record

In record time since its release in theaters, one of the most resounding box office failures of the year arrives tomorrow on Prime Video

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‘He-Man and the Masters of the Universe’ comes to Prime Video this Wednesday, July 22, just forty-seven days after its release in theaters. The reason for arriving at streaming With such a short margin of time it is its failure at the box office: it opened with 29.4 million dollars in North America, remained at 64.6 million domestically and closed the world tour at 113.3 million, very far from recovering a budget of between 170 and 200 million dollars. The rapid arrival of films that better captured the public’s attention, such as ‘Toy Story 4’ or the surprise hits of ‘Backrooms’ and ‘Obsession’, ended up burying it. However, the film is very enjoyable and moves away from the greatest temptation that a project to adapt a toy franchise from the eighties like this one can have: making it adult and reflective. Travis Knight, director of the excellent ‘Bumblebee’, does not darken Eternia: he opts for bright colors and Jared Leto’s Skeletor who enjoys every line of the cartoon villain without taking himself too seriously. Nicholas Galitzine builds a clumsy rather than heroic He-Man, closer to a clueless kid from a family movie from the decade in which dolls were rampant than to Dolph Lundgren, and that character is what guides the entire film. Seeing her now, at home and without paying an entrance fee, is a good way to meet her again. It works better for someone who recognizes the names Roboto or Tri-Klops than for someone looking for the founding film of a new fantasy franchise, mind you. But Luckily, the film also holds up without the need for those winks.with action shot with skill and a cast that delivers performances (Idris Elba as Duncan, Camila Mendes as Teela, Alison Brie as Evil-Lyn) that are in the perfect (and not at all complacent) space between self-parody and more or less sincere emotion. It is not clear if the film will find an audience as the even better ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves’ from 2023 ended up finding, but what is guaranteed is that the Mattel franchise has just definitively entered a period of hibernation that, hand in hand with another summer puncture, ‘The Mandalorian & Grogu’, leaves a very clear lesson: nostalgia millennial It is no longer enough, on its own, to sustain a blockbuster. In Xataka | If you think Nicolas Cage can’t go any further, try this strange gem that just arrived on Prime Video

The EU has hit AliExpress with a record fine. And make it clear that the next one could be even bigger.

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The European Commission has fined AliExpress with 550 million euros for allowing the sale of illegal, unsafe and counterfeit products on its platform. It is the highest penalty ever imposed under the Digital Services Act (DSA)the rule with which Brussels forces large online platforms to monitor what is sold and published on them. The investigation, opened in March 2024, concluded that AliExpress’s detection systems “were not working properly”: many illegal products passed through undetected and others remained on sale even weeks after being identified. Why is it important. It is not the first time that the Commission takes out the checkbook against a Chinese platform. In May he fined Temu 200 million for similar violations, and in December of last year sanctioned X with 120 million for their misleading payment verifications. AliExpress now takes, by far, the hardest hit of the three. Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen has been blunt: The sale of counterfeit clothing, dangerous toys and toxic cosmetics “is not an inevitable cost of shopping online”, but rather “a failure” of AliExpress itself when it comes to fulfilling its obligations. According to its own data, AliExpress has 193 million users in the European Union, ahead of Shein (156 million) and Temu (130 million). One in five Europeans shops at least once a month in one of the three. Between the lines. The Commission’s report does not describe a specific failure, but rather a poorly dimensioned system from its roots. AliExpress misjudged whether it had enough staff to review suspicious products, underestimated how poorly its own detection system was working, and failed to evaluate how its recommendation and advertising algorithms were helping to spread illegal items. The “brand authorization” mechanism, designed to curb counterfeits, has been very easy for sellers to circumvent. And when the platform did sanction a merchant, the penalty did not prevent them from continuing to sell the same thing shortly after. Yes, but. AliExpress assures that the fine is “disproportionate” and that it will appeal. It maintains that it has invested substantial resources in product safety and that the decision ignores the “proactive improvements” introduced after the first notice from the Commission, just over a year ago. That nuance matters because the sanction comes after AliExpress escaped a fine in 2024 by pledging to strengthen its controls on medicines and other potentially dangerous products. Brussels has now decided that those promises were not enough. The context. The DSA allows fines of up to 6% of a company’s worldwide turnover. With the 122,000 million euros that Alibaba invoiced last yearthe legal ceiling would be around 7.3 billion. The 550 million applied are far below, something that the Commission itself attributes, in part, to the fact that the standard is still relatively recent. And now what. AliExpress has until October 20 to present a plan to Brussels to correct the deficiencies detected. The Commission will review this proposal in December and, if it considers it insufficient, it may impose additional periodic sanctions, not just a single fine. The underlying message for the rest of the Chinese platforms operating in the European Union, with Shein under open investigationis that size no longer serves as a shield. “Scale is not an excuse,” Virkkunen summarized. In Xataka | EU tariffs have made it impossible to buy on Aliexpress and Shein: in a few months it will be even more complicated Featured image | Xataka

