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France becomes the first European country to ban networks for children under 15 years of age. September will be the litmus test

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For years, opening an account on a social network has been as simple as writing an email, choosing a password and declaring a date of birth. In France, this routine is scheduled to change on September 1 for those under 15 years of age. The ban has already passed Parliamentbut turning it into something that works will require answering much more difficult questions: how to verify the age of users, what information they will be asked to prove it, and what will happen with services that do not only serve to publish photos or videos. That’s where the real test begins. An overwhelming majority. The decision was supported this Tuesday by the two French chambers: 243 senators voted in favor and only 2 againstwhile the National Assembly approved the text by 279 votes to 81. Emmanuel Macron, one of its main promoters, celebrated that France has become the first European country to approve a ban of this scope. The deployment is divided into two periods: new accounts will be banned from September 1 and the restriction will apply to existing ones from January 2027. Of course, the calendar may still be conditioned by the Constitutional Council. A ban without a closed list. The text does not list the affected platforms one by one, but refers to the European definitions of “online platform” and “online social networking service.” TikTok, Instagram and Snapchat appear as the clearest cases, but the border becomes less evident in YouTube, WhatsApp, Reddit or Roblox, where social functions coexist with other uses. As explained by representative Laure Millerin some cases the control will only reach certain tools. Digital encyclopedias and educational or scientific directories are expressly excluded. Platforms will take over. The text does not provide for fines or other sanctions for minors or their parents. The responsibility will fall on the companies, which must verify the age of their users, prevent new registrations that violate the limit and close the affected accounts when the transitional period ends. The Minister of Digital Affairs, Anne Le Hénanff, maintains that The deadline is realistic because verification tools already exist and others continue to be developed. September will be the litmus test. The date leaves the platforms just a few weeks of summer to convert the legal obligation into controls that work from the beginning of the course. The difficulty lies not only in detecting minors, but also in verifying that the rest of the users exceed the limit without creating a process that is impossible to manage. During the debate, several parliamentarians questioned that a system of this complexity could be operational so quickly and warned of possible ways to avoid it, taking the case of Australia as an example. Privacy is also at stake. Checking whether a person has turned 15 should not necessarily require them to reveal their entire identity. One of the alternatives proposed by the sector consists in transferring the verification to the phone itself, instead of requesting documents separately in each application. The approach seeks to reduce the circulation of personal information between different services, although the sources do not detail how it would work or what data each actor would keep. France must prevent access by minors without turning the solution into a new source of sensitive data. Spain prepares its own ban. Pedro Sánchez announced on February 3, 2026 that his Government would promote the prohibition of access to social networks for those under 16 years of age and would require effective age verification systems. The Executive explained earlier this month that had presented amendments to incorporate the measure into the Organic Law Project for the protection of minors in digital environments. At the time of writing this article, the initiative is still in the Congressional Justice Commission, in the report phase. Approving the text was just the beginning. France has been the first European country to bring such a ban to parliamentary approval, after Australia led the way on a global scale. Spain is in a different phase and its proposal can still change during processing, but the underlying problem is shared: transforming a minimum age into an effective control that is proportionate to privacy. Images | Pixabay | Mohamed Jamil Latrach In Xataka | The EU has hit AliExpress with a record fine. And make it clear that the next one could be even bigger.

Video game preservation has already been mortally wounded with Sony. The next blow comes from an entire country: Germany

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Many times we have treated video games as if their availability was guaranteed, even when they depended on discs, digital stores and servers that could disappear. What we have seen this week reminds us that preserving them requires more than will: we need supports that survive and organizations capable of cataloging them, maintaining them and opening them to researchers and the public. Sony has decided to close one of those avenues for future releases. Almost at the same time, Germany has dropped one of the most ambitious public projects that existed to prevent that memory from being lost. The closure is already underway. The Internationale Computerspielesammlung, known as ICS, is in the process of dissolution after the public funding that supported it expired at the end of April 2026. GamesWirtschaft points out that The federal government refused to renew its share of support and the partners voted unanimously to dissolve the company. The decision does not erase the existing collections at once, but it does leave the shared database and the infrastructure that allowed it to be consulted without defined continuity, the future of which remains under legal and technical review. An archive of more than 60,000 games. The ICS gathered records and funds provided by institutions such as the Computerspielemuseum of Berlin, the USK, the game association and the DIGAREC research center. The collection encompassed cartridges, floppy disks, CDs, DVDs and Blu-ray, as well as boxes, manuals, associated materials and hardware. Of course, what could be publicly consulted since April 2019 was the digital database, not the games themselves. The physical pieces remain in the hands of the proprietary entities. The ambition went much further. The ICS aspired to gather in one place the funds that were still distributed among its partners and turn the whole into a stable tool for researchers, media and specialists. The plan included facilitating access through automated emulation and creating a permanent public headquarters in the German capital region. The complete leap was never consolidated: a repository already existed, but permanent institutionalization, public headquarters and the access provided through emulation were missing. That second phase remained uncompleted. The money did not find a stable outlet. The aid came from the Berlin Senate and the Federal Commissioner for Culture, but was linked to a temporary phase of the initiative. When the video game policy passed to the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space in 2025, it studied whether it could turn the ICS into a permanent institution. He ultimately concluded that the model was not economically viable due to the scale of the work required. Preserving also means guaranteeing access. The scenario left by these two movements does not only imply that there are fewer objects to save or fewer projects capable of organizing them. It also weakens the ability to consult, study and understand these games decades from now, when they will depend on hardware, documentation and systems that may no longer exist. The coincidence between Sony’s announcement and the fall of the ICS points in that direction: the video game memory does not disappear all at once, but when the structures that keep it available are removed, one by one. Images | Sei In Xataka | ‘Minecraft’ has achieved something revolutionary in the dynamics of the game: allowing its users to sit

