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Guterres Supports Process to Appoint UN Envoy to Coordinate Relations with Taliban

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference on the meeting with Special Envoys on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital Doha, on February 19, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference on the meeting with Special Envoys on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital Doha, on February 19, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
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Guterres Supports Process to Appoint UN Envoy to Coordinate Relations with Taliban

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference on the meeting with Special Envoys on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital Doha, on February 19, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference on the meeting with Special Envoys on Afghanistan in the Qatari capital Doha, on February 19, 2024. (Photo by KARIM JAAFAR / AFP)

The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will begin consultations to start a process to appoint a UN envoy to coordinate engagement between Afghanistan's Taliban and the international community, he said on Monday.
Taliban failed to show up at a United Nations-sponsored conference meeting on Afghanistan in Doha on Sunday.
The announcement coincides with a report from the UN mission in Afghanistan that said Afghan women feel scared or unsafe leaving their homes alone because of Taliban decrees and enforcement campaigns on clothing and male guardians.
In December, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution asking Guterres to appoint a special envoy for Afghanistan. The Taliban have consistently been against this.
Speaking with reporters in Doha at the closing session of the Meeting of Special Envoys on Afghanistan, Guterres hoped that the Afghan de facto authorities would attend the next round of such meetings.
The Taliban had refused to attend the UN-chaired high-level meeting in Doha. The two-day meeting, hosted by the UN secretary-general, discussed increasing engagement with Afghanistan and a more coordinated response to the Central Asian nation.
Participants included the US, China, Pakistan and the European Union.

Last week, though the Afghan foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment on plans to attend, the secretary-general of the Norwegian Refugee Council wrote on X, formerly Twitter, it was “disappointing that the Taliban declined to attend the special envoy meeting.”
“We urge all sides to do more to hammer out deals that can benefit the long suffering Afghan people,” Jan Egeland said.
Taliban chief spokesperson, Zabihullah Mujahid later said the movement will not attend Doha’s meeting.
A senior diplomatic source told AFP ahead of the meeting the Taliban government had said it would only attend as sole representative of Afghanistan at the convention -- excluding civil society representatives.
A second demand was that the Taliban government delegation meet with the UN secretary-general and be given an opportunity to present its position, the source said on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of discussions.
Taliban authorities said on Saturday their participation in UN-convened Afghanistan talks would be “unbeneficial” if certain conditions were not met.
It is important to note that the Taliban administration has not been officially recognized by any country since seizing power following the withdrawal of US troops in August 2021.
Different countries have taken varying approaches in their relations with the new authorities, with concerns over women's rights and security being significant obstacles.

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World

Japan Deploys Long-Range Missiles Near China

The Type-12 land-to-ship missile launcher is shown at the Camp Kengun in the Kumamoto prefecture, western Japan, on March 17, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
The Type-12 land-to-ship missile launcher is shown at the Camp Kengun in the Kumamoto prefecture, western Japan, on March 17, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
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Japan Deploys Long-Range Missiles Near China

The Type-12 land-to-ship missile launcher is shown at the Camp Kengun in the Kumamoto prefecture, western Japan, on March 17, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)
The Type-12 land-to-ship missile launcher is shown at the Camp Kengun in the Kumamoto prefecture, western Japan, on March 17, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)

Japan has deployed long-range missiles in a southwest region near China, its defense minister said Tuesday, at a time when ties with Beijing are at their lowest in recent years.

The missiles were installed in Kumamoto in the southern region of Kyushu, as Japan is attempting to shore up its military capacity as China steps up naval activity in the East China Sea.

"Standoff defense capabilities enable us to counter the threat of enemy forces attempting to invade our country... while ensuring the safety of our personnel," said Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi.

"This is an extremely important initiative for strengthening Japan's deterrence and response capabilities," he added.

The surface-to-ship guided missile system has a range of around 1,000 kilometers (620 miles), putting parts of the Chinese mainland within reach -- Shanghai lies about 900 kilometers from Kumamoto.

