Mobile Tech & Gadgets

China knows that what happens in ‘Interstellar’ is a real problem on the Moon. And it has been proposed to solve it

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58.7 microseconds. That is the daily margin of error that separates a terrestrial clock from one on the Moon. This time lag It seems ridiculous, but it brings head to aerospace engineers for decades. The reason? That ‘sigh’ can be crucial in a mission, the difference between a perfect landing and a disaster. And while in the West we continue talking about the problems of Artemis missionin China they have found the solution for that time lag. It is called LTE440, and it is another example of the China’s methodical advance in the new space race. Microsecond piggy bank. If you have seen the movie ‘Interestellar’, looking for information about how time flies far from Earth, that you would come across the general relativity theory formulated by Albert Einstein. Simply put, the passage of time is relative, and the speed at which it passes depends on two factors: gravitational field intensity and orbital speed. The stronger the gravity, the slower time passes, and that is why it moves a little faster on the Moon than on Earth. The net result of that orbital effect is a slight advance in lunar clocks. One of between 56 and 58.7 microseconds per day, or 0.000058 seconds. It seems tiny and negligible, but in the end, the sum of 58 microseconds each day is there. 0.0017 seconds per month. 0.021 seconds per year. It is still little, but in terms of the space industry, it is unacceptable. LTE440. This synchronization between the lunar and terrestrial clocks has been one of the headaches of space engineering for years. In 2024, the International Astronomical Union, fixed that the Moon should have its own temporal reference. Meanwhile, time has passed and an answer has arrived: LTE440, or ‘Lunar Time Ephemeris‘. It is a software developed between the Purple Mountain observatory next to the University of Science and Technology of China. And it arrives to solve two of the historical problems in that lunar timing: Precision: Complex missions require total accuracy (not with a Casio, but with atomic clocks), and the solutions until now did not allow such precision. Complex calculations: Current solutions were not very accessible and engineers had to do laborious calculations and mathematical operations to solve jet lag. Absurd accuracy. It is estimated that the precision of LTE440 It will be less than 0.15 nanoseconds before 2050 and its accumulated errors will remain below 1/20,000,000 of a second even after a thousand years. But more important than this is that the research team has made obtaining the calculations as simple as doing a single operation. Thus, the LTE440 software will allow you to directly and easily compare lunar time with Earth time. opening doors. Okay, great, but… really that much for 56 microseconds? Having the current aspiration of creating a communication network and missions both with the Moon and interplanetary, one of the most logical applications is that of a global network of lunar clocks. Another is to allow extremely precise remote control missions to be carried out from Earth. China and Russia, for example, plan build an International Lunar Research Station looking to 2035, and LTE440 opens the door to more precise operations on the satellite ground. But also something more tangible and easy to understand: establishing a navigation system similar to GPS on the Moon. It is something that does not exist, but that seems crucial for future space missions. Because this is not about establishing colonies on the Moon, but about taking advantage of the satellite. For example, to investigate it, but also to get resources that can be used on Earth. And a system like LTE440 is an open door for the development of the navigation technologies necessary to bring these missions to fruition. The US looks closely. As we say, China has one eye on the Moon and space, and that is something that the United States is following with interest. China is taking giant steps and the United States has come to feel that it is being left behind. Artemis II is the American answera program full of problems and delaysbut it seems that it is already working. On the other hand, and as with the terrestrial situation, the United States considers that China’s advance in space is not a mere scientific question, but rather a threat to the country’s national security. They have reached aim that the Space Force will do “whatever it takes to achieve space superiority.” Therefore, LTE440 is, at the same time, a technological milestone, a great step for humanity in the new space race and a threat to those interests of the United States. Now, as we read in SCMPthe software is still in an early phase, so it has yet to be applied in real-time navigation solutions. Images | Tomruen In Xataka | Hubble continues to discover amazing things about the universe: a starless galaxy dominated by dark matter

What do you have to do to protect yourself if you have received an email saying that you have been affected?

