world

In 2018 it was a countryside on the outskirts of Chongqing. In 2025 it will be the largest train station in the world

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On June 27, China inaugurated the Chongqing East Railway Station, officially the largest railway terminal on the planet. With 1.22 million square metersThe equivalent of 170 football fields, this colossus is five times the size of New York’s iconic Grand Central. The project cost around 6.7 billion euros to materialize. In addition to its magnitude, this megastructure also has a series of very interesting characteristics that we are going to tell you about below. A titanic project in record time. Work officially began in November 2018, but satellite images shared by China Perspective on social networks show how between 2023 and 2025 the project went from being a vacant lot to a fully functional station. In fact, before work began in 2018, the area was a complete valley. The terminal opened to the public last June and already moves up to 16,000 passengers per hour. Click on the image to go to the post In addition to a station, a strategic node. Located in the Nan’an district, on the outskirts of Chongqing (a megacity in southwest China), the station has 15 platforms and 29 tracks. It is designed like a central axis within the national railway network known as “Ocho Verticales y Ocho Horizontales”, which connects the western and eastern regions of the country. From here, travelers can reach Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou in just six or eight hours. It also serves as a gateway to cities such as Chengdu, Wuhan or Kunming in times ranging from one to three hours. Image: Reddit Design inspired by the region. Unlike some of the stations we have in Europe, with a somewhat more austere design, Chongqing East boasts an aesthetic with cultural identityas well as functionality. The columns imitate the huangjue trees, typical of the area; the vents are shaped like flowers, and the welcome signs are designed like bamboo scrolls. Its glass ceiling also stands out, offering a good amount of natural light to the main room. A model of urban development. The station environment is conceived as a transit-oriented development zone, which will include hotels, offices, shopping centers and cultural facilities. In this way, the extensive land that existed before has now not only become a large station, but a whole new urban district. A way of doing things already classic in China. What’s coming Chongqing East is not finished, as it is only the beginning of an even more ambitious railway network. High-speed lines such as Zhengyu and Yukun are under construction and will further reinforce the station’s role as a continental hub. China has been showing us for decades how efficient its mega-constructions are, which go from record to record, as in the case of this station. Cover image | Yi Cheng (shared by China Perspective) In Xataka | While half the world debates and makes promises about nuclear energy, only one country is keeping them: China

