February 2026 - Page 41 of 87

after buying EA it is the turn of a mobile giant

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

The Saudi Sovereign Fund, through Savvy Games Group, continues to expand its gaming empire. After announce the purchase of Electronic Arts for $50 billionis now negotiating to acquire Moonton Technology for a price that could reach 7 billion, consolidating its dominance in the lucrative mobile gaming market. The purchase. Just four months after announcing the purchase of EA, Saudi Arabia returns to the negotiating table. This time the target is Moonton Technology, the developer of ‘Mobile Legends: Bang Bang‘, one of the most successful mobile MOBAs on the planet. Savvy Games Group, subsidiary of the Saudi Sovereign Fund, is finalizing an operation valued between 6,000 and 7,000 million dollars to acquire the studio, currently owned by ByteDancethe parent company of TikTok. The strategy. The figure may seem modest compared to EA’s mega purchase, but it accurately reflects the strategic value of the Asian mobile market. Mobile Legends has accumulated more than a billion global downloads and dominates Southeast Asia, where it has managed to capitalize on a massive player base despite having faced multiple Riot Games legal lawsuits for violation of the intellectual property of ‘League of Legends’. The sentences forced Moonton to pay million-dollar compensation, but did not stop its growth in territories where access to consoles and PCs is limited. Why the mobile? Observers who believe that the mobile market is not what it was in the days of ‘Angry Birds’ are wrong: The sector generated more revenue in 2025 than PC and consoles combinedwith the model free-to-play demonstrating enormous profitability. ‘Monopoly GO‘, developed by Scopely (also Saudi owned since 2023), has generated approximately 6 billion dollars since its launch. A single application whose billing alone covers the price of Moonton. This equation explains why the kingdom looks with such interest towards mobile gaming: the relationship between initial investment and potential return far exceeds that of traditional AAA blockbusters. Controlling cell phones. With Moonton under its control, Saudi Arabia would manage three of the most lucrative mobile developers in the world (along with Scopely and the division gaming of Niantic), positioning itself as a dominant player in a segment where until now the Chinese Tencent exercised almost absolute hegemony. The operation could be closed during this first quarter of 2026, consolidating a movement that began as economic diversification and evolves towards something much more ambitious: the vertical control of entire segments of the video game industry. And more than mobile phones. The Saudi Sovereign Fund’s investment catalog in the video game industry draws a control map that encompasses SNK (‘The King of Fighters’, ‘Metal Slug’), Scopely (‘Monopoly GO’, ‘Star Trek Fleet Command’), Niantic’s gaming division (‘Peridot’, ‘Monster Hunter Now’) and ESL FaceIt Group (the largest organizer of esports competitions in the world). Five companies that alone generate billions annually and, above all, cover completely different markets. The power of actions. But the true dimension of Saudi power is revealed when its shareholding is analyzed. The fund maintains between 5% and 10% of shares at Nintendo, Koei Tecmo, Embracer Group, Nexon, Capcom, Take-Two Interactive, NCSoft, Square Enix and Bandai Namco. They are not testimonial investments: in several cases it is the second or third largest shareholder after the founders or traditional Japanese funds. This gives it influence on boards of directors, veto power over strategic decisions and privileged access to sensitive corporate information. At Ubisoft and Microsoft. The links with Ubisoft and Microsoft are more opaque. There is a 2022 agreement after which Savvy acquired minority stakes in Ubi as the Guillemot family fought hostile takeover attempts by activist investors, but the exact terms of the pact were never made public. With Microsoft, the relationship transcends the purely financial: Saudi Arabia has maintained investments in the technology matrix since 2016 and collaborates with Xbox on server infrastructure for the Middle East. Leaving Tencent behind. At the time, Tencent’s strategy generated regulatory alarms in the West due to concentration of power, but the Saudi approach is more aggressive in a key aspect: while the Chinese company sought majority stakes that would give it operational control but respected brands and structures, the kingdom has absolute ownership of medium-sized studios and also strategic stakes in consolidated giants. This hybridization allows for vertical influence without triggering antitrust alerts. The European Commission investigated for 18 months Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but authorities have not publicly questioned that a single actor controls significant stakes in nine of the twenty publishers largest in the world while directly owning three mobile developers that bill more than $10 billion annually combined. With the imminent incorporation of EA and Moonton, Saudi Arabia will have spent more than 70 billion dollars on gaming from 2021. To put it in perspective: that figure exceeds the current market value of Ubisoft, Capcom and Square Enix combined. A future of acquisitions. It is an entire recreational empire that could increase in the future: it is less supervised by regulatory authorities than other sectors and, for the moment, it has a very wide margin for growth. Few acquisitions comparable in magnitude remain in the pipeline, but the project Saudi Vision 2030which wants to diversify the country’s economy so as not to depend so much on oil, makes the nation look to the future. And this is a very financially attractive future. In Xataka | How Saudi Arabia and China are dividing up the video game industry with a checkbook

