Month: December 2025

Toledo has stretched its Christmas season to last 49 days and attract more tourists. Some neighbors think it’s a bad idea.

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Day of celebration for some. Outrageous to others. The one of Friday, November 21 It was a night of conflicting feelings in Toledo. While the City Council celebrated the official switching on of its Christmas lights (the early risers of its history) a group of neighbors gathered in the historic center to protest the ‘bill’ of mass Christmas tourism. For them, long celebrations of 49 days (until January 8) marked by crowds and difficulties in continuing with their lives. The (mega)Christmas. They do not reach the height of Vigo, which turned on its lights November 15 and probably won’t turn them off until well into Januarybut Christmas in Toledo will be much longer than usual this year. The City Council decided advance one week the implementation of its lighting and redoubling its commitment to attract tourists: if in 2024 the red button is pressed on November 29in 2025 it was activated the 21stwhen they started to shine 1.1 million LEDs100,000 more than a year ago. The result: Christmas brighter and more extensive that are remembered in the Castilian-La Mancha town. A percentage: 94.25%. The bet seems to have gone well for the City Council, which a few days ago he stuck out his chest due to the flood of tourists it received during the Constitution and Immaculate Bridge. According to the data provided by its Tourism Councilor, the city achieved a hotel occupancy of 94.25%, which, he emphasizes, consolidates it as “one of the preferred destinations” for visitors. As a reference, the year-on-year increase in visits has exceeded 47%. Visitors came to Toledo from Madrid, Valencia, Barcelona, ​​Seville, other towns in the province of Toledo and even travelers from France, Italy, Argentina and the USA. The tourist boom was not limited to just the long weekend. Although Christmas has not yet started as such, The Spanish posted last week a series of photos that show that the historic center of the city was crowded again on the weekend of December 13 and 14. One coin, two sides. Greater influx of visitors usually translates (not always) in more business for restaurants, more guests in hotels and a greater number of potential clients for commerce. In Toledo, however, there are those who has raised his voice to warn that all this does not come for free to the city. And not just because of the cost of Christmas decorations. The same Friday that the mayor presided over the ceremony a group of residents of the historic center turning on the lights they concentrated to denounce the impact that crowds and mass tourism have on their lives. Is it something new? No. The debate on tourism (and its impact) it’s not new in Toledo. In fact, a few months ago the City Council gave the green light to an ordinance that seeks precisely to “promote a balanced coexistence between visitors and neighbors” and sets limits to the use of megaphones or tourist groups. This Christmas, however, the patience of the neighbors seems to have been exhausted. First for the phenomenon of Christmas tourismwhich transcends to other areas of Spain. Second, because this year Toledo has decided stretch your holidays. “Dangerous streets”. The most critical residents warn of the saturation of the historic center and how this affects their daily lives. After all, those who live in tourist areas are forced to continue with their routines (working, shopping, walking the dog…) with the streets crowded with visitors. “There are a lot of people circulating. I understand that they come to do tourism, to enjoy themselves, but they should be aware that there are people living there who are carrying out their normal daily lives,” explains to elDiario Natacha, a neighbor of the Historic Center who complains about the “overcrowding” on weekends. One of her neighbors, Carmen, goes even further and warns: “The streets are becoming dangerous.” And what is the solution? There is who poses distribute the tourist offer throughout the town to decongest the historic center and seek a “more livable” city model. One thing is clear: Toledo is forced to deal with two realities that seem to collide with each other. A, the discomfort on the part of its inhabitants with the agglomerations, something that is clear with their protests. The other reality is that tourism is a fundamental (and inalienable) source of wealth for the region. In 2023, for example, it assumed 7.3% of GDP of Castilla-La Mancha. Beyond Toledo. Toledo is not the only city that has encountered such a dilemma. In Vigo too have registered protests of neighbors and groups critical of the Christmas lights phenomenon, which according to the City Council attracts several million of visitors to the city in a matter of two months. Perhaps the most critical voice is that of the Vigo Central Zone Neighborhood Association, which complaint that the holidays become “a period of circulatory chaos, mobility problems, security problems, dirt and noise and light pollution in the heart of the city.” Your complaints already They have arrived at the court. Images | Toledo City Council In Xataka | There is a reason why Vigo is announcing its Christmas in Japan. And it has little to do with Japanese tourists

