key

97% of a key mineral for Europe comes from China. Spain has a plan of 197 million to turn it around

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Constant technological development has unleashed a silent but relentless geopolitical war. At the center of the target are rare earths and critical minerals, essential for manufacturing everything from mobile phones to electric cars or wind turbines. Nowadays, how to explain Europa PressEurope is in a situation of extreme vulnerability: 97% of the magnesium we consume comes from China and 98% of the borate we import from Türkiye. However, the solution to this deep dependence could be buried under Spanish soil. A new plan. As detailed in the National Mining Exploration Program 2026-2030 (PNEM), the official document promoted by the Government of Spain20 of the 34 raw materials that the European Union classifies as fundamental have been detected in the Iberian Peninsula. Of them, 17 are considered strategic due to their high technological and defense impact. To map and take advantage of this “treasure”, the Executive has launched an ambitious plan. The financing table of the PNEM itself projects a total investment of 197 million euros for the five-year period 2026-2030, adding public financing, aid and private investment that is expected to be mobilized. A breath for Europe and an opportunity for Spain. The European roadmap, crystallized in the Fundamental Raw Materials Regulation (Critical Raw Materials Act or CRMA), is very clear: guarantee access to a safe and diversified supply. By 2030, the European Union has set a goal of extracting at least 10%, processing 40% and recycling 25% of its domestic demand for these materials. In this context, Spain is not a secondary actor, but is the only producer of strontium in Europe, hosting 15% of the world’s reserves in the Montevives and Escúzar basin in Granada, and holds the position of second largest copper producer on the continent. according to data provided by Europa Press. The main focus of exploration is located in the Variscan or Iberian Massif, an extensive geological strip that crosses the west of the peninsula from Galicia to Andalusia, passing through Cantabria, Asturias, Castilla y León and Extremadura. The official document highlights, within this great massif, the so-called Central Ibérica, Ossa-Morena and South Portuguesa Zones as priority areas for general exploration. The private sector takes positions. On a practical level, intentions are already being translated into business movements on the ground. In Extremadura the Junta has granted a license to explore an area of ​​49,500 hectares in the Cáceres regions of Los Ibores and Campo de Arañuelo. In Andalusia, specifically in Jaén, the Australian company Osmond Resources will promote the Orion projectcovering 228 square kilometers in the former mining region of Linares-La Carolina to search for unusually high concentrations of rutile, zircon and rare earths such as neodymium. For its part, the European Commission has already blessed seven strategic projects in Spanish territory to protect the supply, located in enclaves of Ciudad Real, Orense, Cáceres, Badajoz, Huelva and Seville. Cutting-edge technology versus “pick and shovel”. The National Mining Exploration Program does not contemplate blindly digging holes. The Ministry’s text outlines six great performances interconnected to locate these raw materials. The process will begin with an exhaustive review of historical data and geoscientific reports, followed by the preparation of highly detailed geological-mining cartography. From there, technology will take over. Geochemical soil prospecting campaigns and complex isotopic analyzes will be carried out to find anomalies in the terrain. In addition, cutting-edge geophysical techniques will be deployed, using everything from airborne gravimetry and magnetometry equipment (planes and drones), to remote sensing using high-resolution hyperspectral and satellite images provided by the European Space Agency. All of this will be complemented by carrying out physical surveys to confirm the mining interest of the anomalies. Finally, as the official plan highlights, all this huge amount of data will be processed using algorithms, artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate predictive models of mineralization. The inevitable clash: Mining vs. Biodiversity. However, technology collides head-on with strict environmental reality. The clearest example is in Campo de Montiel (Ciudad Real). There, the company Quantum Minería has been trying to exploit a promising monazite deposit to extract rare earths. But the project has encountered strong neighborhood opposition due to the very high water consumption it requires and an unexpected defender: the iberian lynx. The recovery of this feline’s territories in the area has become a major legal obstacle for the mining company, paralyzing permits due to fear of destroying its habitat. Although before the environmental alarms go off, it is important to make a fundamental point: this National Program serves to know what we have, it is not an authorization to dig it up. The Ministry’s own document clarifies that the plan does not establish “binding or indicative objectives” for exploitation. That is, it is a purely prospective roadmap and data collection that does not compromise or zone the territory to open real mines. The mine is in the “garbage”. Faced with this paralysis and the immense difficulty of opening new mines in natural areas, Spain has an ace up its sleeve: secondary mining and the circular economy. The National Program reserves one of its main transversal lines to respond to article 27 of the European regulations (CRMA), thoroughly investigating the economic potential of mining waste facilities that were closed or abandoned in the past. The Ministry document remember thatalready in the 80s, an inventory was prepared that cataloged 21,673 waste structures (rafts and waste dumps) spread throughout the national territory. Now, the State’s objective is to review this catalog and promote geochemical characterization work to recover those fundamental raw materials that, at the time, were not of interest or could not be extracted and were discarded. As pointed out Europa Press, Research teams from the University of Seville led by professors Joaquín Delgado and Antonio Romero are already working in Río Tinto (Huelva) designing experimental plants to recover valuable metals and rare earths from the acidic waters of abandoned mines. Even beyond the mine. A clear example of this circular bet is the RC-Metals projectled by the National Center for Metallurgical Research (CENIM-CSIC). … Read more