“The more times you are late for work, the harder it will be for the company to fire you”

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

Arriving late to work every day, leaving before your time or committing various irregularities in your day can cause your company to give you a warning, sanction you or, in the most serious cases, even apply a disciplinary dismissal for breaching the conditions you accepted in your employment contract. However, as labor lawyer Juanma Lorente highlights in one of his recent videosif you do it repetitively and the company does not warn you for it, that violation can become your best ally to protect you from disciplinary dismissal. Being late is bad, but it can protect you. The labor expert explains in his video a legal paradox in which the company’s inaction can turn an infraction into the best defense for a worker against a legal claim for disciplinary dismissal. The lawyer explains the situation with a very simple example: “Imagine that you have been late to work for 2 years. 5, 10 or 15 minutes and the company does not tell you anything. You arrive and sign in with the real time at which you are arriving and the company tolerates it. From one moment to the next, after two years of arriving late, you find a dismissal letter in which they fire you for arriving late.” According to Lorente, this dismissal would be unfair because the company allowed the “habit” of being late for two years, without reacting in all that time. The expert assures that this inaction represents a tacit permissiveness of that conduct, which is why it could not be used as a reason for dismissal before a judge. Silence gives consent. Although it may be incongruous, since the employee’s violation is effectively proven, the repetition of this behavior without a response from the company is known as corporate tolerance. As and how do they count From the Lex-it law firm, this case occurs when a company is aware of the worker’s repeated infraction, such as repeated delays, but does not sanction it for a long time. This means that a subsequent dismissal for the same reason is seen as unfair by the judges, since the company seemed to accept it and “tolerate” the infraction. As the labor lawyer points out, “If he has not previously sanctioned you for the same thing, has allowed it and has tolerated it, he will not be able to use it to fire you.” This principle forces companies to follow a scale of sanctions that is applied from the first infraction of employees: from a simple specific warning to suspensions, before reaching disciplinary dismissal. Ignoring this scale of warnings means that the company cannot allege it as a “direct” reason for dismissal because, according to the court, the company tolerated this behavior. The Supreme Court has already applied it. The Supreme Court has confirmed this doctrine in several rulings in which disciplinary dismissals have been rejected because companies have cited infractions as reasons for dismissal that they have tolerated for years without any warning. The result in all cases has been to reject the disciplinary dismissals and declare them unfair dismissals with compensation of 33 days per year worked, despite it being proven that, in fact, the employee had been committing a violation of the conditions for a long time. In one of those sentencesthe Supreme Court states: “Sanctioning with the greatest severity (disciplinary dismissal) conduct that had previously been tolerated, without any prior warning to the employee that such tolerance was going to end, would be contrary to the employer’s good faith.” A practical example: he was late 176 times. A very clear example of this legal paradox is found in the case of the employee of an optician in Asturias who arrived late to her job up to 176 times without the company reprimanding her for it. When the company informed him of his disciplinary dismissal, the Superior Court of Justice of Asturias considered it “irrational, disproportionate and incongruous.” The reason was that the company had demonstrated business tolerance by allowing 176 delays without warning or sanctioning the employee, and resorting directly to disciplinary dismissal. In Xataka | Going to the bathroom is not work: a Swiss court allows a company to force its employees to clock in when they go to the bathroom Image | Unsplash (Campaign Creators)