There are discounts on graphics cards, monitors and more

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It is never a bad time to renew part of our setup, no matter if we are looking for a new peripheral or directly changing a part of our gaming PC. If we are at that point, we have a very good opportunity right now with the Christmas offers that PcComponentes has active. Store that, in fact, has its own advent calendar with daily offers. This promo, which will last until next December 26has discounts of up to 40% on all types of products such as cell phones, televisions or even video games. With them, we will have it easy to find that perfect gift, no matter if we have a budget of, for example, 30 euros either 100 euros. All taking into account that we will be able to return orders until January 15 and that we even have several options to finance our purchases. As usual, we have laptops, monitors, graphics cards and even notebooks at a good price. To make your task a little easier, we leave you below a selection of some of the most notable discounts: Palit GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card by 545.90 eurosan ideal GPU for gaming at 1440p. MSI MAG 276CXF Monitor by 246.73 euroscurved screen option with a refresh rate of 280 Hz. Toshiba Canvio Basics Hard Drive by 67.95 euroswith 2 TB of storage to take our files everywhere. Logitech G203 Lightsync Mouse by 19.99 eurosa great gaming mouse if we prioritize quality-price. Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics card by 369 eurosideal for achieving top performance at 1080p. Palit GeForce RTX 5070 graphics card If we are looking for a new graphics card, this RTX 5070 from Palit is a great option right now: it is discounted to 545.90 eurosits all-time low so far. It is perfect for playing at 1440p with great performance, all without taking into account that thanks to it we will be able to use a technology as important as the DLSS 4. As for the design, it is a fairly minimalist assembly with three fans. Palit GeForce RTX 5070 Infinity 3 12GB GDDR7 Reflex 2 RTX AI DLSS4 Graphics Card The price could vary. We earn commission from these links MSI MAG 276CXF Monitor Choosing a monitor with a good response time and refresh rate is key if we want a gaming monitor, especially for playing competitive titles. This one from MSI fits there perfectly thanks to its rate of 280 Hz and a response time of 0.5 ms. In addition, it is a curved option, which is ideal for increasing immersion while we play. It is available for 246.73 euros. MSI MAG 276CXF 27″ LED Rapid VA FullHD 280Hz Adaptive Sync Curve Monitor The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Toshiba Canvio Basics Hard Drive Having a portable hard drive can allow us to carry files of all kinds with us from one computer to another, although it can also simply give us extra storage. This Toshiba HDD is one of the brand’s best sellers: it has 2 TB capacity, uses USB 3.2 and we have it available for 67.95 euros. Toshiba Canvio Basics 2TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.2 Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Logitech G203 Lightsync Mouse There are few things more essential to play comfortably on a PC than a good gaming mouse. There are very interesting wireless options, although we can find wired models with a great quality-price ratio. This Logitech G203 is one of the most used models that is difficult to go wrong with, since it combines comfort, precision and design. It is available for 19.99 euros. Logitech G203 Lightsync 2nd Gen Gaming Mouse 8000DPI RGB Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT graphics card We close this selection of offers with another graphics card, although this time one from AMD. This is the RX 9060 In this case, it is a much more compact card than the previous one, since it has two fans. Costs 369 euros. Sapphire PULSE AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB GDDR6 FSR 4 Graphics Card The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Other outstanding offers from PcComponentes 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 | PcComponentes, Palit, MSI, Toshiba, Logitech, Sapphire In Xataka | Best laptops in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and seven recommended models In Xataka | What is the best laptop for working in 2025. Tips and recommendations

