unexpected

Saudi Arabia hugs renewables for the most unexpected: reinforce their oil power

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The oil market faces an unexpected turn: the threat to large exporters does not come from the capitals that lead electrification, such as Oslo or Shenzhen, but from the heart of the industry, Saudi Arabia. In a column published in Bloomberg Opinionanalyst David Fickling summarized it with a disturbing metaphor: “The murderer calls from within.” Domestic appetite by crude is stopped. Since the beginning of the century, the consumption of oil in Saudi Arabia had shot. According to Bloombergdoubled to 2.3 million barrels per day, with between a quarter and a third destined to feed electric and fuel power plants to combat abrasive summers. However, this trend has begun to be reversed. The official plan is to almost completely eliminate the burning of crude in electricity generation from here to 2030. As explained by Saudi Aramco, Amin Nasser, replacing that oil with renewables equivalent, in terms of export, to drill new wells. The International Energy Agency even warns that this change could represent the greatest drop in oil demand in the world in the next five years. The commitment to renewables. Behind this turn is the massive deployment of solar energy. Fickling energy expert has pointed out That Acwa Power, the largest Saudi developer, plans to reach 78 renewable gigawatts in 2030, enough to cover all the electricity that the country generates today with oil. Since 2024 It has already connected Almost 5 GW in new solar plants and has another 15 GW on the way. Logic is simple: in Saudi Arabia, solar electricity costs less than half than the conventional network. In addition, panels are easier to install than oil infrastructure, a land in which the kingdom was always strong. However, enthusiasm is not exempt from doubts. The Kpler consultant Calculate thatof the 130 GW announced by the Government, only 11.6 GW will really be online in 2030, which would prolong the use of crude oil in the electricity grid. The Saudi impulse is not limited to the plot. The country You have already connected the battery system Storage, Bisha Bess (500 MW/2,000 MWh), operated by Saudi Electric Company with Byd Chinese technology. This allows to integrate intermittent renewables into the network and gives infrastructure flexibility. To this is added a plan to produce lithium in 2027 and uranium enrichment and enrichment projects To boost nuclear energy. It clashes with megaprojects. This energy advance contrasts with vision problems 2030 in its most spectacular version. The Saudi Public Investment Fund cut 8,000 million dollars to the neom megaprojectquestioning the viability of initiatives such as The Line or the Trojena Ski Station. A high -risk geopolitical play. The Saudi movement has implications beyond its energy balance. While the kingdom has driven OPEC+ to increase production in a saturated market, with the aim of pressing the American fracking and recovering market share. This has tensioned the seams of the poster: United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan or Iraq produce above their installments, and Russia has shown an open disagreement with the Saudi strategy. In the international market prices also suffer. According to ReutersSaudi Arabia could cut official sales prices (OSP) for Asia in October: Arab Light would be reduced between 40 and 70 cents per barrel, up to 2.50–2,80 dollars on the Oman/Dubai reference, and other degrees would fall between 40 and 60 cents. The combination of lower demand, abundance of Russian crude and a greater flow of American oil presses interest in Saudi crude. The Saudi paradox. What seemed like the Achilles heel of Saudi Arabia – his voracious internal crude consumption – has become his most surprising strategic weapon. When betting on solar energy, battery storage and, to a lesser extent, the nuclear, the kingdom seeks to maintain its role as a dominant supplier in the global market. But this same play threatens to undermine the OPEC foundations and enlarge a fiscal deficit that is already forcing to cut pharaonic projects such as Neom. Saudi Arabia Libra two battles at the same time: one to continue reigning in oil and another to reinvent itself in the post-hydrocarbons era. The open question is if you can win both. Image | Unspash Xataka | To the surprise of absolutely no one, Saudi Arabia has begun to make cuts in its impossible city: Neom

In Galicia the orcs are hitting sailboats. And there is an unexpected reason why they are there: the octopus

