unexpected

EU’s new agricultural strategy begins in an unexpected place: in the school dining room

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The market share of fruit and vegetables imported has grown up in a sustained way In the last years of countries outside the EU. Meanwhile, local producers see how their margins narrow before a competition with other rules. Faced with this reality, the European Commission It raises a turn in one of its most daily policies: That schools prioritize foods of community origin in their menus. A discreet measure in appearance, but that points directly to the heart of the European agricultural model. A proposal of Brussels. All the fruit, vegetables and milk that reaches school canteens from EU countries will have to be local products. The proposal, presented last week, directly affects the European school program in force since 2017which seeks to promote healthy eating habits from nursery to high school. According to the draft to which Financial Times has had accessthe new text includes an explicit clause to favor “Made in Europe” products, not only for nutritional reasons, but as part of a broader strategy of impulse to community production. More than health. On the one hand, the initiative is part of a protectionist tendency that has already reached other key sectors such as defense, energy or critical raw materials. On the other, it is part of the debate on the future of common agricultural policy (PAC), one of the key pieces of the European budget. According to El Confidencial reportthe reform of the multiannual financial framework (2028–2034), endowed with two billion euros, cuts the PAC in favor of items such as defense, which has caused strong criticisms of the agricultural sector. Associations of Spanish farmers have already protested in Brussels against cuts that consider “a conviction” for the field. Concern is not only economical, but also structural. The Commission recognizes, in the document itself, that there is a growing imbalance in the food chain that especially affects primary producers. In the words of the text: “The unfair distribution of income, risks and cost burden disproportionately affect the agricultural sector.” Adaptation of the new standard. The new approach seeks to adapt the current school program of the PAC to the current demands. According to the draft filtered by Financial Times and confirmed by the official website of the Commissionproducts of community origin will be prioritized, with low climatic footprint, certified as ecological, sustainably packaged or from small local farms. In addition, those products rich in added sugars and saturated fats will be excluded from the plan. A community official cited by FT Thus summed up the philosophy of the measure: “It is good that the children know that this apple comes from a tree five kilometers from their home.” Currently, 17 Member States already apply criteria for local or regional preference in their school programs, according to the commission itself. The intention is to harmonize this practice at European level and reinforce it. The structural problem. The school reform arrives at an especially sensitive moment. Morocco has established itself as one of the main suppliers of EU fruits and vegetables, displacing in some cases the European product. According to An article by El Economistathe community import of Moroccan fruits and vegetables grew by 14% in the first quarter of 2025. A commitment to food sovereignty. Although the school proposal may seem secondary in economic terms, it is part of a broader paradigm change. As Financial Times remembersBrussels has begun to introduce “Made in Europe” clauses in strategic areas such as defense, state aid to the green sector and now also in the agri -food system. The objective is not to close borders, but to establish fairer reciprocity conditions and reinforce sectors considered strategic for the stability of the continent. Among them, food. According to the commissionguaranteeing access to safe, affordable and quality foods is one of the pillars of the European project, together with the defense of the rural economy. A difficult bet. Beyond the food debate, what is at stake is a definition of economic, commercial and social model for the future of Europe. In an era of growing global protectionism, the European Commission gives clear signals: from defense to school breakfast, the “made in Europe” wants to impose as a norm. But in the attempt to protect the European farmer, Brussels site delicate land, where commercial tensions and market realities are not always so easy to digest. Image | Pexels Xataka | ASML, Airbus and Mistral are planted before Brussels. They ask that the application of the law of AI and notify the risks delay

The most unexpected object has become the last battlefield of Catalan independence for a detail: the letter e

