island

Now it is a paradise island of China where they are not accountable

by

Hainan is a small province of China made up of more than 200 islands dotting the South China Sea. Although historically it has been an agricultural region, it has emerged as a tourist destination and I am not surprised, seeing its tropical beaches and lush forests. Furthermore, the Chinese government has considered the region as “special economic zone“. And the wealthiest citizens of a country are taking advantage of it: Russia. Hainan is the new Crimea Marbella. Although since last year the list of visitors to Hainan does not allow a breakdown by country, the New York Times collects that the number of Russian visitors has multiplied by eleven between 2023 and 2024. Thus, Russians are already the largest foreign nationality. In the peak winter season alone, Hainan Island, the largest in the province, receives eight or more daily flights from cities throughout Russia. The situation clashes head-on with the withdrawal of Russian tourism in Europe. What a change of scenery. Why Hainan? Beyond its paradisiacal places that we mentioned in the intro, that right now they are enjoying maximum temperatures of 24 degrees or that it is a cheap destination, Hainan enjoys special policies such as free trade and more flexibility in general for government affairs. Thus, the Chinese government has favored foreign investment and has raised its hand with visas (from 2024 in Hainan and throughout the country since November). Your exemption policy It allows citizens of 59 countries to enter for a tourist getaway of up to 30 days. Among them, Russia of course. like at home. Leaving aside that restrained and hospitable Chinese personality, the island’s gear is geared toward pleasing tourists. However, it is one of the great bets to revitalize the region. And it shows: translated letters and signs, guides who speak the language, being able to find products of Russian gastronomy and even the loudspeakers on the beach, controlled by the local government, playing Russian hits. The New York Times collects that even the New Year’s celebrations on the beach came to fruition before vigilant but relaxed authorities, beyond warning that fireworks could not be set off. They have even opened a copy of the famous Moscow restaurant chain Chaihona No. 1, which in China has its counterpart at Chaihona No. 9. No need to lower your voice. Talking about Taiwan or Hong Kong may be thorny there, but Russian tourists can calmly express themselves in their language without generating uncomfortable sidelong glances. Foreign geopolitics does not cause discomfort in Hainan, something that does happen in Europe. Hello Hainan, goodbye Europe. It is inevitable to establish a certain parallel with the theory of communicating vessels as long as and although with ups and downs, since 2019 it has shown a downward trend in Europe, reaching 90% less in 2022, according to Schengen Visa Info details. Thus, if in 2019 four million Russians visited the old continent, in 2024 the figure dropped to 1.4 million. Leaving aside the COVID-19 period that affected the entire world, the Russians have their own case, with the war with Ukraine and the consequent tightening when it comes to obtaining visas as the main reasons. Although the sanctions program against Russia applies throughout the continent, there are countries that are more lax than others. Without going any further, Italy, France, Spain and Greece, the favorite destinations of Russian citizens, are among them. As details the Russian Travel Digestdespite a timid recovery in 2025, Russian citizens travel to Europe 40 to 50 times less. New destinations have been sought both within the old continent (Türkiye or Belgrade), but also outside In Xataka | Tourism promised them a happy time exploiting an idyllic island in Yemen. Until 600 tourists were trapped in it In Xataka | There are Spanish cities trying to shield their beaches from bathers’ pee. Marbella illustrates that they do not have it easy Cover | Yubin Zhou

In 2001, a yacht took refuge on a remote island in the Atlantic. Days later its inhabitants breaded fish with coca