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In Galicia, at least in part of the Galicia Litoral, summers begin to be marked by something more than the escapes to the beach, the pilgrims, the arrival of Fodechinchos tourists and (unfortunately) forest fires. On its coasts They usually sneak spontaneous ones that attract more and more looks, both for their spectacular and ‘encounters’ that occasionally leave with the small boats that navigate near the estuaries: the orcs. The summer of 2025 is not an exception. And for now he has already left some discovery amazing. What happened? That in recent days the Galician coast has had peculiar protagonists: orcs. It is nothing new. A few years ago We talked to you Already of their incursions in part of the coast of Spain and Portugal and how sometimes they leave the occasional scare when they run into sailboats or small boats. That does not mean that your presence continues to generate expectation, both among the media (even The Times has echoed of sightings) as among the authorities. In fact they have already forced to mobilize Maritime rescue and the Civil Guard. Where did they see? The Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA) includes a tool on-line which allows to follow the latest interactions between ships and orcs. His map shows sightings in the surroundings of the Gulf of Cádiz, the Portuguese coast, part of the Cantabrian and especially on the Galician coast. On Saturday Maritime Rescue confirmed the existence of three different groups in the Galician Atlantic Strip and The regional press has confirmed the presence of specimens in The Baixas Ríasalthough Gtoa has also registered interactions further north. Why is it news? For several reasons. The main one, its ‘encounters’ with sailboats. On Saturday maritime rescue already asked the navigators of the region that extreme surveillance on the Galician Atlantic coast and warned that a sailboat had to be towed to the port and another escorted precisely by the presence of orcs. The Pontevedra Civil Account too He spoke A week ago in X of incidents In Costa da Vela, north of the Cíes Islands, with several sailboats involved, and how one of them ended with damage to the helm shovel. Europa Press assures that as a precaution a regatta and maritime rescue was suspended in charge of these days of remember To the navigators a series of basic guidelines in case of these animals, such as not approaching the bands of the boat or navigating to the coast in search of shallow waters. The normal thing is that the incidents (when there are) do not go beyond blows wave loss of the helm, although there are cases of sailboats that They have ended up anxiety. But … why do they act like this? The phenomenon It is not exclusive of Galicia and has given rise to multiple theories that explain the behavior of these cetaceans. Some point to food scarcity, the possibility that ORCAS consider vessels as competition or even an unexpected effect of pandemic and the break of nautical activities, resumed in recent years. Last year a working group of the International Whaling Commission He raised An explanation Much simpler … and curious: the orcas that ram ships are mostly specimens Young and boring They do it as a game, a fun that would not seek to cause intentional damage to the sailboats or the crews that are on board. “It is more playful than intentional,” summarize Alex Cerbino, from the CBI. If true could be a “temporary” behavior, as already Others have been seen. What exactly do Galicia? That is the other surprise they have left this summer in Galicia. Experts have long known that these animals move chasing the Atlantic red tuna, their favorite delicacy. In fact, the search for food is what explains summer migrations from the Strait of Gibraltar to the north, which in autumn look for deep waters and already in winter return to the narrow area, where they remain until spring, Remember Gtoawhich clarifies in any case that migrations of the Iberian orcs can be “diffuse” and it is not strange that they do not travel in block. Now experts have found out more than helps to understand the incursions of these cetaceans in the Galician estuaries. A recent investigation of the Institute for the Study of Mulas Vigo lighthouse either The voice of Galicia He has concluded that the Iberian Orcs arrive in Rías such as Aruouso in search of something more than atlantic red tuna. They also do it to capture other of their stars dishes, cephalopods. What are you looking for? The same as many Galicians and tourists in summer: in addition to squid, the great food of the gray calderones, the orcs look for a good ration of octopus. “They love it!” assures to Lighthouse Bruno Díaz López, director of the BDRI and Doctor of Ecology. “Thanks to the sightings made in recent years and during the weekend in the Ría de Aruous we have resolved a recurring enigma: the orcs penetrate the estuaries to feed on octopus.” Experts have appreciated “series of long and repeated vertical dives, direction changes, controlled promotions and brief ventilation pauses” that, in their opinion, correspond to the hunting methods used by the cephalopod predators. BDRI experts have even seen Orcas pull nasas for octopuses. In case there were doubts, they have also managed to “visually document specimens emerging with octopus in the mouth.” “This finding explains the repeated entrance of Orcas in the Ría de Arousa in the last three years,” they claim. Is it important? Yes. Although the orcs go behind the tuna, the finding gives us new information about their incursions in Galicia. “Beyond their main prey in the open sea, the orcs take advantage of coastal trophic opportunities linked to octopus in specific periods,” concludes The director of the BDRI, who remembers that the phenomenon does not fit only with the most recent observations, but also with the documentary records. “It agrees with historical testimonies of Aguiño … Read more

