CENT

Google has been ordered to stop work at two datacentre sites in Finland after illegally felling around 250,000 trees, prompting public fury and accusations of 'pure arrogance'. Finland has become a hub for tech firms' datacentre expansion, and the case has intensified debate over the environmental cost of that push.

Xbox is floating a pricing model that would charge players roughly 24 to 40 cents per hour to stream games they have already purchased. The proposal, reported by Ars Technica, has drawn criticism from gamers who argue that paying full price for a title should include cloud streaming access, not an extra metered fee. Many see it as a sign of subscription fatigue and further monetization of features once included with ownership.

Hetzner's object storage service at its Helsinki (HEL1) data center has been down for roughly ten days, according to the company's status page, with an incident still open. Customers report disruption to applications relying on the storage. The prolonged outage is drawing criticism from users questioning Hetzner's communication and the length of the recovery effort.

A social media post sums up recent history: in 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic created a huge market for online delivery services, and in 2026 AI-assisted hackers, assumed to be behind a major incident, took down those same services. The author concludes that society should return to low-tech or no-tech alternatives, arguing that the digital infrastructure people grew dependent on has become a liability.

A new report warns that Texas' rapid expansion of data centers could reverse decades of progress on air quality. The analysis links the facilities' growing energy demands to increased pollution and health risks for nearby communities. Environmental advocates are calling for stricter oversight as the state continues to attract major data infrastructure investment.

South Korean AI data centre firm Elice fell 32% in its stock market debut, with investors selling off data centre stocks broadly amid doubts about valuations and the pace of AI infrastructure spending. The weak opening adds to concerns that enthusiasm around AI-related listings and data centre builders may be cooling, hitting newly public firms hardest.

A new report covered by The Verge warns that the rapid growth of data centers, driven largely by artificial intelligence, is producing enough pollution to undo decades of progress on air quality. The finding has prompted discussion about the environmental cost of the AI boom and whether emissions from powering and cooling these facilities are being underestimated.

Google is accused of clearing some 250,000 trees from a forest near Muhos in rural Finland to make way for a datacentre, in what critics describe as an illegal felling carried out with arrogance. Commenters are highlighting the destruction of a quarter-million trees and questioning the company's conduct and accountability for the environmental damage in the region.

Attention is turning to an upcoming central bank decision as the budget deficit widens and inflation accelerates. Analysts are weighing how the worsening fiscal picture and faster price growth could shape the bank's next move on interest rates, with commentary framing the combination as a difficult backdrop for policymakers and a growing concern for markets and households.

A Cambodian bank has reportedly collapsed, with commentators warning that other institutions could fall in succession like dominoes. A key worry being raised is that Cambodia's central bank cannot print US dollars, limiting its ability to bail out or backstop troubled lenders in the way other regulators can. The story has drawn significant attention, with observers questioning the stability of the country's banking sector and depositors' prospects of recovering their money.

A South Korean initial public offering fell roughly 30% in its debut, dragging down data center stocks and weighing on broader technology sentiment. The sell-off is being read by investors as a warning sign for the AI infrastructure trade, with concerns mounting that data center valuations may have run ahead of demand.