by

To the island of Sao Miguelthe largest and most populated of the Azores archipelago, is known as the ‘Green Island’ for its lush meadows. In 2001, however, the most appropriate thing was to refer to it as the white island. In one of those pirouettes of destiny that usually inspire Netflix scriptwriters (and in this case that’s how it was) began to arrive on the coasts of São Miguel, more specifically on those of the freguesia of Fish Taildozens and dozens of uncut bales of cocaine of extraordinary purity. The Atlantic brought them by surprise and without anyone in Rabo de Peixe being able to explain very well why or where they came from. What there is little doubt about more than 20 years later is that that episode changed history of the island. Not only because Rabo de Peixe was forever associated with surrealist images (it is counted that on the island there were families who they breaded mackerel with cocaine instead of flour), but for the mark it has left on a population of humble fishermen in which until then white powder was a luxury available to an elitist minority. Twenty-four years later, his story is back in the news thanks to streaming. Netflix has just released a new documentary about that episode, ‘White Tide: The surreal story of Rabo de Peixe’a launch that coincides with the premiere of the second season of a series inspired by the same event, the successful ‘Rabo de Peixe’. A drifting sailboat The Azores are a paradise on earth, but even the greatest of paradises can turn into hell. Antonino Quinzi saw this for himself at the beginning of June 2001, while steering a yacht of 12 meters across the Atlantic towards Spain. Although he was an experienced sailor and had recently completed the Canary Islands-Venezuela route, near the Azores he was surprised by a strong storm that damaged his ship’s rudder and threatened to set him adrift. Faced with such a panorama, Quinzi decided to postpone his original plan, which was to sail back from Venezuela to Spain, and seek refuge in some discreet cove of São Miguel. The word ‘discreet’ is not a minor nuance. To the residents of the parish of Pilar da Bretanha who saw how his yacht appeared on the horizon and sought shelter among the cliffs, Quinzi it seemed to them one more amateur sailor. One of the many sailboat owners who set out to sail the ocean without enough boards and end up finding themselves in trouble. In this case they were wrong. Quinzi was a hard-working Sicilian navigator and if he seemed to be stumbling along the coast of São Miguel it was because he was actually looking for a secluded place in which to hide the cargo he was transporting. On board his yacht, in addition to food and everything necessary for his long voyage, he hid hundreds and hundreds of kilos of cocaine from Venezuela. How many? Officially there is talk of half tonalthough there are those who remember that the ship could carry up to 3,000 kg and it would be strange for the Sicilian to embark on its ocean voyage without taking advantage of that cargo capacity. The fact is that Quinzi needed to reach a port where he could repair his yacht, but for obvious reasons he could not do so with the holds full of bales. To get out of trouble he decided to get rid of drugs. Some versions they count who used a boat to take part of the load to a cave, but had to abort the mission when he was surprised by some fishermen. Whether or not it is true, the fact is that to get rid of a large part of his cargo, Quinzi chose to another more radical solution. A wave of bundles Which? After ensuring that the bales would not be damaged by water, he placed them in fishing nets and then lowered them off the coast with the help of heavy chains and an anchor. Once he finished the task, he set sail towards the port of Rabo de Peixea humble and discreet fishing town located just over 20 kilometers from where he had hidden the shipment. The plan seemed perfect, if it weren’t for the fact that the same waves that had forced Quinzi to seek shelter ended up destroying the net that hid the coca bales. The result: dozens and dozens of packages began to emerge and the waves dragged them towards the coast. Guardian account how the first official notice was recorded on June 7, 2001, just one day after Quinzi’s yacht was seen lurking around the cliffs. While walking through a cove, a local came across a large black plastic sheet that hid what looked like dozens of packed bricks. He notified the police, who soon found that there were 270 bales that weighed nearly 300 kilos. Over the next few days, the authorities received similar notices from people who found bundles while walking along the coast. It is said that in just two weeks the agents seized more than 400 kg of drugs, which is not a bad balance if you take into account that the police estimated that the total shipment It was around 500 kg. But… And the rest? And above all, was the yacht actually transporting more drugs, as one of the Portuguese journalists who covered the event suspects? “The ship could carry up to 3,000 kg and no one would cross the Atlantic with only a small part of what it can carry,” argues Nuno Mendes, a reporter who traveled from Lisbon to cover the news. There was more or less drug, almost a hundred kilos or many more, what seems evident is that most of that unseized cocaine ended up in the hands of the inhabitants of São Miguel, where they barely live. 140,000 people. The focus is placed above all on the population of Rabo de Peixe, one … Read more

China is sending drones to an island 100 km from Taiwan. The problem is that Japan and the US are filling it with missiles

