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The Animal Welfare Law is clear about whether dogs can enter bars. And also about the fine for breaking the rule

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To humans (we know since recently) we like to surround ourselves with pets since long before we we started cultivating the land or the invention of writing. However, they have never played such a relevant role in our homes. The first official statistics On the subject, he estimates that in Spain they live 15 million of pets, more than the entire population of the country under 30 years of age. Only the dogs add up to 7.5. With such a deployment it is normal that more and more people count on them when planning travel or go to a bar. The big question is… Can they pass? Are pets allowed? If you go to Google and type “pets”, “restaurants” and “access” you will find a good handful of publications that talk about whether or not pets can access bars, restaurants, hotels and (in general) private businesses. It stands to reason. First, because in Spain there are more and more pets and every time they are more incorporated in our daily lives. Second, because with the thermometer fooling around with the 30th In much of the country and with clear skies, people increasingly want to make plans outside, stay in a hotel on the beach or go for a drink at a bar. And what is the answer? Depends. As is usually the case when we talk about pets, the ‘bible’ we must turn to in search of answers is the Law 7/2023 on March 28. Said like this, it may not sound familiar to you, but its most popular name surely does: the Animal Welfare Law (LBA), which began to be applied a long time ago. three years. In this specific case we are interested in your article 29which regulates “access with pets to means of transportation, establishments and public spaces.” There the regulatory framework is established and a very simple idea is put forward: as a general rule, pets can enter bars, restaurants and other businesses where food is served, unless otherwise stated. Now, in each case what both the host and the owner of the animal do will greatly influence, so this guideline does not always have to be followed. What does it say about the hoteliers? That they have the right to decide whether or not pets enter their businesses, although if they decide to do the latter and close the doors to them, they must make it very clear from the beginning. And in writing. Basically, Law 07/2023 states that if the owner of a restaurant chooses to ban pets, he must record his decision, warning it on the door in a perfectly visible way. The objective: to avoid surprises for clients or that, once they are seated with their dog, they are asked to leave the premises. What exactly does the law say? The indication that interests us is in the second point of the article 29. And says: “Public and private establishments, hotel accommodations, restaurants, bars and in general any others in which drinks and food are consumed, may facilitate the entry of pets that do not constitute a risk to people, other animals and things, to areas not intended for the preparation, storage or handling of food, without prejudice to the provisions of public health regulations, or municipal ordinances or specific regulations.” “If the entry and stay of the animal is not admitted, they must show a badge indicating this, visible from the outside of the establishment”. Does only the hotelier influence? No. From the LBA comes off that the dog owner also has rights and obligations and that even the latter must comply with certain rules. For example, the previous paragraph emphasizes that the doors of the premises will be open to pets “that do not constitute a risk to people, other animals and things.” And later, in point 5, the same article of the LBA emphasizes that the owners also have responsibilities: “People responsible for pets who can access the transport and establishments and places indicated in the previous sections must take the animal in accordance with the hygienic-sanitary conditions and respecting the security measures determined by the establishment or means of transport itself, as well as specific sectoral legislation.”. What happens in other places? The LBA not only regulates access to restaurants, bars and accommodation. the same article (29) also clarifies that, in general, public and private transport services must “facilitate” the entry of pets as long as they do not represent a threat. However, the ‘photo’ is not the same in all services. Taxi drivers or platforms such as Uber or Cabify can decide “at their discretion” whether or not to accept pets, while the law states that railway, shipping and airline operators must “adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the transportation of animals (…) as long as they are carried out under the access conditions established by each operator, respecting the hygienic-sanitary and safety conditions required by law.” Does it say anything else? Yes. The LBA make it clear also that shelters, refuges, care centers and other places dedicated to caring for people in a vulnerable situation must “make it easier” for their users to access their pets, if they have them. If for whatever reason that is not possible, the same centers must “promote agreements with animal protection entities or shelter projects” so that the pet is not left unattended. It is a fundamental measure to prevent people (homeless people, sick people or victims of abuse, for example) from avoiding going to shelters or residences just so as not to leave their pets helpless. And public buildings? The law points out also that, “unless expressly prohibited,” which must be clearly signposted on the outside of buildings, “pets will be allowed access to public buildings and facilities.” Everything stated in the previous points, of course, does not apply in the case of assistance dogs (for example, those used by the blind) and those that are part of the Armed Forces or State Security Corps. In those cases … Read more

