years

That bug has been waiting for its moment in Spain for 60 years. And your time is now

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In 1964, someone decided it was a good idea to release a handful of estrildas in Portugal. Before the end of the decade, this small opportunistic bird from sub-Saharan Africa had already settled in Extremadura and Andalusia. By the 80s, it had already reached the east of the peninsula. For 60 years, estrildas had remained in a discreet background. It had taken root, but they weren’t getting traction. However, that has begun to change: in the last 15 years, Valencian estrilds have multiplied by 10 and in Catalonia the population has tripled. AND, to the surprise of the expertsthe key to the boom has been two other invasive species. What has happened? In recent days, several media have begun to publish reports announcing that the African bird “has already arrived” in Spain. However, the common estrilda has been here for decades. What is new is not that: what is new is that in recent years the proliferation of uncultivated plots (one in five are) is becoming the perfect breeding ground for two other exotic species, the common reed and the Pampa duster. And those species make the perfect habitat for estrildas. Do they eat them? No no. That’s why I say it’s curious: the researchers they have realized that it is not that birds consume these plants. The plants provide shelter, roosting sites and perfect structures for this species. The strilas have been surviving for years in a very hostile territory, now they have found some areas that suit them like a glove. The story, as you can see, is more complex. Above all, because it has an agricultural substrate. Without the profound changes of recent years in the countryside, neither the Pampa duster nor the common sugarcane would have reached where they have. In this sense, what is truly worrying is not the estrilda (a bird that, as far as we know, is not affecting the local fauna either). What has experts worried is the chain of invasions. You just have to think about it a little to understand: the feather duster is South American, the common reed is Asian, and the estrilda is African. Together, they have managed to become strong in southern Europe. Fauna and flora have logics that we are still unable to understand in depth. In the end, the key is always in the same place: that there is a moment when we are going to have to assume that the only way to get out of all the problems we are creating is to start comprehensively managing the field. Image | XRTF In Xataka | England is experiencing an unprecedented invasion. The problem is that they are octopuses, and they are devouring everything they can find.​

