usatoday24

their young people remarry

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

It is not very clear how it has done it and if it is something specific (the result of the post-pandemic hangover) or a change in trend that will be consolidated over time, but South Korea has achieved something that until recently sounded almost unthinkable: increasing marriages between young people. Their latest statistics show that, after years in free fall, relationships between men and women in their twenties or who have not yet turned 35 are increasing. It is a fundamental fact for the country because, although the mentality of young people is changing little by littlein conservative South Korean society, marriage and birth rates remain closely linked: it is estimated that something less than 5% of births occur outside of marriage. Young people at the altar? The tables from Statistics Korea are clear: after a decade of decline, relationships involving young people (both boys and girls) in their twenties have begun to rise. Also among South Koreans in their early thirties. If we talk about women, in 2015 the statistical observatory accounted 109,300 links in which girls between 25 and 29 years old participated. In 2023 that figure had plummeted by 49%, until it stood at 55,700. In 2024 the curve reversed with 64,300 marriages and in 2025 the increase was consolidated with 69,300. In the case of men the ‘photo’ It’s very similar. Between 2015 and 2023, unions involving young people in their twenties (25-29 years old) plummeted by 44%, from 67,100 to 34,600. However, in 2024 the number of marriages in that age group rose to 39,800 and last year the growth was consolidated with another 42,500 unions. The same happened with young adults between 30 and 34 years old: since 2022 they have risen by just over 40%, a trend that is again seen among both men and women. Why is it important? Beyond what these data can tell us about the way of thinking of young South Koreans or the cultural changes that the country is going through, marriage statistics are relevant because they are closely connected to birth rates. And the latter are key in a nation that has spent decades mired in a demographic catastrophe who threatens to boycott his economysocial balance and even national security and that only now seems (seems) to be reversing. It is estimated that in 2022 only 2% of babies born in South Korea were born out of wedlock. Other statistics They approximate the data to 5%but in any case they give an idea of how unwilling South Koreans are to become parents without having made their relationship official. In 2024 Statistics Korea published a survey conducted among young people in which it explored precisely this issue and reached an interesting conclusion: although more and more people support having children outside of marriage, less than half of the population (42.8%) sees it as ‘acceptable’. That does not mean that the number of babies born to single parents has grown little by little, going from 6,900 in 2020 to around 9,800 in 2022. What is the change due to? The million dollar question. To begin with, there is an important fact: in South Korea not only do weddings seem to be increasing among twenty-somethings. They do it in general. Official statistics show that in 2025 they will be registered in the country 240,000 linksdoubly good information. Sample an increase of 8.1% compared to 2024 and above all it represents the third year of sustained growth, breaking with more than a decade of declines. Statistics Korea figures show In any case, a good part of those relationships involved brides or grooms who had not yet blown out the 30 candles. Why this interest? There are those who believe that to a large extent this wedding boom is basically explained by the pandemic, a phenomenon that has occurred in many other countries. Those who wanted to walk down the aisle in 2020, 2021 or even 2022 had no choice but to postpone their wedding plans, which explains why this ‘pocketed demand’ has begun to be released in the last three years. Another key factor is what experts call ‘demographic echo’: Today there are more South Koreans around 30 years old getting married basically because there are more South Koreans around that age, the echo boomers. But that doesn’t explain everything, right? No. The pandemic or the shape of the demographic pyramid may explain why weddings are generally increasing in South Korea, but it does not fully clarify why twenty- and thirty-somethings decide to walk down the aisle. Throughout the last half months as Korea Times, Korean Herald either The Straits Times They have tried to clarify this point and have mainly introduced two ideas: a change in mentality and the search for greater stability thanks to the combination of salaries. It is not the only factor, of course. Studies suggest that young people are also changing their conception of marriage, which little by little stops being seen as a social imposition or an institution that restricts individual freedom. In fact, even though the voluntary singlehood movement has arrived to South Korea, there are studies that suggest that young people seem to show more interest for weddings. Is everything perfect? No. Beyond the social trends that may occur naturally, it is undeniable that the State has been deploying measures designed to promote birth and the creation of couples. In fact Korea Times slide an important key: government support for newly married couples, especially in terms of housing. According to the media, in 2025, 39,121 public rental applications were submitted for couples who had just said ‘I do’. Not bad at all if you take into account that they were fighting for an offer of 1,686 homes, which leaves a rate of 23.2 candidates for each accommodation. In certain areas of the country this figure skyrockets to exceed one hundred requests per apartment. There is another important fact and that is that, whether there are more or fewer weddings, in general terms … Read more

