CIS

Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan on Friday, retaliating against a major offensive by the Afghan Taliban on Pakistani military posts near the border.

Pakistan has declared "open war" with Afghanistan's Taliban government, with explosions reported in Kabul and ongoing clashes along the border. Pakistan says it has also attacked Kandahar and Paktika provinces inside Afghanistan.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey has called for an investigation into whether convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein trafficked women and girls into the United Kingdom on private jets that landed at Royal Air Force (RAF) bases.

Cape Town, South Africa – Two ominous letters are spray-painted on a wall at the entrance to Tafelsig, a township in Mitchells Plain on the outskirts of Cape Town: HL – the insignia of the Hard Livings gang, which has threatened communities there for five decades.

An explosion and subsequent fire at a "Plov Center" restaurant in Shchuchinsk, Burabay District, Akmola Region, Kazakhstan, has killed seven people and injured 26 others, according to the regional health department.

Indonesia is preparing to send 1,000 soldiers to Gaza within weeks, the first contingent of some 8,000 personnel pledged by Jakarta to the Palestinian territory as part of an International Stabilization Force (ISF) under U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace.

Gaza City – During Ramadan, Samar Abu Harbied shops at a small stall for iftar supplies. The 45-year-old homemaker asks the grocer for credit as she has no cash.

Hillary Clinton told a congressional panel she "had no idea" about Jeffrey Epstein's crimes and called for lawmakers to question former President Donald Trump under oath about his past association with the late sex offender.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney is traveling to India on what experts describe as a "very significant trip" aimed at resetting bilateral relations and finding new markets for Canadian exports. While the visit, beginning Friday, is expected to focus on diplomacy, analysts question whether it will yield major economic deals to bolster Canada's economy.

Here is the situation on Friday, February 27:

A US federal judge ruled that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) broke the law by disclosing confidential taxpayer information "approximately 42,695 times" to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Cuban authorities have accused 10 men on a speedboat from the United States of attempting to carry out a campaign of violence to destabilize the island's government.