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make Grok relevant

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

The operation, which SpaceX already announced two months ago, looked like a win-win of book. Now it seems even more so, because SpaceX has had an absolutely extraordinary debut on the stock market, and because Cursor has become in its own right one of the reference AI agents for programmers. It is the opportunity for SpaceX and its xAI division to sneak into the company, but they need one more element to win that race. SpaceX buys Cursor. Or rather Anysphere, the company behind the popular AI agent for programming Cursor. SpaceX just announced itwhich completes the purchase for the previously agreed figure, $60 billion in shares, and as expected everything depended on how successful the recent IPO of Elon Musk’s company was. This exit has been absolutely triumphant, and that has given him complete room for maneuver to complete the acquisition. Cursor needed computing power. Although this AI agent had become one of the favorites of programmers, the company did not have direct access to computing capacityand as was the case with OpenAI or Anthropic, it had to “rent” the infrastructure from companies like xAI. By being an integral part of SpaceX, it automatically stops having that problem, and that gives it a lot – a lot – room for maneuver to be able to satisfy demand and, above all, to polish the native models that are supported in Cursor, like Composer 2.5. Rapid growth. Cursor’s business has grown furiously since the company was founded in 2022. According to Reutersits annualized revenue is currently $2.6 billion, a figure that makes it clear that the size of the startup is notable. xAI’s partners are piling up. The only problem with the operation is that xAI is little by little becoming another hyperscaler, like Amazon, Microsoft or Google already are. Elon Musk’s company has two of the most important clusters in the world, Colossus and Colossus 2but since Musk himself did not take advantage of this computing capacity, he began to offer it to other companies. Anthropic and Google have reached agreements with xAI precisely to be able to use its computing power, and it remains to be seen if that can be problematic for Cursor. What are you doing, Grok? This is undoubtedly a wise move for SpaceX and especially for its xAI division, which has not yet managed to catch on in the market. The Grok AI model has a performance that is currently not only far from the frontier models from Anthropic, OpenAI or Google, but even from Chinese models such as DeepSeek v4 or Kimi 2.6. According to the Artificial Analysis index in programming tasks, Grok 4.3 is very far from the best models: it has 41 points compared to Claude Fable 5’s 62. Source: Artificial Intelligence. A golden opportunity. Cursor had already developed its own model with the aforementioned Composer 2.5, a version derived from Kimi 2.5. Now this AI agent has a unique opportunity to put all the focus on Grok if this model manages to advance as expected, especially in the field of programming that is managing to generate income for AI companies. Tell Anthropic. In Xataka | Elon Musk knows that TSMC is overwhelmed: Terafab is his idea to completely change the global chip industry

