A teenager in Mexico created a Hombres G fan website in 1998, with the band already separated. 9 years later they filled Las Ventas

In 1998, Mexican Francisco Romero was 15 years old, had a new computer and a school assignment to complete. Looking for the best grade, he created a website about his favorite group: Hombres G, a Spanish band that by then was already dissolved. What began as an academic exercise ended up becoming the band’s first digital fan community, with thousands of members spread around the world. And it was also the trigger that convinced David Summers and his team to return to the stage. How it all started. In 1998, having internet at home in Mexico was not common: just a marginal fraction (2-3%) of the Mexican population had access to the network under these conditions. Even so, Francisco Romero, a teenager who had just gotten his first computer, embarked on completing a school project in which students were asked to create a web page. Romero chose the Hombres G as the subject of his project. He had arrived at the Madrid group, which had already been dissolved for five years, through friends from high school. And since finding documentation about the band was difficult (there were only two pages about Hombres G on the internet), he decided to create a community. Meeting point. The web, as Romero himself explainswas titled Club ‘We’re still crazy… so what?’, in reference to ‘We’re crazy… or what?’ title of one of the group’s first albums. The success was immediate: in its first five months, it received hundreds of requests from Mexico, Spain, Colombia, Peru and Japan (in times before algorithms and search engines crashed). They wrote to him, above all, from fans who had not had a space to talk about the band for years, to which they had not stopped listening since the last album they had released in 1993, ‘Bikini history‘. The contact. At the end of 2000an anonymous user left him a complimentary message on the page, to which Romero responded politely. Three days later, another message arrived from the same sender, who turned out to be one of the band’s two guitarists: “Please don’t give out my email, I’m Dani Mezquita.” Later they established telephone contact, which ended up leading to more frequent conversations. The significant fact: Mezquita was then working as marketing director at DRO East West, the Warner Music label that released almost all of the band’s albums. From his position he had noticed something: at the end of 2000, a compilation of Hombres G was the third best-selling album in Mexico at that time. A group without activity, without tour, without active label, without a single public appearance in years. That is, they had an active and completely underserved fan base. With these data on the table, and as told in the documentary ‘The Best Years of Our Life’ (released in theaters scheduled for April 30), the members met and proposed a modest return, with three or four concerts in Mexico. It gets out of hand. From there the expectation skyrockets. The reunification tour ended adding 70 performances during 2002 and 2003including a concert in Las Ventas before 20,000 people and several cities in Latin America and the United States. The album that accompanied the comeback, ‘Dangerous Together’, was initially released only in America, which says a lot about where the weight of the comeback was leaning. When he arrived in Spain he ended up obtaining the Platinum Record. In gratitude for Romero’s importance in this return, he has continued working continuously with the band from Mexico. And so we come to the present: on April 25, 2025, Men G performed before more than 60,000 people at the GNP Seguros Stadium in Mexico City. All within the framework of a tour titled ‘Thank you, Mexico Tour’. A name that makes it clear to what extent the very survival of the group is owed to a modest student from the city. In Xataka | Three millennia of pop: the oldest song in the world is 3,400 years old and we can still hear it

Trump threatens to “cut off all trade”

The decision of the Spanish Government not to authorize the Rota and Morón bases to be used in the United States military offensive against Iran has opened a diplomatic front that goes far beyond the military level. The reaction from Washington was immediate. US President Donald Trump He stated this Tuesday that he wants “cut off all trade with Spain.” The disagreement, therefore, no longer revolves solely around the use of military installations on Spanish soil. It has also moved to the economic and commercial field. threatening tone. In his statements to the media, released by the White Housethe American president charged directly against the Spanish Government. On the one hand, the refusal to allow Spanish bases to be used in the operation against Iran. On the other hand, Spain’s refusal to raise its military spending to 5% of GDP, a goal that Washington has been defending for some time within NATO. “Spain has been terrible,” said the president, before reproaching that Spain was the only ally that did not accept that spending objective. A question of international legality. Before Trump launched his trade threat, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, assured the media that the US bases in Spanish territory have not provided support to the offensive against Iran and that this situation will not change. “Neither from Morón nor from Rota have they carried out nor will they carry out any maintenance or support action,” stated. Along the same lines, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, insisted that the Executive will not authorize the use of these facilities for operations that do not fit within the Charter of the United Nations. The Convention as a brake. The refusal of the Spanish Government is also supported by the legal framework that has regulated the US military presence in the country for decades. As we explained in a previously published articlethe bilateral agreement signed in 1988 establishes that the use of facilities such as Rota and Morón must be framed in objectives within the bilateral or multilateral scope provided for in the agreement itself. This same framework contemplates that any operation that goes beyond these assumptions requires prior authorization from the Executive. The Spanish Government relies on this point to maintain that a unilateral military offensive against Iran does not fit into the framework provided for by the agreement. Planes that move. While the political debate intensified, some movements had already occurred on the ground. According to Reutersthe United States transferred at least fifteen resupply aircraft that were deployed at the Morón and Rota bases. a dozen of KC-135 They departed from the Sevillian base to the Ramstein air base, in Germany, while another five took off from the Rota naval base with an unconfirmed destination in some cases. These devices are relevant in air campaigns because they allow the operational range of combat aircraft to be extended. The threat and its limits. The warning to cut off trade raises an obvious question: to what extent can Washington apply such a measure against a single European country. In practice, the margin is limited. As a member of the European Union, Spain does not negotiate its trade agreements with the United States bilaterally, since these conversations are channeled through the European Commission. This complicates any attempt to penalize only Spain. The Country pointshowever, to the possibility of resorting to selective taxes on certain categories of products as an instrument of economic pressure. The Spanish Government has also responded. In a statement collected by RTVEMoncloa pointed out that any review of the commercial relationship between both countries must be done “respecting the autonomy of private companies, international legality, and bilateral agreements between the European Union and the United States.” The Executive also defended that Spain is “a key member of NATO” and a reliable trade partner for dozens of countries. What there is. For now, what exists is a political threat that has not yet been translated into concrete measures. The fight between Spain and the States has gone in a very short time from a discussion about the use of military bases to a much broader field that includes trade, diplomacy and international security. However, there are still many unknowns left open. We have to wait to see how this whole situation will evolve. Images | Defense Visual Information Distribution Service | The White House In Xataka | A Gulf country is launching an unprecedented missile against Iran. Nobody knows who he is and wants to remain anonymous