turn the retiree into a millionaire industry

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In Japan there is a curious business tradition: some companies they continue hiring retirees so that they continue working after officially retiring. They do so because labor shortages and an aging population have turned the elderly into a resource increasingly valuable for the economy. Now it is China’s turn. Beijing no longer expects a baby boom. For years, Beijing tried stop the collapse birth rate through incentives, regulatory changes and campaigns aimed at encouraging families to have more children. However, the demographic reality has imposed with force. Births continue to fall and forecasts point to an increasingly aging China. Given this scenario, he had the financial times that the country is changing its approach: instead of focusing all its efforts on increasing the number of young people, it is building an economic strategy around an increasingly evident certainty, that hundreds of millions of citizens They will be over 65 years old in the coming decades. The silver economy. Yes, because the answer is named “silver economy”a concept that seeks to convert the needs, consumption and services aimed at older people into one of the great engines of the Chinese economy. The Government estimates that this market could reach 30 billion yuan by 2035, a gigantic figure driven by an elderly population that will exceed 400 million people and will represent more than 30% of the national total. At a time when the real estate crisis has weakened one of the main pillars of Chinese growth, the authorities see in retirees a new source of economic activity capable of mobilizing investments, companies and employment. A fair that shows the future of the country. The best demonstration of this transformation could be seen at a big fair held in Shanghai dedicated to elderly care, rehabilitation and health. More than 600 companies came to exhibit products specifically designed for an aging society. The event offered a very different image from China just a decade ago: exoskeletons for walking, robotic assistance systems, rehabilitation devices, smart beds, adapted furniture, specialized health products and technological solutions aimed at improving the quality of life of elderly people. Technology turns to the elderly. Many of the innovations presented had a common element: automation. Companies from very diverse sectors are trying to apply advanced technology to reduce the physical and economic burden associated with aging. Among the products displayed there was everything from connected diapers to mobile applications, to sensors installed in shoes capable of analyzing the way you walk and detect risks of falls or vibration therapy systems inspired by space technologies, also devices intended to facilitate the care of dependent people. Basically, the idea is to use technology to replace heavy tasksrepetitive or difficult to cover by human personnel, a challenge that will become increasingly important as the elderly population increases. Companies that change objectives. One of the most revealing aspects is how many companies are redirecting your businesses. Products originally designed for children are being adapted for adults. For example, companies specializing in infant milk have begun to develop nutritional formulas for the elderly. Educational technology manufacturers that previously sold tools for schoolchildren now market devices aimed at teaching calligraphy, music or new skills for retirees. The business logic is simple: while the children’s market contracts due to the drop in births, the older segment grows year after year and offers much more attractive prospects. A new generation of retirees. The change also reflects a social transformation. Today’s Chinese seniors have more income, more free time and different expectations than previous generations. They are no longer limited to covering basic needs, but demand leisure, training, cultural activities, physical well-being and personal experiences. Senior universities, music courses, sports activities and learning programs are gaining popularity among a population that wants to stay active for longer. For many companies, this group is no longer seen as a dependent group and is becoming in a consumer with own spending capacity. Turn a problem into an opportunity. It’s the end, obviously. The silver economy represents an attempt to transform one of China’s biggest structural threats into an economic opportunity. An aging population will continue to pose enormous challenges for pensions, healthcare and the labor market, but Beijing is trying extract economic value of a trend that he already considers irreversible. Instead of waiting for a recovery in birth rates to solve the problem, the country is reorganizing entire sectors to serve an increasingly aging population. In a way, China has assumed that it will have fewer children than it dreamed of and is betting on something different: turning its retirees into the center of a multi-billion dollar industry capable of sustaining part of its future growth. Image | Pixabay, timquijano, World Bank Photo Collection In Xataka | In the midst of a race towards immortality, China believes it has found a way for us to live 150 years: with grapes In Xataka | China knows that its population is going to collapse but it already has a long-term plan to solve it. Of course, thanks to AI

Two friends sold their company for 1.5 billion dollars and bought it back for 450 million: today it is worth 150 billion