Neither drones nor missiles nor AI, the war in Ukraine has turned a vehicle from 1950 into a key piece: the M113

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Some of the most produced military vehicles in history exceed 80,000 units manufactured and remain in service in dozens of countries decades after their design. In many cases, their longevity is not due to their power, but to something much simpler: that they simply work, are easy to repair, and never completely disappear. An unexpected veteran. While the algorithms and drones freelancers starred on all the covers of war innovationsin recent times the war in Ukraine has turned in key piece to a vehicle from the 1950s as it was the M113and that says much more about the conflict than any next-generation system. On a battlefield dominated by advanced technology, this armored transport has resurfaced not because it is the most powerful, but because it fits better than anyone else in a war of attrition where the important thing is not sophistication, but the ability to resist, move and continue operating day after day. Simple wins. The M113 was designed for another timebut its qualities (mobility, mechanical simplicity and ease of production) make it have converted surprisingly effective in Ukraine. The reason: in an environment saturated with drones and artillery, where any vehicle can be destroyed in seconds, the key is not so much to survive everything as to be able to be repaired quickly and return to the front. Its ability to operate off-road, transport troops or even drones and adapt with improvised protections makes it a versatile tool in a conflict where conditions are constantly changing. Drones and the rules. The truth is that the proliferation of drones has reduced the usefulness of many traditional systems, including heavy tanks, forcing both sides to rethink how they move and fight. In this context, the M113 does not stand out for its weapons, but for its logistical function: carry soldiers, equipment or drones to forward positions. War, from that perspective, is no longer decided so much by direct fire, but by who manages to best position their resources in an environment monitored from the air, and there this vehicle fits perfectly. Russian “Giga Turtle” captured by Ukrainians Meanwhile, Russia adapts in its own way. On the other side of the front, in recent weeks Russia has attempted to respond with radically different solutions, such as the return of called “giga turtle”in essence, over-armored versions of tanks designed to resist drone attacks. Huge and slow, these machines prioritize protection over mobility, making them easier targets despite their toughness. His reappearance reflects the same conclusion that has been imposed on the battlefield: vehicles are still necessary, but they must adapt to a constant threat from the air. War of attrition and quantity. Ultimately, the success of the M113 It also has to do with something much more basic: that there is a glarge amount of stock available for these models. Thousands of units produced over decades allow Ukraine to quickly replace losses in a war where attrition is brutal. In other words, compared to more expensive and scarce modern systems, this vehicle offers something essential for the fight: continuity. In an extremely slow conflict that is already measured in years, it is not whoever has the most advanced weapon who wins, but whoever can continue fighting the longest. The real change is conceptual. If you like, all this points to a deeper conclusion: the war in Ukraine is not necessarily rewarding the newest, but rather the most useful in an extreme context. AND the M113 symbolizes this change like few others, where cutting-edge technology coexists with solutions from another era that they still work because they respond better to the real needs of combat. In a scenario dominated by drones, sensors and constant fire, the key is not so much to reinvent warfare, but to adapt to it, even if that means returning to vehicles designed more than half a century ago. Image | Armed Forces In Xataka | While everyone was looking at Iran, a drone has made a hole so big that it seems impossible to cover it: the one in the roof of Chernobyl In Xataka | Russia is building its largest warship in the Black Sea. You know it, we know it and the Ukrainian drones know it

