Defiant Biden stands ‘squarely’ behind decision to pull US troops out of Afghanistan despite Taliban takeover
Joe Biden says he stands “squarely” behind his decision to pull US troops out of Afghanistan.
The US president spoke after the Taliban entered Kabul and swept to power in the country – 20 years after they were removed in the US-led invasion.
Mr Biden said the US mission in Afghanistan was never supposed to be nation-building.
“I stand squarely behind my decision,” he said – though he did admit the collapse of the Afghan government was quicker than anticipated.
President Joe Biden gives an address on Afghanistan
He said the rapid end of the Afghan government only vindicates his choice to end the conflict.
He blamed the Taliban’s takeover on Afghan political leaders who fled the country and the Afghan army’s unwillingness to fight.
The president has also blamed his predecessor, Donald Trump, for empowering the Taliban and leaving them “in the strongest position militarily since 2001”.
“American troops cannot and should not be fighting the war, and dying in a war that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves,” Mr Biden added.
The US leader has downplayed the prospect of an ascendant Taliban for months while arguing that Americans of all political persuasions have tired of a 20-year war.
As the Taliban regained control, the US, the UK and other countries scrambled to evacuate their citizens and local allies.
Mr Biden returned to the White House earlier on Monday. Pic: AP
Mr Biden warned the Taliban not to interfere with the US evacuation effort, threatening “devastating force, if necessary”.
Thousands of Afghans rushed into Kabul’s main airport, plunging it into chaos.
Some were so desperate to escape the Taliban that they held on to a military jet as it took off, and fell to their deaths, with senior US military officials claiming seven people died in the chaos.
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Kabul airport chaos as people cling to plane
A US official said soldiers had fired in the air to deter people trying to force their way onto the military flight that was set to take US diplomats and embassy staff out of the fallen city.
Another US official later said forces protecting the airport in Kabul had killed two gunmen in separate incidents.
A third official described the crowd trying to get onto the tarmac at the airport as “out of control”.
And other images showed people dragging children over barbed wire fences, climbing on to an airbridge that allows people to walk on to an aircraft from a terminal and on to the undercarriage housing of a military plane taxiing along the runway.
People attempt to leap over a wall into Kabul airport
Other footage distributed by Afghan media and on social media was said to show at least one person falling from the undercarriage of a military plane that had taken off.
A Pentagon spokesman said on Monday night that the airfield at Kabul’s airport had reopened after a pause during the day.
He added that it would be wrong to conclude that the military did not view the Taliban overrunning Afghanistan, including Kabul, as a “distinct possibility”.
The Taliban is expected to announce that Afghanistan is now the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, under Sharia law.
Taliban officials have declared war in Afghanistan is over and it is in charge of 90% of government buildings, amid allegations of revenge killings, brutal tactics, and some looting and lawlessness.
President Ashraf Ghani fled the country on Sunday as the Islamists began to enter Kabul virtually unopposed – despite ongoing but short-lived resistance elsewhere – saying he wanted to avoid bloodshed.
Roads around Kabul became blocked as people rushed to the airport
People were seen clinging to planes taking off from the international airport
Afghanistan’s ambassador to the UN said on Monday that the body’s Security Council must “use every means at its disposal to call for an immediate cessation of violence” in his country, and “respect for human right and international humanitarian law”.
He urged all members of the United Nations not to recognise any administration that achieves power by force or government that is not inclusive.
The Taliban have been accused of brutally enforcing their own strict version of Sharia, or Islamic law
At a meeting of the UN Security Council convened following the Taliban’s apparent victory, official Afghan ambassador Ghulam Isaczai said: “I’m speaking for millions of Afghan girls and women who are about to lose their freedom… thousands of human rights defenders, journalists, academics, civil servants… whose lives are at risk… thousands of internally displaced people who are in desperate need of shelter and protection.
“We are extremely concerned about the Taliban not honouring their commitments… We’ve witnessed time and again how Taliban have broken their promises in the past. We have seen gruesome images of Taliban mass executions, of military personnel and targeted killings of civilians in Kandahar and other big cities.”
The UK’s Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Monday evening that the UK government was “surprised by the scale and the pace” with which the Taliban took control of Afghanistan.
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Ensuring ‘gains aren’t lost’ top priority
He revealed that 150 British nationals would be arriving back in the UK in the early hours of the morning, with a further 350 Britons and Afghan nationals arriving in the coming days.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson intends to host a virtual meeting of G7 leaders and has stepped up efforts to evacuate UK nationals and others from Kabul.
