Month: January 2026

There is a reason why Germany allows driving at 300 km/h and it is not history or politics: it is the asphalt

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If you like to step on the accelerator, you will have already seen firsthand that cornering at 100 km/h is better than at 130 km/h. I don’t need to remind you that the maximum speed allowed on state roads is 120 km/h. Although there are quite a few countries within the European Union with higher limits, Germany is the only state where there are sections without speed limit. 300 km/h without breaking a sweat. Obviously, this poses a danger to driving as cars such as a Porsche at 322 km/h. At these speeds, the risk of the car jumping or losing control is notable. But the “recipe” for manufacturing the German Autobahn has its particularities that allow it to offer enviable flatness and a road surface with high load capacity. And it can be found in the regulations and standards of the FGSV (Research Society for Highways and Transportation) and the BASt (German Federal Authority for Road Safety and Traffic). Blessed sandwich. While in Spain Flexible or semi-rigid pavement predominates with thicknesses of 40 to 60 centimeters. In Germany they use a standardized layer system called RStO 12 (Guidelines for the Standardization of Pavement Structures). That is, with a total thickness of between 70 and 90 centimeters with an antifreeze base composed of highly permeable gravel and sand so that water does not remain trapped (in case of freezing, it would generate large cracks as a result of expansion). About this, layers of gravel mixed with concrete or asphalt to provide sufficient rigidity to prevent collapse under the passage of heavy trucks. cwhen concrete and when asphalt. In the intermediate section the Germans use two materials, highlighting the concrete for those stretches of free speed and high truck traffic thanks to its rigidity and durability. In more detail: The 25 to 30 centimeter high-resistance concrete pavements longitudinally integrate plastic-coated steel bars. Thus, they allow some thermal expansion but do not allow them to move independently, causing steps. The transition between the concrete slabs is barely noticeable. Asphalt with stone matrix (S.M.A.), a combination with crushed stone and cellulose to offer extreme resistance to deformation and maximize the tire’s grip. The “superstructure” of German roads. Von Susan from Bielefeld, Deutschland – Straße, CC BY 2.0 Extreme plain for safety and by law. If you hit a speed bump at a certain speed, your car will go away. If you go 300 km/h in a sports car, the loss of aerodynamic load is such that it could be fatal. So Germany takes the plain very seriously by regulations: the maximum allowable deviation three millimeters in four meters. They achieve it with controlled pavers by global navigation and laser sensor systems. Auf wiedersehen, aquaplaning. Once the risk of steps, cracks and unevenness has been minimized, there remains another staunch enemy for speed: water on the asphalt. And they fight it in two ways. For starters, autobahns have a slope of at least 2.5% on the sides to evacuate the water as soon as possible. For concrete pavements, it is used waschbeton or washed concrete, a technique that brushes the surface to expose the aggregates, thus creating a rough, non-slip area that breaks up any water film that may form. In Xataka | Germany, Austria and Switzerland have plenty of roads. So they have started covering them with solar panels In Xataka | The Autobahn are the only roads in Europe without a speed limit. More and more Germans want to end them Cover | Wes Tindel and Nick Fewings