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Let’s tell you How to act if you have been affected by the Endesa hack. The electricity company has suffered a cyber attack that has affected its Spanish platform, something that has compromised the personal information of a large number of customers, exposing data such as the DNI, your personal data and even payment data such as the IBAN. Endesa has started send emails to affected usersso if you have come across one it is possible that your data has been stolen. Therefore, we are going to tell you several important steps to take to minimize the risks and avoid fraud that may arise when cybercriminal groups purchase this stolen data. Because the worst thing about these hacks is not always that they can steal money from your bank details, but that you can then receive fraudulent emails or messages with which they try to steal even more from you. Therefore, in these cases it is always advisable to pay close attention to what may happen in the following months. Remember that you have a complete and general article about what to do when your data is leaked online. Check your banking transactions The first thing is to check your bank and look if there is any strange movement. As Endesa has said that in some cases payment data may have been stolen, that means they could try to make some type of charge to your account. It is advisable to maximize attention during the coming weeks and months, and for any payment that is not clear, contact your bank to block it and avoid major problems. Be wary of emails, SMS and calls It is assumed that if a cybercriminal group buys the data stolen from Endesa, they will know your name and surname, your telephone number and your email. Therefore, you may receive fraudulent messages By any of these means, campaigns phishing with which to try to steal money from you. Here, be wary of any supposed communication from Endesa in which they ask for personal or banking information by phone or email. If you are asked for this information in a message, be wary immediately.because the real company will never ask you for them. Do not continue the conversation or respond to the message that arrives. Do not click on links or download files Phishing is a technique with which a cybercriminal sends mass messages to hundreds of thousands of people with a virus attached or links to fraudulent pages. Their goal is for at least a handful of people to click on them and become infected or go to the fraudulent page where they give their bank details and steal money with it. Therefore, if you receive a supposed email or SMS from Endesa or any other person with a file or a link to a website, never interact with this content. It’s okay to read the message, but never download anything or click on a link that takes you to another page. Save all Endesa communications Finally, to protect yourself for the future it is important keep the letter or email from Endesa. Thus, if in the future you have to prove possible misuse of your data, you will have proof that there was a hack and it was stolen. Other security measures Lastly, you may also want activate two-step verification on platforms where you use the same email that you have linked to Endesa. In those more sensitive ones, it may be interesting to change your passwords, and also take extreme precautions against any email and message that you may receive from other pages, because they can also be fraudulent. In Xataka Basics | My data has been leaked, now what: the steps you should take whenever there is a massive leak on the Internet that could affect you

A beetle is decimating the population of Salamanca. And the biggest problem is that it is protected

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The story is old, He is almost 20 years old: a protected beetle is destroying the Salamanca oak forests. It is a wood borer that digs galleries in the oaks and ends up weakening them to the point of death. The aggravation. And, although it is true that the dehesa is a very small and localized ecosystem, its economic, social and symbolic importance is enormous. Therefore, the idea of ​​a plague that is ‘drilling’ the productive infrastructure of western Spain and that cannot be controlled because it is “in danger of extinction” makes many people nervous. The problem, as always, is that the matter is a little more complicated. What is that Cerambyx pig? Also known as ‘greater capriconium of the oaks‘, it is one of the largest beetles left in Europe. It is relatively easy to recognize it because it has disproportionate, enormous antennae, longer than the body itself. And yes, indeed, the Habitats Directive protects it at European level. That is, member states have the obligation to establish special areas for their conservation. What happens is that in Spain, at least, this has generated problems: to what we have already mentioned about the oak forests of Castilla y León, we must add the case of the Balearic Islands where the authorities they dedicate million-dollar budgets to protect the Tramuntana Mountains from the overpopulation of these insects. So it is a problem, right? Yes of course. What happens is that a small detail is usually ignored: that, as technical studies have been saying for decadesthe most susceptible trees are usually old or in poor physiological condition. That is to say, historically the greater Capricorn had an almost symbiotic relationship with ecosystems: it helped ‘renew’ the forest, eliminating trees in poor condition. That is, the current problem it’s not just the beetle: it is the poor state of the mountains and pastures. Disrepair? a few weeks ago we were talking de la Seca, a serious disease caused by a pathogen (Phytophthora cinnamomi), linked directly to the decay and death of holm oaks and cork oaks. But, as we also said, despite the alarmism about pests, they are the consequence of decades of bad forestry practices that have undermined the ecosystem from within. The pasture, we already know, is not a ‘virgin natural environment’: it is a very complex agro-silvo-pastoral system the result of centuries of forest clearing, extensive grazing and human uses of all kinds. Practices that have disappeared and have been replaced by other industrial practices that applied little management and a lot of brute force. To that, we must also add climate change. Mytec What is in danger of extinction is the ecosystem. That is the real problem: the hundreds and thousands of trees in poor condition, with strong water stress and problems of all kinds. And that’s where pests grow. Let’s go back to the beetle. Because, of course, its special protection status makes managing it even more difficult than normal. That’s why, The normal complaint is that “you can’t fumigate”: but that doesn’t mean you can’t ‘fight’. Things like silvicultural prevention, surveillance and advanced technical means can help control populations. Furthermore, the same regulations that protect it allows more serious approaches when necessary. However, the problem is the same as always: the forest (even a forest as socio-economically important as the dehesa) is only profitable if the externalities generated by its exploitation are not considered. The best examplewe have been seeing in Murcia for years. Image | Mytec / Josh Hume In Xataka | In California, the funds discovered that there is no investment more profitable than farmland. Now it’s Spain’s turn

