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The WHO warns of a new outbreak with a strain for which we do not have a vaccine

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

A few days ago the news broke in the media that warned of the decision taken by the WHO to warn of a new Ebola outbreak in the province of Ituri, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, just when we are still trying to resolve the health emergency triggered by the hantavirus. With this ‘alarm voice’ the WHO gives international relevance to this outbreak, which is not a routine or predictable episode, but is a variant for which there are no approved treatments and, above all, which can be expand easily to the surrounding countries. Expanding. The magnitude of the problem is reflected in its rapid evolution, since in just a few weeks since the initial detection, the health authorities have already recorded more than 246 suspected cases and around 80 deaths that would be related to this virus a priori. And although so far there are only eight laboratory-confirmed cases, the geographical situation complicates tracking. The epicenter is in the east of the DRC, but the pathogen has not respected territorial limits, since the virus has already crossed the border into Ugandawhere two cases have been confirmed in the capital itself, Kampala. This jump to a densely populated urban center is precisely what has precipitated the maximum alert by the United Nations and the WHO. It is not a pandemic. At the moment the criteria are not met to consider this outbreak as a pandemic, but the declaration seeks coordinate international response before mobility between affected countries turns this outbreak into something much larger. And we must not forget that we are facing a virus that generates a serious and potentially fatal disease. In the past. If we look back, this situation is not completely new, since a outbreak in 2014 In West Africa this same alert was raised and the consequence was that it ended up reaching Spain. This virus in our territory caused the repatriation of several citizens, some infections on the ground and also the sacrifice of the famous dog Excalibur On this occasion, the protagonist was the strain Zaire, but the current outbreak is developed by the strain Bundibugyo. The big problem facing the scientific and health community is that, although in recent years we have developed an impressive preventive and therapeutic arsenal for the variant Zairethese tools they don’t work against the Bundibugyo strain. The absence of prophylaxis and specific approved treatments exponentially multiplies the clinical risk and makes control efforts on the ground difficult. The perfect storm. Added to the virological challenge is a first-level logistical and social challenge. We must keep in mind that the east of the DRC is one of the areas more unstable of the planet, characterized by constant armed conflicts, and this is the perfect storm epidemiologically speaking due to many factors such as: Lack of access to medical equipment and rapid response in hot zones safely. The constant movement of refugees means that the virus may be spreading between countries. Distrust of national and international health systems makes it difficult to isolate the sick, trace direct contacts, and implement protocols to manage bodies. It is not endemic Ebola. On many occasions we can hear that Ebola is ‘one more’ in some areas of Africa, referring to the constant circulation of the virus in animal reservoirs such as, for example, bats in Guinea, Liberia or Sierra Leone. In this case, the virus can emerge sporadically and cause outbreaks that are contained and do not generate too many epidemiological problems. And now we are facing something quite different, starting with the strain that resembles what we were used to and also because it is now ‘jumping’ geographical borders and passing between countries. This is also added to the fact that this new outbreak with an international emergency is developing in a country with war, where the disease takes a back seat, which is more dangerous when we are faced with a variant that we are not used to and for which we do not know many treatments. Images | aleksandarlittlewolf in Magnific In Xataka | We believed we were prepared for a post-covid world. Hantavirus is the first serious test and the results are not optimistic

