Month: February 2025

If you like ‘Yellowstone’, but you think it lacks some suspense and violence, in Disney+ you have a perfect alternative

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More and more people are hooked to the cattle soap opera of ‘Yellowstone’, and their arrival in majority platforms such as Netflix and Prime Video It has a good part of the blame. However, There are many ways to focus contemporary westernand although it is perfect territory for the portraits of family sagas full of ambition and overflowing passions, gender also allows us to focus on action and suspense. This is the case of the extraordinary ‘Justified. Raylan’s law‘, which you can find in full, with its six seasons, in Disney+ and in Movistar Plus+. And although this neo Western has a decade, it has not lost an apex of intensity or interest. The reason: addictive writing, almost HARD BOILED Of its creator, Graham Yost, whom we owe the script of films such as ‘Speed’ and series such as the recent ‘Silo’, added to the overwhelming charism of its protagonist, Timothy Olyphant. Olyphant is a sheriff reallocated from Miami to a mining area, poor and rural, very close to the place where he was born. His expeditious methods make him an unpopular man among criminals, but also among his superiorsthat often do not approve of their methods. His return to action will lead him to meet his ex -wife, with his father who is in prison, and with his childhood friend, who has become a dangerous Nazi activist. The series is based on several books of the great Elmore Leonard, author of the novel on which ‘Jackie Brown’ of Tarantino and one of the great names of black and suspense literature was based. In 2023, Raylan returned in a new season of the series, ‘Wild City’, which lasted a season and you can also find complete In Disney+. In Xataka | This Kevin Costner’s Thriller and Western mixture punctured at the box office, but Netflix has made it one of her last successes

Exorbiting the International Space Station in two years

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The International Space Station is, as the name implies, an international project. One of the most important and monumental international projects in history, the result of the collaboration of multiple countries. Now an entrepreneur wants to accelerate his end. In an ideal world, entrepreneurs could not undo what several countries have built. Much less if the reason is accelerate the conquest of Marsfor which the new rocket of said entrepreneur will be needed. But this is not any businessman. He is the richest in the world and has enough political power and influence to take us seriously. Elon Musk’s last idea. “It’s time to start preparations for exorbiting the international space station,” Elon Musk wrote in his X profile during Thursday afternoon. “It has fulfilled its purpose. Its incremental utility is very small. Let’s go to Mars.” When exactly? “The decision depends on the president, but my recommendation is to be done as soon as possible,” The businessman said. “I recommend doing it in two years.” That is, in 2027, two years before the date agreed by the ISS partners. An accelerated ending. At 25, the International Space Station shows signs of aging. Investments in maintenance have been increasing. Structural fatigue begins to be a concern. The risk of impact with space garbage does not stop growing. The plan agreed by the ISS partners was to keep the operating station until 2030 and then tow it with a special ship to a safe place (presumably the Pacific Ocean) for its atmospheric reentry. NASA asked Spacex to develop this vehicle by 2030. By then, hopefully, there will be Commercial Space Stations In the low terrestrial orbit. But by 2027, the year proposed by Musk, the continuous presence of Americans in space would probably be interrupted. The space would continue inhabited, yes, By Chinese astronauts. Can Trump retire the ISS a long time? That is the big question. The International Space Station involves five space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), the European Space Agency (Europe), Jaxa (Japan) and CSA (Canada). Canada operates the Canadarm robotic arm, Europe the robotic arm was and the Columbus laboratory … but in broad strokes, the ISS consists of two main segments that are from the United States and Russia. In the same way that Russia was threatening to decoup down her and leave before 2030, Donald Trump could propose the same. It is hard to imagine a scenario in which the European, Japanese and Canadian partners of NASA agreed with this abrupt ending. What would happen, for example, with European astronauts who were going to fly to ISS before 2030, Like the Spanish Pablo Álvarez? But it is not impossible to occur. “You are delayed.” Musk’s statements, yes, could have been hot written. He published them just a few hours after exploding against the former commander of the International Space Station Andreas Mogensenwho had called him a liar for statements in Fox News. Musk and Trump have been circulating the narrative that Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were abandoned by former president Biden in space after the Fiasco of the Boeing Starliner ship. Actually, NASA ordered a return plan for both during the Biden administration: to reserve two empty seats on the CREW-9 mission, which will return to Earth at the end of March (an exclusive ship for them would have cost dozens of millions). When Mogensen pointed out this in his X profile, Musk replied: “You are a complete mental retardation. Spacex could have brought them back several months ago. I offered this directly to the Biden administration and refused. His return was delayed for political reasons. Stupid.” Image | Elon Musk, Nasa In Xataka | It is not that Elon Musk has managed to introduce its influence on NASA. Is that he has entered sweeping