the reason is due to Russia and a new military corridor

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For years, the Finnish Arctic Circle has been reinvented as a theme park permanent winter, reindeer and northern lights, converted in global destination for those looking for an eternal Christmas and an experience carefully designed around the myth of Santa Claus. But there are always more surprises in Santa’s house, and an element that no one expected has just arrived in Finnish Lapland and that changes everything: Europe rearming itself. Santa and war. Rovaniemiinternationally promoted as the official home of Santa Claus, has been one of the great icons of the world for years. european arctic tourisma place where Christmas has become in permanent industry and where the experience is carefully designed for visitors from all over the world. However, this winter season the city is experiencing a silent but profound transformation: along with sledding, reindeer safaris and festive lights, the capital of Finnish Lapland has been filled with NATO soldiers who train for a scenario that until recently seemed unthinkable. Thousands of allied soldiers have recently passed through the area to maneuvers in Rovajärvithe largest training camp in Western Europe, located just 88 km from the Russian border, making Rovaniemi a a key point of the new security architecture of northern Europe. The longest and most sensitive border. The reason for this deployment is geographical and strategic. Finland shares almost 1,500 km of border with Russiaone of the largest and most complex in the entire Atlantic Alliance, and more than a quarter of it runs through the sparsely populated Lapland. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finnish intelligence services and military commanders have warned that Moscow is strengthening its infrastructure and its presence on the other side of the border, especially around the Kola Peninsula, a key enclave due to its enormous concentration of nuclear capabilities. The forecast in Helsinki is that, once the war in Ukraine ends, Russia can redeploy troops towards the north and adopt a much more robust stance towards Finland, structurally raising the level of tension in the region. NATO umbrella. Finland does not start from scratch in this defensive logic. His history and their relationship with Russia have marked for decades a culture of constant preparation, with national defense integrated into the Constitution itself and a conscription system widely accepted by society. However, the entry into NATO in 2023 It has meant a qualitative change: the country has gone from a defense designed in a national key to being part of a collective system that requires interoperability, allied presence and joint planning. This shift has translated into international cooperation much more intensethe opening of a new Allied command at Mikkeli and the designation of Rovaniemi as a future base of the Forward Land Forces, the Swedish-led battle group intended to reinforce the Alliance’s eastern flank. Military exercises in the Arctic. It we have counted before. While the tourists fill the Santa Claus Village and cameras capture idyllic scenes of snow and lights, a few kilometers away carry out military exercises of great technical and logistical complexity. Maneuvers like Lapland Steel 25held after other large multinational exercises, bring together Finnish, Swedish and British troops who train in extreme conditions, combining armor, helicopters, infantry and movement on skis in frozen forests and deep snow. Although a specific scenario is not officially tested, the maps and orientation of the exercises clearly reflect the type of threat that is in mind, making visible direct connection between the seemingly remote environment of the Arctic and high-intensity conventional warfare. A mentalized population. For many young Finns who serve in the military, in many cases voluntarily, the possibility of conflict is no longer an option. a distant abstraction. counted on a report in the Guardian that soldiers and conscripts assume extreme physical effort, endless marches and the weight of equipment as part of a collective responsibility, convinced that preparation is the best guarantee against uncertainty. The commanders describe the current situation as a new cold war, marked by the melting of the Arctic, the opening of new routes and natural resources and the rrenewed interest from Russia to ensure both its strategic deterrence and its economic assets in the north, in a context of prolonged and structural competition. Deterrence as a political message. The intensification of joint exercises and coordination between Finland, Sweden and Norway seeks more than just improving military capabilities: it seeks to send a clear political signal of cohesion, commitment and responsiveness. The bet is to avoid conflict precisely by demonstrating that any aggression would have a high cost and a collective response. In that delicate balance, Rovaniemi has become a powerful symbol of today’s Europe: a place where the imagery of peace, childhood and Christmas now coexists with bunkers, military aircraft and strategic planning, remembering that even in the extreme north of the continent, security has ceased to be a backdrop and has become a central priority. Image | Matias CalloneRawPixel, Tom Corser, BORN In Xataka | In the midst of rearmament, Europe has realized an unimportant detail: it does not have enough bullets In Xataka | France and Germany have just approved an unprecedented rearmament against the Russian threat: one hundreds of kilometers from Earth

Scooter, Chinese and with the last name “ADV”. The Zontes 368G is destroying the Spanish market for good reason

