return

Chinese AI geniuses could be billionaires in the US. The bad thing for the US is that they prefer to return to China

by

It is normal for someone to take six years to complete a doctorate at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU). A young man named Yang Zhilin got it in four, and immediately what had to happen happened: the big technology companies raffled him off. They wanted to sign him to Apple, Google or Meta, and both MIT and Stanford opened their doors to him. He could have stayed in the US and probably become a billionaire, but no. He returned to China, founded Moonshot AI, created the Kimi family of AI models and became one of the great new AI gurus of the Asian giant. His story is a good example of a big problem they are having in the US. A genius in the making. Yang graduated from the prestigious Chinese university of Tsinghua, and during his years at CMU he ended up collaborating on another of the “iconic papers” that were the seed of ChatGPT, the so-called “Transformer-XL“. That was a turning point in his career, because after that job he considered what he wanted to do with his life. Start up yes, but not in the US. His supervisor at CMU, Russ Salakhutdinov, I remembered in the Financial Times what he discussed with Yang, who made it clear to him that “if he didn’t at least try to create his own company, he would regret it for the rest of his life.” The curious thing is that he did not do it in the US, where he would surely have obtained plenty of financing and economic support, but rather he went to China, where he founded Moonshot AI. There he created the mentioned models of AI, of which the latest version, Kimi K3, has turned the market upside down: an open model that competes with the best of Anthropic and OpenAI and that has made Yang a current protagonist in the sector. Working for others, what’s up?. There is a narrative in Silicon Valley that talks about how immigration regulation in the US is designed to get young talents to join large companies, and not so much to found their own startups. That was much more complicated, so the Chinese talents who had just trained in the US realized that they had a better option: return to their country of origin and create their startups there. Source: Hoover Institution. Chinese talent returns to China. A study by the Hoover Institution at Stanford analyzed the profile of the 356 researchers who worked on DeepSeek and revealed something surprising: 53.5% never studied or worked outside of China. Of those who did have an experience of this type and had studied or worked in the US, 70% ended up returning to their country. The Asian giant is no longer an exporter of brainiacs: it now has a self-sufficient quarry that boosts the country’s AI industry. Less money, better execution. The difference between the US and China is not only financial, but operational. A Chinese entrepreneur in the sector explained in that FT report that although setting up his startup in the US would guarantee a valuation up to 10 times higher, in China he is much more likely to launch real solutions and production in less than five years. It doesn’t matter the sanctions, the risk of censorship or a much more conservative investment market: the density of engineers and the familiarity of the environment compensate. Source: Stanford University. The US does not make it easy. The phenomenon of the “return home” of Chinese engineers not only affects recent graduates, but also veteran professionals who were already installed in the country’s academic and engineering system. a survey conducted by Stanford University in 2024 among 1,304 scientists of Chinese origin who lived and worked in the United States revealed curious data. 73% did not feel safe working as a researcher in the country, and 65% pointed directly to a fear of harassment and racist violence. Political uncertainty and institutional distrust have only accelerated the exits. Silicon Valley has a problem. The trajectory of Moonshot AI, which in just three years and with a team of 300 people has launched a fantastic model, shows that there is life beyond Silicon Valley. With Chinese talent returning en masse to China, the question is whether the US Government will modify its requirements and proposals for obtaining a visa. If they don’t, the “brain drain” can be absolute. Image | Tommao Wang In Xataka | Four decades ago, China decided to invest in training millions of engineers. Today that plan gives it an advantage in the race for AI

