The Congo River has been an insurmountable barrier for the two closest capitals in the world for decades. Until now

by

For decades, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have been living in a peculiar situation: although they have the nearest capitals at the geographical level of the entire planet (with the exception of the Vatican and some cases special, like Nicosia), both metropolises live behind each other’s backs. At least as far as communications are concerned. Today to travel from Kinshasa (RCD) to Brazzaville (Congo) you need get on a ferry to cross the river that separates both countries or even a plane which covers the journey as long as it takes you to have a coffee and read the headlines in the newspaper. Now that’s about to change. Capitals just a stone’s throw away. The story of the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the former Zaire) has been anything but quiet. This has ultimately contributed to both nations sharing a particular condition, beyond the similarities between their names: their capitals are a stone’s throw away. Between Brazzaville (RC) and Kinshasa (DRC) there are a handful of hundreds of meters and a river, the Congo. Depending on the reference we take, between both metropolises there is between one and three kilometers in a straight line. If we except the even more peculiar relationship between the Vatican and Rome (and some curiosities historical), Brazzaville and Kinshasa are often considered the closest capitals. However, despite this proximity, those who want to travel from one city to another right now do not have it easy: they must take a ferry that covers the journey in half an hour or even (if they are in a hurry… and more money), fly over the limited airspace that separates both capitals. What if we build a bridge? The situation is sufficiently anomalous that the authorities have considered on several occasions building a bridge between both banks. The idea can date back at least to the 90s and has been rescued several times since then. Without much success. Whether for political or budgetary reasons or simply because the fear As infrastructure reduces commercial traffic in some influential ports in the DRC, the Kinshasa-Brazzaville viaduct has failed to make it past paper. Coming out of the box. That could change soon. In February the finance ministers of the DRC and the CR reached a bilateral agreement to establish a special tax regime that clears the future of the construction of the viaduct. It may seem like a minor issue, but the infrastructure is expected to be subject to a toll and, beyond the traffic of individuals and tourists, every year moves trucks loaded with thousands and thousands of tons of merchandise. “We have a harmonized tax and customs framework. We also have a bilateral pact, which will allow us to relaunch the call for tenders,” celebrated after the technical meetings Caddy Ndala, from the Brazzaville delegation. An agreement… and something more. If the bridge seems to see (finally) the light at the end of the tunnel, it is not only because of the tax agreement between both countries. The project has also attracted the attention of Africa50an investment platform founded by the African Development Bank (ADB) and African states. The entity is presented in fact as the “main promoter” selected by the DRC and RC to drive the public-private partnership that will shape the infrastructure. Global Highways precise that part of the investment to shape the viaduct will also come from the ADB, which has already financed the feasibility studies. And what will the viaduct be like? The main infrastructure will consist of a short bridge more than 1.5 km which will pass over the Congo River and allow the passage of vehicles and railways. It will also have sidewalks and border control posts. The idea is that the viaduct connects further with the roads that already exist in both countries, facilitating communication between the capitals. “The idea dates back to the mid-19th century,” recognized years ago the president of the ADB, Akinwumi Adesina. To clear its roads, the technicians have selected the narrowest point on the border. In an attempt to put an end to the misgivings that the infrastructure arouses in several commercial ports in the region, it has also been agreed to carry out complementary works of improvements in them. Hunting for goods. The bridge won’t exactly come cheap. In 2017, the ADB estimated that the project would require 550 million dollars, an estimate that has since risen to exceed 700 million. In return, the structure promises to completely change the relationship between both capitals. In 2020 the Africa Investment Forum pointed out that the forecasts involve both triggering the flow of people and goods: the former (people) would go from 750,000 annually now to more than three million; As for the latter (merchandise), it would rise from 340,000 to two million tons. Images | Google Earth and Africa50 In Xataka | A 2.5 billion-year-old geological wonder: Zimbabwe’s Great Dam seen by NASA from space

Anthropic has not raised the price of Claude. He has invented something better: token inflation