more than 2,000 years without hair and a sacred mission in the underworld

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When I did the 1930s Mexican nationalism began to reclaim its pre-Hispanic past and rescue icons of the country. one in particular which stood out for its symbolism: the xoloitzcuintle. His name may not mean much to you, but you’ve probably seen him in photos or movies like ‘Coconut’by Pixar. He xoloas it is commonly known, is a dog breed originally from Mexico that stands out for two great reasons. First, because of his appearance, bald and athletic. Second, because of its history, which dates back to several millennia ago and connects with the Aztecs. For them the xoloitzcuintle was not just a pet, but a symbol associated with death and the last companion of the deceased on their journey to Mictlanthe Mexican underworld. A name that says it all. It seems like a tongue twister, but “xoloitzcuintle” is not only the name of a breed of dog native to Mexico. The word, from nahuatlthe language of the ancient Mexica, is in a way a description. There is who believes which is the combination of ‘Xolotl’the god of fire and death, and ‘itzcuintli’, which means dog. Others consider that the first part of the word is more of a nod to the hairless appearance of the animal, so it would be translated as “strange or wrinkled dog”. In either case, it is a fantastic business card for the ‘xolo’, a breed that has been linked to Mexico for millennia and stands out both for its exterior appearance and for its history and symbolic value. Hence, in the 1930s, the country’s nationalist movement “exalted her as a national symbol,” comment Raúl Valadez Azúa, from the Anthropological Research Institute (IIA) of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, UNAM. No hair or premolars. Its symbolic value may not be obvious, but as a breed the Xoloitzcuintle is unmistakable. Although there are examples of different sizes and varieties with and without hair, usually their specimens are distinguished by two characteristics: They are hairless and lack premolars. The reason must be sought in their genetic pool. During their first embryonic phase, three layers are formed in the xoloitzcuintle, like remember from the UMAN: the endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm. The latter, however, is affected by a mutation that affects the teeth and fur. “It cannot be denied that a hairless dog is at a disadvantage. For example, when fighting with other dogs or in the face of climate changes. Despite this, after 2,000 years, it is still here,” reflect Valadez. Its peculiar condition also presents some advantages that have favored its bond with humans. Since it lacks hair, it is easy for us to feel its heat, which in the past caused xolos to be used with therapeutic purposes to relieve rheumatism or muscle pain. Just like huge hot water bottles. “A decision of the gods”. “The people of the region considered that, although the bald dog was a strange animal, its appearance responded to a decision of the gods and that therefore it was not up to them to kill it or decide its fate. Thus, they accepted it like the other dogs and called it xoloitzcuintle,” duck the UNAM expert. The result is fascinating: a characteristic that a priori could have represented a disadvantage compared to other races, ended up becoming a sign of identity that strengthened its symbolic value and the bond with men. An ancient race. If the appearance of the xolo is peculiar, its history is no less so. Experts believe the breed can date back to at least 2,000 years ago (there are those who place it even further back, to 3,500 years ago), emerged in western Mexico and after 500 years it began to disperse following two routes: one took it to South America, the other to Tula, Teotihuacán and Mayan territories. Its link with humans is also very old. Researchers have found remains dating back to 7th century and they seem to associate it, already at that time, with funerary contexts. They even suggest that he was attributed a role as guardian of sacred spaces. The Aztec dog. The remains of bones and ceramic fragments have allowed experts to better understand the role that dogs had in pre-Hispanic Mexico, where they were used for both eminently practical and symbolic purposes. Valadez remember For example, there are testimonies that speak of ritual sacrifices of hairless dogs in times of drought or during mass ceremonies, as well as others that reveal how their scavenging habits ended up associating them with death. “These animals were linked to the underworld because somehow what they ate in the underworld was converted into fecal matter, organic waste that was incorporated into the earth to pass to the underworld and, subsequently, returned to the earth as fertilizer that nourished the plants and, therefore, life,” reflect the expert However, if the xolo stands out for something, if something has earned it the nickname ‘Aztec dog’is the spiritual role that was attributed to it. The last companion. Its role in pre-Hispanic religiosity was so relevant that even today they highlight it the Mexican authorities, who have even designated the October 27 as ‘National Xoloitzcuintle Day’. Mythology claimed that when a person died, their essence undertook a journey to the underworld (Mictlán) that forced them, among other things, to cross the river Chiconahuapan. For that journey, however, he needed the help of the xolo, who would lend him a hand (or not) depending on how he would have behaved in life. Over the last few decades, researchers have found remains of dogs in graves, which has allowed them to confirm the belief that the deceased should be buried accompanied by a dog. Of course, with an important nuance: although at first it was believed that xolos were the favorite breed for that rite, the really relevant factor was the color of the coat. It had to be toasted. Other meanings were attributed to white or black hair that made them invalid for the journey to the afterlife. … Read more

a diamond from 2 billion years ago

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It was at the beginning of the 20th century when, in a south africa minea foreman named Frederick Wells thought he saw a simple flash in a rock wall and decided to check it with his knife. What he got out of there turned out to be the biggest diamond never found, a piece so large that for years was doubted whether it was just a fragment of something even greater. The iconic scene left a curious idea that is repeated in the history of mining: sometimes, the most extraordinary finds appear just when no one is looking for them. Luck at the last minute. It happened at the beginning of April, when in one of the most remote regions of the planet, a few kilometers from the Arctic Circle, a mine which was already facing its last days of activity has left an unexpected discovery that rewrites its ending. This is not just a new geological discovery, but one that combines extreme rarity, almost unimaginable antiquity and a context that makes it something much more symbolic How usual. In a place on the planet where every extraction seemed to be part of the past, the earth has offered one of its oldest secrets at the last possible moment. An extraordinary diamond in every way. It is not trivial, because the stone found, with more than 158 caratsis among the largest yellow diamonds ever discovered in Canada, a country where this type of gem is already exceptional. In more than two decades of activity, only a few few comparable pieceswhich places the discovery in a practically unique and almost unusual category. The rarity is even greater when you consider that this type of diamond represents less than one percent of the mine’s total production. Two billion years. Yes, because the true value of this diamond lies not only in its size or color, but in its fascinating origin. The researchers said that, formed approximately two billion years deep within the Earth, it is the result of extremely slow geological processes that have remained intact until today. Its yellow color, a product of presence of nitrogen in its crystalline structure, it adds another layer of uniqueness to an already exceptional piece. On the brink of closure. As we said at the beginning, what makes this discovery especially significant is the moment in which it occurs. The Diavik mineoperational since 2003, just closed after more than twenty years of activity and more than 150 million carats extracted. In other words, this diamond appears as one of the last great discoveries before the end, functioning almost as a symbolic closure for an operation that has marking the industry in northern Canada. Extreme engineering in one of the harshest environments. The context in which the discovery occurs is key to understanding its importance. The mine operates in subarctic conditionswith extreme temperatures and in an isolated environment that has forced the development of advanced technical solutions, from containment dams in frozen waters to hybrid energy systems with renewables. This level of complexity turns each extraction into a logistical and human challenge that goes far beyond simple mining. Beyond the stone. During its lifespan, the mine has not only produced diamonds, but has transformed the economy of the region, generating thousands of jobs and important industrial activity. Furthermore, it has established collaborations with communities local indigenous people for the management of the territory and its future restoration, a key aspect now that the exploitation has come to an end and the environmental recovery process begins. The last gift. If you also want, together, the discovery sums up the essence of the entire operation: technology, nature and time converging in an unexpected moment. When everything pointed to a definitive closure without any major surprises, the mine has delivered one of its most extraordinary pieces at the last minute, as if the land itself refused to disappear without leaving a last trace. Thus, more than a simple discovery, the diamond has become the region in the final symbol of a cycle with the most filmy closing. Image | Rio Tinto In Xataka | The diamond industry has been looking for a way out of its biggest crisis for years. Taylor Swift just served it on a platter In Xataka | The diamond industry promised to be happy with lab-grown jewelry. Until prices crashed

