problems

This Seoul bridge seems ordinary, but stars one of South Korea’s biggest problems: suicides

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South Korea is a country that advances by leaps and bounds in technological question. It is home to some of the most important companies in the world -Samsung or Hyundai- and He is fighting To become one of the referents in the chips segment. Seoul, its capital, is a look at what could be the future of cities hypertecnologicalbut after that image of modernity, an increasingly silent pandemic is hidden: that of suicide. And no place better reflects this crisis than the Mapo bridge in Seoul, nicknamed ‘The Suicides Bridge’. Alarming figures. Suicide is a taboo issue in many societies that sometimes have not paid attention to avoid the tragic outcome. It is not something that Pille so far. In 2020, in Spain it committed suicide One person every two and a half and a half. Each country Try to deal with your way With this situation, but the case of South Korea is bleak. Do not go to the archives to see the evolution of suicides in the Asian country: In 2021, 13,352 people committed suicide. In 2022, approximately 13,000 were given. In 2023, the figure rose to 13,770. In the first six months of 2024, 6,375 people committed suicide, assuming a increase of more than 10% compared to the same period of the previous year. He total It was 14,439 dead. Cocktail. They are figures distant to the maximum of 2013, when 14,427 occurred, but in 2020, the country had the highest rate among OECD countries with 24.1 suicides per 100,000 inhabitants. It is more than double the average. The reason is that there is a social and cultural cocktail that pushes thousands of people to end their lives. There is one very high social pressure and competitiveness for being the best in studies and work life. If you do not achieve it, economic problems occur, but although that ‘success’ is achieved, there is a high level of stress and low social awareness about mental illnesses. Also idealized and impossible beauty canons for much of the population. And it is not something that cares only to suicide, since the scarce birth that is taking the country to an unsustainable situation is also the gross of those social pressures. THE MAPO BRIDGE Effect called. The most affected group is the one between ages of 10 to 39 and is the major Cause of death among South Koreans between 10 and 39 years. Between 40 and 56% of deaths in these age groups is due to suicide. These brutal pressures even affect celebrities of the country, so much that studies have already been carried out that relate the increase in suicides with the moment in which one of these celebrities ends with his life. As if there were an effect called or idealization of the act, three of the eleven cases of suicides between celebrities resulted in an increase in the rate among the population, leading people to use the same methods as said celebrity. In recent years, there have been numerous cases among young Astros of K-Pop, cinema and television, very exposed to criticism in a country where there is a very strict moral standard that these celebrities must meet. The notice says: “Line Life. Methods. They have gone changing These last years. At the beginning of the century, most used pesticides to get intoxicated. This poisoning remains one of the most used methods, but now it is through burning YoTan: Carbon cylinders that produce poisoning by carbon monoxide aspiration. The hanging has also become common (with examples such as’Sulli‘That they expose that effect called), but throwing themselves to train tracks or from bridges is also a method. THE MAPO BRIDGE. And all this leads us to the Seoul bridge. We have talked about Many bridges in Xataka And Mapo’s is, structurally, a normal bridge, almost ordinary. It does not stand out for design, certainly, but it has become the sad secondary protagonist of dozens of suicides in recent decades. It is not the only one from which the South Koreans throw themselves to end their lives, but one of the most used due to the current of the river has very difficult the rescue work very difficult. So much is the impact of the bridge on the statistics of the country that began to call colloquially as ‘The Suicides Bridge’. From the city, this was wanted to combat the structure as ‘bridge of life’ as part of a Samsung Life Insurance initiative. But it was not a simple name change. Measures. The company placed photos of happy families, among other measures to deter suicides, such as movement sensors that activated light posters with mood phrases, but they were considered a failure In 2015 and that was when the focus was changed to prevent suicide instead of deter. Thus, a series of active and passive measures were installed to stop the high rate of vacuum throwing, such as phones from which to request help every few meters (it has a length of about 1,300 meters), mirrors so that those who plan to jump see their face, cameras, high barriers and rollers that make it difficult to get to the edge. The fences are high and in the last upper section there is a roller We can see the roller, as well as the mirrors Social strategies. It is, in short, a series of actions to make jumping more difficult, but beyond this (which is still a patch), in recent years the country has taken the mental health of citizens more seriously. For example, strategies to prevent suicide thanks to greater media coverage than public awareness, as well as training campaigns and notions of suicide prevention for teachers and social workers. Also reviews focused on adolescents and another series of infrastructure measures to strengthen security on bridges and train tracks. Despite the efforts to reduce the incidence of suicide, the Mapo bridge remains a symbol of this crisis, with 846 people jumping From the bridge between 2014 and 2018, … Read more