77 are missing their heads

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

It is not strange that when archaeologists begin to excavate a site, they take some other surprise. What is exceptional (fortunately) is that these surprises are like the one that Dr. Martin Furholt and his team they have taken in Vráble, western Slovakia. In 2012, researchers began exploring an inhabited Neolithic settlement there. between 5250 and 4950 BC which has turned out to hide a macabre ‘treasure’: a grave with dozens and dozens of corpses whose heads were torn off. The big question is… Why? In a place in Nitra… Vráble is a small town in Slovakia. Just over 8,000 inhabitants, a supported economy in the industrial sector and about 70 minutes by car from the capital, Bratislava. Nothing particularly noteworthy. For a few years, however, this discreet village in the Nitra region has been a headache for archaeologists who are in charge of investigating the first agricultural communities in central Europe. The reason: not far from Vráble they have found a Neolithic site with dozens of buildings and a ditch in which they don’t stop appearing decapitated skeletons. One word: Linearbandkeramik. When they began to investigate the Vráble site, around 2012archaeologists from the University of Kiel and the Slovak Academy in Nitra rubbed their hands. And it is logical. It is believed that the area was populated between 5250 and 4950 BC, an extensive period during which They built more than 300 homes spread throughout three neighborhoods and in which 80 buildings were inhabited simultaneously. Due to its characteristics and age, experts believe that it is one of the most important archaeological sites in the region. Linearbandkeramik (also known as ‘linear ceramic culture’ or LBK), label that identifies the agricultural settlements that inhabited central Europe between 5400 and 4900 BC Hence they were not surprised when in 2017 they unearthed four skeletons headless hidden in a wheat field. The problem is that in 2022 they discovered that those corpses were the first on a long (very long) list. What happened that year? That Dr. Martin Furholt, from the University of Kiel, and the rest of his colleagues verified that in the perimeter strip surrounding the Vrábel site there were not just a handful of skeletons. In the summer of 2022 they recovered the remains of 34 peoplestacked on top of each other. And as they advanced in their excavations, they found more and more corpses: dozens and dozens of ancient bodies buried “in various positions and in no discernible order,” clarify. The most surprising thing, however, was another detail: practically all of them were missing their heads. 78 bodies, one head. To be more precise, Dr. Furholt and his colleagues discovered the remains of 78 bodies. And all but one had been decapitated. The only exception was the corpse of a child. As the researchers analyzed the bones they also came to two conclusions: first, that the skeletons belong to people who were buried shortly after they died; second, that the vertebrae show cut marks, clues that archaeologists are investigating in search of answers. What the hell happened here? That is the question that archaeologists are now asking. Especially since there is no trace of the skulls. What the hell happened in the Vráble settlement? Do those 77 decapitated corpses tell us about an unknown Neolithic massacre? The most curious thing is that, in principle, the hypotheses used at the University of Kiel point in another direction. “The findings show intentional manipulation of the bodies,” explains Katharina Fuchsanthropologist, who confirms that “the analyzes suggest that violent ‘decapitations’ were not carried out, but skillful extractions.” With perspective. “We have evidence that burials were part of social practices that shaped local and regional relations and are only limited indications of conflict and crisis,” Furholt adds.. The expert also recalls that the Vráble beheadings occurred thousands of years ago, in “contexts of meaning totally different from those of modern societies”, which is why he warns of the risk of analyzing it from a current perspective. “The deposits of bodies or fragments could have been part of more complex, significant and recurring practices,” agrees Nils-Müller-Scheeßel, another of the researchers participating in the excavation. Beyond Slovakia. The truth, as remember Scienceis that the Vráble site is not the only one from the LBK period with bone remains that intrigue archaeologists. In the 80s they discovered a tomb from 5000 BC in southern Germany that housed the skeletons of 34 peopleespecially children. In that case, what stood out was not the absence of skulls, but what they showed: fractures that reveal that many of them died from blows. In Kilianstädten, Germany, a pit with 26 victims has also been discovered, many of them with shattered skulls and broken legs. The first… In everything? The question that hovers over these deposits and the Vráble burial site is the same: What happened to the first farmers of Central Europe? Why did linear ceramic culture settlements that had prospered for long periods disappear? These are relevant questions because, as remember Christian Meyer to Science“the LBK were the first farmers, the first great pan-European culture and the first time also that we find these repeated findings of violence.” And now what? For now, Dr. Furholt and his colleagues have collected their first conclusions in a paper which have just been published in ‘Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society’. Now his goal is to continue revealing the mystery. For example, one of the theories the team has on the table is that the missing skulls were removed to be stored separately, a phenomenon documented in other cases but which has not yet been confirmed in Vráble. “Similar interventions involving corpses have been documented in numerous prehistoric societies, also in the LBK period. However, the details of these practices differ. Furthermore, the depositing of corpses or parts in ditches is not an isolated phenomenon,” remember the University of Kiel. “An exceptional site”. At the moment, researchers are classifying the bones recovered in Vráble in search of clues about the age of … Read more