by

“Don’t worry, it costs the same.” That was Anthropic’s message to announce the launch of its new AI model, Claude Opus 4.7. In that statement they made it clear that “the price remains the same as Opus 4.6: $5 per million entry tokens and $25 per million exit tokens“There was, however, fine print, because the model is better but to achieve it it reasons more, and that means one thing: more tokens. And the more tokens you consume, the more the AI ​​bill goes up. Anthropic already warned. It should be noted that in that official announcement Anthropic did not hide the facts. In one of the paragraphs he clearly explained how Opus 4.7 “thinks more” and that has a direct impact on token consumption (we highlight the difference in bold): “Opus 4.7 is a direct update to Opus 4.6, but there are two changes worth keeping in mind as they affect the use of tokens. First, Opus 4.7 uses an updated tokenizer that improves the model’s processing of text. This means that the same input can generate more tokens (approximately 1.0 to 1.35 times moredepending on the type of content). Second, Opus 4.7 performs deeper analysis at higher effort levels, especially in the later phases of agent scenarios. “This improves its reliability on complex problems, but also means generating more output tokens.” Or what is the same: when it responds, Opus 4.7 uses significantly more tokens than its predecessor, and that is important because the output tokens are much more expensive than the input ones. In the specific case of Opus 4.7, five times more expensive ($5 versus $25). What is a tokenizer and why does it matter?. Large language models (LLMs) do not process text directly, but rather convert it into units called tokenswhich are fragments of words, symbols or characters. The tokenizer is the mechanism that makes that conversion. Anthropic has decided to update the tokenizer in Opus 4.7, arguing that its new system improves how text is processed. The direct consequence: the prompt that previously generated 1,000 tokens now generates up to 1,350. And since it is billed per token, the effective cost rises even though the price per token has remained the same. Confirmed by third parties. Simon Willison, a well-known analyst and popularizer in this field, created a tool to measure the difference in token consumption with the Claude Opus 4.6 and 4.7 API. He took the official Opus 4.7 ‘system prompt’ and ran it through both models: With Opus 4.6 it generated 5,039 output tokens With Opus 4.7 it generated 7,335 output tokens This represents a growth of 1.46x tokens between Opus 4.6 and Opus 4.7, even greater than that indicated by Anthropic (1.35x). For images the difference is even more extreme since the token consumption is up to 3.01x. There is an important clarification here, because there is support for images of up to 3.75 Mpixels and that higher resolution causes consumption to increase significantly. Bill Chambers, another X user, published another tool called Tokenomics that also allows you to compare token consumption between both models with any prompt. The aggregate ranking of all users who have tried this tool shows that the average increase is 38.6%, very much in line with what Anthropic points out. And also think more. As we said, this new model applies two changes in its way of acting. The first is the aforementioned tokenizer: the same input is converted into more input tokens. The second is the fact that the model now “thinks more” before responding, which means more token consumption. Opus 4.7 arrives with a new “effort” level called xhigh, located between high and max. Anthropic has decided that now the default effort will be precisely xhigh for all plans, so both mechanisms contribute to this higher token consumption. As Anthropic itself indicates, “Opus 4.7 thinks more about high effort levels, particularly in later turns in agentic settings. This improves its reliability on difficult problems, but it does mean that it produces more output tokens.” Criticisms on networks. The reaction of users has been clear and there are various examples on networks such as X or Reddit in which said users criticize the changes. On Reddit a thread titled ‘Opus 4.7 is a serious regression, not an improvement‘It already has 3,200 votes and 800 comments that sum up that this new model ignores instructions, hallucinates and lies, It’s “dumber”has become too complacent or even lazyand “talks too much”, which also contributes to the cost of each consultation. Many complain that their Pro and Max paid limits are running out faster than before due to these changes. Some users claim that Opus 4.7 is the first sign that Anthropic may has gone too fast for the first time when launching a new model. Anthropic reacts. Criticism about the cost and behavior of the model has made those responsible for Anthropic try to clarify things. Borys Cherny retweeted a message from the company in which was spoken how the “/usage” parameter in Claude Code allowed us to show what kind of things our API or usage plan is spent on. This same engineer, who is the person most responsible for the development of the aforementioned Claude Code, also indicated that since his new model now uses more tokens, in Anthropic they had increased the fees of use of the models, although without giving specific details. The pattern that repeats. For weeks now the user community he complained about what noticed a “regression” in the behavior of Opus 4.6. Although it is impossible to verify or validate it, there were many users who complained on networks about how the performance of the model had gotten worse in your tests. Now they have just launched a model that promises to be better than the previous one, but that ends up costing more to use if you are not careful. Both events draw a pattern: that Anthropic is increasing its revenue without announcing price increases as such. What users … Read more

deeply dependent on natural gas

by

China leads global lithium battery production. If we stick to electric cars in this Asian country manufactures 80% of the batteries who use these vehicles. CATL and BYD are the largest lithium battery manufacturers on the planet with a market share in February 2026 of 42.1% and 13.4% respectivelyaccording to the consultant SNE Research. Its leadership position is the result of several factors. On the one hand, China is the world’s largest producer of lithium and rare earthwhich are the main raw materials used in the manufacture of batteries. In addition, it controls the processing of these materials and is capable of producing batteries on a large scale and at a very competitive price. However, in this recipe there is one more ingredient that we cannot overlook: BYD and CATL lead the global battery industry thanks to their capacity for innovation and adaptation. Both companies demonstrated this by betting before their competitors on lithium iron phosphate batteries (known as LFP by its English name). However, they have a weak point: they are deeply dependent on fossil fuels. The natural gas paradox Chinese battery manufacturers, and especially CATL and BYD, face a crossroads: their plants depend on natural gas to carry out thermal processes, making them vulnerable to geopolitical instability, such as that triggered by the iran war. Several thermal processes are involved in the production of a battery that require maintaining a constant and high temperature. One of them is the coating of the electrodes with a liquid mixture of active materials. And another involves the evaporation of solvents inside gigantic ovens. Battery factories have been designed around gas boiler and pipeline systems This last phase consumes an enormous amount of thermal energy, and currently gas boilers are the most efficient and economical way to produce the steam and heat that are necessary for these drying tunnels to fulfill their function. CATL has increased the use of wind and solar energy drastically, but the problem it has encountered is that electricity has not yet achieved effectively replace natural gas in processes in which large-scale heat production is involved. And this gas delivers an amount of heat that is difficult to match using electrical resistance on an industrial scale. In addition, current factories have been designed around gas boiler and pipe systems, so changing the entire production infrastructure to an alternative that dispenses with natural gas and relies on electricity requires a huge investment that would force manufacturers to increase the price of batteries. In this scenario, their competitiveness would suffer. As I mentioned a few lines above, the deep dependence that CATL and BYD have on natural gas exposes them to the instability of the global energy market. In fact, the increase in the price of gas as a consequence of the war in Iran is having a direct impact on the production cost per kWh. CATL is already working in a solution to this problem. Currently it appears that the best alternative to gas boilers is drying by directed infrared radiation, although gas today continues to provide much more energy than all the renewable and hydroelectric plants combined in the Chinese manufacturing ecosystem. Image | BYD More information | Volt Insight In Xataka | Xi Jinping’s “made in China 2025” plan is becoming a reality: this is how he is conquering the key technologies of the future

