abandoned dog poop

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In Spain there are more pets what children Quite a few more. That is why it is not strange that more and more city councils pay attention to one of the problems derived from this ‘boom’ of domestic animals: the poop abandoned in parks, sidewalks, streets… at the mercy of clueless pedestrians who end up carrying it on the soles of their shoes. Recently Pablo Muñoz Gabilondothe creator of ‘Pipper on Tour’did the math and verified that in Spain there are already 87 municipalities who have opted for the DNA censuses to fine uncivil pet owners. and the number keeps growing. What has happened? That in Spain there are town councils that have declared war to abandoned dog poop is not nothing new. Nor that many of these consistories have found an unexpected ally in science. What is striking is the extent to which this measure has spread throughout the Spanish geography in a matter of a decade, reaching dozens of cities. Since 2018 Malaga started to create a bank of dog DNA samples to identify which animals the abandoned feces belonged to and (most importantly) fine their ownersmore and more cities have opted for a similar measure. One of the latest has been Tarragona, which in February launched an information campaign six months to raise awareness among dog owners. One figure: 87. Recently Pablo Muñoz, creator of ‘Pipper on Tour’did a search and came to the conclusion that in Spain there are already 87 towns that have opted for DNA censuses to put an end to abandoned dog poop. Not all of them are at the same point. 68 of those 87 municipalities have implemented genetic control systems to improve the cleanliness of their streets. The remaining 19 are working on it and have it more or less advanced. There are very different cases on the list. Malaga is included, for example, which already applied fines in 2018and others like Tarragona, which last October still I was looking companies capable of carrying out genetic analysis of canine excrement and is still in an initial phase. The overall ‘photo’ is interesting because it shows that the measure continues to spread throughout the country. In fact, in recent months, localities such as Alcala either Three Songs. An uneven map. The study de Muñoz leaves another conclusion: not all regions of Spain have been equally interested in canine DNA censuses. The 87 cities and towns identified by the expert are basically concentrated in 15 provinces. To be more precise, the majority are gathered in Barcelona (19) and Valencia (43), followed by Marid (5) and Málaga (3). There are regions where no locality has joined the measure, although that could change soon. For example, on the map drawn by Muñoz there is no council of the Basque Country, but the proposal already sounds in Donostia. What exactly does it consist of? The system is basically divided into two phases. Both equally important. The first consists of creating a database: pet owners take them to the veterinarian to have saliva samples taken that will then be included in a census that includes the animal, its data, a contact and the human responsible for caring for it. Normally, participating in the census is mandatory (just like the chipped), so failure to provide a sample of the pet entails fines. In any case, it is not unusual for councils to subsidize all or part of the analysis. Question of censuses… and something else. The genetic registry is an important piece, but it only works if it is accompanied by periodic controls in the parks, streets, gardens… of the cities. The agents are in charge of collecting samples of abandoned poop, detailing where and when they were removed and sending them to specialized laboratories where these depositions are analyzed. The goal: identify your DNA and search for matches with the profiles archived in the first stage. Muñoz explains that between 5 and 20% of the samples end up being discarded because they are contaminated, but in the rest of the cases reliable conclusions are obtained that allow the authorities to identify the pets to whom the excrement belongs and (most importantly) who their owners are. Once “hunted” they face fines that can vary from one location to another but usually range from between 60 and 600 euros. If the analysis of the feces does not yield any match with the registry (that is, the poop belongs to a dog that is not ‘registered’) the laboratory also prepares a report in which it details the data of the animal: color, size, shape, sex… a kind of ‘robot portrait’ that helps the authorities identify it. Lights and shadows. Muñoz’s study confirms that the canine DNA census convinces more and more municipalities, however the system also faces its own challenges. To begin with, and as the journalist acknowledges, whether it works or not depends largely on whether the census is representative and whether excrement collection campaigns are carried out frequently. On occasions the implementation of the system has also been frustrated by changes in local governments. There are also those who question whether it is an effective (or at least profitable) solution to put an end to abandoned poop. In an article on the topicelDiario.es specifically cites Gonzalo Moreno, current president of the General Council of Colleges of the Veterinary Profession. In 2018, before taking office, he prepared a critical report in which he threw out several ideas. The first, the profitability of the measure. Do the results justify the cost of conducting the census and collecting and studying samples? The second is that some of the analyzes may be frustrated by the degradation and contamination of the samples or simply because the animals are not registered. After all, in a town not only ‘signed’ dogs walk. There are also animals that arrive from outside, such as stray dogs or that belong to people passing through. Images | Jay Wennington (Unsplash), Kyleburning (Flickr) and Anna Dudkova (Unsplash) Via | … Read more

