Cryptocurrency firms suffer heavy losses in Illinois primaries after spending big

Cryptocurrency’s biggest Pac spent more than $10m for their candidates, only to be defeated by those who are anti-crypto

The cryptocurrency industry spent big and lost often in this week’s Illinois primaries.

As the industry prepares to make massive donations in the 2026 midterm elections to replicate its success in 2024, the Illinois losses mark an early setback for firms that are trying to establish themselves as power players in American politics.

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Iran says it will show ‘zero restraint’ if energy infrastructure is targeted again – The Guardian

  1. Iran says it will show ‘zero restraint’ if energy infrastructure is targeted again  The Guardian
  2. Iran war live: Tehran warns of intensified strikes if energy sites targeted  Al Jazeera
  3. Iran war: Netanyahu denies Israel 'dragged' US into conflict  DW.com
  4. Iran FM says 'no restraint' if infrastructure hit again | Iran International  ایران اینترنشنال
  5. ‘Clumsy’: Tit-for-tat strikes on energy assets gift Iran another tactical lever  Middle East Eye
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Pope Leo announces October gathering for ‘synodal discernment’ on Amoris laetitia – The Pillar

  1. Pope Leo announces October gathering for ‘synodal discernment’ on Amoris laetitia  The Pillar
  2. Pope convokes presidents of Bishops’ Conferences for meeting on families  Vatican News
  3. Pope calls heads of bishops' conferences to Rome for summit on family  National Catholic Reporter
  4. Pope Leo calls bishops to Rome to discuss families, ‘Amoris Laetitia’ in October  EWTN News
  5. Pope Leo XIV convokes family ‘summit’ for bishops on 10th anniversary of predecessor’s ‘lightning rod’ document  Crux
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Peers vote to back clause pardoning women convicted over illegal abortions

House of Lords decision welcomed as ‘landmark moment’ after attempt to strike out amendment is defeated

Women who have been convicted, and in some cases jailed, over illegal abortions are set to be pardoned after a historic vote in the House of Lords.

Last June, the House of Commons voted to end the criminalisation of women who terminate their pregnancies outside of the legal framework, while keeping the existing framework in place. Doctors and others who act outside of the law could still face the threat of prosecution.

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Archaeological site in Chile upends theory of how humans populated the Americas … again

Discovery at Monte Verde puts north-to-south expansion theory back at centre of heated debate on continent’s human history

A groundbreaking new study may have once again upended our understanding of human prehistory in the Americas.

For years, the predominant theory of how humans arrived in the western hemisphere centred around the Clovis culture, which crossed the Beringia land bridge from Asia between 13,400 and 12,800 years ago, and spread south.

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Farage backs Tory attack on Muslim iftar event, saying public prayer ‘was a shock’ – UK politics live

Nigel Farage echoed Nick Timothy’s comments after he said public prayer for Ramadan was an ‘act of domination’

Cleverly is trying to show a video, but it is not working. So he just invites Kemi Badenoch to start her speech.

The Conservatives are launching their local elections campaign. There is a live feed here.

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Joseph Duggar, former reality TV star, arrested on child molestation charges

Duggar, 31, was taken into custody in Arkansas and was awaiting extradition to Florida, where he faces charges

Former reality TV star Joseph Duggar is facing a child molestation charge in Florida, almost five years after his brother Josh, who also starred in the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting, was convicted of downloading child sexual abuse images.

Joseph Duggar, 31, was arrested in Arkansas, where he lives, and was awaiting extradition to Florida on Thursday. Duggar is charged with lewd and lascivious behavior toward a child under 12 years old, according to an arrest affidavit from the Bay county sheriff’s office in Panama City, Florida.

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Targeting of energy facilities turned Iran war into worst-case scenario for Gulf states – The Conversation

  1. Targeting of energy facilities turned Iran war into worst-case scenario for Gulf states  The Conversation
  2. The oil logic behind Trump’s war on Iran  Al Jazeera
  3. Iran war leaves deep, costly scar on Mideast energy  Reuters
  4. Newspaper headlines: Iran war unleashes 'world energy shock' and 'King of the coast'  BBC
  5. Why the Iran war energy shock is different  Atlantic Council
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Tropical Cyclone Narelle Is Expected to Hit Northern Queensland – The New York Times

  1. Tropical Cyclone Narelle Is Expected to Hit Northern Queensland  The New York Times
  2. Afternoon Update: Tropical Cyclone Narelle makes landfall; PM heckled at mosque; and stadium injures NRL coach  The Guardian
  3. 'She's Here!': Australian Man Braves Tropical Cyclone Narelle's Strong Winds  Yahoo
  4. Cyclone Narelle: Australians told to shelter as intense wind and rain hits Queensland  BBC
  5. Live: Resident says roofs lost, trees felled as severe Cyclone Narelle tears into Queensland coast  ABC News
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Indian film board blocks release of Oscar-nominated Gaza drama The Voice of Hind Rajab

Distributor says authorities warned screening Tunisian film-maker Kaouther Ben Hania’s docudrama could harm India–Israel relations

The Indian release of The Voice of Hind Rajab, the Oscar-nominated Tunisian film about the death of a five-year-old girl during the Israel-Gaza war, has been blocked by the country’s ratings body, according to the film’s Indian distributor.