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Spain It’s scooter country. They are cheap to maintain, they hardly use fuel and some of them did not need a driving license to buy them. And I speak in the past tense because the DGT It already requires you to take a small driving course for new drivers who want to get a 125cc motorcycle with the B license (the car license). Taking into account that for years it has been possible to drive scooters without a license and the economy of maintenance, it is more than logical that these small vehicles have occupied the top 3 sales for years. What was not so predictable is that a Chinese manufacturer, launching an A2 license scooter, has blown up the ranking of the best-selling motorcycles in Spain and has catapulted itself to the top 3, very close to the historic Japanese Yamaha. We talk about Zontes with his 368Gand take a good look at the photo, since once you recognize it you will not stop seeing it on the Spanish streets. The reason for this motorcycle. Zontes has been in Spain since 2018 and, since then, has had a very modest presence. In China, The culture of copying has nothing to do with how we perceive it in Spain: For the Asian country it is a way of recognizing that a product is well made. For years, traditional Chinese education was based on memorization, tracing and exact reproduction of classical texts. Copying was the correct way to learn, and if a student could exactly replicate their teacher’s work, it demonstrated respect and having achieved a high level of skill. So, analyzing that the best-selling A2 scooter in Spain is the Honda 350 ADVZontes decided to make his own. The anti-ADV. A motorcycle for the city, road and (some) countryside, all with an aesthetic similar to Honda’s most expensive ADV, the X-ADV. The Zontes 368G is the third best-selling motorcycle in Spain according to Anesdor, dangerously close to the Yamaha Nmax. That’s key for several reasons. It is the best-selling Chinese scooter in Spain. It is the first time that an A2 license scooter is close to surpassing a B license scooter in sales. This Zontes model has surpassed Voge, a Chinese manufacturer that seemed unbeatable in Spain. While Chinese manufacturers are betting on a fragmented distribution strategy, Zontes has bet practically everything on this model. Why is it devastating?. Zontes has touched the x pillars necessary for a motorcycle to sweep sales in Spain. The price is absurdly low. Zontes asks 5,529 euros for a 368G with almost 40 HP and fully equipped. On a technological level, it is one of the most ambitious proposals on the market: heated grips, 8-inch TFT screen with mirroring connectivity, rear camera, front camera, keyless start, electric seat opening, full LED lights. Expansion of dealer network in Spain and good response from technical service. The small print. Like practically all Chinese manufacturers (except for some high-displacement models from Voge), the toll to pay for buying an Asian motorcycle is that you have to go to the workshop quite a bit. The Voge’s maintenance is every 4,000km, compared to 12,000km for its direct rival, the Honda ADV 350. A point to keep in mind for all those drivers who drive close to 10,000km annually. 2026 is coming even stronger. Zontes has made a splash in 2025, and has even more reason to do so in 2026. They are going to increase the maintenance interval to 5,000km thanks to an oil cooler. The bike will come with a heated seat. New display. Cruise control. Suspension improvements. On the other hand, in China, it is sold at the same price as the current model, so hardly any price increase is expected. 2026 will be a key year in the motorcycle world: it is more than likely that Chinese manufacturers will take the top 1 for the first time. Zontes is not alone. Zontes has become a manufacturer capable of surpassing giants such as BWM, Kymco and Kawasaki in registrations. But just look at the top 10 units registered in Spain to understand that it is not alone. Position four is occupied by Voge, a Chinese manufacturer that has managed to place its 900 DSX as the best-selling trail in Spain. In 10th place, QJmotor is beginning to make its mark. The future of the motorcycle in Spain is inevitable: it passes through China. Image | Zontes In Xataka | Chinese motorcycles are sweeping Spain: who is who in this puzzle of brands

Wall Street has turned on the spigot of infinite money for AI. They have forgotten a small detail: the electrical network

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In that equation that the world is trying to solve with AI, there is a half that not many people have noticed: debt. Behind every AI-generated chat and video is a gigantic network of data centers, and those data centers are being financed with a mountain of borrowed money. And therein lies the problem. In what is borrowed. Debt and more debt. According to recent datathe issuance of secured debt linked to data centers in the United States is estimated to be $25.4 billion by 2025. It is 112% more than the previous year. If we add up all the complex financial instruments (known as asset-backed securities (ABS) and commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBSS)), the snowball is already huge: there are almost $49 billion tied to these securities. Bonuses for everyone. Here there are not only startups asking for loans, no. The technology giants that are setting up these infrastructures – the so-called hyperscalers – are also taking advantage of this mechanism. Companies such as Microsoft, Google, Oracle or Meta have rediscovered the bond market as a source of financing. Better to spend what is not mine. They all have huge amounts of money, but instead of spending their own cash, They have raised 100,000 million dollars in debt issues so far this year. The goal: buy thousands of GPUs and build data centers before the competition. What are you doing, Oracle? If there is a company that embodies the vertigo of this excessive bet, it is Oracle. The company created by Larry Ellison has committed to meeting a Pharaonic $300 billion deal with OpenAI. That has forced it to become the largest issuer of corporate debt (outside the financial sector). The numbers are scary: your total debt has grown to 111.6 billion dollarswhile its cash has dropped by 10,000 million. Citi estimates they’ll need to borrow another $20 billion to $30 billion every year (every year!) for the next three years just to keep building. excessive ambition. There are also examples of startups that are exploiting this facet. One of the clearest is the one from CoreWeavea company famous for renting computing capacity for AI. The company has secured credit lines of $2.5 billion backed by leading investment banks such as JPMorgan. The market message seems clear: “if you’re going to build for AI, here’s the money.” How to get a 30-year mortgage. Analysts of all kinds have been keeping the fly behind their ears for some time, and one of the latest Moody’s reports is a good example. Concrete buildings are usually financed with terms of 20 or 30 years, but the technology inside (such as AI chips) changes radically every 3 or 4 years. Does it make sense to go into debt three decades from now for a technology that evolves so quickly? cheap money. Investors are also agreeing to charge minimal interest, just 1% above what the safe US public debt pays, when they assume that risk. It’s a worrying classic sign of euphoria. There is so much money wanting to enter the sector that those who lend it have lowered their guard and demand very little return for their risk. They firmly believe in the promises of AI while increasingly more analysts warnhorrified, that we are facing an “irrational exuberance.” Having money is no longer enough. All this is already scary, but the real bottleneck for expansion is not even capital or chips, but the electrical grid. As Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, pointed out, there is no power for so many chips. The situation is so worrying that a Deloitte study indicated in a study that there are a seven-year waiting line to connect some data center projects to the electrical grid. And if companies want to obtain financing, they need have guaranteed electricity supply for your data centers. If there is no plug, there is no loan. Big Tech looks for electrons. At OpenAI they already warned of the problem months ago when talking about the “electron gap” describing electrons (energy) as the new oil. Almost all the major companies in the industry are making a move. Google has signed an agreement with TotalEnergies to be delivered 1.5 TWh of electricity over the next 15 years, and Meta did something similar with Treaty Oak Clean Energy to get 385 MW of its solar plants in Louisiana. The bubble before the big question. All of this further increases the fear that the AI ​​bubble will end up bursting in a big way. Meanwhile, the big unknown is whether the demand for artificial intelligence will be capable of paying the immense electrical and financial bill that it is signing today in 5 or 10 years. The credit party continues. In Xataka | While Silicon Valley seeks electricity, China subsidizes it: this is how it wants to win the AI ​​war