They are declared null and void and he returns to work with 25,000 euros

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There are work stories that seem taken from from the script of a series of Netflix lawyers, but they really happen. The story of a saleswoman at an Asturian paint store is one of them: in less than a year she went through two dismissals, two trials and ended up in the same position, but with the company sentenced to pay her more than 25,000 euros. as compensation. The most curious thing is that the whole mess started with something as simple as a change of schedule which she refused. Almost two years later, it has become clear to the company that it was not a good idea. The first dismissal: an excuse without evidence. As detailed in the sentence of the casethe employee had been working in the company since September 2023 with a permanent contract, combining administrative tasks with those of a salesperson in a paint store. In April 2024, the company fired her, alleging a “voluntary and continued decrease in normal work performance” as an argument for taking a disciplinary dismissal. However, the Social Court No. 6 of Oviedo did not believe it. The ruling stated that “the content of the dismissal letter is a standard format that is given to everyone the company wants to fire; and in fact it is stated that the plaintiff was working well but that she needs someone with more time availability.” That is, the court recognized that the company had fired her because she did not want to change her schedule, and they did so just eight days after she rejected it. As a result, the judge declared the void dismissalordered that she be reinstated under the same conditions and in the same position, and ordered the company to pay her 5,000 euros for violation of her rights, plus all the salaries she had stopped receiving since her dismissal. Back to work, and back in the spotlight. The employee returned to her position on September 25, 2024. Just ten days later, the company temporarily sent her to cover a replacement in one of its stores in another nearby town. At the end of October, when checking her email, she found a message from her sales manager in which she was accused of having made several drums and cans of paint disappear during the days she had been assigned to that store. The company gave him five days to explain the disappearance of the products. That same day, the employee succumbed to the pressure and a doctor estimated that he should undergo a medical leave due to generalized anxiety. Days later, the employee reported the pressure to the Labor Inspection, and in November the company reopened a disciplinary file against her. On December 19, 2024, the second disciplinary dismissal came, this time with three accusations: having stolen merchandise from the company, seriously insulting the manager and making an insulting phone call to the sales manager. The second trial: there was no evidence either. None of these accusations could be proven during the judicial process. The company did not present inventories or any objective evidence about the whereabouts of the missing drums. Regarding the alleged insults, the judge showed that the witness who corroborated them was not reliable, among other reasons because he had had a direct role at the first dismissal. Therefore, the court again declared the dismissal void, and once again ordered the company to reinstate the worker and pay her the wages not collected since the dismissal. Furthermore, for having relapsed in its conduct, the court sentenced the company to pay compensation Additional 11,249.50 euros for violating the employee’s rights. Protecting rights cannot have retaliation. The company appealed the ruling, but the Superior Court of Justice of Asturias confirmed it on January 27, 2026. The underlying reason for all this judicial farce is a basic principle: when a worker claims his rights before the court or denounces his company, the company should not take retaliation against the worker. If it does so, as the judges have correctly detected, the courts can declare the dismissal null and void and add extra compensation for the damage caused to the employee’s labor rights. In this case, the court assessed that everything occurred in a very specific context: the employee had already won a lawsuit for the first dismissal, she had only been back at the company for a few weeks and had just reported it to the Labor Inspection. With that history, and without the company could prove none of the accusations against him, the judges concluded that the second dismissal was retaliation. The final result accumulates a sum greater than 25,000 euros between compensation and unpaid salaries, and the unpaid salaries from the second dismissal are still pending. And all for one schedule change. In Xataka | If you resign, you need to give advance notice of voluntary resignation: how and when to give it Image | Illustrious Bar Association of OviedoUnsplash (Center for Aging Better)

disarm South Korea against the North’s new nuclear “toy”