what has he achieved and at what price

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp) is the semiconductor manufacturer most important in China. It currently has a slightly greater than 5%which puts it close to Samsung, which has a share of 7.2%and in third overall position ahead of Intel, GlobalFoundries or UMC. In September 2023, this company was placed in the spotlight by making official that it had been able to make a 7nm chipthe Kirin 9000S SoC for Huawei, using ASML’s deep ultraviolet (UVP) lithography equipment. This milestone, as could be expected, put SMIC in the crosshairs of the US Government. And it did so because the US Administration did not expect that a Chinese integrated circuit manufacturer would be able to produce advanced chips without having access to manufacturing machines. extreme ultraviolet photolithography (VVE) of ASML. US and Netherlands sanctions They prevent this Dutch company from delivering its most sophisticated equipment to its Chinese clients, so SMIC has been forced to use ingenuity to produce its semiconductors. Its 7nm integrated circuits are the result of a technique well known to chip manufacturers: multiple patterning. Its strategy consists, broadly speaking, of transferring the pattern to the wafer in several passes with the purpose of increasing the resolution of the lithographic process. It has an upward impact on the cost of chips and a downward impact on production capacity, but it works. In fact, SMIC already has China’s most advanced integration technology, the N+3 node, ready and is using it to manufacture the SoC HiSilicon Kirin 9030 for Huawei. SMIC has reached the logical density of TSMC’s N6 node SMIC has gone further than we could have anticipated in 2023, when it began manufacturing the Kirin 9000S SoC. SemiAnalysis has published the first public report prepared by its new reverse engineering laboratory STEEL, based in Oregon (USA), after having dismantled the HiSilicon Kirin 9030 SoC integrated into the smartphone Mate 80 Pro from Huawei. Their conclusions are very interesting because they clearly reflect how far the SMIC N+3 node has come, and also what its limitations are. This Chinese company has achieved something that seemed unlikely just three years ago: reaching the logical density of TSMC’s N6 node without access to EUV lithography. He has achieved this thanks to the combination of a multiple patterning Extremely aggressive UVP and design and technology optimization taken to the limit. That combination allows N+3 technology to achieve a transistor density of 113.4 MTr/mm², slightly above the 107.7 MTr/mm² of TSMC’s N6 node, which does use UVE lithography. It’s a genuine engineering achievement achieved with tools from a previous generation. N+3 technology has reached a transistor density of 113.4 MTr/mm², slightly above the 107.7 MTr/mm² of TSMC’s N6 node The cross-section images (they are microscopic cuts of the chip that allow its internal structures to be measured) reveal how far SMIC has come in squeezing UVP lithography. The N+3 node’s transistors have taller, narrower ends than those in TSMC’s N6 node: an aspect ratio of 9.5:1 versus 7.8:1, with sharper and less rounded top edges. And, in addition, the logic cells are also 5% lower. The ends (endsin English) are the vertical, ultra-thin sheets of silicon that constitute the body of the transistor in FinFET designs. To achieve this, SMIC has applied three optimization techniques: it has eliminated the excess ends where they are not necessary, it has directly connected the contacts on the active gate, and, finally, it has cut the diffusions in a surgical way. Combined with the quadruple patterning UVP, these techniques allow SMIC get closer to what achieve UVE lithography with fewer steps and a greater margin of process, but through a much more laborious path. Export controls have not stopped China; They have changed the problem you have to solve. SMIC has reached the density of the N6 node without UVE lithography, but at higher cost, lower process maturity and lower energy efficiency. And Huawei, for its part, has managed to compensate with architecture, advanced packaging and optimizations for the inability to access cutting-edge lithographic nodes. As a consequence of everything we have just seen, knowledge is being distributed. And the Chinese Government is forcing SMIC to license its N+2 and N+3 processes to Hua Hong Semiconductor, which transforms an advantage concentrated in a single manufacturer into an asset of the semiconductor ecosystem. Sanctions designed to isolate SMIC have become less effective as knowledge about manufacturing processes has spread to other chipmakers and semiconductor designers. Image | SMIC More information | SemiAnalysis In Xataka | TSMC is on the ropes and its biggest problem is not competition: it is water

After marathons and combats, humanoid robots already have their next challenge: climbing Everest

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

we have seen robots doing kickboxing, skiing, dancing with astonishing precision and have even participated in their own robotic olympics. The new feat starring a humanoid robot has been to become a mountaineer. He has already climbed to the top of the Chimborazo volcano in Chile, 6,263 meters high, and already has his next goal: Everest. The climbing robot. The robot in question is a Unitree G1 and is part of the ‘Pemba’ initiativeled by a French engineer named Pablo Berlanga. The robot reached the top of the Chimborazo volcano on June 5 and already has its next climbs scheduled; In June he will climb Mauna Kea in Hawaii and in October he will summit Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Yes, but. Equipped with special boots and a jacket that protects it from extreme conditions, the Unitree G1 managed to complete a journey of about 16 hours and reach the summit at more than 6,200 meters of altitude. However, as they say in Futurismhe didn’t do it all by himself. The robot is not capable of climbing slopes of more than 30% inclination, so it had to be transported on those sections. A noble goal. Most shows with robots are just that, shows. However, in this case there is a reason beyond that. This engineer says that the idea of taking a humanoid robot to the highest mountains on the planet came from his experience in conservation projects in remote jungles such as the Amazon or the Congo. In these natural parks, being able to record and broadcast live is not only important to investigate and protect the environment, it also represents an important source of income. A camera with legs. Berlanga built cameras that connected to Starlink and were capable of live streaming. The problem is that since they are fixed, their field of vision is limited and the fauna is constantly moving, so I had to place many cameras. From here the idea of ”putting legs on them” was born. Obviously, the robot does not need to be able to climb Everest to do this work, but it is the way to publicize this initiative and obtain support to make it a reality. He has created a “tokenization” project in order to finance the project. Image | Pablo Berlanga in X, edited In Xataka | Soon we will all have humanoid robots at home, or at least that is what these companies want

