Lead has its days numbered in hunting. The problem is that no one really knows how to replace it.

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The practice of hunting is a ‘hobby’ that has been much discussed among different sectors of society in recent years, but beyond its ethical aspects, the European Agency for Chemical Substances and Mixtures has decided to intervene by pose the ban on lead in hunting ammunition. And this has raised a great debate between the hunting sector and environmentalists and researchers that require immediate measures, although at the moment it is in pause. The siege of Europe. This lead fence is not new, but since 2023 the European Union prohibits its use in wetlands for hunting waterfowl, a historic measure to prevent lead poisoning in ducks and other species that ate the pellets at the bottom of the lagoons. But now they want to go one step further, since ECHA has recommended to the European Commission a total veto by prohibiting the marketing and use of cartridges and fishing tackle that contain more than 1% lead. And to soften the blow, the European drafts have proposed transition periods that range between 18 months for large hunting and up to 5 years for small hunting. The role of science. For the Spanish scientific community, these grace periods are a luxury that ecosystems cannot afford. Specifically, 130 researchers from different institutions have signed a manifesto urging the Government to support the European restriction without any type of concession. That is, the ban applies immediately overnight. The arguments they offer focus mainly on the great toxicity that lead generates when it is left abandoned in the countryside, and above all they argue that there is no safe exposure threshold. That is, the only security we can have is when there is zero lead in the environment. Its impact. On the one hand, we have the environmental impact, since tons of lead end up scattered in the countryside every year due to hunting practices, poisoning fauna, especially scavenger birds that consume prey with pellets. On the other hand, we have a public health problem. In this case, there are several reports that exist warning about the nutritional risks of consuming game meat shot with this type of ammunition, recommending that children and pregnant women avoid its consumption due to the neurological data associated with lead. The hunters. Faced with the scientific urgency, they ask to hit the brakes on the application of these measures. Entities such as the Royal Spanish Hunting Federation (RFEC) and the Andalusian Hunting Federation (FAC) they argue that a sudden ban would be a death sentence for the sector and, by extension, for the economy of many rural areas. The problem that arises is that the alternatives to lead are not completely convincing, since, although there are options such as steel or bismuth, the hunting sector denounces that they are not validated at a toxicological level, they are much more expensive and, above all, that there is no large-scale production to cover the demand. Furthermore, the use of steel shot requires in many cases to adapt or change older shotguns, since they can damage the barrels due to the hardness of the material. This is why they ask for at least 10 years to adapt. A political battle. Right now the Government supports aligning itself with the hard line that comes from Europe, but the opposition parties, such as the Popular Party, ask for a fight in Brussels over get those decades of margin and funds for safe, alternative ballistics research. And right now the ball is literally in the court of Brussels and the REACH committee in charge of regulating chemical substances in the EU. Right now the only thing left is to open a space for debate that is not easy at all. Images | freepik In Xataka | Hunting has been printed on the Spanish national ID card for centuries. Now you have a problem: there is no relief

This Prime Video series ends after 7 years and 40 chapters, making history with an audience more divided than ever

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Today Prime Video premieres the last episode of ‘The Boys‘. It is not just any ending: it comes with the highest audience figures in the entire history of the series and, at the same time, with social networks converted into a battlefield over whether this latest installment of the superhero satire has been worth it. What is clear is that one of the most ambitious and rounded productions of the recent era of the streaming. ‘The Boys’ was born as an adaptation of the comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson published between 2006 and 2012 and arrived on Prime Video in July 2019 with a brutal premise:what if superheroes were corporate tools with powers of mass destruction? The series created by Eric Kripke immediately connected with a eerily similar political and information climate to the starting point of the series. In the following seven years, the fiction has accumulated five seasons, a spin-off (‘Gen V’) and an expanding universe that turned Patriot, more than a villain, into a disturbing reflection of reality. For a series to reach its conclusion at the best audience moment in its history is not usual. ‘The Boys’ has done it. The fifth season has reached an average of 57 million viewers per episode on a global scale, the highest figure in the entire history of the series. The season is also among the ten most viewed from any Prime Video original series. All this while there has been a more heterogeneous public reception than ever with the series (often praised by critics, but with very combative detractors for its powerful political message). In addition, this season has encountered criticism of its pacing, filler episodes and lack of action. It has been compared to ‘Game of Thrones’ in its controversial final stretch and although Kripke has defended the decisions that have been made, today is the day to check to what extent the series manages to live up to its prestige. In Xataka | 8 premieres this week on Netflix, including a science fiction and mystery series from the creators of ‘Stranger Things’

