Mobile Tech & Gadgets

what the DGT says about them from 2026

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From 2026 onwards V16 beacons become mandatory, although one of their requirements is that of have connectivity with an eSIM connected directly to the DGT to be able to locate you. But when people started talking about these beacons and that they were going to be mandatory, the first beacons that were coming were not connected. So, let’s tell you what happens if you wanted to hurry too much and bought an unconnected beaconor even if you have accidentally bought one V16 counterfeit. To clarify, we are going to tell you what the DGT says about these beacons that do not have connectivity. Your V16 beacon without connectivity is of no use to you Within the DGT website there is a section with 20 questions about the beacons, and one of them is yes you can continue using triangles or unconnected V16 beacon. The DGT’s response is the following: No. Neither triangles nor offline V16s will be valid in Spain as a means of signaling immobilized vehicles as of January 1. With one exception, those vehicles that are registered in other countries and are in international circulation. Therefore, your unconnected V16 will not work for you not at all. If you only carry one of those, you will be exposed to fines for not having an approved beacon, just as if you did not carry any. In this case, it does not matter if when you bought the beacons it was not specified that it would be necessary for them to be connected, they are still useless. From January 1, 2026, it will be mandatory to have a V16 connected in the car, and if you have one that is not connected, then you do not meet the legal requirements. Image | DGT In Xataka Basics | Check if your V16 beacon works well without alerting the DGT: how to do it and what time limit you have

Japan has warned China about Taiwan. And China has taken it so seriously that they have surrounded some islands in Japan

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It started a few days ago, when the Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, declared before parliament that Chinese aggression against Taiwan could constitute a “survival threat situation”, the legal formula that would allow Tokyo to use force in support of its allies. With his words, he not only broke the “strategic ambiguity” maintained by Japan for decades, he thus opened a Pandora’s box that at this time hangs on a very thin line. The explosion. As we said, the Takaichi gesturewhich broke with decades of caution and “strategic ambiguity” around the Taiwanese issue, was interpreted by Beijing as a direct provocation and a sign that the new Japanese government was willing to align itself more openly with Washington and Taipei in the most sensitive scenario in the Asia-Pacific. The Chinese reaction It was immediate: summoned the Japanese ambassador with unusually harsh language, issued official editorials calling Takaichi’s words “fundamentally evil” and warned that any Japanese intervention would be a failure destined to turn “the entire country into a battlefield.” That aggressive turnmore typical of moments of maximum tension than of routine diplomacy, announced that Beijing was not willing to leave a change of position that affects one of its vital interests unanswered. The military front is activated. While charging politically against Tokyo, China opened a second front in the military terrain. The most “showy”: the arrival of its coast guard ships on a patrol mission within the waters of the Senkaku Islands (administered by Japan but claimed by China like Diaoyu), one more step in a theater where both countries have been competing for years, but whose meaning is different in the midst of a diplomatic clash. Simultaneously, the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense detected thirty aircraftseven ships and one official Chinese vessel operating around the island in just 24 hours, with maps showing drones approaching dangerously close to Yonaguni, the Japanese island located just 110 kilometers from the Taiwanese coast. Chinese patrol with the Senkaku in the background The red line. China it takes months combining these “joint