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We sensed that there were areas in Spain where longevity was greater. A map has just confirmed where the “Holy Land” is

June 12, 2026 by usatoday24

The year before the new millennium entered, the Belgian demographer Michel Poulain arrived in a small town in Sardinia looking for a statistical error: too many male centenarians to be credible. What he found there would end up giving rise to the concept of the “Blue Zones”the regions of the world where living for more than a hundred years is not a rarity, but almost a custom. Now, the same researcher claims to have found something similar much closer: in Spain. The map that confirms an old intuition. For years there was a suspicion almost intuitive in Spain: there were territories where people not only lived longer, but also aged better. Now a map has made it black on white. The demographer Michel Poulainwho, as we said, is one of the world’s great experts in longevity and creator of the modern concept of the Blue Zoneshas applied its extreme longevity index to the Spanish territory and the result draws a very clear pattern: The north and part of the interior have a probability of reaching 100 years that is up to three times higher than that of the south. It is not a cultural perception or a family anecdote. It’s demographic statistics. Where is the Spanish corridor. The map pinpoints a species privileged belt. Navarra, La Rioja, Soria, Guadalajara and Segovia top the classification, followed by other areas of Castilla y León, Catalonia, Álava and a good part of the northwest of the peninsula. In it opposite end appear Seville, Cádiz and Málaga, where the possibility of reaching a centenary falls very noticeably. The big surprise is not only the gap, but its magnitude: tripling the odds within the same country, with the same health system and political framework, forces us to look beyond genetics. We no longer talk about “blue zones.” The finding also changes the way we study aging. For years the dominant model was that of the Blue Zonesthose iconic places like Sardinia, Okinawa or Icaria where centenarians accumulate. But Poulain believes that model has fallen short. Now science speaks of “longevity corridors”: large areas where the combination of social, environmental, health and cultural factors generates a favorable ecosystem for living longer and better. Spain, and especially its northern halfone of those European corridors begins to emerge. It’s not magic, it’s lifestyle. The key, researchers insistit is not in a miracle recipe or a hidden superfood. Eating meaningfully, moving naturally, sleeping well, avoiding chronic stress, maintaining strong family ties, living connected to nature, and having purpose in life appear again and again as common patterns. They are simple habits, but sustained for decades. And therein lies the real lesson: longevity is not manufactured at 70, it is built from childhood. That is why experts insist so much on prevention and early education. The invisible factor. There is more, since one of the elements that is most repeated in these territories is something that rarely appears in an analysis: the social network. It talks about having support, not feeling alone, maintaining family and community ties, in short, continuing to be useful to others. That human tissue seems to act like silent protection against physical and mental deterioration. In many of these provinces, especially rural ones, there continues to be a denser social structure than in large cities. And that could be as important as diet or exercise. The great warning. Last but not least, there is a clear warning. The researchers they warn that these corridors are not eternal. Changes in diet, sedentary lifestyle, accelerated urbanization, loss of community and social isolation are eroding precisely the factors that made them possible. In other words, healthy longevity can be lost in a single generation if the environment changes. That is why the great objective now is not to admire centenarians as a rarity, but to study how they have gotten there to replicate those conditions. Because the map not only tells where you live most. It also points out perhaps something more important: where a way of living that the rest of the country is losing is still preserved. Image | Pexels,ELI, Adam Jones In Xataka | They don’t bring suitcases, they bring medical records: how Spain has become the new European mecca of longevity In Xataka | Putin has become obsessed with eternal life. And that’s why he has scientists experimenting with organs in pigs

In Spain, eating has become a procedure that must be quick and easy. And that is making gold for the supermarkets that prepare dishes

June 12, 2026 by usatoday24

When it comes to eating, we Spaniards no longer want only tasty dishes. We want time. We want flexibility. We want an assortment that allows us to choose. And if possible, we want all of the above at a good price. Whoever can square the circle will have the keys to a billion-dollar business. For now, the data from Worldpanel by Numerator reveal that more and more people are finding this offer in the prepared foods section of the supermarket, which in just four years has seen its sales increased by 55%. The curious thing is that this percentage reveals much more about us as consumers than about the business itself. The figure: 55%. The food sector has been around for a long time emitting signals about what the business of prepared food is growing in Spain, but few (or none) have been as clear as the one just shared by Worldpanel by Numerator. In your report ‘Convenience, the super power that changes everything’, the platform specialized in data and market analysis, has revealed that sales of ready-to-eat dishes have skyrocketed 55% from 2022. A name: Mercadona. Worldpanel has not provided more detailed data on demand, net consumption or per capita intake, but the percentage is still revealing. Above all because it helps us better understand how the demand for this type of product works, how the market behaves and who its protagonists are. As a reference, Worldpanel calculates that Mercadona monopolizes “one third” of the growth recorded in the category since 2020. It is not at all surprising if you take into account the commitment that the Valencian chain has made for its ‘Ready to eat’ section. Since its launch in 2018, it has been expanding it through its network of stores in Spain and Portugal until closing in 2025. almost 1,500 points selling and conquering much of it of the demand. If both prepared food and pre-cooked foods (creams, packaged chicken or refrigerated pizza, for example) are taken into account, last year Mercadona entered 3 billion of euros between both countries. Habit changes. That the prepared food business is growing so quickly is just a reflection of our own changes as consumers. We buy differently than our parents did because our priorities are also different. In the same study Worldpanel reveals two data that prove it. First, the time we spend cooking has been reducing until it remains at 24.5 minutes a day. Second, that 41% of consumers (5% more than in 2020) admits that he usually eats in a hurry, without time to relax. They are dynamics that fit well with what the prepared food sections of Mercadona or other chains offer, such as Alcampo, Carrefour or Lidland they give them a clear competitive advantage compared to traditional restaurants. As if that were not enough, our way of eating seems to be simplifying little by little: the occasions in which we have lunch with a single dish have increased about 5.5% since 2020. If we talk about dinners, that percentage is 3.3%. Is it that important? Yes a lot. So much so, in fact, that what is catapulting the sale of prepared dishes is not their greater or lesser attractiveness, the variety of the offering or their healthy appearance. When Worldpanel technicians asked customers what was the deciding factor that led them to buy convenience food instead of going to a bar or restaurant, about a third (28.4%) responded that the price. That is the factor that most often tips the balance on the side of Mercadona and other similar supermarket chains. The second is convenience. 13.4% stated that what they value most is speed, 10.4% the possibility of taking advantage of visits to the supermarket to make other purchases and 10.1% the flexibility of being able to consume food when and where it suits them best. That last piece of information is key. Although in recent years several chains of supermarkets have begun to enable spaces in their premises so that people can eat there, most of the customers take the dishes home. It occurs in 78% of cases. If we talk about large consumption in general (not just food) the percentage of intra-domestic spending is around 71%. Image | Carrefour In Xataka | Madrid is encountering a growing problem in its metro stations: the illegal sale of street food

Spain had been using the cutter in pharmacies for half a century. Until you decided to digitize it

June 11, 2026 by usatoday24

Entering the pharmacy in 2026 and that the method to mark the traceability of the medicine was to cut a small tape with a cutter did not seem like the most technological method in a European country. Finally, it is something that will change forever. what has happened. The Council of Ministers yesterday approved the modification of Royal Decree 1345/2007which updates the regulation of the Spanish Medicines Verification System. Until now, upon arriving at the pharmacy the pharmacist would peel off or cut the seal from the box, paste it on a sheet of paper and this documentation would demonstrate to the administration that a prescription medication had been dispensed and that it would be reimbursed. This is about to end. The new. The Minister of Health, Mónica García, has celebrated the modernization of the new identification system. This relies on the national drug repositoryin operation since 2019 and which allows each medication to be identified using a unique code. “We’re talking about the sealed coupon. That’s what pharmacists did when you came to the pharmacy to pick up a drug and they had to cut out a piece of cardboard and paste it on a sheet of paper. Well, we’re going to eliminate all of that.” Monica Garcia. The difficulty of the process is that it is not enough to make the first identification: it is necessary to justify that this container cannot be re-introduced onto the market. To solve this problem, as advanced by the pilot test that was carried out in the Valencian Communitythe medication will be linked to the prescription, the buyer’s data and registered in the system. Nothing prevents the medication from circulating again through unofficial channels, but it is impossible for it to go through official channels again as new. Now each box will have a unique identity. The batch, expiration date and route of the medication are known. If a problem appears with a batch, you can know: which patients received it, in which pharmacy, how many containers were dispensed. not so fast. Palace things are going slowlyand more in Spain. The full transition has not been marked, and what we know to date is that the new system will coexist with the old. Once the integration of the systems in all the autonomous communities is completed, the traditional sealed coupon will disappear forever, in favor of a 100% digitalized model. In Xataka | After years of debate and 1,000 “medicines” withdrawn, Spain finally has a verdict on homeopathy: it is useless

The new Kindle Scribe arrives in Spain with a color screen as its main asset (although not the only one)

June 10, 2026 by usatoday24

Amazon has officially put its renewed line of digital notebooks. The range, designed specifically for those users looking to unify traditional e-book reading with professional note taking, is expanded to offer visualization options, performance improvements and the integration of Artificial Intelligence tools. The main novelty is the deployment of three different variants– the standard Kindle Scribe (since 519.99 euros in its 32 GB version), an optimized version with self-adjusting front light, an alternative without a front light for those looking for a lower entry cost (449.99 euros) and the unreleased Kindle Scribe Colorsoft (since 649.99 euros), the first device with a chromatic screen within this large format. Amazon Kindle Scribe without front light (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Amazon Kindle Scribe (latest generation) 32 GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft (latest gen.) 32 GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Prices and versions of the new Kindle Scribe range The new generation is now available for purchase in Spain, under the following price scheme: What each model offers The physical evolution of the new generation of Kindle Scribe stands out for a thickness reductionstanding at just 5.4 mm and a contained weight of 400 grams. The screen is now larger (11 inches) and glare-free and has an optimized texture to emulate the friction of traditional paper when using the pen. Inside, the incorporation of a new quad-core processor increases response speed and page turning by up to 40% compared to previous generations. Kindle Scribe (black and white variants) The two models with a traditional monochrome screen are designed for intensive reading and organizing notes. The intermediate version doubles the number of integrated LED lights, achieving a much more homogeneous front lighting that automatically adapts to ambient light. For its part, the software launches a system of quick notes on the home screen and integrated Artificial Intelligence tools capable of summarizing extensive notebooks into key points automatically. Amazon Kindle Scribe without front light (latest generation) The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Amazon Kindle Scribe (latest generation) 32 GB The price could vary. We earn commission from these links Kindle Scribe Colorsoft It is the reference model (and the most anticipated) of this new generation. It uses Amazon-specific display technology accompanied by a revamped rendering engine that allows you to display soft tones without causing eye fatigue. The inclusion of color not only benefits the reading of comics, magazines or documents with complex graphics, but also expands creative possibilities: users now have 10 pen colors, five highlighter shades and shading tools for creating diagrams or detailed illustrations. Amazon Kindle Scribe Colorsoft (latest gen.) 32 GB 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 | amazon In Xataka | Which Kindle to buy: buying guide with recommendations to get it right with Amazon e-book readers In Xataka | The 25 best science fiction books

Spain produces so much solar energy that it is the envy of Europe. And even so, 70% of what you consume matters

June 10, 2026 by usatoday24

In June, when the sun hits hardest, the Spanish electricity grid registers demand peaks greater than 36,800 MW that renewables comfortably cover. We are, in electricity generation, the envy of Europe. And yet, at this very moment, 70% of the energy our economy consumes comes from abroad. That is the Spanish paradox in a single sentence: a country that exudes sun and wind but is still 70% dependent on the outside world. This contradiction, which in normal times would be just another energetic debate, has become an open wound since The Third Gulf War closed the Strait of Hormuzthe artery through which approximately a fifth of the world’s oil and gas transited. Is the second major energy shock in just four years and, according to the International Energy Agency, the largest in the history of the oil market. We have the best sun in Europe. And we continue to pay for the war. The report From Fossil Shock to Energy Sovereigntyprepared by the Renovables Foundation and the Meridian Institute, explains why. And the answer is uncomfortable: it is not that we lack resources. It’s just that we are ignoring them. The underlying problem. Here is the key that many overlook. Electricity consumption in Spain represents only 22% of the country’s total energy demand. The rest—78%—is covered by burning things: petroleum products (54%) and fossil gas (16%). It doesn’t matter how many solar panels we put on the roofs if cars continue to pump gasoline, boilers continue to burn gas and factories continue to throw away fossils. We are a country that has learned to produce clean electricity extraordinarily well. And then he uses it for a minimal fraction of what he needs. The three “black holes”. The study identifies three sectors where this disconnection between what we produce and what we consume is most flagrant: Mobility: the biggest hole. Transportation consumes 43% of final energy and accounts for 33% of emissions. The sector is responsible for 71.1% of the final consumption of petroleum products in Spainwith diesel as the undisputed king. By the end of 2025, the share of purely electric cars in sales was 8.85%. Of the total fleet in circulation, only 0.8% is electric. The rest continues to fill the tank. Homes: heating from the last century. Domestic consumption accounts for 30% of final energy use. Only 24% of the heating in our homes is electric; the rest continue to burn mainly fossil fuels. Gas boilers continue to be the majority in Spain while in the Nordic countries they are already history. We are the country in Europe with the most hours of sunshine and one of the countries that installs the least aerothermal energy. The industry: the silent hole. It represents the remaining 27% of final energy use. Its level of electrification has been stuck at around 35% for years, which means that almost two-thirds of the energy that drives our factories is still fossil fuel. It is the least visible sector in public debate and, possibly, the most difficult to transform. Also the one that needs the most time to do it: that is why it is urgent to start now. The Scandinavian mirror (with nuances). Norway leads the way: by the end of 2025, almost 98% of its new passenger cars sold were pure electric. They have more than 600 heat pumps for every 1,000 homes. Spain is located below 90 aerothermal units per 1,000 homes. The difference is more than 6 to 1. In the sunniest country in continental Europe. It is worth being honest: Norway finances its transition precisely with the income from the oil it exports. Spain does not have that cushion. But that does not invalidate the direction, but rather forces us to look for our own mechanisms—tax incentives, collective purchasing, European funds—to follow the same path. So why are we going so slow? The obstacles are real: the entry price of electric vehicles remains high for the average Spanish income, the charging infrastructure unfolds very unevenly throughout the territory, and the housing stock—with many old and poorly insulated buildings—cannot always accommodate a heat pump without major work. Naming these obstacles is not an excuse. It is the condition to overcome them. What it costs us every year to do nothing. If Spain matched the Norwegian pace for a single year—registering some 950,000 electric cars and installing 820,000 heat pumps—the immediate savings in fossil fuel imports would be between 1,300 and 1,700 million euros. With 100% electrification of mobility sustained for a decade, the reduction would reach 36% in oil and gas imports: 16.4 billion euros per year that would no longer go abroad. To understand the scale: Spain has strategic reserves for about 92 days of consumption regardless of a single barrel. Three months of autonomy in the face of a crisis that is already lasting longer. Every year that we do not electrify is one more year of fragility that we consciously choose. And the European irony completes the picture: the EU allocates nearly 88 billion euros annually to subsidize fossil fuels for transport, heating and industry. According to the Meridian Institute, this money would be enough to install more than 10.2 million heat pumps or finance 2.5 million electric cars annually across the continent. Europe has been paying for decades to remain vulnerable. Same trap, different provider. Four years ago we learned the hard way about the danger of depending on Russian gas and we exchanged it for liquefied gas ships from the United States and Qatar. Today we discovered that we have only replaced one vulnerability with another. As long as we need to burn gas to turn on the light, our pockets will continue to be hostage to geopolitics. The name of the country that supplies does not matter. In storage, the gap is also striking. Germany and Italy lead European battery deployment, with 6.6 GWh and 4.9 GWh installed by 2025 respectively. Achieving that capacity would allow Spain to eliminate between 5% and 10% … Read more

The future European fighter in which Spain participates has received the worst news. And it comes directly from France

June 9, 2026 by usatoday24

Europe wanted to build its great fighter of the future with three countries in the cockpit: France, Germany and Spain. It was not a minor project nor a simple renewal of aircraft, but one of the most ambitious commitments of European defense for the coming decades, with a view to replacing models such as the French Rafale and the Eurofighter used by Germany and Spain by 2040. But this plan, presented for years as a symbol of strategic cooperation, has just collided with a much less epic reality: the companies called to make it possible have not been able to reach an agreement. The blow. According to Reutersthe Elysée confirmed that France and Germany were no longer in a position to continue with the project after the German authorities considered the margin to pressure the companies involved exhausted. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz had discussed the matter the previous week in Montenegro, on the sidelines of a summit between the EU and the Western Balkans. The conclusion was difficult to conceal: after months of blocking, the program had been left without a clear exit in its current form. industrial shock. The program was stuck for months between Dassault Aviation, the French company linked to the Rafale, and Airbus, which represents the industrial interests of Germany and Spain. The dispute was not minor: who led the development, what technology was shared and how intellectual property was protected. Dassault would have defended a leading role to avoid losing control over its capabilities, while Airbus defended a more balanced relationship. It wasn’t just a fighter. The FCAS It was always something broader than a substitute for the French Rafale and the Eurofighter used by Germany and Spain. The plan aspired to build a connected combat system, with a manned aircraft at the center, drones, remote carriers and a military cloud, the Combat Cloudto coordinate secure communications between air, naval, land and space platforms. That is why the blow has more depth than the cancellation of a plane: it affects an architecture designed so that Europe would not only buy future capabilities, but could develop them itself. What is at stake in Spain?. The coup also hits Spain hard. Its participation is articulated through Indracalled to reinforce the Spanish role in areas such as connectivity, technological integration and some of the critical technologies of the system. Furthermore, Airbus not only defended German interests, but also Spanish ones within the program. That is why the blockade does not only affect the calendar of the future fighter: it can alter the industrial weight that Spain aspired to consolidate in one of the great European defense bets for the coming decades. Tension in the air. The Guardian points out that Paris and Berlin maintained differences over the type of aircraft they needed, because France was looking for a model capable of operating from aircraft carriers and carrying nuclear weapons, while Germany did not have exactly the same military priorities. Merz had also publicly questioned whether the development of a sixth-generation manned fighter still made sense for the German air force. The discussion, therefore, was not only who manufactured what, but for what specific needs the system should be created. What remains standing. The stopping of the fighter does not necessarily imply that the entire FCAS disappears completely. The program also includes drones and a high-security combat cloud, and European sources cited by Reuters saw it possible for these two elements to continue. A German government source even spoke of continuing the core of FCAS as a European system capable of connecting aircraft, drones and other components into an integrated whole. The big question is whether this architecture can survive without the airplane that was supposed to serve as its centerpiece. The initial plan and the current reality. The FCAS was on its way to being one of the great symbols of European defense for the coming decades. Today, however, it has become a direct test of the limits of that cooperation. We know that France and Germany have considered the current path exhausted, we know that Spain has industrial interests at stake and we also know that some pieces of the system could try to survive. What we don’t know yet is what form the project will take from now on. Images | Airbus In Xataka | Airbus has just made the most autonomous commercial aircraft in the world fly. Your goal: 22 hours straight without a stopover

Spain has done its first major study on how many pets there are in the country. And he got a surprise

June 8, 2026 by usatoday24

Spain is mired in a demographic revolution silent. And he doesn’t even star in it the migratory flowneither agingneither population movements between cities or any other of the many trends that we have been noticing for years. They are promoting the authentic revolution the petsthe dogs and cats that live in our homes. We knew that in Spain there are millions and millionsbut the census carried out by the Government has revealed an astonishing reality: it is already easier meet animals than with Spaniards under 30 years of age. And everything indicates that this gap will continue to widen. How many pets are there in Spain? If you take a walk around your neighborhood (no matter where you live) it is quite likely that you will find people walking dogs or the occasional cat hanging out of an apartment window. We don’t say it. This is said by the multiple statistics that for years have been trying to clarify how many pets live in Spain. They all agree that there are many (many), but their ‘photo’ is not always the same. Although the Animal Welfare Law forces register with microchip to all the dogs and cats, to the shelters they keep coming animals that do not meet that requirement. The result is that it is very difficult to know exactly how many pets there are in Spain. The Companion Animal Identification Network (REIAC) have registered 10.16 million dogs, 967,800 cats and 52,055 ferrets, Anfaac (the association of feed manufacturers) speaks of 6.96 million of dogs and 4.93 million felines and Aedpac estimates that in total they live in Spain 28 million of pets, a figure that other sources round up to approximate 30 million. Year Cats Dogs Others Total 2021 4.58 million 6.89 million 1.81 million 13.29 million 2022 4.76 million 7.08 million 1.85 million 13.69 million 2023 4.97 million 7.28 million 1.92 million 14.17 million 2024 5.29 million 7.42 million 1.95 million 14.66 million 2025 5.62 million 7.56 million 1.99 million 15.17 million The data: 15.17 million. Some time ago the Executive decided to prepare a National Statistics on Animal Protectionan ambitious work that, among other issues, includes “the first official study carried out by the Government on the number of companion animals in our country.” The task has not yet been completed, but a few days ago the Ministry of Social Rights decided to advance some of its first conclusions. And one of them helps to once and for all settle the debate about how many pets live in our country. According to his calculations, in Spain there are 15,171,569a figure obtained after reviewing the regional records between 2021 and 2025. To be more precise, technicians have identified 7.56 million of dogs and 5.62 million cats. The list closes with other species that also live in Spanish homes, such as rabbits, birds, reptiles or turtles. The Executive estimates that in total there are 1.99 million. At the territorial level there are no big surprises, the communities with the most pets are also the most inhabited: Andalusia (3.26 million), Catalonia (1.99) and Madrid (1.89 million). year Population under 10 years old Population under 30 years old 2021 4.19 million 14.05 million 2022 4.07 million 13.99 million 2023 4.01 million 14.18 million 2024 3.94 million 14.30 million 2025 3.86 million 14.43 million Is it important? Yes. And not only because it offers us a new official reference on the number of ‘furries’ that live in Spanish homes. Statistics help to better understand what type of pets we have, which are the most popular and, above all, how their population evolves. Of all the possible readings left by the Government data, this last one is probably the most interesting: those 15.17 million pets represent 14.1% more than in 2021, when the census of companion animals totaled 13.3 million. What does it mean? This percentage shows a growing population (in fact it has been growing steadily, year after year) and explains why pet care has become such an attractive business, something that happens both in Spain and in other countries. The last example is left to us by insurance companies and venture capital funds, which they are betting for veterinary coverage policies for dogs and cats. In general, EAE Business School calculates that pets already generate a business of 5.77 billion euros per year and ‘pet-money’ grows at 8.3% and supports 75,000 jobs. Are there so many pets? Yes, and one way to appreciate it is to resort to comparisons. We knew that in Spain it is much easier encounter with pets than with small children, but the latest data published by the Government offers us another even more shocking revelation: in our country we already there is more pets than people under 30 years of age. To be precise, in 2025 the INE had 14,432,931 inhabitants between 0 and 29 years old registered in Spain. If we talk only about children under 10 years old, the count is 3.86 million people. What does that mean? That in Spain there are much more dogs or cats than children and, if we talk about pets in general, the population of pets almost quadruples that of infants. It’s nothing strange. In Asia there are baby stroller manufacturers that they have started to be interested for another business niche with much more promising expectations: dog strollers. Image | Mia Anderson (Unsplash) In Xataka | 93% of owners believe that sleeping with their dog improves their rest. Science has just proven that it is self-deception

Spain has a plan to completely renew DTT. More than half of households cannot comply

June 8, 2026 by usatoday24

In Spain, DTT is on the verge of making the leap to DVB-T2. It is normal that these acronyms sound Chinese to you, so we are going to review the change that our televisions will face after the necessary retuning both to make room for a new channel that is to come, and for the migration to DVB-T2. The new channel. The BOE has published This weekend the resolution that awards a new television channel to Integrated Television Entertainment Services (SEVEN). The Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service awarded last May the license for a new DTT channel for 15 years, renewable to the company managed by Andrés Varela and linked to shareholders of the Prisa group. The first phase. SEVEN has a maximum period of six months to start its broadcasts, forcing the Secretariat to publish in the coming weeks a resolution with the exact date on which everything will start: the arrival of SEVEN, the retuning and the beginning of the technological migration will occur at the same time. What is a multiple. Before getting into acronyms, it is worth understanding how DTT works. The channels do not each broadcast on their own, they travel grouped in packages that share the same radio frequency. And those packages are called multiples. In other words, it is as if several channels shared the same highway to reach their destination, your television antenna. Until now, these multiplexes used the DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial) standard. Its successor, as you may have guessed, is DVB-T2. This new multiple allows up to 68% more data to be transported and, secondly, replaces the H.264 codec with H.265 (HEVC). You may be familiar with these last acronyms, since almost all high-end phones record video by default in H.265: a more advanced codec that requires practically half the data to transmit the same image quality. What is going to happen and when. The calendar has been in the air since 2024 and, even today, it is not closed. What we know for the project is that this is a two-phase process: First phase: he state manifold RGE2shared between RTVE, Atresmedia and Mediaset2, will migrate to the DVB-T2 standard. In addition to the efficiency that we mentioned previously, the migration comes hand in hand with UHD emissions. Devices that do not support the standard will still be able to play HD content. Second phase: The definitive move to DVB-T2 marks that all televisions must be compatible with this standard to play content. It is something that, a priori, will take time to arrive. The complete change will not be made until two milestones are achieved: that at least 95% of DTT receivers are compatible with DVB-T2 and that at least 90% of televisions can receive UHD (4K) broadcasts. Go deeper. In short, Spanish DTT cannot be reorganized or begin the migration to the new standard until the new channel is up and running. This is why the arrival of SEVEN marks a before and after for the beginning of the plan. Nevertheless, according to the latest adoption figuresonly 36.6% of the television fleet is compatible with 4K broadcasts, very far from the 95% set by the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Service. The first phase is at your doorstep and should begin in 2026 according to the established plan, the second will not begin until the general picture changes. Since last year, Spain cannot legally sell a TV that is not compatible with DVB-T2 and that is not UHD ready, although the complete renovation of the park is not expected until after 2030. In Xataka | How to configure your Smart TV to watch the 2026 World Cup in the best possible way

In Spain, insurers and venture capital are discovering what the business of the century really is: pets

June 7, 2026 by usatoday24

It’s nothing new. Statistics have long confirmed a reality that anyone can see walking around their city: in Spain there are more pets than small children. many more. And in view of how they evolve the birth rate and the animal census of company, everything indicates that this gap will widen with the passage of time. It is therefore understandable that insurers are increasingly interested in a business that promises a notable growth in the coming years: policies for dogs and cats. It makes sense if we take into account that in Spain there are not only millions of pets. It is increasingly easier to find families who dedicate hundreds of euros in your care. The number: 20 million. It is not easy to specify how many pets are there in Spain. The figures handled by public organizations, veterinarians and the industry dedicated to their care do not completely coincide, but the general image they offer is the same: we Spaniards like the company of dogs, cats, parrots, ferrets, iguanas and other animals capable of adapting to living in our homes. If we trust Anfaac, the association that represents feed manufacturers, in Spain there are more than 20 million of pets, especially dogs (6.9 million). The Spanish Association of Industry and Commerce of the Pet Sector (Aedpac) raises the number of pets to 28 million“present in 40% of the homes” in the country. Other sources point to some 30 millionwhile REIAC (Spanish Network for the Identification of Pet Animals) had registered three years ago 10.1 million of dogs and 968,000 cats. A question of censuses… and euros. Censuses show us that hundreds of thousands of dogs, cats, ferrets, reptiles, birds live in Spanish homes… but that is only part of the ‘photo’ that interests the sector. Another (equally or even more important) is how much we spend on their care. That question was answered in March by EAE Business School, which published a report on ‘pet-money’ which concludes that pets generate a business of 5,770 million euros annually in Spain, drive an economy that grows at 8.3% and support 75,000 direct jobs in 12,300 companies. These are compelling figures, but they are less surprising when you know another key provided by EAE: 49% of households Spaniards live with at least one pet, on whose care we spend on average between 500 and 1,000 euros per year. “In many cases these disbursements are comparable to spending on leisure or communications,” confirms the studywhich has detected a “cultural change” in the relationship with animals that leads a good part of Generation Z and millennials to affirm that they are an essential part of their lives. “Hundreds of millions a year”. The report from AEA Business School also probed the animal-specific insurance business and discovered two things. First, it is in full expansion. Second, that sector data show that it already moves “several hundred million euros a year.” He is not the only one who paints a promising picture for insurers willing to exploit this business niche. Fortune Business Insights calculate that the size of the global pet insurance market amounted to $25.91 billion last year and, if its forecasts are correct, this year it will rise to $30.74 billion. The organization estimates that the sector is growing at a compound annual rate of 18.63%, meaning that in less than a decade it would be in 120,560 millionwith a prominent weight from North America. A business to exploit. Despite all of the above and the fact that veterinary coverage is basically private, the pet insurance business still has a lot of room to grow in Spain. At least that’s what it suggests a study from Guidewire, which points out that only half of pet owners have a specific policy for themselves. Specifically, after interviewing more than 4,000 people from Spain, France, Germany and the United Kingdom, the firm assures that, although 74% have a pet, only 49.6% have insurance to protect them. Other analyzes on the subject considerably reduce that percentage. “This data draws attention when taking into account the regulations in force in Spain, so, since September 29, 2023, the Animal Welfare Law requires all owners of dogs, the most common pet, to take out civil liability insurance, regardless of their breed,” points out the entity. All in all, Spain is one of the countries “”with the greatest acceptance of pet insurance” and the penetration of this type of services has clearly grown in recent years. Waking up appetite. In view of all the above, it is much better understood that large insurance companies and venture capital is entering in the digital veterinary insurance niche. Their hook: to make healthcare for dogs, cats and other pets easier on the wallet. One of the most recent tests comes from Petolo, linked to Getolo GmBH and the Zurich Group. A few days ago the company announced his landing in Spain after acquiring a portfolio of more than 150,000 dogs and cats insured in Germany and France. “The Spanish market has 15.5 million dogs and cats, mostly without veterinary insurance,” says the firm, which offers several plans that allow you to recover part of the bills (between 60 and 100%, depending on the bread) for animal health care. Is it a unique case? Not at all. As explained recently Five Days There are more examples of insurers and private equity firms that seem interested in the veterinary insurance business. Another recent case is that of Reale, which has decided to reinforce its presence in the pet policy sector. entering the shareholding from Canitas. The business has also attracted entrepreneurs such as those who have promoted the startup Barkibuwhich aims at the same objective: the vein that represents private healthcare for pets. Images | Olga Kononenko (Unsplash) and Karsten Winegeart (Unsplash) In Xataka | We have been looking at Noah’s syndrome as a minority and controlled problem for years. we were wrong

Spain is 2º C warmer than in the 80s

June 7, 2026 by usatoday24

When a new summer season arrives, almost all of us have a conversation that includes one sentence: “Every year it gets hotter; the summers before were not like that.” And although for some it may seem like a true exaggeration based on nostalgia, the reality is that the data confirms that we really do have much hotter summers. Certificate. Multiple independent studies, supported by official organizations such as the State Meteorological Agency or the Ministry for the Ecological Transition, have reached a devastating conclusion: the average summer temperature in Spain has increased around 2 °C in the last three decades. Although this is not the worst, because even the nights are no longer a refuge from the heat that occurs during the day. The data. If we look at the thermometers with the perspective that time gives, the trend is an ascending line without brakes. According to the Sustainability Observatory, if we compare the decade of 1969-1978 with that of 2009-2018, the average summer temperature has gone from 21.4 °C to 23.8 °C, so there is talk of an increase of 2.4 °C. But it is not necessary to go that far to notice the acceleration of the phenomenon, since the weather reports most recent from MITECO and AEMET point out that the summer of 2025 broke all records since 1961, reaching an average peninsular temperature of 24.2 °C, which represents an anomaly of 2.1 °C above the average we had as a reference, surpassing the previous record held in 2022 of 24.1 °C. Endless summers. The heat is not only more intense, but it lasts much longer. According to AEMET Open Data, the climatological summer current lasts five weeks longer than in the 80s, gaining ground on spring and autumn at a rate of 9 days per decade. And since 1975, the summer heat period has been officially lengthened by 20 days. The impact is even greater in urban environments, where asphalt and concrete act as heat accumulators, as stated in a study by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia that analyzed the period 1971-2022 in peninsular cities and shows chilling figures: an increase of 3.54°C. Tropical nights. During the summer, many of us wait for nightfall to get the temperatures to drop so we can go outside or sleep more comfortably. However, the nights when the thermometer does not drop below 20 ºC They are the order of the day. And to give us an idea, there are 32 million Spaniards regularly affected by these suffocating nights. In Spain as a whole, they have increased an average of 6 days in the last 50 years. If we focus on specific areas, Andalusia, Murcia and the Valencian Community, citizens today suffer 12 more tropical nights a year than a few decades ago. And the reality is that to sleep this becomes very complicated, forcing the use of the beloved air conditioning or fan. In Xataka | Raffaele Bernadello, climate change expert: “The need to actively capture CO₂ is increasingly evident”

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