Month: May 2025

While half the world seeks more lithium, some researchers from China have eliminated it from the equation: batteries with bacteria

by

The shortage of critical resources such as lithium and cobalt has been being a warningsince they are essential for the manufacture of batteries. However, a group of Chinese engineers have found a solution that does not require mining or polluting processes: it only needs bacteria. The study. Researchers from the Shenzhen Advanced Technology They have developed A battery that works with live bacteria. These microorganisms are electroactive, that is, they produce electricity. So the system uses hydrogels that contain living bacteria To conduct electricity and generate it, in addition within the soft material they are protected. Tangible applications Biobatería has a small size and ability to generate energy autonomously, ideal for integrating into portable devices, especially in the medical field. One of its most promising uses is the precise control of physiological functions such as blood pressure, by directed bioelectric stimulation. In this way, a door opens to new forms of physiotherapy, real -time monitoring and devices that do not require frequent recharge or toxic materials. More technical. Biobatería generates electricity thanks to the activity of bacteria such as Shewanella Oneidensis MR-1, which are contained in a alginate-based gel. The material It can be molded With 3D printers, which allows to design it. Its size of 20 mm in diameter and 3.2 mm high contains: a gel with bacteria that acts as an anode, another gel with a chemical that acts as a cathode, and a special membrane that allows the passage of ions between them. Replaces lithium? Its specific capacity (0.4 mAh/g) and energy density (0.008 WH/L) are lower than those of lithium -ion batteries, this biobatría offers a more sustainable alternative: it does not use critical materials or toxic components. In addition, it maintains a bacterial viability of 70 % during its operation and reaches 97.6 % at the end, which speaks of remarkable stability and efficiency. Forecasts Biobaterías are still far from reaching lithium in capacity or energy density. But what they lose potentially, compensate for it with other virtues: they are recharged alone, they are highly efficient and, above all, biocompatible. These qualities make them especially suitable for very specific uses, such as nerve stimulation, control of physiological functions or the operation of bioportile devices. Image | Unspash and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory – PNNL Xataka | Biological batteries? These bacteria can create a world based on renewable energies

There is an old Soviet probe about to fall on earth. The disturbing thing is that it was designed to resist hell

by

A piece of Soviet spatial history, the Kosmos 482 probe, is about to conclude its very long 53 -year -old odyssey. And in the most disturbing way possible: falling on us. Context. Launched on March 31, 1972, this Soviet ship was destined Venus, but A failure after its launch left it stranded In the Earth’s orbit. 53 years later, its final decrease is imminent: it is expected to be re -entered into the atmosphere around May 10. The probe does not contain nuclear materials, and the risk of properties or people is low … but it is not null. And you don’t want an object of half a ton that falls from the sky to hit you. Kosmos 482. Twin sister of the successful Venera 8 mission, she was launched only four days later, but unlike the first, she failed to land in Venus. The upper Blok-Nvl stage of the Molniya rocket that transported the Kosmos 482 went out prematurely, leaving the probe trapped in a very high elliptical terrestrial orbit (initially 206 x 9,800 km high). Faithful to the secretism of the time, The Soviet Union never admitted the ruling And he simply baptized the mission with the generic designation “Kosmos 482”. After three days, several fragments that had separated from the ship rented over New Zealand, where some remains were even recovered, such as cylindrical fuel deposits. Other objects associated with the mission rented in 1981 and 1983. Designed for Venusian hell. The object that has resisted all this time is the mission descent capsule, aimed at landing in Venus. It is estimated that this sphere has an approximate diameter of one meter and a mass of about 500 kilograms. Here comes the interesting thing: this capsule was designed to survive the infernal atmosphere of Venus, a planet whose average temperature on the surface is 464 ° C. As he points out Satellite analyst Marco Langbroekit is possible that relatively whole to the reentry of the Earth’s atmosphere, although the reentry trajectory and the seniority of the capsule reduce the possibility that it is intact at the time of the impact With the parachute deployed? The imminent reentry has intensified the follow -up by satellite observers. The amateur astronomer Ralf Vandebergh has achieved telescopic images of the object in which it seems to have a parachute. “There is a compact ball, but several frames show a weak elongated structure on a particular side of the ball,” He said to Space.com. In addition, the object could be tumbos, so it is only visible at times. How to follow the reentry. Kosmos 482 Orbit the Earth every 90 minutes in a inclination of 52 degrees. This means that the reentry can occur anywhere between latitudes 52 ° North and 52 ° South. The space -track estimated reentry window and analysts such as Langbroek focuses on May 10, 2025, with an uncertainty of 2 or 3 days that will be reduced as the moment approaches. The ship will make a series of visible passes from the northern hemisphere at dawn just around the planned reentry dates. Sites like Heavens-Above already include predictions of visible passes for Kosmos 482. When the man walked on the moon. The fall of Kosmos 482 is a tangible reminder of the golden era of space exploration and the intense race towards Venus, which followed the lunar race. This 1972 relic (the last year in which man walked on the moon), will return to a radically different world, increasingly congested by thousands of active satellites and a growing amount of space garbage. Image | POT In Xataka | Unable to solve the problem of garbage on earth, humanity has generated one more: space garbage