Albarracín is one of the best places in Spain to see the eclipse. And also the biggest cartographic hell in the country

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What if when you changed streets in your town you moved to another? How does this affect the cadastral level? What demonym do you use if in reality your region is “kidnapped” by others? In Spain there is a riddled place in its cartography and that place is called Albarracín, a municipality in the province of Teruel (Aragón) which, for centuries, was surrounded by villages that sought autonomy, organized themselves into their own community and ended up purchasing their independence in 1689, which fragmented the term into 24 municipalities that today act as enclaves within their territory. A political-administrative delirium that goes from the medieval to the modern and leaves us with an impossible map that on August 12 will also be one of the best viewpoints of the total eclipse. A map full of holes. To the southwest of Teruel and with just over a thousand inhabitants, Albarracín is one of the strangest terms in Spain. Within its term there are “islands” that do not belong to Albarracín, but to villages separated centuries ago. 24 independent municipalities, just like that. These fitted pieces de facto delimit the territory, generating a network of villages that turns the map into a puzzle. And how does this affect day to day life? For example, selling a plot of land in Albarracín requires surgeon-like precision. Before closing the operation, it is necessary to check with a magnifying glass which municipality governs that land, if the plot matches exactly between Cadastre and Registry, and if its boundaries have changed due to the history of the municipal area. In such a fragmented area, the problem is usually not “the sale” itself, but the identification of the property: if there are discrepancies in area, space or limits, if rectifications, annexes or extra certificates appear and, sometimes, topographic measurements to prevent the buyer from inheriting a lawsuit or a tax surprise. Something as obvious as in which municipality the IBI is settled is here a geological escape room. At a legal level, Any conflict of boundaries, easements or discrepancy between Cadastre and deed may delay the signing. A problem of mountains and boundaries. First it was an independent manor (that of the Azagra). Later, after the conquest by Pedro III in 1284, the Christian repopulation of the area and the definitive incorporation of the city to the Crown of Aragon around 1300, Albarracín remained the center of a large mountain territory. At the beginning of the 14th century, the towns of the mountains began to organize themselves into a supra-municipal entity distinct from the city to manage mountains, pastures and taxes and, above all, to gain margin against the Albarracinense tutelage. That early structure had few powers at first, but over time it reinforced its autonomy and prepared the ground for jurisdictional rupture. Buy independence. In 1689 the point of no return arrived, when that entity was formalized as the Community of Villages of Albarracín. A jurisdictional separation granted by Charles II himself. Thus he managed to definitively separate from the city. The villages paid 45,000 ducats to achieve full jurisdictional separation, becoming their own municipalities under the umbrella of the Community. From this process, among others, Bronchales, Gea de Albarracín, Orihuela del Tremedal, Tramacastilla, Griegos, Jabaloyas or Villar del Cobo were born, which today circumvent or directly pierce the original terminus. It’s sesmas time. To understand this community we must talk about its four “sesmas” (Jabaloyas, Bronchales, Royuela and Frías). These blocks grouped villages and resources into subdistricts. Each municipality inherited scattered plots, hills and pastures, creating a mosaic that makes you laugh at private property in Ireland. Small portions nested within each other whose seal, under political geography, has its own administration: they are defined as enclaves. And in Albarracín they are counted in dozens. Wars and Carlists. The Community of Villages remained a public law institution for almost two centuries, coexisting with the city of Albarracín. Until the Carlist Wars and their great liberal provincial reform dissolved it, in 1833. The Spanish administrative map was reorganized and Albarracín, with a Carlist tendency, was occupied by liberal troops, punishing the region for a conflict that neither went nor came to them. But no one beat the stubborn ones and the new division maintained the multiplicity of municipalities. Decades passed and these municipalities continued to function independently within the province of Teruel. We are already talking about the 20th century and even the 21st: Albarracín is a heritage and tourist reference. In 2003, the Government of Aragon created the Sierra de Albarracín region through Law 1/2003which once again grouped Albarracín and its 24 municipalities into the same regional entity. The region respects the municipal boundaries, so the cartographic hell persists, but with a layer of supra-municipal coordination that is reminiscent of the ancient medieval community. Total eclipse over the labyrinth. As the great Bonnie Tyler sang, may she rest in peace, the “total eclipse” will bathe these lands. Cartographic irony wants the total solar eclipse of August 12, 2026 to cross Spain from west to east at sunset and cross the Sierra de Albarracín. This area is, without a doubt, one of the best viewpoints in the entire world. In Albarracin, The partial eclipse will begin around 19:36:45totality will begin at 20:30:59, reaching its maximum at 20:31:46 with the Sun only 6 degrees high and magnitude 1.032. It will end at 20:32:32, with the end of the partial around 21:04, already close to sunset. And what are the best viewpoints? Note: the natural space of Rodeno, that of Muela de San Juan in Griegos, that of Santa Barbara in GuadalaviarEl Batán in Tramacastilla and Carrizuelo in Villar del Cobo, although Santos de la Piedra in Pozondón and Alto Cabezo in Saldón are also great. Let us keep in mind that, for the eclipse, what is important is the west orientation, the height and a clean horizon. The Sierra de Albarracín starts with that natural advantage: little light pollution, high relief and a network of ideal … Read more