Renfe trusted in Justice to prevent Iryo from using its workshops. Your last hope just faded away

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Renfe will have to open its workshops to Iryo. At least for now. This is what the National Court has decided, rejecting the very precautionary measures requested by Renfe with which it intended to close the Italian company’s access to its space. Of course, the judicial procedure continues, so it is not at all clear what will end up happening in the medium term. No. This is what the National Court has determined. It does not accept the very precautionary measures requested by Renfe to prevent Iryo from using its facilities to carry out its own heavy maintenance activities at its facilities, they point out in The Economist. The National Court sides with the CNMC, at least for now, in the battle that Renfe maintains against Iryo and the regulators. However, the procedure continues and Justice will have to confirm whether, in the future, Renfe must keep its facilities open to rivals. The CNMC. This first decision of the court reaffirms the position of the CNMC, which claims to be allowing all the protagonists of this film to operate under equal conditions. Cani Fernández, president of the CNMC, defended the position of the regulators, arguing that “the CNMC has to guarantee access to the market under equal conditions,” in words reported by He Northern Castile. Since the conflict beganthe CNMC has sided with Iryo and demands that Renfe open its workshops so that the Italian company can carry out maintenance work on its trains. They point out that if Iryo has to send its trains to Italy, it would lose them for weeks and put it at a disadvantage in the market. The other alternative, that scheduled maintenance is not carried out, is not logically viable either. What Renfe says. For its part, Renfe believes that give access to Iryo to carry out the activities that have already been advanced to them has no place within the competitive framework that the Spanish company and the rest of its rivals had given themselves. Renfe does not avoid its obligation to have to lend its facilities to Iryo and Ouigo but remember that this is only the case for light maintenance tasks. However, they allege, Iryo has requested to be able to carry out its own heavy maintenance activities. This, according to Renfe, would have direct consequences on its offer because its facilities are already working at full capacity. The company assures that if it gives entry to the Italian company will suffer the following consequences: Remove 1.2 million seats from its offer due to not being able to maintain its own trains Of those seats, one million would correspond to the offer offered as a public service Loss of 60 million euros in income What Iryo says. In its allegations, Renfe points out that Iryo’s activities would occupy 10% of the La Sagra facilities, where its Comprehensive Maintenance Base is located. Iryo reduces this figure to 7% and points out that it would not be too much of a problem since they are activities that can be scheduled based on the mileage of the trains. They emphasize that if Renfe does not give them access to their workshops they will have to take them to Rome and that this implies leaving them out of circulation for up to two months, a situation that they consider unfair. The company has not made any comment on the possibility of setting up its own workshops in Spain, just as promised upon arrival. They complain. The latter does not convince Renfe that she feels aggrieved in this fight. Back in the day, he discovered that Ouigo was carrying out heavy unscheduled maintenance work in his workshops. Now they believe that giving Iryo access to act in the same way is not fair because it is not specified or by the Directive 2012/34/EU (RECAST) on the single railway space nor the standard EN 15380-4:2021 Spanish. Faced with the first decision of the CNMC, Renfe responded by closing the door and putting forward its reasons but the organization stood firmand. The next thing was to appeal the decision to the National Court requesting very precautionary measures but these, as we say, have been rejected. At the moment, Justice forces the workshops to open but the procedure continues to decide whether, in the medium term, Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo must maintain this same balancing act or if the Spanish company can close the door on them. Photo | Renfe and Iryo In Xataka | There is a fight between the railway operators to get the best drivers and Renfe is winning it

