Spanish

A group of Spanish pilots wait in front of Russia for an alarm that will sound 500 times in 2025. They only have 15 minutes to launch their fighters

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A few minutes from Russian airspace, a handful of Spanish pilots live in the most tense routine that exists in peacetime: be ready to take off at any moment from an icy base from the Balticone where the sky is watched as if each blip on the radar could be the start of something bigger. Fifteen minutes. At Šiauliai, a Lithuanian air base that functions as first line of surveillance over the Baltic, the routine can be broken at any second with a siren and a countdown. When the alert goes off (in 2025 alone it did so up to 500 times), the Spanish pilots of the 15th Wing They put on their equipment, get into the vans and run towards the hangars with a single objective: to be in the air in less than fifteen minutes. It is a millimetric mechanic, repeated so many times in training that becomes automaticbecause the mission does not wait for anyone and because in that area an unidentified plane, without a transponder or without communication, can be the beginning of a serious incident. The shadow of an enemy. The function of these quick exits, called “scrambles”is to intercept and escort suspicious aircraft until they leave Allied space or their intentions become clear, and in the Baltic they are almost an everyday language. The route is especially sensitive because it connects Russia with the militarized enclave of Kaliningradand there intersect fighters, surveillance planes and traffic that sometimes fly without a flight plan or without the expected signals. The result is constant tension: some days there are several outings and other weeks everything seems calm, but the feeling is always the same, that the next warning can come when you are resting or half asleep. 15th Wing Fighter Mission since 2004. NATO started this baltic air police in 2004 to protect the space of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and since then the countries have taken turns in rotation four months so that the umbrella is permanent. Over time, the deployment was expanded to other bases in the region, first after the first Russian invasion of Ukraine and later with further expansion, because the Eastern Front ceased to be a theoretical concept. In recent months, furthermore, the incursions became more disturbing due to a new detail: not only manned aircraft appeared, but also drones that crossed borders and forced us to react quickly. Spain and the fighters. The Spanish contingent arrived in December with more than 200 troops and eleven EF-18Ma modernized version of the Hornet that Spain operates and maintains ready to fly day or night. The planes are armed with air-to-air missiles and the pilots train with night vision goggles, because surveillance does not stop when the sun goes down. Behind each exit there is a system that monitors the sky relentlessly, control centers that detect traces on the radar and a decision chain that, when activated, turns the entire base into a fast, silent and perfectly rehearsed choreography. Drones change the script. The big twist is that now the problem is not only the classic military plane that approaches without identifying itself, but the emergence of cheap dronesslow, low and erratic, more difficult to classify and more complicated to stop with means designed for another era. It we have counted. In September last year, a wave of Russian drones penetrated Polish airspace during an attack on Ukraine, and then there were similar episodess that forced the activation of fighter jets in countries like Romania. In parallel, small unidentified drones began to be seen near airports, bases and sensitive facilities throughout Europe, fueling the feeling of vulnerability and suspect that someone is measuring response times and blind spots. Crow, the anti-drone. For this reason, in this deployment the 15th Wing arrived with a historical novelty for them: the Indra Crow systeman anti-drone defense that adds a different layer of protection to the base and its surroundings. Crow combines radars, cameras and sensors to detect small aircraft and, once located, attempts to take them down using signal jamming, that is, electronic warfare from fixed or mobile positions. Its range not only protects planes and runways, it also covers the nearby city, because the real goal is to shield critical infrastructure and reduce the risk of a cheap drone causing disproportionate damage. The cost dilemma. Behind this adaptation is a problem that NATO is being forced to solve at full speed: intercepting cheap drones with weapons designed to shoot down fighters is an unsustainable equation. Firing expensive missiles from a fighter jet to take down a small aircraft may work, but it turns every defense in a waste and opens the door to volume saturation. That is why procedures and tactics are being reviewed, looking for cheaper and more specific systems, and assuming that the fighter will no longer always be the best tool to put out the fire. The strategic signal. The arrival of fighters with anti-drone protection It reflects a Europe that begins to fortify the sky as if war were already knocking at the door, although it has not yet fully crossed. In the Baltic, each rotation is a political and military message: there is presence, there is a response and there is an intention to fill gaps that did not exist before. Thus, what was previously an almost routine escort and identification mission is becoming a comprehensive defense exercise against hybrid threatswhere the enemy can be a large plane, a tiny drone or a provocation designed solely to check if, when the alarm sounds, there is really someone capable of taking off in those fifteen minutes. Image | Pexels, Pavel Vanka In Xataka | There are “invisible” Russian submarines happily sailing through the Baltic and that has led Europe to unprecedented measures In Xataka | A Russian submarine has appeared off the coast of France. And Europe’s reaction has been surprising: have a laugh