patrols” with intrusive flights in the Taiwanese ADIZ as part of a pressure strategy persistent, but do it right after Takaichi’s statements He turned these maneuvers into a message addressed to Tokyo as well as Taipei. For Japan, see military drones Chinese bordering its southernmost islands is a warning that any clash in the Taiwan Strait would have direct repercussions on its territory, a reminder that its security is inexorably linked to the future of the self-governed island. After using water cannon to turn back a flotilla of Taiwanese fishing and coast guard vessels in 2012, the Japanese Coast Guard has shown increasing vigilance in defending the waters surrounding the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands. In its territorial claim, Japan’s maritime border covers about 27 kilometers around the archipelago. The economic front. The second line of Chinese response came through economic waya tool that Beijing has perfected in previous disputes with Australia, South Korea or the United States. First issued a travel notice to its citizens warning of the “increased risks” in Japan, then urged reconsider studies in the country, directly affecting more than 123,000 Chinese students registered in Japanese centers, and then allowed the main Chinese airlines will refund free of charge tickets to Japan. This sequence, apparently dispersed, has a crystal clear logic: in a country where Chinese visitors represent nearly a quarter of total tourism, a diplomatic warning is enough to shake an entire sector. The Japanese stock market showed it: Shiseido, Uniqlo, Isetan-Mitsukoshi, Takashimaya and the airlines JAL and ANA suffered drops of between 5 and 12%, while Oriental Land, operator of Tokyo Disney Resort, fell almost 6%. Extra ball. It does not seem, therefore, that we are facing a simple stock market fluctuation, but rather the sign that a giant economic actor can, with a phrase on an official website, compromise vital income for a neighboring country and remind it of the asymmetry of economic power between the two. As I remembered French geopolitical analyst Arnaud Bertrand to put the situation in perspective, from China’s point of view, it is as if Macron officially announced that the French army would militarily defend Catalonia from Spain, just after the anniversary of Napoleon’s defeat and the end of the French occupation of Spain. In other words, a kind of disproportionate provocation if, in addition, we take into account that it occurs shortly after the 80th anniversary of the end of the japanese colonial occupation from Taiwan and Second World War. Sanae Takaichi The political dimension. Beyond tourism and education, Bloomberg told A few hours ago, Beijing allowed accounts affiliated with its media apparatus to announce that it was “fully prepared for substantive retaliation.” The insinuations range from targeted sanctions even trade restrictionssuspension of diplomatic contacts or symbolic military measures, a repertoire that China already applied harshly against South Korea after the deployment of the THAAD anti-missile system in 2017. That historical reference did not go unnoticed: then, the tourist boycott and the pressure on South Korean companies took away 0.4 points to GDP of the country, a figure strong enough to serve as a warning. For Tokyo, the threat does not come in a vacuum: China is its main business partner and supplier of critical materialsan Achilles heel that Beijing knows and exploits when you need mark limits. However, the Chinese offensive aims beyond Japanese punishment: it also seeks to deter other governments (particularly European) to speak out on Taiwan, after the recent gesture of the EU by welcoming a Taiwanese vice president for the first time in decades. And Taiwan in the center. we have been counting during the year. The element that gives coherence to this crisis is the Taiwanese issue. For Beijing, unification is an imperative political and militaryand any mention of the possibility of Japan intervening constitutes a red line. For Tokyo, geographical proximity turns any Chinese invasion into an existential threat: The fall of Taiwan could place the Chinese navy one step away from the sea … Read more