Star Catcher has raised $88 million to build the first space power grid. Their plan is to recharge satellites with lasers

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As the pace of space launches increases and missions beyond Earth become more abundant and varied, it is important to look for new ways to obtain energy so that these ships can travel to their destinations. Fuel is not infinite, so there comes a point where it runs out. Therefore, there are three main proposals. One is to resupply the ships directly in orbit. Another option is to resort to nuclear energy. In fact, There are already several agencies working on it. Finally, there is the option of solar energy. Unfortunately, this has some limitations, but the American company Star Catcher wants to solve them through the world’s first energy network located in space. A good economic injection. Star Catcher just announced which has received 65 million dollars in a series A financing round. With what they already had in their coffers, the company has 88 million dollars. Enough to date its first release to the end of this year. Different ways to “squeeze” the Sun. The solar energy we are used to is obtained through plates with photovoltaic cells installed directly on the Earth. However, there are already companies that want to bring it directly from the Sun, even at night. Its goal is to use mirrors that reflect sunlight at will anywhere on Earth, whatever the time and whether the weather is good or not. The problem is that these companies They are being criticized a lot for posing risks such as great light pollution. On the other hand, what Star Catcher wants to do is slightly different. They will also take solar energy directly into space, but they will not direct it to Earth, but to the spacecraft that need it. It will be like a kind of space solar power plant. Optical beaming. Star Catcher will be based on a phenomenon known as optical beaming. This consists of extracting solar energy and using it to power a multispectral optical laser, with which it will be redirected to satellites from which it can be distributed at will to the ships that need it. To do this, they hope to be able to put a constellation of 200 satellites into low Earth orbit. Previous records. Last year, this company broke the world record for wireless electricity transmission by delivering 1.1 kW of power to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Now, they want to transmit directly to space. It also has limitations. Although this company does not have the same limitations as those that want to redirect sunlight to Earth, it involves placing an immense number of satellites in orbit, with the risk that this entails. Many experts warn that, in the same way that could happen with Elon Musk’s Starlink constellation, this type of infrastructure increases the risk of Kessler syndrome. That is, it could happen that one or more fragments of space debris collide with them, deteriorating and launching pieces into space that would become more space debris, which in turn would collide with more satellites or more debris. Thus, a very dangerous domino effect would be generated for satellites, ships and space stations that are in space at that time. Even more risks. On the other hand, the launches of the ships that will place the satellites into orbit are also a great source of pollution. In fact, recently has been published a study that warns of the large amount of polluting substances that these types of launches leave in the upper layers of the atmosphere, where, otherwise, the pollution would be residual. In short, this company will bring us great advances, but it will have to maneuver carefully so as not to bring even more problems. Image | Star Catcher In Xataka | Starlink’s dominance in space begins to move: another company already has permission for a constellation of 4,000 satellites

‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ has started off on the wrong foot