May the world depend on your new energy

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Representatives of eight Western venture capital firms have traveled to China and realized one thing: the West can’t compete in new energy. This phrase could be a ‘clickbaitero’ headline, but it is the experience that representatives of several companies told a few weeks ago to Bloomberg. And the truth is that it is nothing new either. China has been consolidating a extraordinary domain in multiple clean energy sectors. It is something supported by industrial supremacy and significantly lower costs than those of its Western competitors, which has been evidently reflected in sectors such as electric car batteries or in sectors such as solar or wind energy. In the Bloomberg article, some of the components of that peculiar Western ‘road trip’ through China wonder How European and North American competitors can compete (or survive) in sectors such as batteries and components of renewable energy sources. The reason? The figures leave no room for doubt: China dominates batteriesthe wind turbinesthe solar panels, the electric vehicles and something even more important: the production chain and critical materials. New energy mastery Not so long ago, China had a massive problem within its borders: pollution that seriously harmed the health of its population. By adopting different measures, they have managed to reduce it significantly, achieving decarbonization objectives before the established dates. And much of the ‘blame’ is adoption of electric vehicles and energy sources that emit less CO₂ into the atmosphere. It is not unusual to see news every so often about the progress of some of China’s macro energy projects, such as the ‘great solar wall‘, huge wind turbines or the construction of the new largest dam in the world which, in addition, will be a gigantic hydroelectric plant. Such is the commitment to renewables that China has managed to the world depends on its technologywith Europe and the United States that cannot compete in the price of solar panels and with a so fierce competition between your companies that They have even had to sign agreements not to continue selling at a loss. Since we are with solar, esteem that China reached 887 GW of solar capacity in 2024, installing about 270 GW in that year alone. This represents 55% of all new solar installations in the world last year, but they are not only dominating this segment. The percentages leave no room for doubt: China controls between 80% and 85% of the world’s solar panel manufacturing capacity and more than 95% of solar wafers. In wind turbines, they count with 60-70% dominance of global production and nine of the fifteen largest global manufacturers they are chinese. As for electric vehicles, they have control of 70% of global production. In 2024, they manufactured 12 million of the 17 million EVs in the world, and of their production, 11 were sold in the domestic market. Related to the three previous points, we have the manufacture of batteries. It is estimated that they control between 75% and 80% of the production of lithium-ion batteries and these are used to store new energy, but also for electric and hybrid vehicles. The only technology where things are more even between China and the West is hydrogen. It is estimated that China dominates 53% of its production, while Europe (30%) and the United States (12%) would add 42%. Mastery of the production chain (and a model that cannot be replicated in the West) This dominance in production is evident, but beyond the data in the different sectors, there is another key that explains the power of Chinese companies. The country controls the rare earth productionalmost monopolistic way. The world depends on minerals and metals processed from rare earths, as they are critical in all technological sectors, but particularly in batteries and elements such as magnets that are used to create wind turbines. Without going any further, The country processes 80% of the world’s lithium and produce 90% of the anodes and electrolytes present in batteries. For years, The West has delegated that production to China due to how polluting they are, but now Western companies have come face to face with a reality in which China has the upper hand. The United States has realized this: if they applied tariffs, China limited exports of rare earth metals. Speaking of the United States, former Vice President Al Gore affirms that China’s supremacy in the energy transition will force many nations to establish closer ties with the country, describing, incidentally, the United States’ energy shift towards fossil fuels as “a tragedy.” And to this control of the production chain is added the so-called “model 996“. This system emerged in the chinese technology industryparticularly in companies like Huawei or Alibaba, and basically implies: I work from 9 to 9 six days a week. Considered a form of modern slavery, companies justified and defended as the method of matching Western technology companies in record time, but the mental health cost (and even suicides) was so enormous that the Chinese Ministry of Human Resources declared it illegal in 2021. Companies are required to comply with the law, but it has been denounced that there are still technology companies that continue with these practicesand added to all the above, it is something that the West cannot compete with. Unless you are a Silicon Valley company. Image | Google Maps, BYD In Xataka | While half the world debates and makes promises about nuclear energy, only one country is keeping them: China

Hijos de Rivera began as a brewery in A Coruña. Now you have just bought the best gin in the world

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Children of Rivera, the owner of Estrella Galicia, has bought the Galician distillery Vánagandrproducer of London Dry gin, which was recognized as the best in the world in 2024 and double gold at the International Spirits Challenge 2025. The operation, the amount of which has not been revealed, marks a new chapter in the transformation of a Coruña brewery into a group that has gone much further with premium beverages. Why is it important. The purchase responds to a very clear strategy: prioritizing quality over volume in a market where traditional consumption is falling. Sales of this type of beverage fell by 3.7% in 2024, with young people drinking less and less. But those who have not reduced consumption are now looking for superior products. Hijos de Rivera has identified that niche and is occupying it. The facts. Vánagandr was founded in 2014 in Cambre, a few kilometers from the Hijos de Rivera headquarters. In a decade, this craft distillery has accumulated more than 40 international awards. Its master distiller, Enrique Pena, is the only Spanish member of the Gin Guildan organization that promotes excellence in gin. The brand manufactures just 8,000 bottles annually, a volume that is expected to grow significantly under the umbrella of the Galician group. The context. This is not an isolated bet. Hijos de Rivera has been expanding beyond its beer core for years: October 2023: purchases Soul K, specialized in kombucha. March 2025: acquires Basqueland Brewing, a Basque craft beer. Tyris, a Valencian craft brewer, has also incorporated. Its Cabreiroá water brand sold 237 million liters in 2024, 3% more. The spirits catalog already included F de Formentera, Hijos de Rivera and Quenza liqueurs, and the distribution of Arehucas and Destiny Spirits rums. Between the lines. The strategy follows a clear pattern: the pursuit of brands with artisanal identity, international prestige and limited production. They do not buy to mass produce, but to preserve the essence that made those brands valuable. It is the same approach that has made Estrella Galicia a benchmark compared to larger industrial breweries. In this strategy, the challenge is to maintain that balance. Grow without losing the artisanal character, produce more without having to industrialize, distribute better without commercializing. And now what. Enrique Pena will continue as master distiller within Hijos de Rivera, which is a sign of continuity. Its connection to the Gin Guild gives the group international credibility. This purchase goes beyond the commercial transaction: the Galician group is buying knowledge, reputation and access to a premium segment in full expansion… while the market mainstream continues to contract. In Xataka | The great cane crisis: how Spain is leaving aside its favorite measure to drink beer Featured image | Rivera’s children