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Buying low and selling high is one of the maxims of any financial operation if you want do well in life. It’s the advice likely followed by two immigrant friends from Asia who met playing basketball in Los Angeles. The story of these two friends is one of the most bizarre and fortunate in the technological business field, since they managed to sell their company for 1.5 billion, and then buy it back for 450 million and turn it into an empire of 150,000 million dollars. Its history is that of one of the best-known RAM and storage device companies since the late 80s: Kingston Technology. Two immigrants and the worst Monday in history John Tu came to Los Angeles from China in the 1970s. David Sun took the same route, but from Taiwan. They were both engineers and were looking for their big break in California. By the whims of fate, they both ended up playing basketball on the same basketball court in Los Angeles in the 80s. Everything else arose from that friendship. His first business was Camintonn, a memory-related components company used by personal computers that were beginning to make the leap from laboratories and electronics hobby clubs to offices and homes, driven by promising young people like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs. After a few years of success and growth, Tu and Sun sold Camintonn in 1986 to AST Research for six million dollars. With that money in their pockets, the future seemed like a bed of roses for the two friends, but their joy was short-lived. The feared Black Monday The October 1987 crash on Wall Street caused a good part of his savings to disappear in one fell swoop. They were left with almost nothing. However, instead of looking for work in a company in the flourishing technology market of the time, they began their adventure as entrepreneurs again. “I told him: ‘You make something and I’ll sell it, like last time,’” Tu said. in an interview for Fortune. John Tu and David Sun, co-founders of Kingston Technology That same year they founded Kensington, a company with a name that seemed elegant and sophisticated, but another company had beaten them to it and registered it. So as they were fans of the folk group The Kingston Triothey chose to rename their company Kingston Technology and launched it in a garage in Fountain Valley, California. How much does current technology owe to California garages! From being born in a garage to being worth 1.5 billion To the contrary to Samsung or other brands, Kingston did not manufacture its own memory chips, but rather bought components from large manufacturers and turned them into products that people use: memory modules for computers, pen drives, flash cards, SSD disks. It was a model without great aspirations, but it worked with a precision that few could match. In fact, it is the same business model that it maintains today. By August 1996, the company was already valued at more than $1.8 billion, and SoftBank acquired 80% of Kingston for $1.5 billion. Masayoshi Son’s Japanese giant was then in the midst of a technological buying spree and Kingston was exactly the type of company it was looking for: profitable, well-positioned and growing. That is, with the acquisition of Softbank, Tu and Sun continued to be a decisive part of the company’s operations thanks to the 10% of the company that each one retained, and they also pocketed 700 million dollars each. Yes, I was not wrong: 700 million for each one, because the founders distributed 100 million dollars in extraordinary bonuses for your employees as a sample of thanks for your work. The deal was perfect because both employees and founders had put a lot of money in their pockets, but they continued working in the same position and with the same conditions as up to that date. What a bargain! …but there was still room for further improvement. Sell ​​high, buy low Three years later, in 1999, SoftBank came knocking on Kingston’s door again. The dotcom bubble was at its highest moment and Masayoshi Son wanted to recover liquidity to invest in the effervescent internet companies. Kingston was still a good business, but it was not the type of hypervolatile asset that Softbank was looking for at that time, so it offered them to recover the same 80% that it had bought from them for 1.5 billion. However, the new price was very different: $450 million. We guess holding back their laughter, Sun and Tu said yes. Obviously. In fact, they were even generous to Softbank. Just like you counted to Fortunein 1996 SoftBank had paid part of the purchase with a promissory note of 300 million that it had to pay in two years, but the investment bank did not fulfill its part and was late in that payment. Faced with such a breach, the founders could have recovered the company by contract in 1998. But they did not do so. They forgave their debt. “SoftBank was shocked,” Tu said. When Masayoshi Son wanted to sell Kingston, his first option was to sell it to them because it was his way of returning the favor they had done a year before. Thus, starting in 1999, Sun and Tu once again owned 100% of Kingston: 50% for each one. According to ForbesKingston Technology had a turnover of about $14.4 billion a year and ranked 28th on the list of the largest private companies in the United States. Its value is estimated at 150,000 million thanks to the memory shortage. A peculiarity of the company is that, despite being one of the most consolidated technology companies, it is still not listed on the stock market. No funds. Without external investors. Just the two friends who met on a court in Los Angeles almost fifty years ago and had two strokes of luck in their career that allowed them to become millionaires without losing control of the company they founded. … Read more