A macro study warns that well-being plummets if you have not had a partner at 25

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There was a time when being single at 20 was something seen as a style of independence and self-discovery. However, science has put a figure on a table that changes this concept that we could have in our minds: from the age of 25, the emotional well-being of those who have never had a relationship begins to suffer. A change of vision. It was the University of Zurich which has decided to take the step of investigating the “social clock” of the youngest in society, which has given an article published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Right now, many studies were focused on the impact of dating apps and how the flirting paradigm has changed today. But they have taken a turn to investigate 17,390 young people from Germany and the United Kingdom, tracking their lives from ages 16 to 29 with the aim of correlating their emotional life with their romantic situation. A “single” profile. One of the conclusions most striking of the research of Michael Kremer and his team are the ones who stay single the longest. Against the stereotype that being single is a purely bohemian choice, data shows clear patterns. First of all, men are more likely to remain single for a long timeThat is, they have never had a romantic relationship. But in addition, there is a direct correlation with a high academic training, since young people with higher educational levels They tend to delay their first relationship. The environment. But a great paradigm shift in recent years is undoubtedly in poor access to housing. The fact that many young people continue to live with their parents is undoubtedly a great determining factor in this love trajectory for young people. The turning point. Until age 23 or 24, there are no critical differences in life satisfaction between those who have had a partner and those who have not. However, upon crossing the 25-year threshold, the gap widens. In this case, the researchers detected that young people who have never been in a relationship show significantly higher levels of loneliness and depressive symptoms as they approach 30. According to the authors, this is because the social environment begins to put pressure implicitly, and the comparison with peers (who already establish long-term commitments) generates a feeling of exclusion. The healing power. But beyond the negative part for all those who have spent 25 years without a partner, the reality is that they have also seen that the first relationship It has incredible healing power. Especially when we talk about these long-term singles who find a partner. The transition to the first relationship brings an immediate increase in life satisfaction and a drastic drop in feelings of loneliness. Interestingly, although loneliness decreases, depressive symptoms take longer to stabilize, suggesting that the lack of previous experience leaves an emotional imprint that is not instantly erased with the first “I love you.” Social pressure. This work opens an interesting debate about mental health in the era of dating apps and job insecurity. Although society increasingly values ​​autonomy, the human brain appears to still respond to traditional social milestones. For Michael Krämer and his team, the problem is not singleness itself, but the mismatch between the desire for connection and the reality of a solitary life that extends beyond what the individual, or his or her environment, considers “normal.” And today there is above all pressure from the family that does not stop asking classic questions about when someone is going to have a partner to take them to family events. This is nothing more than a big problem for young people who see how they are arriving late to something that for many people is normal, especially if we look at the past where relationships and marriages increasingly emerged much earlier. Images | Vitaly Gariev In Xataka | Traditional couples have always aspired to live under the same roof. The LAT believes it is a huge mistake

depends on the West more than it admits

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China has managed to become the giant we know today: controls the processing of critical minerals, leads battery manufacturing and builds 74% of renewable energy of the planet. However, behind this imposing façade of self-sufficiency, the Asian giant hides an Achilles heel that its propaganda tries to silence: a critical dependence on the technology, machinery and intellectual property of the West it is trying to displace. The paradox of Chinese dominance. For decades, the West operated under a mirage. As analyst Gillian Tett explains in it Financial TimesWestern elites assumed that making things was low-margin “dirty work” that could be outsourced. While the world became obsessed with software and code, China was quietly building the physical infrastructure of the 21st century. Today, Beijing owns what investor Craig Tindale called “processing sovereignty”: controls the 98% of galliumhe 90% of rare earths and the 95% polysilicon. But this domain is incomplete and vulnerable. The recent failure of the Chinese company Defu Technology in his attempt to acquire the Luxembourg-based Circuit Foil for $204 million—blocked by the Luxembourg government—has shown that China is not self-sufficient in high-precision components. Despite its trade balance reaching a record surplus, Beijing was forced to import $1.3 billion worth of advanced copper foil last year alone, a discrete but vital input so its next-generation electric vehicles can even start. The “brain” is still foreign. The dependency is deeper than it seems. A report from Tsinghua University reveals devastating data: The Chinese wind industry still imports 60% of its rotor bearings, 70% of the transistor modules for the electrical grid and, most surprisingly, 100% of the logic modules that control the turbines in real time. Aware of this “bottleneck,” President Xi Jinping has personally pressured its manufacturers to “master key technologies.” The effort is bearing fruit—state media They report that the national production of bearings rose to 60% in record time—but the gap in high-end electronics continues to be the great handbrake. Even in cutting-edge sectors like green hydrogen, where Beijing has massive plans, a study published in International Journal of Hydrogen Energy underlines that Chinese industry is struggling to abandon its dependence on foreign-made proton exchange membranes. Beijing has the factories, but the West still has the “brains” and the fine chemistry that makes the machines work. From the “Malacca Dilemma” to resource nationalism. To understand Xi Jinping’s movement of pieces, you have to go back to 2003. Then, leader Hu Jintao coined the “Malacca Dilemma”: the fear that a hostile power would block the strait through which almost all the oil consumed by China passes. The commitment to clean energy was not only a climate issue, but a national security strategy to break that chain. However, in trying to escape dependence on oil, China has fallen into the trap of geology. Although it is the largest refiner in the world, it is poor in its own deposits of lithium, cobalt or nickel. As you have warned an extensive report on Financial TimesIndonesia or the Democratic Republic of the Congo are tightening their access rules, forcing Beijing to increase its strategic reserves amid fears that third-country resource nationalism will disrupt its supply chain. The awakening of a “disarmed” West. In Washington and Brussels they have gone from complacency to counteroffensive. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and his G7 counterparts have met recently to create a “floor price” for rare earths, seeking to stifle the competitive advantage of Chinese subsidies. In Europe, the Commissioner for Industry, Stéphane Séjourné, has sent a message that has made boards of directors tremble: through the ReSourceEU program, the EU could legally bind companies to diversify their purchases to prevent Beijing from using permanent magnets as a geopolitical weapon. For its part, Donald Trump’s administration bet on recovering the control of physical matter through Venezuelan and Guyanese crude oil. However, as Gillian Tett warnsthis could be a pyrrhic victory: while the US fights for the fossil fuels of the 20th century, China continues to deploy ultra-high voltage networks to fuel its future race to Artificial Intelligence. The clash of clocks. Rebuilding this sovereignty is not just a matter of capital; It’s a matter of hands. Expert Craig Tindale postulates that the West suffers from a “human bottleneck”: after decades of deindustrialization, engineers who knew how to operate chemical plants and foundries have retired. China, through the prism of long-term planning inherited from Confucian thought, has synchronized its “industrial clock” with the political one, planning in decades what the West measures in financial quarters. The energy transition has ceased to be a humanitarian mission and has become a total battlefield. China dominates scale and execution, but the West still holds the keys to technological innovation and control of capital markets. The greatest risk is that this clash of strategies ends up slowing down the decarbonization of the planet. At the end of the day, the interdependence between China and the West is their greatest common weakness, but also the only guarantee that both sides are forced, sooner or later, to understand each other. Image | freepik Xataka | The gas market becomes unpredictable: we have tanks full and ships on the way, but the price remains an enigma

