faces

South Korea has been celebrating its particular “bullfights”. And now he faces the same dilemma as Spain

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Spain is not the only country that debate the future of bulls. More than 10,000 kilometers away, in South Korea, politicians, animalists and livestock are engaged in a similar discussion: yes or no to the runs? There the shows are not exactly equal to those of Spain, there are no bullfighters as such, no light costumes, nor picadores or flags, but competitions based basically on violence and on which It is not strange that animals end up bleeding. Perhaps South Korea is far away and its cultural tradition is different from ours, but The debate that is cooked in his society is not so different from that of Spain. Bulls in South Korea? Exact. South Korea may be known for its technology, The K-Popits gastronomy and (sadly) a demographic crisis record, but it is also a bull country. At least it is part of its territory, such as CheongdoGyeongsang del Norte, where there is a bullfighting stadium with capacity for thousands of people and that each spring welcomes A festival Very popular in the region. It is not a novelty or a fashion. In local folklore are references to runs dating at least of the 16th century. And how are they? Quite different from what we are used to seeing in Spain. South Korea presume that, unlike what happens in many other countries, including Spain, in its places animals do not die. Nor do people who deal with them. The reason is that the show has Little to see With ours. There is sand and a square, but in it a bullfighter and a bull are not measured, but two bulls that face each other, sometimes hired by their owners with the help of rings that are stuck when the young have Just half a year. And when does it end? The fight ends when one of the animals turns around and shows its back to the opponent in retirement, without the need for any opponents to end up sacrificed. The show is somewhat unpredictable, although it usually adjusts to some guidelines. As needed Korea Heraldthe usual thing is that the game lasts about 30 minutes and divided into six assaults, half a dozen “acts” during which bulls are rammed with each other. “In Spain it is a game between a human and a bull and in the end the bull dies. In Korea we are proud of not killing him and never dies in a fight,” claims The mayor of Cheongdo, Lee Seung-Yool, in an interview with NPR. “We simply let them express themselves and when one loses the forces he turns around and shows the spine. The bull says he has finished and the fight concludes.” Perfect then? It depends on who you ask. As is the case In Spain or Other countriesin Korea it has emerged The debate whether or not they should be kept around Cheongdo. The reason? Their detractors are convinced that it is a clear case of animal abuse, that the bulls suffer in the runs and the show is harmful to the little ones. Its defenders They hold However, bulls are care and its fights are a South Korean tradition. A percentage: 40%. To support their position, the first (critics with runs) take advantage of a series of studies. One of themprepared by Animal Liberation Wave and Last Chance for Animals (LCA), suggests that bulls are often reluctant to participate in fights. According to their data, of 131 runs organized between February and June in several counties of the country, 54 ended up canceled or shortened because the animals refused to collaborate in the show. “The fact that 40% of bulls flatly reject the struggle and the rest require coercion shows that it is a form of abuse,” reason Kim Doh-Hui, from one of the associations. Sometimes the farmers cause the struggles by pulling strongly from the rings, which, as the animalists have verified, in some cases derives in serious nasal trauma. Animal Liberation Wave has also made A survey which shows that 70% of respondents are concerned about bets that revolve around runs and 62.1% believe that children and adolescents should not see them. The study was done in the southeast region, with a greater ragame of bullfighting. Another report It reveals that 77 fights, 48 ended with the animals bleeding. To those data, animalists add A final reflection: Modern shows are “a form of entertainment for profit disguise of tradition.” “It’s an ancient tradition”. The thing changes if we talk to the defenders of the runs. Lee Kang-Min, an amateur who has been going to Cheongdo for years explained Recently, NPR that bulls are “an ancient tradition” of the nation and sees nothing unnatural in the shows. “The bulls fight when they take them to graze. The fights then became part of our culture.” Around the games there is also a lucrative business: that of bets, which as clarified The chain can develop legally, although with limited amounts. From the street to politics. The debate in Korea has achieved sufficient impact so that it can be followed through national media, but also foreigners, such as The New York Times either The Economistand has crystallized in concrete initiatives. Those who advocate ending the runs have launched a signature collection campaign that already exceeds the 45,000 supportsabout the 50,000 necessary for Parliament to review the proposal. Some municipalities have already chosen to stop financing shows with bulls. South Korea has a law of animal protection that dates back in the early 90s and prohibits hurting animals for entertainment, but leaves the activities that can be considered “folk games” out of that umbrella. Images | Last Chance for Animals (LCA) In Xataka | The great dilemma of South Korea: in an increasingly aging country to become old is a condemnation of poverty