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It we count a few days ago. There are military infrastructures so scarce and sophisticated that there are barely a handful of them on the entire planet. Some are designed to detect missiles at gigantic distances and cost a fortune, others are installed in allied countries thousands of kilometers from where they are manufactured. When several of those pieces disappear from the board At the same time, the security of entire regions may begin to depend on movements occurring on the other side of the world. A war that eats up the shields of the planet. The offensive against Iran has triggered a strategic domino effect that goes far beyond the Middle East. After the Iranian attacks on US critical infrastructureWashington met an unexpected problem: Several of its most sophisticated warning and tracking systems (those unique radars capable of detecting and coordinating defense against ballistic missiles) were left damaged or destroyeddrastically reducing surveillance capacity. Of the eight most advanced radars of this type that the United States possesses, four were offside. That means another similar strike could leave Washington virtually blind to new waves of missiles or drones. Faced with this risk, the priority became protecting the US bases deployed in the Gulf and the Levant. The result has been a decision that reveals the extent to which the war against Iran is straining the global defense architecture: the United States has begun to withdraw Asian anti-missile systems to reinforce its shield in the Middle East. Plan B. The solution adopted by the Pentagon has been to move pieces from one of the most sensitive boards on the planet: the korean peninsula. For years, the THAAD system deployed in South Korea was presented as the key piece to intercept North Korean missiles before they reached Seoul or US bases. That decision sparked protests localities and tensions with China and Russia due to the powerful radar associated with the system. Now, almost a decade later, parts of that shield are being disassembled and loaded on transport planes heading to the Middle East. And not only that, because the transfer is not limited to THAAD. It is also studied move Patriot batteries and other defensive assets towards US bases in Saudi Arabia or the United Arab Emirates to protect them from possible Iranian retaliation with drones and missiles. For Seoul, the scene is extremely disturbing: Defenses designed to stop attacks from the North are being sent thousands of miles away to sustain a war on another continent. THAAD The strategic cost of a war. They remembered in the Guardian that the withdrawal of these systems has generated a wave of concern in South Korea and Japan, two of the pillars of architecture American military in Asia. South Korea hosts about 28,500 U.S. troops and relies heavily on Washington’s defensive umbrella to balance North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. Although the South Korean government insists that its deterrence capacity remains intact, many analysts they fear that Pyongyang interprets the move as an opportunity to test the limits of the alliance. Japan, for its part, observes with the same concern how American destroyers based in Yokosuka move towards the Arabian Sea, while in Tokyo the debate grows on whether US bases in the country could end up involved in conflicts outside the Asian theater. The question that floats in both capitals is uncomfortable: to what extent the war against Iran is draining military resources that were intended to contain North Korea or China. Hyunmoo-3 cruise missile on display during South Korea’s 65th military anniversary parade Pyongyang and a lesson. They remembered this week on CNN that, in North Korea, events have reinforced a conviction that has been guiding its strategy for decades: the nuclear weapon It is the only real life insurance in front of Washington. The destiny of leaders who abandoned or never developed nuclear weapons (from Gaddafi to the recent bombings against Iran that ended with his supreme leader) is constantly repeated in North Korean propaganda as a warning. For Kim Jong Un, the conclusion seems simple, because giving up the bomb means opening the door to operations regime change. Therefore, while the United States focuses its attention on the Middle East, Pyongyang accelerates its nuclear program and continues to develop missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to the mainland United States. North Korea already possesses, in fact, dozens of warheads and enough material to produce many more, which completely changes the risk calculus for any power contemplating direct military intervention. The new nuclear “toy”. In parallel, the North has presented one of the most ambitious projects of its military modernization: the destroyer Choe Hyona 5,000-ton ship that represents the most important leap in its navy in decades. During its first sea trials, the ship launched strategic cruise missiles under the direct supervision of Kim Jong Un and displayed a battery of up to 104 missiles of different types thanks to an expanded vertical launch system. The regime intends to build at least ten ships of this class in the coming years and convert its navy into a force capable of projecting power beyond the peninsula. The program also includes the progressive integration of nuclear weapons into naval forces, a change that would expand the platforms from which Pyongyang could launch nuclear attacks. Kim and the Iranian example. The war in Iran has also reopened a broader strategic debate in Pyongyang. Kim Jong Un and his inner circle are analyzing each phase of the American operation: from the ability to locate enemy leaders to the speed with which Washington can pass from diplomacy to action military. In that sense, possibly the memory of the failure of Hanoi summit In 2019 it continues to weigh in that calculation. At the time, Kim believed a deal with Trump was close and returned home with nothing. Since then, North Korea has strengthened its association with Russiasending ammunition and troops for the war in Ukraine in exchange for fuel, food and possibly military technology. However, the lack … Read more

