city

The obsession with Mars disappears and the priority is now a “self-sustaining city” on the Moon

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For nearly two decades, SpaceX’s mantra has been unequivocal: colonize Mars. The red planet was not just a destination, it was the reason for being of the company and one of the clearest objectives in Elon Musk’s mind. But this has completely changed, since Musk himself has confirmed what had been rumored among investors: priorities have changed to focus on something simpler. A new city. SpaceX has put the handbrake on immediate Martian colonization to focus all its efforts on a closer and more pragmatic objective: building a “self-sustaining city” on the Moon in less than 10 years. And the reason is not just economic, it is a question of pure and simple orbital physics. The window problem. The change of focus, as explained by Elon Musk himselfresponds to the need for quick results. In the case of aerospace engineering, the speed of development depends on how many times you can test, fail, and test again. And this is where Mars is a real logistical nightmare. As detailed, to travel to Mars efficiently you have to wait for the orbital alignment of the planets to occur, which happens once every 26 months. Something to which we must add a trip of approximately six months, so it is not easy to have missions in a row, but rather they would have to be spaced almost three years apart. The windows of the Moon. While Mars needs a large amount of time to deliver results, the Moon is much easier, since Elon Musk himself recognizes that the launch window is constant. Specifically, every 10 days approximately A new mission can be launched that has a travel time of just a few days. Musk summarizes it with industrial logic: the Moon allows us to iterate much faster. If the goal is to secure the future of civilization with a colony outside Earth, the lunar path is the fast track. A lunar city. The goal is not to put a flag back on the lunar surface, but to establish a city that is capable of growing on its own autonomously. According to ABC Newsthe plan involves prioritizing lunar missions with a possible first unmanned lunar landing around 2027, with a view to having that permanent presence in less than a decade. This finally aligns Musk’s personal interests with government contracts. Let’s not forget that SpaceX has a multi-million dollar contract with NASA to the Artemis programwhere the Starship HLS will be the vehicle in charge of lowering the astronauts to the lunar surface. By making the Moon SpaceX’s “civilization” priority, Musk ensures that the development of its giant rocket serves both its customers (NASA) and its new private roadmap. Among investors. Like any good company of this type, behind it is a large number of people who must be accountable and, above all, offer immediate benefits. In this case, SpaceX formally notified its investors last Friday about this change of course: unmanned missions to Mars, initially planned for the end of 2026, are postponed indefinitely. For Wall Street and the big funds, this turnaround is music to their ears for two key reasons. The first of them is that the Moon offers a modelable revenue narrative and deadlines that depend on signed contracts, as is the case with Artemis and NASA. The second is that investors need security so that they continue investing money in the company. In this case, this change of course protects the company’s astronomical valuationwhich seeks to consolidate itself in the billion-dollar club after the boost of xAIeliminating the immediate risk of a failed mission to Mars. What about Mars? This decision does not mean goodbye to the original dream of the company and of Musk himself, but rather it is a reality check. For now, Musk maintains the goal of trying to build a city on Mars within 5 to 7 years, but the narrative has changed: Mars is no longer the first critical step, but the second. In this way, the Moon will serve as a testing ground, a spaceport and, above all, as the place where humanity will learn to live outside of Earth without having to wait two years for supplies if something goes wrong. Images | SpaceX In Xataka | SpaceX is known for its rockets. What is less known is its growing and striking fleet of aircraft

In this city in Ukraine, going outside is not an option because of the drones. So they have found a solution: live underground