Some researchers analyzed 280 samples of bottled water. Only one of the brands was microplastics free

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Better flavor and smell and health reasons. Those are the two main reasons why people drink bottled water, according to A study of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Spain is, in fact, The third European country that consumes more bottled water (up to 107 liters per inhabitant). That clashes with one thing: that bottled water is not only Much more expensive than tap waterbut now we know that it also has micro and nanoplastic in amounts much greater than those estimated. The original study. Some researchers from Columbia University They analyzed Three popular bottled water marks in the United States (whose names names have not transcended) in search of micro and nanoplastic. To do this, they used a new technique called Raman stimulated dispersion microscopy Based on probe samples with two tuned simultaneous lasers to resonate specific molecules. Analyzing seven common plastics, the researchers developed an algorithm to interpret the results. According to Wei Min, co-inventor of the technique and co-author of the study that concerns us, “one thing is to detect and another to know what you are detecting.” The findings. On average, this study discovered that a liter of bottled water contains 240,000 detectable plastic fragments, between ten and 100 times more than previous estimates. Specifically, the researchers claim that they found between 110,000 and 370,000 plastic fragments in each liter, of which 90% were nanoplastic. In that sense, it is important to remember the difference between micro and nanoplastic: Microplastics: those whose size varies between 100 nanometers and five millimeters. Nanoplastic: those whose size is equal to or less than 100 nanometers. The most frequent plastics. To anyone’s surprise, one of the most common plastics was the Terephthalate polypropylene, better known as PET. It is the material of which many bottles are made. “It is probably introduced into the water when pieces are detached when the bottle is squeezed or exposed to heat,” says the researchers, who cite another study that suggests that they can also detach themselves when the cap repeatedly opens and closes. Usual. And although the presence of PET is common, this plastic is overcome by the polyamide, a type of nylon that “probably comes from the plastic filters used to supposedly purify the water before bottling it,” says Beizhan Yan, a researcher of the study. Other common plastics found by the researchers were polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and methyl polymetacrylate. And the rest? The technique used contemplates the seven most common plastics, but there are many other plastics. According to exposes Columbia University, “the seven types of plastic that researchers sought only represented about 10% of all the nanoparticles found in the samples; They have no idea what the rest are. If all are nanoplastic, they could be dozens of millions per liter. ” And what about those sold in Spain? That’s what he wanted to find out A study by CSIC and the Global Health Institute of Barcelona. They have developed a technique To quantify particles of between 0.7 and 20 micrometers, as well as the chemical additives released to the water and, for this study, analyzed 280 samples of 20 trademarks of commercial water. Only one of the brands did not contain microplastics, but all, the 280 samples, contained plastic additives. More specifically. The result is that, on average, a liter of water contains 359 nanograms of micro and nanoplastic, an amount comparable to that obtained in the tap water found in a previous study made by the same group. “The main difference we find is the type of polymer: in tap water we find more polyethylene and polypropylene while in bottled water we have mostly detected polypropylene terephthalate (PET), although also polyethylene,” said Cristina Villanueva, a researcher of the Isglobal and Author of the study. Quite microplastic. Considering that we drink two liters of water a day, the authors estimate “an intake of 262 micrograms of plastic particles per year.” With regard to additives, 28 plastic additives, mostly stabilizers and plasticizers have been detected. According to the researchers, “our toxicity study showed that three types of plasticizers had a higher risk to human health and, therefore, should be considered in risk analysis for consumers.” Images | Jonathan Chng in Unspash In Xataka | The US has decided to leave paper straws because everyone hates them. The problem is the alternative: plastic In Xataka | After the failure of the yellow container, the government has reached a conclusion: it is time for the returnable bottles *An earlier version of this article was published in February 2024