The question is not whether the eSIM will replace physical SIM cards. The question is when

by

We have been telling you for years how technology eSIM It is gaining ground little by little, so much so that today it is normal for smartphones to include these chips as a complement to physical SIM cards. It is a technology with its advantages and disadvantages, But it is increasingly clear that the idea is not that both technologies coexist, but that the eSIM ends up making physical cards disappear. At least that is the direction in which the industry seems to be heading if we look at the steps of recent years. This makes the question no longer whether it will happen, but when will it start to happen. There are no dates or calendars set for this technological change, but there are data and projections that seem to point to the next decade. The slow but sure adoption of the eSIM Evolution of SIM cards. Source: Thalesgroup Since their creation in 1991, SIM cards have become smaller and smaller. SIMs began to become MiniSIM, and then they became MicroSIM, and then the NanoSIM that the vast majority of mobile phones currently use. The next evolutionary step was eSIMan internal chip of the mobile phone where the data that has always been on the SIM cards can be downloaded and installed. This opens the door for you to have on your mobile not only the data of your operator, but also that of other third-party services specialized in cheap eSIM such as Saily of NordVPN and the like. Saily eSIM in +200 destinations, prepaid and with an extra level of security The price could vary. We earn commission from these links eSIM chips were created in the last decade, and over the years they have also been miniaturized to take up less and less space. But one thing is the existence of technology and another its implementation on commercial deviceswhich has been slow. First they began to arrive at smart watches like the Samsung Gear S2 Classic 3G of 2016, being a solution to give them connectivity without having to spend space in a physical card slot. And in 2017 the first compatible smartphones began to arrive, such as the Pixel 2 from Google (although it was only compatible with Google Fi) and since then they have been reaching more and more mobile phones. Until recently, the eSIM has been implemented as a complementary alternative to the SIM. Almost all users continue to use the SIM, but if you went abroad and needed a data card it was easier to contract an eSIM. There were also the most curious users starting to test this technology. Since then, the eSIM has begun to reach other devices such as home automation products, and even laptops. Some manufacturers like Apple have taken risks to promote the eSIM. First it was in 2022 with the iPhone 14which would be sold without a SIM card slot in the United States, and in 2025 launched the iPhone Aironly with eSIM in the United States, although in Spain it still has a physical slot. But currently this remains a rarity in Europe. The eSIM in Spain It already has the support of almost all operators. Besides, There is research that points Because in 2024, 70% of new mobile phones had support for this technology, and 10 to 15% did not have a physical SIM slot, numbers that will gradually grow. What are the benefits of the eSIM The main benefit of the eSIM is that you no longer have to request cards when contracting a service. And if you port, you won’t have to wait for a card to be sent to you either, although this will always depend on the method the operator uses to synchronize the eSIM, since sometimes you will need to receive documentation. Of course, you should know that activating an eSIM can take hours, or even a couple of days, until they send you the necessary keys. Furthermore, in all ports you will be asked for your identification by law, and depending on the operator you may even need to physically go to a store, something that is to avoid fraud. You won’t need to order duplicate SIMs either. if you want to use your data or phone number on multiple devices. In addition, there will be more facilities for using more than one data or calling rate on a single mobile phone, since there is support for storing the profiles of different operators and changing them as needed. There are also other advantages such as greater security. No one will be able to remove your SIM and steal it, because it is integrated and cannot be accessed. Besides, manufacturers save space physically inside their phones as they do not have this slot, something they can take advantage of, for example, to give their batteries more capacity. However, eSIMs also have some disadvantages. The main thing is to change your mobile phone can be somewhat more cumbersome, since it requires an extra process to migrate the data from the digital card. If you change to another mobile phone with the same operating system it is relatively easy, but changing from Android to iPhone or vice versa can be complicated. The eSIM will coexist quite a bit with the SIM No, the physical SIM is not going to disappear overnight. It’s going to be quite a long process. It will probably take more than a decade.although this is something that can always change depending on how manufacturers push in that direction. According to CCS Insight forecasts in 2025 collected by the BBCat the end of 2024 there were 1.3 billion smartphones with eSIM in use, and the figure is expected to reach 3.1 billion in 2030. Therefore, we are going to have sustained growth in mobile phones with eSIM. But this does not mean that traditional SIMs are going to stop being used at the same rate, but rather that most mobile phones will continue to use both technologies for … Read more