If France loses against Spain, at least it can console itself by recovering Spanish territory in the Basque Country. Will do it in 16 days

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If France loses against Spain in the World Cup semi-finalsin just 16 days you will have a little consolation. Yes, on August 1 it will recover, in a completely peaceful and automatic manner, the administration of a Spanish territory in the heart of the Basque Country. It will not be a sporting revenge or a conquest, but rather the replacement planned for more than a century and a half of Pheasant Islanda tiny islet that has become one of the most unusual symbols of peace in Europe. A curious “revenge”. While Spain and France once again measure their strength on the playing field, there is a place where the rivalry between both countries is resolved in a way much less common. If the French are defeated, the calendar reserves them a curious compensation: next August 1 they will take over for six months the administration of Pheasant Island, an islet located in the Bidasoa River, between Irun and Hendaye. In essence, it does not change ownership or nationality in the strict sense, but it does authority changes who manages it, in a ritual that has been repeated every year with almost clockwork precision since the 19th century. As small as it is enormous in symbolism. Pheasant Island is barely between 130 and 200 meters long and its surface changes slightly depending on the riverbed, oscillating between about 2,000 and 6,800 square meters. It is completely uninhabited, closed to the public almost all year round and does not even house pheasants, despite what its name indicates. However, its historical importance is immense because for centuries it was the setting chosen to resolve some of the most delicate diplomatic episodes between the Spanish and French crowns. Meeting of Louis XIV and Philip IV on Pheasant Island in 1660 (Meeting of the two kings on Pheasant Island, painting by Jacques Laumosnier) The islet that ended a war. Long before becoming a shared territory, the island was already considered an neutral ground. There the exchange of King Francis I of France for his children took place in 1526 after the battle of pavia and, decades later, the exchange of princesses between both monarchies. But the decisive episode came in 1659, when Spain and France negotiated and signed in that same place. the Treaty of the Pyreneesthe agreement that ended more than two decades of war and established much of the border that both countries continue to share today. A year later, the island also hosted the wedding between Louis XIV and Maria Theresa of Austria, daughter of Philip IV, definitively becoming a symbol of reconciliation. In 1861, the two neighboring countries erected a monument on the island in commemoration of the Treaty of the Pyrenees. The solution was to share it forever. That symbolic value ended up legally crystallizing almost two centuries later. The Treaty of Bayonne of 1856 established that the island would belong “individually” to both countries, giving rise to what is usually considered the smallest condo of the world. Since then, Spain administers the islet between February 1 and July 31, while France does the same between August 1 and January 31. The handover is not simply administrative: authorities from both countries celebrate an official ceremony in which the transfer is formalized, maintaining a tradition that has been carried out without interruptions for more than 160 years. There are others, but none of them work like that. The concept of international condominium is not exclusive to Pheasant Island. There are other territories jointly administered, such as some river areas between Germany and Luxembourg, the Gulf of Fonseca shared by Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua, the Brcko district in Bosnia and Herzegovina or even Antarctica under the Antarctic Treaty. However, none of them reproduces a system as striking as that of Bidasoa: a strict alternation every six months, ceremonial and perfectly regulated, in which management passes from one country to the other without disputes, claims or diplomatic tensions. An example of cooperation. The idyllic image of the islet contrasts with some of the current problems on the Franco-Spanish border. In recent years the Bidasoa River has become at a passing point for numerous migrants trying to reach France, and several of them have lost their lives trying to cross its waters. This reality reminds us that the border continues to be a sensitive spacealthough precisely for this reason Pheasant Island retains an even greater value: it demonstrates that a territory born of a war can be transformed, over generations, into a mechanism of peaceful cooperation. The biggest victory between the two was never played in a stadium. Semifinals, finals and sports rivalries always end with a winner and a loser. Pheasant Island represents just the opposite. It was born from one of the great European conflicts of the 17th century, but today it works thanks to an agreement that neither of the two countries questions and that is renewed twice a year with absolute normality. Therefore, if France ends up falling today against Spain, it will always be able to say that the defeat was short-lived: Just sixteen days later you will once again administer a small piece of territory located between both countries, the same place where centuries ago they decided that the best way to end a war was to learn to share the map. Image | ZaratemanJacques Laumosnier, Iñaki LL In Xataka | Spain does not wait for France: it is studying a huge submarine cable with distant Ireland to stop being an energy island In Xataka | It’s in France and the sea swallows it twice a day: this is the road where you risk your car if you don’t look at the clock