The extreme stress of the Spanish water network explained from within

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

The images have flooded social networks this weekend: the Aldeadávila dam “turbinating at full capacity” with the Duero river descending with enormous force, or the Iznájar reservoir recovering its splendor in a matter of days. They are hypnotic images that hide a much more tense and calculated reality. While the citizen sees natural spectacles, the engineers see a fight against the disaster. In the midst of this “festival” of storms that has shaken the peninsula this month of February, One phrase sums up the situation better than any other. It is pronounced by José María Sanz de Galdeanodirector of Hydrological Planning and Works of the Basque Water Agency (URA): “The dams were not designed for floods, but today they are key to cushioning them.” These infrastructures, designed decades ago so that water comes out when you turn on the tap or to turn on the light, have become—almost by historical accident—the last line of defense between the perfect storm and the safety of the populations downstream. A winter concentrated in a few days. To understand the magnitude of the event, we must first look at the Basque Country, where the orography and intense rains have tested the system. As explained by Sanz de Galdeano in the SER ChainEuskadi has faced a winter marked by episodes of very intense rain concentrated in very few days. The situation has forced the activation of the two major Basque regulatory systems. On the one hand, the Zadorra system composed of the Ullibarri-Gamboa reservoir and the Urrunaga dam. On the other hand, the Añarbe system is responsible for supplying the Donostialdea area. It is not a local phenomenon. It is a symptom of a broader hydrometeorological pattern that has affected the entire peninsula. While in the Tormes system, reservoirs like Santa Teresa are close to 80% and release water preventively to defend the city of SalamancaIn the south the situation has been even more drastic. In Andalusia, the Iznájar reservoir—the giant of the community— has doubled its reserves in just two weeks, going from a critical 25% to exceeding 50%, something that had not been seen in a decade. The intensity has been such that the AEMET even warned of scenarios of soil saturation with impacts “some of the highest in the world”, causing water to gush directly from the ground in places like Grazalema (Cádiz). forcing preventive evacuations. From supply to “lamination”. The relevant thing about these weeks is not only that it has rained, but how we have managed that rain. Sanz de Galdeano puts his finger on the sore: “These infrastructures were built primarily for water supply, not specifically to laminate avenues.” However, its immense storage capacity has made it possible to change its function on the fly. Dams have acted as giant shock absorbers. “They have sufficient volume to play with reserves, create space and retain water at the most critical moments,” says the director of URA. Sanz de Galdeano’s warning has scientific support. A study on the effectiveness of dams in the face of climate change confirms that infrastructure designed with “historical data” They are operating blind to the new reality. Old models did not account for this extreme variability; under severe warming scenarios, the risk of large dams overflowing could multiply by up to 17 compared to historical records. The conclusion is technical but terrifying: the effectiveness of a dam decreases dramatically under extreme hydrological regimes if adaptive management is not applied. This excess water has had an unexpected side effect on the energy market: Spain’s “battery” it’s so loaded (117% more stored hydroelectric energy than last year) that nuclear energy is no longer competitive. The Trillo plant, for example, has been disconnected from the grid because, given such an abundance of turbineable water, the numbers simply “did not add up.” Choreography of floodgates. The precision mathematics that decides how much water reaches your home. The management of these crises is a precision choreography that Sanz de Galdeano graphically defines as working “with one eye on the river and another on the sky.” The technical key lies in the “reservoir”: the empty space that is deliberately left in the reservoir before the rain arrives in order to swallow the flood. The director of URA details how it is applied this differently depending on the capacity of each system: In the Zadorra (High regulation): These dams control 60% of the upstream basin. This allows for drastic intervention. The figures from Sunday night are the best example: 260 cubic meters per second of furious water entered the system, but the floodgates only let out 54. That difference (more than 200 m³/s retained) is the flood that was avoided. In Añarbe (Less regulation): Here the dam only controls 23% of the basin. Most of the river water circulates freely, so there is less room for maneuver. Even so, the strategy is the same: when the river goes high, floodgates are closed to retain “as much as possible.” All this is done under administrative coordination complex but fluid between URA, the Ebro Hydrographic Confederation and that of the Cantabrian Sea. Not all barriers are the same. In this context of saving dams, a reasonable question arises: why then are some dams on Basque rivers being demolished? Sanz de Galdeano makes a crucial distinction between large regulatory infrastructures and small weirs. “These are not large infrastructures like those of Zadorra, but rather low-rise structures that have no real capacity to manage avenues,” he clarifies. The elimination of these small obstacles responds to two logics: Environmental: they allow fish and fauna to ascend the river, improving ecological health. Hydraulics: Although it may seem contradictory, these small walls can raise the water table in local floods, worsening the problem instead of solving it. However, large dams have their own silent enemy: sediment. Experts and organizations like Greenpeace warn that torrential rains They drag tons of mud that accumulate at the bottom of the reservoirs, subtracting their real capacity (that “hole” that Galdeano spoke of) and … Read more