AI is already our best ally to solve the mathematical problems that seem impossible

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The applications of the artificial intelligence (AI) are presumably unlimited. Beyond the daily uses with which many of us are already familiar with the design of drugs, Disease diagnosisthe OPTIMIZATION OF INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES or the Analysis of physical or chemical mechanisms complexes, among other options. It is even being used to solve mathematical problems of enormous difficulty. In addition, algorithms that use deep neuronal networks and Automatic learning They are designed to identify complex patterns in large volumes of information, which allows them to recognize images, voice or process natural language greatly. AI has reached our lives, and it is clear that it will stay, but the most surprising thing is that it is consolidating as an extremely valuable tool in relatively exotic fields. It is possible that AI helps us solve the mathematical problems of the millennium In October 2024 Goal AIMeta’s artificial intelligence, managed to generalize Lyapunov’s function. The Russian mathematician Aleksander Lyapunov proposed the concept of the function that bears his name in 1892. His work is a very important tool in the study of dynamic systems, but mathematicians have since struggled to find a general method that allows identifying the functions of Lyapunov. And they have not been successful. However, goal has had it. Our mathematical knowledge will no longer be limited by intuition and human capacity The strategy used by the company led by Mark Zuckerberg to solve the challenge of Lyapunov’s functions has consisted of training an AI model to recognize patterns and relationships between certain dynamic systems and its corresponding functions of Lyapunov. This is precisely what is good for AI. And it is a huge success because our mathematical knowledge will no longer be limited for intuition and human capacity. The AI ​​puts in our hands a new way of addressing complex mathematical problems, identifying patterns that a priori remain hidden for the human being. However, in the field of mathematics AI still has to improve to help us solve the great challenges that the human being has ahead. Sergei Gukov, professor of theoretical physics and mathematics at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), leads a team of researchers who is looking for ways to use AI to solve advanced mathematical problems that require thousands, millions, or even billions of steps. These scientists are currently working on The conjecture of Andrews-Curtisa group combinatorial theory proposed 60 years ago. They have not yet managed to solve the main conjecture, but with the help of AI they have achieved something important: they have refuted several families of problems related to the conjecture of Andrews-Curtis and known as counterexamples that have remained open for more than 25 years. Gukov acknowledges that Current AI models have important limitations When facing very complex mathematical problems, but you hope that in the future this technology allows the human being to solve Mathematical Millennium Problems. According to this mathematician, the best asset that researchers have to face this challenge is to instruct AI by resorting to Reinforcement learning. Image | Generated by Xataka with Dall-e More information | IEEE Spectrum In Xataka | These two problems have baffled mathematicians for decades. A genius has solved them with a stroke

Problems between US and Taiwan governments begin. And the chips industry is at the center of everything