a direct access to the highway

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The Ministry of Transport has tendered the contract to design a new connection between the AP-68 and the N-232 in Aldeanueva del Ebro, in La Rioja Baja. The link is something that the area has been demanding for years and is expected to arrive precisely after the liberalization of the Basque-Aragonese toll, scheduled for the end of the year. Below these lines we tell you all the details. Claim. The region of La Rioja Baja had long complained of being poorly connected to the AP-68. The section between the Corella/Alfaro and Calahorra links It is 27.6 kilometers without any intermediate exita distance that forces many drivers and transporters to make unnecessary detours through the secondary network. The idea is that the new link, planned at kilometer 186.2 of the highway, covers that gap. What exactly has been tendered. What the ministry has put out to competition It is not the construction of the link, but the contract to write the project. The amount of this tender amounts to 718,908.44 euros (VAT included) and the execution period is 24 months. According to official planning, design work would begin in March 2027 and conclude in February 2029. The physical works on the land, therefore, would not arrive before mid-2029. The estimated budget for construction is around 11.2 million euros. How would the connection be? The new link would join kilometer 186.2 of the AP-68 with the N-232, around kilometer 351.6 of this road, through the regional highway LR-384, which passes through the municipality of Aldeanueva del Ebro. In this way, the connection would significantly shorten journeys in the Rioja corridor area. lAP-68 will no longer collect tolls. The AP-68 concession is about to expire and the highway will become free of charge, expected at the end of this year (less in the Álava area). This implies a significant increase in traffic, and the ministry is taking advantage of the lead-up to this liberalization to reinforce access to the road. Along the same lines there is also the Fuenmayor linkalready partially in service, which connects the future A-68 highway with the A-12, the LO-20, the N-120 and the N-232, and which has involved an investment of 36 million euros. The Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, counted during its commissioning that the action “leaves the connections of all the roads close to the AP-68 ready, once the toll is released.” Of the 13 branches of the Fuenmayor link, 8 are already operational; The remaining 5 will not be able to be enabled until the highway is free of tolls. And also in Calahorra. The ministry confirms that, in parallel, it is drafting a project to improve the functionality of the existing link between the AP-68 and the N-232 in Calahorra. Three actions (Fuenmayor, Calahorra and Aldeanueva) that draw a roadmap to modernize the connections of the entire Rioja corridor before and after the AP-68 opens its barriers definitively. What’s left. The project tender is a first step, but the deadlines are long. That the design will not be ready until 2029 means that the works are still far away. Now the region will have to wait for that 27-kilometer gap without access to become a bigger problem than it already is, especially when the toll is freed and there is more traffic circulating on the AP-68. Cover image | Wikipedia In Xataka | Smart traffic lights are one step closer to being a reality in Spain: this is what changes and what does not

Liquidation of TVs in the El Corte Inglés online outlet with all these Samsung, Sony, LG and Haier models

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El Corte Inglés has a large assortment of devices in its online outlet, and although there are fewer and fewer, we still find many refurbished televisions. That is why in this article we are going to review the best models available right now. Of course, there is only one unit of each television, so they may run out soon. Samsung TQ75QN800DTXXC by 849 eurosa 75-inch 8K resolution TV. Haier H75M95EUX M95E Series by 999 eurosa model with speakers signed by Harman Kardon. Sony Bravia 7 65XR70 by 699 eurosa television compatible with Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. LG 65QNED86A6A by 579 eurosa 65-inch smart TV with a miniLED panel. Samsung TQ65QN90FATXXC by 799 eurosa TV with a 65-inch diagonal and miniLED panel. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung TQ75QN800DTXXC He Samsung TQ75QN800DTXXC It is a television that inevitably stands out because it offers 8K resolution, but we cannot forget its other features. It is a model that, for 849 euros at the El Corte Inglés outlet, it comes with a 75-inch screen that reaches a refresh rate of up to 165 Hz. It has anti-reflective treatment and is compatible with both HDR10+ as with Dolby Atmos. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Haier H75M95EUX M95E Series El Corte Inglés also has a discount Haier H75M95EUX M95E Series for a price of 999 euros. It is a television with a QD-MiniLED panel that in this case has a diagonal of 75 inches. It offers a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz, is compatible with Dolby Vision and its speakers are signed by Harman Kardon. Haier H75M95EUX M95E Series The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Sony Bravia 7 65XR70 In the online outlet we also find the Sony Bravia 7 65XR70a smart TV that, for 699 eurosincorporates a miniLED panel. Its screen has a diagonal of 65 inches, it is compatible with both Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and its operating system is Google TV. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links LG 65QNED86A6A If we are looking for something cheaper, the store also has the LG 65QNED86A6A for a price of 579 euros. Once again we are talking about a television with a miniLED panel and, in this case, with a 65-inch diagonal. It is compatible with Dolby Atmos and reaches a refresh rate of up to 144 Hz through VRR. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Samsung TQ65QN90FATXXC Lastly, the Samsung TQ65QN90FATXXC It is also on sale at El Corte Inglés for a price of 799 euros. This TV has a Neo QLED miniLED panel, it has anti-reflective treatment, its diagonal is 65 inches and its refresh rate reaches 165 Hz. In addition, it is compatible with both HDR10+ and Dolby Atmos. 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 | El Corte Inglés and Compradicción (header), Samsung, Haier, Sony, LG In Xataka | Best home theater projectors. Which one to buy and five recommended models from 299 to 18,000 euros In Xataka | Mega-guide to set up a home theater: projector, screen, sound system and more

Where electricity comes from in each country in the world, told on an essential map