You do not have enough workers to attend them

by

Greece has a huge challenge ahead if he wants his tourism sector to continue growing. And it has nothing to do with transport or promotion. Your problem is much more basic: employment. Although the sector moves thousands of millions of euros, it has A prominent weight In the national GDP and the country has started the year with A considerable increase Visitors, Greek hotels and restaurants see how the high season is approaching with squalid templates. The sector speaks of 80,000 vacanciesa great work emptiness that It has worsened over the years. The question is … How to combine the increase of tourists with the shortage of personnel? And above all, is Greece the spearhead that advances what can happen in Other countries? A growing sector. With the increasingly distant memory of COVID-19 and the pandemic break, things paint well in the Greek tourism sector. Last year he received almost 36 million of foreign visitors, 3.2 million more than in 2023. The fact marks a historical maximum that resulted in 21.7 billion euros, according to The Government. The forecasts for this year are not bad, something important if you take into account The considerable weight of tourism In the Greek economy. The National Bank estimates that it will grow above 5% with an increasingly unstacted offer. For now, the sector has started 2025 with an increase in foreign visitors and income and in Athens is expected A record of visitors in summer. THE GREAT CHALLENGE: EMPLOYMENT. The problem is that for a country to stand out on the international tourist map, it does not arrive with having beaches, deposits, good weather and a first cuisine. The sector needs something much more basic and structural: laboura template capable of attending to that growing flow of visitors. And in Greece that part of the gear has been failing. Explains it today The Guardian in An article In which he details that, just a few weeks after the high season in the region, the hospitality and food sector, key pieces of the tourism industry, have pending 80,000 positions. A huge hole of vacancies that is equivalent to a personnel deficit in the receptions of hotels and bars. The most curious thing is that the problem is not new. The Greek tourism industry has been dragging it for a long time without, so far, it has found a way to solve it. On the contrary. The Athenian newspaper Kathimerini explained a year ago That the personnel deficit in hotels and restaurants has been aggravated as postpandemic tourism recovered: in 2021 he added 57,700 vacancies, in 2022 they were already 60,000, in 2023 the 60,000 were exceeded and in 2024 there were 80,000, 53,000 corresponding to hotels and 30,000 to the hospitality industry. Hotels, the big challenge. In April Scan TV He already warned that the sector appears to a new summer campaign with the same problem and required that the deficit remains around the 80,000 jobs, a hole that is felt especially in hotels. The challenge is not only to find employees willing to cover those vacancies, but to find trained professionals, which is what entrepreneurs are missing. “What we are seeing is an unprecedented shortage of qualified and experienced workers,” alert the president of the Panhellenic Federation of Food and Tourism Workers, Poeet. But … why? That is the big question. If the Greek tourism industry grows, receives more visitors and enters more money, why does it cost so much to find staff? There are several factors at stake. One of the main ones, such as Remember from Poeetit is “the exodus of employees” that during the pandemic left the sector (very punished for confinements and restrictions) and no longer returned. To that is added the Demographic decline of Greece, which has been losing population for years until 10.4 million of inhabitants, and the emigration of Thousands of students and workers After the economic crisis of 2008. In fact, tourism is not the only one sector that has encountered difficulties in finding employees in the country. It happens to agriculture or construction. The Greek authorities insist that in recent years thousands of positions have been created in sectors such as logistics, commerce or health and are trying to capture professionals from other emigrated countries and compatriots. There are those who has seen an exit in the regulation of immigrants who illegally reach the country or in asylum applicants. The Guardian Precise that some have already received training in the Hellenic Association of Hotels to work in the country. The background problem. The hospitality will not be easy. Although demand grows and the authorities emphasize that tourism It is being disseminatedremains a sector with very specific conditions that complicate to capture labor. “Once the season is over, workers are only entitled to three months of unemployment. How do you expect to survive the rest of the year?” He wonders Giorgos Hotzoglou, from Poett, in statements to The Guardian. The truth is that with the deficit of professionals as a backdrop, Greek workers have already mobilized to protest their loss of purchasing power, motivated by low wages and high cost of life. “The situation of the workers of the hotel sector in Greece is especially difficult, with a high level of precarious work, hours of work not registered and low wages,” The association warns EFFAT. Precisely to avoid marathon days, the country has just released a hours of registration of hours, the Digital work card. Images | Terrazzo (Flickr) and Dermuecke (Flickr) In Xataka | Japan has realized that to welcome 60 million tourists, something lacks: workers in the hotels