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For decades war was thought of as a recognizable front line, with more or less secure soldiers, trenches and rearguards. The massive emergence of drones has dynamited that scheme: the sky has become a permanent hunting ground, the distinction between combatant and civilian has been blurred and entire cities now live under the constant threat of cheap and lethal machines that can attack at any moment. In Ukraine they have forced everyday life to hide underground to continue existing. Kherson and the threat behind the windows. The key Ukrainian city has become the most extreme example of how drones have transformed war and civil lifeto the point that going outside has become the closest thing to a “death sport”, with Russian quadcopters operating from the other bank of the Dnieper that they hunt random people in what the Ukrainians themselves describe as a “human safari.” In a city of wide avenues and tsarist architecture, today the sky is the true enemy, responsible for hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries in a single year, in what the United Nations and human rights organizations describe as war crimes and the world’s most intensive use of drones against a civilian population. Live underground. Faced with the impossibility of completely protecting the surface, life in Kherson has declined literally underground. There is no rhetoric, since they literally live underground with hospitals, maternity wards, public offices, theaters and cultural spaces moved to basements and former Soviet shelters, while playgrounds have been replaced. through underground game rooms and all schools in the city operate only online. This forced displacement has created a strange and oppressive routine in which day-to-day life passes between corridors, bunkers and improvised roomsbecause any exposure to the open sky can end in seconds with a guided explosion from a remote camera. It is the real version of any scenario that science fiction cinema or literature ever staged. Improvised defenses. Faced with this omnipresent threat, the authorities have deployed a combination of solutions that illustrate the extent to which the city lives in an almost post-apocalyptic future, with kilometers of anti-drone networks covering entire streets, mesh tunnels over the main access roads, electronic interference walls next to the river and hundreds of concrete capsules spread along the sidewalks to offer immediate shelter. Even so, those responsible themselves admit that nothing is completely effectivebecause drones evolve, dodge defenses, throw grenades or mines and turn any daily journey into a desperate race in which you cannot run faster than the machine you are chasing from the air. Live, not just survive. In this extreme context, the effort is not limited to keeping the population alive, but rather to preserving a minimum feeling of normalityespecially for the little ones, children, who grow up under constant stress and fear of going outside. In fact, there is a whole network of psychologists, educators and volunteers who organize dance, art or biology classes in basements, install sandboxes so that the little ones can touch the ground and even create spaces where choosing, playing and learning is a form of emotional resistance in the face of a war that invades everything. The idea is clear in Kherson: it is not enough to hide, you have to keep livingeven under layers of cement. The laboratory of a disturbing future. If you like, Kherson is not just a devastated city, but an advance which many fear will become the norm in many other conflicts of the future, one where cheap and precise drones democratize the ability to attack civilians with an ease that was unthinkable just a few years ago. Thus, after a Russian occupation, a liberation celebrated and an immediate return of horror from a distance, the city has been trapped a kilometer from the front, with a population reduced to a fraction of the original that, despite everything, refuses to leave. Underground, between networks, shelters and constant alarms, Kherson survives like a brutal warning of how the war of the future can empty the streets and push human life to simply hide to exist. Image | Ministry of Defense of Ukraine In Xataka | A drone takes aim and blows up a Russian penguin in front. It is the result of an increasingly absurd war In Xataka | Three Russians surrender on camera: what was previously a “normal” scene in the war in Ukraine is science fiction

consumes more light than the city of San Francisco during rush hour

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Being late to the AI ​​race means being left behind. We have the case of Apple that has just knelt and will use Google models to improve Siri. However, there is another opposite case with xAI, a company that was born in 2023when ChatGPT was already more than grown, and today it has made a place for itself among the largest, even overtaking them. what has happened. xAI has just inaugurated Colossus 2, its new data center located in Memphis, Tennessee. For an AI company to open a data center is not surprising, given the pace at which they are being built, but in this case we are talking about the first AI training cluster of 1 gigawatt of power. To put it in context, it is more electricity than peak hour demand in the city of San Francisco. Elon Musk has boasted in X and has assured that by April they want to expand to 1.5 gigawatts. Colossus 2, in figures. Colossus 1 has 230,000 GPUs and the new cluster has upped the ante with more than half a million GPUs and it is also one of the most expensive ever built. According to the report of EpochAIthe investment has reached 44,000 million dollars. The Microsoft Fairwater center is expected to surpass it in both investment and power, but is still in the construction phase. Infrastructure yes, thank you. xAI may not have the best chatbot, but they want to have it and that means creating infrastructure faster than their rivals. With Colossus 1the company completed its construction in just 122 days, a milestone. Colossus 2 took a little longer (the project started in March 2025), but In just six months it already had 200MW of cooling capacity installedwhich according to Semianalysis is much faster than other megaprojects from Oracle and OpenAI. Stepping on the accelerator. As we said, xAI was born in 2023, a time when there were already established companies in the sector. In the Semianalysis graph, you can see perfectly the acceleration they have given in training capacity. At the beginning of 2024 they were last in capacity and by September 2025 they had placed second behind OpenAI. Apart from the Grok controversies (that there have not been few) it has become clear that betting on infrastructure has been key for xAI catches up of his rivals. Controversies. Feeding these mastodons is not an easy task and for this Musk’s company deployed up to 35 gas turbines with a capacity of more than 400 megawatts. The problem is that they pollute a lot and Memphis already has terrible air quality, so much so that it’s known as the “asthma capital.” Plus, he didn’t have permission to have that many turbines, so Musk had an idea: Colossus is next to the border with Mississippi, another state where emissions laws are more lax, so moved part of the turbines there. Image | xAI In Xataka | Elon Musk wants to turn xAI into an ultra-valuable company and he knows how to do it: using the SpaceX vault