In which communities it can be done and how to do it in the 2026 declaration

by

We are going to explain how and where you can deduct expenses on prescription glasses and contact lenses in your 2025 Income, which is what we do in 2026 to account for the last fiscal year. You can now request and submit your draft online and from the mobilebut first it is advisable to pay attention to this. We have already explained to you the most important boxes which you should pay attention to in your declaration, but it is also important to know the regional deductions. We have already taught you to deduct your home insurance, veterinary expenses and gym feebut now we are going to tell you how to deduct your glasses and contact lenses and in which autonomous communities you will be able to do it. And the latter is important, because not all of us can deduct these expenses from our income, depends on the autonomous community in which we live. But beyond that, before we also start listing them all, we are going to tell you other general requirements that you need to know. Requirements in addition to the community where you live In order to correctly deduct the expenses on glasses and contact lenses without ending up receiving a request from the Treasury for having done it wrong, you must meet the following requirements: Products that do enter: You can deduct expenses on prescription glasses, contact lenses, and maintenance or cleaning solutions for contact lenses. Some communities also include the frames, but others only the prescription lenses. Products that do not fit: You will not be able to deduct expenses for unprescribed sunglasses, nor the aesthetic part of the glasses. Products covered by public aid or medical insurance do not enter into the part that is already subsidized. Expenses from January 1 to December 31 from 2025: If the declaration we make in 2026 is called “Income 2025” it is because it corresponds to the last fiscal year. Therefore, only the expenses you have made throughout 2025 count, neither those before nor after. Traceable payments: It is not advisable to make payments in cash. It is better to make payments traceable by the Treasury so that it can be verified correctly. Therefore, payments you have made using debit or credit cards, bank transfers, Bizum or direct debit receipts. In cases of accounts with multiple owners, marital money or shared payments, each community has specific rules for distributing the deduction between spouses. Invoices with complete data: A ticket from the optician is not enough. You need a complete invoice with all your information, such as your ID, full name, and the tax information of the optician. This invoice must clearly break down the concept (prescription glasses, contact lenses or maintenance solutions), and you must keep it throughout the duration of the campaign in case the Treasury asks for it to verify that they are real expenses. Deductions for each autonomous community Community Deduction Annual limit Key requirements Canary Islands 12% €500 (individual) €700 (joint) Taxable base less than €46,455 (individual) or €61,770 (joint). If you exceed it, the limit drops to €150. Includes mounts. Valencian Community 30% €100 Taxable base less than €60,000 (individual) or €78,000 (joint), with a proportional reduction between €54,000-60,000. Only prescription lenses and prescription lenses with frames not pre-mounted. Requires optional report. Murcia Region 30% €100 Only for children under 12 years of age for whom the taxpayer applies the minimum for descendants. We start with this table where we summarize the autonomous communities where you will be able to deduct the expenses of glasses, contact lenses and contact lens maintenance products, as well as the deduction and the annual limit that you can deduct. This way, you will have everything clear at a glance. Deduction for glasses and contact lenses in the Canary Islands In the Canary Islands there is a 12% deduction of expenses for purchasing prescription glasses and contact lenses, as well as accessories. This is so when these can only be used to compensate for physical deficiencies, not for aesthetic reasons. The deduction falls within the deductions section of “Illness expenses” from the Canary Islands. This deduction has an annual limit of 500 euros in individual taxation and 700 euros in joint taxation, the highest of all the communities. To be able to apply it, the sum of your general tax base and savings cannot exceed 46,455 euros in individual taxation or 61,770 euros in joint taxation. If you exceed those limits you can still deduct the glasses, but then the limit will be 150 euros per taxpayer. In addition, the limits are increased by 100 euros in individual taxation if you are over 65 years old or have a disability equal to or greater than 65%. It is the only one of the three communities that allows frames to also be included, since the standard speaks of “devices and accessories” without being limited to prescription lenses. The base of the deduction is reduced by any public aid received that is exempt income, and payments cannot be made in cash. Deduction for glasses and contact lenses in the Valencian Community In the Valencian Community the deduction is 30% of what you have spent on prescription glasses, prescription lenses with non-pre-mounted frames, contact lenses and solutions for their maintenance. The deduction is part of the “For amounts paid for certain health expenses” of the Valencian Community. This deduction has a maximum limit of 100 euros annually per taxpayer. Come on, that is the maximum amount to deduct. To be able to apply it, the sum of your general taxable base and savings (boxes 0500 and 0510) cannot exceed 60,000 euros in individual taxation or 78,000 euros in joint taxation. Be careful because here we are talking about the taxable base, not the taxable base as in the Canary Islands. Valencia also stands out in two important aspects. On the one hand, leave out pre-assembled framesso you can only deduct prescription lenses from glasses and prescription lenses with … Read more

