Donald Trump's big, beautiful act of self-harm
US President Donald Trump's budget will have two dramatic impacts — one political, the other economic.
Two cheers for US Senator Thom Tillis. The North Carolina Republican voted against President Donald Trump's 'big, beautiful Bill', then said he was quitting politics. Like a bee, the outgoing senator stung once then died. But Mr Tillis forfeits a third cheer because he would in any case have been likely to lose 2026's election.
All things being equal, many Republicans could lose their seats because of
Mr Trump's reverse Robin Hood budget . Having chosen to live by the Trumpian sword, some will die by it.
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Straits Times
32 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Pedestrian-only path rules to be enforced reasonably; focus on errant cyclists: Baey Yam Keng
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox LTA's active mobility enforcement officers advising cyclists to keep to their lane next to a newly converted 200m-long pedestrian-only path in Tampines on July 1. SINGAPORE – Officers will take a reasonable approach when enforcing the proper use of pedestrian-only paths, said Minister of State for Transport Baey Yam Keng, reassuring cyclists that they will not be unfairly targeted and fined. In a Facebook post late on July 2, Mr Baey said the focus is on 'errant cyclists who speed or ride in a reckless manner on paths', putting others in danger. From July 1, cyclists and users of non-motorised personal mobility devices (PMDs) such as kick scooters can be penalised for riding on designated pedestrian-only footpaths located in towns across Singapore. These paths, marked with the words 'pedestrians only', are meant for pedestrians and users of personal mobility aids (PMAs), such as electric wheelchairs. Cycling paths have been painted red. The demarcation of paths for pedestrians and cyclists 'provides more certainty' for users and allows them to better anticipate each other's movements, Mr Baey said. 'I understand cyclists are concerned about this change, and are worried about being targeted and fined,' he said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore No train service across entire Bukit Panjang LRT line due to power fault Asia US, India push for trade pact after Trump strikes deal with Vietnam: Sources World Trump tax Bill stalled by Republican rebellion in Congress Business Microsoft cutting 9,000 jobs companywide in second major wave of layoffs this year Opinion How Apple gave 'the gift of fire' to Chinese electronics firms Asia Malaysian nurses following the money abroad for more opportunities Singapore Singapore and Cambodia to expand collaboration in renewable energy, carbon markets and agri-trade World Iran's nuclear programme degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says He assured them that the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) active mobility enforcement officers (AMEOs) would 'consider the ground situation'. For example, a cyclist who has to momentarily ride on a pedestrian-only path to avoid an obstacle or to safely overtake slower-moving path users will not be penalised. 'But beyond rules, we need to cultivate a culture of gracious path sharing and protect the safety of the most vulnerable, especially with our ageing population,' Mr Baey said. Bicycles and non-motorised PMDs remain permitted on shared footpaths. More than 200km of footpaths next to cycling lanes have been turned into pedestrian-only paths since the Land Transport Authority (LTA) announced the initiative in August 2024. First-time offenders convicted of riding on a pedestrian-only path can be fined up to $2,000 or jailed for up to three months, or both. Pedestrians who stray into cycling paths will not face these penalties, though they should keep to the pedestrian-only path for their own safety, LTA said. Speaking to reporters on July 1, Mr Baey said that while the AMEOs will give people 'benefit of the doubt', they cannot be too lenient. 'Otherwise, the law has no teeth,' he added, saying that a signal must be sent to those who repeatedly flout the rules.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
OpenAI inks deal for massive amount of AI computing power from Oracle's US data centres
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox So far, Oracle has developed a massive data centre in Abilene, Texas, for OpenAI with its partners, and it will need to develop more such centres across the US. – OpenAI has agreed to rent a massive amount of computing power from Oracle's data centres as part of its Stargate initiative, underscoring the intense requirements for cutting-edge artificial intelligence products. The AI company will rent additional capacity from Oracle totalling about 4.5GW of data centre power in the United States, according to people familiar with the work. That is an unprecedented sum of energy that could power millions of American homes. A gigawatt is akin to the capacity from one nuclear reactor and can provide electricity to roughly 750,000 houses. Stargate – OpenAI's project to buy computing power from Oracle for AI products – was first announced in January at the White House. So far, Oracle has developed a massive data centre in Abilene, Texas, for OpenAI alongside development partner Crusoe. To meet the additional demand from OpenAI, Oracle will develop multiple data centres across the US with partners, the people said. Sites in states including Texas, Michigan, Wisconsin and Wyoming are under consideration, in addition to expanding the Abilene site from a current power capacity of 1.2GW to about 2GW, they said. OpenAI is also considering sites in New Mexico, Georgia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, one of the people said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore No train service across entire Bukit Panjang LRT line due to power fault Asia US, India push for trade pact after Trump strikes deal with Vietnam: Sources World Trump tax Bill stalled by Republican rebellion in Congress Business Microsoft cutting 9,000 jobs companywide in second major wave of layoffs this year Opinion How Apple gave 'the gift of fire' to Chinese electronics firms Asia Malaysian nurses following the money abroad for more opportunities Singapore Singapore and Cambodia to expand collaboration in renewable energy, carbon markets and agri-trade World Iran's nuclear programme degraded by up to two years, Pentagon says These new projects will be part of Stargate, and details of the plans may still change, according to a person familiar with the plans. OpenAI and Crusoe declined to comment on the plans. Oracle did not return a request for comment. Oracle shares gained as much as 3.9 per cent to a record high on July 2, following the news. The stock has jumped 36 per cent in 2025, fuelled by investor enthusiasm in its cloud business. Earlier this week, Oracle announced that it had signed a single cloud deal worth US$30 billion (S$38 billion) in annual revenue beginning in fiscal 2028 without naming the customer. This Stargate agreement makes up at least part of that disclosed contract, according to one of the people. Oracle, known for its database software, has gained traction in the market for renting out computing power and storage over the internet, in part by targeting clients focused on AI work. This has led to a jump in revenue and expenses. The US$30 billion deal is more than the current size of its entire cloud infrastructure business. OpenAI said in May it was helping develop a Stargate project in the United Arab Emirates with Oracle, Crusoe, AI chipmaker Nvidia, Cisco Systems and G42, an AI company backed by the country's sovereign wealth fund. BLOOMBERG
Business Times
an hour ago
- Business Times
Indonesian firms set to extend bond issuance surge on low rates
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