20 years ago someone believed they had the key to decongesting Madrid. Today it is gaining strength again with a name: M-70

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In 2005, someone put on the table that, perhaps, the time has come to decongest Madrid from transit trips. That is, those that start outside Madrid and end outside Madrid. The idea is not new by any means. The M-30 or the M-40 They were born with the clear objective of keeping cars away from the city center. More kilometers for the driver but with the promise of taking much less time to reach our destination. The problem is that the municipalities and neighborhoods adjacent to the M-40 are enormous in Madrid. Some even merge with the city itself. As a result of this problem, the M-50. The highway finished being consolidated in the early 2000s. It has a total length of 85 kilometers and with it you can go from Las Rozas on the A-6 to San Sebastián de los Reyes, already on the A-1, surrounding Madrid on its southern side. It serves as a connection to the entire southern belt of the city, passing next to Móstoles, Leganés or Getafe but also next to Pozuelo, San Fernando de Henares or Barajas. The connection, however, is not closed in the north. That is, there is no direct connection A-1 and A-6 or vice versa, it is necessary to surround the entire southern framework because right now no highway crosses that space. The closest is the M-40 which, as we say, is next to the capital. But what if we go further? What if we try to eliminate traffic in Madrid with a radial highway that links all the provincial capitals that surround Madrid and without having to go through this autonomous community? This is what was proposed more than 20 years ago and now they want to recover. The M-70, an old Castilian desire Although it sounds utopian, the truth is that carrying out the Pentagon Project or the M-70, as the idea has been known since 2005, this idea has been raised more or less seriously. In fact, that year it was included in the Strategic Infrastructure Plan for Madrid just as they collected in 20Minutes and was considered of General Interest of the State as it was part of the Strategic Infrastructure and Transportation Plan (PEIT) 2008. The crisis, however, wiped out any reference to the project. That name of “Project Pentagon” It is because its construction would create a road network with this shape by joining Segovia, Ávila, Toledo and Guadalajara, passing through other municipalities of considerable size such as Ocaña, Maqueda or Tarancón. The name M-70 would not exist as such at the moment because, really, the objective would be to connect highways between said capitals in a kind of Frankenstein that would allow movement between all the radial roads near Madrid but without the need to enter said autonomous community. The last consistent reference to the project is a statement by Emiliano García-Page in 2024 who made reference to the fact that the connection of Cuenca with the A-5 through an extension of the A-40 would make the latter the M-70 of the city. And at the time of projecting that future M-70, it was already projected that the A-40 would be the road that would largely structure the project. This road, the A-40 It is a connection that aims to unite Ávila with Teruel. At the moment, on the west side, the road has been passable since 2012 between Maqueda (on the A-5) to Mocejón (past Toledo). At that point the highway is cut off as it passes through Aranjuez (the only point where it touches the Community of Madrid) and extends again from Ocaña to Cuenca. At the moment, that Madrid section and the connection from Maqueda to Ávila is in the study phase. And to finish this old dream of the Castiles, it would be necessary to extend the highway to Teruel from Cuenca, whose preliminary project has already been completed and approved. The concept of M-70, however, would be realized with the existing connection between Ávila and Segovia and, most complicated, the connection of the latter with Guadalajara. The “simplest” thing (yes, in many quotes) would be to create a connection between Segovia and the A-1 and reuse the latter in the direction of Madrid to unfold the possible ring road taking advantage of the route of the N-320. The latter connects the A-1 highway with Cuenca passing through Guadalajara. However, this Segovia-Guadalajara connection seems really complicated given the geographical accidents along the way. Despite this, as we said, a hypothetical M-70 ring road It would be an amalgamation of different highways or linked highways, not the construction of an entire ring road. It would, however, be a possibility to alleviate some traffic on the east-west and west-east routes without passing through Madrid. The A-40 wants to be that solution in the south but there were already those who dreamed 20 years ago of carrying it out also in the north. Photo | Command on Wikimedia and Google Maps In Xataka | The great artery between Madrid and Valencia had been awaiting renovation for years: 500 million euros will end the wait