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A letter. The E. thus, in capital letters. And a fine. Capital for some if we consider that it is about paying 200 euros for covering a letter. Because that is the sanction that those who cover in Catalonia are receiving the letter E of the registration of their cars. The same that identifies the plaque with Spain. A lyric. And what lyric is it? The E. of “Spain”, “State” and “confrontation”, to give only some examples. At least for those who consider that this letter in their enrollment is an act of submission to the Spanish State and, therefore, is a cause for political confrontation. That letter that some Catalan independence disappears from their tuition to replace it with the CAT letters, next to a SENYERAas a political claim or small subversive act before what they consider the submission of Spain in the region. It is not new. The confidential collects the return of this way of acting by some Catalan independence. But this act of protest is not much less new. At the end of 2024a Catalan was fined for this reason, when considering the Mossos d’Esquadra that had manipulated the registration, which is considered a serious infraction that entails a sanction of 200 euros. But these attempts to replace the license plates either since then. Already in the last decade You can find some publications that point out this way of acting by some drivers. In some yes the European Union flag was maintained. However, it has been in the last two and three years in which the most noise has been generated. The Galician case. But it has been in the last three years when the phenomenon has taken special relevance. In 2024 a driver complained in social networks of having received the aforementioned fine. In the answers there were those who assured that carrying the CAT on the registration was not illegal. The origin must be found in Galicia. There, Bieito Lobeira, Secretary of Organization of the Galician Independence Party BNG, was fined for covering the E of Spain by a GZ in reference to “Galiza”. After various resources, Lobeira won the procedure because it was pointed out that the small modification did not prevent the correct reading of the registration. To this are grabbed those who act in this way, such as David Miñana (ANC leader) either Jordi Cabré (writer). The matter is slippery because in article 49.4 of the General Vehicle Regulations the following is specified: “It is prohibited that the registration plates be placed, registered or painted ornaments, signs or other characters other than those indicated in Annex XVIII, including advertising inside them (…) It is prohibited that in the anterior and posterior parts of the vehicles they will be placed unauthorized complementary plates or fix or paint marks or distinctive marks or distinctive Difficult readability or may induce confusion with the regulatory characters of the registration plates “ However, in the Traffic Law, where the serious sanctions (200 euros) are reflected, it is specified that the following compliance is sanctioned: “Failure to comply with the obligation of any driver to verify that vehicle registration plates do not present obstacles that prevent or hinder their reading and identification” Lobeira won when the judge understood that he took part in his appeal that the GZ letters did not prevent or hindered the reading and identification of the registration. 25 years. In the newspaper AraThey point out that this fight for the letters of the registration has been living for a quarter of a century. In 2000, the Spanish registration plates changed. They adapted to the obligation to carry the letter E and the flag of the European Union for the identification of a vehicle outside the country of origin. However, the government of José María Aznar also eliminated the references that existed to the regions. Before the year 2000, Spanish registrations were made up of one or two letters that referred to the province, four numbers and two additional letters. Already then The nationalist parties and the United Left complained about the absence of the autonomic badges. Already at that time some media and independence groups they encouraged this little protest actiondistributing stickers to incorporate into registrations. And in Europe? The truth is that in Europe there is a good handful of countries that have maintained regional badges despite having to change the registration plates to adapt to European regulations. In France, in Germany or in Italy Shields, letters or any other badge that specifies the region of origin of a vehicle are maintained. Photo | Wikinight2 Logan Armstrong and Oriol20 In Xataka | How to know the last registration that has been issued in Spain

Scientists launched a cow at the depths of the China Sea. They discovered eight unexpected visitors to the feast