The model challenges benchmarks in a key area

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When we think of Xiaomi, it is normal that its mobile phones come to mind or, at most, its foray into electric cars with models like the SU7. However, what we have seen now points to a much more ambitious move: the company also wants to compete in the artificial intelligence race. It has done so with the launch of MiMo-V2-Proa model that, according to the data shared by the company itself, seeks to position itself close to the most advanced systems on the market, but with a very different focus on costs. And that changes the conversation quite a bit. What Xiaomi proposes. The company presents its model as the “brain” of systems capable of executing complete tasks, not just responding to specific requests, which in the sector is known as agent-oriented models. According to official information, we are looking at an architecture that exceeds one trillion total parameters, although it only activates 42 billion in each execution, and that can work with contexts of up to one million tokens. On paper, this allows you to maintain long, complex processes without fragmenting them, something designed for large tasks and more demanding workflows. Performance against the greats. If we look at the data, Xiaomi does not present its model as the best on the market, but as one that can compete in certain scenarios. In the GDPval-AA benchmark, oriented to real agent-type tasks, it reaches an Elo of 1426, surpassing Chinese models such as GLM-5 (1412) and Kimi K2.5 (1309), although it falls short of proposals such as Claude Sonnet 4.6, which marks 1633. The external reading is provided by Artificial Analysis, which assigns it a score of 49 on its intelligence index, which places it in the group of most competitive models on the market. The key is in that closeness in some benchmarks, not in general leadership. The key to the price. This is where Xiaomi’s proposal changes the board. According to data collected by Artificial Analysis, running your IQ with this model costs approximately $348, compared to $2,304 for GPT-5.2 or the 2,486 of Claude Opus 4.6. It is not exactly the same comparison as the price per API use, but on both levels Xiaomi appears clearly below several Western rivals. In its own API, the company sets prices of $1 per million tokens for entry and $3 for exit in the range up to 256K, a lower rate than models such as Claude Sonnet 4.6 and Claude Opus 4.6 at the same level of use. Beyond chat. What Xiaomi is proposing with this model is not only to improve the quality of the responses, but to change the type of work it can do. The company insists on moving from conversation to action, with a system capable of using tools, interacting with environments and completing chained tasks. In this context, it presents it as a model optimized for agentic scenarios and links it to frameworks such as OpenClawin addition to mentioning collaborations with OpenCode, KiloCode, Blackbox and Cline. On paper, this reinforces the idea of ​​an AI designed to execute workflows and not just answer questions. behind the scenes. Xiaomi enters the race with a model that, according to available data, is close to the major benchmarks in some scenarios, although without generally surpassing them. Where there does seem to be a clear bet is on the price, and that is where it tries to differentiate itself. The question is whether this balance between cost and performance is maintained outside of benchmarks and in real environments. We will have to wait to know if what the data shows is also projected in the real world. Images | Xiaomi In Xataka | China has immediately understood the future of the technology industry: “one-person companies” powered by AI

a Spanish company is the key piece

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Europe has embarked on the adventure of technological sovereignty. It is pointing to several fields at the same time, being the space sovereignty one of them. Pursuing this objective, the European Defense Agency -EDA- has just awarded a research contract to an aerospace consortium with the aim of creating a military satellite Optimized for very low Earth orbit. And the Spanish Sener will be the one to lead that space A-Team. In short. The EDA contract is for 15.65 million euros and the objective is as mentioned: to create the first European military satellite concept especially used for VLEO space. Spain, France, Luxembourg, Portugal and Slovenia are the countries that are financing the project baptized as VLEO-DEF, and the Spanish Sener will have the task of leading 16 other companies belonging to those five countries. This is not the first time we have talked about Sener Aeroespacial. It is the subsidiary of the SENER group and is one of the Spanish companies who participates in the ambitious rearmament plan of the European Union. It has more than 4,000 employees and its experience covers space, guidance, control and unmanned systems. Very low Earth orbit. Before seeing what the satellite will do, let’s see what very low Earth orbit is. Call too VLEOis the orbital strip that is between 150 and 400 km altitude. It is the lower end of low orbit and, although it may not seem like it, it is actually very close to the Earth’s surface. This brings key benefits such as the ability to capture images with much greater detail, a better signal-to-noise ratio in optical and radio frequency sensors and, above all, very low latency. After all, it is closer than other satellites and the signal must travel a shorter distance. However, it is not a comfortable strip. The atmosphere at that height generates very intense friction and there is an aggressive chemical environment. This implies that the satellites are not “floating”, but rather require almost continuous propulsion. And, in addition, the materials must be very resistant to resist corrosion and, basically, not disintegrate after a short time. VLEO‑DEF. And the idea, precisely, is that. The consortium must find a way to develop a military satellite specifically designed to operate at around 250-350 kilometers altitude in a sustainable manner. The duration of the project will be 36 months and the 17 companies will have to find the key to the technologies that allow the future construction of satellites to operate in VLEO. Because, although this field is very interesting for scientific and observation research, in the military spectrum, flying at that distance from the Earth seems very interesting to achieve what we have mentioned: a much clearer and more detailed observation of the territory. And it is important because we constantly see that they “keep an eye” on what neighboring countries are doing, which has allowed us to know some Chinese operations or the North Korean military ship disaster. Sovereignty. If the program comes to fruition, such an observation satellite can provide key data in intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions by being capable of offering much faster communication between the satellite and military commands. With VLEO-DEF, the ultimate goal is to pave the way for future VLEO satellite constellations for border security, protection and intelligence, all within the aforementioned sovereignty. The Ukrainian War and the gas cut by Russia, the case of Greenland with the United States and blackmail of the American president have awakened in the EU that idea that they should start to fend for themselves in fields where they previously delegated to the allies. That is why rearmament began, but also the search for energy alternatives, rare earth, defense programs with European AI and cconstruction of data centers and semiconductor factories. And in all these programs, Spain is emerging as a key partner with space programs, chip development, renewable matrix and with projects for data centers. In Xataka | “Elon Musk can monopolize everything,” warns Arianespace, which has been launching all of Europe’s satellites for 40 years