The ocean fooled scientists with this “alien egg.” Almost three years later, we have the answer

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Although we try to learn a lot of information about the space that surrounds us, the reality is that there is still a lot to know here on Earth. This is what we evidenced in August 2023 when the Seascape Alaska 5 expedition, at more than 3,200 meters deep in the Gulf of Alaska, found a shiny golden hemisphere and with a hole in the center. And the question was clear: how did he get there? Many questions. When these findings were seen live, the researchers themselves joked that it looked like the beginning of a horror movie, and social networks did not hesitate to dub it the “alien egg.” The problem here is that the scientific community had no idea what that artifact was doing attached to a rock on the seabed. But three years later this mystery has been solved. It’s not alien. After being extracted from the seabed, the enigmatic specimen was sent to the laboratories of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, where a research team set to work to determine what it was. And to the disappointment of many, it is not a specimen that came from outside our planet. The results, published a few days agorelate how the researchers decided to extract and sequence the mitochondrial DNA from the tissue and, from this, they crossed it with the large databases of genomes that are already known and in this way they ruled out that it was not a marine sponge, a bacterial biofilm and it was not an egg either. What was it? Here the genetic code pointed directly to a species that was cataloged in 2006 as Relicanthus daphneae and of which, if we look for a photograph, we will be surprised to see a kind of giant anemone of the depths with tentacles that can measure more than two meters. And this makes us wonder: why did the Alaskan specimen look like a smooth, golden sphere? And here the research team points out that the golden orb found in the deep sea was not an animal itself, but a “cuticular relic.” What exactly is it? In other words, these are the remains of the base or “foot” that this anemone uses to anchor itself to the rocks of the seabed, resisting the strong abyssal currents. In this way, when the anemone dies, it detaches or moves; this fleshy and resistant base is left behind. And the hole? This was a point that greatly worried researchers in 2023, but the reality is that it was not the hatching mark of a creature, but rather it is simply a natural tear in this residual tissue. The curious thing here is that this find also fits with another similar specimen collected in 2021, confirming that this golden “mold” is a common trace of the species after its death. Images | NOAA In Xataka | We have drilled the seabed at a depth of 2,500 meters. And we have found things we didn’t think were possible

We have been blaming hygiene for our allergies for almost 40 years. Ancestral DNA has just shown that the problem is more complex

