countries

More and more countries want to prohibit minors from using social networks. Denmark makes a move

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Should minors have social networks? The debate is raging and more and more voices are advocating a total ban. Australia has a law on the table that will prevent minors under 16 years of age from using social networks and our french neighbors They have also shown their inclination to follow this path. Now it is Denmark that makes its move. what has happened. The Danish government has reached an agreement to ban social media for those under 15 years of age. In statements to the Associated PressDanish Prime Minister Caroline Stage has assured that 94% of Danish children under 13 and more than half of those under 10 have profiles on social networks. “The time they spend connected to the Internet, the amount of violence and self-harm to which they are exposed online, poses too great a risk for our children,” he stated. The measure contemplates that parents who wish may authorize their children to access social networks from the age of 13. Why is it important. Denmark becomes the first European country to agree to such a ban. The ban could take months to take effect because they want to tie everything together. According to Stage, “We must ensure that the regulations are adequate and that there are no loopholes that technology giants can exploit.” The European position. This summer several countries, including Spain, approached the European Commission to request a ban at the European level. The commission’s response was clear: The ban must be carried out by each country, there will be no common prohibition. However, the EU is developing the European Digital Identityan app to identify ourselves when carrying out procedures and that will also work as an age verifier. How will they do it. The plan is to use Denmark’s electronic ID system, although they have not given many details on how it will work. The Prime Minister talks about forcing technology companies to “carry out appropriate age verification, and if they do not do so we will be able to enforce the regulations through the European Commission and ensure that they are fined up to 6% of their global income.” Pajaport. In parallel to the debate about access to social networks there is also that of porn. Spain announced the Beta Digital Wallet, known as ‘pajaporte’ to limit access to porn by minors. At the moment it is not in force, but there are other countries that have similar initiatives that are already underway, such as France, where its implementation caused the closure of Pornhub in the country. The United Kingdom is another of the countries where you have to identify yourself to watch porn. The traffic of Pornhub plummeted 77%, so it seems that the measure had an effect. However, the huge growth of VPN tools It suggests that many users could be masking their location to bypass the ban. Doors to the field. Using a VPN is a way to bypass restrictions, and in the case of access to social networks by minors it could also be an option to bypass the restriction. There are still many doubts about how it will be executed on a technical level, but with easy access to the screens and the ability of some children to avoid limitationsdoes not seem like an easy task. Images | Pexels 1, 2 In Xataka | Neither TikTok nor Instagram until the age of 16: Spain will raise the minimum age to register on social networks in two years

The countries with the most kilometers of high-speed train, displayed in a graph with a brutal dominator: China