the Webb telescope has just clarified a key doubt

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There are asteroids that go almost unnoticed and others that force us to look at them much more carefully. 2024 YR4 belongs to that second group. When it was discovered at the end of 2024, the first calculations of its trajectory still had enough margin of error to contemplate a very small possibility of impact with Earth. That scenario was soon ruled out, but, as ESA explainsthe case remained under follow-up for a different reason: a doubt was left open about the Moon which was not resolved until new observations arrived. Impact risk. With data available since spring 2025, trajectory models indicated that the asteroid had about a 4% chance of hitting the Moon on December 22, 2032, an estimate that NASA placed at 4.3% in its previous calculations. It was not a high percentage, but it was significant enough for the teams dedicated to monitoring near-Earth objects to follow it with special attention. Furthermore, we are talking about an object of about 60 meters. How Webb came into play. To clear up that doubt, something more than the usual telescopes was needed. An international team of astronomers identified two very specific windows in February 2026 in which the James Webb Space Telescope could try to detect the asteroid, which at that time was just an extremely faint point millions of kilometers away. It involved using one of the most complex scientific instruments built to date to locate an almost invisible object and measure its position with the necessary precision to project its orbit almost seven years into the future. Key piece. The observations were made on February 18 and 26, 2026 with the camera NIRCam of the James Webb telescope. From these images, astronomers compared the position of the asteroid with that of the background stars, whose coordinates are known with great precision thanks to ESA’s Gaia mission. ESA adds a relevant detail to understand why this went ahead: the planning and analysis was coordinated with ESA’s Near-Earth Object Coordination Center, NASA’s Center for Near-Earth Object Studies and the Webb mission team. With this new data package, the orbital models were adjusted enough to close the mystery. James Webb analyzed the position of the asteroid in relation to the background stars The flyby distance. With the new calculations, monitoring teams can now estimate quite accurately what the asteroid’s passage through the lunar environment will be like. According to NASA, it will pass on December 22, 2032 about 21,000 kilometers from the surface of the Moon. That range is enough to eliminate the impact scenario that had been on the table for months. In other words, the object will continue on its way through the solar system without hitting either the Moon or Earth. Surveillance doesn’t stop. Programs such as ESA’s Space Security or NASA’s tracking systems continue to detect and analyze near-Earth objects to anticipate any possible future threats. The logic is simple: the sooner a potentially dangerous object is identified, the more room there will be to study its trajectory and assess the real risk. In this case, the result has been reassuring, but it also illustrates, as ESA insists, what planetary defense means in practice when a doubt is resolved with more data and better measurements. Images | THAT In Xataka | We have been burning space junk for years to get rid of the problem. It turned out to be a bad idea