invest like never before, cut back like always

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Telephone will communicate an ERE to the unions throughout today, Monday which will initially affect between 6,000 and 7,000 workers, 24%-28% of the workforce in Spain. The final figure, after negotiations, could be around 4,000 departures. Thus, the company that was a public monopoly with 67,000 employees in 1997 will remain at around 18,000 workers. A reduction of more than 70% in three decades. Why is it important. This adjustment is the logical consequence of a broken model. Telecom companies have invested more than anyone in 5G infrastructure, fiber optics and next-generation networks, but they have less capacity than ever to raise prices. Telefónica spends billions on deploying and updating its networks while WhatsApp, Netflix or YouTube capture the value without paying hardly for transportation, the old complaint of telecoms that dates back to the times of Alierta. The result is a sector condemned to shrink staff to balance numbers. Between the lines. The ERE has an uncomfortable political dimension: The State owns 10% of Telefónica after investing 2,285 million in 2024 and appointed Marc Murtra as president in January 2025. Now Murtra is executing a plan that includes massive layoffs financed indirectly by the taxpayer via the ‘Telephone Clause’which forces the company to reimburse unemployment benefits. That is to say: the Government is the main shareholder, promotes the ERE and then recovers part of the cost. Meanwhile, the Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz criticizes staff adjustments in profitable companies like Amazon. The contradiction is clear. In figures. Each departure from the previous ERE cost 380,000 euros on average. If the pattern is repeated with 4,000-6,000 layoffs, the cost will range between 1,500 and 2,000 million euros that Telefónica will charge in 2025, adding to the losses of 1,080 million per the sale of Latin American subsidiaries. All to leave the 2026 balance sheet clean and concentrate the pain in a single exercise. Expected annual savings: between 300 and 500 million euros depending on the final scope of the agreement. Objective of the Strategic Plan: cut operating costs by 3 billion by 2030. Current staff in Spain: 25,000 employees (18,305 in the three main subsidiaries plus 7,000 in other companies). Yes, buteither. The unions warn that Telefónica’s problem is not the wage bill but the debt (close to 30,000 million) and the undervaluation of the stock market. An ERE does not reduce short-term debt or reactivate the price, which fell 16% after presenting the strategic plan. What’s more: pre-retiring a worker costs between 450,000 and 500,000 euros in the telecom sector, so the savings take years to materialize. Telefónica’s trend is not new but it is relentless: Between 1997 and 2025 it has executed EREs every two or three years. The last one, in 2024, affected 3,421 workers with a peculiarity: it was covered entirely by people born in 1968 because the company prioritized those who had not taken advantage of previous adjustments. Now there are only 200 workers in that situation, so the new ERE will be “multi-year” and will reach employees born in 1969, 1970, 1971 and possibly 1972. This ERE is framed in the strategic plan Transform & Grow from Murtrawhich includes cut the dividend in half (0.15 euros per share in 2026), reduce debt, generate cash and keep the door open to acquisitions in Europe through a possible capital increase. The logic is clear: impoverish the present to prepare a future of sectoral consolidation. The market, for the moment, has not celebrated it. The company has called seven different EREs, one for each affected legal entity: Telefónica Spain. Telefónica Móviles. Telefónica Solutions. Movistar+. Telefónica Global Solutions. Telefónica Digital Innovation. And the corporate center. The calendar is tight: 15 days to establish negotiating tables after this Monday’s notice, then 30 days to reach an agreement. The objective is to sign before December 31 or, at most, in the first days of January 2026. What is new is that for the first time the adjustment reaches the corporate center, traditionally shielded. This reinforces Murtra’s message to the market: total discipline, no exceptions. It also points out the structural severity of the problem. The big question. Is a business model that invests in critical infrastructure but does not capture sufficient value sustainable? Telefónica has deployed 5G, high-speed symmetric fiber and intercontinental submarine networks. But Google, Meta, Netflix and Amazon enjoy that investment by paying marginal interconnection fees while hoarding advertising and subscription revenue. European telecoms have been demanding for years that big technology companies contribute to financing the network they operate. Nothing has changed. And now what. The union consensus is total, something notable in an adjustment of this magnitude. UGT, CCOO and Sumados-Fetico signed Telefónica’s social framework in Octoberunifying rights of the entire Spanish workforce. This prior agreement now facilitates the negotiation of the ERE, but it also shows that the unions have accepted the inevitability of the adjustment. Conditions and amounts will be negotiated, not the principle of the cut. Murtra and CEO Emilio Gayo They have each invested more than 500,000 euros in Telefónica shares after presenting the strategic plan, purchasing securities at 3.67-3.69 euros. A symbolic gesture of confidence that has not prevented the stock from continuing to trade 15% below the level prior to the announcement of the plan. Managers are betting on a future recovery. Investors, at the moment, are not. In Xataka | 100 years after its birth, Telefónica faces the greatest existential dilemma in its history: what does it want to be when it grows up Featured image | Telephone

The US vetoed NVIDIA’s most powerful chips in China. I didn’t count on an unexpected problem: Indonesia