This is how astronauts prepare to step on the Moon in 2028

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

This week, SpaceX may take a giant step toward the Moon If Starship Flight 12 goes well. However, its main competitor in this race, Blue Origin, is not far behind. Its lunar module, the Blue Moon MK1, has successfully passed tests in a NASA vacuum chamber. And if that were not enough, there is now a model of the Blue Moon MK2 installed at the Johnson Space Center, so that the Artemis astronauts can practice the steps that will be carried out during the long-awaited moon landing. A step that SpaceX has not taken. The Blue Moon MK2 model is positioned in Building 9 of the Johnson Space Center, next to a prototype of the Orion capsule. The goal is for astronauts to rehearse the transition from one ship to another just before landing on the moon. This maneuver will take place during the Artemis IV missioninitially with Starship. This is because NASA closed the contract for this point of the mission with SpaceX. As for Blue Origin, would come into play in Artemis V. However, given some SpaceX delays, NASA has expressed the possibility of making changes to the contracts and advancing Blue Origin if it is ready sooner. At the moment, both are going well and it seems that SpaceX is recovering from its delays. The astronauts have also been able to do some training on Starship. However, everything has happened at the SpaceX facilities. It is the first time that NASA itself houses a mock-up of one of the landers so that the future crew can carry out the maneuver together with Orion. Different from the Apollo program. The Apollo program missions were manned by three astronauts, of which two landed on the moon and another remained orbiting the Moon. This happened after the two stages of the ship separated. The lander descended towards the Moon, but the command module remained in lunar orbit. In the case of Artemis there is not one ship that separates into two, but two ships. Astronauts will travel to lunar orbit aboard Orion. Once there, the ship will dock with the human landing system (HLS) developed by Blue Origin or SpaceX. This will allow two of the astronauts to transition to it and embark on the moon landing, while the other two remain in Orion. A very close race. The manned moon landing will happen on Artemis IV. However, before that, each company will need to have demonstrated the landing capability of its HLS separately, as well as the possibility of refueling directly in orbit. This is mission essential and has never been done before. Both SpaceX and Blue Origin are making good progress. Some more advanced than others in specific steps, but without stopping moving forward. A lot of money at stake. It is logical that both companies are putting so much effort into this competition. Not only the pleasure of making history is at stake. There is also a lot of money on the table. If everything goes as planned, is calculated that SpaceX could earn up to $4.5 billion and Blue Origin $3.4 billion. It may end in a tie. Although this has always been seen as a competition, in reality if both prove to be viable, it is expected that neither will be left without visiting the Moon in the Artemis program. It is expected that Artemis III already has one of the landers for its docking with Orion in 2027. Afterwards, a manned lunar landing would be completed in 2028 with Artemis IV. From then on, the goal is for trips to the Moon to become a regular occurrence. For that, the more landers, the better. In principle, the two companies will have their piece of the pie. Images | POT In Xataka | In 2018, Elon Musk put his own car into orbit. Eight years later it is still circling the Earth

