure was adopted at a time when the empire tried Revict your prestige After the defeat in the Russian-Japanese war of 1905, where alcoholism among soldiers was indicated as a decisive factor of military collapse. Collective drunkenness during mobilizations and the front had been so notorious that even the Káiser Guillermo II He came to declare that in the next conflict he would win the nation that he least drank. Under that impulse, the ban seemed a strategic decision, aimed at disciplining the army and facilitating mobilization. And, indeed, Russia initially deploy troops quickly and obtain some early victories. However, the price was elevated: by suddenly depriving millions of people of their usual consumption in full war and without social compensation mechanisms, a deep resentment Between peasants, workers and soldiers, amplifying the distance between imperial power and masses. Logistic collapse The Tsar appointed the reformist Peter Bark as Minister of Finance with the difficult task of disconnecting the treasury of alcohol, but the budget vacuum became unsustainable. Given the loss of hundreds of millions of rubles, the solution was the most precarious: Print moneyaccelerating hyperinflation and eroding even more the economy of war. The fiction that national productivity had improved without vodka was sustained with falsified reports and grandiloquent statements, while citizens suffered the consequences of shortage and monetary depreciation. At the logistics level, chaos was equally shocking: the wagons that had to transport grain and supplies to the front were occupied by Aristocratic distillators That, prevented from selling within the country, tried to export their vodka to France, Japan or any port available, saturating the already weak Russian rail networks. From Tsarism to Bolshevism. Paradoxically, the prohibitionist policyborn within the Tsarist conservative regime, was one of the few who survived the tumultuous change of governments that Russia shook Between 1917 and 1924. Neither the provisional government nor Lenin’s Bolsheviks revoked the measure. The communist leader, in fact, defended it as a Ethical and ideological principlewarning that a socialism based on the sale of alcohol was a betrayal of the revolutionary ideal. During the civil war, discipline, sobriety and consumption control were seen as essential components of the new order. Of course, after Lenin’s deaththe logic of state benefit imposed once again: Stalin The monopoly reestablished of vodka (now decorated with the Hoz and the hammer), restoring the practices of the old empire under a new clothing ideological. In terms of fiscal consumption and profitability, the prohibitionist stage It was erased almost completely. Moral experiment. That’s how it ended A movement That did not go as expected, much less. Beyond its symbolism, the Russian prohibition embodies a singular case where a moral decision, taken from power, precipitated the collapse of a regime whole. Time told That, in the context of a devastating war, a broken economy and a desperate population, the elimination of one of the few social exhaust valves ended up exacerbating all the latent tensions of the system. The Zar tried to save the soul of the Russian people removing alcohol, but ended up losing the throne. Thus, the vodka veto not only marked the start of the end of The Romanovbut left a enduring lesson about the risks of moralizing governance in times of crisis. Now, that legend of the end of World War II and the greater ethyl celebration It charges all the meaning of the world, because, sometimes, drunkenness can be more … Read more