US faces the dilemma impossible to or sell hardware to China … or not sell it to them and develop it themselves

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The United States is at a historic crossroads in regards to sell GPU to China. And not only does it have to do with the economical and with which Nvidia swells his income statement, which calculates that it will be 15,000 million less this year If you follow the prohibition of selling your avant -garde chips. It has to do with the future of the artificial intelligence (AI) and technology. The context. Nvidia has achieved something that seemed impossible: that Trump’s government let him market again His H20 chips in China. Although the GPUS were Designed to skip restrictions that fell on the H100 and H200, the United States added New restrictions in April. They paralyzed exports to China even though there were already agreements with Customers such as Tencent or Alibaba. With the relaxation of measures, Nvidia and its accounts breathe relieved, but the United States still has to make difficult long -term decisions. The United States plays it … do whatever. The United States can gain time compared to China limiting the sale of avant -garde chips, as it has been doing. However, this implies that their companies win less money, greatly reducing their global turnover. And is that the Chinese market, in 2024 and with restrictions, It was 13% of Nvidia sales. In addition, the world uses NVIDIA GPUs almost as the only option has advantages: that the North American country controls the entire Stack technological used to train IAS and to execute the expensive inference, fields that Google also dominates with its tpu. China at the height. Huang himself, in a recent interview with Bloomberg, said that the power of the technology developed by Huawei is “Probably comparable to an H200“From Nvidia, superior to H20. And they want to market it outside their borders, an intention that has motivated a offensive by the US to prevent China from exporting its chips to other countries. If exports do not find clippers, Chinese laboratories can continue focused on their plan: give away the thinking of the next decades and create global dependence. If you cut it, it already has good examples of what happens: The shot of the sanctions has come out of the cylinder head, A gift that cannot be allowed again. A fearsome potential called Huawei. The possibility that Huawei becomes a huge opponent for Nvidia raises a huge loss of income for the US company. Just against that are Fighting already from the American government: Cut Huawei’s wings into the global market before it is competitive. Huawei has already had time to develop his chip Ascend 910d and 920with SMIC as a great ally. He Historical Mate 70 processor He showed that Huawei usually gets what he pursues. And according to Huang, if China wants military autonomy with AI, You will have to develop your own technologybecause for this task, they cannot trust American developments. A Deepseek moment in hardware … inevitable? All this leaves us the unknown if in hardware we can see A moment Deepseek. China would not have to potentiate Nvidia’s proposal, as Deepseek R1 did not exceed O1 in reasoning, but yes, Through ingenuity and new paradigmsdifferentiate in aspects such as price or efficiency. Arrive on time. The big question that can be asked about NVIDIA in China is whether the approval to sell again the H20 arrives on time. According to Reutersthe beginning of the massive distribution of Huawei 910C was set for May. According to the news agency, the Chinese giant graphics card achieves performance comparable to that of NVIDIA H100 thanks to combining two 910b processors with advanced techniques. More software is needed. Huawei can have the hardware, but unlike what he has achieved in inference, where in theory Yes are at Nvidiayou have to prove to be able to compete in training software. This is something that could do by the hand of Moore Threads. If the United States wants to maintain its technology as the global standard for Ia, it must hurry. As the analyst Paul Triolo told Reuters, the restrictions at April H20 were going to mean that the Huawei Ascend 910C became “the hardware chosen by the developers of AI models (Chinese) and to display the inference capacity.” Image | Nvidia | Dominic Kurniawan In Xataka | China’s three master moves to “independent” technologically from the West: raw materials, chips, AI

In case not finding waiters were not enough, the hospitality faces a new problem this summer: where to accommodate them