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To stop climate change, it is essential to “clean” electricity, that is, decarbonize it to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions. The reason is clear: the electricity sector is to blame for approximately a third of global emissions, according to IEA data for 2025. What this world map does is shed light on the origin of the light that reaches us when we press the plug because knowing where the electricity comes from in each country is the first step to knowing what needs to be changed and how long it takes to achieve it. This map of Our World in Data sample for each state what is the main source of electrical energy for the period 2024/25. Behind this data visualization initiative is the University of Oxford and for its preparation uses information from Global Electricity Review Ember. There are 215 countries in their database, although for this representation they use 91 states that represent 93% of global electricity demand. Viewing and understanding the map is simple: one color for each dominant technology: orange is gas, gray is coal, blue is water, purple is nuclear, yellow is solar. In addition, it offers the percentage of that dominant technology to know how much this source represents in the state total. This point is important because a state can be colored orange because gas accounts for 40% of the total even though it has 35% renewables in total. It is a map of the present, not of how we want it to be or where the trend is going. The first thing we see on the map is that andCoal remains the largest single source of electricity generation in the world, a ranking that has been leading for more than half a century and that in this visualization represents 35% of the global generation. Of course, it is the lowest percentage since the founding of the IEA in 1974. One of the reasons why the global electricity sector continues to have so much weight in emissions is precisely because of the leadership of coal. Another reason is gas. In fact, in 2024 fossil fuels still generated almost 60% of the world’s electricity. Broadly speaking, the map shows how gas is hegemonic in rich countries in the northern hemisphere while coal dominates in Asia. In South America and parts of Africa, hydroelectricity is historically what makes the difference. However, Europe is a true rainbow, the result of decades of political strategies and investments. In fact, the big green shoot for the decarbonization of electricity goes through renewable energieswhich in 2025 surpassed coal for the first time in history: solar, wind, hydroelectric and others together produced more than a third of the world’s electricity. The good news is that almost all of the increase in electricity demand in 2024 was covered by clean sources. But there is one that shines with its own light: solar energy, which in 2024 surpassed wind power for the first time globally. Two states that are true powerhouses in solar generation are Spain with 22% and Chile with 25%. What is the main source of electricity for the countries of the world. Our World in Data What the map doesn’t say Our World in data map has small print: While it is true that renewables have grown, so have coal and gas. Thus, in 2024, developing Asian countries they consumed 80% of all the coal used for electricity in the world, when in 2000 it accounted for 40%. And there is a problem that the map leaves out: there are hundreds of millions of people who They do not have access to electricity. More specifically, 730 million in 2024. Of all of them, Africa concentrates 80%. These countries will have to build their network from scratch and the million-dollar question will be whether they will have the financing to do it with renewables or will they rely on the classic fossils, which are cheaper and more readily available. Another important fact that this world map omits is where does the fuel come from. That is, a country colored orange may depend on a neighbor with whom it has a strained relationship. Without going any further, in 2021 45% of imported gas by the EU came from Russia. When war broke out between Ukraine and Russia, that dependency made electricity more expensive overnight. Europe reacted, but at what price: now imported LNG it is more expensive. It is not the only one: Southeast Asia too suffers from energy dependence of the coal that matters. In Xataka | How much electricity each country on the map produces with renewable energy, displayed on a graph In Xataka | The most fascinating map you will see today: the entire electrical infrastructure of the planet, in an interactive infographic Cover | Our World in data