Now the company has a plan to stop benefiting its rivals, according to FT

Deepmind, the firm of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that Google acquired in 2014 and officially integrated into a single division in April 2023it has been for years one of the great referents of the sector. Over time, he has earned that place for the quality of his scientific publications and for gathering some of the brightest researchers. But there are reasons to believe that this approach has begun to change. Several experts cited by Financial Times They ensure that Google Deepmind is delaying the publication of certain advances that it considers “strategic” or delicate in the field of generative AI. The measure is part of a strategy designed to preserve its competitive advantage and prevent its most recent and valuable developments from being exploited by rivals such as OpenAi. Transformers, star architecture Much of the development of generative artificial intelligence is not understood without Google’s advances. One of the most influential milestones was the publication in 2017 of the article ‘Attention is all you need‘, signed by eight researchers, who introduced the Transformers architecture. This approach, in general, allowed the models to process data more efficiently within large volumes of information. This architecture became the base of models such as Bert (bidirectional encoder representations from transformers), developed by Google itself and incorporated into its search engine in 2019 to improve the understanding of natural language. It was also key to the development of presentful systems such as GPT (Generative pre-trained transformers) of OpenAi, where the current ones are framed GPT-4 and GPT-4.5. Google is one of the world’s largest companies in the world. It has a huge financial muscle and access to key technology. Even so, the launch of Chatgptbased on GPT-3.5a model built on Transformers architecture, He took by surprise to the teams directed by L sundaria Pichai. The reaction was a “red code” and an urgent reorganization to compete again in an AI race that today leads OpenAi. It is no secret: when a company becomes a Big Tech, it loses part of the dynamism that defined it in its beginnings as startup. As we counted exactly one year agothey end up transforming into giants where the “move quickly and breaks things” no longer fits. They have too much to protect and a gear with thousands of pieces that cannot allow failures. Risking is not as easy as it seems. Even in this context, it surprises the speed with which the company of the search engine has managed to catch up. In a short time he has launched a AVALANCHA OF IA PRODUCTS based on advanced language models. There it is Geminihis direct rival of Chatgpt; Gemini Livedesigned to compete with Openai’s advanced voice mode; the Gemsthat work as Personalized GPTS; and amazing tools, such as Notebooklm. The new Google pulse The last years have forced the Mountain View company to introduce internal weight changes. One of the most significant affects the policy of publication of scientific articles: if the content is considered strategic, an seizure of six months is imposed before making it public. In addition, the group led by The Nobel Prize winner Sir Demis Hassabis He has hardened his internal processes, with a stricter review. One of the researchers who spoke on condition of anonymity with Financial Times was clear: today he cannot imagine Google by publishing a document like Transformers for general use. In this new dynamic, they say, “the company has become more concerned about the product and less for sharing the results of the investigation for the benefit of the common good ”, an address that can generate some discomfort in the community. Images | Boliviainteligent | Google Deepmind In Xataka | Openai has just lifted the greatest financing round in history: there is a blind faith in the AI ​​despite everything

stop the development of their hypersonic superorders and missiles

The US has just taken another step in The climbing of the tension that holds with China. The administration led by Donald Trump He has inherited a long list of Chinese companies To which US companies cannot sell them their technology, they can do so only under a very strict supervision of the Department of Commerce. For a few hours in that “blacklist” there are 80 more companies. According to Nikkei Asiathe US Industry and Security Office has decided to expand perceptibly the list of sanctioned companies because “they have carried out actions contrary to the US national security and foreign policy.” However, although most of them are China, not all reside in the nation led by Xi Jinping; Some come from United Arab Emirates, South Africa, Iran, and even Taiwan. Chinese hypersonic weapons are in the spotlight of the USA That the US administration has decided to sanction Emirati or Iranian companies enters within the foreseeable, but that the sale of American technology to Taiwanese companies a priori is also surprising. However, It is not so much. Not at least if we stick to the justification argued by the US government in these cases: all sanctioned companies are Chinese, or collaborate with Chinese entities, or represent a threat to national security. “American technology should never be used against the US people” Whatever the purpose of the US on this occasion, it is not exactly the same as it pursued with Other sanctions packages. Some of the vetoed companies are dedicated to the development of the artificial intelligence (AI) or Superorganizers with Exaescala processing capacity. This is not new. However, others, presumably most, are directly or indirectly involved in Hypersonic missile development or latest generation drones. Jeffrey I. Kessler, Undersecretary of Industry and Security of the Department of Commerce, has pointed out that “American technology should never be used against the US people (…) Donald Trump’s administration is sending a clear and forceful message to the purpose of safeguarding national security by preventing US technologies and goods national”. At the moment the Chinese government has not officialized any responsealthough in all likelihood It won’t stay with crossed hands. Image | Voice of America More information | Nikkei Asia In Xataka | The authentic responsible for China can make avant -garde chips is an almost unknown company: Sicarrier