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According to a recent report Prepared by Obsbusiness School, tourism represents 15.2% of the total of the national economy and 2025 has all the signs of becoming a year of record for this sector, with an estimate of 98 million tourists, which represents an increase of 4% compared to last year. These tourists will spend about 138.5 billion euros. The data from the Ministry of Industry and Tourism They pointthat the sector will use a total of 2.99 million people. Such and as they highlight in Five daysthe main problem facing the hotel sector is not just the Personnel shortage. Is that, although they can hire workers to cover the high season in summer, these They cannot be paid The accommodation by the High price of rentals In tourist areas. Homemade. According to the last ‘Rent prices report in Spain’ Published by Idealista, the average price in Spain is 14.5 euros per square meter. That is, a 60 square meter accommodation should cost about 870 euros. However, the price increases when we approach tourist areas such as Málaga (16.3 euros/m2), Balearic Islands (19.7 euros/m2), Barcelona (23.9 euros/m2). In the case of the Balearic Islands, for example, the rent of a 60 -square -meter house would amount to 1,182 euros, a figure that can be doubled in high summer season. The high price of rentals makes it unfeasible that workers from other territories move to the main tourist destinations during the months of greater influx because, literally, The salary is gone Only in the rent. Work and accommodation. The hoteliers of the Balearic Islands were the first to alert the situation. Hotel chains Meliá, Riu, Barceló and Iberostar had planned increase your templates To meet summer demand. Due to the difficulty of finding accommodation for their new employees, chains have been forced to reserve a part of their facilities as accommodation during the summer months, offering it for free as an incentive to attract qualified talent. Hospitality entrepreneurs in the Canary Islands, meanwhile, They offered to build homes at priced price to rent to workers in the sector. However, the Ministry of Tourism estimates that only about 455,000 employees work in these large chains that have enough financial muscle to assume the cost of the accommodation of its employees. The other 2.5 million remaining employees belong to restaurants, bars and other small businesses. That leaves them with a serious problem, no longer due to lack of labor, but because rental price It makes someone from outside move during the high season to work. The only way out: adapt. It is materially impossible that the supply of local labor covers all the demand for the hospitality during the high season, so, given the impossibility of hiring more personnel, restaurants and small hospitality businesses of those those Tourism areas “Tensioning“They have chosen to adapt and reduce their care schedule depending on their staff. According The data of the Turijobs Employment Portal published by Self -employed and entrepreneurs87% of restoration businesses have had to apply these time adjustment measures to adapt to the lack of personnel. Desestationalization of tourism. One of the objectives of the tourism sector is Destationalize itTo, thus stabilize demand throughout the year allowing a more rest and economic continuity market, instead of focusing all the activity in the summer months. As they highlight in The countrypart of that goal is being achieved, and during the first three months of 2025 it has been increased by 5.7% The number of tourists, so that the tourist season is now ahead of May and ends beyond October. The de -stationalization of tourism would allow employees to settle in these destinations throughout the year, not only during the summer months, stabilizing in turn the availability of a sufficient local workforce. Long -term strategies. Given an unlikely scenario of moderation in rental prices, the most affected companies in the sector have adopted a long -term local personnel collection strategy. Thus, the dependency of personnel from other autonomies is reduced and, with it, the problem of accommodation. Portaventura World and University Rovira and Virgili signed a training agreement In 2024 for 150 employees per year. This agreement offers, in addition to a training accreditation, a job at the facilities and the Tourist Resort of Port Aventura once the training is finished. In the same line the initiative of the hotel chain THB Hotels moves that, through Your program THB College has offered accommodation and training to more than 2,000 employees since its creation in 2014, eliminating the problem of the shortage of qualified and accommodation personnel for them. In Xataka | Construction and hospitality do not hire the same pace as before. Health and education cut cod in job creation Image | Pexels (Allan González)

While NASA faces the cancellation of 41 missions, China is making authentic virguerías in space

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The Tianwen-2 probe is the first of those launched by China with ionic propulsion. Not only is it on the way to a nearby asteroid to bring samples to the Earth: its one -decade trip also includes exploring a main belt kite, as far as a Chinese ship will have arrived. China does not give truce. Just when NASA expects 24% of its budget cuts and the cancellation of 41 space missions, China has launched an extraordinarily ambitious scientific program that will take it throughout the solar system throughout the next decades. Robotic Tianwen missions, which are just part of these plans, focus on exploring and bringing samples from other worlds. Tianwen-1 deployed on May 22, 2021 The first Chinese rover on the surface of Mars. Tianwen-2 will bring the first samples of the Kamo’oalewa miniluna at the end of 2027. Tianwen-3 will take advantage of what has been learned In previous missions to bring Martian soil samples, a milestone that the Chinese Space Administration Wait before the United States. Tianwen-4 will explore Jupiter and one of his moons. Double objective. The Tianwen-2 probe took off on board a CZ-3B rocket from the Xichang space center on May 28. After successfully deploying its circular solar panels and performing an escape maneuver, it is directed to Asteroid 469219 Kamo’oalewawith which it will be found for the first time on July 4, 2026, and that will explore closely until April of the following year. In November 2027, after releasing the reentry capsule with asteroid samples, Tianwen-2 will continue on its second goal: 311P/2013 P5 (PANSTARRS). It is a main belt kite, an active object with the orbit of an asteroid and the appearance of a kite that the Chinese ship plans to reach in 2035. Crossing outstanding tasks. To achieve its objectives, Tianwen-2 will not be the first space mission to bring samples of an asteroid (Japan has done it twice and The United States got it in 2023 With Asteroid Bennu), nor the first probe to explore a comet (the European Space Agency landed in Comet 67p in 2014), but the first to do both. China’s space administration is taking advantage of its previous experience to continue crossing outstanding tasks of the list: the Chang’e 2 mission visited an asteroid in 2012 and the Chang’e 5 and Chang’e 6 They brought samples of the visible face and the hidden face of the moon, respectively. When moving so fast, China begins to advance the rest of the nations in some of these milestones, as in the case of samples of the hidden face of the moon. What are these objectives special. Tianwen-2 will not only serve to prepare the recovery of Mars samples. Kamo’oalewa is an interesting object in itself for being a minilun It can be a fragment of the true moon. Tianwen-2 will deploy two small robots: a nanoorbital and a nanoatrizer that will make detections closely. Then, without landing, you will take asteroid samples with an extensible tube and a small excavator wheel to bring them to Earth. Next, it will take advantage of the gravitational assistance of the Earth to travel to the strange comet, which in photos of the Hubble telescope appears with six queues. It will be the Chinese probe that best moves away from the Sun until the arrival of Tianwen-4 to Jupiter. A second probe, launched at the same time 2029, will arrive in Uranus in 2045. But China plans to go further with two missions to Neptune, whose launch is scheduled for 2029 and 2033, with the difference that the second would display an atmospheric probe on its Triton moon. Image | Cnsa In Xataka | No one has advanced NASA in the exploration of other planets from the USSR. China plans to do it even in Neptune

