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Despite the fact that it has been losing population and readers for years, Japan does not stop opening new libraries. And it makes perfect sense

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Japan has increasingly less people (in general). And less fond of reading (in particular). Despite one or the other, for years the country has been experiencing a curious phenomenon: its library network does not stop expanding, with hundreds and hundreds of new reading positions. To be more precise, Nikkei estimates that in 2024 there will be around 3,400 libraries spread across Japan, which is equivalent to 800 more than those that operated in 1999. The big question is… Why? The great paradox. In a country with less and less people and in which the passion for reading is losing ground, the logical thing would be for libraries to close. In Japan the first and the second happen (fewer people, fewer readers), but not the third. The curious thing is that he is not only avoiding the closures of reading positions. It is increasing them. Anyone who wants to find a place to read books at no cost has it much easier today than it was 25 years ago. Reviewing the data. To understand the paradox, it is necessary to first review three pieces of information. The first is the evolution of the Japanese population. According to World Bank Group, in 2024 they will reside in the country 123.9 million peopleconsiderably less than the 128 million it reached in 2010. And the medium and long-term outlook is not much better. The latest statistics Officials reveal that, far from slowing down, the decline in the birth rate is reaching historic figures and is advancing faster than the authorities anticipated. If nothing changes, in 2050 the population will fall to about 100 million. Less people, fewer readers. That is the second key. If we talk about reading, the problem is not so much that there are fewer Japanese as that those who exist seem less and less interested in literature. In 2018 the Agency for Cultural Affairs launched a survey to find out how often their fellow citizens read. He discovered that among those over 16 years of age the percentage of those who read less than one book a month was around 40-49%. In 2023, this indicator had already risen to 62.6%. Another 27.6% said they read between one and two books a month. As if that clue wasn’t clear enough, the number of bookstores open in Japan fell about 30% in just a decade. And the surprise came. With these figures on the table, the fact that just disclosed Nikkei and with which we started this article: today in Japan there are 30% more libraries than in 2000. Of the 2,600 public centers (in the hands of municipalities and districts) in operation at the beginning of the century, there were 3,400 in 2024. In 1996 they did not even reach 2,500. Although Japan is not far from it the country with higher ratio of reading seats per inhabitant, the increase is considerable and some libraries can even boast of moving hundreds of thousands of users a year. The Tenmonkan one, inaugurated in 2022, is around 700,000 people annually, many of them young people under 30 years of age. How is it possible? The big question. And the answer is simple: in Japan the libraries are not only more numerous, they are also they are changing. They are still reading spaces where one goes in search of books or a quiet room in which to devour a novel or study, but they are also places of socialization. Something similar to community centers, only with shelves full of books. “Residents use libraries very often. Together with auditoriums and museums, they attract people and create a lively atmosphere,” points out Katsuyoshi Kinoshita, head of the Foundation for the Advancement of Libraries. The “third place”. “They are spaces where people not only read books, but can also enjoy story-telling and other events or relax in a cafe,” confirm to Nikkei Fumihiko Suzuki of the Daiwa Research Institute. This openness has turned libraries into a kind of “third place” for many Japanese, a reference space beyond their homes, jobs or schools. Access is free, you can stay there as long as you want, there are always people and they often offer alternative activities to reading: events in auditoriums or for children, historical materials, museums… They are, in short, “meeting places.” Is it something spontaneous? Not quite. As explains Sadao Uematsu, of the Japanese Library Association, the phenomenon is partly explained by the “mergers” promoted at the beginning of the century, when “many reading rooms in community centers were converted into municipal libraries.” The success achieved last decade by some projects focused precisely on reading spaces encouraged other municipalities to get on the bandwagon. In recent years the pace of library opening has slowed down, but even so the phenomenon has aroused the interest of international institutions such as the World Economic Forum, which in February dedicated it an extensive analysis that connects the ‘boom’ of libraries with another of the phenomena that mark Japanese society: aging. In a country in which those over 65 years of age represent more than 29% of the population, spaces with community activities have become a key element for the well-being of the elderly. Against this backdrop, libraries have become valuable allies. Images | Olegs Jonins (Unsplash) and Yanhao Fang (Unsplash) In Xataka | While Japan’s population is sinking irremediably, Tokyo is growing. There is an explanation: ikkyoku shūchū

Türkiye seemed immune to the drop in birth rates. Now his Government is desperate because it does not know how to stop it