We already know what happened to the SpainSat NG II

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A space system designed to last decades, an investment of more than 2,000 million euros and two satellites designed to guarantee secure communications for the Armed Forces may be compromised by a millimeter impact tens of thousands of kilometers from Earth. That is what has happened with him SpainSat NG IIone of the two central pieces of the SpainSat NG program. After days of minimal information, there is finally an answer about his fate. We know what happened and what decision was made, although the episode still leaves relevant questions open. The sequence of events now allows us to establish a clearer time frame. SpainSat NG II took off on October 22, 2025, according to the Ministry of Defensein a mission that was presented as the culmination of the new secure communications constellation. On January 2, 2026, Indra recognized for the first time an external impact during the orbital transfer, without specifying its scope. Two weeks later, a new statement confirms that this damage will prevent completing the mission and activates the satellite relay. Non-recoverable damage. The key to the announcement is in a phrase that until now had not been pronounced so clearly. Hisdesat states thatafter reviewing the most recent technical reports from the main contractor, the SpainSat NG II will not be able to complete its mission. The statement does not go into nuances or intermediate scenarios: the damage is considered irreversible for operational purposes. This conclusion explains the immediate passage to the next movement of the program, the beginning of the process to replace the satellite, leaving behind any expectation of functional recovery. What happened on impact. Everything indicates that the SpainSat NG II was hit by a space particle of millimeter size and very little weight. In the orbital environment, that size is not irrelevant. In the evaluation carried out by Hisdesatthe impact would have occurred at high speed and in a particularly sensitive area of ​​the satellite, which would have caused damage that was impossible to correct. Even so, the satellite remains stable and in an eccentric orbit that does not interfere with other missions. Many questions on the table (and some answers). The decision to replace the satellite now opens a key question that the statement does not answer: timing. Hisdesat announces the start of the bid request process for the SpainSat NG III, but does not offer any reference on contracting, manufacturing, launch or entry into service deadlines. This absence prevents the precise measurement of the time margin until the replacement is operational. Meanwhile, the continuity of the service is supported by the SpainSat NG I, already in operation, and the satellite SpainSata solution that guarantees temporary coverage. Insurance doesn’t explain everything. The official statement is blunt on this point: the loss of SpainSat NG II will not cause “any economic damage”, since the satellite was insured against this type of incident. It is a clear statement, but not exhaustive. It is not detailed, for example, whether this coverage is limited to the value of the lost satellite or whether it includes the costs associated with its replacement, such as the new contracting process or the possible effects on program deadlines. A key project for the Spanish defense sector. The Ministry of Defense itself has stressed that more than 45% of the industrial load of the new satellites has been developed with the involvement of practically the entire national space sector. Now we have to wait to find out how the pieces will fit together, once again, so that the program continues and can meet its planned objectives. The good news is that, despite the difficulties, SpainSat NG has what it takes to move forward. Images | Airbus (1, 2) | Thales In Xataka | Starlink is on the verge of having more than 15,000 satellites in low orbit: the perfect nightmare for astronomers