a Great Wall of fishing barges

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

A silent war is being fought in the South China Sea. No weapons are fired, but they are constantly mobilized huge warshipspatrol boats and experimental missile launch platforms. The area is a hotbed in which China claims Japanese and Taiwanese territories as its own, but among so much military maneuver, the movement that China made in mid-January: Hundreds of fishing boats marched to create an artificial reef. It is the ‘Great Fishing Wall’, and the curious thing is that it has not been an isolated event. what has happened. It happened last January 11. In a report of The New York Timesit was exposed how at least 1,400 Chinese fishing boats abandoned their usual tasks to group together in a highly coordinated manner at a midpoint between China and Japan. The result was a ‘wall’ about 300 kilometers long and with a density that forced some transport ships that had to cross the area to carry out maneuvers to avoid or, directly, go around. January 9 | Image from The New York Times January 11 | Image from The New York Times It’s not the first time. The fishing choreography is impressive from a satellite view, but the most curious thing is that the January 11 maneuver was not an isolated event. It has been repeated on at least one occasion. Specifically, on Christmas Day 2025, when more than 2,000 ships gathered to form an inverse “L”. The long “wall” was also located between China and Japan, but the shorter wall was planted at a point that created a division between Taiwan and the mainland’s most important ports. In the NYT article, the analysts consulted they point They had already seen some similar unusual maneuvers, but on a scale of a couple of hundred ships, never something as massive as the operations of December 25 and January 11. Christmas Operation | Image from The New York Times Because. China has been seeking for years to consolidate its control over a large part of that maritime territory. It seeks to legitimize its sovereignty over islands and reefs that Japan and Taiwan They maintain that they are theirs property as part of the “historical territory”. To apply pressure, from time to time China takes its warships out for a walksomething to which Japan also responds with their own (even with plans to rearm as they had not done since World War II). Another way to mark muscle is through dozens of artificial islands that China has been building for decadesand all to ensure strategic trade routes and reinforce its position in the regional system, but also to exercise sovereignty in an area with valuable resources such as fishing (something that China needs like eating), the hydrocarbons and until rare earth (that China already dominatesbut you can always cover more in such a powerful strategic resource). The result is the militarization of that region, with a United States that has joined the ‘call’ seeking to prevent China from covering more than it currently has and taking off state-of-the-art weapons in collaboration with Japan. Maritime Militia. Two factors stand out in this story. The first is the speed at which the ships were organized and the precision with which they headed to the indicated point. The second is how effective the blocking is. Seeing that the transports had to avoid this fishing militia (which is a term that has been used before), in a crisis situation, China could mobilize hundreds of civilian ships to obstruct sea lanes, complicating military operations such as ship deployment and supply. Because the theory indicates that the enemy powers would not shoot at or run over those civilian ships. Lure. And, of course, American analysts have not missed the opportunity to give their vision. Thomas Shugart is a former US naval officer and noted that these masses of small ships could be more than just a blockade: They could act as decoys for missiles and torpedoes. Radars would be overwhelmed by a map full of small targets, camouflaging and protecting the real warships. They do not neglect military force. Faced with such a deployment, other analysts “praised” the coordination capacity to ensure that so many ships entered into a formation like the one seen on both dates and, as usual, China has not said anything about these maneuvers, but from the United States it has been verified that they were real ships, no false signs to confuse. And most importantly, the last maneuver occurred days after China completed some military maneuvers around Taiwan with the aim of blockading the island. Because, although the maneuver of thousands of fishing boats mounting a physical blockade is something striking, the South China Sea has witnessed several more serious movements by China in recent days. For example, it has been reported that The J-16s of the People’s Liberation Army have approached dangerously at Taiwanese F-16s, even launching flares when Taiwanese fighters were going to intercept them. Also the crossing of a red line by China when a military drone, for the first time, invaded Taiwan airspace. And all while the US is convinced that China is doing nuclear tests while calling for calm. The end, military maneuvers on the maritime border have been a constant for years, but the coordinated choreography of fishing boats can be a monumental headache if someone decides to attack civilian vessels, no matter how much they block critical routes. And it is something that seems like a brutal pressure weapon with which it is not necessary to fire a single shot to exert that influence. Images | Ernest Gunasekara-Rockwell In Xataka | China once again shows its spaceship worthy of ‘Star Wars’. It is so beast that it is impossible with current technology