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Seven years after ‘The Rise of Skywalker‘, ‘Star Wars‘ returns to theaters with ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’, the first film in the franchise since 2019. The reception of the first critics and even the first screenings for fans is being, at best, very lukewarm. Right now, Disney needs a smash hit to revitalize the franchise, and early viewers seem to be simply shrugging their shoulders. Lazy notes. With nearly 120 reviews counted before its May 22 premiere, ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ it stands at around 60% on Rotten Tomatoes. That score places it in the same range as ‘Attack of the Clones’ (62%), although still above what is considered the great fiascos of the franchise: ‘The Phantom Menace’ from the prequel trilogy and ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ from the Disney era. Of course, as always on Rotten Tomatoes, opinions are debatable, but it is significant that a film that was going to function as a oxygen tank for the franchise has such a lukewarm reception. What do they say? All the reviews agree on common points: the film is entertaining, but it does not justify a return to the cinema of the saga. Or in other words: we are facing an extended episode of the series. There is talk of a nostalgic walkof the most boring installment of the franchisethat the film is essentially two episodes from the spliced ​​series. One of the most noted problems is that his commercial hook, Pedro Pascal, has ended up turning against the series: the Mandalorian never takes off his helmet, and most of the action scenes are performed by a stuntman. Why Disney needs the Mandalorian. Disney comes from a complicated 2025 at the box officewith the failures of ‘Snow White’ and ‘Elio’, and Marvel’s proposals (”Captain America: Brave New World’, ‘Thunderbolts’ and ‘Fantastic Four’) performing less than expected. According to experts, the excess of series and movies designed for Disney+ has eroded the cultural value of Marvel, Star Wars and Pixarwhich has led to falls such as loss of 700,000 subscribers in the first quarter of 2025. Resurrect ‘Star Wars’. The strategy is now very clear: fewer films, more impact. Marvel’s imminent releases are the new Spider-Man movie (in co-production with Sony) and the long-awaited return of the Avengers. ‘Star Wars’ is betting on this ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’ (2026) and ‘Starfighter’ (2027), starring Ryan Gosling and directed by Shawn Levy. For now, perhaps, the strategy has been frustrated (although the box office may respond as Disney hopes, in a new chapter of the renewed divorce between critics and public: After all, ‘The Rise of Skywalker’ grossed more than a billion; and there are cases of films like ‘The Last Jedi’, loved by critics, hated by fans). The key problem with ‘The Mandalorian’. When Grogu was still Baby Yodaconquered the internet at a very specific moment: with the inauguration of Disney+, in the days around the pandemic. But the phenomenon was not repeated neither in successive seasons nor in series like ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ or ‘Ahsoka’. The franchise has been trying to disassociate itself from the Skywalker family for years, and ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu’ could be a good solid step, although the film’s plot revolves around Jabba the Hutt’s son. That is, the surnames in the usual tiny galaxy. Another sign that the franchise does not know how to expand without resorting to the usual tropes. Given what we have seen, ‘Starfighter’ has an even more relevant challenge before it than performing at the box office. In Xataka | Disney needs to solve the biggest crisis in ‘Star Wars’ history. And he’s held on to Baby Yoda to get it

One more day, Marcos Llorente wants to convince you not to use sunscreen. One more day, we know it’s a bad idea

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In 2026, we are not going to discover Marcos Llorente. Not just because it is an old acquaintance of the Spanish public conversation: midfielder for Atlético de Madrid, Instagrammer with more than two million followers and owner of an enormous amount of pseudoscientific (and, above all, very dangerous) ideas on health issues. But because the large media groups are already in charge of ensuring that it does not go unnoticed. Last night, in the Hormiguero, he repeated again verbatim his usual speech against sunscreen. It is true that Pablo Motos confronted him with data from the Spanish Academy of Dermatologybut Llorente got away without a problem, questioning the studies and maintaining that “many dermatologists and health professionals defend this lifestyle. It is simply having a coherent relationship with the sun.” This, of course, it’s a lie. But we are talking about a serious topic and, for that reason, it is worth returning to it. A “coherent” relationship with the sun? On the one hand, The Skin Cancer Foundation estimates that 86% of melanomas and 90% of other skin cancers are associated with UV radiation. On the other hand, the AEDV maintains that “a significant portion of sun damage accumulates before the age of 20.” In this sense, having TikTok star footballers defending that chemical protection is useless is extremely dangerous. Above all, because it is not (far from it) the first time he has defended it. And we must not forget that, every year, more than a thousand people die from cutaneous melanoma. A misconception, but a very widespread one. Because we must not forget that, as José María Ricart explained to usdermatologist and medical director of the Ricart Medical Institute (IMR), “many people still believe in the idea of ​​a ‘healthy tan’, when in reality it is a sign of skin damage.” Sometimes we have the feeling that sunbathing without protection is little more than simple carelessness; but no: it is a practice that accelerates skin aging and increases the risk of skin cancer. We focus on the most well-known rays, but not the most insidious ones. As Ricart explainedit is important to know well the two types of ultraviolet radiation that can affect us. On the one hand, UVB rays, more powerful in summer, are those that cause sunburn and damage cellular DNA. On the other hand, UVA rays, present all year round, even on cloudy days, penetrate more deeply and are responsible for premature aging. It’s time to stop seeing melanin as a “biological protection” and tanning as something positive. They are not. Tan “is nothing more than a defensive response of the body. It is its way of saying: ‘I am damaging myself’. If anyone still doubts this, compare the skin of the face with that of the buttock, an area never exposed to the sun: without spots, without wrinkles, without photoaging,” explained the dermatologist. What is happening? let there be people deciding not to apply sunscreen going tan is problematic (and bad news for your dermatological health); But the fact that large media groups have no problems with bringing these types of ideas to ‘prime time’ is absurd. Because it is worth remembering that, despite the fact that he presented it as a debate, what was done yesterday in Hormiguero is advertise personal opinion of a footballer against the consensus of the AEDV, the WHO, the SEOM and the Ministry of Health. The mere idea of ​​calling it ‘debate’ is a mistake. Image | The Anthill Xataka | That the AEMPS withdraws six sunscreens is good news. That the OCU had to ask for it is worrying