AI is running out of power in this world. So Nvidia has opted for servers in space

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The energy appetite of data centers is nothing new. Elon Musk predicts a shortage of transformers in two years. Sam Altman believes we will need an energy revolution, such as nuclear fusion, to keep pace. The planet was not prepared for so much energy demand. And that’s why Nvidia is funding a possible solution: deploy the servers outside of Earth. It’s not science fiction. It is the business model of several startups that propose building the next hyperdata centers in Earth orbit and even on the Moon. The idea, which until recently sounded far-fetched, is gaining traction driven mainly by two factors: the insatiable demand for AI and the low-cost launches that Starship promises. One of the companies leading this idea is Starcloud, supported by the NVIDIA Inception program. And he is so serious that he plans to launch his first satellite, the Starcloud-1in November. On board it will carry the first GPU for data centers launched into space: an NVIDIA H100. The difficult part will come later. Starcloud-1 is a test unit the size of a small refrigerator, but the company’s goal is to build a monster five-gigawatt orbital data center. Adding the solar panels and the enormous radiator, it would measure four kilometers wide. Its goal is the training of large AI models in orbit. Why in space? As detailed in an extensive white paperfuture models like GPT-6 or Llama 5 could require multi-gigawatt clusters, something “simply impossible with the current energy infrastructure” on Earth. In space, there is no such limitation. It’s more. According to Starcloud calculations, server energy costs are 10 times lower in space than on Earth. The value proposition of space data centers is based precisely on two pillars that are a problem on Earth: energy and cooling. Solar energy 24/7. On Earth, solar energy is intermittent. They depend on the day/night cycle, the weather and the atmosphere, which attenuates the radiation. In space, things change. By placing your data centers in a sun-synchronous “dawn-dusk” orbit, Satellites follow the line that divides day and night on Earth. With the panels illuminated by the sun almost continuously, the system increases its capacity to more than 95%. “Almost unlimited, low-cost renewable energy,” in the words of Starcloud. And the refrigeration? How would they dissipate all that heat? Land-based data centers consume millions of liters of fresh water to cool. There is no water in space, but they have something much better: an infinite heatsink at -270°C. The plan is not to ventilate the servers. The heat generated by GPUs (such as the H100) will be managed within sealed modules using liquid cooling (direct-to-chip or immersion), like high-performance systems on Earth. The difference is that this hot liquid does not go to an evaporation tower, but is pumped to gigantic radiator panels. These panels simply radiate waste heat into the vacuum of space in the form of infrared radiation. The Starcloud white paper details the calculations using the Stefan-Boltzmann law, estimating that a radiator at 20°C can cleanly dissipate more than 630 watts per square meter. Without using a single drop of water. Not everything that glitters in space is gold. The pillar that supports this entire concept is the launch of high-capacity reusable rockets, such as SpaceX’s Starship. Starcloud calculations are based on a long-term cost of $30 per kilo put into orbit. But Starship is not ready, and it is certainly far from achieving its full and rapid reusability capability. If that cost does not materialize, the economic viability of the system collapses. The other big problem is radiation. Commercial GPUs are not designed for space. Cosmic radiation and solar flares can fry electronics. The solution is shielding, which adds mass and therefore launch cost. Not to mention that maintenance is not possible with current technology.

