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The US has just added a new Boeing 747 to its presidential fleet. Behind there is a controversial gift from Qatar

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A presidential plane It’s never just a plane. It is an office, a symbol of power and, in the case of the United States, a flying extension of the White House. This Friday, in a huge hangar of the Joint Base Andrews, The United States showed a new member of its executive fleet. But we are not looking at a device that has just left the factory or an aircraft purchased directly from Boeing to be modified from scratch. What we have seen is something else: an already existing 747, adapted at full speed and surrounded by questions that go far beyond aviation. Sometimes a picture says more than a thousand words. Others, however, need context so as not to lead us to a hasty conclusion. The photograph of the 747 in the hangar, with the American flag on the fuselage and the new red, white and blue livery already applied, conveys the feeling that the process is practically closed. But the official statement introduces an important nuance: the plane has just arrived at the group in charge of presidential transportation and must now begin its commissioning flights, the final phase in which the modification is validated before becoming available for presidential missions. To understand the movement it is necessary to clarify a concept. “Air Force One“is not the name of the plane, but the callsign that any Air Force aircraft receives when the president travels on board. Therefore, if for some reason Donald Trump were to fly on a C-32a military version of the Boeing 757-200 typically used to transport the vice president, that plane would operate as Air Force One during that journey. A bridge plane for a fleet that shows the passage of time The surname “Bridge” appears on the scene and is part of the official designation VC-25B Bridge and means “bridge.” In this case, the translation fits almost literally, because the plane is designed to fill the gap between the current VC-25 and the two final VC-25s that Boeing must deliver later. The Air Force speaks of an operational need to reduce pressure on the in-service fleet, especially as its heavy maintenance periods lengthen. Reuters, for its part, has reported that the main program is accumulating delays and that delivery is now expected around mid-2028. The difference with the current fleet begins with age and platform. The VC-25A that we have associated with Air Force One for decades are Boeing 747-200B specially modified, in service since 1990while the Bridge is based on a Boeing 747-8 that is about 13 years old. It is not a new plane, but it does belong to a much more recent generation of the Jumbo. That’s where the most delicate part of the story begins. As we say, the plane comes from Qatar and was accepted by the United States Department of Defense as a gift for government use with the aim of adapting it to presidential transportation during the Trump Administration. The controversy arises not only from its value, estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars, but from who delivers it and for what mission it ends up entering the US system. In Washington, the operation has provoked criticism and legal, ethical and security questions — from rules on gifts from foreign governments to potential foreign influence and the real cost of turning it into a presidential platform. The Air Force maintains that the plane is safe, that it incorporates the technologies necessary for the presidential mission and that no risks were assumed in safety, security or mission communications. He also states that A group of interagency experts developed protocols to detect and, if necessary, neutralize possible technical risks on an aircraft previously used by another owner. What has not been publicly detailed is the scope of sensitive capabilities such as hardening against electromagnetic impulses, self-protection systems or their real equivalence with the definitive VC-25. That balance sums up the case well. The new 747 does not arrive to suddenly close the presidential transition, but to buy time while the final planes are still pending. From an operational point of view, the logic is understandable: current models are aging and the continuity of presidential transportation cannot depend on schedules that are delayed. From a political point of view, however, the path chosen has an obvious cost. The Bridge was born as a bridge aircraft, but also involved in controversies. Images | United States Air Force (1, 2,) In Xataka | The European fighter has died, but Europe still has one last bullet to avoid the F-35: the alliance of Spain and Sweden

In 1852, surveyors concluded that Everest measured just 29,000 feet. They found it so implausible that they added two feet.