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In Türkiye 2025 was the “Year of the Family” and the decade ahead of us (2026-2035) will be that of “Family and Population”. It’s not a coincidence. Just like many other countries from Europe, Asia or America, the Turkish Government increasingly looks with greater concern its declining birth rates. Specifically there is two data that worry Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s team: the number of births has been falling since 2014, which has dragged the fertility rate to its lowest level so far this century, far from what is necessary to keep the population stable. The problem is that neither the “Year of the Family” nor the rest of the measures deployed by Erdoğan seem to be running too much. What has happened? That Türkiye has not managed to avoid the demographic winter that hits other countries in the world, such as Japan, South Korea either much of Europe. It is not just that the birth rate is falling or that the country’s demographic engine is showing clear signs of having caught the flu. The most revealing are the ‘pro-birth’ initiatives and above all the statements of Erdoğan encouraging his fellow citizens to have more offspring, which shows that the issue is generating more and more suspicion in Turkish institutions. In March, the Turkish Minister of Family and Social Services, Mahinur Ozdemir Goktas, expressed it clearly (and dramatically) during an interview: for the Executive, demography has become “a question of survival.” “Our strongest strength is the family,” the leader stressed after recalling that in a matter of 27 years Turkey has experienced the same decline in birth rates that has taken nine decades in other nations. Number of births and total fertility rate, 2001-2025. What does the data say? The last ones, published This same week by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) they draw a very unflattering scenario. In 2025, 895,374 babies were born in Türkiye, a bad figure no matter how you look at it. To begin with, because it represents a drop of 4.78% compared to 2024 and the lowest figure in the entire historical series disclosed by TUIK, which dates back to 2001. As if that were not enough, it aggravates the decline in what is known as the ‘total fertility rate’, which has been moving away from the levels necessary for years to keep the population stable. Why are they important? Of all the TUIK indicators, the ‘total fertility rate’ is probably the one that worries Ankara the most. And it is logical. It basically shows the number of children that, on average, a woman is expected to have throughout her reproductive life (between 15 and 49 years old). In 2001 this indicator stood at 2.38 births. It was good data because it far exceeded the necessary rate (2.1) to keep the population stable without having to take into account other factors, such as immigration. The problem is that since 2014 that indicator has been receding steadily until it remained at 1.77 in 2020, 1.49 in 2024 and 1.42 last year. In fact, 2025 has been the ninth consecutive year in which Turkey falls below the ‘replacement rate’, which means that if Turkey does not want to lose population in the future it will probably need the arrival of foreigners. The crude birth rate has also plummeted in the last five years. Total fertility rate by province, 2025. Can it go further? Yes. He latest report of TUIK suggests that the trend is far from stopping. If in 2017 the organization registered 57 provinces with a fertility rate insufficient to keep the population stable, last year that list had already skyrocketed to 76 territories. What’s more, what has grown the most is the number of provinces with the worst birth rates. If in 2017 there were only four with a fertility rate of less than 1.5, last year 59 provinces were in that situation. What’s more, in all of Türkiye there were only five regions where the replacement rate reached (or exceeded) 2.1. In general, Turkish women not only have fewer children, they also have them later. The average age of mothers in the country at the time of giving birth has skyrocketed in recent years, going from 26.7 in 2001 to 29.4 in 2025. There are a dozen provinces in which, on average, women do not have their first child until they are almost 30 years old. In Artvin or Istanbul, in fact, the average age for new mothers is 29 years old. What does the Government think? Türkiye’s fertility rate may have been declining for years, but still stays above of the EU average (1.34) and of course in countries like Italy, Poland, Lithuania, Spain or Mala, where this indicator does not even reach 1.2. Despite this, Erdoğan has elevated demography almost to a state issue. In fact, he has not hesitated to cross out “disaster” the country’s low birth rates and “betrayal” of fertility control. “Why not have at least four children, or five?”, recently reflected the Turkish leader, leader of the conservative AK Parti, who on other occasions has already warned that the nation is seeing its average age increase (around 34 years old) and the weight of the elderly population. What have they done about it? Beyond political discourse, its Executive has promoted different pro-natal measures. In April Parliament supported extending maternity leave eight to 16 weeks and last year Erdoğan himself advertisement that the Executive would increase its financial aid to families that have children, with the payment of 5,000 liras after the birth of the first-born. “We are also implementing financial aid per child of 1,500 liras per month for the second child and 5,000 liras per month for the third and subsequent children,” advanced. The big question is whether these measures will have an effect and will encourage Turkish births. What do people think? That’s what he tried to find out a few days ago The New York Timesthat interviewed to several Turks to find out if they would … Read more

We have spent years looking for how to stop muscle fragility as we age. The answer was hidden in garlic

