consequences

The US already has the first response to its blockade in the Strait of Hormuz. A boomerang of unpredictable consequences: China

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During a crisis with Japan in 2019, China constantly sent patrol boats and government vessels to the disputed waters of the senkaku islandsmaintaining an almost daily presence without completely crossing the line of direct confrontation. That strategy, based on sustained pressure without shock frontal, showed how Beijing can protect its interests at sea by playing on an ambiguous terrain where every move counts. The block changes the board. USA has finally activated the naval blockade of Iranian ports in response to the failure of negotiations, deploying ships, special forces and interdiction capabilities to cut off the flow of oil and economically suffocate Tehran. The operation does not seek to completely close the Strait of Hormuz, but to control who enters and who leaves of the Iranian energy system, which involves intercepting, diverting or even boarding ships in transit. This movement, long studied by the Pentagon, marks a qualitative leap in war, since it transfers pressure from the air and land to the sea, where the legal, military and commercial implications are much more diffuse. and potentially explosive. The reality of global trade. The fundamental problem of the blockade is not only in its military execution, but in its fit with the global system of energy transport, where the majority of the ships are not Iranian, but from third countries such as India, Iraq or, especially China. Intercepting or pressuring these ships in international waters introduces an entirely different dimension, one where the line between military action and global economic conflict is blurred.becomes extremely thin. Thus, each attempt to stop this flow not only affects Iran, but also removes more crude oil from the market, raises prices and transfers the political and economic cost to the blocker himself. Iran and the long term. I remembered the weekend the new york times that, far from collapsing, Iran has demonstrated remarkable strategic resilience, relying on alternative routes, land trade with Asia and financial networks that include Asian, especially Chinese, banks and partners. Its economy, although under pressure, continues to function thanks to indirect exports, accumulated income and access to credit, while control of the strait allows it to continue conditioning the global energy market. In this context, the time plays in your favor: The longer the crisis continues, the greater the wear and tear on the United States and its allies, both in economic and political terms. Permanent military friction point. The blockade forces the US navy to operate in a extremely delicate environmentone where any interaction with suspicious vessels can escalate quickly. The need to board oil tankers, manage crews or redirect cargo turns each operation into a possible international incidentespecially if those ships are protected or linked to state actors. Added to this is the latent threat from Iran, which maintains sufficient capacity (missiles, drones, fast boats) to turn any mistake or specific confrontation into a major climb. The boomerang effect: China. The great consequence of the blockade at this time has not been long in coming, and it is China’s reactionthe main buyer of Iranian oil and a key player in the region. Beijing has made it clear through a statement that it will continue to defend its energy and commercial interests, keeping its routes open and warning against any external interference. There is no doubt, this introduces a completely new risk to the conflict: that of a direct or indirect shock between US forces and assets linked to China, whether in the form of tankers, escorts or diplomatic and economic pressure. Furthermore, the Asian giant has response tools that go beyond the military sphere, from the use of its commercial weight to the control of critical resources. Dead end scenario. The result is a situation in which the attempt to strangle Iran It becomes a system of crossed tensions with multiple actors, where each movement generates new frictions. Blocking does not guarantee a quick resolutionbut it does increase the chances of miscalculations, incidents at sea and escalations that are difficult to contain. Precisely in this unstable balance, the United States not only faces Iran, but an environment where the consequences rebound outside the region, with China as the actor who turns a regional operation into a first order global problem. Image | US Navy In Xataka | The problem in Hormuz is not that it is closed: it is that Iran has “lost the keys” and without them the balance is broken In Xataka | The most buoyant market right now is selling streaming and satellite images of US movements to Iran.

Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo raised prices wildly in 2025. Now they are suffering the foreseeable consequences

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Demand on trains has fallen. We could think that it is the direct consequence of railway chaos that has set in in the first months of 2026. But no. The last quarter of 2025 already anticipated turbulent times for high speed. And between October and December 2025, prices skyrocketed and demand fell. Now it is the operators who have to walk a tightrope. What has happened? That demand for high-speed trains has fallen significantly in recent months. According to data from Trainlinetrain ticket price comparator, the demand for these trips plummeted 30% after the accident in Adamuz (Córdoba) in the middle of last January. The data could indicate a distrust among travelers as a result, but not everything is explained by the possible fear that those who travel by train may have. And the volume of travelers at the end of 2025 had already fallen. It is something we know now with the publication of the latest report from the CNMCwho collects market movements with a quarter delay or so. Madrid-Barcelona. The consequences in this report are clear, the volume of travelers fell between October and December 2025 in the Madrid-Barcelona corridor, where prices have settled and there is a smaller difference between companies. According to the CNMC, the main data are the following: Decrease in travelers of 13% compared to October-December 2024. Fall of the companies with the most expensive prices: -19% Renfe (95.58 euros) and -13.9% Iryo (76.89 euros). Rise of Ouigo (+12.8%) which has the cheapest prices (61.42 euros). The recorded data shows a brutal increase in prices. Renfe has been left without AVLO to fight for the floor price, which has triggered its average ticket but Ouigo and Iryo also multiplied the price of the average bill. In fact, the following increases were recorded compared to the previous year: Renfe: +40.2% Iryo: +69.0% Ouigo: +40.9% (Much) more expensive, less travel. The increase in prices in Madrid-Barcelona explains several trends: This broker is the least sensitive to price variations. Although the volume of passengers has been reduced, the increase in price has been much greater, so it is to be assumed that there are many travelers who continued to use it as round-trip transportation during the day for similar situations. The operators have finally had to raise prices to stop making losses. This has meant a reduction in passengers on Renfe (which, as we said, You no longer have AVLO service) and Iryo. Ouigo has grown by 12.9% but its places offered have also grown by 16.1%. In the rest of the corridors, only the Valencian has had a substantial price increase (+22.3%) and it has not suffered. Madrid-Seville (-1.9%), Madrid-Málaga (-5%) or Madrid-Alicante (+6.6%) have remained at similar prices. None of these corridors have lost travelers. What can we expect? A drastic drop in the volume of travelers. That is what we expect from the next CNMC report in which the results for January, February and March 2026 will be noted. There are many reasons that explain the result we expect. To begin with, the railway chaos that Spanish roads have become since the fateful Adamuz accident: The most affected. We already know that demand for trains has to fall irremediably given the cuts and speed restrictions that were recorded in the following days, but we must bear in mind that passenger confidence has been eroded since the accident. And not only because of a lack of trust in security, the problem is delays and inconsistency in arrival times. According to ABC65% of the trains arrived late last February. But it is that The Madrid-Barcelona corridor has been the most affected since clients relied on their Swiss punctuality for business trips. That has been diluted in recent weeks, with speed restrictions that are now permanent and road works. This has triggered air travelers, skyrocketing the price the same to the point that Iberia capped the prices of the Air Bridge at 99 euros. It remains to be seen if the companies’ alternative has been to lower prices. We will know that when the next CNMC report arrives and we can have a complete picture of how the market behaved and how operators dealt with these inconveniences when they were already rubbing their hands to raise prices. Photo | Alan Grant In Xataka | 150 years ago, Spain made a unique decision in the world. Ouigo and Iryo believe that Renfe is using it against them

Waymo robotaxis stop if someone gets in front of them. That’s fine until the passenger suffers the consequences.

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That an autonomous car stops if it detects a person nearby is not just a function, it is the most basic thing to make it safe. The problem is when the person nearby is not simply crossing a pedestrian crossing, but is trying to attack passengers. This is what happened in San Francisco in January. The incident. They tell it in the New York Times. Last January, three passengers were returning home in a Waymo robotaxi when a man suddenly stepped in front of the vehicle and began banging on the windows while berating them for “giving money to a robot.” If it had been a normal car, they could have reversed and avoided the man, but what happened was that the car was blocked with them inside while the attacker continued to threaten them. The incident lasted at least six minutes. Waymo, help us. During the incident, the passengers called the police and then the Waymo helpline to see if they could manually steer the car to get them out of there. However, the company told them that this was not possible because there was a person nearby and the software did not allow it, but that they would be fine because the doors were closed. Speaking to the New York Times, one of the passengers states that “If I had kept hitting a single window instead of alternating, I’m sure I would have broken it in the end.” Why is it important. The Waymo robotaxis have been integrated into the life of cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, but although their use has been normalized, they are also the subject of strong opposition from a sector of the population. Since the appearance of the first robotaxis there have been protests against this technology and have also suffered damage in demonstrations for other reasons. Last summer, during the anti-ICE protests, Protesters burned several Waymo in Los Angeles claiming they were spy cars (Waymo has shared images from its car cameras with police in the past). It is not the first incident. There have been other similar situations of Waymo vehicles vandalized while there were passengers inside, or cases like that of this woman who was trapped while two men outside asked him for his phone. And there have been more controversies, such as the run over of a well-known San Francisco cat or the day there was a blackout and dozens of robotaxis were left strandedblocking the streets. Security. On your websiteWaymo boasts that its cars have 90% fewer accidents with serious injuries and 92% fewer accidents with pedestrians. Obviously the most important thing is to ensure safe driving, but incidents like these show that there are more angles from which to understand safety than just avoiding accidents. Image | Waymo In Xataka | With Waymo’s autonomous cars we are reaching a legal absurdity: driverless violations

