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☆ The West’s oil war against Russia is starting to lose momentum
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

"Russia's export revenue in April was down substantially year-on-year, mainly due to the impact of the EU import ban and lower oil prices. Russia's oil revenue recovery expected to continueAt the start of the year, data showed Russia's revenue from fossil fuel exports had collapsed in December. It appeared to underscore the effectiveness of policymakers targeting Russia's oil revenues and sparked calls for even tougher measures to help Kyiv prevail. CREA's latest findings, however, show that Russia's oil tax revenues rose 6% month on month in April due to the increase of export revenues in March. It means that after bottoming out at the start of 2023, Russia's oil tax revenues have since recovered due to increased sales.

Persons: Vladimir Putin's, Lauri Myllyvirta, CREA, Myllyvirta, Vladimir Putin, Vyacheslav Lebedev, Mikhail Klimentyev, Isaac Levi Organizations: Europa Press, Getty, Centre for Research, Energy, Clean, European Union, Seven, Clean Air Energy, Coalition, CNBC, Kremlin, Afp Locations: Ceuta, Spain, Russia, Ukraine, Finnish, Moscow, Hiroshima, Japan, U.S, EU

☆ Spain to launch app to find out if men shun household chores
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-18 | by ( Jack Guy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Spain’s equality ministry says it will launch an app designed to monitor the sharing of chores between members of a household, as part of a drive to improve gender equality. “What surveys tell us is that women spend a lot more time on household chores than men do,” said Rodríguez, who added that the app will allow each member of the household to input the time they spend on chores. According to a survey from Spain’s national statistics institute, published in December, 45.9% of female respondents said they carried out the majority of household chores, compared to just 14.9% of men. Rodríguez emphasized that all sorts of different tasks should be considered household chores. “All of those who are offended by the household chores app are really offended by the possibility that they will have to start doing their bit at home,” she wrote.

Catalonia, Spain CNN —Standing in his field of stunted, withered maize, Santi Caudevilla is very worried. It’s becoming increasingly hard to make ends meet as crops shrivel through lack of water – or cannot be planted at all. “This is the worst period that we have had for the last 100 years,” Samuel Reyes, director of the Catalan Water Agency, told CNN. Allison Nussbaum/NASA Allison Nussbaum/NASA These two images show shrinking water reservoirs in the Catalonia region of Spain. In April, Spain requested emergency funding from the European Union to help farmers cope with the impacts of the drought.

☆ Europe drought: This once-thriving lake has all but dried up -- a story repeated across Europe
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

While in the United States, the snow and rain that have pummeled California have helped fill reservoirs and ease unrelenting drought, winter has been far from kind to many parts of Europe. A buoy is seen on the banks of the partially dry Lake Montbel as France faces a record winter dry spell. “Lake Montbel remains at an abnormally low level,” Franck Solacroup, the regional director of the Adour-Garonne Water Agency, which covers the area that includes Lake Montbel, told CNN. Farmers like Rouquet, who rely on the lake, are having to make tough decisions on what to grow. “This is the most extreme winter in terms of low snow cover,” she told CNN.

☆ How Ukraine's 'lifeline' railway runs even as Russia bombs it, according to a man fighting to keep the trains on time
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-25 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Alexander Kamyshin, CEO of Ukrainian Railways, explained to Insider how the operation keeps going. "Some people say that railways is the lifeline of Ukraine," Kamyshin said in a recent interview with Insider. Kamyshin oversees Ukrainian Railways, the state-owned company that has kept Ukraine's economy and people moving through a brutal year of war. AP Photo/Leo CorreaBut even with the burdens of war, Ukrainian Railways also managed to innovate and expand during 2022. We want to keep growing, to keep constructing, and to keep doing new projects even during the war," Kamyshin said.

☆ 'The Last of Us' is based on real science: A fungus pandemic is unlikely, but not impossible
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-16 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

"The Last of Us" on HBO Max depicts a zombie apocalypse caused by a fungus pandemic. Here's the science fact and fiction behind the show, and the possibility of a fungal pandemic. The new scenario, first realized in the video game that the show is based on, is making viewers wonder whether a fungus pandemic can happen in real life. "A fungal pandemic is definitely possible," Norman Van Rhijn, a mycologist researching fungal infections at the University of Manchester, told Insider in an email. Still, fungal infections are on the rise worldwide, and researchers are concerned that more and more people are at risk.

