The British embassy’s new tenants in Kabul cannot understand why the diplomatic staff have not returned since the Taliban took control.
“Why don’t they come back?” one of the Taliban commanders escorting us asks.
He knows we are British and pushes us further. I wonder briefly whether he’s taunting us. After a 20-year war in which the Taliban see themselves as routing some of the toughest and richest armies in the world, the fighters we see at multiple checkpoints in the city have a relaxed air of confidence about them.
“They say they believe in human rights,” the commander goes on, referring to the embassy staff, “so why aren’t they here? It is safe in Kabul now. Why don’t they return?”
I do not think he is really expecting an answer. He certainly doesn’t wait for one from me.
Advertisement
Another commander invites the British diplomats to return “today, tomorrow, whenever”, adding: “We will be happy to have them here.”
But after two decades of fighting those they viewed as among the “invaders” of their country, their invitation is likely to be viewed with much caution back in Westminster.
More on Afghanistan
Related Topics:
As we walk around the embassy complex with the Taliban guards, it strikes us as eerily quiet. There are a few personal possessions which have spilled or been pulled out of a suitcase and are laying on the pavement outside the offices.
Among the clothes, there are greeting cards still in their plastic wrappers inside the case. A British army flag is spread out nearby and there’s a blue flak jacket which has been draped over the gate which once protected the embassy staff working behind it.
A storeroom appears to have been ransacked and food supplies including scores of tin cans are scattered outside.
“We have not touched anything,” the Taliban fighters tell us. “We are not allowed to. Everything is intact.”
They go on to say that other “mujahideen” came in before them. “They were thieves,” one says.
A large clock lying on the ground is still ticking. It reminds us of the infamous words said to have been uttered by one Taliban commander 20 years ago who apparently remarked: “You have the watches, but we have the time.”
In the end, just sitting it out and waiting worked. The empty British embassy seems a metaphor for the failed mission.
There are Taliban flags everywhere now. It is Taliban flags which fly from every government building and line the streets and it is Taliban soldiers, fighters and enforcers imposing the new rules.
The front of the US embassy has been painted over with Taliban slogans. A couple of children are outside selling white Talib flags. How quickly the situation has changed in the country.
As we are being taken round the Canadian embassy, Abdul Malik, the Taliban commander in charge of security there, invites us to film the rubbish bags filled with empty bottles of alcohol. “This is against sharia law,” he tells us.
“They must have had a lot of money to drink this much…they used to eat good food, get drunk, and then have sex with each other.”
It is bizarre wandering round this compound, once so heavily guarded against terror attacks, now deserted apart from its Taliban guards. In the Canadian embassy grounds, a tortoise ambles its way across the forecourt to the amusement of the Talibs who prod and stare at it.
“Why did they bring this here?” one asks us. The answer escapes us all but like everything else in the compound, it’s now under new ownership: a Taliban tortoise.
The commander lambasts the international community for having left the country. “Where is your help and support?” he asks us.
“Instead you’re always shouting we’re terrorists…come and see the Taliban government and compare us to the previous one…analyse their security and look at ours.”
Like several of the commanders we spoke to, he wants “normal” relations with the rest of the world. About 80% of Afghanistan’s money comes from foreign donations or aid. The country simply cannot afford to be ostracised.
In a direct appeal to diplomats, politicians and business people, he said: “Come and start your work again. No one will hurt you…it’s diplomatic relations and it’s the right of every country. You must do it and we must do it.”
But plenty in his own country are not reassured. Two young journalists working for the Etilaatroz newspaper say they were badly beaten and tortured by the Taliban for covering a women’s protest demanding more freedoms.
The journalists were taken to a police station in the city and say they were held in separate rooms and then whipped with cables. The pain was so intense both say they passed out. There are huge weals and extensive bruising on their backs, shoulders, thighs and buttocks.
Taqi Daryabi, 22, said: “What they did is not what a human should do to another human…but what the Taliban did, it’s in the past and gone and I’m not afraid or scared.”
Both he and his fellow journalist, Neamatullah Naqdi, insist they will carry on reporting.
“No, this won’t stop me, because it’s my profession and I will continue. I won’t stop. I’m informing people what’s happening and no one will stop us doing this.”
But their editor-in-chief warns this is just the beginning and appealed for both Afghan journalists and those outside to stick together.
