Latest news with #ThomasCOEX
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Man Utd and Spurs face season-defining Europa League duel
Tottenham players train at the San Mames stadium in Bilbao, on the eve of the Europa League final (Thomas COEX) Manchester United and Tottenham face off in the Europa League final in Bilbao on Wednesday with both clubs eyeing a golden ticket into the Champions League after historically poor seasons. The two teams have lost a combined 39 times in the Premier League, with 20-time champions United an embarrassing 16th in the table and Spurs 17th, a single spot above the relegation zone. Advertisement Yet one of them will be celebrating at the final whistle at the San Mames stadium -- not just a European trophy but a financial windfall worth potentially upwards of £100 million ($134 million). Ruben Amorim, in his first campaign at Old Trafford, knows that victory will not solve United's long-standing and deep-rooted problems, but he admits it would change the mood. "We have bigger things to deal with than that, to put this club back to the top," the 40-year-old said on the eve of the game in northern Spain. But he added: "(If we win) people will look at our team in a different way, because winning a European title is really important." Advertisement The former Sporting Lisbon boss was keen to stress that Champions League revenue is not pivotal to United's future due to the size and pulling power of the club. But football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes it is, in monetary terms, "the most important match in the club's history". The huge cash windfall from various revenue streams would be a major boost for United, who are struggling to balance the books, providing vital funds for a squad rebuild. - Postecoglou exit? - The Portuguese manager's job appears safe whatever the result, even though United are destined for their worst league finish for half a century. Advertisement But many observers believe Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, 59, is heading for the exit door regardless of whether he ends the club's 17-year trophy drought. "I've said to the lads from day one, nothing is guaranteed in life, nothing is guaranteed in sport," said the former Australia and Celtic coach. "You've just got to try and make sure you take every opportunity before you and that's what I've done my whole career." Postecoglou, in his second season at Spurs, feels he has unfinished business in London and believes winning the Europa League could be a "turning point" for the club. Advertisement "Until you actually do it, then you're fair game for people to say, 'Well, you've always kind of fluffed it on the big stage'," he said earlier this month. Tottenham, who have not won silverware since the 2008 League Cup, have won the Europa League twice, in its former guise as the UEFA Cup, but not since 1984. The game itself -- the sixth all-English final in European football history -- is too close to call. Spurs have beaten United three times this season -- twice in the Premier League and once in the League Cup. But three-time European champions United, chasing a first European triumph since the 2016/17 Europa League, have recent trophy-winning pedigree, picking up the League Cup and the FA Cup under former manager Erik ten Hag over the past two seasons. Advertisement The only league matches either club have won since February 2 have been against sides who are heading down to the Championship, or each other. Yet they have found a way to keep winning in the Europa League. United, the only side unbeaten in continental competition this season, reached the final with a 7-1 aggregate win over Athletic Bilbao, denying the Spanish side a fairytale final in their own stadium. Tottenham waltzed past Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt 5-1 on aggregate. United boast the standout player in captain Bruno Fernandes and the trophy-winning nous of Casemiro, who won five Champions League titles with Real Madrid. Postecoglou confirmed on Tuesday that midfielder Lucas Bergvall would not be fit to face United. James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski are also out. jw/gj
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Science
- Forbes
Spain's Train Crisis Was A Wake-Up Call. Could Hydrail Trains Be The Answer?
