Mobile Tech & Gadgets

a 1 MW floating catamaran that is already in Valencia

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The Port of Valencia just received an infrastructure that marks a turning point in the race for offshore renewable energy in our country. This is ‘Paiporta’, the first marine solar platform in Spain, which marks an engineering milestone by opening the door to generating renewable energy taking advantage of the entire marine area. It has already arrived. The project is promoted by the Spanish startup BlueNewables, with the support of Naturgy. After being built in the San Enrique shipyard, in Vigo, the structure has arrived to anchor outside the southern contradock of the Valencian site and begin its imminent testing phase. which will tell us if these types of installations are truly efficient for our electrical system. A great challenge. Taking photovoltaic technology to the open sea is not an easy task, since the continuous waves, extreme salinity and oceanic winds require very different solutions than those we see in terrestrial plants where the plate remains static, at least. To solve this challenge, the platform uses an innovative catamaran-type design optimized for the ocean environment. The advantage that this system offers is that it allows the use of more efficient floats and the panels to be placed at a higher height above sea level. This improves overall system performance and facilitates maintenance by better protecting equipment from the sea surface. Your generation system. One of the great characteristics of this system is that the panels generate energy not only with the direct solar radiation they receive from the sun, but also by capturing the light reflected on the sea water itself, which increases its efficiency. But also, ‘Paiporta’ is only the first half of the project, since this initial unit has 500 kW of power, but it is expected that a second unit will arrive at the end of summer to complete the installation and reach the megawatt of total power. A small nuance. Although they tell us that this is the first marine solar platform in Spain, the reality is that it is the first on a pre-commercial scale. This means that in 2023 a first prototype will be tested in the same port in order to begin conducting experiments on its viability. Now, the arrival of ‘Paiporta’ means taking the big leap from that basic test bed to a mature infrastructure that is almost ready to be commercialized. A legal labyrinth. Getting to this point has not been an easy path for these companies, since Spain has had to create a clear regulatory framework to organize ocean energy. Specifically, this regulation comes from a Royal Decree published in 2024 that regulates the production of electrical energy from renewable sources in facilities located at sea. This is the strongest regulatory reference today, since it dictates how projects subject to competitive competition should be processed compared to purely innovative ones, setting the rules of the game. Two years of exam. The platform project in Valencia has subsidies from the IDAE, financed by NextGeneration EU European funds, and is part of the Renmarinas Valenciaport program. The objective of the Port Authority is twofold, since, on the one hand, they want to move towards emissions-neutral ports and, on the other, they also want to convert their waters into a permanent testing platform for marine technologies. From now on, Naturgy and BlueNewables have a two-year monitoring period ahead of them. During this time, they will collect and share critical data on performance, operation, maintenance costs and potential technical issues. Only through this examination in real conditions will we know if floating ocean photovoltaics are prepared to accompany offshore wind in the energy revolution of the Spanish coast or if it remains an attempt that has gone wrong. Images | Naturgy In Xataka | We have been thinking for years that solar panels were destroying the countryside: it turns out that birds and insects live much better under them

Xiaomi announces its first NAS with three different configurations: these are their prices

