Month: November 2025

The secret of Chinese AI companies to compete without Nvidia chips: electricity subsidized by Beijing

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Everywhere we look, there is artificial intelligence. Everyone talks about it, but what is its fuel? It’s not the data or the chips: it’s the electricity. While in the West technology companies are looking for how to power their data centers —increasingly energy hungry—, China has decided to take a different step. Beijing has designed an energy subsidy for its technology sector with a clear objective: to make the energy that powers the digital brains of its next generation of chips cheaper. Energy subsidy. Since September, the Chinese Government banned large national technology companies —including Alibaba, ByteDance and Tencent—acquire artificial intelligence chips from the American Nvidia, in an attempt to strengthen local production. However, the consequence was immediate: national processors consume more electricity. According to The Chosun Dailygenerating the same number of tokens with Chinese chips requires 30% to 50% more energy than with Nvidia’s H20, which sent electricity bills skyrocketing and led companies to complain to regulators. To make up for that gap, local governments introduced grants that cover up to a full year of operating costs, according to the Hong Kong media on.cc. In those provinces, industrial electricity was already 30% cheaper than in the developed coastal areas of the east, but with the new incentives the price could fall to 0.4 yuan per kilowatt-hour, a record figure for the Chinese technology industry. ¿How does the energy plan work? The scheme is relatively simple, but strategic. Local governments offer electricity discounts of up to half to data centers that use chips produced within the country. Operators that use foreign processors – such as those from Nvidia or AMD – are excluded from the program. In addition, the energy provinces receive direct support from the State to finance the discounts, with the aim of reducing dependence on technological imports and compensating for the increased consumption of local chips. According to the Financial TimesChinese data centers that rely on domestic semiconductors are, for now, less energy efficient, but the subsidy seeks to bring their costs in line with those of more advanced foreign chips. These regions—Guizhou, Gansu, and Inner Mongolia—have become hotbeds for data center clusters, thanks to their abundance of hydropower and coal. There, companies like Alibaba or Tencent are building new facilities to house their generative AI models, taking advantage of lower energy costs and tax incentives. This policy combines three strategic priorities: making energy cheaper, promoting domestic chips and reinforcing technological sovereignty. In a context of United States restrictions, each subsidized kilowatt is also a political statement. An industrial policy with a geopolitical charge. Behind the energy plan is a long-range political commitment. The Chinese Government intends for its technology companies to progressively replace imported chips with domestic processors, even if this implies higher costs in the short term. The electricity subsidy acts as a temporary bridge for national giants to adopt local chips without losing competitiveness. This measure is included in a broader national strategy of technological self-sufficiency. As the Financial Times explains in its series The State of AIChina is using its “society-wide mobilization capacity” to accelerate the development of artificial intelligence. The country already leads the number of patents and scientific publications in AI, and although the United States maintains an advantage in chips and talent, the gap narrows every year. Analyst Dan Wang, quoted by the same media, points out: “China has achieved a unique balance between engineering capacity, state control and massive industrial deployment, allowing it to advance faster than other countries in the practical application of AI.” Meanwhile, in the West… China’s decision contrasts with the energy challenges of the United States. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella warned that the real bottleneck of AI It is no longer the chips, but the energy. In fact, he explained that many companies accumulate chips that they cannot connect due to lack of power supply. Both Microsoft and Google are already studying building modular nuclear reactors to power their future data centers, a sign of the enormous energy consumption that artificial intelligence requires. While Silicon Valley seeks electricity, China subsidizes it. This asymmetry reflects two different models: one guided by state intervention and the other by market competition. Both pursue the same goal—sustaining the artificial intelligence revolution—but with opposite philosophies. A future plugged into the State. The Chinese subsidy not only alleviates costs: it redefines the relationship between the State and the private sector in the age of AI. As analyst Arnaud Bertrand observed, US restrictions pushed China towards a different model: more efficient, more open and more collective. “By operating under hardware limitations, Chinese companies have learned to optimize resources and share open models like Qwen or DeepSeek,” wrote Bertrand on the social network That strategy, based on efficiency and diffusion, could give China a long-term advantage in global adoption, since any company in the world can download and adapt its models. The country that controls the plug. China isn’t just making the chips that power its artificial intelligence. It is also building the electrical grid that makes them possible. In a world where data is the new oil, Beijing has decided to subsidize the fuel of the digital brain. While the West debates how to connect its supercomputers, China plugs them in at a reduced price. And in this race, whoever controls the plug could end up controlling the future. Image | FreePik and FreePik Xataka | The world of AI has a problem: there is no energy for so many chips