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The train is the backbone of many countries. For centuries it has been key to mobility in Europe, in Japan it is essential, China has experienced a railway revolution and even the United States or Latin America begin to bet on passenger mobility by train. However, it is one thing to have a railway and quite another to have a rich high-speed network. And this graph shows the countries with the most kilometers of high-speed trains and their plans for the future. China, undisputed queen. The Olympics They are an event in which countries “sell” themselves to the worldbut in the case of China, it involved a profound renovation of its infrastructure. It was in 2008 when China launched its high-speed railway line: barely 120 kilometers between Beijing and Taijin, and 17 years later, it is the country with the most kilometers of high-speed lines in operation. According to the data of World Population Review and as we can see in the graph prepared by Visual CapitalistChina has more than 40,000 kilometers of tracks on which its trains go at 250 km/h or more. They have another 12,800 kilometers under construction and more than 11,000 planned. In total, some 64,000 kilometers of high-speed rail. In addition, they are moving forward to make their network the highest speed thanks to the maglev advancesmagnetic trains, with tracks that already link cities like Beijing and Shanghai to speeds of more than 430 kilometers per hour. And it is this network that is putting the airlines in check. Spain and Japan. The train is vital in a country as huge as China and the numbers speak for themselves, but there are two other countries that, without being the ones with the most kilometers in total (operational, under construction and planned), complete the podium of those with the most high-speed kilometers currently operating. There are no surprises here. Spain has a total of 5,632 kilometers of high speed, of which more than 3,700 are already operational, followed by China the country with the most kilometers of high speed currently holds. There are another 1,040 kilometers under construction and another 862 kilometers planned. For its part, Japan, another example when we talk about fast trainshas a total of 3,700 kilometers divided into 3,050 operational kilometers, 402 under construction and 193 planned. Promises, promises. At a time when the train is emerging as the alternative to international flights, especially to low cost and among short-distance points, it is striking that, in reality, there are no more countries with high-speed lines. In Europe, apart from Spain, France, Germany, Sweden, Finland or Italy, they have hundreds of operational kilometers, but outside of the ‘Old Continent’ and cases like South Korea, things are very different. For example, India. It is the second country in the graph, but of the 8,000 total kilometers, only 508 eare under construction and the remaining 7,400 are planned. They do not have high speed, and the same thing happens in Egypt (with 3,400 kilometers planned), Australia (1,700 planned) and European countries such as Latvia, Estonia, Norway or the Czech Republic: all with plans to create high-speed lines, but not one operational kilometer. America. And if in China the train is essential due to its dimensionson the American continent we should think that things are the same. And no, not at all. The United States, a gigantic country, has only 735 kilometers of high speed, 273 under construction and almost 5,000 planned, but nothing more. Spain tried to bring the AVE to the North American country and there are demands for high-speed trains to expand, but their internal mobility continues to have the plane as the protagonist. Canada has 1,500 kilometers planned and not one kilometer built, Mexico is in the same situation with 210 kilometers on the table, Brazil the same with 510 kilometers planned and Argentina does not even appear on the graph. But, although high speed is complicated on the continent, the truth is that there are many plans to expand the railway network, even creating international trains that go from one ocean to another, like the one planned between Brazil and Peru. And who is behind many of these projects? Well, who has gained experience at a forced pace in recent years ‘pulling’ thousands of kilometers of tracks: China. In Xataka | China wanted to be the queen of high-speed trains. So he built all the longest bridges in the world

that they do not pay tolls. And (almost) all countries don’t care

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The European Union is determined that transport drastically reduces its emissions. In Xataka We have discussed at length the plan to jump to the electric car, with new emissions limits from 2030 that will force the pure gasoline car to be almost testimonial and the intention to ban combustion engines by 2035. And, hand in hand, we also want to drastically reduce emissions from heavy road transport. Here, the electric truck should be key. To promote it, the European Union wants them not to pay tolls. No tolls. It’s what has approved the European Union. Right now, countries that want to apply it can free electric trucks from tolls on their roads. Applying this possibility, which is decided by each Member State, expired on December 31, 2025 but has been extended until December 31, 2030. The European Commission’s proposal arrived in summer and a few days ago, with 458 votes in favor, 182 against and 11 abstentions, the European Parliament confirmed its expansion. Electric trucks will not have to pay tolls on European roads… if a Member State decides so. almost no one. The problem is that almost no one fully applies this rule. Right now, only Germany and Austria offer their roads completely free of charge to purely electric trucks. These vehicles do not have to pay to use their toll roads. In addition to Germany and Austria, 10 countries offer discounts for electric trucks when using their highways. And another 15 countries do not apply any type of discount. Among them, indeed, is Spain, which charges the same for a polluting truck as for a zero-emission truck. The plans. Although the countries that apply these exemptions completely are testimonial and more than half do not apply any type of discount, European enlargement reopens this possibility so that more States join in to favor the arrival of electric trucks on their roads. Europe’s ultimate intention is to drastically reduce its emissions from heavy transport. The objectives vary depending on the size of the vehicle but, for trucks, the intention is to reduce emissions by 45% by 2035 and that in 2040 the presence of combustion engines in the trucks sold will be almost negligible, with a 90% reduction in emissions. The comparison is made with data from 1990. These plans also include passenger transport buses, which will also not have to pay tolls as long as each State allows it. Viable? Given this measure, manufacturer associations such as ACEA have shown their enthusiasm for the decision but… to what extent is it viable to electrify heavy transport? Its impact is important (barely 2% of the vehicles that move but produce more than 25% of road transport emissions) so jumping to electric trucks is a priority for Europe. The problem is that the electric truck continues to require a really expensive purchase although, over time, the savings promises are consistent. According to the consulting firm Commercial Vehicle World, the savings when operating with this type of vehicle is between 10 and 20% compared to a diesel truck. One of the problems, of course, continues to be autonomy. For now, the most ambitious electric trucks They move in runs of between 500 and 600 kilometers but the key is in the recharging times, which with a 150 kW pole can take up to two hours to fill their batteries. Beyond the tolls. In. its objective to promote the jump to the electric truck, the European Union is forcing countries to Fill your roads with charging points. Of these, large charging islands are planned that should serve these enormous vehicles. The intention is to have very powerful plugs but, until now, they have focused on plugs of, at most, 350 kW, which is clearly insufficient. It must be taken into account that BYD has already given approval for the installation in Europe of its 1MW chargerswhich is clearly focused on this type of transportation. But electric trucks are also beginning to gain ground. While in Europe they are negligible, with less than 1% of sales, in China they already exceed 20%. Many of them have gained traction due to the possibility of changing batteries at appropriate stations, which guarantees that, in just a few minutes, the vehicle can continue its journey. Photo | In Xataka | BYD has shown us that charging 400 kilometers in five minutes is very real. And they have managed to change my mind