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Xiaomi continues to add devices and accessories to its already huge catalog with a new member: your first NAS. At the moment it has been announced in China and there is no official confirmation that it will reach the global market, but it would not be surprising considering that it is a very attractive device, both for what it offers and for the price at which it will be launched, at least in China. Alternatively, if you are currently looking for a NAS and you don’t want to wait for Xiaomi to decide to launch it on the global market, the Ugreen NASync DXP2800 is available on Amazon for 379.95 euros. It includes two bays and offers a maximum storage capacity of 80 TB (hard drives and SSDs not included). The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi’s first NAS will land in China For now it will land in China, so we have to wait to see if it reaches the global market. The NAS (Network Attached Storage), referred to in this case as Xiaomi Smart Storageis essentially a device that allows you to create a cloud at home, since a hard drive or SSD unit can be connected to it so that we can access all the files, videos and photographs from anywhere, as long as we have an Internet connection on our mobile (or other device) and we have the NAS connected to the router. The useful thing, although we will have to wait to see how it works, is that the NAS will be compatible with the Xiaomi ecosystemthus allowing you to manage backups through your mobile, organize photos and videos and much more. Of course, this allows us to have storage available in the cloud, without having to pay subscriptions of any kind. As we said in the first paragraph, the NAS will land in the Chinese market and at the moment it is not known if it will later arrive in its global version. However, we do know the different configurations that the brand will market, as well as their prices: Xiaomi Smart Storage 4TB (two 2TB drives): 3,499 yuan (approximately 453 euros). Xiaomi Smart Storage 8TB (two 4TB drives): 4,499 yuan (approximately 583 euros). Xiaomi Smart Storage 16TB (two 8TB drives): 6,999 yuan (approximately 906 euros). Furthermore, it should be added that can now be reserved through platforms such as Youpin (it will be launched through a crowdfunding campaign) and the three configurations will be compatible with both 3.5 and 2.5-inch mechanical hard drives (HDD) and solid state drives (SSD) in 2.5-inch format via SATA. You may also be interested UGREEN NASync DH2300 Desktop NAS 2 Bays, 4GB RAM, NFC One-Touch Connection, 1GbE LAN, AI Photo Album, Easy NAS for Beginners, NAS Server for Home (Diskless) (DH2300) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links UGREEN NASync DXP4800 Pro Desktop NAS 4 bays, Intel i3-1315U CPU (6 cores), 8GB DDR5 (up to 96GB), 128G SSD, 1x10GbE, 1×2.5GbE, 2 M.2 NVMe Slots, 4K HDMI (Diskless) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | IT HomeXiaomi In Xataka | How to choose a NAS to set up your own home cloud. recommendations and seven featured models from 100 euros In Xataka | Google Drive alternatives: the best cloud storage services for your files

“Absolute confinement in apartments bores and stresses cats, altering their nature”

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The traditional image of the domestic cat is usually that of an independent, lazy animal perfectly adapted to spending its days sleeping on the sofa in an apartment. However, the biological and psychological reality of felines clashes head-on with this lifestyle, since the expertsas El Español has reported, they point because “absolute confinement in apartments bores and stresses cats, altering their nature.” The biology. The domestic cat retains many of the instincts of its wild ancestors intact. Irene Rochlitz, from her work in the Cambridge Animal Welfare and Human-Animal Interactions group, has extensively documented what the needs are basic and non-negotiable behavioral characteristics of the species. And here it is clear that the feline requires a structured territory, areas specifically delimited for its biological needs, and constant opportunities for play and simulation of hunting sequences. The problem is that when an animal equipped with this predatory and territorial instinct is confined to the square meters of an apartment without adequate enrichment, the risks to its mental and physical health skyrocket exponentially. Our role. Animal behavior patterns indicate that the lack of stimuli in closed environments requires proactive interventions by humans. When reviewing the evidence on feline behavior in different housing environments, it is clear that it is essential to apply specific recommendations to mitigate the impacts of the confined space and not treat this as something “normal”. Your response. Chronic boredom in cats should not be interpreted as simple temporary sadness, but is a serious clinical trigger. A rigorous practical review based on scientific evidence details how indoor cats that lack adequate outlets to scratch, hunt or play end up developing severe health and behavioral problems. If the instinctive load cannot be channeled, the animal will look for escape mechanisms that owners often mistakenly classify as “bad behavior” or aggression, when in most cases they are physiological responses to a poor environment. In your health. A sedentary lifestyle and anxiety sustained over time take a heavy toll on the animal’s body, as happens in humans. Here experts emphasize that confinement, whether prolonged in a home or in a shelter cage, requires the immediate implementation of enrichment strategies to prevent medical problems. And one of the most serious and recurrent clinical consequences derived from this environmentally induced anxiety is lower urinary tract disease. In the pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic offered the scientific community a unique and massive scenario to study feline behavior in the face of abrupt changes in routines and levels of confinement shared with their human owners. Here, a recent empirical study comparatively evaluated various feline metrics, dividing the analysis into three different phases: before the pandemic, during strict confinements and in the post-confinement period. This study measured the well-being, behavioral disturbances and body condition of the domestic cats involved. The results showed that, during the period of confinement we experienced, the behavioral problems of the cats increased with greater concern. But in addition, it was also observed that during these months the cats analyzed considerably increased their weight. The best strategy. When it comes to keeping a cat in an ‘enclosed’ apartment, it is important to apply different strategies so that it can be in a comfortable environment. That is why it is recommended to have elements that allow the cat to express natural marking behaviors, so there must be adequate space to scratch. Furthermore, the home territory must be structured by integrating shelters and elevated platforms, given that visual control at height is part of the animal’s intrinsic behavioral needs. Images | Erik-Jan Leusink In Xataka | It’s time to face it, cats are a problem: the first world census reveals that they eat up to 2,000 species