8 kilometers of ice have been lost in two months and researchers only agree on one thing: it is something to worry about

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Predict their future the antarctic glaciers It is undoubtedly a great challenge for science, but the most important thing above all is to know How will it affect global sea level?. The worst of all is that the latest news we have at our disposal is not at all positive, since the Hektoria glacier It has retreated 8 km in just two months, which is an unprecedented speed in the modern era. Where we start from. Normally, the retreat of glaciers It is measured in hundreds of meters per year. It is one of the clearest metrics we have to be able to ‘measure’ global warming, and that is why now what a team from the University of Colorado Boulder has just recorded on the Hektoria glacier, on the eastern peninsula of Antarctica, plays in a completely different league. The measurement. In just two months during 2023, the Hektoria lost almost half of its mass. In total, 8 kilometers of ice disappeared. A speed of collapse that has never been seen in modern history and that, according to the authors of the study, is more typical of the end of the last ice age. Something that doesn’t add up in this case. Hektoria is relatively small by Antarctic standards (about 300 km², less than the city of Malaga), but its collapse was so sudden that it left researchers stunned. A coincidence. Ironically, the research team wasn’t even studying Hektoria. They were analyzing satellite and remote sensing data for another project when Ochwat realized that the glacier had essentially disappeared from the images. The measurements. This is where technology comes into play. The team had to combine data from multiple satellites to understand what had happened and, above all, how quickly he did it. “If we only had one image every three months, we couldn’t say that the glacier lost two and a half kilometers in two days,” explains Ochwat. In this case, by combining images from different satellites you can fill in the time gaps and confirm with evidence in hand how quickly the ice has been melting. But the key was not only in the images. They also used seismic instruments that have the ability to detect a series of “glacial earthquakes” that occurred exactly during the period of rapid melting. And these earthquakes are not measured for the sake of it, but to confirm something crucial: the glacier was anchored to the bedrock (and not floating) just before breaking. This is fundamental both for science and for the entire planet, since ice that is floating (such as an ice shelf) does not raise sea level when it melts, any more than an ice cube does in a glass of water. But ice that rests on land (or anchored to a seabed) and falls into the sea does contribute to the global rise in sea level by increasing its volume. Your Achilles heel. The collapse was not due to simple superficial melting. The cause was topographic, since many Antarctic glaciers rest on deep canyons or underwater mountains. The Hektoria, however, had the misfortune of resting on an “ice plain”: an area of ​​bedrock that was exceptionally flat and below sea level. This flat topography caused a gigantic section of the glacier to begin floating all at once, rather than gradually. The moment the glacier lost its anchorage to the ground (its “line of support”), it was exposed to the forces of the ocean, and therefore everything began to advance very quickly. The process was brutal, since it all began with the warmest ocean water that seeped underneath and began to open cracks from the bottom of the glacier upwards. At the same time, the glacier already had cracks on the surface. Eventually, the lower and upper cracks met and the glacier literally disintegrated. A warning for future glaciers. The Hektoria case is a first-rate warning. Scientists know that there are numerous glaciers in Antarctica that also rest on these types of ice plains. Until now, it was thought that their collapses would be centuries-long processes. Hektoria shows that they can be months, which should set us off due to the implications it would have on sea level. And while the collapse of a small glacier like Hektoria won’t dramatically change global sea level, it alone does demonstrate that a rapid collapse mechanism, until now theoretical or believed to be typical of past geological eras, is perfectly possible today. If this same mechanism is activated in much larger glaciers, sea level rise could accelerate very considerably and much sooner than expected. Images | Cassie Matias In Xataka | When glaciers melt, bodies appear: archaeologists are recovering them in a time trial

House renovations used to be to make them more habitable. Now they can also be converted into Lego sets