Sudden 500% increase in visa fees for foreigners entering the country

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In Japan it has existed since 2019 a “Sayonara rate”: a departure tax of 1,000 yen that all travelers pay when leaving the country, including Japanese. It was created pto finance infrastructure tourist attractions just when the country was beginning to break visitor records. Now, with another increase linked to access, Tokyo seems to follow the same logic: convert the tourism boom into a direct source of income. Breaking half a century of stability. Japan has decided to shake up one of the most stable parts of its immigration policy: the entry price for foreigners. The Government has approved a 500% increase in visa fees, a historic increase that multiplies the current cost by five and breaks a price freeze that had been intact since 1978. How much? Now, the single entry visa passes from 3,000 to 15,000 yen and the multiple entry jumps from 6,000 to 30,000, marking the first revision in 48 years. The official explanation, and the “other”. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi justified the decision appealing to inflation and the current state of the yen, a weakened currency against the dollar and other currencies. On paper, the logic is simple: if everything costs more, processing visas does too. But the reasoning has cracks. The administrative management of the visa is carried out within of the state apparatus itself Japanese, with mostly internal costs, so the reference to the exchange rate seems less of a structural necessity and more of a fiscal opportunity. A rise designed to take advantage. The key is in the context. Japan is experiencing a tourism boom fueled precisely due to the weakness of the yenwhich makes the country cheaper for millions of visitors. The political calculation is simple: if the trip remains cheap in accommodation, food and shopping, a more expensive visa will hardly alter the decision to travel. Motegi put it bluntly when affirm that “They do not expect an immediate influence on the number of foreign visitors.” The phrase is important because it makes it clear that Tokyo believes it has room to tighten without breaking the flow. Who will really pay the bill. The blow will not be uniform. Many tourists from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or members of the European Union will continue to enter visa-free for 90 daysso for them the impact is limited. Where it does hurt is travelers from countries outside that list (especially China) and those who travel for work, study or residence, even if they come from exempt countries as tourists. That is where the rise becomes a much more visible economic barrier. China, the big name behind the operation. There is one fact that explains a good part of the maneuver: Chinese visitors represent one of the largest blocks of foreign entry to Japan and require a visa. The Japanese Government itself estimates that this measure will generate 116.1 billion of additional yen in fiscal year 2026. That makes the upload more than just an administrative update; It is a collection tool supported by the massive volume of regional mobility. In practice, the more Chinese tourism grows, the more profitable this new toll will be. The underlying message. If you like, the interesting thing is that this decision reflects a broader trend: Countries are beginning to more aggressively monetize access to their borders. For decades, visas were primarily a tool of immigration control. Now they are also a source of income and an economic instrument. Because Japan isn’t closing the door, it’s simply charging more to open it. And if this rise works without stopping arrivals, others could soon take note. Image | pickpik, Artanisen, Pakutaso In Xataka | Japan is increasingly looking like a crowded theme park. So there is a business on the rise: wedding tourism In Xataka | Faced with labor shortages, Japan has taken an unprecedented measure in the last two decades: paying women the same

Drinking tap water in Asia is almost crazy except in a country where it is a source of pride: Singapore

