Mobile Tech & Gadgets

The absurd legal battle between Elon Musk and the game “Cards Against Humanity” has ended in a bittersweet ending

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The creators of the irreverent card game Cards Against Humanity have reached an out-of-court settlement with SpaceX, ending a legal dispute financed by his own fans. Although they promised to distribute the 15 million dollars they would receive from the company if they won the trial, there will be no trial to hold No money to distribute. The origin of the dispute. The story begins in 2017. Cards Against Humanity raised $2.25 million from its fans to buy land in cameron countyTexas. The goal? Legally block the construction of the wall promoted by Donald Trump on the border with Mexico. The purchase of the plot was possible, in addition to the ingenious marketing campaign, thanks to 150,000 donations of $15 each. The problem arose when SpaceX, which has the Starbase launch complex right next door, began using the empty Cards Against Humanity plot to store material. Elon Musk against the card game. In 2024, Cards Against Humanity accused SpaceX of invade your property for at least six months. In addition to starting a new marketing campaign, this time against Elon Musk, the owners of the game sued the company for depositing construction materials, gravel and debris on their plot without permission. Amid insults against Musk, whom they called “a billionaire even richer and more racist than Trump,” Cards Against Humanity promised $100 for each of the 150,000 crowdfunding participants. As? Demanding $15 million from SpaceX as compensation for the crime. Bittersweet ending. Finally, Cards Against Humanity has informed its fans that there will be no trial. SpaceX and the card game have reached an out-of-court agreement whose figure has not been revealed, but which the creators of the game describe like “Musk did the legal equivalent of throwing dust in our eyes and kicking us in the balls.” So why have they accepted it? Cards Against Humanity explained that a trial “would have cost more than we probably would have earned from SpaceX.” “According to Texas law,” they add“we probably wouldn’t have been able to recover our legal costs. We had the truth on our side, but Musk and SpaceX could have easily outspent us.” How will they compensate the fans? This is where the story takes a Cards Against Humanity turn. The 150,000 donors who helped buy the land will not receive cash, but only “comedy.” The company will send all entrants “a new, exclusive mini-pack of cards about Elon Musk,” which they hope to ship in early 2026. In an email to fans, the company summed it up: “Since we can’t give you what you really wanted—cash from Elon Musk—we’re going to make it up to you…with comedy!” The land is empty again. Images | Ministry of Communications of Brazil, Mercado Libre In Xataka | A genius named Tom Mueller designed the engines for the Falcon 9. And now that genius wants to beat SpaceX on its own turf