MediaMarkt starts its Web Week with good discounts on TVs, cell phones and more

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

Until next February 23 at 9 in the morning, MediaMarkt is celebrating two very good campaigns: Techmania and Web Weekwith which you can get the best technological devices with good discounts. Below we offer you a compilation with some of the best deals that we have found today, at the beginning of this MediaMarkt campaign. smartphone Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 for for 199 euros: with 6.77-inch OLED screen and 256 GB. Smart TV Xiaomi TV S Mini LED 55 2025 by 399 euros: 55 inches and with Google TV. sound bar Ultimea Poseidon D70 by 169.99 euros: 7.1 channels and 410 W of power. Robot vacuum cleaner Cecotec Conga M50 by 99 euros: with laser navigation and 5,000 Pa. electric scooter Segway ZT3 Pro E by 699 euros: with double suspension and 1,600 W motor. Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 smartphone If you are looking for a good, pretty and cheap mobile, this Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 It is one of the smartphones that is worth it now on MediaMarkt. It used to cost 229 euros but now it is available for 199 euros. He Xiaomi Redmi Note 15 It is a smartphone with a good 6.77-inch OLED screen. Your brain is the processor Qualcomm Snapdragon 6 Gen 3accompanied by 256 GB of storage and 8 GB RAM. Its main camera is 50 MP and works under the Xiaomi HyperOS 2 operating system. Redmi Note 15 5G 8+256GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Smart TV Xiaomi TV S Mini LED 55 2025 If you are looking for a TV with good features and a low price, this one from Xiaomi is one of the bargains you can buy now at MediaMarkt Web Week. It has a discount of 250 eurossince it has gone from costing 549 euros to 399 euros in these moments. This Xiaomi TV S mount a panel 55 inch QD-MiniLED with 4K resolution and also stands out for its 144 Hz. It is compatible with HDR10+, HGL, Dolby Vision IQ and IMAX Enhanced (in terms of image) and Dolby Atmos (in the sound section). The operating system under which it works is Google TV and it has an extensive connectivity section. Xiaomi TV S Mini LED 55 2025 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Ultimea Poseidon D70 Soundbar If you are thinking of setting up your own home theater, a sound bar is the perfect accessory for your TV. Now, you can take this good, pretty and cheap from Poseidon, which is almost half price at MediaMarkt Web Week. Now, you can buy it for 169.99 euros. This is a sound bar 7.1 channel that incorporates SurroundX technology (the firm’s own), so you can enjoy fully surround sound. It has six equalization modes and offers a 410W RMS power. Ultimea Poseidon D70 Soundbar The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Cecotec Conga M50 Robot Vacuum Cleaner Robot vacuum cleaners have become one of the main protagonists in home cleaning. If you are looking for a cheap one, but with good features, this Conga M50 It is a good option for you. Now, it is available for 99 euros. This robot vacuum cleaner cheap from Cecotec has laser navigation, which is perfect for creating cleaning routes and avoiding obstacles. Its suction power is 5,000 Pa and, in addition to vacuuming, it also mop. It is programmable and its battery offers autonomy to clean up to 160 square meters. Cecotec Robot Vacuum Cleaner and Floor Mop Conga M50 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Segway ZT3 Pro E electric scooter If you usually move around the city daily and want to avoid public transportation, this Segway electric scooter It is the means of transportation you were looking for. It is now on sale for 699 eurosalthough you should know that the DGT established a registration for scooters and VPMsomething you should keep in mind. This is a electric scooter very top with a 1,600 W motor. In addition, its wheels are 11 inches and it comes with front and rear disc brakes. Likewise, it stands out for incorporating double suspension. Segway – Segway ZT3 PRO electric scooter. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links 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 | Webedia, Xiaomi, Segway, Cecotec and Ultimea In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | The best quality-price mobiles. Their analyzes and videos are here

Yes, the DGT has limited the maximum speed to 80 km/h and has prohibited overtaking. And there’s a good reason for that: wind.