the Chinese return to their stores

by

In Shanghai, during the Lunar New Year, the lines in front of the original Louis Vuitton store that emulates the bow of a cruise ship stretched around the corner. Luxury brands have managed to once again draw the attention of Chinese customers to fashion and cosmetic products, after a sharp drop in sales which was consolidated with the tariff war between the US and China. As a result, brands such as L’Oreal, LVMH and Burberry saw a large part of their income coming from the Asian market. they collapsedand with them their quotes. As examples of this financial debacle, just say that Bernard Arnault, president and main shareholder of LVMH, was the richest man in the world in 2023, according to Forbes, and now occupies ninth position among the greatest fortunes in the world. The blow that no one expected. The year had not started badly. Reciprocal tariffs of up to 20% on European goods they threatened with making luxury bags and watches that come out of the artisan workshops of European luxury brands more expensive. They arrived just when the sector I was hoping to land in the United States after weak years in China. Brands such as Rolex or TAG Heuer, manufactured only in Switzerland, were especially exposed to price increases due to tariffs. Added to that was another unexpected front. The war in Iran suddenly stopped purchases in great luxury centers like Dubai. Middle East has a weight 6% in LVMH sales. According to collected France24LVMH’s financial director, Cécile Cabanis, acknowledged that this demand was still “very low” at the beginning of the year. The blow subtracted about one percentage point to the growth of the group in the first quarter. China activates its luxury consumers. Meanwhile, something was changing in the pockets of the wealthiest Chinese consumers. The ChiNext, the Shenzhen technology index, broke the record of the 2015 bubble in May. It rose 26% so far this year. This indicator is increasingly important for consumption because brick-and-mortar is no longer the only refuge for family savings in China, and there are more and more investors. If the stock market makes profits, the consumption of luxury products it shoots. According to McKinsey, the weight of the house The savings of Chinese households has fallen greatly since 2016. Then it was around 90%; last year it was only a third. Money migrates to stocks and funds. “For the first time in several years, there are encouraging signs in China’s consumption,” resume Daniel Zipser, partner at McKinsey in Shenzhen. The figures that confirm it. According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, sales cosmetics grew by 5.6% between January and April. General consumption remains lukewarm, but high-end cosmetics and beauty products they already emerge on sales charts. L’Oréal reported sales growth of between 5% and 9% in China during the first quarter. On Alibaba platforms, the ten most expensive beauty brands sold 39% more in those same months. The cheaper ranges, on the other hand, fell. LVMH itself noticed this in its physical stores. In the first quarter, the region that includes China grew 7% in organic sales, according to the company’s own reports. Louis Vuitton and Burberry also rebounded in Chinese brick-and-mortar stores. Ralph Lauren grew more than 50% in the country thanks to the New Year. They are the first green shoots. The rebound in sales in China tells only part of the story, but it does not mean that luxury brands have overcome the slump. The war in the Middle East continues to weigh on the most profitable business in the sector. Cabanis warned that the environment will continue to be very volatile in the coming months. In addition, the tariff tension left its mark on the purchasing habits of Chinese customers and many of them they started using local brands versus foreign ones. It is a nationalist turn that also touches fashion. “Full consumption recovery will take time,” warns Morningstar analyst Jeff Zhang in statements to Bloomberg. The rebound is real, but no one in the sector dares to call it a victory yet. In Xataka | The millionaire heir of Hermés adopted his gardener. Your fortune has evaporated before it reaches your garden Image | Flickr (Trump White House Archived)

The two top Coca Cola machines return to Lidl for this summer: they prepare pizzas and popcorn

by

You enter Lidl and on many occasions you don’t know what you are going to find, since, above all, its Bazaar section usually stands out for its products. You can see some electric guitar, pressure washers and Coca Cola machines. These last ones are the most current, since after launching them on sale a few weeks ago, they have returned with a reduced price: Coca Cola popcorn machine by 74.99 eurosideal for enjoying summer vacations watching movies. Coca Cola pizza machine by 84.99 eurosperfect for gatherings with friends. Coca Cola popcorn machine The Coca Cola popcorn machine It has a particularly attractive retro design, its dimensions are 29 x 24.8 x 49 centimeters and its price is 74.99 euros instead of 169.90 euros. It includes a stainless steel cauldron that can be easily removed and a pouring system to extract the popcorn. In addition, it incorporates a crank to rotate the boiler and a measuring spoon. If you are looking for an alternative to this machine to prepare popcorn, the Cecotec Fun&Taste P’Corn Classic It is a little cheaper as it has a price of 62.90 euros. On the other hand, if you want a very economical one with a good number of ratings, the Princess it costs only 23.73 euros. Princess popcorn machine The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Coca Cola pizza machine The Coca Cola pizza machine has a price of 84.99 euros instead of 159.90 euros and is ideal for those homes that do not have an oven. It comes with four temperature levels, its dimensions are 36.5 x 35.4 x 22.3 centimeters, it includes a spatula and can be cleaned comfortably. If you are looking for an alternative, the Cecotec Fun Pizza&Co is cheaper, since its price is 49.90 euros. We can also find the Ram 909 which has more than 13,000 reviews on Amazon, although it is a little more expensive than Coca Cola as it has a price of 94.99 euros. The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Some of the links in this article are affiliated and may provide a benefit to Xataka. In case of non-availability, offers may vary. Images | Lidl and Compradicción (header), Coca Cola In Xataka | American refrigerator or 70 cm Combi? Be careful with making mistakes when buying liters that you may not be able to use In Xataka | Which home theater projector to buy, which is better?

