Mobile Tech & Gadgets

a respite for affected services

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There are weekends when the problem does not start when someone tries to watch a game through an unauthorized means, but when a perfectly legitimate website stops loading or a store loses sales because people cannot access its website. This is what several companies and platforms have been denouncing in recent months: IP blocks associated with the strategy LaLiga against unauthorized emissions that many times end up reaching services that had no relationship with that content. And that is the bottom line: protecting rights should not turn third parties into collateral damage. Now Congress has taken a first step to try to put order in this scenario. The Economy, Commerce and Digital Transformation Commission approved yesterday April 29, 2026 a non-legal Proposition promoted by ERC that, as published by Democratwas agreed with the PSOE to request more proportionality in the face of judicially ordered IP blocks. In practice, NLP serves to record of a parliamentary position and forward a petition to the Government. It is not a small thing, especially when the debate had been accumulating complaints from affected companies and users for months, but it is not equivalent to changing the legal framework quickly. The next step, if there is one, will have to come through regulatory means. One initiative, several specific requests The initiative converts this general idea into several requests to the Government, with a common axis: that the response to illegal content does not end up affecting unrelated third parties. From the published text we can extract these points: Review, with the competent ministries, the protocols for the execution of sentences on IP blocking to prevent them from affecting legitimate digital platforms or essential services Create an inter-ministerial mechanism that evaluates the impact of these orders on legitimate services and applications, and that promotes alternative technical solutions. Promote regulatory changes in the Digital Services Law and the Intellectual Property Law to incorporate technological proportionality and reinforce the responsibility of rights holders in the direct control of illegal content, avoiding massive blocks on unrelated third parties Protect rights such as information, freedom of expression and digital social innovation against indiscriminate technological measures, especially when they affect free, non-profit or public service services Open a space for dialogue with affected platforms, operators, LaLiga and digital rights protection organizations to define good practices Take an active position before the judiciary so that blocking orders respect proportionality and reduce their impact on citizens, in line with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights The important difference is that we are not dealing with an abstract statement. Among its points, as we can see, the document expressly mentions the Digital Services Law and the Intellectual Property Law as frameworks in which to promote a reform to incorporate technological proportionality. In other words: the text does not change the law today, but it does draw a fairly clear route to try to do so. That is the context that turns the discussion into something broader than a dispute between LaLiga and those who try to access unauthorized broadcasts.As we have seen in Xatakaamong those affected there are examples from very different areas: online sporting goods stores, services managed by technical agencies, digital communities and even public law corporations such as the Seville Bar Association. Each case suffers it in a different way: commercial activity that drops, payments that are not recorded, traffic that drops or users who cannot access when they need to do so. The vote also leaves an interesting political picture. Democrat also details that the initiative went ahead with the support of PSOE, ERC, Sumar, Bildu, PNV and Compromís, while PP and Vox voted against and Junts was absent. The same medium also includes a relevant nuance: despite rejecting this NLP, the PP stated that it will present its own amendments to the Digital Services Law in a line aimed at avoiding damages to legitimate services. Images | Xataka with Nano Bana | LaLiga In Xataka | LaLiga has been at war with Cloudflare for years over piracy. It has just joined forces with its main competitor

Anthropic is one step away from being worth as much as Samsung. And what the market is buying is not Claude