by

The small Japanese island by Yonagunilocated just over 100 kilometers away from Taiwan, has gone in a matter of months from being a remote enclave with a modest self-defense detachment to becoming one of the most sensitive points of the strategic balance in Asia. The United States, China and Japan itself are carrying their disputes to the small enclave. An island as a front. The intensification of chinese drone flights over the island and the strait, intercepted on two consecutive occasions by Japanese fighters, has reinforced the perception in Tokyo that the first island chain is entering a phase of chronic instability. Japan, aware of the real possibility of a conflict around Taiwan, has decided to turn Yonaguni into a defensive node fully integrated: a place where operates a FARP American that extends the range of Marine Corps helicopters, where capabilities are consolidated electronic surveillance and where the installation of air defense missiles is progressing like the Type 03 Chu-SAM. Weapons and more weapons. This system, capable of tracking one hundred simultaneous targets and shooting down twelve of them with Mach 2.5 missilesimplies that Japan is beginning to give teeth to a position whose mere proximity to the democratic island makes it an advanced platform to detect, deter or even respond to a possible Chinese attack. For Tokyo, reinforcing Yonaguni is not a provocation but a life policy national: any attack on Taiwan, as as stated the new Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, would constitute an existential threat to the archipelago. Yonaguni Beijing’s reaction. China, which interprets any Japanese defensive measure as one more step in a strategic siege promoted by the United States, has reacted with increasing hardness. From historical comparisons to veiled threats, including the summoning of the Japanese ambassador and the suspension of economic exchanges, Beijing frames the installation of missiles in Yonaguni as an “offensive act” that violates the spirit of the bilateral normalization of 1972. The rhetoric has gone in crescendo after Takaichi’s words about the possibility of Japan intervening militarily in the event of an attack on Taiwan, something that China considers a space invasion diplomat reserved for Washington. The climate has deteriorated to such a level that a Chinese diplomat even published (and removed) a direct threat against the prime minister, while the central government canceled meetings, stopped imports and called for boycott trips to Japansinking the influx of Chinese tourists who represented almost a third of foreign visitors. In parallel, China has intensified its military demonstrations, spreading videos YKJ-1000 hypersonic missile destroying Japanese targets, a message designed to emphasize that any expansion of the Japanese military footprint will be met with a response. The strategic dilemma. Far from backing down, Japan has adopted a tone unusually firm. Under the leadership of Takaichi, the political heir to Shinzo Abe’s strategic nationalism, Tokyo has made Yonaguni the tangible manifestation of a doctrinal turn: accept that Japanese stability requires preventing China from dominating the Taiwan Strait. from there the proliferation of radar installations, electronic warfare capabilities and additional plans that contemplate systems such as US Patriots, US Army Typhon, HIMARS and the NMESIS equipped with NSM missiles, capable of denying access to Chinese ships around the Taiwanese eastern coast. USA discreetly supports this redesign: approved sales of NASAMS and spare parts to the Taiwan Air Force, deployed CH-53E helicopters in Yonaguni (an unprecedented milestone) and coordinates with Japan a doctrine that assumes that, in the event of an outbreak of hostilities, the Marines must operate from the lethality zone itself of Chinese missiles. All of this positions Yonaguni not only as an advanced observatory, but as a critical point whose defense and survival would determine the first stages of any crisis in the strait. Yonaguni Taiwan’s hardening. While Japan reinforces the front line, Taiwan assumes that time to prepare is running out. President Lai Ching-te has announced a massive increase in military spending, raising it by $40 billion until 2033, with a roadmap that will place it at 3.3% of GDP in 2026 and with the declared ambition of reaching 5% before 2030. What Taipei is proposing is not a simple rearmament, but a comprehensive redesign: new missiles and drones, integrating AI into existing systems, protecting against infiltration operations, dramatically improving procurement (often delayed in the United States), and measures against transnational Chinese repression targeting Taiwanese abroad. For Lai, the most dangerous threat is not a Chinese landing but internal erosion: that Taiwan “gives up” due to psychological or economic pressure. It flatly rejects the “one country, two systems” model and affirms that the only way to maintain peace is to make an invasion too costly for Beijing. The United States, through its de facto representation, has described the decision as a crucial step to strengthen deterrence. A strategic powder keg. The juxtaposition of Japanese military movements, Chinese threats and unprecedented rearmament of Taiwan produces a “traffic” that raises the risk of calculation errors. The experts warn that a poorly calibrated comment, a overflight unreported or a maritime incident could accelerate a spiral that is difficult to contain, especially when Beijing tries to use its contacts with Washington to simultaneously pressure Tokyo and Taipei. In this context, Yonaguni becomes symbol and detonator: too close to Taiwan to be irrelevant, too exposed to be invulnerable, and too strategic for either side to relinquish control or influence. Plus: the island is both within immediate range of Chinese missiles and within the American concept of advanced distributed operationsmeaning it could be both a multiplier of Allied defense and a priority objective in the first minute of a war. A fragile balance. In short, China hardens his stanceJapan resignation definitely to ambiguity, Taiwan accelerate the shielding of its sovereignty and the United States consolidates its role as operational guarantor. In the midst of all this, Yonaguni emerges as a microcosm where the resistance of that regional order is tested. An enclave of barely 1,700 inhabitants that, due to its geographical positionhas become a thermometer, border and barrier. Its immediate … Read more

An atoll in the South Pacific is the best kept secret of the ultra-rich. If you want to hide your fortune, this is your island

by

In the middle of the South Pacific, there is a little paradise which attracts both nature lovers and those looking to put their great fortunes safely away. The Cook Islands, with their turquoise beaches and dreamlike landscapes, have become the chosen refuge by many millionaires for keep your money safe and anonymous. Beyond being a privileged tourist destination, this archipelago adopts the second most used meaning of paradise: that of tax haven. Its special legal system protects the assets of those millionaires who decide to enjoy its dream beaches and its legal opacity with assets. They came for its beaches, they stayed for the trusts This natural oasis, located about 3,000 kilometers from New Zealand, is not only home to beauty and tranquility, but also a sophisticated asset protection mechanism that has gained global fame in recent years among millionaires around the world. Although many think of tax havens such as the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Cook Islands are distinguished by their ability to raise trust financial structures from which millionaires can manage assets of all kinds, from properties to cryptocurrencies, with a very lax taxation. Not in vain, the Cook Islands were a recurring reference in the great financial scandals that were revealed by the Panama Papers, Pandora or the Paradise Papers. As and how they counted in Fortunesince the 1980s, the Cook Islands established a single fiduciary system which offers a level of opacity and protection difficult to find in other enclaves considered tax havens. For example, the authority of foreign courts to intervene in these funds is not recognized and, furthermore, the identities of the owners are protected by law. This combination makes the country a bastion for those who want to keep their assets safe from external demands or embargoes. Cook Islands, a paradise for human and fiscal matters Here, millionaires transfer their assets to a trust managed by a local fiduciary (front man), while they can remain beneficiaries or dispose of the money and property freely. This separation between Ownership of the heritage and who enjoys it generates a legal barrier that makes it difficult for third parties to claim those assets. In this way, millionaire businessmen protect their fortunes in the event of bankruptcy of their companies because, legally, they are not owners of the assets that they do enjoy. Likewise, fortunes would not be so exposed to divorce cases. “If all your money is in your pocket and someone tries to take it from you, maybe they can. But if the money is in another country and not under your control, chances are they won’t be able to touch it,” he explained to Fortune Blake Harris, lawyer specializing in property protection in the Cook Islands. In addition, shell companies are used to manage certain assets in order to add another level of opacity to the ownership of trust assets. “We created a practically unbreakable structure. And it is a fundamental practice. It is necessary to protect yourself,” said Harris. Spanish millionaires also travel to paradise The Panama Papers and other tax scandals exposed the financial engineering that large fortunes were using to reduce their tax bill. Among the names that appeared in these investigations there were also some spanish names. It should be said that constituting a trust in the Cook Islands It is completely legal for a Spanish resident. The Polynesian atoll was excluded from the EU tax haven lists and from Spain. However, the Spanish legislation It focuses on who actually controls and benefits from the assets, not just who is listed as the formal owner. However, just because it is legal in Spain does not mean that it works the same as for an American millionaire. Spain does not include the figure of the trust in its legal framework, although it does takes it into account at the tax level. In practice, this means that even if the assets are transferred to a trustee in another country, The Tax Agency considers that the person residing in Spain retains some type of control or benefit over them. And if this control exists, the Treasury understands that this assets remain linked to the taxpayer and, therefore, must declare it as part of your heritage. Therefore, although the protection against international litigation offered by Cook Islands trusts is effective, in Spain they do not have the same effectiveness than in the US, so It is not such a popular instrument. between the great Spanish fortunes as among the millionaires of other countries. However, as how they point From the Gesta tax consultancy, trusts are recommended more as tools of succession planning or protection against civil risks, and both for evade taxes. In Xataka | They were promised a bitcoin paradise and zero taxes for 120,000 euros. Today there is only one desert island on the verge of disappearing Image | cook islandsUnsplash (Nathan Dumlao)