We have been in LaLiga IPS for three months. The worrying thing is that they are not going unless, but more

by

During the last three monthsLaLiga has not stopped ordering IPS blockages to fight against illegal soccer matches through IPTV services. These blockages have only intensified, and more and more affected legitimate websites are. The last victim: Twitch. Intensive blocks. Sergio Conde, an engineer at Tinybird, monitored the blockages and published his conclusions in X. There highlighted How the blockades affected twice IPS on Sunday – with Real Madrid game – compared to Saturday. During this meeting other users They showed As 12 cloudflare DNS servers were fallen. What about Twitch. These blockages are also producing more and more intensive and extend even at times when there are no broadcasts of LaLiga. Last Friday Some of the IPS included in the blockages were used by Twitch, although they point out In TorrentfreakThey affected the streamers irregularly. It is surprising that even that service is affected, especially considering that LaLiga maintains good commercial relations with Amazon/Twitch and there has already been joint projects Between both companies. More and more affected. Eduardo Saldaña, co -director of the middle the world order, complained in x last Saturday when its platform – a legitimate company, Like so many others affected– It was inaccessible. “Our case is one of many others,” he said. “There are thousands of pages and companies that are affected their activity by the sentence in favor of the Football League …”. For him this “is the same as bombing a neighborhood because there are two floors that traffic with drugs”, explained. And economic and reputational losses follow. What Conde raised is the same as many users and companies that have seen how their businesses end up economically or reputationally harmed by these IPS blockages. We already talked to some of the victims of these LaLiga actions that told us how they had noticed diverse impacts at an economic level, and in one of the cases they highlighted us how “We have gone from entering 70,000 euros per month to 40,000” And “unemployed” websites. But in addition to these problems for companies or users who offer their blocked IPS contents, there is the damage to users, who still cannot access websites of all kinds. The domino effect of the blockade has caused singular situations: Sponsors of teams of the First Division Soccer League have been inaccessible, as websites have also done like that of the Royal Academy of Language. IPS blocks usually last hours, but in some cases these blockages are indefinite and have been active weeks. Not only cloudflare. On the website Is there now football? It is possible to monitor the state of the blockages, and there you can check in the “Timeline” section how during the weekend the blockages to several IPS were notable during the retransmission of LaLiga matches, from 4:00 p.m. to 00:00. These blockages, of course, affected Cloudflare IPS, but also to other CDNs. In the case of getting or quic.cloud, some IPS literally have literally blocked weeks. Without forecasting to change anything. LaLiga’s insistence on this type of blocks suggests that at least until the current league season does not finish – at the end of May – the blockages will continue to be produced. There are no news In the legal fieldand the question, of course, is what will happen later. The sentence In which LaLiga is supported, it extends until season 2026/27 included, which could lengthen these problems until then. Image | LaLiga In Xataka | “Every time there is football, the website falls”: the collateral effects of LaLiga blockages in thousands of users