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Anthropic, the company behind Claude, is exploring a new round of financing that would value it at more than 900,000 million dollars. If it closes, it would surpass OpenAI as the world’s most valuable AI startup. Altman’s company set its needle at 862 million last month. The figure more than doubles the 350,000 million it had in February. In just two months. Why is it important. The valuation no longer reflects Anthropic’s sales. It responds to a bet on what the company can become in five years or a decade: a provider of something resembling an essential service. Anthropic bills Claude for subscriptions and accesses to its API. That business exists, grows quickly and has reasonable margins. But it does not by itself justify a valuation that is close to that of Samsung, the Korean megalodon that manufactures everything from the chips we carry in our pockets to the ships that cross the ocean. The context. What the market is buying with Anthropic, and as often happens in the stock market, is not the present, but a hypothesis: that a very small handful of laboratories will control the foundational layer on which the software of the next decade will be built. And that Anthropic will be one of those few. And it will do so in a very profitable way. The logic, on the other hand, is the same that led to overvaluing telecos during the bubble dotcom or to the electric companies at the beginning of electrification. Whoever owns the basic infrastructure sets the rules. Google has already committed 10 billion to the previous valuation, with another 30 billion conditional on objectives. Amazon has put in 5 billion and plans to inject 20,000 more. An IPO could come before the end of the year, around October. Between the lines. That Google and Amazon, two of the largest cloud companies in the world along with Microsoft, finance a company that also sells through them says a lot about how they understand the moment. They are ensuring supply, it is not just an investment in a supplier. It is the difference between buying shares in an oil company and buying a field. Anthropic is, for these hyperscalersa deposit. Yes, but. The hypothesis has its cracks. The models are commoditizing faster than it seemed a year ago. The technical difference between Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini It is measured in nuances, not in generational leaps. If foundational AI ends up being a commodity (something like electricity or water coming out of the tap), current valuations are unsustainable. If it ends up being an infrastructure with network effects and high barriers to entry (something like an operating system), they may even fall short. The market is paying for the second hypothesis. Time will tell. The money trail. Anthropic recently announced, with restrained fanfare, Mythosa model capable of detecting and exploiting vulnerabilities in critical software. The company deemed it “too dangerous” to release and has only given it to a closed group of companies for internal testing. Even so, it has been accessed by unauthorized users. That is exactly the reason why some investors pay these figures: such a model is not sold but granted. And whoever decides to whom it is granted has regulatory power de facto that not even a Samsung, at least outside of South Korea, has ever had. The big question. What happens if the bet goes wrong? A valuation of 900 billion means that Anthropic has to generate, at some reasonable point, revenues in the order of tens of billions a year with very high margins. It is possible. But it was also important for Cisco to maintain its 2000 valuation, and it has needed 26 years to tie. The difference is that this time the buyers of the bet are the companies themselves that depend on the result. This reduces the risk of a sharp correction. And he postpones it. In Xataka | There is a thing called “Ornn price index”, it is out of control and it is bad news for everyone Featured image | Xataka

BYD promised them very happy by putting very advanced ADAS in very cheap cars. Until the RAM crisis came

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In recent years, BYD had turned its brand new advanced driving system into one of the biggest arguments to confront Tesla. And having this type of technology in affordable cars can be attractive to the consumer, but it has a cost that other companies can hardly absorb. BYD thought so, but the RAM crisis It has stopped him, and the context is now much more complicated. Prices go up. BYD just announced in China a 21% increase in the price of the ‘DiPilot 300’ option (basically its “God’s Eye” in its version with LiDAR), which goes from 9,900 to 12,000 yuan (about 1,560 euros). The company justifies the measure by the “significant increase in global storage hardware costs.” In other words, DRAM memory and storage have become so expensive that they can no longer absorb the cost without passing it on to the customer. Until now, no major manufacturer had so explicitly linked a price increase to the memory market, according to collect South China Morning Post. In detail. The ADAS Modern ones (and especially those that integrate LiDAR like those from BYD) are very demanding on memory. They need high-performance chips to process LiDAR point clouds in real time, run driving models, and store route data. The problem is that this same type of memory is being absorbed en masse by artificial intelligence data centers, which account for most of the global production of DRAM and NAND. The prices of these chips have entered what analysts call a “supercycle,” with increases that according to TrendForce are around 55-60% in conventional DRAM this year, but that in premium automotive segments (which also use DDR5) have reached up to 300% in free market price. A problem of scale. BYD’s colossal deployment makes the problem especially bulging in its case. The company has installed your “God’s Eye” system in more than 2.85 million vehicles as of March 2026, generating approximately 180 million kilometers of driving data per day, according to own data of the signature. At that scale, every extra cent in memory multiplies into millions. On the other hand, BYD closed the first quarter of 2026 with its worst net profit in three years: 4.08 billion yuan, a drop of 55% compared to the same period of the previous year, according to figures published by the company. In this context, maintaining prices without making a move has become unsustainable for the company. They are not alone. Chery, Xiaomi and the Huawei Aito brand prices have also increased on models with similar advanced driving systems in recent months. William Li, founder and CEO of Nio, counted in January that the biggest cost pressure of the year would not come from raw materials, but from memory. What changes for the buyer. The founding promise of “God’s Eye” was that autonomous driving would no longer be an expensive privilege. As we counted almost a year agothe experience of the system on the highway (even in the most economical model, the Dolphin Surf/Seagull, which sells for around 9,000 euros in China at the exchange rate) was genuinely impressive. Lane keeping was impeccable, autonomous lane changes were well executed and traffic management rivaled other premium range systems. BYD even planned to distribute it as standard in all its models, regardless of the price. Although that narrative is not dead, it is beginning to have nuances. At the moment, the version with LiDAR (the most capable) is already a payment option that has just become 21% more expensive. And now what. From Counterpoint Research they point that the blow will be uneven: low-end models simply will not carry this technology, and high-end ones have less price-sensitive buyers. The greatest impact falls on the mid-segment, where BYD’s value proposition was most disruptive. As the markets are, we will have to wait to find out what direction the company finally takes. Cover image | BYD In Xataka | Cuba is experiencing a brutal energy crisis, so a Cuban has used ingenuity to fuel his car: charcoal

