Follow the latest updates on Afghanistan here
Thousands of Afghans desperate to escape the Taliban’s return to power flooded the tarmac at Hamid Karzai International Airport on Monday, as evacuation efforts descended into chaos.
Videos on social media showed hundreds of people swarming the tarmac as US military transport aircraft took off, with some even clinging on to the planes as they sped down the runway.
Other videos showed people falling from the aircraft as they climbed away from the Afghan capital.
With land borders now under the control of the insurgents, the airport is the last remaining exit point and there are fears that option may close soon.
US soldiers sent in to try to provide some security at the airport killed two armed men who brandished weapons at them, American media reported.
The US is sending another 1,000 troops to help safeguard the airport, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said, aimed at bringing a semblance of order to evacuations.
Mr Kirby said the US had suspended flights until the situation could be brought under control.
In a video for local news, former president Hamid Karzai and Abdullah Abdullah appeared together in a video and spoke of efforts to bring the situation in Afghanistan back to normal.
Mr Karzai and Mr Abdullah said that along with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, they are in talks with the Taliban leadership to achieve countrywide peace and security. Their main effort is to maintain calm in Kabul, they said.
US President Joe Biden was due to give a national address on the crisis in Afghanistan on Monday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said her country must urgently evacuate as many people as it could from Afghanistan, for whose safety it is responsible.
Speaking at a closed-door meeting of her Christian Democrat party on Monday, Ms Merkel said: "We are witnessing difficult times. Now we must focus on the rescue mission."
Those needing to leave included 2,500 Afghan support staff as well as human rights activists, lawyers and others whom the government sees as being at risk if they remain in Afghanistan, up to 10,000 altogether.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Germany was seeking to evacuate as many people at risk as it could, and that Nato allies had misjudged the situation when they thought Afghan government forces could hold back the Taliban unaided.
"We want to get as many people out of the country as quickly as possible," Mr Maas told reporters outside the Foreign Ministry.
The Afghan ambassador to the UN, Ghulam Isaczai, called for a humanitarian corridor to be set up to allow Afghans to leave the country at an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Monday.
He said he was "speaking on behalf of millions of people in Afghanistan whose fate hangs in the balance" after the Taliban takeover.
The UN must call on the Taliban to cease targeted killings and revenge attacks, he said.
He asked the UN not to recognise a Taliban government and urged the international community to help humanitarian support reach the Afghan people.
British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said the Taliban takeover was a "failure of the international community" and that Western military intervention in the country was incomplete.
"All of us know that Afghanistan is not finished. It's an unfinished problem for the world and the world needs to help it," he told the BBC.
HR McMaster, a former US national security adviser who was sacked by Donald Trump in 2018, accused his country of "wilful ignorance" over its failure to realise the Taliban would swiftly take control of Afghanistan.
Mr Wallace and Mr McMaster strongly criticised of a deal agreed to by Mr Trump during his time as president.
Under the deal, the US was to withdraw all of its troops by May 2021 in exchange for security guarantees from the militants.
The deal weakened the Afghan government and security forces and strengthened the Taliban, Mr McMaster said.
Meanwhile, Bahrain announced it would initiate consultations with the other Gulf Arab monarchies regarding the situation in Afghanistan in its capacity as current head of the Gulf Co-operation Council.
"The council of ministers has tasked the foreign minister to co-ordinate and consult with the GCC states regarding the developments in Afghanistan, in the framework of Bahraini presidency" of the group which also includes Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Oman, the kingdom's government media office said on Twitter.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Unresolved crisis
Russia and Ukraine have been locked in a bitter conflict since 2014, when Ukraine’s Kremlin-friendly president was ousted, Moscow annexed Crimea and then backed a separatist insurgency in the east.
Fighting between the Russia-backed rebels and Ukrainian forces has killed more than 14,000 people. In 2015, France and Germany helped broker a peace deal, known as the Minsk agreements, that ended large-scale hostilities but failed to bring a political settlement of the conflict.
The Kremlin has repeatedly accused Kiev of sabotaging the deal, and Ukrainian officials in recent weeks said that implementing it in full would hurt Ukraine.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
LIVERPOOL%20TOP%20SCORERS
%3Cp%3E(Premier%20League%20only)%3Cbr%3EMohamed%20Salah%20129%3Cbr%3ERobbie%20Fowler%20128%3Cbr%3ESteven%20Gerrard%20120%3Cbr%3EMichael%20Owen%20118%3Cbr%3ESadio%20Mane%2090%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
TOURNAMENT INFO
Women’s World Twenty20 Qualifier
Jul 3- 14, in the Netherlands
The top two teams will qualify to play at the World T20 in the West Indies in November
UAE squad
Humaira Tasneem (captain), Chamani Seneviratne, Subha Srinivasan, Neha Sharma, Kavisha Kumari, Judit Cleetus, Chaya Mughal, Roopa Nagraj, Heena Hotchandani, Namita D’Souza, Ishani Senevirathne, Esha Oza, Nisha Ali, Udeni Kuruppuarachchi
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
More about Middle East geopolitics
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5