unexpected

The geopolitical irony that we are experiencing in the chip war has an unexpected beneficiary: Russia

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The technological and trade war between the United States and China continues to open new fronts of debate. The last one, derived from the singular Nexperia situationis beginning to point to a future in which European decoupling from the Chinese chip industry may end up having an effect that is especially disturbing. Or dad, or mom. The strategic semiconductor sector has become the absolute focus of this trade war, and here Europe has traditionally been a security ally of Washington, but at the same time a key economic partner of Beijing. The problem is that the old continent has been forced to choose sides. US pressure for technological “decoupling”, coupled with concerns about national security, has forced the European Union to harden its stance towards Chinese investments and companies. Risk for Europe. This European effort to decouple its chip industry from China, far from shielding the continent’s security, could end up being counterproductive and self-destructive. With this decision, Europe would be assuming enormous economic and supply chain costs to align with Washington, putting at risk the future of its own industries, such as automotive or electronics, which are highly dependent on the Chinese market and production. The Nexperia case. The recent epicenter of this conflict is the aforementioned Nexperia case. In late September, the Dutch government invoked an old national security law to take effective control of Nexperia, a Dutch automotive chip company. That company is actually owned by the Chinese firm Wingtech, and the intervention marked a dangerous turning point, transforming China’s acquisition of technology from an economic issue to one of geopolitical security. Beijing’s revenge. The Chinese government did not sit idly by. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce banned the export of certain finished Nexperia components from China to Europe. Those reprisals They stopped the delivery of key partsthreatening to provoke a new chip crisis in Europe, and especially affecting to automakers in Germany and other countries that depend on that supply. Russia rubs its hands. If China’s chip industry is forced to operate under strict separation from European markets (decoupling), and Europe ceases to be a viable destination or supplier, China could find it easier to supply those chips to Russia, which desperately needs them for its weapons programs, especially in the wake of severe Western sanctions. Strategic irony. The situation is paradoxical. European “security” actions aimed at containing Chinese influence may end up resulting in a transfer of technological supply capacity to Russia. Thus they would inadvertently strengthen the war machine of what is Europe’s most immediate adversary in the Ukrainian conflict. History repeats itself. In reality, the curious thing is that it is suspected that all these events are part of a historical pattern. Europe is dragged into a conflict by the US (first Iraq, then Afghanistan, now this decoupling) only for Washington to withdraw or change focus later, leaving Europe alone to bear the impact of broken supply chains. It does not appear that there was much strategic thinking on the part of the EU and the Netherlands when making that controversial decision with Nexperia. USA also wins. This dynamic seems to further strengthen the leading role of Washington, which if it pushes Europe towards decoupling, not only restricts a rival (China) but also causes European countries to massively increase their defense spending. An expense that would obviously fall on the US military industry. a crossroads. Europe faces a colossal strategic problem. Its security depends on the US, its economy is closely linked to China, and at the same time it seeks its own autonomy. Restrictions on semiconductors put Europe at risk of sacrificing its own long-term economic prosperity in favor of a strategy that could be abandoned by its main ally. Long term consequences. If this trend that began with the Nexperia case is consolidated, European value chains dependent on Asia will be destroyed, in addition to an increase in inflation due to the cost of decoupling and a possible strengthening of relations between China and Russia. What is happening with Nexperia is no longer just a corporate dispute, but the symbol of an EU that is being governed without a clear vision of its own long-term interests. Image | Nexperia | Kremlin In Xataka | China is taking a giant step in its quest for technological self-sufficiency: its own EDA software

The border between Morocco and Algeria was closed in 1994. 30 years later, the fight threatens to claim its most unexpected piece: the date