clean our ejaculations of microplastics

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In the universe of biohacking extreme, Brian Johnson operates in a league of its own. The technological millionaire, known for his ‘Blueprint Project’ which aims achieve eternal youth With funding of two million euros, it has announced a drastic reduction of microplastics in its body, measured in the most intimate place possible. His testicles. The problem of microplastics. One of the great enemies of today’s society is undoubtedly in the microplastics and the endocrine disruptors that surround us. Bottles, containers, food…they can be a source of this type of elements that can threaten our integrity. And it is something that is currently under investigation, because at the moment it is not known exactly what having a high concentration of microplastics in our bloodstream. Science has pointed out in the past that in the testicles it was possible to find high levels of microplasticsbut until now we didn’t really know what implications it had. And this is where Bryan Johnson wanted to investigate it within his project to obtain the mechanism to turn back the ‘biological clock’ and calm his doubts about how it affected male fertility. But this is something very worrying throughout Europe in general, since we live in a time where in Europe The experiment. How are demonstrations done in science? With clinical trials if done with humans. In this case, Johnson was used as a proper subject in what is called ‘experiment n=1‘. To do this, he analyzed the concentration of microplastics in semen and blood in different periods of time, as mentioned. in a post by X. In this case, the measurement of microplastics in his semen pointed to the following: In November 2024 it was 165 particles per milliliter. In July 2025 it was 20 particles per milliliter. Here you can see a significant reduction in the concentration of microplastics in the semen, but the same thing also happened in the blood with a reduction from 70 to 10 particles per milliliter in a matter of seven months. He had literally managed to ‘wash’ his semen to remove the microplastics from his semen with the aim of improving his fertility. Beyond the shock initial measure of plastic in semen, Johnson assures that his results offer “new hope” for the detoxification of these contaminants. But what is true in all this? Are we really that contaminated? And does his “cure” make any sense? Based on science. And it is something that is being investigated right now. Specifically, a meta-analysis of 36 studies published in Environmental Pollutionit was confirmed that microplastics are a clear enemy of male fertility. induce oxidative stress in the reproductive system, which triggers testicular inflammation, cell death and therefore a reduction in testosterone levels that can influence the concentration of sperm per milliliter of semen. But it doesn’t stay here, it a second study published in Science of The Total Environment analyzed the 23 samples of human testicles (from autopsies) and 47 from dogs. They found microplastics in 100% of the human samples and in all of the dog samples. All of this made Johnson clear about one thing: stay away from all the plastic that would end up in your food. The detox. But… How do you clean semen? This is the big question that we may all have in our minds (and that we would want to ask if he is right). And although Jhonson himself admits that it is a hypothesis, his team believes that the therapy ‘most responsible’ for this drastic reduction is the sauna. His protocol is intense: 20 minutes daily at 93°C (200°F), with a peculiarity: “with ice on the testicles” (a common practice to protect spermatogenesis from extreme heat). But this is something that is complemented with other strategies such as: It’s true? The hypothesis suggests that the sauna is the detoxification system, but now it is time to look for evidence that can contrast it. Right now, in the literature you can find certain articles that try to support this. In order to see something of a relationship we can go to a 2012 study published in Environ Public Health which confirmed that sauna-induced sweat is effective in eliminating heavy metals such as cadmium or lead and also plasticizers such as bisphenol (BPA) and phthalates. However, there is a crucial difference: plasticizers are not microplastics. He BPA is a chemical molecule that detaches of plastic; Microplastics are physical particles. Currently, there is no direct scientific evidence that physical plastic particles can be excreted through sweat. What happened. So, taking all this into account, the obligatory question is this. Johnson’s “detox” is most likely a success of his second strategy: avoidance. By stopping ingesting and absorbing microplastics (thanks to filtered water and not using plastics in the kitchen), your body has had the opportunity to cleanse itself through natural means. The role of the sauna, although plausible for chemicals associated with plastic, it remains speculative for the particles that are the issue in this case. It is reversible. Beyond the sauna, the most important information that Johnson provides is hope. One of the great fears that one may have in this case is that the contamination was cumulative and irreversible, but based on this data, this is not the case. Although this must be taken with a lot of caution because statistical significance stands out by its absence, as does external validity. In order to reach a conclusion of this level, a complete study would have to be carried out, protocolized with groups of men formed randomly and respecting the principles of “Randomized Clinical Trials”. And this result may be the first step for science in the field of fertility to try to investigate much more in this regard. Images | FlyD In Xataka | vh

A guy has been studying the diets of the oldest people in the world for years and is clear about what a good breakfast is.

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Dan “Longevity” Buettner is a controversial guy. He was the one who popularized the idea that five specific regions (Sardinia, Okinawa, Icaria, Nicoya and Loma Linda) had two things in common: a very high longevity and a diet with particular characteristics. Over time, the idea of ​​blue zones has been harshly criticized and rightly so. However, studying what people over a hundred years old were like, what habits they had and how they ate, has given us very interesting reflections. The importance of breakfast is one of them. We already know that breakfast is not the most important meal of the day. Although, of course, that doesn’t mean we can neglect it. Therefore, in a recent videoBuettner has given some recommendations. “The breakfasts of people who live longer do not include sugary cereals or greasy bacon,” he explained. On the contrary, the best breakfasts can be defined by three characteristics: it’s salty, it’s simple, and it’s rich in fiber. And it makes sense. For example, the evidence supporting fiber consumption. A diet with between 25 and 29 grams of fiber per day is associated with a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and even “all-cause mortality.” This is especially recommended in Spain where dietary surveys show the majority of the population below the recommendations. Something similar happens with “simplicity.” It’s not that more elaborate breakfasts are problematic per se. The fact is that the current rhythms of life make it easier for us not to complicate our lives and the “quick breakfasts” that the market offers are usually accumulate very high amounts of sugar (and salt). If we do not find simple and healthy alternatives, the drift will lead us to worse solutions from a nutritional point of view. Just the kind of things that “shorten” our lives. And then? Buttner makes some suggestions, of course: things like beans with rice, bread with avocado or even minestrone. That is, except perhaps the avocado (and thanks to the millennials), all the options are proposals that are somewhat far away from us – culturally speaking. However, breakfasts with legumes, whole grains and vegetables are not impossible. On the contrary, there are things “very much ours”, like tomato toast, that with a little care, would work as a scandal. What is clear is that, beyond Buttner, the available nutritional evidence is clear: we have to abandon cookies, cereals and other sweet breakfasts and adopt cheap, satiating and fiber-rich options. It doesn’t matter if it’s avocado and hummus or tomato, bread and olive oil. The important thing, as always, is to be more aware of what we eat. Image | Leti Kugler | Mae Mu In Xataka | Eating late in the morning is a bad idea. Now science knows better why