We have just confirmed, to no one’s surprise, that Neanderthal dentists were real butchers

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

Go to dentist or having maxillofacial surgeons for many people may be something that arose with our species and our great intellectsince we do not conceive that in prehistoric times our ancestors were worried about their teeth. But now we know that Neanderthals They had dentistsalthough logically with the techniques of the time. An evolution. Until now we knew that Neanderthals used small wooden sticks to get clean food scraps, something that, to be fair, some modern primates also do. However, a new find In the icy mountains of Siberia, what we thought we knew about prehistoric medicine has just been blown up. And it was not a simple instinct, since Neanderthals knew how to locate the source of acute pain and use stone tools to perform invasive dental interventions like those they can do to us today. Although logically we no longer have stone as a surgical material. Patient zero. The discovery that is the protagonist of this story has been named ‘Chagyrskaya 64’, and it is nothing more than a lower left second molar that belonged to an adult who inhabited the Chagyrskaya cave in the Altai massif in Russia. We even know that he belonged to a group that represented the most eastern known Neanderthal populations. Via: PLOS. Images of the tooth analyzed by the researchers. A tooth. At first glance, the tooth had a huge and unusual cavity in its upper part where it performs the chewing function. At first, archeology attributed this to the natural wear of the piece due to friction when chewing hard foods or simply from having received a blow. However, the edges of the cavity were smooth and rounded, so accidental breakage was completely ruled out. Furthermore, the pulp chamber, which is nothing more than the inner part of the tooth, was widened in a way that wear could not explain. What was happening. The answer to everything centers on the fact that the tooth had a severe cavity that someone tried to cure by force, removing the entire area of the tooth that was in the ‘worst’ condition. And surely the pain that is felt with a cavity of considerable size that reaches the nerve area of the tooth was the trigger for having to do this technique. Rustic dentistry. To prove that this hole was made on purpose, the research team used micro-computed tomography and extensive traceological analysis to see traces of use. Here what was seen is that the walls of the cavity had V-shaped stepped microgrooves, identical to those left by a perforator lithic, which was a sharp stone tool. And to confirm this, experts conducted experimental archaeology, replicating the drilling and rotation process on ‘modern’ human molars. And the brands matched perfectly. A conclusion. With all this information we can know that there was an individual who not only survived the brutal intervention in life, but also continued chewing with that tooth, as demonstrated by the subsequent polishing. It is true that they had no option to ‘cover’ that hole in the tooth as dentists do now after removing the cavity, but it did not prevent him from continuing with his normal life. A cognitive leap. Beyond the medical anecdote, the reality is that solving a cavity by excavating the infected tissue requires quite complex rational reasoning. Although we see it as easy now, identifying the source of the pain, conceiving the idea that it can be eliminated, selecting the tool for that task and executing precise rotary movements with the fingers is not easy. That is why this ability separates this behavior from mere animal instinct and shows that Neanderthals were more advanced than many of us had in mind. Images | Gerd Altmann wavebreakmedia_micro on Magnific In Xataka | A mixture of 4,000 kilometers: we have the first detailed map of the coexistence between Neanderthals and Sapiens

