
-
Kenya's economy faces climate change risks: World Bank
-
Japan PM says Trump tariffs a 'national crisis'
-
'It's gone': conservation science in Thailand's burning forest
-
EU leaders push for influence at Central Asia summit
-
Asian stocks extend global rout after Trump's shock tariff blitz
-
German industry grapples with AI at trade fair
-
Where Trump's tariffs could hurt Americans' wallets
-
Trump tariffs on Mexico: the good, the bad, the unknown
-
With tariff war, Trump also reshapes how US treats allies
-
Penguin memes take flight after Trump tariffs remote island
-
Tom Cruise pays tribute to Val Kilmer
-
'Everyone worried' by Trump tariffs in France's champagne region
-
UK avoids worst US tariffs post-Brexit, but no celebrations
-
Canada imposing 25% tariff on some US auto imports
-
Lesotho, Africa's 'kingdom in the sky' jolted by Trump
-
Trump's trade math baffles economists
-
Macron calls for suspension of investment in US until tariffs clarified
-
Trump tariffs hammer global stocks, dollar and oil
-
Mexico president welcomes being left off Trump's new tariffs list
-
Lesotho hardest hit as new US tariffs rattle Africa
-
Stellantis pausing some Canada, Mexico production over Trump auto tariffs
-
Rising odds asteroid that briefly threatened Earth will hit Moon
-
Is the Switch 2 worth the price? Reviews are mixed
-
Countries eye trade talks as Trump tariff blitz roils markets
-
AI could impact 40 percent of jobs worldwide: UN
-
US trade partners eye talks after Trump tariff blitz
-
Dollar, stocks sink as gold hits high on Trump tariffs
-
Trump tariff blitz sparks retaliation threats, economic fears
-
Lessons and liquids: buried alive in Myanmar's earthquake
-
Nintendo Switch 2 sparks excitement despite high price
-
Sri Lanka's crackdown on dogs for India PM's visit sparks protest
-
China vows 'countermeasures' to sweeping new US tariffs
-
Trump jolts allies, foes and markets with tariff blitz
-
How Trump's 'liberation day' tariffs will impact China
-
Europe hits out at Trump tariffs, keeps door open for talks
-
Australia sweats through hottest 12 months on record: official data
-
South African artist champions hyenas in 'eco-queer' quest
-
Taiwan says US tariffs 'highly unreasonable'
-
Trump escalates trade war with sweeping global tariffs
-
China says opposes new US tariffs, vows 'countermeasures'
-
Quake-hit Myanmar's junta chief to head to Bangkok summit
-
New Spielberg, Nolan films teased at CinemaCon
-
Shiny and deadly, unexploded munitions a threat to Gaza children
-
Stocks tank, havens rally as Trump tariffs fan trade war
-
Financial markets tumble after Trump tariff announcement
-
Europe riled, but plans cool-headed response to Trump's tariffs
-
'Shenmue' voted most influential video game ever in UK poll
-
Revealed: Why monkeys are better at yodelling than humans
-
Key details on Trump's market-shaking tariffs
-
US business groups voice dismay at Trump's new tariffs

Larry Ellison, tech's original maverick, makes Trump era return
US tech titans Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos are taking a prominent place in the new Trump era, but another player from another era -- Oracle boss Larry Ellison -- is making a surprise return.
In the first 48 hours of Trump's second term, the 80-year-old Silicon Valley veteran has become central to two pressing issues: the fate of TikTok and the growing infrastructure demands of artificial intelligence.
Though Ellison's prominence peaked in the 1990s, before the internet age, when he made headlines as a sports-loving maverick with a passion for tennis, sailing, and public spats with Bill Gates, his influence persists.
Unlike most tech leaders who distanced themselves from Trump in 2016, Ellison offered his early support. Today, he ranks among the world's wealthiest individuals, with a fortune of $230 billion, trailing only Musk and Bezos but ahead of Zuckerberg.
On Wednesday, Trump's first full day in office, Ellison made an unexpected White House appearance to unveil an AI infrastructure project alongside OpenAI's Sam Altman and SoftBank's Masayoshi Son.
"He's sort of CEO of everything. He's an amazing man," Trump enthused while introducing his longtime ally.
"The data center we already built, it was the largest computer ever built. The data center we're building will surpass it," Ellison said after the meeting.
Ellison's relationship with the Trump administration dates back to the first term, when he played a pivotal role in negotiations over stripping TikTok from its Chinese ownership.
In the process, Oracle became a trusted provider of the company’s data storage in the United States.
Oracle maintains that role to this day, and is key to keeping TikTok available to US users, at the request of Trump and in a defiance of a US law that could see Ellison's company fined $5,000 per user.
The company is frequently mentioned as a potential buyer of TikTok's US operations, which were given 75 days on Monday to find non-Chinese ownership or face a permanent ban.
Oracle's share price was up more than seven percent after the AI announcement.
- Musk ties -
Ellison built his fortune through Oracle, which he founded in 1977 as a data server provider for the CIA among others.
Early on, the company competed with Microsoft, IBM, and Sun Microsystems to provide the data infrastructure for the emerging digital economy.
Under Ellison's leadership, Oracle became known for its aggressive corporate culture and ambitious acquisition strategy, spending billions to become the world's largest database management company.
While Oracle's market value remains smaller than tech giants like Google, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon, the company has seen renewed growth amid the AI boom and increasing demand for data server capacity.
At the height of his career, Ellison was the brash and hard-knuckle counterpoint to Bill Gates.
Ellison made headlines picking fights with some of the biggest names in technology - Gates, Google’s Eric Schmidt – and became comrades in arms with others, most famously Steve Jobs during the period the Apple founder was still exiled from the company he created.
While Gates attended elite private schools and Harvard with family support, Ellison grew up on Chicago's South Side, raised by his great-aunt and heavy-drinking uncle after his teenage mother gave him up at birth in 1944.
Known for his athletic build and perpetual tan, Ellison invested heavily in professional sailing, with his Oracle team winning the America's Cup in both 2010 and 2013.
In recent years, he has formed close ties with Musk, investing $1 billion in Twitter's acquisition and serving on Tesla's board as a major shareholder.
His extensive real estate portfolio includes a $300 million Hawaiian island, which he envisions as an exclusive eco-resort for the ultra-wealthy and where Musk is a visitor.
D.Avraham--CPN