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Security Council Urges Taliban to Reverse Restrictions on Women

A general view shows a United Nations Security Council meeting, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, March 14, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
A general view shows a United Nations Security Council meeting, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, March 14, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
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Security Council Urges Taliban to Reverse Restrictions on Women

A general view shows a United Nations Security Council meeting, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, March 14, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo
A general view shows a United Nations Security Council meeting, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, US, March 14, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

The UN Security Council on Tuesday called on the Taliban to reverse policies targeting women and girls in Afghanistan, expressing alarm at the "increasing erosion" of human rights in the country.

In the latest blow to women's rights in Afghanistan since the Taliban reclaimed power last year, on Saturday the hardline rulers banned women from working in non-governmental organizations, sparking international outcry.

The Taliban have already suspended university education for women and secondary schooling for girls.

The 15-member UN Security Council said in a statement it was "deeply alarmed" by the increasing restrictions on women's education, calling for "the full, equal, and meaningful participation of women and girls in Afghanistan."

It urged the Taliban "to reopen schools and swiftly reverse these policies and practices, which represents an increasing erosion for the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

In its statement, the Council also condemned the ban on women working for NGOs, adding to warnings of the detrimental impact on aid operations in a country where millions rely on them, AFP reported.

"These restrictions contradict the commitments made by the Taliban to the Afghan people as well as the expectations of the international community," it said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres echoed the Security Council's message, calling the latest restrictions on women and girls "unjustifiable human rights violations" that "must be revoked."

The international community has made respecting women's rights a sticking point in negotiations with the Taliban government for its recognition and the restoration of aid.

Earlier Tuesday, the UN rights chief warned of the "terrible" consequences such policies would have.

"No country can develop -- indeed survive -- socially and economically with half its population excluded," Volker Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.

"These unfathomable restrictions placed on women and girls will not only increase the suffering of all Afghans but, I fear, pose a risk beyond Afghanistan's borders."

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World

Kremlin Says It Is in Constant Touch with Iranian Leaders

05 March 2026, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera at the Kremlin. (Kremlin/dpa)
05 March 2026, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera at the Kremlin. (Kremlin/dpa)
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Kremlin Says It Is in Constant Touch with Iranian Leaders

05 March 2026, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera at the Kremlin. (Kremlin/dpa)
05 March 2026, Russia, Moscow: Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President of the Central African Republic Faustin-Archange Touadera at the Kremlin. (Kremlin/dpa)

Russia is constantly in touch with the Iranian leadership and willing to contribute to efforts to stabilize the region, the Kremlin said ‌on Wednesday.

"Here ‌I can ‌only ⁠say that we are ⁠in constant contact with the Iranian side and with the Iranian leadership," Kremlin spokesman ⁠Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

"As ‌President (Vladimir) ‌Putin has said, ‌Russia is always ready ‌to do what it can to restore peace and stability ‌in the region."

Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov ⁠have ⁠spoken with their Iranian counterparts in recent days, while Putin also held a phone call with US President Donald Trump on Monday.

World

UK Bans Pro-Palestinian March Over Alleged Iran Support

A boy stands at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced people, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
A boy stands at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced people, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
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UK Bans Pro-Palestinian March Over Alleged Iran Support

A boy stands at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced people, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
A boy stands at the site of an Israeli strike on a tent sheltering displaced people, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip March 9, 2026. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa

The UK government has banned an annual pro-Palestinian march planned for Sunday which London police claim is organized by a group "supportive of the Iranian regime".

Interior minister Shabana Mahmood said late Tuesday she had approved the rare police request to prevent "serious public disorder" if the Al-Quds Day march and counter-protests had gone ahead.

It is the first time a protest march has been banned since 2012 but a static demonstration will be permitted, according to London's Metropolitan police.

Mahmood said she was "satisfied" a ban was "necessary" due to "the scale of the protest and multiple counter-protests, in the context of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East".

The minister added that she expected to see "the full force of the law applied to anyone spreading hatred and division".

The Islamic Human Rights Commission (IHRC), an NGO which organizes the annual Al-Quds Day march, said it "strongly condemns" the decision, which it called "politically charged".

"We are seeking legal advice and this decision will not go unchallenged," it added, accusing the Met of having "brazenly abandoned their sworn principle of policing without fear or favor".

It said the London force "unashamedly regurgitate Zionist talking points about the IHRC "without a shred of evidence".