MediaMarkt has on its Day without VAT one of the best offers that the Google Pixel 10 Pro has received. And it comes with a gift

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

MediaMarkt usually offers very varied offers that not only focus on price reductions, but also on additions through gifts. Now we have the best example in the Google Pixel 10 Pro that, for 742.97 eurosincludes a totally free 4K Google TV Streamer. And be very careful because it is a device valued in the store for 98.34 euros. Of course, the offer will only be available today at MediaMarkt, during its VAT-Free Day. Google Pixel 10 Pro (128 GB) + Google TV Streamer 4K The price could vary. We earn commission from these links A Google Pixel that comes with a gift He Google Pixel 10 Pro is, together with the Google Pixel 10 Pro XLthe best mobile within the brand. It is perfect for those people looking for compact mobile phones, since it has a screen that has a diagonal of 6.3 inches. In addition, this screen shines because of how good it looks both indoors and outdoors and its LTPO panel offers very good fluidity at all times. The Google Tensor G5 may not be the best processor in Android phones, but it is sufficient for regular use. In addition, this mobile comes with 16GB RAM and will receive software updates for many years (six years specifically). Now, one of the most notable points of the Google Pixel 10 Pro is the photographic section, especially because it has a 5x telephoto which allows you to capture photographs taken at distant distances with a very good level of detail. In addition, the camera software is very well polished, something that we noticed especially with the main sensor that is capable of achieving very good results. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: iPhone 14 offer today ✅ THE BEST ANDl pack: Not only does it come with the mobile, which in itself has a good price, but it also includes a Google TV Streamer 4K completely free. Your photographic sectionespecially in relation to the 5x telephoto. ❌ THE WORST Storage: We are talking about an offer that has fallen in the 128 GB configuration, a very small figure if we usually save photos and videos locally. Fast charging is only 30Wa very small figure if we take into account that the competition offers much higher figures in cheaper mobile phones. 💡 BUY IT IF… You want a good phone to take photos and videos, as long as you have a cloud service to save them. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… You will save the photos and videos locally. In that case, at least it is essential that we have 256 GB. You may also be interested Pixelsnap Case for Google Pixel 10 & Pixel 10 Pro – Durable Protection – Stylish Protection – Obsidian (Created by Google) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google Pixel Buds Pro 2 – Wireless Earbuds with Active Noise Cancellation – Bluetooth Headphones – Obsidian 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 | Alejandro AlcoleaGoogle In Xataka | The best mobile phones, we have tested them and here are their analyzes In Xataka | Best wireless headphones. Which one to buy and 21 models from 15 euros to 470 euros

Spain will dedicate 719 million to build an “AI Gigafactory” between Madrid and Tarragona. It will have little giga