One conspiracy theory says that all the instruments in the world are poorly tuned. And of course it includes the Nazis

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You may not know it, but there are people convinced that you have been hearing ‘wrong’ the music. Not just you. Everyone. And not because of a matter of taste or a problem with the bands, but of how we tune the instruments. In his opinion, we have been using the wrong reference (in hertz) for decades as a result of a Machiavellian Nazi plan to distort consciences. Everything is limited to a dilemma: 432Hz or 440Hz? Of hertz, Nazis and conspiracies. At this point in the film, anyone would say that it is difficult to be amazed by conspiracy theories. And rightly so. The conspiracy theorists have years decades defending all kinds of conjectures that talk about end of the world or diabolical population control plans. If the Magufo universe has something, however, it is an infinite capacity to surprise, as demonstrated by a theory that has sounded with force in the last few years. Its premise is certainly surprising: we have been tuning our musical instruments poorly for decades and we do it this way for a Nazi plan. a little history. Before getting into conspiratorial arenas, it is necessary to remember some history. Today perhaps we are accustomed to (almost) all musicians and orchestras are tuned the same, which basically means that all the “a” notes (do, re, mi… or any other) sound the same; but it has not always been like this. James Felton of IFL Science remember that centuries ago players were in fact accustomed to local variations in tuning. What’s more, a composer could lean towards an “a” at 423 hertz and another at 422. It is not a minor nuance because the hertz indicates the speed of vibration, which in practice affects how high or low the sound that reaches us is. “If we take Germany before 1600 as an example, organ pitch is believed to have varied between a maximum of A=567 Hz for the early simple pipe organs of the Middle Ages and a minimum of 377 for the early modern German organs of around 1511,” explains Lynn Cavanagh in a paper about the matter. What if we set a standard? That is the idea that was making its way among music professionals. Why not set a single standard that guarantees that an “la” is tuned the same (in hertz) in one country as in another, meaning that the same song will sound the same no matter who or where it is performed? This effort to unify can go back at least to late 19th centurywhen the Music Commission of the Government of Italy bet for all orchestras to use a 440 Hz tuning fork. The debate was not settled, however, and it would be decades before musicians reached a consensus. Without going any further, France and Austria advocated 435 and some composer did it for 432. In 1917 the American Federation of Musicians support the italian position, in 1939 A world conference organized by the British Standards Institute made a similar recommendation and already in the 1950s an international agreement was reached so that the “A” note on pianos would be tuned to 440 Hz. The objective: that the same key would sound exactly the same whether it was pressed in Spain or in Canada, India or the United States. The decision was endorsed decades later, in the 70s. Matter settled? Not at all. And not only because there are musicians who choose to other tunings or even certain orchestras bet on solutions alternatives, such as A-436 hz. Some conspiracy lovers have found in this global commitment to 440 hertz material to feed a theory that combines the Nazis, the effect of music on our health and a delirious experiment for the mind control. There are those who even put into the equation to the Rockefellerthe Great Pyramid of Egypt, Stonehenge, the Sun and the Moon or the Sri Yantra. Curling (even more) the curl. To better understand the phenomenon, it is good to take a look at an article published in 2021 by Reuters Fact Check. In it the news agency echoes the hoax and dismantles it point by point speaking with academics. Before, he cites verbatim one of the network publications that defend the theory, a unique opportunity to learn about his argument: “Did you know that Jimi Hendrix, along with John Lennon, Bob Marley and Prince, tuned their music to a specific frequency of 432 hertz? It is known as the ‘heartbeat of the Earth’, it has important healing benefits and ancient Egyptian and Greek instruments have been found tuned to 432. However, since 1953 all music has been tuned to 440. This frequency has no scientific relationship with our universe and, in fact, causes turmoil. “The Nazis used it in World War II against their enemies to make them feel and think a certain way.” Is it an isolated theory? No. In fact, a quick Google search can find a good number of articles that they collect the theory of one way or anotherwith variations. After all, if there is one thing about conspiracy theories, it is that they are not usually standardized, just like musical tuning was centuries ago. They read statements such as that the Rockefeller Foundation promoted the 440 Hz standard as part of a supposed “war against conscience”that one of the great supporters The change was the Nazi minister Joseph Goebbels, who saw in 440 Hz a way to distort consciousness, or that tuning at 432 hertz is much better for humans because “reflects the proportions” of the Sun, the Earth and the Moon, among other things. As a test They show the patterns of water when it is vibrated with a 432 Hz sound. “They have no empirical basis”. Although there are strong supporters of those ideas and that we would all be much better off if we listened to our music tuned to 432 Hz, his statements raise the eyebrows of experts. And that at least. “There is no … Read more

