Month: February 2026

Using facial recognition to hunt for copycats seemed like a good idea. This Valencian university has just discovered that it was not

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Educational centers that decide to do online exams face a challenge: without being able to monitor students in person, how do you ensure that they do not copy? A Valencian university found the solution with a sophisticated video surveillance and facial recognition system. Well, the joke has paid off. Resolution. In the summer of last year, the Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) filed a complaint against the International University of Valencia o VIU for the use of facial recognition and recording to conduct online exams. As reported in À Puntthe resolution has already arrived and the VIU is going to have to pay 650,000 euros The system. In the VIU evaluation regulationsit is detailed that a “facial recognition technology system” will be used in the online tests. This system consists of the use of two cameras (which the student must provide), one to monitor the student and another for the environment, ensuring that there are no other people in the same room. The software is constantly capturing and analyzing images in real time to verify the student’s identity through AI. At the same time, the program is responsible for controlling the screen and even the devices connected to the computer with which the test is carried out. Two fines. The 650,000 euros are actually the sum of two fines. The first, of 300,000 euros, is for having failed to comply with the article 9 of the GDPR which prohibits the processing of biometric data with few exceptions. The second, which amounts to 350,000 euros, is due to a breach of the article 5.1c of the GDPRwhich maintains that personal data must be “adequate, relevant and limited to what is necessary.” The AEPD considers the use of facial recognition for this purpose to be disproportionate. Consent discarded. One of the exceptions to article 9 of the GDPR and which the VIU tried to rely on is that “the interested party gave explicit consent.” It is true that the students had agreed to use this control system, the problem is that they were not given any alternative: either they accepted, or they did not take the exam. The AEPD does not “consider the mandatory acceptance of general conditions upon registration to be valid consent”, which is why it rules it out in its resolution. The VIU also tried to take refuge in the “essential public interest”, another of the exceptions of article 9, but the AEPD has rejected it because there is no specific law for the processing of biometric data in the educational context. The university invoked the university law that says that universities must verify that students have acquired a series of knowledge, but the AEPD has also rejected it as insufficient. Wow, we have to pay. It’s not just the VIU. There is other universities such as the European University, Isabel I, La Rioja or Burgos that also use similar systems that combine cameras and facial recognition. During the pandemic there was no choice but to opt for online training and this prompted the appearance of video surveillance systems in exams, which raised the eyebrows of the AEPDwhich in 2021 already warned that biometrics could not be used to monitor exams. This resolution is the first that imposes a large fine, so it is assumed that universities will make changes if they do not want to go to the cashier’s office. Open door. The AEPD does not close the door to the use of biometrics as fraud prevention in the educational field, including AI systems. However, he points out that according to the European Union AI Regulationbiometric data is considered high risk, which does not prohibit its use, but does not give express permission to use it in this context. In Xataka | I’ll take the exam online for €20: the new student situation is an open bar for cheating Images | VIU, Pexels