How to link Apple Music or Spotify to TikTok to save the music you discover in the social network’s videos there

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Let’s tell you how to link Apple Music or Spotify to TikTokand thus be able to save the music you find in the videos in your music library. When you do this, the service you choose will become the one TikTok uses by default. The operation is simple. Once you have linked them, when you are watching TikTok and a video with a song appears, an indicator will appear that tells you what the topic is. Then, by clicking on the name you can open it directly in your music streaming application. Link Apple Music or Spotify to TikTok The first thing you have to do is enter TikTok and click on the options button to open the side tab. When you do it, click on the option Settings and privacy to enter the social network settings. Once you are in the TikTok settings, go to the section Content and screen. in here, click on the section Music that will appear to you. Within the Music section, click on the option Link within the option of Add to music app. You will go to a screen where you will be able choose the default music app to add songs from TikTok. Here, you can click on one of them, the one you use. When you choose one of the options, you will go to the application or website of this music service, and you will be able to accept that you connect to TikTok and both services are linked. TikTok will be able to see data from your account and perform actions for you, such as adding songs. Add TikTok music to Spotify Once you have linked a streaming service, simply browse as normal. When there is a song in a TikTok video, you will see that there is an indicator of the topic it containsand you can click on it. You can also click on the round icon at the bottom right. When you click on the song nameyou will go to a screen where you can have your information, the publications that use it, and options to use it yourself or save it to favorites. Here, you will also have a button to add it to Spotify or Apple Musicdepending on which one you have chosen. This will add the song to your playlist of songs you like on Apple Music or Spotify, the one created when you “Like” any of the songs. In Xataka Basics | Alternatives to TikTok: the main social video networks to go to if you are thinking of changing

the dangerous TikTok trend of chewing food with plastic that camouflages an eating disorder