the “manfluencers” who record women without their consent

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

While some They try to reinvent the smartphone (without success, so far), there is a gadget with AI that is catching on among the general public. AI glasses are becoming more popular and are already being targeted controversies and social debates. Is it ethical to wear a camera on your face that may be recording without others realizing? Not much, especially when those videos are used for extortion. What has happened? In BBC They tell the story of Alice (not her real name) and how she was recorded without her consent at the entrance to a London shopping center. The man was actually a content creator who gave dating advice to other men. She published the video of their interaction and it went viral to the point that it reached the protagonist herself. Alice says she was shocked because the man “didn’t have a phone, he didn’t have a camera pointed directly at my face.” If you want me to delete it, pay me. Alice said she felt humiliated and contacted the account that had posted the video, requesting that it be removed, but the response was not what she expected. The man who had recorded it asked him for payment in exchange for removing the video, since according to him it complied with the platform’s rules. Finally, it was TikTok that deleted the video, but reuploaded it to another account, which has been deleted for violating its rules on harassment and bullying. There is more. Alice’s is not the only case of videos of this type recorded with AI glasses. In a previous reportBBC narrated the cases of two other women who had also been recorded by one of these “manfluencers.” The modus operandi is to approach women to ask for their phone number or start a conversation and then upload it to networks, where they often go viral and generate all kinds of comments. Something similar also happened in Spain, a man filmed hundreds of women in the streets of Barcelona without their knowledge. He ended up being arrested for a crime against privacy. We have also seen how AI glasses are used to cheat on examswhich already has the authorities alert in cities like Valencia. Why is it important. Much of the success of the Ray-Ban Meta is due to the fact that they are normal glasses, which you can wear on a daily basis without squeaking (hello, Google Glass). Their main attraction is precisely what makes them perfect for recording without anyone noticing. Yes, they have an LED light that lights up when the glasses record, but there are two circumstances: the LED can be modified and many people do not even realize that that light indicates that they are being recorded. Reaction. Although AI glasses are still an emerging product category, a wave of social rejection and criticism is already emerging, especially in the US where they are most popular. Many people find them invasive and they don’t feel comfortable if someone is wearing someeven if the LED is off. We have also seen the response of the Chinese startup Even Realitiesglasses without a camera whose selling point is precisely the weak point of glasses with a camera: they do not spy on you. Image | Xataka with Gemini In Xataka | I’ve been testing the Ray-Ban Meta 2 for weeks and I’ve discovered something: Meta has made brilliant glasses with disappointing AI

go for the second cheapest

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

It is not always easy to choose the right wine when you go to a restaurant. If the letter is full of unknown names and wineries, what tools do you have at your disposal to inform your decision? The price, naturally. But there is a widespread taboo among all diners outside the wine universe. Nobody wants to choose the cheapest bottle, from what that can say about us. So faced with the dilemma of spending a fortune on a bottle that you know nothing about or appearing stingy, we decide to order the second cheapest bottle. It’s real. The previous story has a lot of legend but also reality. a survey informal prepared by Atlas Obscura discovered a few years ago that the second-cheapest bottle was a recurring choice among its readers. At least 50% of those surveyed admitted having used it on some occasion; and 21% recognized choose it regularly, well above the 13% who tended to settle for the cheapest one. The remaining 25% opted for, perhaps, the most reasonable strategy: asking the waiter. That is to say, the myth has something real. And it is logical. So much so that in recent years it has emerged another legend: restaurants, aware of this decision-making mechanism, they shoot up the price of the second-cheapest bottle. As everyone knows, the price of any product in a restaurant, especially wine, has nothing to do with its price in a supermarket (not to mention when you go to the wholesaler). The idea behind this other myth, very amplified in the mediais that restaurants multiply the premium on the second cheapest bottle. Because they know what their client will ask for. Ordering it for a dinner would be an economically irrational decision. It is? It turns out that a couple of researchers have decided to study the issue and shed data where before there was only a nebula of oral legends. Your response, summarized in this job which analyzes the menu of more than 235 London restaurants, contradicts the myth: the second-cheapest bottle has a lower premium than the later ones, the middle class of the menu. Also the cheapest. And also the most expensive, the top of the table. Your bar on duty is not scamming you when you order the second cheapest. On the contrary, it is a profitable option. The explanation. Quite succinct and very intuitive. When designing their pricing strategy, restaurants have few incentives to make their cheaper wines more expensive. They function as access to the range for less enthusiastic diners. If they were offered very expensive, many of them would opt for another drink. By maintaining the most modest percentage of profitability, they manage to give them an outlet. A similar logic operates for the most expensive wines: only the most profound connoisseurs choose them, so an honest price, perceived as bargainwill encourage your purchase. Who loses in this process? Easy: the middle class. It is in the intermediate wines where the quality-price, in relation to the price that we could find in a supermarket, stops paying off. There restaurants skyrocket their % profitability. A necessary sacrifice to prioritize the consumption of cheap wines (for occasional diners) or very exclusive wines (for finer palates). In figures. On average, intermediate bottles carry a 50% higher price premium than bottles with the highest price. fair. The cheapest ones are around 25%, while the extraordinarily expensive ones, with an almost non-existent surcharge, are very worth it (if you are willing to pay them). In London (and from here you should hold your breath) the average price for a bottle of red is around €48, although a majority (46%) are below €34, and an overwhelming majority (79%) are below €57. We will always have the house wine. Image | Unsplash In Xataka | Europe had placed its hopes in China to continue selling wine to the world. They didn’t have “morality” In Xataka | For the first time in history the possibility of a Mediterranean without wine is beginning to appear on the horizon In Xataka | Two decades sealed: the world’s longest chemical test fits in a bottle