stop it with your reservation for earthquakes

Over the last years the Government of Japan has had to use its emergency rice reserve to face precisely that, emergencies. He did it after The earthquake and tsamot who hit the east of the country in March 2011. And he did it again years later after the fades that made the ground tremble in Kumamoto. Now the authorities have been forced to resort again to its national silos, although not to respond to an unforeseen emergency. Or not at least one in the conventional sense of the word. Its objective is another: stop The increase of rice. A price: ¥ 3,939. That is what cost average at the end of February a sack of five kilos of rice in Japan: 3,939 yen, equivalent to 24.4 euros. It is a lot (a lot) more than just a year ago, when for that same grain a family paid around 2,000 yen (€ 12.4). At the beginning of March the Ministry of Agriculture made a survey again in a thousand stores and found that the 5 kg bag was already in 4,077 yen (€ 25.3). A percentage: 71%. Price climbing is not new. The Japanese have been seeing how to prepare a rice bowl comes out more and more expensivewith increases of 30, 40%… or even more pronounced. At the beginning of 2025 the basic government price index showed that the bags were registering year -on -year increases of the 71% In the 23 districts of Tokyo, a devastating fact for several reasons. The main one, the enormous weight that the grain has in the Japanese diet. Although It has been decreasing Over the years by the influence of foreign cuisine based on wheat flour and its current consumption is far from the peaks reached in the 60sthe per capita grain demand remains more than considerable in Japan: in 2020 It was around 51 kilos. As a reference, in 2022 an average Japanese consumed four more times than an American. One question: Why? The million dollar question. What does that increase in rice respond to? The truth is that there is no One reason. In the price escalation, a meteorology has influenced adverse For crops, the Increased demand In full tourist boom, the panic purchases (encouraged in 2024 for the threat of a “Megaterremoto”), the government policies that affect the crop, the shortage… And something else: The shadow of speculation. “Some companies and individuals have begun to trade with rice as if it were a money game,” I recognized Recently a The New York Times Masayuki Ogawa, professor of agricultural economy at the University of Ussunomiya. The Minister of Agriculture, Silviculture and Fisheries, Taku Etō, He has admitted in public that the situation is “extremely irregular”. “We are producing 180,000 extra tons and we have enough in stock. If one goes to the supermarket you can find rice. But the price is abnormally high: it costs double.” An exit: the auction. Before such a panorama, the Japanese government has opted for A radical output: use their emergency rice reserves, a fund that the country maintains Since 1995 to meet domestic demand in cases of Force Majeuresuch as bad harvests, meteorological disasters or earthquakes. In total round The million tons of grain, a wide stock that was useful for example after the earthquake and the tsamot that affected the islands 14 years ago. On this occasion it has not been necessary to tremble or lift huge waves. It has come that the price index is triggered. And yes It is exceptional. The country Never before He had used the rice reserve to reduce prices. A few days ago the government took auction near 165,000 tons of grain so that they could bid for it professional operators, distributors through which they expect the grain to reach supermarkets. The objective: cover the demand, weave prices and give a break to families. The call aroused the interest of seven bidders who ended up Something more than 90% of the rice available. In total that supposes 141,796 tons of rice An objective: repeat. It will not be the only government movement to reduce the price of rice. Tokyo plans to release 210,000 tons And the ministry already warns that if that measure does not work, it will be distributed even more. “We will do our best to solve the bottleneck in the supply chain and relieve consumer difficulties,” Eto emphasizesthat seeks a “balance between supply and demand”. For now the authorities have already decided to auction others 70,000 tons which remain to achieve their objective of 210,000 T injected into the market. It will do it a priori the last week of March. Once the government has completed the government will have mobilized more than The fifth part of its emergency reserves. Images | Steven Rieder (Flickr) 1 and 2 and Fidel Fernando (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Japan is suffering a bankruptcy record from Ramen. And in part it is the result of the “1,000 yen barrier”