We take more and more mercury through fish. There are those who want to solve it with “design” probiotics

by

The presence of mercury in fish (or in some fish) is A growing problem in the field of food security. Prolonged exposure to this pollutant is an important risk to people’s health, a risk that could go worse in the coming years. Detox, but real. A team of researchers has manipulated a bacterium present in the digestive system of humans to do it Able to eliminate methylmercury present in fish. In a study with mice, the mechanism allowed this toxin to reach other organs of the animal, such as brain or liver. An increasing problem. He methylmercury It is a cation, a molecule with a positive charge, which gives its name to a series of compounds that integrate this form of mercury. Methylmercurio is also the most common way in which we can find organic mercury naturally. Mercury in its different forms is a pollutant present not only in some pesticides but also in Gas emissions to the atmosphere. These mercury residues end up arriving at the sea and the trophic chain, a process called “biomagnification.” This heavy metal tends to accumulate more in larger fish and in those closest to the cusp of the “food pyramid.” And from there, to our kitchens. Design bacteria. The work It started from a known bacterium and abundant in our digestive system, Thetaiotaomicron bacteroids. It inserted coding DNA enzymes from another known bacterium present in the soil, a bacterium with a determining feature, its resistance to mercury. Probiotics The team first checked In vitro that these bacteria had managed to become resistant to methylmercury, and then administer bacteria to mice. These soon were integrated into the digestive system of mammals, which was administered orally to study the impact. The team first analyzed the effect of The administration of a large amount of this compound. They found that in the mice to whom the new bacterium had been administered, the mercury began to disappear shortly after its administration, a purification process that lasted for about four days. In the long term. The team also studied the effects of moderate but prolonged mercury consumption in time. The team altered the mice diet and made it rich in red tuna, one of the fish with higher heavy metal concentrations. Not only did they verify that the methylmercury continued to disappear from the digestive systems of the mice, they also verified that it did not permeate the body of these. The team studied the effect on pregnant mice, checking that methylmercury levels were kept low in maternal and fetal tissues, including less toxicity in the fetus’s brain. The details of the study were published In an article In the magazine Cell Host & Microbe. A problem that will go worse before better. The study opens the way to the use of “design” probiotics that could help us avoid the worst consequences of mercury pollution. This method does not attack the root problem but, as their own creators explain, it can help us address a problem without a short -term solution. “Despite global efforts to reduce mercury emissions and their accumulation in fish, metercurio levels are not expected stood out in a press release Amina Schartup, co -author of the study. In Xataka | Some researchers were following a tuna. Suddenly they discovered that I was on a road on the way to Birmingham Image | Ryutaro Tsukata

The problem with Tesla Cybertruck is not its price, you don’t know if it comes direct from a field

by

The story of Reza Sostani is the best summary of the Tesla disaster with his Cybertruck. A Texan client that took only one day to return it after buying it. The reason? He acquired the Tesla Cybertruck on April 25 and, just a few hours later, the vehicle was ready for collection. This immediacy in the delivery, despite what it might seem, is bad news. The Lostani case. Relatani says He is one of the buyers of the Cybertruck in Tesla. On April 25 he made the order of the car, surprising after the immediate allocation of Vin number (number of identification chassis of each vehicle) and notification on the same day that his car was prepared for the collection. Different, he decided to ask Tesla from where the vehicle came from and how it was possible that he was ready. The Tesla representative he consulted soon in giving him the news: his cybertruck had left the factory on January 8. The Cybertruck and their dates. Buying a vehicle that has been manufactured for a few months has an immediate translation: stock accumulation. In the case of Tesla this is especially relevant, since its models usually have high demand (Model 3) and it is common for stock units to have a few weeks old. If we take into account that it is an open secret that Tesla is accumulated outdoors thousands of cybertruck that He can’t sell for monthsthe rejection of the buyer to one with four months is more than understandable. Manufacture and park. That a vehicle spends four months stored in a campaign is not the best for your health. In the case of an electric vehicle, it is especially relevant, since the battery storage temperature, its load level, air ventilation to avoid moisture, possible oxides … Everything influences. One of the photographers of Tesla’s gigafactories published in X, without giving much more data about itthe image that shows dozens of cybertrucks freshly production. Some of them were ready to be delivered, others would remain waiting for owner. Tesla Model 3 highland that had not yet been sold, stranded in fields Hundreds of tesla not sold, stacked in another field. The problem with the fields. The problem is that, on more than one occasion, He has hunted Tesla accumulating in Campas Hundreds of without selling vehicles. And, yes, there will be some lucky owner who ends up sending one of the Tesla who has been outdoor months. It is not a car to play it. The maturity that Tesla has achieved by refining the manufacture of Model 3 or the Model and It is quite far from the Cybertruck historic. This electric truck has a terrible depreciation For their very high repair costs, their numerous call calls and the various problems associated with its manufacture. It is predictable that the potential customer of a Cybertruck is new, something that clashes frontally with the gigantic vehicle park without selling that Tesla has now in its factories. More manufacture than sales. This excess stock responds to a basic: Tesla has manufactured many more cybertrucks than its public demands. So much, that the company is starting to lower the price drastically and open to new markets, such as Saudi Arabia, to stabilize sales. Last April we had news about an inevitable response to this situation: Tesla is beginning to reduce the production of the Cybertruck and reducing up to half some of its production equipment, According to Business Insider sources. Image | Joe Tegtmeyer In Xataka | The owners of a Tesla Cybertruck “packed” it with solar panels for $ 10,000. They won 7 kilometers of autonomy