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

While the world debate about control of models like Claude Fable 5the Government of Spain has moved to try to gain positions in the race for technological sovereignty. The Council of Ministers has authorized a public investment of 719 million euros with one objective: to create an “Artificial Intelligence Gigafactory”. The investment is notable for a country like Spain, but it is a drop in an ocean absolutely dominated by large US technology companies. The political signal here is strong. The European Commission wants to mobilize 20,000 million euros to develop AI projects. That money is reserved for gigafactories, and presents these data centers as a bet so that Europe does not depend only on external actors. Here Spain not late at allbecause it already has “AI Factories” linked to the EuroHPC consortium, and the MareNostrum 5 The BSC is precisely one of those reference centers. The Spanish project “will compete with a multi-site candidacy that includes the locations of Móra la Nova, in Tarragona, and San Fernando de Henares (Madrid), to house the gigafactory,” explains the official announcement. Many unknowns. The announcement mixes things like public investment with the promise of strategic infrastructure. The problem is that it is one thing to “approve” the plan and another to build those data centers. We still need to know the final composition of the consortium that will provide the funds, the deadlines, and above all the fine print that clarifies who will have access to these data centers and who will manage them. The description of its scope is also ambiguous. There is talk of a service to the “Spanish AI ecosystem”, but it is not clear if this infrastructure will be available to end users or will be exclusive to public organizations and large companies. Perspective puts everything in its place (for the worse). In the United States, private investment in data centers is skyrocketing. Only that belonging to venture capital companies reached 45.7 billion dollars in 2025. But as we know, the capex of large technology companies, dedicated almost entirely to AI, will reach 2026. the 673 billion dollars. In China the ambition is also colossal, and the country is already preparing an investment of about 295 billion dollars in the next five years to create data centers throughout the country. China-Spain, compared. There are several ways to compare this data, and China is a good way to size this news: China is 19 times larger than Spain in surface area In addition, it is about 29 times larger in population China will invest more than 400 times Spain’s nominal investment, although it is true that the Chinese plan is five-year. In China, about 195 euros per person are invested, while in Spain about 15 euros per inhabitant are invested. China invests about 14 times more for each citizen. Chinese investment (again, five years) represents 1.5% of its GDP (0.3% per year). In Spain the figure would be close to 0.05% of GDP. Chinese investment could be considered six times higher in terms of GDP. Who will have access. To understand who will have access to this gigafactory, the best mirror to look at is MareNostrum 5, which is not “public” in the sense of free use by any citizen. This, like other centers in the EuroHPC consortium, is supposed to be available to European researchers, industry, SMEs and startups. All of them can theoretically take advantage of this infrastructure with access requests to resources. This is not like someone who connects to chatgpt.com and starts working: whoever wants to use those resources must justify it and go through a bureaucratic process. The data center is from Spain, its chips are not. Although the Government’s message is that of avoid dependency of foreign technology, the reality is obvious: those data centers may be in Tarragona and Madrid, but the chips with which the data will be processed They will be from the American company Nvidia and will be manufactured by the Taiwanese company TSMC. Europe and Spain are making efforts to try to mitigate this dependence, yes, but the reality is overwhelming: We continue to depend on these and many other companiesand it is not likely that we will stop doing so in the short or medium term. Promises and realities. The approval of the project is undoubtedly good news, but once again this is at the moment more of a promise to act than an immediate initiative. There are no estimated dates or clear details about the execution of the project, and once again in both Europe and Spain It seems to be more important to say things than to do them.. Let’s hope that this investment soon crystallizes into a real project: the intention and purpose are good. Now it remains for them to come true. In Xataka | I have decided to become independent from all US technology and embrace European technology. This is how I’m getting it

Ninja Theory closure rumors and profound changes

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

In the last Xbox Games ShowcaseNinja Theory announced ‘Senua’, the third installment of ‘Hellblade’. Eight days later, according to Bloombergthe company is negotiating its closure. They are not the only ones: at least three studios under the Xbox Game Studios umbrella would be negotiating with Microsoft to avoid closure. It is just the tip of the iceberg of an environment with traces of apocalypse at Xbox: the same Monday that the news came out, the head of Xbox Game Studios, Craig Duncan, and the chief of staff, Louise O’Connor, left the company. They are hacks in the structure of the company whose origins and consequences go back a long way. Who closes? The three studios that have been leaked so far are Compulsion Games, which released ‘South of Midnight’ in April 2025, winning a Peabody; Double Fine, founded by LucasArts veteran Tim Schafer in 2000, has recently focused on small games like ‘Keeper’ and ‘Kiln’ in the last year, following a career that includes ‘Psychonauts’, ‘Brütal Legend’ and ‘Broken Age’. Ninja Theory is the studio behind the entire ‘Hellblade’ saga, and before that, high-quality blockbusters like ‘Heavenly Sword’. As other media have also confirmed, like VGCCompulsion and Double Fine are in negotiations to buy themselves and become independent (just as Toys for Bob did in 2023, after which they announced the return of Spyro). Ninja Theory has a more complicated scenario: The studio is being closed directly by Xbox, and its only alternative would be to find an external buyer to acquire it. And in any case, independence is not an easy way out: even if the studios manage to buy themselves, they will lose many employees in the process. Who are these people. Regarding departures from the management team, Craig Duncan arrived at Xbox in 2011 and directed Rare for more than 13 years, a period in which ‘Sea of Thieves’ was released and the Kinect peripheral was developed. He assumed leadership of Xbox Game Studios in October 2024, when under that umbrella there were studios such as Halo Studios, The Coalition, Playground Games, Obsidian, Ninja Theory, Compulsion Games, Double Fine and a dozen more. His duties will be temporarily assumed by Matt Booty. Louise O’Connor also came to Xbox through Rare, where she joined in 1999 as an animator. This is her second discharge: she obtained the position of chief of staff in September 2025, shortly after leaving Rare following the cancellation of ‘Everwild’. These two simultaneous departures, in the positions that mediate between the CEO and the studios, point to internal turbulence. “This cannot continue.” Less than a week ago, new Xbox CEO Asha Sharma and Matt Booty published a internal memo that was also made public in which they described the situation in the company with considerable crudeness. The fiscal year that ends June 30 will leave Xbox with a profit margin of around 3%. The division spent $20 billion on studio investments over the past five years (not counting, of course, the purchase of Activision Blizzard for 69,000 million) while its annual income fell almost 500 million in the same period. Not everything is bad management, but a situation, in general, very complicated for the sector: the company currently pays four times more for hardware components than last fall (as they all do), and that cost is expected to rise even more heading into Christmas 2027. The memo called the studio system “overextended” and admitted that Xbox had tried to “balance too many different strategies” without funding its studios enough to be competitive. “This cannot continue,” they even said. What is coming. It is expected that Xbox will announce things after the close of the fiscal year, on June 30 (the same day of the memo, in a coincidence that is difficult to see as coincidental, Bloomberg advanced that the company is going to suffer massive layoffs). Sharma said that the new Xbox will prioritize “the biggest franchises”, that is, ‘Halo’, ‘Gears of War’, ‘Fable’ or ‘The Elder Scrolls’. It is possible to think that studies with lower IPs or that minimally deviate from the mainstream They are left out of the plans. What undoubtedly increases the feeling of unleashed chaos and profound earthquakes within the company is the timing: This all takes place right after the Summer Game Fest, when Xbox presented a showcase on June 7 with very precise and careful plans, which included Ninja Theory’s own ‘Senua’, the return of ‘Fable’, the long-awaited new ‘Gears of War’… A week later, one of the studios that starred in that showcase He is negotiating his survival. In Xataka | Xbox lowers Game Pass and backs down with Call of Duty: the bet of “Everything on subscriptions” has not turned out as Microsoft expected

