Feb 27 News Live: Cricketer Rinku Singh's father passes away

SKM to meet CMs, LoPs over US trade deal; seeks commerce minister's dismissal

The Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) on Thursday announced two nationwide campaigns to press state governments to oppose the proposed India-US trade deal, seek the dismissal of Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal, and push for amendments to the GST law to "restore fiscal autonomy" of states.

In a press release, the SKM said delegations comprising members of its state and national committees will meet chief ministers and leaders of the opposition in all the states and seek special Assembly sessions to adopt resolutions on the issues raised by the farmers' body.

The SKM, in a memorandum, urged the state governments to ask the Centre not to sign what it termed an "anti-national" trade deal with the US, dismiss Goyal for "betraying the interests of farmers", and withdraw a Union finance ministry letter asking the states to end bonus payments on wheat and paddy.

India and the US, earlier this month, agreed on a framework to finalise an interim trade deal, under which Washington will cut down tariffs to 18 per cent. To sign and implement the first phase of the bilateral trade agreement, the framework has to be converted into a legal document.

The SKM also demanded repeal of the four labour codes and the VB G RAM G Act, and restoration of the rural employment guarantee law under the now-scrapped Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREG Act).

NYC mayor says Trump agreed to immediately release Columbia student detained by ICE

A Columbia University student was arrested Thursday by federal immigration agents who claimed to be searching for a “missing person” in order to gain access to a campus apartment, according to her attorneys and the school's president.

Hours after she was taken into custody, though, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said in a social media post that he had discussed the arrest during an unrelated meeting with President Donald Trump, who agreed to release the student “immediately." The student, Ellie Aghayeva, is a senior from Azerbaijan studying neuroscience and political science. A self-described content creator, she has amassed a large social media following by sharing day-in-the-life videos and tips for navigating college as an immigrant.

At around 7 am, Aghayeva posted a message to her more than 100,000 followers on Instagram: “DHS illegally arrested me. Please help." A photo accompanying the post appeared to show the backseat of a vehicle.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed Aghayeva's arrest and said her student visa had been terminated in 2016 for failing to attend classes. The spokesperson didn't respond to questions about when or if she would be released.

In an emergency petition, attorneys for Aghayeva said she had entered the country on a visa in or around 2016. They said she was taken into custody early Thursday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, who didn't have a warrant but “represented they were searching for a missing person to gain entry" to the university-owned apartment.

She was being held at the federal detention center in Lower Manhattan, the lawyers wrote. They declined to provide additional comment, including details about her immigration status. AP

Pakistan says it has killed over 130 Afghan Taliban fighters in response to border attacks

Pakistan launched a retaliatory operation in response to the alleged border attacks by the Afghan Taliban, saying it has killed over 130 Taliban fighters.

Operation Ghazab lil Haq commenced late Thursday night after the Afghan Taliban allegedly launched attacks on several border posts.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that the operation was underway, saying that the armed forces are currently delivering a strong response to aggression from the Afghan Taliban.

Providing an update on the operation, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said that at least 133 Afghan Taliban operatives were killed and more than 200 were injured.

"Afghan Taliban defence targets in Kabul, Paktia, and Kandahar were targeted, with the possibility of further casualties," he said, adding that at least 27 posts of the Afghan Taliban regime were destroyed, and nine other posts were captured.

The minister further informed that two corps headquarters, three brigade headquarters, two ammunition depots, one logistics base, three battalion headquarters, two sector headquarters, and more than 80 tanks, artillery guns and armoured personnel vehicles had been destroyed.

Cricketer Rinku Singh's father passes away

Indian batter Rinku Singh's father Khanchand Singh passed away on Friday at a hospital in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. He was battling stage-4 liver cancer. Rinku is currently with the Indian team at the T20 World Cup. Last night, India defeated Zimbabwe by 72 runs in Chennai. However, Rinku was not part of the Playing XI.

In a post on X, former cricketer Harbhajan Singh condoled the death of Rinku's father.

Expelled AIADMK leader Panneerselvam to join DMK today

Expelled AIADMK leader and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister O Panneerselvam (OPS) will join DMK today. Before that, he resigned his MLA post. Chief Minister MK Stalin to leave for Coimbatore booth agents meet at 12:30 PM flight. Before his departure, OPS is set to meet Stalin.

US, Iran wrap up another round of indirect nuclear talks

Iran and the United States wrapped up another round of indirect talks in Geneva on Thursday aimed at reaching a deal on Tehran's nuclear programme and potentially averting another war as the US gathers a massive fleet of aircraft and warships in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump wants a deal to constrain Iran's nuclear programme, and he sees an opportunity while the country is struggling at home with growing dissent following nationwide protests.