While farmers fear the pact with Mercosur, one sector brings out the champagne: the automobile industry

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From 35% tariffs to their non-existence through a progressive de-escalation that will advance over time. That is the new scenario that the European Union and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay have, those countries that make up Mercosur with which the European Union has signed an agreement that will create the largest free trade area in the world. The agreement. After 26 years of negotiations, on January 9, 2026, the news broke: Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and the European Union they reached an agreement to create the largest tariff-free trade zone in the world. The pact was already almost confirmed but ended up being approved by the European Union with the approval of 21 countries (including Spain) and the votes against of France, Poland, Austria, Ireland and Hungary, as well as the abstention of Belgium. After European approval, The signing will arrive next January 17 in Paraguay. Then a project will be launched that in the next 15 years will end up eliminating the tariffs that exist between both commercial zones. A pact that will make things complicated for the primary sector but which has the European industry as the great winner. And in that industry, the automobile is one of the most benefited sectors. Why the car industry? Until now, exports from the European Union to Mercosur had tariffs of 35% on their shoulders. The pact will eliminate any type of trade barrier over 15 years. It will be gradual but after three decades, vehicle exports to South America will be completely tariff-free. That, according to data collected by The Automotive Tribuneis expected to triple the volume of exports from the European Union to this region. It remains to be seen what steps will be taken year after year but in Infobae They already anticipate that exports are expected to Brazil and Argentina with a maximum quota limit that will expand at the same rate as tariffs are reduced. Spain. One of the countries that can emerge the most strengthened from the agreement in the automobile sector is Spain. Although the figures point to a drop in production and export of automobiles this year, our country is the second European power in vehicle production (behind Germany) and more than 90% of the cars manufactured leave our borders. But, furthermore, our country is a large producer of vehicle components that will also discount tariffs on their exports. The news is especially interesting for a sector that has suffered from the tariffs imposed by the United States Government. And it is that Spain does not send cars to the American country but automobile components. Holy water for Europe. The agreement feels like holy water for European manufacturers. Currently, the cars sold in Mercosur countries are cheaper and have very poor security measures if we compare them with Europeans. Acting without tariffs will allow them to sell more cars and amortize investments than with the European emissions policies their days may be numbered. It is a good outlet for lower priced vehicles and an opportunity to compete with higher quality cars. It allows them follow that Toyota maxim to sell in each market what each market demands. But it also opens the door to compete with China, which was eating up the market by exporting cars in large volumes. They collect in Infobae that the measures that have tried to benefit the entry of hybrids and electric vehicles to Argentina and Brazil have ended up filling these markets with Chinese cars, which represent 80% of imports. USA. It must be taken into account that, in addition, dark clouds had settled on the future of the European automobile industry. Tariffs on exports to the United States they had done enormous damage despite the fact that mostly high-cost vehicles were being sold there. The problem is that the most affordable ones of European origin They are mostly manufactured in Mexico so they have also been bleeding with trade barriers. It is expected that exports to the Mercosur countries, due to purchasing power, will not generate as much money per car sold but they are expected to be much more voluminous. Eliminating tariffs will allow, as we say, to amortize investments in vehicles with lower prices and lower profit margins. They lose. The one that, predictably, will lose will be the local industry. Right now Mercosur has an industry sustained in the production of very specific vehicles for its market and with very high trade barriers that causes a very low volume of imports. Furthermore, they provide feedback to each other since 75% of car imports in Argentina They come from Brazil. Now the industry has the challenge of opening up and being more competitive. The problem for Mercosur is that, due to the cars manufactured, it seems that this sector only has one way and that is one way from Europe to South America. The return, with combustion vehicles and safety standards much less demanding than the European ones, everything indicates that it will be deserted. Photo | Jeanne Menjoulet and Mercedes In Xataka | China has a weapon to circumvent tariffs and protect the secrets of its electric cars: removable kits