There are people covering the LED on Meta’s glasses to record secretly. The company has just made a drastic decision

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Today it is relatively easy to know when someone is recording us with a cell phone: we see it raised, pointing towards us, becoming an almost universal signal. The same does not happen with smart glasses. They may look like normal glasses, be on the face of someone looking in our direction, and go unnoticed for those who don’t know what to look for. In this scenario, the small white light that turns on when capturing photos or videos is not a minor detail: it is the visible clue that allows us to understand that those glasses are recording. The problem begins when that clue disappears. That’s just what Meta is trying to prevent now. The company claims that its AI glasses, a category that already goes beyond the Ray-Ban Meta, will disable the camera if they detect that the capture LED has been physically tampered with or destroyed, not just if it is covered. Until now, Meta said that, since its second generation of glasses, the system already blocked photos and videos when it detected that that light was covered. The novelty is that the protection is extended to more aggressive attempts to override the visible warning. It is not an absolute guarantee against all misuse, but it is a direct response to a specific crack in the product. The problem with glasses was not just blocking the light Meta calls that signal “capture LED”: a white light on the front of each pair of glasses that flashes when content is being captured for the gallery. According to the company, in the case of a photo the notice appears for a moment, while on video remains throughout the recording. On paper, its function is simple: let people around you know that someone is taking an image or recording a scene. In practice, that small light carries an enormous responsibility: making visible a camera that, by design, can be confused with conventional glasses. The leap is that it wasn’t all about putting a piece of tape over the light. Meta acknowledges that it has seen attempts that went further: efforts to physically modify or destroy the capture LED. Media like 404 Media and BGR have documented those types of practices in more detail. The first published the case of a service that offered to modify the Ray-Ban Meta to make the light useless, while the second included more rudimentary methods and other more elaborate ones, from accessories designed to hide it to physical interventions on the indicator area. The underlying issue was clear: if the signal could disappear and the camera continued working, the safeguard lost much of its meaning. In Spain we have already seen how far this gap can go. At Xataka we have been counting for just over a year the case of a young man detained in Barcelona after recording hundreds of women with smart glasses without their knowledge, an episode that turned a until then diffuse concern into a much more tangible problem. The key was not only the device, but the lack of social alarm about it: many people still do not react the same to apparently normal glasses as to a cell phone pointed in their direction. The company presents the update as a new layer of privacy, but it is also an admission that the LED had become an attackable point in the system. If the visible notice could be obscured, modified, or destroyed while the camera continued to operate, the promise of transparency was weakened. Now Meta is trying to turn that light into something more than an indicator: a condition for the camera to operate. Images | Goal In Xataka | Meta already has its rival for Nano Banana 2. Its problem is the same as always: mercilessly invading our privacy

Voyager 1 will reach a light-day distance in November, but this will be its last major record