bombs have turned dogs into other animals

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Wars were never limited to the front nor did they end when fighting ceased. Throughout history they have altered landscapes, cities, customs and even everyday behaviors in unexpected ways, leaving silent transformations that only become visible over time. Some of them do not appear in history books or official balance sheets, but they reveal the extent to which a conflict is capable of reordering life itself on its margins. Also from your animals. The war beyond humans. Various studies hrevealed in recent months that the Russian invasion of Ukraine has not only left a devastating mark on the civilian population, but is also quietly transforming to the animals who shared that human environment, especially domestic dogs, whose fate has changed radically since the beginning of the conflict. Many were abandoned during evacuations, others were trapped in occupied territories or combat zones, and in a very short time they went from being dependent pets. to forced survivors from an extreme environment, becoming a hybrid population between the domestic and the wild. A studio born on the front. The latest research, published in the journal Evolutionary Applicationsanalyzed data from 763 dogs in nine regions of Ukraine thanks to the joint work of shelters, veterinarians and volunteers, including dangerous areas near the front lines. A key part of the work was carried out by Ihor Dykyy, a zoologist at the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, who collected observations while serving as a volunteer with the Ukrainian armed forces in Donetsk and near Kharkiv, where he lived with dogs injured, traumatized by explosions and dependent on the improvised care of soldiers. Abandonment and breaking of the human bond. According to the lead author of the study, Mariia Martsiv, from the University of Lviv, the start of the war caused a especially dramatic situation for pets: some owners managed to escape with them, but many animals were left at train stations or abandoned in occupied areas. Although the study focused on domestic dogs, a large part no longer living under the direct care of humans and had passed into what was closest to a wandering existence, marked by scarcity, constant danger and the need to adapt quickly. The brutal selection. The data reveals that, in a surprisingly short period, the front dogs began to look similar more to wild species such as wolves or dingoes than domestic breeds. Extreme snouts, heavier bodies, or light coats became less common, while specimens increased smaller in size, with erect ears, straight tails and fewer white spots. As the researchers explainwar has acted as a ruthless filter favoring traits that improve survival: lighter animals that set off fewer mines, hide better, and present a smaller target for shrapnel. It’s not evolution, it’s survival. Scientists emphasize that these changes do not represent accelerated biological evolution, since the time elapsed is insufficient for profound genetic alterations. In fact, what happens they say is more similar to an immediate selection: Dogs with less adapted characteristics simply do not survive. It was also detected that in combat zones there are fewer old, sick or injured animals, and that dogs they tend to group togethera typical strategy of wild species to increase the chances of resistance in hostile environments. Between feralization and dependency. The work indicates that, despite the increasingly “wild” appearance and behavior, the majority of dogs continue to depending in part of humans for food, supplementing their diet with plants, small animals or carrion, including remains of fallen soldiers, and many have been informally adopted by Ukrainian troops. However, the team from the University of Gdansk, led by Małgorzata Pilot, also observed clear cases of feralizationdogs that no longer depend on people and have returned to a completely independent life. War as an ecological disaster. Although the study focuses only on dogs, its conclusions point to a much larger problem. As ecologist Euan Ritchie, from Deakin University, warns, if a species as adaptable and mobile as the dog is being affected so profoundly, the consequences for less flexible animals can be devastating. War, beyond the brutal human tragedy, also emerges as an environmental disaster that reconfigures entire ecosystems and leaves invisible scars long after the guns fall silent. Even dogs stop being dogs. Image | Ivan Bandura, Jorge Franganillo In Xataka | If the question is what Russia is going to do after the war in Ukraine, Europe has found a disturbing clue: millions of projectiles In Xataka | We had seen everything in Ukraine, but this is unprecedented: Russia is not launching drones, it is launching “Frankensteins”

The great revolution of GPT-5.3 Codex and Claude Opus 4.6 is not that they are smarter. It’s that they can improve themselves