It took a hacker two and a half hours to steal thousands of personal data from Endesa customers. Endesa took a week to notify

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Endesa Energy has confirmed a cyberattack on its trading platform that has exposed critical information of millions of customers. The breach includes identity documents, bank accounts and data from electricity and gas contracts, which places those affected at risk of fraud and identity theft. What exactly happened. A cybercriminal has managed to circumvent the security measures of Endesa’s commercial platform and access sensitive customer information related to their energy contracts. According to has recognized the company in communications sent to those affected, during the security breach contact information, ID and IBAN numbers from bank accounts would have been extracted. The company ensures that the access passwords have not been compromised. The magnitude of the incident. The hacker responsible, who identifies himself as “Spain,” posted on January 4 on BreachForums, a popular forum in the dark webdetails of the attack claiming to have obtained more than 1 TB of information corresponding to more than 20 million people, according to reported the Digital Shield medium. The cybercriminal assured this medium that he had gained access in less than two and a half hours, and has gone so far as to leak data samples from a thousand clients to demonstrate the authenticity of the stolen information. What type of data is at stake. The hacker claims to have obtained basic personal data (names, surnames, postal addresses and contact information), financial information (IBAN, billing data and account history), energy data (CUPS, active electricity and gas contracts, supply point information) and regulatory data. The risks for clients. Although Endesa considers it “unlikely” that the theft will result in “a high-risk impact on the rights and freedoms of users,” the company warns of several real dangers in its official statement. Cybercriminals could try to impersonate customers, post the data on digital forums, or use it for phishing and spam campaigns. Josep Albors, Director of Research and Awareness at ESET Spain, explains that “the risk does not end with the notification of the breach” and that the exposed information can be reused for months or years to launch targeted fraud. Endesa’s response. The energy company has taken almost a week to publicly acknowledge the incident since the leak became known. The company claims to have immediately activated security protocols, blocked compromised access and notified the competent authorities of the case. In addition, it has enabled telephone lines to resolve doubts: 800 760 366 for Endesa Energía customers and 800 760 250 for those of Energía XXI, its distributor in the regulated market. We have contacted the company to find out more information about it, so we will update the article in case of news. What should those affected do? The problem with this security breach is that the data is surely used for advertising campaigns. phishing and targeted spam. As explained by ESET, the first thing we should keep in mind as affected parties is to distrust any communication that appears to come from Endesa and that includes links, attachments or urgent requests, always contacting the company through official channels. This has not been the case, but it never hurts to frequently review bank accounts to detect unauthorized movements and change passwords, even if the company claims that they have not been compromised, activating security protocols whenever possible. two factor authentication. Free and useful websites like ‘Have I Been Pwned‘ allow us to check if the data has appeared in other known breaches by entering our email. The extortion attempt. According to account According to Escudo Digital, the hacker has tried to negotiate directly with Endesa through emails, although at the moment he has not set a specific ransom figure. The cybercriminal, who says he is not affiliated with any group of ransomware known, has received offers from third parties of up to $250,000 for half of the database, although he claims to have not sold anything yet. “I prefer to wait for Endesa to decide,” he told the media. A worrying trend. Just like they count From the media Expansión, this attack places Endesa on the growing list of large Ibex 35 companies that have suffered cyberattacks in recent months. Companies such as Iberdrola, Iberia, Repsol and Banco Santander have been victims of similar incidents that have compromised customer data. And they have not been the only ones, since cyberattacks and data leaks They are now much more common. In the case of Endesa it seems that we will have to wait for the company to offer more information on the matter. Cover image | Endesa In Xataka | OpenAI just assumed an uncomfortable truth about AI browsers: there is one type of attack that is impossible to block

