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Home city of Amazon and Microsoft passes moratorium as backlash against energy-guzzling AI infrastructure growsSeattle has passed a year-long moratorium on the construction of new datacenters. The city council voted unanimously in favor of the temporary ban on Tuesday.A major tech hub whose metro area is home to Amazon and Microsoft, Seattle is the largest US city to have passed such a moratorium as the backlash against AI infrastructure grows across the country. Continue reading...

• 19-year-old full-time National Serviceman Thevin Ong has won "The Kallang Pass," granting him free access to concerts at The Kallang. • The prize allows Ong to secure tickets for any concert held at the venue throughout 2026, including highly anticipated acts like BTS. • This win is particularly significant given the extreme difficulty and high demand fans typically face when scrambling for limited concert tickets.

Criticism comes from across political spectrum after decision regarded as blow to Friedrich Merz’s governmentGermany’s unprecedented failure to win one of the rotating seats on the UN security council has sparked an intense round of soul searching in Berlin, and raised questions about its claims to international leadership under Friedrich Merz.The council vote on Wednesday, which elected Austria and Portugal to a two-year term along with Trinidad and Tobago and Zimbabwe, marked a blow to Merz’s struggling government, which has sought to position itself as a leading European voice on the world stage. Continue reading...

• South Korea's ruling party has won the majority of seats in the recent local elections, marking a significant victory for the administration. • Despite the overall sweep, the ruling party faces a potential loss in the critical capital city of Seoul. • The election results serve as a pivotal "report card" evaluating President Lee Jae Myung's performance during his first year in office.

Measure expected to pass next week represents major rebuke to big tech as local disquiet over AI boom growsSeattle’s city government is on the verge of passing a year-long ban on the construction of new datacenters, the largest city yet in the US to consider such a moratorium as nationwide backlash grows.Four companies sought to build five large datacenters in areas serviced by Seattle’s public utility; if approved, they would have consumed approximately a third of the city’s current daily demand for electricity. Continue reading...

• Germany and Austria are competing for a coveted seat on the UN Security Council for the 2027–2028 term. • Germany is leveraging its status as the EU's largest economy and its history of peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts to secure alliances. • Austria is positioning itself as a neutral mediator, emphasizing its expertise in nuclear disarmament, climate security, and hosting international talks.

Democrats seek to oust Republicans in New Jersey and Iowa, while other major races remain up in the airVoters in Tuesday’s primary elections across the US chose candidates who could flip critical districts in the US House and Senate in November, setting up a series of high-stakes general election contests in a midterm year expected to favor Democrats.Among the most watched races are: a New Jersey Democrat who could oust a Republican incumbent absent with a mystery medical issue for months; several Iowa Democrats hoping to flip their red-leaning state; and California’s redrawn maps that have given Democrats an advantage in the heavily blue state. Continue reading...