Japan has been seeing how its birth collapse little by little. Now faces the result: the “problem 2025”

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Japan has a great great Population challenge ahead, a demographic watchmaking pump fed by a birth rate that He has won to place in historical minimumsincreased life expectancy and a weight increasing of the elderly population. That is no novelty. However, however, Japanese economists and politicians look with increasing concern A key datethe turning point from which this aging will begin to take its toll to the country. And it has already arrived. The “problem 2025”. Although there is still much 2025 ahead and it is soon to know if Japanese birth will continue The descending curve of The last decadeDemographers have long suspected that this will not be an easy year. And the reason does not reside so much in fertility and mortality rates as in what it represents. 2025 will mark the point where the Japanese born during the Baby Boom of the late 40 (1947-1949) will exceed 75 years. And that means a real challenge for several reasons. In fact, in the country they have been talking about “Problem 2025”. More than a symbol. Japan It is not the only nation that deal with the winds of demographic winter, although there they blow with more force than usual and the problem is faced from a particular perspective. From the outset, the Japanese do not perceive the elderly as most countries. For them, the usual thing is that people who have turned 65 “Genki” categorythat of healthy and active people. As I remembered The Economist A few months agomore than 50% of people between 65 and 69 years and more than a third of those of 70 to 74 are still working. Moreover, in the population group between 65 and 74, only 3% of the Japanese require nursing care. His life is so active that the country’s gerontological association has even proposed to include that cohort in a new category, that of the “pre-estatants.” The thing changes after 75. Crusade that barrier only work 12% of the Japanese and the percentages of the population that require care. They are the “advanced elders”, the horizon that the millions of Japanese are now born during the Baby Boom of the late 40s. And with them the whole of Japanese society does. Why is it a problem? Because, like They have not been warning for some time Experts, that demographic turn will submit the pension system and medical care in Japan to greater pressure. And it will also do it in an aged country, accustomed to seeing how every year it is achieved A new historical minimum of birth rate and in which the population of working age It has been descending evident since the beginning of the century. The result is what experts such as Takado Komine, of the Institute for International Policy Studies (IEPI), has called The “problem 2025”, a crisis with multiple edges and derivatives that affect society and economy. “A sudden increase”. In A recent analysis On the phenomenon, Europa Press cites some of the fronts on which the “problem 2025” will let yourself feel. The first, he remembers citing an IPEI report, will probably be geriatric care services. The organism Consider which is “almost certain” that as of this year doctors and nurses will deal with “a sudden increase” of people who need care, which will result in “a significantly greater burden for workforce.” And what will be the result? A foreseeable personnel and greater pressure deficit on social coverage systems. In 2018, the government has already made accounts and concluded that between 2025 and 2040 the general social security costs, including pensions, will shoot almost 60%. Everything while The weight of the population Over 65 years old does not stop increasing in the country. The report also indicates the challenge that will be for large urban areas, where a greater volume of elderly people is concentrated. The Government has already launched to solve the problem, but the challenge is considerable and is accompanied by threats, such as giving rise to an inequality crisis among older people. How serious is the problem? It arrives with review some figures to understand it. Last year they were born in Japan 721,000 babiesthe lowest data since the country collects statistics. Only in 1949 (in full baby boom) it is estimated that they were born 2.69 million babiesthe same ones that will now cross the 75 -year border. According to Precise The Economistthe population that exceeds that age is expected to rub the 22 million. A decade ago they were just 17. Image | Woody Yan (UNSPLASH) In Xataka | The Japanese demography debacle, illustrated in a graphic that speaks for itself