The last O2 movement is not a simple rate change. It is an unexpected turn that can shake the market

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O2 has surprised us this week with a change that, although it seems small, tells us a lot where the operator is directed inside The new telephone. A rate It has disappeared From its catalog, and with it, O2 has eliminated the 300 Mbps of its offer and the possibility of hiring fiber and mobile for 30 euros per month. It is not good news for the market, let’s see why. Goodbye at 300 Mbps. O2 decided to charge a few days ago the fiber combined of 300 Mbps + two mobile lines of 10 GB and 30 GB, and also eliminated the possibility of hiring only 300 Mbps fiber. The only option that remained with that speed was the fiber combined 300 Mbps + Mobile 50 GB for 30 euros per month. That rate has disappeared this week, so the minimum speed that O2 offers throughout its catalog has become 600 Mbps. It doesn’t matter if you want only fiber or mobile fiber, you can no longer have 300 Mbps. It is only possible to choose 600 Mbps or 1 Gbps, just like Movistar. A higher input price. By eliminating that package of 30 euros per month, the most cheaper fiber and mobile team of O2 costs 35 euros per month. Of course, you have two modalities to choose from that price: 600 Mbps + 60 GB mobile fiber. 600 Mbps + Mobile 10 GB + Mobile 40 GB. These two plans offer twice as a speed and more gigabyes that the rate eliminated by a little more, yes, but there will be those who agree with those 300 Mbps to pay 5 euros less. When an operator eliminates its cheapest plan, the access price is more expensive to its products and that is never good news for the user. Quiet, O2 is not going to upload the price. The strategy of O2 goes to keep the customer happy, so the price never uploads or change the conditions of your rate unless it is an automatic and free improvement. Therefore, if you have hired the team that has eliminated, you can continue enjoying it, at the same price and with the speed of 300 Mbps. The competition does offer 300 Mbps. O2 is a very important actor not only for Telefónica, but for the Spanish market. And we have already seen on several occasions that, when O2 takes the first step, others usually move file. But that the panic does not travel, for the moment, there are still several 300 Mbps options for that price (or even less): In areas with own coverage, Digi It offers 300 Mbps + mobile 25 GB for 13 euros per month (15 euros if you want 50 GB). In areas where there is no smart fiber, DIGI proposes the same thing that has just eliminated O2: fiber 300 Mbps + mobile 50 GB for 30 euros per month. Lowi It has a pair of combined with 300 Mbps fiber for 30 euros per month. One with a 50 GB mobile line (like the rate that has removed O2) and another with two mobile lines of 25 GB each. Pepephone It gives the possibility of hiring 300 Mbps + Mobile fiber with 50 GB cumulative for 30 euros per month. But attentive to its next movements, because Pepephone is usually One of the first to imitate O2. Moremobile It also maintains a 300 Mbps + mobile fiber rate with 40 GB for 29.90 euros per month. O2 moves away from the low cost. Since its launch, O2 has offered much more competitive prices than its sister Movistar. And many expected Telefónica to be even more aggressive with O2 after have been released from regulatory obligations that limited their commercial capacity. That is why this movement has caught us by surprise. Now you can’t have fiber and mobile with O2 for 30 euros per month. If you want O2, you have to pay a minimum 35 euros. That amount enters its reasonable price policy, but it moves a lot away from the cheapest proposals of many of its low cost rivals (read Digi). With Murtra in command, one of the unknowns is which strategy will continue with O2. And who knows, perhaps the objective of O2 with this change is precisely that: to move further away from the concept of low cost that, for many, is synonymous with poor quality. Images | O2 In Xataka | If someone believed that the optical fiber was at the limit of their possibilities, Japan has arrived to show him the opposite

The science behind one of the AI pillars has an origin as unexpected as unknown: pigeons pecking for food