This is the city that linked China with the Mediterranean that one day an earthquake hid from the world

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If there is a historical myth in archeology, it is finding the lost city of Atlantis. However, throughout history a few have been found: from that of Thonis-Heracleion in Egypt to the Greek of Pavlopetri passing through Port Royal in Jamaica. None are Atlantis (in fact, for numerous historians and scientists It’s more of a philosophical allegory of Plato than something real), but the last city that has just been found, far from typical places like the Atlantic, has quite a few similarities. Of course, it is in a lake in Kyrgyzstan. The lost city of Issyk-Kul. More specifically, it was in the northwestern waters of Lake Issyk-Kul that an international archaeological expedition organized by the Russian Geographical Society (RGS), the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) and the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of the Kyrgyz Republic stumbled upon Toru-Aygyr, as reports the news of the SGR. For the investigation they used underwater drones and high-precision diving. The legends were true. Around the Issyk-Kul lake run several popular legends about its formation submerging a city that already existed, something that was historically reinforced by the local rumor that when the weather is good and the water is calm, remains of the city can be seen. Likewise, within the Catalan Atlas of the Mallorcan cartographer Cresques Abraham it is recorded on a map the existence of a monastery where were the remains of San Mateo. This lake has been one of the obsessions of the historian and archaeologist Vladimir Ploskikh, behind the aforementioned discovery. Satellite view from 1992. Wikimedia But what a lake. Issyk-Kul is a truly fascinating lake without having to resort to myths: its name in Russian and Kyrgyz is “hot lake” and it has merit being 1,609 meters high. The secret is How deep it is (average 270 meters, maximum 702 meters), it is slightly salty and subsoil geothermal activity. Is the second largest alpine lake in the worldonly surpassed by Titicaca and one of its peculiarities is its transparency: its visibility is such that it can be seen up to 20 meters deep in favorable conditions. The icing on the cake is that there is evidence that there the black plague began. Vilya Shoni,. Wikimedia A most advanced city. Finding a submerged city is not unusual, but among the peculiarities of Toru-Aygyr is that its ruins are in shallow waters and the good state of conservation of its constructions, with solid stone structures, clay bricks and even wooden beams. In addition, they reveal that it was an advanced infrastructure, with public buildings, brick homes and irrigation systems. More specifically, they identified remains from a medieval cemetery, large ceramic containers, pieces of a mill, an architectural element that points to the decoration of a building such as a mosque, a bath or a madrasa. After checking with archival materials, the team confirmed that they were looking at a city that handled silk, spices and metals in the transfer of these goods between China and the Mediterranean from the 2nd century BC to the mid-15th century. Stick with the final date, we’ll come back to it later. Elizaveta Romashkina. Russian Geographical Society. It is the missing link of the silk road. As concludes researcher at the Institute of History, Archeology and Ethnology of the National Academy of Sciences of Kyrgyzstan and head of the Kyrgyz expedition, Valery Kolchenko: “The monument we are studying is a city or a large commercial agglomeration located on one of the key sections of the Silk Road.” During the investigation, they found a second site corresponding to a Muslim necropolis from the 13th–14th centuries that still preserves vestiges of traditional Islamic rituals, a third with remains of medieval ceramics, a large entire vessel (khum) and more burials. Finally, a fourth location located in the western part, of which remains of structures remain. The team’s idea is to return to continue analyzing everything, but for now the remains already say a lot about the relevance of the enclave, which Chinese historical sources record, such as explains the head of the expedition, Maksim Menshikov. Why did it sink? aka the Pompeii effect. The presence of large ceramic vessels and millstones in their original positions reveals that the city was abandoned abruptly, without subsequent looting. Kolchenko clears us of doubts: it was an earthquake. “At the beginning of the 15th century, as a result of a terrible earthquake, the city was submerged under the waters of the lake. According to our assessment, at the time of the disaster the inhabitants had already abandoned the settlement. The tragedy can be compared to the story of Pompeii, although it is much less known to the general public.” After the earthquake, he explains that the region’s population drastically changed how they lived, going from a prosperous medieval urban civilization to nomads. This large earthquake caused the lake’s water level to suddenly rise, swallowing the city. The water enveloped the city in mud and sand, protecting it from erosion and exposure to oxygen. It is not Atlantis nor does it need to be. It goes without saying that Toru-Aygyr is not the mythical Atlantis, but comparing it is inevitable due to the legends that surround it, the records that remain of its existence over the centuries in different civilizations and of course, the large amount of treasures found and its prosperity: there lived an advanced, rich and living city that disappeared one day under the waters. In Xataka | The Atlantic has a ‘Lost City’ with the key to life on other planets. Now it’s in danger In Xataka | Eastern Atlantis: this is the lost continent that united Greece and Anatolia 35 million years ago Cover | Mikhail Preobrazhenskiy and Elizaveta Romashkina from the Institute of Archeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences

Ten years ago Beijing was an unbreathable city. Today its air quality is better than that of Madrid for a reason

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On December 8, 2015, schools were closed in Beijing. Construction stopped. Only a handful of cars could circulate on the streets. The atmosphere was unbreathable. We don’t say it, the city leaders said it at that time. As stated BBCit was the first time that the red alert due to contamination. In China, an action protocol with four levels had been launched to deal with this type of episode. That day marked a before and after. Just over a decade later, Beijing is one of the Chinese cities with the best air quality. The country still has a serious problem with pollution but the data show that the country’s capital has left those days of constant fog behind. And it has done so, in large part, by a huge investment in cleaning up transportation. Better air quality than Madrid That December 8, Beijing registered 291 micrograms per cubic meter of PM2.5ultrafine particles especially harmful to health. They are polluting emissions that can come from different sources but in whose production diesel engines intervene decisively. That’s why DGT environmental labeling that It is used in Spanish ZBEs discriminates (by age) between diesel vehicles and gasoline vehicles. Is 291 micrograms a lot? To get an idea, the WHO recommended At that time, it did not exceed 25 micrograms per cubic meter. Obviously, this pollution rate occurred on a specific day under specific circumstances, but the annual levels were so high that in 2013 they signed 89.5, as stated in Motorpassion. Last year, according to published data By the Beijing Municipal Ecology and Environment Bureau, the city signed 27 micrograms per cubic meter of PM 2.5. A fact that improves the air breathed in Madrid, “which did not exceed 31 micrograms of PM 2.5” on average, in the words of the Madrid officials. The decline is absolutely spectacular and is marked by profound changes in mobility, lowering the 30 microgram barrier for the first time in its history per cubic meter on the annual average. In addition, 311 days of 2025 were classified within the parameters that point to the best air quality. For this, Beijing launched a campaign against pollution which became especially relevant a little over a decade ago, although it already took its first steps with the 2008 Beijing Olympic Days. It was not until 2013 when the city took serious measures. More than a million coal-fired boilers in the city were replaced with boilers that run on gas or electricity. The city added more than 600,000 new energy vehicles (electric or plug-in hybrids that generally operate in completely electric mode). But, above all, 1.9 million cars that were considered too old and polluting were taken off the road. Low emission zones had a key effect in achieving this. Then, the 6NI mechanical (which was equivalent to our Euro 6) to let vehicles pass or not. Automobiles that, in addition, had to stay at home alternately (discriminating by license plate) when high pollution episodes were activated. The evolution of Beijing has been so spectacular in the last 10 years that it is common to see it as an example for those most polluted cities, like New Delhi, in India. Photo | zhang kaiyv and Quique Olivar In Xataka | Tire pollution is as serious as engine pollution. This company says it has found the solution

Mexico City began a battle against the last of its markets that sold live animals. And he just won it