everyone wants to send in Spanish

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The Royal Spanish Academy is going through its worst institutional crisis in decades. On January 11, Arturo Pérez-Reverte, academic since 2003, published in El Mundo a column that several members have called “the most serious attack in living memory.” The novelist accused the institution of capitulating to media pressures and of practicing a “lax and ambiguous” linguistic policy, pointing directly to director Santiago Muñoz Machado. But this episode is only the most visible manifestation of a deeper conflict that shakes the foundations of the tricentennial institution. The trigger. On Sunday, January 11, Arturo Pérez-Reverte published in El Mundo a column titled ‘Why it neither fixes, nor cleans, nor gives splendor’ that caused the crisis. In the text, the academic denounced that the RAE practices “lax and ambiguous” regulations and accused the institution of having surrendered to what he called “the Taliban of anything goes.” Among their criticisms were the lack of forcefulness in debates such as inclusive language, the accentuation of “only” or “hyphen”, and the use of capital letters. According to Pérez-Reverte, the Academy limits itself to registering uses driven by social networks or political correctness, abandoning its regulatory function. “Any bold cathet can prevail, if he perseveres, over Cervantes, Galdós or García Márquez,” he wrote. The momentum. The moment chosen for the publication aggravated the unrest: the tribune appeared on the eve of the delivery of the Zenda Awardsliterary awards founded by Pérez-Reverte himself. The ceremony, held on January 13 in the presence of Queen Letizia, brought together numerous academics who had confirmed their attendance and found themselves caught at the heart of the controversy. Muñoz Machado, in fact, did not attend. The plenary session on Thursday, January 16, confirmed the fracture. Pérez-Reverte attended and presented his arguments in a synthetic way, but several academics intervened to show their “rejection” of a member expressing himself in that way in the media. Some reproached him for his “ignorance” of the daily work of the institution, while others defended the work of the current director. The session was left unfinished due to lack of time and The debate will continue next week. A crisis. The Pérez-Reverte controversy shows structural tensions accumulated over decades in the RAE. The institution maintains a composition that several academics describe as “unofficial three thirds“: literary creators, philologists and a heterogeneous group of jurists, doctors or scientists. This cast, considered for years a sign of plurality, is now questioned both from inside and outside the Academy. The directors. The last director who was primarily a writer, Damaso Alonsotook office in 1968 and remained until 1982. Since then, the management has been in the hands of philologists: Fernando Lázaro Carreter (1991-1998), Víctor García de la Concha (1998-2010), José Manuel Blecua (2010-2014) and Darío Villanueva (2014-2018). Santiago Muñoz Machado, a jurist specialized in Administrative Law, broke this sequence of four decades in 2018. His management rescued the institution from a financial crisis caused by Mariano Rajoy’s government cuts. Versus. Several internal voices reject Pérez-Reverte’s diagnosis. “Here there is no war between writers and philologists. What there is are personal philias and phobias,” say academics consulted by El País. Others defend the institutional functioning: the RAE operates as a “confederal regime” together with the 23 American academies, plus the Philippines and Equatorial Guinea. No word enters the dictionary without going through delegated commissions, pan-Hispanic consultation and, only in case of discrepancy, full debate. But the schedule adds pressure. In December 2026, the next director must be elected. Muñoz Machado could run, but he needs two-thirds of the votes for a second consecutive term, a majority that today seems out of reach. The Cervantes front. The RAE crisis is not limited to the internal clash. Since October 2025, the institution has had an open war with the Cervantes Institute that has led to an institutional breakup. On October 9, five days before the 10th International Congress of the Spanish Language (CILE) in Arequipa, Luis García Montero, director of Cervantes, publicly attacked Muñoz Machadosaying that the RAE is in the hands of “a professor of Administrative Law who is an expert in running businesses from his office for multi-million dollar companies”, regretting the distance with the current director. Immediate reaction. That same day, the plenary session of the RAE unanimously expressed its “absolute rejection” of what it described as “incomprehensible demonstrations”, stressing that they were “especially regrettable” for occurring on the eve of an event organized by both institutions. The conflict It was reactivated in December with the controversy over Panama as the venue for CILE 2028, or in the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Cervantes Institute, chaired by the kings. Money. The budgetary context adds another dimension: the Cervantes Institute manages 143 million euros annually compared to 11 million for the RAE. This disproportion of resources, added to Cervantes’ dependence on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (a circumstance that Pérez-Reverte has denounced as an attempt at “colonization”), transforms what began as a personal disagreement into a conflict over who leads Spanish linguistic policy abroad. Arturo Pérez-Reverte. Image from Canal Sur Media on Flickr History of controversies. The current crisis is not the first. The RAE has a history of controversies that mark its relationship with political power and social changes. The most critical moment came with the cuts by Mariano Rajoy’s government in 2012-2013, which They reduced spending on culture by 30%. Santiago Muñoz Machado dedicated his early years to economic recovery seeking private patronage, a task that earned him recognition but also fueled later criticism of his business profile. Cultural battles. Beyond the budget, the RAE has been at the center of recurring cultural battles. The inclusive language made it a target for progressive sectors, who interpret its technical position (the generic masculine is grammatically inclusive) as resistance to social change. Other controversies were more specialized but equally divisive: removing the accent of “only” and “script” caused rejection even among academics. The admission of foreign words in the face of the defense of purism … Read more