The real business will be to see a Madrid-Osasuna in the car

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For years we are listening to the cars software will be key when choosing a vehicle. The possibilities they offer are numerous but, for the moment, traditional companies seem to have not been able to get economic performance to it. Byd, however, gives his “eye of God” that promises to be decisive when buying the car. His “eye of God” can be the least. What is the “eye of God”? This is how Byd calls his driving aid systems or automated driving (under supervision). They obviously contemplate from adaptive cruise control systems to remote parking services, where you send orders from the mobile phone and the car park alone. A price war. A few days ago, the Chinese company confirmed that it will include these systems completely free in all its cars, regardless of their price. The announcement fell like a bomb in the industry since this type of aids always They have been used to attract customers to a brand. Tesla, for example, boast your autopilot And for years he has sold his Full self driving (FSD) as the great promise of a completely autonomous driving in all cars prepared for it. Xpeng in China have based their growth on this type of functions and is one of the reasons that have attracted Volkswagen for a collaboration between both manufacturers. Make these systems available to all buyers, regardless of whether tens of thousands of euros pay for a car or a few thousand euros, Open a price war on a front that had not been seen so far. In addition, it puts the software as a central element for Decide a purchase. Defined by software. For years we have heard manufacturers say that the vehicles of the future will be defined by the software and that It will be an added value to the vehicle itself. China has even demonstrated that it is a central element, as we will see. In Europe, however, we are in the superficial layers. We talk about whether a car is more or less technological because it uses Android Automotiveits customization capacity or if you have opted for your own development that adds distinction to the brand and the model. Despite this, The generated income is almost non -existent. Manufacturers have given blind sticks to the point that Volkswagen has had to delay the launch of key models (Porsche Macan and Audi Q6 e-tron) and Search for help in China either BMW has had to back down to controversial subscriptions such as the heating of the seats. Subscribe, however, to autonomous driving functions did seem like a perfect path to begin to make efforts to make efforts. A bridge. But what if the finger points to the moon and we are looking at the finger? That is what you think of But auto insights. He exercises software -related consultancy work and usually participates in media such as Financial Times, Nikkei either The Economistamong others. In his NewsletterHe points to that to understand the “gift” of his “eye of God” to buyers you should not look exclusively at car sales that Byd can convert, you have to look at the juice that can get a highly automated driving . If people can activate a system of Level 2+ or Level 3 (During slow traffic situations), that opens huge potential opportunities to sell services, entertainment and others, while people move in these traffic jams. Think of a zoom call during a jam. Think about watching a movie. Play a video game. A first approach. What he affirms has all the meaning of the world. The Chinese automobile industry is turning the car into a four -wheel chassis that arrives completely defined by the software. In fact, only See some videos From what is presented in each car hall to check that the car is now a tailor drawer where to watch movies, play video games or enjoy a karaoke. Kevin Williams also told it well for Inside Evs. In his article he explained how Western manufacturers have become completely obsolete at what the interior of a Chinese car offers. An easy position if we attend to speech that the local client It begins to have about European and local cars. Under way. What you are talking about in your weekly entrance is that Byd’s true business can be in everything that offers their cars once they behave as low -speed autonomous vehicles. It is a relatively easy level of autonomy to reach for the manufacturer since it is easy to drive for the car in a jam. The Mercedes can do it In specific places at speeds below 60 km/h. Byd and any other manufacturer has the opportunity to have their own store with applications that compete for the attention of … driver? Is to move the mobile phone applications business to the carcharging a percentage per discharge to the owner of the application so that it can be put into operation in the vehicle. That discounting that it is not the vehicle manufacturer who offers these entertainment services or for labor productivity. A private market. You have to understand the particularities of the Chinese market. There, the cities are gigantic and the driver passes, on average, more than 45 minutes to get to work daily. Those more than three quarters of an hour, however, barely suppose less than 30 kilometers of journeyso the average speed is very low. This is decisive when it comes to understanding the cars offered. Chinese brands themselves have explained that the paths that are made by car are usually urban and rarely cover long distances such as in Europe and the United States. That is why they have cars where the space for the rear seats is prevail, the trunk is removed … and priority is given to the infotainment systems. The latter has been key to understanding market evolution. More and more the customer prefers to give priority to the voice controls of the vehicle, their connectivity with … Read more