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The government led by Donald Trump is determined to do everything necessary for the US to recover leadership in the semiconductor manufacturing industry. At the moment In Asia they are manufactured 90% of memory chips, 75% of microprocessors and 80% of silicon wafers. However, the most outstanding country in this continent in this sector is Taiwan, with a production of 90% of high integration chips and 41% of microprocessors. The US administration is already taking the necessary measures to promote US companies to buy integrated circuits manufactured in the US. The tariffs you are approving They largely pursue this objective, and, despite the alignment in the geopolitical field that support the US and Taiwan, the manufacturers of Taiwanese chips are not at all safe from the tariffs. In fact, Donald Trump made a statement at the end of January which he exposes his intentions with total: “In the very close future we will impose tariffs on foreign production of computer chips, semiconductors and pharmaceutical products to return the manufacture of these essential goods to the US (…) went to Taiwan; now we want them to return. We do not want to give them billions of dollars in the ridiculous driver program. They already have billions of dollars. incentive will be that they do not want to pay a tax of 25, 50, or even 100%”, The current US president declared. The Taiwan government is putting limits to TSMC The express mention to Taiwan that the US president has made is a very clear allusion to TSMC. On this Asian island there are other semiconductor manufacturers, such as UMC, but its relevance in the chip market is much lower than that of the company currently leading CC Wei. TSMC dominates the integrated circuit market with A quota of approximately 60%so your leadership in the chip manufacturing industry is indisputable. Anyway, the step forward that the US administration is not going to take TSMC by surprise. This company has been outlining its strategy for more than four years to extend its semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure Beyond Taiwan’s borders. And he is doing it for two reasons. On the one hand it is an effective way to protect your business if at any time it is triggered A war conflict between China and Taiwanand their plants on the island were useless. TSMC is preparing an offer to control the integrated circuit manufacturing plants of Intel But, in addition, TSMC is significantly developing its infrastructure in the US. His plan is that their new Arizona factories not only serve to protect their business from a possible conflict between China and Taiwan; They also protect it from US tariffs. This is not all. Although there has not yet an official confirmation of this information, according to The Wall Street Journal TSMC is preparing an offer to Control manufacturing plants Intel integrated circuits. It prosper or not, at the current situation this strategic decision makes sense. And it has it because it would allow TSMC to definitely consolidate its semiconductor manufacturing infrastructure in the US, as well as be present in countries where it now does not have production plants. However, The Taiwan government does not see this possibility with good eyes. Its economy depends deeply on its chip industry in general, and TSMC in particular, so the US ambition to recover its leadership in this sector directly enters into conflict directly with Taiwan’s survival as it is currently. Kuo Jyh-Huei, Taiwan Economy Minister, has warned TSMC in a resounding way: “No one can shake the foundations of the Taiwan semiconductor industry. We must have confidence in TSMC, and the government will fully support the ‘sacred mountain’ that protects the country (…) so that TSMC expands its global presence and establishes a joint company in any location, definitely needs the government’s permission.” It is evident that the possibility that TSMC acquires such a solid production infrastructure outside Taiwan is detrimental to weight That has this island in the sector that feeds it. Right now we cannot assume that TSMC will control Intel plants, but we can be safe: 2025 will be a very exciting year in regard to the development of the integrated circuit industry. More information | Reuters In Xataka | What’s behind the chips megafabrica that TSMC and Samsung plan to build in Arab Emirates

What possible problems and setbacks you can have

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Let’s tell you some things that You must keep in mind if you are going to take only Midgt in the carthe official application of the DGT. This application includes your driving license and the documentation of your car, and has official validity, although You can meet a problem. Midgt It works phenomenal in most cases, and you can do many things, such as carry your circulation permit by hand or Pay your traffic fines. But In some specific cases It can give you some problem, something that can be aggravated at times as if it catches you in some control. There may be problems when generating QR This is an official app by the General Directorate of Traffic that integrates the driving license with legal validity. However, to avoid scams, it is not simply a copy of the card you teach. What the app does is generate a temporary QR code to verify identityso that if you stop the police and ask you for the card, it is this code that you need to teach. To generate the code, your mobile must connect to the servers of the General Directorate of Traffic. Therefore, If you are in a low coverage area you can fail When you fail to contact these servers to generate this code. In addition, the QR is temporary and of a single use. This means that It is not useful to have a screenshot of the code, because when you are going to teach it, it will no longer serve you. In addition to this, It can also be the case that you stay without battery on the mobile and you cannot open the application. Therefore, they are two specific moments in which you could not use it to do the times of your driving license. And the worst thing is that areas without coverage can be on almost any road, and you can have the bad luck of matching that they stop you in one. Therefore, my recommendation is that Do not stop having your card or the car papers In your vehicle. It is good to have a digital alternative in case you forget, but it doesn’t hurt to take them in the gloveard just in case. In Xataka Basics | How to know the date of first registration of a car with Midgt to avoid deceptions with auctione

