Crushed as far as the eye can see: Clock is ticking for thousands queuing to escape as Taliban beat Afghans with canes
Every day the scene outside the British evacuation camp changes, every day it seems to get worse and this day there is a new sense of desperation.
Collectively I think the thousands queuing outside in burning temperatures know that the clock is ticking on how long this airlift will go on for.
Nobody is saying it, but you can feel it.
I’ve had tears in my eyes most of this dreadful day.
British soldiers on containers, which have been put on the road to keep the gates of the UK compound clear
The narrow road that passes the compound, so often jammed with people right up to the doors of the entrance, is now blocked by two shipping containers.
It means that there is at least some breathing space for the soldiers to attempt to process people – although it’s still chaotic.
Beyond the containers and beyond a line of paratroopers standing behind riot shields, it is quite simply horrendous.
Thousands, maybe tens of thousands, crushed as far as the eye can see.
At the front, Taliban militants beat Afghans with canes.
Sergeant Major Daz Mcmahon says the experience has been tough for the British soldiers
There is nothing the civilians can do and nothing the paras can do – but hold the line.
I’ve seen many bad things, but right now I can’t think of anything worse.
It’s hard to put into words how desperate this is – but most of the people I have seen over the barricade will not get through.
Sergeant Major Daz Mcmahon has a British man’s passports – he clambers on to the shipping containers and calls him forward.
A Talib fighter lets him through, the sergeant major passes the passports back and tells him to wait.
The containers have been put on the road to keep the gates of the British compound clear, they’re trying to funnel people through, and even British passport holders wait their turn.
All the time soldiers are called up to reinforce the human wall beyond.
On this side of the containers, it’s better, but not by much. Again, thousands penned in as the identification process goes on.
Outside the compound, British and American troops are now working together trying to differentiate the countries the evacuees should be going to.
It’s organised, but there are so many people, it’s an almost impossible task. I asked Sgt Maj Mcmahon if the whole experience has been tough on his men, he lets out a deep breath, shakes his head and says yes.
I said to him it appears to ebb and flow, sometimes it’s quiet, most of the time it’s pandemonium.
“It’s often calm but then it gets very hot, and the people who cause the most trouble and agitate the crowd are probably the ones who don’t have the right paperwork,” he replied.
“We’re not gonna be here forever.”
A man who said he worked for the Americans for five years claimed he was looking for a military contact called Spencer
In the crowd we spot an Afghan man holding a banner with the name “Spencer” on it. I asked him who Spencer was.
He said he’d worked for the Americans for five years, and that “Spencer” was the military contact who had vouched for him.
He told us he was looking for Spencer, but he wasn’t sure if Spencer had come – or ever would.
He said: “Spencer is someone who’s supposed to get here and help us out. We’ve been in contact… but this is crazy, no-one is helping and I don’t know – if this keeps going, no-one will get help, we are requesting the government to fix this.”
We watch on as British soldiers spot a baby in danger, they take control
It’s hot, blisteringly hot. There are women and children everywhere you look. We watch on as British soldiers spot a baby in danger, they take control.
With a family in tow they make their way through to the British compound.
These are combat soldiers remember, but they also care about what’s happening to the people here.
Over the heads of the crowds of the evacuees, another transporter plane takes off. The sound is deafening, everyone looks up.
That’s what they’re here for – the flight to safety.
And in the midst of all this, sometimes, just sometimes, you see joy breaking out.
Wahid Zahid and his family are going to the UK
Wahid Zahid and his family are going to the UK – it’s been agreed.
He was a British military interpreter in Helmand Province, and tells us he got the call last night. He came straight to the airport with his wife and children.
He told us this is a happy day for him and his family.
He said: “I’m going to go to Britain, this is my first trip to Britain.”
“It was very scary, like a ‘zombieland’,” he told me, describing the scenes beyond the containers.
He can’t wait to get to Britain, and wants his children to grow to be engineers and doctors “to serve the Afghanistan people and also the British”.
Time is running out for this evacuation there is no doubting that – it’s just a matter of how long.
Not everyone who should go will go. The majority in the streets outside the container barricade will not.
Very soon they’re on their own.