We sensed that the peace agreement had been expensive for the US. What we did not imagine is the crazy amount that is going to be paid to Iran

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

Exactly 10 years ago, the image of an airplane downloading 400 million of dollars in cash in Iran became one of the most controversial symbols of Barack Obama’s foreign policy. In fact, Trump spent years using that episode as proof that Washington had “paid” for peace. Ten years later, history repeats itself… but with many more zeros. The peace bill. The truth is that it was sensed from the first moment that the cease-fire between the United States and Iran was not exactly going to come free for Washington. What no one imagined was the magnitude of the price: up to 300,000 million of dollars in the form of a reconstruction and investment fund to relaunch the Iranian economy. The figure is so enormous that it completely transforms the narrative of the war. What began as a campaign of maximum pressure and bombings on nuclear facilities has ended up mutating into something much more uncomfortable for the White House: an agreement where the supposedly punished person can leave with a historic financial injection if it complies. Kharg Island From punishing to financing. The paradox could not be more brutal for Donald Trump. For years he built a good part of his speech attacking the Barack Obama nuclear pactdenouncing that he had filled Tehran with “pallets of money.” Now his administration is promoting something that potentially multiplies that concession on another scale. The argument is that the money will not come directly from the US Government, but from Western and Asian companies that would enter Iran if sanctions are lifted. But the geopolitical effect is the same: Iran’s economic survival becomes guaranteed by a deal that Washington desperately needed to close. Hormuz, the key. It we were counting yesterday. The real trigger for the turn was not nuclear, but economic. When Iran blocked the Strait of Hormuz, it left more than a fifth of the world’s oil and gas trade up in the air. The market held out for a few days, but the pressure began to be unbearable. More than 500 ships were trapped, maritime traffic plummeted and the world’s largest shipping companies began to warn that reopening the route would not be immediate. Everything changed there. The war ceased to be a regional issue and became a direct threat to the global economy and, above all, to the pockets of the American consumer. Washington chose oil. That’s where the interests of Washington and Israel diverged. While Benjamin Netanyahu wanted keep pressing To further weaken the Iranian regime and even force a change in regional balance, Trump saw the domestic political cost of prolonging the energy crisis. With elections approaching and the price of oil as a threat, the priority stopped being to subdue Iran and became reopening Hormuz as soon as possible. In practice, this meant accepting a much more limited agreementfocused on navigation, ceasefire and future nuclear negotiations. Israel doesn’t see it. I was counting this morning the wall street journal that in Jerusalem the reading is almost opposite. The fear is not just that Iran will receive billions, but that it will do so without immediately handing over all of its enriched uranium or completely giving up rebuilding its nuclear program. For many Israeli strategists, this means that Tehran gains oxygentime and resources to rearm. Furthermore, they see profound damage to American credibility: after months of military and economic pressure, the end result looks more like a purchased pause than a strategic victory. A peace that strengthens some. The agreement, therefore, leaves an uncomfortable and quite surreal image: the United States bombed, pressured and isolated Iran to end up offering the conditions for its reconstruction. The Iranian regime comes out beaten, yes, but alive, with the Strait as a negotiating weapon and with the possibility of receiving an avalanche of foreign investment. Of course, Trump could possibly sell it as stability and containment nuclear. But seen from the outside, the feeling is very different: peace has not only cost Washington dearly, but it may end up financing the very actor it tried to corner and overthrow. Image | US Navy, Google Earth In Xataka | We have been fearing the Apocalypse for 100 days due to the closure of Hormuz. The blow is going to be given to us by a heat wave in China In Xataka | Ukraine turned drones into hunters. A helicopter shot down in Hormuz has transformed them into a Spielberg film