free multiplayer, according to Windows Central

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We may be facing the biggest twist in the history of Xbox since its birth almost 25 years ago. The classic concept of the home console, which has shared prominence with PlayStation throughout this time, seems set to be diluted to get closer than ever to that of the PC. A profound transformation that even calls into question the need to pay for multiplayer. That is, at least, what Microsoft’s latest movements, the statements of some of its main executives and what was published by Windows Central. If this strategy becomes consolidated, it could open a new stage of opportunities for the platform, although it would also mark the beginning of new challenges. A new Xbox experience. Everything indicates that Xbox’s next step will be to leave behind the limits that always separated consoles from the PC. The aforementioned media points out that the next generation will be built on a Windows base, with an interface designed for the living room, but with the freedom of being able to jump to the desktop whenever we want. The idea is simple but ambitious: a machine that turns on like a console, feels like a console, but can behave like a full computer if the player wants it. The clues are not few. Phil Spencer had already anticipated a long time ago that the future of Xbox would involve more open experiences, and in his last speech he insisted on it again. He said that those who want to imagine what the next generation will be like only have to look at the Xbox Ally. For her part, Sarah Bond, president of the division, confirmed that they are already working on the new hardware with AMD. “We are totally focused on creating products for the future,” he assured. The ASUS laboratory. In the practical field, the ASUS ROG Ally —and its improved version, the Ally— represent the best experiment yet of the future Microsoft imagines. Both devices run Windows and allow you to use launchers such as Steam or Epic, offering almost total freedom. However, they still do not achieve the essential thing: natively accessing the Xbox catalog. This limitation explains why the company wants to go further, looking for a console that unites both worlds without the player feeling like they are giving up anything. Xbox without tolls. According to the sources consulted, Microsoft would be preparing a historic change: eliminating payment for multiplayer on its next console. The reasoning is simple. If the new hardware will behave like a PC, it would make no sense to charge for something that is free on other platforms. In that more open model, the player could choose where and how to play, without feeling obligated to pay to connect with others. Catalog and backward compatibility. One of the great attractions of this new stage will be being able to play practically everything. According to Windows CentralMicrosoft plans for the next Xbox to support the entire Series X|S library, in addition to backwards compatible titles from previous generations. And not only that: it will also allow you to access PC games through platforms such as Steam or Epic. A system that promises to erase the borders between generations and formats. The challenge of execution. The theory is brilliant, but we’ll have to wait to see how it will turn out in practice. On the ROG Ally, the experience between the Xbox layer and the Windows environment is not always seamless. Windows Central notes that Microsoft is aware of these problems and is working on the next console to eliminate those frictions. If he succeeds, the jump could be as big as he promises. Everything indicates that Microsoft is willing to rewrite what we understand by a console. If it manages to integrate the openness of the PC with the simplicity of the Xbox, it could mark a before and after in its history. But there are still questions in the air: price, calendar and, above all, the response of the players. After a quarter of a century, Xbox seems willing to reinvent itself, and this time the leap promises to be as risky as it is necessary. Images | Microsoft In Xataka | The new record of 40,000 games purchased by a Chinese player on Steam blurs the line between collecting and obsession

Spain no longer knows what to do with its surplus of renewables. So he is going to build a huge electric bridge with Ireland