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The ocean is full of surprises. Sometimes, as happened several years ago in Canada, the enigmas appear floating in the form of human feet adrift. However, in others, most, you have to go down to the depths to try to solve the mysteries. That was precisely what a group of researchers proposed. It all started by throwing the body of a cow. A cow at 1,600 meters. In one of the most unusual marine experiments carried out, a group of scientists He threw a dead cow at 1,629 meters deep in a continental slope of the South China Sea, in front of the Chinese island of Hainan, with the aim of simulating the sinking of a whale and studying the Behavior of scavengers of deep water. What they found surprised even the most experienced researchers: Eight sleepy sharks Pacific (Somniosus pacificus) They appeared in the place, marking the first documented observation of this species in the region. The finding not only unexpectedly expands the distribution map of this elusive shark, but also provides valuable information about its behavior patterns, food hierarchies, physiological adaptations and its possible geographical expansion. An unexpected visitor. Although the Pacific Sleeping Shark is a species with a wide distribution in the north of the Pacific Ocean (from Japan to Alaska and to the south to Baj real extension of its habitatits possible displacement due to climate change or even the existence of a stable population and not yet registered in that region. Food label. The recorded images By underwater cameras they not only confirmed their presence, but revealed unusual behavior for large predators: a kind of Shift systemin which sharks aligned to feed the body, giving the place to other individuals who approached from behind. This type of “Food label”rarely observed in predatory species, suggests that the order in food could be determined by the competitive intensity of each individual, instead of a chaotic struggle for resources, which would indicate a more complex level of social organization that was suspected in these animals. New clues. He study He also documented variations in behavior according to body size. The specimens that exceeded 2.7 meters in length were much more aggressive and direct In the attack on the carrion, while the smallest sharks opted for cautious movements, surrounding the body in circles before approaching. The employer suggests that even in an environment where food is scarce and random opportunities, sleepy sharks could have developed a coexistence strategy with hierarchical ranges that minimize direct conflict. One More Thing. Another remarkable finding was a behavior of Ocular retraction observed during feeding. Since this species lacks Iglestop membrane (The protective “third tab” that other vertebrates such as cats or certain reptiles have), researchers believe that this retraction reflects a Evolutionary adaptation To protect the eyes during bites or struggles, which brings a new data on the defensive physiology of these sharks in their natural environment. The unknown. And more, since the recordings also showed other revealing aspects. Namely: several sharks carried visible parasites In his eyes, identified Like copepodsalthough it was not possible to precisely classify the species. This detail reinforces biological parallelism among the sleeping sharks of the Pacific and their best -known relatives, the Greenland sharkswhich also usually host parasites in their visual organs. Apart from sharks, the experiment attracted a surprising variety of abyssal fauna, such as Caracol fish and numerous amphipodsall attracted by the source of decomposition organic matter. These records confirm that the deep areas of the South China Sea not only house a biodiversity still little documented, but could be more productive of what was believed so far, against the idea that tropical depths are biologically poorer than their polar counterparts. The great unknown. In the background, the presence of these sharks raises a crucial issue: is it a recent expansion of its rank due to global warming, or has it always been part of its habitat and simply had never been observed? It is known that the species has occasionally appeared in such remote regions like Palaos or the Solomon Islandswhich suggests that there could be more southern populations than the scientific literature indicates. However, the “frequent appearance” in the southwest of the China Sea, According to the team itself Researcher led by Han Tian, rather suggests a structural lack of data in a little explored region rather than a recent change in the distribution pattern. In that sense, the experiment with the body of Vaca has not only contributed a specific observation, but has opened a way to review key concepts on the marine biogeography of abyssal species. Know the depths. He find It underlines the usefulness of simple experiments, but carefully designed to obtain data on remote environments, inaccessible already often little understood. The idea of simulating a whale sinking with a cow was not only effective, but proved to be a powerful Ecological magnet able to reveal complex biological interactions. In a context where Climate change and Human activity They are altering ecosystems even at great depth, this type of research is crucial to understand the invisible functioning of the deep ocean. The appearance of eight sleeping sharks where no one was waiting for them, behaving with order, measured aggressiveness and sophisticated adaptive mechanisms, is one more proof that marine depths They keep secrets that we are barely beginning to understand. Image | Ocean-Lond-Atmosphere Research (2025) In Xataka | A Canadian coast had been receiving human feet for years. Science has resolved mystery In Xataka | Carnivorous crustaceans, devouring worms and missing bodies: the scientific mystery of the caimanes at the bottom of the sea

I thought I had a problem with the ABS of my car, but it caught me in surprise to see that it was something completely unexpected: rats

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The ABS light flashing on the dashboard is never a good sign. Almost none Witter of the dashboard It is, but when the engine witness also adds, you start imagining four -digit figures in the workshop budget. The funny thing is that when I took my car to fix it, I discovered something that I never imagined what would happen: The rats ended up biting several cables Internal of my car. The initial diagnosis. When I arrived at the workshop with the warning lights on, the mechanic, after an inspection of the car, assured me that I could change everything The ABS system. A new one for my Seat Ibiza TDI 1.9 of 2005 can be a rather important expense, one of those expenses that you think if you better pass it, since it is dangerously approaches the price through which I could sell the car today. The price of the second -hand and scrapping ABS system, the thing changes. One can lead normally if the ABS does not work, but it is a risk for security, since it compromises the emergency braking and we do not have that help that the car gives us at critical moments, allowing our brakes to end up blocking. The real problem. After almost a week in the workshop and a more detailed inspection, the mechanic discovered the authentic cause of the failure: the ABS system cables and some that communicate with the engine They had been bitten. It was not a normal wear or component failure, but the rats had been roying the car cables. For a rat, gnawing cables and objects that are in its path is their day to day, since their teeth do not stop growing throughout their lives and need some means to polish their teeth. What a pity they had to run into my car. Unexpected, but in a way, relieved. What seemed like a serious problem with the brake system and the emergency light of the engine was solved with a cable repair. The joke came out for about 120 euros. A considerable relief compared to the complete change of the ABS that initially the mechanic had raised. From the workshop they repaired the damaged cables and the dashboard warning indicators were turned off. The background problem. Now the real challenge is not in the car, but in the garage. It is a private garage under a floors building where several vehicles park. Days before I had already seen a rat that was shot from under my car to a hole that is right next to my parking space. From the workshop they recommended preventive measures such as spraying in the vain motor or placing camphor balls, especially useful when the car remains a long time stopped. Of course, this should be done with the car standing and cold. I bought the spray as a temporary measure until they finished solving the hole in the garage. And now what. The priority is to cover the garage hole where the rats access, since the alternative remedies will be of little if the problem persists right next where I appear. Fortunately, it seems that garage insurance will cover the workshop spending, which good news for that part. In addition, we are already mobilizing the community to solve the problem of rats. I could have changed their garage directly, although things are not currently to make this decision lightly. We will see what everything is left. Cover image | Michael Fusert and Svetozar Cenisev In Xataka | The best -selling cars in 2024 and 2025 in Spain