The ultra-rich have turned it into their refuge

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The ultra-rich of the world they are choosing Spain like a paradise for your dream homes. High-income people are increasingly opting for properties with views of the Mediterranean Sea, away from the hustle and bustle, with a temperate climate and legal certainty for your investments. In recent years, ultra-high net worth individuals (so-called UHNWIs) Ultra High Net Worth Individuals) have put Spain in their sights, catapulting the country to fourth place globally in demand for luxury properties, as revealed the report Private Office Market Report 2026 by the real estate agency Engel & Völkers in collaboration with the consulting firm Henley & Partners. Spain: preferred destination for millionaires. Spain has slipped in in fourth place in the world in demand for luxury homes, only behind Italy, France and the United Arab Emirates. The analysis carried out by 160 international advisors reveals that prices in the premium real estate segment rose in Spain (as in Italy) driven by the mediterranean lifestyle. In contrast, destinations such as France and Canada registered moderate decreases. According to data from a study by the luxury real estate platform LuxuryEstate.com collected through the specialized portal Funds Societythe interest of millionaires from all over the world in Spain is solid. 77% of searches for luxury properties come from foreign buyers, with the ultra-rich Germans standing out with 27% of the total, above the French (17%) and Americans (5%). This translates into a record of almost 93,000 luxury homes acquired by non-residents in 2024, consolidating Spain as a safe destination for investors in luxury properties. Reasons that attract fortunes. It’s no longer just about saving money: the rich want to live (even) better. The Engel & Völkers report highlights that more than 50% of international advisors highlight an increase in preference for destinations that invite people to live. outdoor life (such as gardens or terraces accompanied by temperate climates) as the main feature for selecting luxury properties. This figure rises to 69.5% for requests in Europe and 54.8% worldwide. Jawed Barna, CEO of Engel & Völkers, sees it clearly: these properties act as “lifestyle assets.” Hans Lenz, an advisor in Mallorca, tells how “we have a growing group of clients moving here thanks to the incredible climate, security, connectivity and schools, with 19 international schools in Mallorca.” The exemption from wealth tax of up to three million euros and the absence of inheritance tax in the Balearic Islands accelerate the arrival of wealthy families to the Balearic Islands, combining remote work with the beach and golf. Classic destinations. According what was published by IdealisticMadrid, the Balearic Islands and Marbella are the most common destinations for these wealthy buyers. In Marbella, 8,708 luxury transactions were closed in 2024, an increase of 5.64% year-on-year, with 92% in foreign hands such as Mexicans and Russians. These operations seek absolute privacy, panoramic views and luxury equipment such as infinity pools. Millionaires, along with Latinos, choose a formula that mixes the business potential of the destination with relaxation. When you clear the Neighborhoods like Salamanca in Madrid or Pedralbes in Barcelona They see apartments exceeding one million euros they pass to American and Latin American millionaires. In 2026 it will go further. According to data from the Engel & Völkers study, the luxury market in Spain generated 20,550 million euros in 2025, which represents a growth of 6.2% compared to the previous year, with Chinese tourists responsible for 20% of total spending in this segment. Stuart Siegel, of Engel & Völkers Americas, predicts that the rich will continue to invest in homes designed for long-term enjoyment, prioritizing quality of life over quick profits. For his part, Daniel Hadi, CEO of the real estate agency for the Middle East, warns that the lack of exclusive villas and mansions will drive up current property prices even more. Given this luxury housing shortagebuyers will begin to look towards Branded Residences from prestigious brands such as Four Seasons or Dorchester, equipped with private spas and other luxury services managed by brands. In Xataka | The sale of a mansion for 22 million euros has revealed a new reality: Sotogrande is the new Marbella Image | Unsplash (Norbert Buduczki)

OpenAI will start placing ads on ChatGPT. We already know who this first test will reach

