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The theory said that Ozempic was going to put an end to ultra-processed foods. The reality is that it has reinvented them

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Whoever believed that Ozempic fever was going to be a hard blow for the manufacturers of ultra-processed products I was very wrong. And, as he recently explained in the BE food technology expert Beatriz Robles, the food industry never loses, it reinvents itself. As a result of the rise of this and other GLP-1 agonist drugs, the GLP-1 friendly foodproducts that are advertised for consumption by those who take these medications, but also for those who are thinking about trying to lose weight in other ways. The term arose among some nutritionists to refer to the foods that should be included in the diet of those who take Ozempic. However, the food industry has seen a breakthrough and has decided to convert classic ultra-processed products into alleged GLP-1 friendly options that not only give these people an adequate supply of nutrients. They also make their lives easier, because they don’t have to cook. With this and the appropriate doses of marketing, a fever is achieved similar to that of the famous black labels of foods rich in protein or the craze for superfoods with exotic origins. Because no, the superfoods that were never missing in your grandmother’s pantry don’t have such good marketing on social networks. Although they are even more superfoods. What is GLP-1? Before knowing what GLP-1 friendly foods are, we must start at the beginning: What is GLP-1? The answer, broadly speaking, is simple. It is a hormone that is synthesized naturally in the intestines, usually after eating. Its function is, on the one hand, control glucose levelssince it stimulates the production of insulin, a hormone that promotes its uptake in the cells, and decreases the production of glucagon, which does the opposite, as it stimulates the synthesis of glucose. On the other hand, GLP-1 reduces appetite by two different routes: directly in the brain, and also in the stomach, since it slows down gastric emptying. If the stomach empties more slowly, we will feel full for longer and perceive less feeling of hunger. The main problem with GLP-1 is that has a very short half-lifeof very few minutessince there is an enzyme that degrades it as soon as it reaches the bloodstream. Therefore, this is where GLP-1 analogues come into play. These drugs, including Ozempic, exert exactly the same effect as GLP-1, but for a longer duration. Traditionally they were designed to patients with diabetes. However, its effect on satiety led to its consumption also to treat overweight, either under medical advice or through self-medication. The rest is history. We live in a world increasingly dominated by Ozempic. And of course, that has led the food industry to reinvent itself. What are GLP-1 friendly foods? Mainly, Ozempic and other GLP-1 analogues help you lose weight due to their effect on reducing appetite. Therefore, nutritionists recommend that people who consume these medications adjust their diet appropriately. Since they will be eating less, they must further optimize the nutrients they consume. If we think about it, it’s simple: if you consume 10 dishes a day, adding all the meals, it is not so serious that one of them is not completely nutritious. On the other hand, if your appetite only allows you to eat three dishes, you should concentrate all your daily nutritional requirements there. Experts recommend above all focusing on protein and fiber. The first is necessary to strengthen muscle mass. When we eat less, we have a caloric deficit, which forces our body to consume energy by burning fat reserves. So far so good. It is what we look for if we want to lose weight. However, there comes a point where these are no longer enough, so muscle tissue also begins to be consumed. If we do not simultaneously consume a good supply of protein and we do strength exercisewe will lose a lot of muscle mass, with all the harm that entails. Regarding gastric emptying, on the one hand it is beneficial because it increases the feeling of satiety, but it also has a negative side: constipation. That is the reason why fiber consumption is so recommended. Nutritionist Lauren Manaker, for example, recommends salmon and eggs as sources of protein, as they are also very complete foods in other nutrients. Regarding fiber, he recommends prunes and berries. Additionally, for the upset stomach that Ozempic and other similar medications can sometimes cause, he recommends probiotics and ginger. Also, remember the importance of hydration. All of these could be considered basic GLP-1 friendly foods. However, the food industry has risen to the next level. What does the food industry propose? When appetite is reduced, the desire for certain ultra-processed products is often also reduced. For this reason, many brands have jumped on the bandwagon of GLP-1 friendly processed foods. They sell them as healthy options, which provide a very adequate amount of fiber and protein in one bite. However, this is somewhat similar to environmental greenwashing. Although it usually resorts to small environmental protection measures to divert attention from very harmful practices, with these foods the focus is on protein, fiber and vitamins, while on the other hand very inadequate doses of other nutrients are provided. Nutritionist Juan Revenga gives two examples in an article for The Country. To start, Nestlé has launched its own brand GLP-1 friendly food: Vital Pursuit. One of the products included in this brand is a cauliflower pizza that contains 32% of the recommended amount of protein. It is very good for those who are not going to eat much more in a day. The problem is that it also contains 40% of the not-to-be-exceeded amount of sodium and saturated fat. With a couple of dishes like this in the day, we would almost be over. A supposedly healthy smoothie could provide more calories and cholesterol than a donut It also mentions Smoothie King brand shakes. This includes a vanilla one that provides a highly recommended amount of protein and fiber, without added sugar. Instead, it contains more calories, sodium … Read more