Volkswagen delays plans to manufacture batteries in Sagunto. It is very bad news for your cheap electric cars

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Volkswagen battery production in Sagunto (Valencia) is delayed. He does it because the works are not progressing in the stipulated times but the problem is greater. And the company proposed this factory as essential to have its plans for electric cars manufactured in Spain at full capacity. a delay. This is what they assure in The Confidential who, exclusively, assure that the plans to produce battery cells at Volkswagen’s Valencian factory in Sagunto are delayed, at least, “a few months.” In Xataka We have tried to contact Volkswagen but, as of this writing, we have not received a response to our questions. According to the media, the information has been provided by “sources close” to the company and “unofficial sources linked to the universe of contractors do not rule out that the delay hides more serious changes in the project.” What is the delay? Volkswagen had a calendar which was to have the manufacturing of the first pre-series units of battery cells ready in September 2026. The objective is that, with these tests, mass manufacturing would arrive during the first quarter of 2027. However, they point out in The Confidentialit will not be until December when the tests will begin, so the final production of the cells could be postponed until almost half of next year. The delay, of course, would be due to problems during the construction of the factory but not to cuts in the project. Despite everything, it comes at a bad time. A (small) breath. What they assure from the media is that the project is not in danger, neither due to investments nor due to size. And Volkswagen is in the midst of a restructuring process, with up to 100,000 layoffs hanging over European plants and the possibility of closure of some of them. The Spanish project, however, is one of the most important that the company has in the short term. The investment, adding all the phases, is expected to reach 3,000 million euros and right now 1,500 people are working there in the construction phase. For the production of pre-series cells It is expected to employ 500 people. The Spanish hub. The biggest problem for Volkswagen with the delay of these plans is that the final production to feed the Barcelona and Navarra plants is irremediably delayed. In them, the company will produce the smallest models with up to four cars that will cost 25,000 euros. In Spain alone, Volkswagen will invest 10,000 million euros. Of them, 3,000 million will go to the Sagunto plant, as we have mentioned, and the same amount is dedicated to the renovation of Martorell. The Navarra plant will be renovated with an investment of 1,000 million euros and the remaining 3,000 million will be invested in auxiliary component companies. At a very bad time. Although no work is free of delays, delaying the production of batteries is a real problem for the company. And the German company has enormous hopes placed on these cars to continue gaining share in the electric car market and, finally, to take advantage of this technology as they expected. Besides, the delivery of Perte VEC aid It is also conditioned to comply with the planned schedule. But above all because each car sold is a break in its emissions quota. In 2027 average emissions will be reviewed that the company has put on the street with each car sold. Going over 93.6 gr/km of CO2 will be an automatic fine and now In 2025 the company expected billion-dollar sanctions. Selling as many affordable cars as possible next year is essential to reduce the expected penalty. Photo | Volkswagen In Xataka | Europe has its hope in the 25,000 euro electric car and Volkswagen already knows who will manufacture it: Spain