The “Ozempic effect” that is filling the mirrors with unknown faces

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Thanks to Ozempic, many people have managed to fulfill a goal that had been chasing for years: losing weight faster. What was not expected is that it came with a collateral effect that was not on the prospect: an alien face. In the mirror there is another person. Fallen cheeks, loss of volume, sagging … and no, it is not natural aging. In social networks it has been baptized as “face Ozempic ”, a consequence of accelerated success in weight loss. According to Cleveland Clinicthese effects are not directly caused by the medication, but by the rapid loss of facial fat that accompanies weight loss. The trend. The conversation has gained strength especially after the testimonies of celebrities who have decided to talk about the physical changes they have experienced after using this type of medicines. One of the most popular voices has been that of Sharon Osbourne, British presenter, who has recognized having lost more than 15 kilos with Ozempic, but not without consequences. “I wouldn’t use it again. I look very thin and older, I regret it,” has declared In an interview with The Daily Mail. On the other hand, in social networks, many people are showing change with pride. On platforms like Tiktok, images of the before and afterhighlighting the physical transformation achieved with the use of Ozempic and similar medications. Science behind. From the medical point of view, the explanation is simple: if you lose very fast fat, you also lose it on your face. And not all the skin returns to its place. As detailed by Dr. Nyla Raja, Dermatologist with Clinic in Mayfair, In statements to the Evening Standard“When the thinning process is so accelerated, the skin does not have time to fall, which leads to sagging and a more aging appearance.” This loss of support in key areas such as cheekbones or jaw can cause the face to look more tired or aged than expected. It is not irreversible. Although the effects can be worrisome, there are solutions. Some dermatologists and nutritionists have agreed that the best way to avoid these consequences is to plan a gradual weight loss. According to Forbes has collectedmaintaining a rhythm of moderate weight loss, following a feed rich in protein and collagen, and practicing strength training can help preserve the facial structure. In some cases, aesthetic treatments such as radiofrequency, dermal fillings or even facial lifting are also resorted to correct the offalter. But… There are more effects. However, other unexpected ones are added to this phenomenon. According to The Independentthere are other secondary symptoms that are increasingly being documented. One of the most striking is “Ozempic language”, which is caused by oral dryness, which generates an alteration in taste. For its part, like has reported the same mediumDr. Tim Bradstock-Smith has pointed out that some patients experience “dry mouth, dental hypersensitivity and loss of volume on lips and cheeks, which compromises both aesthetics and oral health.” Besides, I know They have reported cases Blurred vision and, in rare situations, loss of vision associated with the use of semaglutida. The debate is no longer limited to the medical field. Ozempic, like other medicines to lose weight, has become a mirror of collective priorities: a culture of immediacy where the ideal body seems to be an injection of distance. But it is also true that, for many people, represents a real opportunity of recovering health, taking control over your weight and improving your quality of life. Reducing this conversation to aesthetic changes would be to simplify a deeply personal decision. Behind each treatment there are different stories, emotions and contexts. We live in a society every time more crossed by obsessions and trends that are born – and they are amplified – on social networks, where the ideal body is repeated with Filters and algorithms. At that cross, the direction that takes health, self -esteem and beauty is quite complex and dangerous. Image | Unspash and Instagram Xataka | Losing weight without losing muscle is the great challenge of drugs such as Ozempic. A protein keeps the key to face it

China is about to have the ability to make 5 Nm chips, although it faces a difficult solution problem