How to create an image of yourself and a Pixar character with your face using artificial intelligence, with Gemini or ChatGPT

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We are going to explain how to create an image in which you appear holding a 3D character of yours miniature using artificial intelligencelooking like Pixar characters. We are going to use a prompt created for use with Geminialthough it will also work in ChatGPT without problems. It is a fairly simple composition, in which you only need to add a photo of yourself and write the prompt, which is quite long and complex. But the result is quite curious, although you may need several tries to get it completely to your liking. An image of you with a 3D cartoon What you have to do is open a new chat with Gemini, which is the AI ​​with which you will have the best results. Once you have it, upload a photo of yourself in which your face looks goodand then add the following text as a request or prompt: “Use the uploaded photo as the ONLY facial and identity reference. The main subject must look exactly like the person in the uploaded image, preserving identical facial structure, proportions, skin tone, hairstyle, eye shape, nose, lips, jawline and overall identity. Do not embellish, alter or replace facial features. Create a cinematic, ultra-detailed scene of your subject smiling naturally. The subject delicately holds a tiny, cartoon-style miniature version of the same person by the hair between his fingers, like a playful puppet suspended in the air. The miniature character is a Pixar/Disney-style 3D version of the same person, with cute, exaggerated proportions, big, expressive eyes, mouth open with joy, arms raised, and a lively, playful stance. The miniature must clearly resemble the same person and be wearing a matching outfit. The main subject looks at the little character with surprise, delight and affection, creating a whimsical and touching interaction. Lighting is warm professional studio lighting with soft rim light, shallow depth of field, and soft golden bokeh background. The real person’s skin texture is photorealistic, while the miniature character has clean Pixar-style materials, smooth shading, and polished 3D surfaces. Cinematic color grading, high contrast, sharp focus, premium portrait composition, 50mm lens look, f/1.8 aperture, ultra-realism mixed with stylized animation, 4:5 aspect ratio, 8K quality, cinematic finish. Anime, 2D illustration, comic style, flat shading, low poly, plastic skin, wax face, face swap, different identity, facial morphing, beauty filters, excessive smoothing, blur, low resolution, grain, noise, distortion, deformed face, incorrect facial proportions, extra fingers, missing fingers, duplicate hands, floating objects, bad anatomy, inconsistent lighting, harsh shadows, neon colors, cold blue tones, washed out colors, excessive saturation, watermark, text, logo, severed head, face out of frame.” Yes, it is a very long text, but each of the sentences that make it up help with the effect. When you send it, you will receive a composition that shows an image of you holding a Pixar character with your face in your fingers. You will also be able to do it with ChatGPTwhich occasionally releases good results. However, the faces are sometimes somewhat deformed, and for now Gemini seems to do better almost always. In Xataka Basics | How to create a character in ChatGPT and Gemini to use it in all the images you make with artificial intelligence

