The United States said on Friday it supported Pakistan's "right to defend itself" against attacks from Afghanistan's Taliban rulers after Islamabad said earlier in the day that the neighboring countries were in "open war." ADVERTISEMENT"The United States supports Pakistan's right to defend itself against attacks from the Taliban, a Specially Designated Global Terrorist group," a State Department spokesperson said in an emailed statement. The U.S. considers the Afghan Taliban to be a "terrorist" group. The latest violence erupted after Pakistan's airstrikes on Afghan territory last weekend triggered Afghan retaliatory attacks along the border on Thursday, escalating long-simmering tensions over Pakistan's claim that Afghanistan shelters Pakistani Taliban militants. Both sides reported heavy losses in the fighting, which Pakistan's Defense Minister Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif said amounted to an "open war".

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) added a new mission to its Artemis moon programme involving a ​spacecraft docking test in Earth’s orbit before landing its first ‌astronauts on the moon in over half a century, ​overhauling the flagship U.S. moon effort amid ⁠competitive pressure from China. Elon Musk’s SpaceX and Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin are each developing an astronaut lunar lander ⁠for the programme, duelling to be the first to achieve the moon landing for NASA. The new mission allows more practice for NASA before its more ambitious step of landing on the moon, ‌which had long been planned for Artemis III. The agency launched ​an uncrewed test of SLS and Orion in 2022 and is targeting an April launch of Artemis ⁠II, taking four astronauts around the moon and back. The ⁠updated Artemis III mission will involve Orion, with astronauts aboard, demonstrating its ability to dock ‌with one or both of the lunar landers in low-Earth orbit.

Filmmaker Sandeep Reddy Vanga on Friday unveiled a new character poster from his upcoming film Spirit, introducing debutant Aishwarya Desai in what the makers describe as a “significant role” alongside the film’s antagonist, played by Vivek Oberoi. The poster shows Vivek smoking a cigar in a robe, with Aishwarya standing alongside him. ADVERTISEMENTSandeep shared the poster and wrote, “Presenting you all, the antagonist of the film SPIRIT. Mr Vivek Anand Oberoi.”Vivek also posted the look on his social media, adding, “A mystery buried in shadows and eyes that remember the darkest secrets. The film is written, edited and directed by Sandeep and produced by Bhushan Kumar’s T-Series and Sandeep’s Bhadrakali Pictures, along with Pranay Reddy Vanga, Krishan Kumar and Prabhakar Reddy Vanga.

US President Donald Trump said he was not happy with Iran but more talks were expected on Friday on Tehran's nuclear program. Speaking to reporters before a trip to Texas, Trump said he wants to make a deal with Iran but reiterated that Tehran cannot have a nuclear weapon. ADVERTISEMENTTalks over Tehran's nuclear program continued this week amid a massive US military buildup in the region. Trump was asked by reporters at the White House about the use of military force in Iran, and replied that "I'm not interested in that, but sometimes you have to." He said he is “not happy” with the way Iran is acting in nuclear negotiationsMediator Oman sent its foreign minister to Washington on Friday for discussions on the issue with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Rock band Radiohead urges US ICE to remove video featuring ‘Let Down’ ICE, whose immigration enforcement tactics have been widely condemned by human rights advocates during Trump's hardline immigration crackdown, posted a video last week that used a version of Radiohead's song 'Let Down'ReutersBritish rock band Radiohead said on Friday it wanted a promotional video for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that used their song to be taken down. ICE, whose immigration enforcement tactics have been widely condemned by human rights advocates during President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown, posted a video last week that used a version of Radiohead's song "Let Down." ADVERTISEMENT"We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down. Many celebrities have also previously condemned ICE. Rights advocates have also raised free speech and due process concerns in ICE's detention and attempted deportations of pro-Palestinian foreign protesters who opposed U.S. ally Israel's assault on Gaza.

British rock band Radiohead said on Friday it wanted a promotional video for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency that used their song to be taken down. ICE, whose immigration enforcement tactics have been widely condemned by human rights advocates during President Donald Trump's hardline immigration crackdown, posted a video last week that used a version of Radiohead's song "Let Down." ADVERTISEMENT"We demand that the amateurs in control of the ICE social media account take it down. Many celebrities have also previously condemned ICE. Rights advocates have also raised free speech and due process concerns in ICE's detention and attempted deportations of pro-Palestinian foreign protesters who opposed U.S. ally Israel's assault on Gaza.

The Supreme Court on Friday was informed that a high-powered selection committee headed by former Chief Justice of India U.U. The move aims to resolve the dispute between chief minister Mamata Banerjee and Bengal governor C.V. Ananda Bose, who is also the chancellor of the universities. Chief Justice Kant recorded in Friday’s order the receipt of communication from Justice Lalit regarding the proposal to conduct the interviews for North Bengal University, MAKAUT and Netaji Subhas Open University. However, differences persisted over three universities, prompting the Supreme Court to refer their appointments to the high-powered panel led by Justice Lalit. While acceding to adjournment requests, Chief Justice Kant said the matter would be heard in chambers, rather than in open court.