the oldest experiment in the world

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It was 1832 and John Bennet Lawes I was just 17 years old, had a huge estate in the heart of Hertfordshire and lots of free time. He had just been kicked out of Oxford and had returned to the mansion he inherited from his father a decade earlier. Now he just had to see what he did with his life. He didn’t know it, but he was about to launch the oldest running experiment in history: the Broadbalk Experiment. What if we plant four herbs? This is how Lawes began, growing medicinal plants on the farm and testing the effects of various fertilizers in a handful of pots. Things went well and, a couple of years later, the experiments expanded to field crops. Young John Bennet’s intention was simple: to make farmers no longer have to rely on animals to produce fertilizers. He got it. Wow he did it. In 1842, he patented a phosphate-based fertilizer that revolutionized the world of agriculture and ushered in the era of industrial fertilizers. It was made of gold, of course. But that is not what interests us today. What interests us is that from the autumn of 1843 and to study the long-term effects of different fertilizers and manures on the yield of winter wheat and soil fertility, he began planting wheat in Rothamsted. What does it consist of? The first harvest was in 1844 and, since then, strips of wheat have been grown with different fertilizer treatments throughout the field. That means some strips have received the same amount of fertilizer for more than 160 years. That doesn’t mean there haven’t been changes, of course. The Broadbalk experiment is a living thing and has changed over time to address new scientific problems (such as the introduction of different varieties of wheat or the application of new breeding approaches). It has been a great success, too. Not only did it allow (and allows) fine-tune with unprecedented accuracy the amount, frequency or type of fertilizer we should use; Broadback has generated a large amount of data and samples (of grain, straw and soil) that are used by scientists around the world for long-term studies on environmental impact and agricultural sustainability. It is not something trivial. The argument about not knowing what the long-term impact of things will be is not only reasonable, it’s a good one. This experiment has allowed us to dispel all the doubts we had regarding one of the most important technologies in the world: which has allowed that we are more than eight billion people in the world. Image | James Baltz In Xataka | “Carnivorous sponges” and bugs that “generate light”: the Mexican woman who wants to save the seabed from mining

The buzzword in the world of sports and weight loss is “autophagy.” Sounds good, the only problem is that it’s bullshit