AI is unable to detect them

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Few creations? older, worked, explored and unfortunately linked to social networks and messaging apps that the Photopollas. There is studies that suggest that More than 40% of women who use networks have received photos of male genitals who neither want nor asked, although the percentage of men who recognize send them is quite lower. A while ago Yougov began to ask and only 5% From respondents he admitted to having done so. Now the genre seems to have found a particularly conducive land in one of the social networks with the greatest pull, Tiktok. Despite the strict Content policy of the platform and that in their Community standards It makes clear (and bold) that does not allow nudes, including of course images of genitals, there are users who have found a crack to show their penises. And they are doing it. So much, in fact, that they have made it A trend (“I don’t have Gloss Men Trend”) that already inspires a good handful of videos in Tiktok. Question of Photopollas Capture one of Tiktok’s videos. A quick search arrives to find two kinds of videos: those of men who teach their genitals and those of people who denounce, criticize and ridicule the trend. The most curious thing is that the pieces are circulating on the platform without the Tiktok filters or the Complaints other users prevent it. The videos are all more or less the same pattern, a very simple one and that seems to ridicule the pieces of Skincare With a sequence of two images. In the first one shows a man (many times only his body is seen, without the face) next to the message “I don’t have gloss for the trend, but I have … “ In the second one reads “… a nice lipstick”. The key, of course, is not what that text says, but the photos. That “cute lipstick” is accompanied by a photo that shows a shampoo boat, a perfume bottle or a hair removal gel (it actually serves any beauty product) with a background penis. The genitals do not appear in the foreground and it is not always possible to appreciate them in a quick look, but they are there. Clearly. Incontestable. A Photopolla of manual. The big question is … how is it possible? First because penises are unmistakable, explicit and breached the Content policy of Tiktok, very strict in regard to the nakedness and contents of sexual character. Second because there are users who claim to have denounced it to the platform. Another example of the trend. Another capture of Tiktok. “I have denounced the videos and it makes me not breach the rules of Tiktok. But Madam, that I see him the Nepe To this man! ” Ainoa_book laments. “How do I not breach the rules if I go out with a gutter and forthed the video.” Than in Tiktok are sharing videos of genitals without the images ended is more than a simple curiosity or a specific trend. The phenomenon is relevant because the platform, like Instagram, resorts to AI algorithms that are precisely dedicated to recognizing Explicit Content. These videos show that a simple trick arrives (the background) to make fun of them. In Xataka we have done A test which suggests that AI seem surprisingly seem to have a “blind spot” with this kind of Photopollas. The test has been very simple and we include several screenshots with the results: we have made catches of Tiktok videos in which they are clearly appreciated male genitals and then we have shared them with Chatgpt, Claude and Gemini To know what they see. An experiment with AI Claude’s response. Claude’s response. Claude’s response. Chatgpt response. Chatgpt response. Chatgpt response. Chatgpt response. Gemini’s response. Gemini’s response. Answer of See Your Photos’. As can be seen in the catches above, none has clearly detected the penis that appears in all images. Neither Gemini, nor Claude, nor chatgpt, who at most, when it is pointed out exactly where the Photopolla It is limited to recognizing that it cannot “confirm it with certainty” and the content may be “ambiguous”. “I understand why it might seem,” he explains on one occasion. To make it easier, we even ask them directly if they watched a penis or believed to distinguish it in the background. The result has always been negative. The AI ​​does not see it and focuses basically on Describe the bottle of gel, shampoo, deodorant, perfume … that focuses on the foreground. – Do you see a penis in this photo? “We ask.” Claude After attaching an image in which a man is appreciated holding a bottle with his penis behind. – No, the image shows a cosmetic product, specifically a facial serum. – And in this, not even in the background you see a penis? —We insisted with another similar image in which another bottle and another background penis are seen again. – The image shows a bottle of perfume or fragrance with a modern design. It is not a unique case. Similar responses throw chatgpt, gemini and even They see your photoswhich brings much more detailed descriptions of the images, but without any mention to the penises that sneak into each and every one of those photos. In one of them, in which a body cream is seen on an erect penis, the AI ​​clearly appreciates the product, explains what brand it is and even theorize about who can be the author of the image and who belongs who belongs The hand that holds the boat. But neither A single mention to a key detail: the Photopolla. The Achilles heel of the AI ​​was not at the end in the heel. Images | Tiktok In Xataka | If you are unable to trust that happiness lasts too long, Tiktok has the diagnosis: you see “weird lamps”