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A strong, dry, accurate blow is enough. Only one, in the center of the chest. When this happens, the diaphragm contracts violently and the body exhales all the air it has inside: the person is temporarily unable to inhale. That is exactly what happened to the international date market on October 10, 2025: it was left breathless. And the reason was a misunderstanding. That and a very long diplomatic conflict that always ends up affecting Spain. What has happened? October 10. The advice of GIDattes (the Tunisian interprofessional date group) published a statement in which the start of exports was announced of dates. Business as usual, really. But they added a clarification that set off all the alarms: “to all markets except the Moroccan one.” In a matter of hours, everyone interpreted that Tunisia was vetoing the export of these fruits to the west. October 13 and 14. Given the widespread noise and uncertainty in the sector, the GIDattes He clarified that there was no type of exclusion. Simply put, as it is the main export market, These required a special calendar that would be approved on October 20. October 19, 20 and 21. But it was too late, the Moroccan employers’ associations and producer groups had smelled blood. For the first time in years, there was a 20% chance (19.7% in 2024) of the dates consumed by the country would disappear from the equation: the profits for local producers would be enormous. October 21. After the meeting on the 20th, the Tunisian press reported that there would indeed be exports to Morocco at the end of October: “like every year“. What does Algeria have to do with all this? Moroccan farmers have gone directly to where it hurts most: they have accused Tunisian dates of be Algerian. It is, moreover, a classic accusation of the Moroccan countryside. Something that no one can completely rule out (due to the traditional traceability deficits of the Maghreb), but that no one really takes seriously. Although it is not going through its best moment, Tunisia is a giant in the world of dates. He doesn’t need Algeria at all. But Algeria is a sensitive issue in the western end of North Africa. A little context. The historical enmity between Morocco and Algeria can be traced back to the very independence of these territories: border disputes ended up leading to the War of the Sands of 1963 and, above all, in the Algerian support for the Polisario Front in Western Sahara. In 94, an attack in Marrakech (in which two Spaniards died) caused a diplomatic conflict that closed the enormous land border between both countries. They have not been reopened and, in fact, in 2021, diplomatic and commercial relations they are broken. Suffice it to say that, if the accusations of the Moroccan producers are confirmed, the Tunisian date would disappear from the markets of the Alawite state. Why is all this so important? This has had an impact on the international date market because, although Tunisia is in the doldrums (and Saudi Arabia has overtaken it in recent years) it is still the second country in date exports. A decision such as that of vetoing the largest importer of dates in the world, Morocco, would have caused a violent restructuring of commercial networks around the globe. To all this we must add a key fact: the third country in date exports, Israel. Today (with or without a peace agreement) no one knows exactly what will happen to the tens of thousands of tons that the Hebrew country puts on the market each year. And that, logically, generates even more uncertainty. The important thing is in the details. In dates, for example. In recent days Steve Witkof and Jared Kushner (Trump’s special envoys) revealed that they were working to reach an agreement between Morocco and Algeria that would solve the Sahara issue. It is quite possible: the US president’s obsession with ‘ending all the world’s wars’ may have put a conflict like this in the spotlight. One, furthermore, that involves a traditional ally of Washington. However, dates show us that everything is more complicated than it seems. Is the delicate balance of the Mediterranean about to be blown up? We will see it in the coming months. Image | In Xataka | Morocco holds a new record: being the African country with the highest growth of millionaires in the last decade

The garbage rate has become the big hot potato of Spanish politics. In reality there is little unexpected