Hostinger Horizons is now half price

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Many times the difficult thing is not to have a good idea, but to have the tools to capture it and make it a reality. Traditionally, if you didn’t know how to program and wanted to launch a website or an application, you needed a high investment of money or time. But AI has also burst into this sector to make things easier for us. Thanks to artificial intelligence, it is possible to eliminate the barrier of not knowing anything about code and having the necessary tools to be able to capture an idea in the form of an app. And there one of the most interesting options right now is offered to us Hostinger Horizonsboth for what it offers (we will see it below) and for price: if we use the code ‘XATAKA15’ we will have a total discount of 51%. Hostinger Horizons Starter (12 months) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links It not only allows you to create an app, but also Imagine that you have the idea of ​​a small app as a service (known as micro SaaS). These tools are very interesting because they are designed to solve a very specific problemalthough it has always been necessary to know how to program to launch one. There we can include many types of services, such as, for example, a CRM that allows a small real estate company to manage its entire business. If you don’t know anything about code and don’t want to learn how to program, a generative AI tool like Hostinger Horizons can be great for you. Explained in a very simple way: you ask with natural language what you want and this AI is responsible for creating the structure and programming for you. This way, you don’t have to code anything or learn how to use a platform like GitHub. This is already quite interesting in itself, but it complements perfectly with another thing that this Hostinger service has, since it also includes hosting. In this way, it is not only a service to create your SaaS or your web tool, but it will also help you make it available to your potential users on the Internet. Now, several things to keep in mind. A service like this from Hostinger It cannot completely replace advanced development. If your idea is very complex, you will need developers to help you translate it. However, it can be useful, practically in an afternoon, have a first approach working without having to program yourself by hand. As we said above, using the code ‘XATAKA15’ we can get Hostinger Horizons at half price. The Starter plan, which is the most balanced, remains at 11.89 euros per month if we choose the 12-month plan. The service has a 30-day money-back guarantee and you can cancel at any time, so you can try what it offers without any type of permanence. 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 | Hostinger In Xataka | How to create your website from scratch using artificial intelligence In Xataka | These are five of the best hosting that you can hire for your online store

Spain has broken records in youth employment. The bad news is that one in three unemployed people is already over 50 years old