☆ A fungus pandemic is unlikely, but not impossible. There's real science behind the mushroom zombies in HBO's new series 'The Last of Us.'
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-29 | by ( Morgan Mcfall-Johnsen | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

The new HBO Max series "The Last of Us" depicts a zombie apocalypse caused by a fungus pandemic. Here's the science fact and fiction behind the show, and the possibility of a fungal pandemic. The new scenario, first realized in the video game that the show is based on, is making viewers wonder whether a fungus pandemic can happen in real life. "A fungal pandemic is definitely possible," Norman Van Rhijn, a mycologist researching fungal infections at the University of Manchester, told Insider in an email. Still, fungal infections are on the rise worldwide, and researchers are concerned that more and more people are at risk.

☆ 1 dead in Spanish church machete attacks, terror link probed
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

The assailant then went to a second church, Nuestra Señora de La Palma, a five-minute walk away, where he attacked the sexton. Police gather outside the Church of San Isidro, in Algeciras, Spain on Jan. 25, 2023. Nono Rico / Europa Press via APThe Algeciras town hall said the sexton was named Diego Valencia and identified the wounded priest as Antonio Rodríguez. The town hall said he was hospitalized and in stable condition. The town hall declared a day of mourning when flags will fly at half-staff.

☆ Kohl’s, Bed Bath & Beyond and Uniqlo add self-checkout
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Nathaniel Meyersohn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

Plus Uniqlo, Primark and other chains have started to roll out self-checkout machines at some of their stores. A Uniqlo self-checkout machine in Spain. This is a problem for self-checkout: customers aren’t used to removing security tags themselves, and most self-checkout machines aren’t equipped to do so. To get around this, some apparel stores are using wireless “radio frequency identification” security tags, known as RFID, on merchandise instead of hard tags. Stores such as Uniqlo have invested in new self-checkout machines that automatically recognize these tags, eliminating the need for customers to scan any products themselves or remove security tags.

☆ Thousands march in Spain to demand end of violence against women
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-25 | by ( Elena Rodriguez | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/6] A demonstrator with a red paint on her face attends a protest to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in Madrid, Spain, November 25, 2022. REUTERS/Violeta Santos MouraMADRID, Nov 25 (Reuters) - Thousands of people took to the streets in Madrid and Barcelona on Friday evening in marches to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. Since 2003, when statistics started to officially count fatalities, 1,171 women have died as a result of gender violence in Spain, according to the Ministry of Equality. The law, known as the "only yes means yes" law, classifies any non-consensual sex as rape but also sets lighter minimum sentences for certain sexual crimes. Chants of "only yes means yes" rang through the crowds on Friday evening.

☆ Thieves stole 132 bottles of wine worth $200,000 from a Michelin-starred restaurant by going through an abandoned pharmacy next door in a 'very precise' heist
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

132 bottles of wine costing an average of $1,500 each were stolen from a Madrid restaurant. The robbers made an entrance hole in a pharmacy next door, and escaped without tripping any alarms. The thieves went for the most prestigious bottles, with the looted wines worth more than $1,500 each on average. The police investigation found that the burglars entered through an abandoned pharmacy next door. Wine worth thousands of dollars was stolen from another Spanish restaurant last year.

☆ All you need to know about the Nord Stream gas leaks — and why Europe suspects 'gross sabotage'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Sam Meredith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

An initial crime scene investigation last week into what caused the gas leaks on the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines reinforced suspicions of "gross sabotage." The explosions triggered four gas leaks at four locations — two in Denmark's exclusive economic zone and two in Sweden's exclusive economic zone. Neither of the Nord Stream pipelines was transporting gas at the time of the blasts, although they both contained pressurized methane — a potent greenhouse gas. A satellite image of the Nord Stream leak in the Baltic Sea, captured on Sept. 26, 2022. Environmental impactThe unexplained Nord Stream gas leaks pose serious questions about the incident's environmental impact.