Delaying the closure of a single plant forces us to redesign the entire energy map of Spain

Right in the middle of a relentless political and business battle to extend the life of the Spanish atomic park, the harsh reality of the market has imposed itself. While top executives discuss the long-term future, the present has hit the table: the owner of the Almaraz II nuclear power plant notified the Nuclear Safety Council (CSN) of an unscheduled shutdown of its reactor and its decoupling from the electrical grid. The alarms did not go off due to a security problem. In fact, the incident was classified as level 0 (no significance for security) on the international INES scale, to which we have had access. The real reason was purely economic and motivated by causes related to the electricity market. As explained The Extremadura Newspaper, The recent succession of storms triggered renewable production —sinking electricity prices— which, added to an “unaffordable tax burden” that represents more than 75% of its variable costs, made it completely unfeasible to keep the reactor on. The recent pulse: from disconnection to extension This disconnection collides head-on with the intense corporate movements of recent weeks. At the end of October, Iberdrola, Endesa and Naturgy presented to the Executive a formal request to postpone until June 2030 the closure of Almaraz, whose two reactors were scheduled to be disconnected for 2027 and 2028. But the ambition of the sector does not stop in Cáceres. According to Five Daysthe president of Iberdrola, Ignacio Sánchez Galán, has confirmed that they will request the expansion of other plants in the future, ensuring that “most of them can reach 60 and even 80 years.” This position is supported by technical and logistical arguments from the industry. As detailed in The Economistthe CEO of Endesa, José Bogas, aspires to prolong “in round numbers about 10 more years” the entire Spanish nuclear park. Bogas argues that it does not make logistical sense to proceed with the complex dismantling of two groups of the same plant on different dates (2027 and 2028). Meanwhile, the CSN is already analyzing the documentation to issue its mandatory report, foreseeably in summer, as reported in a press release from the regulator itself. The possible extension of Almaraz has opened a huge gap between two irreconcilable visions of the energy transition. In the block of those who defend extending atomic life, economic and labor arguments set the pace. According to the statements of Ignacio Sánchez Galán collected by Vozpópulinuclear power plants are a key element in reducing the price of electricity. In fact, the president of Iberdrola recalls that European countries that lack this type of energy, such as Italy and Germany, pay “about 20 euros more” per megawatt hour for electricity compared to Spain and France. Added to this defense of competitiveness is the warning about the direct impact on the final consumer’s pocket. A recent report from the OBS Business School alert that if Almaraz closesthe inevitable dependence on gas would increase the electricity bill by around 23% for households – between 150 and 250 euros more per year – and up to 35% for industry. Beyond the receipt, there is the territorial factor. The College of Industrial Engineers, in statements to The Energy Newspaperremember that this plant not only generates 7% of the electricity in all of Spain, complying with the highest international safety standards (WANO 1), but is also a vital economic engine to sustain 4,000 direct and indirect jobs that stop depopulation in the region. However, against this position stands a solid wall of detractors who see the extension as an imminent danger for the green transition. A joint investigation by the Rey Juan Carlos University (URJC) and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC), prepared on behalf of Greenpeaceconcludes that extending Almaraz for just three years would mean “momentary relief, structural damage.” Researchers calculate that this decision would cost consumers a cumulative extra cost of 3,831 million euros between now and 2033 and would stop up to 26,129 million euros in investments destined for new clean energies. From Greenpeace they also point to the so-called “plug effect”: since nuclear is an inflexible technology that produces fixed gear regardless of demand, it often forces us to disconnect or waste renewable energy—free and clean—in times of high sun or wind. This situation generates a climate of enormous concern in the green sector. In an interview with InfoLibrePedro Fresco, general director of the Valencian renewable employer association Avaesen, warns that granting a “mini-extension” of three years would be the worst possible scenario. In his opinion, this movement would send a message of total uncertainty to investors, threatening to stop the development of future renewable projects in its tracks. The “Domino Effect”: rewriting the energy map The true background of this battle is that Almaraz is not an isolated piece. As several experts warn he Vigo Lighthouse and andl Newspaper of Extremaduradelaying the closure of the Cáceres plant would unleash an unstoppable “domino effect” throughout the national territory. If Almaraz is delayed to 2030, its closure would coincide in time with that of Ascó I (Tarragona) and Cofrentes (Valencia). The electricity companies assume that the Government would also have to postpone these closures to avoid overlapping the gigantic and complex work of dismantling four reactors simultaneously. This would also force the closures of Ascó II, Vandellós II and Trillo to be pushed well beyond 2035, blowing up the current National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC). The final decision is in the hands of the Executive, which for the moment maintains its position. The Government has marked three non-negotiable red lines to accept any change: that it guarantees radiological safety, security of supply and, above all, that it does not cost consumers an extra euro or imply tax reductions for electricity companies. And this is where the circle closes. As Galán insists on Vozpópulithe plants bear an enormous tax burden of “30-35 euros per megawatt hour.” Without a tax reduction, electricity companies threaten economic viability; but without profitability, it is the market itself that, as … Read more