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Aging brings with it a series of inevitable tolls, and one of the most limiting is loss of muscle mass and strengthwhich is a problem known as sarcopenia. This can cause a person to not be able to move comfortably around their home, causing them to have significant limitations in their daily lives. But now we have seen that there is a compound in garlic that can help us delay this agingalthough without being magical. A new study. Now, a promising new study published in the prestigious magazine Cell Metabolism has identified a specific compound derived from garlic that improves age-related muscle function. But we must keep in mind that we are not talking about the raw garlic that we add to the pan and which for many has a horrible taste, but rather about a very particular metabolite present in the aged garlic extract. The protagonist. This study focuses specifically on S-1-propenyl-L-cysteine ​​(S1PC), which is one of the metabolites that is generated during the aging process of garlic. This is where we can find a little help to delay aging. But it is essential to avoid the promises of “anti-aging elixir”, since eating raw garlic daily will not provide you with the necessary doses of this compound to replicate the results. Furthermore, it must be taken into account that it is not a “cure against old age”, but rather a solid therapeutic target to combat muscle fragility and sarcopenia. A surprising connection. The most fascinating thing about the study is not only what S1PC does, but how it does it, since when ingested it directly activates an enzyme called LKB1 that encourages adipose tissue to secrete a key protein called eNAMPT into the bloodstream. This protein is essential, since when it reaches the brain it acts on the regulatory centers of systemic metabolism and causes nervous and chemical signals to be sent from the brain that drastically improve the function of skeletal muscle tissue. Just what we want to improve in aging. Your results. To verify that this mechanism really works, the researchers carried out tests in both animal models and humans. Here, aged mice, after being administered the metabolite S1PC, improved their muscle strength and reduced markers of frailty related to aging. In the case of humans, the team conducted a human clinical trial using aged garlic extract, and the results confirmed that consumption of this compound raises the levels of eNAMPT that we have discussed before. But the most interesting thing is that the effect is greater in those people with enough body fat, which makes sense, since this protein is released by the adipose tissue itself. Images | wirestock at Magnific In Xataka | It is possible to convince an AI that shoving garlic up your ass is a good idea. You just need the right words

steal materials from the asteroid belt (with a stop at a gas station)

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We haven’t built yet bases on the Moonbut already there are those who think in that future in which settlements can be built on Mars. If our satellite is a challenge, the red planet is already the pinnacle of complexity. Therefore, although there is still a lot of time for it to be viable, it doesn’t hurt to think about strategies. A good example is the proposal just made by a team of scientists led by aerospace engineer Serena Suriano. His proposal is based on one of the main problems that the space masons: the lack of materials. In the absence of suitable metals for construction there on Mars, they would have to be sought in the vicinity of the red planet. To do this, they propose “looting” the asteroid belt. It’s not that easy. In the asteroid belt There are metallic asteroids that could be mined for necessary metals such as molybdenum. But there is a problem. Traveling to these asteroids to take construction materials to Mars is not like taking the car on a Saturday to go to Ikea. In that case, the biggest handicap is the families that overcrowd the spaces. In the case of asteroids, the main problem is the orbital dance necessary to leave Mars, reach the asteroid and return. Luckily, these scientists consider that the problem could be solved with a couple of pit stops. An (almost) imaginary ship. When making calculations, it is normal to start from the parameters of a ship that actually exists. For this reason, these scientists have made simulations with an imaginary ship that is not the same, but looks like quite to the SpaceX Starship. The most powerful imaginable today. The ship in question weighs 120 tons, can carry a payload of 115 tons and hold up to 1,100 tons of fuel. This would mean a delta-v of 6.4 km/s. And what is that? The delta-v is a measure of the amount of effort necessary to carry out an orbital maneuver. In simpler terms, it is the change in speed that can be achieved by burning all the fuel in a ship. In this case it would be 6.4 km/s. The problem is that to reach the metallic asteroids that could be mined to build on Mars, taking into account the necessary orbital spins, a delta-v of 10 to 12.8 km/s would be needed. It can be solved. These scientists have designed a plan that includes two pit stops. The first would be on the metallic asteroid itself. Once the materials have been extracted, on the way back we would have to stop at a type C asteroid. These contain volatiles such as water and hydrocarbons, which would facilitate a process known as production on site of propellant. In other words, the type C asteroid would be used as a gas station, using its resources as propellant to continue the trip. If these stops are made, the necessary metals could be obtained with a delta-v of 6.4 km/s. The imaginary ship looks like Starship, but it is not the same 22 pairs. In total, there are 22 pairs of metallic asteroids and C-type asteroids in a 20-year window starting in 2040. This means that, from that moment, when it is assumed that trips to Mars and the construction of bases could already be viable, there would be more than 20 mine and gas station options to bring metals to the red planet. In total, 200 tons of metal could be obtained in that period. It may not seem like much if we consider that it is little more than the payload for a single trip. But fuel needs to be optimized. The loading process on site of propellant is carried out at a rate of 2 kg per day. To fill the tank it would take about 1,500 years. Logically, that is not viable, so you have to go with the tank half full and, therefore, adjust the payload. Why 20 years? For the trip to take place, it is necessary that the orbits of Mars and the asteroids are correctly aligned. It’s as if the road to Ikea only opens once every few years. Therefore, many trips could not be made. Building an entire base would take a lot of time, but it’s something you have to take on. A solution. If chemical propulsion is changed to solar propulsion or nuclearit would be much easier to extract metals from asteroids and, possibly, the deadlines would be shorter. However, these scientists have chosen to make their calculations with the only viable technology today. Maybe in the future the trip will be a little shorter than all this. Of course, building a base will continue to be a very, very long process. Many generations of humans would retire looking at those works. Image | NASA | SpaceX In Xataka | Elon Musk says it will take 1,000 Starships and 20 years to build the first sustainable city on Mars