Europe wants to put an end to the particular Iberian exception of the Spanish train. And Spain has a clear answer: no.

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There are investments and investments. More or less necessary. More or less large. But there are also more or less viable ones. And, of course, the Ministry of Transport considers that the European Commission’s proposal to change all roads from Iberian gauge to international gauge is anything but viable. And they have a good reason: 30,000 million euros. What does Europe want? In October 2025, The European Commission presented its project to cement, once and for all, the connection between Madrid and Lisbon with high-speed trains. After many delays, if the plans are fulfilled and both cities end up being united in 2030 with a single train, high speed will arrive on this line 20 years late. In the writing The bases that the routes must follow are reflected and there is an important paragraph in them: With the ambition to fully integrate the Lisbon–Madrid high-speed rail connection into the broader high-speed network in Spain and France, adopting the European standard nominal gauge of 1,435 mm is a key step. In this way, the competitiveness of long-distance passenger traffic will be strengthened. By connecting Portugal and Spain, and extending to France, the Lisbon–Madrid high-speed rail connection has a clear cross-border and Union dimension In it it is clear that we are talking about the Madrid-Lisbon line but on the occasion of this text, public entities must study the economic viability of migrating the railway network to the international gauge and definitively abandoning the Iberian gauge. The answer. No. Simple and concise. According to The Countrya medium that claims to have had access to internal documents of the Ministry of Transportation, the Government’s response to this migration is a resounding “no.” The reasons are as simple as that it would take 30 years of works and an investment of 30,000 million euros to reverse the Iberian exceptionalism of the Spanish and Portuguese train. In the documents that Spain will present to Brussels, it is specified that the matter is not viable in its entirety or in part since the possibility of installing “third threads or lanes to achieve mixed widths” was contemplated, they explain in the medium. No, no and no. They explain in The Country that the Ministry of Transportation rejects all the options that have been put on the table: Changing exclusively the lines of the European corridors: it would leave, according to Transport, more than 5,000 km of the network isolated. Implement a mixed width with third rails or threads: discarded due to the complexity of the work and the high maintenance cost Change all Iberian gauge roads: Transport considers it unapproachable although it has been the most studied option because it is ideal. What is this track width? Spain, since the 19th century it has lived in an Iberian exceptionality next to Portugal. Throughout this century, the railway was gaining followers all over the world. During its expansion, the lines were built with different track widths, taking into account the particularities of the terrain. In Europe, the number of tracks built with a width of 1,435 mm multiplied and ended up becoming established. Everything above it is considered “wide gauge” and below it as “narrow gauge” because those 1,435 mm were accepted as the standard. This is how the international gauge was born. In Spain, however, we chose to build our railway network on a track gauge of 1,672 millimeters, defended by three engineers who were entrusted with the task of projecting the future of the Spanish train. They argued that a wider track width allowed the use of more powerful locomotives and that this was essential in a mountainous country like ours. And the consequences? The consequences were immediate. Already in the middle of the 19th century From Portugal they asked Spain by letter to desist from building their roads with this new gauge because they would be isolated from Europe. And the problem, evidently, was greater for Portugal, which was dragged along by the Spanish decision. Spain, as you imagine, did not give up and now lives between three gauges of road: the international one (for about 4,000 km of high speed), the Iberian one (for 13,000 km of Cercanías) and the metric width (1,210 km for especially mountainous terrain). This is a problem for connectivity between tracks because trains cannot jump from one to another, except for the Talgo Avril. And it’s an advantage. At least for Renfe. And Renfe can take advantage of this particularity in some very specific points on the Peninsula. For example, in Madrid-Galicia, international gauge and Iberian gauge are used, already in the Galician part. Only Renfe has trains that can jump from one track gauge to another, so competition is eliminated. And the same will happen in Portugal. The connection between Madrid and Lisbon is being built on an international gauge but the Portuguese high-speed line between Lisbon and Porto will operate on an Iberian gauge. This leaves Renfe as the only company that could operate a Madrid-Porto train passing through Lisbon without the need to transfer. Now it is better understood why Renfe will invest in converting the Avrils fixed gauge on variable gauge trains and why Transportes believes that Portugal is a great market opportunity. Photo | Falk2 In Xataka | Renfe offers its juiciest contract: 4,000 million euros to buy trains. And everything indicates that he will not stay in Spain