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In 1977, NASA launched the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 probes into spacewith the aim of studying the outermost planets of the solar system. Both carried out their mission successfully, so they were entrusted with a new task: to become the first ships to travel beyond the confines of our solar system. They also made this check on its target list, always Voyager 1 slightly ahead of its twin. Now, it will also be the first to reach a new milestone: positioning itself at a distance of one light day from Earth. It has been known for a long time that this was his next challenge. Now, thanks to the statements that NASA has made to the media IFLSciencewe know exactly the date and time you are expected to achieve it. Goal almost achieved. According to NASA, Voyager 1 should reach the distance of 1 light day from Earth on November 18, 2026, at 10:16:07 UTC. The time could vary slightly, but in principle, according to calculations made by Voyager mission engineers, those are the predictions. Many achievements in its history. Voyager 1 was released in 1977. In 1979 he arrived in the neighborhood of Jupiter to observe and photograph it up close. Thanks to their work, two new Jovian moons and a thin ring around the planet were discovered. Then, in 1980, it arrived at Saturn. It also discovered a new ring and even more moons: a total of 5 satellites. Uranus and Neptune were left to its twin, Voyager 2, so after Saturn it continued its journey beyond the solar system, leaving the heliosphere behind in 2012. It then became the first human-made object to enter interstellar space. The keys to its maintenance. In these years, it has been necessary to turn off little by little many of the instruments of the Voyager probes to save battery life so that they can continue with their journey. For this reason, it has been several decades without taking images. The last was the famous pale blue dot, which was photographed on Valentine’s Day 1990. Thanks to these savings, it continues to send data regularly to Earth, although the further away it is, the more it costs. Energy that runs out. The Voyager probes they get their energy thanks to three radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG), which convert the heat generated by the decay of plutonium-238 into electricity. This is what has allowed them to continue working for so long. In 2011, for example, the two probes they generated just under 270 watts, which is about 76% of the power they started with. Thanks to the shutdown of instruments, the gum has been stretching until today, with the possibility of breaking a new record next November. However, 0.8% of power is lost each year, so it is estimated that by 2030 they will no longer obtain enough energy to be able to capture data or communicate with Earth. They will continue to wander through interstellar space, but subdued and silent. And then what? It is estimated that Voyager 1 will take about 40,000 years to approach the closest possible star. It may plunge into another planetary system, which who knows if it will have life or not. If it has it, it will carry a message from Earth, since, like Voyager 2, it carries on board a golden record with greetings in 55 languages, along with music and 116 images and sounds of Earth. None of the engineers who wrote that message will ever know if anyone reads it. We don’t even know if humanity will still exist by then. But when we talk about space, uncertainty is often the norm. For now, it is better to think about the nearest horizon, which is the one in which Voyager 1 breaks one more record. There are only a few months left until he achieves it. Images | POT In Xataka | The rescue of Voyager 1 has begun. With 8 KB of memory, a programming language from 1957 and unparalleled lag

The fastest civil aircraft since Concorde has just set its first record. Speed ​​is only part of the story

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For years we have assumed that civil aviation had stopped putting speed at the center of the discourse. The industry moved towards other areas: being more efficient, achieving greater autonomy and improving occupant comfort, especially on long flights. He concorde It remained a reference that was difficult to repeat, almost like a symbolic border from another era. That is why it is striking that Bombardier puts speed back on the table with the Global 8000a business jet that the company bills as the fastest civilian jet since Concorde. And yet, that’s only part of the story. A route with a showcase. The demonstration came with a very specific transatlantic flight. Last June 5Bombardier reported that the Global 8000 had set its first speed record after covering the route between Montreal, Canada, and Nice, France, in just over six hours. The firm explained that the plane was transporting passengers to the Monaco Formula 1 Grand Prix and that among them was Éric Martel, president and CEO of the company. Not only does it show off flight time: it also puts the plane in the terrain for which it was designed. Speed, in figures. One of the big claims of the Global 8000 is its maximum speed of Mach 0.95, a fact that the manufacturer uses to place it above the rest of the business jets. The company also talks about an ultra-fast cruise of Mach 0.92, in addition to a high-speed cruise of Mach 0.90 and a typical speed of Mach 0.85. Added to this is a maximum autonomy of 8,000 nautical miles, about 14,800 kilometers. Further and more places. The other key is how you take off and land. Bombardier claims that the Global 8000 maintains unusual agility for a very long-range aircraft, with performance comparable to that of a light jet in certain runway operations. The explanation lies in its Smooth Flĕx wing, designed to combine low-speed lift and high-speed performance, along with specific leading edge slats. According to the manufacturerthis architecture allows it to operate in up to 30% more airports than its closest rival. The other part of the story. Beyond the flight figures, Bombardier wants the cabin to be another of the great arguments of the Global 8000. The plane can have a large kitchen, Nuage seats, Soleil lighting and connectivity options such as JetWave, Starlink and Gogo Galileo. It also highlights a cabin altitude of 2,691 feet when the aircraft flies at 41,000 feet, a figure that the manufacturer presents as the lowest in production business aviation. The Global 8000 is not understood only by the record. We are talking about a business aircraft capable of flying very fast, sustaining very long-range flights, expanding the range of possible airports and offering a cabin designed for customers who expect more than just a comfortable seat. Images | DUNCAN KIRK (CC BY 4.0) In Xataka | Brazil’s secret to becoming the first nation in Latin America with its own supersonic fighter is a number: 40