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On December 7, 2016, Yoshinori Ohsumi He stood on the stage of the Medical Classroom of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and began to explainin detail, “the discoveries of the mechanisms of autophagy.” Three days later, in front of a completely packed auditorium, won the Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. Now, dozens of people are dedicated to using these mechanisms to lose weight. Isn’t it a beautiful example of the value of basic science? It would be, in fact, if it weren’t for the fact that it’s all a hoax. Autophagy exists. Of course yes: as I say, the 2016 Nobel Prize went to its discoverer. It is a cellular mechanism that recycles damaged components. We know that when nutrients are lacking or there is stress, the cell wraps parts of itself (damaged proteins, old organelles like mitochondria) in double-membrane vesicles called autophagosomes, which fuse with lysosomes to degrade and reuse those components. It is something essential in cellular life. Basic, essential: essential to preserve the functionality of tissues throughout life. This maintains internal well-being, obtains extra energy or materials and contributes to cellular defense. It reaches such a point that a few days ago, the journal Nature Immunology explained in detail how all this is a fundamental piece in longevity. What’s the problem then? Measuring its effect on humans is complex. After all, direct markers They are difficult to grasp outside of biopsies or highly controlled laboratory conditions. Indirect markers abound, yes; but they are not very specific. This makes us know that prolonged fasting activates the mechanisms of autophagy, yes; but we don’t know anything about anything like intermittent fasting or any type of diet doing that. In fact, even when we can see increases in autophagy gene expression, we cannot make the leap to clinical benefits. So… Can it be used, then, to lose weight? Well no. The truth is that selling it as a “trick” to lose weight is going too far: weight is lost due to a caloric deficit, not by “eating yourself.” Ultimately, all the examples given are nothing more than the extrapolation of isolated cellular models. There is no no kind of scientific evidence that endorses any of that. The only thing we know about autophagy at a clinical level is that, well, it sounds good: it sells. And, really, that’s enough. Saving the distance, ‘autophagy’ is the new ‘quantum diet’: something that sounds scientific, that has the endorsement of the community of experts and that means absolutely nothing. A perfect breeding ground for charlatans. Is it a scam then? I wouldn’t say that much. What’s more, we may find out in the next few years that autophagy mechanisms do indeed do things in normal diets. The important thing is that, along the way, all those who want to take advantage do not destroy the credit that Oshumi achieved with his revolutionary work. Image | Marco Vitiello In Xataka | The lies of the nutritional pyramid: from pedagogical tool to corporate battleground

Windows 10 is as of today an insecure operating system. One that is installed on 4 out of every 10 computers in the world

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Today is the last day that Windows 10 will be officially supported by Microsoft. This means that this operating system will no longer receive security updates, and therefore the computers governed by said version will be exposed to security vulnerabilities that are discovered from now on. Windows 10 is too popular. The problem with this operating system going unsupported is that it is still enormously popular. It is true that Windows 11 has already managed to surpass it in share, but not by much. According to data from Statcounter GlobalStatsIn September 2025, Windows 11 has a 48.94% market share in Windows computers globally, while Windows 10 has a 40.5% share. Four out of ten Windows-based computers will use an insecure operating system. Five, without taking into account that one in ten continue to use even older versions: Windows 7 is installed on 9.61% of Windows computers, for example. Windows 11 is the version of Windows with the largest market share, but not by much. It overtook Windows 10 just a few months ago, and today Windows 10’s share is around 40%. Source: Statcounter GlobalStats. Remembering Wannacry. On May 12, 2017, we woke up to the news of a massive cyber attack that we first believed was had affected Telefónica and that it was actually global. The ransomware responsible for the attack, called WannaCryput companies in check from all over the world. The attack took advantage of a vulnerability called EternalBlue present in several old versions of Windows, including Windows XP, which at that time had a reduced market share (5%) but was relevant: it was still relatively used in companies that were exposed. The attack forced Microsoft to release a specific patch for this operating system, and showed how serious it can be rely on an insecure operating system. Payment lifeguard… To mitigate the problem that millions of users will now face, Microsoft offers two paths. One of them is the paying officer. The company has launched calls extended security updates (ESU, for its acronym in English). Although some requirements must be met (such as using Windows 10 22H2), many users can enroll in this program to continue receiving critical security updates. That, according to Microsoft, will allow time “while they make the transition to Windows 11”, which is the ideal solution for all Windows 10 users. This option is designed for business users but be careful, because said program – which in fact will have a total extension of three years – it’s not cheap: It costs $61 per device for the first year, $122 for the second, and $244 for the third. And entering the program later does not reduce the cost. …and free lifeguard. But Microsoft will also offer one more year of free security updates in Europe and the USA. In fact, in Europe, being able to activate that one-year extension of support for Windows 10 is relatively simple: just log in with a Microsoft account to access that option. It is best that you move to Windows 11. But obviously the best solution to avoid problems is to update your computer to Windows 11. It is possible to perform this update for free on Windows 10 computers according to Microsoft’s FAQ. Normally Microsoft requires that the PC or laptop meet certain requirements, but even in those cases it is possible to “skip” those obligations and install a modified Windows 11 with a little trick. Or give Linux a chance. There are other solutions, of course. One of them is to maintain the current equipment, but install some Linux distribution on it. Although that may put some users off, these distributions have been making it really easy for users to do the same things they do on their Windows computers for some time now. Including video gamessomething that Steam’s Proton platform has made possible. There is joy in the sale of PCs. In the third quarter of 2025, 9.4% more PCs were sold worldwide than in the same period of 2024. Source: IDC. The end of Windows 10 is a joy for PC manufacturers. Especially because this is the perfect excuse to change teams, especially in the business segment. Old PCs with Windows 10 are a huge security risk for these companies, which are especially forced to update their equipment or renew their IT fleet. That is also true for many users who take advantage of this circumstance, and that is causing a boost in sales. We are already seeing it: an analysis from the consulting firm IDC shows how in the third quarter of 2025, 9.4% more PCs were distributed than in the same period of 2024. Image | Clint Patterson In Xataka | If you have an old PC, there is an effective alternative to Windows 11 requirements and bloatware: this is how Flyoobe works