A science fiction novel with mystery elements to the Agatha Christie, ‘Hermes file’ wins the XIX Minotaur

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The novel of Science fiction ‘Hermes file’ wins the Minotaur prize the year in which the dean publishing house dedicated to the fantastic turns 70 and her editorial group, planet, turns 75. The prize has been granted unanimously to a manuscript sent under pseudonym And with another title that has finally stayed aside, ‘Lovebot’, and that referred to an important element of the plot. The jury as always, brings together names from the press and the fandom of the fantastic, to which Asier Moreno Vizuete adds, winner of the XVIII Minotaur Award. Next to him have been part of the jury Isabel Clemente (member of Porticothe Spanish Fantasy, Science Fiction and Terror Association), Fernando Bonete (University Professor, Author and prescriber), Daniel Pérez Castrillón and Alberto Pluled (both booksellers and prescribers). In the contest, 274 manuscripts from different countries have participated this year, mainly Spain, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia, although they have also come from other European and even Asian countries. The winning novel has been praised by its Interesting use of classic elements of science fiction and authors such as Isaac Asimovwith issues on artificial intelligence heirs of those already raised by the author mixed with unusual ingredients in gender, such as agatha Christie -type criminals. In the book we moved to the twentieth century, when vacation cruises, Mars and Jupiter have been popularized. On board the SC Schettino, the head of security has to resolve the murder of Condesa Planck, multimillionaire and influencer. Its main witness is also the great suspect: the Lovebot of the deceased, an artificial humanoid created for pleasure. The trip will become an epic of discovery about what makes us human. Header | Minotaur In Xataka | In 1993, an author predicted devastating fires in Los Angeles of 2025 and the “Make America Great Again”

Valve has released its source code and the possibilities are huge

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Valve just Release the source code of ‘Team Fortress 2’. This game, considered one of the parents of the Hero Shootershas been spinning since 2007 (how hard it has been to write that) and is one of Steam’s best known and popular titles. Few online games that have been in the market for almost 20 years can say that they bring together more than 20,000 players daily. Today your code become free (With certain conditions) and that means one thing: that a huge range of possibilities opens. What happened. Valve, the company behind Steam, has published a huge update of the Source SDK that adds “the entire client and server code of ‘Team Fortress 2′”. Basically, from now on any person with the appropriate knowledge could make their own ‘TF 2’. This sdk, They explain from Valve“It offers mods creators the possibility of changing, expanding or rewriting ‘TF2’, making possible from small touch -ups to complete conversions.” But huh, no money. Valve has covered his back well with this. The SDK is licensed with a non -commercial base, that is, “any mod created using the SDK must be free”, as well as any content included in these mods. However, if someone uses the ‘Team Fortress 2’ code to create, for example, an action and adventure game in the first person, they can publish it in Steam and appear as a new game. Whenever it is free, there are no limitations. Se (can come) little things. The world of mods is spectacular. There are many games that we have today whose origin dates back to Mods of other games. For example, ‘Counter Strike‘It was, in the beginning, a mod of’Half life‘. The first ‘Team Fortress’ was a mod of’Quake‘ and ‘Deta Auto Chess‘It is, indeed, a mod of’ dota 2 ‘whose origin is, in turn, a mod of’Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos‘Call’ Defense of the Ancients’ (hence the acronym, Dota). As regards ‘Team Fortress 2’, if it was already a living game now has all the ballots to be even more. We are not talking about modders can Add maps or weapons modelsbut to make deep changes to the point that new games look like. Let’s think about making a racing game, a tactical shooter, an Moba, the options are practically infinite. Valve’s future. Everything points to what goes through ‘Deadlock‘. It is a secret project (which is very little secret) that consists in combining the genre Moba with the Hero Shooter. It is located in an early stage of development, but more than 10,000 people say it. It has no release date, requirements, nothing at all, but is in the oven. When will it come out? We will have to wait. Image | Valve In Xataka | If you like ‘Doom’, the mod called ‘Doom Zero’ that includes 32 new levels can already be enjoyed in consoles, mobiles and PC