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Last week, OpenAI and Anthropic simultaneously launched their new AI models specialized in programming: GPT-5.3 Codex and Claude Opus 4.6. Beyond the improvements they represent in performance or speed, which are truly amazing, both companies also stated something that completely changes the rules of the game: AI models are actively participating in their own development. Or put another way: AI is improving itself. Why does this change matter?. Generative artificial intelligence tools are reaching a high level of efficiency and precision, becoming in a few years from being co-workers for simple and specific tasks to being able to be involved in a good part of a development. According to the technical documentation of OpenAI, GPT-5.3 Codex “was instrumental in its own creation,” being used to debug its training, manage its deployment, and diagnose evaluation results. On the other hand, it is worth highlighting the words of Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, who in his personal blog affirms that AI writes “much of the code” in his company and that the feedback loop between the current generation and the next “gains momentum month by month.” In detail. What this means in practice is that each new generation of AI helps build the next, more capable one, which in turn will build an even better version. Researchers call it the “intelligence explosion,” and those developing these systems believe the process has already begun. Amodei has declared publicly that we could be “just 1 or 2 years away from a point where the current generation of AI autonomously builds the next.” Most people use free language models that are available to everyone and are moderately capable of certain tasks. But they are also very limited, and are not a good reflection of what a cutting-edge AI model is capable of today. In a brief session with 5.3-Codex I was able to draw this same conclusion, since the AI ​​tools that big technology companies use in their development are nothing like the most commercial ones that we have freely available in terms of capabilities. The code-first approach. Initial specialization in programming makes more sense than we think. And the idea of ​​companies like OpenAI, Anthropic or Google that their systems were exceptional by writing code before anything else is linked to the fact that developing AI requires enormous amounts of code. And if AI can write that code, it can help build its own evolution. “Making AI great at programming was the strategy that unlocked everything else. That’s why they did it first,” Matt Shumer, CEO of OthersideAI, said in a publication that has given us something to talk about these days on social networks. Between the lines. The new models don’t just write code: they make decisions, iterate on their own work, test applications as a human developer would, and refine the result until they are satisfied. “I tell the AI ​​what I want to build. It writes tens of thousands of lines of code. Then it opens the app, clicks the buttons, tests the features. If it doesn’t like something, it goes back and changes it on its own. Only when it decides it meets its own standards does it come back to me,” counted Shumer describing his experience with GPT-5.3 Codex. What changes with self-reference. Until now, each improvement depended on human teams spending months training models, adjusting parameters and correcting errors. Now, some of that work is performed by AI itself, accelerating development cycles. Just like share Shumer and referring to METR dataan organization that measures the ability of these systems to complete complex tasks autonomously, the time that an AI can work without human intervention doubles approximately every seven months, and there are already recent indications that that period could be reduced to four. And now what. If this trend continues, by 2027 we could see systems capable of working autonomously for weeks on entire projects. Amodei has spoken of models “substantially smarter than almost all humans in almost all tasks” by 2026 or 2027. These are not distant predictions, since the technical infrastructure for AI to contribute to its own improvement is already operational. And these capabilities are what are really turning the technology industry on its head. Cover image | OpenAI and Anthropic In Xataka | We have a problem with AI. Those who were most enthusiastic at the beginning are starting to get tired of it.

The 256 GB Google Pixel 10 cheaper than ever, an Honor with eight gifts, offers on Xiaomi headphones and more. Hunting Bargains

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Today is Friday and that means we’re back with a new Bargain Hunting. This week we have found very good offers related to technology, especially in phones and smart watches. If you were waiting for that great offer to renew your mobile or other devices, today we are going to review the best of the best that we have found during these last few days. Honor Magic8 Pro by 1,234.05 euros with coupon, a mobile phone with gifts valued at more than 800 euros. Google Pixel 10 by 644.14 euros when registering in the store, the best price we have seen to date on its 256 GB configuration. Google Pixel Watch 4 by 279 euros When processing the purchase, a very reasonable price in its LTE version. Ugreen FineTrack Smart Finder by 25.65 eurosa pack alternative to Apple’s AirTags. Xiaomi Redmi Buds 5 Pro by 34.99 eurosBluetooth headphones with a lot of battery and active noise cancellation. Honor Magic8 Pro He Honor Magic8 Pro right now it has a pretty small 5% discount when you use the coupon AES2026with which he stays 1,234.05 euros. If it is on this list it is because it includes a huge assortment of gifts, one of the largest we have in the store to date. It is a good mobile phone that incorporates the Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 along with 12 GB of RAM and 512 GB of storage. Its battery supports 100W fast charging and it also comes with a good photography section, the most notable being the 3.7x telephoto. These are all the gifts that are included: Honor Pad 10 tablet. Honor Choice Pencil Stylus. Honor Watch 5 smartwatch. Honor Choice Earbuds Clip Bluetooth Headphones. Honor SuperCharge 100W charger. Honor Essentials Kit: A magnetic ring, a magnetic case, a magnetic wallet and a magnetic pendant. 12-month screen protection. 12 month protection. Honor Magic8 Pro (512GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google Pixel 10 Do you want something cheaper? Well this week we finally found a good price (the best, in fact) on the Google Pixel 10 256 GB. By registering in the MediaMarkt store we will automatically have access to an additional discount, in this case remaining for a price of 644.14 euros. It is a telephone excellent for taking photosbut also because it is quite small (6.3 inches) and, of course, because of its design. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google Pixel Watch 4 And that additional discount has not only fallen on mobile phones, since the Google Pixel Watch 4 He also has it. By 279 euros When processing the purchase, we talk about a good watch with LTE connectivity whose operating system is WearOS. Its screen is quite good, offering a maximum brightness level of 3,000 nits and incorporates many sensors to measure physical activity. Google Pixel Watch 4 (41mm, LTE) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Ugreen FineTrack Smart Finder If you have an iPhone and you are not convinced by AirTags because the pack of four units is very expensive, there is an alternative. He Ugreen FineTrack Smart Finder also includes four units and costs 25.65 euros. They incorporate a battery instead of operating with a removable battery, they are integrated into the Search network, they are capable of playing audio alerts to locate you and allow you to share the location with up to five people. Ugreen FineTrack Smart Finder The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi Redmi Buds 5 Pro On the other hand, if what you are looking for are good headphones, that are very cheap and that also have active noise cancellation… here come the Xiaomi Redmi Buds 5 Pro. By 34.99 euroswe are talking about headphones that offer a battery life of up to 38 hours, that are compatible with the LDAC audio codec and that connect to the mobile phone from the Xiaomi app. 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 | Honor, Google, Ugreen, Xiaomi In Xataka | The best smartwatches (2026): their analyzes and videos are here In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs

if it closes the entrance door to the 10 million inhabitants

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Since post-war Europe, immigration has been a silent constant in the economic reconstruction of the continent, first to supply labor in industry and later to sustain growth and the welfare state in increasingly aging societies. Over the decades, this phenomenon went from being an assumed necessity to becoming a central political debate, especially after EU enlargements and economic crises. Today, Europe once again faces a question that it thought had been resolved: how far it is willing to go to remain an open space. The nerve figure. The idea we tell it a few months ago. Switzerland heads to a vote which condenses many of the tensions accumulated in Europe during the last decade: demographic growth, immigration, housing and the economic model. The proposal to set an absolute limit of 10 million inhabitantsdriven by the Swiss People’s Partyreaches the polls after gathering the necessary signatures in a country where direct democracy turns social unrest into state decisions. The situation: with a current population of 9.1 million and growth much higher than that of its neighbors, the debate no longer revolves around whether Switzerland can continue to grow, but rather whether if you want to do it. From attractive to “saturated” country. For decades, Swiss prosperity rested on high wages, political stability and an open economy capable of attracting both low-skilled labor and international talent. This success has had an increasingly visible reverse: a 27% foreign residentsa stressed real estate market and increasing pressure on infrastructure and public services. For defenders of the population cap, this growth has become uncontrollable and threatens the quality of life, but for its detractors, it is precisely the engine that has sustained the country’s wealth. The limit and its consequences. The initiative, a priori, does not propose a gradual system or flexible quotas, but rather a rigid, hard limit, which would force action once it exceeds 9.5 million and which, upon reaching 10 million, would literally imply close almost completely the entry of new residents, including asylum seekers and family reunifications. This absolute nature is possibly what most worries economists and companies, which warn of an abrupt stop to the arrival of workers just when the aging of the population is beginning to be noticed and the demand for labor remains high. Europe as a red line. The most delicate point of the plan is precisely its direct impact on the relationship with the European Union. The reason is very simple: if the limit is not respected, the Government would be obliged to abandon the agreement of free movement of people, the cornerstone of the treaties that guarantee Switzerland access to the single market. In a country where nearly half of exports go to the EU, breaking that link is not only a migration issue, but a structural change of the economic model built over decades. The economy versus the emotional vote. Other factors appear here, since multinationals and employers have reacted harshlywarning of relocations, loss of innovation and additional tensions on the pension system, largely fueled by foreign workers. For its part, the business lobby Economiesuisse has described the proposal of chaoticwhile academics emphasize that the recent stagnation of real wages and the increase in the cost of living have created a perfect breeding ground for looking for culprits in immigration, although the problems have more complex roots. Beyond the census. Polls show a country divided almost in half, with a support close to 48% which makes the result unpredictable. So it doesn’t seem like it’s just about deciding how many people can live in Switzerland. The fundamental crux points elsewhere: defining what kind of country do you want to be in an increasingly tense European environment. Either one that preserves its openness at the cost of better managing its internal imbalances, or another that raises a symbolic limit and assumes the risk of redefining its relationship with Europe and with its own idea of ​​prosperity. And, meanwhile, Europe hold your breath for what may arise from the decision. Image | Pexels In Xataka | Switzerland is about to exceed 10 million inhabitants. And he will do everything possible to avoid it. In Xataka | The countries with the largest immigrant population in the world, displayed on this map