‘Backrooms’ is going to return to theaters with a 15-minute longer version. If successful, we will have a dangerous precedent

by

‘Backrooms‘ has raised a surprising 330 million in theaters with its first version in theaters. Wait: first? Are there different versions of ‘Backrooms’? Now it is: five weeks after the premiere, its production company A24 is bringing it to theaters again, this time with 15 minutes of exclusive material. Obviously it is not the first time that the industry has made moves of this type, but it is the first in which there is so little time between versions. And it sets a precedent that could give us more than one disappointment in the future if it is successful. The return A24 to relaunch ‘Backrooms’ on July 3 under the title Backrooms: Everything Must Go Edition, just five weeks after its original premiere on May 29. They are 15 minutes of “unreleased content in theaters”, and with special features: they will be included in block after the final credits, they have been directed by the film’s director Kane Parsons and it will be exclusive to this re-release and will not be seen in home editions or streaming. Less and less. The director’s cut or director’s cuts (something that this ‘Everything Must Go Edition’ is not exactly, since the new footage will not modify the existing one, but is extra material after the credits, like a “deleted scenes” extra on a DVD) are not new in the industry. They have existed since 1942, when Chaplin’s ‘The Gold Rush’, from 1925, was re-released with new material. The modern concept was born in the seventies with Peckimpah’s ‘The Wild Bunch’, when a restored version was released in cinemas. The most popular was the Director’s Cut of ‘Blade Runner’, ten years after the release of the original, with changes that modified the meaning of the first film. In all of them and others equally popular (and often released in cinemas), such as ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ or ‘The Gates of Heaven’, there is a coincidental pattern, and that is that the rerun comes years after the original premiere. And often, accompanied by a discussion about the emasculating power of the industry, which prevents the full expression of the creator’s version. He director’s cut It is an advertising tool, yes, but it is also a vindication of the films without interference from the studios. This time, the studio itself releases an extended version when no one has complained that the first cut is mutilated. The danger. It’s clear what’s at stake here. If the move is successful, the next step is to release intentionally “incomplete” versions to generate two box office cycles. First the base audience is reached, and then, weeks later and when the hypethe film is re-released with “exclusive” material. Here specifically, the move is clear: that the production remains profitable in the juicy weekend of July 4, very important at the US box office. The difference with very popular extended versions such as those of Peter Jackson’s ‘The Lord of the Rings’ seen on DVD, is obvious. A24, in question. Although for a time A24 has been the pretty girl of the Holywood production companies for his ease in taking risks, for cultivating undervalued genres and for supporting directors with clear auteur visions (and still get blockbusters and sweep the Oscars), for a few months now his image has been questioned. To the open adoption of one totally pro-AI policy Now this very tricky marketing move is added. In a couple of years we will see if what today sounds like an extravagant maneuver becomes a standard tactic: launch “version 1.0”, wait for it to hit the box office, re-release a “complete vision” after a month and a half. Before the director’s cut It took months to arrive, now even those small islands of creative integrity have been subject to the extremely accelerated calendar set by social networks and the streaming. In Xataka | The most terrifying photo on the internet has no monster, no story and no one knows who took it: Backrooms comes to the cinema

