LIVE: 'More than 10,000 people at Kabul airport waiting to be evacuated'

Vladimir Putin has criticized the US and its allies for leaving Afghanistan in the chaos that raises potential security threats for Russia, its allies in Central Asia. Stay tuned for latest news

9:47 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: 2 US Congress members fly to Kabul amid choatic evacuation

Two members of US Congress flew unannounced into Kabul airport in the middle of the ongoing chaotic evacuation Tuesday, stunning State Department and US military personnel who had to divert resources to provide security and information to the lawmakers, American officials said.

 

Officials said Rep. Seth Moulton and Rep. Peter Meijer flew in on a charter aircraft and were on the ground at the Kabul airport for several hours.

 

Officials said the two men were flying out of Kabul on another charter aircraft, prompting officials to complain that they were taking seats that could have gone to other Americans or Afghans fleeing the country.

 

Two officials familiar with the flight said that State Department, Defence Department and White House officials were furious about the incident because it was done without coordination with diplomats or military commanders directing the evacuation.

 

The US military found out about the visit as the legislators' aircraft was inbound to Kabul, according to the officials. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing military operations.

9:43 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: Senior Taliban leader meets Chinese ambassador in Kabul

Abdul Salam Hanafi, the deputy head of the Taliban political office in Qatar, met with the Chinese Ambassador to Afghanistan Wang Yu in Kabul on Tuesday, a Taliban spokesperson said.

 

"They discussed the security of the Chinese embassy and diplomats, the current situation in Afghanistan, bilateral relations and China's humanitarian assistance," Sputnik quoting Mohammad Naeem tweet reported.

 

China has kept the embassy in Kabul open after the Taliban rapidly took control of the Afghan capital more than a week ago, prompting foreign nationals and their Afghan allies to seek immediate evacuation.

 

According to the earlier media reports, China is prepared to recognise the Taliban as the legitimate ruler of Afghanistan if the terrorist group manages to overpower the democratically elected government in Kabul.

9:21 AM

As anti-refugee sentiment builds in many countries, where do Afghans go?

Images of thousands of Afghans desperately trying to flee their country following a hasty U. S. withdrawal have provoked an international outcry.

 

As of Aug. 22, 2021, some 6,000 U. S. troops were working to evacuate U. S. military, American citizens and Afghans who are approved for Special Immigrant Visas. SIVs are a special program to protect Afghans who risked their lives working for U. S. troops in Afghanistan.

 

Germany, France, Italy and the U. K. are conducting smaller evacuation efforts for their nationals and some Afghans.

 

The pace of these poorly planned evacuations has been slow. They are taking place amid chaos in Kabul, where crowds are being confronted by violence from members of the now-ruling Taliban and U. S. forces and facing checkpoints that are near-impossible to pass.

 

Shaharzad Akbar, who leads the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, called the situation “failure upon failure.” Read on...

9:16 AM

Aug 31 deadline for Afghan evacuation depends on Taliban cooperation: Biden

President Joe Biden has said the US is on "a pace" to complete its evacuation mission in Afghanistan by August 31 and doesn't plan to have troops in the country past that date, but the completion of the deadline depends on cooperation from the Taliban.

 

The US has currently approximately 5,800 troops at the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul.

 

We are currently on a pace to finish (the evacuation mission) by August 31. The sooner we can finish, the better. Each day of operations brings added risk to our troops, Biden told reporters at the White House on Tuesday. Read on...

8:20 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: Mexico welcomes arrival of its 1st group of Afghan refugees

Mexico accepted its first group of refugees from Afghanistan as five women and one man arrived in Mexico City.

 

They were welcomed on Tuesday by Foreign Relations Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who told the group, Welcome to your home.

 

The young women, who had to travel through six countries to reach Mexico, have competed in robotics competitions. They fled Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country earlier this month. The Taliban have been hostile to women working or going to school after a certain age.

 

Ebrard said Mexico would grant them whatever legal status they consider best. That could include giving them asylum or refugee status.

8:09 AM

US has evacuated or helped to get approximately 70,700 people out of Afghanistan since August 14: Biden

The United States has evacuated or helped to get approximately 70,700 people out of Afghanistan since August 14. Since the end of July, the US has relocated nearly 75,900 people, US President Joe Biden said from White House

8:00 AM

G7 leaders, EU, NATO, United Nations have agreed to stand united in our approach to the Taliban: Joe Biden

G7 leaders, EU, NATO, United Nations have agreed to stand united in our approach to the Taliban. We'll judge them (Taliban) by their actions & we’ll stay in close coordination on any steps that we take moving forward in response to Taliban behavior: US President Joe Biden

7:50 AM

India news LIVE updates: Panchayat polls in Bihar will be held from September 24

Panchayat polls in Bihar will be held in a total of 11 phases. The first phase of voting will be held on September 24 and the last phase of voting will be held on December 12: Deepak Prasad, State Election Commissioner (SEC).