Amid Pakistan-Afghanistan war, US President Donald Trump refused to intervene, while praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army General Asim Munir, calling them 'great leaders.' Amid Pakistan-Afghanistan war, US President Donald Trump refused to intervene, while praising Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army General Asim Munir, calling them 'great leaders.' Speaking to reporters on Paksitan and Afghanistan conflict, Donald Trump said, "I would (intervene), but you have a great prime minister, you have a great general there, you have a great leader. Pakistan Defence Minister Khwaza Asif declared the beginning of "open war", saying that Pakistan ha run out of patience. The hostilities between the two countries started after Pakistani officials claimed that Afghanistan launched attacked on its military and in retaliation Islamabad launched strikes.

A 23-year-old woman was raped twice in a day in separate places by her boyfriend and a stranger offering help and then thrown off a four-storey building, leading to her death, in Odisha's Jagatsinghpur district, police said on Friday. Police arrested both the accused and booked them under various sections of BNS for kidnapping, rape and murder. ADVERTISEMENT"The incident took place on February 22 after the woman left her house with plans to elope with her boyfriend, who had asked her to come to a temple by promising to marry her. However, he took her to a secluded place, raped her and abandoned her at Rahama bus stand," Jagatsinghpur Superintendent of Police Ankit Kumar Verma told reporters. He, however, took her to the roof of his rented accommodation at a place in Paradip town and raped her again, the SP said.

Paramount Skydance has finalised its bid to acquire Warner Bros. According to Reuters, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to be acquired by Paramount Skydance in a USD 110 billion deal. The final details of the deal were confirmed by Warner Bros in a townhall held earlier in the day. Warner Bros. shareholders are expected to vote on the proposed merger in early spring of 2026, the companies said.

We have built Digital Public Infrastructure that is the envy of the developed world, and we are now integrating Artificial Intelligence into our power grids, railways, and logistics corridors with an ambition that is nothing short of breathtaking. But in a recent white paper commissioned by Palo Alto Networks on the state of critical infrastructure and its regulatory readiness to adopt AI, we uncovered a quiet but critical tension sitting at the heart of this transformation.India’s ambition is outpacing its architecture. A critical infrastructure operator captured the risk succinctly: at state level, procurement is often driven by cost, not resilience. The next chapter of critical infrastructure AI won’t be won by the countries that adopt fastest. That’s the line between ambition and assurance—and it’s where India’s AI impact will ultimately be decided.

But the challenge for Kerala is to transform this “Remittance Economy” into an “Innovation Economy”. To try to force-fit the heavy industrial models of continental India onto the delicate geography of Kerala is an error of imagination. Our demographic reality — we are the fastest aging society in India — presents us with a unique paradox that is also an opportunity. Imagine a global luxury brand based on Kerala’s eco-friendly hand-woven textiles, utilising the narrative of “sustainable luxury”. Like the Dutch, who sell their water management engineering to the world, Kerala can become a “living lab” for disaster-resilient infrastructure, exporting low-cost, flood-resistant housing and soil stabilisation technologies to the tropical world.

A cargo plane carrying money crashed Friday near Bolivia's capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. ADVERTISEMENTFire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died but he did not clarify if the dead were in the plane or in the cars on the nearby highway. Images on social media showed debris from the aircraft, destroyed cars and bodies scattered on the road. According to Tovar, at least 15 vehicles were damaged. Espinoza did not specify the amount of money being transported but he said the banknotes had arrived in Santa Cruz from abroad.

Later, it is up to you to make a decision).”Pandey tells The Indian Express that the unanimous reaction in the House when he raised the matter showed that BJP MLAs were as aggrieved as legislators on the Opposition side. AdvertisementAgreeing, a BJP MLA says the party can’t ignore the issue as the Assembly elections approach. “Opposition members can get away by telling the people that officials don’t pick up their phones, don’t work. Last year, Minister of State and BJP leader Pratibha Shukla staged a protest at a police station over an issue involving an official. A January 5, 2024, order laid down that public representatives be formally invited to and honoured at official programmes.

However, in these works, the influence of Cubism is quite obvious, although his subjects are drawn from Indian and Bengali cultures, both mythical and folk. Some of his most beautiful works centre around village life and stories of gods. Abanindranath Tagore had first introduced this style as a reaction against the Western academic realism taught in art schools during British rule. At De Sarkar’s exhibition at the Academy of Fine Arts, his Hindu deities and historical figures like Sri Krishna Chaitanya look fine with their long, delicate fingers. However, he must be commended for his vision of an egalitarian Indian society where everyone is treated equally irrespective of religion or caste.