Global warming has stepped on the accelerator at an unprecedented rate and we are getting closer to the point of no return

by

In recent years we are seeing how the climate is changing radicallyand the reality is that we know well that the Earth’s climate system is accumulating heat at an unprecedented rate. And it is not a stimulation that we do in our heads, but it is the main conclusion of the fourth edition of the report Indicators of Global Climate Change. The figures do not leave much room for maneuver, since, according to the panel of more than 70 researchers from 56 institutions around the world that have participated in the analysishuman activities have pushed global warming to 1.37 °C in 2025. And most worrying of all is that, if the current trend continues, the mathematical projection indicates that we will cross the dreaded 1.5 °C line in approximately four years. An unprecedented rhythm. The analysis, supported by an immense Earth observation network and aligned with the program data Copernicus and institutional repositories such as NASA Earthdata, shows that the rate of human-induced warming remains at a historical maximum of about 0.27 °C per decade. Because? The report points to a lethal combination, such as record levels of greenhouse gases and, paradoxically, a continued decline in sulfur dioxide emissions. The latter is important because, by reducing sulfur aerosols, part of the warming effect of greenhouse gases, which was previously mitigated, has been “unmasked.” As Piers Forster, lead author of the study and director of the Priestley Center for Climate Futures at the University of Leeds, explains, the key to understanding the magnitude of the crisis lies in the Earth’s energy imbalance since this indicator measures how quickly heat accumulates in the system. In the researcher’s words: “Without human influence, it should be close to zero, but it has been growing since the 1970s and is now at a record level, doubling in recent decades” The carbon counter. Perhaps the most urgent data that the scientific consortium provides for short-term decision-making is the update of the remaining carbon budget. This concept defines the total amount of carbon dioxide that humanity can still emit into the atmosphere before exceeding the 1.5 °C limit is inevitable. As of early 2026, that estimated remainder was just 130 gigatonnes of CO₂. If we take into account that in 2024 global greenhouse gas emissions reached a historical maximum of 56.8 Gt of CO₂ equivalent, mathematics tells us that at the current rate, that budget will be completely exhausted in about three years. Oceans under pressure. Beyond the average surface air temperature, the updated climate indicators portray a transversal impact on all biomes. Something that we have repeated a lot is that the oceans are the planet’s great thermal sink, and the report introduces a critical monitoring indicator to monitor them, which are the days of marine heat waves. Globally, the year 2025 experienced 65 days under these anomalous conditions, meaning that this number has tripled since 1991, severely disrupting carbon exchange between the ocean and atmosphere, altering acidity levels and threatening coastal infrastructure and marine habitats. sea ​​level It continues its continuous advance, fueled by the melting of land ice and the thermal expansion of warmer waters. Consolidated records show a record of 23 centimeters of increase since 1901 and the current rate of rise is around 1.8 mm per year and, far from stabilizing, it is accelerating by leaps and bounds. Images | Marcin Jozwiak In Xataka | Three days and above the 95th percentile: AEMET’s golden rule for declaring a “heat wave” in Spain

“All pollution can be sent into space to return to the state before the Industrial Revolution”