More than 2.5 million people have attended a concert by Lady Gaga. It is not excellent news for music

by

If someone wondered if THE FIASCO AT CUP OF ‘JOKER: Folie à Deux’ I was going to have a negative impact on Lady Gaga’s career, this weekend the artist has been in charge of demonstrating that she has not been beating a worldwide record: about two and a half million peopleaccording to sources from Lady Gaga, they gathered in Rio de Janeiro for a direct artist. It is the largest amount of audiences ever gathered for a female singer, thus exceeding the figure that Madonna had previously held with 1.6 million people. Free abracadabra. The artist played on the beach of Copacabana before these two and a half million spectators, and came to thank the presence of the crowd live. In the previous days, the fever by the singer, who has been preparing the event since last Tuesday, has taken over Brazil. Lady Gaga had been seen for the territory for 12 years, and took the opportunity to review all her great successes, including some of her last supervants, ‘Mayhem’. After being a sign in Coachella and giving this historic concert, the singer addresses Singapore. Shortly after the world tour will begin to promote his latest album. More macroconcientes. The echo that Lady Gaga’s concert has had nothing strange: the macroconciente is, paradoxically, The new music expression unit. Media mastodon with a media deployment only within reach of the largest and that are the musical equivalent of Marvel’s-evidence. Its profitability is beyond doubt: in Spain in 2024, live music entered 25.32% more than the previous year, 725.6 million euros. This upward traction is only possible in terms of great events and concerts in giant enclosures. The authentic business. We can jump to a global scale: According to Pollstar dataonly the 100 most successful tours in the world (that is, all macroconcientes) reached a joint collection of 9.5 billion dollars. If we take into account that the music industry globally billed 29.6 billion dollars in 2024we can get an idea of ​​how important this part of the business is: practically a third of the total. Let’s add another nuance: in 2023, concerts and macroconcientes They generated 304 million euros in Spainbut its real economic impact was 2.2 billion euros. The figures are multiplied in proportion to global scale, and it is understood why the industry is interested in supporting the great events, however expensive they are. The roller of the macroconciente. Macrofestivals and macroconcierts have become a completely autonomous monster and outside the industry movements. Undoubtedly, this new normality of the industry has affected, above all, the smallest concerts and the most modest proposals. As Cruz saysauthor of the ‘macrofestival’ essay, “the penalty is that the possibility of enjoying live music is only in enclosures with 40,000 people, video screens, overlapping groups. We should be able to have other ways to consume live music because I believe that this does not generate public for music, but in any case for more festivals.” More money does not imply growth. Or said with figures, Pollstar numbers of 2024 they throw a paradox. While concert revenues increased by number 8.7 % compared to the same period of 2023 and the number of shows increased by 16.7 %, which suggested an expanding industry, that growth is not uniform. On the other hand, the average gross income per show fell 6.9 % and the average number of tickets sold by show decreased by 14.9 % (what does this mean: that in a year the tickets have risen notoriously at the price). Obstacles for the rooms. All these figures point to a domination of macroeventos and macroconciertes in the musical panorama. And it is not necessary to go to the specific numbers: in Madrid, institutional efforts are turned into the Reopening of Santiago Bernabeu and in a fight with Barcelona to see who organizes the most gigantic event. Meanwhile, legislation for small rooms and events is extremely demandingwith very noticeable capacity limitations, and the most modest concert organizers find continuous obstacles to access specific subsidies or to guarantee the survival of their businesses. The artist loses. The artists themselves in groups not only small (who often have to pay rates for the rental of concert rooms), but of medium impact and sometimes international reach, they lose with the comparison. British Kate Nash talked about how after a medium -sized room tour I could lose 50,000 pounds. A few weeks ago, the group of Wales the peasants! He took off the costs of turning out of his country, and no matter how successful they had, the accounts They hardly square. The Spaniards Viva Belgrade talked about how La Riviera and Tokyo Salas filled and They couldn’t live from music. They are just some examples that give away a situation that may not be reversed. The monster of the macroconciertes devours the most modest scene, and it is not so much a popular impact problem (two and a half million people!) Or income for the industry, but of something so simple and essential for the survival of music as there are still groups that compose new songs, and that make the medium beyond the castle of fireworks. Header | Ralph_ph – Peter e In Xataka | Taylor Swift has already released 34 editions from his latest album. OBJECTIVE: Never abandon success lists