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Says the adage that “Caesar’s wife, in addition to being honest, must appear so.” Something similar happens with topography. When in the mid-19th century a group of researchers from the British Royal Geographical Society dedicated themselves to measuring Mount Everest concluded that its highest point was at 29,000 feet (8,839 m). The problem is that this figure was so round (so damn perfect) that it conveyed the false image that it was the result of lax rounding, not of years of calculations. To avoid this, the team decided to be pragmatic: they added two extra feet to the top, an invented addition that left their official size at 29,002 feet, a more ‘serious’ figure. A complicated mission. In the era of satellites and GPS it may seem like a relatively (relatively) simple task, but in its day measuring the height of mountains was a real challenge. headache. Especially if we talk about peaks like those found in the Himalayas. In the 19th century, experts such as Alexander von Humboldt They used the variation in atmospheric pressure to measure, for example, the height of Chimborazo, in Ecuador. Later, in the 19th century, surveyors opted for triangulation. With these resources, in the 1850s, a team hired by George Everestformer surveyor general of India, settled near the border between India and Nepal to collect information from Peak XV, today renamed after the British surveyor. The Indian mathematician Radhnath Sikdar and the rest of his colleagues responsible for calculations on the ground they didn’t have it easybut in 1852 They obtained conclusive results that confirmed that the Himalayas were home to “the highest mountain” on the planet. and What did they discover? Its objective was to improve the unofficial estimates made years earlier by James Nicholson, who placed the peak at about 30,200 feet (just over 9,200 meters). And they did it. After extensive triangulation and mountain data collection, the team hired by Everest concluded that Peak XV measured 29,002 feet (8,839 m). Or at least that’s what was officially announced. There is a version of the story, collected by The American Statistician, IFL Science or Montana State University, which claims that the exact data obtained by the team to which Radhnath Sikdar belonged was 29,000. Not one more foot. Not one less. Science… and appearance. The problem is that this figure may have been accurate, but it certainly sounded unscientific. Those responsible for the mission they were afraid that, upon seeing it, their British colleagues thought that they had made a rough and unrigorous estimate, so they decided to give it a more ‘respectable’ appearance. As? Adding two gift feet. A testimonial growth spurt, but one that conveyed the image that the work had been more rigorous. The explanation is found in a letter published in 1982 in The American Statisticianwhich in turn quotes a paragraph published several years earlier in People’s Almanac. “The first official survey of Everest was carried out in 1852. Surveyors took measurements at six points and came up with an average figure of 29,000 feet. This seemed too round an estimate for an official report, so they added two feet to their published result to make the height 9,002 feet,” collect the article. Some versions They maintain that the idea was not Sikdar’s, but Andrew S. Waughtthe successor to Everest. With respective. What the Everest team may not have suspected is that (‘pretty’ or not) their measurement was not going to be the last word on the subject. They improved the previous estimate of Nicholson and they were surprisingly close to the ‘real’ data, but the truth is that in the middle of the 20th century another study made closer to the mountain set its elevation at 29,029 feet. Since then even that figure has been revised. In 1999 an expedition sponsored by National Geographic concluded that the bedrock is at 20,035 feet. Years later, Chinese experts placed it at 29,017. Since then the data has been corrected again. In 2021, the Nepal Survey Department and the Chinese authorities announced that the altitude is 29,031.69 feet above sea level. Is it that difficult? Of course it is more complicated than it may seem. And not because the tools or calculations we use are more or less precise. Before talking about the height of Everest, several factors must be taken into account. The first is what we take as a reference: the rock or the snow that accumulates on it? The snow layer on the summit is not immutable and its thickness is influenced, for example, by the weather or wind speed. Even the bedrock can experience slight variations. “The mountain is part of a dynamic tectonic environment,” remember from Montana State University. Experts say that in 2015 an earthquake displaced several centimeters Everest. Other studies argue that changes in the Arun River basin are raising the mountain 2mm every year. Now we could even discuss whether Everest is the highest mountain on the planet or that depends on what criteria we follow and whether we look at the height from the base to the top or the distance of the latter with respect to the earth’s center, although that is another debate. Images | Michael Clarke (Unsplash) and Evan Qu (Unsplash) In Xataka | There is something worse than Everest turning into a mountain literally full of shit: scam rescues

In the last three years, Spain has gained 1.2 million singles. In exchange it has added… 105,000 married people