he put them himself on the teleprompter

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Than in Polymarket and Kalshi only big brokers and insiders win It’s something we already knew. If anyone had any doubts, what happened with the White House teleprompter operator will surely dispel them all. what has happened. As they say in the New York Timeseverything came to light in March when Kalshi detected unusual activity on the account of one of its users. It was not just any person, but it was Gabriel Pérez, a worker who was in charge of operating the teleprompter that Donald Trump used in his speeches from the White House. Pérez, who won $100,000, had been betting precisely on the words that the president would say and that he himself had put on his teleprompter. Consequences. The first was that Kalshi froze the funds in the account and brought the case to the attention of the CFTC, the agency in charge of regulating the so-called “prediction markets.” According to the head of Kalshi’s regulatory compliance department, “We have filed charges against this person and have been cooperating with regulators on this matter, providing the evidence we have collected, as we do in any case.” The second consequence is that Pérez has lost his job. The White House press secretary confirmed it in a press conference “This person will no longer be here. It was a decision by the president.” In addition, he added that Trump called it a “disgrace” and that they do not believe there are more employees doing something similar. Privileged information. Since it is a regulated platform, Kalshi explicitly prohibits insider trading, but that hasn’t stopped more cases of insider trading from arising. insiders of the government and even the army. It happened with the capture of Maduro at the beginning of the year and later it has been known that up to three political candidates were betting on their own investiture. A few months ago, the White House itself sent a warning to its employees about this issue, but it has not stopped this operator either. Where almost everyone loses. According to a massive analysis published by the Wall Street Journal In May of this year, 67% of all Polymarket profits are distributed among 0.1% of its users. At Kalshi they do not share data on the benefits of their users, but according to the company’s own data, there are 2.9 users who lose for every one who wins. And who are the ones who win? Mostly traders professionals and companies that have access to enormous data sets and very expensive. They use this information to train algorithms that can perform thousands of operations a day that would be impossible for a user to handle. Image | Wikipedia, Unsplash In Xataka | Goodbye to Polymarket and Kalshi in Spain: the Government blocks “predictive markets” for not having a gaming license

extreme heat has put parmesan cheese in danger of extinction

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Summer has started strong with a heat wave that has affected all of Europe and experts are already warning that an even worse one is coming. Extreme temperatures not only affect us, animals also suffer from them and it is wreaking havoc on a very important industry in Italy, that of Parmesan cheese. what’s happening. They tell it in Reuters: Extreme heat is threatening the production of the most famous Italian cheese. The maximum temperatures, which can exceed 40 degrees, cause the cows to eat less, spend more time lying down and consequently produce less milk, the main ingredient in this cheese. Specifically, up to 10% less. Cool cattle. Livestock farmers decades ago only had to open the windows of the stables at night so that the livestock could cope better with the heat, but now this is no longer enough. The windows are constantly open and some ranchers have installed fans with water misters to lower the temperature a little more. The energy cost. The problem with installing these fans is that farms have seen their electricity bills increase. It is also being a problem for the companies that store the parmesan wheels, whose air conditioning systems have increased energy consumption by up to 30% more to maintain the optimal storage temperature, but the expense goes beyond the refrigeration itself. Giancarlo Ravanetti is the director of one of these facilities, known as “The Bank of Parmigiano”, and stores half a million wheels of parmesan worth 300 million euros. Speaking to Reuters, he indicated that “To make our facilities as energy efficient as possible, we have improved our cooling and boiler systems, modernized building insulation and increased renewable energy production.” Without grass, there is no parmesan. There are still more problems. Authentic Parmigiano Reggiano is produced in five provinces within the Emilia-Romagna region. To receive the designation of origin, the cows must be fed with grass and hay grown in this area, but with the heat and lack of rain this is an impossible task. The president of the Parmigiano Reggiano Consortium laments that “If it does not rain, the grass does not grow, hay cannot be produced and it is impossible to obtain the milk necessary to make cheese.” A million-dollar industry. Parmesan is not only an icon of Italian cuisine, it is also the industry that supports much of the economy of Emilia-Romagna, where it employs thousands of people. It is estimated that it generates about 4.5 billion euros annually, of which half comes from exports, with the US being its main client. According to Paolo Ganzerli, sales director of the GranTerre food group, the situation is critical: “If extreme events become longer and more intense, they will undoubtedly have an impact on both the quantity and quality of milk, but above all they will cause an increase in costs.” And he adds that “Parmigiano Reggiano has been around for more than 800 years. We don’t want to be the last generation to eat it.” Image | Unsplash, edited Direct to the Palate | How Italians have made Parmesan cheese known (and imitated) all over the world