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At the beginning of October we count that the lack of space in modern homes or the impossibility of collecting quantities of LEGO due to how much they occupy had led to the creation of a business especially aimed at those who do not want to give up building new sets, but do not need to keep them. Brick Borrow rent LEGO sets…which are then returned. It happens that more and more people are directly renovating their house to make room for it. to these jewels. Domestic brick utopias. I was telling it on the weekend the wall street journal. In recent years, the rise of adult collecting Lego has transformed entire domestic spaces into carefully designed and detailed miniature worlds, urban landscapes, beaches with bathers and functional amusement parks. Of all, the case by Christie Northin Salt Lake City, is especially representative: he has torn down walls, renovated his basement and spent more than $100,000 in building and displaying his Lego city, which he accesses through a fingerprint scanner and which he is considering monitoring with cameras to observe when he travels. The origin. The woman started as a hobby to combat boredom during the pandemic, but became your emotional refugea task where methodical construction and imagination combine into something he describes as “feeding the soul.” In his brick world you can see a mix of technical dedication, nostalgia and the search for a personal space in the face of everyday routines. Adult collecting. The truth is that Lego has been able to cultivate, especially since 2020, a growing base adult amateurmany of whom could not afford the most ambitious sets during their childhood, but today they have income and a sentimental motivation to rebuild what they before it was inaccessible. The problem is not only economic, but also spatial: the largest sets can occupy entire tables or even entire rooms, forcing coexistence decisions, as in the case by Steve Isomwhich has assembled more than 275 sets and has given its dining room, office and shelves to spaceships suspended from the ceiling and monumental models like a titanic shelf or an Eiffel Tower almost meter and a half. His wife tolerates the hobby, but imposes clear limits: The bedroom is left out of the invasion of bricks. This negotiation silent It is repeated in many homes, where the passion for building clashes with shared aesthetics, functionality and the simple space available. Architecture, interior design and adaptation. The transformation of the home into a gallery of Lego pieces has even given rise to a specific demand in interior architecture. He architect Jeff Pelletierhimself a fan, claims to have designed more than twenty houses with rooms dedicated to Lego, mostly for adults. His advice includes Avoid rooms with direct light to avoid discoloring the pieces and use closed display cases to reduce dust. In other cases, it suggests integrate small Lego pieces as discreet decorative accents on shelves, walls or artistic compositions that imitate famous works. These solutions seek balance passion and aestheticspreserving the visual identity of the home without eliminating the collector’s creative space. Even in the real estate market, agents like Niko Cejic they claim that houses with Lego rooms can be more attractive, providing character and differentiation compared to the neutral standardization of so many contemporary interiors. The home as an emotional refuge. Beyond the hobby, these Lego rooms reflect an emotional need profound in a context of increasingly fast-paced lives, demanding jobs and changing family structures. Evan Rubinfor example, finds in his Lego room an oasis of manual repetition and visual calm, a selective return to a childhood reinterpreted. Many homeowners describe these constructions as a way to regain creativity in the face of monotonous routines, and also as a way to build an identity within the home. They told in the Journal that the replacement of more traditional life projects (such as raising children in increasingly smaller and late-term homes) is intertwined with this phenomenon: pets, plants and Lego appear where cribs once appeared. The house is no longer just a place to live, but a stage in which to reconstruct an intimate version of oneself. Tiny “real” worlds. Ultimately, the lego roomshidden in basements, domestic extensions or carefully reserved rooms, aim to be one (another) cultural manifestation of a contemporary desire for belonging, refuge and creative control. If you will, they also represent a silent, patient and manual response to digital speed, constant productivity and the pressure of adulthood. The worlds built with bricks They do not replace the outside world, of course, but they offer continuity between the child who played and the adult who seeks his own space in the midst of obligations, schedules and demands. Ultimately, in those miniature cities There is a simple and universal statement: although life pushes us to grow, there will always be parts of us that need to continue building. Image | Brickset, PXHere In Xataka | The secret to continuing to accumulate LEGO sets is not to keep them. This rental service helps you with that. In Xataka | One thousand euros for the Star Wars Death Star: the most expensive Lego set to date does not make all fans happy