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Spain is (increasingly) a country of singles. Although there are still more married than divorced, separated, widowed or people without an ‘official’ partner, the latest statistics from the INE reveal that the sum of these last categories already exceeds that of those who have said ‘yes I want’. Logical if you take into account that in the last three years the number of married people has grown by 0.5% while the number of single people shot up by 9.2% and the number of divorced people by another 8.8%. These are data that must be handled with some caution, but they show that something is changing. New times, new ways of living. A country of singles. That singleness is gaining strength as a vital plan is nothing new. We have been talking about the ‘great recession’ of romantic love, spin entry of traditional courtship or even how (despite the rise in prices and the difficulty of accessing credit) more and more people You choose to buy your home alone, without sharing expenses with a partner. Despite all of the above, it is still interesting to take a look at the INE statistics on the marital status of the population, especially when (how it just happened) show a newly updated photo. Year Singles Married Widowers Separated 2024 14,532,528 19,058,788 2,909,384 3,228,054 2023 14,357,158 19,017,938 2,911,402 3,141,053 2022 14,058,103 18,877,848 2,912,811 3,049,715 2021 13,304,355 18,953,251 2,899,639 2,966,450 One figure: 14,357,158. The definitive records of the INE show that last year there were 19.06 million married people residing in Spain, 14.53 million single people, 2.91 million widowers and 3.23 million divorced and separated people. If the ‘adult’ population of the country, over 16 years of age, is taken into account, the conclusion is clear: people who have said ‘I do’ continue to represent the largest group. They assume 45.8%compared to 34.9% of singles, 7.8% of divorced people and 7% of widowers. Does the marriage last? Yes. And no. It is true that it is still the largest group if we talk about marital statuses and it is also true that there are more married people in Spain today than in 2021, but the tables from the INE leave another, much less flattering reading: the married population has grown less than the single or divorced population. In 2024 there were in Spain 105,537 marrieds more than three years earlier, representing a growth of 0.55%. If we talk about singles, their number has grown by 1.23 million people during the same period, which translates into a rebound of 9.23%. The group of divorced or separated people has gained 261,604 people in three years, with a growth that is close to 8%. Year Average age of first marriage (men) Women 2023 37 34.9 2018 35.6 33.5 2013 34.4 32.2 Beyond the INE. The INE is not the only indicator that something is changing in Spanish society. Another (also of a statistical nature) is Eurostat, which has been documenting for a long time how we get married later and later. According to your dataIn 2023, on average, Spaniards said ‘I do’ for the first time at the age of 37 and Spanish women at 34.9. It is interesting for several reasons. To begin with, because these data place Spain as the European country in which we later made relations official. If we talk about men (37 years) we are tied with Sweden, but if we focus in women (34.9 years) we are above the Nordic nation, where the average is 34.8. We not only delay our passage through the altar. He has also done it motherhood. In fact, pregnancies among women over 40 years of age have skyrocketed in recent decades to represent close to 10% of the total. The way we face our life horizon has changed so much that there is more and more leisure on offer focused on singles or it is easier, for example, to meet people who decides to buy a home without having a partner. Less ‘I do’. The trend is also reflected in the last yearbook of the Spanish Episcopal Confederation, although in their case the figures reflect religious links. In 2024 the Church registered 31,462 Catholic weddings, below the 33,500 a year before and far from the more than 110,000 in 2007. They are values ​​in line with the latest statistics from the INE, although when handling them it is advisable to keep certain keys in mind: their record only tells us about “civil statuses”, so, remember in 20Minutes Pau Miret, CED researcher, does not include those singles who have decided to change marriage for “non-marital cohabitation.” That is, settled couples who share a home and function in practice as a marriage, but choose not to make it official. Image | Ismail Hamzah (Unsplash) In Xataka | The slow but inexorable “Japanization” of Spain: births have fallen by 50% since the time of the baby boom

A company identified an employee on its payroll as “buzzed.” Justice has added some zeros to the joke

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A payroll can be much more than a payment document: in this case, it became judicial evidence and object of compensation for damage to honor. A company in the Basque Country included the word “Zumbada” to identify the employee as a beneficiary on two successive payrolls. It so happened that the employee’s ex-husband was also the co-owner of the company. A ruling from the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country has condemned the company to pay 10,000 euros in damages to the employee’s honor. A list for “Zumbada”. According to is detailed in the sentence issued by the Social Chamber of the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country, the worker carried out administrative tasks in the company of her ex-husband, of whom he was in the middle of the judicial process of divorce and custody of their common son with a disability. In this context, the employee received two payrolls in which the word “Zumbada” appeared in the section intended to indicate the name of the beneficiary of the payroll. As it could not be otherwise, the employee filed a lawsuit against the company. As the employee herself stated in an intervention in the program “And now Sonsoles” hosted by Sonsoles Ónega on July 27, “There was a first trial for the crime of minor insults in which it was the other partner, Iñaki, who took responsibility for having made that transfer.” However, the employee resorted to court again when she understood that it was the company that had to respond for her work mistreatment, arguing that she suffered a workplace harassment for the humiliating work shown towards her on her payroll. It’s not harassment. In July, the Social Court handed down a ruling arguing that, however reprehensible, the company’s conduct did not constitute workplace harassmentconsidering it a sporadic act. The labor lawyer Juanma Lorente agreed with the court’s ruling and analyzed the case in a published video on his Instagram profile. “We are not talking about workplace harassment, but rather a breach by the company, and you can file a complaint against it. But it is not workplace harassment. They have to be repeated over time for approximately six months,” said the lawyer, indicating that the employee’s legal advice had not been correct. The TSJPV did not let it pass. Although in the first instance the Social Court dismissed the claim. The ruling was taken to the Superior Court of Justice of the Basque Country, where on October 25 it revoked the first ruling, recognizing that the company had violated the employee’s right to honor by using the term “Zumbada” on its payroll. The ruling emphasizes that “the inclusion of derogatory terms in a list generates a detriment to the dignity of the worker and constitutes an act contrary to the fundamental principles of respect and honorability”, indicating that the offense occurred in a public context given that the document had to be processed by the employees of the financial institution, bypassing the area of ​​privacy. For this reason, the Court has sentenced the two partners of the company (one of them her ex-husband) to pay compensation of 10,000 euros for damage to the employee’s honor. History repeats itself. Unfortunately, this is not the first time that payroll processing has been used as a channel to inflict humiliating treatment on employees. In 2024, a baker included the concept “Nómina Abril Maricón” on the payroll of one of its employees, which led to a conviction and the seizure of his assets to face a compensatory compensation. In Xataka | An employee put the handbrake on the company van when he was the passenger. He was fired, but from his company Image | Wikimedia Commons (Zarateman), Unsplash (Resume Genius)