The war in Iran has reconfigured global airspace and its consequences are worrying

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Europe and Asia, continents united by land, are more separated than ever by the skies. Or, at least, it is more complicated than ever to travel between them. With the conflict in Ukraine and Iran active, airlines are either dealing with a bottleneck in their usual corridors or, on the contrary, are being forced to make long detours. And that has enormous implications. The latest. We have now been two weeks since the United States and Israel opened hostilities against Iran. The country’s response against the latter country and all those neighboring countries that host US bases caused chaos in air mobility in the area. Overnight, thousands of people saw how their flights departing or stopping in Dubai or Doha, two of the 10 largest airports in the world by passenger volumethey were cancelled. And they began to enter the hallways hundreds and thousands of other people looking for a quick exit of countries that were beginning to suffer bombings. Only in the first two days of conflict More than 5,000 operations have already been suspended with Emirates, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways some of the most affected companies. The consequences were immediate: passengers traveling 10 hours by car to neighboring countries to find free seats and tickets shot over the top. 10,000, 20,000 and up to 80,000 euros. Coping as they can. Little by little, the volume of flights at these airports has been increasing. After the first days of hostilities, Dubai is handling about 500 operations daily but this is much lower than the usual average of 1,200 operations. And airlines are in a similar situation. As stated in Business InsiderEmirates aspired to recover 100% of flights this Friday, March 13. Until the start of the conflict, they operated more than 500 flights daily and at the moment they have barely been exceeding 300. And in a worse situation are Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways, with a volume of operations that does not reach 100 daily flights when in the past they also exceeded 500. The passage between Iran and Russia has become a funnel a funnel. Those who do not have to make a stopover or are not destined for Middle Eastern countries are also not free of problems. With airspace closed over Iran, the passage between Europe and Asia has been reconfigured into a kind of funnel where Azerbaijan is key. And in the south the airlines have to deal with the conflict in the East, in the north they have to deal with the War in Ukraine. Most flights between Europe and Asia without stops in the Middle East are passing through the narrow passage between Türkiye, southern Russia and northern Iran. The other alternative is to divert flights through the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula. These narrow corridors represent a new obstacle for travel from Europe that had to pass through Russia before this country’s attacks on Ukraine. And this last country was chosen for a good part of the routes that connect with China or Japan. Now the airlines have two paths: go around to the south or go around far to the north. More, many more kilometers. Obviously, planes have to fly many more kilometers and burn much more kerosene. In The New York Times They give the example of the Nordic countries. Before 2022, flying from Helsinki to Tokyo was as easy as passing through Russia. Now flights have to circle the latter country from the north or south, spending time, fuel and, of course, money. The same has happened with Helsinki-Bangkok, which used Iran to take advantage of the forced detour to avoid passing through Russia. Now they are diverted through the funnel that is the narrow corridor between Russia and Iran. In BBC They already picked up on this problem a few days ago. With growing tension in the Middle East, some airlines had already chosen to reconfigure their flights through the southern part of the Arabian Peninsula before the first attacks. With greater air traffic in the area and more kilometers to travel, the experts consulted by the media point to something obvious: flights will be longer and the risks of delay greater. And the fuel through the clouds. These diversions also arrive when fuel for airplanes has skyrocketed. They collect in Argus that jet fuel is now double the price of oil before its refinement. The gap between both products is so high that American Airlines has lost 19% in stock market value so far this year. The reason: investors distrust the future of airlines. The fuel used by airplanes is a very delicate refined product whose storage costs are enormous so reserves are small. This causes its price to skyrocket with each new conflict and even its supply to be put at risk. When an unexpected situation involves a war conflict in a corridor through which 20% of oil and gas circulates around the world, the situation is much more delicate. and when 40% of aircraft fuel for Europe arrives through the Strait of Hormuz and it closes, we already know what to expect. From tourism to bankruptcy. The consequences of changes in routes and increases in fuel prices are very diverse. According to Deutsches Bankairlines are at risk of bankruptcy if fuel prices remain so high. They don’t talk just to talk. The last time there was such a big gap between the price of oil and jet fuel was in 2005 after the Katrina and Rita disasters. It was the trigger for the airlines Delta Air Lines and Northwest Airlines went bankrupt. But the change in routes is also key for the cities of the Gulf countries. Dubai or Doha have achieved attract Western tourists who spend a few days in its streets in a kind of gigantic terminal. Without intermediate stops on major trips between Europe and Asia, they risk losing their status as a recreational space between both continents, with tourists having a handful of days between two long trips. … Read more