After a catastrophic 2025, Tesla sales continue to decline in China. The solution is an old acquaintance

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

Sales of electric cars have fallen in China. Although the loss is not as high as that of pure combustion vehicles, the decline in the market is producing very bad results for Tesla. And Elon Musk’s company has brought out one of its traditional tools to boost sales again. An obvious fall. Sales of electric cars in China are not reaping the best results although, everything must be said, recent weeks are beginning to give some hope to companies. At the moment, if global sales are not suffering a setback it is because the accelerator has been put into exportswith record numbers and growth of more than 70% compared to last year. But in the domestic market, sales of “new energy” cars (plug-in hybrids and electric) have fallen 21%reaching 2.92 million cars sold compared to 3.66 million last year. In recent weeks, the Hormuz crisis has served to begin to ground the decline of this type of car. Without state aidits sales had fallen but in recent days we have seen how the savings compared to gasoline have turned the situation around, to the point of break record in plug-in penetrations in the market. Damaged. The context so far this year has not been easy for brands that only sell plug-in vehicles. Much less, therefore, to those who only sell electric vehicles, like Tesla. Without state aid at the beginning of the year and a Chinese New Year longer than usual, sales of this technology fell in a market accustomed to growing year after year. This situation rewarded those who have the most diversified business. In January and FebruaryGeely, which has a portfolio where electric, plug-in hybrids and pure combustion cars are intertwined managed to surpass BYD whose leadership seemed untouchable. Tesla has been through a similar situation. So far this year, Its sales from January to April 2026 have fallen by 15%. It is a bad figure considering all the difficulties the company went through last year. This has led it to lose more market share and remain at just over 3%. Interests. Among the sales of its cars in China, The company has a huge dependence on the Model Ywhich represents around 75% of sales so far this year. But in April, where the Model 3 had a year-on-year drop of 66.09%, the sedan barely accounted for 11% of sales. The fastest solution has been through an old tool: loans. The company has an active campaign in China to defer payments for its cars at 0.99% interest in the case of the Model 3 and 0.92% in the Model Y. The idea is simple, aiming to reward the customer in the long term because it is increasingly difficult for them to compete at the starting price. Right now, in Spain it gives loans above 3% which, however, remains relatively low for our country’s market. However, the company has been offering similar loans before and, right now, In Germany a 0% interest offer is available. Other solutions. Very low interest loans are not Tesla’s only move in China. Aware that the Model 3 has little sales at the moment, GigaShanghai’s exports have skyrocketed so far this year. So much so that global sales, internal sales and those outside Chinese borders, they have grown 36% last April. This means that, clearly, Tesla is trying to move the focus of its target audience. The company has encountered the problem that in China the customer has turned to the local product that usually offers more for less money. The solution is to push the European market, which is now receiving the first units of the Basic Tesla Model 3. less margin. The problem for the company is that it can no longer push the price as hard as before. Before the massive embrace of the Chinese car in its local market and new models began to arrive in the European market, Tesla played as it wanted with demand rising and falling prices. Today those days are over and, what is worse for the company, Your profit margins cannot respond as before. As the price has fallen, the margin has narrowed, losing ability to continue moving in the market. This explains why the voices calling for smaller and more affordable versions of their cars are heard louder. A ship that, given what has been seen, Elon Musk’s company has not been able to bring to fruition. Photo | Priscilla Du Preez and Sou Jest In Xataka | Elon Musk called the $25,000 Tesla an “absurd idea.” Now you need it to compete in China

To no one’s surprise, companies that lay off employees for AI are not seeing the benefits they expected.