China had a tank more typical of science fiction. Now he has added a hypersonic missile in a video that attacks Japan

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China presented in August to the world a family of vehicles that broke with the classic logic of armored warfare: the Type 100 hybrid tank and its support vehicles ZBD-100. With barely 40 tons, these armored vehicles mix the lightness of a rapid deployment tank with an electronic architecture capable of converting them into nodes of a system hyperconnected combat. Now it has presented something more disturbing: a hypersonic missile aimed at a target. The Type 100 as a symbol. The robotic turret of the armored vehicles presented, their optical and laser sensors distributed throughout the hull and the fusion of data with drones and external radars give them a situational awareness which surpasses that of many Western cars. China does not seek to reproduce the heavy paradigm of the Abrams or the Leopard, but get ahead of him: Prioritizes sensors over armor, information on raw power, mobility over mass and active survivability against direct fire. His GL-6 system active protection, based on AESA radars that monitor an entire hemisphere, represents this new philosophy: in a battlefield saturated by drones, mines and loitering missiles, armor is no longer measured in centimeters of steel, but in milliseconds of electronic reaction. And more. The autonomy of its attack modules, the use of loads capable of imitating the power of the Abrams despite the smaller caliber and the incorporation of kamikaze drones from the support vehicles point to an ecosystem expressly conceived for contemporary war. He Type 100 also shows the Chinese commitment to lighter platforms that can operate in mountains, rice fields or coastlines, with less demanding logistics and easier to deploy near Taiwan or in possible points of friction with India. Overall, this armored vehicle reflects a theoretical break: China is betting on complete computerization of land combat and the massive use of distributed systems that share data in real time, something that can be decisive if it can be reliably integrated into doctrine and training. Type 100 The leap: low-cost hypersonics. Now, private company Lingkong Tianxing’s announcement that it is already mass manufacturing YKJ-1000 hypersonic missiles at a cost equivalent to 10% of a conventional missile It represents a profound alteration of the military balance in the Asia-Pacific. The fact that a private actor has entered into the systematic production of Mach 5-7 weapons points an industrial transition important: China is moving the frontier of war innovation outside of state monopolies, accelerating technological cycles and reducing prices to levels unthinkable for equivalent programs in the United States, where long-range hypersonics around 40 million dollars per unit. A clear threat. The YKJ-1000 not only stands out for its speed and its range of up to 1,300 kilometers, enough to cover the entirety of Japan from northern China, but also for its architecture autonomy-oriented: detection, target selection, defense evasion and evasive maneuvers in mid-flight. Its ability to travel inside standard shipping containers makes it a weapon hidden deploymentdispersible and easily moved by road or ship, adding strategic uncertainty in any crisis scenario. Plus: the images that close the promotional video (several missiles flying towards targets in Japan) constitute an unmistakable message in the midst of increasing regional tensions. The promise of a future version with integrated artificial intelligence anticipates a generation of cheap, extremely fast missiles designed to overwhelm or deceive defensesgenerating a new family of threats that could multiply in numbers that current anti-aircraft systems are simply not prepared to absorb. Frame from the missile video Japan, Taiwan and an escalation. The appearance of the YKJ-1000 comes at a time when relations between China and Japan are going through its most delicate phase in a decade. The statements of the new Japanese Prime Minister, Sanae Takaichi, hinting at a military response if Taiwan were attacked, have been interpreted in Beijing as a strategic shift of enormous significance. It we have counted: China has responded with travel advisories, flight cancellations and a public campaign suggesting Tokyo is getting dangerously close. to a red line. For Japan, China’s accelerated militarization is not an abstract phenomenon: it is a direct challenge to its sea routes, its energy security and its commitment to deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. For China, on the other hand, Japan is an actor that can decisively influence the American presence in the region. An intimidating missile. In this context, the massive deployment of the YKJ-1000 (capable of reaching bases in Okinawa, Kyushu or Hokkaido in minutes) takes on a obvious political component: It is a weapon designed both to operate and to intimidate. Furthermore, the mobile container system complicates pre-detection, while the multiplication of low-cost hypersonic platforms increases the pressure on Tokyo to reinforce anti-missile systems which, even in their most advanced configuration, were designed for slower, more predictable threats. He result is a spiral in which Japan accelerates its rearmament, the United States reinforces its air and naval presence and China responds by further expanding its panoply of both conventional and hypersonic missiles. Armored and missiles in it ship. What makes these developments more than isolated advances is their internal coherence. So much the Type 100 as the YKJ-1000 They reflect the same emerging doctrine: war based on saturation, speed, autonomy and distributed networks. The tank is not just a vehicle, it is a sensory node capable of sharing data with drones, radars and aerial platforms. And the hypersonic missile is not just a projectile, it is a mobile, cheap and difficult to intercept weapon designed to exploit vulnerabilities in complex systems. China is incorporating into its planning the idea that future conflicts will be decided by the ability to integrate sensors, automate decisions, and generate waves of simultaneous threats that outpace the adversary’s response. An island in the background. Thus, in a hypothetical attack on Taiwan, or in a limited confrontation with Japan, this synergy could allow China to combine computerized ground forces with hypersonic attacks of saturation intended to degrade enemy defenses, air bases and command nodes in the first minutes of the crisis. An explosive … Read more