In Castilla-La Mancha there is an unexpected crop that lives a record campaign and quadruple production: the pistachio

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The pistachio is more than a tasty dry fruit. It is also a millmillonary business and in full expansion that, according to The forecasts Data Bridge will exceed 5.8 billion dollars worldwide in less than a decade. In Spain (especially Castilla-La Mancha) Farmers They have noticed of that potential and are dedicating hectares and more hectares of field. Now the Castellanomanchegas cooperatives leave us a clue for how forceful that expansion is being: they expect this campaign to be their production spray records, multiplying by four The results of last exercise. One more test of the Pistachization of the fields. A fact: 8,900 tons. If the forecasts of the sector are met, 2025 will be a good year for the Spanish pistachio. Well no, great. At least if we talk about production. On Wednesday agro-food cooperatives Castilla-La Mancha (an organization that brings together almost 600 organizations of the region) revealed that this campaign expects to reap some 8,900 tons of fruit, which would far exceed the production level of last year and give a new sample of the accelerated rhythm to which They expand The pistachmen for the Castellanoleon field. Does it increase so much? Yeah. According to the agency Agrícola those 8,900 tons would quote the production of last year, which encrypts in just over 2,200. Moreover, community cooperatives already speak of “the greatest registered pistachio harvest to date” in their territory. They also hope that much of the fruits will be “high caliber and quality” and leave ecological farms. The Government of Castilla-La Mancha Calculate That in 2023 the dry pistachio harvest with shell reached 5,580 T in its territory, almost 75% of national production. Even taking that data as a reference, higher than 2024the increase provided by farmers for the current harvest would be remarkable. Why is it important? So it reveals to us about the sector and how it expands in the region. It is not strange that the volume of production dance from one campaign to another, sometimes increasing and in others decreasing. Just a year ago, for example, Castilla-La Mancha cooperatives were waiting for a “prick” in the amount of fruit collected (in November the forecasts pointed to about 4,900 tons of dry pistachio) due to the window character of the trees. Even so that cooperatives foresee that production quadruples this campaign, leaving a result that is promised historical, reveals an increasingly evident trend in Castilla-La Mancha: the growing weight pistachio plantations in the region. Figures on the margin, arrives with a walk through the Province of Toledo To observe how hectares of land that until recently they were dedicated to cereals or grass have been converted into plantations focused on the pistachio. Another figure: 64,400 hectares. The organization has shared Some figures that help to better understand that expansion. According to the spokesman of the Sectorial Commission, Ignacio Lobato, the surface of pistachio planted in Castilla-La Mancha has reached this year the 64,400 hectares. Of these are “in production” 16,400, the vast majority (12,215 ha) in dry land. In fact, the harvest increase this year is explained by the “input into production” of 5,550 ha. “This expansion of the surface in production represents a significant increase of 40% compared to the previous year, which is estimated there were 11,700 ha in production,” insists The professional group. It is not an exclusive phenomenon of the Manchega region. Recently Agroptium published A report That the increase in the surface dedicated to cultivation in Spain as a whole: from 15,000 ha in 2016, it went to 70,000 in 2022 and almost 78,500 in 2023. Earrings of Castilla-La Mancha. The forecasts of Castilla-La Mancha import because the region has managed to make a fundamental foothold in the pistacher sector nationally and internationally, even sneaking Among the main ones Pistacheras del Mundo areas. The data of the autonomous government show that the region brings together around 80% of the total area dedicated to pistachio plantations in the country and that at least 2023 concentrated almost 75% of the production: 5,580 t of dry fruit with a shell of the 7,550 t shelter of the whole of Spain. Images | Jake Belluci (Flickr) In Xataka | Dubai chocolate fever has had an unexpected effect: it has dynamited the world pistachio market