by

Taking data centers to space. Although Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, it seems that the idea does not convince him too muchsome of the largest companies in the world have embarked on the race to fill low orbit with satellites. AWS with Blue Origin is there, Google is thereElon Musk says that he already has them with a simple Starlink update and even Nvidia, Eric Schmidt and Sam Altman They have an interest in the matter. The advantages of take these data centers to space They seem clear: without water consumption because they are cooled by the cold of space, without energy consumption because they are powered by inexhaustible solar energy and without taking up space. The astronomers They are not particularly enthusiasticbut it seems that the industry is moving in that direction and one of the most enthusiastic, Jeff Bezos, has left a curious message. By taking data centers into space, “we can make parks like Paris everywhere on Earth.” Playing this card is a dangerous thing. Improve the Earth by taking factories to space We have already discussed the objective: to have space computing power to support terrestrial computing thanks to a power that can scale by carrying more and more satellites that do not require investing in dissipation and power systems. With energy being a problem in some countries due to what these data centers consume, makes sense in the roadmap of these large companies. But Bezos, who has spoken at length about why they want to go to the Moon, why they want to turn the satellite into a gas station and how they plan to achieve the goal, has not been so specific when talking about constellations in low orbit or computing beyond the clouds. It has focused on two things: remembering why they are investing so much and launching a romantic message that clashes with what these data centers are causing on Earth. “We have to build the infrastructure for a constantly changing scenario,” says Bezos. “The price of the space race is very high and if you look back, before the Internet, there were very few actors. Two boys in a workshop could make a huge company. “We’re at that point in the space economy.” “We can make parks like Paris everywhere on Earth” The objective is to collect resources and materials on the Moon because, as he has admitted, “The Moon is a gift”but he has also commented that “many of the resources we need are in space.” And it does not refer so much to the regolith as to the aforementioned dissipation and infinite solar energy. “We are focusing a lot on that to exploit the space economy. It is infinite and it will happen,” he says. Now, he points out that they don’t know when it will happen because orbital computing will be a big step, but he did leave some… curious phrases. “Everything is better than 500 years ago, but we have more pollution on Earth than 500 years ago. If we send all that away, if we can send all the pollution from factories on Earth away from Earth, we can return to the state before the Industrial Revolution.” At this point, someone would ask, precisely, who are the ones that are generating the most pollution with the energy needs of their data centers and the need to return to coal In order to satisfy the demand, the private jet travel, what rockets pollute space, one’s own low orbit pollution with as many satellites or actions as promoting a fast consumer society that wastes so many resources. But, beyond that, it is not easy to send “all the pollution from Earth’s factories to space.” There are industries that are simply impossible to send to low orbit because, beyond the obvious logistical limitations, we are talking about a first-come, first-served space. And America is moving, but also ChinaIndia, Russia and Europe. The message that there are parks like in Paris anywhere in the world is powerful, of course, but start watering those parks in some countries. In Xataka | Data centers are real “heaters”. And they are settling in regions as hot as Aragón

Haiti wanted an epic jersey for their return to the World Cup. He has managed to piss off FIFA and make everyone talk about Poland