His new fun is 92 hours of work

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In Silicon Valley, the new generation of young entrepreneurs has left behind the parties in which rivers of alcohol flowed. The example they follow is that of the big names of Silicon Valley, such as Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk, Sam Altman or Brian Johnsonwho prioritize their business projects ahead of their own social life. The phenomenon is not isolated, and more and more young entrepreneurs share the same mentality: “Why go to a bar if I can be creating a company?” summarizes Emily Yuan, a young founder of Silicon Valley, in an interview for The Wall Street Journal. The data doesn’t lie: alcohol consumption among young people of generation Z is shrinking, and in the realm of Silicon Valley startup incubators, not drinking alcohol is increasingly the norm rather than the exception. The new habits of Silicon Valley. The daily routine of those who aspire to success in Silicon Valley is marked by working hours that go beyond the usual. According to what was published by The Wall Street JournalMarty Kausas, 28 years old and founder of the startup Pyloncommented in a LinkedIn post that he chained several weeks in a row of 92 hours of work and that he canceled his vacation because the stress of work prevented him from taking a few days to rest. However, in another postthe young entrepreneur ruled out the application of a “996 culture” for his employees in his company, in reference to the new exported trend from Asiain which we work from nine in the morning to nine in the afternoon and six days a week. What is fun? The main paradigm shift shown by this group of very young technological entrepreneurs is to define what is fun. In their case, and as both Marty Kausas and Emily Yuan detailed, what they consider fun is not spending time with friends having a few beers. “Our motivation for starting a company was fun and adventure. But what is fun for us is quite different from what is fun for others.” That concept, together with the anti-alcohol messages that some influential figures in Silicon Valley are giving, such as Sam Altman, who has fully expressed against alcohol consumptionor Mark Zuckerberg who, unlike their cowsonly drinks beer on rare special occasions and what is necessary to take the photo. In general, for the “technobros“In Silicon Valley, alcohol and parties no longer fit into the concept of fun. Sobriety in the tech era. The data suggests that there is a certain tendency for generation Z to reduce alcohol consumption all over the world. The data A 2022 study already pointed to the beginning of a drop in alcohol consumption of 4.5% annually since 2011, and it has been stabilizing since then. According to a report of 2024 from the Ministry of Health, the average consumption of each adult in Europe went from 12 liters per year in 2000 to 9.5 liters in 2019, and if we focus on wine, the only alcoholic beverage that Jeff Bezos drinks at special celebrationsthe data points because its average consumption per adult has fallen from 14.2 liters in 1990 to 10 liters in 2017. In 2025, these official data They were consolidated, confirming the tendency of younger people not to consume alcohol in their leisure time. In the “new gambling dens” they talk about financing This decrease in alcohol consumption has been associated with a cultural change in the social activities of these new entrepreneurs. Meetings between colleagues, once animated by toasts and drinks, are now meetings in saunas, motivational talks or gym routines in search of professional connections. Miranda Nover, co-founder of a fitness startup called Fort, said in an interview for Business Insider that the image of an ascetic existence is very important for young entrepreneurs. “You’re trying to convey: We do this six days a week in the office, we work until 9 p.m., we don’t drink, we don’t party, we don’t do any of that.” The entrepreneurs of the future are “healthy.” Unlike what happened with previous generations of millionaire founders, such as Henry Ford or Aristotle Onassis, in which alcohol flowed in abundance at all their parties. Now, alcohol consumption is no longer the central axis and a philosophy closer to the postulates of the millionaire has been adopted. Brian Johnsonto focus all energy on productivity. At the San Francisco AI events, alcohol is absent. According to Michelle Fang, 26 years old and organizer of events for these precocious founders of Silicon Valley, among the reasons why the entrepreneurial quarry parties are not only for a change in the concept of leisure and health: “many AI-related events do not serve alcohol, not least because it is out of fashion among the San Francisco public. Many founders are not old enough to drink.” A version of this article was published in October 2025 In Xataka | Alcohol is no longer cool: the “Sober Curious” movement is turning teetotalers into a trend Image | Unsplash (Nguyen Hiệp)

The United States presses the fear button with Claude Mythos and Fable 5. It is a blackout with a clear beneficiary: China