It turns out that in the US people pay more for not having a taxi driver. The added value of going silently offers and works

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According to The data Offered by OBI, an app that offers real -time prices on the different taxi and transport services in the United States, Waymo’s autonomous cars They cost average $ 20.43 by journey compared to 14.44 of Lyft and the 15.58 of Uber. Even so, users are willing to pay the premium for traveling without a driver. The conquest of the robotaxis. The analysis of the platform, based on almost 90,000 real trips in San Francisco, reveals that Waymo It charges up to $ 11 more than its competitors at peak hours. However, the demand does not stop growing: the company already makes 250,000 payment trips a week in its first four cities where the service is available. Everything indicates that users value both the experience without driver than are willing to pay a good amount of more for her. Waymo weekly paths in California. Image: Nat Bullard Data Different pricing model. Waymo operates with a more basic system of pure supply and demand, while Uber and Lyft have refined their algorithms for more than a decade. Robotaxis have a fixed fleet that grows slowly, which generates greater variability in prices. Short paths They are especially expensive: Less than 1.4 kilometers can cost about $ 26 per kilometer, between 31% and 41% more than competition. A strategy that works. Surveys show that 70% of those who have tried Waymo prefer to travel without driver. Almost 40% are willing to pay the same price or more, and 16% would agree to pay up to 10 extra dollars per trip. The key is in that “personal bubble” offered by the autonomous car, where the client can travel comfortably without human interaction. And this attracts many. Safety first. Despite the enthusiasm, 74% of respondents Consider Security His greatest concern about robotaxis. About 70% believe there should be some kind of remote human supervision during the paths, something that It is already practiced usually in the sector. Lower deployment and expansion times. Waymo Atlanta has just entered and soon it will arrive in Miami and Washington DC. It is collecting data in Las Vegas, Dallas, San Antonio, Nashville and New Orleans. The entry process in new markets is accelerating: now it takes only between one and two years since mapping vans arrive until customers can get on board one of these vehicles. And in Europe we are also at all. And from 2026, we will begin to see the first circular robotaxis through the United Kingdom and Germany. The surprise is that It will be Lyft, in collaboration with Baiduthose that seem to take the lead to this side of the puddle. Cover image | Waymo In Xataka | Tesla Robotaxis have been programmed to drive as a human. So when they see the police hit a brake

For months Ukraine turned a strategic city into impregnable. Until Russia added a lethal partner to his drones