They say things get worse before they get better. The RAM crisis teaches us that they can always get worse

by

The current situation in which hyperscalers have made all the hardware manufacturers produce almost exclusively for them is leading us to a curious scenario. Apart from the huge RAM and SSD crisis that affects everything –and everyone– Changing from one technology to a newer one no longer depends so much on the needs of a company but on what is barely available on the market. AND The Elec points to a movement by Samsung that represents a new thrust for mobile phones, computers and everything that has soldered RAM. No more LPDDR4 modules. LPDDR4 LPDDR5. They stand for Low-Power Double Data Rate, the low-power version of the RAM tablets that we can buy when building a PC, for example. Unlike conventional RAM pickups, LPDDR memory is soldered to the boardachieving very high speeds with a minuscule energy cost. That is why it is the preferred one for smartphones, tablets and ultrabooks, but it is also ideal for some miniPCs that have become popular in recent months. The downside is that it cannot be expanded or replaced, but its features make it the only option for certain devices. The most powerful versions mount LPDDR5 and LPDDR5Xbut there are still many devices that have the fourth generation versions for cost savings reasons. The turn comes when, according to the South Korean media The Elec, Samsung has begun to cut off the supply of LPDDR4 and LPDDR4X modules to its customers. Translation. Although they are memories with a decade behind them, mid-range and entry-level mobile phones, as well as many other devices, continue to have these versions to keep prices low. At a time when the market is more volatile than evermaintaining those competitive prices by mounting memories that are still interesting in certain ranges was a strategy that made a lot of sense. However, as the media points out, Samsung seems to want to focus on the production of LPDDR5 and LPDDR5X memories. By converting the output lines of the LPDDR4 memories, they will be able to manufacture more new generation RAM, but the price to pay will be that mobile manufacturers will have to switch to that LPDDR5. Mid-range and entry-level smartphones will be faster, but also more expensive. The price to pay. A few weeks ago we already said that the impact was evident. memory represented 20% of the bill of manufacturing an entry-level mobile phone, being one of the most expensive components. And, at that time, the figure was expected to reach 40% by the middle of this year. With this reconversion of Samsung’s lines, we will see where the percentage increase is in a year in which it is already estimating a drop of more than 10% in mobile shipments. The calculations They are tremendous: In the entry range – increments of 30 dollars per unit. In the middle range – from 60 to 80 dollars per unit. In the premium – from 100 and 150 dollars per unit. Samsung itself is not spared. Here you can think that Samsung has a lever to eat the mobile market. That is to say, if it is one of the three that controls the memory production segment and, in addition, has its line of mobile phones and tablets, it can give preferential treatment to its ‘brothers’ to maintain the price in the midst of the crisis. Well no. They already commented that this was not going to happen and, furthermore, it is already flirting with the idea thats Galaxy A17 be an example of this movement. The company’s entry-level mobile has the Exynos 1330 SoC that supports both LPDDR4X and LPDDR5 memories. When the supply of LPDDR4X runs out, they will move to the new generation, which will mean that there will be two different A17s, one of them being one with 50% faster memory than the other. They go direct with HBM. But, as two pieces of news are better understood together, at the same time that the abandonment of the LPDDR4 production lines is pointed out, we have confirmation that Samsung is going to press ahead with the development of HBM memories. These are high-bandwidth memories that are packaged in AI training and inference platforms, and have been reported that Samsung has managed to reduce the HBM memory development cycle from two years to one. It’s a necessary boost to continue being both NVIDIA and AMD’s preferred choice for AI hyperscalers. Shortage. Putting all this together, the result is that there is a RAM crisis for a while. The bottleneck of the industry is enormous and that only three companies –SK Hynix, Micron and Samsung– are the ones who call the shots, and all have opted to satisfy the demands of AI, does not help the situation return to normal. Although there is Chinese companies that may have their opportunity In this scenario, the reality is that the estimate is that all the production of the large It will barely cover 60% of the memory demand until 2027. These companies, of course, are doing great. An example is that, in three months of 2026, Samsung earned more than in all of 2025. But for users and the consumer industry itself, the reality is different. And the worst thing is that there is no realistic date when we will start to see a recovery. NVIDIA has taken the lead, AMD tooand it is no longer just the US and China that need memory: Europe also wants its share of the pie. There are voices that They aim for 2028 as the year of recoverybut other forecasts they go above 2030. What is clear is that there is a crisis ahead In Xataka | TSMC’s only problem was that it was in Taiwan. So the United States has decided to get her out of there