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Spain shines with sun and wind, but is drowning in its own green electricity. Solar and wind farms break generation recordsbut a good part of that energy is wasted due to lack of network, storage and connections with Europe. While the country operates in “reinforced mode”has found a possible solution to dispose of its renewable surplus. An electric bridge. On this path of releasing its excess energy, Spain has found in Ireland the best matches to connect. Irish Minister for Climate, Energy and Environment, Darragh O’Brien, advertisement After a meeting with the Spanish Secretary of State Joan Groizard, both countries are working on the construction of an underwater electrical interconnector between Ireland and Spain. Speaking to RTÉ NewsIrish Minister Darragh O’Brien announced that the project will seek to be co-financed with European funds and be completed in the mid-2030s. It will not be a minor project: the cable, he explained, will allow the buying and selling of electricity between both countries, balancing generation peaks. O’Brien acknowledged that, for now, “Spain is more likely to export energy to Ireland,” because the country usually has a surplus of renewable power that it cannot always take advantage of. We’re going to a wedding. The idea of ​​joining Spain and Ireland with an electric cable may sound eccentric, but it responds to continental logic: countries that produce green energy need to sell it, and those that are isolated need to receive it. In this context, our country is a clear example of the first group. The country has one of the largest renewable capacities in Europe —more than 40GW new since 2019—, but its level of international interconnection it barely reaches 2.8%well below the European target of 15% set for 2030. On the other hand, Ireland belongs to the second group. Its system depends almost entirely on the United Kingdom and France, and the country is, along with Spain and Finland, among the most exposed to blackouts due to lack of interconnections. according to a study by the consulting firm Ember. The analysis warns that 55% of the European electricity system has limits on importing electricity, which increases the risk of supply failures. How will the new cable work? It will be a high-voltage underwater interconnector (HVDC), the same system already used to move clean electricity over long distances between countries. The project is inspired by the Celtic Interconnectorthe Ireland-France link that will open in 2027, and will allow gigawatts of renewable energy to be transported under the Atlantic. There is still no closed route, but the Bay of Biscay appears as the most likely option: there it is already another cable advances between Spain and France, co-financed by the European Investment Bank. The political objective is clear: integrate the networks of the European periphery into an interconnected continental system, less vulnerable to blackouts and more efficient in the use of green energy. Furthermore, both countries recently led a meeting in Luxembourg of the “Friends of Renewables” group, together with 15 Member States and the European Commission. At that meeting, the new European Electricity Grids Package was presented, considered “one of the key pillars to facilitate affordable, safe and clean renewable energy.” Everything starts from the cables. The challenge is not only in producing more, but in transporting and storing energy. Spain invest only 30 cents in the network For every euro allocated to renewables, half of the European average. In this way, the cable with Ireland would fit into a map of projects that aims to break the energy isolation of the Iberian Peninsula. In addition to the Bay of Biscay link, are underway the Navarra–Landes and Aragón–Marsillón connections with France, a third interconnection with Morocco and new links between islands and the continent. If all these cables materialize, Spain will go from being “an energy island” to becoming an energy node between Europe and Africa, capable of exporting its renewable surpluses at competitive prices. The next great leap in European energy could start here: an electrical wire under the sea that connects the Spanish sun with Irish houses. Image | Jules Verne Times Two Xataka | When an undersea cable breaks in Africa, there is only one solution: call the only ship that has been repairing them for more than a decade

Fed up with excessive luxury, social media users turn to normality: creators with everyday lives