In 1521 Spain established a timid colony on the island of Borneo. Today they demand 15,500 million euros for it

by

In a corner of Southeast Asia, the island of Borneo has been the scene of a historical entanglement that seems like something out of a novel. What began more than a century ago as a trade agreement between a local sultan and European businessmen today translates into multimillion-dollar lawsuits and international arbitrations involving Spain, Malaysia and the descendants of the Joló sultanate. The surprising thing is that the origin of all this mess goes back to a detail that many would overlook, but given that when it happened the island was under Spanish jurisdiction, a century and a half later, the judicial imbroglio has spilled over into a Spain that has been involved in a lawsuit for 15.5 billion euros without a hitch. Signing of the agreement and colonial movements In 1878, the island of Borneo was under Spanish administration in certain areas, although real authority corresponded to the Sultan of Joló, the highest authority in a small Muslim kingdom located to the north of that island. In that year, Sultan Jamalul Alam signed an agreement with two British businessmen, Baron of Overbeck and Alfred Dent for the exploitation of natural resources of the area. However, for the descendants of the sultan, that contract had a lease character, while for the British it implied a definitive transfer. First point of disagreement. Spain, as the administrative power of the time, left evidence of its limits and neither punctured nor cut nor cut in that agreement. Reproduction of the 1878 agreement In 1885 the Madrid Protocol between the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain, with which Spain formally renounced any right over Borneo and recognized British control of the area, left in hands of the British North Borneo Company to its colonial exploitation and became part of the British colonial territories. Already in 1963, the island of Borneo was integrated in the newly formed Malaysia, and the Joló sultanate was integrated as the state of Sabah. Under the agreement signed in 1878, the Malaysian government was the “heir” of that transfer/lease of the territory, so kept a symbolic payment annual payment of about 5,300 ringgit (about 1,110 euros per year at the exchange rate) to the sultan’s heirs. However, in the 1980s and 1990s, oil and gas deposits were discovered in that territory, so Malaysia, through the company Petronas. With a treasure of such magnitude under the soil of their territory and with a difference of opinion regarding the meaning of the initial agreement, the heirs of Sultan of Joló began to pressure Malaysia to return their lands. Something that Malaysia rejected outright. Invasion of Sabah and start of battle Everything changed in 2013, when a group of 235 linked to the heirs of the Sultan of Joló invaded Sabah, starting what became known as the Lahad Datu conflictclaiming the sovereignty of the region. Malaysia responded with military force and stopped the rebels declaring that the state of Sabah was part of the sovereignty of Malaysia. In retaliation, he decided to suspend historic payments to the sultan’s descendants. This suspension marked the beginning of a long international legal dispute since now the heirs did not have the right of ownership of the lands nor did Malaysia recognize the agreement signed in 1878. Since in 1878 the kingdom of Sabah was under the administrative control of Spain, the sultan’s heirs considered that the historical jurisdiction belonged to Spain and requested arbitration in Spain, trusting that the country’s courts could act as a neutral venue to resolve the conflict between Malaysia and the heirs of the Sultan of Joló. Territory in dispute From trade disagreement to billion-dollar international conflict In 2019 and already in Spain, the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM) assigned arbitration in principle to lawyer Gonzalo Stampa. However, in 2020 and after studying the case in more detail, the same court ordered arbitrator Stampa to stop the arbitration by determining that the State of Malaysia could not be judged by another State. Despite the disqualification and orders from the Spanish justice system, Stampa ignored it and continued with the mediation process. Since it had been banned in Spain, Stampa moved the arbitration to Paris and, in 2022, he dictated a favorable award to the heirs of the sultan. In the award issued by Stampa, which we remember at that time was “free” and no longer recognized by Spain, it could be read: “(…) the Arbitrator decides that the Claimants have the right to recover from the Respondent the restitution value of the rights over the leased territory in northern Borneo. (…) and orders the Respondent to pay the Claimants the sum of 14.92 billion US dollars.” Painting of the Sultan from the late 19th century That is to say, not only had he ignored the instructions of the Spanish justice system, but he also condemned Malaysia to pay compensation of 15,000 million dollars to the heirs. Obviously, nor Malaysia neither Spain nor even Paris Court of Appeal and then the Cour de Cassation French recognized the nullity of the arbitration. In fact, the Supreme Court recently condemned to referee Stampa for contempt and usurpation of functions. Although no authority recognized this arbitration, the heirs attempted to enforce the award by confiscating Malaysian assets, in the form of Petronas assets, in Holland and Luxembourgbut European courts temporarily stayed the action. At the same time, the heirs of the Sultan of Joló filed a new complaint against Spain claiming 15.5 billion euros, alleging that the country had hindered the execution of the award. This demand has just been dismissed by the ICSID (International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes) tribunal dependent on the World Bank, which considered that there was no “protected investment” and ordered the heirs to assume the costs of the procedure. The result is that Spain leaves the dispute without paying a single euro, while the legal battle for territory and compensation against Malaysia remains open and on multiple fronts in Europe and Asia. What began as an agreement … Read more