Mexico’s plan to stop being a second player in the semiconductor industry

Become Mexico into a scientific and technological power. That is the plan of President Claudia Sheinbaum who, since she held the position at the end of last year, has not stopped presenting proposals to achieve that goal. Fruit of this is the call ‘Mexico Plan‘, the intention of create your own cheap electric car. Now, Mexico wants to depend on others to obtain chips, becoming a technological power along the way. The key name of the project is ‘Kutsari’ and, although ambitious, it must face important challenges. KUTSARI. In a press conference, Sheinbaum advertisement The creation of the National Semiconductor Design Center “Kutsari”. He explained that “it is the union of many scientists, technological developers and public institutions of higher education that will put all their intelligence, design and creativity to generate new semiconductor designs.” The idea is ambitious and encompassed in the proposals of the Mexico Plan to revitalize the country and stop depending on both imports. In this case, imports of all types of chips for the devices that Mexico already produces and, thus, strengthen local manufacturing. Stop being a country that assembles chips to become one that designs and manufactures them, ultimately. Goals. Sheinbaum’s vision is clear: Creation of the National Semiconductor Design Center. Later, establish a semiconductor manufacturing center. Finally, create a chain that allows you to try, encapsulate and assemble those chips in equipment. In the statement, the president speaks of three venues located in Puebla, Jalisco and Sonora that, in addition, will be coordinated and supported by institutions such as the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics, the Advanced Studies Research Center of the National Polytechnic Institute, the National Autonomous University of Mexico and the National Polytechnic Institute. Kutsari means “sand” in Purépecha, the key material from which silicon is extracted to create semiconductors Roadmap. After the implementation of the first headquarters in which the semiconductors will be designed, a consolidation of them is expected for 2027. At some point next year, the idea is to start looking for how a private, public or mixed company could establish a factory that produces these chips in the face of consolidation in 2029 and 2030. The objective of these first Mexican semicondators is the automotive industry, the automotive industry is the automotive industry and medical equipment. They also mention “other strategic devices for the country”, without specifying what they would be. However, in the design of semiconductors the patents and that commitment of the country will be reflected in a modification of the Federal Law on Intellectual Property Protection with the objective of accelerating the patent process. Thus, this record of technological innovations will be expedited to expedite the production and sale process after the initial design phase. And it is also something that will allow protecting designs to possible plagiarism. Investments. We enter the critical part of the plan. As we mentioned, Kutsari is part of the Mexico Plan, but producing semiconductors is not only easy: it is not cheap either. Thus, the idea is to attract national private initiative and foreign investments that intend to seduce with the creation of a more powerful business technological mesh. Several companies are already betting on Mexico and, without leaving the chips segment, we have an almighty like Foxconn who is building in Mexico the Greater factory on the planet For Nvidia chips. Challenges. But, beyond the difficulty when establishing that new industry, Kutsari will encounter other challenges along the way. One is the very high competition with countries such as Vietnam either India that have been offering aggressive incentives for years for companies They move from China to their territoryeven seducing giants like Apple and Samsung. To that wild competition we must add that silicon is needed or germaniumtwo critical materials for semiconductors that are strategic in countries such as the United States and China. And, obviously, national and international talent is needed, as well as a stable political and economic environment, since chips do not develop overnight. On this, Sheinbaum has commented that “there is a lot of research in Mexico and now what we are doing is putting all these minds together”, a good touchstone that only needs to consolidate with good development policies that allow the country to enter to play in the complicated and competitive world of semiconductors. Image | ASML In Xataka | If the question is how to answer the US trade war, Europe believes to have the answer: smart tariffs

The Belgian police stop Huawei representatives for alleged corruption in the Eurocamara. The EU investigates the Chinese plot