A homemade drone has just exceeded 700 km/h. And with this he has put the official record on the ropes

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When we think of a drone, we normally imagine a device that takes off vertically, remains suspended in the air and allows us to record impossible shots quite easily. He Blackbird It’s not about that. Its objective is much more extreme: fly as fast as possible. In this race, stability in flight matters less than efficiency at high speed, and so a change in the propellers has given it a surprising boost. The official record remains in the hands of Luke Bell and Mike Bell. According to Guinness World Recordsreached an average speed of 408.60 mph, equivalent to 657.59 km/h, on December 11, 2025, with the Peregreen V4 in Cape Town. It was not their first time: Guinness points out that father and son had already achieved this same record in 2024, with 480 km/h, and in June 2025, with 580 km/h. With that bar on the table, the Blackbird attempt has a very specific reading: it does not replace the official record, but it puts it under pressure. Ben Biggs and Aidan’s drone reached 453 mph, approximately 730 km/hduring a test pass. That fact is the most striking, although it is also the one that needs the most context. For now, what we have is an unofficial demonstration with a huge figure and the question if it can be repeated under verified conditions. A record-breaking race played on the propellers Here is the nuance that separates a spectacular figure from a truly comparable measurement. On the 730 km/h pass there was a tailwind of 54.7 km/h, so the estimated airspeed was reduced to 674 km/h. On the upwind pass, the drone reached about 640 km/h. The average of the two was close to 684 km/h, and that is why that data weighs more than the maximum peak when we try to understand how far the project really went. The key is how those new propellers behave when the drone stops flying like a conventional quadcopter and starts moving like a controlled projectile. The carbon fiber blades have a high pitch angle and that allows them to be more efficient at high speed because they are more parallel to the air that the drone passes through. It is not a free advantage: on takeoff and at low speed they push worse, so the motors have to demand more from the battery in that initial phase. The other important detail is in the serrated leading edge of the blades. As they explain, this shape generates small vortices on the surface of the propeller and helps the air not to move laterally along the blade, but rather to come out backwards to push the drone. It also helps to stabilize the boundary layer, that film of air attached to the surface that influences drag. In practice, it allows working with steeper angles without the propeller losing efficiency and behaving more like a piece that removes air than one that generates thrust. The flip side of pushing a quadcopter to the limit is that problems can also arise. Blackbird lost connection at about 633 km/h, due to a combination of antenna geometry, Doppler effect and signal overload. In the second, the drone ended up damaged after a hard landing, when the batteries ran out a few meters from the ground. The official record remains that of the Peregreen V4, but the Blackbird has made it clear where the next attempt may be. The question, now, is obvious: will they call Guinness World Records to try to certify it? Images | Drone Pro Hub In Xataka | The US vetoed the largest Chinese drone manufacturer. Now 8,000 American pilots have a serious problem

Japan is suffering a record number of ramen shop bankruptcies. And it is partly the result of the “1,000 yen barrier”