On this island in Japan there is a traffic light that only turns green once a year, and not precisely to control traffic

by

On the small Japanese island of Himakajima there is a traffic light which remains flashing amber or red all year round. Only during one day in May does it change its usual behavior and activate its green light (or blue, as they insist in Japan). This is not a fault. It was designed this way for a reason that goes beyond traffic control. An educational traffic light. The traffic light was installed in 1994 at the Himakajima East Port intersection, but not to regulate traffic. The island barely has 2,000 inhabitants and few vehicles circulate on its roads. The traffic light exists solely to teach children of the place how the urban signals work before they leave the island for larger cities. One less problem. According to explains the Himaka Road Safety Association, which promoted its installation, minors grew up without real experience with traffic lights. Before, they used small models in traffic safety classes, but the children themselves asked “what does a real traffic light look like?” account Kazuo Sugiura, former president of the association, to the local media Asahi. One day a year to learn. Every May, the traffic light is activated for a full day. Third and fifth grade students from the local school go to the crossing accompanied by teachers, parents and authorities. There they practice how to cross correctly: they wait for the color to change, look both ways and cross the zebra crossing with their arm raised, just as they would in any city in Japan. More difficult than expected. The children also discover that calculating the time they have to cross the pass is not as simple as it seems. “It was complicated because it turned red when I was trying to cross,” explained a third-grade student after practicing with her bicycle. The exercise helps them understand the real times of light change and develop security reflexes that they cannot acquire in their daily life on the island. An unexpected tourist curiosity. This little anecdote has gained notoriety beyond Japan. Every year videos and photos circulate on social networks showing the peculiar educational ritual. Some users even consult the local government website to find out the exact date of “green day” and witness the event, although it varies slightly each season. It is already part of the island’s identity. Once the annual training is completed, the traffic light returns to its flashing lights routine. It does not serve any practical function in traffic control, but it has ended up becoming a small symbol of how the community of this island prepares its children for the urban world. The rest of the year, Himakajima remains a quiet place known for its beaches and octopus dishes, with a traffic light that counts down the days until it can turn green again. Cover image | Google Maps In Xataka | Convenience stores were an emblem of Japan. Until the demographic crisis has revealed the dark side of opening 24 hours

50,000 people paid 120,000 euros to live on a paradisiacal crypto island. Now it is about to disappear under the Pacific