China has launched its hypersonic missile against the US and Japan

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During the Falklands War, British naval officers they later recognized that one of the most tense moments was not a big attack, but the simple missile warning that no one saw arriving clearly on the radars. In a matter of seconds, the uncertainty was enough to disrupt maneuvers, communications and critical decisions across the fleet. The scene left an idea that is difficult to forget: at sea, sometimes the decisive factor is not firepower, but the speed at which everything happens. A missile, three speeds and a dashboard change. The appearance of YJ-20 missile marks a qualitative leap in the military competition between great powers, and it does so because it places China in a position of advantage in the development of hypersonic weapons capable of altering the naval balance in a matter of minutes. This system, designed specifically to attack large surface ships, introduces a threat difficult to neutralize due to his extreme speed and ability to overwhelm defenses. In other words, the difference no longer lies only in who has more ships, but in who can hit first without giving any room for reaction. The problem of extreme speed. Several analysts said weeks ago that the YJ-20 moves in a range that redefine the times naval combat, with cruising speeds around Mach 6 and a final descent that can reach Mach 10. This means that the interval between launch and impact is drastically reduced, seriously limiting the ability of current defensive systems to detect, track and intercept the projectile. For example, in scenarios close to China, this margin narrows even moreto the point of compromising any effective attempt at a response. missile launch Aircraft carrier in the spotlight. The Scmp analysts They recalled that the priority target of this type of missile is aircraft carriers, considered the core of US naval power. Although these operate within complex battle groups with multiple defensive layers, the nature YJ-20 hypersonic calls into question the effectiveness of that model. There is no doubt, we always talk about deterrence, but the possibility of launching multiple missiles against the same target increases the risk of saturationopening the door for even advanced systems to be overwhelmed. A sea as a scene of tension. And it is at this point where the missile has been in the news this week. The tests and demonstrations of the YJ-20 that have taken place do not occur in a vacuum, but in a context of increasing friction in the South China Sea. The reason? As the United States, the Philippines and Japan carry out joint exercises like Balikatan 2026China has responded showing its offensive capacity in exactly the same region. Geographic proximity, especially in areas such as Luzon or the Taiwan Strait, turns each maneuver into a strategic message with direct implications on regional balance. Technology versus technology: the emerging gap. Yes, because the comparison with systems like Japanese Type 88 missile highlights the technological leap that hypersonic systems represent. While the latter multiply speed and reduce reaction times, many of the allied systems continue to operate with subsonic capabilities or, at best, supersonic. This gap forces to rethink doctrinesinvestments and priorities in defense, since current tools may not be sufficient against this new generation of threats. A career that moves to space. They explained from IE that the American response points to large-scale solutions, such as the development of space-based interception systems. Here proposals arise such as the so-called “Golden Dome” announced by Trump that reflect the magnitude of the challenge, with projected investments of hundreds of billions of dollars and deadlines that extend for years. The problem is not only technological, but strategic: how to adapt to an environment in which speed and surprise can decide a confrontation before it even fully develops. A debut at the worst possible time. The entrance on scene of the YJ-20 matches one of the voltage spikes more visible in the region, just when forces from the United States, Japan and their allies deploy their largest joint exercise in waters near China. In that context, the public demonstration of this missile is not an isolated gesture, but rather a calculated message that takes advantage of the moment of maximum military exhibition rival. If you will, the result is a particularly delicate combination: one with a new weapon, tested against potential direct adversaries, in a scenario where each movement has an immediate strategic reading and increases the risk of possible escalation. Image | CCTV In Xataka | China is beating the US with a simple strategy: manufacturing hypersonic missiles at the price of a Tesla In Xataka | China has revealed a new naval military strategy: civilian ships that can become missile launchers

