Why are the "sequence of tenses" rules not observed in some special cases? [closed]

Solution 1:

Posting this here, because it is too long for a comment. I might change it if the OP clarifies.

Given Sentence:

"The disappearances of two top Taliban figures from public view have prompted a spokesperson to deny that one of them had died, multiple outlets reported"

Breaking it up:
Two Taliban figures have disappeared and not seen in public (in last 5 days).
Hence, people started thinking (4 days ago) that this is because one of these Taliban figures has died.
In reality, he may be hiding or escaped to somewhere else or hospitalized or injured.
Taliban heard these rumors (3 days ago); these rumors have prompted a spokesperson to come out (2 days ago) to deny that he has died.
What the spokesperson said has being reported by "multiple outlets" maybe 2 days ago, but more likely, a little while before this Yahoo article was written.

The Crux of your Question:
Here, "These rumors have Prompted...." could also be written "These rumors had Prompted...."

This is because newspapers use tenses like that. It helps reduce the number of words in printing, and makes the news look fresh.
Consider "Biden has won" to "Biden wins".

More about Newspaper Tenses:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/1837_aae/page12.shtml
https://www.usingenglish.com/forum/threads/268001-Tenses-usage-in-news-reports
https://harshdivya.wordpress.com/2012/10/26/the-uses-of-the-present-tense-in-headlines-and-past-tense-in-news-reports/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_present
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/weblines/521.html