by

A group of cryptocurrency investors imagined living in a cryptostate in which everything was based on blockchain technology and, of course, 100% tax free. The project it was so serious that they even found a private island in the middle of the Pacific and named the place Satoshi Island in honor of the bitcoin creator. In it, crypto investors could move in and acquire their citizenship in exchange for a modest 120,000 euros. Eight years later, the Satoshi Islandnot only has it not become the tropical crypto paradise promised of bitcoin and NFT, but is at risk of disappearing under the waters of the Pacific. The origin of the initiative. As and how I collected FortuneIn 2017 and with the support of more than 50,000 investors, the “Satoshi Island” project was launched with the development of a new crypto nation on the private island in the South Pacific previously known as Lataro Islandin the Vanuatu archipelago, east of Australia and halfway between the Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. The small 32 km2 island was leased to the local government of Vanuatu for 75 years by British real estate entrepreneur Anthony Welch who, according to France 24had been living there for more than a decade. In 2021, the transformation to “Satoshi Island”, named in honor of Satoshi Nakamoto, was presented. with the promise to become a crypto city-state, without taxes and based exclusively on blockchain and NFT. The vision included digital citizenship, “crypto-friendly” modular housing, and an economy untethered from traditional fiat. Real estate promises and realities. The plan was articulated under several axes: issuing citizenship and ownership NFTs, building modular homes on 21,000 available plots, adopting renewable energy, decentralized governance and attracting a global community of crypto investors. It sounds like a complicated formula to attract new neighbors to the island and, in the process, “rent” them part of the 90% of the island that was uninhabited. “We are trying to build a community. We are not looking to develop for profit,” assured Welch to Guardian in a satellite interview with the island, given that the island does not have electricity or internet. Bad omen for an economy based on digital transactions. The wall of territorial sovereignty. According what was published through the specialized portal Decryptin 2022 the Vanuatu government, with then Prime Minister Bob Loughman, supported the initiative after ensuring that they had received thousands of applications, which gave more visibility to the project. Obviously, for all the NFTs of Satoshi Island citizenship, the reality is that investors who wanted to live on the island had to obtain Vanuatu citizenship, which “Golden Visa” mode It was awarded in exchange for a generous donation of 120,000 euros. According to data of the International Monetary Fund, around 40% of its income comes from the “Golden Visa”, so the Satoshi Island project was an excellent attraction to attract new residents and obtain large income. The blow of reality. Shortly after, the first alarm signals began to emerge: absence of infrastructure, significant delays in the implementation of the habitability project and the legal complexity of transforming NFTs into property titles. recognized by the state (the real one, that of Vanuatu). Little by little the project has been deflating until, in July 2025, a publication in the project X profile It marked the end of the cryptotropical dream. Furthermore, the project’s demise is not just figurative, as the Vanuatu archipelago is highly vulnerable to sea level rise, coastal erosion and extreme weather events resulting from climate change, a forecast that already is coming true in its neighboring archipelago of Tuvalu, which has already begun its migration for climatic reasons. In Xataka | A Venezuelan invented a lawless city in the middle of an island. Now the millionaires who followed him don’t know how to escape Image | Vladi

When we thought we had seen all kinds of rehearsals for an invasion, China makes science fiction: robots taking over an island

by

At the end of 2024, several military studies from Beijing were published outlining six different scenarios if future unification with Taiwan goes awry. So we tell that the Second World War I advised against all them because, in essence, there was talk of an invasion of the island. From then until now so much China as Taiwan have carried out all kinds of drills under the war scenario background. What you haven’t seen until now is that China has a plan B: robotic wolves. Mechanized herds. This week and through images and videosChina has shown to the world a new generation of autonomous combat systems in an exercise that simulated an invasion of Taiwan. On the landing beach, the traditional “human waves” of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) were replaced by swarms of machines: suicide drones and well-known robotic quadrupeds like mechanized wolves. These units, developed by the state-owned China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC), represent the first attempt to convert amphibious operations into a scenario dominated byor artificial intelligence. The broadcast images State television CCTV showed these metal “wolves” running across the sand ahead of human troops, detecting obstacles with LiDAR sensors, thermal cameras and autonomous navigation algorithms. Wolf specification. Of 70 kilos of weight and capable of carrying 20 more, these robots were divided into attack, transport and reconnaissance variants, managing to reduce the time between detection and destruction of the target to less than ten seconds. In fact, in one symbolic sequencea single human operator simultaneously directed nine robots and six drones from a 3D interface, while the devices cleared barbed wire and trenches for infantry. @elsa50356 “Breaking from China! The PLA’s latest amphibious landing drills—drones take the lead, and robotic ‘wolf packs’ rush the beach! The future of warfare is here!” 🚀🪖 #PLADrills #ChinaMilitary #Drones #RobotArmy #MilitaryTech ♬ 原创音乐 – Elsa Swarm intelligence. The training, called “Landing Operation in Taiwan” was part of an assault test coastal exercise carried out by the PLA 72nd Division, under the Eastern Theater Command, the unit operating in front of the Taiwan Strait. For the first time, quadruped robots performed as a spearheadfollowed by waves of FPV drones bombing simulated enemy fortifications. In total, the attack cycle was cfour times faster than that of a conventional square. This deployment is part of the EPL’s strategic shift from mass doctrine (the so-called human wave tactics) towards what Beijing calls “smart sea and land tactics,” a doctrine that prioritizes automation, cooperation between unmanned systems and data-driven decision making. The buts. However, the exercise itself revealed vulnerabilities: these wolf robots They lack armor, are easily detectable in open fields and one of them was destroyed by light fire. Chinese analysts they recognized limitations, but they stressed that the goal was not perfection, but rather to demonstrate that the army is willing to progressively replace human soldiers with swarms of coordinated machines. Ukraine in the shadows. The Chinese Army has incorporated direct lessons from the Ukrainian war into its maneuvers, where drones have redefined tactical and logistical effectiveness. According to Chinese military media like Daiwanthe PLA is applying the knowledge extracted from that conflict in its ground training, anticipating a future where hundreds of robots advance at 30 or 40 km/h in coordinated waves. The parallel is clear: if Ukraine demonstrated that a cheap drone can destroy a tankChina wants to prove that a network of smart machines can break coastal defenses in a matter of minutes. The current exercises, which until recently were limited to traditional landings, are already a general rehearsal of algorithmic warfare, where the human decision is reduced to an initial order and autonomous systems execute the rest. Strategic competition. Plus: The accelerated development of these systems occurs while the United States reinforces your deterrence strategy in the Indo-Pacific. According to the CIAan eventual Chinese invasion of Taiwan could occur before 2027, and the Pentagon has designed the so-called hellscape strategy: Saturate the strait with thousands of drones, submarines and unmanned vehicles to slow down Chinese forces and buy time for reinforcements to arrive. Beijing, aware of this, is creating units specialized in war against swarms, equipped with software capable of detecting, tracking and attacking targets without human intervention. Companies like Norincoanother state giant, have presented vehicles like the P60powered by the DeepSeek AI model, which can recognize targets, avoid obstacles and operate in logistics support or combat missions. A future of machines. He China’s advance towards an AI-powered war demonstrates both its technological ambition and its practical limitations. The images of robots breaching simulated beaches are as revealing as their failures in the face of enemy fire. However, beyond immediate effectiveness, Beijing’s message is unequivocal: the future of the war in the strait of Taiwan will be decided by the speed of the algorithms, not the number of soldiers. In that race, China seeks to transform mechanized warfare in smart warreplacing brute force with computational precision. The question is no longer whether robots will be present in the next invasion, but how many will be able to think, coordinate and eliminate before the first human makes landfall. Image | CCTV/China In Xataka | Less than 150 kilometers from Taiwan, the US does not stop accumulating missiles. It’s the closest thing to preparing for war. In Xataka | China has asked Russia for an airborne battalion and training. That can only mean one thing: they are preparing a landing