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NVIDIA is at the center of the technological war between China and the United States. After the blockadethe US allowed the company sell a version of its H20 chips specific for the Chinese market, but the most powerful chips, The Blackwells are still banned in China. Or so we believed. What is happening. Donald Trump made it clear that he does not want China to have access to Blackwell chips, but despite the blockade, an investigation by the Wall Street Journal shows how there are Chinese companies benefiting from the computing power of these chips using legal shortcuts. The process. The investigation details the process that NVIDIA’s Blackwell chips go through until INF Tech, a Shanghai-based startup, uses the computing power. NVIDIA sells its chips to Aivres: Aivres is a Silicon Valley company partially owned by Inspur, a Chinese company that is on the US blacklist. NVIDIA could not do business with Inspur or its partners, but the blockade does not affect partners based in the US, as is the case with Aivres. Aivres sells the chips to Indonesia: specifically to an Indonesian communications provider called Indosat Ooredo Hutchison. The agreement includes the sale of 32 NVIDIA GB200 racks with 72 Blackwell chips each; more than 2,300 chips worth $100 million. Indonesia sells computing power to China: The end customer for this cloud computing power is INF Tech, which will use it to train AI in financial and medical research applications. This point is key as we will see later. Why it is important. The investigation calls into question the true effectiveness of US blockades and regulations. Using intermediaries in other countries, Chinese companies can manage to circumvent the restrictions and access the most powerful chips, all without violating the restrictions. Cracks. According to the Trump administration’s controls, the deal is legal as long as INF Tech does not use the chips to help the government with military intelligence applications or to develop weapons. However, it is difficult to know what it is actually being used for and in fact in the US there are suspicions that The Chinese government is leaning on the private sector to improve its military technology. Disagreement. If there is a crack, the logical thing would be to cover it. The Biden administration tried to tighten these rules to prevent chips from being sold to countries that are not close allies of the United States. This would have prevented the sale to the Indonesian company, but when Trump returned to power he decided not to go ahead with these new rules. Instead of the government controlling it, it should be the companies themselves. Interests. The US blockades seek to take advantage of China in the AI ​​technological race, all for reasons of “national security.” It is contradictory that they leave these cracks open through which these chips end up sneaking in legally. The one who thinks it’s great is NVIDIA. Speaking to the Wall Street Journal, a company spokesperson came out in favor of Trump’s decision, saying that “Biden’s controls cost taxpayers tens of billions, paralyzed innovation and ceded ground to foreign rivals.” Image | NVIDIA, Pexels In Xataka | The Chinese government has taken a definitive step to break NVIDIA’s dominance in China: prioritize “national” chips

last hours to get your free ticket and experience the gala live and direct

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The moment is approaching! The next November 20 the gala of the Xataka NordVPN Awards 2025an event in which we will discover the best technological products of the year. It’s going to be an event full of surprises, humor and lots and lots of technology, and if you want to experience it first-hand you still have time. There are still some tickets left, so we invite you, if you have not done so yet, fill out this form and order yours. It is completely free and you can include a companion. Little tip: don’t leave it! There are few tickets left and they are delivered in strict order of arrival. Agenda When: November 20, 2025. Where: Capitol Cinemas (Madrid). Schedule: Start of the gala at 8:00 p.m. (Spanish peninsular time), although we will tell you more about door opening and access by mail, when you receive your confirmation. Request your entry in this form If you want to join us in person at the Xataka NordVPN 2025 Awards gala, you just have to register in this form. The tickets, as we said, They are totally free and they will be delivered in order of arrival until capacity is reached. There are still a few left, so hurry up and register to reserve yours (and that of a companion if you wish). Once you have completed the form, you will receive a confirmation email with all the details about the event and the party (that’s all, see you there!). Check your email carefully and pay attention to your inbox. Note: If the form does not work for you, you can sign up here. And if you can’t join us physically, remember that we will broadcast the gala live from our website, so be sure to visit us that day. See you on November 20!

We believed that bitcoin volatility was a thing of the past. Then it plummeted to $95,000.