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

In Spain the weather is bad. I don’t know if you had noticed but we have had rain, snow and very strong winds for a month and a half. Meteorological events that are impacting all types of sectors. Also that of mobility, where closed roads, incidents on the road and restrictions are being the general trend. If you go to your favorite social network and read that the DGT has limited the speed to 80 km/h, don’t panic. It’s normal. At 80 km/h maximum. And overtaking prohibited by order of the DGT. It is a headline that has been repeated in the last two days and has spread across social networks. Headlines that hid an essential word to understand the information: temporal. Meteorological storm, because the restrictions are due to the clash of storms that we have chained for days and weeks in the Iberian Peninsula. And temporary because the restrictions are not definitive, they are simply used to maintain safety on the road. The restrictions. One of the provinces that found the most restrictions of this type during the past weekend was Castellón. The region has had to live with an orange alert for wind and the DGT decided that the maximum speed at which one could drive on Saturday was 80 km/h on three roads in the province, where overtaking was also prohibited. The trucks They were also not allowed to circulate on the AP-7. Yesterday, Sunday, normality was recovered. These restrictions have obviously been temporary. And, effectively, the DGT can apply temporary restrictions on speed or overtaking for meteorological reasons, just as can close a road to traffic due to snow or it can be restricted to those who They drive with chains or winter tires. For security. The wind is a danger on the road and overtaking is critical when there are very high wind gusts. In particular, some are very dangerous: Screen effect: when you drive through a tunnel or infrastructure that cuts off the side wind and it disappears. At that moment, a gust of wind can move the car to one side of the road and If we are caught off guard the movement will be sharper. Overtaking: something very similar happens when we overtake a large truck or van. In this case, if we are fighting a crosswind, passing a vehicle will automatically cut off the force we receive. You have to be careful because normally we have been moving the steering wheel to the right slightly to counteract the force of the wind. By overtaking the truck, that resistance disappears and we can go against the vehicle on our right, adding that the truck or van fights not to go to the left, which can end in contact. Furthermore, when overtaking, we will again feel the screen effect described above, so we must be careful and remain attentive. Trailers: Both situations are especially dangerous if we drive a vehicle with a trailer since, in that case, the car does not receive the same forces as its rear part and, in an extreme case, movement angles that are difficult to manage can arise. What does the DGT recommend? The first thing we must do is adapt our speed to the traffic circumstances. The DGT has the power to reduce the speed of the road to 80 km/h and prohibit overtaking, but the logical and essential thing is to apply common sense and take your foot off the accelerator. Taking this into account, we must remain very attentive to resolve any gusts of wind. If this happens, you have to act gently, calmly. The DGT also recommends circulate in high gears (one lower than usual) to have a greater response from the engine if we need to get out of trouble. And remember that the more voluminous and taller a vehicle is, the more risk it has of overturning, the more complex it will be to control it and the more care we must take when overtaking it. Photo | Theo Lonic and DGT In Xataka | Everything I learned the day I was surprised by the snow: tips for driving on ice when the situation gets complicated

After the Fukushima nuclear accident, the pigs on the farms fled into the forest. Years later they were something different