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A recent television controversy with the content creator @supaa97 has put on the table a series of issues that are perhaps at the opposite end of the topics we always talk about in reference to the influencers (fortunesluxuries, excesses): can content be created from absolute normality? Is that close to normalizing precariousness? And if it does, is it a problem? The Suyapa case. The controversy started, just as Suyapa says (which is his real name), when he agreed to do an interview for ‘Public Mirror’ to comment a video of your profile in which she told how she lived in a single room with her husband and son, and was classified as a “Poverty Influencer”, along with users who make videos with unboxings of government aid. Suyapa has stated that she is far from that type of content, and although it is true that she lives in very modest conditions in a single room, she earns her living by working as a cleaner and without resorting to aid, so she could not be included in a category of poverty. The appeal of normality. Suyapa makes a type of content closer to normcore (which is still a label created from top to bottom): these types of profiles share ordinary activities (from choosing simple and functional clothing to routines such as making a coffee, taking care of a pet or sharing morning tasks) moving away from the cult of luxury or drama that predominates in other digital spheres. They embrace simplicity and naturalness in both fashion and lifestyle: basic garments, discreet brands, homey environments and a staging that is not aspirational but friendly and accessible. He normcore as a label. This type of content is sometimes, as we say, a reaction to more luxurious and frivolous creators. If it arises spontaneously, because the creator does not ascend the social scale even if he wants to (as happens with Suyapa), or as a voluntary limitation, it is another question where you can talk about posture. That is to say, sometimes normcore is a false normality that arises as a reaction to luxury saturation. A more relaxed visual narrative is artificially sought, where the emotional connection is based on trust, identification and everyday honesty, but sometimes it is also a pose that seeks, paradoxically, to convey an image of coherence and credibility. What did they think it was? What ‘Espejo Público’ alluded to and where it mistakenly included @suyapaa97 was in a different type of phenomenon that we know as “pornomiseria” or “poverty porn”, which has two aspects: on the one hand, influencers on social networks that viralize acts of charity towards people in poverty to monetize these contents through likes, views and donations. One of the best known cases is that of Jimmy Dartswho with more than 12 million followers on TikTok, makes videos with homeless people, testing their honesty or proposing challenges. It is a controversial format that has a large number of ethical implications, even though influencers reward the people they portray with a large amount of money, as detailed this article. Something similar happens with amateur journalists who, under the pretext of portraying poverty and misery, create sensationalist content, a format whose origins date back to the seventies and that again has very complex moral connotations. Yonfluencers: from normality to luxury, and back again. Recentlythe rejection of social media consumers to the exaggerated and elitist display of luxury into which many have fallen influencers has made me think in how the perception we have of this type of content creators has changed. Many of them began as a daily reflection of our lives and as they earned money and followers, they distanced themselves from reality, generating a certain aversion from those who followed them for being a close and identifiable replica. That’s why content creators like Suyapa work, who have to overcome obstacles that are easy to identify with: tightening their belts to make ends meet, juggling time off from work or looking for affordable forms of leisure are some of the problems that the vast majority of people face. In Xataka | The influencer María Pombo defends her right not to read. And by the way, it raises an interesting controversy about habits

He has already announced that he will split the payments

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Several Supreme Court rulings forced the Treasury to modify a law to prevent the thousands of pensioners who made contributions to the old labor mutual societies between 1968 and 1978 from being subjected to double taxation, paying more in your personal income tax. With the new Law 5/2025 approved, those affected can claim the refund of the personal income tax associated with the fiscal years from 2019 to 2022as well as non-prescribed exercises. The estimated number of affected pensioners exceeds 600,000 and with amounts of up to 4,000 euros in some cases, which is causing delays on the part of the Treasury in their refund and the splitting of the payment. Why is the Treasury returning personal income tax to mutual members? The return to the mutualists is not a voluntary gesture by the Government, but is due to Supreme Court rulings in which it is recognized that pensioners contributed to the Labor Mutual Insurance Funds more than they should have, and the right to enjoy a tax reduction of 25%, for their contributions between 1967 and December 31, 1978. The Supreme Court sentenced that contributions to mutual societies (such as MUFACE, MUGEJU or ISFAS, usually linked to police, military, judicial or banking bodies) were intended for benefits that were subsequently fully taxed, which generated double taxation for those taxpayers. That is, they paid more taxes than a worker who had contributed to INSS in the General Regime, for example, given that a deduction could be applied to them for their contributions. The new Law 5/2025of July 24, prepared to accommodate the rulings of the Supreme Court, included a provision for better channel complaints and accelerate the recognition of the return for the affected years. Treasury sets deadline to return personal income tax Last September, the Treasury began to settle the imbalance with thousands of affected pensioners, and to do so, it enabled a form on their website. Through it, those affected could claim their refund. These are: Pensioners from Social Security and the Social Institute of the Navy who contributed to labor mutual societies between 1967 and 1978 and suffered double taxation. Holders of complementary pensions paid by special funds of the INSS, MUFACE, MUGEJU or ISFAS, when the contributions are prior to 1979. Heirs of those affected mutual members, if the beneficiary died between 2019 and 2024 The Tax Agency has a deadline on December 31, 2025 to complete the refunds, since it must be done six months after the end of the general declaration period that ended on June 30. If the Treasury does not comply with that deadline, those affected may claim late payment interest of 4.0625%, as as they remember from the consumer organization OCU. However, according to what was published by The Newspaperthe Treasury would have confirmed that in some cases, this payment will not be made in a single payment, but in a fragmented manner. This fragmentation is due to the complexity of the process since, in some cases, the lack of documentation or calculation discrepancies have generated different special circumstances that require individualized reviews, so in these cases payments will be settled as they are resolved. Those affected who have not yet claimed their refunds can do so from the corresponding Tax Agency form until February 2, 2026, for the fiscal years 2020, 2021 and 2022; until February 2, 2027, for the fiscal years 2020, 2021; and until February 2, 2028 to claim the amounts for the 2022 financial year. In Xataka | The Treasury has increased the collection of the Wealth Tax: it is not that there are more millionaires in Spain, it is that they now pay it Image | Unsplash (Musemind UX Agency)