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Imagine a missile guided by a dove. It sounds absurd, but it happened in the middle of war: someone proposed to train them to Picute the target from a screen and thus redirect the projectile. The system was never usedbut left something more powerful than the anecdote: A way of learning based on proof, error and reward. The comparison helps to understand logic, but it is not literal: today there are no birds in algorithms; What is maintained is the idea of strengthening behaviors through signals. That logic, simple and direct, is the one that many artificial intelligence models follow. What was previously an answer conditioned by food, is now a score, a preference or human indication that the model learns to pursue. The test and reinforcement mechanism was not lost over time. In the 1940s and 1950s, the American psychologist Burrhus Frederic Skinner formalized that idea with his theory of “operant conditioning”: A behavior increases its probability of repeating itself if its consequences are positive. Although behaviorism was displaced by approaches focused on mental processes, its logic found a new field in computer science. Since the end of the seventies and, above all, in the eighties and ninety, Richard Sutton and Andrew Barto applied it to the design of artificial agents capable of acting, receiving a signal and adjust ‘Reinforcement Learning: An Introduction’. As Mit Technology Review points outthe idea of molding behaviors without resorting to fixed rules became a useful tool to teach machines. From the 1980s, reinforcement learning began to be implemented in algorithms that explore simulated environments, fail, receive feedback and try again. They do not follow human instructions step by step: learn based on the result. This approach proved to be especially effective in tasks with clear objectives, such as games. And it was there that he gave one of his most visible jumps. Alphago’s story marked a before and after in artificial intelligence. In March 2016, he beat South Korean Lee Sedol 4-1 in a series of Go games. He succeeded by combining supervised learning of human games and reinforcement learning. A year later, Deepmind was one step further with Alphago Zero. Instead of training with human data, he started from scratch and learned playing against himself: each victory reinforced his strategy, each defeat the corregía. In 40 days he surpassed not only the human championbut also to all the previous versions of Alphago himself. Today, reinforcement learning is not only used in games; It is also used to refine the models behind services such as Chatgpt. The OpenAI system incorporates a technique known as Reinforcement learning with human feedback (RLHF): people compare model responses and those preferences become a signal that guides their evolution. According to Openai, this phase seeks to align the behavior of the model with the user’s intention. It does not learn explicit rules, but patterns that maximize the reward, that is, what receives better assessments. Reinforcement works, but it doesn’t work for everything. Its effectiveness depends on the signal being well defined and represents the objective well. If it is confused or poorly designed, andThe system can adopt ineffective or even problematic strategies. This has fed a scientific debate. Some biologists have indicated the paradox: Association learning is considered limited to animals, but is celebrated in AI when it produces advanced results. It is no accident that great technology have adopted this approach. More than 80 years after that experiment with pigeons, their pecks are still present in the technology we use every day. Images | Nist Museum | Google | Xataka with Gemini 2.5 Pro In Xataka | The strange case of the diminutive AI: how tiny models are taking the colors to the mastodons of the AI

Ryanair is abandoning small airports in France. There is an unexpected beneficiary: a Spanish airline