From printing drones to looking at lasers. 300 reports have revealed that Iran’s battle manual has one name: Ukraine

by

Barely a year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, groups of volunteers began to assemble drones fighting in improvised workshops using parts purchased online and open manuals, managing to put operating systems on the air in a matter of days. The scene, closer to a technological garage than a military factory, reflected the extent to which modern warfare was about to change without making almost noise. Ukraine as a war manual. I told it a few hours ago in exclusive to the Financial Times. The war in Ukraine has become a central reference for Iranian military thinking, to the point that much of its current doctrine is being built on what is happening there. That has now been known through more than 300 reports prepared in military centers that analyze everything from industrial production in conflict to tactical adaptation in the face of a superior enemy. This effort is not theoretical, but applied: there is great number of manualstraining and planning that have been updated to incorporate direct lessons from the battlefield in a process that reveals a clear idea, that the future of war is already written in Ukraine and that, possibly, those who do not study it will be late. From cheap drones to doctrine. One of the most decisive learnings we have been counting these years: the role of low cost dronescapable of changing the balance of forces with a completely different logic from the traditional one, where volume and price weigh as much as precision. Iran has understood that cheap systems, produced even with commercial components and accessible techniques such as 3D printing, can overwhelm advanced defenses and exploit structural weaknesses of technologically superior armies, replicating a model that has already proven effective in both Ukraine and in their own confrontations recent. The problem of the West. Not only that. The expansion of these drones has exposed a critical gap in Western defenses, designed to intercept expensive and sophisticated threatsbut not massive waves of cheap systems, which has generated an obvious economic imbalance. While a drone can cost tens of thousands of dollars, intercepting it is the opposite and can involve missiles in the equation. extremely more expensivecreating financial and logistical wear and tear that has already become visible in recent conflicts, where spending skyrockets and arsenals begin to become dangerously strained. Beyond the present: AI and emerging weapons. Featured in an interactive special The New York Times that, however, Iranian learning has not stopped in the immediate present, but rather projects the conflict into the future, incorporating into its planning technologies such as artificial intelligence, cyber warfare or even emerging systems such as directed energy weapons. The own internal analysis They point to the need to integrate these advances in decision making, weapons guidance and combat management, in a transition that seeks not only to adapt, but to anticipate the next phase of the technological conflict. An evolving doctrine. There is no doubt, this change is also doctrinal, with a commitment to more units agile, decentralized and capable to operate with greater autonomy, inspired by the way in which Ukraine has managed to resist and adapt to a more powerful adversary such as Russia. If you like, what the combination of operational flexibility and accessible technology is doing is redefining the concept of superiority military, moving it away from large platforms and towards distributed and resilient systems that can evolve quickly, and there the massive use of FPV drones appears with its own name. From Ukraine to Iran. Ultimately, all of this results in a profound transformation in the way in which Iran conceives warone where Ukraine acts as a real reference manual of battle that guides from the manufacture of cheap drones to the ambition of integrating artificial intelligence and more advanced systems such as lasers. From that perspective, it is not just about copying each Ukrainian step, but about adapting, scaling and combining solutions to build our own strategy that turns kyiv’s experience into future advantage, in a scenario where we are already seeing that rapid innovation and low cost can outweigh the most sophisticated technology from the United States. Image | RawPixelWild Hornets In Xataka | China was the power that launched drones. Now he has realized his danger with a decision: close the sky to them In Xataka | While everyone was looking at the Middle East, North Korea has had time to do what Iran has not been able to: go nuclear.

Last year, almost no robots finished the Beijing half marathon. This year one has broken the human world record by seven minutes

