Washington says an American citizen is free two years after being captured by the Taliban. He's the third US national released by the group this year.
George Glezman was kidnapped while visiting Afghanistan as a tourist in 2022. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio welcomed the release as a positive and constructive step.
The announcement comes after a meeting Thursday between US and Taliban officials mediated by Qatar.
It was reportedly their first direct talks since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US has imposed sanctions on Afghanistan.
Washington has criticized the Taliban for alleged human rights violations, including its treatment of women.
Meanwhile, the Taliban seem to be strengthening their economic ties with China and Russia.
Indonesian officials are urging people in the country to exercise extra caution following major eruptions at a volcano Thursday. They've raised the alert status to the highest level.
The volcano is one of the two making up Mount Lewotobi . The eruption caused a volcanic plume reaching kilometers into the air.
Lewotobi Laki-laki had a series of massive eruptions in November.
Local authorities said at least 10 people died. A major eruption can trigger a tsunami by causing changes in atmospheric pressure. But the Japan Meteorological Agency says there were no noticeable changes in tidal levels as of Friday morning.
Separately, a government-appointed panel in Japan has come up with measures on what to do if Mount Fuji erupts on a massive scale and spews large amounts of ash.
Mount Fuji's last confirmed eruption began in 1707.
Experts say an eruption on a similar scale could blanket wide areas of Tokyo, Kanagawa Prefecture, and elsewhere with 10 centimeters or more of ash.
The panel of volcanologists and disaster preparedness experts released their report on Friday. The report says people in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures should shelter at home or elsewhere if less than 30 centimeters of ash accumulates. It says that, if possible, residents should stock up on necessities that would sustain them for two weeks. Local authorities and businesses are asked to focus primarily on maintaining and repairing key infrastructure. The panel says, in principle, people in areas hit with 30 centimeters of ash or more need to evacuate. It cites the risk of wooden houses collapsing under the weight of wet ash if it rains.
The panel says the government should establish a system to spread information, including volcanic ash forecasts. It says central and local governments also need to secure evacuation routes.
University of Tokyo Professor Emeritus Fujii Toshitsugu has the panel. He says Japan has not had an eruption that spread ash over a wide area in the last 100 years. He says the country needs to start preparing now for such a disaster.
North Korea says it has test-fired its latest anti-aircraft missile system.
It came as the US and South Korea wrapped up a joint military exercise.
The North's state-run broadcaster reports the test happened Thursday and the missile system has entered full-scale production. Leader Kim Jong-un reportedly oversaw the launch and said the country's military will be equipped with another major defense weapon system.
Experts think Pyongyang may be getting Russian assistance for its military advancements. They say it would be in return for dispatching troops.
Sources related to the South Korean military say Pyongyang launched the missiles toward the Yellow Sea in the morning. Also on Thursday, Seoul and Washington wrapped up more than a week of military drills together.
Pyongyang criticized the exercise.
The British prime minister has suggested he's considering to provide ground, air and sea defense to maintain peace in Ukraine once a ceasefire takes effect.
It will only leave Ukraine secure and sovereign if there is security arrangements in place to ensure that if there's a deal, it is a defended deal.
Starmer hosted military leaders representing countries including Ukraine, other European nations and Canada. They support the framework of the so-called Coalition of the Willing to Maintain Peace in Ukraine. They discussed the proposed deployment of peacekeeping troops in the country. It's predicated on security guarantees from the US, but it's not clear yet how much support Washington is willing to provide.
Russia strongly opposes the plan.
And Britain's defense ministry says up to a quarter of a million Russian troops have died in the conflict in Ukraine since 2022.
A social media post by the ministry claims that Russian forces have likely sustained about 900,000 casualties.
200,000 to 250,000 of this number are estimated to have been killed. It says the death toll is the Russian military's highest since World War II. The ministry says President Vladimir Putin and the country's military leaders are almost certainly prepared to tolerate high casualty rates. That's unconditioned the losses do not hurt support for the war among the public and elite and can be replaced. It believes there's a very high chance Russian leaders place a relatively low value on the lives of ethnic minority citizens.