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The Summer offensive From Russia in eastern Ukraine, launched in May, has been advancing on the battlefield On multiple frontsexploring and attacking with small and fast units as the fighting intensifies day by day. With his advance, Russia has changed The rhythm of warcapturing more and more square kilometers. However, for many months, one of the bloodiest battles has taken place in a single enclave. Prolonged defense. For months, the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk became one of the most fierce epicenters of the war, where kyiv’s forces managed to stop a numerically superior enemy thanks to intensive use of armed drones and staggered defenses that worn thousands of Russian soldiers. This bastion, located on important reserves of coquizable coal and that worked as a key point of the supply lines to the east, has been subject to a constant siege since last year, first through frontal attacks and then through Fence attempts. Fiber as a disruptive. Although the Ukrainian resistance managed to stop these advances, Russia has gone adapting their tactics with greater deployment of drones, finally including the models than We have been talking In recent months: those Drones with optical fiber Impossible to block with electronic warfare systems, capable of achieving objectives up to 25 kilometers after the front line. Human and logistics cost. The price of this slow offensive has been devastating for Moscow: tens of thousands of casualties accumulate around Pokrovsk, with soldiers sent in Precarious conditionssome recruited in criminal colonies with just a week of training, other wounded or poorly equipped. Many were released in almost suicidal wavesadvancing on foot or motorcycles to avoid drone detection, in groups of just half a dozen, replaced again and again after each failure. Russian prisoners They reported that the greatest fear in the battlefield were not tanks or artillery, but Small Ukrainian quadricopters that bombarded from the air without rest, generating psychological terror and nightmares between the troops. kyiv, meanwhile, He suffered the pressure Of a hostile environment, with supply routes subjected to the fire of drones and artillery, which forced to cover roads with protection networks and to face increasing difficulties to supply food and food to the few civilians who remain in the city. Russian adaptation. Underlined a report Reuters that Ukrainian resistance, organized with the experience of units such as called “Da Vinci Wolves” And under the command of General Mykhaylo Drapatyi, he managed to maintain the line during more than a yearapplying counterattacks and hindering enemy logistics. However, Russian numerical superiority, key road control and the introduction of new technologies began to Tilt the balance. The calls “Kill Zone drones” They cover kilometers on each side of the front, making reinforcements and supplies on both sides. Russian advances, although limited in territory, accelerated in The spring of 2025with the greatest Ukrainian territorial losses of the year concentrated in this sector. Pokrovsk’s partial fall, although symbolically minimized by Zelenski, could release Russian military resources and open the door to greater progress in Donbás, approaching Putin to one of its fundamental objectives. Strategic implications. Background, Pokrovsk represents the paradigm of the wear war that today defines the conflict: minimum territorial advances achieved to a exorbitant human costwith drone technology as a decisive factor on the battlefield. For Ukraine, its resistance has been a crucial brake that prevented Russia from consolidating control, Especially Donetskbut the price has been the almost total destruction of the city and the loss of its logistics function. For Russia, the eventual conquest of Pokrovsk would serve to reinforce its control over the eastalthough he has succeeded by sacrificing thousands of soldiers, many of them poorly trained and equipped. If you want, the battle illustrates the transformation of modern combat, where the troops are trapped in a new war era defined by drone swarms, electronic war and mass attacks that make each meter live in a victory … with very little to celebrate. Image | US Air Force In Xataka | The 1500 RAM truck is an American national emblem. For some reason, it is being important in the war in Ukraine In Xataka | We already know what Russia’s trick is to multiply its drones: it is called “cooling units” and comes direct from China

In the heat and extreme summer storms in Menorca, Aemet has just added one more risk: “Meteotsunamis”