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They call him the rubbish and, whether you like it more or less, what is undeniable is that the word sums up well the surprise that thousands of Spanish households have encountered when reviewing their accounts: suddenly their town councils have started charging them sums more than considerable for garbage collection or have skyrocketed their rates (in some cases going from 67 to 126 euros), which even it is already felt in the CPI. In reality there is little unexpected, if you take into account that it is something that can be seen coming (at least) from 2022. What there is behind it is debate… and doubts. What has happened? That Spain has seen how garbage became a huge political hot potato. And rightly so, if we take into account that thousands of homes spread throughout the country have found that the bill their city council passes them to finance waste collection has been shot. In some cities a new rate. The rise has been so forceful that it is already reflected clearly in the IPC and in some municipalities has provoked heated protests. The best example was left on Monday Cangas (Pontevedra), where a thousand residents gathered in front of the City Hall to protest against what has already been called (there and in the rest of the country) rubbish. The neighborhood anger escalated to such a level in the municipality that the councilors had no choice but to leave escorted by the police. But why is the rate more expensive? By the BOE. To understand it you have to go back to Law 7/2022 . Among other issues, the rule establishes that the town councils of Spain must provide themselves with “a tax or property benefit of a non-tax public nature, specific, differentiated and non-deficit that allows the implementation of a payment system per generation and that reflects the real cost, direct or indirect, of the collection, transport and treatment operations.” The wording is somewhat confusing, but at least it leaves two ideas clear. First, municipalities have to charge a specific bill focused on garbage. Second, the ‘polluter pays’ maxim must prevail, with a rate that covers “the real, direct and indirect cost” of the collection service. It is not a minor nuance if we take into account that in many municipalities the service was deficient and it was compensated via taxes. The Commonwealth of O Morrazo, for example (the one that suffered Monday’s protests) handles a report that reveals that its service suffered a deficit of about two million of euros. Why is it news now? Because the Law 7/2022 included another indication: it gave the town councils a maximum of three years to comply with this requirement, a period that ended at beginning of april. Since then, the municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants They are obliged to conform to the norm. Some, like Barcelona, they have been for years preparing the ground to soften the blow; but others have waited until almost the end. The majority of councils have in fact chosen to drag their feet and some have not yet adjusted, as is the case in Malaga either Balearics. Where the change has been noticeable is in Madrid. There the impact has been especially notable because in 2015 the then mayor (Ana Botella) decided “eliminate” the garbage rate for the sake of “less fiscal pressure on the citizen’s pocket.” After years with the amount included within the IBIresidents of the capital have encountered a Waste Management Fee that, according to the calculations published by the Consistory itself in October, will have an average cost of 141 euros for homes and 310 for commercial properties. Does it affect the pockets that much? The best way to answer that question is to use the INE. Its latest calculations on the CPI, corresponding to the month of September, show a year-on-year increase of 30.3% in garbage collection, the largest (by far) in a historical series dating back to 2008. The data far exceeds the general index (3%) and has in fact influenced its upward trend. It is an important nuance because, although the deadline set in the 2022 law has already ended, its guidelines have not been applied in all cities of the country. When that happens, it is not unreasonable to think that that 30.3% will be even higher. Why so much controversy? If he rubbish has raised such a political stir, it is not only because of the cost it entails for residents and businesses. The debate has revolved around more formal but equally important questions: Who is ultimately responsible for the increases? Is it the city councils with the formulas they apply when calculating it, is it the Government for promoting the 2022 standard or is it Brussels, through the community directives that cites the law itself? Some town councils, such as Alcobendashas already released statements to inform its neighbors that the new “mandatory” garbage receipts apply. The truth is that months before the deadline set by law expired, in October, the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP) already demanded the Government to review a law that, in his opinion, is “complicated to understand and apply” and ignores municipal autonomy. Specifically, they asked the Sánchez Government for “a much clearer and more concise regulation that avoids the discretion of each local entity” and at the same time guarantees the objectives set by Brussels. Is that important? Yes. And for several reasons. The first because one of the topics that is raising the most debate about the rubbish They are the differences between cities and the risks that this implies. “It can be applied depending on the address, the number of people residing in the home, the cadastral value… There are many possibilities and without a guide we can end up with more than 8,000 different garbage rates, which will surely generate resources and even different criteria in the courts until the Supreme Court unifies doctrine,” explained already last December ABC the Association … Read more

Madrid has found in Usera an unexpected vein to touristify the neighborhood: a "Madrid-style Chinatown"