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SMIC (Semiconductor manufacturing international corp), the largest Chinese semiconductor manufacturer has been working on the development of Your own 5 nm photolithography. In early February 2024 the newspaper Financial Times He said he had access to two experts in the integrated circuit industry who defended that this company was finalizing the refinement of their semiconductor manufacturing processes in their machines deep ultraviolet lithography (UVP). Its purpose was to have the necessary technology to make 5 Nm chips massively before the end of 2024, although it did not succeed. If its 5 Nm chips had already been successful in this project, the first Huawei devices or any other SMIC client equipped with this type of integrated circuits would have even seen the market. Be that as it seems, now, this technology is ready. The challenge facing SMIC is the performance by wafer According to Dr. Kiman expert in the manufacture of integrated circuits who has worked in Samsung and who currently investigates for TSMC in the US, SMIC is about to start the production of 5 Nm chips. It is perfectly credible because, as we have just seen, we know with certainty that this company has been working on this technology for several years. And, in addition, Dr. Kim is a reliable source. However, this expert has pointed out something crucial that we should not overlook: the performance per wafer that SMIC has currently achieved in its 5 Nm nodes is less than 30%. An incipient integration technology usually moves in the orbit of 50% performance per wafer When semiconductor manufacturers produce a chip wafer, some of those nuclei do not work properly. It is normal. When they launch a new lithographic node, their performance by wafer usually has a margin of broad improvement, but little by little, as engineers refine their integration processes, This parameter improves. A mature lithography can deliver to integrated circuit manufacturers a very high performance, but an incipient technology usually moves in the orbit of 50% performance, so only half of the chips produced work correctly. The problem is that for an integration technology to be profitable from an economic point of view, its performance by wafer has to be At least 70%. And, as we have just seen, Dr. Kim argues that the SMIC 5 NM node is below 30%. It is objectively a very poor performance, but we know what this low figure explains: the technique used by this manufacturer to produce these semiconductors. It is known as Multiple patterningand SMIC has used it for more than a year and a half to make 7 NM chips for Huawei and other customers. This strategy consists in transferring the pattern to the wafer in several passes with the purpose of increasing the resolution of the lithographic process. It works, but is responsible for wafer performance is clearly improvable. SMIC engineers have been forced to resort to Multiple patterning because The US and Netherlands sanctions They prevent Asml from selling their extreme ultraviolet lithography equipment to their Chinese customers, which are the ideal to make chips of 7 nm or less. With the UVP machines that SMIC has, it will be very difficult for wafer performance to be optimal, so in all 5 Nm integrated circuits they will be scarce and expensive. The definitive solution to this problem for SMIC, Huawei and the other Chinese companies that are dedicated to semiconductors inevitably goes through developing their own UVE lithography teams. They are in it. Image | SMIC More information | Dr. Kim In Xataka | The US has declared the total war on Huawei: he does not want him to sell his chips for the most advanced outside of China

The United States national dish faces a worrying future if tariffs are maintained: hamburgers

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The commercial war between China and the United States showed a problem for Beijing: they like, much, the American soybeans, to the point that each year they import Millions of tons With the direction of Asia. Of commercial conflict a Unexpected winner: Brazil. Now, the actors themselves appear in another scenario derived from the commercial war. Americans can pass For many things, but do not take away a good barbecue. The commercial war has opened an uncertain scenario for devour meat. Global hamburger in war. Told this weekend The New York Times that, curiously, most of the hamburgers consumed in the United States are not thence. Despite his image as a national emblem, the American hamburger is, in fact, the result of a very wide international supply chain. The ground meat that feeds barbecues, school canteens and fast food chains usually combine local meat with imports, especially and first of Brazil, today The greatest exporter of beef in the world. This interdependence has been exposed after the imposition of generalized tariffs by Trump, whose measures have reconfigured the World Meat Trade And the basic products that millions of Americans consume daily. Brazil, between two giants. In the midst of this commercial war, Brazil emerges (again) as a great beneficiary. Its meat, produced at low cost thanks to huge extensions of grass and cheap labor, has seen shoot your demand both in the United States and China, two economies that alone fail to satisfy the appetite Growing for lean proteins. The imports of Brazilian meat by Washington grew more than 50% In a single year, reaching a record of 1.3 billion dollars, even despite the 10% tariff that raises the final price for consumers. Meanwhile, China, also facing US tariffs, has reduced your purchases There and redoubled his commitment to Brazil, where almost half of his beef is already from the South American country. Molina meat in the eye of the hurricane. This (re) accommodation of commercial flows has caused a Price increase In the global market: Brazilian flesh has become more expensive about 20% Only since April. American meat companies, trapped between the need to maintain affordable prices and the rise in costs, have begun to Mix pork In their hamburgers to reduce the impact to the consumer. Meanwhile, Brazilian producers such as Grupo Fribal plan expand your herds In tens of thousands of heads to take advantage of a demand that, although buoyant, demands time and resources to materialize, in a context of recurrent droughts and logistic saturation in Brazilian ports. Usa dependence. The key in everything is that, although the United States remains a great producer of beef, its specialization is In the premium cuts like him Rib-Eye or the Filet Mignonnot in the type of lean and economic flesh that feeds mass consumption. Therefore, to make their hamburgers, US processors need to mix local meat more fat with imported lean varieties, and Brazil appears. As The economist explains Agrícola Glynn Tonsor in the Times, “in the United States we consume more ground meat than we produce.” The problem? That this structural dependence leaves exposed consumers: ground meat prices have increased 43% in five yearsand they are expected to continue going up while inflation forces homes to leave expensive cuts and return to the basics. All this, at a time when the American livestock census is in minimum of 73 years for droughts and rise in the price of the feed. Brazil and the consumer. Explained the NYT That while China reinforces its ties with Brazil after revoking licenses of more than 390 US processors in retaliation, President Lula tries to maintain diplomatic balances between his two main commercial partners. However, his advisor Celso Amorim Lets meridianly clear: China today offers “more opportunities and less risks” than the United States. Before the new scenario, Brazilian producers prepare to Fill the void left by Americans, although they recognize that expanding production requires time. With a Chinese middle class increasingly fond of the steak and The Hot Pots of beef, and an American demand that does not find substitutes on the same scale, Brazil is positioned as the winning epicenter of a meat trade in full transformation. Of course, with a “but” in the result that summarize very well The president of the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporters, Roberto Perosa: the ranchers are winning, but it will be US consumers who literally “eat the invoice.” Image | Pxhere In Xataka | The price of beef has shot. And that threatens to turn hamburgers into the new seafood In Xataka | The great crisis of “false flesh”: McDonald’s has renounced the McPlant and Beyond Meat is sinking