7:44 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: After turmoil at home, Afghans in Delhi grapple with safety and despair

On August 15, Suliman Siddiqui boarded a Kam Air flight with his grandparents from Kabul to New Delhi. By the time he landed, the Taliban had laid siege to the Afghanistan capital where life had been “normal” for the 21-year-old until hours ago.

 

It turned out to be the last commercial flight from Kabul to Delhi. Suliman’s grandfather, a heart patient, is being treated at a private hospital in Delhi, and they had booked a return ticket 25 days later. “Since we arrived, visas and flights have been cancelled, the airport is shut, our president has escaped, and the Taliban have control over all of Kabul. I am stuck here,” Suliman says. Read on...

7:31 AM

Legitimacy of Afghan govt depends on Taliban's approach to prevent it from being 'base for terrorism': Biden

The G-7 countries are united on its stand on Taliban and they agreed that the legitimacy of any future government in Afghanistan depends on the armed group's approach to prevent the war-torn nation from being used as a "base for terrorism, US President Joe Biden has said.

 

Biden's remarks on Tuesday came hours after a virtual meeting with the leaders of the G-7 bloc, the UN, NATO and the European Union. G-7 is an inter-governmental political forum of seven advanced nations comprising the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the UK.

 

The G-7 leaders and the leaders of the EU, NATO and the UN, all agreed that we will stand united in our approach to the Taliban," Biden told reporters at the White House.

 

"We agreed that the legitimacy of any future government (in Afghanistan) depends on the approach it (Taliban) now takes to uphold international obligations, including to prevent Afghanistan from being used as a base for terrorism, he said.

 

7:22 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: Trudeau says Canada to keep military in Afghanistan even after deadline

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Tuesday that Canada is to keep its military personnel in Afghanistan despite US President Joe Biden's commitment for the August 31 American military deadline in the country.

 

"Our commitment to Afghanistan doesn't end when this current phase, this current deadline comes. We will continue to put pressure on the Taliban to allow people to leave the country," Trudeau said.

 

"We're going to continue to work every single day to get as many people out alongside our allies. The commitment by our fellow G7 nations is clear: we're all going to work together to save as many people as possible," Trudeau added.

 

Trudeau's remarks came after the Tuesday virtual summit of G7 leaders who met to discuss whether an extension of the American military commitment to Afghanistan is needed for evacuating all foreign nationals and vulnerable Afghans who helped the Americans and the NATO allies before the country's recent fall to the Taliban.

 

7:10 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: Lawmakers from G-7 want India to be invited to the bloc's meetings on Afghan

Influential lawmakers from the G-7 countries have urged that India should be invited to attend the bloc's meetings that seeks to develop a common and united front for global security and regional stability in the aftermath of the Taliban taking control over Afghanistan.

 

US Senator Bob Menendez, who is also the Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and his counterparts from Italy, France, Germany, Japan, the UK and the European Parliament in a joint statement also said African Union should be invited to attend individual G-7 meetings when appropriate.

 

The withdrawal of US and allied forces from Afghanistan should not be misinterpreted by the global community as any weakening of resolve from G7 governments in taking all necessary measures to combat cross-border terrorism, to support regional cooperation or advance democratic values, Menendez and his counterparts from G-7 countries said in the joint statement.

 

7:00 AM

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: Trump slams Biden's Afghan policy

Former US President Donald Trump has slammed his successor Joe Biden on his Afghan policy and expressed concerns that thousands of terrorists might have been flown out of Afghanistan as part of the evacuation process.

 

Biden surrendered Afghanistan to terrorists and left thousands of Americans for dead by pulling out the military before our citizens, Trump said in a statement on Tuesday.

 

Now we are learning that out of the 26,000 people who have been evacuated, only 4,000 are Americans. You can be sure, the Taliban, who are now in complete control, didn't allow the best and brightest to board these evacuation flights.

 

Instead, we can only imagine how many thousands of terrorists have been airlifted out of Afghanistan and into neighbourhoods around the world. What a terrible failure. NO VETTING. How many terrorists will Joe Biden bring to America? We don't know! he said.