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Eating something that we love very much, but without adding a single calorie to the diet, seems like something that resembles a true miracle, but the reality is that in China social networks are being flooded with a method that promises this. And we are not dealing with something revolutionary to trick the brain, but rather eating food wrapped in plastic. Something that has been baptized like ‘plastic eating’ as El País has reported. How it started. This trend has been with us for a short time, and the origin is in Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. Here the videos showed young people placing a piece of plastic wrap over your mouth or wrapping food in plastic and then chewing and spitting it out. The goal here is to taste high-calorie foods without swallowing them so as not to gain weight. Extended. The algorithm worked its usual magic, and the trend has quickly spread to other countries, even reaching TikTok, where this new challenge has been replicated. And when you start with this trigger in a new population, logically you have to take into account the risks of replicating it and turning it into something viral. Especially focused on adolescents, who may be more vulnerable in these situations. Its consequence. Beyond how bizarre it is to put plastic in your mouth to enjoy the flavor, but not have the effect of the calories, the more immediate physical damage must be considered. One of the most striking, related to repeatedly chewing a packaging that has not been designed for human consumption, carries a very high risk of suffocation and also dental damage. But we must not forget that we are chewing plastic here, so there is a risk of ingesting toxins. Different medical and scientific sources warn that these practices can expose us to the consumption of microplastics, which we have already been able to talk a lot about, as they are present in some important organs such as the placenta or testicles. Something that little by little is being related to hormonal disruption. Psychological risks. Without a doubt, it is another of the most important risks that we must take into account here, since what the networks sell as a trick to reduce the cravings we have throughout the day, is actually a classic symptom of eating disorders or eating disorders. In the clinical setting, it is known as ‘chewing and spitting’, which is a very common compensatory behavior in the diagnosis of anorexia and bulimia. It is not a new idea, since the iconic designer Karl Lagerfeld popularized and defended publicly this technique years ago after losing between 30 and 40 kilos. However, science denies that it has real benefits, since different studies suggest that when we chew food, the body prepares for digestion and increases the levels of ghrelin, which is the hunger hormone. But in reality, by not receiving food, hunger and anxiety are triggered, causing a severe loss of control, metabolic alterations and malnutrition. Social networks. The proliferation of these types of trends puts the role of social networks in the mental health of young people back on the table. Scientific data provided by recent studies indicate, for example, that exposure to content that promotes anorexia on TikTok significantly decreases body satisfaction in a matter of minutes, increasing the internalization of “thin ideals.” It has also been proven that 73% of young users with moderate or high risk of suffering from an ED show symptoms directly related to their interaction on TikTok. Images | Clown World In Xataka | We believed that extreme thinness was a fashion that had happily been overcome. What is happening on networks contradicts us

Google’s Pixel 10 Pro drops in price again and has just reached its minimum in this store

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Within high-end mobile phones, the Google Pixel 10 Pro is one of the undisputed leaders. If you have been thinking about buying it for a while, now is a good time to do it. On Amazon, it has just reached its minimum price and you can get it for 749 euros. Google Pixel 10 Pro – 128GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google’s most Pro mobile now at a minimum price He Google Pixel 10 Pro is (along with the Google Pixel 10 Pro XL) the best mobile of the brand and it is perfect, thanks to its 6.3 inch screenperfect for those who want a smartphone that can be easily held in one hand. In addition, this screen offers a 120 Hz refresh rate and a good level of brightness, so you can see it in perfect conditions, even in sunlight. Internally, the processor it mounts is the Google Tensor G5accompanied by 16 GB RAM and 128 GB internal storage. Its battery lasts for more than a day and supports fast charging at 30 W wired and wireless at 15 W. In addition, it comes with pure Android operating system with guaranteed updates for seven years. One of its strong points is the photography section. On the front, it incorporates a selfie camera with a more than decent 42 MP while the rear camera incorporates a 50 MP main sensor, 48 MP wide angle and a 48 MP 5x telephoto. Likewise, the Pixel camera app is another of its great assets, since it offers very good results. ⚡ IN SUMMARY: offer for the google pixel 10 today ✅ THE BEST Your processor: The Tensor G5 is much more efficient and heats up less than previous models, as well as offering more stable performance in heavier tasks. The 3,300 nits: The Google Pixel 10 Pro’s display is one of the brightest on the market in 2026 and is visible even in direct sunlight. ❌ THE WORST The design is continuous… In this sense, the Pixel 10 Pro is almost identical to the Google Pixel 9 Pro, being even somewhat thicker and heavier. Base storage… In the middle of 2026, the fact that the base model starts at 128 GB is somewhat stingy, especially if we are talking about a Pro mobile that records in 8K. 💡 BUY IT IF… You come from a Pixel 7 or 8, since the jump in battery and efficiency is brutal, something that you will not notice if you come from the previous model. ⛔ DON’T BUY IT IF… If you are eager for fast charging, this mobile phone will fall short, since it is still anchored in a 30 W wired charging. While other mobile phones charge to 100% in 20 minutes, the Pixel needs more than an hour. The best accessories for this Google Pixel 10 Pro Pixelsnap Case for Google Pixel 10 Pro The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Google Pixel Buds 2a – Wireless earbuds 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 | Álex Alcolea (Xataka) and Google In Xataka | Mega-guide to set up a home theater: projector, screen, sound system and more In Xataka | Best sound bars in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended models from 140 euros