Koizumi also said a "hyper velocity gliding projectile", designed to defend remote islands from enemy forces, had been deployed in Shizuoka, another coastal area closer to Tokyo which faces the Pacific.

Japan has long had a policy to use its military only for self-defense in its most strict meaning.

But in recent years Tokyo has steadily built its defense capacity as regional neighbors including China, Russia and North Korea increase their military activities in the region.

In 2022 it approved a plan to deploy missiles with counter-attack capability.

"If we continue to rely solely on ballistic missile defense... it will become increasingly difficult to fully address the threat" of missiles with advanced technologies, a defense white paper issued last year said.

China is beefing up its military and is engaged in a number of territorial disputes with other countries in the region, including Japan over the Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu in China.

Japan's ties with Beijing have soured in recent months after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi hinted in November that Tokyo could intervene militarily in any attack on self-ruled Taiwan.

China views Taiwan as its territory and has not ruled out taking it by force.

Critics of Tokyo's move to deploy missiles could make the area a target of possible enemy attacks.

Earlier this month, local media reported that Japan's ground force delivered a launcher for the missiles to Kumamoto without warning local communities, prompting dozens of opponents to stage a protest in front of a local military base.

World

Eight Injured in Israel After Iran Missile Fire

A photograph shows the damage at the site of an Iranian strike in a residential neighborhood of Bnei Brak on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows the damage at the site of an Iranian strike in a residential neighborhood of Bnei Brak on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
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Eight Injured in Israel After Iran Missile Fire

A photograph shows the damage at the site of an Iranian strike in a residential neighborhood of Bnei Brak on March 31, 2026. (AFP)
A photograph shows the damage at the site of an Iranian strike in a residential neighborhood of Bnei Brak on March 31, 2026. (AFP)

Israel's emergency services said Tuesday that eight people with minor injuries were evacuated to hospitals in the Tel Aviv area, where police reported falling munitions fragments after an alert for incoming Iranian missiles.

Six of the injured were treated in the city of Bnei Brak, which is largely populated by ultra-Orthodox Jews, according to Magen David Adom, Israel's equivalent of the Red Cross.

It specified that they were in mild condition with blast injuries.

The military's Home Front Command said it had received "reports of damage" in the central parts of the country.

Earlier on Tuesday, at least 10 blasts were heard in the Jerusalem area after missile launches from Iran were detected though no injuries were subsequently reported.

World

Jailed PKK Founder Ocalan Asks to Address Turks Directly

FILE - Youngsters hold a photograph of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed PKK leader in Diyarbakir, Türkiye, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu, File)
FILE - Youngsters hold a photograph of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed PKK leader in Diyarbakir, Türkiye, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu, File)
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Jailed PKK Founder Ocalan Asks to Address Turks Directly

FILE - Youngsters hold a photograph of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed PKK leader in Diyarbakir, Türkiye, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu, File)
FILE - Youngsters hold a photograph of Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed PKK leader in Diyarbakir, Türkiye, Feb. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Metin Yoksu, File)

Jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, who is being held in solitary confinement, said on Tuesday he wanted to be able to speak freely to the Turkish public.

Last year, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) formally renounced its armed struggle against the Turkish state after four decades of violence that has killed at least 50,000 people on both sides.

In a message published by a delegation of lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish DEM party, who were authorized to visit him on Friday, Ocalan reaffirmed his commitment to the peace process.

"The period of armed struggle is over. There is no going back," he said.

"I think it is important for me to be able to reach a wider public so my views on this process are properly understood."

"The government must acknowledge that no destructive activity is being carried out and there is no threat to the country's security," said the 76-year-old Ocalan, who has spent the last 27 years in detention.

He urged the parliamentary commission set up to define the future status of the PKK and its former fighters to establish "without delay, a comprehensive and inclusive legal framework".