The group describes the day and march as an "international demonstration ... in support of Palestinians and all the oppressed around the world".

Al-Quds day, which takes its name from the Arabic for Jerusalem, originated in Iran in 1979 in support of the Palestinian people, and is now marked annually in various countries, notably in the Muslim world. It aims to protest Israel's occupation of east Jerusalem.

But the Met's Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan said it was "uniquely contentious having originated in Iran and in London is organized by the Islamic Human Rights Commission".

He claimed that the organization was "supportive of the Iranian regime".

"The threshold to ban a protest is high and we do not take this decision lightly," AFP quoted Adelekan as saying.

He noted the Met has "a proven track record" of permitting free speech and protest rights at dozens of major pro-Palestinian and other demonstrations in recent years.

"But in our assessment this march raises unique risks and challenges," he said.

"We must consider the likely high numbers of protestors and counter protestors coming together and the extreme tensions between different factions.

"We have taken into consideration the likely impact on protests of the volatile situation in the Middle East, with the Iranian regime attacking British allies and military bases overseas."

The ban on the march and any associated counter-protest marches is valid for a month from Wednesday.

World

Japan Marks 15 Years Since Tsunami Disaster as Takaichi Pushes More Nuclear Energy Use

People observe a moment of silence towards the sea at 2:46 p.m. (05:46 GMT), the time when the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's coast in 2011, with the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant seen in the background in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, March 11, 2026, to mark the 15-year anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. (Kyodo/via Reuters)
People observe a moment of silence towards the sea at 2:46 p.m. (05:46 GMT), the time when the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's coast in 2011, with the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant seen in the background in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, March 11, 2026, to mark the 15-year anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. (Kyodo/via Reuters)
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Japan Marks 15 Years Since Tsunami Disaster as Takaichi Pushes More Nuclear Energy Use

People observe a moment of silence towards the sea at 2:46 p.m. (05:46 GMT), the time when the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's coast in 2011, with the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant seen in the background in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, March 11, 2026, to mark the 15-year anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. (Kyodo/via Reuters)
People observe a moment of silence towards the sea at 2:46 p.m. (05:46 GMT), the time when the 9.0-magnitude earthquake struck off Japan's coast in 2011, with the tsunami-crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant seen in the background in Namie, Fukushima prefecture, Japan, March 11, 2026, to mark the 15-year anniversary of the 2011 earthquake and tsunami that killed thousands and set off a nuclear crisis. (Kyodo/via Reuters)

Japan marked the 15th anniversary of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster on its northeastern coast Wednesday as the government pushes for more use of atomic energy.

The magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, ravaged parts of the region, caused more than 22,000 deaths and forced nearly half a million people to flee their homes, most of them due to tsunami damage.

Some 160,000 people fled their homes in Fukushima because of the radiation spewed from the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. About 26,000 of them haven't returned because they resettled elsewhere, their hometowns remain off-limits or they have lingering concerns about radiation.

Japan observed a moment of silence at 2:46 p.m., the moment the quake occurred 15 years earlier.

Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, at a ceremony in Fukushima, pledged to do the utmost to accelerate the region's recovery within the next five years and reinforce “the valuable lessons we learned from the huge sacrifice of the disaster.”

Takaichi has pushed to accelerate reactor restarts and sought to bolster nuclear power as a stable energy source, in line with the major reversal of policy in 2022 that ended a decade-long nuclear phase-out plan.

Some residents in the tsunami-ravaged areas walked down to the coast early morning to pray for their loved ones and others whose remains are still missing.

More than 1 million homes, offices and schools were damaged or destroyed in the quake and tsunami in Iwate, Miyagi, Fukushima and other coastal areas. Key infrastructure has been rebuilt, but communities and local economies have been slow to recover.

The Fukushima Daiichi plant lost its power and cooling functions, causing meltdowns in three of its six reactors. The three reactors contain at least 880 tons of melted fuel debris, but details of the state inside them are little known due to the still-dangerous radiation levels.

Fuller-scale removal of melted fuel debris has been delayed until 2037 or later. At Unit 1 which just got a new roof, workers will shortly start taking out top-floor debris ahead of the planned spent fuel removal from its cooling pool, which will begin around 2027-2028.

There's also a massive amount of slightly radioactive soil, enough to fill 11 baseball stadiums, from the decontamination efforts across the area.

The government has pledged to move the soil and has sought to use some for road construction and other public works projects but has faced public resistance.