by

The half marathon world record is held by Jacob Kiplimo with a time of 57:20 achieved just a month ago in Lisbon. This Sunday a humanoid robot called Lightning ran that distance in 50:26achieving for the first time a milestone that had never been achieved. Robots seemed clumsy and unable to outrun humans, but that is no longer true. And it’s just the beginning. Robots are already faster than humans. In the half marathon held on Sunday, April 19, 2026 in Beijing, the absolute dominators were the humanoid robots. Lightning not only broke the human world record by almost seven minutes: he managed to arrive 17 minutes before the first human runner to cross the finish line. The first three classified They were also Lightning models developed by Honor. From disaster to excellence. The first edition of this same event, the Beijing E-Town Half Marathon and Humanoid Robot Half Marathon, It was an absolute disaster for humanoid robots. Only a third of those who ran it managed to finish the race, they were controlled remotely and ran at a pace much lower than that of human runners. This year things were very different: more than 100 robots were presented and most finished the test, but also almost half ran autonomously and several managed to surpass even the best human runners in the world. This is Lightning. The winning robot measures 169 centimeters, weighs 45 kg and was specifically designed to adapt to complex terrain and move at high speed. Its legs measure about 95 cm and its proportions are designed to imitate the stride of elite human runners. It has a liquid cooling system which curiously has been adapted from the one found on Honor smartphones. Du Xiaodi, engineer in charge of this project at Honor, explained that “Running faster may not seem significant at first glance, but it allows technological transfer, for example in structural reliability and cooling, and eventually in industrial applications“. Not everything went well. The race, however, also had moments in which the robots failed. One of them collided with a nearby vehicle although he managed to stabilize himself and continue walking. The H1 model from Unitree, the most famous humanoid robot manufacturer in China, collapsed as it approached the finish line and had to be removed from the road. One of the Lightning models hit a barrier after crossing the finish line, and some other robots they had difficulties with the curves and unevenness of the route. The event also served as a test bed for batteries, joints, motors and algorithms that control these machines. Industrial applications. Xiaodi mentioned it but also Liu Xiangquan, professor of robotics at the University of Science and Information in Beijing. According to him, these long-distance races allow the resistance and behavior of these robots to be evaluated, something essential for their application in industrial environments. Here not only speed is evaluated, but also the aforementioned resistance, stability or the capacity for autonomous navigation in uncontrolled environments. But a key component is missing. Although the demonstration and milestone is fascinating, what this field needs most is other things. For example, advance manual dexterityperceive the real environment in unforeseen situations and be able to perform varied tasks and not focus so much on repetitive movements. Industrial robots are already good at that, but here we are looking for much more versatility because at the moment these robots They are not able to fold clothes or put the plates and cutlery in the dishwasher with sufficient speed and dexterity. China continues to set the robotic pace. The Asian country has completely devoted itself to the world of robotics. Dominate this segment and its companies They manufacture 80% of global production. In recent months we have seen spectacular demonstrations such as the one Unitree carried out with a dozen humanoid robots at a martial arts show. Sunday’s half marathon is one more element of that narrative and that message that China is leaving to the world: robots are our thing. And in a year, what? Breaking the world record is very striking, but this event tells another story: that of how in just one year Chinese manufacturers have managed to improve their models in an amazing way. If everything continues to improve at this rate, it is difficult to predict what the robots that run the next marathon will be capable of, but it seems logical to think that at this point the athletic ability of robots will be absolutely amazing. Image | CGTN In Xataka | In China they are not satisfied with creating advanced robots: a company has developed a head that gestures like a human

Clint Eastwood filmed in Spain for the first time in 1964 and the impact was lifelong

by

In 1964, Clint Eastwood agreed to travel to Spain to shoot a low-budget film that, in his own diagnosis, “was probably going to be a total failure.” What he found when he arrived (an international team in perpetual chaos, actors and director unable to understand each other without an interpreter, a tree stolen through deception and a crane obtained thanks to a bishop) only confirmed his worst suspicions. Several decades later, he still remembered it. For a handful of pesetas. ‘A Fistful of Dollars was not a high-risk project, but quite the opposite: it cost around $200,000, co-financed by Italy, Germany and Spain, and Eastwood (then a television actor with no relevant film credits) was paid $15,000. Sergio Leone did not even sign his name: in the credits he appears as “Bob Robertson.” Ennio Morricone, as “Dan Savio.” Why Spain. The choice of Spain was not an aesthetic whim. The Franco regime had been facilitating the presence of foreign productions in Spanish territorypartly because of the economic benefits and partly because the presence of international stars served to soften the external image of the dictatorship. And for the production companies it was a bargain: the costs were much lower than those in the United States, the army provided extras when necessary and the landscape of Almería (one of the poorest provinces in the country, with very high unemployment) functioned as a perfect substitute for the American West. A single hat. Conditions on the set were, to put it mildly, spartan. There was no electricity or trailers with basic services and Leone and Eastwood did not speak the same language (one Italian, the other English), so they communicated through specialist Benito Stefanelli. Filming was done completely without sound: this was added in post-production, and Eastwood did not dub his own voice into English until the film was released in the United States in 1967. Your own clothes. Eastwood himself explained in 2007 who arrived with his own wardrobe to the filming: the black jeans he had bought on Hollywood Boulevard, the boots he brought from the series ‘Rawhide’ and the hat he got in Santa Monica. They bought the poncho in Spain. And that hat, unique and irreplaceable, sums up the project’s production philosophy well: “If I lost it, it was finished. There was no way to replace it.” They don’t shut up, they don’t shut up. What caught the most attention, however, was not the material precariousness but the atmosphere: off-screen people were playing frisbeetold jokes, talked non-stop. “They were not used to the silence of a shoot, where sound is important,” he recalled. He ended up using the need to play his part in the middle of that revelry as an exercise in concentration. There is no tree. Decades after filming wrapped, Eastwood still remembered two anecdotes as if they had happened weeks before. The first happened when they needed a specific tree for a hanging scene, they couldn’t find a suitable one and the only one available was on private property. Leone counted that the technicians convinced the owner that the tree was dangerous. In the version that Eastwood told in 2007, the alibi was different: they introduced themselves as highway department workers. There is no crane. The second anecdote that Eastwood remembers is from the filming of another film, ‘Death Had a Price’. The team needed a crane that they couldn’t afford. A company near the filming location had one, but it was a religious holiday and that company could not work. Leone went to see the local bishop and explained that his company was Jewish and therefore not subject to the Catholic holiday, so the bishop gave him permission to work. With that permit in hand, he went to the company with the crane: they couldn’t use it that day, but the Italians could, and they lent them the material. In Xataka | The 25 best movies on HBO Max: a selection of masterpieces and modern classics brimming with the best cinema