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Mexico City says goodbye to a historical image: the stalls dedicated to the sale of live animals in the Sonora Marketa complex of almost seven decades located southeast of the historic center of the capital. Since January 1, CDMX applies a restriction to this type of commerce, which in practice means that stalls with cages of chickens, ducks, sheep pigeons or fish tanks will no longer be seen in the square. The veto also extends to the marketing of dogs or cats. The authorities of the capital warn that the measure aims to mark a before and after in the sector: “There will no longer be the sale of animals in the public markets of Mexico City and the example begins with the Sonora Market.” New times, new approach. “As of today, the Sonora Market begins a new stage, leaving behind the sale of animals and moving towards a model that respects the law and protects sentient beings,” claimed on Thursday the head of Government of CDMX, Clara Brugada. According to the data managed by the Venustiano Carranza district, where the Sonora Market is located, there were 84 locations (out of a total of 400) dedicated to the sale of living creatures. The idea is that they will now refocus their positions towards other areas, such as the marketing of pet accessories and food or herbalism. Precisely for this purpose, the authorities have committed to giving them financial support: about 50,000 pesos (2,400 euros) to each affected person. Why that decision? What matters, but (at least in this case) when matters even more. The decision comes after a court order that responds to a request from the animal rights group. ‘He goes for his rights’ and calls into question the sale of live animals in the capital’s markets. However, the controversy around Sonora goes back much further: in 2021 a fire which affected several locations and has already attracted interest in the situation of their animals. Complaints on the subject can also be traced years back and they explain the ruling that now forces part of the market to refocus. Those who ignore it and continue selling animals risk closing their stores or even losing their concession. Among the affected merchants there are those who consider the measure “unfair.” “We live in a country with double standards: everyone eats chicken, but criticizes those who sell it,” laments in The Country a saleswoman. Why is it important? First, for its impact in Sonora. Second, because the CDMX Government wanted to present the measure as a turning point, a change that will go beyond the venue and extend to other similar spaces. “It is a historic day in which we tell Mexico City that there will be no sale of animals in public markets. And the example is set by Sonora,” claimed on Thursday Brugada. “We are an animalistic city.” The truth is that the Sonora Market has been particularly controversial. In December the Efe agency cited to an animal rights organization that claims to have documented the presence of mutilated dogs, with ailments or even painted to pass them off as exclusive breeds. The agency assures that it is not unusual for animals to be purchased in markets that are then dedicated to unorthodox uses, such as rituals, target shooting or bait. Click on the image to go to the tweet. What does the law say? The legislation already restricts the sale of live animals, as the deputy recalled Manuel Talayero during a speech in the Congress of Mexico City in September, when was banned the exhibition of pets in cages. “Removing animals from display cases is one more step to tell society that they are not things. This initiative is a step to end something that is already in the law: the prohibition on the sale of live animals in markets.” The Animal Protection and Welfare Law of CDMX, reformed in 2023, makes clear the prohibition of “selling live animals in public markets” or places that do not meet certain minimums, which include guaranteeing “good sanitary conditions” and facilities that prevent the spread of pests. Businesses also need a permit to raise and sell pets. Are there exceptions? In case there were doubts about the role of venues like Sonora, in a resolution In November, the Supreme Court of Justice (SCJN) clarified that “the exception to the general rule of allowing the sale of live animals in places that comply with the regulations does not extend to public markets.” The Chronicler was echoed yesterday that the Court declared that the CDMX congress has jurisdiction to legislate on issues related to animal protection. Images | Sasha India (Flickr), Thomas_H_foto (Flickr) and Carlos Adampol Galindo (Flickr) In Xataka | If the question is how to protect bees and other insects, in Peru they are clear: recognizing their legal rights

While all cities are removing their last phone booths, Mexico City is putting them back

