GoKawiil
Tech News
More than 100 demonstrators stormed a Microsoft data center site in Amsterdam, part of a wave of coordinated protests planned across Europe this weekend against the rapid buildout of data centers. The Amsterdam action targeted the facility directly, according to reports of the event.
About 100 protesters entered a Microsoft data center construction site in Amsterdam operated by Pure Data Centers, carrying signs opposing the facility. The demonstration is part of a 'Stop Dirty Data Centers' coalition campaign planning actions at 85 locations across 16 countries, including Dublin, Warsaw, and a Microsoft site in Denmark, on November 6-7, 2026.
On Friday, around 100 activists breached fencing at an unfinished Microsoft data center campus near Amsterdam, halting construction, while hundreds more protested outside. Some demonstrators climbed a construction crane, set off smoke bombs, and hung a banner reading 'fck AI.' The action was organized by Geef Tegengas, a Rotterdam-based climate justice direct-action group.
About 100 protesters, organized by the Geef Tegengas group, broke into the construction site of a planned Microsoft data center in Amsterdam, with some climbing a crane to hang a banner reading 'fuck AI' and another declaring 'Microsoft powers genocide.' Protesters chanted slogans against Microsoft and in support of Palestine at the site, which is being built by Pure Data Centres under a project approved before Amsterdam's 2030 ban on new data centers.
A Quanta Magazine podcast episode features evolutionary biologist Toby Kiers of Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam discussing her lab's research into mycorrhizal fungi, which partner with roughly 80% of plant species and help sequester about 13 billion tons of atmospheric carbon dioxide annually. Kiers explains how her team uses tools like fluorescent quantum dots and imaging robots to study how these fungi, despite lacking brains, appear to discriminate among trading partners and reallocate resources across their networks.
Dutch police confirmed seizing a server belonging to Italian internet provider Autistici/Inventati (A/I) from an Amsterdam data center on Tuesday, acting on a request from U.S. authorities. Police are making a digital copy of the server's data to hand over under the mutual legal assistance process, and the physical server will be returned to the data center afterward. The seizure follows the Trump administration's late-August designation of A/I as a terrorist organization over alleged support for antifa, a move that had already cut off A/I's banking access and domain name.
Amsterdam police confiscated a server belonging to Italian internet provider Autistici/Inventati at a Science Park datacenter, acting on a US legal assistance request. A digital copy of the server's contents will be sent to the United States before the hardware is returned to its owners. A/I, which provided free web hosting and email to roughly 20,000 organizations, dissolved itself after the Trump administration designated it a terrorist entity for allegedly facilitating antifa.
American Express is launching a new Centurion Lounge at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport, set to open September 17. The lounge will feature a full bar, a dedicated coffee bar, and food inspired by local Dutch cuisine, marking the brand's entry into one of Europe's busiest travel hubs.
A major disruption hit the Netherlands rail network on Tuesday amid suspicions of sabotage, causing widespread delays across the system. A Eurostar train travelling from Amsterdam to Paris was among the affected services, delayed due to operational restrictions at Amsterdam Centraal station, though it remains unclear whether this delay was directly connected to the broader disruption.
Cannabis industry executives and marketing experts say the typical customer has evolved from the countercultural stereotype into a broader, more mainstream and casual buyer. As a result, many companies are updating branding, packaging and messaging to appeal to this wider audience, though some brands still lean on outdated stoner imagery.