Iran also hopes to avert war, but maintains it has the right to enrich uranium and does not want to discuss other issues, like its long-range missile programme or support for armed groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.

Oman's foreign minister, who is mediating the talks, said Thursday that they had ended but “will resume soon.” Badr al-Busaidi wrote on X that there had been “significant progress in the negotiation” without elaborating.

He said technical-level talks would take place next week in Vienna, home to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). There was no immediate comment from US or Iranian officials.

If America attacks, Iran has said US military bases in the region would be considered legitimate targets, putting at risk tens of thousands of American service members. Iran has also threatened to attack Israel, meaning a regional war again could erupt across the Middle East.

“There would be no victory for anybody — it would be a devastating war,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told India Today in an interview filmed Wednesday just before he flew to Geneva.

US military would only use Anthropic's AI technology in legal ways, Pentagon says

The Pentagon's top spokesman has reiterated that the military wants to use Anthropic's artificial intelligence technology in legal ways and will not let the company dictate any limits ahead of a Friday deadline to agree to its demands.

Sean Parnell said Thursday on social media that the Pentagon “has no interest in using AI to conduct mass surveillance of Americans (which is illegal) nor do we want to use AI to develop autonomous weapons that operate without human involvement.” Anthropic's policies prevent their models from being used for those purposes. It's the last of its peers to not supply its technology to a new US military internal network.

Parnell said the Pentagon wants to “use Anthropic's model for all lawful purposes” but didn't offer details on what that entailed. He said opening up use of the technology would prevent the company from “jeopardising critical military operations.” “We will not let ANY company dictate the terms regarding how we make operational decisions,” he said.

During a meeting on Tuesday between Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, military officials warned that they could designate Anthropic as a supply chain risk, cancel its contract or invoke a Cold War-era law called the Defence Production Act to give the military more sweeping authority to use its products, even if the company doesn't approve.

Parnell mentioned only two of those consequences in the Thursday post on X and said Anthropic has “until 5:01 PM ET on Friday to decide.” “Otherwise, we will terminate our partnership with Anthropic and deem them a supply chain risk,” he wrote.

Anthropic didn't immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday. It said in a statement after Tuesday's meeting that it “continued good-faith conversations about our usage policy to ensure Anthropic can continue to support the government's national security mission in line with what our models can reliably and responsibly do.” AP

Hillary Clinton testifies she has no information on Epstein's crimes and doesn't recall meeting him

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told members of Congress on Thursday that she had no knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's or Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes, starting off two days of depositions that will also include former President Bill Clinton.

“I had no idea about their criminal activities. I do not recall ever encountering Mr. Epstein,” Hillary Clinton said in an opening statement she shared on social media. The closed-door questioning concluded after over six hours of questioning Thursday.

The depositions in the Clintons' hometown of Chappaqua, a typically quiet hamlet north of New York City, come after months of tense back-and-forth between the former high-powered Democratic couple and the Republican-controlled House Oversight Committee as it investigates Epstein, who killed himself in a New York jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial. It will be the first time that a former president has been forced to testify before Congress.

Yet the demand for a reckoning over Epstein's abuse of underage girls has become a near-unstoppable force on Capitol Hill and beyond.

Airstrikes hit Afghan capital of Kabul, hours after Afghanistan attacks Pakistan

Pakistan carried out airstrikes in Kabul and two other Afghan provinces early Friday, Afghanistan's government spokesman said, hours after Afghanistan launched a cross-border attack on Pakistan in the latest escalation of violence between the volatile neighbours that made a Qatar-mediated ceasefire appear increasingly shaky.

At least three explosions were heard in Kabul, but there was no immediate information on the exact location of the strikes in the Afghan capital, or of any potential casualties. Government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said Pakistan also carried out airstrikes in Kandahar to the south and in the southeastern province of Paktia.

Afghanistan said its military launched its attack across the border into Pakistan late Thursday in retaliation for deadly Pakistani airstrikes on Afghan border areas Sunday, and claimed to have captured more than a dozen Pakistani army posts.

Pakistan's government, which had described last Sunday's airstrikes as an attack on militants harboured in the area, described Thursday's Afghan attack as unprovoked, and dismissed claims that army posts had been captured.

“In response to the repeated rebellions and insurrections of the Pakistani military, large-scale offensive operations were launched against Pakistani military bases and military installations along the Durand Line,” Mujahid said in a post on X Thursday night. Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said the retaliatory attacks occurred along the border in six provinces.

The two countries' 2,611-kilometre (1,622-mile) long border is known as the Durand Line, which Afghanistan has not formally recognised. AP