how to calculate it in 2026 with examples

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Administrative language often includes confusing and complex terms, but they definitely affect your life. One of these terms is “regulatory base”, a concept that appears regularly in the regulations and conditions to determine how much are you going to charge for your benefit due to unemployment or during medical leave. However, and despite being a basic concept to calculate how much money you should receive in times of greatest work vulnerability, the regulatory base is not a fixed figure nor that it appears explicitly reflected on your payrollso we are going to explain how to calculate it and how it is applied with different examples. What is the regulatory basis of payroll If the labor market were a religion, the regulatory basis would probably be the equivalent of its bible. This concept is the pillar that allows you to calculate the salary that would correspond to you when you lose your job and begin to collect unemployment benefits, for the calculation of retirement and even for medical leave or permits. In summary, the regulatory base is the reference scale from which Social Security determines how much you will receive when you access a benefit. Depending on the amount of this regulatory base and the percentage that Social Security has established for a specific benefit, it will result in the amount that the employee will receive each month in their benefits. However, and despite the fact that its name may be misleading, the regulatory basis of the payroll, paradoxically, It does not appear on your payroll as such, but rather it is an average of certain contribution bases. Its calculation involves concepts such as the base salary, salary supplements, extra payments, Social Security contributions or withholdings that are applied to your payroll. Therefore, it is not a fixed amount as it is the gross salary or a certain percentage such as the personal income tax withholding that does appear on your monthly payroll. In other words, the regulatory basis is not something you need to know on your payroll, but only You’re going to need it when something interrupts your work life. and you must be compensated for it: medical leavematernity or paternity leave, unemployment or retirement. Difference with the contribution base One of the main factors to calculate the regulatory base is, precisely, the contribution base. That is, the monthly amount on both the employee and the company pay the contributions to Social Security every month. This contribution basis It is calculated by adding the employee’s base salary, the salary supplements he receives (seniority, tools, overtime, etc.) and the proportional part of the extra payments if they were prorated for collect them in 12 payments. Based on this amount, the percentages that both the worker and the company contribute to Social Security are calculated. Due to similarity, the regulatory base can be confused with the contribution base. However, unlike the regulatory base, the contribution base does appear reflected in the payrollso the worker can know it when he receives it, since the contribution base is what is contributed while working, unlike the regulatory base that is used to calculate the amount of the benefit when he stops working. Given that the amounts for which they are contributed are calculated in the form of percentages, the final amount of these contributions depends on the sum of the contribution base, since in some months you may receive more or less overtime or other supplements. Difference with base salary If the regulatory base serves to calculate how much do you earn in a job to, based on it, calculate the amount of a contributory benefit, wouldn’t the base salary serve as a reference? He base salary It is only the fixed part of the salary agreed in your contract. That is, the minimum salary you will receive for doing your job. However, this figure does not reflect the reality of your work since it does not include additional benefits such as prorated extra pay, monthly overtime or bonuses for objectives. By not reflecting the reality of your salarythis concept does not serve on its own to calculate benefits because, in reality, the employee does not receive that base salary, but rather the part of the Social Security contributions that correspond to him, as well as the deductions for personal income tax, are deducted from it. The regulatory base takes into account the contribution base, which includes all the amounts contributed to Social Security in a specific month, so its amount is different from that of the base salary. How to calculate the regulatory base of a payroll There is no single valid formula for all cases, because the calculation depends on the type of benefit for which it is made because Social Security establishes different percentages depending on whether it is for retirement, unemployment, paternity or maternity leave or due to sick leave. In common situations such as a temporary disability, the regulatory base is obtained by taking the contribution base for the month prior to the leave (that is, the base salary plus all salary supplements) and dividing it by the number of days to which said contribution refers (for example, 30 days if collected monthly). Each assumption is governed by different factors and percentages (calculation time range, economic factors, exemptions, etc.), so knowing the regulatory basis is only part of the calculation of the benefit. Regulatory basis for the self-employed In the case of the self-employed, the regulatory base is a little more complex to calculate since it is not based on a more or less stable figure as in the case of employees (base salary + supplements), since from the 2023 reformyour contribution base adapts to real income. And, therefore, the calculation of its regulatory base is as variable as it is. your contribution base. If, for example, a self-employed person has had four different contribution bases (because their income has fluctuated during the year), their regulatory base will be the average of those four contribution bases based on … Read more