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The 21st century is that of smartphonesInternet, networks, 24/7 365 connectivity, virality and immediacy, a scenario in which telephone booths seem like an almost antediluvian vestige. Spain began to retire them a few years agoalthough many had been out of play for some time, vandalized, converted into little more than billboard posts. After all… Who wants a cabin when most of us walk around with a cell phone in our pockets? In Mexico you have the answer. In fact, the country is so convinced that booths make sense that it is installing hundreds and hundreds in its streets. What has happened? That Mexico is doing something (apparently) extemporaneous in the era of smartphonesInternet, social networks and permanent connectivity: the public company CFE Telecomunicaciones is installing hundreds of telephone booths. The diary Expansion talks about 848distributed mainly in the southeast of the country, in states such as Veracruz, Oaxaca and Chiapas. It’s actually nothing surprising. In February 2024 CFE already announced their plans to “roll out” telephone booths throughout the country. But… Why? Because even though in 2026 the smartphones have become masters and lords of our pockets, not everyone has one, nor does they feel comfortable handling them. With the cabins CFE wants precisely that: to close the “generational or digital gap” in the country and “guarantee the connection” of the entire population. Hence, telephone poles are being installed especially in rural areas after reaching agreements with local authorities. “The project adds an alternative to guarantee the connection of the population who, due to the generational or digital divide, may see their communication with their loved ones affected,” claims the company. The idea, precise The Countryis that the phones can be accessed at no cost and the devices also offer an Internet connection and the possibility of making calls outside of Mexico, to the US or Canada. On your website CFE recalls that the project is carried out with “institutional linkage” and agreements with local administrations. And how many cabins are there? That is one of the most curious details of the initiative. And also those who have given the most talk. Expansion assures that CFE Telecomunicaciones has installed at least 848 booths, especially in the southeast, but the same media recalls that throughout Mexico there are still thousands of the old booths that people went to years ago, before cell phones and WhatsApp radically changed our way of communicating. Are they all the same? According to the Federal Telecommunications Institute, in December there were still 580,199 cabinsa considerable number, although they represent 10.6% less than in 2019. The majority are in the hands of Telmex, although the firm BBG Comunicación is also present in the market. This inheritance has not been without controversy, especially due to the state of some booths. Not long ago the Congress of Mexico City proposed withdrawal and dismantling cabins that are disused, abandoned or obsolete. The reason: from being key pieces for communication, they have become annoying obstacles that hinder pedestrian crossing and generate a bad image. It may seem exaggerated, but according to authorities’ calculationsin the country there are thousands of population centers that still have “public telephony” and most of their facilities “no longer function correctly.” Many of the booths are not removed despite being obsolete because prevents it an agreement from the 90s. Do you all agree? Although the country seems determined To find a way to end the digital divide, not everyone considers that the installation of new booths in rural areas will be the solution. This is what Jorge Bravo, for example, from the Mexican Association of the Right to Information warns (Amedi), who warns that the booths are part of an anachronistic connectivity model. “There are no clear criteria for the installation of these cabins. Although I have observed some in good condition, I have never seen people using the service,” he says. Images | Honorable Municipal Council of Silacayoápam (Facebook) and Mateusz D (Unsplash) In Xataka | Americans have been devouring pizza for generations. Now they are changing them for something else: Mexican food

Someone believed that ‘GTA Vice City’ could be played for free in the browser without consequences. Take-Two has reacted firmly

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Whoever played ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City‘ You probably remember well that it was not exactly a light game for its time. It was published in 2002 on PlayStation 2 and later came to Xbox and PC in 2003. In those years, installing it and making it work was part of the ritual with requirements that not everyone could meet. That is why it is striking that, more than two decades later, that same title appears running directly in a browser, without installations or disks. The question is inevitable: why now and with what implications. The response has come in the form of a cease and desist request directed at DOS Zone. The notice, that the platform itself has made publicmaintains that the website is “hosting and promoting a browser-based project.” The document demands that the game and any associated functionality be removed, and warns that if this is not done, the company reserves the right to take additional legal action. Where preservation ends and the legal problem begins A cease and desist request is not yet a demand, but rather a notice with clear consequences. Its objective is to force the removal of content that the rights holder considers infringing, leaving a formal record of the claim. From that moment on, the designated platform usually faces a clear decision: comply or assume the risk of the conflict escalating. The letter itself anticipates possible subsequent steps, such as communications to the accommodation provider or legal action if the request is not met. In this case, the notice has not been managed through direct communication between editor and platform, but through EBRANDspecialized in digital surveillance and content removals. This model is common in large catalogs, where the detection and management of potential violations is outsourced to dedicated teams. EBRAND acts as a technical and legal intermediary, in charge of documenting the case and conveying the demands of the rights holder, without publicly assessing the context of the affected project. DOS Zone, for its part, is presented as a project driven by video game enthusiasts with a stated objective of preservation and accessibility. In its own texts, the team emphasizes that it does not obtain financial benefits, does not display advertising and does not monetize access to the games it hosts. It also claims to reject any form of illegal distribution and ensures to operate within the legal frameworks it considers applicable. As part of this positioning, the platform maintains that it is willing to remove content immediately upon official request and to cooperate with rights holders. Screenshot of DOS Zone The version of Vice City accessible from the browser allowed you to start games with local saves and offered, optionally, saves in the cloud through the js-dos platform to continue the session on different devices. Access was limited in demo form, with progress blocked after the first story point at the Ocean View Hotel. To go further, the system required the user to upload an original game file, which was verified to match the commercial assets. The claim comes from Take-Two and is part of a broader debate about access and preservation, where the concept of “abandonware” is often invoked. However, that term has no legal validity: The fact that a work stops being sold or changes format does not extinguish its copyright. In the case of ‘Vice City’, the validity of the copyright in USA extends until 2097regardless of the channel through which you try to access the game. In this specific case, furthermore, the abandonment argument does not even hold up in practical terms. Take-Two continues to sell Vice City and also versions such as ‘Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition’ on multiple platforms. Its owners continue to exploit it commercially more than twenty years after its original release. This context reinforces the publisher’s position against any unauthorized execution and helps to understand why the case does not go unnoticed, even in an ecosystem where other similar projects manage to survive without friction. Images | Rockstar Games/Take-Two | DOS Zone Screenshot In Xataka | I can turn on, control and play my PC from anywhere in the world: three ingredients that make it possible

It’s bad news for the rest of the city.