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Whether for work or vacation, I have traveled to Asia on several occasions and one recommendation has always followed me: “always drink bottled water”, even for tasks like brushing your teeth, it is better not to risk it and rinse your mouth with water that you know is safe. The recommendation spreads to most of East and South Asia, with destinations such as Thailand, Vietnam, China and India. However, a little over a week ago I visited Singapore and there was something that fascinated me: it’s not just forgetting to always carry a bottle of water, it’s that there wasn’t even one in the hotel room. Instead, a message recommended drinking tap water because it was of exceptional quality. That a country has quality water is not something miraculous, but Singapore is an anomaly in itself: it rains a lot, but it barely has land, so it lacks large aquifers or large rivers. In fact, for decades it depended on water imported from Malaysia (still doing it). However, they have managed to build one of the most advanced and reliable water treatment systems in the world thanks to the engineering and public policy behind it. The four national taps. In 2001 the public agency Public Utilities Board (PUB) assumed full control of the water cycle with a unified vision: from rainwater to the water that falls down the drain, achieving a snapshot of the whole, available and necessary resources. Singapore’s maxim with water is divide and conquer. Thus, it has four different water sources, the Four National Taps managed by the PUB: water from local basins, water imported from Malaysia, reused water and desalinated water. Taking into account that Singapore has had its ups and downs with Malaysia, the other three taps have been gaining importance. Marina Barrage, Singapore’s 15th reservoir to store water. Bob Tan Why is it important. In Southeast Asia, water pollution from industrial waste, agrochemicals and a heterogeneous and deficient sewage network means that the norm is to use bottled water. We have already seen that Singapore lacks the land to achieve water self-sufficiency and depending on a third party for something as basic and essential as water is a dangerous alternative. In this scenario, NEWater stands as the most strategic tap: self-generated water without depending on rain, the terrain or the neighbors. Although with quite a bit of small print. The local watershed. Through a network of drains, canals and rivers, rainwater is collected and channeled through its 7,000 kilometers of pipes to its 17 reservoirs before treating it for consumption. This collection takes place in two thirds of Singapore’s territory. From here, the water follows a conventional purification system. It is the least innovative route, but it is solid, functional and growing: the construction of the eighteenth reservoir is already planned on the land that Singapore is reclaiming from the sea, Long Island. Water imported from Malaysia. This is the most vulnerable tap and therefore the most susceptible to being eliminated (for now, minimizing as much as the rest of the taps can). He first agreement between Singapore and Malaysia dates back to 1927 and laid the foundation for water supply and land leasing on Gunung Pulai, but is no longer in force. This was followed by three other agreements signed in 1961, 1962 and 1990. Initially this source provided half of Singapore’s demand, but as explains the National Library and National Archives of Singaporefollowing the expiration of the 1961 agreement in 2011, the government aims to be self-sufficient by 2061, when the 1962 and 1990 agreements end. Sewage. Is called NEWateris capable of covering 40% of the total demand of the country and from wastewater it is capable of achieving drinking water of superior quality to standards of the WHO. They tried it before, in 1974, but the project failed due to costs and technical problems. The current sewer system cost 10 billion dollars and is designed to last 100 years. It all starts underground: the sanitation system DTSS It collects all the urban wastewater through a 206-kilometer network and takes it by gravity (without the need for pumping) to the four recovery plants located in Ulu Padan, Kranki and Changi (there are two there). There they use membrane bioreactor, reverse osmosis and ultraviolet disinfection technologies. They currently have a global recovery rate of 90% and a capacity of 227,300 cubic meters per day. NEWater operation diagram. Data. NEWater with Gemini translation Seawater desalination. Singapore It has five desalination plants and all of them use reverse osmosis as the main treatment, although with different pretreatment combinations. Desalination is a well-known technique in water engineering, but little applied for one reason: costs. So to optimize the energy process, among the PUB’s main R&D objectives is to reduce energy consumption to less than 2 kWh per cubic meter. The first was SingSpring and is capable to produce 136,380 cubic meters of water per day, covering around 7% of the country’s water needs. The Tuas plant won the “Oscar” of salinization plants in 2019 thanks to an advanced pretreatment system that combines dissolved air flotation and ultrafiltration to mitigate membrane fouling. Keppel Marina East has an adapted dual system that works for both seawater and freshwater. Yes, but. From a technical point of view, Singapore’s water infrastructure is brilliant, but it is not without its problems. The first is energy: desalination consume 3.5 kWh per thousand liters of treated water, much more than 0.7 kWh NEWater Faucet. Desalination has a high environmental and economic cost and is highly dependent on electricity. Spoiler: about 95% of Singapore’s electricity is generated from imported natural gas. On the other hand, drinking water that comes from the sewer, despite its quality, generates a certain social rejection, which is why the majority is destined for industry, where such pure water is ideal for the manufacture of semiconductors. On the other hand, faced with a growing demand for water, the challenge for the future is scalability to maintain its reliability based … Read more

Where electricity comes from in each country in the world, told on an essential map