Movistar customers will have it free for six months

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Telefónica has closed an agreement with OpenAI to offer ChatGPT Plus free for half a year to all its Movistar customers in Spain. Activation is digital, without permanence and without apparent trap. Why is it important. This movement consolidates the trend of operators as mass distributors of premium AI, Telefónica itself did something similar in 2025 with Perplexity Pro. It is a paradigm shift in a sector that had been looking for years to differentiate itself beyond price and fiber speed. And it goes beyond the OTT aggregation function that we have been seeing for almost ten years. In detail. The promotion covers almost the entire customer base: contracts MyMovistarMovistar Fusion, mobile-only and fiber-only rates. The process is simple: unique code from the client area, registration in OpenAI and immediate access. After six months, automatic renewal at 23 euros per month if the user does not cancel. The agreement is limited exclusively to Movistar, it does not include O2 customers. The enigma. Will existing ChatGPT users be able to use this promotion without having to register a new account? The official press release It doesn’t clarify it. From Xataka We have made this query to Telefónica and we will update this section as soon as we have a response. Between the lines. Telefónica has not chosen OpenAI by chance. It is the brand with the greatest recognition in generative AI. The operator already signed with Perplexity a year ago. Now add ChatGPT. The pattern is evident: Telefónica aspires to become an aggregator of AI services, exactly as today packs Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video. Main winner? OpenAI gains distribution in Spain without having to make a commercial effort. Telefónica gains differentiation and data on AI usage patterns. Users gain temporary access to tools that without this promotion would be off their radar or budget. Yes, but. The promotion ends and then comes the friction. How many users will have integrated ChatGPT Plus enough into their routine to justify 23 euros per month? How many will simply try out of curiosity and cancel before payment? The success of this bet is not measured in the headlines that Telefónica is getting today, it is measured in conversion rates six months later. Featured image | Telefónica, OpenAI In Xataka | Telefónica has been trying to leave Mexico for six years and has discovered a problem: no one wants to buy what is left of it

The fashion among Spanish operators is the ERE. Meanwhile, Digi is hiring more than anyone else

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DIGI’s ambition has not been enough to become one of the three largest operators in the country. It also wants to be one of the main job refuges in the national telecom sector. In a context of uncertainty and restructuring, the Romanian operator is close to tripling its workforce while the rest adjust their workforce. Closing 2025. Digi closed last year with 10,200 direct employees in Spain. Data that is better understood if we put it in context. Against the current. While the telecommunications industry shrinks its workforce, destroying more than 14,000 jobs together, Digi does just the opposite: grow in customers and employment. One of the pillars that cements this stage of growth for the company is its first national agreement, signed last November. In it, the conditions of its employees are homogenized and progressive salary increases linked to performance are proposed. what’s happening. Digi’s strategy collides head-on with a classic among large telecos: outsourcing. The Romanian operator has opted for an internalization strategy: While the three large operators in the country have been focused for years on increasing income per customer, Digi is doing just the opposite: taking away customer volume, sacrificing profitability per user. No changes in the short term. Digi’s strategy seems clear: volume over margin and commitment to not outsourcing its services. The plan to become the third operator nationwide continues from strength to strength: In 2022 it managed to take over 60% of portability in Spain. It is currently the fourth national operator, behind Vodafone. While the rest raises prices, Digi maintains them or adjusts them even more. It is on track to become the third largest operator in fiber lines if it maintains its growth in 2026. The big question. Whether or not Telefónica will end up taking over Digi is the big question. The Spanish giant neither confirms nor rules out future purchases and mergers in its growth plan until 2030. For the moment, Digi is an ally: the Romanian operator uses Movistar coverage and infrastructure and will continue to do so for at least 16 years. Image | Digi In Xataka | All teleoperators plan to raise prices in Spain from 2026. All? No: DIGI still resists

Ukraine has unlocked a wild “online mode.” The one about Russia recruiting Africans on Discord to turn them into “can openers”