live translation arrives in Spain

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When Apple introduced its new features Apple Intelligencemany of them came with an asterisk for the European Union. The strict continental regulation left some of the most striking characteristics in the air. One of the most anticipated is the “Live Translation”, the ability of the AirPods Pro to translate conversations in real time. After months of waiting, the function has overcome all obstacles and its deployment finally begins in Spain. Landing. Apple has begun to roll out one of the most anticipated features of iOS 26 in our country: live translation for AirPods. This feature, introduced in September along with the new AirPods Pro 3is now launched after an initial block that kept it inactive throughout the EU. This is how it works. The system allows a fluid conversation between two people who speak different languages. Thanks to noise cancellation, the headset minimizes the original voice of your interlocutor and overlays the translation in your language almost instantly. If the other person doesn’t have a compatible headset, you can use your iPhone horizontally, which will display a transcription of your voice already translated into their language. Function on-device. One of the keys to this new Apple Intelligence feature and requirement is that the processing is done locally on the device: which is why an iPhone 15 Pro or later models is needed, and with iOS 26. This implies that we will have to download the corresponding language packs to allow offline translation. It is not exclusive. Although it was launched as one of the great assets of the new AirPods Pro 3, the live translation It is not exclusive to them. Apple has confirmed – and it can be seen on its support website – that the function is compatible with all models that equip the H2 chip and active noise cancellation. So which ones are compatible? Basically these: How to try it right now. There is an asterisk to use the new function: it does not, at the moment, reach the stable versions of iOS 26. The feature debuts today in the first developer beta of iOS 26.2 (whose stable version is not expected until December), so you have to install it to have access. If you are not a developer, you will be able to access it soon through the public beta (normally a week later). The process It is very simple, although it involves certain risks when installing non-final software. That is why we recommend before make a backup of your iPhone. Then, you just need to sign up for the Apple developer program: with this, go to “Settings” > “General” > “Software Update” > “Beta Updates”. How to activate the function. Once the iOS version is updated, activating the feature requires two more steps. First, download the languages: connect your AirPods, go to “Settings”, click on the menu of your AirPods (right under your Apple ID) and look for the “Translation” section to select and download the packages you need. Second, simply open Apple’s native “Translate” app and tap the “Live” tab. Steps to install a beta version of iOS on the iPhone. Captures by Guille Lomener for Applesfera The reason for the delay. The reason why the feature (and the Spanish language) has taken months to arrive is not technical, but regulatory. Apple specified in its launch that it was blocked in the EU, citing “bureaucratic issues” and the wait for approval from European regulators. This, far from being an isolated case, is a carbon copy of what we already experienced with the eventful deployment of Apple Intelligence itself. History repeats itself: Apple presents its new functions and runs into European legislation, having to delay its arrival. Intelligence was announced in 2024, but his arrival in Spain and in Spanish It wasn’t officially completed until late March 2025 with iOS 18.4. What’s more, as of today, Siri’s advanced features are still delayed and They are not expected until 2026. Images | Apple In Xataka | AirPods Pro 3 vs AirPods Pro 2. Which Apple Bluetooth headphones to choose based on your tastes and needs

Jeff Bezos’ grandfather had the key to finding a job in the age of AI: being an inventor