by

Toward more than half a century that Haiti was not participating in the World Cup and yet, ironies of history, in the country (and the sports press of the rest of the planet) they are not talking about their players or their chances of success today in their debut match against Scotland. What is being talked about is his t-shirt. About its meaning, its colors, what exactly its designers wanted to capture in it and whether FIFA has acted well by demanding Haiti to change it. To understand it you have to go back to the 19th century. What has happened? We don’t know how Haiti will fare its world premiere today against Scotland (the match is played at 9:00 p.m. ET in Boston), what we do know is that, no matter what happens, their participation in the FIFA Cup is already football history. First because it did 52 years that the Caribbean nation did not qualify for the tournament. In fact, he had only achieved it once. in 1974when he participated (with little success) in the World Cup in West Germany. The second reason is that, even before the ball began to bounce on Thursday at the Azteca stadium, Haiti was already one of the teams with the most headlines in the World Cup. And the reason is surprising: his uniform. Or rather, a detail in the lower right corner of his shirt that FIFA did not like. What is the shirt like? We could see the shirt of the Haitian team a few days agoduring the friendly match that played on Friday the 5th against Peru. The design has also been shown in the profiles of the Haitian Football Federation (FHF) or even in the official website of FIFA. Also in publications of Saeta, the clothing brand Colombian sports that took on the challenge to shape the uniform and that at the end of 2025 he was already thinking about the design and its details. On March 28, the company finally published a post on his Instagram account in which the three Haitian team shirts could be seen: one blue (home), another white (visitor) and a third red. A nod to the colors of the country’s flag and two concepts: the sea and passion. Otherwise, the design was very simple: red collar and sleeve ends with a white stripe, the FHF shield at chest level, the Saeta brand… and a kind of very faint illustration, made up of shadowed silhouettes, at the level of the right hip. What does that flag mean? The image in question shows a group of men with a clearly highlighted silhouette in the foreground holding a flag. The key is… What colors does that banner look like? If we look at the t-shirts with a white or red background, it seems that the flag shows a blue stripe on a red stripe, the colors of Haiti. If we look at the shirt with a blue background, the bluish part of the flag however fades so much that it appears white. That last was the option the team used in your game on friday 5 against Peru and automatically led some to see a nod from the Caribbean nation to Poland. Is it really like that? A tweet from the 9th that ended up going viral points in that direction and many other international media (generalists and sports) have jumped on the bandwagon by publishing that, indeed, the Haitian shirt includes a deliberate tribute to Poland. Others believe that if the flag appears white and red (an effect that occurs in the home kit, but not in the others) it is the result of a factory error. In recent days they have circulated on networks voices who insisted on one and another version: intended tribute either optical illusion. Click on the image to go to the tweet. Poland, for the sake of what? If the doubts had been pointed towards the flag of the Netherlands, Italy, Russia, the United States, Japan or any other nation on the planet, they would probably have been cleared up soon, but not with Poland. The reason is very simple: with history books in hand, Haiti has reason to be grateful to the Poles. To understand it we have to go back to the beginning of the 19th century, more specifically to the Battle of Vertieres (1803), in which the Haitian revolutionaries defeated Napoleon’s troops, ended colonial rule and cleared the way for Haiti to achieve its independence. In that episode the Poles played an unexpected role. What role? Its role was explained in 2003 by Dr. Zdzislaw Wesolowski in a speech pronounced in the USA: in 1802 5,000 Poles from a legion attached to the French army were transferred to the Caribbean to quell the uprising in the colony of Saint-Dominguethe current Haiti and Dominican Republic. It is assumed that many fought on the side of France for Napoleon’s promise to restore freedom to his Poland. Shortly after arriving in the Caribbean, however, the Poles began to disobey the command and joined the rebels. At the end of 1803, in Verières, allies were already fighting with Jean-Jacques Dessalineswho proclaimed the independence of Haiti shortly after, in January 1804. What do we know about the happy shirt? When he started thinking about the design, in December 2025, Saeta explained that he was “collecting ideas, cultural references and identity elements” to “create an authentic and representative garment.” He wanted to “reflect the history, energy and resilience of the town.” With that starting point, it is supposed that the silhouettes located on the right hip refer to the Ballata de Viertières and the Haitian Revolution. One of his iconic moments actually came when Dessalines tore the white stripe off a French tricolor flag to create the banner of the first republic free black, an episode that was celebrated every May 18. What has FIFA said? Whether it represents one thing or another, whether its effect is more or less intended, … Read more

pay them extra to return to the office

by

One of the advantages offered work in Administration public was that, if the position allowed it, the teleworking option was enabled. However, that is about to change for all those officials who depend on the Generalitat of Catalonia. The Government does not prohibit teleworking, but it has put some measures on the negotiating table to discourage civil servants from requesting it. To achieve this, he is even willing to pay them a salary supplement between 90 and 200 euros for those who give up remote work. The battle began a year and a half ago. In January 2025, the Government eliminated teleworking for his senior officials. The measure affected about 500 officials directly: general directors, general secretaries and similar positions. The Ministry of the Presidency, led by Albert Dalmau, argument that such positions require “effective and constant presence” to ensure effective supervision. The reaction from officials It didn’t take long to wait. More than 200 senior officials signed a manifesto in which they described the measure as a “19th century model.” That episode was only the first step of something broader. Now this measure is extended to the rest of the workforce of around 14,900 Catalan administration officials who currently have permission to telework. What exactly does the Government propose?. The Generalitat has put on the table the so-called “immediate operational assistance complement.” This is a supplement of between 90 and 200 euros per month that will be incorporated as a salary extra for those who voluntarily give up the teleworking days recognized in their position. The Catalan administration points out that the decision to take advantage of this supplement is completely voluntary and not an obligation. But monthly payroll changes depending on what you choose. The exact details about the final amount, who will be able to collect it and whether the officials whose teleworking was revoked would also receive it, are points that are still are being negotiated at the Public Service Board. The price of teleworking. The next meeting of the Public Service Board is scheduled for July 1. And everything indicates that the agreement, if it arrives, would not come into force before January 2027. In any case, with this measure a price has been put on teleworking in public administration. This represents an important change in the regulations that regulate remote work in the civil service since, until now, the general rule in the Spanish public service says that teleworking is neutral from an economic point of view: they neither pay you more for doing it nor do they deduct anything for not doing it, as stated in the article 47 bis 3 of the Basic Statute of Public Employees: “Personnel who provide their services through teleworking will have the same duties and rights.” However, with this complement, the Generalitat would give economic value to presence and opting for the office represents a salary improvement that those who opt for teleworking do not have, maintaining the same obligations. Moncloa pushes the opposite. What makes the Catalan bet more striking is that it goes against the current of the central Administration’s bet, which precisely bets for more teleworking. According to data from the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service published by Digital Economy52.4% of employees of the General State Administration work remotely at least once a week, with more than 93,600 officials in hybrid mode. This percentage comes in full implementation of the day of 35 hours per week for civil servants. Catalonia is also negotiating the reduction of the working day to 35 hours, starting from the current 37.5. But the Government has linked this reduction in hours to the reduction in teleworking. The unions, divided. The measure has not been well received by the different union platforms. The IAC-CATAC, the center with the most delegates, is positioned “radically against.” UGT and CCOO, despite remaining against the measure, are more open to negotiating the conditions. From CCOO they assured that “we understand that this supplement should apply to everyone who works in person all day” and not only to those who expressly renounce teleworking, to avoid a remuneration offence. In Xataka | Companies have put an end to teleworking, but employees are making a move: the key is schedule flexibility Image | Pexels (Miguel Saddi Vitorino), Unsplash (Major Tom Agency)