500 people already live at the airport between travelers and coexistence problems

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From 11 at night, security personnel begin to verify documents and to evict those who do not have valid shipments (…) The airport design is simple but there are few private corners or remote spaces. If you need to go to bed on the floor, it brings an extra layer because the floor is mostly cold and hard tile You can read the description in Sleeping in the Airportsa web space where all tips and small tricks or recommendations to take into account are offered if what you want is to sleep in an airport. The description above speaks of Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas airport. It is just one of many. In it you can read details that make a difference if you need to spend the night at the airport. And the aid is so useful if you have passed security control or not. “The McDonald’s seats are padded” But also that “readers inform us that there are sources next to the bathrooms” or that “in the T4, next to the VIP room of Iberia, there is a small more private corner.” This web space is a reference but it is not the only one you will find on the Internet. Reddit is full of threads in which advice is requested to spend the best way in these spaces. In Quora It is also easy to find them. Here, a user explains his bad experience at the Shanghai airport for not being informed that he was committing a foul. In recent years, there are more those who sleep at airports. Well because their flight leaves too early or, on the contrary, they have arrived late enough to not be able to use public transport to the city and expect the dawn of the next day. Or, simply, because they have nowhere to go and the airport offers them a safe and hot place. Where to sleep if you have nowhere to sleep The latter is what has been happening at the Madrid airport. ASAE union (union alternative AENA ENAIRE) calculates that, every day, about 500 people sleep distributed by the four airport terminals. A number that has multiplied in a decade. They estimate that then there were no more than 40 people who took refuge in this space. The union denounces that workers are afraid to go to their jobs. They explain to The country that there are homeless people who sleep every night because they have no other place to go but those who drug themselves in the bathrooms or those who steal from tourists are also common. “Aena is all facade, an apparent good image, but in reality is contributing to this lack of control. Before it was a problem, now it is a problem. We need to press the Government to modify current legislation, ”explains one of the workers to the newspaper. The Madrid case is not unique in Spain. Last year the Generalitat, Aena and the municipalities of El Prat and Barcelona gathered to find a solution to the same problem. There, it is estimated that every night a hundred homeless sleeps. “It is a serious social problem, and it is inadmissible for no one to take over,” he said then a National Police agent to the medium. Two years before, the problem had stayed in a forgotten corner. In The avant -garde They collected in 2022 that Several people lived in one of the abandoned parking lots after the last reform of the airport despite being within its facilities. Although in Spain we have put the focus on homeless people, outside our borders, airports are also common where more people sleep or, at least, try. There are no conclusive data that meet the problem but it is easy to find the articles in which the theme is addressed from different angles. From positions that speak of their own experience, such as this article of The Washington Post to Tips for facing long delays that leave us alone before the night without a place to sleep. Of the man who was 14 years living in a Chinese airport at Unipersonal Cabinas that are distributed by their facilities to put a head or sleeping spaces more than $ 100 a night at Dubai airport. Aware of the problems they can represent, the airport managers themselves have been putting obstacles to prevent people from sleeping in their facilities. From a greater police presence to seat benches with armrests Each or two seats that prevent a person from lying in them. The other side of the currency is represented by airports where facilities are put to the rest of the passengers, with sun loungers even in common spaces. If you go to sleep at a European airport, you know that Sleeping in Airports I recommend doing it in Helsinki’s. Photo | Ray Sangga Kusuma In Xataka | The great challenge of the successor of the Concorde will be to dominate the sonic patterning: there are those who believe that we are close to getting it

When the desire to finish tasks generates as much anxiety and problems as not doing them