Vinted is already worth 8 billion and has achieved it without AI. Just selling your neighbors’ used clothes

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Vinted, the Lithuanian second-hand platform, has closed a secondary sale of shares of 880 million euros led by EQT which increases its valuation to 8,000 million. It has not raised new capital. It has let investors and employees out, and brought in new shareholders (BlackRock, Schroders, Teachers’ Venture Growth) who can hold out both privately and on the stock market. This IPO does not even have a date yet, but the company says that already operates internally as if it were listed. Why is it important. The technology ecosystem in 2026 has been obsessed with AI for some time, so Vinted is a nice anomaly: it has built a profitable business, with more than €1 billion in revenue and €62 million in net profit in 2025, without mentioning AI anywhere. Its value proposition is different, and its story is not that of a startup that has found a shortcut but rather that of a market that has taken fifteen years to mature and that is now changing consumer habits on a continental scale. The context. Vinted was born in 2008 in Vilnius as a way for neighbors to exchange clothes. It has taken almost two decades to become what it is today: a second-hand trading infrastructure with its own logistics, integrated payments and presence throughout Europe. In 2024, TPG capital entered at a valuation of 5,000 million. In just over a year, that figure has risen 60%. In figures: 10.8 billion euros in gross merchandise value (GMV) in 2025, 47% more than the previous year. 1.1 billion euros in revenue (2025). 62 million euros of net profit (2025). 8,000 million euros of valuation after the operation, compared to 5,000 million in 2024. Yes, but. The profitability is there, but it is modest for that valuation: 62 million profit on 1,100 million income is a margin of 5.6%. Only 1.2 points above that of Mercadonafor comparison. Far below that of any technology. To justify 8 billion, Vinted needs to demonstrate that it can scale that margin and not just volume. The online second-hand market is quite competitive: eBay paid $1.2 billion two months ago to buy back Depop from Etsy and strengthen its position in second-hand fashion. Wallapop It has a generalist profile that also takes away its share in countries like Spain. And in the United States, the large market that Vinted has not yet conquered, the company recognizes which is in the testing phase, not expansion. Between the lines. The entry of EQT as an anchor investor in this round has more meaning than it seems. EQT is the Swedish fund that also controls Idealista and Magnific (before Freepik). Its commitment to Vinted reinforces the thesis that large European private equity funds are building positions in second-generation digital platforms: businesses with real network effects, their own infrastructure and proven traction in Europe, before they are listed. When the time comes to go public, they will be caught in it. The big question. Can Vinted replicate in the United States what it has done in Europe? The company has started allowing buyers from London and New York to trade with each otherbut the American market has its own dynamics, its own consolidated platforms and a different second-hand culture. The answer to that question will determine whether Vinted is an $8 billion company or has the potential to become an $80 billion company. In Xataka | There are too many clothes in the world and there is a company earning billions of euros thanks to it: Vinted Featured image | Xataka with Mockuuups Studio