YouTube has already eaten Disney

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In 2025, YouTube generated about $62 billion in revenue and surpassed Disney as the world’s largest entertainment company by revenue. It did so without a single film studio, without decades-old franchises behind it, and without making contracts with any of its main content creators. The model that made it possible has been being built in silence for twenty years. The figures. These 62 billion dollars exceed for the first time the media segment of The Walt Disney Company, which generated 60.9 billion excluding its theme parks and experiences, that is, we are talking strictly about the audiovisual sector (Disney parks and resorts contributed around 9 billion additional dollars to the group). The comparison measures the content and media distribution business, where it competes with YouTube. And in that area there is no longer any doubt who is in charge. Advertising, first notice. It was clear that the surprise. YouTube earned $40.4 billion in advertising alone during 2025, more than Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery combined, whose combined advertising revenue amounted to 37.8 billion. A year earlier, in 2024, that same combination of studios still surpassed YouTube in advertising: 41.8 billion compared to 36.1 billion. The rest of YouTube’s income comes from subscriptions: YouTube TV has around 10 million subscribers, YouTube Premium and YouTube Music have approximately 107 million according to the studies cited. These are lines of business that did not exist before or were marginal, and that now represent about 22 billion dollars annually. The secret of low risk. The important question is not how much YouTube earns but how it earns it. Disney maintains studios, pays salaries to directors, actors and scriptwriters, finances productions with budgets that in franchises such as Marvel or ‘Avatar’ frequently exceed $200 million in revenue per film, but assumes the risk that this investment will not be recovered at the box office. YouTube doesn’t do any of that. Not even hiring its creators. Although that doesn’t mean it doesn’t deliver. The YouTube Partner Program, launched in 2007, established that the platform shares 55% of the advertising revenue generated by each video with the creator who produces it. The creator provides the content, the risk and the work. YouTube provides the infrastructure, distribution and monetization system. In total, the platform has paid more than $100 billion to creators, record labels and media partners throughout its history, according to YouTube itself. It is, in terms of costs, a structure that traditional studies can hardly replicate. Hearing, second notice. The 2025 revenue is not the first time YouTube has surpassed Disney in something relevant. On the audience front, the gap opened earlier. YouTube, according to the studies cited, captured 12.5% ​​of the total television consumption time in the United States, overtaking Disney, Fox and Netflix. The figure includes consumption on connected televisions, a rapidly growing segment and that has transformed YouTube from a mobile platform to a regular presence in the living room. The great risk. The great creators of the platform are those who have their own studios, production teams and budgets that rival those of conventional television. They have been, in practice, media companies for years. The externalization of risk that has put YouTube in first position has a reverse: the platform’s income depends on millions of people who, at any time, can migrate to another environment or stop producing, without contractual obligations. Disney can lose money due to a movie’s failure at the box office. YouTube, in theory, can take a significant blow to its ecosystem. Disadvantages of outsourcing everything. Featured image | Xataka In Xataka | YouTube’s lawyers are clear that “YouTube is not a social network.” The future of the platform depends on it

While in the US there is a civil war over military AI, a European one has sneaked into the French Armed Forces: Mistral

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One of the big topics of conversation in recent weeks is the civil war in the United States. between two of the AI ​​giants and the Government itself. To sum up, Anthropic gave in his artificial intelligence Claude to the Pentagon to integrate it into all its systems along with Palantir. It is estimated that it has been a key tool for capture Nicolás Madurobut also to attack Iranbut since the US wanted to go further and Anthropic refused, OpenAI took its place. It is a very strange situation because the result could be that The US blacklists Anthropic as if it were Huawei. It would be the first time they have done that to an American company and it is something that tells us two things. The first is that governments need big technology companies and their tools. The second is that technology companies also have a lot to gain. And, while all that noise is happening in the United States, in Europe another AI company has ‘sneaked’ into its country’s security systems. We refer to a Mistral that, without making noisehas been building its portfolio of contacts in European defense systems for some time. A local AI for the security of Europe With all the spotlights pointing to ChatGPT, Claude and Chinese equivalents such as DeepSeekothers have been carving out a niche for themselves. Almost without a sound, and overnight, a French company called Mistral was building multilingual models that rivaled the American alternatives that captured all eyes. Founded in June 2023, Mistral will soon converted in the French technological jewel, but also in the Europe’s AI gem. Its managers, engineers who came from Google (deepmind) and Meta, managed to attract the attention of NVIDIA, ASML, Samsung, IBM, Salesforce or a Microsoft that invested 15 million euros and incorporated Mistral models into Azure. Mistral’s policy is to release the code of its models so that anyone can analyze, use and adapt it. According to them, it is something that will accelerate innovation and, without the muscle of the American giants, their approach is to a large model with other smaller and specialized ones. At the beginning of this year, the bombshell arrived. The Ministry of the Armed Forces of France arrive to an agreement with Mistral AI to integrate the company’s models, software and services in public entities related to the ministry. For example, the Atomic Energy Commission, the National Office of Aerospace Studies and Research, the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service of the Navy and, also, the Armed Forces. It is the Ministry of Defense Artificial Intelligence Agency that will supervise all operations, but the idea is to “deploy Mistral tools in France’s infrastructure, ensuring full control over data and critical technologies.” From the Government, it was noted that, with these new tools, they can prepare the Armed Forces for the challenges of the future. However, the fact that Mistral is the Defense model in France may matter little to us… unless we take two things into account. The first: shortly after this agreement became known, public information on how Mistral is seeking Defense contracts outside France. They are getting more and more into this path, signing agreements with Helsinga German defense startup, and Arthur Mensch, CEO of Mistral, argued that its AI models will be “instrumental in the development of a new generation of defense systems.” Here comes the second thing to take into account. Mensch himself commented that these tools “will ensure Europe’s strategic advantage on the global stage”. This is important because Europe is now at a point where it has realized that the partners and allies of the past may not be the same as those of the future. European sovereignty At the user level we see movements like those of independence from American technologiesbut at a political level, Mistral responds to that search for European sovereignty. Instead of leaving your Defense-related systems in the hands of a foreign company, these agreements mean that it is a European company that is on the inside. And, in the end, this is not just about AI. In recent months we are seeing how Europe is moving to have a more powerful voice in terms of semiconductors, computing for artificial intelligence and even in the new space race. For a long time it has been said that others innovate and Europe legislates, but the current situation It has caused Europe to continue legislating while doing everything else. Images | Mistral AI, Amio Cajander In Xataka | The United States wants to be “sovereign” on a technological level. The problem is that everything it builds depends on other countries

Building data centers in the Middle East seemed like a great deal. Until Iran arrived