Spanish pigs are at their limit

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On November 25, a wild boar appeared dead very close to the campus of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Three days later, the Central Veterinary Laboratory of Algete (Madrid) confirmed the worst: African swine fever was back. Today there are more than 60 positives, a state of permanent psychosis and a drop in pork prices (and margins) like no one remembered. And no farm has tested positive. But we already knew it wasn’t necessary. It was only enough for one region to suffer an outbreak for numerous export contracts to be blocked. That is what has brought down prices: the Union of Farmers and Ranchers Unions estimates losses of 153 million euros and there is already talk of a 40% drop in the margin. These are figures from the producers, of course. However, it fits with the public ones: Mercolleida, the live pig has reached a price of around €1/kg. a month ago, after the worst price drop in 30 years, the price was 1.20. The worst thing, however, is that (at the consumer level) the price of meat it has barely gone down. What do we do now? Because let’s not fool ourselves, the pressure does not come only from the “health risk” (a very small one); It comes from the systemic problem: restricted zones, logistical costs, certificates and exports suspended in limbo. Going down from one euro to the kilo is (above all) something symbolic: the symptom that we have not managed to weather the storm and the imbalances in one of our star sectors are accumulating. The moment of truth of the Spanish pig. In recent months, we have seen how the agricultural sector is experiencing one crisis after another: when they are not the problems linked to the confinement of birds due to bird flu, are the problems in the pasture either lack of water. Today, Spain is the undisputed leader in European pork, the third largest producer worldwide. A giant who, as we usually repeathas feet of clay. We can see it by focusing only on one of its main problems: generational change. Thousands of farms are on the brink of disappearance simply because no one wants to take charge of them every time the owner retires. This crisis comes at its worst moment. Image | Benjamin Lehman In Xataka | In a country with almost as many pigs as people, the worst that can happen is that investment funds take over

The most advanced Spanish military satellite suffered an impact in space more than a week ago. There are still no clear explanations