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The bitcoin roller coaster. If just a month ago bitcoin reached its maximum value of $123,000, now we find ourselves with an extraordinary drop that has reached almost a quarter of its value: this weekend bitcoin reached collapse up to $93,000. The question, of course, is why? The potential reasons. Although on other occasions there have been clearer reasons for sudden positive and negative movements, this time the geopolitical and economic panorama had not undergone major changes. Even so, there are several factors that may have influenced this notable drop. The traditional stock market has also been falling for days, which normally also marks the future of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Some analysts indicate that the US Federal Reserve will cut rates in December, which will make investments in cryptocurrencies less attractive. They all sell: “whales” and holders. That has apparently sparked a rush to sell and a bearish move that has affected all investors. The famous whales with huge amounts of bitcoin seem to have taken the opportunity to collect profits, but even individual investors who had been keeping their bitcoins safe for years (“holders” or “hodlers”, in the slang) have also withdrawn from their positions. Even so, short-term investors (Short Term Holders) have once again been according to CryptoQuant those that have influenced the price the most. A “lost” fortune. According to the crypto analytics company CryptoQuant, about 815,000 BTC have been sold in the last 30 days, the highest figure since the beginning of 2024. In the last month and a half, no less than 1.1 trillion dollarsand many cryptocurrencies have lost all or much of what they had gained during the year. “Extreme fear”. A website called “Crypto Fear & Greed Index” evaluates the state of the crypto market based on messages and movements that occur over the days. In one week that index has gone from “fear” (29) to “extreme fear” (14). Or what is the same: many investors sell out of fear of even steeper falls. Widespread falls. As is often the case in the cryptocurrency market, bitcoin’s movements mark a contagious trend. Ethereum fell 12% in a week to $3,183, while other popular tokens such as XRP, BNB, Tron, Solana, Dogecoin or Cardano were around 16% down. But. There are investors who take advantage of these falls to further strengthen their position. Michael Saylor, CEO of Strategy, published the phrase “Big week” in X and denied rumors that it was going to partially withdraw from the market. In fact, there has repeated over and over again that not only was it not selling, but “we have bought bitcoin every day this week.” There are theories for all tastes, and other analysts relate this fall to the so-called M2, a measure of available liquidity. If one compares the trends of M2 and bitcoin, assuresthat reveals that bitcoin will regain ground in the short term. Get ready for the curves. These days we are experiencing significant falls among large technology companies and the fear that the hypothetical AI bubble will burst is especially high. This seems to have influenced investors in the crypto world, who have taken the opportunity to correct positions perhaps waiting for new events (such as the announcement of rate cuts, if they occur). This volatility is different from the old one. The uncertainty and volatility are reminiscent of years ago, when the falls and rises in value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were enormous. The difference now is that for years bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have ended convincing the institutional market. In fact, CryptQuant analysts indicate that “the whales are accumulating (bitcoin) in a big way, and they have not made a profit. And yet they continue to accumulate.” It is something that we have been watching all year. Image | Jonathan Borba In Xataka | A man threw his hard drive in the trash and lost 700 million euros in bitcoins. Now he will have his own series

A great sports month is coming in Movistar Plus+ for 9.99 euros

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Sports are becoming a cornerstone for some streaming platforms. Traditionally we have chosen these for their exclusive series or movies, but offering live football, basketball or tennis matches can make a difference for sports lovers. If you are one of them, then surely Movistar Plus+ fits you: a platform that will provide the entire Davis Cup and that only costs 9.99 euros per month (or 99.90 euros per year). Monthly subscription to Movistar Plus+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The entire Davis Cup, Real Madrid and Barcelona on Movistar Plus+ For very little per month, we can subscribe and give this streaming platform a try. By not having any type of permanenceif we are not convinced, we can unsubscribe at any time. Furthermore, we can hire it regardless of our operator and we can even share it with a person of our choice without making any strange inventions. If we decide to give it a chance today, we are going to have a very full month ahead of us in terms of sporting events. The first and most notable thing is undoubtedly the Davis Cupwhich we can see in full and exclusively on Movistar Plus+ starting November 18. This eight-way final begins for Spain with a complicated tie against the Czech Republic, later facing Argentina or Germany if they pass. What if we also want to watch football? Adding several competitions, the next few weeks will be very full of authentic games, whether in LaLiga, the Champions League or even the Premier League. Below we show you some of the most notable matches that will be broadcast on Movistar Plus+: Elche – Real Madrid (November 23) Arsenal – Tottenham (November 23) Chelsea – Barcelona (November 25) Ludogorets – Celta (November 27) Seville – Betis (November 30) Barcelona – Atlético de Madrid (December 2) Liverpool – Sunderland (December 3) Athletic – Atlético de Madrid (December 6) Real Madrid – Manchester City (December 10) Celta – Bologna (December 11) Not everything is sport, of course. We also have many series, films and documentaries to choose from within the Movistar Plus+ catalogue, such as the new cases of ‘Crímenes’ by Carles Porta. All without forgetting that we can download what we want and watch it offlineideal for traveling next long weekend or at Christmas. For 9.99 euros per month, a great streaming option that you can get it for 36 euros a year if you have a Young Cultural Bonus. 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 | Movistar Plus+ In Xataka | The best streaming platforms 2025 | Comparison of Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Movistar Plus+, Filmin, Apple TV, SkyShowtime and Rakuten TV: catalog, functions and prices In Xataka | So you can get Movistar Plus+ from 3.25 euros per month to watch series, movies and even football

