Taliban offer to resolve dispute via dialogue after Pakistan bombed cities in Afghanistan in latest escalation with its neighbour
Washington endorsed Pakistan’s “right to defend itself” after it bombed major cities across Afghanistan amid heightened tensions between the two hostile neighbours.
The Taliban government in Kabul stressed it was ready to negotiate on Friday as violence intensified between the two countries.
France suspects Russian ‘provocation’ amid worries Moscow will interfere in European elections as part of broader strategy against Ukraine. What we know on day 1,466
The Swedish military confirmed on Friday that a drone it jammed near a French aircraft carrier this week was Russian, amidconcerns Moscow is deploying hybrid war tactics against European nations that have backed Kyiv. On Thursday a Swedish navy vessel jammed the drone 13km (eight miles) from France’s flagship, the Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier, while it was in the Oresund stretch of water, between Denmark and Sweden. French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot told journalists on the Charles de Gaulle on Friday that if Russian involvement was confirmed, “the only conclusion I would draw is that it would be a ridiculous provocation”. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists that Barrot’s was “quite an absurd statement”. The Oresund incident follows a decision by Romania on Thursday to scramble fighter jets when a drone breached its national airspace during a Russian attack on Ukraine. Nato’s easternmost countries have reported numerous drone sightings in recent months, with some blaming Russia.
Denmark’s intelligence service warned Friday that a foreign power may try to sway voters in the country’s general election on 24 March and that it was a priority target for Russia because of its support for Ukraine. Denmark’s police and military intelligence services said in a joint statement the Scandinavian country’s election campaign could be marked by disinformation and cyber-attacks. Prime minister Mette Frederiksen called the election on Thursday saying the shadow cast by Russia was one of Denmark’s biggest threats.
Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán, who lags in most polls, is using Ukraine as a distraction from the country’s fraying social services, rising cost of living and economic stagnation as Hungary heads to an election in April, policy analysts say. Orbán’s rightwing, populist government has used AI to generate billboard posters showing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU officials with their hands outstretched. “Our message to Brussels: We won’t pay!” the taxpayer-funded advert reads, echoing the messaging woven through spots on radio, television and social media.
The leaders ofUkraine and Slovakia agreed on Friday to hold a face-to-face meeting as they wrangle over a blocked pipeline that takes Russian oil to Slovakia and Hungary, officials said. Slovakia’s prime minister Robert Fico and his Hungarian counterpart Viktor Orbán have accused Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of using “blackmail” over the pipeline through Ukrainian territory. Ukraine said the Druzhba pipeline was damaged in Russian airstrikes on 27 January. Slovakia and Hungary have since insisted that it has been repaired again. Orban has blocked an EU emergency loan to Ukraine as the dispute escalates.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday said it had negotiated a temporary local ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia, allowing restoration for a backup power supply to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. It is the fifth local ceasefire negotiated by the IAEA between Ukraine and the Russian Federation, said Rafael Grossi, director general of the agency.
At least 55 Ghanaians have been killed in Russia’s war with Ukraine after being “lured into battle”, Ghana’s foreign minister said after a visit to Kyiv in which officials raised the issue of Russian recruitment of African people. The foreign minister, Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa, said in a post on X on Thursday: “We were informed that 272 Ghanaians are believed to have been lured into battle since 2022 for which an estimated 55 have been killed and 2 captured as prisoners of war.” Reports of African men being attracted to Russia by promises of jobs and ending up on Ukraine’s frontlines have become more frequent in recent months, creating tensions between Moscow and some of the countries involved. Russian authorities have denied illegally recruiting African citizens to fight in Ukraine. Ukraine says more than 1,780 Africans from 36 countries are fighting in the Russian army.
Riot police use teargas to disperse people gathering around wreckage of plane loaded with money from central bank
At least 15 people have died after a military cargo plane carrying banknotes crashed on Friday near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on a highway and scattering bills on the ground, an official has said.
Fire chief Pavel Tovar did not specify if those killed were in the plane or on the highway near the airport in La Paz. He said people had been injured.
DoJ says it will not ask US supreme court to rehear tariffs case despite president’s complaint on Truth Social
The Trump administration said businesses seeking refunds of tariffs struck down by the US supreme court “will take time,” according to court documents filed by the justice department on Friday.
The justice department did not say it plans to ask the supreme court to rehear the case, despite Donald Trump’s comments earlier on Friday.
Actor, originally charged on two counts, accused of battery against third person in bar incident, sources say
New Orleans police on Friday obtained a new warrant to arrest actor Shia LaBeouf in connection with a case that had already left him facing two counts of battery.
The new warrant brings the number of people whom LaBeouf is accused of battering to three, multiple sources told Guardian reporting partner WWL Louisiana. The Guardian independently verified the information with a criminal justice source with direct knowledge of the warrant.