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For years, Spain has invested millions of euros in building a space communications system designed for extreme scenarios, from military operations to international emergencies. One of its pillars, the satellite SpainSat NG II, It took off in October with everything as planned and within a program presented as the most ambitious in Spanish space history. However, something happened very soon during its transfer to its orbital position. More than a week after an incident was acknowledged, what surrounds the satellite’s true status is a combination of minimal data and silence that leaves many questions open. An aging statement. The only thing confirmed so far comes from a statement released by Indra January 2, 2026in which it is recognized that the satellite suffered the “impact of a space particle” during its transfer to the final orbit. The incident occurred about 50,000 kilometers from Earth, still an intermediate phase of the journey to its geostationary position. Since then, the technical team is analyzing the available data to determine the extent of the damage, but no assessment of its operational status or the actual consequences of the impact has been made public. The launch of SpainSat NG II took place on the night of October 23 in the United States, already in the early hours of the 24th in Spain, aboard a Falcon 9 bound for a geostationary transfer orbit. From there, the satellite had to complete a journey of several months until reaching its final position about 36,000 kilometers from Earth, a process that, according to the CEO of Hisdesat told Euronews, usually takes between five and six months. The impact recognized by Indra occurred in that intermediate phase of the journey, when the satellite had not yet reached its final operational orbit. The reaction. In that same statement, Indra explained that Hisdesat, operator and owner of the satellite, had activated a contingency plan to guarantee that the committed services are not affected. The formulation fits with the logic of a two-satellite system, which seeks to ensure continuity of service even in the event of unforeseen incidents. However, the specific measures adopted and the current degree of dependence on the affected satellite within the program as a whole have not been detailed, which limits the ability to evaluate the real scope of this response. Twin units. SpainSat NG II is not an isolated satellite, but one of the two central pieces of a system conceived as a long-term strategic infrastructure. Along with his twin, the SpainSat NG Iis part of a program promoted by the Ministry of Defense with an investment of more than 2,000 million eurosintended to provide Spain with its own secure communications. The first satellite has already been operational since the summer, while the second was to complete the system, a context that explains the attention that any anomaly in its deployment has generated. The secrets of the satellite. From a technical point of view, SpainSat NG II represents a notable leap over previous generations of government communications satellites. Built by Airbus on the Eurostar Neo platformthe satellite has dimensions close to seven meters and a mass of around six tons. Its payload incorporates an X-band active antenna system that, according to Airbus, offers the equivalent functionality of 16 traditional antennas and allows coverage to be dynamically adapted up to 1,000 times per second, a capacity designed for changing and demanding operating scenarios. More questions than answers. With the information available, the range of scenarios remains wide. An impact from a space particle can result in minor damage without operational consequences, but also in a more serious impact that forces the functions to be limited or the deployment of the satellite to be reconsidered. Indra has even left open the option of a replacement if necessary, and maintains that, in that case, the satellite would be replaced as soon as possible. The absence of specific technical data makes it impossible to know whether this is a controlled incident or a problem with deeper implications. Given the lack of public updates, from Xataka we have contacted Indra to find out if there was any news about the status of the satellite. The company’s press office has responded to us that, for now, they have no details to share about what happened. That silence prolongs the uncertainty around a strategic system that has not yet entered service and leaves open key questions about the real scope of the impact. Images | Airbus (1, 2) | Thales In Xataka | We already have an official date for the United States’ return to the Moon: it is imminent and mired in a sea of ​​doubts

The Spanish business that Vodafone sold as ballast is now worth three times as much. Zegona has shown that the problem was the owner

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according to further Populi Voicea medium with a good track record in telecom exclusives, Telefónica has started talks with Zegona to acquire Vodafone Spain. The negotiations are recent (just a few weeks) and it was Movistar who picked up the phone first. Telefónica wants to close the operation in the first half of 2026. The rumors come from months ago. The problem is that arrive late, and that has a price. A little more than two years ago, Zegona bought Vodafone Spain for about 5,000 million euros. Vodafone (the British parent) was selling a problematic asset: It was the third operator in a market of four. He was caught between the scale of Telefónica and the agility of the low-cost He inherited a network that required constant investment. And he also inherited a tarnished reputation after years of complaints. For the British group, Spain was a drain of money and effort. For Zegona, a poorly managed gold mine. And in just two years, the fund has proven that he was right: Has returned to its shareholders 1.4 billion euros in dividends (28% of what was paid by Vodafone Spain). Has reduced the number of shares in circulation by 69%. And yet its current capitalization is around 3.6 billion. For fund shareholders, the return has been spectacular: The stock went from 345p when they bought Vodafone (less than 100 when they announced their intentions) to over 1,565p now. It has multiplied by 4.5 in two years. Vodafone Spain generates around 4.5 billion annual revenues and, with more focused management than before and without the bureaucracy of a global giant, it has become a profitable operation that Zegona can continue to exploit… or sell to the highest bidder. Telefónica is now negotiating from a weak position. It needs the operation (Marc Murtra has repeated that Movistar must lead the consolidation of the Spanish market) and the market knows it. An ERE of 4,500 people has just closed. And while Telefónica prepared the house to add more furniture, its price has fallen 27% since the end of October. Zegona, however, its value has skyrocketed. The price of this indecision is between 2,000 and 7,000 million extra euros. regarding what the purchase of Vodafone Spain would have cost in 2023. Zegona is in no hurry. It can wait, it can squeeze, it can even stay as it is. Telefónica now cannot afford that luxury because buying Vodafone Spain is not an expansionist move, it is an almost defensive necessity: needs critical mass before Europe forces further consolidation where Movistar is the main course, not the diner. But when negotiating is a necessity and the other side knows it, the price stops being a variable and becomes a toll. If the operation crystallizes, it will create a giant with more than 45% of the Spanish market, great cost savings by eliminating duplications (headquarters, networks, contracts…) and intense regulatory scrutiny from Brussels. Although not as brutal as it would have been with Vestager because Ribera has another look. Telefónica knows it and so does Zegona. The difference is that one is late and the other can afford to wait. That changes everything in a negotiation. In Xataka | The great dilemma of Spanish telecos: either they become giants or China swallows them Featured image | Vodafone, Telephone