the trauma of thousands of underpaid workers in developing countries

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He data labeling It is a necessary step so that learning models can understand them and thus learn. It’s the ScaleAI business, Alexandr Wang’s company recently valued at $29 billion. However, not everyone involved in data labeling enjoys this status. Much of this work is carried out by workers in poor countries, poorly paid and involves very unpleasant tasks. what’s happening. The advancement of artificial intelligence requires an enormous amount of data labeling. They count in AFP that this work is usually done by workers who reside in impoverished countries such as Kenya, Colombia or India. In addition to being very poorly paid, the job often requires them to review very unpleasant images. For example, for an AI to write an autopsy report, taggers must view hundreds of images of real crimes. The work. It consists of reviewing and labeling files, most often images. It does not require a degree, just knowing how to use a computer and demonstrating that you can think analytically. The ease of access means that many people in vulnerable situations turn to this type of work. The problem is that, to get a decent salary, they have to work long hours, up to 16 hours a day in some casesand also many times the content they must label is violent and extreme. AI moderators. It is a situation similar to the one that moderators of different platforms have been denouncing for years. We recently talked about the lawsuit that a former Chaturbate moderator had imposed on the company. There are other cases like that of Facebook moderators in Barcelona who denounced the company due to the psychological trauma that filtering all that content caused them. Invisible. The data labeling market generated 3.8 billion dollars in 2024 and is expected to grow to 17 billion in the next five years. However, those who make it possible work in very poor conditions. A Colombian worker tells AFP that data taggers are “like ghosts. No one knows we exist even though we are contributing to the technological progress of society.” Better conditions. There was no legislation in Kenya, but data taggers have been organized to achieve regulation and have better working conditions. They denounce the lack of psychological support they receive and demand formal employment contracts, a fair salary that reflects their work and the fundamental right to rest. This mobilization seeks to guarantee a more dignified work environment and protect the rights of these essential workers in the artificial intelligence industry. The platforms. The most mentioned is Remotasks, a subsidiary of Scale AI that has been the subject of protests in countries such as Kenya, Venezuela and the Philippines for defaults and problematic practices. The company defends himself and ensures that they offer “fair and competitive remuneration.” Last year closed its doors in Kenya after workers complained publicly. There are more like the Australian Appen or Sama, a subcontractor of companies like Meta and OpenAI that was sued in Kenya due to poor working conditions and also ceased its activity. The human cost. There is growing concern about the environmental impact of artificial intelligence, that requires large amounts of energy to run, especially due to the training and operation of complex models. However, there is not only an energy and natural resource cost, but also a significant human cost that seems to be going more unnoticed. Image | Christina Morillo, Pexels In Xataka | There are 60 countries that have signed an agreement for “open”, “inclusive” and “safe” AI. And two that don’t: the US and the United Kingdom