the delay of streaming compared to DTT

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This World Cup has involved a meeting in the field with friends in every match in Spaina fairly typical scene that shows that, when there is football (and even more so when La Roja plays), everything comes to a standstill. We take the TV out on the porch, grab some chairs, have some snacks and dinner, and what more could you ask for. Well yes, one thing is: don’t let the neighbor spoil the surprise of the goals. Since we did not have a coaxial cable antenna at hand, we streamed through the app Movistar Plus+. The thing about streaming is that, generally, the retransmission it’s more late than the signal that is emitted from DTT. It is not particularly annoying as long as there are no cuts, but an event like a World Cup, where each goal is shouted out loud, can become quite a nuisance. And even more so when the signal is more than a minute late, as was the case with us. So I couldn’t think of anything other than to explain the reasons why this happens and its possible solutions. The traditional antenna is faster than it looks Traditional television, which is received via antenna, also has its own delay. It has never been a one hundred percent instantaneous broadcast, since the networks They usually apply a small margin between five and ten seconds, precisely to be able to cut off in time if something inappropriate happens live. This cushion has existed for decades and is the same for all viewers who watch the signal on the antenna. The difference is that this delay is short, stable and homogeneous. Everyone who watches the game on DTT sees it, more or less, at the same time. However, in streaming things change. The (much longer) journey of a signal over the Internet To understand why streaming always arrives later, we have to follow the path that the image takes from the stadium to our devices. And this journey goes through several stages: first with the capture of the image, then with encoding, transcoding, distribution and, finally, decoding on the viewer’s device. Each of those steps adds timeand none are instantaneous. Image generated by AI with Gemini The key is how that video is distributed over the internet. The vast majority of streaming platformswhether large general services or sports applications, use protocols such as HLS or its equivalent DASH. Both work in a very specific way, since the server does not send a continuous stream of video, but rather cuts it into small fragments of between two and ten seconds in length, which the player downloads one after the other. So that the playback is not cut off or stuck if the connection fails for a moment, the player does not limit itself to downloading the fragment that is to be seen at that moment, but also also save several fragments aheadsomething we call “buffer“. This mechanism prioritizes making the video look fluid over seeing it at the exact moment it happens, and that is precisely the price you pay in seconds of delay. To this we must add the distribution through the so-called CDNs (content distribution networks), which are the infrastructures that allow millions of people to watch the same game at the same time without the original servers collapsing. The CDN77 company calculate that, adding network latency, transcoding time (about five seconds on average) and the player’s own buffer, common HTTP protocols generatea total delay of between 25 and 40 secondsfrom the moment the play occurs until it reaches the viewer’s screen. Amazon Web Services, which provides technical support to numerous streaming platforms, matches in that the player’s safety margin is a decision made by each application, and the greater the margin, the more protected the playback is against cuts, but also the later the image reaches the viewer. There are extreme cases. FEED technical magazine remember that, during the last Euro Cup, many viewers received the notification of the goal on their mobile phone before even seeing it on the screen streaming, and also cites the case of boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul broadcast by Netflix, which had significant loading and lag problems. And there is no solution? It’s not that the platforms don’t want to reduce the delay, it’s that they want to do it without sacrificing image quality or connection stability It is complicated and expensive. In current streaming, each application distributes the content through its own distribution networks, which causes the delay to vary from one service to another, something that does not normally happen with classic television, where all viewers usually share the same delay. This is precisely why “low latency” versions of common protocols, known as LL-HLS and LL-DASH, have begun to appear. These variants allow the player to start downloading and to show a video fragment even before that fragment has completely finished recording, instead of waiting until it is completely closed. It is a technical change that can cut the delay from the usual 15-30 seconds to just two or five, depending on collect the Dacast platform. Some chains have already begun to apply it in practice. From FEED they count that Sky Sports launched a low latency version of its main channel this year that has managed to reduce the lag by 20 seconds compared to the previous version, and that the BBC has done its first tests of low latency streaming on its iPlayer platform to measure how this technology behaves on a large scale with the current internet infrastructure. What can you do While waiting for these technologies to become widespread, something that in an event with the global audience of a World Cup is neither easy nor cheap to implement, the most practical recommendation is still to turn on the antenna whenever you can, if you don’t want your goal spoiled, and flee from WhatsApp and social networks at that time. Cover image | Wemax Projectors (Unsplash) and RTVE In … Read more