Intel just put 5 billion and an asterisk on the table

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Europe has been trying for years gain weight on the world map of semiconductors. It is not just about manufacturing more chips, but about reducing dependence on supply chains concentrated outside the continent and regaining ground in the most advanced processes. The United States pursues a similar objective and has reinforced its efforts to attract investmentsfactories and jobs linked to strategic technologies. This industrial race has left a striking scene: one of the largest American companies in the sector has decided to bet billions on expanding its production on European soil. That company is Intel, that has announced an investment of 5,000 million euros to expand and modernize its Leixlip complex, in Ireland. The goal is to increase production of Xeon 6 processors and certain upcoming Xeon products made with Intel 3, the most advanced process the company currently produces in Europe. The move, however, comes after the manufacturer canceled its industrial projects in Germany and Poland. The European Union reinforces its production, but the fine print forces us to clarify how far this victory really goes. More capacity in Ireland, but a European chain still incomplete The core of the plan is not to build a new factory or expand the clean room, but to better equip Fab 34, Upgrade your facilities and extend your automated network that moves the wafers during the numerous stages of the production process. This infrastructure will allow the different modules of the campus to be integrated more fluidly and increase the efficiency of the whole. Intel began rolling out the program in early 2026, although it has not detailed when it will complete the improvements. The expected result is a greater volume manufactured with Intel 3 taking advantage of the existing space. Fab 34 began full-scale production in 2023 and turned Leixlip into Intel’s large European advanced manufacturing center. The installation was born working with Intel 4, used in the first Core Ultra, and later incorporated Intel 3 for the Xeon processors. Both technologies use extreme ultraviolet lithography, known as EUV, to print smaller, more complex structures on wafers. When it began its activity, Fab 34 became the first European factory to use this technique in high-volume production. Main entrance to the Robert N. Noyce Building, Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California The expected increase responds, according to Intel, to greater demand for server processors and infrastructure linked to artificial intelligence. Although GPUs and accelerators attract much of the attention, data centers still need CPU to run general loadsmanage resources and maintain the platforms on which these specialized systems work. The Xeons occupy precisely that space within their catalog. Expanding the volume of Intel 3 would allow us to better supply that market without waiting for a new plant to be ready. The disbursement also comes after a major financial pivot around Fab 34. In 2024, Apollo contributed $11.2 billion and acquired 49% of a joint venture tied to the facility’s production, although Intel maintained ownership and operational control of the factory. The company repurchased that stake in April 2026 for $14.2 billion. Three months later, it again commits capital to the Irish infrastructure after recovering 100% of that company. Intel’s European bet had been much more ambitious. The company introduced Fab 34 as one piece of a future chain that would combine wafer production in Ireland with two new advanced factories in Magdeburg, Germany, and an assembly and testing facility in Wrocław, Poland. That deployment was to cover within the Union several of the main stages necessary to convert a wafer into a finished processor. The projects were postponed in 2024 and definitively abandoned a year later, when Intel decided to adjust its investments to expected demand. The 5,000 million asterisk appears there. Europe will be able to manufacture a greater volume of advanced wafers, but it will still not have the complete framework that Intel had promised to build within the EU. The company maintains its main assembly and testing operations in the United States and Asia, after canceling the Polish facility that was to cover those stages. Leixlip reduces some of the external dependence, although it does not by itself convert Xeon production into a fully European chain. Images | Intel In Xataka | SK Hynix is ​​betting that the memory cycle is dead. He proves it by doing just what always killed him.