While the news says that it is dying between solar panels and expropriations, the data says the opposite

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Solar panels that destroy olive trees, massive expropriations in Jaén, warnings that Spain will have to import oil… If we pay attention to the last few months of news about the world of olives, the conclusions are clear: these are bad times for the olive grove. And yet, the data does not confirm this. In fact, as they point out from Datadistathe surface area of ​​this crop has not stopped growing in the last 10 years. The olive grove does not stop growing. With the only exception of the small decline in 2022 (0.08% already recovered in 2023), the hectares of olive groves have grown every year. However, that does not mean that there is no problem. Almost the opposite. The olive grove grows, but it does so in a profoundly unequal way: irrigated land gains ground over dry land, the super-intensive olive tree in a hedge extends over land previously dedicated to cereal or cotton, and investment funds are concentrated in areas with more water. In this sense, the story is not about the disappearance of the olive tree. It’s about changing so much and so fast that it will soon be unrecognizable. What the data says. Apparently, the data is clear. According to provisional data from the Survey on Crop Areas and Yields (ESYRCE) 2025 From the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA), the olive grove area in Spain reached 2,873,396 hectares, 1.63% more than in 2024 and 5% more than in 2015. It’s just that if we look closely, that data tells a curious (and sometimes counterintuitive) story. For example: the olive tree is already the largest irrigated area in the country. And why does this change occur? Above all, because the irrigated olive grove is safer than the dry one. If it were possible, the entire Spanish olive grove would switch to irrigation regime overnight. Therefore, the interesting thing is to stop and think about why the accelerated change is occurring now. According to a February 2026 report from Datadistathe explanation has a first and last name: investment funds. In the last decade, these funds have gone from 45 to 1000, investment in “Iberian agribusiness” has tripled and this is converting many hectares into super-intensive olive trees (and abandoning the traditional one). And the situation feeds on itself. The growth of the super-intensive irrigated olive grove cushions the volatility of supply and, therefore, contains price spikes. That is, the sector becomes more attractive to investors. This is precisely what ensures the future of olive oil. Even if it is at the cost of changing it completely. Image | Vasilis Caravitis In Xataka | The very high prices of olive oil are just one symptom. The real problem is a sector on the way to disaster

The US is doing a lot of damage to Iran with the Hormuz counterblockade. So much so that he is already considering closing oil wells