The Belgian police have made records at the European headquarters of Huawei in Brussels and has arrested several of its lobists for alleged corruption of Eurodiputados, as progress Reuters. What happened? The Belgian Prosecutor’s Office has deployed a hundred agents in almost two dozen places in Belgium and Portugal as part of an investigation for alleged bribery, falsification of documents and money laundering. The researchers have seized two offices in the European Parliament belonging to supposedly involved parliamentary assistants. Why is it important. This case threatens to become a second ‘Qatargate‘, the scandal that shook the Eurocamara in 2022 when several legislators were accused of receiving bribes from Qatar and Morocco. New research can seriously damage the credibility of European institutions, already weakened after that episode. Between bambalins. According to Belgian media, the plot of bribes would have operated “regularly and very discreetly from 2021 to the present, under the appearance of lobby Commercial. “The researchers They suspect that about fifteen Eurodiputados – actual and ancient – could be involved. In detail. Corrupt practices, according to Politicalthey would have included: Remuneration for adopting favorable political positions to Huawei. Excessive gifts, such as meals and travel expenses. Recurring invitations to football matches. The context. Huawei, which once was a power of lobby In Europe, he has suffered blows in recent years due to the security risks associated with his links with the Chinese government. The European Commission He has repeatedly warned that the company represents “materially higher risks than other 5G suppliers”. The European Parliament has confirmed that it will cooperate “quickly” with the Belgian authorities in the investigation. Meanwhile, Victor Negrescu, vice president of Parliament for transparency and anti -corruption, has described the accusations as “deeply worrisome.” The answer. A spokesman for Huawei has limited himself to declare that the company is “investigating” what happened and that “it is committed to compliance with all the applicable laws and regulations of the countries and regions in which it operates.” The Eurodiputados involved could see the lifting of their parliamentary immunity if the investigation progresses, a process that requires the authorization of the president of the Eurocamara, Roberta Metsola. From Xataka We have contacted Huawei to obtain their statements in this regard, we will incorporate them into this article as soon as we obtain them. In Xataka | I have tried Huawei’s triple folding: I am not sure for what, but I want one Outstanding image | Guillaume Périgois in Unspash

pay money if you stop using it

You should look at Instagram. Not for nothing, but because you can make money with it. It is the original proposal of Digital B100, part of Abanca, to reward its clients. A striking idea that wants you to take care of you and reward you for it. Health account. This is the name of This financial product that B100 offers a remuneration of 3.40% Tae – the highest in the market – with a limit of 50,000 euros. The curious thing is not that generous remuneration, but how it encourages you to lead a healthier life and how, in fact, reward you for it. How to “fill” the Health account. All part of your original B100 account, in which you have your savings. You cannot transfer money without more than the B100 to the Health account: you have to “win” those transfers leading a healthier life. And when you move money to that Health account it is when you benefit from that special remuneration. Income for moving. To start, there is the challenge Move To Savethat rewards you for walking or running. The idea is that you travel walking or running from 6,000 to 20,000 steps to your rhythm. You can decide how much money you want it to move from your B100 account to your Health account when you meet that goal, from one to 30 euros. And income for using less social networks. Something similar happens with the other challenge, called Off to savewhich encourages customers to mark a maximum time of use of X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and Snapchat, from 15 minutes to an hour. The less time in networks, the more money to enter. If you manage not to exceed those limits, you can go entering more and more money in this remunerated account. Thus, if you establish a daily hour of use of these social networks, you can spend a maximum of 4 euros. If you limit it to 45 minutes, you can pass up to 9 euros, and if you do 30 minutes you can enter up to 15 euros in the Health account. Finally, if you only use social networks 15 minutes, you can transfer up to 30 euros. The B100 app does not see what you see or public, you just need to know if you meet those established time limits. The Health account money is always available. If the client meets these two objectives, he may transfer up to 60 euros a day, that is, up to 1,800 euros per month. For a balance of 5,000 euros, 3.40% represents annual income of 167.68 euros, for example. The liquidation is monthly, and it is received – or rather, is admitted to the 12th of each month. That money from the Health account is always available. Care: As of May 1, the TAE in the Health account will become 3.20%. They don’t give you money, “you give it to you” you. Although it seems that the message is that if you walk or use less social networks they will pay you for it, in reality what you do is benefit from greater TAE and a better profitability of your savings. An initiative in collaboration with friends screens. B100 has collaborated with the non -profit association Friendly screenswhich since 2004 works in the field of digital well -being. Its founder and director, Javier Flores, Indian That according to a recent study, 77% of Spaniards between 18 and 55 believe that spending less time on social networks is beneficial for them. More and more time in front of the mobile. It is not a bad idea, of course, especially since we spend a lot, a lot of time looking at the mobile. A Telefónica study of 2024 estimated in five hours and a minute the time we use the mobile, 5.6% more than the previous year. 34.7% of that time invested in messaging applications and social networks. The idea of ​​Abanca and B100 seems therefore a success. Image | Magnet.me In Xataka | A European bizum is possible. The systems of southern Europe bring positions with Wero, the Franco-German alternative