It’s not an anecdote, it’s a warning

Smart glasses are a reality, and not since yesterday. We have been talking about them for a long time, testing them and telling what they can dofrom recording to integrating into the mobile ecosystem. It is not an exaggeration to say that they will be increasingly present in society. The question is what happens when they enter an exam where all candidates must compete under the same conditions, without external advantages or technological shortcuts. The case. On January 24, during the MIR 2026 celebration in Santiago de Compostela, those responsible for surveillance detected an applicant who was using smart glasses and a smart watch, according to sources from the Ministry of Health cited. through media like El Mundo and 20Minutes. The devices were removed and the candidate was able to complete the test, but the subsequent administrative decision was forceful: his exam was graded a zero. As we can see, the incident was detected at the time, inside the classroom, but it did not become public until weeks later. An exam that decides careers. He MIRacronym for Resident Internal Physician, is the mandatory route for a Medicine graduate to become a specialist in Spain. The test, organized by the Ministry of Health, is made up of 200 multiple choice questions, with four options and a single valid answer, in addition to reserve questions, and lasts four and a half hours. Based on the grade obtained, an order is established that determines the choice of specialty and destination. The unknowns. It has not been detailed what model of glasses or what watch the applicant was wearing, nor what exactly was the method he tried to use. It has also not been reported whether there was any other device involved or whether there was coordination with third parties outside the classroom. For now, the only thing confirmed is the presence of these wearables during the test and the subsequent sanction. This lack of data forces us to carefully separate facts from hypotheses and avoid conclusions that are not supported by official information. Goal glasses? Models such as the second generation Ray-Ban Meta incorporate a 12 MP camera, open speakers and artificial intelligence functions aimed at identifying objects or translating texts in real time. Meta’s own official help explains that allow you to “share your view” during a video call on Messenger, WhatsApp or Instagram, alternating between the glasses’ camera and the phone’s camera. None of this implies that this was the device used in MIR 2026, but it does help to understand what capabilities already exist on the market. A controversy that had been going on since before. The debate on the controls of MIR 2026 was already open before this episode became known. Several candidates publicly questioned the result of exam number 1while she flatly denied it. In parallel, the president of the MIR Spain Association, Jesús Arzúa Moya, declared to EFE that They do not want to focus on anyone specific, but stated that they have received multiple testimonies about cell phone copying, absence of experienced members in many offices and other irregularities. According to him, “some cases of artificial intelligence (AI) glasses” have also been confirmed, and “there could be many more.” Argentina as a mirror. A recent history helps to understand why these situations generate concern. According to AP, In the middle of last year, the Argentine Ministry of Health investigated an applicant who had recorded the Single Residency Exam with a camera hidden in his glasses. The main official hypothesis pointed to a system in which the candidate filmed the questions, went to the bathroom and sent the material to third parties to receive the answers before returning to the classroom. Authorities described the method as a “quite sophisticated, but effective, back-and-forth.” Although this case cannot automatically be extrapolated to Spain, it illustrates how the combination of camera and connection can alter traditional control logic. The vulnerability is general. The context outside the classroom. What happened at the MIR adds to a broader conversation about the misuse of connected glasses. In Xataka we already talked about the arrest in Barcelona of a man who had recorded numerous women with some Ray-Ban Metaa case that focused on the ease with which these cameras can be integrated into everyday life. Although the device incorporates an LED that indicates recording and emits a sound when activated, there are methods to “camouflage” it. The notice. What happened at MIR 2026 introduces a warning signal in an exam that affects the careers of thousands of doctors. The Ministry stressed that the case demonstrates that “it is monitored” and presents it as proof that the controls work since they were detected in the classroom. Even so, the emergence of connected wearables poses an obvious challenge for any highly demanding in-person test. The question now is not only who tried to copy, but whether current protocols are prepared for technological evolution. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana | Wikimedia Commons In Xataka | A week with the Xiaomi Mijia Smart Audio Glasses has shown me how great it is that your glasses are also your headphones

The Government of Spain has insisted that we do not exceed the speed limits. And it has a threat: jail