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Procrastination is the art of leaving all the workload To your future selfknowing that in the end it will touch you to do it, but with has a hurry and higher doses of Anxiety and frustration. However, and against all prognosis, there is also its counterpart: Precrasticationor not to bear to leave the tasks for later. Although it does not seem like it, precostination is an obsession that also It has negative effects. What is precostination? The term was coined by the professor in psychology David Rosenbaum in his study ‘Precrastication: Accelerate the achievement of a subopjective at the expense of additional physical effort‘In 2014. Rosenbaum showed with his experiment that people sometimes choose the option that implies more physical effort Just to cross out a task of your list. To get to that conclusion, the participants were asked to choose between two cubes with water that had to take to the end of a hall. One of these cubes was sometimes closer to the beginning of the hall and sometimes a little further. However, the researchers observed that, often, the participants chose the cube that was closer to the exit point to take it to the end, even when choosing the second cube meant loading it for a shorter distance. When asked why they had chosen the first cube, most participants replied: “I wanted to finish the homework as soon as possible“ This behavior marked a tendency to advance the task assigned to any cost, even at the expense of implying greater physical wear in the process. At work, this translates into the need to finish everything as soon as possible, motivated by the idea that speed is equal to efficiency. However, that is to start from a wrong premise since speed is not always efficiency. People with a tendency to precostination may feel satisfied at the end of the work ahead of time, but those hurries to finish the tasks can lead to errors and lack of focus on execution. “It’s like going to the supermarket, filling the basket with a lot of apples and continuing to buy carrying them despite knowing that you will go through the place where they meet when you go to the box,” explained the psychologist Obsessed with crossing homework Precrastication is a problem more common than it may seem. Who suffers its effects is often shown as an example of productivity in a society that values ​​immediacy and we need everything “for yesterday.” This affects the quality of work and it is not valued that, some tasks, require time and reflection. Precostination is not always easy to identify. We are completing tasks, believing that we are being productive. However, finishing things ahead of time, without due dedication, it can generate stress, errors and exhaustion. If you feel you need to balance your way of working, these tips can help you: 1. Plan your tasks If you are aware of your tendency to precostine, try to contain your first instinct to launch yourself to Complete everything immediately. Take a time to analyze and prioritize what tasks do you really need your immediate attention. You can use The ABCDE method to prioritize tasks according to their urgency and importance. 2. Set reasonable times Not all tasks must be executed at the time, so It is important to reflect about its impact on the project or your day. Before acting, ask yourself: “Is it necessary to solve immediately? Is it urgent to answer that email immediately or can you do it later?” Impose waiting periods For non -urgent activities for Force that reflection and give you space to reflect and address things with a clearer and more serene mind. It is very likely that you discover new ways of addressing it in a more creative way. A good strategy to face precrastination is the one proposed by the “Slow Work”, which defends the idea that work at a more leisurely pace It favors creativity, concentration and improves the quality of the final result. 3. Concentrate on one thing at the same time The impetus to finish tasks can make you fall into multitasking. An error that brings only heads to those who put it into practice, exhausting the energies and avoiding that The brain deepens in the tasks between hands. Instead of trying to cover everything at once, focus at the present time and Complete a single task After another. That will help you better value the resolution process of the tasks, instead of obsessing with the rapid results. 4. Live with uncertainty One of the features that leads the precostinators to finish tasks ahead of time It is his uncertainty intolerance of having pending things, in a kind of ‘Zeigarnik effect‘. Be aware that Everything has its rhythms and processes is key to face the need to cross out at all costs the tasks of the list. Practice patience and focus on what you can control. 5. Manage your energy He Mental exhaustion It is one of the greatest dangers of precostination. Knowing that there is an incomplete task is an additional mental burden for those who have a tendency to precostine. To avoid it, be sure to include regular breaks in your dayincluding them as another task in your day. This will allow the brain to recover part of its energy and you can address your tasks in the best cognitive conditions. In Xataka | Procrastination is closer to the mental disorder than laziness: the three causes that cause it and how to avoid them In Xataka | Science has denied the morning mantra of productivity gurus: cold shower is as useless as early morning Image | Unspash (The Drink Luis Villasmil)

If the alcohol industry no longer had enough problems, it has now encountered one more: Ozempic