The EU puts an end to some of the most desperate airline practices. The fact that the carry-on suitcase is free is really not one of them.

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

Thirteen years after the European Commission opened the reform process, the European Parliament and the EU Council They have closed a political agreement to give a twist to the issue of the rights that passengers have when getting on a plane. The current rule dated back to 2004. At that time, Ryanair transported about 23 million travelers a year. Today it moves more than 180 million. The world has changed a lot since then, and regulation will have to too. We tell you all the details. Why has it taken so long? The European Commission launched the reform proposal in 2013. The European Parliament positioned itself relatively earlybut the Council, where the national governments are, blocked the file for almost a decade. There were several discrepancies, including delay thresholds for compensation, which some states wanted to raise; the issue of regulatory burden on the plane, and more. What has ended up unblocking the process has been in part the calendar. And in July the presidency of the EU Council changes hands to Ireland, which is precisely the headquarters of Ryanair. And so, according to sources cited by El Mundowould have complicated the negotiations even more. What changes for the passenger. The agreement introduce several measures Important for those who buy a plane ticket in Europe: Carry-on suitcase in the base rate. Airlines must show from the first moment of purchase a price that includes the transportation of a trolley-type cabin suitcase (up to 7 kg and maximum dimensions of 100 cm in total). This measure is the one that most affects the low-cost business model, which For years they have started from the lowest price and then add extras. Now the starting point will include the luggage. And those who do not want to take it can opt for a reduced rate. Always free personal item. The right to board the plane with a small piece of luggage (a backpack or bag of up to 40x30x15 cm that fits under the front seat) will be guaranteed at no additional cost, regardless of the contracted rate. Families and people with reduced mobility, together without paying more. Airlines will not be able to charge for ensuring that minors under 14 years of age travel seated with an adult companion. The same applies to people with disabilities or reduced mobility and pregnant women. End of some lower rates. Charges for correcting spelling errors in the name on the ticket or for printing the boarding pass disappear if the passenger has already checked-in. Delay compensation, unchanged. This has been the other major front of the negotiation. The threshold of three hours of delay to be entitled to compensation remains intact. The amounts too, paying 250 euros for flights of up to 1,500 km, 400 euros for journeys between 1,500 and 3,500 km, and 600 euros for the rest. What’s wrong with the suitcase?. Regulation around cabin baggage has been a constant tug-of-war for years. The European Parliament came to the negotiations asking for carry-on luggage to be included in the ticket free of charge and universally. It has not completely succeeded, since airlines will be able to continue charging for this service, but they must reflect its cost and make it visible from the beginning of the purchase process. Javier Gándara, spokesperson for the Association of Airlines (ALA), which brings together companies such as Iberia, Vueling, Ryanair and easyJet, account to El Mundo that the standard “does not respond to current needs and goes against consumer philosophy in recent years.” How airlines read it. The ALA employers’ association celebrates that Europe has recognized that “it is perfectly legal to offer a cheaper fare to those passengers who only carry a carry-on bag”, something that indirectly validates this business model against the sanctions imposed by the Government in Spain. But they criticize that forcing the cost of the suitcase to be included from the first price shown “distorts the principle of consumer choice” and can lead to many travelers “ending up paying for a service that they do not need.” For companies like Ryanair, services not included in the ticket generate more than 4,000 million euros annual in revenue, so it seems more or less inevitable that the airline will end up raising the cost of its base fare. And Spain?. The country has voted against the agreement in the Council, along with Latvia. Finland and Austria abstained. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs, led by Pablo Bustinduy, continues to maintain that the fact that hand luggage is free is a right already recognized by the Spanish courts and by a ruling from the Court of Justice of the EU, and that this criterion was what it was based on. that fine of 179 million euros imposed in 2024 on five low-cost airlines. Brussels, however, opened infringement proceedings against Spain for these sanctions. The new agreement does not resolve that conflict. And it is that the Ministry considers it insufficient because it has not really managed to force the airlines to include the cabin bag in their lowest fare, and the airlines now have a guarantee to strengthen their position. What remains pending. The political agreement must be formally ratified by the plenary session of the European Parliament, whose vote is scheduled for July. Once adopted and published in the Official Journal of the EU, the new rights will come into force twelve months later, expected in 2027. The Commission has also committed to assessing in three years whether the scope of the regulation can be extended to third country operators flying to the EU. Cover image | Suhyeon Choi In Xataka | The fastest civil aircraft since Concorde has just set its first record. Speed is only part of the story