At the moment it is a Bill presented in the Congress of Deputies but it is much more than that. It is confirmation that the Government will debate when a driver should go to jail in case of speeding. The PSOE’s proposal is to reduce this margin, which now requires driving through the city at more than the permitted speed of 60 km/h. 10km/h. It’s not much but it would be a substantial difference. Until now, a driver who exceeds the maximum speed allowed within the city by 60 km/h or more faces a prison sentence. Outside the city, the speed must exceed 80 km/h above the maximum permitted limit. With the change in regulations What the Government wants to carry outthe idea is that these limits are lowered by 10 km/h. That is, a driver has to face jail if he exceeds 50 km/h in the city and 70 km/h on roads outside of town. “Excessive permissiveness or laxity”. It’s like the Bill presented in the Congress of Deputies qualifies the current thresholds to determine what is a crime and what is not when we break the speed limits. Currently, the limits are as follows. City: Streets at 20 km/h: prison from 80 km/h Streets at 30 km/h: prison from 90 km/h Streets at 50 km/h: prison from 110 km/h Road outside the town: Road at 90 km/h: jail from 170 km/h Road at 100 km/h: jail from 180 km/h Road at 120 km/h: jail from 200 km/h The arguments. To promote this regulatory change, the Government indicates that the European Union is promoting changes to reduce road accidents. This is how it is understood more restrictive speed limits in much of Europe, although Germany continues to enjoy roads that lack them (up for debate today) and countries that They want to increase them to 150 km/h. But, in addition, the PSOE hides behind the fact that a 1% increase in speed has a 4% impact on its consequences. Therefore, the impact caused by an accident due to excess speed, which according to DGT accounts is present in 22% of accidents, is growing exponentially. Furthermore, the new wording emphasizes the consequences in the city, where excessive speed has more serious consequences on the health of vulnerable people such as pedestrians, cyclists, users of personal mobility vehicles and motorcyclists. Are there reasons? The truth is that excess speed is, behind distractions, the leading cause of accidents in our country. And its consequences are especially serious in the city. According to the DGT5% of pedestrians hit at 30 km/h die. At 50 km/h, the risk increases to 50% and at 80 km/h death is almost certain. And on the road, an impact at 120 km/h is considered to translate into a fall of a fourteenth floor. At 180 km/h the impact is equivalent to falling from a 36 story. What would happen to the drivers? At the moment, speeding Driving at more than 60 km/h in the city and more than 80 km/h outside of it are considered crimes, like those positive for alcohol and drugs. This means that the driver, in addition to the financial penalty, faces a prison sentence of three to six months that does not have to be served on the first occasion. Of course, although the sentence does not exceed two years, a judge has the power to decide whether to send the driver to prison. And also if it imposes a financial fine, which is calculated based on the damage caused or the risk to which it has subjected other drivers and traffic agents if no accident had occurred, from six to twelve months or work for the benefit of the community from thirty-one to 90 days. In addition, he would be deprived of his driving license for one to four years. Will it move forward? That is something that the Congress of Deputies now has to debate. Both the DGT and the Government have recently been promoting more restrictive measures against excessive driving. Under the direction of Pedro Sánchez, the penalties for mobile phone use have worsened and the obligation to have insurance and registration if you have a scooter. In the same way, there has been an attempt to promote a change in alcohol limits that would prevent a person from driving as soon as they had had a beer or a glass of wine. However, this reform is still up in the air. Photo | Max Angelo In Xataka | A town in France has managed to reduce the speed of its cars. Without radars or traffic lights or speed bumps