Navantia has just received a key piece to achieve it

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If one looks at the evolution of conventional submarines, there is one constant that repeats itself: the race to stay underwater as long as possible. It is not just about speed or weapons, but about autonomy in immersion, a factor that directly determines the discretion of the platform and its patrol capacity. When a submarine has to interrupt that cycle to ventilate, manage gases or refuel, its operating margin is reduced. For this reason, much of the engineering behind the new submarines focuses precisely on solving that problem. And that is where the technology that Spain is integrating comes into play. in the S-80 program. The jump of the S-80 submarine. Amper, through its engineering subsidiary Proes-OSL Iberia, delivered to Navantia the carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen (H₂) catalytic reactors for the submarines S-83 “Cosme García” and S-84 “Mateo García de los Reyes”. These devices are part of the atmosphere revitalization system, integrated into the AIP compartment. According to the company itself, the project started in 2022 and the equipment has already received official certification from Navantia after completing the corresponding technical verifications. A key piece. The delivery announced by Amper has to do with a very specific element of the submarine’s technical ecosystem, the system responsible for maintaining the interior atmosphere within safe parameters during operation. Revitalization of the atmosphere in the submarine. The reactors developed by the company allow the controlled elimination of carbon monoxide and hydrogen in the compartment where the AIP system is integrated. The technology uses a catalytic combustion process that purifies these gases and helps maintain breathable air on board. In detail. The S-80 incorporates an AIP system developed by Navantia called BEST (Bio-Ethanol Stealth Technology). This system produces hydrogen on board using a reformer that uses bioethanol stored on the submarine. This hydrogen is then combined with oxygen in a fuel cell that generates electricity to power the ship’s systems during the dive, an architecture designed to extend operational autonomy without depending exclusively on batteries. What it means to stay underwater for weeks. Navantia explains that the BEST AIP system is designed to allow conventional submarines to remain submerged for prolonged periods in different environmental conditions. In that scenario, the unit reduces the need to interrupt its immersion cycle to manage power or interior atmosphere. Navantia links this greater autonomy with an expanded patrol area and with a “zero Indiscretion Coefficient”, a term it uses to describe a decrease in the probability of being detected during the mission. modern submarine. The design of the S-80 responds to the idea of ​​a modern ocean submarine capable of operating on long missions. Navantia describes the platform as a highly automated system that can be operated by a crew of 32 sailors, with eight additional spaces for on-board personnel. The ship is approximately 80 meters long, about 7 meters in diameter and has a submerged displacement of close to 3,000 tons. In addition, it can exceed 19 knots underwater speed and reach depths greater than 300 meters during operation. Apparently it is just one more component in the long list of equipment that makes up a submarine. However, systems like these are part of a much broader logic within the S-80 design. Each of them contributes to sustaining the operation of the submarine for longer periods without the need to modify its diving profile. As subsequent units in the series integrate these developments from their initial configuration, the S-80 program will show the extent to which these technologies can translate into greater operational autonomy underwater. Images | NAVANTIA In Xataka | The war in Iran is about to begin a suicidal combat: there are missiles, drones and kamikaze ships in the most fearsome point on the planet

