BREAKING: The Taliban have assured the US they will allow Afghans who wish to leave the country to do so after the 31 August deadline, the StateDept has said. Get the latest from Afghanistan:
Bloomberg reports that Joe Biden told key allies he would keep enough of a security presence in Afghanistan that meant they could continue to operate in Kabul.
Citizens' protection minister Michalis Chrisochoidis said the crisis had created "possibilities for migrant flows", adding:"We cannot wait, passively, for the possible impact.The Pentagon says US military evacuation flights will land in GermanyArmy Major General William Taylor said the US was grateful to Germany for its assistance in what was a"global" effort.
But Afghan war veteran Matt Zeller said Americans have the remarks"coming out of the United kingdom - our most special friends". US defence secretary Lloyd Austin told members of Congress that Americans had been beaten by the Taliban in Kabul, according to POLITICO congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio.It comes after Joe Biden claimed at a White House news briefing today that American passport holders are being let through by the Taliban in Kabul ."We have an agreement that they will let pass through the checkpoints - that they the Taliban control - let Americans through.
The US president was"trying to paint this picture" of America being the"only country in the world" capable of doing an airlift like this, he says.And although Mr Biden said there is no question of America's credibility, it's just"plain wrong", as there's been open criticism in London, Paris, Berlin and in Brussels at NATO.
On the Sky News Daily podcast, Katerina Vittozzi speaks to a young woman living in Kabul about the fears she has for herself and her family. We went to Afghanistan with the"express purpose" of tackling Al Qaeda and getting Osama Bin Laden, he adds. A viral video showing a baby being passed to a US soldier from a crowd at Kabul airport has been verified by the US military.
A Downing Street spokesperson added:"They also agreed that any recognition of a new Afghan Government should happen on a coordinated, rather than unilateral, basis."Deborah Ellis, who wrote 2000 novel The Breadwinner about children in Afghanistan, says that, going on the"past behaviour" of the Taliban, it"looks like it's going to be pretty grim".
The official said:"There was a brief operational pause because we got so many people out yesterday, there was a bit of a backup as they processed people at third-party countries.CNN correspondent Clarissa Ward reported that no US flights had left from Kabul for more than eight hours.
Pressed on whether he believes the Taliban's recent claims, Boris Johnson said:"I think it's very important that we take people at face value. We hope that they mean what they say." He said: "The whole government is working as hard as we can to make sure we not only extract those whom we owe debts of honour and obligation, but we get out the UK-eligible persons and we co-ordinate with our friends and partners around Europe but also in the region to make sure that of all the possible futures of Afghanistan - some of them pretty grim, others potentially much less grim - we help the people of Afghanistan to choose the best possible future.
Mr Raab has ignored calls to quit, after it emerged he didn't call his Afghan counterpart last Friday despite officials advising he should. He was on holiday in Crete at the time.The US State Department is expected to announce its evacuation flights from Kabul will now be able to land in Europe, according to the Reuters news agency.It comes as America aims to ramp up its effort to get US citizens and Afghans out of Afghanistan.
Refugees At Home co-founder Sara Nathan says the charity has received 100 new applications to become a host in a 48-hour period because of the crisis in Afghanistan. "The pictures from Kabul have been heartbreaking, I could not imagine the fear the females of Afghanistan must be feeling. If I can help even one girl or woman then as a human being I feel I should."US won't force people on evacuation flights to pay for them - reports
Pressed on NATO's position on recognising the Taliban as the government, he replies:"NATO is not a nation so NATO does not recognise states. But of course, allies can."
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