white label crushes premium options

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The heat is overwhelming and there are few things you want more than opening the refrigerator and serving yourself a good bowl of cold salmorejo. The original recipe is one of the jewels of Spanish gastronomy, something that science itself supports, reaching the point that in 2016 a study by the University of Córdoba standardized the golden ratio of the perfect salmorejo from Cordoba: tomato, telera bread, extra virgin olive oil, garlic and salt. No more, no less. To the supermarket. When we transfer that artisanal perfection to the supermarket shelves, reality collides head-on with industrial demands. In this way, the OCU has chosen to put 30 refrigerated packaged salmorejos under the magnifying glass to find out which is the most suitable product for this summer. The nutritional triumph. If there was a general fear, it was thinking that these bottles were full of preservatives and additives. The OCU flatly denies this, since in its recent analysis of 2026it is noted that no industrial additives have been found in any of the 30 salmorejos analyzed. In fact, applying the organization’s Healthy Scale (which assesses the Nutriscore, fats, salts and processing), all of them turn out to be a good or very good option for the summer and even provide fewer calories than their homemade versions as they have a lower proportion of bread and oil. For example, brands such as Carrefour Classic, Eroski and Vicasol Delicias have come close to technical perfection with a 90/100 nutritional profile. The tasting disaster. If nutritionally they are a ten, the problem that the OCU has found in its analysis is the taste in the mouth. Here the consumer organization brought together a panel of expert chefs to analyze a blind tasting and the result is that 77% of the salmorejos have failed the gastronomic exam. The main reason is that brands “cheat” with the original salmorejo recipe, since to achieve acidity, extend shelf life or give a more intense color, manufacturers add extra ingredients to salmorejo. For example, red pepper is incorporated to camouflage the acidity of the tomato or onion and vinegar that are more characteristic of gazpacho. The winners. To get a good packaged salmorejo, it is not necessary to go for the most expensive option on the list that promises the best type of tomato from our fields. Here the OCU has the following ranking of brands: Landlord: the best valued in the analysis, with a score of 70/100 and a price of €3.00/liter. Auchan: with a score of 65/100 and a price of €2.18/liter. In addition to these, the one from the Día brand, La huerta de Don Simón, which is among the best rated, and the one from the Realfooding brand also stand out. The recommendations. From the OCU they point out in the first place that it has been shown that many cheap white label cartons surpass in taste and quality premium rigid plastic containers that have a higher price. In addition, it is pointed out how important it is to review the foods of these products, since, the moment you see vinegar, red pepper or onion, the truth is that the recipe is not the most faithful to the salmorejo that we expect in our classic gastronomy. Images | Straight to the Palate In Xataka | Spain has become a white label country: 60% of what we spend on food already goes to them