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The drugs of the family of the GLP-1 hormone (peptide similar to type 1 glucagon) as Ozempic or Zepbound have meant a revolution in the world pharmaceutical market. The success of these medications aimed at the treatment of diabetes has to do with its slimming effect but the ramifications of this phenomenon go further. New tests. One of these ramifications has to do with alcohol consumption: a new study He has found evidence That the semaglutida, the active compound used by drugs such as Ozempic or Wegovy, can also help in the treatment of alcohol addiction. Chronicle of a social phenomenon. Ozempic began to gain popularity about two years ago when it began to be used not to keep glycemic levels under control in people with type II diabetes, but as a treatment to lose weight both in people with diabetes and in those who only wanted to lose weight. In parallel, several clinical trials endorsed this effect and the regulatory organisms approved the use of the drug for this second use. This success led to the appearance of other side effects associated with this compound, some of them positive. It was then that some laboratories got to work to test these effects. Among them An apparent reduction in alcohol consumption among those who were under this treatment. How does it work? The GLP-1 hormone performs several functions in our body, one of them being indicating that we have satiated our appetite. That is why the drugs that function as their analogues in our body generate the same feeling of satiety, which in turn implies that we will eat less and therefore lose weight. But soon some users began to realize that this not only affected food, but also the alcohol they consumed. Although the mechanism is not entirely clear, it is possible to intuit that it is the same mechanisms that enter into operation. There is another factor to take into account, and among the Side effects From ozempic drugs we can find stomach symptoms such as nausea and vomiting. This can also lead to alcoholic beverages less appealing, as well as other foods. 48 participants. The study was conducted through a randomized rehearsal with placebo. That is to say, It was distributed randomly to the 48 participants in two groups: one was treated with semaglutida and another with a placebo. They contrasted that the effects of treatment were greater than those of a simple placebo, that is, the participants drank less alcohol. While the number of days in which the participants drank these were not reduced in less volume. “These data suggest the potential of the semaglutida and drugs similar to covering an existing need for treatment for alcohol use disorder,” explained in a press release Klara Klein, member of the study responsible for the study. “Broader studies (…) are necessary to fully understand security and efficacy in people with (this) disorder, but these initial results are promising.” The team presented the details of the essay In an article In the magazine Jama Psychiatry. The analyzes continue. The reduced sample size in this study suggests that there is still a lot of work to be done. If we want to better understand Ozempic’s potential to fight addictions and similar disorders will need experiments with greater samples and studies that allow us to better understand the underlying biological mechanisms, as well as the potential risks of this use. All this while other teams investigate other potential risks and benefits of this drug family. An example of the potential benefits still to explore is In cardiac healthcontext in which we have begun to see some potential benefits but that, as in the case of excessive alcohol consumption, we must still explore more thoroughly. In Xataka | In Tinder there is a trend that is gaining weight between generation Z: quotes without a single drop of alcohol Image | Andreas m / Chemist4u

Japan had found in ramen a way to raise its economy. They did not have two problems: Denmark and Germany