World
Stock markets slump for second day running after Trump announces tariffs – in worst day for indexes since COVID
Worldwide stock markets have plummeted for the second day running as the fallout from Donald Trump’s global tariffs continues.
While European and Asian markets suffered notable falls, American indexes were the worst hit, with Wall Street closing to a sea of red on Friday following Thursday’s rout – the worst day in US markets since the COVID-19 pandemic.
As it happened: Worst week’s trading in five years
All three of the US’s major indexes were down by more than 5% at market close; The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 5.5%, the S&P 500 was 5.97% lower, and the Nasdaq Composite slipped 5.82%.
The Nasdaq was also 22% below its record-high set in December, which indicates a bear market.
Read more: What’s a bear market?
Ever since the US president announced the tariffs on Wednesday evening, analysts estimate that around $4.9trn (£3.8trn) has been wiped off the value of the global stock market.
Mr Trump has remained unapologetic as the markets struggle, posting in all-caps on Truth Social before the markets closed that “only the weak will fail”.
The UK’s leading stock market, the FTSE 100, also suffered its worst daily drop in more than five years, closing 4.95% down, a level not seen since March 2020.
And the Japanese exchange Nikkei 225 dropped by 2.75% at end of trading, down 20% from its recent peak in July last year.
US indexes had the worst day of trading since the COVID-19 pandemic. Pic: Reuters
Trump holds trade deal talks – reports
It comes as a source told CNN that Mr Trump has been in discussions with Vietnamese, Indian and Israeli representatives to negotiate bespoke trade deals that could alleviate proposed tariffs on those countries before a deadline next week.
The source told the US broadcaster the talks were being held in advance of the reciprocal levies going into effect next week.
Vietnam faced one of the highest reciprocal tariffs announced by the US president this week, with 46% rates on imports. Israeli imports face a 17% rate, and Indian goods will be subject to 26% tariffs.
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Do Trump’s tariffs add up?
Read more:
Markets gave Trump a clear no-confidence vote
There were no winners from Trump’s tariff gameshow
China – hit with 34% tariffs on imported goods – has also announced it will issue its own levy of the same rate on US imports.
Mr Trump said China “played it wrong” and “panicked – the one thing they cannot afford to do” in another all-caps Truth Social post earlier on Friday.
Later, on Air Force One, the US president told reporters that “the beauty” of the tariffs is that they allow for negotiations, referencing talks with Chinese company ByteDance on the sale of social media app TikTok.
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Tariffs: Xi hits back at Trump
He said: “We have a situation with TikTok where China will probably say, ‘We’ll approve a deal, but will you do something on the tariffs?’
“The tariffs give us great power to negotiate. They always have.”
World
Financial markets were always going to respond to Trump tariffs but they’re also battling with another problem
South Korea’s constitutional court has confirmed the dismissal of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who was impeached in December after declaring martial law.
His decision to send troops onto the streets led to the country’s worst political crisis in decades.
The court ruled to uphold the impeachment saying the conservative leader “violated his duty as commander-in-chief by mobilising troops” when he declared martial law.
The president was also said to have taken actions “beyond the powers provided in the constitution”.
Demonstrators stayed overnight near the constitutional court. Pic: AP
Supporters and opponents of the president gathered in their thousands in central Seoul as they awaited the ruling.
The 64-year-old shocked MPs, the public and international allies in early December when he declared martial law, meaning all existing laws regarding civilians were suspended in place of military law.
Read more from Sky News:
Highs and lows of Five-Year Keir
MP tells Sky News she was targeted online by Tate brothers
The court was under heavy police security guard ahead of the announcement. Pic: AP
After suddenly declaring martial law, Mr Yoon sent hundreds of soldiers and police officers to the National Assembly.
He has argued that he sought to maintain order, but some senior military and police officers sent there have told hearings and investigators that Mr Yoon ordered them to drag out politicians to prevent an assembly vote on his decree.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
The unanimous verdict to uphold parliament’s impeachment and remove Mr Yoon from office required the support of at least six of the court’s eight justices.
South Korea must hold a national election within two months to find a new leader.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the main liberal opposition Democratic Party, is the early favourite to become the country’s next president, according to surveys.
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