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

We have been hearing for years that artificial intelligence was going to transform the labor market as we know it. Apparently, companies that bet heavily on automation would gain productivity, save costs and leave the competition behind. And yes, many technology companies they have taken that path: dismiss employees to finance your leap into AI. A new report from the consulting firm Gartner has just poured cold water on that strategy. The research, based on surveys of managers of large organizations with income exceeding $1 billion annually, reveals that staff cuts They are not producing the economic benefits that many expected. The most striking thing is that the figures are practically the same among the companies that They fire and those who don’t. Gartner numbers. The consulting firm found that around 80% of large companies that are implementing autonomous AI technologies have reduced their workforce to a greater or lesser extent. As and as highlighted Fortunethese personnel cuts in some cases affected up to 20% of employees. However, when analysts looked at who was obtaining better economic results, the data indicated that there was no appreciable difference in the return on investment of those companies that had laid off a good part of their workers and those that had kept them on staff. As Helen Poitevin, distinguished vice president and analyst at Gartner, noted, “There is no connection or correlation between those achieving ROI and layoffs.” The substitution fallacy. According to the authors of the report, the logic that has dictated the strategy of many technology companies is that, if AI can do the work that was previously done by a human, dispensing with that human will reduce costs, and that savings automatically becomes profit. The problem is that this equation is not being fulfilled. Gartner notes that companies that opted for workforce cuts to use AI ended up at the same point as those that did not. Poitevin warned that this approach could be “very damaging in a broader sense,” noting that some organizations that cut staff were forced to rehire employees shortly after. Amplify people, not replace them. Gartner data revealed that the companies that are achieving the best results are those that They don’t use AI to replace peoplebut rather they incorporate AI into production processes so that their employees perform more. In fact, one of the risks posed by the strategy of replacing personnel with AI is that the company stops investing in the medium term in improving its operations and loses productive capacity. The report notes that companies that use AI as a co-pilot for their workers tend to invest in training programs, create new roles to oversee the implementation of AI and redesign workflows, making their employees increasingly autonomous and productive. The future of work: transformation, not apocalypse. Gartner projects that by 2029 the number of jobs created thanks to AI will exceed those lost, thus coinciding with other previous analyzes such as that of the World Economic Fundwhich point towards a shift in labor profiles, not towards a balance of net job destruction. Between 2023 and 2029, approximately 6 million jobs will be automated worldwide, a small proportion of the nearly 2 billion jobs available globally. Still, the impact of AI is real. Gartner estimates that about 32 million workers a year will see their jobs automated. The author of the report assured that AI “is not causing a workplace apocalypse, but it is unleashing chaos and changing the way people work.” In Xataka |“They blame AI for layoffs they would do anyway”: Sam Altman confirms that AI has been used as an excuse to lay off Image | Unsplash (Raj Rana)

Hunting Bargains in technology, today May 15 with offers on packs of TVs, mobile phones, consoles and more

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

Today is Friday, and that means that a new Hunting Bargains. Are you looking for a mobile phone and are you looking for good discounts? Do you want to renew the living room television while taking advantage of the World Cup? Well, be careful because this week there are big offers. Xiaomi TV F Pro (pack) by 769 eurosa pack that includes two televisions and a Bluetooth speaker. Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition by 229 eurosone of the best Amazon eReaders that incorporates a color screen. Nothing Phone (3a) Pro by 349 eurosa mobile phone with a very attractive design. nintendo switch 2 by 469 eurosNintendo’s hybrid console with a free video game. Fire TV Stick 4K Plus by 39.99 euroshe dongle from Amazon with the best balance between price and features. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Xiaomi TV F Pro (pack) We have one of the best offers of the week in the new Xiaomi pack that includes two televisions and a Bluetooth speaker. In this case, we are talking about two Xiaomi TV F Pro 2026; one 75 inches and one 32 inches. Both have the FireTV operating system and panels with QLED technology. In addition, they come along with a Xiaomi Bluetooth Speaker. All this for 769 euros. Xiaomi TV F Pro 2026 (75 inches) + Xiaomi TV F Pro 2026 (32 inches) + Xiaomi Bluetooth Speaker The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition Along with the announcement of the new Kindle Scribe ColorsoftAmazon has launched some deals on its other eReaders with color screens. In this way, we find ourselves faced with a Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition that has gone down to 229 euros (before 299 euros). Includes a seven inch color screensupports wireless charging, comes with 32 GB of storage and is waterproof. If you prefer, the Kindle Colorsoft is the basic model with a color screen and has also dropped in price. In this case you can find it on Amazon for 199 euros instead of 269.99 euros. Kindle Colorsoft Signature Edition The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Nothing Phone (3a) Pro If you want to change your mobile phone and are looking for a model that has a very striking design, the Nothing Phone (3a) Pro has dropped in price in its 256 GB configuration: for 349 euros (before 459 euros). At first glance, the back is its most striking point, but this mobile also incorporates a good 6.77-inch screen that offers a refresh rate up to 120 Hz. Its processor is the Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 and it comes with a battery that supports 50W fast charging. Nothing Phone (3a) Pro (256GB) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links nintendo switch 2 MediaMarkt has once again launched one of its best offers in the nintendo switch 2. Its price has dropped to 459 eurosbut if you pay 10 euros more (it would stay at 469 euros) you can take a video game to choose from these three options: ‘Kirby Air Riders‘. ‘Hades 2‘. ‘Metroid Prime 4 Beyond‘. Nintendo Switch 2 + video game The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Fire TV Stick 4K Plus Along with eReaders, Amazon has lowered the price of its Fire TV Stick. Again, the one that has the best quality-price ratio is the model 4K Pluswhich has dropped to 39.99 euros (before 69.99 euros). This dongle It offers 4K resolution, compatibility with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos and its performance is very fluid. If you prefer, these are all the models that have dropped in price: Fire TV Stick HD by 25.99 euros (before 44.99 euros). Fire TV Stick 4K Select by 27.99 euros (before 54.99 euros). Fire TV Stick 4K Plus by 39.99 euros (before 69.99 euros). Fire TV Stick 4K Max by 49.99 euros (before 79.99 euros). 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. Image | Xiaomi, Amazon, Nothing, Nintendo In Xataka | Best televisions in quality price. Which one to buy and seven recommended 4K smart TVs In Xataka | Best wireless headphones. Which one to buy and 21 models from 15 euros to 470 euros