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The ramen is almost a religion (gastronomic) in Japan. One, yes, condemned to adjust to a certain price range. Although bowls of noodles with soup, meat and vegetables are one of the symbols of Japanese cuisine and a draw for tourists, in the country ramen is seen as a modest dish for students leaving school or workers with a brief lunch break. A sort of ‘worker menu’. So much so that there is even talk of “1,000 yen wall”a psychological barrier to noodle bowl prices. The problem is that Japanese hoteliers have seen their costs increase until they are dragged into a critical situation: in 2024 they registered a record of bankrupt ramen shops and, although the situation improved significantly in 2025ruined businesses still number in the dozens. Bad season for business. That the expense sheet increases while the income sheet is conditioned by a psychological barrier that limits prices can only translate into one thing for businesses: problems. Japan’s ramen restaurants know this well, having been registering dozens and dozens of bankruptcies for years and in 2024 they even reached a record of closures. The data They come from the research firm Teikou and are eloquent. In 2020 there were 54 ramen restaurants condemned to bankruptcy, in 2021 there were 17, a figure that is largely explained by the aid given by the Government during the COVID-19 pandemic, and in 2022 the bankruptcies rose again to 33. The following year there were 53, in 2024 a record of 79 bankruptcies and last year, the latest data available, 59 stores were declared bankrupt. For their study, Teikoku technicians mainly take into account those businesses that accumulated debts of more than 10 million yen (just over 54,000 euros) and have no choice but to declare bankruptcy. The key: the trend. The figure may seem low if one takes into account that throughout the country they are distributed more than 21,000 restaurants of ramen, but it is significant. Last year, in fact, he made the weapons fly due to the record of bankruptcies. The latest data from the sector are somewhat more positive, but are still far from ideal: dozens and dozens of businesses continue to close. However, there is another reason why the figures attract attention: the discourse. Local media and international They have spent time warning of the cascade of closures. There is who warns Furthermore, beyond the balance of bankruptcies, a significant number of establishments that remain open do so in delicate financial health. That is, they remain operational, but they are not well. Struck by costs. Bankruptcy figures may vary depending on the period analyzed, but what does not vary are the analyzes that talk about the causes of the ramen crisis. The diagnosis It is clear: the problem for the stores has been the rise in costs and the limited margin to pass it on to customers. In 2025 Washington Post cited a study from Teikoku Databank that concluded that the sum of the ingredients – including pork, pasta and seaweed –, labor and energy required to make ramen had increased by around 10% in three years. Other calculations They point out that the cost per client grew by 5% between 2022 and 2023. “Prices have been rising over time, but in the last three years they have been incredible,” recognized Tetsuya Kaneko, with a location in Tokyo. The ‘perfect storm’ of ramen. Tetsuya Kaneko assumed in fact that his case was not unique and “everyone in the sector is struggling.” At the end of the day, hoteliers have been forced to deal with a ‘perfect storm’ that works against them: inflationthe rise in import prices due to the weakness of the yen against the dollar and the increase in the cost of energy that had the war in Ukrainewhich also affected the flow of cereals. For three months now, the war in Iran has been added to this panorama, which has made transportation more expensive. “The example of ramen shops illustrates economic trends well because they have a hard time passing on increased costs to end consumers,” explains to the newspaper American Norihiro Yamaguchi, economist specializing in Japan at Oxford Economics. In his opinion, until 2022, consumers were hesitant about any price increase, but the reality is now different: “They have to accept the increase in the cost of living.” For all pockets. As if the situation were not complex in itself, ramen establishments have to deal with another challenge: prices. Or rather, the image that the dish has in the country and the psychological barriers that in a certain way determine its rates. It is not something completely unknown in Spain, where a similar logic operates in the menus of the day of the restaurants. “Ramen has always been a staple food for low-income people, students… I don’t want it to be out of reach,” Kaneko explains.. The “1,000 yen wall”. A quick Google search shows several references, both on blogs and specialized websites in Japanese culture as in diaries generalistswhat is usually called the “1,000 yen wall”, which in exchange amounts to about 5.4 euros. That round number marks the price ceiling that rarely exceeds a basic noodle bowl with broth, meat and vegetables. Or so it was until recently. Faced with the new scenario and the delicate situation to which many businesses have been dragged, those in charge have had to consider a dilemma: cross the 1,000 yen barrier or resign yourself to following in the footsteps of the 72 establishments closed in 2024 and 59 in 2025. Upload with apology included. A few months ago Kaneko I remembered how in 2023 it had to increase its prices by 50 yen, reaching 1,000 for a standard bowl. Another professional in the sector, Taisei Hikage, recalled how rates have changed in a matter of a decade: if 10 years ago there were basic noodle dishes for 500 yen, today the situation is very different. When he opened his own restaurant in 2023, he … Read more

Oviedo has already broken its heat record for May and AEMET warns that this has only just begun