Neighbors in Chile tried to stop an Amazon data center. Justice has left a clear message with its decision

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Artificial intelligence has been part of our lives for a long time, often almost without us stopping to think about what is behind it. We use it as if everything were happening in an invisible layer: models, algorithms and, perhaps, servers in some remote location. But we can also look at it from another perspective. The infrastructure that supports that world is very real: it has a location, consumes resources, requires permits, involves enormous investments, and can also alter the environment of those who live nearby. That is one of the great debates that is beginning to accompany the rise of AI: the cloud also has neighbors. They lost the case. A specific case leads us to Huechurabanorth of Santiago de Chile, where Amazon plans to build a data center. The initiative had received a favorable Environmental Qualification Resolution in July 2024, but not everyone was convinced that the project had been evaluated accordingly. That concern reached the judicial route through a claim presented by Patricio Hernández Valenzuelaa resident of the area, and the Second Environmental Court resolved on April 9, 2026 to reject ita decision that leaves the data center in a position to move forward. A very specific concern. Hernández questioned whether the environmental evaluation of the project had not adequately taken into account a possible high voltage line that, according to his approach, would be necessary to power the data center. The criticism was not minor: if both infrastructures were linked, they had to be analyzed together. For residents, not doing so meant leaving relevant impacts on the environment out of the analysis. The key to the failure. The court’s reasoning involves clearly separating both pieces. The ruling concludes that the data center and the eventual high-voltage line cannot be considered to form a single initiative, among other things because the Amazon project does not include that infrastructure as part of its design. Furthermore, the planned electricity supply does not depend on its own installation, but on the network managed by third parties, which reinforces the idea that these are different projects. Without joint evaluation. Once the existence of a project unit has been ruled out, the court concludes that an integrated environmental assessment is not appropriate. The sentence explicitly states it: “it has been proven that between both initiatives there is no relationship of functional interdependence that conditions their execution.” This nuance is key, because it implies that the data center can operate using the available electrical infrastructure, without the need to subject its viability to a future high voltage line which, in any case, would have to be evaluated separately if it were to be considered. Beyond the legal debate. The Amazon project has very specific dimensions on paper. The data storage center in Huechuraba is designed to operate for 30 years, with an estimated investment of 205 million dollars. It would be built on an area of ​​10.9 hectares, with a construction of 21,350.07 square meters, in the street of Américo Vespucio 1055. From the company, collects Reutershave pointed out that the design of the infrastructure focuses on minimizing energy and water consumption, and maintains that the plan met environmental requirements. Chile as a hub. The Huechuraba project is not an isolated initiative within Amazon’s strategy. Amazon Web Services has proposed an investment of more than 4,000 million dollars in Chile over 15 years to build, operate and maintain its infrastructure in the country. The idea is to turn Santiago into its third major center in Latin America, after São Paulo and the central region of Mexico. Factors such as connectivity through fiber optic cables are added to this context. The concern of those who live nearby. Beyond the investment and digital infrastructure they promise, data centers are often accompanied by very specific concerns: high electricity consumption, use of water for cooling, heat or noise generation, and their fit into environments that, in many cases, have environmental or community value. Google did not have the same path. The case of Amazon is not the only one that has gone through this type of debate in Chile. Google had obtained initial approval in 2020 to build a $200 million data center in Cerrillos, southwest of Santiago. However, the project’s journey was different. In February 2024, the Second Environmental Court decided to partially reverse that permissionand months later the company announced that it would not continue with the initiative as it had originally been proposed, opting to start a new process from scratch for a project in the same location, but with a redesign based on air cooling. Electricity enters the scene. If we broaden the focus, the debate is not limited to a specific project, but to the system’s capacity to absorb this type of infrastructure. A Systep reportpublished on September 23, 2025 with data from the National Electrical Coordinator, indicated that, taking 2025 as a starting point, the electrical demand of data centers in Chile could increase by 270% in five years. The same projection places this consumption at around 1,207 MW in 2030. These figures help to understand why the energy issue has become one of the central axes when talking about the expansion of the cloud and AI. Images | Xataka with Nano Banana In Xataka | In 2024, Big Tech spent absurd amounts of money on AI. In 2025, they managed to spend 77% more