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If London, New York, Antwerp, Buenos Aires (and so on a long etcetera of cities) have their own “Chinatowns”, why would Madrid be any different? And above all, why would it be if we take into account that these neighborhoods tend to be poles of tourist attraction and Madrid is precisely looking for decentralize your flow of visitors? It sounds like pure theory, but the capital’s City Council is betting on just that: boost “a Madrid-style Chinatown” in Usera. The goal: touristify the area with that new seal. In a place in Madrid… Today’s User has little (very little) to do with the User of a few decades ago. Over the last few years, this district of Madrid has received a wave of Chinese families who have been transforming part of its streets. And not just because they now reside there thousands of neighbors from the Asian giant (in 2022 the City Council spoke of more than 10,000 people of Chinese nationality; other estimates raise the community to 20,000). To the first wave of immigrants, who arrived in the 80s and 90s and who dedicated themselves to opening restaurants and bazaars, have been followed by a second, more educated generation that has set up new businesses, such as pharmacies or law firms. It comes with taking a walk through one of the streets of the neighborhood, such as Dolores Barranco (or directly pull the street view of Google Maps), to see signs in Chinese advertising bars, clinics, shops, agencies, hairdressers, travel agencies, technology stores, food, furniture… and of course pedestrians arriving from the second most populous country on the planet. All between facades, awnings and the occasional business that reminds us that we are in a neighborhood of Madrid. Madrid’s Chinatown? That is the idea (and the brand) that has been taking shape in recent years in the capital. Both on the street and in the institutions themselves, which have not hesitated to talk about “Chinatown of Usera” either “Madrid-style Chinatow”. After all, it is nothing new. Other large cities, such as London, New York or Vancouver (to name only some cases) have their own Chinatowns, characterized by their proliferation of Asian businesses and which stand out for two reasons: their interculturality and great tourist potential. Why is it important? Because the latter (tourism potential) is something to take into account in a town like Madrid, which last year alone received more than 11 million of visitors and has seen how mass tourism became a challenge that affects something as essential as its residential market. Tourism has become a huge businessbut José Luis Martínez-Almeida’s team knows that for keep growing Without suffocating the city, it needs to grow in an orderly manner. And one of its great bets to achieve this is the “decentralization” of the flow of visitors, ensuring that tourists go beyond the Retiro, Sol or the Royal Palace and expand with a “balanced distribution.” To achieve this, the city has some important assets, such as new itinerariesthe bet on Formula 1 and… (exactly!) the “Chinatown-Usera”. What do you have in mind? Convert a part of Usera into “the new ‘Madrid Chinatown’”, as advertisement the Madrid City Council in 2022, when it advanced part of its plans for the area: opting for the decoration of the environment, delimiting the entrance and exit with large arches designed by the Chinese community, pedestrianizing Dolores Barranco street and improving some squares. Initiatives that will favor pedestrians and, Cybele reasons“will boost trade.” Since then the project has continued to advance in several phases to extend almost two kilometers (1.7km) between the Plaza del Hidrogen, the market and Madrid Río with a total investment that approaches nine million of euros. What are you looking for? “One of the most unique aspects of the remodeling will be the installation of elements that reinforce the identity of the environment as ‘Chinatown’ through the incorporation of specific furniture and cultural references in pavements and signs,” pointed out the City Council in May of last year, when it announced the second phase of the project. Among the strengths of the project, he emphasized that it had been carried out “with the involvement of the Chinese community.” Do you have a tourist focus? Yes. Although that is not the only spirit of the project, the City Council itself recognizes that it reflects a large part of its reason for being. “It seeks to reinforce the identity of the neighborhood as a place of residence for an important part of the Chinese community, favoring the integration of some of its cultural features with the traditional ways of life of the neighbors with the complementary objective of progressively decentralizing the city’s tourism, which mostly goes to central districts,” claims the Consistory. Not everything has been easy. Madrid has seen difficulties to find companies interested in manufacturing the access arches, a key part of the project and which identify the Chinese neighborhoods in other cities, such as London or New York. {“videoId”:”x91sz26″,”autoplay”:false,”title”:”This is the PERFECT BOARDING of a plane AND NO AIRLINE DOES IT ❌✈️”, “tag”:”webedia-prod”, “duration”:”567″} Is there more on the table? Yes. On Sunday elDiario.es revealed that not everything will be a pedestrian promenade and decoration with Asian echoes. The City Council also plans a “tourist quality” program that will have as its highlight a “Chinatown de Madrid” seal, according to the newspaper after consulting the contract of the Usera Board. Among other issues, the idea is to assess the quality of certain businesses in the neighborhood (there are at least 280 “with tourist potential”), help them improve and reward those that meet their standards with the quality badge. The objective, collect the sheetsis to “position Usera as an attractive destination for attracting family, cultural and gastronomic tourism” and “attract and capture new local, national and foreign audiences.” All while works progress for the almost two kilometer walk from Madrid Río and the installation of the first arch. The remodeling represents an opportunity for the neighborhood, although there … Read more