The European Commission did not like how Spain has imposed the V16 beacon. That has potential consequences.

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The V16 beacon has generated all a wave of criticismboth because of its obligation, and because their capabilities and legislation around it. In this last aspect, the European Commission has confirmed that Spain did not follow the mandatory notification procedure before imposing the connected beacon. From here, the consequences can range from a formal infringement procedure to Spanish courts refusing to apply the rule. It is mandatory, but Brussels has a different opinion. Since January 1, 2026, drivers in Spain are required to carry a V16 beacon connected that, in the event of a breakdown or accident, allows the DGT to geolocate the vehicle. Just like account the executive vice-president of the European Commission, Stéphane Séjourné, in response to the parliamentary question of the PP MEP Dolors Montserrat, this obligation was established by two royal decrees: the 159/2021 and the 1030/2022. The problem is that, according to Séjourné, neither of them was communicated to Brussels before their adoption, something that European legislation expressly requires. Why does that matter? There is a European directive, 2015/1535which obliges Member States to notify the European Commission of any draft technical regulation before approving it. The objective is that both the Commission and the rest of the EU countries can analyze it and detect if it could cause problems for trade or contradict community law. If a State does so, it has a waiting period of three months before being able to adopt the standard. And Séjourné suggests that Spain would have skipped this step entirely. What the Commission has said. The executive vice president of the European Commission confirmed in its response expressly that the Spanish royal decrees “have not been notified in accordance with the procedure of Directive (EU) 2015/1535”. Furthermore, it also warns that, if a Member State fails to comply with this obligation, the Commission “may open a formal infringement procedure under the article 258 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU”. lJudges may not apply the rule. Beyond the sanctions that the alleged infringement may entail, the Commission recalls that the Court of Justice of the EU has already established in its jurisprudence that “national courts must refuse to apply technical regulations that have not been properly notified.” In other words: if you as a Spanish driver They fine you for not carrying the V16 beacon You could, in theory, challenge that sanction by alleging precisely this failure to notify. Minterior market Brussels also warns of another aspect. As the use of danger signaling devices is not harmonized at the European level, each State can regulate according to its traffic regulations. But when very specific technical requirements are imposed on what that device must be like, as is the case with the beacon and its mandatory connectivity, Séjourné warns that this can “become a restriction on free trade within the internal market”, something that would violate article 34 of the TFEU. And now what. The issue, like many others in the country, has become another debate of political colors. Montserrat has demanded the Government to “immediately clarify this situation and act with transparency.” In the absence of knowing more details about it, it seems that we will have to wait to find out if the beacon may end up causing more problems than necessary. Cover image | Guillaume Perigois and DGT In Xataka | The RAM crisis has put the future of smartphones, consoles and computers in check. And the cars are not going to escape either

Tension in Iran is so high that the Strait of Hormuz is closed. And that will have consequences when you go to refuel.