Japan will copy Venice to stop mass tourism. Two levels of transport price: the tourist pays more

Exactly one week there was a stir for the decision that Venice had adopted to stop mass tourism. It was an update of a measure that took months ago: an entry rate for the tourist, which was now going to duplicate In view of the good results he had given to public coffers. Japan had already “flirted” with something similar with A double pricing system in menus. Now Kyoto wants to go further with public transport. First was the menu. As we said, last summer the nation hospitality saw an opportunity before the massive arrival of tourists. Japan’s restaurant industry implemented A two -level price system in the most tourist places in the nation. You don’t have to be very lynx to understand it: restaurants seek to take advantage of the influx of foreign visitors, a strategy where it is also not scare to local customers. Behind this price increase there was something as evident as purchasing power. Restoration companies were or more towards tourists because, in essence, they are willing to pay more. Miki Watanabe, president of the important Watami restaurant chain, I explained it that way: “The Japanese do not buy 3,000 yen sirloin skewers, but tourists who arrive in Japan say it is cheap and buy them.” The thing now is different. The news today takes us to Kyoto, the former capital of Japan. They want Implement a system of differentiated rates in public transportbecoming the first city in the country to adopt this measure to manage the growing number of foreign visitors. Mayor Koji Matsui has proposed that Tourists pay a higher rate on buses operated by the city compared to local residents, with the aim of generating funds to mitigate congestion and preserve cultural heritage. Living with mass tourism. We have told it countless times. From the reopening of borders after the pandemic and with a weak yen that favors the spending of tourists, Kyoto and many others Japanese cities have experienced a massive influx of tourists. In 2024, the city, which has 1.5 million inhabitants, received seven million international tourists, which has generated concerns about its impact on everyday life. This phenomenon is part of a broader trend in Japan, than In 2024 he reached a record of 36 million foreign visitorswith a total expense that exceeded 8 billion yen. The negative effects of mass tourism in the city include Aglomerations in public transport, garbage in the streets and cultural conflicts. In fact, some residents have reported difficulties in accessing buses due to excess passengers, which especially affects students and people who need to move to hospitals. Proposed measures. To counteract these problems, the Kyoto authorities have promoted several initiatives, including, The commented differentiated rate in urban buseswhere tourists would pay more than residents, allowing funds to improve infrastructure and reduce the impact of tourism. In addition, the administration also plans An increase in accommodation tax for those who stay in hotels in the city or the creation of exclusive buses for touristswith routes to the main tourist sites, thus relieving the pressure on public transport used by the premises. Moreover. There is also talk of the Distribution of awareness brochures to educate visitors/tourists about the rules of Japanese behavior and cultural sensibilities. In this regard, Mayor Matsui has emphasized that these measures seek to balance the daily life of residents with the tourist influx, ensuring that the local community also receives benefits of tourism activity. Other examples. In this way, Japan joins other enclaves such as The commented in Venice. The truth is that from a while to this part, the so -called differentiated tarification has already been implemented or will do so in other places. For example, in Himeji, Japan, It was proposed to raise the entrance fee to Himeji Castle for not residentsParis plans Apply higher rates at the Louvre Museum For visitors outside the EU, and in India it has been applied Differentiated rates in emblematic monuments such as Taj Mahalwith higher prices for foreign tourists. All initiatives that seek a balance between the promotion of tourism and the preservation of heritage and the quality of life of the residents. A cultural problem. It is the last of the legs to be treated in the nation and its tourist boom. Beyond the quantitative theme and logistics impact, mass tourism In Japan it has also generated cultural conflicts. In Kyoto, and due to the inappropriate behaviors of tourists, Mayor Matsui has pointed out some “tips” to take into accountsuch as eating while walking through the streets, which is considered of bad education in Japanese culture. In addition, Matsui also recalled that making strong noises in sanctuaries and other sacred spaces, chasing the geishas to take photographs without permission or entering tea houses without prior reserve, interrupting their traditional functioning, it is everything but educated for the nation. Plus: The geographical design of the city, surrounded by mountains and with narrow streets in its historic center, aggravates these problems, making the city particularly sensitive to tourist saturation. The future of tourism. That said, and despite the difficulties, Kyoto says he remains committed to receiving tourists and sharing his cultural and historical wealth. However, the local administration works to ensure that this growth is managed sustainably. Matsui reaffirms that these initiatives do not seek to restrict tourism, but to administer it efficiently and respectfully with the community and the environment. The proposal of differentiated rates is part of a two -year planwhich must still be approved by the City Council. If implemented, Kyoto would mark a precedent in Japan and could influence other regions that face similar problems with mass tourism. Image | Robert Thomson In Xataka | Visitors do not stop arriving. The hospitality has seen the opportunity with two price levels: the tourist pays more In Xataka | Venice invented an entry rate to stop mass tourism. It has come out so well that it will double the price