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To stop climate change, it is essential to “clean” electricity, that is, decarbonize it to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions. The reason is clear: the electricity sector is to blame for approximately a third of global emissions, according to IEA data for 2025. What this world map does is shed light on the origin of the light that reaches us when we press the plug because knowing where the electricity comes from in each country is the first step to knowing what needs to be changed and how long it takes to achieve it. This map of Our World in Data sample for each state what is the main source of electrical energy for the period 2024/25. Behind this data visualization initiative is the University of Oxford and for its preparation uses information from Global Electricity Review Ember. There are 215 countries in their database, although for this representation they use 91 states that represent 93% of global electricity demand. Viewing and understanding the map is simple: one color for each dominant technology: orange is gas, gray is coal, blue is water, purple is nuclear, yellow is solar. In addition, it offers the percentage of that dominant technology to know how much this source represents in the state total. This point is important because a state can be colored orange because gas accounts for 40% of the total even though it has 35% renewables in total. It is a map of the present, not of how we want it to be or where the trend is going. The first thing we see on the map is that andCoal remains the largest single source of electricity generation in the world, a ranking that has been leading for more than half a century and that in this visualization represents 35% of the global generation. Of course, it is the lowest percentage since the founding of the IEA in 1974. One of the reasons why the global electricity sector continues to have so much weight in emissions is precisely because of the leadership of coal. Another reason is gas. In fact, in 2024 fossil fuels still generated almost 60% of the world’s electricity. Broadly speaking, the map shows how gas is hegemonic in rich countries in the northern hemisphere while coal dominates in Asia. In South America and parts of Africa, hydroelectricity is historically what makes the difference. However, Europe is a true rainbow, the result of decades of political strategies and investments. In fact, the big green shoot for the decarbonization of electricity goes through renewable energieswhich in 2025 surpassed coal for the first time in history: solar, wind, hydroelectric and others together produced more than a third of the world’s electricity. The good news is that almost all of the increase in electricity demand in 2024 was covered by clean sources. But there is one that shines with its own light: solar energy, which in 2024 surpassed wind power for the first time globally. Two states that are true powerhouses in solar generation are Spain with 22% and Chile with 25%. What is the main source of electricity for the countries of the world. Our World in Data What the map doesn’t say Our World in data map has small print: While it is true that renewables have grown, so have coal and gas. Thus, in 2024, developing Asian countries they consumed 80% of all the coal used for electricity in the world, when in 2000 it accounted for 40%. And there is a problem that the map leaves out: there are hundreds of millions of people who They do not have access to electricity. More specifically, 730 million in 2024. Of all of them, Africa concentrates 80%. These countries will have to build their network from scratch and the million-dollar question will be whether they will have the financing to do it with renewables or will they rely on the classic fossils, which are cheaper and more readily available. Another important fact that this world map omits is where does the fuel come from. That is, a country colored orange may depend on a neighbor with whom it has a strained relationship. Without going any further, in 2021 45% of imported gas by the EU came from Russia. When war broke out between Ukraine and Russia, that dependency made electricity more expensive overnight. Europe reacted, but at what price: now imported LNG it is more expensive. It is not the only one: Southeast Asia too suffers from energy dependence of the coal that matters. In Xataka | How much electricity each country on the map produces with renewable energy, displayed on a graph In Xataka | The most fascinating map you will see today: the entire electrical infrastructure of the planet, in an interactive infographic Cover | Our World in data

It is the country where it has been best implemented

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When talking about countries with high productivity, all eyes tend to head to Germany or Ireland. However, the Netherlands has become a European benchmark when it comes to significantly reducing the volume of working hours in its days, naturally moving closer to the four-day week model. This trend draws attention both for its impact on daily life and for the country’s economic data, banishing alarmist theories. about economic ruin. According to an analysis of the Financial Timesthe Dutch enjoy a high quality of life, in part thanks to their system of Flexible, well-paid employmentwhich has evolved to prioritize personal well-being over the traditional model based on long hours. Netherlands and its reduced working hours. According what was published for the 4 Days Week FoundationThe Netherlands has structured its labor market in such a way that full-time is not the most widespread model and a large part of employees prefer to work fewer hours voluntarily. However, far from being conceived as a model of precariousness, it has become an example of balance between work and professional life. According to data According to Eurostat data from May 2026, the average working day in the Netherlands is the lowest in Europe with only 32.1 hours worked, compared to 36.6 hours per week in Spain or 35.6 hours in Ireland. According to data published by the Financial Timesaround 50% of Dutch people work part-time, and the proportion is even higher among women, who reach up to 75%. Not only do you work less during part-time hours. Beyond the obvious cutback that comes with working under a model of part timefull-time days are also among the shortest in Europe with 39.1 hours, only surpassed by Denmark with 38.7 hours per week. In Spain, the real full time It stands at 40.2 hours. Being shorter, the Dutch tend to compress it into four days instead of five. Bert Colijn, economist at ING bank, assured the Financial Times that “The four-day work week has become very, very common. I work five days, and sometimes I get criticized for working five days!” Higher productivity and better salaries. The Eurostat data highlight that the Netherlands is among the countries with higher productivity per hour worked, standing at 45.3 euros per hour, compared to 29.4 euros in Spain, but far from the productivity of Ireland, which far exceeds 76 euros per hour worked. This combination of high productivity and reduced working hours has meant that a situation of wage precariousness has not been generated; on the contrary, Holland has maintained salaries above the European average. According to Eurostat, The average gross salary in the Netherlands, adjusted by purchasing power (PPP), is 16.2 euros per hour, while in Spain it is 11.8 euros per hour. The European average is 14.9 euros per hour. The Netherlands does not have a four-day work week.. Strictly speaking, the Netherlands has not implemented any policy of reducing working hours (as Yes Spain tries to do it) or four-day work day. However, almost without intending to, the Dutch labor market has adjusted in such a way that, on a practical level, its companies have implemented the four-day working day without loss of pay after decades of conciliation policies. A version of this article was published in August 2025 In Xataka | Iceland has had a four-day work week since 2019. Seven years later, it delivers on all the promises of Gen Z Image | Unsplash (Isaac Maffeis, Isaac Burke)