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Let’s stay with a figure: 34.3. It is, almost certainly, the most important data of the week. On Thursday, May 21, 2026, the thermometers of the city of Oviedo They recorded a temperature of 34.3 degrees. 1.8 ºC more than the highest temperature ever recorded in May in the capital of the Principality. AEMET is convinced that between today and the weekend will be reached again (or even exceeded) this temperature. And yet, this is only a tiny part of the story. Because the real story is that, in a region structurally protected by its oceanic climate, records are being broken in ways we would not have been able to imagine. And that’s without the country being in a ‘heat wave’. What is happening? Although There is some controversy with the namewhat is happening is called ‘heat dome‘. That is, a subtropical anticyclonic ridge, anomalously powerful for this time of year, which is trapping very warm air above our heads. Europe is bearing the brunt, it is true. Countries such as France, Germany, the Netherlands and the British Isles they are seeing temperatures between 10 and 15 degrees above normal. If everything goes as predicted by the models, the May records of half of Europe are going to explode on the 25th of this month. And, of course, we are noticing that. As the haze falls on the Canary Islands (right at the eastern vertex of the dome), a good part of the country will suffer considerable heat. We talk about more than 34 degrees in Asturias and the Basque Country and 38 in the Guadiana valleys. The Guadalquivir valley is already above 35. And, as I say, all this without heat waves. Despite the magnitude of the episode, AEMET does not rate it like a heat wave in peninsular Spain. It is not. We already know that the operational definition requires exceeding the 95th percentile of daily maximum temperatures for the July-August quarter for at least three days and, of course, we are not going to go to that extreme. What does all this heat tell us? Let’s be honest. For Andújar or Badajoz to reach 38 degrees on May 21 is rare, but not exceptional. But for Oviedo to reach 34.3 is a very different thing. It shows, above all, that the Cantabrian coast is beginning to stop being a “climate refuge.” Why is all this important? In addition to an underlying climate issue, this warm episode is important because it is dangerous. The first extreme heat of the year is the deadliest because the population has not gone through the period of physiological acclimatization produced by progressive exposure to summer heat. That is, because it is May and the Iberian summer has truly begun. Image | Tropical TidBits In Xataka | The Gulf Stream is dying. Someone’s idea to solve it dates back to the 1950s: closing the Bering Strait

the “manfluencers” who record women without their consent

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While some They try to reinvent the smartphone (without success, so far), there is a gadget with AI that is catching on among the general public. AI glasses are becoming more popular and are already being targeted controversies and social debates. Is it ethical to wear a camera on your face that may be recording without others realizing? Not much, especially when those videos are used for extortion. What has happened? In BBC They tell the story of Alice (not her real name) and how she was recorded without her consent at the entrance to a London shopping center. The man was actually a content creator who gave dating advice to other men. She published the video of their interaction and it went viral to the point that it reached the protagonist herself. Alice says she was shocked because the man “didn’t have a phone, he didn’t have a camera pointed directly at my face.” If you want me to delete it, pay me. Alice said she felt humiliated and contacted the account that had posted the video, requesting that it be removed, but the response was not what she expected. The man who had recorded it asked him for payment in exchange for removing the video, since according to him it complied with the platform’s rules. Finally, it was TikTok that deleted the video, but reuploaded it to another account, which has been deleted for violating its rules on harassment and bullying. There is more. Alice’s is not the only case of videos of this type recorded with AI glasses. In a previous reportBBC narrated the cases of two other women who had also been recorded by one of these “manfluencers.” The modus operandi is to approach women to ask for their phone number or start a conversation and then upload it to networks, where they often go viral and generate all kinds of comments. Something similar also happened in Spain, a man filmed hundreds of women in the streets of Barcelona without their knowledge. He ended up being arrested for a crime against privacy. We have also seen how AI glasses are used to cheat on examswhich already has the authorities alert in cities like Valencia. Why is it important. Much of the success of the Ray-Ban Meta is due to the fact that they are normal glasses, which you can wear on a daily basis without squeaking (hello, Google Glass). Their main attraction is precisely what makes them perfect for recording without anyone noticing. Yes, they have an LED light that lights up when the glasses record, but there are two circumstances: the LED can be modified and many people do not even realize that that light indicates that they are being recorded. Reaction. Although AI glasses are still an emerging product category, a wave of social rejection and criticism is already emerging, especially in the US where they are most popular. Many people find them invasive and they don’t feel comfortable if someone is wearing someeven if the LED is off. We have also seen the response of the Chinese startup Even Realitiesglasses without a camera whose selling point is precisely the weak point of glasses with a camera: they do not spy on you. Image | Xataka with Gemini In Xataka | I’ve been testing the Ray-Ban Meta 2 for weeks and I’ve discovered something: Meta has made brilliant glasses with disappointing AI