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For years, ChatGPT It has functioned as one of the most accessible gateways to artificial intelligence, an assistant that many people use daily without a subscription. That model, which helped popularize generative AI at a speed that is difficult to match from the end of 2022is now beginning to show its limits. Maintaining that promise of mass access has an increasing cost, and OpenAI has decided to explore an avenue that had been on the table for some time: will start testing ads in the chatbota movement that puts back on the table how the AI ​​we use every day is financed. ChatGPT is about to change. OpenAI says that ads will only be shown on the free and Go plans, while users of ProBusiness and Enterprise will be left out. The decision introduces a clear separation between plans aimed at the general public and those designed for professional or business use. As we can see, in this pilot, advertising is associated with the cheapest access levels, while higher subscriptions maintain an ad-free experience. This is what ChatGPT ads will look like Where the advertising will appear. There are also details on how advertising will be integrated into the user experience. In this first phase, ads will appear at the end of ChatGPT responses when there is a sponsored product or service related to the ongoing conversation, always separated from organic content and, as the company promises, clearly labeled. Therefore, we should be able to know why we are seeing that specific ad and we will have the option to hide it. What about conversations. Along with the announcement of this test, OpenAI wanted to establish in writing the principles that, according to the company, will guide its advertising approach. It insists that ads will not influence ChatGPT responses, which will continue to be optimized based on what is most useful to the user, and emphasizes that conversations will not be shared or sold to advertisers. It also promises control: we can disable personalization and delete data used for ads. For adult users only. Not all users or all conversations are included in this test. The firm points out that the ads will only be shown to adults who are logged in, and that both accounts in which the user indicates, or the system estimates, that he or she is under 18 years of age, as well as content linked to sensitive areas, will be excluded. Health, mental health and politics are among the topics prohibited from appearing in advertisements. Someone has to pay for AI. Generative AI has become an extremely expensive technology to operate, while, as is often the case with services with a massive free plan, converting those users into subscribers is not easy, even with cheaper paid plans. OpenAI earns revenue from subscriptions and its API for developers, and in that context testing ads fits as one of the ways the company puts on the table to expand revenue without closing access. The financial hole. The economic context is best understood by looking at the numbers published at the end of 2025. According to financial documents seen by The Wall Street JournalOpenAI assumes that it will continue to accumulate very high losses for several years before achieving significant profits towards the end of the decade. The projection for 2028 is even more demanding, with operating losses that would reach $74 billion, driven mainly by the cost of computing. The competition is getting fiercerz. Added to this financial pressure is a competitive context much more demanding than that of ChatGPT’s first months. OpenAI’s initial leadership is no longer as undisputed as in 2022 and 2023, with rivals such as Google with Gemini and Anthropic with Claude reinforcing its offer and gaining presence. Staying ahead requires constant investment, not only in research, but also in infrastructure and operational capacity. The announcement does not close the debate, it opens it. OpenAI insists that this is a limited test with no long-term commitments, but the simple fact of introducing advertising sets a precedent. It remains to be seen if this model is limited to the United States or if it ends up spreading to other markets, and how users react to this change. Ultimately, the question is broader and affects the entire industry: who pays the real cost of artificial intelligence that aspires to be in the hands of everyone. Images | OpenAI In Xataka | If we ask Spaniards how they feel about AI, the answer is simple: more productive

In 1792, before the telephone, a Frenchman invented the first telecommunications system in history: the optical telegraph.

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We live in full Digital Ageand sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that until the end of the 20th century anything similar to the Internet was pure science fiction. But it is not true, because already in the 19th century the telegraph began to allow us to disseminate information in real time, which has earned Morse’s invention the nickname of the Victorian Internet. optical telegraph. But before Morse invented the telegraph in 1832, there were other attempts to make information travel long distances almost in real time. One of them saw the light in 1792 at the hands of the French inventor Claude Chappe. It is about the optical telegrapha tower with two mobile arms that changed position depending on what was wanted to be communicated, and which today is considered the first practical telecommunications system. The origins. This type of communication medium was first devised in 1684 by the British scholar Robert Hooke, although he never put his theory into practice. In 1767 Sir Richard Lovell Edgeworth proposed a first design optical telegraph to transmit the results of a race, but it was not until Chappe developed his that they began to become popular. Claude Chappe and his brothers developed their communication system in 1792, and it was so successful in France that the country created a network of 556 stations that communicated an area of ​​4,800 kilometers. The system was promoted for commercial use, but Napoleon Bonaparte liked the idea and decided to use it to coordinate his troops over long distances. How it worked. The system was made up of a mast from which two mobile arms came out. At two meters long each, the arms were so large that they could be seen from great distances, and only two levers were needed to make them move. As we see in the image, the position of the arms would determine the number or letter that was wanted to be transmitted. The milestone. The first message with the French optical telegraph network was transmitted from Lille to Paris in 1794, and 22 towers were used to carry it across 230 kilometers. It was used for national communications until the 1850s, and the model was modified and used in other countries such as Sweden, Hungary, the United Kingdom, Germany and the Spain of Charles IV. became famous. In France it enjoyed great popularity, and reached be described in works as important as “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexandre Dumas in 1844. But the same desire to quickly and effectively develop communications that drove and led Chappe’s invention to success also ended up being his undoing. In 1846 and after several failed attempts, Samuel Morse finally managed to convince France to replace it with his new electric telegraph, which could be used at night and in poor visibility. And it ended up prevailing despite the fact that many experts of the time predicted its failure due to the ease with which its lines could be cut, although that is another story. Images | Wikimedia (1, 2, 3 and 4)