now MacBook Pros do not come with a charger in some countries either

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If you are thinking of getting the new MacBook Pro with M5 chip that Apple has just presented, it is worth taking a closer look at what exactly comes in the box. Depending on the country you live in, the laptop may arrive without a power adapter, which would force you to make an additional outlay, and wait a little longer, before being able to use it, unless you already have a compatible one. Goodbye to the power adapter. Apple has chosen not to include the charger in the box of the new M5 MacBook Pro in some markets. At the moment it is not clear if the measure applies to the entire European Union (we have contacted the company to confirm this). Use the one you have or go to the checkout. When you add the device to the cart, the store suggests various accessories, such as AppleCare+ or additional cables. Among them is a 70 W USB-C power adapter – the same one that Apple includes in this model in some countries – with a price of 65 euros. A 96 W version is also available for 85 euros. Before completing your purchase, Apple suggests several additional accessories, including a charger Where it is and where it is not included. We have verified that when purchasing the new MacBook Pro M5 from the Apple Spain or Apple Italia online store, the power adapter does not appear among the included items. Only the charging cable and the equipment appear in the box. In the United States, however, the story changes: the charger is part of the package. Why Apple does this. Although Apple has not offered a specific explanation about the M5 MacBook Pro, the measure seems to follow the environmental line that the company has defended for years. In 2020, when he removed the charger from the iPhonejustified the decision pointing out that “Apple is also removing the power adapter and EarPods from iPhone packaging, further reducing carbon emissions.” At that time, the company also highlighted that the new packaging design allowed it to “ship 70% more boxes per pallet” and reduce more than two million metric tons of CO₂ per year. Comparison in the Apple online store: the MacBook Pro with charger (above) and without charger (below) What about the rest of Macs. The change does not affect, at least for now, the rest of the models. If today, October 15, you decide to buy a 14-inch MacBook Pro From the Apple Store in Spain or Italy, you will see that the power adapter is included along with the USB-C to MagSafe cable. The same goes for previously released laptops, such as the MacBook Air M4. So, for the moment, the absence of the charger seems to be limited to the new configurations with the M5 chip. Not everything goes through the Apple charger. It is not essential to buy the official Apple charger. There are third-party options with the same USB-C Power Delivery charging standard, which may be more affordable and offer equivalent results. In any case, it is worth checking that the adapter is fully compatible with the MacBook Pro M5 and has the necessary safety certifications. Using a low-quality charger may affect performance or shorten battery life. Tim Cook, CEO of Apple since 2011 Second hand: sell with or without charger. Until recently, when you sold a used device, it was common to deliver it with its charger. It was almost an automatic gesture: you bought a new one, which already came with an adapter, and you gave up the previous one along with the equipment. That custom began to change when Apple stopped including chargers in iPhones. Now the question is: what will we do when we have to sell our laptop? Will we stop including the charger? The Tim Cook era. As we already mentioned, this is not the first time that Apple has decided to remove a traditional component from its products. Since the arrival of Tim Cook at the head of the company, we have seen the headphones, the iPhone charger disappear and, later, that of the Apple Watch. All these steps were justified under the same premise: sustainability and reduction of environmental impact. Succession: what is known and what is not. Rumors about Tim Cook’s succession have intensified in recent years, although the CEO himself has not made any statements on the matter. Sources like Bloomberg point to John Ternus as the natural candidate to take his place when the time comes. Apple, faithful to its secrecy, has not commented on any of these reports. The only certainty is that Cook is still in charge, and his legacy—including these types of decisions—continues to set the course of the company. Images | Apple | Screenshot In Xataka | The Vision Pro with M5 prove something: Apple has not known what to do with them for two years

Europe has been working for three years to isolate itself from Russian gas. Two countries have decided to build a direct gas pipeline to Russia