Venice established a rate to combat tourism hordes. Japan has copied the strategy: the one that arrives, pays

by

It happened recently with the arrival of the “Holy Week.” Venice enhanced a little more That pioneering toll years ago. The figures that threw the input rate had gone so well, that the city He folded his price. A measure for which Italy sought to restore the balance between the rights of residents and the massive arrival of visitors. A nation has followed the popular enclave: Japan. Mass tourism and fiscal burden. We have been telling: Japan does not stop Receive touristsand given the unstoppable increase, a growing number of Japanese municipalities It has begun To look at the rates used in other enclaves Like Venice: Implement specific taxes for foreigners, in an effort to compensate for the growing costs that tourism activity imposes on local communities. According to Nikkeithese measures mainly include accommodation taxes per night, but are also expanding towards more innovative taxation forms that seek to exclude local payment residents, applying the principle of “who causes, pays.” The objective is clear: preserve fiscal viability of towns and cities that face a reverse demographic pressure (populations in decline in front of booming tourism) and sustain fundamental public services without moving the burden to those who live there permanently. Accommodation tax. Since Tokyo pioneered a pioneer fixed tax per person And by night in the accommodations, others 11 locations They have joined, the most recent of them Atamiin the prefecture of Shizuoka, which began to collect a tribute from 200 yen per night April 1. This tax, which will generate about 600 million annual yen, will serve to finance the new Atami Tourism Office and local activities such as fireworks festivals. The model adopted by most cities consists of fixed rates, staggered depending on the price of accommodation, to facilitate their collection and minimize the administrative load on hotels and hosts. However, there is a unique case with Kutchanin Hokkaido, which since 2019 imposes A 2% tax On the cost of accommodation in its resort area, a pioneering measure that other municipalities, such as Rusutsuthey study to replicate. Miyajima and the model. One of the most significant developments has been the tax applied by Hatsukaichi for access the island of Miyajimathat since October 2023 gravel with 100 additional yen to each ferry passenger. The measure, inspired by the principle of the so -called as “cause pays”seeks that visitors (not residents) absorb the costs derived from their presence, such as waste management, traffic and water and sewerage services. Unlike other rates aimed at promoting tourism, this is a general tax that can be used for any area of ​​the local budget. With a population of just 1,400 people and 4.85 million visitors in 2024, Miyajima was has become a symbol how mass tourism can overflow the operational capacity of a heritage enclave without adequate corrective measures. Biei: Combined taxes. Another illustrative case occurs in Bieialso in Hokkaido, who proposed A double taxation to balance the impact of tourists: a 200 yen accommodation tax per night and a parking charge in the Shirogane Blue Parkone of its main tourist attractions. With 2.39 million visitors in 2023 but only 158,000 overnight stays, most tourists are one -day hikers, which motivated A mixed scheme For everyone to contribute. Both measures are expected to collect more than 239 million annual yenresources that will be used both to maintain services and to support agricultural policies, in an attempt to reinforce the local economy from multiple fronts. Challenges and risks. As both prefectures and municipalities adopt their own variants of these taxes, new challenges arise, including the double taxation risk in areas where regional and local rates coincide. In addition, given that the fiscal performance of these measures depends directly on the concentration of accommodation facilities, the regions with the highest proportion of visitors without prolonged stay can be at a disadvantage, accentuating territorial inequalities. Solution? Some local governments (such as Sadoin Niigata) have considered alternatives such as Input taxes generalized to the island, which would simplify the collection and guarantee a more equitable distribution of the tax burden between short and long -term visitors. Local response to a global phenomenon. In short, the backdrop of this proliferation of tourist rates is still A paradox Increasingly common: destinations of international fame that at the same time face the collapse of their resident population and the overload of their services for the massive influx of those tourists once longed for their economies. As He counted in Nikkei Mneaki AokiProfessor at the University of Kanagawa and advisor to the tax systems of Miyajima and Biei, the “cause pays” adapts well to places where tourists exceed largely in number to the permanent inhabitants. Faced with tourism as a blessing and burden, these mechanisms seek a more pragmatic solution: conserve hospitality without sacrificing tax sustainability (or local quality of life). In that sense, Japan, with its meticulous normative approach, becomes a RARE Av of policy laboratory that could inspire other countries under the same dilemma, going from “copying” Enclaves like Venice to become a pioneer with their own initiatives. Image | Pexels In Xataka | Venice has just activated his plan against mass tourism: an entry rate that doubles its price In Xataka | Japan has realized that to welcome 60 million tourists, something lacks: workers in the hotels