is losing homes and gaining Airbnb apartments

There are many shows held around the world, but few can boast the levels of popularity of the FIFA World Cup, which will be held this summer in North America. Nor to drag so many followers. In January the organization revealed that in just 33 days it had received more than 500 million of ticket requests for the sales phase of the random draw. If FIFA’s calculations are correct, more than six million of people will attend the tournament stadiums, leaving an average of 450,000 visitors in each host city. Such an avalanche of tourists is already being noticed in the housing market of Mexico City (CDMX), one of the cities involved. What has happened? That the CDMX residential market is strongly feeling the effects of the 2026 World Cup, which will be held this summer in Canada, the United States and Mexico. At least that’s what he claims Urban Memorial Projecta citizen platform that has set out to document the effects of gentrification, tourism and real estate pressure in the Mexican capital. A few days ago the organization launched a statement in which he warns that, on the eve of the competition, CMDX is suffering a flight of homes that are leaving the residential market to be offered in the tourist market, much more profitable. What does the data say? The figures come from Inside Airbnb and they are eloquent. According to your recordsin a matter of six months (December 2024-June 2025) Airbnb gained 770 “new accommodation spaces” in the Mexican capital. “On average, three apartments or entire houses were stolen from the residential rental market every two days during the first half of 2025 to be allocated to tourists through Airbnb,” underlines Urban Memorial. The organization recalls that, according to the latest update from Inside Airbnb, at the end of June 2025 CDMX had 27.51 active accommodations. Why is it important? Because the group appreciates “an acceleration in the conversion of housing from residential use to temporary accommodation” and warns that this transfer also occurs in “a critical moment” for the capital, in the midst of a residential crisis and on the eve of the World Cup. Added to these factors is that a good part of Airbnb’s offer corresponds to complete homes (17,713), the number of which far exceeds that of private rooms (8,995). The study also warns that this is the ‘photograph’ from a few months ago. “Surely it is growing at an even faster rate as we get closer to the World Cup,” remember the platform before specifying that Airbnb’s offer is not distributed evenly throughout the metropolis. 81% are concentrated in the four most central districts with the best services, with Cuahtémoc at the head. There alone, the “undisputed epicenter of the business”, there are more than 12,500 accommodations, 46% of the entire city. Are they denouncing anything else? Yes. The platform remember that although the Tourism Law (renovated in 2023) clarifies that accommodations advertised on websites such as Airbnb cannot be rented for more than 180 nights each year, this guideline is “generally violated.” To be more precise, after studying the data from Inside Airbnb, the organization found that there were 7,532 properties (about 30% of the total) that had already exceeded the limit of available nights. Who includes the standard? Especially large owners, according to Memorial. Is it the only warning sign? No. A few months ago the newspaper Reform he wondered how the World Cup was affecting the rentals of homes and commercial premises in CDMX, Guadalajara and Monterrey, venues of the tournament. His conclusion was striking: he estimated that rents in total would become more expensive between 25 and 40%. Already in December Julio César Mendoza, manager of the Inmuebles24 platform, slid the possibility that prices would rise, especially in the venues closest to the stadiums where the matches will be played, focusing on “flexible or temporary contracts” signed for the World Cup season. Does only the World Cup influence? No. Of course, not all of the increase is solely attributable to the FIFA Cup. The Spot2.mx platform remember that at least in the specific case of CDMX, the increase in the cost of commercial spaces is already coming from behind and is related to the gentrification of certain areas of the capital. In fact, there are studies that ensure that rents in the residential market they have shot up 45% between 2020 and 2025, displacing the population to the periphery. In his case the World Cup would act more as an accelerant. The truth is that there are landlords who started months ago to remodel their commercial spaces to attract brands during the months of June and July. Some Mexican media they also talk of landlords who have stopped renewing rental contracts precisely coinciding with the proximity of the World Cup. Does it only affect houses and commercial premises? No. Although recently the hoteliers of Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey they assured Since the anticipated occupancy level in its accommodation is low (30%), the sector expects demand to grow as the match dates approach. In fact, they predict that during key days occupancy will skyrocket to around 80 or 90%with rates 100, 150 or 300% higher than normal in key areas. The hotels near the stadiums hope to sell out. Images | Wikipedia and Zion Arellano (Unsplash) In Xataka | Mexico has been preparing for some time to host the World Cup. He had everything except the death of his great drug dealer

a global superbug has cornered us and only a vaccine can save us

The arms race between humanity and bacteria has a battle front that continues to worsen year after year. For decades, we have relied on antibiotics like our definitive shield in order to put an end to them and prevent them from continuing to generate diseases. The problem is that they are very smart and know how to evade the effect of antibiotics, and the latest major scientific warning focuses on an old acquaintance, the Salmonella typhimuriumthe bacteria that causes typhoid fever. A new strain. We are not talking about a minor problem, and to understand it you have to travel to the province of Sindh, in Pakistan. There, as detailed in a study in 2008, all the alarms went off when a clone of this bacteria was detected that was named XDR and which has the characteristic of being very resistant to all medications that are available today. In this way, we are not facing a bacteria that is a little tougher to peel, but rather it is a strain that carries within itself a great genetic superpower: simultaneous resistance to major antibiotics such as chloramphenicol, ampicillin, cotrimoxazole, fluoroquinolones and third generation cephalosporins. In this way, overnight, the entire basic medical arsenal had become obsolete to be able to fight this bacteria. An expansion. What happens in Pakistan, in a hyperconnected world, does not stay in Pakistan. And this makes science be warning from the year 2022 where an international team sequenced 3,489 genomes of S. Typhi from Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. The result. Here you could clearly see the map of an enemy that is rapidly gaining ground. The research confirmed not only the increase in XDR strains, but also their international dispersion, crossing continental borders with astonishing ease. That is why imported cases of this highly resistant bacteria have begun to be detected in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada, alerting the health systems of developed countries. No weapons. As medicines that we can use to kill these bacteria, we have few left. For now, science suggests that these XDR strains can be treated with antibiotics called meropenem and azithromycin. However, experts warn of the critical danger of this situation, since azithromycin has become the last viable oral antibiotic to treat these outpatient infections. The problem is that if we abuse this antibiotic, the bacteria will be able to create resistance against the drug, which would mean that all these infections would have to be treated in a hospital with intravenous medications and not oral ones. Simply because they would no longer exist. The vaccine. At this point, the scientific community is clear that we cannot win this war just by creating new antibiotics, but we have to prevent people from getting sick in the first place. And this particular case is where they come into play. typhoid conjugate vaccines. In this case, the WHO itself has prequalified four of these vaccines and the CDC also supports their use in vaccination programs in countries endemic to the disease. That is why the data suggests that an aggressive childhood vaccination campaign in urban areas of India could prevent approximately 36% of cases and deaths from typhoid fever. And it is great news, since preventing these deaths also prevents their widespread spread to other countries. In Xataka | AI is no longer a promise in breast cancer: the largest clinical trial confirms that it detects more and reduces the burden on the radiologist

The EU has a perfect plan to suffocate Russia. The problem is that now it needs its oil to survive