Iryo arrived in Spain with a very ambitious plan to tighten the screws on Renfe. It has just asked its Italian parent company for a ransom

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Iryo has a problem in Spain: it can’t get clients. Or, we should say, it does not get enough clients to start making its railway project profitable in our country. Its occupancy rate in each and every one of the corridors is better than that of Renfe or Ouigo. In some cases it is certainly worrying. This is leading it to lose tens of millions of euros. And they have already asked Italy for help. 32 million euros. They are the ones that Iryo has lost in 2024. The losses are added to the 79 million euros that the company already lost in 2023 and the occupancy rates of 2025 are not inviting optimism. Although the company defends that They aim to be profitable this yearthe truth is that they had to pick up the phone and dial a number that begins with +39. Help. The call for help has reached Italy. In November 2024Trenitalia has already increased its participation in the company to go from 45% of the capital to 51%. The objective was clear: to provide the Italian parent company with full control of the company and, in this way, have greater room for maneuver to provide it with funds. However, the process to achieve profitability has become complicated. Air Nostrum and Globalia, which are part of the company’s shareholders, committed to putting up 15 million euros more to face possible losses this year. This economic push is just one more within a package that provides aid which has already had contributions of 44.7 million euros in April of last year and almost 35 million euros in the summer of 2024. The occupation. One of the problems that Iryo has encountered is that it cannot fill its trains. If we go to the CNMC datathe Italian company has the worst occupancy data of all Spanish high speed. Madrid-Barcelona: Occupancy of 96.4% (Renfe 112%, Ouigo 99%) Madrid-Seville: Occupancy of 83.2% (Renfe 93.3%, Ouigo 86.4%) Madrid Málaga-Granada: Occupancy of 82.2% (Renfe 93.3%, Ouigo 93.9%) Madrid-Valencia: Occupancy of 70.2% (Renfe 73.3%, Ouigo 88.8%) Madrid Alicante: Occupancy of 66.6% (Renfe 75.9%, Ouigo 87.8%) Added to this is that its power to attract customers by price is much smaller than that of Ouigo since only in Madrid-Alicante does it offer cheaper tickets than those of the French company and for just a few cents. In the rest of the corridors, Iryo is more expensive than the services of Ouigo and AVLO (Renfe). The plans. Yet, Iryo continues defending who aspire for 2025 to become their turning point. They plan to balance their accounts this year and make the jump to profits in 2026 and 2027. To do this, they trust in the arrival of new trains that will expand their capacity and allow them to play on price, first by lowering the price of the ticket and, second, by amortizing Adif fees more easily. In the words of its CEO, the company hopes that Galicia can be another beta where it can make money. However, it must be taken into account that the line moves between the Iberian width and the international width. S106 trains that can “jump” between both tracks are committed to Renfe and the only way to operate would be with a transshipment, which is more costly in time and less attractive to the customer. But it is not the only case. Perhaps the most worrying thing about Iryo’s situation is that, at the moment, Renfe and Ouigo are also losing money with high speed in our country. Since the market opened, the benefits have been exceptional. In 2024, Ouigo received an additional 25 million from SCNF, its French parent company, to cover losses. The initial investment of 200 million had to be expanded given that the company plost more than 40 million euros only in 2024. It is one of the reasons why the Government alleged that from France they were doping the company economically to weaken rivals. Despite everything, Renfe has also suffered heavy losses with high speed. In 2023 they exceeded 120 million euros in losses although in 2024 profitability has already been closelosing in this case about three million euros. Of course, Renfe Viajeros (the part of the company that competes with Ouigo and Iryo) did achieve just over five million euros in profits. Photo | Trenduck In Xataka | Spain wanted to turn the train into the great alternative for traveling in summer. Renfe has never had so many dissatisfied customers