is outshining solar panels

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

The world has returned to coal. NoWe are not in the 18th century. in the midst of the Industrial Revolution, but in the era of artificial intelligence and wild computing in huge data centers. Although it seems that a large part of the GPUs mounted in data centers are stops most of the timewhen they start working they need a huge amount of immediate energy. There renewable energies cannot respond (due to intermittency and storage), and that is why Big Tech is resorting to opening nuclear power plantsof gas and, of course, coal. And the big problem with coal is not only the issue of emissions, but something almost as serious: its pollution. is interfering with solar energy production. It neither eats nor lets eat, as they say, and the researchers who have measured it point out that reality can be much more negative than what they reflect in their study. Double contamination Researchers from the University of Oxford and University College London have just published in Nature a study in which they detail how they have mapped and analyzed more than 140,000 photovoltaic installations around the world using satellite images. After comparing it with atmospheric data on air pollution and calculating how much sunlight stops reaching the photovoltaic cells due to that pollution, they concluded that these solar ‘farms’ produced 5.8% less than they could have produced. Although the study has been published now, the data corresponds to 2023 and, to lower that figure of 5.8% a little, they point out that it is equivalent to 111 TWh of lost energy. How much is that? The amount generated by 18 medium-sized coal-fired power plants. That the figures are from 2023 is interesting. Electricity from solar energy was already well established and, furthermore, we were talking about the end of coal. The huge data centers they needed all that immediate energy They were not yet as developed as they are now and both the energy companies and the countries themselves were leaving this type of energy generation aside. However, there was something that the researchers say had not been measured: the brake on that transition to clean energy. Between 2017 and 2023 there was an explosion in the installation of solar panels with an average of 246 TWh new each year, but this study points out that the losses caused by aerosols were about 74 TWh. That is, almost a third of what was earned by installing plates was lost due to particles emitted by coal plants. China or India stop generating a lot, but there are countries that are directly negative, such as the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Greece or Pakistan. These particles are extremely fine, but they are still capable of absorbing light before it reaches the solar panels. It’s like an invisible umbrella that prevents photovoltaic installations from deploying their full potential and the curious thing is that the countries that have accelerated the most with photovoltaics are those that burned the most coal, so they were tripping themselves up. Focused on China, the great solar power in the worldit is estimated that in 2023 it will generate 793.5 TWh of electricity thanks to photovoltaics. This was 41.5% of the world total, but at the same time had the largest loss due to these particles, with production that could have been 7.7% higher. And the researchers point out that 29% of those solar losses were directly related to emissions from coal plants. However, they have also found that China is the only powerful region in electricity production through photovoltaics that has been improving over time due to some strict emission standards. In the United States, although photovoltaics have also been on the rise, solar production fell by 3.1% during the same period due to the same thing: large photovoltaic ‘farms’ are too close to coal plants. The team points out that it is no longer just that pollution blocks sunlight, but “it also changes clouds, which can further reduce solar energy production. This implies that the real impact is likely to be greater than what we have measured, so we may be overestimating how much solar energy can contribute to emissions reductions if we do not control pollution from coal energy.” That is to say, although more renewable sources are being installed, with solar being the star in much of the world (in Nordic countries it is wind), it is likely that this overestimation of renewable production serves to make governments and companies take advantage, but it should be taken into account. the hidden carbon brake to banish fossil fuels from energy generation once and for all. The problem is what is surely on your mind. These figures correspond to the period measured in 2023, but since then we have experienced a significant increase in data centers. As we say, they need a huge amount of electricity available immediately to supply the consumption of the facilities in computing peaks, and this is something that they are not covering with renewables. To do this, data centers they would need huge batteriesbut they would exhaust the energy quickly and would go back to ‘pulling’ from conventional sources. Since the explosion of data centers, some have relaxed anti-pollution measures and even the oil companieswho were making the transition to renewables, they swerved to redirect their gaze to a much more profitable business in the short term. And the most important thing is what we also mentioned: it doesn’t matter if you install many solar panels if you increase the rate of coal production to satisfy the gluttonous data centers because it is no longer just that there is direct pollution, but that those particles resulting from the burning of coal are interfering with the production of solar energy. Images | Nature, David Dalton In Xataka | There is no energy for so many data centers and the consequence is clear: half of those planned for 2026 in the US are in danger

Princeton had not monitored its students in exams for 133 years due to an “honor code.” AI just broke that pact

