The vacuum cleaner is making a strange noise. It's barely picking up any dust. James Dyson stops in the middle of the dining room, turns it off, and bends down. He opens the lid, takes out the bag, replaces it, and tries again. Nothing: the dust has accumulated inside the bag's fabric and completely clogged it. Dyson mulls over the problem. It's the late seventies. Dyson lives in Bath, in southwest England, and is an industrial designer. For some years now, he's been working on developing all sorts of products, like the Ballbarrow, a wheelbarrow with a spherical wheel, designed to improve stability on construction sites and in gardens. He takes the vacuum cleaner to the workshop and completely disassembles it: he's looking for the source of the problem. If the suction disappears, it's because something, somewhere along its path, is blocking it.

In the spring of 2025, a case that could have been the plot of one of those American television series from the 1980s, in which several branches of a family engaged in constant bickering over control of the clan's assets, has made headlines around the world. In this case, the story doesn't take place in the oil wells of Texas or in the vineyards of California, but in the city-state of Singapore.

Three matches. Three wins. 62 goals scored. 17 conceded. These are the group stage figures for the Spanish women's water polo team, which has been competing in the World Cup in Singapore since July 11. With twelve Catalan players, out of the fourteen called up, the team coached by Jordi Valls (Terrassa, 1977) is already preparing for this Saturday's match (2:45 p.m. Spanish time / RTVE Play) against the Netherlands. "They're an opponent at our level who have good players in the two-meter line, good shuttlers, and a game based on speed, counterattacks, and one-on-one play," Valls analyzes.