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A few days ago we said that Iran had attacked two data centers in the United Arab Emirates and one in Bahrain. It is the first deliberate attack on a data center and proof that it has become critical infrastructure at the level of power plants. The question is who thought it was a good idea to build data centers in one of the most unstable areas on the planet. A plan that comes from afar. In a trip to Saudi Arabia last yearTrump was accompanied by an entourage of technological leaders among whom were Elon Musk, Jensen Huang, Sam Altman or Sundar Pichai among others. At this meeting, massive investments were announced in the region with the construction of a massive data center complex. However, although it has been strengthened by this administration, the previous one was the one that started the path. In September 2024, Biden met with the leader of the Emirates to seek a strategic alliance that would allow them to develop their AI ecosystem. The reason. What has led technology companies to build in the Middle East is evident: saving. They count in Financial Times that the Gulf countries offered very interesting incentives, such as subsidies and cheaper energy. Furthermore, in this way all the problems they are having at home with the electrical gridpermits and resistance from many communities. The business seemed good. The map of AI in the Middle East. Emirates and Saudi Arabia are the countries with the most data centers, with 57 and 61 facilities respectively, according to Data Center Map. Of all of them, many are from American companies. Amazon alone has nine in the area, including those in the Emirates, Bahrain and also Saudi Arabia. Microsoft has data centers in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and is building one in Saudi Arabia. Oracle, OpenAI and other partners are building a mega data center in Abu Dhabi which they expect to reach 5GW. The damage. Although the Middle East has gained presence on the map of big tech data centers, the concentration of infrastructure is still ridiculous compared to that of the United States itself, which has more than 4,000 installations. All in all, build a data center It’s not exactly cheap. Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, said a few months ago that Each gigawatt costs about $50 billion.. The irony. The same leaders who posed for a photo with Trump on that trip now see how their infrastructure is threatened and suffering the consequences of the conflict caused by the president himself. The idea of ​​investing in so much digital infrastructure in an unstable area was not such a good idea. The war against Iran It looks like it’s going to get longer. and nothing prevents Tehran from continuing to attack energy and technological facilities in the region. They were looking to reduce costs and it may end up being expensive, although seeing the projected capex for this yearthey can afford it. Image | Data Center Map (edited) In Xataka | The US is beginning to realize something worrying: AI data centers are skyrocketing its electricity bill

Meta wants to warn us before it’s too late

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Social networks and messaging applications have become one of the favorite places for scammers to look for victims. It’s not a coincidence. They are platforms that we trust, where we interact with known people and where many decisions are made quickly, almost without thinking. In that scenario, a seemingly normal message, link, or request may be the first step in a scam. Goal has decided reinforce their alert systems with new tools that seek to detect suspicious signals and warn the user before it is too late. When someone tries to link your WhatsApp without you knowing. One of the novelties announced by Meta affects a fraud technique with which scammers try to link the victim’s WhatsApp account to another device. According to the company, they can try to convince the user to share their phone number and then the pairing code that appears on WhatsApp, or even ask them to scan a QR code under a false pretext. With the new alerts, the application will display warnings when it detects signs of suspicious behavior in these types of requests and will indicate where the request comes from so that the user can stop and reconsider the action before accepting it. Suspicious friend requests. Another of the functions that Meta is testing focuses on Facebook and such an everyday gesture as accepting a friend request. The platform tests warnings when it detects signs that may point to suspicious activity on an account. These signs include, for example, profiles with very few friends in common with the user or accounts that indicate a location in another country in their profile. The goal of these alerts is not to decide for the user, but rather to provide them with additional context before accepting the request, blocking it, or simply ignoring it. Messenger also receives news. Meta will expand its advanced scam detection system within this application to more countries this month. In this case, the focus is on the content of the conversation itself: when a chat with a new contact presents patterns associated with common fraud, the platform can show a warning to the user. The company mentions as an example messages that include suspicious job offers. At that point, the system can ask the user if they want to share recent messages for an AI-based tool to analyze and, if it detects signs of deception, offer additional information and suggest actions such as blocking or reporting the account. Beyond the visible notices. The firm led by Mark Zuckerberg explains that these in-app alerts are only part of its strategy against scams. In parallel, the company is strengthening its automatic detection systems with tools based on artificial intelligence capable of analyzing multiple signals at the same time, such as the text of a publication, the images used or the context in which the content appears. These systems seek to identify more complex patterns, such as accounts that impersonate celebrities, public figures or well-known brands, as well as links that redirect to pages designed to imitate legitimate sites. The figures. According to the company, during 2025 it removed more than 159 million scam-related ads worldwide for violating its policies. Of that total, around 92% were removed before any users reported them, suggesting that automatic detection systems were already acting before the fraud spread. Meta also points out that it took down 10.9 million accounts on Facebook and Instagram linked to scam centers and participated in an international operation that allowed the deactivation of more than 150,000 accounts associated with criminal networks in Southeast Asia. Images | Aman Pal | Goal In Xataka | China has turned OpenClaw into a viral phenomenon. And then it has prohibited its officials from using it

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