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Every time a child develops a asthmarhinitis or eczema, one of the questions we ask ourselves is why it happens, and one of the ‘culprits’ we point to is excess cleaning. Right now it is a reality that we live in environments that are too neat, using disinfectant gel all the time and not letting the little ones play in the mud because logically they can get stained. However, science here has ‘traveled’ to the past to find out the origin of allergies. What have they done? Here two new and massive studies based on the analysis of prehistoric DNA are putting the famous “hygiene hypothesis“And the paradigm we face now is that the evolutionary adaptations that our immune system has developed over the last 10,000 years to survive pandemics, curiously, are designed to protect you from allergies, not to cause them. A return to the past. To understand the plot twist, we must go back to 1989 where epidemiologist David Strachan proposed the hygiene hypothesis. Here it was proposed that the lack of exposure to microbes during childhood in most modern societies deregulated the immune system, since it literally did not grow with good training under its belt. In this way, it was proposed that, by not having real pathogens to fight against, the body created an imbalance that caused the immune system itself to attack substances that are not actually a threat, such as pollen or mites. And it seemed to make sense. A genetic journey. The first blow to this hypothesis has been dealt by a great published research in Nature this same month of April. Here the researchers analyzed almost 16,000 ancient genomes from individuals who lived thousands of years ago. What they discovered here is that the transition to agriculture in the Neolithic changed everything, since human societies became dense, we began to coexist closely with animals and, with this, large-scale infectious diseases arrived. But these pathogens that we began to face, despite the many deaths they generated, also favored hundreds of immune variants to ensure our own survival. But there is more. This is where parallel research that is revolutionizing our understanding of asthma and autoimmunity comes into play. Here is an article preprint has crossed ancient DNA with the modern complete genome with the aim of looking for differences between our DNA and that of our ancestors. Logic dictated that a system “revolutionized” by evolution to fight bacterial and viral infections of the past would be the cause of today’s allergies. But the data show exactly the opposite, as the study reveals that genetic variants that were positively selected in recent millennia have strengthened defenses in “barrier tissues” such as the intestine, against pathogens, but at the same time reduce allergic inflammation. The variants. Among these defense genes We have, for example, LYZ, which codes for lysozine, a fundamental antimicrobial enzyme in our secretions that destroys part of the bacteria. We also have FUT6, which is involved in protein fucosylation, a process vital to the interaction between our mucosal immune system and the gut microbiome. Why are we allergic, then? If our genetics have been evolving for 10,000 years to protect us from allergies in the lungs and intestines, the question is inevitable: why do cases continue to increase? Here science suggests that the problem is not simply an excess of cleaning in the present, but a profound imbalance. In this way, we do not need to catch diseases or live surrounded by human society, but the problem is that our immune system, genetically adapted to the strong pathogenic pressures of the first agricultural societies, expects to encounter a series of commensal microbes in the environment. The ‘problem’ is that these microbes are no longer present in modern cities and that is why the genes we have with a protective function cannot do their job correctly. Images | Drazen Zigic on Freepik In Xataka | The allergy season in Spain has been extended by 25 days since the 90s. And 2026 brings very bad news about it

Huesca and Lleida were separated by 110 kilometers. It has taken Spain 25 years to connect them by highway

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Spain has a maxim that is repeated when we talk about roads: things go slowly. Pretty slowly, in fact. You just have to see that the A-11, one of the great Castilian-Leonese highways has been in operation since 1995. Or the almost 30 years since the A-60 has been planned without having been completed. Andalusia is not spared either, with roads that They are beginning to approach two decades before finishing. And a halfway case is that of the A-22 between Huesca and Lleida. Barely 110 kilometers separate these two cities in northeastern Spain and, however, it has taken more than a quarter of a century for a highway to be completed between them. The culmination for the luck of the Aragonese and Catalans took place last October. That month, the section between Huesca-Siétamo was finally inaugurated. Just 12.6 kilometers for which seven years of work have been needed but which should have been resolved in 2021. Perhaps that is why the celebration was bitter. 25 years for an hour’s drive They counted on Aragon Digital that the completion of the highway between Huesca and Lleida only had Minister Óscar Puente as a political representative. None of the Aragonese officials made an appearance (autonomous community, provincial council or city council). And it is that the last bypass next to the city (it connected with the A-22 but also gave an exit to the N-240 known as Ronda Norte de Huesca) has been full of controversy. With it, the last of the 11 sections into which the construction of the A-22 has been divided has been completed. Those 12.6 kilometers mentioned above began operating in 2018 and the forecast is that they will be ready in 2021. The investment was 61.5 million euros but citizens have had to wait another four years before being able to enjoy the entire road. The Ministry of Transport explained With the inauguration, eight of the kilometers of the new link have been newly built, leaving the old national N-240 as a service road. In addition to the connection with this road that acts as a ring road, it has also joined the A-23. A road, the latter, that will finally be linked to the A-21 since the tender has been awarded to resolve the link between both roads and resolve the bottleneck that was generated in Jaca. But returning to the case of the A-22, the issue is that the highway was designed in the Transportation Infrastructure Plan 2000-2007. However, in 2004 no relevant step had yet been taken in the construction of the new highway and the work became part of the state promises again in 2005 with the Strategic Infrastructure and Transportation Plan. By then, the intention is for the highway to be fully operational in 2012. The A-22 was one of those infrastructures that was affected by the 2008 crisis. However, despite the adjustments in 2010, the times and investments were not extended excessively. And before that year, the highway had less than 30 kilometers in operation but little by little the sections were advancing and the vast majority of the work was ready between 2010 and 2012. It was, therefore, the section between Huesca and Siétamo that has lengthened the completion of the road. In Herald They covered the news of the awarding of this last section in 2018 but already pointed out at that time that a situation that had been completely stopped for five years before was being unblocked. The promise, as we said, is that it would be ready in 2021. Thus, the A-22 highway has accumulated years and years of delay despite being practically finished. The little more than 10 kilometers that were necessary to close the work have taken 12 years to carry out, the same as it took to have the remaining hundred kilometers ready. Now, at least, Aragonese and Catalans can breathe a sigh of relief and finally have a fully modern road to connect Huesca with Lleida. Photos | Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility In Xataka | Spanish roads have a problem in 2026: repairing a kilometer of asphalt is more expensive than ever