“Salaries above the sector average”

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A few days ago, Juan Roig, founder of Mercadona, took the floor before 1,500 businessmen from the mass consumption sector (AECOC) to claim the pride of making money leading a company, but also championing a message that has surprised many: the defense of employee well-being. “You need the worker to feel well treated as a human being, and well treated,” he said. Beyond the discursive epic of the moment, Mercadona supports the words of its founder with data: “We offer salaries above the sector average,” they assure in a corporate statement. That can be your best business strategy in the long term. Juan Roig: Richard Branson in the Spanish way. The millionaire founder of Virgin published in your X profile a memorable phrase: “Take care of your employees and they will take care of your business.” That is, in essence, the message that Juan Roig gave to the businessmen who gathered in his presentation within the framework of the 40th AECOC Congress in Valencia that was held in the new stadium that bears his name. “You can buy the hands, the heart and brain you need for the worker to feel well treated as a human being. And well treated is not doing what the worker wants, but what the worker needs,” said the businessman who claimed to be very proud of his staff. Well-being starts with your pocket: your salary. According to Roig in his presentation, “a Mercadona manager A earns 2,100 euros net per month,” the data provided by Mercadona they confirm it and they place their employees among the best paid in the large supermarket segment. According what was published by News Worka manager A (the largest category in Mercadona’s workforce) earns: Full time (40 hours/week) GROSS monthly salary (approx.) NET Salary (estimated) Manager A (less than 1 year) 1,686 euros/month 1,470 euros/month Manager A (less than 2 years) 1,851 euros/month 1,546 euros/month Manager A (less than 3 years) 2,054 euros/month 1,566 euros/month Manager A (4+ years) 2,280 euros/month 1,830 euros/month Annual bonus for objectives (Less than 5 years) 1 extra monthly payment Annual bonus for objectives (More than 5 years) 2 extra monthly payments Incentives. However, the most differential thing is in the bonuses and incentives for objectives, which can add one or two additional monthly payments to the set if they have been in the company for more than five years. Altogether, the data confirm Juan Roig’s statement. A category A manager with more than five years of seniority can receive a monthly net salary of around 2,100 euros, being between 27% and 72% above the SMI. How the rest of the supermarkets pay. If we compare these salaries with those of other supermarkets, we find that Lidl, its main competitor, offers base salaries slightly higher than those of Mercadona, with 1,539 euros net per month, according to comparative data by Skello. However, the bonuses and incentives are not as generous, so the total sum is slightly behind. The rest of the supermarkets, such as Carrefour, do distance themselves with base salaries of 1,387 euros for the majority of their store staff and few incentives that increase that salary. Playing attrition in an environment of labor shortage. As and as highlighted María Miralles, senior partner of the retail sector in Iberia at the consulting firm McKinsey, in statements to financial times, “Employee retention becomes an increasingly important business imperative. If a rival supermarket chain loses a qualified fishmonger or butcher, finding a replacement on the high street is almost impossible.” This analysis perfectly summarizes the “Mercadona Model“in which they bet on better salaries than their competition and encourage the long-term stability of the workforce to make it an attractive asset to attract talent and avoid let them go to their competition. Bet on training. With an inverted demographic pyramid, staff shortages are going to be a growing problem, so taking care of employees is no longer going to be an option, at least to remain competitive in a expansion scenario to Portugal like the one proposed by Mercadona. According what was published through the medium specialized in food retail Food, Retail & ServiceMercadona invested 128 million euros in training in 2024 with four million training hours for its staff. This implies an individual investment of 1,164 euros per employee and 1,894 people promoted to positions of greater responsibility. That is, Mercadona not only seeks recruit your qualified personnel with better salaries than its direct competition, but also establishes that talent by offering them training and an internal professional career. As Elena Orden, spokesperson for Merco in Spain, pointed out in the article in Financial Times: “In Spain, we have an inverted pyramid in terms of the active population. So, if you want to have the best workers, you need to offer them what others do not offer them and prioritize their well-being.” In Xataka | Juan Roig, Amancio Ortega and Ana Botín in contention for being the highest-rated leaders. Inditex does not find a rival as the best company Image | Mercadona

