Crypto reaps political rewards after spending big to boost Trump

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America’s biggest crypto companies are riding high. Plus, can the left reclaim techno-optimism?

Hello, and welcome to TechScape. In this week’s edition, the crypto industry’s political investments pay off in spades, the left attempts to reclaim an optimistic view of our shiny technological future, and your memories of Skype.

SpaceX’s Starship explodes in second failure for Elon Musk’s Mars program

Musk tells Republicans he isn’t to blame for mass firings of federal workers

Musk survives as fellow of Royal Society despite anger among scientists

White House to overhaul $42.5bn Biden-era internet plan – probably to Musk’s advantage

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Merz presses Greens to name their terms for German defence spending rise

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‘What more do you want from us?’ asks chancellor-in-waiting as he seeks urgent support for fiscal rule changes

Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting has tried to win over the Greens to his ambitious but controversial plans to raise the country’s defence spending, promising to expand the scope of the plans and demanding of them: “What more do you actually want from us?”

The outgoing parliament met on Thursday to debate the creation of a €500bn (£420bn) fund for infrastructure investment and radical changes in Germany’s borrowing limits in order to boost defence spending.

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UN judge from Uganda is convicted in the UK of forcing a woman into slavery – The Associated Press

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  1. UN judge from Uganda is convicted in the UK of forcing a woman into slavery  The Associated Press
  2. UN judge studying at Oxford kept young woman as a slave  The Telegraph
  3. Lydia Mugambe: Footage shows UN judge claimed 'immunity' before being convicted of forcing woman to work as slave  Sky News
  4. Ugandan UN judge convicted in Britain after 'slavery' trial  Reuters
  5. UN judge ‘exploited and abused’ woman she forced into slavery, court rules  The Guardian
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Ugandan UN judge convicted in Britain after ‘slavery’ trial – Reuters

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  1. Ugandan UN judge convicted in Britain after 'slavery' trial  Reuters
  2. UN judge convicted of slavery offences at Oxford Crown Court  BBC.com
  3. Lydia Mugambe: Footage shows UN judge claimed 'immunity' before being convicted of forcing woman to work as slave  Sky News
  4. UN judge from Uganda is convicted in the UK of forcing a woman into slavery  ABC News
  5. UN judge ‘exploited and abused’ woman she forced into slavery, court rules  The Guardian
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One hundred Druze sheikhs to be allowed into Israel from Syria to visit shrine – report – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. One hundred Druze sheikhs to be allowed into Israel from Syria to visit shrine - report  The Jerusalem Post
  2. Israeli Druze prepare for first visit by Syrian Druze in decades  Reuters
  3. Some 100 senior figures from Syrian Druze community to visit Israeli Golan Heights  The Times of Israel
  4. After violence in Syria, Israel says it is prepared to defend Syria's Druze  Yahoo
  5. Syria's Druze seek a place in a changing nation, navigating pressures from the government and Israel  The Associated Press
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Israeli attacks on Gaza maternity wards and IVF clinic ‘genocidal acts’, says UN

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Israeli forces have used sexual violence as weapon to ‘dominate and destroy’ Palestinian people, report also says

Israel’s systemic attacks on women’s healthcare in Gaza amount to “genocidal acts”, and Israeli security forces have used sexual violence as a weapon of war to “dominate and destroy the Palestinian people”, a UN report states.

The 49-page report on sexual and gender-based violence was drawn up by the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Including East Jerusalem, and presented to the UN human rights council.

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‘What more do you want?’ Merz pleads with lawmakers on German debt plan – Reuters

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  1. 'What more do you want?' Merz pleads with lawmakers on German debt plan  Reuters
  2. Merz Challenges Germans to Make a Bold Strategic Shift. Will They Do It?  The New York Times
  3. Can Europe cope with a free-spending Germany?  The Economist
  4. German politics: Parliament debates debt brake reform  DW (English)
  5. Beyond defence: Stocks set to gain from Germany’s economic revolution  Euronews
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U.S. gives Israel and Hamas new proposal to extend Gaza ceasefire – Axios

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  1. U.S. gives Israel and Hamas new proposal to extend Gaza ceasefire  Axios
  2. LIVE: Israel kills 2 children in Gaza; UN probe finds ‘genocidal acts’  Al Jazeera English
  3. Israel-Hamas Talks Deadlocked as Trump Envoy Turns to Ukraine  The New York Times
  4. Witkoff proposes new hostage release outline involving 50 day ceasefire  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Gaza: 'Everything in crisis' as Israel, Hamas talks continue  DW (English)
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Why are tensions running high in Serbia ahead of a major student-led rally? – The Associated Press

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  1. Why are tensions running high in Serbia ahead of a major student-led rally?  The Associated Press
  2. Security Alert – U. S. Embassy Belgrade, Serbia (March 13, 2025)  US Embassy in Serbia
  3. Anti-government protesters block access to Serbian state broadcasters  Reuters
  4. Serbia: Anti-corruption Protests Across The Country  Barron's
  5. Video. Students across Serbia march to Belgrade for March 15 rally  Euronews
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Columbia graduate detained by Ice was respected British government employee

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Mahmoud Khalil described by former colleague at UK office for Syria as well liked and extensively vetted

A detained Columbia University graduate threatened with deportation after the Trump administration claimed he poses a risk to US foreign policy is a former employee of the British government who was extensively vetted before working at the embassy in Beirut.

Mahmoud Khalil, a recent graduate from a Columbia University master’s programme, was arrested at home on 9 March as he returned with his wife from a dinner to break their fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

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Peace talks are in parallel universe, say Ukraine front-line troops – BBC.com

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  1. Peace talks are in parallel universe, say Ukraine front-line troops  BBC.com
  2. Are Ukrainians ready for ceasefire and concessions? Here’s what the polls say  The Conversation Indonesia
  3. What if Ukraine decides to fight on without America?  Financial Times
  4. Chicago's Ukrainian community awaits outcome of ceasefire talks  FOX 32 Chicago
  5. Half of Ukrainians say territorial concessions, forfeiting NATO membership in exchange for ending war 'completely unacceptable'  Kyiv Independent
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Argentina minister urged to quit after police violence at pensioner protest

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Photographer in coma and scores injured as police use teargas, rubber bullets and water cannon against retirees

Argentina’s hardline security minister is facing calls to resign after the violent police response to a protest by pensioners left a photographer in a coma and scores of other people injured.

More than 1,000 riot police used teargas, rubber bullets and water cannons to disperse demonstrators late on Wednesday.

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Argentine Journalist In Critical Condition After Violent Anti-austerity Protest – Barron’s

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  1. Argentine Journalist In Critical Condition After Violent Anti-austerity Protest  Barron's
  2. Photographer in coma after Argentina police hit pensioner protest hard  The Guardian
  3. Argentina: Pensioners and soccer fans unite in protests  DW (English)
  4. Video. Protests turn violent in Buenos Aires over Milei’s economic reforms  Euronews
  5. Journalist in critical condition after violent anti-Milei protest  Buenos Aires Times
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