While everyone was looking at Hormuz, Russia has found a much bigger secret route. And drones do not stop arriving in Iran

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During the Cold War, Western intelligence services came to suspect that some Soviet freighters that apparently transported grain or machinery were actually hiding military equipment and technology sensitive under false covers. The problem was that, once inside certain internal routes controlled by Moscow and its allies, tracking them became extraordinarily difficult even for the greatest naval powers on the planet. While the world watches Hormuz. For months, the Strait of Hormuz has become the perfect symbol of Western pressure on Iran: US aircraft carriers, oil tankers diverting routes, marine insurance fired and constant threats on one of the great energy bottlenecks on the planet. However, while all international attention was focused there, Russia and Iran have been consolidating a much less visible and probably much more uncomfortable route for Washington: the Caspian Sea. It The New York Times said the weekend. This enormous space of inland water in northern Iran, usually ignored in geopolitical analyses, is being transformed into a true strategic highway to move goods, drones, military components and technology away from the direct reach of the United States. The photo. The most revealing image came when Israel bombed the Iranian port of Bandar Anzali, in the heart of the Caspian, in one of the most significant attacks of its campaign against Iran. The target was not in the Persian Gulf or Hormuz, but hundreds of kilometers further north. It was a clear sign that real logistical warfare no longer revolves solely around the most famous strait on the planet. The route that keeps Iran alive. The importance of the Caspian for Tehran has grown spectacularly since the pressure on Hormuz intensified. Russian and Iranian ships now transport wheat, corn, sunflower oil, animal feed and all kinds of of essential supplies who previously arrived via more vulnerable routes. Four Iranian Caspian ports are working at full capacity to absorb this growing traffic, while Moscow has begun to redirect millions of tons of goods that previously crossed the Black Sea. It turns out that the true strategic core is not in the cereal. According to US officials, Russia is using that route to send drone components to Iran to help it rebuild part of the arsenal lost during the last fighting with Israel and the United States. The relationship is especially symbolic because for years It was Iran that supplied Russia with Shahed drones for the war in Ukraine. Now the flow has partially reversed: Moscow manufactures its own versions under license and returns technology, components and military expertise to Tehran using the Caspian as a protected corridor. A perfect sea to avoid sanctions. The great advantage of the Caspian for Russia and Iran is that it is an extraordinarily difficult to control from outside. Unlike the Persian Gulf, where the US naval presence dominates much of the maritime traffic, in the Caspian they can only operate the five coastal countries. The United States cannot intercept ships there or impose direct blockades. Furthermore, a large part of the ships sail with transponders offdisappearing from satellite tracking systems and feeding an increasingly opaque network of “ghost ships.” In fact, Western analysts describe the Caspian as the ideal place for discreet military transfers and sanctions evasion. Dark shipping traffic has skyrocketed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and both Moscow and Tehran have perfected methods to hide real shipments, routes and operators. It is no coincidence that Ukraine attacked the Russian port of Olya in 2024, accusing it of being a logistics center for the transfer of Iranian drone components. Nor that Israel Bandar Anzali will hit. Everyone seems to have understood that a logistical rearguard is being built there that is much more resistant than it appears. Moscow’s strategic obsession. Plus: for the Kremlin, the Caspian is not just a temporary solution derived from sanctions or the war in Ukraine. Russia and Iran have two decades imagining a gigantic trade corridor that connects the Baltic with the Indian Ocean, crossing Russia, the Caspian and Iran to avoid routes controlled by the West. The project includes new portsrailway lines and renewal of aging fleets, although many of these plans remain on paper due to lack of resources and the geographical difficulties of the Caspian. Still, the war has accelerated the strategic logic behind that idea: creating an alternative system of commercial and military circulation outside the reach of Western sanctions. For Putin, furthermore, the balance is delicate. Needs to support Iran as a regional ally and military partner, but do so in an all-too-visible way could deteriorate even more so its relationship with Washington and with several Arab countries important for Russian energy trade. The Caspian offers precisely that: sufficient support, but far from the media and military focus that Hormuz dominates. America’s great blind spot. Much of the Western concern arises from a very uncomfortable feeling: for years, the Caspian hardly occupied any space in American strategic planning. Experts in Washington recognize that the region functions almost like a black hole diplomat divided between different military commands and bureaucratic departments. Thus, while the world observed aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf or drones over Ukraine, Russia and Iran took advantage of an immense, opaque and difficult to monitor geographic space to weave a logistics network that connects both conflicts. The problem for the United States is not that the Caspian completely replaces Hormuz, because it cannot do so, especially in massive oil exports. The real problem is that even under extreme military pressure, sanctions and naval blockades, Iran continues to find ways to stay connectedrearm and receive outside support. And each drone, each component and each shipment that silently crosses the Caspian reinforces an increasingly evident idea: while everyone was looking at the Strait of Hormuz, Russia and Iran they were building an alternative route much more difficult to stop. Image | PexelsNASA In Xataka | We sensed that Iran’s attacks on the US had been important. In reality, they were devastating In Xataka | While the whole world looks at … Read more