There is a lot of criticism of Cruzcampo in half of Spain, but it is one of the few breweries that are growing right now

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Heineken has announced an epoch-making global adjustment: up to 6,000 jobs will disappear amid a series of drastic cuts and a simplification of the structure around the world. All over the world? No, a village populated by irreducible Sevillians still and always resists the crisis in the sector. Despite the alcohol crisis and the general joke, Cruzcampo endures. The question is why. A market in recession. The beer market he is not living his best moment in Spain: per capita consumption fell from 55.5 liters to 52.8 in 2024. And, in fact, if it holds up it is thanks to the 90 million tourists who visit us every year. This is very clear when we see what is happening in the mass consumption sector: the sum of inflation and the boom of private labels (or distributor) has meant that, for the first time, commercial brands do not reach 70%. Faced with this, Heineken Spain is going like a shot. Cruzcampo (and the rest of the group’s brands) have managed to fight very well on several fronts: they have been leaders in share gain in the food channel (a growth of 0.8 in 2024), but they have also managed to position themselves in the premium sector (under the idea that they do not sell beer, but moments). Furthermore, we must not forget that Spain is one of the markets where the sin and 0’0 have the greatest power with up to 14% of total consumption. And, in that context, Cruzcampo is one of the greats: the first beer with lemon (one without for all intents and purposes) was the shandy of the brand and it came out, pay attention to the fact, in 1986. And not only that: Cruzcampo has become international. In the United Kingdom the figures are clear: Sevillian beer managed to find its way into one of every four bars and nine of every 10 supermarkets (always according to Heineken itself). It is not the only one, of course: Mahou or Estrella Galicia are in the same play. And the results are clear: imports of Spanish beer into the UK have grown by 155% in ten years. He who laughs last laughs best. Because we already know that Cruzcampo has become a meme and there is half of Spain that prides itself on rejecting it on an identity level. And yet, at the brand level Cruzcampo already appeared as the only Spanish one that rose slightly in value in a Brand Finance ranking. Something is happening under the radar: it is the spearhead of a group that is gaining momentum because it is growing right where it needs to grow. Image | Adam Jones In Xataka | A German abbey had been producing one of the oldest beers in the world since 1050. Now it has had to be sold

the BUS-HOV lane between Alcorcón and Madrid

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From January 2025, the residents of Paseo de Extremadura in Madrid They are finding out the hard way what it entails. bury four kilometers of one of the arteries of the city. It is no longer that the entrance to the capital along the A-5 has become a traffic jam nightmarebut in a dangerous road due to the urban ‘Mario Kart’ that has been formed. But beyond the traffic jams, the problem is that access to Madrid is being strangled for many people who live in municipalities in the metropolitan southwest. Let them tell Alcorcón. Madrid at rush hour it is not an easy city to travel, but when you cut lanes on a highway and overload the detours that are already saturated at certain times, things get complicated. To try to alleviate the load, a BUS-HOV lane so that the buses could circulate from kilometer 14 to the Parque Oeste de Alcorcón. And, although it is said that “the most difficult of the works has already happened”, the reality is that there is an interesting bottleneck between the capital and cities like Alcorcón, Móstoles or Boadilla. And, as it could not be otherwise, that BUS-HOV lane has become a source of dispute between the town councils of Alcorcón and Madrid. A road as a throwing weapon In this story there is a crossover of accusations. On the one hand, from Alcorcón, criticism that the works and measures implemented are causing delays in one of the most important commercial points in the city. The reason is that the lane that was made available for buses is underused while private vehicles clog the roads. And part of the problem comes from there: that bus lane takes up part of the roadpreventing private cars from using all the available width. And if the buses flowed, there would be no problem, but that is not the case. As pointed out The Alcorcón Gazettethe residents have asked that the lane be eliminated, returning to a road for general use, but the mayor of the town has insisted on extending the BUS-HOV lane to Príncipe Pío, now in the capital. Candelaria Testa states in her petition that the expansion of the lane to the M-30 tunnel is “fundamental to facilitate the connection of the residents of Alcorcón with the capital.” However, and as the newspaper reports, the residents are asking for something else: to first decongest Alcorcón and then focus on the needs of those who travel to Madrid. The Madrid city council has responded through Borja Carabante, Mobility delegate. As we read in The reasonthe official assures that “there is less and less left for the execution of the tunnel to be a reality”, ensuring that, by the end of the year, “all the buses will be circulating through it, arriving directly to Príncipe Pío.” Carabante assures that Testa has been “putting spokes in the wheel of the work”, and in the end that traffic jam between Alcorcón and Madrid It has turned into a fight between the two town councils. The neighbors have disgraced the mayor for not asking the Minister of Transportation for solutions, Oscar Puentewhile they see how a political dispute is once again the topic of conversation while they continue wasting time and money in traffic jams. The end, and unfortunately, is just one more chapter in works that are causing recurring headaches for both residents and those who need the corridor to get to and from their jobs. Internet, electricity and water cuts (Cheer up, mate Javi) have occurred without prior notice, the noise It is a constant and all that remains is to have hope in the great promise. That “the worst is over.” If you pass by there daily, I’m sure it’s a comfort. Images | Madrid City Council, DGT In Xataka | The icing on the cake for Madrid’s works: the city has become a gymkhana of reforms, cuts and annoyances