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The European energy map is changing at a speed that few would have imagined just three years ago. The old gas pipelines that linked Siberia to the industrial heart of the EU have been sidelined, while new routes and alliances reconfigure the power table around gas. The old continent proclaims its purpose of isolating Moscow, but in the center of the continent it is drawn an exception that alters the planned script and that may change the balance of forces in the coming winters. A map in transformation. Yes, the European gas map has changed radically in a few years, to the point that this winter of 2025 is the first in decades in which Russian gas ceases to be decisive throughout the European Union. After the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the energy crisis that broke out between 2021 and 2023, Brussels urged urgently diversification of supplies, relying on imports liquefied natural gas (LNG), especially from the United States and Qatar, and in the fortress of norway as a stable partner. The great gas pipelines that for half a century linked the Siberian fields with the European industrial heart have been underutilizeddamaged or reduced to a secondary role, as energy security moves towards the global balance of the LNG market and towards the vulnerability of infrastructures increasingly exposed to cyber attacks and hybrid incidents. On this new board, each molecule counts, but not all of them weigh the same: there are some that define true European autonomy more than others. The two exceptions. Despite the EU’s declared desire to eliminate purchases from Moscow, two countries have kept the valve open: Hungary and Slovakia. In August 2025, according to the Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air, both added imports of Russian crude oil and gas by more than 690 million of euros, that is, the majority of the European total. In fact, they continue to receive oil through the gigantic Druzhba pipeline, which crosses Ukraine and Belarus from Russian fields to Central Europe, and have used temporary exception granted by Brussels to landlocked countries to justify their dependence. The contrast is evident: while countries like France, the Netherlands and Belgium have limited themselves to importing residual Russian LNG, Budapest and Bratislava continue buying crude oil and gas straight from Moscow, keeping alive the energy artery that the rest of Europe has tried to close. Hungary and Slovakia are investing in gas infrastructure and creating a gas block in the heart of Europe aimed at protecting against any risks USA, Brussels and pressure. The intransigence of Viktor Orbán and Robert Fico has not gone unnoticed. At the UN, Trump accused Europe of “financing the war against itself” and pointed out with their own name to the Central European partners that do business with the Kremlin. Brussels, for its part, debate sanctions growing: the nineteenth package included a ban on Russian LNG starting in 2026 and restrictions on giants such as Rosneft or Gazprom Neft, although it avoided imposing immediate vetoes on crude oil and gas by gas pipeline, fearing a head-on crash with Budapest and Bratislava. However, the Commission is already preparing specific tariffs against imports that are still They arrive through Druzhbaand requires all Member States to submit disconnection plans before 2027the year in which the final cut is expected. The discourse of dependency. Hungary insists that its economy would fall 4% immediately if they were closed russian flowsand both Orbán and Fico speak of “economic suicide” and “ideological impositions” from Brussels. However, experts and analysts dismantle many of these arguments: geography is no excuse in an integrated European market where other equally landlocked countries, such as Austria or the Czech Republic, have reduced drastically reduce its Russian imports. Alternative infrastructures there are. The Adria pipeline, which connects to the Adriatic in Croatia, could supply enough crude oil to Hungary and Slovakia, although the reliability of its capacity tests is disputed. The Croatian oil company JANAF itself assures which can supply both refineries (Százhalombatta in Hungary and Slovnaft in Bratislava) with up to 12.9 million tons per year. In gas, the interconnections with neighboring countries and the expected abundance of LNG after 2026 suggest that the cutoff of Russian flows would be more political than technical. Politics, benefits and a shadow. Budapest’s stubbornness also has an internal political and economic dimension. The MOL company, close to the Orbán Government and owner of the Slovak refinery, has reaped huge benefits thanks to the price difference between Russian Urals crude oil and Brent, which has allowed extraordinary income for both the company and the state budget itself through taxes. In parallel, the speech of the Hungarian Executive associates the continuity of supply russian with stability of its star program of subsidies on household energy bills, despite the fact that the prices that Budapest pays for Russian gas follow the same international references as for the rest of Europe. In Slovakia, Fico also protects contracts with Gazprom valid until 2034, although the national company SPP itself has flexible agreements with large Western companies that would allow demand to be met without Moscow. The new axis of the Black Sea. Be that as it may, the most revealing element of the new energy map is that Hungary and Slovakia not only resist cutting the Russian gas pipelines inherited from the Cold War, but are betting on new connections. The route that arrives through the TurkStream and enters from Türkiye towards central Europe through the Black Sea consolidates a direct link with Moscow at the same time that Brussels seeks to isolate it. Paradoxically, the two Central European countries are becoming the main russian corridor towards the heart of the EU, a role that openly contradicts the energy autonomy strategy and reinforces the structural dependence on a partner considered hostile. Europe contradicts itself. The dilemma is obvious. The European Union proclaims its purpose to end with Russian imports in just two years, but at the same time tolerates exceptions that feed … Read more

The most powerful countries in Europe according to their GDP, grouped in this graphic developer