The war in Ukraine has entered such a crazy phase that soldiers are shooting at their own drones

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

In 1943, during a night mission over Europe, several British pilots returned convinced that they had been pursued by strange luminous objects that appeared and disappeared around their planes. Some thought it was a secret German weapon, others thought it was nervous breakdowns caused by the stress of combat. Decades later, that aerial confusion He continues to remember a disturbing idea: there are moments in wars where the problem is no longer just the enemy. A schizophrenic heaven. They counted on Insider that the war in Ukraine has entered such a phaseDrone Aturation that, in many sectors of the front, soldiers no longer know what aircraft flies over their heads or who controls it. The consequence is an almost absurd situation even by military standards: Ukrainian troops shooting against their own drones for pure survival, operators cutting with scissors fiber optic cables without knowing if they belong to the enemy or a friendly unit and electronic warfare systems blocking any signal that appears in the air even if that means disabling their own equipment. The battlefield has become so crowded with small flying devices, jammers and data links that distinguishing between ally and enemy takes mere seconds. If something approaches too quickly, the automatic reaction is to destroy it first and ask later. Disposable drones due to excess. Part of the problem stems from how both sides have transformed the drone into a mass consumption weapon. These are no longer expensive and scarce platforms like those used by Western powers a decade ago, but rather relatively cheap systems manufactured at enormous speed and designed to be constantly lost. Russia and Ukraine consume drones in such gigantic amounts that losses due to friendly fire have been integrated almost as another operational cost. Units expect to lose devices due to interference, coordination errors, enemy jamming or simply because a nervous soldier open fire against any object that buzzes near your position. The result is a combat environment where technological saturation has begun to generate chaos even within one’s own side. The new logic: destroy them before they exist. This uncontrolled explosion in the use of drones is also pushing the war towards a new strategic stage: attack the factories before the devices in flight. Russia and Ukraine have understood that intercepting drones one by one is no longer enough when both produce thousands of systems continuously. That’s why the long range attacks attacks against industrial plants, logistics centers and component manufacturers have multiplied in recent months. Ukraine is hitting Russian facilities linked to Shahed drones, sensors, navigation modules and jam-resistant electronic systems, as Russia seeks destroy Ukrainian workshops where FPV drones or long-range attack devices capable of penetrating hundreds of kilometers into Russian territory are assembled. The logic begins to look less like a conventional war and more like a permanent industrial hunt. Electronics don’t keep up. The problem for both sides is that technological adaptation it moves too fast. Each defensive upgrade generates an immediate modification to enemy drones. Interference systems stop working when faced with fiber optic links. GPS locks lose effectiveness against new navigation modules. Drones incorporate more autonomy, greater processing capacity and increasing resistance to electronic countermeasures. In parallel, Ukraine and Russia they use satellite intelligencepattern analysis and constant recognition to locate production centers, antennas, warehouses and logistics chains. The front already It doesn’t end in the trenches.: continues hundreds or thousands of kilometers behind, inside factories, industrial parks and supply networks that have become priority military targets. A machine out of control. The most disturbing thing is that this dynamic gives the sensation of having partially independent of the soldiers themselves. There is drones attacking dronesautomatic systems jamming any available signal, operators trying coordinate safe corridors so that their own devices are not demolished and entire factories turned into objectives daily to sustain a rate of losses that seems impossible to absorb. If you like, the war in Ukraine is still a war of artillery and attrition, but it is also transforming into something much stranger: an aerial ecosystem saturated with cheap and disposable machines where survival depends on react before identifying. And when an army ends up shooting at its own drones because there are too many devices in the sky to distinguish them, it means that the conflict has crossed a whole new frontier. And crazy. Image | mod-gov-ua In Xataka | Ukraine has found a new way to assault buildings occupied by Russia: sending a robot with a 300-kilogram surprise In Xataka | The war in Ukraine is being filled with “Mad Max” ships: metal screens and nets against FPV drones in the Black Sea