close a factory in Germany

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The history of Volkswagen goes a long way. So much so that Its origins must be sought in Nazi Germany when the State commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to create a Volkswagen. That is, a car for the people. It was 1934 but with all the state machinery working overtime, in 1938 the first stone of the Wolfsburg factory, taking as an example Ford factory in Dearborn, United States. Since then Volkswagen has not stopped growing. With its good moments and also his bad momentsthe truth is that the company has established itself as the second largest producer of cars in the world, only surpassed by Toyota and in a comfortable position compared to Hyundai-Kia, which remains in third position. In these ideas and comings, the company has maintained a recipe: the German industry is not touched. Until now. In the midst of the reconversion of the European automotive industry, Volkswagen seems to have crossed a red line. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? for the first time It was 2018 when in Xataka we went for the first time to the Volkswagen glass plant in Dresden. There, the company had been producing its Volkswagen Phaeton, a luxury sedan that It ended up being a million-dollar hole. and, above all, a resounding sales failure. The company had converted the space into a laboratory to produce the first e-Golfone of the first steps that the company took in the purely electric car market. Its productive volume was almost ridiculous If we compare it with any current plant: 72 cars a day. In 2022, we had the opportunity to return. The factory had changed completely. At least in his spirit. It was still producing electric Golfs… more or less. And that’s where their ID.3Volkswagen’s first big bet that had been born with the spirit of being its first best-seller and position itself as the new electric Golf. Production had already fallen by half, to about 35 cars a day. Now, Volkswagen has shelved the plant. The glass space is converted into a university center. The movement has much more to say in the symbolic field than in the practical one. The 230 workers have three options on the table: dismissal with negotiated compensation, retirement or transfer to another factory. But the closure of the German plant goes much further. For the first time, Volkswagen has to cease production at a plant in Germany. Its production, as we have seen, was very low and the center was intended more for development and innovation than for nourishing the German fleet. However, the move is important because it demonstrates the extent to which the company is struggling. Dresden wasn’t just a car plant, it was status. It was a declaration of intent, the confirmation open to the world that Volkswagen invested in cars that were not profitable in the short term but from which they could extract knowledge in the future. Thomas Schäfer, CEO of Volkswagen, has indicated that the closure of the factory “it was essential from an economic perspective”. A little over a year ago, Volkswagen already announced that it intended to cut its production in Germany, to the point that it assured that “all factories in Germany are in danger”. They were the first blows of a savings plan of 10,000 million euros three years ahead. The company had decided to bet heavily on the electric car but European demand It does not seem to have been enough until it grew very recently. In Europe, Tesla has swept with force until last year but, above all, customers They didn’t seem interested. in the most affordable Volkswagen electric cars like the ID.3. Not even in the most expensive ones, like the Audi e-tron which ended with the closure of a plant in Brussels. Porsche is already retracing its path of electric car investments. Volkswagen has encountered a perfect storm with three open fronts. In Europe, as we said, the customer is not buying the expected electric cars, which puts the amortization of investments at serious risk. In the United States, the tariffs applied by Donald Trump’s Government have caused losses of 1.5 billion dollars in the last quarter alone, it reported. The New York Times. And in China the client has turned his back to the European product. That has put too much pressure on cash flow, forcing Volkswagen to get rid of space that went far beyond a car plant by renting it out to the local university. The problem is that when financial difficulties force us to think about readjustments in the short term, what suffers are long-term investments (just what was being studied in Dresden), which implies less competitiveness in the future. A wheel from which it is only possible to escape if, once again, it is possible to sell what the public asks for, with sufficient profit margins to reinvest in the future. And so, believe in germanyimplies taking steps back in electrification. Photo | Volkswagen In Xataka | In 2017, the owner of an electric car installed a charger with his neighborhood community against him. The Supreme Court has spoken