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With saturated selection processes (or directly broken) and the AI conditioning skills that companies demand, there is a skill that Jeff Bezos considers irreplaceable: the ability to invent. The millionaire value this skill above traditional knowledge or experience. Bezos considers that inventiveness is vital to maintaining creativity and innovation in modern companies, ensuring that he himself has applied it to bring Amazon and Blue Origin to their current situation. Lessons from his grandfather. In an interview During the Italian Tech Week 2025 conference that took place in Turin, the millionaire commented that his grandfather was capable of solving any problem on his Texas ranch by himself, without depending on outside help. “He bought a bulldozer for about $5,000 because it was completely broken. We spent a whole summer fixing it. To remove the transmission, we had to build our own crane. And that’s why he had an incredible ability to adapt. He believed he could solve any problem. And I watched him,” Bezos said during his interview. “He did veterinary work with the cattle. He made the needles himself. He took a small piece of wire and heated it with a blowtorch, flattened it, sharpened it and made a small hole in it. Some cows even survived,” he commented sarcastically. That ability to adapt and create practical solutions taught him the value of inventiveness in facing difficulties, a lesson that Bezos has also applied in his life and in the management of Amazon. The “inventor” of Amazon. Bezos himself defines himself as an inventor, stating that “it is his fundamental nature. Put me in front of a white board and I can generate a hundred ideas in half an hour.” The founder of Amazon looks for those creative skills in his team members. In an interview In 2012 at the Utah Technology Council, Bezos indicated that “when I interview candidates, I ask them to give me an example of something they have invented.” Obviously the millionaire was not referring to a patent, but to a process, an idea or a solution to a problem that existed and for which he imagined a solution. “You have to select people who like to invent, think innovatively,” said the millionaire. Innovation as an antidote to fear. One of the six fears that have defined Jeff Bezos’ career is the fear of garages. Not in the literal sense of the place but of the symbolic sense of innovation that they have acquired: HP was born in a garage, just like Apple. “Two kids in a garage scare me more than the competitors I already know,” assured Bezos in an interview. The inventive capacity is a lever towards innovation and experimentation, which has been one of the pillars of the business culture that has taken Amazon to where it is today. “Someone who comes to Amazon and doesn’t like pioneering, doesn’t like exploring, doesn’t like going down dead ends that often turn out to be dead ends, will leave soon,” Bezos said in his interview. In his job interviews, Bezos asks: “How can we do A and B? What invention do we need to bring the two together?” That is, value those candidates who do not see the options in black and white, but rather look for new ways to combine and improve processes to innovate. AI has accelerated everything. More and more CEOs and senior officials at large technology companies agree that they are the skills and attitudes, and not the knowledgewhich will make candidates stand out in the age of AI. The current CEO of Amazon, Andy Jassy, ​​pointed out that knowledge can be acquired over time, but what companies need in this era of constant innovation are people who know how to adapt to any circumstance and learn from it. “The biggest difference between the people I started with in the early stages of my career and what they are doing now has to do with how good they were at learning.” According to Jassy, ​​the attitude and talent to innovate It has to come standard. In Xataka | Jeff Bezos has the world’s laziest metaphor for AI: “someone invented the plow and we all got rich” In Xataka | If your chair limps during a job interview, it’s no coincidence: they’re evaluating more than just your resume. Image | Flickr (iafastro)

When Facebook launched its own Tinder we didn’t think it could succeed. we were wrong

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It was 2018 when Facebook announced Facebook Datingalthough it was not until 2020 when arrived in Spain. At that time, dating apps like Tinder had experienced a boom caused by the pandemic, but Facebook had been losing users for some time and the idea had already been established that it was a place for older people. Meta recently shared usage data for its dating service and they shut us up. 21.5 million. It is the number of daily active Facebook Dating users in the 52 countries in which the app is available. They count in NYTimeswhich surpasses Hinge in users, a very popular dating app especially in the United States that has 15 million users. It is the first time that Facebook has shared usage data for its dating service since its launch. Popular among young people. A Pew Center study published by TechCrunchconfirmed the exodus of young Facebook users, which went from 71% in 2014 to only 32%. The most surprising thing about Facebook Dating is that it is having success among the youngest people. According to data from Sensor Tower As of last year, Facebook Dating has at least 1.77 million users between the ages of 18 and 29 in the United States, which represented a growth of 24%. Free. Other apps such as Tinder, Bumble or Hinge have adopted subscription models through which users can enjoy advantages such as knowing who liked you before anyone else. This is free on Facebook Dating and is your main asset against your competitors. Tinder is the app that had the most paying users, but for years has been losing subscribers. They don’t need it. That Facebook does not charge us for using its dating service can be interpreted as a generous gesture, but the reality is that Meta’s income is astronomical. In the last quarter they entered 51,240 million, many of them thanks to the advertising they serve in their apps. Image | Gemini/Goal In Xataka | Meta does not have the most advanced AI of all, but it does have something much more important: a business plan