In December 2025, we said goodbye to the year by telling Vladimir Putin a resounding da svidániya (До свида́ния). The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, and the Commissioner for Energy, Dan Jørgensen, pompously announced a political agreement to end Russian gas imports (both by pipeline and liquefied) by 2027. The political message was crystal clear: Europe wanted to show that it was no longer dependent on Moscow. The blackmail was over. But in its eagerness to celebrate the blackout of Russian gas, Brussels forgot a small detail: Putin’s oil still runs through the veins of Eastern Europe. And the embargo, in reality, has lasted very little. Barely three months later, physical reality has imposed itself on diplomacy. Today we find ourselves with a brutal paradox: the same European Union that designed an unprecedented economic war architecture against Moscow, and that asked its citizens to make sacrifices in the name of collective security, is now pressuring invaded Ukraine to open the tap on Russian crude oil. Deep down in the Kremlin, Putin always knew that the laws of politics rarely win against dependence on infrastructure. The epicenter of this crisis has its own name: the Druzhba pipeline (Interestingly, “friendship” in Russian). As revealed by an exclusive from Financial Timesthe EU is pressuring kyiv to allow inspection and repair of this infrastructure that transports Russian oil to Hungary and Slovakia. The problem lies in a Russian attack that occurred on January 27. As detailed ReutersUkrainian Energy Minister Denys Shmyhal confirmed that a bombing severely damaged the sensors and internal equipment of the infrastructure. The story is expanded by the CEO of Naftogaz, Sergii Koretskyi, in statements to Financial Times: The attack caused a storage tank with 75,000 cubic meters of oil to catch fire, unleashing a fire the size of a football field that took 10 days to extinguish. Ukraine claims that repairing this in the middle of war is slow and dangerous. However, Hungary and Slovakia do not buy this version. According to EuronewsPrime Ministers Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico have created a joint investigative committee, demanding immediate access to the area. Orbán has gone further, accusing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky of lying and orchestrating “state terrorism” and, together with Fico, demands that an independent investigation mission be deployed on the ground to verify the damage, something that kyiv refuses for security reasons in the middle of the war. The perfect storm in the Middle East Europe is not asking Ukraine for this favor on a whim, but out of pure survival. And to understand it you have to look to the Middle East. The recent coordinated attack by the US and Israel against Iran, which culminated in the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has unleashed chaos. The Iranian response has caused a blockage de facto of the Strait of Hormuz, 20% of the world’s daily oil supply passes through this maritime funnel. The impact has been devastating: hundreds of ships are paralyzed, insurance premiums have shot up by up to 50% and the daily cost of renting a supertanker has risen by 600%. This has destroyed European plans.As analyst Shanaka Anslem Perera emphasizesEuropean sanctions have collided head-on with thermodynamics, and thermodynamics has won. With the EU’s gas reserves at 30% in mid-February, Qatar’s LNG trapped after the Hormuz blockade and the alternatives of Norway, Algeria and the US at the limit of their capacity, Europe has been left without a plan B. “The EU does not return to Russian oil because it wants to, it returns because it has no other option,” says Perera. So, are we once again dependent on Russia? For some EU countries, dependency was never cut. According to The Moscow TimesHungary and Slovakia continued to enjoy legal exemptions from European sanctions and were almost 100% dependent on the southern branch of the Druzhba pipeline, receiving some 150,000 barrels per day in January. The reason is purely economic, since Russian crude oil is between 13% and 20% cheaper. Although Croatia has offered its Adria pipeline (JANAF) to ship non-Russian oil to these countries, Euronews explains that Budapest resists. Orbán considers that it is not commercially viable, demands that Croatia allow the passage of sanctioned Russian oil and defends that its energy security cannot be an “ideological” issue. Curiously, while Europe suffers from its dependence, Russia observes the crisis of its allies from afar. According to an analysis of the cnnFollowing Khamenei’s death, the Kremlin has issued strong verbal condemnations but has refused to provide real military aid to Iran. Ukrainian military analysts note that Russia even refused to “blind” Israeli radars using its bases in Syria. Moscow, bogged down in Ukraine, does not have the resources to open new fronts, demonstrating that its alliances are more transactional than strategic. The pipeline crisis has mutated into lethal financial blackmail for kyiv. As noted Financial TimesHungary has vetoed the approval of an EU aid package for Ukraine worth €90 billion (scheduled for 2026-2027). Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó made it clear: there will be no money until oil flows through the Druzhba again. In Brussels, the European Commission is looking for shortcuts. Euronews points out that complex legal options are being consideredsuch as invoking Article 327 (which prevents countries excluded from an agreement from blocking the rest) or using the withholding of defense funds (the SAFE program) to pressure Orbán, who is in the midst of an election campaign. In the midst of the crossfire, diplomacy tries to survive. Deutsche Welle reports that Zelensky remains open to negotiating an end to the war with Russia. Although the talks were scheduled for March in Abu Dhabi, the instability in the Middle East due to Iranian missiles has led the Ukrainian leader to propose moving the dialogue table to Switzerland or Turkey. The great silent winner and European weakness While the West hyperventilates, calm reigns in Asia. China foresaw this scenario and he has been shielding himself for years. During 2025, $10 billion was spent … Read more

Apple completely changes the architecture of its chips with a textbook “divide and conquer”