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The world woke up today with a dangerous contradiction: while in the aseptic halls of Geneva the diplomats of the United States and Iran they shake hands cautiouslyin the waters of the Persian Gulf, the speedboats of the Revolutionary Guard block the passage of oil tankers. It doesn’t take a missile to fall for the global economy to feel the impact; Fear is trading higher and traveling faster than any ship. The Strait of Hormuz, the planet’s energy jugular, has undergone closure “partial and temporary” for the first time since tensions escalated in January. For the consumer, this is not a distant headline: the price of Brent oil has already increased by 13% so far this year. An increase in prices that does not respond to a real lack of supply, but rather to the geopolitical risk premium. We are paying for what could happen, not for what has happened. As confirmed by Iranian state media cited by EuronewsTehran ordered the partial closure of the Strait of Hormuz under the justification of “security precautions.” The Iranian Fars news agency, referenced by Deutsche Welleexplained that this maneuver responds to the military exercises called “Intelligent Control of the Strait of Hormuz.” It is an unprecedented move in this crisis: it is the first time that Iran has physically closed sectors of the waterway since the US administration threatened military action last January. However, it is important to clarify the operational scope so as not to fall into unjustified alarmism. Jakob Larsen, safety director at Bimco (the association representing global shipowners), explained to the CNBC that it is not an indefinite total block. The closure affects the incoming “traffic separation scheme” area and lasts “several hours.” Iranian authorities have asked commercial ships to stay away from the exercise zone, which is causing delays and “minor inconveniences,” but the flow has not stopped completely. A 33 kilometer funnel for 20% of the world’s oil To understand why the market is holding its breath, you have to look at the map. The United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) rate this step as the “choke point” (chokepoint) most important in the world for oil transit. The figures are overwhelming: Volume: About 20 million barrels of crude oil, condensates and refined products flow through this artery daily. Global Impact: According to data from consulting firms Vortexa and Kplerthis represents approximately 20% of global consumption of petroleum liquids and nearly 30% of maritime crude oil trade. The problem is geographical. As explained D.W.At its narrowest point, the road is just 33 kilometers wide. But crucially, the safe navigable route for large supertankers is only two miles wide in each direction. It’s a perfect funnel where any interruption, no matter how small, creates an immediate domino effect. He timing of this military operation is not a coincidence; It’s a message. As analyzed Euronewsthe partial closure occurred exactly while the second round of nuclear talks between Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister, and Steve Witkoff, US special envoy, was being held in Geneva. For this reason, Tehran is using the strait as a negotiating lever. The United States has increased its military pressure with the deployment of the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford in the region, in response to both Iran’s nuclear ambitions and the bloody repression of internal protests shaking the Persian country. Paradoxically, diplomacy seems to advance while the guns are aimed. According to ReutersAraghchi confirmed after the meeting that a “principle of agreement” has been reached on the bases of a future relationship, although he warned that closing the final pact will be a slow process. Iran shows its fist in the sea while offering its hand in Switzerland. The price mirage: why do we pay the “fear premium”? The market reaction has been an emotional rollercoaster in the last 24 hours: Tuesday’s mirage: Initially, when the progress in Geneva became known, the price of oil fell. The barrel of Brent fell 1.8% (to $67.36) and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 1%. The markets “bought” the hope of peace. Today’s reality, Wednesday: The trend has reversed. Prices are recovering and rising again. As explained in OilPricethe traders have reevaluated the situation: the final agreement seems distant and the physical closure of the strait, although partial, is a tangible reality today. As Sugandha Sachdeva points out, analyst cited by Reutersthe market is experiencing a “technical rally” because doubt dominates the scene. Although 82% of the crude oil that passes through Hormuz goes to Asia (China, India, Japan), oil is a global market. If there is a lack of supply in Asia, those countries will bid for the crude oil available in other regions, making the barrel more expensive for everyone. This has an immediate effect on Europe due to the “financialization” of energy. Gas and oil they have stopped being simple commodities to become financial assets that operate with high-speed algorithms. The volatility is such that “an early morning headline about Iran can alter the price of heating in Berlin before dawn.” The European Achilles heel The situation is especially delicate for the Old Continent. Europe is experiencing a “painful déjà vu“: fleeing from Russian dependence, has fallen into dependence on gas that arrives by ship (LNG). European gas reserves are at worrying lows (44% at the end of January) and vulnerability is maximum. This is where Hormuz plays a critical role beyond oil. As we have detailed in Xatakathe European Union looks to Qatar as a vital alternative for its gas supply, but “military tensions between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz put that route at risk.” If the strait is closed, not only oil to Asia is blocked, but also the Qatari liquefied natural gas that Europe desperately needs to refill its warehouses for next winter. The short-term horizon is bleak. According to an estimate by Eurasia Group collected by OilPricethere is a 65% chance that the United States will launch a military strike against Iran in April if the current talks … Read more