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GDP is the main thermometer of the size and growth of the economy of a country. This has traditionally been reflecting the value of the goods and services produced within a country And it is something that allows us to compare the performance between regions. But, if lately it has been more on everyone’s lips, it has been for the Ukraine Warby the REQUIREMENT OF US ADMINISTRATION in terms of defense and for the European rear. Given this, it is interesting to take an eye on the situation in Europe, comparing the GDP of their countries and regions to have a more global idea of ​​the economy of the neighbors. And this graph shows it perfectly. The pizza. Prepared by Visual Capitalist and using the International Monetary Fund As a source, we can see in a very clear way the size of the economy of the different countries. But there is something important to take into account: if the GDP of any of these countries does not fit you (that of Spain, for example, it was 1,593,136 million euros in 2024 and there it says that it is 2,800,000 million dollars, the fault has the parity of purchasing power. Parity of what? PPA -Parity of purchasing power or PPP in English- is a correction that allows us to compare more directly the price of goods and services between countries. The graph has been prepared by adjusting the GDP by PPA, which allows the size and purchasing power of the different economies. What is this for? In order to measure what can really be purchased locally instead of directly transforming GDP to the international standard change, which is usually the US dollar. Thus, and using an exchange rate that eliminates the distortions of the different currency markets, the panorama is more fairly compared. In short: Economies with undervalued or overvalued coins with respect to the dollar are represented in a more adjusted way to reality and the standard of living, economic well -being and real size of the economies can be better compared. By zones. Given this, we see that, apart from Russia, Germany, the United Kingdom and France, there are more aligned economies such as Italy, Spain, Poland or Netherlands, those four above 1,000 billion dollars, and then the rest of the countries. But, if we distinguish in zones, we see the enormous weight of the aforementioned Russia and Germany. The western zone has a GDP adjusted per PPA of 14,800,000 million dollars for the 12,800,000 of the Eastern Europe. The southern Europe (curiously the so -called ‘Pigs’) with Italy, Spain, Portugal or Greece has that adjusted GDP of 8,300,000 million and that of the north (including the United Kingdom and with Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, Norway or Finland) with a GDP per PPA of 7,800,000 million. Unequal growth. When the nominal GDP is measured, the thing changes. Western Europe would continue first with a GDP of 11,000,000 million, the north with 6,500,000 million, the south with 5,200,000 million and Eastern Europe is the one that falls loudly with 4,600,000 million. Reason? Adjected to the PPA, Russia occupies a huge portion of the cake, but the nominal GDP relegates it to the middle part of the table with a GDP of 2,100,000 million. These regional disparities are what has historically marked a two -speed economic development. Europe has been adjusted and changes for a few years. In that panorama, Russia Lithuania, Iceland or Montenegro are from the countries that grow the most this year. Luxembourg, Ireland or Estonia, decrease. Others grow (Spain), and we see cases such as France or Germany in stagnation. In general, the growth From the Eurozone it was 0.7% and the European Union of 0.8%, but we must see how situations such as external factors, structural tensions or industrial slowdown in some countries to the photo of the European GDP of 2025. In Xataka | Ukraine and Trump’s uncertainty are pushing Europe to recover something until recently anathema: the mili

The most powerful countries and with greater electricity consumption per capita, ordered in this graphic developer