Number 10 said he spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday about how the two countries could work together to recognise any future Afghan government, as well as try to prevent a humanitarian and refugee crisis.
Many other countries which have been involved in the efforts to rebuild the country amid two decades of war with the Taliban have also started pulling out their diplomatic staff and continued attempting to evacuate their civilians and Afghans who had helped them.
A Taliban fighter runs towards a crowd outside Kabul airport
Among the countries planning to pull out staff was Russia, which launched an invasion in 1979 and fought mujahideen including members of the Taliban during a 10-year war. It came as the Taliban deployed guards to the Russian embassy.
The first group of evacuated Britons and embassy staff arrived at RAF Brize Norton on Sunday night, the Ministry of Defence confirmed.
There were reported to be 4,000 Britons in Afghanistan and the UK has said it plans to ramp up efforts to evacuate up to 1,500 people from Afghanistan a day.
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been found guilty of transportation for prostitution following a landmark trial in New York – but cleared of more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering conspiracy.
The hip-hop mogul was accused by prosecutors of abusing and coercing three alleged victims, including his former long-term partner, singer and model Cassie Ventura, and other crimes including kidnapping, arson and blackmail.
Jurors decided not all the allegations were proven – but Combs still faces several years in prison after being convicted of transporting people across the US, including Cassie and another former girlfriend “Jane”, and paying male escorts to engage in sexual encounters.
However, with the not guilty verdict on three other more serious charges – racketeering conspiracy and two of sex trafficking – the 55-year-old has avoided a maximum possible sentence of life behind bars.
Despite a request by his defence team, he was denied bail ahead of sentencing – which has been scheduled for Friday 3 October.
Combs appeared upbeat in court as the verdict was announced. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
Marc Agnifilo, part of Diddy’s defence team, described the ruling as “a victory of all victories”.
Outside the courthouse, he said the jury “got the situation right, or certainly right enough”.
Another of his lawyers, Nicole Westmoreland, said: “He actually battled for his freedom, for his innocence, and he did it.
“And, you know, a lot of times, people are too afraid to do it. Today is a major win to show what the system can do.”
The mixed result from the jury came not long into their third day of deliberations. In the courtroom in Manhattan, there were cheers from Combs’s family – and the rapper himself held his hands up in a prayer motion, looking at the jury, and hugged his defence lawyer Teny Geragos.
His mood seemed very different to just a day earlier – when he learned the jury had reached a verdict on four of the five charges, but were split on the racketeering charge.
After deliberating for longer on Wednesday, they came to a unanimous decision.
As the verdict sunk in, Combs appeared overwhelmed, kneeling at his chair and bowing his head in prayer once again.
“I’ll be home soon,” he said as he faced his family members. “I love you, Mum.”
Combs later seemed to become overwhelmed with relief. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
The application for bail
Combs’s defence team argued that as he had been cleared of the most serious charges, he should be bailed ahead of sentencing.
His lawyer Marc Agnifilo said he had been a model prisoner and added: “He’s not going to flee. He’s been given his life back.”
But prosecutor Maurene Comey argued Combs had a history of violence, which Judge Arub Subramanian agreed with. “At trial, the defence conceded the defendant’s violence in his personal relationships,” he said.
After being denied bail, Combs attempted get the judge’s attention – but after consulting with Mr Agnifilo, he did not speak.
Casandra ‘Cassie’ was heavily pregnant when she gave evidence at the start of the trial. Pic: Jane Rosenberg/ Reuters
Cassie ‘paved the way’
Reacting to the verdict, Cassie’s lawyer Douglas H Wigdor said that although jurors did not find Combs guilty of sex-trafficking Cassie, she had “paved the way” for the other guilty verdicts.
“By coming forward with her experience, Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice,” he said.
“We must repeat – with no reservation – that we believe and support our client, who showed exemplary courage throughout this trial.”
Cassie, who testified heavily pregnant just three weeks before giving birth, displayed “unquestionable strength”, he added, and “brought attention to the realities of powerful men in our orbit”.
Videos of “freak off” sex sessions with male escorts were shown to jurors only during the seven-week trial, with the footage kept private from members of the public and media in court.
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
Former employees, along with escorts, hotel staff and police officers were among those to give evidence.
Cassie and Jane, who used a pseudonym, also testified. They told the court they were coerced into drug-fuelled “freak offs” – which were also referred to as “hotel nights” or “wild king nights” – with male escorts, and abused throughout their relationships.
Combs’s defence team presented a very different picture to show that sexual acts, including freak offs, were consensual.