Venice invented an entry rate to stop mass tourism. It has come out so well that it will double the price

Tourism is equal to massification in Venice. It is nothing new and, in fact, the enclave has been a pioneer in some regulations that have sought to put the hordes to combine the life of the premises and that their ecosystem does not end up engulfed victim of their own success. His geography simply does not give for more, and that’s why they have imposed Bumpers to large groups with fines Whoever passes, or even They have tracked phones. They also imposed A pioneering tollan entry rate that went so well that They doubled the days. Now also the price. The experiment is consolidated. As we said, Venice is a pioneer in the imposition of An entry rate for single -day visitorsand success has been such for the administration that They have decided to duplicate the rate in 2025, raising it from 5 to 10 euros for those who enter without accommodation reserve. In addition, and as we explained a few months ago, The measure will be applied in 54 days a year, almost twice the 29 days selected in 2024. The dates include a continuous block from April 18 to May 4, followed by every Friday, Saturdays and Sundays until the end of July. The collection will remain from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, and those who reserve at least four days in advance may pay only 5 euros. What do politicians say. The Tourism Councilor, Simone Venturini, gave a track of the announced change. Apparently, at the Milan Bit fair, he said that the 2024 pilot project was so successful, achieving its goal of managing tourist flows and discouraging massive tourism of a single day, which they have decided to enhance it. In fact, International destinations such as Formentera in Spain either Kyoto in Japan They have shown interest in replicating the Venetian initiative. Impact on the tourist rate. In 2024, almost half a million tourists (485,062) paid the entry rate, that is, that They generated 2.4 million euros in revenue to public coffers (The cost of the system or the destination of the funds collected) has not been revealed. The registration data indicates that, after the Italians, the main tourists were Americans, Germans and French. In addition, the measure achieved a slight reduction in the number of visitors from the Véneto region, although the authorities have not given figures. We also remember that despite this tariff increase, access remains free for those who spend the night in the city, although They must register online in CDA.ve.it to obtain their exemption. Travelers who only transit Piazzale Rome, Tronchetto or Stazione Marittima, as well as those who visit the outer islands of the lagoon (Lido, Murano and Burano) without going through the center are also exempt. The future in Venice. It is the big question. The authorities admit that the rate alone is not enough to manage mass tourism, but they do consider that The created system feels the bases for future regulations stricter. Venice, that Receive tourists from 194 countriesremains one of the destinations most affected by tourist overexploitation, which has led to the implementation of increasingly restrictive measures in an effort to protect its fragile urban ecosystem and preserve its historical character. One more than difficult equation. Image | Hervé Simon In Xataka | Given the risk of extreme saturation and weather, Spanish tourism already knows where to grow: winter In Xataka | Italy Veta One of the great symbols of mass tourism: the use of keys to make auto check-in is prohibited