China conquered the European cheap tire market. The EU has just put the brakes on it

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The European Commission has approved antidumping tariffs definitive rates on tires for passenger cars and light vans from China, which range between 4.3% and 45.3% depending on the manufacturer. The measure comes after an investigation opened in November last year and adds another blow to the growing trade tension between the EU and Chinawhich already affects multiple sectors, including (and one of the most famous), that of electric cars. What has happened? The European Commission maintains that Chinese tires were entering the community market at artificially low prices, a practice known as dumping, and assures that this has harmed the European industry in the sector, which employs more than 80,000 people in 14 EU countries, according to has explained the institution itself. In detail. Tariffs are not the same for all manufacturers. Shandong Yongsheng Rubber Group, a producer focused on more economical tires, receives the highest tariff45.3%. Another 64 companies (including Chinese factories of brands such as Pirelli, Goodyear, Continental or Sumitomo) will have to pay 24.4%. The most striking case is perhaps that of the South Korean company Hankook, which manufactures in China but has escaped with a tariff of only 4.3%, since its researchers concluded that its tires are sold at much higher prices than those of its Chinese competitors and that their impact on the European market was less. Why does it matter? The European market for tires of this type moved more than 18,000 million euros in 2024, with a consumption of about 330 million units, according to data of the European Commission. Of them, almost 93 million came from China, which represents a market share of 28%, a percentage that has been growing strongly from 18% in 2021, according to collect Carscoops. The Commission itself states that indicators such as sales, employment or profitability of European manufacturers showed “a clear negative trend” during the period analyzed. Between the lines. More than 90% of imported Chinese tires are concentrated in the cheapest segment of the market, the so-called “tier 3”, according to data of the Coalition Against Unfair Tire Imports, the association of European manufacturers that filed the initial complaint. This organization assures that the dumping margins detected ranged between 41% and 104%, and that Chinese prices were below European prices by between 30% and 65%. To calculate whether there was dumping, the Commission needed to compare Chinese prices with reliable “reference” prices. The problem is that, according to Brussels, prices within China do not serve as a reference because the State has too much influence over companies in the sector. Therefore, the Commission has decided to use Turkish prices as a proxy to make that comparison. This decision has not pleased the Chinese producers or the South Korean companies Kumho Tire and Hankook, which they argue that Türkiye is not a valid example either, since it imports steel from Russia. The Commission, however, has rejected this argument and has maintained its choice. What China says. The Chinese Chamber of Commerce before the EU has warned that tariffs could place an additional cost burden on the automotive sector. In a statement Quoted by the South China Morning Post newspaper, the organization points out that tariff differences between manufacturers “may have implications for the competitive position of companies operating in the same market”, including European and Asian companies with plants in China. What does it mean for the pocket? According to calculations According to the German media Automobilwoche, tariffs are applied to the import value of the tire, not its final sales price. In 2024, this average value was 30.30 euros per unit. With the 45.3% tariff, the extra cost would be around 13.70 euros; with that of 24.4%, about 7.40 euros. Adding VAT, the increase for the buyer could be between 9 and 16 euros per tire, before the stores apply their own margins. And everything indicates that the entry segment will be the one that will notice the impact the most. And now what. This measure does not close the chapter between the EU and China in this sector. And there is also a parallel investigation for possible illegal subsidies to Chinese manufacturers, also focused on tires, whose conclusions are expected in December of this year. Citi analysts, cited by SCMP, consider that tariffs can help stabilize the European tire sector and anticipate a positive reaction on the stock market for manufacturers such as Goodyear, Michelin, Continental and Pirelli. Cover image | François Genon and Robert Laursoo In Xataka | The camera that watches you while you drive is already mandatory in new cars. And no one guarantees what happens with that data.

“If you put in 95% effort, it’s 0%,” a 22-year-old CEO defends the 996 day as a voluntary “product”