A company has created an alternative to facial recognition. Does not scan faces and its use already begins to generate controversy

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When cities like San Francisco They decided to prohibit use From the facial recognition by the police, many celebrated it as a victory for privacy. However, a new tool begins to make its way as an alternative. It does not scan faces, but allows people with remarkable precision to follow. Identify without analyzing the face. The tool is called Track and has been developed by Veritonea company specialized in artificial intelligence solutions applied to video analysis. Unlike classic systems, Track tracks individuals based on attributes such as physical complexion, hair color and style, clothing, accessories or the type of footwear. The algorithm also distinguishes the skin tone, although, according to the company, it does not allow to search explicitly by that criterion. With all this information, the system generates chronologies that allow following a person along different scenarios and video sources. It is not a development concept or a future promise. According to data provided by VERITONE itself, more than 400 customers are already using this technology in the United States, including state and local police forces, universities and private companies. Among them are federal prosecutors of the Department of Justice, who began using the tool in August 2024. Track is available through cloud platforms such as Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure, and is part of the company’s digital forensic analysis solution ecosystem. An evolving system. Currently, Track works exclusively with recorded videos, such as those captured by body cameras, drones, public recordings on YouTube or content provided by Citizens. Veritone claims to be less than a year after enabling the analysis in live broadcasts, which would open the door to a real -time surveillance system capable of following people even when their faces are not visible. Covering your face no longer guarantees anonymity. Until now, avoid facial recognition systems It was possible with hairstylelarge glasses, disruptive makeup or garments designed to confuse algorithms. But Track works differently. It does not depend on the face, but on general visual patterns. You can follow a figure through multiple videos analyzing complexion, clothes or way of moving. Of course, he needs a starting point: someone should mark the person before starting tracking. Even so, its logic doubts many of the classic strategies to avoid being identified. And privacy? Although this technology does not use biometric data in the strict sense, such as faces or footprints, it is based on physical and aesthetic attributes that can be repeated frequently. As Mit Technology Review collectsACLU, an American civil rights defense organization, warns that tools such as track could significantly expand surveillance capabilities. On the other hand, some digital rights specialists underline that continuous tracking through different video sources could be functionally equivalent to facial recognition. An alternative that can avoid the current legal framework. As Track is not based on traditional biometric characteristics, many of the laws that regulate facial recognition in different parts of the world would not be applied directly. This does not mean that the surveillance is less, but that it operates from another technical angle, less regulated for now. The tool is thus positioned in a gray terrain. It offers advanced monitoring without formally invading the biometric space, but its practical effects are dangerously approaching those who have already generated concern with automated facial identification. Images | Xataka with XAI | Alex Knight In Xataka | The intentions of the United Kingdom with Apple are a nightmare for privacy. That of the British and that of the whole world In Xataka | Alibaba wants to be the new Deepseek: he claims to have a training method for his AI 88% cheaper

After decades of success, the restaurant day menu faces its great crisis and a dilemma: reinvent or die