Judge slashed a $667m damages award to Energy Transfer over Greenpeace’s role in Dakota Access Pipeline protests
A North Dakota judge on Friday finalized a $345m judgment against Greenpeace in a lawsuit pursued by pipeline company Energy Transfer (ET.N) over the environmental group’s role in protests against the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline.
The final judgment by judge James Gion was in line with a decision he issued in October, in which he slashed by almost half a damages award of about $667m that a jury had awarded Energy Transfer in March.
Trump administration’s unlawful policy turns ‘refugees’ American Dream into a dystopian nightmare’, judge says
A federal judge has blocked a Trump administration policy that allowed immigration authorities to arrest and detain certain refugees in Minnesota, ruling that the government relied on an incorrect interpretation of federal law and unlawfully targeted people who had already been admitted to the US.
In an order on Friday, the court said the administration’s approach had effectively been “terrorizing” refugees by subjecting them to arrest and potentially indefinite detention despite their lawful status. The judge concluded that federal immigration law does not give the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) authority to detain refugees simply because more than one year has passed since their arrival in the country.
By mid-afternoon, it was 91F (33C) in downtown LA, according to the National Weather Service
After a week of heavy downpours that left parts of Los Angeles flooded, the city is now facing unusually high temperatures for late February.
By mid-afternoon Friday, it was 91F (33C) in downtown Los Angeles, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). That breaks the daily record for 27 February, which was 88F (31C), set last year.
Sherry Xue Li ripped off millions from foreign investors and funnelled some stolen money into US political campaigns
A New York businesswoman was sentenced Friday to nine years in federal prison over a financial scheme that ripped off more than $30m from foreign investors and funnelled some of the stolen money into US political campaigns, including a Donald Trump fundraiser during his first presidency.
Sherry Xue Li was also ordered to forfeit $31.5m, as well as property at three locations, and to make restitution to her victims.
Musician died after being taken to hospital in Los Angeles, with his family remembering him as a ‘true rock and roll legend’ and ‘inspiration to millions’
Neil Sedaka, the singer-songwriter behind Breaking Up Is Hard to Do, Oh! Carol, Calendar Girl and Bad Blood as well as many hits performed by other artists including Stupid Cupid and Love Will Keep Us Together, has died aged 86.
A representative confirmed his death to Variety on Friday, hours after he was reportedly taken to hospital in Los Angeles. No cause of death was given.
Two transgender men are suing Kansas over a new law that invalidated their driver’s licenses and about 1,700 others for reflecting people’s gender identities and not their sex assigned at birth, arguing that the measure is “dehumanizing”.
The men filed their case Thursday, the same day the law took effect, and argue that it violates rights to privacy, personal autonomy and due legal process guaranteed by the Kansas state constitution. The men also are challenging the law’s tough, new enforcement provisions for the state’s three-year-old policy of barring transgender people from using public restrooms or other single-sex facilities associated with their gender identities.
The Wire actor Bobby J Brown died recently in a barn fire at his Maryland home, making him the third cast member of the acclaimed HBO show to pass away since December.
According to authorities and a statement on social media from his daughter, Reina, the 62-year-old Brown had gone into a barn at his residence in the St Mary’s county community of Chaptico at about 10pm on 24 February to try to jumpstart a car. It evidently ignited during the attempt, and Brown asked his wife for a fire extinguisher.
As Wolves applied the seal to only their second Premier League victory of the season, Rodrigo Gomes doubling their lead over Aston Villa deep into second-half stoppage time, Rob Edwards hared down the touchline, yelling into the stands as his players started a celebratory pile-on a few yards behind him. It was a moment of catharsis for Edwards, who beat his chest and wellied an advertising hoarding, but for Unai Emery it was a different kind of cue.
As those in old gold savoured a win over near neighbours that takes them to 13 points, ending any fears that they may not eclipse Derby’s record-low tally of 11 in 2007-08, Emery marched straight down the tunnel before the post-match handshakes.
Donald Trump’s likely casus belli for an attack on Iran – which would be the largest US intervention since the Iraq war – is fraught with contradictions, and his top advisers have been left to cover for him as the White House makes the case for intervention.
In his State of the Unionaddress this week, Trump alleged that Iran posed a direct threat to the US and that the country was “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America”. But that claim has not been backed up with evidence by the White House or the Pentagon, and US intelligence reports from just last year say that it would take Iran 10 years to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile that could reach the US.
Arsenal and Liverpool will fancy their chance of making the quarter-finals, while Manchester City and Newcastle face tougher routes
The Club World Cup final victory over Paris Saint-Germain last summer was probably Enzo Maresca’s finest hour as Chelsea manager. He devised a gameplan, pinging balls over Nuno Mendes for Cole Palmer to chase, backed up by Malo Gusto, that tore the European champions apart in the first half. Liam Rosenior may try to exploit the same vulnerability, but this is a Chelsea that look weary, their exertions in the US perhaps having left them fatigued.