China wants to imprison the world with its restrictions on rare earths. His greatest prey has escaped him

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It’s been months since China presses the whole world with one of his great aces up his sleeve: rare earths. Last week he used them again to unbalance the balance of technological trade worldwide and imposed new restrictions to its export, but its attack has a gigantic hole. One called Taiwan. rare earths to me. Taiwan’s economy minister has revealed that the country does not expect there to be a big impact from these new restrictions from China. The reason is simple: such minerals are different from the metals needed in the semiconductor sector that Taiwan’s manufacturers and production plants dominate. Taiwan does not need China. In fact, both the products necessary domestically for the production of these chips and the rare earths used in their manufacturing processes come from Europe, the United States and Japan. This makes the country safe from the pressure that China wants to exert with its dominance of the rare earth segment. China tries to force the hand. China expanded significantly export controls on rare earths last Thursday. It added five new items to its list of minerals with restricted exports, but also imposed new scrutiny mechanisms for chip users. The change is not minor: any product manufactured outside the country that contains just 0.1% of materials of Chinese origin will need a license to be exported. TSMC safe. Taiwan is the largest chip factory in the world and for years it has TSMC as a major player in the sector. The company leads this segment and has become the great ally of the Western world when it comes to producing chips for the AI ​​industry. The Chinese restrictions do not appear to pose future dangers for TSMC and other manufacturers in the country, according to those statements. But. Even so, the economy minister added that these additional controls could affect global supply chains for various products. To clarify better: the direct impact may not be noticeable, but yes it could be the indirect onebecause for example ASML’s EUV scanners use rare earth magnets that could end up suffering delays due to these restrictions. And be careful with the “ripe chips”. For example, chips for electric vehicles and drones. China is precisely determined to dominate the mature circuit market: given that can’t compete At the moment with the most advanced manufacturing technology, what it wants is to be the main protagonist of less advanced but equally important chips in industries such as the automotive industry. Restrictions as a lever to negotiate. China’s measures in this regard They are just part of that commercial and technological war that it maintains with the West and, especially, with the United States. The reaction of the US government was immediate, and Donald Trump announced 100% additional tariffs on Chinese imports. Both superpowers try to use their assets to put pressure on their rival while waiting for a imminent negotiation: Trump and Xi Jinping are expected to meet in South Korea in late October. Image |Wikimedia | leannk