Mercadona’s engine is not the white label, but crushing its rivals in profitability by earning less per product

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

You may like it more or less your cataloghis business strategy or even the forecasts culinary-apocalyptic of its president, but there is something undeniable: Mercadona long ago stopped being a chain of stores to become a social phenomenon. One who depends about 30% of the food distribution market, 51% of the business of prepared dishes and that sets the pace for trends as relevant as that of the merchants. Hence everything that revolves around your finances be interesting. Especially because when studying them in detail and comparing them with other competing chains there is one fact that draws attention: Although its gross margin per sale is lower than that of other rivals, its profitability ratio is much higher. The data: 41,858 million. When Mercadona presented its 2025 economic balance, two months ago, there was a figure that made headlines: 41,858 million of euros. That was the company’s consolidated turnover, an interesting fact because it shows an annual growth of 8%, but it actually hides other even more revealing values. One of them is the turnover, net sales, which amounted to 38,178 million. In that case the increase was 7.2%. If we subtract from that figure what it cost the company to supply its merchandise (28,639 million), we obtain the first relevant piece of information: its gross marginthe money that the company earned after deducting the costs directly attributable to production and sale, such as raw materials or expenses generated during manufacturing. In this case it stood at 9,539 million. Is it important information? Yes. Above all to understand how the Valencian chain makes money and where it has its strengths (and weaknesses) compared to the competition. At first, those 9,539 million may not tell us much, but a few days ago Five Days subjected him to an analysis which does leave a couple of interesting ideas. The first is that this figure shows that Mercadona’s gross margin represents 25% of its sales. That means that of every 100 euros you earn, the supply costs take 75. From the remaining 25 euros you must get enough money to cover other bills and, above all, generate profits. It is not a bad percentage (25%) if we compare it with what the Valencian firm registered in recent years, but it is significantly lower than that managed by other competing companies. The calculations of Five Dayswhich are based on the accounts published by the companies, conclude that this margin rises to 26.2% in Dia, 27% in Eroski and 30.1% in Consum. In theory, this comparison leaves a clear reading: any of these three chains has a larger cushion, once the supply costs have been deducted, to pay the rest of the company’s bills and generate profits. And the surprise comes. The curious thing is that this ‘photo’ changes when we delve a little deeper into the accounts of Mercadona and its competitors. If we look at the operating resultwhich deducts all operating expenses, including for example salaries, rents, advertising, depreciation, transportation or energy, Mercadona is left with 2,061 million of euros. Given that Juan Orig’s chain invoices significantly more than Dia, Eroki or Consum, that operating result is also much higher in net terms. That’s logical. The curious thing is that it is also true in relative terms, based on the total income of each firm. In Mercadona this margin is 5.4% while in the case of Día it drops to 2.6%, in Eroski to 4.6% and in Consum to 2.7%. That’s the first surprise. The second comes when we go one step further and look at the net profitalready discounted the financial and fiscal expenses. It is relevant data because it basically shows what the company ‘earns’, the remainder from which the company takes the money with which it then pays dividends to its shareholders and makes reinvestments. In 2025 that benefit was almost 1,729 million, which is equivalent to 4.5% of its turnover. In Dia this percentage of global sales is 2.3%, in Consum it is 2.6% and in Eroski it remains at just 0.9%. Beyond the numbers. This mixture of percentages can be somewhat confusing, but it is very simple to read: beyond the business volume of each chain, whether it closes the year with more or less millions invoiced, Mercadona has achieved an important milestone. Despite ‘earn’ less per product Than Dia, Eroski or Consum (gross margin), their profitability ratios are much better. How have you done it? In your annual report The firm assures that it has improved its profitability thanks to the “optimization of processes”, which includes energy savings, “elimination of expenses without added value” and “advances in operational efficiency.” Only the use of ovens in ECO mode saved him two million. Outrunning the giants. Mercadona’s formula has not only allowed it to stand out from its most immediate competitors. It has also done so in comparison with other heavyweights in the sector internationally. At least in relative terms. a few weeks ago Expansion public an analysis which shows that the Valencian chain has skyrocketed its net profit margin to such a level that it surpasses giants such as Walmart, Costco or Tesco in profitability. While Mercadona’s net margin is 4.52% (4.52 euros profit per 100 euros in sales), at Walmart it is 3.1%, at Costco 3%, at Tesco 2.52%, at Ahold Delhaie 2.45%, at Dia 2.26%, at Sainsbury’s 0.73% and at Kroger it remains at 0.69%. And that’s just to name a few cases. The Valencian firm not only stands out in the photo finish With respect to its competitors, the figure for 2024 also significantly improves, when the net margin was 3.88%. Images | M. Peinado (Flickr) and Mercadona In Xataka | The gap between what pork costs on farms and in supermarkets does not stop growing. The ranchers have said enough