The fashion among Spanish operators is the ERE. Meanwhile, Digi is hiring more than anyone else

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DIGI’s ambition has not been enough to become one of the three largest operators in the country. It also wants to be one of the main job refuges in the national telecom sector. In a context of uncertainty and restructuring, the Romanian operator is close to tripling its workforce while the rest adjust their workforce. Closing 2025. Digi closed last year with 10,200 direct employees in Spain. Data that is better understood if we put it in context. Against the current. While the telecommunications industry shrinks its workforce, destroying more than 14,000 jobs together, Digi does just the opposite: grow in customers and employment. One of the pillars that cements this stage of growth for the company is its first national agreement, signed last November. In it, the conditions of its employees are homogenized and progressive salary increases linked to performance are proposed. what’s happening. Digi’s strategy collides head-on with a classic among large telecos: outsourcing. The Romanian operator has opted for an internalization strategy: While the three large operators in the country have been focused for years on increasing income per customer, Digi is doing just the opposite: taking away customer volume, sacrificing profitability per user. No changes in the short term. Digi’s strategy seems clear: volume over margin and commitment to not outsourcing its services. The plan to become the third operator nationwide continues from strength to strength: In 2022 it managed to take over 60% of portability in Spain. It is currently the fourth national operator, behind Vodafone. While the rest raises prices, Digi maintains them or adjusts them even more. It is on track to become the third largest operator in fiber lines if it maintains its growth in 2026. The big question. Whether or not Telefónica will end up taking over Digi is the big question. The Spanish giant neither confirms nor rules out future purchases and mergers in its growth plan until 2030. For the moment, Digi is an ally: the Romanian operator uses Movistar coverage and infrastructure and will continue to do so for at least 16 years. Image | Digi In Xataka | All teleoperators plan to raise prices in Spain from 2026. All? No: DIGI still resists