With the discount of the MediaMarkt app we have several bargains

by

New week, new MediaMarkt promo. Last week we had A very juicy Day without VATbut today is a bit different. On this occasion, in addition to offers for many devices, what we have is an additional 15% discount if we make the purchase through the MediaMarkt app, available in both Android as in iOS. Galaxy S25 Ultra (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links We have bargains on practically anything we can think of: phones, laptops, TVs, appliances and much more. We have made a selection of five specific offers that we find very interesting: Galaxy S25 Ultra by 1,138.15 eurosa device that is still highly recommended in 2026. ‘Pokémon Pokopia‘ by 57.79 eurosone of the best games of this year and exclusive to Nintendo Switch 2. Xiaomi TV Max 85 by 849.15 eurosan 85-inch QLED TV from the Chinese manufacturer. Dyson V12 Detect Slim Absolute by 424.15 eurosa great option if you are looking for a new upright vacuum cleaner. LG F4X1009NWK washing machine by 339.15 euroswith 9 kg capacity and 1,400 RPM. Galaxy S25 Ultra He Galaxy S25 Ultra It is still a very interesting phone in 2026, even though the Galaxy S26 Ultra. It has a 6.9-inch screen with QHD+ resolution, a Snapdragon 8 Elite that gives it top performance and a very versatile camera system that performs well in practically any scenario. We can get it for 1,138.15 euros if we make the purchase from the MediaMarkt app. Galaxy S25 Ultra (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Pokémon Pokopia One of the names in the world of video games this 2026 is ‘Pokémon Pokopia’, an exclusive title for Nintendo Switch 2. It is a title that moves away from other titles in this franchise and offers a different experience, more oriented towards adventure and puzzles. If you have this console, it cannot be missing from your collection (especially for 57.79 euros). The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi TV Max 85 Large televisions are becoming more and more fashionable and this one from Xiaomi currently presents a very good quality-price ratio. This is the Xiaomi TV Max in its 85-inch version, a QLED TV that, by using this technology, shows more vivid colors than conventional LED televisions. Plus, it supports Dolby Vision, HDR 10+, and has 144Hz, which is perfect for gaming. comes out for 849.15 euros. QLED TV 85″ – Xiaomi TV Max 85, QLED 4K, Smart TV with Google, 120-240Hz, Dolby Vision – Atmos, Dark Gray The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Dyson V12 Detect Slim Absolute One of Dyson’s best-selling vacuum cleaners, the V12 Detect Slim Absolute, is also included in this MediaMarkt promo. It has a suction power of up to 150 AW in its Boost mode and comes with a lot of different accessories, including a head with laser technology so that we can see the dirt on the floor well. comes out for 424.15 euros. Stick vacuum cleaner – Dyson V12 Detect™ Slim Absolute, 150 AW suction power, Smart and Lightweight, 60 min, LCD screen, Laser Technology The price could vary. We earn commission from these links LG F4X1009NWK washing machine We also have a very good option with this LG washing machine, model F4X1009NWK. It has a 9 kg capacity and is capable of spinning at 1,400 RPM, an option that is great to have so that our clothes come out drier from the washing machine. In addition, it has A energy efficiency, something that we will be grateful for on our electricity bill all year round. Costs 339.15 euros. Front loading washing machine – LG F4X1009NWK, 9 kg, 1400 rpm, 10 programs, AI Direct Drive™, ThinQ™, Ivory White The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Other offers from this MediaMarkt promo In addition to all the offers that we have left you above, we are going to do a very quick review of others that are also worth it: Western Digital 5TB External Hard Drive: 118.15 euros. SanDisk Extreme 1TB External SSD: 140.24 euros. JBL Tune 777 NC Wireless Headphones: 67.15 euros. JBL Bar 800 Sound Bar: 594.99 euros. Sony Bravia Theater Bar 8 Sound Bar: 645.15 euros. Haier 3D 60 Series 5 Refrigerator: 594.15 euros. Balay 3EB865ERS induction hob: 251.60 euros. Canon EOS R5 Camera: 2,787.15 euros. Nikon Z f camera: 1,869.15 euros. HP OmniBook 3 Laptop: 449.65 euros. Asus Vivobook 15 laptop: 492.15 euros. Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3 laptop: 509.15 euros. smartGyro K1 electric scooter: 390.15 euros. Segway ZT3 Pro E electric scooter: 551.65 euros. De’Longhi Rivelia super-automatic coffee machine: 602.65 euros. Cosori Iconic Single Chef Edition Air Fryer: 254.15 euros. Galaxy Watch7: 152.15 euros. Garmin vívoactive 6: 254.15 euros. Google Pixel 9a: 339.15 euros. Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 Pro: 254.15 euros. 100-inch Neo QLED QN8F: 2,379.15 euros. QNED LG 100 inch: 2,124.15 euros. ‘Super Mario Bros. Wonder’ for Nintendo Switch 2: 62.89 euros. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | MediaMarkt, Samsung, Nintendo, Xiaomi, Dyson, LG In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.