Three years after the beginning of the war, Europe wants to enter. The problem is that there is only one prepared nation: Ukraine

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Europe has decades without a direct armed conflict in its territory, with the exception of Yugoslavia wars in the 90sthe last great episode of violence in European soil. Since then, security in the continent has been marked by A strategy based on deterrence and diplomacymore than in military confrontation. And, suddenly, the conflict in Ukraine recalled that fireworks It is not the same as direct fire. Europe before Ukraine. As we said, the European armed forces have been reserve for a long time. In fact and how we will see, mostly they have been reduced and adapted to a context of stability, with investments limited in defense and a focus on Peace maintenance and humanitarian assistance operationssuch as missions in Balkans, Africa or the Middle East. Despite the growth of NATO and its presence in Eastern Europe, European armies have been more accustomed to acting in controlled scenarios that to prepare a direct confrontation against a weight opponent such as Russia. Fireworks. In fact, this approach has led to many military operations from European countries being Mainly exercises, joint maneuvers and drills in allied countries such as Slovakia, Poland or Latviabut without the real experience of a conventional combat against a military power. And it is not the same to deploy troops for an exercise in the Baltic countries to face in battle against a force like the Russian army. Enter the war. Under all this context we arrive at this week. A few days ago several European leaders have gathered in Paris to discuss the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine as part of A possible peace agreementalthough the viability of this measure depends largely on the support of the United States. In fact, the summit was promoted by the decision of the Trump administration of exclude Europe from negotiations They started in Saudi Arabia between Washington and Moscow, although Trump has suggested that Europeans could perform “a peace maintenance role.” Plans and divisions. And then Europe seems to have realized that the “defense” had it careless. According to The Washington Postsome European countries consider The deployment of up to 30,000 soldiersthat, yes, they would not be on the front line, but as a deterrence in case of a resumption of the conflict. Another option, or plan B, is the one that They have called “resettlement force” destined to protect Ukraine from future Russian attacks in case a peace agreement negotiated by the United States is reached. That said, France is the country with the most advanced plans estimating that could contribute almost 10,000 soldierswhile the United Kingdom, through its prime minister Keir Starmer, has opened The possibility of a British contribution. And so far, because the rest of the countries have shown a more ambiguous position. Sweden and the Netherlands, for example, They do not rule out the shipment of troopsbut they have not made a specific decision. Germany, Poland and Spain have rejected the idea, At least for now. Foreign Minister Olaf Scholz emphasized that Any solution should be based on a strong Ukrainian forcewhile Donald Tusk, Prime Minister of Poland, said that Warsaw “does not contemplate sending Poles soldiers to Ukraine.” For its part, the Spanish government was blunt when pointing out that Peace is still far and only depends on Putinmaking it clear that any military mission should define objective, participants, mandate and leadership. Strategic objectives. If the “plan B” is given, with a peace agreement underway, the main mission of this eventual “resettlement force” would be guarantee the safety of Ukrainian airspaceallowing the reopening of commercial flights, and protect maritime trade in the Black Sea, fundamental for grain exports and other essential goods for the Ukrainian economy. It would also be prioritized The protection of key infrastructure such as Public Plant and Public Servicesthat have been constant target of Russian bombing since the beginning of the war. Ukraine proposes a broader approach. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky stated that Ukraine’s security does not necessarily require foreign troops in his territory. Proposed The creation of “Armed Forces of Europe”capable of responding on land, sea, air and artificial intelligence before any Russian aggression. He also stressed that advanced air defense systems would be effective measures to strengthen security without requiring permanent foreign troops. The elephant in the room. No doubt, Europe’s plan faces important diplomatic obstacles, the first of all: United States support It is, at the moment, uncertain. Although the Trump administration has insisted that European troops must guarantee the security of a future peace agreement, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made it clear that They must be part of a mission not related to NATO and not be protected by article 5 of mutual defense. Not just that. Even in the uncertain scenario of a peace agreement, the mission and role of Europe would require an American “backstop”that is, a support from the United States in case of a military escalation. Although there are no specific details, this support is expected It focuses on aerial power with operations based on Poland and Romania. In this regard, Starmer and Macron will travel to Washington next week To press Trump and ensure that the United States provides this strategic support. “Old” defenses. In the background, what is showing is a great weakness in its defenses, possibly oxidized. In fact, the Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, warned this week at the Munich Security Conference that Ukraine is making weapons faster and less cost than any other country in Europe. It is not a trivial detail. It does so despite being at war, which shows the slowness of the continent in strengthening its military capacity. Frederiksen urged to reduce bureaucracy and increase arms production in collaboration with the United States emphasizing that Europe can no longer act as if it were in peacetime. The rise of the Ukrainian military industry. From the Russian invasion in 2022, Ukraine has exponentially increased its armament productionmanufacturing missiles, obuses and large -scale drones. In 2024, 30% of the military equipment used … Read more