the new and unexpected solution against baldness

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Androgenic alopecia, better known as male or female pattern baldness, is one of the most common causes of hair loss all over the world. The most common treatment is the use of topical minoxidilbut it is not a great miracle either because its effectiveness is limited by many factors. Now a group of researchers they have found a solution quite unexpected in the sweeteners that we use on a daily basis to make the treatment more effective. The problem. As we say, topical minoxidil can be affected by the simple fact of have a low solubility in water, making it very difficult for it to pass through the skin. This means that alcohol has to be used as an excipient in the treatment, which generates other side effects such as itching. That is why the study published in the prestigious magazine Advanced Healthcare Materials reveals that the stevioside (STV), a natural compound extracted from the plant stevianot only dramatically improves the absorption of minoxidil, but can be used to create a much more effective delivery system. A sweetener. The scientists’ idea was to use stevioside for its dual function. On the one hand, as a powerful agent to dissolve minoxidil (MXD) and, on the other, as the main material to manufacture an innovative microneedle patch that can later be used in the presentation of the medicine. As. Stevioside is an amphipathic molecule, which means that it has a part that attracts water and another that repels it. This property is very important to be able to create small spheres that are called micelles in an aqueous solution, creating a core where poorly soluble drugs such as minoxidil can comfortably lodge. To understand it, it acts as the ‘vehicle’ that minoxidil uses to cross customs, which are our biological membranes. And the results of the research have been quite good. The study found that stevioside increased the solubility of minoxidil by up to 47 mg/ml, which is approximately 18 times higher than that of minoxidil alone. Microneedling. To overcome the skin barrier, the researchers designed a patch with soluble microneedles made from the mixture of stevioside and minoxidil itself. These microneedles, invisible to the naked eye, painlessly penetrate the outermost layer of the skin and dissolve, releasing the drug directly into the area where the hair follicles are located. This is much better than using it topically with a spray where we have that problem of it not penetrating. Applying. In this way, we have a much more precise application method that also avoids the effects of having to use a metal microneedle. In the laboratory, it has been seen that a release of 85% of the drug and a retention in the skin of 18% is achieved in 24 hours. These numbers far exceed the results achieved with a traditional topical application with an alcohol solution where retention is only 2%. And this is the key for the drug to act in the hair follicle for a longer amount of time before it is metabolized. Put to the test. To see the potential of this new application of the treatment, the test was done on animals in the laboratory. To do this, the animals induced alopecia in the mice and received treatment with the microneedle patch compared to the standard minoxidil solution and a control group. As days passed, the group treated with the stevioside and minoxidil patch showed significantly more hair growth. Specifically, after 35 days of treatment, the area treated with the patch had 67.5% new hair coverage. In comparison, the conventional minoxidil solution only achieved 25.7% coverage in the same period. But it doesn’t stop there, since it was also clearly seen that the patch was much more effective in reactivating the hair follicles to quickly move into the growth phase. A new way. Although human studies are still needed to confirm these findings, this research opens a completely new avenue to combat alopecia. A natural, safe sweetener already approved for consumption could be the key to developing a new generation of hair treatments that are more effective, comfortable and with fewer side effects. Images | Gustavo Sanchez In Xataka | The great promise of science to end baldness is not a transplant or a medicine: it is a vaccine

The Spanish rice has come out in the most unexpected country in Europe: England

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Spain is one of the great rice producers in Europe. The annual production of this cereal is around 800,000 tonsa significant portion of 2.8 million tons produced in the European Union. Now a new country could be incorporated into the list of European producing countries (although it comes late to join the Union list).It is the United Kingdom. A crop making their way. The rice cultivation He makes his way in England. An experimental rice plantation is demonstrating the viability of the cultivation of this cereal in the relatively fresh and humid climate of the British islands. Nine varieties. The experiment It is being driven by the UKCEH (UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology) and for a marriage of local farmers, Craig and Sarah Taylor. The experimental rice cultivation occupies four plots of a land in the FENS region, in Cambridgeshire. In this region of the East English, marshes and peat areas predominate. The soil in this region is not only rich in nutrients and conducive to agriculture but also offers, thanks to peat, the possibility of creating floodplains such as those required by rice cultivation. The four plots occupied by this experimental crop have been sufficient to cultivate nine varieties of rice, including rice originating in Brazil, Italy or the Philippines, varieties used for plates such as risotto, Basmati rice or sushi. With the help of heat. Cultivating rice in the British climate does not seem like a great idea, but the results seem to indicate otherwise. It may have contributed the exceptionally warm summer that has affected the British islands. The future of rice cultivation on the islands could depend on the heat lived this year being a simple anomaly or fruit of a trend marked towards increasing temperatures. “We could never have contemplated that this grew here,” explained to the BBC Sarah Taylor, one of those responsible for this project. “Not in a million years,” Apostille Craig, her husband. Tying the carbon. The mob plays an important role in carbon regulation. This soil originates in the decomposition of organic matter and stores a large amount of carbon. The degradation of these soils as a result of agricultural use implies the emission to the atmosphere of huge amounts of carbon dioxide. The rice planting project He wants to avoid thisTying the carbon to the terrestrial peat of the English region. This implies that the project not only has the potential to help adapt to change in the weather, it is also a way to mitigate the emissions that cause it. New competition? Climate change involves numerous challenges and perhaps one of the greatest has to do with agriculture. Changes in temperature and rain patterns imply that the crops that once prospered in one place stop doing so. On the other hand, change also open the road to the introduction of new crops where they would have been inconceivable before. In a changing context, rice crops in Spain raise a double threat. On the one hand, The drought lived a few years ago It was a threat to endanger the supply of water in areas such as the Ebro delta. In case that were not enough, the rainy episodes we have seen in the last year have also brought New threats to cereal producing regions. In Xataka | The US launched a pulse to China with the tariffs and China has responded not buying soybeans. It is wreaking havoc Image | UKCEH

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

3,200 years ago Egypt could not pay his artisans. So he found something unexpected: the first work strike