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

March 11, 2011 was one of the darkest days in Japan’s recent history. And probably the worst so far in the 21st century. An intense earthquake recorded off Honshu unleashed a tsunami with waves of more than ten meters that ended up precipitating an accident at the Fukushima plant. You have to go back to 1986, to Chernobyl, to find a similar incident. Today we know that that chain of misfortunes had an unexpected consequence: it gave rise to an involuntary experiment with pigs and wild boars. Pigs on the run. After the Fukushima Daiichi accident in March 2011, authorities rushed to evacuate all the people living in a radius of 20 kilometers of the nuclear power plant. Even those residing 20 to 30 km away were advised not to leave their homes. Today, a decade and a half later, we know that the Fukushima incident had another consequence: the pigs that until then were raised in domestic farms fled and took refuge in the forests, places that until then had served as home to wild boars. An XXL laboratory. The escape of the Fukushima pigs (and their clash with the wild boar populations) could have remained a minor anecdote if it were not for the fact that it gave rise to a curious improvised experiment. An involuntary one, which no one had planned, but which, due to the chances of history, ended up turning the forests of the exclusion zone into a gigantic zoological laboratory. The reason? Escaped pigs and wild boars ended up mating. “Without repeated introductions and minimal human activity, the region became a rare natural hybridization experiment,” explains Fukushima University. The experience was certainly interesting enough to attract the attention of Shingo Kaneko and Donovan Anderson, from Hirosaki, who decided to carry out a genetic study to better understand the results of crossing pigs and wild boars. Their conclusions have just been expressed in a published article a few days ago in the magazine Journal of Forest Research. What did they find out? Perhaps the most surprising has to do with the renewal of populations. Domestic pigs and wild boars differ not only in their appearance. They also show different patterns. For example, while the latter reproduce once a year, the former, the pigs we raise on farms, show a much faster cycle throughout the year. Kaneko’s study shows that this peculiarity of domesticated animals was maintained after their escape and was transmitted during hybridization through the mother. five generations. There is one piece of information that helps to better understand how accelerated its reproduction rate has been. For their study, the researchers analyzed the mitochondrial DNA and genetic markers of more than 200 animals captured over three years, between 2015 and 2018. One of the first questions they tried to clarify was: How related were these specimens to the pigs that escaped in 2011? How many came from that domestic lineage? Their conclusion was surprising: many hybrids were already more than five generations away from the original cross, suggesting “unusually rapid genetic renewal.” they add from Fukushima University. “Although it has previously been suggested that hybridization between pigs reintroduced into the wild and wild boar could contribute to population growth, this study shows, by analyzing a large-scale hybridization event following the Fukushima nuclear accident, that the rapid reproductive cycle of domestic pigs is inherited through the maternal lineage.” A diluted inheritance. It was not the only conclusion that the experts reached. Another, just as curious, is how hybrid creatures evolved. That domestic females favored a higher rate of reproduction does not mean that their inheritance was more pronounced. Quite the opposite. Farm sows energized generational renewal, but the initial strength of their genes was diluted little by little. “Rather than prolonging the genetic influence of domestic pigs, maternal pig lineages actually accelerated genetic turnover in wild boar populations,” apostille from Fukushima. Why is it important? The research is not interesting only for what it reveals to us about the Fukushima exclusion zone. Their conclusions go further and have practical implications for the rest of the world. Experts have long been concerned about hybridization between domestic and wild animals (especially between pigs and wild boars) due to its ecological repercussions. Curiously, the accident that occurred in Japan in 2011 has offered researchers a huge laboratory to better understand the phenomenon and how to address it. “The findings can be applied to wildlife management and invasive species damage control strategies,” Kaneko celebrates. “By understanding that the pig’s maternal lineage accelerates generational turnover, authorities can better predict the risks of population explosion.” Images | Max Saeiling (Unsplash), Wikipedia and Fukushima University In Xataka | An unprecedented experiment is happening in Ukraine: bombs have turned dogs into other animals

What is it, how does it work and how safe is this application to install OpenClaw on your mobile with just a couple of clicks