In 1977 Japan released an anime inspired by a raccoon. To this day he continues to pay the consequences

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What harm could a raccoon? Any search surface on the Internet reveals its many aesthetic virtues. They are small, but not too small; hairy, but not in moderation; intelligent, but still simple; handsome, still goofy. The dream of any child, the object of desire of every human passionate about terrestrial mammals Appearances are often treacherous. Numerous testimonies and graphic documents support the disruptive nature, in criminal occasionsof raccoons. Its own genes give it away: if its gigantic dark spots around its eyes function as a mask, the raccoon is the caco of nature, an extremely skilled animal, elusive, sagacious in its objectives, diligent in its blows. They know it well conservation services Madrid. Since the small bug was introduced into the community at the beginning of the last decade, it has spread across three different watersheds. During the last fifteen years more than 800 copiesa modest sample of a probably millennial population. They have become in a nightmare. Without natural predators (they come from the American continent), they wipe out numerous local species and cause fear among peripheral neighborhoods. The extreme expertise that only millennia of plunder provides is combined with a totalitarian reproductive capacity to dominate virgin lands in a matter of decades. The raccoon is a colonizing weapon perfect. (Thomas Despeyroux/Unsplash) We know it today, however. Half a century ago, as in many ways still today, the image of such a friendly animal conquered the hearts of a nation at the other (literal) end of the Western cultural world: Japan. A counterproductive obsession Their love-hate story begins in 1963, when American author Sterling North published Rascal: A Memoir of a Better Eraa small children’s story in which he surfs the waves of nostalgia in the company of his domestic raccoon. The work becomes an instant classic, hitting the shelves of thousands of children across the country. His media epic would enjoy a definitive boost when six years later Disney gained access to the rights to the work. Rascal, the moviewould debut in American theaters during the summer of 1969. Without viewing, the film would contemporize the dazzling success of the friendly raccoon in the United States, and limit its legacy. Until 1977. Almost fifteen years after its publication, Nippon Animationa Japanese animation studio, had an idea: how about moving the story of Rascal to the small screen, in a production of 52 episodes intended for family consumption? Overnight, Rascal, its irresistible manga version, conquers hyperbolic Japanese pop culture. It is difficult to define the impact of the series. Rascal would end up appearing in television advertisements and video games intended a la GameBoyand would cause thousands of Japanese children to want a raccoon in their homes. What harm could the proverbial Rascal do, after all? It was 1977 and Japanese parents had no choice but to shrug their shoulders. In the blink of an eye Japan started to matter raccoons like there was no tomorrow. The fever reached its peak in the late seventies, when Japanese families acquired the mammalian sibylline at a rate of 1,500 copies for weeks. Suddenly, Japan had placed a Trojan horse perfect in its natural ecosystems. And he had done it driven by an animated series. And the raccoons took over Japan The consequences were quickly felt. How do they explain in Atlas Obscuraone of Rascal’s moral readings was the liberation of the animal. Raccoons, after all, are wild animals, and at the end of the day they only want one thing: to flee. The idea fit well into the Japanese cultural world, soon to any symbiosis spiritual between fauna and flora. Many Japanese parents learned the lesson the hard way: the raccoons had begun to behave like, err, raccoons. Aggressive, destructive and difficult to domesticate, many of them were found where the fable of Rascal entrusted them: in nature. Turned into a nightmare, the series offered a comfortable moral safeguard. The subsequent history is similar to that of Madrid. Within a handful of years raccoons had spread throughout Japan. At the end of the last decade, its presence was known in no less from 42 prefectures (out of a total of 47). They looted templesthey finished with species natives with similar characteristics (the tanuki) and disrupted numerous ecosystems and crops, generating annual damages worth €300,000. The Japanese government would not take long to prohibit the importation of raccoons, imposing severe fines on anyone who dared to go to the black market, but the damage would already be irreparable. The raccoon continues to roam freely in the archipelago, and Rascalvery oblivious to the consequences caused by his media enthronement, remains very popular. The beginning of the end. Even though the raccoon has sneaked in in many nations of the planet (Germany catches about 25,000 every year), only in Japan does its history rotate around pop mythomanias and animated series. Its presence is probably irreversible. As this report As Slate illustrates, the raccoon is not only an animal suitable for the countryside: it is also a nearly perfect urban pest. His grasping hands allow him to avoid countless traps, and his particular intelligence causes the policies to stop him to become obsolete in a matter of days. Cities, in essence, function as a field of military training. Each obstacle posed by public authorities offers valuable learning that always ends up being overcome, and that underpins the adaptability urban of the species. In Toronto, for example, the introduction of famous anti-raccoon garbage containers, supposedly impassable, was revealed useless after two years. Nothing that the Japanese governments don’t know about. Thank you, Rascal. Image | Richard Burlton In Xataka | We have found an ancient bone in Córdoba. Some believe it is part of Hannibal’s war elephants. In Xataka | 13% of Spaniards have tried cocaine once in their lives. If we ask the dogs of Madrid the percentage will be higher