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A trough travels the peninsula and, like The experts advancedtheir impacts begin to be noticed today. These impacts have led to the State Meteorology Agency (Aemet) to issue various notices, Among them one focused on the risk of Rissagasthe phenomenon also known as “Meteotsunami”. Notice by Rissagas. In addition to the notices for rains and storms (which bind to notices still in force for temperatures of more than 36º in areas of Albacete and Murcia), Aemet has issued various coastal notices that will remain active during the next few days in the Mediterranean, specifically in Catalonia and Balearic Islands. Among these notices is an active one on the coast of the island of Menorca, since there are expected sea level oscillations that could reach 0.7 meters. This oscillation of the island region responds in the Balearic Islands At the end Rissagabut it is also usually called “Meteotsunami” for presenting some parallelism with the seismic phenomenon. Rissagas or meteotsunamis. As we pointed out before, the Rissagas They are abrupt oscillations of sea level. As explained some time ago Aemet’s then territorial delegate in Illes Balears, Mª José Guerrero, these phenomena occur only in coves and ports “with a certain geometry.” As with the tsunamis, these begin with the sea by backward, which can leave the small boats of the fishing and sports ports stranded. In a matter of minutes, the waters return to the port, and do so with a flood that can drag the vessels and overflow the docks. On average, these oscillations are usually about 50 centimeters. However, cases have been found in which they reached several meters. “Tsunamis“Meteorological. As its name suggests, the “Meteotsunami” differs from a tsunami in his Meteorological origin and not seismic. According to Aemetthese phenomena are produced by “small although sudden changes in atmospheric pressure (1-3 hectopascal) derived from the passage of fronts, gravitational waves, turbonada lines and in general phenomena associated with convection.” First red notice of Aemet. The forecasts speak of significant impacts beyond the risks on the coast. Aemet’s forecasts They alert today “showers and storms with a probability of being strong, even locally very strong”, which will affect large areas of Catalonia, Pyrenees, northern zone of the Valencian Community and east of the Iberian system. Tomorrow these showers and storms are expected to affect both the Mediterranean coast of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands themselves. Thus, the agency has issued notices of different categories distributed throughout the center and northern Mediterranean slope and the Balearic Islands. Today’s notices include a red notice (extreme risk) due to rains in the central depression of Barcelona. In that area, up to 60 mm of rainfall could be accumulated in one hour and up to 120 mm in a matter of three or four hours. Waiting for a change. In addition to the red notice due to extreme risk, the agency maintains various orange notices (for important risk) during today’s and tomorrow, both for rains and storms. The situation is expected Start to appease on Fridayalthough some episodes torments are expected to continue during that day. In Xataka | The heat of the last weeks has been so extreme that we have already exceeded tropical nights: the equatorial nights are here Image | Menorchin / Aemet

Today’s cars are more expensive because they have filled with technology. And that has another added cost: go to the workshop

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Too much electronics. It was one of the usual criticism when electronics began to take the controls of cars mechanics and it became difficult to know what was failing without a diagnostic machine. Since then, the weight of electronics has not stopped growing but in the last five years its weight is so great that facing a breakdown compromises any pocket. And there is data. 60%. That is what has grown up for repairing a vehicle in the last five years, according to A study by Valuepenguin.comspecialized in personal finance, collected by Automotive News. The data is problematic because this is united an extra cost in the price of insurance and, therefore, a general increase in the maintenance of the vehicle. The data refers to the US market where they indicate that the average cost of having a new vehicle was $ 12,297 per year in 2024, experiencing a increase in $ 115 compared to 2023. Here you take into account the price of paid monthly payment, insurance, fuel … Less accidents but more expensive. The study ensures that the evolution of the systems have helped to report 25% less notices to insurance but, also, an increase in them because repairing the technology of a new car is extremely expensive and complex. Thus, the average cost of insurance in the United States is $ 2.101 a year. In Motorpasion They collect that these repairs are extremely expensive when we go to the most advanced security and driving help systems. Repair or replace the digital mirrors of a Audi e-tron It costs between 800 and 1,500 euros. Parking sensors (exposed if you park on the street) may have a cost of between 275 and 900 euros if they have to replace them, according to 20 minutes. And the prices of the rear view camera are around and exceed 1,000 euros. Too complex systems. The biggest problem facing who has had an accident with a new car is that the number of establishments where you can repair your car are scarce. They point out in Automotive News that manufacturers force the workshops to start an extremely exhaustive protocol to calibrate the systems. And it has logic because “a misaligned sensor in a single grade can divert its operation between 1.68 and 91 meters,” according to Hami Ebrahimi, commercial headquarters commercial for Calliber Collisionspecialists in the repair of safety systems for the vehicle. They ensure in the middle that adapting the facilities to be able to carry out these repairs can have a cost of between 600,000 and 1 million dollars per workshop. That are also not used. The paradox is that it is not entirely clear to what extent these systems are being used. According to JD Powerthe reports of unhappy customers because they do not fully understand how to activate driving aid functions or have problems with them have shot themselves in recent years. This leads customers to omit their use. Cars have been filled with a very expensive technology, Little used And that, in addition, it is extremely expensive to repair. And it is important to do these repairs because, as they point out in Automotive Newsthe interconnection of systems means that if, for example, we do not repair the sensors of a bumper we will be disabled by emergency braking functions, an aid that is only visible when you need it most. And that are mandatory. At least in Europe, where institutions force our New cars arrive as standard With the following security assistants: Reverse camera with cross traffic alert Emergency braking Lane output alert Smart Speed ​​Assistant Fatigue and drowsiness detector Black box Belt alert in the rear seats Systems to install an breathalyzer Increasingly complicated. All this results in maintaining a car is increasingly complicated. First because these systems have helped a Increase the vehicle of departure but also to a rise in insurance that In Spain they are marking records In 2025. To this we must add the fuel price increase. Issues that especially affect the low range and the prices of second -hand cars. The first because the floor of the price of the car has risen with systems that, According to brands like Daciathe client turns off just get on them. The second because the increase in the new car Raise the used price And, in addition, it makes it difficult to The client passes through any workshop to solve the possible problems that arise over the years. Photo | Maxim Hopman In Xataka | The purchase of a new car is now very expensive. And the industry knows that it can’t hold it