Donald Trump said Friday he will direct all federal agencies to “IMMEDIATELY CEASE” all use of Anthropic technology in the latest instalment of a very public clash over AI safety.
The Department of Defense and Anthropic hit an impasse with neither side backing down as a deadline for an agreement lapsed on Friday afternoon. The Pentagon had demanded the artificial intelligence company loosen ethical guidelines on its AI systems or face severe consequences.
Striker was demoted to under-21s after refusing to play
Recent club form has not translated to USMNT
Josh Sargent joined Toronto FC from Norwich City in England’s second-tier Championship on Friday, ending a difficult situation in which the striker was exiled to the under-21 squad after he refused to play in an FA Cup match last month.
Sargent, 26, was signed as a designated player through the 2030-31 MLS season. He had eight goals this season and 56 goals in 157 appearances with the Canaries overall.
Scouting America will alter several policies at the urging of the Pentagon, including one targeting transgender children, the defense secretary Pete Hegseth announced on Friday as he pushes a campaign against military support for diversity, equity and inclusion efforts.
Some of the changes mirror what the organization suggested to the defense department in January, which included discontinuing its citizenship in society merit badge and introducing a military service merit badge as well as waiving registration fees for the children of military personnel.
‘I know what I did, and more importantly, what I didn’t do,’ former US president says after six-hour deposition
Bill Clinton told a congressional committee on Friday he “had no idea of the crimes” Jeffrey Epstein was committing and insisted he “did nothing wrong” in his relationship with the convicted sex trafficker.
The former president’s remarks came in his opening statement in a deposition to the House of Representatives’ oversight committee, a day after his wife, Hillary Clinton, appeared before the same body and called the proceedings “partisan political theater” and “an insult to the American people”.
In the hours after Zohran Mamdani met with Donald Trump for an undisclosed sit-down in the Oval Office on Thursday, a meme quickly circulated on X.
It resembled the screengrab of a TikToker who doles out dubious financial advice, but instead had the mayor’s picture front and center. On the left it read “I receive 12,000 homes” and “the release of a constituent kidnapped by ICE” and on the right “you receive fake newspaper cover”.
Ifab expected to adopt changes at meeting this weekend
MLS added timed sub, off-field treatment rules in 2024
New rules could make for faster play at the World Cup
Four years ago, MLS Next Pro implemented a pair of rules geared towards eliminating time-wasting. Now, just months ahead of the 2026 World Cup, MLS’s experimentation is set to be adopted globally. The International Football Association Board (Ifab), the sport’s rule-making body, is set to meet this weekend and is widely expected to adopt both changes.
The first of the two, commonly referred to as the timed substitution rule, forces a team to play a man down for a minute if a player takes longer than 10 seconds to leave the pitch. The second of the guidelines, dubbed the off-field treatment rule, removes a player from the match for a minute if they spend more than 15 seconds on the ground after an injury.
Fires are still burning in the Mexican town of Tapalpa four days after the cartel boss known as 'El Mencho' made his last stand.
The Guardian correspondent Tom Phillips drove to the locations of fierce clashes between police and gang members who dug trenches, set fire to shops and sparked a forest blaze that was still burning days later.
Despite their efforts to distract security forces, the 59-year-old drug lord was wounded and he died in a helicopter on the way to the hospital
Netflix’s decision to walk away from its $83bn bid for Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has left some staffers working at CBS News and CNN panicking about the future as the two top-tier news operations come under the same roof.
With Paramount Skydance emerging as the winning bidder, a deal that still requires the approval of WBD shareholders and government regulators, they fear the merging of the two networks – and, with it, the potential for a significant amount of job cuts. Some CNN employees are also nervous about Paramount’s Trump-friendly ownership and leadership enacting ideologically driven programming changes at the network, with particular concern about the specter of the CBS News editor-in-chief, Bari Weiss, possibly getting a significant role.
Unai Emery has been speaking to Sky Sports pre-match:
We are ready, we are focused. We are aware of how we must compete today. We need to be focussed tactically too, they [Wolves] have a very tactical coach in Rob Edwards.
We are definitely expecting a competitive match. Wolves are playing fresh at the moment, despite being at the bottom of the table. They are playing tactically offensive and individually in defence also. They are a demanding team for their opponent. We are ready but we expect a difficult match.
A lot of thought has to go into a takeaway order for the football. You don’t want something that is going to be a distraction to your viewing experience. So noodle dishes or similar are out as they require concentration. In fact you can rule out anything Asian as far as I’m concerned, it’s too fussy for this situation. I want to be able to shovel in while keeping my eyes up, which means I also swerve the chippy. Curry has a good short-distance range, but for me it’s pizza. Make sure it’s pre-cut and then it only requires a but of hand-eye to get it from box to mouth.
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