Spain has done its first major study on how many pets there are in the country. And he got a surprise

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Spain is mired in a demographic revolution silent. And he doesn’t even star in it the migratory flowneither agingneither population movements between cities or any other of the many trends that we have been noticing for years. They are promoting the authentic revolution the petsthe dogs and cats that live in our homes. We knew that in Spain there are millions and millionsbut the census carried out by the Government has revealed an astonishing reality: it is already easier meet animals than with Spaniards under 30 years of age. And everything indicates that this gap will continue to widen. How many pets are there in Spain? If you take a walk around your neighborhood (no matter where you live) it is quite likely that you will find people walking dogs or the occasional cat hanging out of an apartment window. We don’t say it. This is said by the multiple statistics that for years have been trying to clarify how many pets live in Spain. They all agree that there are many (many), but their ‘photo’ is not always the same. Although the Animal Welfare Law forces register with microchip to all the dogs and cats, to the shelters they keep coming animals that do not meet that requirement. The result is that it is very difficult to know exactly how many pets there are in Spain. The Companion Animal Identification Network (REIAC) have registered 10.16 million dogs, 967,800 cats and 52,055 ferrets, Anfaac (the association of feed manufacturers) speaks of 6.96 million of dogs and 4.93 million felines and Aedpac estimates that in total they live in Spain 28 million of pets, a figure that other sources round up to approximate 30 million. Year Cats Dogs Others Total 2021 4.58 million 6.89 million 1.81 million 13.29 million 2022 4.76 million 7.08 million 1.85 million 13.69 million 2023 4.97 million 7.28 million 1.92 million 14.17 million 2024 5.29 million 7.42 million 1.95 million 14.66 million 2025 5.62 million 7.56 million 1.99 million 15.17 million The data: 15.17 million. Some time ago the Executive decided to prepare a National Statistics on Animal Protectionan ambitious work that, among other issues, includes “the first official study carried out by the Government on the number of companion animals in our country.” The task has not yet been completed, but a few days ago the Ministry of Social Rights decided to advance some of its first conclusions. And one of them helps to once and for all settle the debate about how many pets live in our country. According to his calculations, in Spain there are 15,171,569a figure obtained after reviewing the regional records between 2021 and 2025. To be more precise, technicians have identified 7.56 million of dogs and 5.62 million cats. The list closes with other species that also live in Spanish homes, such as rabbits, birds, reptiles or turtles. The Executive estimates that in total there are 1.99 million. At the territorial level there are no big surprises, the communities with the most pets are also the most inhabited: Andalusia (3.26 million), Catalonia (1.99) and Madrid (1.89 million). year Population under 10 years old Population under 30 years old 2021 4.19 million 14.05 million 2022 4.07 million 13.99 million 2023 4.01 million 14.18 million 2024 3.94 million 14.30 million 2025 3.86 million 14.43 million Is it important? Yes. And not only because it offers us a new official reference on the number of ‘furries’ that live in Spanish homes. Statistics help to better understand what type of pets we have, which are the most popular and, above all, how their population evolves. Of all the possible readings left by the Government data, this last one is probably the most interesting: those 15.17 million pets represent 14.1% more than in 2021, when the census of companion animals totaled 13.3 million. What does it mean? This percentage shows a growing population (in fact it has been growing steadily, year after year) and explains why pet care has become such an attractive business, something that happens both in Spain and in other countries. The last example is left to us by insurance companies and venture capital funds, which they are betting for veterinary coverage policies for dogs and cats. In general, EAE Business School calculates that pets already generate a business of 5.77 billion euros per year and ‘pet-money’ grows at 8.3% and supports 75,000 jobs. Are there so many pets? Yes, and one way to appreciate it is to resort to comparisons. We knew that in Spain it is much easier encounter with pets than with small children, but the latest data published by the Government offers us another even more shocking revelation: in our country we already there is more pets than people under 30 years of age. To be precise, in 2025 the INE had 14,432,931 inhabitants between 0 and 29 years old registered in Spain. If we talk only about children under 10 years old, the count is 3.86 million people. What does that mean? That in Spain there are much more dogs or cats than children and, if we talk about pets in general, the population of pets almost quadruples that of infants. It’s nothing strange. In Asia there are baby stroller manufacturers that they have started to be interested for another business niche with much more promising expectations: dog strollers. Image | Mia Anderson (Unsplash) In Xataka | 93% of owners believe that sleeping with their dog improves their rest. Science has just proven that it is self-deception