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He Electric consumption It is a great thermometer for countries. The amount of energy we consume is an economic, but also social, climate indicator, of technological decisions and even lifestyle. The reason is that there is a wide range of factors that influence this consumption, and the following graph prepared by Visual Capitalist We can see what are the 15 countries with the highest GDP in the world which consume more electricity per capita. The surprise is called … Canada. Oh, Canada. The data comes from Ember and reflect the difference between the consumption of electricity per capita of the main world economies In 2024 and the one they had in 2000. A quarter of a century is more than enough to see a change in this regard, but what has not varied an apex are the two nations that lead the graph. Canada occupies the first position with consumption in 2024 of 15,708 kWh per person in 2024. The figure is considerably less than the one that registered 24 years ago and that high consumption is driven by an industry (especially mining and Aluminum production) very demanding at the energy level and for the electricity necessary to withstand the long winters. The United States, with 12,741 kWh per person, is not behind and the reasons are very similar: industry and air conditioning (which is at an excessive temperature both in winter and in summer). South Korea and China. Australia is another of the countries that traditionally exceeded 10,000 kWh per person, but these last 24 years have passed something curious: South Korea has glued a time comeback in this indicator. Here we enter that of electricity consumption as an economic thermometer, by relating the passage of the 6,200 kWh at 12,100 kWh due to an advance in advanced industrialization and manufacturing, especially in the segment of semiconductors and cars, as well as the growth of data centers. In China we live a very similar phenomenon, with a consumption of about 1,100 kWh in 2000 and one of 7,100 kWh currently due to that same technological expansion with the Accelerated industrialization in steelaluminum, electronics, data centers, semiconductors and electric vehicles as main protagonists. In addition, even if it is practically half of the per capita consumption of Canada, we are talking about a population of 1,400 million people compared to about 40 million. To put it in percentage: 17% of the world population compared to 0.5%. Logical. But the increase in consumption in these two countries is not only due to industrialization. Japan also has a strong industry and consumption has remained practically identical. There is another factor: The increase in middle classespecially in China. The increase of living standards, urbanization and electrification in homes has contributed considerably to this increase in consumption. Migration to large cities has generated a boom in construction and electrification due to the use of appliances, services and goods such as electric cars. Now, that is causing other problems, such as a life train incompatible with the formation of families wave Lack of people working in factoriesbeing two of the Shared problems with their neighbors Japan and South Korea. Two prominent outside the graphic. Germany, Spain and Italy have consumption very similar to those of 25 years ago, but if we look beyond this classification for the 15 main world economies, we have two names that eclipse everyone else. On the one hand, Iceland, with an imposing consumption of 51,920 kWh per person, thanks to the fact that there are not many Icelanders (about 300,000), but they do have A very potent industry such as aluminum, as well as very few hours of light and an extreme climate that requires constant lighting and heating. In Norway they also put the heating and light the lights, they also have an industry and a high standard of living that allows high consumption, but something that helps its consumption of 24,580 kWh per capita is a tremendous electric car park. In fact, in 2024, Almost 90% of the new cars sold were 100% electricwith what this entails at the charge level both at home and in public networks- In Xataka | This chart exposes self -sufficient countries at the food level. There is a single winner: Guyana

The ‘Great Chinese Firewall’ is no longer just from China. Now it is sold as a digital repression platform to other countries

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A mass filtration of 500 GB of data in the form of more than 100,000 documents has exposed a disturbing initiative. A startup called Geedge Networks is selling to governments around the world censorship systems modeled from “China Great Firewall“. There are at least three countries that are already applying restrictive measures similar to those of the Chinese government. What happened. The leaked documents By interseclab They reveal how one of the investors in Geedge Networks is Fang Binxing, one of the “Parents” of the “Great Cortaygos of China”. Researchers have discovered that the startup markets an advanced surveillance platform that includes hardware for data centers and Software for local officials. Intercepting everything. The central component of that platform is the so -called “Tiangou Secure Gateway” (TSG), a tool that acts as a gateway and that is installed in the data centers to process the Internet traffic of an entire country. All these data scan when this component is passed, and from there it is filtered and can be blocked so that it does not reach its destination. If the traffic is not encrypted, you can intercept and collect passwords and email addresses. If it is, it makes use of deep inspection systems of packages and automatic learning to detect and block tools that avoid these censorship systems, especially VPN. Three countries already have their own “Great Firewall”. A consortium formed by media and human rights organizations (such as Amnesty International) identified that this platform is active in Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Myanmar. In Geedge Networks they have published job offers for engineers willing to travel to countries such as Malaysia, Bahrain, Algeria and India, and are also hiring Spanish and French translators, which makes it clear that the startup is developing an important expansion strategy. TSG control panel capture for Myanmar showing real -time traffic categorized in total bandwidth and active connections. Source: Interseclab. An example of control: Myanmar. In a filtered capture the TSG control panel for Myanmar And it looks how the system was monitoring 81.6 million Internet connections simultaneously. In February 2024, Geedge hardware equipment had been installed in 26 data centers and 13 ISPS of Myanmar. There, 281 popular VPN tools were identified and the blockade of 54 of them was prioritized, including Expressvpn or Signal. Growing suspicions. Although researchers warn that documents are not a definitive proof that this system is causing specific blockages, Geeedge’s records show strong correlations with certain important events of the past. In Ethiopia for example the TSG system changed passive monitoring mode to “active detention” of traffic just a few days before a remarkable internet blackout that It occurred in February 2023. There are other cases in which connectivity problems in these countries have coincided with events registered in TSG in filtered documents. And incidentally, new Digitgal repression techniques in China. Among the leaked documents are also spoken of an active project in the Xingiang region, in China. There the startup has collaborated with Chinese research institutions to test a distributed firewall model instead of using a centralized one. There are also alarming experimental functions such as the ability to create relationships between users, group individuals according to applications that use or triangular the location of users through mobile base stations. And the dreaded punctuation systems. There is also a prototype in which a kind of Score for the reputation of each userand that would apply individually. Each user would have a base score and to increase it would have to add personal data such as their national identification, data that allow facial recognition or employment details. If this score does not exceed a certain limit – or decreased due to the use of a VPN detected and prohibited, for example – the Internet access would be denied to the citizen. Government malware. Another of the threats posed by this system is Geedge’s ability to Inject malware In user traffic. An operator could identify which website visit a user and, if it does not use a safe protocol (HTTPS), could inject malware directly into that connection. The researchers explain that although these experimental options are being tested in China, once the technology is mature, any foreign client can request those same functions on their platform to update it and have it available. Image | Ran Liwen In Xataka | The ‘China Great Firewall’ becomes even harder and blocks all TLS 1.3 traffic with ESNI to avoid aisos to prohibited destinations