You can see it on Movistar Plus+ for 9.99 euros per month

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The catalog is always the main asset when choosing one streaming platform or another. They all have many movies, series and documentaries, so the sports offer may be what ends up tipping the balance. If we talk about sport and more specifically football, difficult to find anywhere else what Movistar Plus+ offers: costs 9.99 euros per month (or 99.90 euros per year) and gives us access to a good bunch of soccer matches, including the match that pits two of the biggest teams in Europe today. Monthly subscription to Movistar Plus+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Champions, LaLiga and Premier League. Also movies and series everywhere This is a pretty attractive price, especially considering everything it offers. It is a platform that we can contract regardless of the operator we are, so there is no requirement in that sense. Besides, has no permanenceso we can try it for a month, see everything it offers and when the term ends, decide whether to continue or not. Today is, precisely, a great day to subscribe. If we decide to do it, we can see one of the best games we can see in Europe, What is Liverpool-Real Madrid like?. In addition to this, we will also be able to see two Barcelona matches this month: against Celta (November 9) and against Chelsea (November 25). Also the great Andalusian derby: Sevilla-Betis (November 30). The thing doesn’t end there. This month we will also have the opportunity to see two of our teams compete in the Europa League with two matches: Betis-Olympique Lyon (November 6) and Ludogorets-Celta (November 27). Not everything is football, since it is also we will be able to see the Davis Cup in full (starting on November 20) or two Euroleague games per day, among other competitions. More things from Movistar Plus+. In addition to its price, it is also worth noting that it supports two simultaneous plays, so you can share the account with whoever you want. You can also download its content to view it offline, which is always useful if, for example, you have a trip. All this makes it a great streaming option for 9.99 euros per month that, in fact, you can get it for 36 euros a year if you have a Young Cultural Bonus. Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Movistar Plus+ In Xataka | The best streaming platforms 2025 | Comparison of Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Movistar Plus+, Filmin, Apple TV, SkyShowtime and Rakuten TV: catalog, functions and prices In Xataka | So you can get Movistar Plus+ from 3.25 euros per month to watch series, movies and even football

making cell towers mini data centers for AI

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A few days ago we heard the news that NVIDIA had invested $1 billion in Nokiataking over 2.9% of the Finnish company. Although the check in itself is striking news, since for many people, Nokia had been lost off the map for many years, the movement makes all the sense in the world: it is the Western response to many of the Chinese technology companies that for years have been investing in the deployment of 6G. And of course, with NVIDIA behind them, telephony base stations can serve much more than just providing coverage to millions of devices: becoming small distributed data centers for AI. The plan behind the investment. NVIDIA and Nokia are not just designing equipment for mobile networks. They are redefining what a cell tower is. The idea is that each base station (the towers and small installations that we see on buildings and streets) become a computing node with the ability to execute operations involving AI technologies in real time. “An AI data center in everyone’s pocket”, according to Justin Hotard, CEO of Nokia. The key here is to bring processing closer to the user in order to eliminate latency, which is usually one of the most frequent problems in AI applications that require real-time processing, such as instant translation, augmented reality or autonomous vehicles. Without latency, everything changes. When we ask an AI to translate a conversation or analyze live images, every millisecond counts. Sending that data to a distant server, processing it, and returning it introduces a significant delay that mars the final experience. The most logical solution is to decentralize: that the AI ​​lives close to the userin the telecommunications infrastructures themselves. In this sense, NVIDIA will contribute chips and specialized software, while Nokia will adapt its 5G and 6G equipment to integrate that computing capacity. As announced, the first commercial tests will begin in 2027 with T-Mobile in the United States. The Nokia effect on the stock market. Nokia shares they shot up 21% after the news broke, reaching highs not seen since 2016. NVIDIA and OpenAI have become King Midas of technology: everything they touch goes up. The investment is also a boost to the strategy of Hotard, who since his arrival in April has accelerated Nokia’s shift towards data centers and AI. The company, which already acquired Infinera for 2.3 billion to strengthen its position in data center networks, it is now positioned as the only Western supplier capable of competing with Huawei in the complete supply of telecommunications infrastructure. EITHERafter space race. While Europe and the United States accelerate their 6G plans, China has been investing aggressively in this technology for years. This alliance between NVIDIA and Nokia is a somewhat late response, but necessary. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, explained in his speech in Washington that the goal is “to help the United States bring telecommunications technology back to America.” It is not just about infrastructure, but about strategic control. And whoever dominates this network of brains distributed throughout cities and roads will control the AI ​​applications of the future. And now what. The McKinsey consulting firm esteem that investment in data center infrastructure will exceed $1.7 trillion by 2030, driven by the expansion of AI. Nokia and NVIDIA want their piece of the pie, but they are also betting on a structural change: that mobile networks stop being mere data tubes and become intelligent computing platforms. It remains to be seen if this model works commercially and whether operators are willing to update their infrastructure. Cover image | NVIDIA In Xataka | Xi Jinping wants two things: first, to create a global center that regulates AI. The second, that it is in Shanghai