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Oil has an unbreakable physical law: once it leaves the ground, it has to go somewhere. If ships can’t transport it and storage tanks fill up, the only option is to shut down the wells. Today, the war of attrition between the United States and Iran has ceased to be a mere diplomatic conflict and has become a geological and logistical time bomb. According to data from the analysis firm KplerIran has just 12 to 22 days left before its crude oil storage capacity is completely saturated. The US naval blockade has suffocated its exports by 70%, plummeting shipments from 1.85 million barrels per day to a meager 567,000. A lethal limit. As explained Al Jazeera, Stopping production at an oil well is not like turning off a light switch. When pumping is stopped, the pressure in the underground reservoirs drops sharply, allowing water or gas to seep into the production layers. The potential damage is immense: The Wall Street Journal warns that almost half of the Iranian oil fields are old and low pressure. An abrupt shutdown threatens to permanently destroy part of this aging infrastructure, making recovering that crude oil in the future technically and financially unfeasible. In Washington, the narrative is one of imminent victory. The US administration is confident that this collapse will force Tehran to surrender. According to statements collected by Foreign Policythe US Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessentand President Donald Trump himself predict that the drowning will cause an imminent internal shortage of gasoline, increasing social pressure on the regime until it is forced to give in. However, experts urge caution against Western triumphalism. A rigorous analysis of the Center on Global Energy Policy from Columbia University dismantles part of the myth of catastrophic damage dividing the problem into two fronts: Crude oil can breathe: Specialists detail that the historic oil fields of Khuzestan operate through a “gravity drainage” system. Paradoxically, a temporary stoppage could allow these specific reservoirs to recharge naturally. Natural gas, the true Achilles’ heel: The real risk, the institution explains, lies in the natural gas fields, such as the gigantic South Pars. If these become blocked as they cannot release the associated liquids, Iran will be forced to drastically ration energy for industry and homes in the coming months. Tehran does not plan to give up. According to NDTV, The Islamic Republic will maintain its “diplomacy of patience.” Furthermore, the Revolutionary Guard (IRGC) already survived to severe production cuts in 2012 and 2019, and has a robust smuggling network that makes it very resistant to conventional economic pressure. Added to this is the time factor: according to the calculations of Kplerthe real financial blow will take between three and four months to be felt in Iranian coffers, since China – its main client – ​​operates with long delays in payments. The flight forward. To buy time, Iran is resorting to extreme measures. As revealed The Wall Street Journal, The country is reactivating dilapidated infrastructure, known in the sector as “junk storage”, in areas such as Ahvaz and Asaluyeh, and is even trying to export crude oil by train to China; a very slow and very expensive route that shows the level of stress in the system. and in the sea activation of the Nashaa 30-year-old supertanker rescued from scrapping to serve as an emergency floating warehouse. But the most fascinating and opaque strategy is unfolding thousands of miles from the Persian Gulf. As my colleague Miguel Jorge has developed for Xataka, There is a “secret gas station” in the middle of the ocean. This is an area off the coast of Malaysia, known as EOPL, which functions as a huge ghost car park. There, a shadow fleet of aging ships with their tracking systems (AIS) turned off conduct dangerous ship-to-ship crude transfers. With this maneuver they launder the origin of the oil, passing it off as Malaysian to sell it to independent Chinese refineries and evade the radar of US sanctions. The global earthquake. As Iran searches for oxygen, the collateral damage of this blockade is fracturing the global economy and geopolitics. Behind closed doors, the Iranian social collapse is advancing at a steady pace. A crude report of the Financial Times details that real inflation is already close to 50% and the national currency (the rial) sinks to historic lows. The price of basic products such as cheese and chicken has skyrocketed, and the government admits that more than 191,000 workers have applied for unemployment benefits since the start of the war. Globally, the Straits crisis has shattered the mirage of modern logistics. The collapse of Hormuz It’s not a temporary traffic jam.but a tectonic fault that has broken the “just in time” system and is threatening the hegemony of the petrodollar. Markets, panicking over a prolonged disruption, have pushed a barrel of Brent crude above $120, its highest level since 2022. But the most seismic geopolitical consequence of this war has erupted within the oil cartel: the United Arab Emirates (UAE). will leave OPEC+ May 1st. Fed up with production quotas that limited their income and feeling deeply abandoned by their Arab neighbors in the face of direct attacks from Iran, the Emiratis have decided to fly alone. This breakup leaves Saudi Arabia alone bearing the cost of stabilizing the market, greatly weakens OPEC and gives Donald Trump a diplomatic coup that he had been seeking for years. The final pulse. In the end, this conflict has become a drag race in which no one emerges unscathed. The big question that will decide the outcome of the war is who will go bankrupt first: the fragile and antiquated oil wells of Iran and its exhausted population, or the global consumers and the great Western powers, unable to withstand the skyrocketing fuel prices and the collapse of world shipping routes for much longer. And all this happens under inescapable pressure. While political leaders debate and move their chips thousands of kilometers away, the valves of Kharg Island … Read more