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

For more than a century, Princeton has based its academic trust on an honor code, an oath its students signed not to cheat on exams. Even the teachers left the classroom. Nobody watched, because honor was enough guarantee. That model just disappearedand artificial intelligence is largely to blame. What has happened. Princeton faculty voted earlier this week to have all in-person exams proctored starting July 1. The measure throws away a policy that dates back to 1893, when students themselves asked to eliminate supervision in exams. With only one vote against, the decision ended up being practically unanimous, making it the most significant change to the university’s honor system in 133 years. Why now. Generative AI has radically transformed students’ ability to copy without detection. According to the proposal presented by Michael Gordin, dean of the faculty, tools such as ChatGPT They allow copying in a way that is almost impossible to identify with the naked eye, especially during an exam. If before cheating required some effort (finding someone who would let you cheat, taking a cheat sheet in the middle of the exam, etc.) now there are a thousand and one ways to do it digitally. Numbers. In one student newspaper survey Of more than 500 seniors, almost 30% admitted to having cheated on an exam or assignment during their time at Princeton. 44.6% claimed to have known people who had violated the code, without telling them. Only 0.4% filed complaints. The number of cases investigated by the Honor Committee reached 60 this year, and the president of that committee, Nadia Makuc, believe They are just the tip of the iceberg. Nobody says anything. Princeton’s honor system historically relied on students themselves denouncing their peers. That doesn’t work anymore. According to the approved proposal, the fear of being publicly pointed out on social networks or in anonymous applications such as Fizz (the campus social network) discourages any complaint. Additionally, the way the AI works makes the traps much less visible to whoever is sitting next to you. There are no more little papers or little glances or those stories. What exactly changes. According to account the faculty newspaper, professors will be present in the classroom during exams, but not to actively intervene. Their role is as witnesses, referring any possible infractions to the student Honor Committee if they detect something. On the other hand, the code oath (“I promise on my honor that I have not violated the Honor Code during this exam”) remains. The difference is that now there will be someone watching. Trust. Professors such as David Bell or Anthony Grafton, from the Princeton History Department, have recognized that the change alters the relationship of trust with their students. The former dean of the faculty, Jill Dolan, counted to the student newspaper that “I think it’s a shame, but it’s necessary.” AI has forced a spiral that is difficult to break. And the more people believe that others copy, the more tempted people feel to do it. Christian Moriarty, professor of Ethics and Law at St. Petersburg College in Florida counted to the Wall Street Journal that “what is at stake is not just the soul of education, but the genuine development of critical thinking.” Further supervision. Princeton has more measures than proctors to supervise the work of its students. In the last year, the number of at-home exams has been reduced by more than two-thirds. Furthermore, according to they count at The Atlantic, the Economics department will introduce oral defenses of term papers. Other teachers have also started to require that essays be written in Google Docs, to be able to review the editing history and verify that the text has been written progressively. Cover image | Roxana Crusemire and Ben Mullins In Xataka | Some Chinese humanoid robots are already going to “school”: the mission is to teach them to work in real life

These are the best offers from the new AliExpress promo

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

When it comes to finding good deals and discounts on technology, one place worth checking out is AliExpress. This marketplace usually has promos periodically where it is not difficult to find mobile phones, tablets or other devices at very good prices. That’s just what’s happening right now with their promo. Radiant Discounts. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links We have these offers active until May 22 at 11:59 p.m. It is true that AliExpress usually has a lot of discount coupons, but this time there are only a few. We have made you a selection of five offers and in all of them we show you which coupons you can apply to get these devices at the best price: nintendo switch 2 by 403.39 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’, a good purchase opportunity before the price rises. Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 Pro by 184.31 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’, a tablet with very good quality-price. Realme 16 Pro Plus by 356.84 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’, a device that stands out for its 7,000 mAh battery. POCO X8 Pro by 258.74 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’, a Xiaomi bestseller. Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro by 254.26 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’, a smartwatch with autonomy for up to 21 days. nintendo switch 2 We start with a device that is usually the star of all AliExpress promos: nintendo switch 2. This console has hardware that significantly improves on the first console, since it already allows you to play at 4K when we connect it to the dock. Furthermore, it is a very good time to buy it because the price will go up in september. comes out for 403.39 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 Pro If you are looking for a cheap and simple tablet, this one Xiaomi Redmi Pad 2 Pro It is a very interesting option. Its price right now is great (it costs 184.31 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’) and in exchange we will get an Android tablet with a 12.1-inch screen and 2.5K resolution that is ideal for both reading and watching movies on the couch. It has a 12,000 mAh battery with which we will have enough autonomy for a full day and, in addition, it has four speakers compatible with Dolby Atmos. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Realme 16 Pro Plus He Realme 16 Pro Plus It has everything to be one of the best mid-range phones of the year. It is a device that stands out for coming with a 7,000 mAh battery, with which we can go two days or more without charging the phone. In addition, it has a 6.8-inch AMOLED screen that has very high brightness and looks great. comes out for 356.84 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links POCO X8 Pro And if we talk about the best mid-range phones, it is difficult not to also take into account the POCO X8 Pro from Xiaomi. This device also has a large 6,500 mAh battery and has a MediaTek Dimensity 8500 Ultra combo and 8 GB of RAM that ensure quite good performance. The best thing, without a doubt, is the price at which we can get it: 258.74 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro If you want a new smartwatch and your priority is autonomy, this Huawei Watch GT 6 Pro is for you. Its battery lasts up to 21 days, which is truly amazing compared to other watches on the market. Beyond that, it is also a watch that will help you monitor your workouts, your health or your sleep. It also has a very good screen with a peak brightness of 3,000 nits, so you can see it well even if sunlight hits it directly. comes out for 254.26 euros with the coupon ‘ESSS14’. 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 | Xataka, Nintendo, Xiaomi, Huawei, Realme In Xataka | Best mobile phones in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and nine recommended models In Xataka | Best tablets in quality price. Which one to buy based on use and seven recommended models