☆ Shorter showers, slower driving and an Eiffel Tower blackout: How Europe plans to cut gas usage this winter
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"We're already there … savings this month have already surpassed the 15% target," said senior energy strategist from Goldman Sachs, Samantha Dart. Kenzo Tribouillard | Afp | Getty ImagesShe added that northwestern Europe's estimated August gas consumption was 13% below average. "We believe this is more than enough savings to go through winter without blackouts or a heating crisis," Dart said, assuming that the average winter weather scenario holds. "Achieving the 15% reduction target vs business as usual will be difficult, but not impossible," Gloystein told CNBC. A cold winter could make it difficult to achieve the demand reduction needed in Europe.

PARIS/MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) - European governments outlined new measures on Monday to cope with potential energy shortages this winter and raced to improve energy networks to share power, with Russian gas flows still running at severely reduced rates amid the Ukraine war. German buyers briefly reserved capacity on Monday to receive Russian gas via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, once one of Europe’s major gas supply routes, for the first time since the line was shut three weeks ago. European politicians say that is a pretext and accuse Moscow of using energy as a weapon. Russian gas flows to Europe via Ukraine, although much reduced, have nevertheless continued. ‘NEVER’While French energy group EDF is racing to repair corrosion-hit nuclear reactors, “exceptional” measures this winter could include localised electricity cuts if the winter is cold and EDF’s plans are delayed, Wargon said.

☆ Pagube de 1,4 miliarde de euro după ninsorile istorice din Madrid. Autoritățile vor ca orașul să fie declarat zonă de dezastru natural
▼ + stars: | 2021-01-15 | by ( Publika.Md - Aici Sunt Știrile | ) www.publika.md time to read: +1 min

Ninsorile puternice care au lovit săptămâna trecută capitala Spaniei au provocat pagube de aproape un miliard și jumătate de euro, așa că autoritățile madrilene vor ca orașul să fie declarat zonă de dezastru natural, pentru a putea primi fonduri de urgență. "Filomena, cea mai gravă furtună de iarnă înregistrată în Spania în ultimele decenii, a provocat daune de aproximativ 1,4 miliarde de euro în capitala Madrid. Până acum zăpadă a fost curățată doar de pe 15% din străzile capitalei, în timp ce școlile și grădinițele rămân închise până luni. Furtuna de zăpadă care a lovit statul iberic a blocat sute de drumuri în întreaga țară, iar echipele de intervenție au ajuns abia acum la oamenii izolați din regiunea Madrid. Temperaturile din zona Madridului au scăzut din nou miercuri noaptea până la minus 12 grade Celsius la periferia oraşului.

Persons: Jose Luis Martinez Almeida, Reuters Organizations: Europa Press, Madrid . Le Locations: Spaniei, Spania, Madrid, Europa, iberic, Madrid ., Madridului

Filomena, cea mai gravă furtună de iarnă înregistrată în Spania în ultimele decenii, a provocat daune de aproximativ 1,4 miliarde de euro (1,7 miliarde de dolari) în capitala Madrid, potrivit primarului Jose Luis Martinez Almeida, informează joi DPA. Cifra include pierderile de venituri pentru economie şi pagubele la nivelul infrastructurii din capitală, a indicat edilul. Madridul a continuat să lupte joi cu urmările ninsorilor abundente de la sfârşitul săptămânii trecute, urmate de un val de ger, a relatat Europa Press. Până acum zăpadă a fost curățată doar de pe 15% din străzile capitalei, în timp ce școlile și grădinițele rămân închise până luni. Furtuna de zăpadă care a lovit statul iberic a blocat sute de drumuri în întreaga țară, iar echipele de intervenție au ajuns abia acum la oamenii izolați din regiunea Madrid.

Persons: Jose Luis Martinez Almeida, Reuters Organizations: Europa Press, Madrid . Le Locations: Spania, Madrid, Europa, iberic, Madrid ., Madridului

☆ Meet Amancio Ortega, the fiercely private Zara founder who built a $77 billion fast-fashion empire
▼ + stars: | 2019-10-29 | by ( Katie Warren | Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: 1 min

Despite running a major fashion retailer for four decades, Ortega is intensely private — there were no public photographs of him until 1999, and in 2012, Bloomberg noted that he had only ever granted interviews to three journalists. One Zara employee who worked with him told The Economist in 2016 that "the true story of Amancio Ortega has not been told." Amancio Ortega in 2013. Europa Press/Europa Press via Getty ImagesSource: Bloomberg, The EconomistAshley Lutz, Mallory Schlossberg, and Melissa Wiley contributed to an earlier version of this story.

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