An atoll in the South Pacific is the best kept secret of the ultra-rich. If you want to hide your fortune, this is your island

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In the middle of the South Pacific, there is a little paradise which attracts both nature lovers and those looking to put their great fortunes safely away. The Cook Islands, with their turquoise beaches and dreamlike landscapes, have become the chosen refuge by many millionaires for keep your money safe and anonymous. Beyond being a privileged tourist destination, this archipelago adopts the second most used meaning of paradise: that of tax haven. Its special legal system protects the assets of those millionaires who decide to enjoy its dream beaches and its legal opacity with assets. They came for its beaches, they stayed for the trusts This natural oasis, located about 3,000 kilometers from New Zealand, is not only home to beauty and tranquility, but also a sophisticated asset protection mechanism that has gained global fame in recent years among millionaires around the world. Although many think of tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands are distinguished by their ability to raise trust financial structures from which millionaires can manage assets of all kinds, from properties to cryptocurrencies, with a very lax taxation. Not in vain, the Cook Islands were a recurring reference in the great financial scandals that were revealed by the Panama Papers, Pandora or the Paradise Papers. As and how they counted in Fortunesince the 1980s, the Cook Islands established a single fiduciary system which offers a level of opacity and protection difficult to find in other enclaves considered tax havens. For example, the authority of foreign courts to intervene in these funds is not recognized and, furthermore, the identities of the owners are protected by law. This combination makes the country a bastion for those who want to keep their assets safe from external demands or embargoes. Cook Islands, a paradise for human and fiscal matters Here, millionaires transfer their assets to a trust managed by a local fiduciary (front man), while they can remain beneficiaries or dispose of the money and property freely. This separation between Ownership of the heritage and who enjoys it generates a legal barrier that makes it difficult for third parties to claim those assets. In this way, millionaire businessmen protect their fortunes in the event of bankruptcy of their companies because, legally, they are not owners of the assets that they do enjoy. Likewise, fortunes would not be so exposed to divorce cases. “If all your money is in your pocket and someone tries to take it from you, maybe they can. But if the money is in another country and not under your control, chances are they won’t be able to touch it,” he explained to Fortune Blake Harris, lawyer specializing in property protection in the Cook Islands. In addition, shell companies are used to manage certain assets in order to add another level of opacity to the ownership of trust assets. “We created a practically unbreakable structure. And it is a fundamental practice. It is necessary to protect yourself,” said Harris. Spanish millionaires also travel to paradise The Panama Papers and other tax scandals exposed the financial engineering that large fortunes were using to reduce their tax bill. Among the names that appeared in these investigations there were also some spanish names. It should be said that constituting a trust in the Cook Islands It is completely legal for a Spanish resident. The Polynesian atoll was excluded from the EU tax haven lists and from Spain. However, the Spanish legislation It focuses on who actually controls and benefits from the assets, not just who is listed as the formal owner. However, just because it is legal in Spain does not mean that it works the same as for an American millionaire. Spain does not include the figure of the trust in its legal framework, although it does takes it into account at the tax level. In practice, this means that even if the assets are transferred to a trustee in another country, The Tax Agency considers that the person residing in Spain retains some type of control or benefit over them. And if this control exists, the Treasury understands that this assets remain linked to the taxpayer and, therefore, must declare it as part of your heritage. Therefore, although the protection against international litigation offered by Cook Islands trusts is effective, in Spain they do not have the same effectiveness than in the US, so It is not such a popular instrument. between the great Spanish fortunes as among the millionaires of other countries. However, as how they point From the Gesta tax consultancy, trusts are recommended more as tools of succession planning or protection against civil risks, and both for evade taxes. In Xataka | They were promised a bitcoin paradise and zero taxes for 120,000 euros. Today there is only one desert island on the verge of disappearing Image | cook islandsUnsplash (Nathan Dumlao)