does not produce 13 minerals critical for economic security

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For years, the so-called critical minerals have remained out of the focus of public debate, despite the fact that entire industries and a good part of the economic security of countries depend on them. Its relevance does not respond only to a technological issue, but also to geopolitical tensions, fragile supply chains and strategic decisions that today condition industrial development. In that context, Mexico has begun to put figuresnames and concrete limits to their own exposure, opening a conversation that goes far beyond mining and reaches directly to their productive future. What exactly is considered a critical mineral. These are elements present in nature whose demand is high while their availability is limited, either due to geological restrictions inherent to finite resources or due to external factors such as geopolitical tensions and trade blockades. That combination of scarcity and dependence makes them sensitive pieces for contemporary industry. They not only intervene in everyday electronic devices, they also determine energy efficiency, component durability and thermal stability in multiple technologies. Image shared by the Government of Mexico The concrete photography of Mexico. The Mexican Geological Service has defined which materials are scarce or directly non-existent in the national territory, or without technical and economic conditions today to produce them viably, a diagnosis that allows foreign dependence to be measured with sufficient precision. The list is not small and concentrates a good part of the inputs associated with electronics, energy and various advanced industrial chains. These are the 13 minerals classified as scarce or non-existent resources in the country: Aluminum Cadmium Cobalt Chrome Germanium Iridium Lithium Nickel Palladium Platinum Tantalum Titanium Vanadium The reverse of the diagnosis. Mexico has a relevant mining base in certain materials where there are not only reserves, but also extraction and processing capacity, which allows it to sustain its own industrial chains and participate in international markets. This dimension is key to avoiding a reading solely focused on external dependence and understanding that the resource map combines shortcomings with operational strengths. According to the Mexican Geological Service, the minerals that the country concentrates or processes are the following: Baryta Copper Fluorite Graphite Magnesium Manganese Silver Lead Zinc The diplomatic channel and the geopolitical board. The diagnosis of available resources has not remained internal. Mexico has brought the issue of critical minerals to the field of international politics with a specific goal: to ensure access to materials that are necessary for its present and future industry. This is how Marcelo Ebrard explained itSecretary of Economy, when detailing the country’s participation in different forums and coordination spaces, including areas linked to the United Nations. The strategy, as he stressed, does not seek to offer its own reserves, but rather to be part of the decisions that will determine how these supplies are guaranteed in an increasingly competitive environment. Coordination with the northern neighbor. The United States Trade Office (USTR) announced that Its ambassador, Jamieson Greer, and Marcelo Ebrard agreed on an action plan aimed at building a preferential trade scheme for critical minerals, which includes everything from the identification of priority materials to the exploration of adjusted minimum border prices for imports and consultation on how to incorporate these minimum prices into a binding plurilateral agreement. The cooperation seeks to respond to global market distortions that have left North American critical mineral supply chains vulnerable to disruption. The initial calendar, it should be noted, establishes a work horizon of two months to analyze measures before defining subsequent steps. Lithium. State ownership and pending viability. Among the minerals that explain the Mexican position, lithium occupies a unique place. The Constitution establishes that only the State can exploit it, a decision that reinforces its strategic nature but, at the same time, coexists with technical and economic limits. As President Claudia Sheinbaum notedthere is already a technology developed at the Mexican Petroleum Institute to obtain lithium in clays, although “today it is not economically viable, it is very expensive.” This combination of state control and production difficulty illustrates why guaranteeing access to critical materials remains an open question for the national industry. In conclusion. The image that emerges is not that of a country without resources, but of an economy that must precisely manage its material dependencies in an increasingly demanding international environment. Mexico has relevant mining capabilities and, at the same time, faces clear limits on essential inputs for the technology and energy industry. Between both extremes is a strategy that combines internal diagnosis, diplomatic action and technological development still in process. The result does not close the debate, but it does define the context in which the country must work. Images | Dominic Vanyi + Nano Banana In Xataka | What are rare earths, the elements that move the technological world and separate China from the West

