EU Says Provisional Taliban Government Falls Short of Promises

The EU voiced disapproval of the Taliban’s provisional government. (Reuters)
The EU voiced disapproval of the Taliban’s provisional government. (Reuters)
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EU Says Provisional Taliban Government Falls Short of Promises

The EU voiced disapproval of the Taliban’s provisional government. (Reuters)
The EU voiced disapproval of the Taliban’s provisional government. (Reuters)

The European Union voiced disapproval on Wednesday of the Taliban’s provisional government in Afghanistan after the extremist militants named several leaders, saying they had not kept a promise to include women and other religious groups.

“It does not look like the inclusive and representative formation in terms of the rich ethnic and religious diversity of Afghanistan we hoped to see and that the Taliban were promising over the past weeks,” said Peter Stano, spokesperson for the EU’s foreign policy service.

“Such inclusivity and representation is expected in the composition of a future transitional government, and as result of negotiations,” he said in a statement.

A senior EU executive official also expressed wariness about the Taliban’s provisional government, which includes people under United Nations sanctions and wanted by the United States, even as the bloc tries to show openness to the militants.

“The European Union is ready to continue to offer humanitarian assistance,” European Commission Vice-President Maros Sefcovic said, adding however that longer-term donor money depended on the Taliban upholding basic freedoms.

“We are looking very, very carefully at how the new government is behaving before engaging,” he told a news conference following a meeting of EU commissioners.

Afghanistan faces the collapse of basic services and food and other aid is about to run out, the United Nations said on Tuesday, after the Taliban took control of the country on Aug. 15 and the United States and Western powers withdrew.



Heavy Downpours in South Korea Kill 14 and 12 Others Missing

This handout photo taken on July 19, 2025 and released by Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department via Yonhap shows a rescue member standing on a mud-covered road after a landslide hit a village in southern Sancheong county as heavy rain continued to pound the country. (Photo by Handout / Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department / AFP)
This handout photo taken on July 19, 2025 and released by Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department via Yonhap shows a rescue member standing on a mud-covered road after a landslide hit a village in southern Sancheong county as heavy rain continued to pound the country. (Photo by Handout / Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department / AFP)
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Heavy Downpours in South Korea Kill 14 and 12 Others Missing

This handout photo taken on July 19, 2025 and released by Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department via Yonhap shows a rescue member standing on a mud-covered road after a landslide hit a village in southern Sancheong county as heavy rain continued to pound the country. (Photo by Handout / Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department / AFP)
This handout photo taken on July 19, 2025 and released by Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department via Yonhap shows a rescue member standing on a mud-covered road after a landslide hit a village in southern Sancheong county as heavy rain continued to pound the country. (Photo by Handout / Gyeongsangnam-do Fire Department / AFP)

Torrential rains that slammed South Korea for five days have left 14 people dead and 12 others missing, the government said Sunday.

One person was killed on Sunday after their house collapsed during heavy rain and another person was found dead after being swept by a swollen stream in Gapyeong, a town northeast of Seoul, the Interior and Safety Ministry said.

The ministry said eight people were discovered dead and six others were reported missing in the southern town of Sancheong on Saturday after heavy downpours caused landslides, house collapses and flash floods there.

A ministry report said that six people remain missing in Gapyeong and the southern city of Gwangju, The Associated Press reported.

Earlier last week, three people were found dead in a submerged car, and a person was also killed when their car was buried by soil and concrete after a retaining wall of an overpass collapsed in Osan, just south of Seoul, during heavy rain.

As of 9 a.m. on Sunday, about 3,840 people remain evacuated from their homes, the ministry report said. The rain stopped in most of South Korea on Sunday, and heavy rain alerts have been subsequently lifted throughout the country, ministry officials said.

Since Wednesday, southern regions have received about 600-800 millimeters (24-31 inches) of rain, according to the ministry report.