US agents denounce that it is failing in a key point

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Social networks have been using automated systems for years to try to detect some of the most serious crimes that circulate on the internet. Among them is child sexual exploitation, a phenomenon that forces platforms, regulators and security forces to monitor enormous volumes of content every day. The promise of these tools is clear: identify potential cases sooner and make the work of agents easier. However, some specialized teams in the United States maintain that the volume of notices they receive from Meta platforms has skyrocketed and that a significant portion of them do not provide useful information for action. Clash between scale and utility. In a lawsuit underway in New Mexico, prosecutors maintain that Meta did not adequately disclose what it knew about the risks minors face on its platforms and that it violated state consumer protection laws. According to the Associated Pressthe indictment also argues that the company presented the safety of its services in a way that did not correspond to the risks faced by children and adolescents. The case is part of a broader wave of lawsuits filed in the United States against large technology companies for the effects their services may have on minors. Meta rejects that interpretation. In his speech before the jury, the company’s lawyer Kevin Huff defended that the company has reported the risks associated with the use of its services and that it has introduced different tools to detect and eliminate harmful content. According to the Associated Press, Huff insisted that the central point of the case is not to prove that problematic content exists on social networks, but rather to determine whether the company hid relevant information from users. Researchers on the front line. Those who have provided figures and concrete examples of this problem are agents who work directly in investigations of child exploitation on the Internet. In the United States, those tasks fall largely to the network of units known as Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC), a program that brings together police forces at different levels and is coordinated with the Department of Justice to investigate and prosecute crimes committed against minors in digital environments. Its agents receive notices about possible cases from different sources, including the technology platforms themselves. During the trial, some of these agents have described how they are experiencing the increase in ads from Meta platforms. Benjamin Zwiebel, ICAC special agent in New Mexico, explained in court that many of the notices they receive are of little use in advancing an investigation. “We get a lot of advice from Meta that is just garbage,” he declared, according to The Guardian. His words reflect a broader concern within these units: the volume of alerts has skyrocketed, but not all of them contain the information necessary to identify a suspect or initiate police action. Poor quality. In some cases, reports sent from the platforms include data that does not describe criminal conduct. In others, they do point to a possible crime, but they arrive without essential elements to continue the investigation, such as images, videos or fragments of conversations that allow those responsible to be identified. Without this material, agents have few tools to advance the case or request new proceedings. Some agents have also noted that a portion of these notices arrive with incomplete or partially removed information. The mass reporting machinery. Behind this increase in notices there are several factors that help to understand why the volume of reports sent to the authorities has skyrocketed. In the United States, technology companies are required by law to report any child sexual abuse material they detect on their services to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), an organization that acts as a national center for receiving these notices and subsequently distributes them to the corresponding police forces. Agents cited by The Guardian also point to recent legal changes, such as the Report Act, which came into force in November 2024, as a possible factor that would have increased the number of notices sent to avoid non-compliance. Meta says he’s doing the opposite.. The company rejects the idea that its systems are making the work of the authorities more difficult and maintains that, on the contrary, it has been collaborating for years with security forces to detect and prosecute this type of crime. A Meta spokesperson stated that the United States Department of Justice has recognized on several occasions the speed with which the company responds to requests from authorities and that NCMEC has positively evaluated its notice notification system. According to the company, in 2024 it received more than 9,000 emergency requests from US authorities and resolved them in an average time of 67 minutes, a process that, it claims, is accelerated even more when it comes to cases related to child safety or the risk of suicide. Meta also notes that it reports to NCMEC any material that may be linked to child sexual exploitation and that it works with that organization to help prioritize the notices, including by labeling those it considers most urgent. a real problem. Regardless of what the jury in New Mexico determines, the case reflects a tension that goes beyond a single company or a single state. Digital platforms operate on a global scale and use automated systems to detect illicit content in volumes that would be impossible to review manually. However, the experience described by some agents shows that increasing the number of tips does not always translate into more effective investigations. Images | Dima Solomin | ROBIN WORRALL In Xataka | Dario Amodei founded Anthropic because OpenAI didn’t take the risks of AI seriously. Now you are going to give in to those risks

The US has had a grain for “Iran”. The United Kingdom does not allow its bombers to enter a secret island that is key to the attack