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In July of last year many regions of Japan They adopted the same formula to lift their economies. The idea did not seem bad: if you get tourists as it is happening to the Japanese nation (monthly absolute record with three million last March), opportunities ariseand the ramen was a “must” for every tourist toile. The problem: that if everyone did the same and in each corner there was a ramen place, the opportunity became a battle. Thus, perhaps what has happened at the beginning of the year: Bankruptcies throughout the country map. To this we must add a problem that nobody saw thousands of kilometers. A cultural symbol. None of this would be news if we did not speak “of the dish” in capital letters of the nation, or one of them. Ramen is one of the most emblematic Japanese gastronomy and occupies a special place in the country’s culinary culture. Traditionally considered a basic and affordable food for students, workers and families with a tight budget, it represents more than a simple dish of noodles: it is a reflection of the accessible spirit of Japanese cuisine. However, this symbol of modesty and practicality faces a growing challenge with the increase in operational costs and psychological barriers in prices, Like that “wall of 1,000 yen”, a symbolic limit that rarely crossed until recently. The perfect storm. Since 2020, the costs of basic ingredients such as algae, noodles and onions have increased significantly, With a 10% rise in just three years. This adds to the increase in energy, The weakness of the Yen against the dollar and supply problems caused by war in Ukraine. All pressures that have led restaurants such as Tetsuya Kaneko and Taisei Hikage to make difficult decisions: increase the prices of their menus or face the possibility of closing. In many cases, price increases, although modest, They are accompanied by public apologiesreflecting the delicate balance between business sustainability and respect for customers. And the other problem: meat. Yes, in addition to the rise of basic ingredients, the other fundamental problem It’s pork. Ramen restaurants in Japan are dealing with growing pressure due to the rise in animal prices, a key ingredient for His iconic chashu. Denmark. The import prices of the European pig, particularly from Denmark, they have risen 6% in the last yearreaching between 810 and 830 yen per kilogram. The reason? The increase here is also due to a combination of factors: as in the basics, the feeding costs raised by the Russian invasion to Ukraine, but also because of the closure of processing plants in Europe, the weakening of the Chinese economy that has reduced The demand and the depreciation of the Yen that we comment, a whole that further imports imports. The effects have been translated, again, in Wholesale prices and finally in the menus Of the restaurants, with many businesses breaking that psychological barrier of the 1,000 yen for a bowl bowl, which could scare away customers. And Germany. It is the second big problem derived from meat. The recent detection of Afitosa fever in Germany has generated a new challenge, because although Japan no matter pork there, Countries like South Korea and the United Kingdom did, and now they are resorting to alternatives In other European suppliers, which increases pressure on global pig prices. Using Brazil. Yes, this cultivation broth has made Japan is resorting to Brazil as a new suppliertripling its imported pork imports from the country to 10,131 tons in November 2024. However, the change does not seem to have mitigated the costs at all, since the price of the pig, along with the rest of the essential ingredients we were talking about at the beginning, such as pork fat, Nori, fresh noodles and green onions, follows up. Onions, for example, have experienced a 29% increase in the last year. Impact and bankruptcy. The crisis not only affects ingredients. Nikkei said this week That labor costs and rentals have also increased, leading many small and medium businesses to the limit. In 2024, 72 Ramen restaurants operators with debts greater than 10 million yen declared bankruptcymarking a record and exceeding the levels reached during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Not only that. About 30% of respondents by the firm Teikoku Databank reported losses, reflecting the difficult situation of the industry. Answer and impact on consumers. In front of this panorama, Chains like Yamaokaya They have opted for increasing prices, but only from some menusincluding Ramen with Chashu, while looking to keep prices under control in collaboration with their suppliers. However, the measures do not seem to have been enough to relieve the financial pressure of many establishments, which struggle to balance quality, affordability and sustainability in a highly competitive market. Ramen, until recently An opportunity to raise economies From the nation, it is taking many businesses to bankruptcy, threatening the road to a whole symbol of Japanese gastronomy. Image | Sodai Gomi In Xataka | Japan is suffering a bankruptcy record from Ramen. And in part it is the result of the “1,000 yen barrier” In Xataka | The cities of Japan have begun a fierce struggle to lift their economy. THE KEY RECIPE: Ramen

Taiwan does not want more problems with China or with its submarine cables. So you have activated an unpublished security plan