The Indies Fleet sank in 1715 loaded with treasures from the ‘New World’. We just recovered a million dollar one

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On July 24, 1715, from the port of Havana, the Indies Fleet He left for Spain. The holds of the ships kept treasures of incalculable value that the Spanish had collected in the ‘New World‘, but everything was cut short a few days later. On the 31st, a hurricane sank eleven of the twelve ships, and that treasure of hundreds or billions of euros was lost. But not forever, since we just found a part. And the big question is the same as always: now… what. In search of treasure. It is estimated that 1,500 sailors lost their lives, but it was also one of the events that triggered one of the golden ages of piracy in America. Among the riches there were chests with coins and silver ingots, silver chests, others loaded with jewels and precious stones, as well as pearls, emeralds, porcelain and ingots of both gold and silver. It is estimated that the burden would be equivalent to more than 400 million current dollars. Taking all this into account, it is no longer so strange to think that the Indies Fleet of 1715 was the objective of the treasure hunter of the time. The Spanish tried it first, who claimed to have found 80% of the treasure. The problem is that it is not clear that the amount was that and the news spread like wildfire, causing the pirates and privateers will carry out attacks trying get hold of the loot recovered. Coins on the beach. Some were successful, but much of the treasure was still somewhere in the waters of the Caribbean. A couple of centuries later, a retiree named Kip Wagner began finding Spanish coins near his home on the beaches of Florida. None were dated after 1715, so he began to wonder. His suspicions were confirmed when he found an 18th-century map detailing the sinking. He founded the Real Eight Company to search for the treasure, and eight NASA and Air Force divers recovered a couple thousand pieces in a single day. It was clear: the treasure of the Indies Fleet It was there. As usually happens in these cases, treasure hunting companies began to become interested, and the protagonist of this story is 1715 Fleet Queens Jewels. We have found it. They have exclusive “salvage” rights, so they are the only ones who can carry out inspections to recover the treasures and, in the summer of 2025, an expedition carried out the great advertisement: More than 1,000 silver reales and five gold coins minted in the Spanish colonies of Mexico, Peru and Bolivia had been recovered. Some are completely eroded, but many others preserve mint marks -inscription indicating where it was manufactured- and the date, so they have directly become a valuable historical testimony. It is estimated that they all come from the same chest of the dozens that sank that day and it is a unique discovery, since finding a handful of coins is common, but a thousand at once is something much more unique. A good loot. The value of what was found has been estimated at one million dollars, but beyond the coins, a royal lead seal with the impression of the king Philip II. There is still much more at the bottom of the ocean. Despite 70 years of systematic searching, it is estimated that there are at least three ships from the fleet that are still missing, being the next targets of 1715 Fleet. Who keeps it? Sal Guttuso is the company’s director of operations and comments that what was found is “a tangible link with the people who lived, worked and sailed during the Golden Age of the Spanish Empire”, but beyond the romanticism, the big question is who gets the treasure. As they have been found in Florida state waters, its legislation establishes that any treasure considered “abandoned” belongs to the state. However, if you do not want to take charge of the search efforts, Florida grants permits to qualified organizations for exploration and recovery. Thus, it establishes that “salvers” can retain 80% of the recovered artifacts, while the remaining 20% ​​are cleaned, documented and preserved in educational collections and public exhibitions. According to 1715 Treasure Fleet, after cataloging them, some pieces will be exhibited in local museums in Florida. The next thing is to see what happens with future expeditions… and if the Flota de Indias treasure ends up causing a international earthquake like that of the San José galleon. Images | 1715 Fleet (2) In Xataka | The Spanish galleon San José sank carrying 20 billion dollars. Mexico and Colombia are going to bring that treasure to light

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