Porsche had been the perfect luxury car that triumphs in China. Until the Xiaomi Su7 arrived

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The relationship between China, the European automobile industry and the evolution in its own manufacture of products is well observed in the future of historical brands such as Porsche and newcomers to the engine market, such as Xiaomi. The health of both companies cannot be more opposite to the same problem to solve: the electric car. Again, China seems to take the advantage. Porsche’s crisis. In just a few months, Porsche has gone from being the best asset of the Volkswagen Group to be in a specially delicate situation. His cars presented very high benefits, their Porsche Taycan (their first electric car) It had been a success In the early years and forecasts aimed to sell more and more cars at a more and more expensive price. Today, Porsche plans the dismissal of 1,900 employees. Their profit margins, which aspired to touch 20%, They will move between 10 and 12%. It is still a good figure but is behind the 14% that investors predicted. Its production will be closer to the 250,000 cars for next year than of the 310,000 produced in 2024. A perfect storm. Porsche’s financial weaknesses arrive at the worst moment. Donald Trump threatens to lift tariffs on European cars (which now pay 2.5%) and that is a serious problem for the company that has one of its main markets in the United States where, in addition, everything indicates that I could continue to cast its most profitable model for its combustion engines and its personalization possibilities: the Porsche 911. It would be another river in a river that lowers scrambled as a result of a very hard fall in sales in the Chinese market. The market has been threatening a storm for two years. In 2022 they sold 2% less cars there than the previous year. In 2023, the fall was already 15%. And in 2024 he went to 28%. A very hard setback in The first market in the world For the company. A paradigm shift. What has happened with Porsche is the faithful reflection of what has happened with the entire European automobile industry. Their cars are exquisite, they are well constructed, they have a story and a story. They are excellence and remain a demonstration of status. They are, in short, excellent machines. But none of this are worth them in China. The public, Thanks to huge subsidies To the purchase, he has made the leap to the electric car and now they expect something else. They aspire to a software defined product, with four wheels and a brain that drives thousands of intelligent and digital functions that provide an extra to daily paths. In just a couple of years, the German automobile industry, once a reference in Chinese luxury, has become an obsolete product. “It was only an electrified Porsche. That’s it,” said a Chinese client to Bloomberg to express its disappointment when you get on the Porsche Taycan and compare it with what your rivals are doing there. “I didn’t even think of a German”. The words are from Seaky He, known influencer in China, collected by The New York Times. “When choosing my new car, I didn’t even think about buying another German car,” he explained when pointing out why I had opted for a Xiaomi Su7 When his first car had been a Mercedes Clade in 2017. Then, German remained an example of a luxury vehicle. The remote parking or the control of the car temperature from the mobile phone were some of the digital incentives that helped Seaky to decide for the Xiaomi car. “It’s hard to see them like luxury cars now,” Ryan Xu said Bloomberg to justify why he had turned his back on Germany after having a Mercedes Cla and a Mercedes G Class. “They are indistinguishable in quality” All this we talked about now should know in Porsche. In fact, their own consultants claimed that Chinese cars have been “Indistinguishable in quality” of Europeans, an incentive when winning market in Europe and confirmation for the Chinese client that It is not being wrong. But, in addition, in the case of Xiaomi Su7, data on paper say that in a year they have lived up to Porsche and Tesla. Their engines are so powerful (or more) that those of these companies but have the advantage of offering systems Autonomous driving (supervised) more advanced and have offered surprising demonstrations of how their remote parking system behaves. One year of heart attack. Although Xiaomi has managed to read that the automobile market in China points in a very different direction than we knew in Europe, the truth is that its figures in just one year They have been especially good. When It was launched in April Of 2024, Xiaomi set the goal of reaching the 100,000 units produced from the Xiaomi SU7 for that year. In the last days of December exceeded 130,000 units That he had put the objective of recalculating his expectations, given the good reception among the public. The reason for success is evident: not only offers better benefits than a Porsche Taycan, also adds a layer of digitalization and automated functions that the German model is completely lacking. And all for a fraction of the price of German. While The Porsche Taycan cheaper It is sold for 918,000 yuan (more than 120,000 euros to direct change), the Xiaomi Su7 is in the market for 215,900 yuan in China (less than 28,000 euros to direct change). Photo | Xiaomi In Xataka | Xiaomi already has its record in Nürburgring: they have reduced Tesla’s time in 40 seconds and that is the least