Madrid needs to build thousands of homes as soon as possible. So you are already testing prefabricated wooden modules

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A while ago (not so long ago) “prefabrication” and “wood” were words that took a back seat in the jargon of large construction companies. The prefabricated houses carried certain negative nuance and the wood sounded like a past material, more typical of other times than the era of concrete, steel and glass. Little by little that is changing and Madrid is the best example: as part of its policy to create affordable accommodation, the City Council has just inaugurated its first promotion built “in wood with prefabricated 3D modules.” And he already warns that he will not stay there. What has happened? That the Madrid City Council just opened a new promotion of affordable rental municipal housing. Fifty two- and three-bedroom apartments with storage rooms and 78 parking spaces. Until then, nothing out of this world. If the news is interesting it is because this work is not the same as others of the Municipal Housing and Land Company (EMVS). in words of the Consistory, it is “the first public housing development in Madrid built in wood with prefabricated 3D modules.” What exactly have they done? The work in question is called ‘Iberia Loreto 1’is located in the district of Barajas and has been carried out with an investment of 14.6 million euros. In total it includes 52 homes (16 with two bedrooms and the remaining 36 with three), as well as 78 parking spaces. Overall, the promotion is distributed in two blocks separated by a green area. The work stands out, however, more for its execution than for what it offers. Those responsible have resorted to “industrialized wood construction”; That is, they have used wooden modules previously created in a factory. Why is it important? Because with this bet, Madrid joins other developers who (inside and outside Spain, both in the public sphere and in the private sector) have been betting in recent years on that same strategy: industrialized construction. Australia has done itfor example, to shortcut your serious crisis of housing, and the model is also viewed with interest in Portugal either USA. In other countries, such as Japan, it is already fully settled. In Spain, data from the sector suggest that industrialized housing still has a reduced weightbut companies note a growing interest. In the Basque Country it is seen as a way to reinforce the offer and recently we told you how in Zaragoza they have raised a new hotel with prefabricated modules. Why’s that? Due to its advantages, something that is responsible for highlighting the Madrid City Council. The City Council recalls that Iberia Loreto 1 has been completed in less than a year and a half. 17 months have passed between the laying of the first stone and the completion of the work. In general, speed is one of the great assets of the industrialized modelwhich consists of manufacturing modules (more or less assembled) in a warehouse that are then moved to the construction site. It may seem like an unimportant change, but it implies that part of the work is done in the factories, not on the site itself, which helps to speed up the works, cut times and even reduce workplace accidents. At the end of the day, workers go from scaffolding to factories. “It does not eliminate occupational risks, but it does allow us to reduce them without giving up technical quality or architectural design,” they claim from The Concrete House. And what will Madrid do now? The Iberia Loreto 1 experience seems to have been good enough for the City Council to consider taking it further and continuing to support it. “After its success, the municipal company is going to take a decisive leap by promoting the construction of 800 homes developed with this system,” advance from the EMVS before insisting that the city “will continue to advance industrialized public construction.” “It allows us to shorten deadlines, reduce the environmental impact and offer more efficient homes.” How much do you want to build? Its objective is to raise more than 760 new industrialized public housing. 170 will be built in the districts of Barajas, Moncloa-Aravaca and Villa de Vallecas. The remaining ones will be deployed in Vilcálvaro (Los Ahijones and Los Berrocales) within the framework of the Suma Vivienda Plan, so they will be developed through a public-private collaboration formula. In total the Consistory assures that in 2026 work will begin on 2,500 new homes for affordable rental through EMVS. To be precise, it talks about 22 new developments in various districts of the capital and remembers the nearly 1,600 apartments in the first phase of the EMVS Suma Vivienda Plan. Images | Madrid City Council and Municipal Housing and Land Company In Xataka | The Government wants to put 1,600 public and affordable homes for rent. Rental Insurance wants to keep them