United States Fracking

by

The oil market has been going through a complex scenario for months, marked by Failed stabilization attempts, Tariff war and one OPEC+ increasingly divided. This combination of factors has pushed the price of crude to $ 60 per barrel, well below the profitability threshold for many producers. To this context is added a new pressure element: China It has begun to produce its own oil. In response, Saudi Arabia has decided not to give its hegemony. Short. Saudi Arabia has decided to increase its oil production for the second month of consecutive together with seven more OPEC+countries. According to Reutersthe organization will add 411,000 barrels more to the market in June, which has caused an immediate drop in prices: Brent has collapsed more than 4%, below 59 dollars, and the WTI has fallen to $ 56. This production rise has been interpreted by some analysts as an energy reconfiguration signal. However, not everyone believes that it is a war opened by the market share. According to Giovanni StaunovoUBS analyst, the measure is part of a “managed reduction” of the previous cuts, more than a direct offensive. Even so, the market has reacted nervously, as if the fear of an excess supply was already inevitable. Cheaper. The Saudi kingdom has made it clear that it is willing to live with a cheaper crude, even if that implies tensioning its own finances, such as has detailed Financial Times. And of course, the question revolves around why he has taken this course. The hypothesis that has raised The energy expert, Helima Croft, is that Riyad is tried to discipline the members that generate more problems within the group: Kazakhstan, Iraq and the United Arab Emirates, which have been producing above their quotas. When flooding the market and push the prices down, the message is clear: if they do not cooperate, everyone will lose. There are more parts of the puzzle. This strategy is pushing prices with the aim of getting the most expensive producers from the game, specifically the United States. The energy analyst, Javier Blas, He explained That the tactic was applied in 2014 and 2016, and the then Saudi Minister of Petroleum, Ali al-Naimi, was blunt: “US companies could cut expenses, borrow or close if the barrel fell below $ 50.” Today, with the WTI around $ 56, the message is the same: if fracking does not survive these prices, will be out of the market. Collateral damage. However, this movement shakes its own allies. According to Financial TimesRussia, who has been a key partner in the OPEC+ alliance since 2016, needs high prices to balance its public accounts. In that sense, Saudi Arabia is willing to accept collateral damage, even if that implies weakening Moscow, which could also be approaching Washington on the geopolitical board. Mutual trust has eroded, and Riad seems to cover his back. International sanctions. Saudi Arabia may also be anticipating the possible return to the market of two sanctioned rivals: Iran and Venezuela. According to Bloomberg, if the White House relaxes the restrictions – for example, as part of a negotiation with Tehran – those countries can export large volumes of oil. Riad, aware that he cannot stop that wave, would have chosen to increase his production now, before the quotas must be distributed again within the OPEC+ and he is required to give up space. In addition, Rystad Energy analyst Jorge León has detailed What happened is “a pump launched on the oil market.” If the increase in April production was an attention call, this new decision represents “a definitive message” that Saudi Arabia has changed strategy and now prioritizes market share above high prices. The message of Saudi Arabia. Riad’s tonic leaves no room for misunderstandings, since it has gone from protecting prices to defend its market share, it costs what it costs. If to recover control you must force prices that expel the weakest, discipline their own and anticipate sanctioned rivals, will do so. The strategy is clear: better pain now, than irrelevance tomorrow. Image | Unspash Xataka | China approaches energy self -sufficiency: it activates 10 new reactors and reinforces its nuclear domain