Multimillion-dollar nannies for families competing for top talent

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In a private villa overlooking the almost unrealistically turquoise waters of the Maldives, Cassidy O’Hagan, 28, slides the bedroom curtain to check if the child is still asleep. He is not on a honeymoon or on vacation. It’s working. Hours earlier, the family had arrived on a private jet from New York. She, as part of the “child care team”, traveled with them. For many young people it may seem like an improbable dream. For her—and for a growing number of people her age—it is simply the strongest alternative to a corporate job market they feel is broken. In a world where layoffs are constant, trajectories are falling apart and artificial intelligence begins to compete for the same office positions, dozens of young people are choosing another path: becoming nannies, personal assistants or private chefs for the ultra-rich. An unexpected work turn that, far from being anecdotal, is becoming a global trend. The rise of “billionaire babysitters.” According to Business Insideryoung people from Generation Z are abandoning traditional careers to work in the world of so-called “private service”: from executive assistants and house managers to drivers, chefs or nannies for ultra-high net worth families. The salaries are impressive. Different reports describe salaries ranging from $100,000 to $250,000 annually for nannies and personal assistants in the United States, and £150,000 or more in the United Kingdom, as The Guardian documents. There are even extreme situations: Fortune described an offer of almost $240,000 for a tutor to prepare a one-year-old for future entry to Eton or an elite university. The message between the lines is clear: high-level domestic service has become one of the most profitable, dynamic and competitive employment sectors of the moment. The wealth that sustains it. Behind the boom there is an obvious explanation: global wealth has multiplied. Added to this is what UBS called “the rise of the common millionaire”: 52 million people in the world own between 1 and 5 million dollars in investable assets. All this wealth needs people: mansions, private jets, megayachts and extensive portfolios of residences require entire teams to operate. In certain epicenters of wealth, demand has skyrocketed to the point of absurdity. The New Yorker documents that in Palm Beach —recently converted into a laboratory of extreme capitalism— the salaries of nannies exceed 140,000 or 160,000 dollars annually, with partial housing included, bonuses and endless hours. The economy is literally being reconfigured around who can pay to delegate any task imaginable. Gen Z against corporatism. The other half of the equation is in the young people. According to the Deloitte reportonly 6% aspire to a managerial position. They seek balance, personal fulfillment and emotional stability. However, as shown a Bankrate surveytheir financial expectations have increased: many believe they need salaries close to six figures annually to feel “free” or “comfortable” financially. The reality of hiring, however, move in the opposite direction: difficulties in finding employment, entry-level salaries that do not cover rent, and companies where AI is already replacing human tasks. Buried in this contrast, many young people are choosing to work for the private service: money, stability, travel, benefits and — for some — the feeling of doing a job more human than any Excel. The price of luxury: what doesn’t appear on Instagram. Behind the extraordinary figures and photographs next to infinity pools, the reality is more complex. According to testimonies collected by Business Insider either The New Yorkerthese jobs are as lucrative as they are demanding. The working hours can exceed 70 or 80 hours per week, and during summers or international tours they are close to 100. “Absolute availability”—24 hours a day for consecutive weeks—is the true currency. And luxury does not lighten the burden: it intensifies it. In some cases, nannies fly first class, participate in exclusive dinner parties, or stay in five-star hotel suites. In others, as The Guardian explainsthey eat separately, they fly in economy class while the parents fly in business or they must follow strict protocols about how to enter a room, where to stand, what to say or what not to say. Added to this is the requirement for absolute discretion. The New Yorker documents confidentiality agreements, control of social networks, household manuals and rules on clothing, schedules or even the type of footwear allowed in certain rooms. The staff lives “on the edge of privacy and anonymity”: they know everything, but they can’t tell anything. And all of this results in a very high cost on an emotional level. Many nannies recognize that this type of employment makes it almost impossible to have children of their own, maintain a relationship or build a stable social circle. One of them sums it up like this, cited by the same medium: “It’s living other people’s lives, not yours.” Where is all this going? Palm Beach, London, New York, Los Angeles, Dubai, Monaco. The geographies repeat themselves: where wealth arrives, agencies, waiting lists and competition for the best personnel appear. In some places, the pressure is so intense that qualified staff are in short supply even amid hundreds of applications. Families want experience, discretion, professionalism and, increasingly, university education. Domestic service has stopped being a job: it has become a career. But with this professionalization the distance also grows. They are jobs that require being inside without ever being part of the inside. Closeness without belonging. Intimacy without reciprocity. A silent frontier that defines the era. Meanwhile, another half of the care sector remains trapped on barely living wages. The contrast is brutal: the same system that raises one nanny to $200,000 relegates another, outside the elite circuit, for the minimum wage. What this phenomenon reveals. In a world where young people board megayachts to find the stability that offices no longer offer, the rise of elite nannies and assistants is not a simple job change. It’s a symptom. It speaks of an economy that is organized around those who can pay for time, attention and affection. It speaks of a generation that, … Read more