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Like any big city in the world, in Barcelona there are quieter neighborhoodsothers in which cultural and leisure activities live in constant effervescence and, then, far from the madding crowd and prying eyes, they are the wealthiest neighborhoods. At least that’s how it was until not long ago. Now the rich already They don’t want to live isolated in the neighborhoods that were traditionally inhabited and are beginning to abandon historical enclaves of the wealthy classes of Barcelona, to settle in neighborhoods with more economic, leisure and cultural activity. This is bad news for the residents of those neighborhoods. Goodbye to the isolated upper area. Traditionally, neighborhoods in the upper area of ​​Barcelona, ​​such as Pedralbes, Vallvidriera or Bonanova, were the natural habitat of the richest Barcelona residents: large houses with gardens, stately apartments with separate entrances for the staff, lots of privacy and international schools next door. The average income data per person in 2022 for these neighborhoods already revealed that 52% more wealth is concentrated in them than the Barcelona average. But now, that tranquility seems boring to the wealthiest in Barcelonawho prefer the energy of the city. “Hiding in the mountains of Barcelona is no longer so fashionable,” assured to The Vanguard Joan Rubiralta, real estate expert and co-founder of Luxline Real Estate. According to the expert in the luxury real estate market, instead of isolating themselves, the rich of Barcelona now seek to integrate into the cultural and commercial bustle, letting those high areas lose a little of their exclusive shine. Eixample, the top neighborhood now. The Eixample has become in the new favorite place of the best of the Barcelona elite and the ultra-rich attracted for the Mediterranean and cosmopolitan life that Barcelona offers. The reason: it mixes stately apartments and the comfort of being much better connected to the center. “Luxury today is defined more by the quality of the experience than by ostentation,” assured to The Vanguard Sven Odia, executive president of Sotheby’s in Spain. The most sought-after properties in this neighborhood are spacious renovated apartments of between 120 and 140 m2. The modernist style buildings and the high ceilings of their apartments have contributed to the sale price of these apartments exceeds 8,000 euros/m2placing the average at 6,299 euros/m2 for the neighborhood. This represents an increase of 11% in the price in just one year, standing out from the rest of the city which is around 5,000 euros/m2. Offer price m2 in the Eixample of Barcelona in 2025. Source: puntohabitat.es The million euro apartment. As and as they pointed out in Open Metropolisthis growing demand for apartments in Barcelona’s Eixample has made housing that meets the demands of this buyer profile scarce, which has caused a shortage of supply. This makes it difficult to find these days. a luxury three-bedroom apartment in that neighborhood for less than a million euros. In 2026 everything below two million will have been liquidated. It is urgent to activate mechanisms that generate new supply. “We have no product,” warned Albert Milián, managing partner of the Barnes luxury real estate. It begins to spread to other neighborhoods. The new fashion among the rich of living in central neighborhoods, is also spreading to other neighborhoods in the city, putting Diagonal Mar and Poblenou in the spotlight for price increases. These neighborhoods are characterized by having become the technological heart of Barcelona, ​​with large companies and startup incubators, which makes them the preferred destination for international millionaires who took the opportunity to buy apartments already on the horn of the end of the “Golden visa”, which gave them access to residency in Spain in exchange for an investment of more than 500,000 euros. In these neighborhoods, for the same million euros that you would pay in Eixample for a 3-bedroom apartment, you get about 140 m² with all these extras. This situation won’t last long. Rubiralta confirmed that these areas “have experienced a notable increase thanks to their consolidation as the new technological and creative hub of Barcelona, ​​with the arrival of multinationals and international talent.” In Xataka | The list of the richest people in Spain in 2025: many changes in the figures, but not in the protagonists Image | Unsplash (Logan Armstrong)

The ‘trash’ has become the hot potato of Madrid politics. One that has forced the City Council to rectify