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Since the Cold War, many of the great powers have understood that modern wars do not begin when the first plane takes off, but when secures access to the bases from which it will take off. Sometimes the deciding factor is not so much firepower, but the key that opens or closes a key clue at the exact location on the map. That is happening right now on a lost atoll. A problem with name and surname. The United States has had a major problem for “the Iran thing” and it is not in Tehran, but in the Indian Ocean. United Kingdom refuses to authorize the use of Diego García Island and the RAF Fairford base for a possible air campaign against the Islamic Republic, alleging that it could violate international law if it is a preventive attack. Without that permission, Washington loses two key platforms to project its long-range air power, just when the president has given an ultimatum to Iran and has hinted that in a matter of days he could decide between an agreement or a military operation. The secret island that sustains long wars. It we count some time ago. Located halfway between the east coast of Africa and the west coast of Indonesia, The island was part of the Chagos Archipelago. During the 18th century, it was colonized by the French as an agricultural settlement. So they took the Chagossians, descendants of slaves from Africa and India, to the islands to work on growing coconut trees for the production of copra (dried coconut meat). Over time, the locals developed their own culture and dialect, known as Chagossian Creole. By 1814, after Napoleon’s defeat, The island came under British control as part of the Treaty of Parisintegrating into the colony of Mauritius. Throughout the 19th century, life on the island continued with a small population dedicated to agriculture and fishing, but things were about to change with the beginning of the new century. The agreement. During the Cold War, The United States and the United Kingdom sealed an agreement. Both nations saw the island as a strategic location for a secret military base in the Indian Ocean. In 1965, the British separated the Chagos Islands from Mauritius, thus forming the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT), which also includes the other 57 islands of the Chagos Archipelago. By 1966, he signed a secret agreement with the United States, allowing the construction of the “secret” military base. Key node. Since then, Diego García is anything but any base, because he is one of the more strategic enclaves of the Pentagon in the Indian Ocean. Its central runway, its port capable of hosting nuclear submarines and its logistics infrastructure allow strategic bombers to be deployed, maintained and rearmed in sustained cycles. Without going too far, last year it already served as a pressure platform when several B-2s arrived in a clear message to Iran, and precisely that type of deployment is what is now conspicuous by its absence. That there are no visible bomber movements towards the island reinforces the idea that the british veto is conditioning military planning. Without bases there are no prolonged campaigns. The geographical difference is abysmal and explains the tension. From Diego García to Iran there are around 2,300 kilometers, from the United States more than 6,000. That distance sets the pace of departuresthe wear and tear of the crews and the intensity of the offensive. For a one-night operation you can fly round trip from Missouri, as was the case in previous attacks, but for a campaign a week or more against nuclear installations, military commands and missile launchers, advanced bases are needed that allow constant sorties to be generated. In other words, without access to the island and Fairford, the role of the B-2, B-1 or B-52 is greatly reduced and the plan loses volume. A clash between allies. The disagreement is not only technical, it is deeply political. London maintains that supporting an attack could implicate it legally if it knows the circumstances of an action considered unlawful, and the prime minister has marked distances with the White House. Washington, for its part, has responded hardening the tone and linking the refusal to the dispute over the future of Diego García within the Chagos Archipelago, whose status and possible transfer to Mauritius have opened a diplomatic rift. Thus, what began as a legal debate has led to a strategic struggle between historical allies. The war that is amplified without the key piece. Meanwhile, the United States continues to accumulate fighters, electronic warfare aircraft and resuppliers in the region, preparing the board as if the military option was still alive and imminent. It turns out that the heart of a prolonged air campaign is not the F-22s in transit, but those strategic bombers operating from a secure and nearby base. Yes UK maintains the vetoWashington will have more distant and less efficient alternatives, which would force the scope and intensity of the blow to be redesigned. In short, in full escalation with Iranthe piece that could do it all more simple For Washington it is precisely the one that blocks the movement today. Image | Department of DefenseRoyal Air Force, US Air Force In Xataka | One of the most remote islands was taken 60 years ago by the United Kingdom and the United States. Since then, what happens there has been a secret. In Xataka | If the most advanced US nuclear aircraft carrier maintains its speed, it will reach its destination on Sunday. Not good news for a nation

Microsoft has just taken a key step in its technology to preserve data for millennia

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Saving data “forever” is one of those ideas that sounds simple until you look closely at the media we use every day. A file can be perfect today and become unreadable in a few years, or decades, due to degradation of the material or, directly, because the support ends up failing over time. Therefore, when we talk about preserving information for centuries, CDs, DVDs, hard drives or tapes are not a definitive answer. And it is precisely in that gap, that of a support capable of resisting without permanent care, where projects like Microsoft’s try to open a different path. Project Silica. This is where this Microsoft Research project comes into play, aimed at rethinking what it means to archive information in the very long term. Instead of relying on conventional magnetic or optical technologies, the system uses ultrafast lasers to modify internal properties of the glass and store data in the form of three-dimensional voxels, which can then be read using optical techniques assisted by machine learning, as detailed by Microsoft in a study recently published in the journal Nature. It does not seek to compete with SSDs or hard drives in speed, but rather to offer a material base specifically designed for long-lasting conservation. looking back. The Redmond giant has been working on this line for years, and one of its best-known demonstrations came in 2019, when he managed to save the movie ‘Superman’ complete on a glass shard about the size of a coaster. That test confirmed that three-dimensional storage within the material was not just theoretical and that, in addition, the support could withstand heat and water, and even demagnetization tests. What changes now is not the fundamental idea, but the degree of technological development that could bring it closer to real preservation uses. From the laboratory to common glass. The central novelty of the 2026 announcement is not only in the estimated longevity, but in the material used to achieve it. Previous research relied on high-purity fused silica, which was limited in cost and production, while the new study demonstrates the possibility of encoding information in borosilicate glass, a widely available and much cheaper material. According to Microsoft, this advancement directly addresses marketing hurdles related to the storage medium. Now, this does not mean that the technology is ready to be deployed, but it does reduce the distance between scientific experiment and real application. Simpler and faster writing. The work released this week introduces relevant changes in the way data is written and read. The team has introduced so-called phase voxels, which can be formed with a single pulse, and has refined the writing of the birefringent voxels to reduce pulses and speed up the process, including a “pseudo-single-pulse writing” approach. Added to this are parallel writing techniques to record multiple data points simultaneously and a simplified reader that now requires a single camera, with machine learning support for classification and interference mitigation. Detail of writing equipment during data coding with high speed multibeam laser pulses The figures. Technically, the system can reach densities of up to 1.59 gigabits per cubic millimeter, which translates to about 4.84 terabytes in around 300 layers inside a glass chip that is 12 square centimeters square and 2 millimeters thick. That capacity is roughly equivalent to millions of printed books or thousands of 4K movies. Of course, this is a capacity that does not go unnoticed. As we can see, rather than competing in speed, the interest is in how much can be preserved in a small space for extremely long periods. 10,000 years. The estimates come from accelerated aging tests in which etched glass plates are subjected to high temperatures to simulate the passage of time, a common methodology in materials science. The results of tests carried out by the research team suggest that information could remain readable for periods of more than 10,000 years under normal storage conditions, a longevity tremendously greater than that of current electronic media. Even so, these are projections based on experimental models, not direct verification on a historical scale. What’s next. We are facing a surprising technical advance, but the technology continues to depend on expensive equipment and writing speeds well below current commercial solutions, factors that determine its viability outside the laboratory. Added to this are challenges of large-scale production, future compatibility and adoption models in institutions that really need to preserve data for centuries. For now, Microsoft places Project Silica in the field of shared research, open to other actors developing specific applications. Images | Microsoft In Xataka | The first hard drives in history were gigantic. Then a miracle happened: miniaturization