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Unemployment in Spain has been chaining months of good news. In April, the number of unemployed fell to 2,357,044 people, falling below 2.4 million for the first time since June 2008. The story, seen from afar, is that of a labor market that has finally left its worst unemployment figures behind. However, that story has a blind spot. When the data is broken down by age, the initial optimism gives way to reality: the labor market is improving, yes, but not for everyone equally. The workers over 45 years they continue to fall behind, and the latest data of the State Public Employment Service (SEPE) confirm it. Senior unemployment is close to 60% of the total. Of the slightly less than 2.35 million unemployed counted in April 2026 in Spain, 1,376,550 unemployed were 45 years old. This represents 58.4% of all registered unemployment. In other words, six out of ten unemployed They are over 45 years old. The bad news doesn’t end there. Within this group of people over 45, one in three unemployed people is already over 50 years old. To put into perspective what that percentage implies, we must compare it with what happened in the same month among those under 25 years of age. Youth unemployment has improved its percentages with a drop of 10.2%, with 19,284 fewer young people on the SEPE lists. If we return to the data for those over 45 years of age, we find that only 19,990 people in this age group they found a job, but in this case the decrease has only meant a drop of 1.43%. That is, given the progressive aging of the active population in Spain, those over 45 years of age are the largest group, so although the number of people who have found employment are very similar, the weight as a whole is very different. Less unemployed, but more chronic unemployment. At the end of the first quarter of 2026, the segment of those over 55 years of age was close to 4.93 million employed people. This represents 22% of all workers in the country, with 242,500 more people than a year before. These are figures that reflect that, on the one hand, the active population is increasingly older and, on the other hand, he is retiring later and remains in the labor market for longer. The second bad news for those over 45 years of age is that those who lose their job at that age have enormous difficulties in recovering it. In March 2026, those under 25 years of age signed 308,094 contracts, compared to the 367,204 signed by the group over 45, which doubles the percentage of the active population in number. That leaves us with one conclusion: senior hiring is proportionally tiny. He Labor Market Report for People over 45 years of age 2026 prepared by the SEPE, indicates that this group will exceed 11 million employed during 2025, more than 50% of the total number of workers. Even so, this massive presence in existing employment does not translate into the same rate of access to new opportunities. This is an indicator that the barriers to the reintegration of those over 45 into the labor market continue to be insurmountable. once you lose your job. Proof of this is that 53% of the 755,500 unemployed people over 50 have been looking for a job for more than a year without finding it. Youth unemployment breaks its own record. The scenario for those under 25 years of age is diametrically opposite. unemployment among those under 25 years of age It closed April 2026 at 24.53% with a total of 169,693 people, the lowest figure in the entire SEPE historical series. In year-on-year terms, it represents a drop of 14.2% compared to April of last year, when there were 197,674 young people unemployed. A decade ago, in 2015, the youth unemployment rate in Spain stood at 44.4%. This sustained decline has no equivalent in any other age group, which makes youth employment one of the great successes of the Spanish labor market in recent years. In aging it is a determining factor. As the data show, age defines large differences in the impact of unemployment between the different segments of the active population, but this differentiation also means that unemployment punishes some communities more than others, with a special impact on emptied Spainwhere young people have moved to the large industrial hubs. By province, Zamora stands out strikingly because more than 62% of its unemployed are over 45 years old. Pontevedra and La Coruña also present very aging unemployment structures. In Xataka | There is a man who has been working for the same company for 85 years. And he has no plans to retire. Image | Unsplash (Hasan Mrad)