In a report by Variety, Manoj Nandwana of Mumbai-based Jai Viratra Entertainment said that he was told that if the film was released, it would “break up” India-Israel relations.

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Viktor Orbán refuses to agree to €90bn loan for Ukraine as EU leaders accuse him of betrayal

German chancellor Friedrich Merz described Orbán’s U-turn on the loan Hungary had agreed to in December as ‘a gross act of disloyalty’

EU leaders fumed after Hungary’s prime minister, Viktor Orbán, refused to drop his opposition to a vital €90bn (£78bn) loan for Ukraine, accusing him of betrayal and acting in bad faith.

German chancellor Friedrich Merz described Orbán’s U-turn on the loan Hungary had agreed to in December as “a gross act of disloyalty” adding: “I am firmly convinced that it will leave deep marks.”

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Concerns raised over ex-Putin interpreter’s key role in monitoring Hungary vote

Daria Boyarskaya coordinating OSCE mission overseeing vote in which pro-Moscow Viktor Orbán could lose power

Hungarian rights groups have raised concerns over the appointment of Vladimir Putin’s former interpreter to a key role in an international election monitoring mission, amid fears of Russian interference ahead of Hungary’s crucial vote next month.

Daria Boyarskaya, who worked for many years for Russia’s foreign ministry and interpreted in numerous high-level meetings including one between Putin and Donald Trump, is now a senior adviser at the parliamentary assembly of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE-PA), based in Vienna. She is coordinating the body’s mission to monitor next month’s parliamentary election in Hungary.

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Meningitis vaccine eligibility expanded after Kent outbreak rises to 27

Anyone who was at Club Chemistry in Canterbury from 5 March to 15 March advised to get antibiotics and vaccination

The government has announced a major expansion in vaccination against meningitis in Kent after seven new cases of the disease were confirmed in the county, taking the total number of cases to 27.

On a visit to the University of Kent, the health secretary, Wes Streeting, said anyone who attended the Club Chemistry nightclub in Canterbury from 5 March until 15 March should come forward for antibiotics and vaccination.

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Iranian attack hits Israeli oil refinery in Haifa, some damage reported – Reuters

  1. Iranian attack hits Israeli oil refinery in Haifa, some damage reported  Reuters
  2. Iran war updates: Israel refinery bombed as retaliatory strikes reverberate  Al Jazeera
  3. Couple Killed in Cluster Bomb Attack Near Tel Aviv  The New York Times
  4. 'After the cluster opens, it’s too late:' Israeli expert explains Iranian cluster warhead challenge  The Jerusalem Post
  5. Iran missile launch detected, sirens expected soon  The Times of Israel
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Denmark reportedly flew blood bags to Greenland in preparation for a US attack

Amid Trump threats, Copenhagen also sent over explosives intended to blow up runways, according to Danish media

Denmark reportedly readied itself for potential attack from the US in January – flying bags of blood to Greenland and explosives to blow up runways in case of a battle with its former closest ally.

During the tense days when Donald Trump threatened to take over Greenland – a largely autonomous territory that is part of the Danish commonwealth – “the hard way”, Copenhagen was so shaken that it started preparing for US invasion, according to Danish public broadcaster DR.

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Live Updates: Iran war escalates, energy prices spike after Israeli strike on South Pars gas field – CBS News

  1. Live Updates: Iran war escalates, energy prices spike after Israeli strike on South Pars gas field  CBS News
  2. Trump Says U.S. and Qatar Not Involved in Strike on Iran’s South Pars Gas Field  The New York Times
  3. Middle East crisis live: Israeli officials push back on US claim that Trump knew nothing about gasfield attack  The Guardian
  4. European Gas Jumps 35% After World’s Top LNG Plant Hit by Iran  Bloomberg.com
  5. After Tehran strikes, Trump says Israel won't attack Iran gas fields anymore  Axios
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In Big Step On Hormuz, UK, France Say Ready To “Contribute” To Safe Passage – NDTV

  1. In Big Step On Hormuz, UK, France Say Ready To "Contribute" To Safe Passage  NDTV
  2. Joint statement on Strait of Hormuz by European nations, Japan, Canada  Reuters
  3. Live updates: State Department approves arms sales to Gulf countries  NewsNation
  4. Trump tells Israel not to repeat strikes on Iranian energy as crisis deepens  Yahoo
  5. European nations, Japan to join ‘appropriate efforts’ to open Hormuz Strait  Al Jazeera
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