The RAM crisis is very good news for someone. That someone is Samsung

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The great supply crisis in 2026 is starring memoirs. Samsung, SK Hynix and Micron control 90% of global DRAM production, and can currently only cover about 60% of projected demand. This is bad news for consumers, and excellent news for giants that cannot keep up with selling memory. Tell Samsung. Samsung Electronics has published its financial report corresponding to the first quarter of 2026. The company recorded revenue of 133.9 trillion won and, so that we understand each other better, this is its all-time quarterly high, with a 43% increase compared to the previous quarter. Memories, memories, memories. The figure is even more surprising if we look closely at the Device Solutions Division, in which its memory business is located. It recorded a sales increase of 86% compared to the previous quarter, with a historical record in operating profit. Samsung itself details that this boom comes from the hand of much higher demand and, to no one’s surprise, a sales price that has increased in the industry. It is not something isolated. Sales related to memories and semiconductors will continue with strong demand throughout the second quarter, Samsung predicts. The company wants to continue capitalizing on demand for GPUs, CPUs and DRAMexpecting advances in agentic AI to continue accelerating demand growth. Why is it important. Samsung’s results are not only good news for the company’s shareholders: they are a reflection of a change in the industry that is here to stay. The RAM crisis will change forever the price of the products we buywill make companies that have never participated in the manufacture of memories have to start considering doing so, like teslaand positions manufacturers like Samsung in a position of power that they have not had for years. The new Samsung. Samsung has always been relevant in semiconductors and memories, but currently this division accounts for 94% of the company’s total operating profit. Virtually every won Samsung earns comes from its device solutions business (RAM and chips). And what about mobile phones?. Although Samsung’s near future will be led by a single division, the company gives enough clues about its future in a territory that touches the average user very closely: mobile phones. Its DX division (in which smartphones are found) grew 19%, with more sales and more profit compared to the previous quarter. Samsung expects a slight drop in revenue next quarter, although it will continue to focus on three clear pillars: high end, folding and series A. In Xataka | There is a company that has grown 3,000% in the stock market, even beating the performance of Nvidia: Sandisk

Ryanair will cut 1.2 million seats in Spain but there is one region that will suffer more than the rest: Galicia

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Ryanair will reduce seats, cancel routes and raise ticket prices. That is the strategy that the company envisions for Spain during next summer. And Eddie Wilson has confirmed a strategy that has been talked about since last October when the CEO of Ryanair already threatened to take more flights from Spain if the situation did not change with Aena’s rates. And one autonomous community is feeling it more than the rest. 1.2 million seats. That will be the cut that Ryanair has prepared for our country next summer. It is something that was already reported in October and was confirmed last Monday. Counterscheduling the distribution of Aena dividends among its partners, Eddie Wilson has taken the opportunity to point out that its activity will be reduced in Spain in just a few months. They do so because the Government takes advantage of “(Aena’s) monopoly position in Spain’s main airports, obtaining excessive margins of 60% at the expense of local economies, which depend on affordable air travel for tourism and employment.” Without a change in airport taxesRyanair confirms that it is withdrawing flights in our country and that it will replace seats in larger airports. The reason is the repeated one in the last months of this Government-Ryanair battle: They consider that Aena’s rates at regional airports are too high. Once again, regional airports. According to the company, Aena’s airport taxes in regional spaces are uncompetitive and a burden on tourism and the economy of these cities. This has caused, according to the company, its departure from the airports of Asturias, Valladolid, Jerez, Tenerife North and Vigo and its activity to be reduced by 79% in Santiago compared to the summer 2024 figures. Not only that, in addition to this cut in seats, Wilson has not hesitated to warn that if the price of jet fuel becomes scarce, the first victims will be the regional airports, prioritizing the large seats. What about Galicia? Although Ryanair claims that its departure is fatally damaging the less frequented Spanish airports, the truth is that not all of them are suffering the same fate. A good example is Zaragoza. Compared to 2024, it will have 45% fewer seats, three routes canceled and two others cut. Despite this, Aena data They say that in 2025 the number of passengers grew by 1.9% (especially on domestic routes) and that in 2026 it is growing by 2.6%. Photography is very different in Galicia. So far this year, A Coruña airport is the only one that has grown. Without Ryanair, Vigo is falling 3.4% this year but the most worrying thing is in Santiago. At this airport, Ryanair has cut its activity by almost 80% compared to the summer of two years ago. In 2025 it has already fallen by 14.3% and this year it is falling by 29.6%. The lower activity at this airport has caused flights in the region to fall by 6.9% last year and so far this year this has worsened to 15.5%. There is only one worse fact. From all regions, Galicia is the one with the worst figures. And so far this year, only Castilla y León has lost more travelers, with a drop of 18.6%. However, its volume of travelers is much lower than that of Galicia. In the first three months of 2025, 40,051 people moved by plane in the region, while this year 32,613 passengers did so. That’s a drop of less than 8,000 seats filled. In Galicia, however, so far this year 987,812 passengers have taken a plane, while in 2025 a total of 1,168,745 people had taken a plane. That is, in the first quarter of the year, 180,933 passengers have been lost in the first quarter of 2026. And more than 200,000 passengers compared to 2024 when more than 1,194,032 people moved by plane in the first three months of the year. Not only the rates. When Ryanair announces that it is leaving an airport, it usually points to airport taxes, but the reality is more complex. The truth is that the company has maintained some commercial routes with low demand because it had advertising contracts that supported its routes. Contracts that he has not hesitated to break, as in Vigowhen you have found more juicy economic incentives like those that have arrived from Morocco. It must be taken into account thatthe launch of the AVE to Galicia It has also been a hard blow for airline companies that have seen how part of their customers move to the train since it offers more affordable rates and travel times that, adding the waits at airports, are similar to those of the plane. In fact, companies like Iberia have also reduced their supply because demand did not compensate for the effort. Photo | Left Victorian and Simone Muzzi In Xataka | The new EU border system is leaving people without flights. Ryanair has a solution: close check-in early