Spain is going from pre-spring weather in one week to “African heat” in the next

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

It’s been cold. The first half of May has been marked by negative thermal anomalies of up to 10 degrees below normal, but that is over. According to the modelsthe entry of an anticyclonic ridge of Saharan air is going to revolutionize the Spanish meteorological situation in a matter of days: on Friday the 22nd the forecasts indicate July highs. We are talking about 36-37 °C in the Guadalquivir and Guadiana valleys, more than 30 in the entire southern half of the peninsula and, keep an eye on the data, the first tropical nights of the year. I mean, things are getting serious. What is the news? The protagonist of this week’s story is once again the polar jet. However, instead of a cold air mass, the undulations of the jet will place a warm African ridge above our heads. The process It will begin on Tuesday the 19th and will last until at least the 22nd.. After Friday, the models mark the appearance of a DANA in the Cantabrian Sea; However, it is too early to say precisely. What is going to happen? Let’s go in parts: Between Monday the 18th and Tuesday the 19th It is going to recover progressively. 30 degrees will appear on Tuesday in the Ebro valley, the interior of Murcia and the southern half of the Valencian Community. He Wednesday 20 The 30 will arrive in Madrid, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, the interior of Andalusia, the Region of Murcia, the Ebro valley and the interior of Catalonia. Sevilla will score 33-34 without problems. He Thursday 21 in the Guadiana and Guadalquivir valleys 34-36 °C will be reached. 36 are expected in Seville, 35 in Badajoz, 34 in Toledo and 32 in Madrid. He Friday the 22nd All of Spain will be above 30. Only the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Galicia and Asturias are spared. That day we will experience the first tropical nights of the year on the southern plateau and the Guadalquivir valley. That is, the thermometers will not drop below 20 degrees. Is it something strange? Yes and no. What’s interesting about this episode It’s not the heat itself.. We have already seen Mays like this recently. What is interesting is the magnitude of the swing: we are going from anomalies of -10 °C to anomalies of +10 °C in a single week. And this is something that neither the human body nor crops assimilate easily. Image | BenBaso In Xataka | The Gulf Stream is dying. Someone’s idea to solve it dates back to the 1950s: closing the Bering Strait

How to create a pack of Chibi stickers from your photo with Gemini or ChatGPT and then use them on WhatsApp or wherever you want