two years later it has few travelers, empty hotels and frustrated residents

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He was supposed to December 16, 2023 It was going to mark a before and after in the history of Mexico. After years of efforts and works (also controversies) that day it began to circulate between Campeche and Cancún the Mayan Train“a magnum opus”, in words of the then president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who aspired to promote the development of some of the most impoverished regions in the southeast of the country. Almost two and a half years later, December 16, 2023 is however remembered for another, very different reason: the beginning of a huge disappointment. one who we are getting to know little by little. “No real benefit”. That things are not going well good at all The Mayan Train is nothing new. In December The Country public a chronicle in which he revealed that, at least during its beginnings, the service has carried many fewer passengers than expected. What is new is the approach that just contributed Reuters: Your reporters have traveled part of the route, speaking with locals, and have verified something worrying: it is no longer just that the train moves few passengers, it is that the growth that it promised is not noticeable either. “We don’t get any real benefit,” admits a woman in Quintana Roo. The Mayan Train, let us remember, was launched in December 2023 with an inaugural route between Campeche-Cancún. A year later, with Claudia Sheinbaum at the head of the Government, added more routes. In total it offers a circuit of more than 1,500 km that crosses Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo, where some of the poorest regions of Mexico are located. Today the project continues to undergo important changes. In fact, the process was recently completed for its control to pass at the hands of the army. This same year, justice has also reminded the Government that it must respect the law in the development of “Section 5”, between Tulum and Cancún. It is estimated that the overall train budget already exceeds 25 billion of dollars. A complicated debut. The objective of such a megaproject was to provide the southeast of the country with an infrastructure capable of improving its transportation and tourism. “Economic and tourism development”, summarized in 2023 López Obrador. During its visit to the area, Reuters has however encountered a quite different reality: local communities that, despite being located near the railway, have barely noticed its effects. The agency speaks of residents still unable to escape poverty, lack of well-paid work and absence of basic services. Reuters spoke, for example, with a woman from Vida y Esperanza, in the state of Quintana Roo, who lives in a curious paradox: the train’s power lines pass almost above her house, but to have energy she needs a solar panel and a rented generator. In the same area there is a school, located near a railway depot, which also lacks a stable electricity supply. The reason: problems with property titles, something common in rural areas, but which the center hoped would change thanks to the megaproject. “Empty words”. Quintana Roo is not the only point on the route where Reuters has found locals frustrated with the Mayan Train. In Xpujil, another town in Campeche near the tracks, a 50-year-old farmer complains of chronic water shortages, a problem that the Mexican government promised would be solved when it inaugurated the Adolfo López Mateos-Xpujil aqueduct. His faucet, however, still doesn’t release a drop. “They were empty words,” resume the farmer told Reuters, who estimates that only 70% of Campeche’s population has access to running water. Those who are not so lucky must look outside. A percentage: 13.2%. The agency also provides information that has been echoed by media outlets such as The Impartial and that helps to understand the reach that, at least for the moment, the Mayan Train is having. During the construction of the megaproject, the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi) recorded an economic growth of 13.2% in Quintana Roo, a percentage that is mainly explained by investments in infrastructure. That momentum didn’t last long. In the first months of 2025, the curve inverted, changing the trend: from growth to an economic contraction of around 9.7%. It is not the only percentage that invites us to reflect. Although Quinta Roo managed to reduce unemployment and improve its formal hiring data, most of the workers of Yucatán (60%) continue in informal jobs. At the moment the Mayan Train does not seem to have corrected it. Nor has its activity promoted the hotels promoted in the area in the heat of the railway megaproject. For most of 2025, its monthly occupancy rates were, on average, between 5 and 24%. One of Calakmul’s accommodations was barely 20% full when Reuters reporters visited it a few months ago. The challenge: connect with travelers. The underlying problem is that the Mayan Train is having a hard time connecting with the two large markets from which it must supply travelers: local residents and foreign tourists. In December The Country revealed which, during its premiere, registered much lower demand than expected. If the National Tourism Promotion Fund expected that in its first year of operations the Mayan Train would transport 74,000 people a day, the reality is that it stayed at around 3,200. That is, 5%. In your latest report Reuters reveals that the “photo” has not improved much: the income it generated last year did not even cover 13% of the service’s operating costs. What does the Government say? From the Government the discourse is something different. Last summer the Executive claimed that the train was going “very well” and specified that, since its debut, the service had accumulated more than 1.5 million users. “Some sections are more used than others, remember that more trains are about to arrive, which will give greater capacity to operate with a greater number of passengers throughout the peninsula,” argued Sheinbaum. The tone is similar to that used just a few days ago, during … Read more