To enter the best “mental gym” in the world you don’t need a ticket: just language

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Learning languages ​​is something that For many it is essential with the aim of opening up new job opportunities or being able to travel without problems. But beyond practical usefulness, in everyday life it can also be good insurance for our brain in the long term by acting as a barrier against cognitive decline. Analyzing data from more than 86,000 people in 27 European countries, a study published in Nature Aging has put figures on something that neuroscience has been suspecting for many years: speaking several languages ​​not only broadens our mind or allows us to watch series in their original version, but also the brain stays younger. An AI model. Behind the study is an artificial intelligence model designed to estimate the so-called “biobehavioral age.” This means that a patient’s real age will be compared with what their body reflects with the results of their analysis, how their brain works or whether they have diabetes or hypertension. This is not an algorithm that has been created by chance, but has been developed by a European consortium of neuroscientists and measures this gap and classifies those who age slower or faster with a higher biological age. When applying this model, the results were clear: multilingualism acts as a powerful protective factor against the deterioration associated with the passage of time. The more language, the better. For researchers, we are facing a phenomenon that is ‘dose-dependent’, and it is something that has been seen after removing different variables such as socioeconomic context, years of education or migratory patterns. In fact, multilingualism emerged as a “cognitive reserve” factor comparable to regular physical exercise or a healthy diet, both considered pillars of brain health. The bilingual brain: a gym that never closes. Jason Rothman, a neuroscientist at Lancaster University and an expert on bilingualism, describes it as a form of permanent training: “Every time the brain selects one language and suppresses another, attention, memory and executive control networks are activated, the same ones that tend to deteriorate with age.” These networks, which are located in specific areas of the brain, are ultimately responsible for cognitive flexibility and decision making. The more they train, such as alternating languages, the more resilient they will become. There are discrepancies. If we look at other studies carried out in the past, the truth is that people do not always think alike. Numerous large-scale analyzes point to the existence of publication biases such as lack of replicability and, especially, that many advantages attributed to bilingualism are diluted or disappear once other factors such as education or socioeconomic status are carefully controlled. An illustrative example is Lehtonen’s work in 2018which reviewed more than 150 studies and concluded that the benefits in memory, inhibitory control or cognitive flexibility are not systematic or universally replicable, and usually depend on the type of cognitive tasks used, cultural and contextual differences or the profile of bilingual speakers. It’s not a miracle. The message that predominates today among the majority of specialists is one of caution and nuance. Learning several languages ​​can be positive for cognitive development, enhance mental flexibility in certain circumstances or delay symptoms of deterioration in certain profiles, but it is not a “universal vaccine” against brain aging. Education, continued intellectual activity, socioeconomic level, physical exercise and a healthy diet maintain a much higher weight, and often, the benefits attributed to bilingualism reflect these concomitant factors more than a direct effect of speaking several languages. Images | zhendong wang Robina Weermeijer In Xataka | That a teenager begins to ‘hate’ his parents is something that is in his brain, and science has already found the pattern

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