This is the new Huawei FreeClip 2 S, headphones with a design more like a jewel

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When looking for new headphones, not everyone wants them to offer the best possible sound. There are other things to evaluate, including its design. Precisely for this reason, the Huawei FreeClip 2 S catches our attention, headphones that look more like a jewel for the ears. and since they can now be purchased: they have a price of 229 eurosbut MediaMarkt has them available for 199 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Ideal headphones for those looking for something different These new Huawei headphones follow the same line as the first FreeClips. They are headphones with a clip design made up of three parts: a part that is behind the ear where the battery goes, one that is placed inside the ear and is where the driver is, and a C-shaped bridge between both parts. What result does this structure offer? Well, as our colleague explains Jose Garcia, They make them very comfortable to wear for hours. The case is also different from those we usually see on other headphones, with a spherical design and a mirror-like finish. Huawei promises that these headphones are capable of offering 9 hours of total playback, reaching 38 hours if we count the battery in the case. In addition, they have multipoint connection, which allows you to connect the headphones to several devices at the same time. On a sound level, these new Huawei FreeClip 2 S meet a good level, especially if we take into account that they have some bass that feels pretty good (something commendable if we take into account the format they have). In addition, they will also allow us to take phone calls and have several gestures to perform certain actions, such as pausing the music or invoking Gemini. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: huawei freeclip 2 s ✅ THE BEST Very comfortable headphones: Their design, in addition to being very attractive and eye-catching, is designed to be very comfortable even during very long sessions. Very good autonomy: They reach 9 hours of playback and 38 hours if we add the battery in the case. ❌ THE WORST They don’t have the best sound: Their sound is not bad, but it is below what other headphones offer in the same price range. 💡 BUY IT IF… You are looking for headphones with a different design, that are comfortable all day long and that have an open character so as not to isolate you from the outside. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… Do you prefer a more conventional option or your priority is to have outstanding sound. In that case, you have the Huawei FreeBuds Pro 5. You may also be interested HUAWEI FreeClip 2 Wireless Bluetooth Headphones, Open Earbuds, All Day Comfort, Open-Ear Adaptive Listening, up to 38h Autonomy, iOS and Android, 42 Month Warranty, Black The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Soundcore C50i by Anker, Open Headphones, Clip-on Headphones, FlexiClip design, 12 mm drivers with powerful bass, Clear calls with AI, 28 hours of use, Secure Fit, IP55, Bluetooth 6.0 The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Jose GarciaXataka, Huawei In Xataka | Best wireless over-ear headphones. Which one to buy and five recommended models In Xataka | Best truly wireless earbuds (TWS) with noise cancellation. Which one to buy and seven recommended models

“Quantum computers are the solution to tritium that will fuel nuclear fusion”

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The nuclear fusion It promises us clean and practically unlimited energy, but it has been stuck for decades by an obstacle that is difficult to overcome: fuel. The reactors tokamakthe most frequent in experimental projects, work fusing deuterium and tritiumtwo isotopes of hydrogen that when combined release a helium nucleus and a neutron that is ejected with an energy of about 14 MeV (megaelectronvolts). The problem is that the tritium It is an extraordinarily rare isotope on Earth. It is only formed naturally in the atmosphere due to the interaction of cosmic raysand in tiny quantities. In this scenario, for nuclear fusion to have a future as a real energy source, scientists need to find an efficient strategy that allows them to produce tritium in an artificial and sustainable way. This is the context in which the latest research carried out by the Cleveland Clinic, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, IBM’s TJ Watson Research Center and Michigan State University, all in the US, is drawing a lot of attention. And for the first time a team of scientists has used a quantum computer to identify the molecular configurations of the material that acts as a tritium “breeding blanket” within a nuclear fusion reactor. FLiBe: the molten salt that can save fusion The material identified by this quantum machine is called FLiBe, and it is a molten salt composed of lithium fluoride and beryllium fluoride. Inside a reactor tokamak The neutrons released by the fusion plasma impact this molten salt that covers the internal walls of the vacuum chamber, and it is this process that is responsible for producing tritium. Finding the optimal FLiBe configuration is the key to making fuel production viable on an industrial scale. This approach allows you to rule out less promising options in advance, saving time and money. A quick note before moving forward: the technique used by these researchers is known as quantum computing focused on supercomputing, and it is the same as Cleveland Clinic has previously used to simulate protein configurations of thousands of atoms. Applying it now to the chemistry of fusion materials is a novelty. The result of this strategy has been the identification of nine different molecular configurations of the FLiBe material, each with its own electronic structure, atomic behavior and molecular bond strength. Tom Beck, a computational chemist at Oak Ridge Laboratory, has explained that quantum computers are essential tools for accelerating the discovery and design cycles necessary to produce enough tritium to fuel fusion reactors. However, it is important that we temper our expectations. The nine configurations are, for now, simulations, and still have to be validated in the laboratory before making the leap to a real reactor. What this approach does allow is to rule out in advance the least promising optionssaving time and money on experiments that might otherwise go nowhere. IBM researcher Jerry Chow has added These results reinforce the idea that quantum computing is already a practical tool capable of solving problems that have eluded chemists and engineers for years. For now, nuclear fusion still does not have a closed solution to its fuel problem. However, for the first time a quantum computer has put concrete candidate materials on the table with which to begin solving this enormous challenge. Image | Fusion for Energy (F4E) More information | Science Alert In Xataka | The start-up of the largest nuclear fusion reactor on the planet is delayed by a decade. These are the reasons for the ITER gap