Years ago Alicante opted for an artificial island with a luxurious restaurant and taxi boat. It hasn’t turned out as I expected

by

The idea was good. AND on paper It was fable. Set up a restaurant an artificial island in the heart of the port of Alicante, a benchmark in the Valencian hospitality industry where people could eat paella or have a drink with views of the Mediterranean (directly on it, rather), surrounded by sailboats. So that clients could reach the island, it was even thought to build a taxi boat. The idea sounded so good, in fact, that the Port of Alicante decided to invest heavily in it, dedicating millions of euros to it. Now instead of an idyllic island to drink mojitos and coffees in the middle of the mouth what it has is a huge mess. An artificial island? That’s how it is. To understand it you have to go back a few years, to beginning of 2022when the Alicante Port Authority awarded Vías y Construcciones (subsidiary of the ACS Group) one of its most ambitious projects, at least as far as the interrelation between the docks and the city is concerned. What the Port entrusted to the company was the construction of a large platform at the mouth of its inner dock, a sort of artificial island of 669 m2 (34.8 x 20m) that would be supported with the help of three large 14 m concrete piles anchored to the seabed. The contest was launched with a budget of 2.7 million (taxes apart) and aroused the interest of several companies. The AC Group firm ended up imposing itself on the rest with a project of 2.1 million. And what did they want it for? The platform was just a means, not an end in itself. Its objective was to support a future restaurant located in a privileged enclave, a place that would offer food and drinks not with views of the sea (many bars in Alicante already have that) but directly over the sea. If the island measured 669 m2, the idea was that the building dedicated to hospitality uses would occupy 393 m2 on the ground floor and rise two levels (ground and first floor). The remaining 260 m2 would be dedicated to public access, with a three-meter wide promenade. So that people could reach that privileged enclave, it was also planned a taxi boat. The idea was once again ambitious: a purpose-built, sustainable boat managed directly by the restaurant. Did it stay in theory? No. The Port of Alicante took important steps to make the project a reality. The main one was the awarding of the works for the island platform, which ended up being erected, as can be verified today on the docks. The problem is that what should have been a simple work in theory ended up becoming complicated in a bad way, as recently recognized the Port itself. In 2023 one of the support pillars partially sank, requiring reinforcement work to be carried out on the seabed. From there the project entered a loop that now threatens to condemn it. In fact, the Port insists that it “has never received” the work, which is why it has not considered it good. “Once the work was completed, the contractor company refused to carry out a load test that would allow its stability to be evaluated, as provided for in the contract, and as an essential procedure for the port to sign the acceptance of the work,” remember from the organism. What’s more, he claims to have a report of CEDEX (an entity linked to the Ministry of Transportation) that “strongly advises against” carrying out the tests due to “the high risk of collapse of the structure.” And now what? After years of the open platform crisis and after the latest CEDEX report, the Port has decided to make a radical decision. Its last Board of Directors has given the green light to activate the procedures to “resolve” the construction contract for the island. That is, the organism wants break the agreementsomething that has been communicated to those responsible for Roads and Construction. Now the company has ten days to present allegations. Once that period has passed, “and after years of technical and negative incidents”, the proposal will return to the Board of Directors, something that will probably happen before 2026. “In recent years the Port has commissioned audits and expert reports that confirm the irreversible deterioration of the structure and the impossibility of meeting safety standards to locate the restaurant proposed in the original project,” the organization argueswhich in its 2024 accounts already contemplated “impairment losses” of 2.7 million euros, which it has invested in the platform. Is there anything else? Yes. The Port does not only propose to terminate the contract. He also wants the original seabed to be “restored” to “recover the navigable conditions” that existed before the platform works. If the contract finally ends up being broken, it is not unreasonable to think that the conflict will reach court, but the Port Authority assures that it has already touched all possible sticks, so it sees “all avenues to remedy the situation exhausted.” Are there more affected? The Port of Alicante not only awarded the works on the platform. In April 2022 it launched another contest which completed the project with its second fundamental piece: the building that was to rise above the artificial island to act as a restaurant. The one selected for its construction and management was a business alliance between Alicante Gastronómica SL and Restaura Gestión Forty SL, which from that moment became co-protagonists of the project. In fact, they would not only be in charge of the building, an elliptical, glass-enclosed block with a large interior garden patio, a restaurant with views of Alicante and a terrace for cocktails. Another of its functions would be to assume the “maintenance and governance” of the taxi boat that would connect the island, a ship whose investment, precise Alicante Plazatook over the Port and was commissioned for 460,000 euros (taxes included). In January the organization started to try it. Now … Read more