“It will happen again and it will get worse,” Zaki Daryabi said.
“These journalists were tortured. No other explanation. They were beaten and tortured for doing their job.
“We need the international community to stand with us and insist the Taliban are held to account because this will have a terrible impact on media freedom and everyone’s freedoms in this country.”
Michael Cohen, Donald Trump’s former “thug” and “pit bull”, has been accused of lying about a phone call he says he made to the former US president about payments to ex porn star Stormy Daniels.
Cohen, a lawyer who worked for the Trump Organisation from 2006 to 2017, has been giving evidence in the case about hush money payments to Ms Daniels – in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump’s lawyer, Todd Blanche, called into question an important detail – a phone call made by Cohen to Trump’s assistant, Keith Schiller, on 24 October 2016.
Follow Sky News on WhatsApp
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Cohen, 57, has maintained that during that call he spoke to Trump (who was either given the phone by Mr Schiller or placed on loudspeaker – we don’t know which) and told him he had paid Ms Daniels $130,000 in hush money on his behalf.
But Mr Blanche called this into doubt – showing the jury a number of interactions suggesting Cohen was in contact with Mr Schiller about a different issue at the same time, namely that he was receiving harassing phone calls and texts from a 14-year-old child.
“That was a lie – you did not talk to President Trump on that night, you talked to Keith Schiller about what we just went through,” Mr Blanche said.
Cohen said that, based on his records, he believes he spoke to Trump about the Stormy Daniels matter.
“We are not asking for your belief,” Mr Blanche said. “This jury does not want to hear what you think happened.”
That exchange was part of several hours of questioning which apparently sought to paint a picture of Cohen as someone who is eager to see his former boss behind bars.
Mr Blanche played jurors audio clips of Cohen saying the case “fills me with delight” and that imagining Trump and his family in prison made him feel “giddy with hope and laughter”.
“Does the outcome of this trial affect you personally?” Mr Blanche asked.
“Yes,” Cohen replied. He is due to return to the witness stand on Monday.
Cohen worked as the former president’s fixer. He once described himself as Trump’s “spokesman, thug, pit bull and lawless lawyer”.
He once said he would take a bullet for his boss and admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Trump.
Hush money payouts are not illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
Cristiano Ronaldo has topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes for the fourth time in his career.
Spanish golfer Jon Rahm took second place following his switch to Saudi-backed LIV Golf.
Ronaldo became the world’s highest-paid athlete after his move to Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr and Forbes said the 39-year-old’s estimated total earnings were around $260m (£205m) – an all-time high for a football player.
His on-field earnings amounted to $200m (£158m) while off-field he earned $60m (£47m) thanks to sponsorship deals where brands make use of his 629 million Instagram followers.
Rahm earned $218m (£172m) and joins Ronaldo as the only two athletes to earn over $200m.
Third on the list is record eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi, who switched to Major League Soccer team Inter Miami, which helped the Argentine World Cup winner earn $135m (£107m).
The 36-year-old earned $65m (£51m) in on-field earnings but $70m (£55m) off it from deals with major sponsors such as Adidas and Apple.
Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James came in fourth at $128m (£101m), while fellow NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks made fifth with $111m (£88m).
France football captain Kylian Mbappe dropped down to sixth with $110m (£87m).
Advertisement
Neymar, who also moved to the Saudi Pro League to join Al-Hilal, is seventh with $108m (£85m), despite sitting out the majority of the season with a torn ACL.
French striker Karim Benzema, who also moved to Saudi Arabia, is eighth on the list with $106m (£84m), followed by Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry with $102m (£80m).
Lamar Jackson is the only NFL player on the list, in 10th place with $101m (£80m), thanks to the signing bonus negotiated into his new Baltimore Ravens contract last year.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, is “under missile attack”, its mayor has said.
Ihor Terekhov made his comment not long after regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said at least five Russian drones had struck the northeastern city late on Thursday.
Mr Terekhov said the city’s Osnovyanskyi district had been hit, triggering a fire.
It is unclear whether there have been casualties.
Fabrice Deprez, a journalist reporting from Ukraine, said on X he had “lost count of the number of explosions shaking Kharkiv right now – a dozen or more in the past hour”.
An air raid alert lasted more than 16-and-a-half hours, public broadcaster Suspilne said – the longest alert since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.