with a bridge built in record time

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Satellite images reviewed by the BBC confirm that the first direct connecting highway between Moscow and Pyongyang will be operational in the coming weeks. That is to say, there will soon be a bridge that connects Russia and North Korea by road, materializing an alliance that is reconfiguring the conflict in Ukraine. What is happening. The Khasan-Tumangang Bridge, which crosses the Tumen River on the border between Russia and North Korea, is nearing completion. The satellite images that share The middle shows the structure already united in its central section, along with new access roads, a border control post, support infrastructure and parking areas. The Russian embassy in Pyongyang confirms that the planned opening date is June 19. First time in history. Until now, the only physical link between both countries was the so-called Friendship Bridge, a Soviet-era railway crossing inaugurated in 1959, and whose use for road vehicles was limited. The new bridge is, therefore, the first road link in history between Russia and North Korea. It measures approximately one kilometer in length, has two lanes and is built on concrete pillars with metal openings. It also runs parallel to the old railway bridge. Numbers. According to share In the middle, the crossing has been designed to support up to 300 vehicles and nearly 3,000 people a day. Its total cost exceeds 9 billion rubles, according to Russian state media, which is equivalent to about $120 million. Construction has been rapid, taking about a year, a pace that analysts consider strikingly fast. “The speed of construction reflects the volume of commercial activity between both parties,” said Victor Cha, of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Where does this project come from? The agreement to build the bridge was reached during Vladimir Putin’s visit to Pyongyang in June 2024, when the Russian president met with Kim Jong Un. At that same meeting, both countries signed a comprehensive strategic partnership treaty that includes a mutual defense clause: if one of the two is attacked, the other is obliged to respond. The bridge, therefore, was born under the protection of that pact and has been built in record time. More than concrete. It is inevitably necessary to analyze its geopolitical context. According to data from South Korea, Pyongyang has sent around 15,000 soldiers to fight alongside Russian forces in Ukraine, in addition to long-range missiles and weapons. Seoul also estimates that some 2,000 North Korean soldiers have died in that conflict, although neither Moscow nor Pyongyang have confirmed these figures. In return, North Korea is believed to have received food, fuel and military technology from Russia. “This is an alliance largely driven by North Korean supply of troops, weapons, ammunition and manpower for Putin’s war in Ukraine,” explained Cha about it. What exactly will it be used for? Once open, the bridge will connect the Russian settlement of Khasan with the North Korean town of Tumangang and link directly to the Russian road network, reducing the distance between Vladivostok and the border town of Rason to 320 kilometers. Of course, Russian and North Korean drivers will be prohibited from driving their vehicles into the territory of the other country. In this way, the exchange of goods would take place at the border post itself, transferring the load from one truck to another. “This bridge will offer a very useful route to transfer military material and ammunition, both to North Korea and Russia,” counted Dr. Edward Howell, an expert on Korea at the University of Oxford, spoke to the media. The other side of the coin. Russian Foreign Ministry has described the opening of the bridge as “a truly historic stage in Russian-Korean relations” whose “significance goes far beyond a purely engineering task.” Moscow presents it as a symbol of cooperation in trade, economy and humanitarian relations. But for Western analysts, the reading is very different: a logistical artery designed to sustain a military alliance that transcends the war in Ukraine. “The construction of the bridge exemplifies how North Korea’s ties with Russia aim to continue beyond any end to the conflict in Ukraine,” pointed out Howell. China. It is not just Russia that is seeking to strengthen its physical connection with North Korea. China resumed last month the first passenger train service with Pyongyang after six years of interruption. North Korea, which for decades has been one of the most isolated corners of the planet, is being progressively integrated into the infrastructure networks of its two great allies. “It is fair to say that this connection, before the war in Ukraine, was one of the most dormant links between North Korea and its two neighbors,” Cha acknowledged. It seems that that lethargy has been left behind. In Xataka | While we were looking at gasoline, the Iran crisis has skyrocketed the price of asphalt. And the roads of half the world are already suffering from it

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