If the question is how to stop the bleeding of emptied Spain, in Cantabria they are clear: subsidizing festivals with bulls

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If you have learned anything ‘Spain emptied’ At this point there are no magic recipes against depopulation. In recent years, the administrations of that rural Spain that is gradually emptying have tried everything, often without success: from offering free employment and housing to assume the management of basic services, such as gas stations and stores. Now in Cantabria they have decided to add a new strategy against rural exodus to that list: subsidize bullfighting celebrations. At the moment the measure does not seem to have served to attract new neighbors. What it is generating is controversy. A cape for bullfighting. To understand the controversy we must go back to April 28, when the Official Gazette of Cantabria (BOC) published a call of subsidies from the Ministry of the Presidency. It basically announces a sum of 41,000 euros to “promote bullfighting in rural areas.” For this purpose, the Government offers to cover up to 90% of the expenses of the festivals that revolve around the bull, with amounts that range between 2,000 and 14,500 euros, depending on whether they are bullfights, bullfights, bullfights or other “popular celebrations.” It matters what… and it matters where. So far nothing exceptional. Spain has been immersed for years in a debate (sometimes bronco) on bullfighting and whether or not it should be supported with public funds, but the Cantabrian initiative does not stand out precisely for its budget. In 2025, without going any further, the Community of Madrid approved a game of 1.7 million of euros to support the Bull Festival. What is striking about the Cantabrian case is that its objective is not only to support the ‘national holiday’. In fact, that is not even the main argument made in the call of the BOC. Its purpose is another: to fight against depopulation. The subsidies are specifically directed at the 41 municipalities of the community at “risk of depopulation” and their objective appears clearly described in the official bulletin: “Encourage the aforementioned local entities to have resources that energize their social and economic life, such as bullfighting shows.” In short, use the bullfights, bullfights, bullfights, bullfights and other shows with bulls to revitalize the economy and establish population. “Put them on the map”. In case there were any doubts, the counselor of the Presidency, Isabel Urrutia, recalled a few days ago that last year the Cantabrian Government financed bullfighting celebrations in four small municipalities of Cantabria, which in his opinion allowed “to put them in the focus of the bullfighting world.” “We help with small aid to fight against depopulation and put these municipalities on the map, many of them with a great tradition of bullfighting. The aid is fulfilling its objective,” argues the counselor after remembering the case of Pesaguero: the town has 400 inhabitants, but in 2025 1,800 fans attended its bullfighting show. What exactly do they subsidize? Low the argument that bullfighting can become a “stimulator of social and economic life”, the Cantabrian Government offers to assume up to 90% of the expenses of organizing the festivities, as long as they do not exceed certain limits: 14,500 euros in the case of bullfights or bullfighting, 10,000 if we are talking about bullfights with picadors or bullfighting of bulls, 6,000 for bullfights without picadors, calves or festivals and 2,000 for similar shows. “To award aid, the Government will take into account the classification of the municipality as being at serious risk of depopulation or special and differentiating treatment for this reason, and also the type of show or celebration,” duck the regional executive. Although it recognizes that there are 41 municipalities that meet the depopulation requirements to qualify for aid, in 2025 only bullfighting shows were subsidized in four town halls of the region: Pesaguero, Tudanca, Rasines and Bárcena de Pie de Concha. In 2024 there was one more, Molledo. This would be the third consecutive year in which subsidies have been announced that, they insist From the regional government, they are fulfilling the objective with which they were set. Opinion division. Not everyone thinks the same. The Franz Weber Foundation has questioned that the initiative really serves to strengthen the economy of those localities or combat rural exodus, and provides data as proof: the number of residents who have won the subsidized town councils can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Literally. “Four inhabitants in three years”, resume the organization, which estimates the funds mobilized between all the calls at 132,000 euros. The tables from the INE confirm that Bárcena de Pie de Concha only gained one neighbor between 2023 and 2025 and Rasines another five. Pesaguero and Tudanca lost population. “They neither fix population nor suppose a real dynamic activity,” ditch the foundation. “The autonomous Executive has dedicated around 132,000 euros since 2024 under this excuse, but the population reality in the municipalities awarded in different calls shows an evident inability to have a positive impact.” In your opinionthe real purpose of the Cantabrian Government is another: “Support bullfighting using subterfuges such as depopulation.” Images | Alex-David Baldi (Flickr) and Arild Andersen (Flickr) In Xataka | The great debate about the future of bullfighting is not in Spain, but in an unexpected country: South Korea