Today the sequel that took 24 years to film and ended up failing at the box office after spending a huge budget arrives on Netflix

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It took Ridley Scott 24 years to return to the Coliseum. When he did it with ‘Gladiator II‘, a cast that was breathtaking was brought in, with Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal and a budget that, depending on who you ask, exceeded 310 million dollars with the expectation of repeating the magic of its predecessor, which had won five Oscars in 2000. It didn’t quite succeed, but in streaming it has a second chance: you have it starting today Tuesday, April 28 on Netflix. The first announcement of a sequel to ‘Gladiator’ It dates back to June 2001, just a year after the release of the original. And Russell Crowe was on board even though his Maximus had died on screen. For years, Scott toyed with crazy ideas that included the resurrection of the character or a plot about the afterlife. The project stalled when DreamWorks sold the rights to the franchise to Paramount Pictures in 2006. What got the sequel out of limbo was that Scott saw Paul Mescal in the first few episodes of ‘Normal People’ and wanted to work with him. Scott also wanted to resolve the plot of Lucius Verus, then a child, now sixteen years after Maximus’ death. He lives under another identity in North Africa, until the Roman army invades and destroys his home, kills his wife and enslaves him. Brought to Rome as a gladiator, Lucius falls under the control of a former slave turned arms dealer, who uses him in the arena of the Colosseum while he secretly weaves his own plans to seize the throne from the corrupt twin emperors Caracalla and Geta. And so began an eventful filming, interrupted by the screenwriters’ strikes, which sent costs skyrocketing, according to some sources, beyond $300 million. With a final collection of 462 million worldwide, the business was somewhat lame. However, with its passage through platforms (in the United States it is exclusively on Paramount+, and has been on VOD for months), it is very possible that ‘Gladiator II’ can boast more comfortable profits and thus give rise to the already planned ‘Gladiator III’ in which Mescal has already expressed his interest. In Xataka | Today the animated spin-off of the platform’s only powerful franchise premieres on Netflix: ‘Stranger Things’