The week started with a flurry of news from Apple, something we already expected after Tim Cook’s words stating that it was going to be a “great week.” And in addition to the new iPhone 17e and iPad Airtoday it was the MacBook’s turn. In this article we wanted to focus on explaining what is special about the new M5 Pro and M5 Max processors, chips that land at the latest MacBook Pro. The company follows the same pattern as always. First comes the base chip, the M5, which we already saw in the 14-inch MacBook Prohe iPad Pro and Apple Vision Proalong with the new MacBook Air, and then, they take advantage of their most capable equipment to welcome the most powerful variants. But this year there is something different, and that is that the company uses a new manufacturing architecture internal that Apple had not used until now in its Mac chips. We will tell you all the details. Apple’s M4 Pro and M4 Max SoCs, in numbers m5 pro m5 max M5 m4 photolithography 3nm (3rd gen) 3nm (2nd generation) 3nm (2nd generation) 3nm architecture Fusion Fusion A single die A single die CPU cores Up to 18 18 Up to 10 Up to 10 Supercores 6 6 4 4 performance cores 12 12 6 6 GPU cores Up to 20 Up to 40 Up to 10 Up to 10 neural engine 16 16 16 16 maximum unified memory 64 128 32 32 bandwidth 307GB/s 614 GB/s 153GB/s 120GB/s ray tracing Yes (3rd gen.) Yes (3rd gen.) Yes (3rd gen.) Yeah neural accelerator on GPU Yes (per core) Yes (per core) Yes (per core) No connectivity Thunderbolt 5 Thunderbolt 5 Thunderbolt 4 Thunderbolt 4 / USB 4 codecs H.264, HEVC, ProRes, AV1 H.264, HEVC, ProRes, AV1 H.264, HEVC, ProRes, AV1 H.264, HEVC, ProRes, AV1 memory integrity enforcement Yeah Yeah No No The big news: the Fusion architecture Perhaps one of the most striking aspects of these new chips is the call ‘Fusion’ architecture. Apple has designed this SoC (system on a chip) by combining two other chips manufactured in TSMC’s third-generation 3-nanometer node. The signature promise that the chips communicate with each other through very high bandwidth and minimal latency. Why this approach? As chips grow in number of cores and memory needs, Putting everything on a single piece of silicon becomes increasingly complicated and expensive. The solution of dividing it into two interconnected chips allows its capabilities to be scaled without sacrificing efficiency. Each of these chips integrates CPU, GPU, neural engine, unified memory controller, Media Engine (which are the cores dedicated to processing multimedia codecs) and controllers. Thunderbolt 5. It is, in essence, the basis that makes it possible for the M5 Max to reach figures that we previously only saw in desktop chips. A new CPU from top to bottom Both the M5 Pro and M5 Max share the same CPU design: 18 cores organized into two very different types. On the one hand there are the so-called super cores: six high-performance cores which Apple also incorporated into the standard M5. The company assures which are “the world’s fastest CPU cores in single-thread performance”thanks to the fact that they handle greater bandwidth, and have a new cache hierarchy and better branch prediction. On the other hand, the chip incorporates 12 performance cores completely new, different from the efficiency cores we have seen in previous generations. They are optimized specifically for multi-threaded workloads that require sustained power without skyrocketing consumption. The combination of both groups of cores allows, according to Apple, a jump of up to 30% in performance for professional tasks regarding M4 Pro and M4 Maxand up to 2.5 times more multi-threaded performance compared to M1 Pro and M1 Max. It will be interesting to see this performance improvement in action when we test the devices in depth. What the M5 Pro promises Your GPU scales up to 20 cores next generation, each with an integrated neural accelerator. Memory bandwidth goes up to 307GB/sand the chip can manage up to 64 GB of unified memory. Apple promises up to 20% more graphics performance compared to the M4 Pro, and up to 35% improvement in applications that use ray tracing, thanks to its dedicated third-generation engine included in the chip. The shading engine is also updated, incorporating second-generation dynamic caching technology and hardware-accelerated mesh shading. What this technology basically does is simplify complex geometries into more manageable meshes for when it’s time to render. In terms of AI, Apple claims that the M5 Pro offers more than four times the GPU performance for artificial intelligence compared to the M4 Pro, and more than six times compared to the M1 Pro. M5 Max: the ceiling of Apple laptops The M5 Max shares the same 18-core CPU as the M5 Pro, but doubles the graphics and memory resources. Your GPU reaches 40 coresthe unified memory bandwidth reaches 614 GB/s (twice as much as the M5 Pro) and can hold up to 128 GB of unified memory. In graphic performance, Apple assures an improvement of up to 20% compared to the M4 Maxand up to 30% in ray tracing applications. For AI tasks, the chip promises more than four times the peak GPU performance compared to its direct predecessor and more than six times compared to the M1 Max. With these astronomical figures, Apple puts on the table a tremendously capable chip for all types of professionals, from 3D artists to app developers, AI, etc. And in the end, having such an amount of bandwidth on a laptop makes tasks with large volumes of data much easier to digest. We will see in practice how they perform. The rest of the package: Neural Engine, Thunderbolt 5 and security Beyond the CPU and GPU, both chips incorporate a 16-core Neural Engine renewed, which promises a higher bandwidth connection to memory, ideal for functions of Apple Intelligence and other local AI applications. In connectivity, the M5 Pro and … Read more