On the island of Djerba there was a ten-meter tower made of skulls for 300 years. Those of 5,000 Spaniards

by

There are dozens of monuments in the world that should never have been erected. One of them stood for centuries on the Mediterranean island of Djerbain Tunisia. Yes, the region where The fictional city of Tatooine was recreated for the Star Wars saga, where George Lucas glimpsed a young Luke Skywalker discovering the path of the force. This mysterious place, beyond being an iconic place for fans of the saga, housed one of the most macabre constructions in history: Burj Al-Rus, a tower made with the skulls of 5,000 Spaniards. This is your story. In the 16th century, also called the “Century of Discoveries”, Spain rose as a world superpower and He assembled an empire so large that it dominated territories throughout the globe: Africa, numerous colonies in Asia, half of Italy, the Netherlands, Burgundy and much of America, from the current United States to Argentina. As his hand extended over so many regions, controlling and managing them became a problem. In fact, the management of the Mediterranean alone became a great headache for the Christian countries, especially for Spain, since the Ottomans and Berbers They carried out raids and they captured slaves wherever they could. It was also at this time that a fearsome figure emerged: Turgut Reis, also known as Draguta privateer, pirate and Ottoman admiral who has filled pages of historical literature ever since for his cruelty. Not only their fleets They attacked the ships of the empire dailyhindering trade routes, but managed to plunder even coastal areas and enslave their people. During this time, Jean de La Valette, general of Malta, was obsessed with defeating the Turks and reconquering the city of Tripoli, which was now under their power. So in 1559 he convinced Philip II to command a fleet of 28 ships and 50 galleys with 30,000 Christian soldiers. These forces would be led by Juan de la Cerda y Silva, fourth Duke of Medinaceli and Viceroy of Sicily. Hundreds of men left Syracuse, in present-day Sicily, for Tripoli. But when they arrived they saw something they did not expect. The enemy defenses were superior than thought. They turned around due to De la Cerda’s decisionwho pointed out that that battle was impossible win it without the relevant artillery equipment or, at least, cannons. Several troops were sent to Malta to warn of the situation and the rest of the fleet stopped on the island of Djerba (also called Los Gelves) to wait for reinforcements. The Djerba massacre and the construction of the tower There they fortified themselves as best they could and tried to build some defensive sites against a possible arrival of the Ottomans. And boy did they arrive. In less than two months, almost 90 galleys under the command of Piali Baja and its commander, Turgut Reis (Dragut). He chaos and fear It seized the troops, who were waiting for their commander’s decision. Between the choice of fighting or retreating, he chose the second when the Muslims had already landed and started a massacre. Pialí Bajá fought the Spanish, or what was left of them, for three months. While his generals managed to escape, 5,000 men led by Álvaro de Sande were isolated. Half of them were soldiers and the other half were simple sailors.. Without any help, they surrendered to the Ottomans, but Dragut showed no mercy. He didn’t even take them as prisoners. Directly ordered cut off the heads of the 5,000 survivorsclean their skulls and bones and, together with mud, build a tower on the beach built with Spanish skulls and adobe. This terrifying monument that could be seen from the sea dozens of kilometers away, would serve as a warning against future attempts at conquest. This tower was called Buj Al-Rus, which means “Tower of Skulls.” It was more than 10 meters high and stood for almost 300 years, until 1848, when the king of Tunisia ordered its demolition and buried the remains. Later, a monolith would be erected in its place in memory of the thousands of Spaniards who perished atrociously on that island. Turgut Reis, for his part, ended his days in the Ottoman siege of Malta, on June 23, 1565, at the age of 51, after being wounded during the siege of Fort San Telmowhen a cannon shot mortally wounded him in the neck. Image: Wikimedia Commons. Burj-er-Roos, engraving by Sir Grenville T. Temple, Bart. (1841). In Xataka | A group of archaeologists has discovered a new unknown language thousands of years old. The problem is that they don’t know how to decipher it.

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

Enter your account data and we will send you a link to reset your password.

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

Here you'll find all collections you've created before.