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In the Egypt of the twelfth century AC, the reign of the Great Ramses III, one would expect to meet many things: portentous tombs, pyramids, rich hieroglyphs and farmers pending the rise of the Nile to guarantee the prosperity of their crops. Images that fit well in the idea we have of ancient Egypt. If we look at the Deir el-medina From the year 1157 AC, a town of artisans located near the Valley of the Queens, we would nevertheless see something that seems to adjust less to that period: workers promoting a work strike. And not anyone, The first of history. In a remote place in Egypt … Set Maat (better known as Deir el-medinahis Arab name) was a prosperous populated with workers and artisans founded by Pharaoh Tutmosis i. It was located in a privileged place, near the Valley of the Queens and that of the Kings, in front of what is now the city of Luxor. At first The settlement It had just a few dozen houses surrounded by a wall, but it grew and gain relevance. There, in their adobe houses, the workers and artisans lived who at first had An idea: Change the pyramids and mastied for a more protected sepulcher, excavated in the mountain itself. Unexpected protagonist. Deir El-Medina could have gone down simply because of that, forever linked to the name of the pharaoh Tutmosis I, if it were not because in the mid-twelfth century AC it became an unexpected protagonist of one of the most relevant episodes of the world’s work chronicle. The reason? A good day of 1157 AC (Up, downstairs) those same operators who dwelt in their adobe homes and dedicated themselves to shaping the real graves decided to plant. And in doing so they promoted the first work strike in history, a title that today He recognizes him Guinness World Records. Where the hell is my salary? The artisans and workers of Egypt from 3,200 years ago were different from today’s workers. His motivations, no. What ended the patience of Deir El-Medina operators was the delay in the collection of their salaries, which they perceived In speciessuch as grain, cereals, dry fish, beer, vegetables or even The usufruct of certain cultivable plots. As remember The green compassWe know that the workers began to protest when they had more than a week of collection delay. At 20 days the thing worsened and well entered the second month of delays the artisans decided to leave their tools and plant themselves. The problems however were not punctual. They crawled over several years. AMENENKAHT tracks. If we know what happened in that corner of Egypt 3,200 years ago it is largely thanks to a scribe called Amenenkaht, who was in charge of taking good note of everything to inform when vizier. For him we know that the strike arose during the reign of Ramses III, who took the reins of the kingdom approximately between 1186 AC and 1155 AC it is believed that the problems with the workers of Deir el-Medina began Towards 1159 AC And they were dragging, without solution, until “the payment system of the workers of the necropolis collapsed completely”, Comment Egyptologist Toby Wilkinson. “Year 20, second month of the flood, day 10. Today the work squad crossed the walls of the necropolis (the control post) shouting: ‘We are hungry!’ 18 days of this month go that (men) sit behind the funeral temple of Tutmosis III “, The scribe said in a document that is known today as the strike papyrus. It even echoes the bitter complaints of the artisans of the town: “If we have reached this point it is because of hunger and thirst; there are no clothes, there are no ointments, there is no fish, there are no vegetables …” And what did they do? They said enough. They refused to wait more for a payment that was delayed and went to the city to the shout of “We are hungry!”making clear their demands in the temple of Ramses III and in the vicinity of Tutmosis III, where they came to camp. They even went to the Central Gray Warehouse of Thebes and blocked the accesses to the Valley of the Kings, which complicated that the priests and family made the offerings to the dead. In a long pull and loosen they managed to pay back payments and everything indicates, slide Worldhistorythat in the end both parties reached an agreement so that the workers could collect their salaries as agreed. Why is it important? The first reason is the historical relevance of protests. It is not crazy To think that before, in Egypt or even Mesopotamia, similar situations had been lived. And there is Who thinks that the first real strike was lived centuries later, in 494 AC, in Rome, with the Secessio plebis. The truth, however, is that the mobilization of the artisans and workers of Deir El-Medina was officially considered the first documented work strike to date. So figure In fact on the pages of Guinness World Records. Beyond that ‘title’ the episode is relevant for its impact and Egypt. As Remember Joshua J. Mark In World History, in ancient Egypt there was a basic concept called ma´atthe individual, social and universal balance that deposited in the pharaoh a series of responsibilities, including the well -being of the population, the security of the borders and the fulfillment of religious rites. Ramses III highlighted in the second, but his reign was marked by economic turbulence that complicated the payment to artisans. With this he found a peculiar situation: protests before which the authorities did not know very well how to react and that, in a way, “violated the principle of Ma´at.” A milestone that today highlights Deir el-Medina in history books. Images | Wikipedia 1, 2 and 3 In Xataka | The hieroglyphs of ancient Egypt have always fascinated archaeologists. They just missed a key track to understand them

Alicante has found a tourist mine in an unexpected place that is contributing thousands of visits: Poland