Recruitment efforts have been focused in the impoverished regions where they live. It adds that Slavic Russians from Moscow and other urban centers have contributed disproportionately fewer personnel.
Japan has marked 30 years since a cult released nerve gas in the Tokyo subway, killing 14 people. Thousands were injured, including some who raced to the scene with minimal protection. NHK spoke with two investigators about what they remember from that difficult day.
(Japanese)
Rush hour in Tokyo one morning in March 1995, police report something is happening on several subway lines. The stuation escalates quickly.
（Japanese）
A team of forensic experts here reports that a substance has been found in the cars where passengers and staff are falling sick. They rushed to an affected train stopped at a station right near police headquarters. One of them is Ando Hiroaki.
We heard something strange was found and said, 'Let's go.' I didn't think about how scary it was at all.
Ando, now 82, has developed numerous health problems in the years following.
He went blind in one eye and suffered a stroke. It was never confirmed whether they stemmed from what he was exposed to that day. But Ando wasn't alone.
Another colleague who rushed to the site suffered multiple strokes since then.
Nonaka Hirotaka is speaking to the media for the first time, though he is not appearing on camera.
We knew nothing about what had happened, whether it was a poison gas. We had no choice but to go.
Ando and Nonaka had prepared for this possibility. A year before, a gas attack in the city of Matsumoto had killed eight people and injured more than 140. At a time, perpetrators had not yet been identified, but the gas was found to be Sarin, a deadly nerve agent. By the time Ando and Nonaka got there, police who'd come into contact with it had been rushed to the hospital.
When I arrived at the subway platform, I could see a bag on the floor of the train car. Liquid was leaking out of it.
They collected samples by tying a cloth with rope and tossing it into the puddle.
A photo shows Ando holding a bag of the substance.
This is me.
Nonaka rushed the bag back to the lab where they had prepared to test for nerve agents following the Matsumoto incident. And because of that, roughly two hours after the attack began, they could confirm it was sarin. Police adjusted their tactics, potentially saving more lives.
(Japanese)
The investigators' rapid response is also believed to have helped hospitals quickly treat the victims. Within days, police launched the probe into the Aum Shinrikyo cult, eventually raiding its chemical weapons lab, and arresting those responsible for the attacks. The quick identification of the gas used came at an immense personal cost.
On that day, people were suffering, and the only thing we could do to help was identify the cause. That was our role.
That incident was very tough.
But without their difficult work, one of the worst terror attacks in Japan's history may have been even deadlier.
Now, let's check out the world's weather. People in Western Europe are dealing with back-to-back rainstorms. Our meteorologist Yumi Hirano has the details.
Authorities have ordered the closure of some highways in the city as a new storm approaches. Some parks have already been flooded.
Officials are urging residents to avoid areas with rivers.
Reuters says the upside is the back-to-back storms in the country have helped end of a long-term drought.
So the next storm is expected to move over the peninsula to France over the weekend. It will bring more rain, leading to additional flooding. On top of that, gusts of over 100 kilometers per hour are possible. People should watch out for stormy conditions. Showers are also possible in Lisbon, Rome, and Paris. Berlin will see sunny skies with a high of 18, which is 10 degrees higher than usual.
Speaking of well above average temperatures, warm air is coupling much of East Asia on Friday. It was 27 in Beijing, which is the highest so far this year. Tokyo had snow on Wednesday, but the temperature reached 17 on Friday. Sunny and warm conditions are expected to continue over the weekend. Beijing will have 27 again on Saturday. Shanghai also will see 27. Seoul and Tokyo will have over 20.
Because of this warm weather, cherry blossoms are expected to bloom soon in Japan. Tokyo may see flowers on Monday, March 24. Kyoto is famous for its landmarks and it's expected to see blooms next Friday.
That's it for the weather. Have a nice weekend.
♫～
And that's all for this edition of NHK Newsline. I'm Yamaguchi Hiroaki. Thanks for staying with us.
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