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

Let’s explain to you What is QuickClaw and how does it work?an application created by developer Max Blade to install OpenClaw easily on your mobile. Thus, you can have this popular AI agent without having to deal with APIs, servers and long configuration processes. The application does all this in a completely private way, and creating the agent within a virtual machine for your greater security. You just have to go to their website quickclaw.appclick on the download that is currently exclusive for iOS, and install everything with a single touch. What is QuickClaw QuickClaw is a mobile application that allows you to use OpenClaw easily on your mobile. Install OpenClaw It is a fairly complex process that can put many people off, and what this does is allow you to install it with a single click and without the need for complications or technical knowledge. Thus, you can have your own agent artificial intelligence on your mobile. This means that you will have an AI that does not limit itself to responding to what you ask or perform simple tasks, but can take control of your applications and perform tasks in multiple steps. All of this is done relatively safely. I say relatively because it will use an isolated workspace within your mobile, although the application will also needs access to a lot of your data to function, which may compromise your privacy. In exchange for this, you will have an application that will be able perform various types of tasks for yousuch as creating or editing files, browsing the Internet and taking actions there, managing your calendars, managing your reminders and more. How QuickClaw works The first thing you have to do is install the QuickClaw application, which at the moment It is only available for iOS in the App Store from Apple. When you install the app, you just have to launch it and An OpenClaw instance will be created and launched on a virtual machine “safe”, so as not to touch your device or its operating system. All this in just one minute. The process will then create a Gateway or user service that remains running, in addition to other components that allow OpenClaw to control applications, send messages and execute actions. All this will be done automatically with the recommended OpenClaw installer. This application is configured so that OpenClaw connect to Claude’s AIwho will be in charge of understanding your requests and carrying out the tasks you ask of her. All of this will be designed to be able to control the agent from your mobile using the app itself. What you can do with this app These are some of the tasks you will be able to perform from your mobile just by asking OpenClaw through QuickClaw: Write documents, essays and code, which are delivered as real files. Browse the web and research topics on your behalf. Set reminders and wake-up calls with personalized summaries. Read and manage your calendar and emails. Create, edit and organize files in your private workspace. Execute multi-step tasks autonomously. Remember the context of the conversations. How secure and private is the app One of the features of QuickClaw is to isolate OpenClaw in a virtual machine. This is an important security measureso that nothing the AI agent does can damage the operating system of your mobile device. OpenClaw is an open source agent, which makes it transparent and secure, people can check that it doesn’t do more than what it says it does. However, QuickClaw is not open sourceso you have to trust the word of its creator. Lastly, you should know that everything you make is sent to Anthropicthe company behind Claude. Currently this company is known for its commitment to offering ethical AI, although this can always change in the future. Your data within QuickClaw will be encrypted and anonymous. In addition, your conversations stay within your mobile, since everything runs locally. In Xataka Basics | Dangers of OpenClaw (formerly Moltbot or Clawdbot) and how to protect yourself from them before deciding to use it

“We are willing to further strengthen cooperation with the Spanish parties”

February 16, 2026 by usatoday24

Europe continues to discuss how to deal with China. Spain, meanwhile, has already opened all its doors. Several times. The International Department of the Chinese Communist Party (an organ of the Party, not the State) has made Madrid a mandatory stop for its parallel diplomacy. At the end of January, Vice Minister Ma Hui toured the offices of the PP, the PSOE, the PCE and the Catalan Generalitat. No one closed the door. Why is it important. China is not looking for ideological allies in Spain, what it is looking for is access. Their strategy is to build relationships with whoever governs today but also with whoever can govern tomorrow. The CCP’s International Department maintains contacts with more than 600 parties around the world because it does not understand colors, only influence. And Spain, due to geography, economy and political predisposition, has become its bridgehead in southern Europe. Between the lines. Zapatero once again appears as a key piece of this network. Ma Hui, a veteran diplomat and former ambassador to Cuba, met him first, before anyone else. It is not coincidental. The former president maintains recurring contacts with CCP structures, appears at Party-sponsored forums in Beijing and operates as an unofficial facilitator. A role that raises questions about transparency and red lines in international relations, especially for someone without official position but with privileged access, which we now know is is on the payroll of a Chinese manufacturer to help it deploy in Europe. The contrast. Trump has based part of his legislature applying tariffs and generating uncertainty with them. China, meanwhile, has wanted to position itself as its opposite, as a guarantor of tranquility. It has presented its Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) in Madrid as a model of stability. Yes, but. Spain is moving with respect to China faster than the rest of Europe. Pedro Sánchez plans his fourth trip to Beijing between April 13 and 15. And this pace makes Brussels uncomfortable because it is trying to coordinate a common European position towards China. Spain can clearly benefit economically from this stance, but at some point we will have to ask ourselves what we are giving up in exchange. The money trail. China no longer only pursues markets in Spain, it pursues political legitimacy: Ma Hui participated in a forum Chinese Chaira think tank geographically close to Atocha but strategically very close to Beijing. These spaces, halfway between academia and propaganda, normalize the Chinese presence in European decision-making centers. They say they want to “learn about state management.” In reality, they build a network of interlocutors that facilitate their strategic interests. ¿Main loser? The common European position. If Madrid negotiates on its own, Valencia too, and Barcelona the same, China does not need to convince the European Union. It is enough to fragment. Bilateralize what should be multilateral. And Spain, with former leaders operating as unofficial liaisons, facilitates that strategy. In Xataka | China has found a way to gain influence in Africa without shooting a single shot: build ports as if there were no tomorrow Featured image | Jordi Moncasi, Li Yang

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