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

Let’s explain to you how to create a “Chibi” style sticker packthat Japanese style in which a face is caricatured with a big, adorable head. Let’s do this using artificial intelligenceand a prompt that you will be able to use both Gemini as in ChatGPT. Once you have generated your sticker packall you have to do is cut out each one of the image and use it as you want. For example, you can use the methods we have told you to convert any image into sticker directly on WhatsApp. The positive part of the prompt that we are going to tell you is that it will make you a series of stickers defined with pre-established expressions that you will be able to edit together with the prompt. And although it was created by OpenAI for ChatGPT, you can use it by hand both in this and in any other AI that generates images, such as ChatGPT. Create a sticker pack from your photo To create a sticker pack from your photo, you first have to upload a photo in which your face can be seen well and your features. If it’s a selfie, better, because then the AI can use your features to compose the pack. Once you have attached your photo to the ChatGPT and Gemini writing field, write the following prompt. You have to send both things at the same time, the photograph and the prompt. The command to use is the following: Using the uploaded photo, create a pack of adorable, illustrated chibi stickers. Clean white background, vertical format with a thick white border. Create various tender expressions: laughing, crying, sleepy, surprised, confused, eating, grumpy, cute expressions… Each expression must include a tender text, for example: Good morning! Whatee? / Huh? / I remind you! / What a dream / Wow! Approved! / Brilliant! / Hey, you! Achís! / Angry! / Huh??? / Good night :3 / Too cute / Am I cool now?! Once you send the image along with the prompt, AI will create a set of stickers from your photograph, and it will put them all into a single image. Now all you have to do is digitally cut out each one and use it to generate your sticker for your messaging app. In Xataka Basics | How to create a character in ChatGPT and Gemini to use it in all the images you make with artificial intelligence

Ukraine has opened the missile that devastated kyiv. They have found 100 reasons to be angry, and not exactly with Russia

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

In 2014, after the downing of flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine, international investigators spent months reconstructing fragments metallic weapons scattered among fields and roads to identify the weapon responsible. One of the biggest surprises was not just the missile itself, but the enormous amount of information that they could reveal small pieces seemingly insignificant. Ukraine has been “surprised” for some time by what is inside Russian war technology, but the latest perhaps exceeds anything seen before. The 100 components that should not be there. It we have been counting with numerous intercepted drones and missiles by kyiv, but the latest “unboxing” has set off alarms. The reason? When the Ukrainian teams they began to analyze the remains of the Kh-101 missiles that had hit residential buildings in the capital, they hoped to find Russian technology, perhaps Chinese parts or improvised systems to avoid sanctions. What they found was much more uncomfortable for the West: more than one hundred components manufactured by American and European companies inside each missile. Chips, microelectronics and systems produced years after sanctions began, including from this same 2026continued to appear in some of the most advanced weapons in the Russian arsenal. For Ukraine, the discovery has ended up generating a particularly bitter sensation: the missiles that they devastate the cities Ukrainians continue to partially depend on technology designed and manufactured by the same countries that support kyiv militarily. The Kh-101 is mounted on pylons The great crack of sanctions. He Kh-101 case is revealing one of the biggest problems of modern technological warfare: sanctioning does not necessarily mean cut off the supply real. Russia continue accessing to Western microelectronics through re-exports, intermediaries, opaque distributors and commercial networks that are extremely difficult to control. Some pieces even arrive from china as clones or compatible copies of Western designs. The result is that Moscow has achieved maintain and expand its missile production despite economic isolation. Ukraine maintains that many of the components found were fOpened in 2024 and 2025years after the sanctions packages that were supposed to strangle Russian military capacity. The feeling in kyiv is that there is a huge difference between announcing restrictions and making them actually work. The missile that Russia does not stop perfecting. Yes, because the Kh-101 has become a of the central pieces of the Russian air campaign. Launched from strategic bombers and designed for long-range flights at low altitude, Moscow has multiplied its production since 2022 to levels far above those before the invasion. But also, Russia is continually modifying the missile to make it more difficult to intercept. Ukraine assures that the new versions incorporate anti-interference improvements, more sophisticated navigation systems, double charges reducing fuel and even fragmentation munitions with zirconium elements to increase damage. kyiv continues to intercept a good part of them, but each new development forces spend more resources defenses and demonstrates that Russia maintains sufficient industrial capacity to sustain a prolonged technological war. The Western Paradox. Also it we have been counting. The history of the Kh-101 reflects, one more timean extremely uncomfortable contradiction for Europe and the United States. As the West delivers anti-aircraft systems, intelligence and economic aid to Ukraine, part of the global technology industry it keeps leaking towards the Russian military machine. In practice, some Western companies may end up seeing their own chips end up inside the missiles which then force the use of expensive Patriot or NASAMS interceptors also financed by the West. That paradox explains much of the Ukrainian frustration. For kyiv, the problem is no longer just Russia, but the inability of global trade chains to prevent critical technology from ending up feeding the Kremlin’s military production. The industrial war of the 21st century. He analysis of the remains The attack on kyiv is also leaving a deeper conclusion about how modern wars work. No great power today manufactures advanced weapons completely isolated of the global market. Missiles, drones and guidance systems depend of an international network of microelectronics, software and components extremely difficult to control. Russia has shown that even under massive sanctions can still access much of that global technological infrastructure. And Ukraine has discovered something equally disturbing: that in the wars of the 21st century, open a missile enemy is no longer only useful for studying its military technology. It also serves to discover to what extent the connected world continues feeding indirectly the war he is trying to stop. Image | Office of the President of Ukraine, Russia MoD In Xataka | Russia has been advancing at a snail’s pace in Ukraine for months. That’s about to change because of one season: summer. In Xataka | The war in Ukraine has entered such a crazy phase that soldiers are shooting at their own drones