Companies are replacing junior workers with AI. Now it’s time to pay the consequences

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When artificial intelligence appeared on the horizon, the first thing we thought was that it was going to retire us. Later, he was going to retire the most senior profiles and now we know that it is just the opposite: is stopping job access to junior profiles. In the past, companies competed fiercely to attract young talent, but now Gen Z has found its great rival in AI. Beginners? No, thanks. This Revelio Labs job report reveals that entry-level hiring has fallen by 35% in the United States since 2023. And it is one of many studies: this other of job offers estimates the drop in junior offers between 11 and 20% in the last year. The phenomenon is not exclusive to the United States: in Spain these data from El Confidencial They report that the Big Four are going to reduce the hiring of people under 30 years of age by between 10 and 20%. In the UK, more of the same. AI boosts productivity… if you’re the boss. The business premise is that artificial intelligence can carry out these tasks of those people with a junior profile such as documentation, testing or writing basic code. It is not that these tasks have disappeared within the workflow, it is that they have been absorbed by higher levels in a twist of efficiency and productivity: senior profiles supervise what the AI ​​does. And if, AI screws up. To the question of how many hours of work per week does AI save you? from the consulting company Section collection in The Wall Street Journal There is a clear divergence between managers and staff: 40% of workers think that they are not saving anything because even if there is a quick response, there are errors and hallucinations. When you take into account the time spent going through everything, checking and redoing, the beads are not so round anymore: this Asana studio shows that employees spend 4.5 hours per week correcting AI work. The boomerang effect. That youth encounter yet another obstacle to having a full adult life is a real drama in terms of unemployment, but this paradigm shift in hiring is also a total threat to the stability of the technological infrastructure as we know it: The illusion of efficiency. AI chops code faster than anyone else, but that raw data is misleading because it doesn’t consider side effects like validation. Operational risk. If the AI ​​does not have human supervision at each step, it can make critical errors, serve as an example when half the internet went down for the total automation of Amazon servers. Of costs and responsibilities. If the AI ​​makes a mistake and it reaches the final chain of the process, that is, delivery to the customer, it is paid. Let them tell Deloitte, they had to reimburse the cost of a report prepared for the Australian Department of Employment and Industrial Relations because it contained hallucinations. A demographic bomb. All of the above is a toll that many companies seem willing to pay for the sake of that efficiency, but there is a devastating effect on a large scale in the medium and long term: the knowledge gap. When these senior profiles retire, there will be no one who can replace them simply because you have eliminated the training ground that is experience. The figures have spoken: between 2024 and 2032, 18.4 million professionals in the United States will retire according to this study from Georgetown University. However, only 13.8 million new workers will gain access. About to explode. Part of the work of senior profiles includes mentoring and all its intrinsic benefits: there are studies that confirm that increases motivation, promotes psychological well-being and even reduces exhaustion. In short: saturation of tasks, inability to delegate and the loss of that added bonus of teaching: there are many ingredients for the recipe for burnout. In Xataka | If AI is going to leave us without jobs, in the United Kingdom they are already seriously discussing the solution: a universal basic income In Xataka | We believed that the AI ​​talent war is about engineers and developers. Actually, it’s about plumbers and electricians.