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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Tsutomu Uchida is 64 years old, is a retired entrepreneur and for a while now He spends hours working on a plot located in the Shizuoka districtwhere different cultivation techniques prove. So far unusual. The funny thing is that Uchida is not dedicated to Plant riceneither soy nor Mikana very popular citrus in the region. No. His interest has little to do with traditional vegetables. What is trying to grow since 2020 are avocados, a plant that wakes up more interest in Japanese agriculture. The reason: the market … and climate change. What happened? That in Japan, Rice landcherries and citrus, there are farmers who begin to Look with interest A new variety of crop, a very popular in other latitudes but that has so far had an almost testimonial weight in the country of the rising sun: avocado. And the most curious thing is what that curiosity is awakening. Beyond the growing Internal demand or the Production increase Worldwide, the factor that has led Japanese farmers to plant avocados is climate change. Shizuoka avocado. The news I advanced it A few days ago The Japan Times: More and more farmers in Shizuoka Prefecture show interest in avocados. The phenomenon is curious for several reasons. First, because the traditional cultivation of that region is another good, the Mikana citrus similar to mandarin. The second reason is that this interest It is promoted by local authorities. Shizuoka Prefecture has just activated a triennial plan that aspires, among other goals, to develop cultivation techniques and sales channels focused on avocado. With that purpose the institution plans to invest over the coming months 18 million yen (about 100,000 euros) in investigations to improve local production. Putting his head. If everything goes as planned, in three years you will publish a manual for farmers. It may seem like a modest initiative, but it is quite significant: Shizuoka is one of the main producing regions of Mikan From Japan and right now the avocado cultivation in the country is very small. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, in 2022 there were hardly any 34 tons who came out above all from Saga, Ehime and Wakayama, territories that (exact!) have always stood out for their citrus. TEMPERATURES QUESTION. The most curious thing is that this growing interest in avocado is not explained only for its internal demand or market prospects. At stake there is another equal or even more relevant factor for Japanese farmers: climate change. Their effects already They let themselves feel in the Rice crops and They threaten to punish to much of the plantations of Mikan of the country while They favor to those of avocado, a tree originally from Mesoamerica. “We cannot simply advance complaining about the negative impact of change on the agricultural environment. We are trying to convert this adversity into an opportunity and make the most of it,” Recognize to The Japan Times Yuji Hirano, responsible for agricultural strategies in the government of Shizuoka. With that clear idea, the prefecture probes the pros and cons of betting on a dozen subtropical crops in the region. Among them there was one that stood out for their “pull” in the market and that could also be favored by the weather: the avocado. But … what are they based on? In forecasts that draw such a promising scenario for avocado as a funeral for the Mikan. In March the National Organization for Agricultural and Food Research (Naro) public A report in which he warns that the future of citrus in Japan “will depend largely” on greenhouse gas emissions while avocado suitable areas could expand its current size more than 2.5 times by the middle of the century. An uncertain horizon. Nikkei It goes further And he warns that climate change can make that at the end of the Japanese century find that 80% of the areas that are right now for the cultivation of tangerines cease to be. With the land suitable for avocado plantations, a subtropical fruit, the opposite would happen: they would multiply by 7.7. “Maybe you think that a temperature difference of 1ºC does not mean much,” Clarify Toshihiko Sugiura, from Naro. “But for him Mikan It makes the difference. “ Hence the scenario can vary greatly depending on what happens in the coming years. If for 2100 the temperature rise does not exceed 1.4ºC the country may keep 80% of the current surface destined for Mikan. If the increase is 4.3ºC as soon as any. However, and although the increase in temperatures may make it easier, the avocado is not guaranteed in Japan either: the winter cold waves would mean a serious threat. The other key: the market. The other factor that explains Shizuoka’s interest in avocado should be sought in the market. The Japan Times remember that today the fruit is much more popular in the Japanese fruit shops than a few decades ago. And the data show it. In 1988, only 3,400 tons were imported. In 2020 there were already 80,000. That boom coincided with an increasing exposure of the fruit in the country’s media, which began to highlight its nutritional value as “superfiment” rich in vitamins and fiber. Today the avocado is already integrated from the diet of many Japanese and it is easy to find in supermarkets, although the nation basically depends on imports. The vast majority (at least in 2020) comes from Mexico, where they start around 85% of importsand Peru, which brings together about 11%. National production is scarce and is sold at prices greater than foreign fruit. Images | Eddie Pipocas (UNSPLASH), 光曦 刘 (UNSPLASH) and Rui Hao Lim (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | Japan is suffering a bankruptcy record from Ramen. And in part it is the result of the “1,000 yen barrier”