Boeing has come to the rescue

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We have not returned to the Moon since the mission Apollo 17in December 1972. Maybe that mission doesn’t sound particularly familiar to you, and that’s completely normal. Of all the times we have approached or walked by our satellitemost people remember the mission Apollo 11 by Neil Armstrong’s famous quote, “It’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,” and, possibly, the Apollo 13not because it was a success, but because one of the oxygen tanks exploded and, fortunately, the astronauts managed to save themselves. Fifty-three years later, we are closer than ever to revisiting the one that illuminates us when the sun goes down. We will do so with the Artemis II mission, scheduled to launch as soon as February 2026. But this return is not without challenges. And we are not talking about the delays of the Artemis program, which are not always really delaysbut of a piece as common as it is indispensable: the vehicle that takes astronauts from their bedrooms to the spacecraft that will transport them to the Moon. And someone has come to the rescue of NASA. Returning to the Moon is not just a matter of rockets Historically, astronauts have used the well-known Astrovan to get around from the operations building to the launch pad. From the STS-9 mission of the space shuttle Columbia, in 1983, until the end of the program with the STS-135 mission of the Atlantis, in 2011, a Airstream Excella of 1983 modified specifically for the transport of astronauts. And since NASA has not had its own system to launch astronauts into space since the end of the shuttle program, SpaceX and Boeing, the two American contractors that have assumed this role, have used their own vehicles, turning the historic Airstream Excella into a museum piece. The Artemis program became a good excuse to take a step towards modernity and incorporate, of course, an electric vehicle to transport astronauts. Under this premise, NASA announced in July 2022 that the astronauts of the Artemis program would move in vehicles from Canoo Technologies, an American startup. The fleet would be made up of three vans based on the Lifestyle Vehicle (LV), a model that, strikingly, had not even begun to be sold at the time of the announcement. Even so, there was a vote of confidence and, of course, a contract involved that required compliance. The Canoo vehicles that NASA bought Everything seemed to be progressing without visible setbacks, but things were getting complicated inside. In summary, the company published a press release on its website, which can only be consulted on the Internet Archivein which it voluntarily filed for Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code. This implies the cessation of its operations and the liquidation of all its assets. The vehicles had already been delivered to NASA, but using them left one question in the air: if a technical problem arose, who would respond? It was time to make a decision. The original Astrovan With the “countdown” underway for the launch of Artemis II, the US agency’s options were not many. Go out and find a new contractor? NASA had already paid for three Canoo vehicles that now lacked operational support. So there were two alternatives at home: use the Tesla Model employed by SpaceX or resort to the Boeing Astrovan II. Finally, NASA opted for this second option, at least as explained by the agency itself. in a statement provided to the Orlando television network Spectrum News 13. The solution is to temporarily rent the Boeing vehicle for, at least, the Artemis II mission, while other options for the future are evaluated. Boeing’s Astrovan II It is worth remembering that, although the transportation of astronauts before a mission may seem like a minor detail, it is not at all. It is a highly tense situation in which everything must flow with millimeter precision, and the comfort and conditions of the crew are key. So much so that these vehicles are adapted to meet NASA’s strict specifications and have everything necessary so that astronauts can move around with the Orion survival system spacesuits. It’s not as simple as getting into any car and that’s it. Boeing’s Astrovan II The Astrovan II is the result of a collaboration between the caravan firm Airstream and Boeing. It is, in essence, a modified Mercedes-Benz Sprinter 4500driven by a Mercedes-Benz 2.0 liter diesel engine and four cylinders with turbo. It features custom seating, USB charging stations, 110V power outlets, and a live TV broadcast system, as well as being ready to welcome astronauts in their suits. As expected, there are those who are in favor and those who are critical of this decision, but on paper it seems the most logical option. And if you’re wondering if the Astrovan II has ever been used before, the answer is yes. The vehicle debuted on the Boeing Crew Flight Test (Boe-CFT) mission, launched on June 5, 2024. Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Sunita “Suni” Williams were transported in it from the Kennedy Space Center to the launch pad of the Starliner Calypso capsule. That was, precisely, the mission in which the capsule had problems and the astronauts ended up returning to Earth aboard a SpaceX ship. Images | POT | Boeing | Canoo In Xataka | We have filled the Earth’s orbit with satellites. And now the risk of a catastrophic collision is very high