They conceded the music star could be violent, had a bad temper and used drugs. He also had multiple relationships at the same time. But crucially, they said, while he was “not proud” of some of his behaviour, none of it made him guilty of the charges against him.
After hearing evidence of flights and travel for escorts and Cassie and Jane, paid for by Combs, as well as hotel bookings across the US and the Caribbean, jurors found him guilty of the transportation to engage in prostitution charges. However, they did not find that the allegations against the rapper amounted to sex trafficking or racketeering.
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CCTV footage shows Diddy ‘attacking’ Cassie in hotel
The Cassie hotel tape
Combs, known variously as Puff Daddy, P Diddy, and Diddy over the years, was once one of the most influential figures in hip-hop – famous as a producer, founder of Bad Boy Records and manager of the late Notorious BIG in the 1990s, as well as a rapper in his own right.
As an artist, he won three Grammys during his career, and had hits including I’ll Be Missing You, Come With Me, and Bad Boy For Life.
In September 2023, he received the “global icon” award from MTV and was given the key to New York City at a ceremony in Times Square, just a few miles away from the streets in Harlem where he spent his first years.
Allegations first came to prominence in November 2023, when Cassie filed a bombshell lawsuit accusing him of coercing her into unwanted sex sessions, as well as blackmail and several incidences of violence.
The suit was settled in 24 hours – for $20m, it emerged during the trial – but months later CNN aired hotel security footage showing Combs punching and kicking Cassie and throwing her to the floor in 2016.
He apologised after the video aired, saying: “I was disgusted when I did it.”
Footage from the hotel incident was shown during the trial.
Following the verdict, the rapper now awaits sentencing. He also still faces several civil lawsuits, most of which were filed in the wake of his arrest in September 2024.
A man has pleaded guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022.
Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former criminal justice student, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings.
He was accused of sneaking into the rented home in Moscow, Idaho, which is not far from the university campus, and attacking Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and burglary.
It comes after he agreed to a plea deal, just weeks before his trial was set to begin, in a bid to avoid the death penalty.
Read more:
Surviving Idaho student ‘saw masked man in black clothing’
Idaho suspect ‘warned after making creepy comments’
Bryan Kohberger during a hearing in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho. Pic: Reuters
Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Xana’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin
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It is certainly big – 940 pages long – but on the question of beauty, Congress is divided.
Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has sparked ugly debate – both for its ambitious scope and for the political manoeuvring that’s gone on around it.
Elon Musk branded it “political suicide” for Republicans and threatened to fund challenges against those who back it in next year’s midterm elections.
But the president hit back, suggesting he would consider cutting Musk’s lucrative government contracts or even deporting him back to South Africa.
The “big, beautiful bill”, or HR 1 to give the proposed legislation its proper title, is Mr Trump’s signature spending and tax policy.
It extends tax cuts he secured in 2017 and bankrolls his second-term agenda in the White House.
File pic: Reuters
Here is a summary of the key points:
• Permanent tax cuts: Extending relief from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
• Small business support: Doubling the small business expensing limit to $2.5m (£1.8m) to help businesses expand and hire staff
• Child tax credit: Expanding the child tax credit and making it permanent, benefiting 40 million families
• Making housing affordable: Expanding the low-income housing tax credit to kickstart construction of affordable homes
• Defence and border security: Allocating $170bn (£123bn) for border security alone, including $46bn (£33bn) for completing the border wall
• Made-in-America incentives: Providing tax breaks and incentives for domestic manufacturing to promote US industry
• Healthcare and social welfare: Implementing restrictions on Medicaid, which provides healthcare for millions of Americans, and reducing funding for certain healthcare and nutrition programmes.
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Clash over ‘monster’ debt bill
Musk, Mr Trump’s former ally and the man who established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed the bill “raises the debt ceiling by $5trn, the biggest increase in history.”
“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” was President Trump’s response.
The national debt currently stands at $37trn (£27trn) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill could add $2.4trn (£1.7trn) to that over the next decade.
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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk
Bill splits Republican ranks
Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted against the bill and, following criticism from the president, announced he would not seek re-election in North Carolina.
He said he couldn’t support it due to his concerns about the impact cuts to Medicaid would have on people in his state.
Democrats in the Senate forced a full reading of all 940 pages and then a vote-a-rama, a series of marathon voting sessions.
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In the House of Representatives, it passed by a single vote, 215-214. In the Senate, Vice President JD Vance, had to cast the deciding vote to break a tie (50-50).
Legislatively, the progress of the bill has been a case study in the complexities of American law-making.
Strategically, it represents a mammoth effort to consolidate the president’s policy agenda and secure his legacy.
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