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France is the queen of world tourism. Spain is close, but the neighboring country moved In 2024 almost 90 million visitors. A good part of them depend on the plane to arrive, and the problem is that they will soon pay more money to leave. The reason? A “solidarity tax”. And Ryanair has not been funny. So little that will leave some routes in winter. On the other side of the door, ready to collect the witness, was a Spanish airline. Volotea. Taxes. The trigger is the TSBA. This is the abbreviation of ‘Taxe de Solidarité Sur Les Billets d’Avion’, a tax applied in France to the tickets. It is the French authorities that set the amount of tax with the aim of financing international aid programs or to promote ecological measures. A few months ago, that tax experienced an increase of 180% and, although It depends on the flightdistance and plane, in a Economic flight Within France or Europe, the rate went from 2.66 euros to 9.5 euros. Other countries have other rates and in Spain, for example, there is one that applies to the use of infrastructure, security, shipping and other services that will rise about 68 cents per passenger as of March 1, 2026. It is a 6.5%rise, much lower than French. But well, as we say, Italy, Germany or Netherlands also have their rates. Leave. Ryanair comes into play here. The airline, the largest in Europe by fleet, considers that they are excessive and threatened to state that the increase will make many routes unfeasible. In a nutshell: trips to regional airports to small and medium -sized cities will not be so profitable by reducing the margins of these Airlines ‘Low Cost’ and, therefore, it would cease to make sense to keep them. And so it has been. As we read in Radar TravelRyanair will completely retire from Strasbourg, Brive-La-Gaillarde and Bergerac airports from this winter. In total, it will cut 25 routes and 750,000 seats on those dates, reducing its operations in France by 13%. Proper names. The consequences are devastating for the affected cities: Brive loses routes such as London-Stansted. Strasbourg loses links with Porto and Agadir. Bergerac will lose 33% of the activity, which can even touch the airport. They are the most affected, but other larger airports such as those of Toulouse, Marseille or Beauvais in Paris will also have activity cuts. “Unless the government eliminates this unfair air tax, Ryanair’s capacity and investment in France will inevitably redirect to more competitive European markets such as Sweden, Hungary or part of Italy, where governments are eliminating air taxes to stimulate traffic, tourism, employment and economic recovery,” Comment The CCO of Ryanair, Jason McGuinness. Volotea. This decision has resonated at the Volotea offices, a low -cost Spanish airline that bases its business on connecting small and medium -sized cities in Europe. They are those that do not usually cover the big companies, with 420 Routes in 2025reaching up to 100 cities in 18 European countries. Two names that we have already commented and that covers volotea are those of Marseille and Toulouse. And, how we read in Hosteltur And that Volotea itself collects in its press section, the withdrawal of Ryanair leaves room for the Spanish to stay with the connections of Strasbourg with Agadir (Morocco) and Porto, with the intention of creating 70 jobs to operate. “I don’t want money”. Thus, from this new pulse of Ryanair to the authorities of a country, the Spanish company benefits. And it is a sum and continues in a particular battle that Ryanair undertakes when the margins are at stake, such as when the controversial CEO of the company, Michael O’Learyconfirmed that aspires that passengers fly without suitcaseseven when of the 13,400 million euros that entered 2024, 4,299 million come from Extras how to fly with a cabin suitcase or choose a seat. Images | CJP24 In Xataka | The great secret of Ryanair’s success is that he does not earn money to fly: he does so squeezing you in everything else

Spring rains have generated an unexpected problem to Spanish farmers: Cereal too cheap

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Cereal cultivation continues to live convulsive times. Like many other crops, cereals suffered the consequences of last droughta drought that came to put the sector against the sector in 2023, transforming the dream of become the barn of Europe In a bitter awakening. Prices fall. Now the lament of the sector comes from another place: prices, collapsed after the recovery of the offer, a consequence of the recovery of production. A recovery that could hardly have occurred without a hydrological year as favorable as that of 2024-25. However, it never rains to everyone’s taste. From León. Perhaps the best example we find In the Leon Lonja. There last week the price of cereals such as wheat, rye or oatmeal saw slight falls in prices. The problem is more pressing if we consider the price two years ago: € 247/t. This implies that, in the last two years the price of cereal has dropped by more than 20%. Oats, in free fall. Another striking fall It has been oatmeal: if two years ago the price of this cereal was in the € 285/t, the price has dropped from then to € 136/t, 52.3% less. A year ago the price was € 183/t, which implies that only this year the drop in the price has been around 26%. Corn, the exception. Corn is the only cereal that seems to escape this trend. Their prices remained stable in fish markets such as León, while getting up in others, Like Salamanca. Lost opportunity A fall to which the sector has responded with pessimism since in the province the harvest is already practically finished. Farmers point out that these prices barely serve costs and They talk about “Lost Opportunity” When referring to this campaign. Supply and demand. The sector indicates the origin of the problem in a simple equation, that of supply and demand. Prices have fallen significantly since 2023, when the drought put in the middle of the agricultural sector against the ropes: the absence of rains and restrictions limited agricultural production. Now, production has recovered, but the problems continue. The increase in supply has not been equated with greater demand, which has facilitated a collapse in prices. To the precarious situation other external factors must be added, such as changes in international trade patterns, among which They are included The new tariff war between the United States and Europe, a conflict still to be resolved that adds firewood to the fire in the form of uncertainty. In Xataka | Before increasingly hard droughts, we are looking for answers in something discarded 10,000 years ago: perennial cereals Image | Heyzeus I write

The hydrographic basin that is most suffering from drought is an unexpected one: Galicia’s