China has commissioned the largest battery of all its electricity network to an unexpected company: Tesla

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China has no problem parking Commercial tensions with the United States If it is for the benefit of the country. And the country needs Tesla for an increasingly pressing task: stabilize a network with more and more renewable participation. The largest battery in the largest network. China has selected Tesla to develop what will be the largest energy storage station at network scale throughout the country, surpassing the 1 GWh battery park in Shandong. The American giant He signed an agreement with the local government of Shanghai for 4,000 million yuan, 557 million dollars, to lift a gigantic station that can actively participate in the spot electricity market. China has the largest electricity grid and a renewable energy generation capacity in constant and massive growth. The Tesla battery station You can buy and store energy When demand and price are low, and then sell it to the network during consumption peaks, helping to balance supply and demand, and improving the general stability of the system. The business is in the megapacks. The Energy Division of Tesla does not stop growing, to the point of become a fundamental pillar of the company. The project engine is megapacks, Large storage units in 3.9 MWh batteries which can be used to stabilize the electricity grid and avoid supply cuts. It is no accident that the most ambitious battery station in China will be built in Shanghai. Just four months ago, Tesla launched a new Megapacks factory in the Lin-Gang area, where is also its car factory “Gigafactory Shanghai”. The new “Megafactory” is the first plant of this type out of the United States, and although it has barely been operational since February, it has already produced more than 100 megapacks. Tesla gets into the patio of Catl and Byd. They are “only business”, but the movement is still striking considering that Tesla is competing with Catl and Bydthe two Chinese giants who take 54% of the world battery market. Another way to see it is that China needs many batteries By the end of the year, the government expects to reach 40 GW of storage. But taking into account that the country installs half of the entire new capacity for renewables (329 GW in 2024), by the time the Tesla battery station in Shanghai enters service, the goal will have continued to rise. And Tesla will be just one of the puzzle pieces. Image | Tesla In Xataka | China manufactures more batteries than anyone. The problem: they accumulate next to the solar panels without storing energy

We thought that Japan’s tourist boom was an opportunity for AI. It has become an unexpected remedy

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Japan is one of those countries that one thinks knowing without having stepped on it. For his millenary temples, For their trains that exceed 300 km/hfor its technology and for its robots. That is why it does not strange that Millions of people Make the bags every year to travel their cities, their mountains and even its less known rural areas. What is surprising is this: how AI begins to break through where, until now, only human talent was accepted. The paradox is as Japanese as its culture: a country where hospitality is deeply valued, and, at the same time, where those who can practice it are scarce. Because if something has revealed the tourist tsunami that Japan is receiving is that the lack of bilingual guides has become a serious problem. It is not new. Many retired during the difficult years that the sector was going through during the pandemic, others changed from sector. But now the situation squeezes, and the country begins to respond. Where before there was a guide with smile, now there is an app with ia The scarcity of guides is not an anecdote. It is a reality that begins to leave a mark on the experience of thousands of travelers. As Nikkei Asia collectsJapan had something more than 46,000 bilingual guides. The figure included both licensed professionals and certified by local governments, and even people with sufficient knowledge and to perform that role. Four years later, the figure had fallen almost 20%. In 2023 there were about 37,700. The trend is still down. The reasons are understood quickly. The pandemia devastated the tourist calendars, froze reservations and left thousands of guides Freelance No stable income. Many looked for another way. Some retired. And although years have passed since those times, what has remained is an aging template: about 60 % of licensed guides are over 60 years old. If we talk about the official exam, in 2024 only 380 people approved it. The agencies notice it. Some recognize that they have had to Cancel or reprogram tours Because, simply, there was no one available to attend them. Before, when their workforce was at the limit, they could resort to independent professionals. Now, not that. And although Since 2018 Japan allows Make payment tours without the need for the official license, a good part of tourists and agencies continue to prefer authorized guides, with knowledge, accreditations and, above all, trust. Today, in places like Okinawa, there are tourists who prefer the robotic voice of applications such as the operator Cerulean Blue before running out of tour. The system detects its location by means of the mobile GPS, shows real -time information with augmented reality and active audioguías as the visitor advances. That gesture, almost imperceptible, says much of the present … and perhaps also of the future. Because AI still does not improvise jokesHe does not feel pride when talking about his city, he does not respond with a smile. But when the guide does not arrive, technology seems to be ready to respond. And the most interesting thing is that tourism is not an isolated case. What is happening with the guides is part of a broader pattern that begins to be noticed strongly in Japan. In agriculture, for example, Companies are using Apps based on AI capable of identifying plants diseases with just one photo. In schools, English teachers do not supply, so some already use virtual assistants who talk with students. In public administration, municipalities Like Yokosuka They have started using Chatgpt To summarize meetings and write documents. According to calculations of the Consistory itself, the time saving is counted in thousands of hours a year. All this responds to the same structural problem: the lack of hands. Japan is a technological power, yes. But it is also a country that is aging and has a very low birth rate. Images | Micah Camper | Angel | Geoff Oliver In Xataka | Japan has realized that to welcome 60 million tourists, something lacks: workers in the hotels