It took eight months for the French Academy to bring Jim Carrey to Paris. It took the Internet eight hours to decide that it wasn’t him

On February 26, Jim Carrey received a prestigious Honorary César for his entire career in Paris, after years of semi-retirement. But what was born as a touching emotional tribute at the center of a conspiracy theory: was it really him who took the stage, or an impersonator with prosthetics? The story of how an Instagram post unleashed chaos (and how it ended up being denied). A tribute. Jim Carrey has received this year’s Honorary César: the French Oscars rewarded his “exceptional versatility” with an award that Julia Roberts, Christopher Nolan and David Fincher had already received. It also arrived at a time when Carrey’s career was at a peculiar point: in 2022, at the press conference for ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ he announced that he retired. But he came back three years later. with brutal honesty: “I have bought many things and I need the money“Frankly.” Therefore, Carrey arrived in Paris after a false retirement that had made him partially disappear, yes, from the red carpets and premieres. And now he was on the most elegant stage in European cinema. He had not disappeared from the public light, however: in November, had been seen at Soundgarden’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony in Los Angeles. But his appearances have always been, in recent years, spaced out in time and without warning. The delivery. The first unexpected moment of the night came when Carrey, after being introduced by Michel Gondry, and with an aesthetic that left behind the lush beard of recent years, gave the acceptance speech completely in French. The accent was unmistakably American, but it was very worked. As Gregory Caulier, general delegate of the Caesars, would later reveal, I had prepared it for months. In it revealed a connection with France that no one knew: his ancestor Marc-François Carré (the family’s original surname before Anglicization) was born in Saint-Malo and, from there, emigrated to Canada The change. In fact, already at the aforementioned Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony its appearance It had aroused some surprise: it already had the aesthetic that it repeated at the Césars, with shoulder-length hair and slightly different facial features than usual. The first speculations pointed to the cosmetic surgery as a possible reason and some experts on the subject speculated about what those interventions could have been. Dr. Millicent Rovelo speak of an upper blepharoplasty (to remove excess skin from the upper eyelids) and a significant volume of Botox on the forehead. Another surgeon, Dr. John Diaz pointed out to a possible cervical tightening procedure. The very media Dr. Tony Youn pointed out signs of an endoscopic brow lift that would explain the slight displacement of the hairline. and joined the hypothesis of blepharoplasty and Botox. Finally, Dr. Raffi Hovsepian, dissented: The changes in the forehead and eye area seemed compatible with natural male aging, without surgical evidence. Let’s not forget that in 2003, Carrey appeared at the Teen Choice Awards completely blindfolded, wearing sunglasses, pretending to come out of surgery. By then rumors arose about the tweaks to his physique. The mask artist. Four days after the ceremony, Alexis Stone posted a carousel of three images on Instagram. The first two featured Jim Carrey. The third was a latex mask, false teeth, a dark wig, and various makeup materials arranged on a table with the Eiffel Tower out of focus in the background. The caption was simply “Alexis Stone as Jim Carrey in Paris.” Stone is a self-taught effects designer who has built a career on hyperrealistic transformations that have allowed her to pass herself off as Madonna, Jack NicholsonLana Del Rey, Robin Williams’ Ms. Doubtfire or Glenn Close’s Cruella de Vil. Stone usually documents his process in detail, but this was not the case: we only saw a mask that even had details that some users saw themselves as belonging to an AI generationwith excessively perfect contours and a blurry background typical of synthetic images. but when famous like Megan Fox or Katy Perry spread Stone’s posts, the rumor germinated all over the internet: the Césars were not Jim Carrey, but an imposter. Because. The arguments that the conspiracy theorists maintained They appeared almost at the same time as the gala. For example, the color of the eyes, usually dark brown, here a more greenish tone. More: Carrey is left-handed, and several short videos showed him in Paris using his right hand to sign autographs. The third argument was the speech itself: that someone who was theoretically retired and had no active ties to France spoke for ten minutes in French with very elaborate pronunciation, it was, for a part of the public, tremendously suspicious. The interviews that prove it. Of course, this is the moment that conspiracy theorists have been waiting for to bring up interviews from Carrey’s past with ambiguous, philosophical or downright incomprehensible answers. In 2017 declared that he did not believe in personalities, that the fashion party he had gone to and at which he was being interviewed seemed to him “absolutely meaningless” (from a metaphysical point of view) and that “there is no self, there are only things happening” (later the actor himself I would rate the interview “existential experiment”). In a previous interview, he calmly said “I’m dead“, but it was in the context of a conversation about spirituality and ego. We recommend fans of the most disconcerting Carrey to check out the incredible documentary ‘Jim and Andy’, which documents his literal transformation into Andy Kaufman for the filming of ‘Man on the Moon’. Official confirmation. The first official statements came from Marleah Leslie, Jim Carrey’s publicist for decades, with a brief message and that left no room for doubt: “Jim Carrey attended the César Awards, where he accepted his Honorary César Award.” That same day, the aforementioned Gregory Caulier told Variety what the eight months of preparatory conversations had been like and the months that the actor dedicated to working on his French. Carrey went to Paris accompanied by … Read more

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