The government wants to end unwanted commercial calls. The question is whether they will stop calling me “of Indeed”

One of the measures announced by the Government in October 2024 had to do with The end of the annoying commercial calls and telephone scams. The Ministry of Digital and Public Transformation presented A comprehensive plan To combat fraud from SMS and calls, a package that will be approved before the end of February. The norm will strictly prohibit commercial calls with numbers outside the prefixes 800 and 900. The problem? The Spaniards are dealing with another type of spam. One that has to do with the “human resources” departments. A plan against commercial calls. The Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Function announced, yesterday, Thursday, that the Ministerial Order to combat cybetheafas through false commercial calls will be approved before the end of February. “That is, you will not be able to receive a commercial call from a mobile, that is happening today. We receive from a mobile, we think he is an acquaintance, a relative, we do not know who he is, and then it turns out that it is a commercial call. This will be prohibited by the ministerial order. ” Óscar López, Minister for Digital Transformation and Public Function. Those companies that use numbers outside the prefixes 800 and 900 will face sanctions (still to be determined), and it will be possible to denounce before the Telecommunications User Attention Office to any number that breaches the new standard. Beyond Spanish companies. Similarly, work to try Block calls International that are identified as nationals, as well as those from numbers not assigned to any service, operator or customer. A database will also be launched in order to block text messages with alphanumeric characters (such as, when they send you fake Movistar SMS, mails, DHL, etc.). All messages that do not come from entities registered in the database will be blocked. This last measure is key, and on its success it will depend that the Spaniards are calmer in We call him of Indeed Human Resources. The problem of commercial calls is largely solved, pointing to The Robinson list. It is not infallible, but Organic Law 3/2018 on the protection of personal data prohibits companies from calling you for commercial purposes. Case apart, of course, they decide to skip the law. What, at least in recent months, has not had a solution, is the issue of the so -called “human resources”. It is more than likely that in recent months you have received a call in which a robot invites you to add its number to WhatsApp to know “work conditions.” The problem is so widespread that the own Incibe He published a statement warning about this fraud, recommended to users to block contact and report it as spam. Something that makes us frown at these calls is that they are not made with suspicious numbers, not even Google’s antispam filter can with them. The reason? They use completely real national numbers. How is it possible? ID SPOOFING. This technique is to modify or falsify the call identifier to match a “legitimate” number. It can be done from anywhere in the world so, although I call you a 6xx, the robot that is trying to cheat you does not have to be located in Spain. In fact, the scam is so sophisticated that scammers can adapt their calls so that, even being in another country, you receive a call from a national number (the country you are traveling to) talking in Spanish to offer you great employment conditions. Many of these scammers use voice services about IP (VOIP) to make these calls. This allows them to show a Caller ID (call identifier) ​​from any country, regardless of where they are. And regarding why they have your number, you have nothing more to write on Google “Mass filtration Xataka data”. Have dozens of articles published last year. The question is if it will be enough. The government has not yet detailed how it plans to fight against this type of calls. In the event that they are carried out from other countries, according to their promise, they should be able to intercept them. But if the ID Spoofing is done locally, it will not be easy to detect when a 6xx “real” and a 6xx that is made by another. In Xataka | Be careful with the false rental scam: how it works and why you never have to give the DNI happily Image | Unspash (Lindsey Lamont)

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