We are injecting radioactive material into live rhino horns so that we stop consuming them

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Maybe you didn’t know it, but to protect ourselves from human nature itself, which is capable of generating the most absolute chaos, most of the main airports and ports, including those in South Africa, already have the necessary infrastructure to detect radioactive material. So that? To detect nuclear weapons. Thus, in theory, we avoid smuggling between countries. In a twist, science has just found in this infrastructure a solution for stop poaching. Radioactive horns. The news is as surprising as it is true: a group of South African scientists has been injecting radioactive material directly into live rhino horns for some time. The idea: make them easier to detect at border posts. Behind the project is the Radiation and Health Physics Unit (RHPU) of Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg. Why the horns. Of course, the enclave where it is happening is not trivial. South Africa is home to most rhinos on the planet and, as such, it is a hotspot for poaching driven by, and here comes the key, demand from Asia. Yes, there the horns are used in traditional medicine for its supposed therapeutic effect (not proven). As Professor James Larkin, who directs the project, explained, “every 20 hours in South Africa a rhino dies for its horn.” In fact, before this surprising twist in the script, an attempt had been made to save the rhino with another unexpected move: investing in bonds. Not only that. Researchers indicate that the smuggling of these horns has now made them “the most valuable counterfeit product on the black market, with a value even greater than that of gold, platinum, diamonds and cocaine. These poached horns are trafficked around the world and used for traditional medicines or as status symbols,” they assure. Radioactivity injection process. under the name Rhisotope Projectresearchers are drilling low doses of radioisotopes into the horns of 20 sedated rhinos whose health will be monitored for the next six months. We are talking about two small radioactive chips in the area of ​​the horns that are then “finished off” by spraying 11,000 microdots in the area. Long term. If successful, the program could be expanded in the long term to include elephants and pangolins, as well as other plants and animals, according to the university. The material, in principle, would last five years on the horn, which “was cheaper than removing it every 18 months.” “Each insertion was closely supervised by expert veterinarians and great care was taken to avoid any harm to the animals,” Larkin explains.. “Through months of research and testing, we have also ensured that the inserted radioisotopes do not pose any health or other risks to the animals or those who care for them.” Poison to humans. In essence, once the dose of radioactivity is inserted, the consumption by any means of products made from the horns will make them “essentially poisonous for human consumption,” they say in the work. Be that as it may, the main objective is none other than to identify smuggling attempts, if possible, before they leave the country. How the alarm goes off. Apparently, this infrastructure found in many airports works more or less simply. Anyone trying to get past the radioactive horns would set off alarms and trigger a police response. By the way, scientists remember that the process is not harmful to animals, since the dose of radioactive material is so low that it does not affect the health of the animal or the environment in any way. Figures that have led to the situation. Last year, the country’s Environment Ministry said that, despite the government’s efforts to combat illicit trade, 499 of these giant mammals died in 2023most in state parks. In figures, it represents an increase of 11 percent compared to 2022. To give us an idea of this sad realitywe are talking about figures of up to $60,000 per kilo, which explains why rhino horn is still one of the most lucrative illegal markets. Image | Witts University, Martin Pettitt In Xataka | For centuries, British sailors devoured green turtles until they were almost extinct: today we have recovered them In Xataka | We have a serious problem with the extinction of bees. The United Kingdom wants to solve it with bricks *An earlier version of this article was published in June 2025

Taylor Swift has stopped by the patent office with two phrases and a photo. Its objective is to stop generative AI