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In late 2024, Daksh Gupta, founder and CEO of a small Silicon Valley AI startup, wrote a tweet that lit up the networks against him. He said that his startup did not offer work-life balance and he was looking for employees who were capable of committing to such a level with his company that he did not care. work 100 hours a week with weekends included. In his day, he defended this time requirement with a phrase that went viral: in such a competitive market, according to statements collected by Inc.com: “No one cares about the third best company, not even the second best in any software category. If you put in 95% of your effort, it’s like you’re not putting in any effort at all.” The origin of the misunderstanding. Months later, the young CEO has returned to give explanations about that controversy on the podcast The Peel with Turner Novakand what counts changes the photo quite a bit. Gupta says that the famous “996” model (from nine in the morning to nine at night six days a week) was not even born as a company norm. The statements came from an interview for him San Francisco Standard about the social life of the young founders of Silicon Valley. They asked him what they did for fun, and he summarized the fashion of the moment: “996, lift weights, don’t drink, don’t do drugs, run, eat meat and eggs and marry young,” said Gupta. Someone took that phrase out of context. He became the headline, and the headline became controversial. However, Gupta does not deny that the “996” shift model is being applied in his startup. He acknowledges that his team works from nine to nine thirty at night, and a good part of the weekend. But he rejects the “996” label without nuance. In his opinion, that term: “implies imposition and sounds like a 2008 factory in a third world country,” says the young CEO, and that implies something that he wants to avoid at all costs: imposition. Work, according to Gupta, is a product. The central idea defended by the CEO of Greptile in the interview with Turner Novak is that the jobs in his company are, literally, “a product.” It offers high salaries, an unusually generous stock package for a startup in its expansion phase, and tough technical projects in a small team. In exchange, he asks for total surrender. To avoid surprises, he says he treats each candidate “like an investor.” It teaches them the company’s revenue, growth, customer satisfaction. It lets them talk to employees and investors before signing anything. “The product is that: if it appeals to you, then you should join us. I’m going to be very transparent about what it is,” notes Gupta. Anyone looking for a comfortable schedule and stability, according to Gupta, simply doesn’t fit: “that’s not the product here,” he sums up bluntly. He is not the only apostle of extreme effort. Despite being a rather unique approach to the employee/shareholder concept, Gupta has not invented any formula that is not already applied in other Silicon Valley companies. Lucy Guoco-founder of Scale AI, advocates 90-hour weeks as the desirable standard. Other young founders have changed the parties and social life by 92 hour dayswithout alcohol involved. Great sharks of Silicon Valley like elon musk and Sergei Brin have been asking for years between 60 and 80 hours per week to your templates. The curious thing is the moment. China banned 996 by law five years ago. The People’s Supreme Court declared it illegal in 2021, after several employee deaths for excess hours. Silicon Valley is resurrecting, almost proudly, the same workday model that Beijing dismissed as a tremendous mistake. The other side of the argument. Not the entire ecosystem applauds. Suranga Chandratillake, Partner at Balderton Capital, believe that this speech comes mainly from investors who never founded anything and only seek a quick return on their investment at the expense of overexertion by employees. Amelia Miller, from the employment platform Iveegoes further and assures that requiring seven days of work without a break is directly a bad sign when it comes to investing. The numbers give him part reason. According to CB Insightsthe exhaustion of the founding team is behind 5% of the startup closures analyzed. It is not the main cause, but it is not an anecdote either. Meanwhile, OpenAI publishes reports calling for four day weeks thanks to AI, just when other companies in the sector demand the opposite from their engineers. That contradiction, for the moment, remains unanswered. In Xataka | Working more than 60 hours a week is not healthy: Japan is starting to learn it the hard way Image | Unsplash (Paymo), The Peel

The US has put into service a new anti-satellite weapon. The most striking thing is that it doesn’t shoot anything