Extremadura has silently taken over 99% of an unexpected crop: Spanish tobacco

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These are not good times for tobacco cultivation. At least in the European Union, which has seen how in recent decades its weight has been decreasing in the fields. If at the beginning of the 90s I harvested 400,000 tonsat the end of the last decade that figure was already at 140,000. In Spain the situation is not much better: in 2024 The production volume (and hectares) was much lower than just ten years ago. That does not mean that tobacco does not continue to play a relevant role in part of the Spanish agrarian map. In fact there is a region that stands out for its contribution at national and European level: Extremadura. Only there it is concentrated 99% of the crop and the transformation of tobacco in Spain, which leads the sector to boast an economic impact of 126 million. Tobacco “made in” Extremadura. In Spain it is impossible to talk about tobacco without also talking about Extremadura. This was recently claimed by the sector in a report of AFI that leaves an eloquent figure: the cultivation and the first processing of the tobacco leaf generates in the region 69 million euros of added value, more or less 99% of the national total. The percentage is so overwhelming that the industry itself emphasizes that Extremadura is “the main producing center in the country and the first producing region at the European level.” If the focus is expanded, the Tobacco Roundtable estimates that the sector has a total impact of 126 million in the community and generates hundreds of jobs. To be more precise, it speaks of more than a thousand of direct positions, a figure that rises to 2,000 contracts full-time if indirect and induced workers are included. X-raying the sector. The Tobacco Table is not the only one that highlights the overwhelming weight of Extremadura. The Ministry of Agriculture itself recognizes that, according to data from the 2020 Agrarian Census (the latest available), the region brings together 94% of the 1,052 farms that exist in Spain. The activity focuses mainly on the north of the province of Cáceresin the regions of Campo Arañuelo, La Vera, Alagón, Talayuela and Navalmoral de la Mata. Beyond Extremadura. The agricultural map is basically completed with Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha and Navarra, although they dedicate many fewer hectares to tobacco. In 2024 Extremadura allocated 6,121compared to the 19 in Castilla y León, the 18 in Castilla-La Mancha and the three in Navarra. global photography of the sector is, however, much more complex. In the Canary Islands there is an outstanding manufacturing hub, in Cantabria there is the Entrambasaguas factoryfrom Altadis, “the main industrial production center on the peninsula”, and the Community of Madrid also benefits from hosting the headquarters of the Spanish subsidiaries of the large multinationals in the sector. In general, the Tobacco Table estimates that the sector contributes to the national GDP with 1,825 million eurosa figure that would exceed 3,700 if the total impact is included. Tobacco taxes are another source of substantial income for the State. The group speaks of around 6,700 million collected through the Tax on Tobacco Products, although the total fiscal contribution of the sector would be very high and would exceed 10,100 million euros annually. Getting perspective. Extremadura plays a prominent role on the Spanish (even European) tobacco map, but in reality our country accounts for a tiny part of the sector worldwide. Although the Spanish contribution represents about 19% of the total of the European Union, which usually places our country among the main producersrepresents 0.5% of global production. Your footprint It is very far from the big ones manufacturing powers like China, India or Brazil. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Spain would occupy 36th place among tobacco producers by area. Its 8,450 hectares (2021) are in fact nothing when compared to China (1,014,553), India (431,146) or other producers in America and Africa. better times. After years of regulation and awareness campaigns, the European industry is not going through its best moment either. In 2018 the EC calculated that around 140,000 tonnes of tobacco were grown in the Union as a whole, a far cry from the 400,000 at the beginning of the 1990s. The cultivated area has also been reduced. Nothing surprising if we take into account the increasingly complex scenario facing the sector and the collapse of consumption. In fact Extremadura exports about 74% of the tobacco leaf he collects. The MAP data They also note the drop in production (and cultivated area) in recent years in Spain, although performance improves. Images | Rusty Watson (Unsplash), Uitbundig (Unsplash), MAP and Tobacco Table In Xataka | Extremadura promised them very happy with its powerful Spanish tomato industry. Until China arrived

Yemen is one of the most dangerous places on the planet. And despite this there are Spanish tourists traveling to one of their islands