The US remains committed to stopping China. Now it has targeted the second largest Chinese chip manufacturer

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SMIC (Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp) is the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer with a global market share 5.32%. Only TSMC and Samsung surpass it. Currently this is the only Chinese company that has the necessary technology to manufacture 7nm integrated circuitsbut Hua Hong Semiconductor, China’s second largest chip producer, is developing the technology necessary to manufacture this class of semiconductors. The US Department of Commerce has confirmed without intending it that Hua Hong Semiconductor is very serious with its 7nm photolithography. And it has done so because, according to Reutershas notified the most important lithography and wafer processing equipment manufacturers in the US that they no longer have permission to deliver their most advanced machines to this Chinese company. The purpose of this US entity is clear: it aims to make it difficult for Hua Hong Semiconductor to conclude the development of its 7nm lithography. Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA already have one more obstacle in China Department of Commerce technicians analyze export requests within the framework established by current regulations and approve or deny the sale of integrated circuits and wafer processing equipment to China. The current regulation is the most effective tool at the disposal of the US Government to try to slow down the development of China’s semiconductor industry and prevent it from acquiring the capacity to manufacture cutting-edge integrated circuits in the short or medium term. Hua Hong is preparing to start production of 7nm chips at its Shanghai plant Hua Hong Semiconductor’s division specializing in third-party chip manufacturing is called Huali Microelectronics, and it is preparing to launch the production of 7nm integrated circuits at its Shanghai plant. The sources that have revealed this information assure that Huawei has collaborated with Huali Microelectronics on this project, which invites us to reach two reasonable conclusions. The first is that Huali’s 7nm lithography is likely to play an essential role in GPU production capacity for artificial intelligence (AI) from both Huawei and other Chinese companies. And the second conclusion is actually a plausible hypothesis. And, like SMIC, Huali does not have access to ASML SVU teams. For this reason, it is very likely that with the help of Huawei it has developed security techniques. multiple patterning to be able to manufacture 7nm chips with the UVP machines in its possession. Lam Research, Applied Materials and KLA are three of the US companies that the Commerce Department has notified that they can no longer provide Hua Hong Semiconductor with their most advanced wafer processing equipment. China is a very important market for these companies, so presumably they are going to lose several billions of dollars in sales. Lin Jian, the spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has declared that his country expects the United States to stabilize global industrial and supply chains and keep trade functioning normally. Image | TSMC More information | Reuters In Xataka | TSMC is already the highest-earning chipmaker on the planet. It has beaten two semiconductor giants

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