70% of its hotels lack staff

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Becoming one of the great resorts in the world has its price. Spain knows this, as it is on its way to overcoming the 100 million visitors foreigners and become the country with the most tourists of the planet. And Japan certainly knows this, which in recent years has seen its flow of foreign travelers skyrocket to almost the 43 million. That avalanche of people eager to climb Fujisee the geishas and he Sakura or be photographed in Shibuya has strained coexistence in the country, sparking the debate about the tourism and one wave of social rejection. Japan could, however, have a natural (and unexpected) brake on its tourist expansion: the lack of staff in hotels. The percentage: 72.2%. In full tourist boom and with Japan breaking records of foreign visitors, the Japanese authorities recently did a curious exercise: they asked the country’s hotels how they are doing. Not in terms of billing and demand, but in terms of their ability to provide services. It may seem like a strange task, but the truth is that it has revealed a surprising fact: 72.2% Of the more than 500 accommodations surveyed, they acknowledged having fewer staff than they really need. That is to say, in the midst of a tourism boom, it is easier for businesses to attract clients than workers. Does it affect everyone equally? For their study, the technicians spoke with 522 establishments of all kinds, from large hotel chains to more modest accommodations and ryokan traditional. Of all of them, those that acknowledged having the most difficulties when training their staff are medium-sized businesses, with an annual turnover level of between 100 and 1,000 million yen, equivalent to between 540,000 and 5.4 million euros. Of the 280 businesses interviewed with these characteristics, 77.1% admitted that it is difficult for him to find professionals. And almost all of them (90%) are companies with less than 100 employees. What’s more, half don’t even reach 30. One word: overexertion. The problem is not only the greater or lesser shortage of staff, but what this means for the professionals who already work in hotels. The equation is very simple: more work without more staff ends up resulting in greater pressure on the workforce. The Government study confirms this with figures: 79.3% of accommodations with a lack of staff recognizes that this handicap ends up overloading their staff in high season. 40.6% have no choice but to reduce their services. The great mystery. The question at this point is obvious… If tourism has become a booming business in Japan and the country aspire While this demand continues to grow, why is it so difficult for hotels to hire staff? l The answer is complicated and requires handling several keys. The main one: the hospitality industry is not the most desired sector in the country. Low salaries and a lack of breaks discourage the Japanese population from looking for work in the sector, leading the authors of the ‘White Paper’ on Japanese tourism to propose an improvement of working conditions. They also advocate modernizing their accommodations. Is it the only problem? No. In the background there is another handicap that cannot be ignored either: it is not only that Japan has fewer employees for its hotels, it is that in general Japan has fewer people for everything. Its population has been contracting for yearswhich in turn affects the nation’s labor muscle: if in 2010 it came close to 128.1 million of inhabitants, in 2025 it would not reach 124 million. And a significant part of that population is already very old. With these data as a backdrop, it is better understood that the sector has chosen to look for talent outside, signing foreign personnel and offering part-time contracts. Ironically, in recent years Japan he hasn’t made it easy to immigrants who come to the country to work or undertake, hardening the conditions that must be met to qualify for resident status. It is estimated that at the end of 2025, Japan would host slightly more than four million of foreign residents, an interesting figure on two counts: it represents 9.5% more than the previous year and (above all) a new historical record. A not so new notice. This is not the first time that Japan has seen alarm bells go off due to labor shortages in the tourism sector. He did it in 2025when the Asia Pacific Institute of Research warned that the country risked suffering a deficit of hundreds of thousands of hospitality workers. Specifically, it estimates that if the nation maintains its goal of reaching 60 million tourists in 2030, it will find itself with a ‘hole’ of about 536,000 employees. The problem is the same: demand in hotels and restaurants increases, but the sector’s muscle to meet it is not strengthened. Even the aviation sector would have problems. In 2024 Bloomberg warned that to reach the goal of 60 million tourists the country will need many more pilots. At the moment the flow of foreign visitors remains below the 43 millionbut the trend is clear growth. Images | IK’s World Trip (Flickr), Ramon Buçard (Unsplash) and Victoriano Izquierdo (Unsplash) In Xataka | “If you only visit Copacabana, you don’t really visit Rio”: mass tourism has found its new object of desire in the favelas