Ukrainian troops need something much simpler and more urgent than Tomahawks missiles: cheap cars

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The month of October began with a trip from Ukraine to the United States and a very specific goal: Tomahawks. The request was as simple as it was dangerous: kyiv requested Washington’s long-range missile to counter Moscow’s attacks. The problem was that this implied crossing a red line that could raise the Russian war escalation. In the end there will be no Tomahawksat least for now, and the truth is that the Ukrainian army has other priorities right now. The visible and the decisive. He told in an extensive report the kyiv Independent that, in Western public debate, the war is projected around long range missileslegislative packages and iconic systemsbut at the level where the war decides the pace (the axes of infiltration, fine logistics and human replenishment) Ukraine is losing because of elementary things. Namely: cars that last only two weeks, drones that are lost faster than they are replaced, and units that are emptied of men before they are emptied of ammunition. In that tactical layer, the tomahawk It does not resolve that a company that must simultaneously transport personnel, food and ammunition has only one vehicle and must choose what to sacrifice each day. The priority: cars. The anecdote of the recruit Ihor in the middle summarized The pattern: three consecutive FPVs against the same vehicle until it is immobilized. The average life of a car in the front is about a monthsometimes two weeks, and each destruction not only takes away mobility but also room for maneuver: without redundancy, each rotation forces us to stretch positions and that exhausts men faster than the ammunition itself. That’s why what they ask they are carsas cheap as possible, but that work. Hence the heavy armor are not a solution (They become priority targets and are less agile than, for example, an old car that accelerates and disappears). In short, what is needed is not weight but number to absorb losses without collapsing the logistics cycle. Drones and sensors. Ukraine uses the order of 9,000 drones a daywith a devastating impact at low cost, but also loses at an industrial rate by electronic warfare and operational consumption. Without enough reconnaissance drones, the “line of sight” contracts to five kilometers and they are left blind to disrupting Russian flows. Some units have a surplus, but others lack the basics: the deficit is not only volume but of distributionand the structural deficiency is not being absorbed by the State but by decreasing donations and the pockets of the troops. Without spare part. The biggest deficiency is, of course, human: hardened brigades that are not refilled, rotations that do not rotate, training centers without means that even train with stones instead of real grenades. Mobilization is politically taboo. The national media recalled that 30% of those mobilized He is not fit and part of the rest are returns from absentees. Thus, even when there is a drone and platform, the pilot is missing. Russia, on the other hand, replenishes its human mass every month. Ukraine stretches the same bodies more weeks under greater drone saturation, and structural fatigue is cumulative and irreversible. System fails. If you also want, the photograph does not describe an army without technology but rather a system with “holes” in its redundancy layer: where there should be five vehicles there is oneand where there should be ten drones per section there is one too, and where there should be a wave of trained reserves arrives a tiny fraction. Plus: where the same men should be relieved every certain cycle, they are kept for months due to lack of substitutes. That is the plane where continuity is resolved: without those cars that are requested, without density of eyes in the air and without competent human replenishment, each meter becomes more expensive than each missile. Trivial lack. It ended media report emphasizing an idea. It is not that the Tomahawk don’t matter (they matter for the purposes of depth and possible future negotiation), is that its strategic effect is diluted if the lower network that supports the line is detached due to cheap shortcomings. Victory today is less like who introduces a miraculous system first than who can continue to move people, food, ammunition and sensors until the last kilometer without breaking the human machine that executes it. Therefore, for those in the trenches, the priority is not the long-range missile that will appear on the front page of all the media, but rather the unglamorous resources that keep alive the ability to continue fighting the next day. Starting with a car that simply works. Image | Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Pexels In Xataka | Russia’s biggest threat in Ukraine is not a drone or a missile. It is a film agency with 30 secret floors In Xataka | There is something more disturbing than “a Chernobyl”: it is a flying Chernobyl, it is in the hands of Russia and it is already testing it

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