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Socotra is a paradisiacal archipelago located in the Indian Ocean, near the Gulf of Aden, just over 300 kilometers from the southern coast of Yemen, the country to which it belongs. Its biodiversity and abundance of native species earned it becoming a World Heritage Site 18 years ago. However, despite its idyllic appearance, for a few days Socotra has been something more: a large mousetrap in which they have been trapped. 600 touristsincluding 20 Spaniards. The reason? Socotra is full of corners instagrammablebut it is also (like the rest of Yemen) a destination that Foreign advises against visiting. What has happened? What was promised as a dream vacation on an idyllic island in the Indian Ocean has ended up turning into a nightmare. And all by the work and grace of the complex situation politics that Yemen is going through, marked by tensions between the Government and a separatist faction that at the beginning of December took control from two important provinces in the south of the country. With this backdrop, on December 30, the Executive decided to apply a air embargosea and land of several days that fully affected flights with Socotra, the largest of the islands that make up the archipelago of the same name. The territory was left without one-way services. No return. And how do I get out of here? That is the question that more than one in the archipelago asked. About 60,000 islanders who depend on Yemen reside there, but also hundreds of tourists. In fact, at the time of the cancellation of the flights, it is estimated that there were close to 600 foreigners. Although not all of them have the same nationality, they do share the same problem: How to leave the island? With flights cancelled, they were stranded more than 300 km from the coast. The regional deputy governor for Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Yahya Saleh Afrar, was quick to clarify that the situation in Socotra is “good” and the archipelago “safe.” “Everything’s fine”, emphasized a few days ago after ensuring that tourists continued with “their activities thanks to the agreements of the tourism companies.” That does not mean, Afrar also acknowledged, that “a certain anxiety” about the situation spread among travelers. In fact, as soon as talk of evacuation began, the authorities they found each other with that “everyone wanted to travel, but they were afraid.” Does it affect Spain? Yes. Most of the 600 affected tourists are Russians and Polesbut the list includes travelers from many other countries: Brazil, Italy, Russia, Poland, the US and China… Also Spain. Local authorities have confirmed that there have been a variety of cases on the island “between 15 and 20” who suffer exactly the same fate as the rest of international travelers. Yesterday the Ministry of Foreign Affairs assured to the EFE agency that the group is fine, but is still on the island, with no choice but to extend their stay in Socotra. Everything indicates, however, that their ‘adventure’ will not last much longer. Why’s that? Because in recent days evacuation flights have begun to take off. The first one left on Wednesday with 179 people on board, another one followed yesterday with 145 foreign travelers and the idea, assures Swiss Infois that two more trips are scheduled today and tomorrow to get the rest of the tourists out of the archipelago. A priori and according to the data managed by EFEthe twenty Spaniards were still in Socotra yesterday, so they would fly today or tomorrow. Evacuations come after Russia and Poland They will confirm on Tuesday a new scheduled air route of the Yemeni national airline, Yemenia Airways, to Jeddah, the second largest city in Saudi Arabia. As slide The New York TimesUntil now, tourists traveled to Socotra basically from Abu Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) aboard the Air Arabia airline. The change is interesting because both countries, Saudi Arabia and the Emirates, are indirect protagonists of the Yemen conflict. The first supports the recognized Yemeni Executive. The latter (UAE) support the separatist forces. Holidays in Socotra? Like many other tourist destinations, Socotra has “a side A and B” for island lovers: it is a paradisiacal enclave, but clouded by the political scene. UNESCO stands out that the archipelago has “global importance” for its biodiversity, flora and fauna, with a great abundance of native species that are only found on its islands. The images that are shared on networks also show endless sandy beaches bathed by turquoise water, dunes and unique vegetation. The “B side” (much less friendly) is marked by the conflict in Yemen. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is very clear. On your website make it clear which “advises against travel under any circumstances” to the country, including the island of Socotra, and invites any Spanish visitor to leave the territory “as soon as possible.” “Some agencies and tour operators organize trips to offshore islands, such as Socotra. This type of trip is discouraged due to the lack of safety guarantees and the possibility of problems returning.” Images | Valerian Guillot (Flickr) and Rod Waddington (Flickr) In Xataka | The Valencian Community has a single inhabited island. And when summer arrives, tourism is the least of their problems

The final of the Spanish Super Cup, on Movistar Plus+ for 9.99 euros per month. Without permanence and whatever operator you are

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This 2026, like the last few years, starts with a trophy at stake. This week the Spanish Super Cup is played, a title that pits the top two finishers in LaLiga from the previous season against the finalists of the last Copa del Rey. If we want to see the final of this competition, We just have to subscribe to Movistar Plus+: streaming platform that can be contracted 9.99 euros per month (or 99.90 euros per year). And be careful: because it is not the only game that we are going to be able to see this month. Monthly subscription to Movistar Plus+ The price could vary. We earn commission from these links The final of the Spanish Super Cup is played on Movistar Plus+ Several things must be taken into account. Movistar Plus+ is a streaming platform that we can contract regardless of the operator we are. Besides, It does not have any type of permanenceso we can subscribe right now, watch the final of this competition and see what the platform offers and, if we are not convinced, unsubscribe at any time. Let’s talk now about what we can see. At the football level, the highlight right now is, as we have said, lat the end of the Spanish Super Cup on January 11. It will face two teams that will come from the matches between Athletic de Bilbao-Barcelona and Atlético de Madrid-Real Madrid, so we will surely see a real great game. It is not the only game we will be able to see. Below we leave you, as a summary, some of the most notable matches that we will be able to see in the next month: Arsenal-Liverpool (January 8) Africa Cup quarterfinals (January 9) An African Cup semi-final (January 14) Third and fourth place in the African Cup (January 17) Betis-Villarreal (January 17) Manchester City-Manchester United (January 17) Africa Cup final (January 18) Galatasaray-Atlético de Madrid (January 21) PAOK-Betis (January 22) Arsenal-Manchester United (January 25) Benfica-Real Madrid (January 28) Obviously, Movistar Plus+ lives not only on football. It is a platform that has a ton of high-quality movies, series and documentaries, even with very interesting own productions like the new ones true crime by Carles Porta or Anatomy of an Instant. All taking into account that it is a platform that we can share with whoever we want without strange inventions and that, furthermore, It is the only platform compatible with the Young Cultural Bonus. 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 | Movistar Plus+ In Xataka | The best streaming platforms 2025 | Comparison of Disney+, Netflix, HBO Max, Prime Video, Movistar Plus+, Filmin, Apple TV, SkyShowtime and Rakuten TV: catalog, functions and prices In Xataka | Mega-guide to set up a home theater: projector, screen, sound system and more