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The United States has turned off the tap most powerful, expensive and advanced AI model ever released by Anthropic, but it has done so in a disconcerting move and with small print. Yesterday, June 12, the White House ordered Anthropic to immediately shut down Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for anyone who is not a US citizen. The order arrived without giving too many explanations about its duration or technical justification, according to Anthropic’s public statement. This government intervention marks a before and after in the modern technology sector: they are not restricting the sale of chips (a common practice), but vetoing access to general access software as a matter of national cybersecurity. What’s happening with Fable 5 and Mythos 5. The US government has issued an export control directive suspending all access to Fable 5 and Mythos 5 for anyone who does not have US citizenship, whether inside or outside the United States. This includes non-U.S. Anthropic personnel. In order to adhere to the directive that came into effect immediately, the company led by Dario Amodei has had to deactivate both models for everyone. At the time of publishing this article, the notice appears when trying to access it. According to Anthropic, the government believes it has discovered a way to jailbreak the model. The company does not agree: after reviewing the demo of this technique to deceive the model, it concludes that the vulnerabilities found are minor, were already located and applicable to other models on the market and can be identified without the need for any circumvention technique. What you see right now if you enter Claude Why is it important. Because Mythos It is a specifically designed model for cybersecurity and its blackout affects both commercial users and those entities in charge of active defense management that are using it. With this measure, Washington turns its cutting-edge AI software into a national security asset. It is worth remembering that Anthropic is already on the blacklist of the Pentagon, so he considers it too dangerous for his Government to use. It is also now too dangerous for foreigners to use. Besides, as Anthropic points outsets a dangerous precedent: if the criterion for withdrawing a model is that someone finds a vulnerability, in practice none will be able to be launched because the company that releases software without a single failure raises its hand. That is to say, if the White House makes this exceptional movement the norm, it will be a shot in the foot to develop cutting-edge models: slower launches due to this “impossible” debugging process, personnel decimated by not being able to count on foreign specialists and if they cannot be marketed abroad there will be less income. Context. This order is the latest chapter in a soap opera of disagreements between Washington and Anthropic that dates back to the beginning of the year. In March, the Pentagon considered that the company was a “supply chain risk.” In its statement, Anthropic has verified that that level of capacity that the government identified as dangerous in Fable 5 is already available in other models on the market, including the GPT-5.5 by OpenAIearlier and more widespread than Mythos. However, that version of ChatGPT has not suffered any suspension. The asymmetry of treatment between OpenAI and Anthropic is evident. The geopolitical context is also important: the United States and China are immersed in a technological race unprecedented in recent decades and each power is playing its weapons, from tariffs to critical materials like rare earths to vetoes on chip sales, EDA software or the Export Control Reform Act 2018, where new technological categories fit, such as the most advanced AI models. Of course, for the Asian giant, every obstacle has worked as a kind of catalyst to advance faster and be increasingly independent of outside technologies. In detail. The order’s enforcement mechanism is supported by the “export control directive” managed by the Department of Commerce. In practice, it means that accessing Fable 5 or Mythos 5 as a foreign citizen (even if you are in the United States) is grounds for infringement. Anthropic tried to anticipate the problem with thousands of hours of testing with the US government, shared it with 40 organizations that manage critical infrastructure and then, with another 150 entities more precisely so that they could find and thus be able to correct vulnerabilities before a third party with malicious interests did so later. It hasn’t been enough. Because Mythos It is a specifically designed model for cybersecurity. Before its public deployment, Anthropic shared it with organizations that manage critical infrastructure precisely so that they could find and thus be able to correct vulnerabilities before a third party with malicious interests did so. Its blackout affects both commercial users and those entities in charge of active defense management. Yes, but. For now, Anthropic complies with the order, but makes it clear that it does not agree and that it is working to resolve it: “We believe this is a misunderstanding and we are working to restore access as soon as possible.” The company behind Claude says it supports the government in blocking really dangerous technologies, but that this process has to be transparent, fair and based on real technical facts. In short, he has not said the last word. On the other hand, the million-dollar question is whether the US government can apply the export control law, initially designed for chips, satellites or critical and specific software, on an AI model available on the internet and in general use. In fact, this regulatory movement puts on the table the importance of having a clear law that defines when, how and with what guarantees a government (in this case, the United States) can intervene. In Xataka | Spain does not want to wait for Mythos to wreak havoc on its companies: that is why it is going to ask for “early access” to Anthropic In Xataka | Claude Fable 5 is the most powerful public … Read more

The Japanese “johatsu”, when life is so unbearable that you erase your trace from the Earth