This is how the new Castellana subway will work

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A few days ago we knew that Madrid it was over with one of the key phases of the burial of the north of Paseo de la Castellana. This is the excavation of the tunnel that will connect the M-30 with the surroundings of the Four Towers, ending after the demolition of the last wall that separated both ends of the work. The mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, present at the time along with the delegate of Works and Equipment, Paloma García Romero, assured that the infrastructure, 675 meters long, will be ready for vehicles to circulate. starting in december. A tunnel with AI. The capital already has more than 40 kilometers of underground traffic galleries, but everything indicates that this will be the most technologically advanced. And unlike passageways like those of the M-30 under Madrid Río, which have been built for almost 20 years, the new tunnel will incorporate technology based on artificial intelligence to monitor and manage in real time everything that happens inside. What AI will do. The idea is that the system is trained to identify vehiclescontrol the speed at which they circulate, detect incidents or violations and monitor the polluting emissions generated inside the tunnel. This information will also allow the ventilation of the gallery to be automatically adjusted based on the level of pollution detected at all times, thus optimizing air quality without the need for manual intervention. Between the lines. The goal is for the tunnel to function as a self-regulating system. The more data you collect about traffic and pollution, the more accurately you can anticipate problems, from a traffic jam to a broken down vehicle, before they become a risk to those driving inside. According to sources collected by The reasonthis commitment also seeks to provide the tunnel with the highest safety standards. And along with all its AI, the infrastructure will also have improved emergency exit systems and Wi-Fi coverage. What will it be like inside? The tunnel will have three lanes in each direction, not counting the accesses, exits and links with roads such as the M-30, the M-607, the A-1 or the M-11. The route will connect the current underpass on Sinesio Delgado Street, in the south, with the North Nude, next to the La Paz Hospital. Furthermore, according to they count from ABC, it has been designed on two levels to minimize the impact on the trees that exist right now, thus conserving the greatest number of specimens, especially the largest conifers. And now what. This summer, excavation will begin on the second level of the tunnel, an extension that in the future will connect La Castellana with the Begoña neighborhood and with the new Madrid Nuevo Norte district. For now the infrastructure will be prepared, but it will not come into operation until that connection arrives. Meanwhile, on the surface the construction of Parque Castellana is progressing, a green area of ​​70,000 square meters with more than 1,500 trees, a large jet fountain and a 35-meter-high pergola covered with solar panels that, according to explained Almeida, will serve to “guarantee that at all times there is an adequate supply” of energy for vehicles traveling through the tunnel. The idea is that, when everything is finished, only public transport and local traffic accessing the buildings in the area will circulate on the surface. Cover image | Madrid City Council In Xataka | The Mayrit tunnel boring machine has crossed under the Manzanares and the M-30: thus it has arrived eleven days ahead of schedule to its first major stop

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