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Two phrases spoken in promotions for their latest album and a photograph from a concert from the ‘Eras ​​Tour’. Taylor Swift has simply registered that with the US Patent and Trademark Office as a strategy to shield herself from generative AI. He is not the first famous person to walk this path, but he is the first so famous. AI is already beyond the control of platforms and courts: will it succeed when the (inevitable) clash with one of the most powerful people in today’s entertainment industry arrives? The record. On April 24, Swift’s company, TAS Rights Management, submitted three applications before the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). They were detected and analyzed by the lawyer specialized in intellectual property Josh Gerben: two are sound markssound marks with the phrases “Hey, it’s Taylor Swift” and “Hey, it’s Taylor”, taken from promotional introductions to her album ‘The Life of a Showgirl’. The third is a visual mark: Swift with a pink guitar and black strap, bodysuit multicolored and silver boots, on a pink stage. Legal loopholes. Generative AI can replicate a person’s voice without having to copy any specific file, usually protected by copyright. The model learns the timbre, the cadence, the phonetic pattern, and then generates completely new audios. Classic tools to protect copyright are of no use here. The loophole that Gerben believes can protect Taylor (and the rest of the artists) is the “trademark law” that pursues any use that is “confusingly similar” to something registered, that is, anything that is similar enough to generate confusion. A complicated story. Swift comes to this decision after a long history of clashes with AI. In January 2024, a flood of pornographic images generated with AI They spread across X with such speed that the platform had to temporarily block searches for their name. They had been originated on 4chanwhere users competed to avoid the filters of platforms such as DALL-E or Microsoft Designer. And in the 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump shared artificially generated images which suggested that Swift supported him. It’s not the first. Taylor Swift has a precedent in the guild. In January of this year, Matthew McConaughey became the first Hollywood actor to use this strategy on a large scale: eight trademarks that include video clips, audio recordings and his famous phrase “Alright, alright, alright” with which he debuted in ‘Movida del 76’. Paradoxically, McConaughey is an investor in ElevenLabs, a company specializing in AI voice cloning. Another trivial precedent. In 2024, Scarlett Johansson publicly denounced that OpenAI had released a voice for its GPT-4o chatbot that sounded “eerily similar” to hers, even though Johansson had previously declined an offer to lend her voice. OpenAI withdrew it, but without giving any explanation as to whether it was due to legal pressure or for another reason. It was a small victory for artists in this field, but without a judicial resolution that could set a precedent. The doubts. Gerben believes that there may be, thanks to this move by Swift, some deterrent potential: “in theory, if a lawsuit were filed over the use of Swift’s voice by an AI, she could claim that any use of her voice that sounds like the trademark violates her trademark rights.” Of course, he acknowledges that “the strategy of registering yourself has not yet been tested in court with respect to AI.” Swift and McConaughey are literally opening avenues that it is not yet clear how they will work legally. In Xataka | After destroying her tour, her film and being the queen of streaming, Taylor Swift achieves a new milestone: being a billionaire

wants Gemini to stop being the only AI with privileges on Android

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The European Commission has published their preliminary conclusions on how Google manages artificial intelligence on Android. According to the organization, the operating system favors Gemini over the rest of its competitors, which is why it requires the company to apply measures to promote interoperability between other AI alternatives in its ecosystem. As might be expected, Google, for its part, is not willing to accept it without a fight. Another chapter in the Digital Markets Law. This law (DMAfor its acronym in English), is the one that forces large technology companies considered “gatekeepers” (including Alphabet) to guarantee fair conditions of competition on their platforms. Google has been subject to this legislation since March 2024 and because of this has had to introduce changes in Europesuch as showing screens so that the user can choose other search engines apart from Google on Android, or allowing alternative payment methods in its application store. Now Europe has knocked on the door again, this time over questions about Google’s AI, and it is the next chapter in this tug-of-war between regulation and private companies. Gemini rules Android. When you turn on an Android mobile with Google services, Gemini It’s already there, integrated at the system level. It can be voice activated, access screen context, interact with other apps, and generate proactive suggestions based on your activity. Applications like ChatGPT or assistant Claude They can be installed, but they do not have the same level of access. The European Commission points out specific cases where Gemini is the only way available: sending an email from the default email app, ordering food at home or sharing a photo with contacts. That, according to Brussels, is not fair competition. What the EU proposes. Preliminary measures published last Monday they point in several directions. Third-party AI services should be able to be activated using custom wake words or physical buttons on the device. They should also be able to access screen context when the user opens them, and query local device data to provide suggestions and summaries, something only Gemini now does. In addition, the Commission proposes that other AIs can control apps autonomously, such as Gemini is already starting to do (although the result still leaves something to be desired in some cases) and that external developers have access to the hardware necessary to run local models with comparable performance. Finally, Google could be forced to create new APIs and provide technical support to other AI developers who want to integrate into Android, all at no cost to third parties. Google’s response. The company was quick to react. Clare Kelly, Senior Competition Advisor, described the proposal as an “unwarranted intrusion” that “would require giving access to sensitive hardware and device permissions, unnecessarily increasing costs and undermining critical privacy and security protections for European users.” Google defends that Android is already an open ecosystem and that device manufacturers have full autonomy to customize the AI ​​services they offer to their users. What’s coming now. The process is not over. The Commission is opening a public consultation until May 13, after which it will review the input they have received (including from Google) before issuing a decision by July 27. If Google does not comply with the measures or an agreement is not reached, the company is exposed to fines of up to 10% of its global annual turnover. Just like share from Ars Technica, although Google would not have to open its systems all at once, implementing these changes would take time and doing so in a hurry could create security risks. Furthermore, as is often the case with DMA decisions, any changes that finally occur would be, at least in principle, limited to the European market. Cover image | José García and François Genon In Xataka | A developer went to sleep with a $10 alert on Google Cloud: he woke up to a bill of more than $18,000

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