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A congressional hearing designed to criticize sanctuary city policies unexpectedly shifted on Wednesday, as a planned attack by Republican lawmakers instead dissolved into a platform that amplified Democratic mayors’ arguments about immigration and urban safety. Before a packed room on Capitol Hill, the House oversight committee, led by its Republican chair, James Comer of Kentucky, … Read more

Mehdi Yarrahi, a well-known Iranian protest singer who spoke out against the country’s strict dress code for women, has been given 74 lashes as part of an agreement to end a criminal case against him. Yarrahi was initially convicted in January 2024 of acting unlawfully by releasing a protest song in September 2023 entitled Your … Read more

Emmanuel Macron will make a televised address to France on Wednesday night as he tries to calm voters’ concerns over Donald Trump upending the international order and EU leaders prepare for a special summit on defence. Macron’s pre-recorded speech on primetime TV will address the Ukraine crisis, European security and the threat of a transatlantic … Read more

When doctors tried to work out whether Marie Tidball would need a specially designed birth plan, one asked her to lie fully clothed on the bed and spread her legs in the air so they could see how far they could open. The incident was one of several occasions when Tidball, now a Labour MP, … Read more

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Welcome Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories before Emily Wind picks up the slack. We’ve got another blog going with all your latest Cyclone Alfred updates – you can find … Read more

A child has died and another has been injured after a car was driven on to a sports pitch in Cumbria, police said. Cumbria police were called at 4.58pm on Wednesday to reports of a collision involving a black BMW i40 and two children on a pitch at Kendal Rugby Union Football Club. The force … Read more

Key events Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Here’s the latest map of the storm’s forecast track, from the Bom: TROPICAL CYCLONE FORECAST TRACK MAP for Tropical Cyclone Alfred Issued at 4:51 am AEST Thursday 6 March 2025. Photograph: Australian Bureau of Meteorology Share Ben Smee Weather bureau says … Read more

European financial markets have rallied sharply and German borrowing costs have soared after the country’s prospective leaders announced a historic deal to loosen its “debt brake” rule to boost spending on defence. The yield – in effect the interest rate – on 30-year German government bonds rose by about 25 basis points to 3.08% in … Read more

For the second time in weeks, a Canadian icon has emerged as the unlikely victor in an existential battle on the ice. Mervyn Sequeira, an Ontario photographer, was out with his family on a recent morning when they spotted a bald eagle descending towards a frozen lake. Sensing a looming attack on unsuspecting prey, Sequeira … Read more

A Conservative peer has been accused of using antisemitic tropes after saying in a debate in the Lords that Jewish people should pay for a proposed Holocaust memorial in London because they have “an awful lot of money”. Archie Hamilton, who served as a minister under Margaret Thatcher and John Major and was made a … Read more