A Japanese toilet company has been manufacturing key parts in the chip industry for years. And now it is going to be key in AI

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Toto, world famous for their toilets with a trickle that we usually miss so much when we return from Japan, has been quietly manufacturing key components for the semiconductor industry for decades. Just like account Financial Times, an activist fund has focused on that part of its business, and the market is starting to pay attention. What has happened. Palliser Capital, a UK-based activist fund, has sent a letter to Toto’s board of directors arguing that the advanced ceramics the company works on are being ignored and underestimated by the market. The fund, which owns a stake among the 20 largest in the company, according to share from FT, calls Toto “the most underrated and overlooked AI memory beneficiary.” What is important. Toto is not just a bathroom company. Since 1988 it has been manufacturing the so-called ‘electrostatic chucks’ in series.‘ (electrostatic jaws), high-precision ceramic components used in the manufacture of NAND memory chips to hold silicon wafers during the production process, controlling temperature and avoiding contamination. This business, which they fit within their “advanced ceramics” division, already represents around 42% of the company’s total operating profit, according to data from Bloomberg. The connection with AI. He data center boom for artificial intelligence has skyrocketed the demand for memory chips. Companies like Meta, Amazon or large memory manufacturers (SK Hynix, Samsung, Kioxia) are accelerating their production to face a widespread shortage. That translates into more demand for the components that Toto manufactures. The company’s ceramic technology is also specially adapted for cryogenic etching, a process that is expected to gain popularity as memory chips become more complex and layered. Business tips. According to share The fund also criticizes that Toto is not explaining well to investors the importance of this segment and that the allocation of internal capital is not prioritizing this lucrative sector. The fund proposes that the company expand its ceramics business, sell cross-stakes in other companies and make better use of its 76 billion yen in cash (about $496 million). If Toto did all that, Palliser estimates the stock could rise more than 55%. The market had already started to move. Toto shares have accumulated a revaluation of more than 60% in the last year. Just like share Bloomberg, at the end of January, after the support of Goldman Sachs, which raised the value to buy pointing to the memory shortage as a tailwind, the stock rose 11% in a single day, its biggest rise in five years. Be careful with the warnings. The idea that Toto would have that competitive advantage before other competitors can be at that level comes from Palliser himself, who has an obvious interest in making that narrative credible. Tom’s Hardware points out that while electrostatic jaws play a real role in advanced manufacturing processes, whether that translates into sustained growth still depends in part on large memory manufacturers committing to expanding production and, for now, they are being cautious faced with the risk of oversupply if the AI ​​market cools. The phenomenon is not exclusive to Toto. Japan has a long history in chip production, which has led companies with very different profiles to develop businesses related to semiconductors almost without anyone noticing. Just like share Bloomberg, Ajinomoto, known for its broths and its mastery of umami, makes insulating films for chips based on its expertise with amino acids. Kao, a cosmetics company, has a silicon wafer cleaning business. The AI ​​business is revaluing companies that, a priori, had nothing to do with it. And Toto is the latest example of this. Cover image | Taylor Vick and Upgraded Points In Xataka | What future awaits artists with the rise of AI? In Ireland they see it so black that they are already preparing a basic income

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