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Summer It is taking its toll To the Spanish reservoirs and, despite the fact that the hydrographic basins maintain good health, some of these areas have seen how their reserves have markedly diminish. This has led to repeat an already familiar scenario: consumption restrictions. First restrictions. Galicia is an example of this. In this community there have been several councilsespecially in those located south of Pontevedra, who have announced restrictions to the use of water. The implemented measures differ as the case reported the Chain ser. The problem affects more areas of the Northwest, not just Galicia. As reported The newspaper Commercesome municipalities and parishes in Asturias have already announced the implementation of measures of this type to force water savings. These measures, explains the local press, affect only the “great consumption”, such as swimming pools and vehicle washing, similar to the previous ones. The restrictions have even reached some municipalities in the province of León, especially in the Laciana region, also reported the local press. The town hall of Villablino has been the one who has given the alarm, announcing restrictions on domestic use. The Galician basins. The data published this week on the Stadium of the Reservoirs confirm a worrying trend in a good part of the basins of the northwest of the Peninsula. This is especially notorious in The basins of the coast of Galicia The only basin north of Júcar below 60 % of its capacity, with its swamps full of 58.5% on average (400 hm³ in total). At the end of May, these reservoirs exceeded 80% of its capacity. Question of size? There are two factors that explain this rapid descent. The first is a hard summer: the month of June was an extremely warm month in Spain, Also dry (Galicia being one of the driest areas within the Peninsula). Although the month of July was somewhat more wet, most of the rainfall concentrated on the west peninsular. The second is that we are talking about a small, the sixth smaller sixth basin, with a capacity of 490 hm³, a small fraction of the capacity of neighboring basins such as that of the Miño-Sil (3,030 hm³) or the Duero (7,602 hm³). Lower size implies greater variability, less capacity to absorb Shocks and changes. Below 2024. Although the situation is not so striking in the rest of Galician basins, there is a detail that all the Northwest basins share (Western Cantabrian, Duero, Galician Basins and Miño-Sil): they all have less water than they had last year by these dates. The difference is more pronounced in the small basins: the reservoirs of the Galician coast kept 483 hm³ this week, which implies a drop of 17.2%, while those of the Western Cantabrian They have passed from 430 to 357 hm³, almost 17% less. In contrast, that of the Miño-Sil It went from 2,506 to 2,403 (4.1% less), and The Duero From 5,993 to 5,766 hm³ (3.8% less). On average, the Peninsular basins They have 14.9% more water than last year by these same dates. Summer remains ahead. There are still almost two months left for the end of the hydrological year. This change of the year is between the months of September and October, at which time autumn precipitations usually change the descendant trend in the reserve of the summer months. In Xataka | The next great drought is a matter of time. It is the one we have to solve the problem of sediments in reservoirs Image | Vjgalaxy

In Europe, gas and disused coal plants have unexpected suitors: technology companies

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The climatic commitments that It has acquired Europe They have condemned in the short or medium term the future of gas and coal power plants disseminated by the old continent. Many of them no longer serve, but, surprisingly, the rise of the artificial intelligence (AI) has the ability to save them. This does not mean at all that they will burn gas and coal again; The option on the table is to convert them in data centers. Microsoft and Amazon are, According to Reuterstwo of the large technology companies that are interested in transforming these old power plants into modern data centers equipped to the last one. In fact, its managers are already negotiating with the French energy company Engie, the German RWE and the Italian in the possibility of using their facilities for this purpose. For energy companies this option is very attractive because it allows them to kill two birds. On the one hand, the transformation of their old electric power plants into data centers guarantees them in income with which they did not count so far. And, in addition, the energy companies that I have mentioned in the previous paragraph and some others are negotiating with the technology companies the possibility of give them the supply of electricity that require your data centers. A priori seems like a fissure plan. An agreement in which everyone wins “You have all the necessary pieces, such as water infrastructure and heat recovery.” This Bobby Hollis statementVice President of Energy in Microsoft, repairs something very important: the old gas and coal centrals that are no longer operational have the water supply and the heat management infrastructure that data centers need. Presumably it will not be necessary to undertake a large adaptation to transform these facilities into operational data centers. Agility when putting up these data centers and moderation of costs is what makes them so attractive to large technology On the other hand, Lindsay Mcquade, director of Energy for the EMEA area (Europe, Middle East and Africa) at Amazon, Trust in that the permits that technology companies need to operate these converted data centers are available long before the new facilities. After all, most of Infrastructure are already installed In these buildings from the beginning. In fact, agility when pointing out these data centers and moderation of start -up costs is what makes them so attractive to large technological ones. In Europe and the United Kingdom since 2005 they have closed no less than 190 coal and lignite centralsand another 153 will follow this same path before the year 2038. It is evident that the possibility of reusing all these buildings transforming them into data centers for AI is very attractive. However, there is a challenge that is not yet resolved and that can condition this plan. It is not clear that the electrical infrastructure of some countries is capable of delivering The energy required by these facilities without previously undertaking a large -scale development. In this scenario renewable energies and nuclear will have the last word. Image | Marcin Jozwiak More information | Reuters In Xataka | We have a serious problem with air conditioning: it consumes much more electricity than data centers