It is already looking for other bases in the United States (and even abroad)

May 15, 2026 by usatoday24

The pace of SpaceX launches It’s already dizzyingbut Elon Musk’s company assures that this is nothing. In the future, they hope to make many more releases. In fact, its most ambitious goal is to make more than a thousand launches a year with its famous Starship. Today, they only have two launch platforms adapted to this ship. in your Starbase base. That, logically, would be very short for them at that rate. This is why they are already looking for new launch locations. Many in the United States, but possibly some abroad as well. An ad in X. The news has been revealed through SpaceX’s X (formerly Twitter) account. After a publication by a user speculating about the possible purchase of land to expand its launches, the company not only has not denied it, but has gone further. This user was talking about some land in Louisiana, but SpaceX has announced that they are also considering buying outside the United States. What is known so far. Beyond that speculation from a tweeter, what we do know is that SpaceX is modifying three platforms in the area of Cape Canaveral, Florida, to be able to launch Starship from there. This is the place from which a good part of NASA’s ships are launched. However, there was no space available for the Starship launch. With this decision by SpaceX, its search for new spaces is clear. Although it seems that that is just the beginning. Be careful with the bureaucracy. Buying land abroad to launch ships into space is not so simple. As explained in spacethe United States government welcomes space launches under the framework of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Based on this, American companies that want to fly from foreign soil have to overcome a series of bureaucratic procedures, which are expedited if the country in question has already signed something known as Technological Safeguards Agreement. This agreement derived of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), which emerged in 1987 to ensure that missile technology did not end up in the wrong hands. Now, it is used to ensure that countries where space launches are carried out comply with a series of guidelines that do not endanger either the missions or the United States. Candidate countries. There are some countries that have already signed the Technological Safeguards Agreement with the United States. Some examples are Brazil, Norway, New Zealand, Australia and the United Kingdom. Therefore, if SpaceX wants to launch in foreign countries, these would be the easiest options. In fact, the American company Rocket Lab It already launches from New Zealand without any problem. Step by step. Before talking about thousands of launches a year, we will have to see how the Starship evolves. Its 12th flight, in which version 3 will finally be tested, is scheduled for May 19, local Texas time. If this goes well, SpaceX will be closer to the Moon with its Starship and, logically, will also take another step towards the normalization of commercial flights of this ship. Only many years later will that massive shipment to space arrive. They are right to be proactive, but there is still a long way to go before they really need those launch bases abroad. Images | SpaceX In Xataka | In 2018, Elon Musk put his own car into orbit. Eight years later it is still circling the Earth

Log In

Sign In

Forgot password?

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections