Spain

Spain wants us to buy electric cars that are manufactured here. And it has just released another 400 million euros for it

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2035. That is the date that Europe has marked on the calendar as the end of the sale of new gasoline and diesel vehicles. Despite the voices against it, the EU believes that removing the combustion cars and reduce emissions of those sold until then is the way to get the decarbonization goals. Spain has to join this initiative and, to do so, it has just added 400 million euros more to the PERTE VEC project. Because the future of mobility seems to be electric… or it won’t be. PERTE VEC. The Strategic Project for the Recovery and Economic Transformation of the Electric and Connected Vehicle, or PERTE VECit is a initiative which was approved in July 2021 with the aim of creating a favorable Spanish ecosystem for the development and manufacturing of electric vehicles. It is a program that foresees a total investment of more than 24,000 million euros with a public contribution of more than 4,000 million and, the rest, private investment. And the objective is that: to help companies see Spain as an interesting ecosystem to carry out the vehicle development and manufacturing process. This includes production, but also innovation and research in components, batteries and other technologies associated with the electric vehicle. 400 million more. With this objective of facilitating the green transition of the automobile fleet, the Ministry of Industry and Tourism just launched the fourth call of the PERTE VEC. In total, 400 million euros more to give value to this production chain, which are divided into: 250 million euros as repayable loans to a fixed interest of 2.8% and a term of 10 years. 150 million euros in direct subsidies. New call. Companies that wish to do so have from October 14, 2025 to October 24 to register. These 400 million are a fraction of the total of PERTE VEC IV, which has a budget of 1,250 million euros that will be released in successive phases. And no, it is not a program like the MOVES III, which directly concerns the consumer: the PERTE VEC is focused on companies. A limitation is that they cannot be public sector companies and must have demonstrated capacity to carry out their projects. Complying with this, the beneficiaries can be all those companies with their own legal personality in our country that carry out activities related to the development of electric vehicles. This implies that they do not have to be the big brands, but also companies that manufacture batteries, electrical components, charging systems or even those that develop software. Chinese brands included. As long as they meet the requirements, Chinese companies can also benefit from this. The Asian giant saw before many others the importance of the transition to electric as a way to support the achievement of decarbonization objectives and, in fact, this European ambition is something that we have been witnesses for months. The objective of measures like this is, precisely, that value chains are established in our territory and that companies are not limited to bring your cars on big ships from china either simply to assemble them in Europebut to make them here. And an example that Chinese companies are welcome was the formal invitation from the Ministry of Industry to the Chery company to present its application to the PERTE VEC. Image | Stellantis In Xataka | The biggest electric car explosion in Europe is called Belgium and there is a good reason: the State pays for the car

Using the WiFi on the train in Spain is the worst. The question is why there is so much difference compared to the rest of Europe

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If you have to work from the train and need WiFi, good luck. In some areas, even mobile data is useless, making the experience a real torture. It is no wonder, and Spain has one of the worst railway WiFi network infrastructures in all of Europe. According to an Ookla studiothe median download speed on Spanish trains reaches just 1.45 Mbps, compared to 64.58 Mbps in Sweden, which tops the list. At least we are above the United Kingdom or the Netherlands. A multi-layered problem. It’s not just a bad WiFi connection inside the carriage. The main failure, according to the study from Ookla, is in the “backhaul”, that is, in how the train connects to public mobile networks from the roof. Most European countries, including Spain, depend on “incidental” mobile coverage: the antennas installed by operators are designed to serve population centers, not specifically trains. The result is dead zones, constant signal drops and insufficient bandwidth when the train runs between cities. Average unloading speed on European trains. Image: Ookla Outdated technology on board. Inside the car, the panorama doesn’t help either. Although the study does not detail specific data for Spain, countries with similar performance such as the United Kingdom still maintain more than 50% of their connections on WiFi 4, a 2009 standard, and 38% use the 2.4 GHz bandmore prone to interference and congestion. This combination of outdated technology limits the experience even when the outside connection is decent. Sweden solves the puzzle with politics. In Sweden, the case is interesting because it dismantles the complicated terrain argument. Until the beginning of 2024, its trains offered speeds of just 2 Mbps. In the second quarter of that year there was a structural leap: the PTS regulator allocated public funds for neutral infrastructure in tunnels, imposed rail coverage obligations in the 2023 spectrum auctions and identified 45 tunnels and 630 kilometers of track with poor coverage. In just one year the speeds multiplied by more than 30. Average upload speed on European trains. Image: Ookla In Switzerland the model is different, but effective. This country, which is positioned in second place according to the Ookla ranking, has a different structure. And instead of universal WiFi on board, its operator SBB offers “FreeSurf”, a system that allows passengers with a Swiss SIM to use mobile data without consuming their rate while traveling. Bluetooth beacons in the carriages detect the device and the railway operator assumes the cost with the telcos. This avoids the bottleneck of shared WiFi and allows investment to be concentrated on improving the mobile network layer in the corridors. The problem is that it only works for residents with a local SIM. France invests in dedicated network. France built a specific network for railways on routes such as Paris-Lyon, with base stations every 2-3 kilometers, antennas facing the track and special systems in tunnels for trains that travel at 300 km/h and change cells every 15 seconds. Although the study places France In an intermediate position (19.12 Mbps), it continues to be well above Spain. Median latency of European countries compared to Taiwan. Image: Ookla Modern trains are Faraday cages. Part of the problem is structural. And how mention study, current railcars incorporate low-E glass with metallized coatings that block mobile signals more than a layer of concrete, according to tests carried out by the British Department of Transport. Germany has invested 50 million euros in laser treating 70,000 windows of 3,300 carriages to make them permeable to radio frequencies. Belgium abandoned a 173 million euro on-board WiFi plan and preferred to invest 40 million in modifying the windows of its trains. Asia prioritizes mobile over WiFi. In Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, the approach is different, as they invest in dedicated mobile data coverage on roads and tunnels, and treat WiFi as a secondary service. According to the study, Taiwan leads in latency (13 ms) and already deploys WiFi 6 on 20% of its rail connections. Its download speeds (8.1 Mbps) far exceed those of Spain, although they are far from the European leaders. The Japanese government, for example, has subsidized since 2020 the installation of cellular systems in all tunnels in the Shinkansen. satellite internet. Just like mention the study, operators such as ScotRail, SNCF, Trenitalia or PKP Intercity are testing terminals starlink and OneWeb on rural or coastal routes where ground coverage is insufficient. The strategy is not to replace mobile coverage, but to join both connections through onboard SD-WAN gateways. There are still limitations, as certified rail terminals are still in short supply, they do not operate in tunnels and the operational cost remains high if data is used intensively. In Xataka | How to share the data connection of your Android mobile or iPhone with an Internet access point

Spain wanted Ryanair to pay it 107 million euros. Now Europe responds: sanctioning file against Spain

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Airlines have limited “freedom to set prices.” At least that is what the European Commission, which has sanctioned our country, believes. It did so with a statement published yesterday, Wednesday, October 8, in which it clarified that the Air Navigation Law prevents airlines from charging for this service. The decision is also a hard blow for Spain’s role in its open judicial fight against Ryanair. The European Commission. She was the last to give her opinion. And he has done it in the worst possible way for Spain. In a public statementthe European entity confirms that it has opened a sanctioning file against our country when it understands that it is taking measures to restrict the freedom of airlines to charge for a service to which they are entitled. That right is to charge for hand luggage, a service for which Spain has already imposed a sanction on five airlines. The cost of that punishment was close to 180 million euros and Ryanair was the company most punished, receiving a fine that exceeded 107 million euros. According to the European Commission, these sanctions also fail to comply with Community regulations. Right. According to the European Commission: “Spain’s National Air Navigation Law does not allow airlines to subject the carriage of carry-on baggage to an additional charge, restricting the freedom of airlines to set prices and differentiate between a service that includes the right to a larger carry-on baggage allowance, and a service that does not offer that possibility and simply provides the smaller allowance that constitutes a necessary aspect of the carriage.” From Europe, therefore, it is understood that Spanish airlines are allowing the minimum necessary luggage that is mandatory to pass through completely free of charge. On the contrary, it considers that our country is preventing charging for larger packages and that, therefore, companies are prevented from charging more for the service and are forced to abandon this income option. “Reasonable”. The problem right now is that there are no established bases for what is or is not considered “carry-on luggage.” The Court of Justice of the European Union noted, as stated in the European Commission’s own statement, that hand luggage “should, in principle, be free as long as it meets reasonable requirements in terms of weight and dimensions, and complies with the applicable security requirements. Hand luggage that exceeds such reasonable requirements is subject to price freedom.” But what is reasonable? For the European Union, companies like Ryanair already complied with their previous measurements of 40 x 25 x20 cm (expanded to 40 x 30 x 20 cm last summer). For Spain, however, that size or a smaller one does not allow the transport of basic belongings and does not meet those “reasonable requirements in terms of weight and dimensions.” Justice. That same debate, in fact, has been experienced by the fined companies themselves in our country. First because they have received some of the higher economic sanctions on companies in the history of Spain. And, second, because not even the Spanish Justice has shown a clear criterion when deciding whether companies or consumers are right. In SevilleFor example, Ryanair won a lawsuit against a consumer who was charged at the boarding gate for not having checked luggage on time. In Salamancait was the consumers who beat the company for the same reason. A setback for Spain. The decision of the European Commission is a hard setback for Spain, although it was expected. The Transport Commissioner of the European Union himself, Apostolos Tzitzikostas, received the CEO of Ryanair personally a few days ago. Pablo Bustinduy, Minister of Consumer Affairs, preferred to attend to him remotely by video call. The company had also threatened to take the legality of the fine imposed in our country to the European courts. Now, it has the backing of the European Commission should the matter go to trial. For Bustinduy: “the charge for hand luggage represents a conflict between the interests of the large airline industry, which profits from these practices, and the rights of consumers. Unfortunately, today the Commission has decided to position itself on the side of the interests of the multinationals,” in words reported by The Country. An interested movement. As we already told a few weeks ago, the European Union is seeking to reach an agreement on the minimum measures for hand luggage. Both the European Commission and the European Parliament are deciding what minimum measures are imposed. However, until now measures have been put on the table that were almost identical to those offered by Ryanair and other companies low cost. The Irish company also subscribed to the decision of Airlines for Europe (A4E), an association of airlines including Ryanair, to confirm that increased the minimum size allowed in their cabins at 40 × 30 × 15 cm. They are measures slightly lower than those that Ryanair has ended up adopting and similar to those sought by the European Union, in what is a clear nod to those who have defended these latter positions. What happens now? With this file, the European Union gives our country a period of two months to adapt national legislation to European regulations or to give a reasoned response to it. If the changes are not implemented or the response is not considered sufficiently reasoned, the European Commission may issue a reasoned opinion. This is the second formal phase of the procedure and if Spain maintains its positions, the case can be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union. Photo | Niklas Jonasson and Andrijana Bozic In Xataka | Michael O’Leary, CEO of Ryanair: “I don’t want the money. Let them fly without suitcases”

Spain has become the first European country to break the gas. The only problem is that the invoice says something else

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At first glance it seems a contradiction: we produce more solar and wind energy than ever, and yet The invoice continues. Sometimes it seems that everything returns to the same thing: gas. And, in part, it is true. The gas continues to enter every night to sustain the electrical system when the sun falls. But behind that reality there is another less visible: Spain is getting the structural link between electricity and fossil fuels. Reducing the power of gas. According to an Ember analysisthe influence of gas and coal in electric prices has been reduced by 75% since 2019. In the first half of 2025, the gas only determined the price of light 19% of the time, compared to 75% of six years ago. The result is overwhelming: the wholesale price of electricity in Spain was 32 % lower than the European average. While Germany or Italy have barely reduced the influence of gas by 12%and 13%, respectively, Spain has done it in 75%. It is a much faster jump than in any other large European electric market. Spain stopped the power of gas and coal, becoming one of the cheapest markets in Europe This fall reflects a deep transformation of the system. The country has made renewable energy – more cheap and stable – progressively replace gas and coal in pricing. So why don’t you notice the invoice? The answer, as we will see, has to do with the network, the storage and a blackout that changed the rules of the game. An exponential growth. Since 2019, Spain added more than 40 GW Of new wind and solar capacity, which has allowed the renewables to cover 46 % of the electrical demand in the first half of 2025. In that same period, the generation with gas and coal fell to 20 %, compared to more than 40 % that still register Germany and Italy. This transformation has had a direct effect on the market: gas and coal are barely marked the price of light. “Spain has broken the dire bond between electricity and fossil fuels”, summarize Chris RossloweEmber analyst. However, this technical achievement does not mean that the system is free of shadows. The imperceptible success. Here comes the less encouraging part. The problem is not only how much it costs to generate electricity, but how the system remains stable. After the blackout of April 28, 2025, Ree adopted an “reinforced” operational modeactivating more combined gas cycles to stabilize the network. That strategy avoided new cuts, but had a high cost. The use of gas for network services – as voltage control or frequency regulation – doubled in May 2025 compared to the previous year. These services went from representing 14% of the final price before the blackout at 57% that month, According to Ember. In addition, the missing renewable energy (Curtailment) It tripled after the blackout, moving from 1.8% in the two years prior to 7.2% between May and July 2025. In practice, a part of the clean energy generated is lost because the system cannot manage it. A power with bottlenecks. Despite being a renewable power, Spain only invests 30 cents in electrical networks for each euro allocated to renewables, compared to the 70 cents on average in Europe, As the report explains. And although it is the fourth largest electrical market of the continent, it occupies the 13th position in battery capacity, with just 120 MW installed. In some points of the network, Ree has recognized losses of up to 30% of the renewable generation due to lack of infrastructure. This imbalance prevents the clean energy from fully taking advantage of and forces to resort to gas as support. As we have pointed out in Xatakathe system is still vulnerable and rigid: only one in ten new facilities manages to access the network. After the blackout. The blackout marked a before and after. Although European experts have published A factual report, the official report is not expected until the end of the year. Following that episode, the government approved Royal Decree-Law 7/2025with measures to reinforce the network, encourage storage and make access to hybrid facilities. Although the text was rejected by Congress on July 22, part of its measures are being applied by other ways. Among them, As Ember points outthe incorporation of eight synchronous compensators – devices that stabilize the tension without using fossil fuels – and the impulse of 2,600 MW of new batteries, of which 340 MW already have permission. The Executive also plans to launch capacity auctions before 2026 to keep gas plants operational while structural solutions are displayed. But the message of the sector is clear: it will take time, investment and brave political decisions. The European Energy Laboratory. The Spanish case has become a mirror for the rest of the continent. It has shown that growing in solar and wind reduces the wholesale price and gas dependence, but also that without network and storage investment the benefits do not reach the consumer. In Brussels and in neighboring markets, Spain’s example is closely followed as a transition model: a country that has reduced its fossil dependence without sacrificing competitiveness, but still fights to transfer that advantage to the citizen. In Rosslowe’s words: “Spain has shown the way, but to keep it you need to invest in clean flexibility and modern networks.” Electricity is already cheaper to produce. It is also necessary to pay. Image | Freepik Xataka | In his career for the total domain of the solar panels, a rival has come out: the Spanish Perovskita

Google launches its AI mode in Spain and with it, a new way of searching on the web: this is how you can activate it

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Google has begun to roll out its AI Mode in Spain, an update that transforms the traditional way of searching for information on the Internet. Once we have access to this mode, we can make all types of queries through natural language and the search engine will offer us complex and elaborate answers on any topic through its AI. The operation is similar to the summaries that Google already offers when we make a query, only this mode transfers that entire experience to your search engine. We tell you all the details. What exactly is AI Mode. This is the most advanced search experience Google has launched to date, powered by its Gemini models. Just like explains the company in its press release, appears as a new button on the results page and in the apps for Android and iOS. Unlike traditional search that displays a list of links, AI Mode generates direct and detailed answers to queries, although for now it remains optional, as the user must press the button to activate it. To test it, you can use this linkalthough you may not have it enabled yet and may have to wait a while. Why the way you search changes. According to Google, this tool is designed for exploratory questions without a single, direct answer. In the United States, where it was launched in March (and by then we were able to try it), Google claims that users ask questions two or three times longer than in conventional searches. The company gives the example of doing the following search: “I want to understand the different methods of brewing coffee. Make a table comparing the differences in flavor, ease of use, and equipment needed.” Once the answer is obtained, we can continue the conversation, such as: “What is the ideal grain thickness for each method?” In this way, the system maintains the context of the conversation and allows you to delve deeper as you go. The operation is very similar to what many AI models already offer, such as ChatGPT internet search or dedicated AI search engines like Perplexity. This is the answer to all those tools of a Google that refuses to lose the leadership of what it was known for. How it works inside. As the company claims, AI Mode uses a query decomposition technique: it divides the question into several subtopics and launches multiple simultaneous searches on the web. This, according to Google, allows you to access more specialized and relevant content than with a traditional search. The results are presented with small buttons at the end of each paragraph that link to the web pages used to generate the answer. In our tests a few months ago we were already able explore in detail the operation of this system, a search mode that was inevitable to see given the proliferation of more and more tools with generative AI technology. The results were quite promising and the system offered a great level of richness in its responses. AI Mode is an instant way to get complex answers while the system crawls the entire web to deliver them to you. Multimodality as an advantage. One of the notable features is that it supports different input formats: text, voice and images. Users can, for example, take a photo of a menu with their mobile phone and ask about anything, or use the microphone for voice queries. This versatility is typical of models such as Geminisince from its dedicated app we can also opt for this type of responses through all types of inputs. The real novelty here is that the experience that Gemini gives us is transferred to Google’s main website, something that represents how committed the company is to offering AI experiences to its users. The global deployment. The launch includes 36 new languages, including Spanish, and nearly 50 new countries and territories, reaching more than 200 in total. Its arrival in Europe is especially significant, since Regulation around AI is much stricter than in the United States. The good news is that the service is free and will be progressively activated for all Spanish users in the coming days. An inevitable debate. This launch is not without controversy. Some media outlets in countries where it is already available have reported traffic drops of between 20% and 60%. The falls too have been important even with the arrival of Google’s AI summaries. And if the AI ​​directly answers the user’s question, why visit the original website? Obviously, from Xataka we will tell you that nothing has more value than what is processed, thought and written by a human. However, Google argues that clicks from AI Mode are of higher quality because “users then spend more time on the pages they visit”, although the truth is that it is not a very hopeful answer for media that depend on a certain volume of visits to generate income. The company has also not yet proposed financial compensation for the pages it uses as a source of its responses. What’s coming now? Google assures that it will continue improving the system, recognizing that “we will not always get it right” as it is an AI product in its initial phase. Now we just need to know the reaction of the global public and know if this really is the definitive way to search on the web. We will also be aware of the impact this has on traffic, which has already left its mark since its initial test in March. In Xataka | OpenAI is the King Midas of the stock market: everything it touches skyrockets

Behind this year’s Nobel Prize in Medicine there is a whole lesson in scientific policy for Spain and it does not seem that we are going to learn it

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The Nobel Prizes arrive and, like every year, the media they are filled with reports on why Spain resists the great scientific awards of the contemporary world. And it is not a lie: the last Spaniard to win one in science, Severo Ochoa, did so 66 years ago. Being a relatively important country internationally, it is a real problem. What we did not suspect is that the Karolisnka Institute was going to make it so clear how ‘real’ this problem is. A little highlighted detail. At this point in the week, the history of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine It has been counted as active and passive; But there is a detail that is worth dwelling on. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Shimon Sakaguchi discovered a subset of T lymphocytes that did not attack anyone or anything. They were a kind of “riot police” of the immune system: they suppressed the activity of other T lymphocytes. The discovery was momentous, but what came next was an enormous silence. Silence? But they just gave him the Nobel Prize! They just gave it to him now, but it was not a bed of roses. Sakaguchi’s idea made sense, but no one was quite clear why that was happening. And, in fact, many people were vehemently against his theses. It took almost a decade for two different teams to reach the same conclusion: the Japanese researcher was right and the key to everything. the problem was in the FOXP3 gene. It seems like a minor issue, but “this double discovery, the cellular discovery of Sakaguchi and the genetic discovery of Brunkow and Ramsdell, has completely changed the paradigm of immunology and has opened two great therapeutic avenues with immense potential.” The relevant question in Spain. This is all very well, but the really relevant question for our country is why in 2020, when the Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded CRISPR, it did not follow the same logic. Because yes, there are big differences between one discovery and the other: while the former rewarded the technological tool, this one has rewarded the discovery of the fundamental scientific bases. But it is not lost on anyone that the narrative of the award is not just an explanation: it is a framework that justifies inclusions and exclusions. The “forgetfulness” of the 2020 Nobel Prize. Francis Mojica himself he explained to us that “when we discovered CRISPR, I said to myself: “this is going to be crazy in biology” and then absolutely nothing happened.” In fact, that “nothing” lasted for many years. Years in which CRISPR seemed like a scientific curiosity without much importance and working on the subject, as Mojica did, was seen as an eccentricity. And finally, when the award came, it focused on “the development of a gene editing method (CRISPR-Cas9)” and was awarded to the two researchers who discovered that we could use the mechanism to our advantage; but no one remembered the person who discovered this mechanism. And it would be naive not to ask ourselves why. Even if we cannot know what really happened (the prize selection process has been hidden for 50 years), it is a good time to compare the abysmal differences between the research policy of Spain and that of Japan. While in the country of the rising sun, it has been investing in “scientific diplomacy” since the 90s; while Spain has made some isolated effort, yes; but insufficient. This is not about creating intricate conspiracy theories. It is clear that we will not be able to say what would have happened if Francis Mojica were Japanese, but we can ask ourselves what extra-scientific factors intervene in this type of awards and what Spain is doing to value its contribution to current contemporary science. That is, not only what resources are dedicated to research; but what is Spain’s ‘soft-power’, what resources does it put to make our researchers visible, to spread favorable stories or to amplify the work of our teams. The answer to all this, I’m afraid, is “too little.” Image | Ryan Faulkner | Daniel Prado In Xataka | A Nobel with 30 years of history: the discovery of the “peacekeeping gene” that controls our defenses is the 2025 Nobel Prize in Medicine

Dreame is Dyson’s Chinese rival. And now it is going to arrive in Spain copying Xiaomi’s strategy

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Dreame has more than doubled its revenue in Europe in recent months and Spain has become its key market for the next step: replicating Xiaomi’s manual eight years ago. Why is it important. The Chinese company has not only come to sell vacuum cleaners. It has come to build a complete connected home ecosystem that fully competes with traditional European brands. Dyson, Philips or Bosch compete in design and brand prestige, but Dreame focuses on another aspect: offering 80% of the quality at 40% of the price. It is the same strategy that Xiaomi used to conquer Spain: launch an anchor product at an aggressive price, quickly gain market share and expand to the rest of the home. The current situation. Dreame has reported a 139% growth in its year-on-year revenue in Europe between January and July 2025, as published Expansion. Spain has exceeded the company’s initial expectations, which now plans to open two physical stores in Madrid and Barcelona. The brand already operates combining online sales with presence in MediaMarkt and El Corte Inglés. Although the greatest weight remains in digital, the physical channel is growing. The background. The expansion plan goes far beyond robot vacuum cleaners: At IFA 2025, Dreame presented a complete ecosystem of 22 product lines, 15 of them new. It will soon launch televisions, dishwashers, air conditioners and small kitchen appliances in Spain. It will also consolidate its personal care range with hair dryers and straighteners, and add robotic lawnmowers and pool cleaners. It is the exact copy of the Xiaomi model: You enter with a competitive technology product at a disruptive price. You gain market share quickly. You build loyalty with an ecosystem of connected devices. And you expand category by category until you become a relevant player in the market. Xiaomi, by the way, entered the field of large household appliances in Europe just a few days ago with the trojan horse strategy. In detail. The commitment to innovation is the central argument of Dreame. More than 60% of its staff is dedicated to R&D and it has more than 6,300 patents worldwide. At IFA he announced a cleaning robot capable of climbing stairs or with an arm to clean in difficult areas. But that race “for innovation” has also taken them to court. Dyson sued Dreame for marketing two stylers very similar to its Airwrap model. The Unitary Patent Court ordered the provisional withdrawal of two models of these hair stylers in Spain due to their similarity to the British device. Whether or not the blood reaches the river (Dreame is going to resort), it is evident that there is inspiration in Dyson. You just have to look, for example, at the air purifier in the image that heads this article. The contrast. The question we ask ourselves at this stage is how long Dyson, Philips, Bosch and company can last before losing market share. Dreame is the type of China in the shoe (pun intended) that makes the grown-ups very uncomfortable and against which there is no easy antidote. Traditional brands have built their business on design, prestige and high margins. Dreame offers them direct competition in technical quality at less than half the price. It is the same dilemma that European mobile phone manufacturers had to face years ago when Chinese brands arrived. AND We already know how that movie ended.. At stake. If Dreame replicates Xiaomi’s success in Spain, European brands will have to face a difficult decision: Or they lower prices (and margins) to compete. Or they accept a progressive loss of market share. The third option, less likely, is that one of them will progressively weaken and end up being bought by a Chinese competitor seeking quick access to European distribution and Western brand prestige. The same thing happened with the Swedish Volvo, the British MG or the Italian Pirelli: they all ended up in Chinese hands at some point this century. For now, Dreame avoids giving specific figures about its growth plans. But the strategy is clear: Spain is a key market for its international expansion and the company is going to redouble its efforts to expand its presence. The physical stores in Madrid and Barcelona are just the starting signal. In Xataka | Xiaomi is no longer a brand: there are several brands fighting over the same logo Featured image | Dreame

While all Spain is pending that their children learn English, in the Canary Islands they have another obsession: the German

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The Canarian ties with Germany are strong. And they come from afar. They date back (at least) at the end of the 19th century And they have been reinforcing thanks to the Expats and the Huge weight which has the German market in the Canarian tourism sector, capital piece in the economy of the region. This link explains that in its classrooms it is studied more German than anywhere else in Spain and Parents committed in which their children learn at the same time the languages ​​of Cervantes and Goethe. It is the ‘Germanization’ of Canarian education. What happened? That Canary Islands show signs that little by little in a key area is being germanized: early childhood education. At least if we compare it with the rest of Spain. German influence on the archipelago (and more in zones With a strong foreign presence) it is nothing new, but there are indicators that help to better understand what extent they are pending in their classrooms and homes. The last one left it a few months ago The confidential in A report which shows how parents are betting on their children speak of Goethe’s tongue (almost) from the cradle or even cases of children who chapurre them before the Spanish. Are there figures to try it? Yes. Those of the Ministry of Education, which reflect how the teaching of German stands out in the archipelago against other regions of Spain. Although Canary Islands is one of the communities Less populated of the country is the one that has the most students studying German in the classrooms. At least in the 2020-2021 course They added 31,300considerably above the Community of Madrid (28,300), Catalonia (24,600), Andalusia (18,100) or Balearic Islands (13,800), two regions in which there is also a strong presence of tourists and Expats. And who studies it? That is the most interesting. The language is not only learned by young people who study ESO or university students. In the archipelago he has also penetrated among the youngest children. The 2020-2021 course there was almost 500 students Studying German in the Early Childhood Education stage, data that exceed only Catalonia and Andalusia, with much greater population. If we talk about Primary the figure, the largest registration in the country is triggered. In general the learning of German It is less extended than that of English or French, but still reaches a notable weight in the Canary classrooms. The region stands out For how extended the study of the second languages ​​is. What is the reason? There are several factors that explain that clear Germanization, but two stand out above the rest: the first are the Historical ties Between the Canary Islands and Germany, which date back to 19th century And they explain that there is a German school in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and another in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. According to the Canarian Institute of Statistics (Istac), the Germans are one of the main foreign population groups in the region, although they are significantly below nationalities such as the Colombian, Venezuelan or English. The second factor is tourism. The sector has A crucial weight In the GDP of the region, where it generates thousands of millions of euros every year. And much of that flow of money comes out of German pockets, such as I recognized Recently the Canary Islands government itself, taking stock of the 2024 campaign. statistics From Exeltur they show that in 2024 the German was The second market International most relevant to the tourism sector of the region. Only the British is overcome. What supposes that in practice? That speaking German becomes a key tool, both in the Canary Islands (work or not in tourism) and when looking for a job in the rest of the country or the EU. “Everything that is science and engineering is very enhanced in German, but nothing happens if the girl later chooses to be a hairdresser and not continue studying. I try to give her best for her future,” Explain to The confidential A Canarian mother who pays 600 euros per month (activities included) so that her daughter is formed at the German school. “I know people who have studied in this school and thanks to that they work or live outside.” Is it important? There are those who believe it. “Learning this language here is a priority for two reasons. First because it gives you the possibility of leaving the islands to, for example, exercising as an engineer or sanitary in other places. It is also essential to work in the southern area of ​​the island (Gran Canaria), where tourism is concentrated and people are always needed to deal with Germans,” Marta García reflectshistorian of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. “Here is key to accessing certain positions and ascending.” That influence explains that there are also adults who throw themselves to study the language to prosper, that the Canarian government has reinforced your bet For the linguistic immersion scholarships to study in Germany (and Ireland) or that there are even cases of children who begin to Chapurrean German before Spanish. Although it is not a generalized trend, a few months ago The confidential He reviewed A specific case, that of a four -year -old girl who entered the German school in Santa Cruz de Tenerife without speaking at all Spanish and surprised her parents by expressing themselves first in German. “I had a delay in language and I worried when I saw her speaking first German. I thought I was wrong and went to see the pediatrician, but luckily she started speaking Spanish last year.” Images | Norbert Braun (UNSPLASH), Guillaume Didelet (UNSPLASH) Via | The confidential In Xataka | For the first time in ten years, La Palma has shown the best creatures of its parties: the disturbing dwarfs that dance Polca

How to use Sora 2 from Spain and get invitations before it officially arrives

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Let’s explain How can you access Sora 2 before his official arrival in Spain. Although at the moment its diffusion is in the test phase and very limited, you may have already seen a large number of videos made with artificial intelligenceand that you want to try also this artificial intelligence. We are going to start telling you step by step how to access the website of this AI and how to start using it, mentioning the way of skipping the geographical restriction. Then we will end mentioning the issue of invitationssince you are going to need one. How to access the Sora 2 website Sora 2’s website is Sora.chatgpt.com. However, when you enter you will see that you are not yet available in Spain, and send you outside the website of the first version of this AI. To access the website in English, You need to use a VPN and simulate that you are sailing from the United States. For this you can use Nordvpnor almost any other of the best VPN services. Connect to the United States in the VPN and re -enter the Sora 2 website. To be able to access, You will have to write your invitation codesince you need one to complete the registration. When you do, you can enter the Sora 2 website, and you can complete your profile. This website is like a social network, that is, you can see the creations of others, follow the profiles, and so on. Below you have the writing field where you can write the Prompt for Ask Sora 2 what you want to create. Be descriptive, and you can add the description of several planes for the video, and even a phrase to say. If you have the mobile application you can also add a cameo, which is to add your face to create videos with you. When you write a prompt and give it to send, your video will not be generated immediately, but will be added to drafts. Then you can enter whenever you want the draft section to see everyone you have created. If you click on one of the drafts, you will go to a preview where you will see the video, the description, and you will have options to download it. Here, click on the button Post To publish the video on your Sora profile. But you need an invitation To be able to access Sora 2 first you need an invitation. This is the most complicated part of gettingsince you are going to need someone with access to this AI of one of their invitations in the event that you have achieved them. Each user has a code that is worth to invite four people, that is, you can ask the users you see creating videos. Another option is simply accessing the Sora 2 website through its official website. When you log in with an account, you will see the option of that you are notified when the accesses are opened. Then you will have to allow Sora to send you notifications. Openai says he wants to complete his expansion through the United States and Canada relatively soon, and that he wants to jump to other countries soon. When you arrive in Spain you will receive the notification with the invitation code. Payment users, as expected, will have priority when receiving access. In Xataka Basics | Sora 2: What is it, how it works, main novelties, and when will it be available

Spain always longed for the US to look at it like Italy and France. Now that desire is becoming dangerously

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In the middle of the year the rumor of A boycott from Europe to the United States in one of its most profitable sectors: tourism. Among the cultivation broth there was talk of a political situation that had generated rejection, noticing even in reservation falls for summer (up to 25%). Interestingly, this does not happen, or remotely, in reverse. In fact, Americans like Spain so much that an avalanche of citizens is expected in the coming years. We talk about millions. The personal discovery. The truth is that the relationship between American travelers and Spain It is not understood only from statistics, but also of individual stories that have captured attention on social networks. In 2023, the Smith family, originally from Kansas, It was installed in Logroño After deciding to change life in full pandemic. Their Videos on Tiktok and Instagram, just like those of Morgana creator of Michigan transferred to Madrid, made visible the contrast between the American and Spanish lifestyle: the sociability of the dinners at ten o’clock at night, the peace of mind of having a public health system, the culture of sitting down to breakfast instead of eating fast or the naturalness that children’s parks are next to a bar. For millions of followers, their vision served as a country mirror that offered security, quality of life and a different sense of community, aroused renewed interest in experiencing Spain from within. The quantitative jump. That personal interest was later reflected in the numbers. In 2024, Spain received almost 94 million tourists International and broke all records, with a 12% increase in arrivals and 18.6% in spending only in the first seven months of the year. He CaixaBank report Research stressed a especially striking fact: the expense of the visitors of North America in August was 90% higher to 2019, which made the United States one of the most dynamic and lucrative markets. Reasons? The dollar strength And American economic growth explained part of the trend, which was consolidated in destinations such as Catalonia, Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. Meanwhile, airlines and United Airlines took advantage of the juncture for multiply direct routes To Spain, opening connections with Mallorca, Málaga, Tenerife and Bilbao. The future projection. The euphoria was confirmed this September with the Publication of the report Portrait of American & Canadian International Travelers, commissioned by Turespaña. According to the study, 70%of Americans plan to visit Spain in the next three years, an even greater proportion among millennials (81%) and high -purchasing power travelers (76%). The figures draw a sustained growth panorama, with spending projections of more than $ 13,000 per traveler and a remarkable interest in authentic cultural experiences, gastronomy and nature. Madrid and Barcelona lead the desired list of destinations, followed by Valencia and Seville, while in the island Tenerife and Gran Canaria stand out, with an interest that exceeds 70%. Because. The big question. The reports indicate Key factors to explain this enthusiasm: security (91%), climate (87%) and cultural activities (87%) are decisive in choice. It also underlines greater sensitivity towards sustainability, With 84% Of the Americans willing to pay more for services responsible for the environment, a provision led by the younger generations. In addition, the Planning habits: The growing weight of online and social networks reviews Like Instagram or YouTubethe preference for multi -city itineraries (84%) and the expansion of the airbnb tourist accommodation market, which competes with traditional hotels and resorts. Spain in front of the competition. On the global board, Spain appears as a destination “balanced and versatile”capable of combining culture, gastronomy and nature in a unique offer. He Report places to the country ahead of France, Portugal or the United Kingdom in the North American market, and in a direct pulse with Italy and Greece for leadership in Mediterranean cultural experience. The data of 2024 and the first semester of 2025 They confirm it: The United States has become the fourth issuer market in total expenditure, with 9,014 million euros and more than 4.3 million visitors, a high -purchasing capacity tourist profile that stays eight days on average and spends more than 270 euros daily. From personal experience to the phenomenon. What started as a phenomenon of discovery staff (families and young people who shared in networks their astonishment from Spanish customs) has become a massive flow that BRAND EXPENSE REGRESS and Project millions of arrivals in the next three years. Spain has not only become a tourist destination of reference for Americans, but also a mirror of values ​​and lifestyles that contrast with those of their country of origin. Among the crowded terraces At midnight, the Mediterranean cuisinethe safety of cities or Public Healthan image is drawn that attracts both travelers in search of leisure and those who wish to rethink their entire life. The challenge, from now on, will be to manage this wave without being Dilute the quality of life That, paradoxically, it is The greatest attraction from Spain for those who discover it from afar. Image | Willian Justen de Vasconcellos In Xataka | Something strange is happening with tourism in Spain: the data is at maximum, the hoteliers insist that there is crisis In Xataka | Making tourism in Spain is getting so expensive that at this point in the year it is more profitable to travel to the Caribbean

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