Maine is on track to become the first U.S. state to impose a temporary statewide ban on new data center construction. "Lawmakers in Maine greenlit the text of a bill this week to block data centers from being built in the state until November 2027," reports CNBC. "The measure, which is expected to get final passage in the next few days, also creates a council to suggest potential guardrails for data centers to ensure they don't lead to higher energy prices or other complications for Maine residents." From the report: Maine's bill has a few steps to go through before becoming law, notably whether Gov. Janet Mills will exercise her veto power. Mills asked lawmakers to include an exemption for several areas of the state where data center construction could continue. However, an amendment to do so was stuck down in the House, 29 to 115. Complicating Mills' decision is her campaign to become Maine's next senator. Mills is facing off against Graham Platner, an oyster farmer, in a high-profile Democratic primary. Platner is leading Mills in most recent polls by double digits.

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De olieprijzen weerspiegelen nog niet de ernst van de ongekende aanvoercrisis die is veroorzaakt door de oorlog in Iran. Maar dat zal binnenkort veranderen, waarschuwt topman Fatih Birol van het Internationaal Energieagentschap (IEA) maandag.

Ongeveer 13 miljoen vaten olie per dag aan aanbod is volgens hem stilgevallen door het conflict in het Midden-Oosten en de vrijwel gesloten Straat van Hormuz. Ook zijn meer dan tachtig energiefaciliteiten beschadigd tijdens de gevechten. Het herstel van de fabrieken, exportterminals en raffinaderijen kan wel twee jaar duren, aldus de IEA-topman.

Door de verstoringen zijn de brandstofprijzen hard gestegen. Vorige maand maakte het IEA bekend dat zijn 32 leden samen ruim 400 miljoen vaten olie vrijgeven uit de noodvoorraden. Dat is de grootste vrijgave uit de geschiedenis van de in Parijs gevestigde organisatie. Birol zei maandag dat hij hoopt dat een nieuwe vrijgave van olievoorraden niet nodig zal zijn.

PARIJS (ANP/AFP/BLOOMBERG) - LVMH, het luxebedrijf achter merken als Louis Vuitton en Christian Dior, zag de verkopen in het afgelopen kwartaal dalen als gevolg van de oorlog in het Midden-Oosten. De maker van luxespullen verkocht vooral minder in de belangrijke winkelstad Dubai en andere delen van het Midden-Oosten.

LVMH is onder meer bekend van de Louis Vuitton-tassen en -koffers, de champagne van Moët & Chandon en de Hennessy-cognac. De omzet van de belangrijkste divisie, mode en lederwaren, daalde in het eerste kwartaal met 2 procent, meldde LVMH maandag. Dat was een grotere daling dan marktkenners hadden verwacht.

De activiteiten van LVMH in het Midden-Oosten, goed voor ongeveer 6 procent van de totale omzet, kregen een knauw na een "zeer positieve start van het jaar", aldus het in Parijs gevestigde bedrijf. Ook Europa en Japan presteerden zwak in het eerste kwartaal, terwijl de VS en China het juist verrassend goed deden. In de VS groeide de omzet met 3 procent en in China met 7 procent.

Tesla kreeg vrijdag toestemming om zijn rijhulpsysteem in Nederland te lanceren, als eerste land in Europa. Dat FSD-systeem laat Tesla’s onder toezicht van de bestuurder vrijwel zelfstandig rijden. Het werkt niet perfect en is duur.

In Boedapest is de verkiezingsnederlaag van premier Viktor Orbán na zestien jaar aan de macht uitbundig gevierd. Ondanks de uitzinnige blijdschap dringt de volgende dag ook afwachtendheid door over de vraag wat winnaar Péter Magyar met zijn klinkende zege gaat doen. „Ik wacht op het beste.”

Orbán is out in Hungary and talks have failed to end the war in Iran – ill-fated roadtrip has been setback for Maga aims

Shortly before JD Vance’s ill-fated week crisscrossing the world, Donald Trump asked him during a private Easter brunch about how the Iran negotiations were shaping up. “If it doesn’t happen, I’m blaming JD Vance,” Trump said to laughs in the room. “If it does happen, I’m taking full credit.”

The joke at Vance’s expense contained an unfortunate nugget of truth: this is not an administration that rewards failure.

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The finding that these murders could have been prevented is devastating for all those involved

The fatal stabbings that turned a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, Merseyside, into a nightmare on 29 July 2024 would never have happened if public bodies had done their jobs properly. Sir Adrian Fulford’s conclusion, at the end of phase one of the inquiry into the murders, was blunt. The deaths of Bebe King, six, Alice da Silva Aguiar, nine, and Elsie Dot Stancombe, seven, and injuries to 10 other people, were the result of grave failures by police and council officers, health professionals and the anti‑terrorism Prevent programme. The multi-agency systems that are meant to link them together turned out to have deadly flaws.

Sir Adrian prefaced his findings by stating that the responsibility of the perpetrator, Axel Rudakubana, is “absolute”. He also attached significant blame to Rudakubana’s parents, who knew about the 17-year-old’s stockpile of weapons. They ought to have alerted police, above all in the week leading up to the attack, when his father managed to prevent him from taking a taxi to his former school to carry out a violent attack.

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Dozens of feral pachyderms linked to drug kingpin to be killed because of threat to native species and villagers

Colombian officials have authorized a plan to cull dozens of hippos descended from animals brought to the country in the 1980s by Pablo Escobar, after the feral beasts displaced native species and threatened local villagers.

The environment minister, Irene Vélez, said the decision was reached because other methods to control their population had been expensive and unsuccessful, including neutering some of the animals or moving them to zoos. Vélez said that up to 80 hippos would be affected by the measure. She did not say when the hunting would begin.

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The defeat of Orbánism is a globally significant political moment. But it is, above all, a triumph for the citizens who mobilised to take their country back

Prior to his landslide election victory in 2010, which was to lead to 16 unbroken years in power, Viktor Orbán would tell supporters: “We have only to win once, but then properly.” Achieving a so-called supermajority by winning two-thirds of parliamentary seats allowed Mr Orbán to change the constitution, and begin turning Hungary into a soft autocracy. From the judiciary to the media and universities, the checks and balances of a democratic society were steadily dismantled and minorities were marginalised, as the country became a beacon for the global far right and a nationalist thorn in the side of Brussels.

On Sunday, stunningly, it was Mr Orbán’s centre-right challenger, Péter Magyar, who “won properly”. After a record turnout, his Tisza party is all but certain to win its own supermajority. Given Mr Orbán’s control of state media and gerrymandering of constituencies to favour his Fidesz party, this was a truly remarkable result.

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• Defender thought to have medial knee ligament damage

• Argentine may still recover in time for World Cup

Tottenham’s deepening relegation concerns appear to have been heightened by the loss of their captain, Cristian Romero, for the remainder of the season.

Romero was reduced to tears as he left the pitch after 70 minutes of Sunday’s 1-0 loss at Sunderland, following a coming together with the striker Brian Brobbey that led to the Argentinian clattering into his own goalkeeper, Antonin Kinsky. Romero, it is believed, has sustained medial knee ligament damage that will take around eight weeks to heal.

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Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

Thomas Hawk posted a photo:

David Altmejd’s 2017 sculpture entitled “God” is one of the most disturbing artworks I’ve seen recently, so naturally I had to show all of you. If you need further wigging out, here you go. Lots more on his website and Instagram.

Tags: art · David Altmejd