a logical evolution in a context where fintech increasingly offers more services

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PayPal has introduced a formal request before the US authorities to establish PayPal Bank, a banking entity that would allow it to expand its financial services beyond digital payments. The idea is that first, the company can offer loans to small businesses and savings accounts with interest to its customers. It would be the first step in a logical evolution in a context in which all fintech companies are committed to offering more and more services. Strategy. PayPal has filed for approval with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Utah Department of Financial Institutions to create a Utah-based industrial lending company. This type of entity can make loans, hold FDIC-insured deposits, and be owned by a non-financial institution. The objective: financial autonomy. According to declared PayPal CEO Alex Chriss, “raising capital remains a significant obstacle for small businesses looking to grow and scale.” The creation of PayPal Bank would reduce its dependence on third parties to provide financing, improving operational efficiency. According to the firm’s account, since 2013, PayPal has facilitated more than $30 billion in loans and capital to more than 420,000 business accounts around the world. A favorable regulatory context. This step by PayPal comes at a time of regulatory opening in this area under the Trump administration. Just like they count From Bloomberg, last week, five cryptocurrency platforms, including Ripple and Circle, received preliminary approval to establish national trust banks. Until a few years ago, approval was perceived as a complicated path. The fintech trend towards banking. PayPal joins a wave of financial technology companies seeking to become regulated banking entities. According to collect the Financial Times, Brazil’s Nubank and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase have all applied for banking licenses this year. As a curiosity, other firms that a priori might have nothing to do with this sector, such as Nissan Motor and Sony Group, have also submitted similar requests. Even “buy now, pay later” platforms like Klarna and Affirm have launched debit cards, competing directly with traditional entities. Between the lines. The fintech sector is maturing, with a special ambition to offer financial services of all kinds. PayPal already has a banking license in Luxembourg, and in fact this makes it considered a banking entity throughout the European Union. The direction it wants to take in the United States would be the first step to consolidate its status as a global financial entity. The company also seeks to connect directly with American credit and debit card networks, eliminating intermediaries in its payment operations. Leading PayPal Bank will be Mara McNeill, former CEO of Toyota Financial Savings Bank. Stock market performance. Despite the announcement, which has driven shares up 1.5% in the extended market, according to CNBCPayPal is going through a difficult year on the stock market. The firm accumulates a drop of 29% in 2025, while the S&P 500 has risen almost 16% in the same period. However, in October the company reported quarterly revenue of $8.42 billion, up 7% year-over-year and above analyst expectations. Cover image | Brett Jordan In Xataka | Elon Musk’s fortune has exceeded $600 billion: SpaceX is not only breaking records in space

stand up to Google’s Nano Banana Pro phenomenon

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You may remember when, a few months ago, half the internet started creating Studio Ghibli-style images with ChatGPT to upload them to social networks. The “magic” behind that fever was OpenAI’s new image generation model. But everything moves so fast that the conversation lasted just long enough. Some time later, our attention was already elsewhere: on how difficult it was to distinguish some images created with Nano Banana Pro. In a very short time, half the world began to talk about the benefits of Google’s new generative model, and there were many who placed it ahead of that of OpenAI. But this is an open race, with technology giants fighting for AI leadership. And, as expected, the company led by Sam Altman has responded. This Tuesday it launched ChatGPT Images, which comes boasting several improvements for users. Editing as a key element. One of the great historical challenges of image generation tools has been the specific editing of specific elements. ChatGPT Images directly aims to solve this limitation, allowing us to modify only what interests us, from a specific object to lighting, composition or even the appearance of people. This opens the door to combining elements or introducing very specific changes without having to remake the entire image, something that until now used to be a weak point in this type of model. See yourself in an ad or “travel” to your favorite place. Another section where ChatGPT Images makes a leap is in creative transformations. Simply upload your own photo and accompany it with a simple prompt to obtain, in a matter of seconds, surprisingly convincing results. It is worth clarifying that this idea is not completely new. In fact, it is one of the most outstanding virtues of Nano Banana Pro, a model that our colleague Javier Lacort was able to test thoroughly and was already pointing in this direction. Let’s look at some examples with ChatGPT Images. Original image: “Create an image of this man, but in Time Square, New York, with clothes, looks, surroundings, etc., that are believable for winter 2025” “It places this person in full body in a Japanese city during a rainy night, with neon, reflections on the ground and cyberpunk aesthetics” Precision as a flag and improvements in the text. OpenAI also places emphasis on improving accuracy. How many of us have had to ask for something specific and receive just the opposite, or find that the model has not understood the instruction correctly? Part of that problem, according to the company, should be left behind. If we provide detailed instructions, the system should be able to honor them more faithfully. In addition, the generation of text within images is reinforced, a key aspect for creating posters, promotional ads and other content where typography and the message are as important as the image itself. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | We believed that Microsoft had already put Copilot everywhere. LG shows us that we were very wrong