At his departure from Valladolid, Ryanair has left an unexpected death injured: airport coffee

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Ryanair’s impact is not only counted by the number of flights he leaves in an airport. Not at least where they are a key piece in the operation of a regional square such as Valladolid, where Its march has reduced by 60% The number of travelers who pass through their facilities. Last January, the company announced that this summer would close operations at the Valladolid airport. The decision entered into the Pressure measures that the company is applying against the government for discrepancies related to the collection of hand suitcases or rates that Aena Cobra for operating in the facilities. This pressure tool translated into a reduction in operations in seven airports. In Vigo, for example, Ryanair has eliminated their seats by 61% available. But the highest figure is not always the one that does the most damage because you have to pay attention to the specific impact that the company has on the airport. And in Valladolid it was huge. So much that the volume of travelers at the city airport has been reduced by 63.2% According to data offered by AENA. But the company’s march not only has a direct impact on the offer of flights that are now available the Valladolid. It impacts the workers of the airport itself. Like those of its cafeteria. Three workers dismissed due to lack of work The story brings it first hand The North of Castile. The local media has interviewed César Carreras, a cafeteria dealer of the Valladolid airport who says that with the march of Ryanair, 80% of the clientele has vanished. In less than a year, Carreras has seen how the airport was emptied without Ryanair’s operations (which stopped operating on March 28) but with The previous flying of Vuelingwhich stopped offering the Valladolid-Barcelona route in June last year. Right now, Binter is the only company that operates the airport but has no daily trips. “This month They only work two days a week“, says the head of the cafeteria. Specifies that travelers have left but that there is also an employee hole, since only four workers of all employees that the company maintained in Valladolid remains in the facilities although performing other work. He explains that only the days that there are flights and just for three hours are exploding to cafeteria because the rest of the day the airport remains practically empty. He explains that now he only works the cafeteria and that he has had to fire three employees. At the moment, it remains in the concession because it would have “problems” to leave it and because it can give the service itself since it has another open business. When Ryanair announced that Valladolid left and Jerez and what reduced its operations I already talked about the decision would leave “Half -empty regional airports” although he blamed the march and reduction of operations to the alleged high rates of Aena. Those Aena rates They are the ones used to maintain the minimum services of an airport (security, cleaning …) and from the company ensure that they are extremely low in regional airports because there are multiple discounts to make them attractive. At the moment, they say, they are operating just two euros per passenger. What has long resonates is the fine that the Ministry of Consumption imposed on Ryanair for the collection of the hand luggage suitcase. For the Government, the allowed dimensions are extremely reduced and do not cover the definition of “essential” to which it obliges European regulations. Consequently imposed a sanction of more than 100 million euros. That fine was the one that precipitated everything, since Ryanair understands that without a more concrete definition he has no reason to let in the cabin that They exceed 40x20x25 cm measures collected in its most basic rate. Therefore, they assure that the collection for the cabin trolley It is perfectly legal. Something that seems, It will be ratified in a few months by the European Union itself. Photo | Fred Rivett and Fahmi Fakhrudin In Xataka | Curves are coming in summer: Ryanair wants more controllers in Spain and if he does not get them there will be delays

The house is getting so impossible in Madrid that people are returning to an unexpected place: seseña