2026 marks the end of growth for years

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A year ago, ask for a pay rise It had a certain linear logic: more experience, seniority and a higher job category were equivalent to having access to a higher salary range. The salary comparison guide for the technology sector that Manfred published in 2025 With five large technology companies, it offered a fairly predictable structure, where junior, mid and senior employees followed an upward and uniform trend between companies. Moving up a category guaranteed, almost automatically, that the payroll also improved. However, the 2026 update From that same study it comes with data from more companies, greater detail in the data and a very different reading of the technological labor market today: salary bands are expanding, categories are multiplying and the gap between what one company or another pays for the same profile is widening. This year, the size and type of the company you work for matters more than the category and seniority of the employee. Cycle change: from rises to stagnation. One of the most striking changes that emerge from the data provided in the 2026 study Manfred’s view is that some of the participating companies practically copy the previous year’s salary structure. Cabify maintains its salary ranges in line with those of the previous comparison, with levels ranging from 27,000 euros at entry level L1 for the most junior, to 138,000 euros at L6 for senior employees with positions of responsibility. For its part, the corporate health platform Alan has also offered data to February 2026 date. Its thirteen-level salary structure allows it to achieve small progressive rises in place of large salary jumps with an entry base that has changed little in the last year, but in which it is easier to advance since they are smaller sections. For example, a level A0 (internship) starts with a salary of between 35,000 and 41,000 euros and a Junior (C0) receives a base salary of between 65,000 and 76,000 euros plus company shares. A senior employee (D) is in a range of between 79,000 and 91,000 euros plus a supplement in shares. The highest levels such as Principal (I) remain between 160,000 and 203,000 euros. In this sense, the health company continues to pay well above the Spanish market average, and that position has not changed one bit compared to 2025. AI moves the market…and salaries. Although Cabify and Alan remain the same, Factorial goes in the opposite direction and makes the most relevant change in the entire comparison. In 2026, the company has renamed all of its engineering roles by adding “AI” to the job title: Junior AI Engineer, AI Engineer, Senior AI Engineer. It is the first Spanish company to make this move and it is not just a change for posture, it will also be associated with a salary increase in those stripes. For example, a Staff AI Engineer now charges between 82,300 and 106,950 euros in total gross compensation, compared to between 86,000 and 98,000 euros the previous year. For the Distinguished AI Engineer category it rises from 180,000 to 198,000 euros, now equal to the VP of Engineering. This cape represents a declaration of intentions from Factorial, in which grow as a specialist In AI you have the same salary ceiling as managing teams. More companies, more context. The main difference between the 2025 study and that of 2026 is that in the previous edition five technology companies were analyzed, but in 2026 their number doubles, incorporating Buffer, Revolut, Datadog, Amazon, New Relic and JOIN to the database. This incorporation radically changes how the technological labor market is read, because the salary differences between the extremes are now much larger than in 2025. That is, salaries do not change, but rather the analysis data is expanded, making it closer to reality. JOIN, the recruitment platform, has shared its salary ranges with Manfred. So it becomes a new useful reference for the current market. A Senior Engineer on this platform earns between 67,000 and 85,000 euros in base salary. At the other extreme, Datadog places its Senior SWE with an average of 135,000 euros in annual compensation, and Buffer makes public salaries starting at the L3 level with an entry floor for Spain of 129,000 euros. The company weighs more than the experience. In 2025, moving up from junior to senior almost automatically implied a relevant salary jump, and that logic was consistent between companies. The 2026 study dilutes that pattern. A mid profile can range from 39,000 euros in the lower part of Factorial to more than 80,000 euros in Glovo (its L3 charges 82,800 euros). For senior profiles the dispersion is even greater: from 60,000 euros in the low band of Cabify to 135,000 euros on average in Datadog, with salaries at two speeds that AI only amplifies. The practical result is that career progression no longer guarantees the same salary jump that it guaranteed in 2025. As indicated in the report 11th Adecco Salary Monitorchanging companies (to a multinational) has more impact than moving up within it. For a Senior profile, the difference between work in a Spanish company and in a multinational with a presence in Spain it can exceed 50,000 euros annually. More salary transparency imposed by Europe. Behind the new data of this comparison there is an important change that has not gone unnoticed by Manfred experts: the European Salary Transparency Directive (2023/970)which forces companies in Spain to offer salary transparency publishing the salary ranges of their profiles to avoid discrimination, putting end to salary secrecy. Meanwhile, the Spanish tech ecosystem continues to operate with little salary transparency. According to the report Labor Market Guide 2026 prepared by Hays, the IT sector will see salary increases of 6% in 2026 in Spain, but this average hides the same story as Manfred’s study: the increases are not uniform, and this salary increase will be more noticeable depending on the type of company and the relationship of the position with the development of AI. In Xataka | Working … Read more

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