what to do with reckless tourists who need rescues

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Mount Fuji is one of the big icons of Japan (perhaps the largest and certainly one of the most emblematic), but for quite a few hikers it ends up becoming something very different: a trap. Although every year they travel their four paths more than 200,000 people, from time to time when the mountain bends the pulse of hikers less accustomed to dealing with altitude sickness, changes in temperatures, long walks over deposits of volcanic ash or simply those who go for their 3,776 meters without proper training or technical equipment. When that happens and things get serious on the mountain, the rescue teams have no choice but to come to the aid of the hikers, sometimes risking their lives. An icon with small print. That Mount Fuji has a unique magnetism and attracts tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world every year is undeniable. Japan estimates that more than 200,000 peoplea figure that some sources raise above 300,000. That’s not to say that ascending the mountain is exactly a walk in the countryside. Especially for those impatient who decide to delve into one of its four paths (Fujinomiya, Gotemba, Subashiri and Yoshida) out of season authorized, which usually runs from July to September. “It is considered dangerous”. Those who want to complete the ascent between the middle of the mountain and the summit of Fuji calmly, safely and without breaking the rules must respect this schedule and plan their excursions in advance. Before July or last September, things get complicated. And not just because the authorities say so. Many of the shelters close, the weather worsens and the route can become dangerous in certain sections. Hence, for example, the United States embassy in Japan insist its citizens about the risks of climbing the mountain out of season. “It is considered dangerous. Every year several climbers, including Americans, lose their lives trying to ascend Mount Fuji.” Is it that problematic? A quick Google search shows that (unfortunately) emergency services must mobilize with some frequency to rescue reckless or ill-prepared hikers. One of the last cases occurred on May 3when a Chinese hiker slipped and fell off a cliff, so he had to be evacuated to a hospital. If we go back further, we find news similar to beginning of marchwhen authorities had to move a team to the southeast face of Fuji to save a 23-year-old Swedish woman and a 41-year-old New Zealander. Both suffered serious injuries. Two rescues in one week. The most flagrant and media case was recorded, however, in 2025, when it had to be rescued twice in a week to a Chinese climber. In general, it is estimated that throughout 2024 around 70 operations search and rescue in the mountains with a death toll of ten, some of them out of season. It is not an alarming figure if you take into account that hundreds of thousands of people visit the mountain every year, but it is not exactly good either. Especially since the high season lasts a few months. “It’s outrageous”. The frequency of rescues (especially during the months when the trails are closed to the public) is high enough that the mayor of one of the towns located at the foot of the mountain, Fujinomiya, has put the scream in the sky. A few days ago Hidetada Sudo called the press to insist on the seriousness of the issue. “Personal responsibility is not being assumed. It is outrageous to think that, if you suffer an accident, you will simply receive help,” laments the councilor before insisting on another idea: often the recklessness of hikers ends up endangering the technicians who must go to Fuji to help them. “It’s not a joke”. “If a second accident occurred, the families and superiors of the team members would not be able to bear it. It would turn into anger. This is no joke,” emphasize I sweat. Their complaints come after the operation on May 3 and after it circulated a video which shows the harsh conditions in which rescuers work. The truth is that this is not the first time that local authorities have raised the issue. Last year the mayor of Fujiyoshida also opened the debate about what to do about rescue operations on Fuji during the off-season, when hikers act recklessly. What is the solution? The million dollar question. Japan now has started to charge to the hikers who climb Fuji to fight dirt that generates its massification. Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures even they were talking last year to force visitors to reserve a place in advance to avoid collapses. There are those who propose to go further, especially when things get complicated in the mountains because the hikers do not act responsibly. In 2025 the mayor of Fujishoida proposed that the rescued people must assume the cost of their evacuations. A similar idea has also been raised by Fujinomiya, whose mayor regrets that “the idea that you do not have to assume any cost when being rescued is simplistic and unfair”, or even from the government from Shizuoka Prefecture. Like someone ordering a taxi. “Rescuers risk their lives in mountain rescues. There have been cases where people have requested rescues through their cell phones as if they were ordering a taxi,” I regretted last year the Fujiyoshida councilor before remembering that the use of a rescue helicopter can cost between 400,000 and 500,000 yen per hour, from 2,000 to 2,700 euros. It is not the only solution on the table. That same region has an app in which it already accepts pre-registrations to access the mountain, a tool that informs about climbing rules and pays an access fee. The objective is to also allow users to consult the location and indicate how long it will take to reach the shelters. Images | Baris Sari (Unsplash) and Ryan Latta (Flickr) In Xataka | So many Australian tourists are arriving in Japan that the nation has made an unprecedented decision: asking them … Read more

We thought that buying a yacht was a luxury. The real luxury that they don’t tell you is another: maintaining it