Ariane 64 debuts with large Amazon payload in orbit

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Putting large payloads into low orbit is not just a technical issue, it is also a strategic decision. When the figure is around 20 tons, it is easy to think about Falcon 9than SpaceX, but that is not the only possible path. Europe has just demonstrated this with the operational debut of Ariane 64, the most powerful version of Ariane 6which has already completed a real mission and has successfully deployed 32 satellites of a constellation into orbit. First flight. The VA267 mission It took off today, February 12, from the Guiana Space Center and marked the operational debut of the aforementioned rocket. As confirmed by ArianeGroupthe launcher successfully placed the payload into orbit and completed the mission after 1 hour and 54 minutes.” The result not only validates the performance of the new launcher in real conditions, it also inaugurates the first of 18 missions that Amazon has contracted with Arianespace. The version with four lateral thrusters. Within the Ariane 6 family, Ariane 64 is the configuration designed for the most demanding missions in terms of mass and cargo volume. This places its capacity at around 20 tons towards low Earth orbit, approximately double what Ariane 62 allows with two lateral thrusters. That jump explains its role in large-scale commercial deployments, such as entire satellite constellations. In addition, the program foresees additional performance increases throughout the year with the introduction of new engines P160C in the solid fuel lateral thrusters. Ariane 64 on the launch pad before mission VA267 Three first times. VA267 brought together several premieres in a single release and all of them define the leap in scale of the new European system. ArianeGroup first identifies the inaugural use of Ariane 64 in its four-sided booster configuration, which made it possible to deploy the aforementioned more than 30 satellites into orbit. Added to this is the first use of the 20-meter fairing, designed to protect the dispenser during the initial phases of the flight and which places the total height of the launcher at 62 meters. Previous missions with the 14-meter hull and Ariane 62 were around 56 meters. Choreography in orbit. Beyond the visible milestones, the mission required a precise sequence after liftoff to ensure the safe release of the satellites. As we can see in the official broadcastthe launcher detached from the side thrusters and fairing in the first minutes of flight, after which the upper stage assumed orbital insertion through carefully timed ignitions. The deployment began approximately 90 minutes after launch and was extended during sequential releases. Satellite deployment in live broadcast Evolution of Project Kuiper. The deployment is part of a broader space infrastructure plan. Amazon Leo, evolution of the previous one Project Kuiperis conceived as a low-orbit satellite system intended to provide fast, low-latency internet to communities far from conventional networks. With the new thirty satellites in orbit, the total rises above 200, bringing the company closer to its goal of global connectivity. Turning point for European access to space. With the first flight of Ariane 64 carried out as planned and the satellites already deployed, the new launcher leaves the technical validation stage behind and enters effective service. The real test begins now, when operational continuity becomes as relevant as initial success. Images | ArianeGroup In Xataka | Venus has always seemed to us to be one of the least interesting planets. That just changed thanks to a discovery

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