The “pop” Catholicism of Hakuna and Llamados is filling pavilions with thousands of young people. The problem: they seem evangelical

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Two Catholic events in Madrid in just 48 hours, making a couple of undeniable circumstances very clear. First, the Catholic faith has taken root among the youngest people speaking in their same language: with mega concerts and massive events. Second, behind this apparent en bloc following lie different trends that threaten to break up the crowded world of Spanish faith, overflowing with interests that pull in opposite directions. The events. On Monday, January 13, the Movistar Arena welcomed 6,000 people in ‘Llamados’, a prayer meeting organized by the Parish of Santo Domingo de la Calzada (Algete) and Alpha España (Spanish branch of Alpha International, a method of evangelization born in the 70s within Anglicanism and that explores faith in an informal environment). The next day, the Vistalegre Palace gathered 12,000 attendees at the Hakuna Group Music concertthe Catholic group fashionable in Spain. The debate. What has ignited the debate is the group’s presence in ‘Llamados’ hillsong as opening act This Australian evangelical group, a Protestant icon, is a clear example of some “evangelical ways” that radically depart from historical Catholic practices and discourses. Contemporary music with rock instruments, giant screens, an abundance of emotional personal testimonies, moments of worship with raised hands… and all in spaces more associated with concerts than with traditional liturgical celebrations. His actions are controversial among the most traditional sectors of Catholicismbut the discussion now reaches Spain. The context. Hakuna Group Musicthe Catholic youth movement founded in 2013 by Father José Pedro Manglano has become the emblem of this new trend of transforming faith into a mega-conceit. Their song ‘Huracán’ surpassed two million views on social networks after the September 2022 concert in Vistalegre, which brought together 8,000 people, figures within the reach of successful traditional pop groups. The precedent. This Spanish phenomenon has its clearest precedent in the United States. In July 2024, more than 50,000 Catholics gathered at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis for the National Eucharistic Congressan event that marked a turning point and where catholic bishops sang ‘How Great Is Our God’, the characteristic hymn of Elevation Churchone of the most influential evangelical megachurches in the world. For many faithful, this phenomenon represents “a new ecumenical liturgical movement“which is not based on the harsher and more inaccessible Catholic tradition, but on shared music and common experience. And the truth is that this drift towards pop is normal: after all, traditional sacred music is not designed for crowds of tens of thousands of people. In other words, it does not have choruses or lololós. The CWM. The music that plays in ‘Llamados’ and in Hakuna’s concerts falls within a specific genre: Contemporary Worship Music (CWM), born in American Pentecostal and charismatic churches since the 1960s. It is now a global industry that moves millions of dollars. Among its characteristics are lyrics focused on direct praise to God and written in the first person, simple and repetitive melodic structures designed to be chanted, and instrumentation typical of pop-rock bands. The goal: an immediate emotional experience. The criticisms. Some critics draw parallels of this movement with the prosperity gospel or prosperity theology, an evangelical current that teaches that God rewards faith with material success and health. Magazines like the Jesuit La Civiltà Cattolicaapproved by the Vatican, warned in 2022 that elements of this theology had penetrated Catholic communities, especially through the charismatic movement, transforming the traditional understanding of redemptive suffering. That is to say, the loss of the traditional penitential component of Catholicism, to which the Latin faction is so closely related, is perceived. In Spain, the Church has welcomed with open arms the avalanche of young faithful brought by these concerts and events. But there are dissident voices: the Catholic School of Apologetics speaks of ‘12 Reasons why it is not good to listen to Protestant music‘, and warns about the “tyranny of feeling” that prioritizes “feeling” over “believing”, as these songs often enunciate. At Catholic.net they talk that this type of music can inject Protestant beliefs into the Catholic faith, and there are numerous isolated voices that warn of the danger of these mass events. All with Calls. However, the advancement of phenomena like Llamados is important. Organizers have explicitly positioned it as a model of mass evangelization ahead of the Jubilee of Redemption in 2033, which will commemorate the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Christ. With the religious practice in free fallevents like these are one of the few phenomena capable of massively mobilizing young people towards explicitly Christian experiences. But is it a renewal or just a youth fever, in line with the cycles of action and reaction (now that more conservative winds are blowing) that we have always experienced? In Xataka | A blessing that drives likes and sales: “x-ray of chic Catholicism”