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A few weeks ago the veteran articulist David Sharrock published in The Times A wide report about Madrid gastronomy. So far not surprising. That in Spain we enjoy a good kitchen, with large dishes, chefs, restaurants and ingredients is no surprise. The funny thing is that in his analysis Sharrock does not talk about that. The focus focused on another symbol of homeland cuisine, one that passes through low hours and faces the complex challenge of adapting to the 21st century: THE DAY MENU. Sharrock warns that the lifelong menu is “threatened by modern life.” And he is not the only one who thinks like that. A figure: four million. The menu of the day is an institution in the bars of Spain. And for several reasons. The first, its long tradition, which can be traced at least 60 years agowhen in the time of Fraga Iribarne as Minister of Information the Francoist Government established that a good part of the food stores offered a menu at a fixed price. The goal: to enhance tourism. The second key that demonstrates to what extent the formula of the daily menu has penetrated in Spanish gastronomy is its level of implementation. The Spain hospitality association estimates that some are dispatched every day four million throughout the country, which leads to its general secretary, Emilio Gallego, to claim your acceptance. “The menu of the day remains a spectacular success formula,” he says. A price: € 14. Hospitality in Spain has not only calculated how many menus are served daily in the country’s restaurants. At the end of last year he published A report in which goes beyond and analyzes its prices, profitability and the differences between regions. Your main conclusion? That at least in 2024 the average cost of the menu of the day in Spain was around 14 euros, although there are cities in which this figure is quite higher. In Bilbao, for example, the average was 15.5 and Barcelona in 15.1, although there are those who clarify that it results today “Almost impossible” Find a menu in the center of Barcelona for less than 16 euros. Are all strengths? No. The menu perhaps enjoy a long tradition and is rooted in the hospitality of Spain, but on its horizon they appear clouds. And one of them (and the most important) is found in its price. Although its rates increased by 19.5% between 2016 and 2024 (which in practice translates into 11.7 to 14 euros), hospitality in Spain remember that this accumulated increase remains below the general CPI (23.4%) and is much lower than that of food and beverages or the one that In your day They reached certain key products in kitchens, such as olive oil. Between 2023 and 2024 the menus did rise above the general price index, but despite that rebound, of 80 cents on average, the collective recalls that there are many hoteliers to which it is difficult for their businesses to give benefits. To be more precise, They cite a study which reveals that 42.3% of entrepreneurs claim to have experienced a “loss of profitability” during the last year, especially due to the increase in salary costs, food and supplies. At the end of 2024 almost a third of the restaurants (32.5%) admitted that their menus had not increased that year. “Totally in danger”. The hospitality data of Spain give a track of the first great challenge facing the menus for their survival: profitability. To succeed, a menu of the day must offer a range of attractive dishes and a certain variety, but it must also convince in another crucial aspect: the price. The key is how to fit that list (high quality, variety and low price) and at the same time the business gets more than cover costs. A few months ago a hotelman from Vigo I recognized to The country That, despite the fact that his bar was small and that he takes care of almost everything, so that his offer is “viable” needs to sell at least 40 daily menus at a price of 15 euros. “Below that figure, it will only serve to cover costs.” “It is totally in danger, and fortunately, because it is not a sustainable model for the hotelier,” Point to the same newspaper Paco Cruz, The Food Manager, speaking precisely about the state of health of the menus. In his opinion, the formula is profitable basically in certain businesses, with a good flow of clients and experience. The AI, to the rescue. “The customer of the menu of the day wants first five, five seconds and variety every day. But what do you do with what is left over? If everyone asks for the same, what about the dishes that are not requested? The losses are brutal and that is unsustainable from any point of view: economic, ethical and environmental,” Add Cruz. The challenge is so complex that there are those who have already sought help in AI, as Fusion was checked in Madridwhere chef Eneko Atxa and physicist Eneko Axpe presented a tool designed to design attractive menus … and above all profitable. Objective: efficiency. “Inflation is almost 40%. The diner says they are charging me more, 19.5, but the hotelier has a hard time doing 39.2 more,” recalled During the ATXA presentation before adding to that price increase the increase in rentals and energy. The objective of the delight tool is precisely to look for “an orderly efficiency” in the menu, maximize the benefit and seek maximum efficiency in the number of chefs, customers and purchase. “The menu is an immaterial good in our culture and one of the challenges and problems facing hoteliers and diners,” Axpe points out. Cost of costs (and something else). Although inflation and imbalance between the rise in prices and salaries is one of the great challenges of the menu of the day, it is not the only one. As Sharrock points out in Your chronicle of The Times The format … Read more

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