The countries that consumed the most oil last year, exposed in a graph that is a blow of reality

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Despite the renewable boomoil remains the source of energy that moves the world. Such is the level that, although the main oil companies The path of decarbonization began supporting renewable energies, a few months ago announced a change of coursediscovering that It was the best possible bet. The estimate is that the oil market continues to grow. And this chart illustrates what the largest oil consumers were during the past year. A Burrada. With data from Energy Institutethe graph prepared by Visual Capitalist Plasma the 25 countries with the highest daily oil consumption of 2024. The estimated total was 101.4 million barrels per day, and the graph leaves no doubt: the United States with 19 million barrels per day and China with 16.4 million leads. And a lot of distance from the rest. By colors, we can easily differentiate which area (Asian includes Australia) is the one that most consumes, and also see differences by region. For example, removed the monster that are the two powers, we see that Only a South American country appears In the top or that consumption in Europe, removing Russia, is quite even. The top 10> the others. The striking thing is that the first ten consumers (USA, China, India, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Canada and Germany) represented 61% of the global fee. Among the first 20 countries, that figure increases to 80% and, in general, an annual 0.7% increase worldwide was observed. Because, as we said, despite the impulse of renewables, oil remains the main source of energy worldwide. A few months ago, the IEA (the International Energy Agency) reviewed its world supply forecasts for this year, projecting an increase of 1.6 million barrels per day and estimated that the oil demand in 2025 would be 103.9 million barrels per day. Where is it consumed? The case of India is tremendous, since in the last decade it has grown to one of the fastest rates worldwide, with 3.8% per year. And, if we see what the main oils spend on that oil, we see that the United States, for example, uses 70% of its 19 million barrels per day in the transport sector, followed by 24% in industrial use as raw material. Just 3% is consumed in residential and commercial use. In China, se esteem that half of the oil is used in transport and another large part in the industrial sector. Now, to generate electricity, although it remains a country very dependent on oil (even after Huge impulse to renewables), In its energy mix, oil is marginal, prioritizing coalthe Hydroelectricthe nuclear and the mentioned renewable. The future. And that dependence on oil is not only not being renewable, but it will go to more. If a few months ago IEA projected that increase of 1.6 million barrels per day, now OPEC+ says, as we read in Reuterswhich has more manga and can increase crude oil. And, in addition, China is also focused on becoming a Important actor in oil production. In the end, It is a very volatile market that depends on both internal tensions and conflicts and the not few active wars at the moment. But what seems clear is that, when we have the complete data of 2025, those 101.4 million barrels of last year will have been exceeded. And it will be interesting to see where the Indian brand leaves. In Xataka | How much electricity produces each country with renewable energy, exposed in a graphic

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