Asturias and Cantabria travel on trains that are more than 40 years old and their renewal has been delayed again

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Year 2020. Renfe awards CAF the delivery of 31 trains to operate on the Cercanías services of Asturias and Cantabria. The reason was as simple as it was understandable: the average age of the fleet was already 28 years. Four years later, the renewal of the promised trains is once again delayed. It’s hard to see the light at the end of the tunnel. “In principle”. This is what Álvaro Fernández Heredia, president of Renfe, has confirmed, who a few days ago assured that the promised trains for Asturias and Cantabria will not arrive until 2027 in an interview with the specialized media. Trenvista. If the plans are fulfilled, of course. And these same trains should arrive next year. In 2024, Transport reiterated its intention that the first tests would be carried out in the first half of 2026 and it was assured that we would see them on the roads that same year. Last September, yes in 2025, was still expected that the trains would make an appearance in a few months. Now, Fernández Heredia says that “in principle, these trains will be in service in 2027.” A statement that leaves fear of new future delays floating. The trains. What Renfe awarded to CAF was the delivery of 31 new trains to be distributed between the Cercanías services of Cantabria and Asturias. When said award was announced It was mentioned that the intention was to renew a fleet that was already an average of 28 years old. It was 2020 and the contract was valued at 258 million euros. Five years later, the residents of Asturias and Cantabria will continue traveling on trains with more than four decades behind them in some cases. At the moment, there is no trace of the 31 Metric Gauge trains (25 electric and six hybrid) that should be able to circulate at a maximum of 100 km/h and have space to transport bicycles. The tunnels. It was the great scandal of this award. In 2023, when CAF began building the trains, it found that something strange was happening with the order. The trains ordered They didn’t enter through the tunnels… more or less. The trains that were intended to be launched are too wide for the Asturian and Cantabrian infrastructure. Order FOM/1630/2015established new measures for gauges on newly built roads. These new measures aim to leave more space between the train and the walls of the tunnels to facilitate evacuations in case of breakdown and were the ones that were sent from Adif to CAFwithout taking into account the infrastructure prior to 2015. Hence it was said that the new trains for Asturias and Cantabria They did not enter through the tunnels. Faced with this situation, there was no choice but to ask: is it better to change the trains or change the infrastructure? Given the cost of the second intervention, the first was chosen. Yes, sure. Despite everything, the intention was the same: to maintain the plans that the trains would arrive in 2026. Now we know that this will not be the case and that they will do so in 2027… “in principle”, in the words of the president of Renfe himself. In The Commerce They review all the occasions in which Renfe has maintained its intention to have the trains ready next year. In addition to the cases already mentioned, the Government reiterated its intentions in February 2024 and July 2024. Since then, silence. “It rains in the wet”. This is what the Cantabrian Government complains about when asked by The Confidential. The regional Executive focuses on the fact that this latest delay is just one more of all the drifts that the case has had and the constant problems that citizens experience. The Association of Rail and Mobility Users (Affecom) highlights that from “Luarca to Oviedo there are about 90 kilometers and it takes almost three hours. (…) It takes us the same time to go to Madrid as it does to travel 90 kilometers through the Principality of Asturias.” And they highlight another detail: there are many breakdowns in stations where there is no coverage of any kind. This is a problem because, first of all, the passenger has no way to communicate by mobile phone to notify of a delay. It would not be (so) serious if it were exceptional but this summer, between July and August, the Asturian PP assures that 800 incidents were recorded that affected 1,000 services. Photo | André Marques 432 In Xataka | “In 1961 it took Bilbao three hours and five minutes. Now it takes three and ten”: Cantabria and Spain’s drama with the train

Spaniards eat much less fish than 30 years ago and a big reason is on the horizon: laziness in cooking it.