how long it usually takes for your 2026 return and what they can review if it takes them long

by

Let’s tell you When are they going to pay you the refund? of Income 2025, which is what we do in 2026 to catch up on the last fiscal year. According to the Income calendarthe period to submit the declaration ends at the end of June, but if you have already done it and you get a refund, it is normal that the Treasury has already paid you. The in-person declaration It started in June, so it is normal that returns are not being made yet. But if you have made the rent online either by phone In the past few months, perhaps you should have received it by now. Therefore, we are going to try to clarify the times for you. How long does the Treasury take to pay? The normal thing is that the Treasury takes a little time to pay you once you present a tax return that you have to return. In fact, it could be a week or two if everything goes well and they haven’t detected anything. However, there are times when Payment may be extended due to additional checks what the tax agency has to do. In these cases, the Treasury has a period of six months since the declarations end on June 30. In other words, returns can be extended until the end of the year. There are some factors that can accelerate the process. For example, submit the declaration as soon as possible, since they are usually processed in order. Also confirm the draft without changes, although you should ALWAYS review it to avoid errors. And if you attach your correct bank details with an account in your name, delays due to verification are also avoided. Why it may take them a while to get your money back If you detect that your return has been returned, but several weeks have passed and the Treasury has not yet made the payment, it may be because They are reviewing some points of the declaration or making some checks on aspects that are not clear. To find out if the delay is due to this, you can check the status of your declaration from the web or from the mobile app. If the status shows that it is under verificationthis means that the delay is effectively due to the fact that they are carefully reviewing the information you have submitted, and that is why the return is being delayed. One thing you should know is that when the Treasury starts to look at something closely, You may receive a request for information. This will be a postal letter that will arrive asking you to provide invoices for deducted expenses, tax certificates, money movement information, or whatever they consider necessary. These are the main reasons why the Treasury may be reviewing your data and sending you a request: Deductions: There are a large number of income deductions through which you can save money on your tax return, from renovating your car to buying a car or spending money on glasses. But there are some that vary depending on the autonomous community, and if you have deducted something in the declaration that does not correspond or something for which you have not provided the necessary information, they will require invoices or more information to verify it. Housing rental. When you rent a home you have income that is not billed as such, so at the beginning of the rental you may be asked for the contract and payment receipts so that the deduction can be applied correctly. It will be verified that everything is as indicated on the papers. Cryptocurrencies. The Tax Agency increasingly checks the movements you can make with cryptocurrencies, and it is very important that you declare them properly in your Income Tax to know the benefits you may have had with them and that the corresponding percentage of Personal Income Tax is applied to you. Debts with the administration: On some occasions, even if the declaration is correct, the return may also be delayed in the event that you have a debt with the Treasury, Social Security, your town hall or even unpaid fines with the DGT. If so, these will be deducted from your deduction. If any of these cases occur, the Tax Agency officials will take extra time to check your data, and will send you a request to ask for additional information if they see it necessary. The Treasury has until December 31, 2026 to make returns, so they may take it easy. In Xataka Basics | Income Guide 2025: calendar, previous steps and how to prepare for the 2026 declaration