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Between Warsaw and Poland there are about 2,200 kilometers and above all a change of climate, landscapes and considerable architecture. Despite that difference (or precisely for her) both cities seem to have found a powerful link: tourism. I pointed it yesterday The avant -garde in a broad article On the boom of Polish tourism in the Valencian town and the last corroborate it AENA datawhich show that air traffic from and to Poland grows at a good pace, much more in fact of what general traffic has grown during this year. In the hotels and streets of Alicante more and more strongly sounds the Polish accent, which agrees with National data collected by Turespaña. How much has it increased? According to The latest data From Aena, during the first ten months of 2025 they moved between Poland and Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernández Airport 676,502 travelers, 20.6% more than in the same period of 2024. In August, one month with an intense flow of tourists, 94,000, 20% more than last year were touched. The data reflects all kinds of displacements, both arrivals and exits, which also includes residents of Alicante who travel to Poland, but gives an idea of ​​the interest raised by the Costa Blanca in the country. AENA graph with passenger traffic from Alicante-Elche Miguel Hdez airport. Why is it important? At the outset, because that growth is much higher than that of Aena’s network or the Alicante-Elche airport assembly, which during the same period saw how passenger flow increased 9.1%. Growing is easier when you start from low data, but the truth is that Poland has gone to play an interesting role in the Valencian terminal. Although its 676,500 users represent 5% of the global airfield traffic, Poland is already the fifth main destination of its grid by user volume. The room, if we focus exclusively on the international market, without Spain. Right now they only exceed Poland in the United Kingdom travelers (4.4 million), Holland (819,800) and Germany (813,200). They all grow, but so far this year, none has done it to the rhythm of the Polish market. Their data in fact exceed those of other destinations (and traditional tourist -emitting points) closer to the Peninsula, such as Belgium, France or Italy. While the transfer of airplanes increased between Alicante-Elche and those foreign countries, what descended was the flow with the airports of the rest of Spain (-2.3%), which fits with The stagnation which seems to cross domestic tourism. What is the reason? Tastes and affinities apart, there are two keys that help to understand the increase in trafficking traffic between Alicante and Poland and especially the foreseeable interest that the Valencian town arouses in the Central European country. The first is connectivity. Alicante airport has various routes With Poland operated by Ryanair and Wizz Airtwo companies specialized in the market Low Cost and an aggressive rate policy. The first offers flights with several Polish terminals. The second, with Gdańsk, city of the Baltic Coast. And the other reason? The promotion. Alicante has made a clear effort to make known in the Polish market. Last year the Tourism Patronage Alicante City & Beach took advantage An initiative of Turespaña and the Polish Touroper Nekera to present the destination before 160 Warsaw and Katowice agents. “Polish tourism has not stopped growing in recent years in the city”, He stood out The Councilor for Tourism. More recently it has been the Patronato Costa Blanca that It has moved token To “connect the tourist offer of the province of Alicante with the Polish travel market”, giving known in situ, in Poland itself, especially in the cities of Wroclaw, Poznan, Gdansk and Warsaw. Is it something new? Not quite. As I recognized The Alicante Tourism Councilor, the flow of travelers from Poland has grown until occupying an “important” place in the sector. And interest does not monopolize only Alicante. A decade ago Already the Ministry of Tourism advertised the benefits of the Valencian Community in Poland and Benidorm has also verified the great interest that arouses as destination both in that country and others of the East. And not only in the traditional holiday market. At least in 2023 The demand reached residential tourism. In general, Turespaña Calculate That in 2024 Spain visited 2.4 million Polish tourists, 2.6% of the total number of travelers who arrived in our country. “The very positive evolution of this market is remarkable. Compared to 2019 Poland has contributed more than one million additional tourists, which represents an increase of more than 43%,” stands out The organism. “From the point of view of the estimated total nominal expenditure, the evolution has been even better (48.8).” Here they seek mainly leisure and their favorite destinations are warm regions, such as Canary Islands (22%), Valencian Community (19%), Andalusia and Catalonia (18%). Images | Jorge Fdez. (UNSPLASH), Herry Sucahya (UNSPLASH) and AENA In Xataka | On his way to become the great resort of Europe, Spain is at the gates of a milestone: 100 million tourists

When the Nazis occupied an island on the Channel of La Manchas they met an unexpected enemy: an indecipherable language