The four -day workday has found an unexpected ally in Moscow: the Ukraine War

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The conflict in Ukraine continues to reconfigure not only Geopolitics and the European Budgetsbut it will also change the working day of thousands of Russian workers. Avtovaz, one of Russia’s biggest car manufacturers, has announced that it will apply the four -day work week As of September. According to The published by Reutersthis is not a measure oriented to Improve productivity or reduce the stress levels of its workers, but adopts this measure in the middle of a strong fall in vehicle sales, a crisis of consumption due to the wear of the invasion of Ukraine and a growing pressure of exports of Chinese cars. Russia does not sell cars. Avtovaz, is the manufacturer of the acquaintances Lada. After the first months of the Ukraine War, the Russian Automobile Industry lived a brief increase in defense expense and state subsidies. However, according to data from Reutersthis situation has begun to revert quickly. Avtovaz explained through a statement sent to Russian media that their sales fell 25% in the first semester, with only 155,481 units sold, and estimates that this will be the tendency for the entire source year. Avtovaz is not the only one to consider the four -day work week as a measure for shock the crisis of the sector. According to The local pressthe Russian manufacturer Gaz (Gorkovski Avtomobilny Zavod) will also apply the four -day week on his Gorki plant, for the same reasons that Avtovaz argued. Russia’s own Minister of Economy, Maxim Reschetnikov, He warned in June that the country “is on the verge of entering recession.” Avtovaz, as a reflection of this crisis, wants to use the letter of reduction of the work week as a way of maintaining employment without increasing the number of layoffs in difficult times. No money to make them or to buy them. According to published The Moscow Times“The final decision on the introduction of a reduced work week of four days will be taken based on the results of an analysis of market trends and economic factors, including the level of the key interest rate and the availability of credit products,” said the manufacturer’s statement. The main reason that has uncontrolled this crisis (in addition to being a derivative of the conflict in Ukraine), has been the increase in interest rates, which slows so much production Like consumption. “We are talking about a high key rate and more severe demands by the regulator for those facilitating cars loans,” Avtovaz explained in his statement collected. The impact of high types not only feels Avtovaz. The Russian giant of the Seversal Steel, pointed outthat “the high basic rate and low prices” were responsible for a 55% drop in their benefits in the second quarter of the source year. That is, as I know money is expensivecompanies lose profitability and citizens purchasing power to buy cars that are manufactured, generating a chain effect that complicates economic recovery. Chinese cars are unstoppable. To the already complicated economic crisis of the automobile sector worldwide, the massive emergence of imported cars from China is added, which sell their products at such low prices that Avtovaz directly accuses a “price dumping policy.” According to company sources these marches, mostly Chinese, are increasing the market pressure with very small prices to give out more than 400,000 cars that these importers have stored in their dealers and have not yet sold. Gaz starts already, Avtovaz leaves it for September. Russian Fuentes assure that Gorki de Gaz’s factory will implement the four -day work week immediately. From July 21 to August 3, the employees of this plant will enjoy their vacations normally. During this period, several divisions of the plant will continue to operate according to their work schedule. Once they finish, the four -day work week will be implemented at least until the end of August. Avtovaz indicates that it is still analyzing the way to implement the measure, so it will enter into force for September in the factory that the company has in Togliatti, in which one in 20 inhabitants of this city works. You know what it is to work four days. Although it is not done for the reasons for productivity and well -being improvement That this model of day is usually applied, this is not the first time that Avtovaz resorts to the reduced working day to deal with a crisis. In 2022, just after the imposition of First international sanctions To Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, the company implemented a four -day work week for three months. During that same year, the sales of its flagship model, the Lada, fell 48.2%, until 174,688 units, according to data publishedby The New Voice of Ukraine. On that occasion, four -day work week served to maintain a certain level of production In an adverse scenario. Today, three years later, economic conditions remain equally complicated, so companies re -apply the same recipe. In Xataka | Three Spanish companies tell us how it has gone after implementing a job utopia: the four -day week Image | Lada, Unspash (Sten Rademaker)