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Earlier this year and after what happened with an underwater cable that affected the only remaining link with the Matsu Islandsincident that occurred just a week after Another cable that connected the island was damagedTaiwan made an unprecedented decision. A call Washington ended with A two -year agreement so that the United States Army would disembark on the island and train the Taiwanese Navy. Actually, this is just part of the plan. Protect cables as priority. Submarine cable infrastructure is the pillar of the global connectivity of most nations, But a little more for an island like Taiwana territory that depends almost in its entirety of these systems to guarantee the communication of its citizens, companies and government institutions. To get an idea, any severe interruption in these links could not only leave the population incommunicado, affecting access to essential services such as mobile applications and digital platforms, but it would also have A critical impact on economic and government operations. The problem is that the fragility of these systems has been evidenced with the growing incident frequency In the cables that connect the enclave with its peripheral islands and with the world, which has raised concerns about the safety and resilience of this key infrastructure. Alarming frequency of failures. Globally, The more than 450 existing underwater cable systems They experience damage in a range of 0.1 to 0.2 incidents (by cable) per year, which is equivalent to 50 and 100 annual failures worldwide. However, the situation in Taiwan is exceptionally critical. The cables that connect Matsu’s peripheral islands with the main island They suffer an average of 5.1 annual interruptions, which represents a frequency up to 50 times higher than the global average. This data underlines the level of vulnerability of communications and the urgent need to implement protection measures. As we count, on January 22, The two submarine cables that connect Matsu with Taiwan were disconnectedwhich left the island is isolated digitally. According to the Taiwan Digital Affairs Ministry (Fashion), the cause was a “natural deterioration.” And it was not an isolated case: just a few weeks before, on January 3, a communications cable north of the main island, operated by Chunghwa Telecom, It was also cut, allegedly by a ship manned by Chinese citizens. The boat in question, Shunxing 39, was registered in Cameroon and Tanzania, which complicates the direct attribution of the attack. Strategies to strengthen security. The result of the situation has been to activate An unprecedented plan, measures to reinforce the safety of their submarine cables. For example, telecommunications operators have deployed maritime patrols with the aim of warning of fishing vessels approaching sensitive areas. Likewise, the Taiwan Coast Guard has intensified surveillance through monitoring systems to trace boats in critical areas. There are more. To improve redundancy in communications, fashion has implemented A subsidies program to encourage the construction of new stations International cable landing and the installation of backup systems. In addition, Taiwan has opted for the diversification of his communication systems through satellites. In this sense, the government has signed Agreements with the European company SES for the deployment of medium orbit satellites (MEO) and with Oneweb for the incorporation of low orbit satellites (Leo). All measures that seek to guarantee the continuity of government and military communications in case of an emergency. Legal challenges to protect cables. One of the main obstacles in the protection of submarine cables is the complexity of international legislation around these infrastructure. According to international maritime laws, if damage occurs within the territorial waters of a country, this may exercise jurisdiction on the incident. The problem? That, if the affectation happens in an exclusive economic zone or in international waters, The responsibility falls to the country where the suspicious boat is registered. This legal framework generates significant barriers for the investigation and persecution of those responsible for deliberate sabotages. From there The problem in the Baltic with The “Ghost Ships”. In response to these challenges, Taiwan has taken legislative measures to penalize intentional attacks against their submarine cables. The sanctions include prison sentences between one and seven years, in addition to fines that can reach 10 million Taiwanese dollars (approximately 300,000 US dollars). And the United States. It We have recently. Taiwan’s Ministry of Defense has announced A two -year agreement with the United States to train the Taiwanese Navy In a context where the island’s Parliament is prepared to vote possible cuts in the budget for military training abroad. The agreement, valued at approximately 50 million Taiwanese dollars (1.5 million US dollars), stipulates that US Navy personnel will be sent to Taiwan to carry out a specialized naval training program. The training sessions, in principle, will be held at the headquarters of the Navy and the Marines of Taiwan, located in the Zuoying district, near the city of Kaohsiung, in the south of the country. It is, therefore, The first time in history that the Taiwanese Ministry of Defense publicly recognizes the presence of US military coaches. Regional Resilience. The numerous cases in recent months They have shown it. The protection of submarine cables, and more in Taiwan, is not only a national problem, but a matter of regional security. Any interruption in these infrastructure can affect their neighboring countries, which reinforces the need to establish strategic alliances for damage prevention and repair. In this regard, Taiwan aims to work closely with its partners in Asia To strengthen cable repair capabilities, improve logistics and develop advanced monitoring technologies. In fact, a few weeks ago researchers from the University of Lisui in China They registered a patent for an anchor device designed to cut underwater cables efficiently. There is no evidence of its use in real attacks, but the simple existence of these technologies suggests that the risks to telecommunications could be intensified in the near future. Image | 總統府 In Xataka | 2025 has started with another cut cable cut. The problem is where and the suspect: in Taiwan and China In Xataka … Read more

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