People wait outside the Atocha train station in Madrid after its closure as a massive power outage ... More hits Spain on April 28, 2025. Power went out across all of Spain and Portugal today, cutting cellphone and internet networks, halting trains and trapping people in elevators, officials said. The operator, Red Electrica, said it would likely take six to 10 hours to restore power in the country and urged people not to speculate as to the cause of the outage. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images) In the middle of the day on 28 April 2025, Spain lived a modern replay of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day the Earth Stood Still. In the film, paternalistic aliens cut electricity worldwide to force humanity to reconsider its nuclear arms race. In Spain's case, there were no aliens—just an all-too-human failure in the electric grid. But the result was eerily similar: everything stopped. Like much of Europe, Spain's rail system still depends on 19th-century overhead electrification—a technology first developed in Tsarist Russia. What once marked a leap in industrial modernity has become an ageing and increasingly fragile network. A single fault in the grid, even hundreds of kilometres away, can bring entire train systems to a halt. That April day in Spain, it did exactly that. Passengers stranded in the open countryside were the lucky ones. Those caught in tunnels faced a darker, more claustrophobic ordeal. But this high-profile failure has cast new light on an alternative Spain has been quietly exploring for almost two decades: hydrail, or hydrogen-powered rail. Unlike conventional electric trains that depend on external power lines, hydrail carries its energy onboard in the form of compressed or liquid hydrogen. No wires. No dependency on the grid. Just trains that keep moving—even when everything else doesn't. Widespread adoption of hydrail would have made the April paralysis all but impossible. More than that, it would represent a significant leap in energy diversification and resilience—two things climate-stressed infrastructure now urgently needs. Spain wasn't caught entirely off guard. In fact, it was one of the first countries to seriously explore hydrogen-powered rail. In 2006, Dr Carlos Navas attended the Second International Hydrail Conference in Herning, Denmark. Two years later, he hosted the Fourth Conference in Valencia. By 2011, Spain's narrow-gauge operator FEVE had already demonstrated a hydrogen tram in the Principality of Asturias—years ahead of similar efforts in China or Germany. Today, Spain is set to lead again. A recent breakthrough positions the country to pioneer high-speed hydrail. The driver? Economics. With low population density in many regions, Spain faces some of the highest per-passenger track electrification costs in Europe: "Very roughly," says Stan Thompson, co-founder of the Mooresville Hydrail Initiative, 'in US dollars, the capital cost of new track electrification is around $15 milion per track mile.' Hydrail, by contrast, offers a cheaper and more flexible solution that sidesteps the need for costly fixed-line electrification. Spain is not alone. Germany is already running the Saltzgitter-built Coradia iLint. China has deployed hydrogen trams in Foshan. And this summer, the first U.S. hydrogen passenger line opens in California between San Bernardino and Redlands. TOPSHOT - Passengers wait along a platform to board a train at Santa Justa railway station in ... More Seville on April 29, 2025, the day after a massive power cut affecting the entire Iberian peninsula and the south of France. Electricity was restored to almost all of Spain and Portugal on April 29 morning, allowing a gradual return to normal life in the two countries, which were hit on April 28 by a giant blackout that lasted up to ten or even twenty hours depending on the region. The return of power has enabled rail traffic to be restored on several major routes, including Madrid-Seville and Madrid-Barcelona, according to the national company Renfe. However, traffic remains suspended on several other major routes, as the authorities have given priority to restoring suburban trains. (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP) (Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP via Getty Images) Thompson – the man who coined the term 'hydrail' in 2003 – sees the writing on the wall for traditional electrification. 'With the soaring cost of copper as we 'electrify everything,' the old model is becoming unsustainable,' he says. New overhead lines are not only expensive to install—they're also costly to maintain, at roughly $150,000 per mile per year. As long as the global push for electrification continues, copper is expected to remain a strategic bottleneck—and a rising cost factor in infrastructure projects like electrified rail. Copper prices are hitting record highs in 2025 due to unprecedented demand from the global energy transition, technological advancements, and infrastructure upgrades, all while supply growth is hampered by production challenges and slow mine development. Geopolitical uncertainty and trade policies are adding to the price volatility and upward pressure. In a copper-scarce world, hydrail offers unique advantages: hydrail systems use substantially less copper than traditional electrified rail because they eliminate the need for copper-intensive trackside power delivery systems. Copper use is largely limited to the train itself, making hydrail a less copper-dependent technology for rail transport. And Thompson believes that salvaging copper from existing electrified corridors may help finance the switch to hydrogen. 