Andalusia has become hostile land for avocado. So an unexpected region is taking over: Galicia

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In Spain, avocado has ceased to be an exotic food to become the new king of the shopping basket. Its demand grows without stopping: only in 2023, tropical fruits became the most consumed in the country, surpassing even the citrus of life. But while the surface dedicated to avocado cultivation in Spain is already 24,000 hectares –With Andalusia at the head-, the south begins to resent. Missing water. There are plenty of extreme temperatures. And the producers look for alternatives in the north and there Galicia enters. A new tropical map. The image of an avocado is not associated, precisely, the wet green of the peninsular northwest. But data and real experiences begin to tell another story. Because in Galicia the avocado not only grows: it is standing strongly. As he collects A report from the voice of Galiciain the province of Pontevedra there were already at least seven hectares cultivated in 2022, and everything indicates that this figure has been doubled since then. “It is a very interesting production that is already being introduced into many Galician cooperatives,” says Higinio Mougán, director of Agaca, the Galician Association of Agrifood Cooperatives. Attracted by high market prices – and for a demand that does not stop growing – Galician farmers such as those of the Horsal Cooperative are already betting on this crop. However, they do it cautiously since not everything is as easy as planting and waiting to collect. But is it land of avocados? In theory, yes. Galicia presents a soft climate, without prolonged frost and with generous rainfall. Characteristics that, like The CSIC Iñaki Hormaza researcher ensures For the Galician medium, “they look more like the climate originally from avocado than that of some areas of Andalusia.” Which does not mean that there are no risks. Temperatures of more than 35º in summer, strong coastal winds, floodable floors or the possibility of unexpected frosts remain limiting factors. “It is not a crop to launch without prior study,” says Pablo Porto, coach of Vivaz Plant, a company that has developed plantations at Baixo Miño. The terrain must have good drainage, be protected from the wind and have deep and aerated soils. And that without talking about the productivity challenges – less than 1% of the flowers bear fruit – or post -harvest, which alerts the damage for forced collection on temporary days. There is evidence that it works. 300 kilometers east, in Asturias, The story of Ángel Sordo and his centenary avocado In Porrúa it is almost legend. Planted in 1906, this tree is still standing more than a century later and is considered the oldest in Europe. “Its cup reaches 30 meters in diameter,” a living emblem of what could be a new agricultural border. Inspired by this legacy, entrepreneurs such as Andrés Ibarra founded Aguacastur to explore the potential of avocado in the Cantabrian. His discovery was revealing: thousands of scattered trees, some with up to four flowers per year. And no, the cold did not kill them. Thanks to environmental humidity, even -5º temperatures did not cause severe damage. “It is a matter of time that the cultivation of avocados in the north becomes a reality,” said Ibarra. A change that accelerates as the South loses viability. A northern axarchy. As my partner explainedthe comparison is not accidental. The Malaga Axarchy has been the avocado mecca in Spain for decades. But droughts, overexploitation of the vineyuela aquifer and heat waves are changing the script. Is the north – with its water, its temperate climate and its lower urban pressure – the future of tropical fruit in Spain? It would not be the first time. Galicia was the land of Olivos in the past and nobody knows well why it ceased to be. And now, what? The interest is there. Plantations grow. Cooperatives are organized. But the Galician avocado path – like that of every crop that ventures in new lands – will not be free of obstacles. Green gold has arrived in Galicia. And this time, it seems that it has come to stay. Image | Unspash and Unspash Xataka | Very few countries in the world are dedicated to the industrial production of avocados. Now an unexpected one has joined: Japan

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