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Owning a yacht is synonymous with luxury and opulence. It is not for less. Superyachts like the koru by Jeff Bezos or the Leviathan by Gabe Newell, they had a purchase price of 500 million dollars; he launchpad by Mark Zuckerberg about 300 million dollars. However, although buying a yacht seems the most difficultwho has been in the sector for some time knows that this initial disbursement will not be the only one, it is only the first. The true luxury (and what is really expensive) is what comes after and is repeated every year: the maintenance of that yacht. There is an unwritten rule that has been circulating around moorings and ports for decades to prepare future buyers for what awaits them. It is called the “10% rule“, and refers to the annual maintenance cost that a yacht requires: 10% of its price, each year. The inhabitants of the Caribbean island of Antigua they learned it the hard way. The price of a yacht does not come on the label When someone is going to buy a boat, it is usual to take into account whether they can afford its purchase price. That’s the easy part. You look at the price and compare it to your checking account. If it fits the budget, honey on flakes. However, there is a cost that not always taken into account in which the owner of a yacht (or any boat in general) should reserve approximately the 10% of the purchase price to cover all expenses annual operation and maintenance. Yes, 10% of the price each year. A 500,000 euro yacht will generate annual costs of around 50,000 euros; If the value amounts to one million euros, the figure rises to 100,000 euros per year. That 10% includes practically everything necessary to keep the boat sailing and in perfect condition: routine maintenance, regular repairs, average fuelannual insurance, mooring fees and, in the case of larger superyachts, crew salaries. Boat insurance alone already represents between 1.5% and 2% of the value of the yacht per year, which in a 500,000 euro boat translates into between 7,500 and 10,000 euros per year in premiums alone. At this point, it should be noted that these premiums are also calculated based on the location of the mooring. A yacht moored in the Mediterranean does not pay the same insurance as in areas like Florida where hurricane warnings and tropical storms are the order of the day. As the ship ages, the numbers change The 10% rule is stated as a reference guide for the entire life of the yacht. That is, it is an average in which some years the maintenance cost will be well below that 10%, while in other years it will far exceed it. However, above or below, the cost always remains close to that 10%: As and as they point out from WS Yatch Brokersone of the decisive factors, for example, is that this 10% varies as the age of the boat advances. When the yacht is new, the manufacturer’s warranties are in force, the mechanical systems are working well and maintenance costs can remain around 2% of the purchase price for the first few years. That 2% corresponds to fixed expenses such as insurance, mooring, or basic deck maintenance. As the years go by, parts wear out, warranties expire, and breakdowns become more and more frequent. For boats between 5 and 15 years old, the recommended percentage rises to 10%, with bad years that can reach (and exceed) 15% of the purchase value. The reason is that, as the market value of the boat goes down, its maintenance costs go up, so any calculation based on a fixed percentage loses reliability. That is to say, a 15-year-old yacht that has cost 100,000 euros second-hand will not (or at least not always) have expenses of 10% since its engine and hull begin to need major repairs due to years of use. That is, what the buyer has saved on the purchase price must then be invested in repairs anyway. Hence the 10% rule is a reference average applied to the entire life of the yacht (with its ups and downs), not a rule written in stone. The size, the crew and the place where you moor Size also determines the maintenance budget proportionally. From 25 meters in length, the yacht can now require professional crewand that 10% falls short to cover the cost of maintenance. A captain’s salary alone starts at around $50,000 per year, and a full crew for a large yacht easily exceeds $200,000 per year. On megayachts, managers usually plan 10% for operating expenses (which are included in the 10% rule), plus an additional 10% for onboard personnel, their maintenance, etc., which places the real maintenance cost closer to 20% of the acquisition price. This percentage does not apply to those yachts that, due to size, only require the services of a captain during the high season, thus reducing their annual cost. He port where it is moored It also has a decisive influence on the calculation of annual fixed expenses. It does not cost the same to moor in a small fishing town on the Catalan coast as in Puerto Banús or in the port of Monaco. In Spain, the monthly mooring fee for a boat between 12 and 14 meters ranges between 450 and 575 euros per month (about 6,900 euros per year), but it skyrockets in large tourist ports. to put a practical examplemooring in Marina Ibiza, the main recreational port on the island, for a yacht of about 15 meters in length costs between 25,000 and 30,000 euros per year, while if you opt for other secondary ports on the island, the price is reduced by half to between 10,000 and 15,000 euros per year. According to estimates of Ocean Independencea company specializing in superyacht management, the annual routine maintenance of a superyacht, which includes hull cleaning, fuel, engine inspection and electronic systems, ranges between … Read more

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