It already has quantum weapons that it is testing in real missions

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The research, weapons and defense departments of the main powers are a black hole. We cannot know what is on the other side, unless we They are the ones who allow us to take a look. It makes sense, since announcing a technology hastily would alert the rival. In this context, China has just taken a step in the war of the future: quantum war. We are very used to talking about traditional computing, and that of cyberwar It is an easy concept to understand. Hacker attacks on critical enemy systemsforms of make your troops invisible to rival radars or cyberespionage are concepts that have become everyday in current conflicts. And the future lies in quantum weapons. The quantum computing It’s not an incremental improvement in a computer’s processing speed: it’s a breakthrough. It is a paradigm shift and that is why researchers are developing these quantum computers which, in essence, allow solve complex operations in much less time than a classic computer. It is not easy, since although important steps have been taken in recent years, it still has challenges to solve so that your results are optimal. In a war and security context, and in a nutshell, this translates into one thing: if it takes a conventional computer hours or days to breach an enemy’s security, a quantum computer It would take minutes or seconds. And China not only says They are not only developing a dozen quantum warfare tools, but are already testing them in combat. “To design a good weapon, you have to think about what the war of the future will be like” As they point out in South China Morning Postthe People’s Liberation Army confirmed through the official newspaper Science and Technology Daily that they have more than ten experimental quantum cyber warfare tools in development. As we say, some of them are being “tested in frontline missions”, ‘capturing’ intelligence that can be used in the future. This is a project led by the National University of Defense Technology and, according to the report, focuses on three areas: Cloud computing. Artificial intelligence. Quantum technology. The fact that they are already testing some of these systems implies that they have left the theoretical framework, and the Army points out that “speed” is the main advantage that these tools offer. It is not just about making smarter weapons, but about giving more tools to those who analyze the situation. For example, quantum computing allows process large amounts of battlefield data in a matter of seconds. This implies that analysts can help make decisions practically in real time. They can also help in terms of both cybersecurity and cyberespionage, better protecting themselves with artificial intelligence systems that rewrite their code in real time – something we already see with malware such as PromtLock– or busting enemy crypto security faster. Related to this, they can help make GPS navigation systems more resistant to jamming or spoofing attacks. Or even perform navigation and positioning based on quantum sensors without depending on vulnerable infrastructure such as GPS or Starlink. It looks kind of steampunk, but this is part of a quantum computer Really, the applications seem limitless when we consider what has already been achieved with classical computing. These technologies also have potential to improve defenses aerial and detection of stealth aircraft, something in which United States with its F-35 and China with its J-36 They are investing a fortune. As they have commented in the magazine, the development of this technology responds to the need to think “what the war of the future will be like”, and how the war in Ukraine and Russian cyberattacks are showing uscyberwar will be the protagonist. They are, in short, tools that allow a conflict to end before the rival knows that it has started. It is the same philosophy that led to the development of the American F-35 fighter and a form of asymmetric warfare. Ok, very good, but what time advantage are we talking about? An example is the Google Sycamorea quantum computer that performed a calculation that would have taken a classical supercomputer 10,000 years in just… 200 seconds. In 2020, China already complete in another 200 seconds an operation that would have taken a supercomputer more than 2.5 billion years. Are they the only ones? Not even close. For Putin, the race for quantum computing is like the nuclear race after the end of World War II If there are hackers with a good reputation, they are the Russians, and the country is already testing prototypes such as quantum supercomputers Lomonosov Moscow State University with 72 qubits and another 70 qubits of the Lebedev Institute. Europe is also immersed in the era of the ‘Transition to Post-Quantum Cryptography’ in matters of defense of critical infrastructure (energy, finance, health or telecommunications) with the objective of having operational systems by 2030. Japan is also in itand the United States has high the budget for research and development of quantum systems from 141,000 million in 2024 to more than 179,000 million dollars (part of a total of almost a billion engaged for general defense). They have an advantage: IBM and Google are leaders in quantum systems maturitybut China is estimated to be closing the gap. And they must be confident in the possibilities of their systems if they already talk about them openly. CCTV images (via X), In Xataka | China has achieved something hard to believe: reducing the production of laser weapons and parts for electric cars to one second

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