To the Odyssey of Virtual Tails and Surprise Concerts, Bad Bunny’s entries added one more difficulty: dynamic prices

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Last week, Bad Bunny presale the Tickets for your next concerts in Spain. And chaos unleashed: virtual lines of hundreds of thousands of people, Falls from the Ticketmaster servers and, to add confusion, announcements of new concerts of the star, which reached a total of twelve over the three initials. Above all this, upward oscillations in ticket prices. Or what is the same: dynamic prices. What are dynamic prices? It is one Price setting strategy in which the cost of a product or service fluctuates based on market demand, consumer behavior, competition and other factors. They are adjusted in real time or at regular intervals, using algorithms and data analysis. It is a system that was known before in sectors such as transport, particularly The aviationbut that Live Nation, the promoter owner of Ticketmaster, has also adopted for her events. And there were for Bad Bunny? Live Nation Call your tickets With dynamic price Platinum tickets. The base price for tickets Bad Bunny’s cheaper started from 73.30 euros plus 10 management expenses for the highest areas of the enclosure. The most exclusive, such as VIP packages, reached 543.30 euros more than 72.50 expenses. Many users reported Very significant increases: 300 euros They duplicate the price In minutes. The cheapest seats cost more than € 500 in a matter of minutes, and in resale It was requested up to € 1,000 Chaos everywhere. At 12.45, a quarter of an hour before the pre -sale of the three initially planned concerts began, The Ticketmaster website He fell due to the very high demand. When the official time arrived, accessing the tickets was impossible. The demand was such that Bad Bunny announced, in successive hours, more concerts. In addition to those who were announced the next day are a total of twelve, all distributed between Madrid and Barcelona. It is absolutely unusual and a very unusual practice in events of this type, which lead to such a noticeable previous planning. Where this begins. In the early last decade, Ticketmaster began experimenting with dynamic prices, system which he launched in 2011. Over the years the practice was settled, and became a norm for the great events with the paradigm shift that postpandymia supposed. On his 2022 tour, Bruce Springsteen put him into practice and popularized dynamic prices, turning them into the new normality. Consequence: some entries of your tour of that year 5,000 dollars came to cost. End the resale. On paper, the intention of Ticketmaster (later absorbed by Live Nation) is to fight the second -hand black market. However, and how It has been analyzed in depthit is a practice that disproportionately benefits ticket sales and harms fans, as seen with the Lighting Reaction in Networks Because of concerts in Spain. It is not the first time: to the aforementioned protests on the springsteen tour we can add the fury that triggered The Oasis meeting, where in a few hours the original prices of the entries, or cases similar to Bad Bunny in Spain with Artists like Pearl Jam, Adele or AC/DC. The rebels. There are artists who have declared themselves against dynamic prices, Like The Cure, Neil Young or, very significantly, Taylor Swift. Of course, this attitude has earned everyone Notable clashes With Ticketmaster and Live Nation. The accusations of these and other monopoly practices artists (since, de factoLive Nation and Ticketmaster They control in the US The live events industry, with 60% of concert promotions in the main rooms of the country and about 80% of the main ticket sale) led to A demand of the country’s department of justice against the company for monopoly. The concert business. This behavior of Live Nation affects alone, it is true, the part of the live events, but in recent years the concerts have become the most profitable nucleus of the music business. As we counted a few days ago, concerts They are increasingly mastodonticwith a profitability out of any doubt. In Spain in 2024, live music entered 25.32% more than the previous year, 725.6 million euros. This upward traction is only possible in terms of great events and concerts in giant enclosures. There is a but. Although everything has a counterpart: the income of the concerts increased by number 8.7 %, but the average gross income by show fell 6.9 %, According to Pollstarand the average number of tickets sold by show decreased by 14.9 %. That is, it is not that people go to concerts more, it is that in just one year the tickets rose notoriously in price. Something that is only possible with strategies that do not have the public’s approval, such as dynamic prices. A real bubble of increasing prices and diminishing patiences. Header | Madrid wanted to make Bernabéu a new concerts. Aitana has given the tip to her plans

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