Bandai Namco has presented its financial results and there is an anime that has given them more money than ‘One Piece’ and ‘Dragon Ball’

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

Neither ‘Dragon Ball’ nor ‘One Piece’. The anime that has given the most money to Bandai Namco in its last fiscal year will be a whopping 47 years old in 2026, and it is not associated with fantastic adventures for all audiences, but with plastic models that have little to do with pirate ships and the nonsense of the Monkey King. In fact, for a time it was considered a mere niche for collectors. The annual results that the company made public on May 13 reveal a figure that rearranges the ranking in a surprising way. The top. ‘dragon ball‘ and ‘One Piece‘are the most commercial franchises in Japanese entertainment; an idea that seems to have settled in the heads of fans with implacable firmness. However, the Bandai Namco’s latest financial results They deny it: ‘Mobile Suit Gundam‘ is the company’s most profitable intellectual property, with 254.3 billion yen in total group sales. ‘One Piece’ registered 139.3 billion and ‘Dragon Ball’, 138.0 billion. That is, there is a distance of 115 billion yen between Gundam and its most direct competitor in Bandai Namco, a figure that is approximately equivalent to 730 million euros. The nuance. Important and significant: Bandai owns ‘Gundam’ directly. ‘Dragon Ball’, ‘One Piece’ or ‘Naruto’, on the other hand, are intellectual properties that the company exploits under license: the complete rights belong to their authors, publishers and studios. Therefore, although the benefits for Bandai Namco from the licenses are astronomical, they do not fall one hundred percent on the company, as is the case to a greater extent with ‘Gundam’. That is, we do not have to read this Bandai ranking as an absolute list of global popularity. What is this due to? surprise? In 2022 Bandai Namco released ‘Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury’ (you can watch it on Crunchyroll), first ‘Gundam’ with a female protagonist. As confirmed then by the president of Bandai, Masaru Kawaguchi, the gunpla (name given to the models of the series) of the Gundam Aerial broke the initial sales record in the history of the franchise. Fiscal year 2023 ended that year with 131.3 billion yen for ‘Gundam’, the highest historical figure up to that time. SEED arrives. The next step was ‘Gundam SEED Freedom’ in 2024: film-sequel to a cult 2002 series of the franchise. You can see it on Netflix (and the series on Crunchyroll), and grossed 5.38 billion yen at the Japanese box office, becoming the franchise’s most popular film in its more than four-decade history. The 2025 financial year closed with ‘Gundam’ earning 153.5 billion yen, still below ‘Dragon Ball’ that year but already establishing the trend. The trigger: ‘GQuuuuuuX’. The final leap came with ‘Mobile Suit Gundam GQuuuuuuX’. The bizarrely named series was co-produced by Sunrise (the historical studio of ‘Gundam’) and Khara, the studio of Hideaki Anno who made ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’, and which made a previous film version on January 17, 2025. Result:more than 3 billion yen at the box office and 1.8 million viewersthe second highest-grossing film in the history of the franchise, only surpassed by the aforementioned ‘SEED Freedom’. The world premiere of the series on Prime Video definitely impacted the numbers: only in the first quarter of fiscal year 2o25 ‘Gundam’ creceived 81.2% compared to the same period of the previous year. The power of synergy. Unlike other companies like Disney, which usually focus on a main launch (series, movie) around which secondary businesses sprout (merchandisingvideo games), Bandai Namco has been applying for years what they themselves call “IP synergy”: a model that coordinates releases of anime, video games, merchandisingphysical events, collectible cards, all supported with the same strength. ‘Gundam’ is the latest and most perfect example of that strategy. In this way, for example, in fiscal year 2026 the ‘GQuuuuuuX’ series, the expansion of the model lines, Premium Bandai launches and the Gundam Next Future Pavilion at the 2025 Osaka World Expo, an event for which Bandai is responsible for much of the growth. Bandai Namco believes that its toy and model arm, which has grown 12.9%, is the leader of all the company’s business segments. Another primary difference with the company’s North American and European counterparts. In Xataka | The 26 best anime of all time and where to watch them