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The data is clear. Fish consumption has been going on for decades losing ground in the refrigerators and kitchens of Spanish homes. We eat less and less, which is already noticeable in the sector, with the loss of thousands of fishmongers. There are, however, certain businesses that seem to be weathering the storm and even your sales increaseand they achieve it basically thanks to a different bet, focused on the sale of ready-to-eat fish, online orders and home delivery. It is interesting because this reveals to us that the great fish crisis may not be so much a question of taste as much as it is a question of habits and cultural change. What has happened? That fish is not immune to the social and consumer changes that have been affecting the food industry for years. Only in his case the trend is especially interesting. Sector data has long shown that Spanish households buy less and less fresh fish, which among other things has precipitated the closure of thousands of fishmongersbusinesses that deal with other challenges, such as the lack of generational change. There are clues, however, that in reality not the entire sector is suffering. We Spaniards today may have less fish in our refrigerators or cook it less than our parents or grandparents, but the consumption associated with leisure, the away from homeis not having a bad time. Not only that. There are certain specialized businesses (such as those dedicated to the sale of ready-to-eat fish or home delivery) that they assure be selling more. Do we eat less fish? If we base ourselves on the data Regarding domestic consumption from the Ministry of Food (MAPA), the answer is clear: yes, with fluctuations. His latest reportwith data for the year from August 2024 to July 2025, shows that the consumption of fishing products has decreased by 2.1%. If we talk specifically about the purchase of fish (not counting shellfish or preserves) the puncture has been 4.4%, 5.4% in the case of fresh merchandise. They may not seem like big declines, but the crisis facing fish is better understood when the temporal focus is expanded and per capita consumption data is analyzed. In that case, a collapse is confirmed that has hit the sector squarely. own Fedepesca warns that in recent years “local businesses in general and fishmongers in particular have lost a third of their stores.” Does all consumption fall? Not quite. Recently we told you how there are certain species that have seen their consumption rebound (in the case of smoked salmon and trout) and above all how fish consumption seems to be resisting and even increasing outside the home. This is suggested by the “extradomestic consumption” report of Mercasawhich in 2023 saw a rebound of 2.6%. The last ones quarterly data They also show an increase in the demand for fish. The truth is that for years it has been easier to find establishments and even chains that serve poké dishes with salmon, sushi, sashimi or ceviche, in addition to the traditional fish offering. Year Per capita consumption of fish products (kg) Per capita consumption of fish (kg) fresh fish frozen fish 1990 30.4 19 13.6 5.4 1995 29.4 18.2 14.6 3.6 2000 24.32 14.45 11.72 2.73 2005 28.36 16.40 13.39 3.01 2010 27.3 15.38 12.05 3.33 2015 25.9 14.46 11.64 2.82 2020 24.83 13.25 10.58 2.68 2024 17.99 9.31 7.31 2 And on other channels? A few days ago the SER published an analysis which gives clues to other business avenues that seem to be weathering or even saving themselves from the decline in fresh fish consumption: businesses dedicated to the marketing of ready-to-eat foods and those focused on home delivery. That is, those that facilitate and personalize consumption. There is not much data, but SER provides two specific examples that help understand the phenomenon. The first is the Catalan supermarket chain Plusfreshwhich offers customers the option of taking home ready-to-eat fish. The company claims that they have installed ovens in all their establishments, which has allowed them to considerably increase sales of seafood products. “Five years ago, 8% of the fish we invoiced went through the oven, today it is around 16%. In these five years we have doubled the sale of these products,” precise. He is not the only one walking in that direction. In your line “ready to eat”Mercadona has included salmon and sushi poké. Are there more examples? Yes. The SER cites another case: Peix a Casaan online fishmonger that allows you to schedule deliveries and that has gone from selling a few boxes of fish a week to managing between 100 and 150 orders each day. Its owner explains that a decade and a half ago began to bet on the fish delivery service, a formula that it hasn’t gone bad: From working with fifteen well-known clients, we have gone on to dispatch thousands and thousands of annual orders with an enviable year-on-year growth rate of around 20%. Why’s that? Because the sector suspects that the problem is not that fish is no longer liked or that it has become too expensive. In fact, in the last year, domestic demand for smoked salmon and canned clams and mussels has increased. considerably. The key would be something else: a cultural change that prevents younger people from buying and preparing fish at home. “We have a special focus on the young public, those people up to forty years old, who we have seen are not having access to seafood. For us it is a key audience,” recognize from Pesca de España. It won’t be easy because in the background there is a larger trend: a growing interest in cooked and ready-to-eat food, which has even led some (among them Juan Roig) to predict the end of traditional kitchens at home. Images | Jorge Franganillo (Flickr) In Xataka | A Japanese restaurant has taken its obsession with fresh fish to the extreme: it lets you catch it yourself

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