what it is and how it wants to revolutionize streaming with its improved efficiency

June 16, 2026 by usatoday24

Let’s explain to you what is AV2 codeca new video codec that has arrived after more than five years of development. It is the successor of the AV1 present in most large platforms where video is broadcast over the Internet, so it represents a future improvement in how we all watch online videos. We are going to start the article by explaining what this codec is and what it is for, so that you understand it even if you have never heard of its predecessor. Then we will tell you its main improvements, and we will end with an estimate of when it can start arriving. What is the AV2 codec and what is it for? A video codec is the technology, the software responsible for compress and decompress moving images. Thus, the images are sent from a server to your computer compressed so that they do not occupy or consume excessive amounts of data, and then they are decompressed on your computer to view them in maximum quality. For example, if you wanted to watch a 4K movie on a streaming service, this would possibly cost you huge amounts of gigabytes, and would require a connection of a speed that not everyone has. But thanks to video codecs, less data is consumed on the mobile, and you require less fast WiFi than if the video were uncompressed. That said, AV2 is the successor codec to the very popular AV1currently used by YouTube, Netflix, Twitch, Instagram, Discord, and many other video platforms. It has been developed by the Alliance for Open Media (AOMedia), a consortium made up of more than 50 companies, including Google, Apple, Netflix, Amazon, Intel, Nvidia, Microsoft and Samsung. The main characteristic of AOMedia developments is that it works under a free patent policy, so any manufacturer or platform you can implement the codec without paying licenses. This is what makes its adoption expected to be as massive as that of its predecessor. In fact, its objective is the same: that you can watch higher quality video with less bandwidth, or with the same quality but consuming less data. Of course, it comes with a series of technical improvements that will improve the experience even more. AV2 codec news According to its creators, the AV2 offers 30% higher compression efficiency than AV1 approximately, with improvements of 28.6% in the YUV-PSNR metric and 32.6% in the VMAF benchmark. This means that you can get the same image quality when you watch movies or series on services like Netflix, but consuming 30% less bandwidth. Furthermore, if you already have a good fiber, the platform will be able to offer you higher image quality with the same connectionmaintaining the same bit rate. This makes it a new codec especially useful for 4K or 8K content. Therefore, when platforms begin to adopt this new technology we should notice an improvement, at least, in the data we consume when viewing content. On a technical level, in addition to these new features, these others stand out: Larger superblocks: AV2 uses 256×256 pixel blocks versus AV1’s 128×128, allowing for smarter partitioning and improved image prediction. Up to 7 reference frames: This improves prediction of movement between scenes. Support for immersive and multi-stream formats: Support is included for formats such as 3D videos through several layers, and for sports broadcasts with several simultaneous cameras. Planned future extensions: The AV2 codec is also expected to eventually implement support for 12-bit video and greater color depth, as well as potential AI/ML capabilities, which will be offered as optional extended profiles. When will AV2 arrive? The AV2 codec has been official since the beginning of June 2026, but for it to reach devices such as smart televisions or mobile phones, chips are needed that are capable of playing files compressed with this technology. Therefore, possibly not until 2027 or 2028 when, with the arrival of chips from MediaTek, Qualcomm, Amlogic or Rockchip that incorporate support for the technology, it begins to reach us all en masse. That will also be when we start to see it arrive on the main streaming platforms, although there are no specific dates for this either. It will just do it over time. Support will also have to start arriving in the main Internet browsers. According to AOMedia, 53% of its members plan to adopt AV2 within 12 months of its launch, and 88% plan to do so within the next two years. Therefore, The technology is ready and now it needs to be implementedand this will take time. In Xataka Basics | How and where to download 4K and full resolution wallpapers for your Windows PC

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