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Real estate markets have their own symbols. For years Seseña was from Lick, The real estate bubble which exploded in 2008. Today is something very different: the housing crisis which faces Madrid (and Spain), which has allowed that ancient ghost city associated with Francisco Hernando‘El Pozero’, being reborn strongly. With prices in climbing And a serious housing deficit In the capital, more and more people look out of Madrid when they have to look for a house, to localities such as ValladolidSegovia … or seseña, where It has resumed construction and arise New promotions residential AND It is not the only “Ghost city” that is gaining impulse thanks to the families expelled from Madrid for a market that increasingly tightens Your pockets. Of brick bubble icon … For years Seseña, especially THE PAU THE QUIÑÓN (The city projected by ‘Paco el Pocero’) was an icon of the years of brick excess and The real estate bubble. Also of his hangover. Those who bought in the middle of the urban maelstrom found a kind of “Ghost Barrio”homes in the hands of banks and a fractured market in which prices did not stop falling. If in 2007 a two bedroom floor cost almost 200,000 euros, seven years later, with the banks desperate to get rid of the properties, it could be bought by less than half: about 60,000 euros. … to enjoy a golden age. Today things are different in Seseña. After years with half -building works and worried For the Okupas, the town is living a new golden age. Families arrive. They open business and services. Projects such as PARQUIJOTE. And they raise New promotions. In 2023 The newspaper He spoke of two major projects: an urbanization of 156 houses that moved between 110,500 and just over 200,000 euros and another of chalets. The change has been cooking for some time. Almost a decade ago The countryHe dedicated him A wide report in which he explained how the residential city the Quiñón was gaining impulse little by little, with families, businesses and services. At that time the newspaper spoke of 6,411 inhabitants. Last year Antena3 again analyzed the situation of the Macro Urbanization Toledana and He found An increase in the number of residents, in addition to a growing demand for housing. “Three years ago you could find a house easily here. Now it is almost impossible,” explained At that time Vanesa, a woman who had installed time before in the Toledo urbanization after buying a four -room house with storage room, garage and pool for about 150,000 euros. Waiting list to buy. The last clue on the rebirth of the urbanization of Seseña gave it A few days ago Reuters, who has found The growing interest by the town. Although it is about 40 kilometers south of the capital and does not have the best connections and public transport, more and more families seem interested in settling in their apartments. Reuters speak With an agency that had a waiting list of 70 people for each home. Seseña (and something else). The area has also seen how the new work was also activated. Promotora Impact Homes, for example, is promoting a promotion of 156 homes which started in 2023. Its goal is to have it ready throughout this year. In the sector there is even talk of presale levels of almost 50% In new buildings. “Seseña is 100%,” celebrates the mayor, Jaime de Hita. His is not the only town in Madrid that has seen how his brick was activated. Something similar It has happened in Valdeluzurbanization located 75 km from Madrid that It was halfway after the outbreak of the real estate bubble. Its mayor wait that the population triggers over the next few years. Reuters appointment even a third example: an urbanization located on the outskirts of Bernuy de Porrerosapproximately 100 kilometers north of Madrid, which has also recovered the activity after remaining almost abandoned. And what is the reason? All these populations have something in common: their relative proximity to Madrid, which makes them an attractive destination for families that end up being expelled from the capital for the high cost of their home. Is The case For example, from Nestor, an employee of the construction sector who four years ago left Carabanchel to move with his family to Seseña. Living in Seseña requires you to get up every day at dawn and take the 6.30 h bus that takes it to the capital, but the price gap makes that discomfort more than assumable. In his day Nestor moved to Seseña because the rentals were there 20% lower than those of Madrid, Explainand a few months ago he decided to take another step and become an owner: together with his wife, he bought an apartment in the Toledo town for 240,000 euros. “We chose this close site because we can pay it. Madrid is very expensive right now,” The man tells. Is it a unique case? No. It comes rapidly to the newspaper library to meet Testimonies of families who have decided to settle in Seseña or professionals in the sector who attend the rebirth of urbanization and its buildings. “They seemed monsters that were going to stand for the future, but the need for housing has caused them to reactivate,” confesses A real estate to Tele5. “We move in prices below 200,000 euros. That is impossible in Madrid.” Money issue (and km). Seseña is not the only town to which the families expelled by the Madrid real estate marketthat only in the last year has seen how housing became more expensive, According to idealist. The improvement (and cheaper) of communications, especially the train, has caused Segovia or even Valladolid being hosting people who work for companies in the capital. In those municipalities they find homes at prices that, such as I recently recognized A family installed in Valladolid, “Nor would they smell” in Madrid. Images | Seseña City Council, Wikipedia and Seseña is more (Flickr) In … Read more

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