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It’s not the only town hall of Spain that has been shaken by he ‘garbage’but the controversy surrounding the new waste collection rate has had a special impact in Madrid. Because of its reach. And due to the formula chosen by the City Council to calculate receipts, a system that the OCU has come to call “original and unfair”. Now the Government of José Luis Martínez-Almeida has decided to reconsider the calculation of the tax to take into account a fundamental factor: the number of people registered in each residential property. The question is… Will it settle the debate? What has happened? That the Madrid City Council has decided to change your calculation system for the new garbage ratea tax that has been forced to adopt (like the rest of the cities in Spain with more than 5,000 residents) to comply a law of 2022. As a backdrop are the guidelines set by Brussels to improve waste management in the EU. After the neighborhood criticism and organizations like the OCUthe Government headed by José Luis Martínez-Almeida has decided to rectify its initial criterion and give more weight to a key factor in the equation: the number of people residing in each home. In that way, they assure from Cibelesthe average increase in the garbage rate for next year will be minimal: from 141 it will go to €142.6. Why so much trouble with the rate? To understand it you have to go back to at least April. It was then that the deadline for the Law 7/2022 It gave Spanish municipalities with more than 5,000 residents to adjust to its guidelines, which basically oblige the majority of councils to provide themselves with “a specific, differentiated and non-deficit rate” for waste collection, one also based on “payment per generation” (‘Whoever pollutes, pays’) and that “reflects the real cost.” Some town councils, like Barcelona, ​​had been preparing the ground to soften the blow of the rate. In other parts of Spain they are far behind, in case of Malaga or the Balearic Islands. In Madrid the receipts began to arrive in september, not without stirsomething that is explained by three main reasons. The first, the impact that the capital has. The second, because in 2015 the then mayor (Ana Botella) had decided “eliminate” the tax for the sake of “less fiscal pressure for the citizen.” The third (and most important) factor was the calculation system chosen by the Madrid City Council to calculate the new rate, a formula that the OCU came to cross out “original… and unfair.” Why’s that? Due to the elements that the City Council took into account when calibrating the rate it charges each neighbor. Among them (in the case of residential properties) included the cadastral value, the generation rate of each neighborhood and the waste separation coefficient. I didn’t like the formula to the oppositionto part of the neighbors (who went beyond Madrid and charged against the law) and the OCU, which after knowing the calculation criteria launched a very critical statement. What do they criticize?. “The problem is that the criteria chosen in Madrid are not really fair. There are large price differences depending on the neighborhoods and it is the case that neighbors may have to pay for garbage that they are not actually generating,” warned the consumer organization. In his opinion “it is already quite new” that part of the rate is estimated based on the cadastral value of the home, but the rest of the criteria are also far from being perfect. For example, the OCU pointed out that if the tons of garbage collected in each neighborhood are taken into account, without further ado, the calculation ends up being distorted. The reason? “The incorporation of waste whose origin is not strictly residential, such as tourist apartments, shops or businesses whose collection is done jointly with the ordinary collection”, warns. “The result is a strong penalty for residents who live in more central neighborhoods, with greater tourist or commercial activity.” And what has happened? That after weeks of complaints and criticism, the Madrid City Council has ‘rectified’ taking into account part of the proposals brandished by the opposition. On Thursday the City Council revealed that next year “a new ordinance” of the Waste Management Rate (TGR) will be approved “as a result of the need to include new parameters, which will provide greater equity and legal certainty in its calculation.” Which is it? Specifically, one stands out: the number of people registered in each home, “an aspect that has resulted from great technical complexity.” “Thanks to this, rates will be established distributed in ten sections (from one registered person to ten or more) depending on the number of registered people in the property on January 1, 2026,” ditch Martínez-Almeida’s team. That variable is completed with others. “For the calculation of the basic rate, the information on the individual cadastral value of each home or premises has been taken into account, while for the generation rate, the amount of waste generated and the percentage of quality of the separation of each of the 131 neighborhoods have been taken into consideration.” Have you announced anything else? Yes. The City Council has clarified that, according to its calculations, the average collection rate received for 2026 will be 142.6 euros, “practically the same amount” as this year. The advertisement It has also come preceded by other developments in municipal taxation, such as a lowering of the IBI rate that will benefit more than 2.2 million properties. The City Council assures that in total the reduction in taxes and fees planned for next year will allow Madrid residents to pay 33.5 million euros less than in 2025. Matter settled? Not at all. The one known as ‘garbage’ has generated a considerable political stir that extends far beyond the capital and pivots around a key debate: Is the 2022 law that has led cities to review their garbage rates the result of the community guidelines that they aspire … Read more

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