Japan is desperate to revive its birth rate, so an idea is spreading across the country: free daycare

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For a long time in Japan there has been a more delicate issue than unemployment, tourist overcrowdingthe relationship with China either the weakness of the yen: babies. Or rather, the lack of babies. Despite his multiple (and costly) attempts to revive the birth rate, the country has been seeing for years how its demographic chronicle is filled with catastrophic headlines. The last one arrived last Marchwhen the Government confirmed that in 2025 births fell in the country for the tenth consecutive year to mark a new low historical. Faced with such a panorama, an idea is gradually gaining strength in the country: daycare open bar in a desperate attempt to encourage the population to have children. One figure: $142,000. a few months ago Mainichi Shimbunone of Japan’s leading newspapers, echoed from a curious survey by the National Center for Child Health and Development: how much it costs to raise a child in the country. According to their calculations, taking care of a boy or girl (at least the first one) up to the age of 18 costs $141,700, a figure that is close to $170,000 if extra expenses are included. If we go down to detail, at least in 2024 the raising of preschool children was between 5,800 and 7,200 dollars annual. That figure, added to other factors, such as cultural changes, difficulties in reconciling professional and family life or one’s own aging dynamics the nation has been plunged into, leading more and more Japanese to choose not to become parents. In 2025 they signed up only 705,809 birthsalmost 15,200 less than in 2024. Lightening the load. In view of these data and with the country immersed in a “silent emergency”Japanese society has been looking for ways to make parenthood more bearable for some time. A change in the labor model has been put on the table (betting on the four-day weekly), the ban of overtime in the office or ‘pro-birth’ programs millionaireswith government support per child comparable to Sweden. Some initiatives come from companies, others from regional governments or the central Executive, but they all basically seek the same thing: to make parenting more bearable and activate birth rates once and for all. One of the measures that has sounded the loudest in recent years is free preschool education. That is, allowing families to leave their little ones in daycare. without any cost. Not all experts share that economic aid policies are going to get Japanese demographics out of the hole (they point to much more structural reasons, such as changes at a social level); but they certainly show the importance that the authorities give to the issue. October 2019. One of the most important steps in that direction was taken by in 2019 the Government of Japan. As details The Children and Family Agency (CFA), since October of that year, attendance at kindergartens, nurseries and children’s centers is free for children between three and five years old. The program also includes the same facility for children under three, but as long as their homes comply certain conditions. Since then, other institutions have moved to fully cover that group, that of children between zero and two years old. “No time to waste”. The Tokyo Metropolitan Government has stood out in this effort. In 2023 It also began offering free childcare to children under two years of age. The only requirement, in a clear effort to encourage births, is that they have an older brother. In other words, the measure was limited to the second child onwards. In 2024, however, that coverage already knew little and the governor of the region, Yuriko Koike, advertisement that free birth would be extended to all children under two years of age (including first-born children) starting in September 2025. The idea, Koike stressed at the time, was to “continue promoting efforts to combat the low birth rate without sparing resources.” “There is no time to waste.” At the beginning of last fall BCNR echoed that the measure had already begun to be implemented in the Japanese capital. Setting an example. The most curious thing is that Tokyo has not been the only city that has decided to make it easier for families who want to expand. In early 2026, Urayasu, a town in Chiba Prefecture, advertisement also their plans to offer free daycare starting in April for children up to two years old. The idea was the same: to alleviate the financial burden of parents and, in the process, give a boost to the local birth rate. Your goal, according to Mainichiis to cover 55 schools in the city with an investment of almost four million dollars in 2026 and benefit 1,900 children. Is there more? Yes. With the birth rate indicators not rising and collapsing at a speed that even exceeds the worst forecasts of the experts, Japan has redoubled its bet. In April Kyodo revealed that the country has implemented a public system that allows children between six months and three years old to be left in daycare for ten hours a month. The initiative is important because several reasons. To begin with, it provides extra help to families with younger children, preschool age, regardless of whether or not they live in municipalities with similar programs. On this occasion, however, the Japanese authorities have wanted to go further: the measure does not take into account the employment situation of the parents, which also covers children of couples with an unemployed member, who until now faced certain limitations. Images | Design for Health by Ann Forsyth (Flickr) and Note Thanun (Unsplash) In Xataka | In a Japan in the midst of a birth crisis, an idea is gaining traction: late-night cafes for crying babies

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