What they are, what frauds can reach you from unknown numbers and what you can do about it

May 18, 2026 by usatoday24

Let’s explain to you What it is and what you can do about spam on WhatsAppdifferent types of fraudulent advertising and scams that can reach you from unknown numbers through this application. So, if we didn’t have enough with SMS spam, now it seems that it is also happening in this other application. This is a growing trendand we are going to start by telling you how this type of fraudulent messages work, so that you know the way of those who use them to send you spam or even online scams to steal your data. Then, we will tell you how you can try to combat these types of messages. How this type of messages works We have already become accustomed to receiving spam calls of various types, especially fraudulent calls. Obviously, our emails are also full of fraudulent messages, and it is common for there to be SMS fishing campaigns. Now, there is a new trend that is that these fraudulent messages reach us through WhatsApp. It is about messages we receive from unknown numbers. These messages have everything from fake job offers to fake messages from your supposed bank, to supposed family members with financial problems and more. The attackers’ idea is to communicate by an app that we consider something more personal like WhatsApp, and play with our feeling that if it is a message through this application it must be from someone who knows us. This greater credibility that we give to WhatsApp messages is what scammers use to try to make us fall into their traps. And how do they get our WhatsApp? Well, it’s simple, every year there are many massive leaks of service data, and these may include our phone number. They can also directly buy it from those typical half-unknown websites where you can register and give your number, and then they do business with their users’ data. Once scammers obtain phone numbers of hundreds of people, they begin to send massive WhatsApps. Same as SMS spam, but within the WhatsApp app, because your account there is linked to your phone number. What can you do about it? The best advice we can give you is do not give away your data happily to any application or web page. It is very tempting to register on unknown pages or applications that we come across from time to time, and also others where they may be doing a promotion or giveaway. Here, note that the more services you put your data into The more likely it is that these will end up being used for bad purposes. Therefore, try to reduce this habit of registering to sites as much as possible, and use common sense when registering on pages or applications, especially those less known. It is true that possibly by the time you read this you will have already registered on several sites, but that does not mean that you cannot try to decide to start taking better care of your data from now on. And for when data and account leaks are unintentional, I recommend that you change your passwords periodically. Thus, if your username and password are leaked from a web page, it will be easier for them to not be able to enter it and obtain other personal information about you or steal your account. And finally, the most important thing: never trust a WhatsApp that comes to you from an unknown number. Treat these messages like SMS or emails, never trust them because if a company does it, it is possibly a scam, and if it is someone who claims to be a person who knows you, try to ask them questions about various things that only you and that person can know.

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