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The Ukrainian War I had already flirted with the language of the gamer world: rewards for objectives, loot lists and even a “military Amazon” improvised to redeem successes by real material. But if that seemed like a way to gamify logisticswhat is happening now goes up a level: it is no longer about buying drones with points, but about recruiting soldiers within the player communities themselves and turning them into human bombs. War as a global industry. On the Ukrainian front, Russia has ended up building a collection machinery that is not limited to looking for soldiers, but drags them from places increasingly unlikelyas if the war had become a global funnel. What was once a conflict between armies begins to look like a international recruitment network where young people enter, attracted by money, by a promise of the future or simply by a casual conversation that becomes irreversible. The result is a constant drip of foreigners who arrive in Russia, sign a paper, receive rushed training and disappear into the most brutal landscape of Europe, where the distance between signing a contract and death can be measured in weeks. Recruitment on a screen. The story Bloomberg told and starts with two young South Africans, regular Discord users and Arma 3 players, who end up talking about enlist in the Russian army with someone who identifies himself as @Dash. What seems like just another exchange in a digital community rises in temperature until it becomes a real plan: they meet in Cape Town, move together and end up visiting the Russian consulate, as if this bureaucratic step gave legitimacy to what, deep down, is already a flight towards war. On July 29, they embark on a trip to Russia via the United Arab Emirates and, after arriving, they meet “Dash” there. Shortly after, in early September, they sign one-year military contracts near St. Petersburg and they are trapped in the fast lane of a conflict that doesn’t stop to check if anyone really understands what they’re getting into. Contract, training and front. Only a few weeks pass between the signing and the front. After a brief period of basic training, one of the two is sent to combat in Ukraine, where he performs duties as an assistant marksman for a grenade launcher, a description that sounds like a military routine but is, in reality, the prelude of a disappearance. The last time he contacted his family was October 6. On December 17, a friend reported that has died in combat. The confirmation comes with a medical document that his family later obtained, dated months later, which states that he died on October 23, 2024 in Verkhnekamenskoye, in the Luhansk region. Nothing is known about the other young man: his whereabouts remain up in the air, as happens with many names who enter the war and get lost in the noise of the front. The scandal that breaks out at home. In South Africa, the case is not only read as a personal tragedy, but as a national problem, because since 1998 It is illegal to fight for or assist the armed forces of a foreign country. And it also arrives at a moment especially sensitive: More allegations of recruiting towards Russia have emerged in recent weeks, with investigations pointing to to catchment networks already told stories with acceptable costumes (escort courses, security training) that become suspicious when they lead to military contracts. This climate of public alarm worsens with arrests and judicial processeswhile the South African authorities, the Russian consulate and the platform itself appear wrapped in silence without clear answers and with families trying to piece together, through emails and calls, the map of a disappearance. The lie. Explained the medium that among the incentives that are put on the table appear always the same: money, attractive conditions, the possibility of obtaining Russian citizenship and the idea that the service could open educational or advancement doors. It is an offer designed to ring concrete and reasonableas if combat were hard but passable work, a dangerous but temporary experience. However, the story makes clear What happens when that promise lands in Ukraine: war is not a contract, it is rather a crusher, and for those who arrive without roots, a support network or the ability to get out of the wheel, destiny is reduced to a date on a piece of paper and a lost location in the east of the country. Kamikaze bodies. At another point in the same conflict appears a scene that has gone viral on networks, a video even more brutal: an African mercenary is “armed” with a TM-62 anti-tank mine attached to the body and sent towards Ukrainian positions with the intention of blowing himself up to open a bunker. The video shows crudeness without metaphors: the man protests, but a Russian soldier threatens him with a rifle, pushes him, expels him from a basement and orders him to run into the forest. in that language They call it a “can opener.”as if it were a piece of engineering, an instrument designed to break a door at the cost of disappearing, and the scene remains recorded for what it reveals: not only are foreigners recruited, they are used in missions where life is not a value to be protected, but rather the closest thing to a detonator available. Foreigners in war. Ukraine maintains that there are at least 1,436 citizens from 36 countries identified fighting in the Russian ranks, and that the real number may be higher. There is talk, again, of recruitment by financial promises, deception or pressureand warns of minimal survival: many do not survive more than a month after arriving at the front. The statement, however harsh it may be, fits with the landscape they draw these stories: people who enter through lateral routes, who arrive attracted by incentives or trapped by intermediaries, and who end up absorbed by a war that has been devouring troops until making replenishment a constant … Read more

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