we will have combustion engines in 2035

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It had been rumored for a long time. In recent weeks it had gained strength. And since Manfred Weber, president of the European People’s Party, spoke, it was already an open secret. The European Commission proposes to reverse and opens the door to combustion engines from 2035. It’s a really small door. What did we have? A prohibition that had been qualified. The European Union planned ban the sale of all cars with combustion enginesregardless of whether they were plug-in hybrids, extended range electric or electric hybrids. There was barely a crack left open for manufacturers who make ridiculously short runs. Why does an electric car have less autonomy than advertised? Later, Europe opened the door somewhat. A small slit. With permission to make cars that run on andfuelthe European Union allowed combustion cars to be produced as long as they did not emit carbon emissions. This point was already emphasized since the combustion of all fuel produces emissions of NOx or fine particles, highly harmful to humans. In the first draft it only talked about being “emission neutral”. With the efuel There was already talk of “carbon neutral” because, supposedly, during the production of synthetic fuel the same or greater amount of CO2 is captured than that produced by cars. What do we have now? Some recalculated objectives. And if in 2035 the aim was to reduce carbon emissions by 100%, the goal now is to do so by 90%. That is, all types of cars with combustion engines can be sold, even if the emissions expelled exceed the maximum 10% that will be allowed, taking the year 2021 as a reference. Because? Because what is measured is the average emissions of the fleet, not of a specific car. That is, when presented to regulators, all cars sold by a manufacturer are taken into account. From there, its emissions volume is added and the average per vehicle is taken. This average has to be just 10% of the 2021 reference. That leaves the limit to be met in 2035. about 11 gr km/of CO2. Therefore, if a car sold emits 100 gr/km of CO2, it will need nine other electric cars to be sold (0 gr/km of CO2) to offset that car and avoid fines. Everything indicates, therefore, that electric cars will continue to be essential and the best-selling type of vehicle. Aces up your sleeve. The European Commission has also confirmed that it opens the door to a new category of vehicles. It is known as eCar, a small electric car made in Europe for which fiscal facilities are expected and which would add additional emissions credits, according to The Automotive Tribune. In addition, the emissions limit proposed for 2030 that required emissions to be reduced by 50% compared to 93.6 gr/km of CO2 will be left until 2032. The procedure is the same as what happened in 2025. Instead of applying the fines this year, a temporary period was opened until 2027 so that the manufacturer could comply. At this point, the average emissions of the fleet sold between 2025 and 2027 is calculated. The objectives not met in 2025 have to be compensated in the coming two years. A pressure cooker. In recent months, the European Commission had become a pressure cooker where manufacturers and countries pressured to recalculate the 2035 objectives. From ACEA and on your own, manufacturers have been around for a long time pushing for emissions standards to be relaxed. The industry is in a complicated situation, with some of its large automobile groups, like Volkswagen, applying severe adjustments. Especially the German manufacturers are the ones that have put the most pressure to achieve these changes. On the other hand, the countries of the European Union have been divided in two. Six countries led by Italy They had created a common front to the point of sending a letter begging Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to reverse the proposed objectives. Germany has also been one of the countries that has put the most pressure but did not sign this letter. Spain, however, It has been together with France one of the countries that has put more pressure to maintain the reduction of 100% CO2 emissions in 2035. Yes, but. It must be taken into account that all this is still a proposal from the European Commission. Of course, and looking at the latest movements, everything indicates that the changes will end up being applied in their entirety or a large part of them. However, this proposal must be negotiated by the European Parliament and the Member States (the Council of the EU) to be finally approved. Photo | European Commission and Wassim Choak In Xataka | While Europe is thinking about what to do with the electric car, China already knows how to remain a leader in 2040. This is its plan

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