soldiers who return with a different face after a medical leave have been shot

by

A few years ago, a survey carried out among young South Koreans revealed a fact very unusual in any other country: a significant portion of respondents believed that receiving cosmetic surgery as a graduation gift It was something completely normal. In fact, in cities like Seoul, clinic ads take up entire buildings and some neighborhoods. hundreds of centers accumulate specialized a few meters from each other. The hype has now reached the military. An unexpected problem. Yes, the South Korean military is discovering a problem that just a few years ago would have seemed absurd even there: more and more soldiers are returning from leave. with aesthetic operations recent events that directly affect the functioning of military units. The Korean Times said that there is everything from recently operated noses to swollen eyelids or faces still recovering that are forcing officers to exclude soldiers from training, night guards or physical tasks for medical and security reasons. What was once a relatively exceptional thing reserved for the last months of military service has become in a trend much broader among South Korean Generation Z. And the phenomenon reflects the extent to which the country’s aesthetic culture no longer affects only to civilian lifebut also to one of the most rigid and traditional institutions of the State: the army. The aesthetic pressure. Basically, something that we have counted before. South Korea has been one of the world epicenters for years of cosmetic surgery. Eyelid operations, rhinoplasties or facial retouching are part of an extremely competitive culture where physical appearance influences in social relationships, employment and status. What is new is that this logic has fully penetrated young soldiers on active duty. Many apparently take advantage of higher military pay and leave to save and submit to operations while they remain deployed. Some even prioritize surgery over any other personal expense. Gangnam District Clinics Offer specific discounts for the military and use social networks to attract young clients, while online forums are filled with questions from soldiers about recovery times compatible with military life. Clash between military discipline and culture. The problem for the commanders is not only medical, but organizational. When a soldier returns with swollen eyes after eyelid surgery or a rhinoplasty still healing, someone has to cover his guards, exercises or physical duties. South Korean officers they start to describe uncomfortable situations where they must reorganize entire training sessions to avoid risks or possible legal liabilities if a recent operation becomes complicated. Furthermore, some commanders are even receiving parent calls asking for special treatment for their children while they recover from cosmetic procedures. The scene reflects a very profound cultural clash: an army designed around collective discipline and sacrifice that begins to confront much more individualistic values. typical of Generation Z. Absence of clear rules. The Times remembered that one of the biggest problems is that the South Korean army practically has no specific regulation to manage this phenomenon. Military regulations cover medical discharges and injuries, but not situations where a soldier voluntarily decides to have surgery for cosmetic reasons in the middle of service. That leaves officers caught in a difficult position. If they allow certain exceptions, they generate discomfort among other soldiers forced to assume more workload. If they are not allowed and a medical complication occurs, they may face disciplinary or legal responsibilities. The result is an organizational void which is beginning to directly affect the operational preparation of some units. A transformation that worries the army. Beyond the specific surgeries, the case reveals a transformation much deeper within South Korea. If you will, the army is discovering that digital culture, social networks and aesthetic obsession of South Korean society are even changing the way young people live military service mandatory. For many recruits, improving their appearance is no longer something secondary that is left for after the army, but an immediate priority integrated within their own personal and social identity. And that is forcing the armed forces to adapt to a completely new reality: a generation that can accept military discipline, but at the same time still considers it perfectly normal to return from leave with a different face. Image | RawPixel, Unsplash, Republic of Korea Armed Forces In Xataka | Military submarines as “five-star hotels”: this is South Korea’s bid to enter the Western market In Xataka | In 1995, South Korea suffered one of the great architectural disasters of the century. The culprit: the air conditioning

Log In

Forgot password?

Forgot password?

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

Your password reset link appears to be invalid or expired.

Log in

Privacy Policy

Add to Collection

No Collections

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