A Spanish streamer dies after taking six grams of cocaine

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The viral challenges of live substance use have claimed their first victim: it is the first documented death in Spain during a live broadcast. The macabre and significant thing about the matter is that the deceased streamer leaves the Simón Pérez circleof whom he was a kind of “protege”, and whose fall into the pit of indiscriminate consumption is being documented in chilling detail. Death live. In the early morning of December 31, 2025, Sergio Jiménez Ramos lost his life, streamer 37-year-old Barcelonan who acted under the alias “Sancho” or “Sssanchopanza”. He consumed six grams of cocaine and a bottle of whiskey in less than three hours, while a group of paying spectators watched the scene. When his brother entered the room and found the lifeless body, on the other side of the screen several users remained connected to the private video call. The Simón Pérez phenomenon. When in 2017, Simón Pérez became a viral phenomenon after starring alongside Silvia Charro in a video promoting fixed rate mortgages while evidently were under the influence of narcotic substancesit was impossible to foresee what their lives would become. Overexposure on networks and, in search of extreme monetization, a business model based on donations in exchange for increasingly dangerous challenges: throwing appliances off the balcony, ingesting one’s own urine and, of course, substance abuse. The Diplomats. The escalation of content ended up causing his expulsion from platforms such as Kick, Dlive and Pump.fun for drug violations and promotion of illegal casinos. The last step in search of a corner of the internet beyond all control is Los Diplomáticos, a private group accessible through memberships between 40 and 120 euros. In these video calls closed by Google Meet, Pérez performs degrading acts that include collective masturbation or smearing himself with excrement. Sergio Jiménez entered this orbit in October 2025, despite being under psychiatric monitoring, as confirmed by El País through sources close to the deceased. The tip of the iceberg. What happens in private video calls is just the beginning. An entire clandestine infrastructure has flourished around these closed broadcasts. According to El País, Telegram groups like “AviatorVip IV”with more than three thousand members, function as meeting nodes where viewers not only comment on what they see, but actively organize challenges, sometimes even contacting substance suppliers. The contents of these supposedly private groups are disseminated on YouTube channels dedicated to the phenomenon, which ensures the continuous arrival of new curious people. The Graven case. The death of Sergio Jiménez is the first in Spain, but not in Europe. Just a few months earlier, in August 2025, French streamer Raphaël Graven, known as Pormanove, He died after enduring twelve consecutive days of humiliation and physical attacks broadcast live. Two men subjected him to a spectacle of continuous degradation while his audience watched without intervening. It also broadcast on Kick, the same platform that would expel Simón Pérez and Silvia Charro after this death. Both deaths share the same pattern: individuals in a vulnerable situation (economic or psychological, as in the case of Jiménez) who agree to expose themselves to mortal risks in exchange for immediate money. The fundamental difference with controversial television formats lies in immediacy: here there are no producers, medical insurance or prior controls. Just a direct transaction between those who pay to see suffering and those who need the money enough to risk their lives, with the consequent lack of control. And both cases occurred after regulated platforms closed their channels, taking refuge in digital spaces without any type of supervision. Zero responsibilities. Simón Pérez’s reaction after learning of death illustrates the moral complexity of this matter. In a live video on YouTube, he stated: “I have a clear conscience, it could have happened to me, it happened to him.” He claimed to have warned Jiménez about the dangers, recommending that he leave Telegram… and immediately promote memberships to his own private groups. The Mossos d’Esquadra keep the investigation open and a series of questions literally unprecedented to date must be resolved: was there incitement or necessary cooperation on the part of those who financed and specifically requested the challenge? Where does the responsibility lie? Private video calls, by their very nature, escape the control of the platforms and although Jiménez’s family is considering taking legal actionthe dispersion of responsibilities makes it very difficult to point to a clear culprit. In Xataka | Reality shows were falling into domestication. Until this brutality arrived on social networks, canceled in nine hours

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