LIVE: 5,800 US troops now in Kabul to help with evacuations, says official

Afghanistan crisis LIVE updates: Taliban's sudden victory, which comes as the US withdraws from the country following a 20-year-war, has sparked chaos

6:35 PM

Refugee group: 32 Afghans trapped between Poland and Belarus

A Polish refugee rights group said Friday that 32 people who fled Afghanistan have been trapped for 12 days in an area between Poland and Belarus while caught up in a standoff between the two countries, AP reported.

The group, Fundacja Ocalenie, called on Polish authorities to allow the people to apply for refugee status in Poland, saying they have the right to do so.

Polish authorities are refusing to let them in, and Belarusian guards will not let them return.

6:23 PM

Fitch Solutions says 10%-20% GDP collapse possible for Afghanistan

A collapse in Afghanistan's gross domestic product of 10% to 20% cannot be ruled out following the Taliban's takeover of the country, the research and risk analysis arm of rating agency Fitch told Reuters.
 

"It is hard to see how the country will achieve any positive growth this year," Anwita Basu, Head of Asia Country Risk, Fitch Solutions, said on Friday.

5:56 PM

Greek PM, Turkish president to discuss Afghan developments

Greece's prime minister and Turkey's president are to speak on Friday evening to discuss the latest developments in Afghanistan, the Greek prime minister's office announced, as both countries raise concerns about a potential major influx of people fleeing Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover, AP reported.

 

Greece has repeatedly said it will not allow a repetition of 2015, when hundreds of thousands of people crossed to Greek islands from the nearby Turkish coast before heading through Greece and the Balkans north toward more prosperous countries in the European Union.

 

Greece's prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, would be speaking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at 7:30 pm local time (1630 GMT), Mitsotakis' office said.

5:54 PM

President Biden is brushing off criticism of his administration's chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal: report

5:53 PM

Informal US refugee network turns to text messages, GoFundMe to rescue Afghans

5:23 PM

Merkel and Putin to discuss Afghanistan, other 'big' issues

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin are set to hold talks in Moscow on Friday amid the crisis unfolding in Afghanistan and as Russia's treatment of opposition politician Alexei Navalny and Ukraine remain a source of ongoing tension between the two leaders' countries, AP reported.

Other challenging issues that are certain to play a role in the meeting are a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany opposed by the United States, the repression of dissent in Belarus, and allegations that the Belarusian government has channeled migrants into Latvia, Lithuania and Poland with the aim of destabilizing the European Union.

5:18 PM

Afghans at risk "have no clear way out" - UN refugee agency

5:15 PM

US struggles to speed Kabul airlift despite Taliban, chaos: AP

4:27 PM

Afghan women workers hold gathering to air concerns on female representation in future govt

4:23 PM

Maharashtra NGO seeks permission from Modi to 'adopt' stranded Afghan students

4:22 PM

First Australian rescue flight from Afghanistan touches down in Perth

3:52 PM

Republican senators seek accountability from Biden admin for US military equipment seized by Taliban

Over two dozen Republican senators have sought accountability from the Biden administration over billions of dollars worth of US sensitive military equipment seized by the Taliban in Afghanistan and warned about the possibility of the insurgents seeking help from countries like Russia, Pakistan, Iran and China to use them, PTI reported.

 

In the letter to Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, senators Bill Cassidy, Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and 22 Senate Republicans expressed grave concern regarding the status of high-tech US military equipment left behind in Afghanistan as a result of "our poorly executed withdrawal" from the country.

 

The Taliban insurgents swept Kabul on Sunday after the US-backed Afghan government collapsed and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country, bringing an unprecedented end to a two-decade campaign in which the US and its allies had tried to transform the war-ravaged nation.

3:52 PM

Local Taliban leaders inspect shut consulates

There are reports that local Taliban leaders are inspecting consulates of various countries located in Kandahar, Herat, Mazhar-e-Sharif and several other cities, it is learnt some local warlords had also reportedly checked some Indian consulates and other nearby buildings, ANI reported.

 

Earlier this month, India had closed all its consulates in Afghanistan and all the Indian staff was evacuated. The Indian embassy in Kabul is functional only and local staff is providing consular service.

 

The Indian embassy in Kabul is totally secure and no one has come or searched the mission, the source told ANI.

3:51 PM

Pakistan determined to play 'positive role' in Afghanistan: Qureshi

Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Friday said Pakistan is determined to play a "positive role" in Afghanistan as he appealed to the Taliban insurgents and former rulers of the war-ravaged country to formulate an all-inclusive political government after mutual consultations, PTI reported.

Qureshi said that nobody is ready to face bloodshed in Afghanistan and people are looking for peace and stability in the country that has been taken over by the Taliban insurgents.

Pakistan is determined to play its positive role, he said. Our envoy in Afghanistan is also in touch with different Afghan personalities, he said in a statement.

3:23 PM

NATO pledges to speed evacuations from Afghanistan as criticism mounts