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The enemies sometimes appear for the most unsuspected places. That is what the German soldiers who occupied the Canal Islandson the Canal de la Mancha. The campaign promised them happy and in fact it extended for several years, but shortly after putting the first foot on the island of Jersey the Nazi officers realized that they would have to deal with an unexpected enemy: a language that they did not understand their interpreters. And that was a luck for the locals. In a place on the Channel of La Mancha … It is found Jerseythe largest of the islands of the Canal, an archipelago located very close to the French coast but is administratively linked to London. In fact they are considered British crown dependenciesautonomous, self -governor territories and that strictly are not part of the United Kingdom, but they are linked to their crown. It is estimated that in 2001 a few resided in the archipelago 150,000 people distributed in Two dancers: Guersey’s and Jersey, where they live more than 100,000. An island, its own language. Jersey not only stands out for his geography, status and history. It also does it at the linguistic level: on the island you speak English, French … and The sweater (Jèrriais), a tongue related to The Normand and, They claim The island authorities, have a rich history of more than a thousand years. His first written record dates in fact the 12th century, with The poet Waceand on the island presume of its literary legacy of the late eighteenth century. The sweater He caught his attention Even from the prestigious French writer Víctor Hugo, who rescued one of his words, Pieuvre (octopus) in your novel ‘The sea workers’of 1866. “A Language of Peasants”. The history of the Jersejés is not exactly simple. Despite his age and the enormous roots he has had on the island, there was a time in which he considered a vulgar and stigmatized language, which has irremediably marked his base of speakers. “In 40 and 50 if you went to school the Jerseyés was prohibited. It was considered a language of peasants, spoken only by poor people. That was the attitude of all teachers, even those who spoke Jerseyes,” He recounts To the BBC François Le Maistre, a almost 90 -year -old man who explains that in his home, as a child, only the island language was used. … And a weapon in front of the Nazis. Interestingly and despite his stigmatization, the sweater played a relevant role during World War II. The Canal Islands hold the sad honor of being the only “British” islands that endured the occupation of German troops during World War II. The Nazis came to Jersey between June and July 1940 (with The battle of England as a backdrop) and remained in the archipelago until May 1945. The authorities evacuated 30,000 people From the Canal Islands before the arrival of the Germans, but even so when Führer’s troops landed in Jersey they met thousands of locals (the archipelago added in total 104,000 residents) With a disturbing peculiarity, especially for the Nazis: they spoke a seemingly unintelligible language, even for the Francophone Germans. Not even the collaborative interpreters understood at all. What devils are they saying? “The articles in Jerseyes published at the beginning of the occupation managed to transmit messages of resistance”, Point out to the BBC Geraint Jennings chain, linguist and expert in the island language. “The texts openly said that it was better to speak Jerseés so that ‘certain people’ could not understand it, that is, the Germans! Of course they soon realized and took drastic measures with censorship, but the sweater continued to be used as a secret language to transmit messages during the rest of the contest.” In the island’s passive resistance strategy, that language related to Normando became a valuable piece. Its complexity, even for the ears of the German soldiers who spoke French or the collaborative performers, made the Jerseés a key tool to exchange information, draw clandestine plans or even, remember The English chain, mock of the Nazis. “Everyone spoke”. “During those years everyone spoke Jerseyes simply because, unfortunately of the Germans, it was not possible for them to understand our language,” remember I maistre. Perhaps it sounds strange, but it is that within the jersey itself different dialect varieties of the language were used: despite the fact that the island is small, a good part of the islanders were related to their own communities, which favored surprising wealth of expressions, words and even accents, distinctive marks of groups of speakers. On other channel islands, such as Guerneey, Sark and Alderney They also had their own languages, some already disappeared. A dream for linguists, a nightmare for German soldiers who walked through Jersey. A tongue in retreat. That does not mean that the sweater was immune to war. His starting point was already delicate. Although in the 30s the mother tongue of most people born on the island remained, it was minorized and stigmatized. To that was added “the great social rupture” that, Jennings lamentscaused the German occupation: families evacuated to England with their children ended up adopting English as the main language, the same that happened to the islanders who enrolled in the Armed Forces and then returned home. This rupture is added that tourism and the island’s financial sector, key pieces in its economy, They contributed to boost English as a communication vehicle. And what is the situation now? Complicated. There are reasons for optimism, but also for concern. In recent years the language has managed to claim, with institutions expressly dedicated to its promotion and greater sensitivity on the part of local institutions. In February 2019 in fact the island authorities They declared it COOFICIAL LANGUAGE IN THE ASSEMBLY WITH ENGLISH AND FRENCH. Who today lands at the island’s airfield is also with a message that welcomes him in the language: “Seyiz Les Beinv’nus à Jerri”. That is the positive part. The refusal … Read more

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