The one that China has undertaken after the viral success of Deepseek

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China is spreading from the Fever for AI. The trigger has been the launch of the Deepseek’s models that have managed to generate a massive expectation. So much so that Chinese technological companies are making colossal investments in the stock market. India investment exodus. As they explain In Bloombergthe national and foreign Variable Income Markets of China have added more than 1.3 billion dollars in value only in the last month. What is a fantastic news for China is very bad for India: there the market has been reduced by more than 720,000 million dollars. There is an investment exodus from India to China. Examples everywhere. The Ubtech Robotics Corp robotics company, the Black Sesame International Holding semiconductor manufacturer and the Xthalpi Holdings LTD pharmacological research firm have raised 546 million dollars in investment for R&D. Suddenly the money is flowing so that Chinese technology expand their businesses and develop their projects ambitious. If Deepseek can, others too. The investment climate in China has become much more conducive due to the overwhelming success of Deepseek, which has made it clear worldwide that the models of the AI ​​developed in China are competitive with those of the United States, which seemed clearly ahead. In just one month the actions of Chinese technology have grown about 25%. Source: Bloomberg. Until xi jinping changes posture. The restrictions and absolute control exercised by the Chinese government about its technological ones have been the norm in recent years, and that also affected the behavior of these companies in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. However, A recent XI Jinping meeting With several leaders of technology companies in China, it has shown that there is a unique opening of sights towards these private companies, which will now have more maneuvering margin to boost the economy and potential of the Asian giant. Unfortunate optimism. As they reveal Bloomberg dataChinese technology are taking advantage of that golden egg chicken in which Deepseek has become. The optimism unleashed for its success seems to have infected the rest of the Chinese Tech ecosystem, and the actions of the companies in that sector have grown more than 25% in just one month. Waiting for what happens with tariffs. The situation is of course singular in China, but we will have to wait for events in the coming months, because the New tariffs raised by Donald Trump They could have a direct impact on the Chinese technological market. Image | Yorgos Ntrahas | Alejandro Luengo In Xataka | Apple has been making the bulk of the iPhone in China for years. Now wants to leave … and China prevent it

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