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For decades, when we talked about weapons against satellites, the mental image was almost always the same: a missile, an impact and more space junk. But space warfare doesn’t always need an explosion to be effective. Sometimes it is enough to act on what we do not see: the link that connects a satellite with those who depend on it. That is what makes the US’s latest step especially striking. We are not facing a system designed to shoot down an object in orbit, but rather one that aims at something less visible and much more everyday in any modern military operation: communications. Attack communications. US Space Force Combat Forces Command operationally accepted on June 8 to Meadowlands, a new addition to its family of electromagnetic warfare systems. It’s not an isolated program: the Space Force describes it as an upgrade to Counter Communications System 10.2 and says it can detect, deny, disrupt and degrade adversary capabilities in active defense of joint force objectives. Its operation remains in the hands of Mission Delta 3, Space Electromagnetic Warfare. The key is in the sign. A satellite is not just an object in orbit, but a chain of links, antennas, ground stations and users that need to communicate with it. Meadowlands acts on that less visible part of the system. L3Harris, program contractor, describes the Counter Communications System as a deployable ground platform aimed at denying communications from satellites in orbit, and presents Meadowlands as a more compact and mobile version. A change of era. Meadowlands fits into a broader transformation of conflict in space. The Secure World Foundation classify capabilities counterspace in several families, from co-orbital capabilities and direct ascent missiles to electronic warfare, directed energy and cyber capabilities. That distinction matters because not all of them seek to destroy a satellite. Some, such as electromagnetic warfare, seek to degrade services, limit communications or alter access to a space capability during a specific operation. Space Force itself places it in that first invisible line of the electromagnetic spectrum. Looking at the precedents. When an anti-satellite weapon physically destroys its target, the problem does not end with the impact: a cloud of debris begins that can continue orbiting for years. The US Space Command assured that the Russian direct ascent test against Cosmos 1408, in 2021, produced more than 1,500 traceable pieces. NASA had already documented something similar after the Chinese test against Fengyun-1C, in 2007, with more than 2,000 fragments of about 10 centimeters or more identified. Meadowlands belongs to another logic: act without adding more junk to the orbital environment. The paradox. The less Meadowlands looks like a conventional anti-satellite weapon, the better you understand why it matters. Its value is not in converting a satellite into orbital debris, but in acting on the layer that allows it to be used in a real operation. This difference helps explain the US movement and also the fundamental change that we are seeing in the military space. The battlefield is not only in the orbit or in the objects that travel through it. It is also in the signs, in the links and in the ability to maintain them when they are most needed. Images | United States Space Force In Xataka | “We are going to see more and more cases like this.” There are six mysterious spheres on a beach in Australia, and everything indicates that they came from space

put a hydrogen train on a narrow track

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Stadler and ARST have presented in Erlen (Switzerland) what both companies describe as the first hydrogen train designed specifically to run on narrow gauge tracks. The idea is that the convoy will begin transporting passengers in 2028 on three lines in northern Sardinia. Below these lines we tell you all the information. What has happened? The Swiss manufacturer and ARST have closed a project that started with a framework agreement signed in 2023 and that contemplates the supply of ten hydrogen trains for the Sardinian network. According to the press release, these vehicles will replace the current diesel units and will allow, according to the company, to save more than 2,100 tons of CO₂ per year, a figure that Stadler compare with avoiding about 450 car trips around the planet. Why is it a technical novelty? Until now, the hydrogen trains that circulate in Europe, like Alstom’s Coradia iLint in Lower Saxony or Siemens’ Mireo Plus H in Bavaria, have been developed for the standard gauge gauge of 1,435 millimeters. Sardinia, Calabria and Sicily, on the other hand, preserve a network inherited from the 19th century with a width of only 950 millimeters, which imposes much stricter axle load limits. Stadler had to design a completely new lightweight aluminum body to fit into that tight space. It is worth clarifying, however, that this is not the first time that something similar has been proposed. And just as they point From Trenvista, in 2011 the Spanish operator FEVE converted a retired 3400 series unit, the so-called Fabiolo, to hydrogen, although that project was later abandoned. What is certain is that it is the first narrow gauge hydrogen train conceived from the beginning to enter commercial service. In detail. The propulsion system is based on fuel cells and hydrogen tanks, but with a peculiarity, because instead of distributing the components across the roof of the train, as other manufacturers do, Stadler has concentrated all the equipment in a central car, named Power Pack. This module acts as a kind of rolling charger that transforms hydrogen into electricity to power the traction batteries, freeing up space in passenger cars for air conditioning, panoramic windows and access to the lower floor for people with reduced mobility. With its own hydrogen. Most hydrogen trains in service are refueled at conventional stations. ARST has opted for a model designed to produce its own hydrogen through electrolysis powered 100% by solar energy, integrating the production plant within the transport network itself. As explained by Carlo Poledrini, central director of ARST, in Stadler’s notethese vehicles are “a central element of the decarbonization strategy of the narrow gauge network” and represent “the first step in the evolution of ARST from a transport operator to an energy company capable of powering its own service network.” Expansion. The project is part of a broader initiative by the Italian Government and its Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport to decarbonise the narrow gauge lines in the south of the country. Stadler affirms which already builds nine similar trains for Ferrovie della Calabria and two more units for Ferrovia Circumetnea, in Sicily, the latter adapted for the slopes around Etna. And now what. Before receiving passengers, the ten Sardinian trains must complete a battery of safety and operational tests. If everything progresses as planned, the first unit should be circulating with travelers in 2028, and from there we will see if the idea ends up gaining traction. Cover image | Stadler In Xataka | Switzerland installed the first railway solar plant in the world: a year later, it has been such a success that its neighbors are already asking about it