The delay of ‘GTA VI’ goes far beyond a mere change in the calendar. It is an earthquake for industry

by

Not as expected, the Delay in the launch of ‘GTA VI‘He has stopped causing a stir in the video game industry. Rockstar’s title was announced in the Already distant December 5, 2023 With a trailer that gave us clues of where the shots would go, but that left us wanting more after the launch of a ‘gta v’ that dates back to 2013. In its first version. ‘GTA VI‘It was the great launch of 2025 and its absence is much more than the delay of one of the greats. It is an earthquake in the industry because it affects the rest of the calendarto the actions of your parent company and even console sales that do not go as they should. Momentum. In a strange way, on Friday, May 2, at 13.25 peninsular time in Spain and with a release Bug, Rockstar confirmed what was smelled to kilometers: ‘GTA VI’ was going to 2026. The company sets date: May 26 next year, and it is a fairly significant date, not so much because it represents something, but because the rest of the industry breathes relieved and knows what to stick to. But despite the ways, the way of communicating that ‘GTA VI’ will not be launched this year is not accidental. From the first 2023 trailer and that “will arrive in 2025”, we had not had more news about it. ‘GTA VI’ would sell even without advertising, but it was strange not to have seen anything else from the game. The players knew in the background that the game may not leave this year, and Rockstar itself knew it before that announcement. Why did he do so? Because we are in the middle of the year and they could not do it before April 1. Impact. It was that day that finished Take-Two’s fiscal closure, a company that Rockstar Games is filial and could not announce in any way that the game was delayed if they wanted to keep investors happy. For sample, a button: The value of the actions: The difference between half an hour prior to the announcement and later days is evident. Because, as we said, ‘Grand Theft Auto’ has long since stopped being a game to become the game, the one that raises passions and moves a lot, a lot of money. Not surprisingly, the fifth delivery has been released several times (in 2013 the original arrived for Xbox 360 and PS3but then relaunted for PC, Xbox One and PS4 and, later, for current Xbox Series and PS5), adding More than 210 million copies as of December 31, 2024. 2025 is again in the menu. Even ‘Red Dead Redemption 2‘, which is a game that has sold well below’ GTA V ‘, has managed to place more than 70 million copies since its launch in 2018, a barbarity in a supersaturated market. Because, as we say, Rockstar is a company that can paralyze the industry. So much that it has become a kind of joke within the sector. Because nobody wants to launch their game in the window of a ‘GTA’ and, after those sales of the fifth numbered delivery, the industry was waiting for Rockstar to specify a date -beyond the window given a year ago– To start moving marketing machinery. This, more than a personal appreciation, has been a recurring comment on networks these days. An example is Luke Dale, voice actor in ‘Kingdom eats Deliverance 2‘That he joked with the possibility that the game in which he participates, now, can opt for the Goty (the best game of the year) in the absence of the Rockstar title. Console sales. But, beyond public and private opinion of the sector, it is a fact that players have no money or time for everything. They are the two goods that the industry seeks to monopolize by all possible means, and the launch of a ‘GTA’ is a large black hole for the rest of the companies that, now, can place their games in the launch windows they estimate without worrying about the elongated shadow of the rockstar saga. But there are entities in the industry to which this sure delay that has not fallen so well. Xbox stopped being in the hardware race with Any device can be an Xbox. PlayStation, a brand traditionally linked to the ‘GTA’ saga, would surely have many hopes that the new installment gave both its PS5 and a Ps5 pro With more power to display the best visual quality of the video game. HE esteem That, between January 1 and April 25, Sony has distributed 3.2 million machines. Xbox, meanwhile, 730,000 consoles in that period and, although especially in the case of Sony is a good figure, It supposes One million units than those he managed to place in the same period last year. ‘GTA VI’ seemed like a breath of fresh air, especially when there are already rumors that point to A PS6 in 2027. 2025 was never realistic. At least, that states Jason Schreier. It is one of the most reputed journalists in the video game industry and, just after the announcement of the delay of ‘GTA VI’, he commented that none of the people he has talked about within Rockstar trusted 2025 as a viable date for the launch and that a delay to 2026 was inevitable. In their wordsthere is “a lot of work and very little time”, and this delay was an internal desire to Avoid a crunch -Term of the world that reflects extra hours to finish the development- inevitable if someone from above intended to launch the game in 2025. Now, it only remains to wait to see if that date of May 26, 2026 remains fixed, since like other developments – of Rockstar itself – they have shown us, it is that no date is marked in stone and that there can be one … or even two more delays from there. In Xataka | A ‘GTA VI’ I only ask … Read more

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

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

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

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