Drinking coffee in the morning has very positive consequences for someone unexpected in your body: the microbiota

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For millions of people, the day doesn’t begin until the first cup of coffee hits their table. Something that makes a lot of sense because of how coffee affects our brain. so we can wake up and improve concentrationbut the reality is that it has many more effects further down the brain. We talk about the intestinewhere it passes and has a great involvement in the microbiota. The microbiota. There is more and more research that is focused on the microbiotathe bacteria we have in our digestive system and that have an increasingly relevant role in our daily lives. In this case, taking care of these bacteria inside us is a priority to be able to have good health, even to avoid major diseases. Now science is beginning to glimpse that Coffee is much more than a vehicle for caffeineand that has an important implication in the modulation of the intestinal microbiota. Beyond caffeine. We tend to think that coffee is nothing more than “caffeinated water”, unless you add a little sugar to remove its bitterness. But the reality is that we have a large ‘soup’ of bioactive compounds. Science is seeing how coffee is key due to its intestinal impact thanks to two of its components: polyphenols and dietary fiber. This is something that is currently being analyzed through studies. in the laboratory and in animal models where they have seen that a large part of these compounds reach the colon intact without digesting. There they act as ‘food’ for the bacteria that are there, such as dihydroferulic acid, which has local anti-inflammatory effects. That is, it acts like something similar to a prebiotic. The ‘planter’ effect. If we treat the intestine like a garden, coffee seems to work as a selective fertilizer. Although the evidence in humans is still heterogeneous, several patterns are repeated in the scientific literature, such as an intervention study in humans that showed that three cups of coffee daily for three weeks increased abundance of Bifidobacteriuma genre classically associated with intestinal health. But it does not stop there, since another large population metagenomic study associated the consumption of beverages rich in polyphenols such as coffee, tea or red wine with greater alpha diversity. This is something that within this world is associated with greater resilience and health in the microbiota. The recent discovery. Published in Nature in 2024science found a very specific association: those who regularly consume coffee have a much greater presence of the bacteria Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticu. A bacteria that is not just any bacteria, but helps digestion and also offers the colon the necessary elements for it to have much more energy and even prevents inflammation. That is why having this bacteria in large numbers in our intestine is actually very beneficial. Have metabolic health. Keeping the bacteria in our intestine ‘happy’ is essential as we have seen. The main hypothesis that supports all of this focuses on the ability of bacteria to ferment fiber and polyphenols of coffee producing short chain fatty acids such as butyrate. These compounds are the favorite fuel of colon cells and have systemic anti-inflammatory properties. This could explain, at least partially, why epidemiological studies often associate moderate coffee consumption with better metabolic and cardiovascular health. The small print. Before you rush for your fifth cup, you need to put on the brakes and look at the limitations of current studies, since not everything is rosy. And science, despite offering these benefits, indicates that robust clinical evidence is lacking. It must be taken into account here that not all coffees are the same, since soluble coffee, an espresso or using a filter in a coffee maker are not the same. And furthermore, not all people respond the same because each microbiota is literally a different world in each organism. Big tests are missing. Although in the laboratory and on paper everything may sound great, we must keep in mind that there are still many studies that demonstrate that coffee causes a direct improvement in diseases through the microbiota. And although coffee feeds your Bifidobacteria It does not eliminate the fact that excess caffeine causes insomnia, anxiety or tachycardia in sensitive people. Furthermore, the benefits observed in the microbiota are associated with black coffee or coffee with little milk. If your “coffee” is a smoothie loaded with sugar, cream and syrups, the negative impact of ultra-processed foods on your intestine will probably cancel out any benefits of polyphenols. Images | Nathan Dumlao CDC In Xataka | Having a cup of coffee as soon as you wake up seems like a great idea. Science has something to say about it

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

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