We believed that VAR was going to put an end to the classic favoritism of the World Cup host. Then the White House made a call

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“When the certainty of the rules is no longer guaranteed, the integrity of the game is called into question” These are the words with which UEFA, in charge of overseeing the competitions of the European confederation, has responded to FIFA’s decision to withdraw a red card from Folarin Balogun, star forward of the United States team that faces Belgium in the round of 16. The statement is just the latest response that FIFA has received regarding this controversial decision that comes, according to The New York Timesthat Donald Trump, president of the United States, called Gianni Infantino by phone to pressure him and demand that he remove the automatic match penalty that is applied when a player receives a red card. FIFA’s decision is the latest maneuver to favor the host team in a World Cup and adds to the long list of favors for the locals that have traditionally marked the World Cup. Everything indicated that with VAR, the video refereeing tool, this was going to end or, at least, it was going to be very complicated to give small pushes to the local teams. But FIFA is always ready to surprise you. The regulation mess Forlain Balogun, a United States forward who has three goals in the 2026 World Cup, plays an aerial ball. It is the 64th minute of the round of 32 match of the 2026 World Cup and the person who disputes the ball is Tarik Muharemovic. The game is about to experience a turning point. The score reads 1-0, the United States has gone ahead with a goal from Balogun himself who is having a great championship but is about to lose its star for the remainder of the match and the round of 16 against Belgium. Or so we believed. In the dispute, the American player hits the Bosnian defender from behind. An obvious foul that results in a red card. As he falls, Balogun accidentally lands with his studs on Muharemovic’s calf, drags his foot and bends the defender’s ankle. The VAR calls the referee to observe the play carefully. Although fortuitous, the force applied by the American player is considered excessive and he ends up expelled. The match ends 2-0 and, of course, the worst thing for the United States is the impossibility of having their star striker in the tie against Belgium, the European team (hence the statement from UEFA, which is also in an open war against FIFA) against which they will play for a place in the quarterfinals. The winner will play against the winner of tonight’s Spain-Portugal. A more common setback in short knockout tournaments, the same setback as if, for example, a player accumulates two yellow cards in different phases during the championship. However, FIFA surprised yesterday with a statement: Forlain Balogun’s sanction was suspended. The alleged reason is that the suspension of a match was at the mercy of the player’s behavior in the next year. If he reoffends in a violent situation again, the rule will be applied to him. To do this, FIFA has based itself on article 27 of its disciplinary regulations, which states that punishments can be suspended for a certain period of time subject to the player’s attitude. A decision that as they remember from the Belgian team (clearly affected by the player’s non-suspension), collides directly with article 66.4 of the same regulations in which it is specified that a player who receives a red card will not be able to play the next match. In Sports CarouselIturralde González, former referee and referee commentator on the program, explains that the article that FIFA clings to is designed for disturbances on soccer fields and attitudes that go beyond the merely sporting. He explains that, in fact, FIFA does not withdraw the red card and only suspends the impossibility of playing the next match, a fact that has not been seen since 1962 when Garrincha was sent off in a tough semi-final against Chile but was cleared to play in the final against Czechoslovakia. Click on the image to go to the original tweet The call that went over the VAR We could think that FIFA’s decision was serious and fell within one of the many tricks that they have been using for years to favor local teams. However, a post by Donald Trump in X and the explicit support of the White House in which he thanked FIFA directly, he made the hare jump. The New York Times has been the first medium to publish what could be suspected once the thanks of the president of the United States was made public: The White House called Gianni Infantino directlypresident of FIFA, to ask that Forlain Balogun play against Belgium. In The Wall Street Journal They narrate that Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Commerce, and Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the working group that the White House has active for the organization of the 2026 World Cup, went to work on the same night of the United States – Bosnia and Herzegovina. From that moment on, they count on WSJa machinery made up of specialist lawyers related to Donald Trump began to move to try to stop the sanction. On the table was the possibility of challenging the red card and trying to prevent slow motion from being used in this type of actions in which video refereeing is involved (which many understand to magnify the damage caused by a kick or a stomp). The team, they explain in the media, was informed from the first moment but the United States National Team denied any possibility of revoking the sanction. While all this was happening, always according to internal sources of The Wall Street JournalDonald Trump directly picked up the phone to speak with Gianni Infantino, president of FIFA who has always been very close to the American president. At that time, Infantino responded to the US president that he could not assure him anything but confirmed that the suspension had been … Read more

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