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When we Westerners observe the Japanese people, their habits and cultural solutions that clash with our way of life, we usually come up with an explanation: shame. If Christianity has been based on the management of guilt, the East draws on shame and honor as a motor of action. The literature has made us believe that the code bushido or “path of the hero” that marked the life of the samurai in the 11th to 14th centuries is found buried in many of the behaviors which, seen from thousands of kilometers and 700 years later, seem amazing to us. We have previously talked about karoshithat involuntary suicide of many of its workers due to work pressure out of a feeling of duty towards the company and society. We also know their tendency towards seclusion and detachment, as practiced by otaku or the hikikomoris. Today it is the turn of the johatsu (蒸発), or “evaporated people”, as the Government describes them. It is a solution that many of us have thought about applying at some point, and have even dared to explore certain works popular. Become a johatsu is to lose your identity. Your family, your job, your name. All. You become a ghost for the State, all your trace is erased and you renounce your previous life to embrace a new and marginal one as you can no longer endure the pressure that presses you. According to estimates, 100,000 Japanese a year have become johatsu in the last 40 years. How to collect a report from the Japanese policethe “faded” became a social problem starting in the 70s that had to be regulated. Some cases had already been known since after the Second World War, and following a famous event in the 60s that found a film adaptation in 1967 and a ballad performed by Ken Yabukithe term, the idea, became popular. And what pressure leads these people to leave everything? According to the statistics and testimonies collected, a good part of them succumb to work overwhelm or the shame of having been fired, something that they are unable to communicate to their loved ones. Also in many cases they are members of families who have contracted big debtseither due to gambling addiction or ruinous businesses. There are people who mysteriously, and without any justification, decide to sacrifice themselves socially. An important part of the disappearances, approximately one in five cases, has to do with gender violence: since the State was not committed (nor does he commit) to fight against these abuses (until 2001 the law dictated that the most that could be done was ask husbands to be more respectful with their wives) many women began to leave their families to live in poverty. Because that is the new life that many of its protagonists must face. The neighborhood of Kamagasaki Osaka and San’ya of the outskirts of Japan no longer appear on maps. In fact, their nomenclaturesand, if you ask for their address, many Japanese pretend to be Swedes. It’s not that they don’t know what you’re talking about, but it is an unpleasant reality that is better not to face. Men and women who disappear because of the shame they carry on their shoulders. Families who, in turn, and when they suspect that the member who has disappeared has done so of his own free will, do not report it to the authorities because they feel the same fear of being criticized by society. This is confirmed when it is verified that according to official Government statistics, only 2,000 people disappear a year without leaving a trace or without returning after a few months of his journey. According to the Japan Missing Persons Search Support Association, these figures are strongly under-representative of reality, closer to those 100,000 disappearances annuals that we pointed out at the beginning. Those close to a johatsu They do not usually warn the authorities. But, if they have sufficient funds and a genuine interest in regaining contact with the person, they do request the services of companies or private detectives. Since Japanese laws strongly guarantee the privacy of citizens (they require keeping someone’s whereabouts secret even in front of their families unless criminal complaint), it is easier to go to these agents. In practice, many spouses, children, siblings or parents let it be. They do not want to hear from the person who has left their life again. So, to the particularity of that administrative silence that characterizes Japan, is added that structure that protects the “ghosts“. The existence of these neighborhoods allows them to find a way to survive. “There, the Johatsu They live in tiny hotel rooms, often without Internet or private bathrooms,” as Léna Mauger, journalist and writer for a book focused on the lives of these people. Back in the years of the Japanese miracle, between the 60s and 80s, San’ya was the home of thousands of day laborers in industrial and mechanical jobs. The blue-collar workers who were eclipsed in terms of State recognition by their white-collar compatriots. They were informal, masculinized jobs, without great pay but that in most cases allowed these citizens to survive and sometimes, if the person affected was skilled, save a little money with which to return to society. As masculinized communities that they were, alcoholism, gambling and homelessness began to proliferate. Many never managed to overcome their addictions and harmful behaviors. The mafias began to take sides, owing their people. Today some NGOs enter the district daily to distribute food. Many residents live so precariously that they were considered dead in life. The “ghost” life that is about to fade away As technology advances, the jobs that support its population become scarcer. Added to this are two other problems: for tax purposes, and so that the debts incurred do not become a burden, since 2015 the country has been starting to track more harshly to its members. As real estate pressure increases, less well-regarded neighborhoods begin to gentrify. It is possible … Read more

invest a fortune and leave NVIDIA with almost no margin

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There is little doubt that the artificial intelligence race today has two major protagonists: the United States and China. They are not the only countries that are moving forward, but they are the two that are setting the pace, each with their own tools and with a very different idea of ​​how to sustain progress. As AI begins to become economic infrastructure, the question changes. It’s no longer just a question of who has the best models, but of who can build the material base to power them, deploy them, and take them everywhere. First idea. Large-scale state financing. According to BloombergChina is preparing a plan to allocate around 2 trillion yuan, about $295 billion, over the next five years to build AI data centers across the country. The information points to a deployment promoted by Beijing to strengthen its national artificial intelligence sector. We are not yet talking about a closed plan: the media points out that the project is still in an early phase of discussion and that the details may change. A network, not just more data centers. The key to the plan would not only be in building new facilities, but in connecting them under a national architecture. Bloomberg talks about a network of interconnected computing hubs that would allow resources currently dispersed between regions to be pooled and give companies and organizations broader access to high-performance capacity. The general objective would be for these facilities, now fragmented, to function as a more cohesive system by 2028. The State as architect. At the center of the design are organizations such as the National Development and Reform Commission, one of China’s great economic planning arms. On the other hand, state companies such as China Mobile and China Telecom would assume a good part of the operation of these centers and the connectivity between them. It is an important detail because it helps understand Beijing’s approach: it seeks to position itself as a coordinator, according to the information released by the American media. Second idea. The other big leg of the plan is who would supply the technology. Bloomberg notes that the idea is to turn to local suppliers, including Huawei, for at least 80% of the hardware and software, including AI chips. That threshold does not amount to an explicit ban on NVIDIA or AMD, but it would leave them with very little room to participate in the rollout. It is precisely there where investment also becomes a tool to reduce foreign technological dependence. It is not an isolated movement. Direction fits with steps that Beijing had already been giving to reduce dependence on foreign chips in private and public infrastructure. Without going any further, the market share of the firm led by Jensen Huang has plummeted in recent months, and there is little reason to think that he might believe again anytime soon. The background signal. It should be noted that the plan advanced by Bloomberg is not officially confirmed, but it shows where Beijing wants to move if it finally goes ahead. China would not only be preparing a huge investment in data centers: it would be trying to make this deployment work as a national network, largely powered by local technology. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | We already know how much water Amazon consumes in its data centers. We have good and bad news

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