'When the first two or three overhead systems have gone hydrail,' Thompson predicts, 'the rest will come down like dominoes.' Slow dominoes, perhaps—but the 140-year lifespan of aging rail infrastructure is looking increasingly hard to justify. And beyond cost, overhead train power has other drawbacks. Utility engineers aren't fans—ground currents from the lines can interfere with water systems, telecoms, and other underground infrastructure. City planners, too, have long been frustrated. Despite years of effort to bury power lines and telephone cables, railway corridors remain cluttered with conspicuous poles, wires, and metalwork. People leave the Atocha train station in Madrid after its closure as a massive power outage hits ... More Spain on April 28, 2025. Power went out across all of Spain and Portugal today, cutting cellphone and internet networks, halting trains and trapping people in elevators, officials said. The operator, Red Electrica, said it would likely take six to 10 hours to restore power in the country and urged people not to speculate as to the cause of the outage. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) (Photo by THOMAS COEX/AFP via Getty Images) Curiously, the story of hydrail's potential to ride out power grid failures begins in the United States. In the early 2000s, the U.S. Congress funded development of the first hydrail locomotive under the George W. Bush administration. Built by BNSF Railways and Vehicle Projects LLC, the train wasn't just intended for freight—it was designed as a self-propelled mobile power plant, capable of supplying emergency electricity to hospitals and other critical infrastructure after natural disasters like hurricanes. Its tractive power was successfully demonstrated on military bases in the Western U.S., but after the Bush presidency ended, so did government support. The locomotive—BNSF 1205—was scrapped for parts and now sits on display, minus its hydrogen components, at the Oklahoma Railway Museum. But in 2025, Thompson believes the transition to onboard hydrogen-sourced electric power is inevitable, beginning with lighter equipment and shorter rail lines. As copper prices rise and aging infrastructure reaches the end of its life, the economic case for gridless rail becomes increasingly compelling. A technology first imagined to keep the lights on during crises may now help avoid them altogether. But only time will tell the extent to which hydrail becomes the new norm beyond its current early use-cases in California, Germany and China. If Spain stays the course, it could be the first to show that hydrail isn't a far-off future. It's already on track.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ex-French interior minister Darmanin apologises for 2022 Champions League fiasco
Liverpool fans were left pinned against fences and many were unable to get into the 2022 Champions League final in Paris (Thomas COEX) Ex-French interior minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday apologised for the first time to Liverpool supporters for the policing operation at the 2022 Champions League final in Paris. Darmanin, now justice minister, said "we got the measures wrong" in an interview broadcast on YouTube. Advertisement The final between Liverpool and Real Madrid at the Stade de France was overshadowed by a 37-minute delay to kick-off as fans struggled to access the entrances after being funnelled into overcrowded bottlenecks as they approached the stadium. Darmanin initially blamed Liverpool fans for the disorder and claimed many had turned up without tickets. Three years on, he admitted in the interview that the authorities had got it wrong. "Yes, it was a failure," said Darmanin. "Because I hadn't checked what was happening properly, which was my mistake, and because I gave in to preconceived ideas. Advertisement "I apologise to Liverpool fans. Of course they were right to (feel angry)." Nervy police fired tear gas towards thousands of supporters locked behind metal fences on the perimeter of the stadium. Liverpool fans had to suffer a series of false claims in the aftermath of the chaos. European football's governing body UEFA initially tried to pin the blame on supporters arriving late despite thousands having been held for hours outside the stadium before kick-off. The French authorities then claimed an "industrial-scale fraud" of fake tickets was the problem. A French Senate enquiry later concluded that poorly-executed security arrangements were the cause of the mayhem. Advertisement An independent report found UEFA bore "primary responsibility" for the failures which almost led to the match becoming a "mass fatality catastrophe". The report added it was "remarkable" that no one was killed on the night of the final. Real Madrid won the final 1-0. ldf/mat/pi/gj
eNCA
29-04-2025
- Politics
- eNCA
Power returns to most of Spain, Portugal after massive blackout
AFP | Thomas COEX SPAIN - Lights flickered back to life in Spain and Portugal Tuesday after a massive blackout hit the Iberian peninsula stranding passengers in trains and hundreds of elevators while millions saw phone and internet coverage die. Electricity had been restored to nearly 90 percent of mainland Spain early Tuesday, the REE power operator said. Lights came on again in Madrid and in Portugal's capital. Barely a corner of the peninsula, which has a joint population of almost 60 million people, escaped the blackout. But no firm cause for the shutdown has yet emerged, though wild rumours spread on messaging networks about cyber attacks. Portuguese Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said the source of the outage was "probably in Spain". Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said "all the potential causes" were being analysed and warned the public "not to speculate" because of the risk of "misinformation". Sanchez said about 15 gigawatts of electricity, more than half of the power being consumed at the time, "suddenly disappeared" in about five seconds. Sanchez was unable to say when power would be completely restored in Spain and warned that some workers would have to stay home Tuesday. Montenegro said Portugal's power would be back "within hours". AFP | MIGUEL RIOPA Power was restored overnight to around 6.2 million households in Portugal out of 6.5 million, according to the national electricity grid operator. The outage rippled briefly into southwest France while Morocco saw disruption to some internet providers and airport check-in systems. People were "stunned", according to Carlos Candori, a 19-year-old construction worker who had to exit the paralysed Madrid metro system. "This has never happened in Spain". "There's no (phone) coverage, I can't call my family, my parents, nothing: I can't even go to work," he told AFP. - Cash queues - In Madrid and cities across Spain and Portugal, panicked customers rushed to withdraw cash from banks, and streets filled with crowds floundering for a phone signal. Long lines formed for taxis and buses. With stop lights knocked out, police struggled to keep densely congested traffic moving and authorities urged motorists to stay home. AFP | Thomas COEX In Madrid alone 286 rescue operations were carried out to free people trapped in lifts, regional authorities said. Trains were halted across the country and late Monday, the transport minister said there were still 11 trains with stranded passengers who needed help. Railway stations in Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Valencia, Seville and four other major cities were to be kept open all night so that stranded passengers could sleep there. Spain's nuclear power plants automatically went offline as a safety precaution, with diesel generators maintaining them in a "safe condition", the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) said. - 'Serious disruption' - Sanchez said the blackout, which hit just after midday, caused "serious disruption" for millions and "economic losses in businesses, in companies, in industries". The European Commission said it was in contact with Spain and Portugal over the crisis. European Council President Antonio Costa said on X: "There are no indications of any cyberattack". AFP | CESAR MANSO Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered support in a call to Sanchez, noting his country had become specialised in such emergencies after three years of Russia attacking its electrical grid. "No matter what happens, we are always ready to assist and support our friends," he said on X. The huge power cut disrupted flights to and from Madrid, Barcelona and Lisbon, European air traffic organisation Eurocontrol said. - France affected - AFP | JAVIER SORIANO Transport chaos also gripped Spain's second city, Barcelona, where locals and tourists alike flooded the streets in an attempt to find out what had happened. Student Laia Montserrat left school when the lights went out. AFP | Yann SCHREIBER, Hervé BOUILLY The internet activity monitoring site Netblocks told AFP the blackout caused a "loss of much of the country's digital infrastructure". It said web connections plunged to just 17 percent of normal usage. Spain's El Pais newspaper reported that hospitals used back-up generators to keep critical wards going, but some units were left without power. Massive blackouts have affected other countries around the world in recent years. AFP | James Irving-Swift In Europe, in November 2006, 10 million people were left without power for an hour in France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain. That was caused by a failure in Germany's grid. By Valentin Bontemps And Imran Marashli With Thomas Cabral In Lisbon
Local Spain
28-04-2025
- Climate
- Local Spain
IN PICTURES: Nationwide blackout causes chaos in Spain
Towns and cities across mainland Spain were affected by the massive outage which hit at around 12.30pm on Monday. The cause of the blackout is still under investigation and authorities say it is likely to take up to 10 hours to restore the power to all regions. Find the latest on the blackouts HERE. A Police officer gestures to organise traffic during a massive power cut, which also knocked out traffic lights leading to widespread traffic jams. Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP The power outages brought transport services to a halt with trains stopped and city public transport blocked - police in cities were deployed to rescue Metro passengers stuck in tunnels. There were widespread traffic jams as traffic lights went out. People leave the Atocha train station in Madrid after its closure as a massive power outage hits Spain on April 28, 2025. Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP Staff stand in a closed pharmacy with no lights. Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP Businesses were forced to close with card payments affected and there were reports of shops in Madrid closing up for fear of looting. Vehicles queue on the M30 ring road in Madrid as a massive power outage hits Spain on April 28, 2025. (Photo by Thomas COEX / AFP) Hospitals, which usually have their own generators, were mostly able to continue as normal but non-emergency medical services were suspended. Local residents attempt to manually open the gate of an underground parking lot during a massive power cut in Vigo, northwestern Spain. Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP Police asked people to remain at home and avoid calling the emergency services unless completely necessary, as networks became overwhelmed. Customers buy gas bottles in a petrol station. Photo by CRISTINA QUICLER / AFP The power outages also affected Portugal and some homes in France's Pays Basque, although the French electricity network operator said that power to the French homes was quickly restored. Vehicles and pedestrians circulate as traffic lights are off during a massive power cut affecting the entire Iberian peninsula and the south of France, in Madrid on April 28, 2025. (Photo by OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP) 🇪🇸🇵🇹🇫🇷 — De vastes zones d'Espagne, du Portugal et de France subissent des pannes de courant. ➡️Les stations de radio espagnoles ont ordonné l'évacuation du métro de Madrid, et le métro de Lisbonne au Portugal est en cours d'évacuation. ➡️Des embouteillages sont signalés dans… — OSINTYB (@OsintYB) April 28, 2025 The French network operator RTE said it was working with Spain to help restore power to the grid.
