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The Taliban is rushing to work out how to govern Afghanistan after the militant Islamist group’s exiled leaders came back to a country that has changed profoundly since it was driven from power 20 years ago. While the Taliban has been setting up shadow governors and administrators to rule its conquered territory, the US has

The Taliban has urged public officials to return to work and renewed a pledge to grant amnesty to government workers a day after Joe Biden blamed Afghan security forces for their rapid capitulation to the insurgents. The Islamist group’s effort to reassure Afghans came as evacuation flights resumed from Kabul, following a chaotic day at

The fall of Kabul to the Taliban — 20 years after it was driven out — will end American influence in Afghanistan, probably for decades. In that sense, it is comparable to the overthrow of the Shah of Iran in 1979, the fall of Saigon in 1975 or the Cuban revolution of 1959. With the

China has said it will respect the “choices” of the Afghan people, in the first sign that Beijing was ready to give its cautious support to a Taliban-led government in Kabul. “The situation in Afghanistan has already undergone a major transformation and we respect the wishes and choices of the Afghan people,” said Hua Chunying,

Afghans were bracing themselves for life under strict Islamic rule on Monday after the Taliban drove the US-backed government of Ashraf Ghani from power to establish control of Kabul. Thousands of residents filled the airport and throngs of people tried to push their way on to planes in a desperate effort to flee after the

Just six weeks ago, Joe Biden seemed confident that the 300,000 men of the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces had the training, equipment and competence to hold off a Taliban takeover of the country after the US withdrew its military forces. “The likelihood there’s going to be the Taliban overrunning everything and owning the

Britain’s defence secretary has warned that Afghanistan risks descending into civil war and becoming a failed state as the Taliban captures large cities and gains ground in the wake of the hasty US troop withdrawal. The Islamist militia is now in control of Kandahar, Afghanistan’s second-biggest city, and Lashkar Gah in Helmand province after weeks

The US and UK will deploy troops to help evacuate staff from their embassies in Kabul as the Taliban continues its lightning rout of provincial capitals in Afghanistan following president Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw American troops. The Pentagon said it was sending 3,000 troops to Kabul in the next 24-48 hours to help with

The White House has called on Opec to boost oil production in an effort to curb high gasoline prices that Biden administration officials say “risk harming the ongoing global recovery”. Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said in a statement on Wednesday that while Opec and its allies had “recently agreed to production increases”,

The US Senate passed a sweeping $1tn infrastructure bill on Tuesday in a major victory for Joe Biden and congressional Democrats. Nineteen Republicans, including the Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, joined with all Democrats in Congress’s upper chamber to back the bill, which would dole out $550bn in new federal spending over the next five

The Pentagon plans to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for US troops by mid-September, as the country grapples with a rise in cases caused by the spread of the contagious Delta variant. “To defend this nation, we need a healthy and ready force,” wrote Lloyd Austin, defence secretary, in a memo to US forces released on

ByteDance, the owner of short-video app TikTok, has revived a plan to go public despite a widening regulatory assault targeting Chinese technology companies, aiming for a Hong Kong listing by early next year. The Chinese group, which raised about $5bn in December at a $180bn valuation, is planning to list in either the fourth quarter

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway reported a 7 per cent increase in profits in the second quarter, with many of the companies owned by the sprawling conglomerate benefiting from the economic recovery. The investment company disclosed on Saturday that it had earned $28.1bn, or $18,488 per class A share, in the three months to the end

The US labour market added 943,000 jobs in July and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.4 per cent, in a sign that some of the worker shortages that have hampered the economic recovery have begun to ease. Non-farm payrolls data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday came in well above economists’ expectations

Apple intends to install software on American iPhones to scan for child abuse imagery, according to people briefed on its plans, raising alarm among security researchers who warn that it could open the door to surveillance of millions of people’s personal devices. Apple detailed its proposed system — known as “neuralMatch” — to some US

Robinhood shares surged as much as 82 per cent at the start of trading on Wednesday, prompting multiple trading halts as the market capitalisation of the newly listed US brokerage briefly climbed to $71bn. The rally, which lifted the stock to a high of $85, has accompanied a furious start to trading in the company’s

New York City will require proof of vaccination for a variety of indoor activities from dining to health clubs and concerts, Bill de Blasio, the city’s mayor, announced on Tuesday. The city is believed to be the first in the US to introduce such restrictions as the highly infectious Delta coronavirus variant causes a rise

Goldman Sachs has become the last of the big investment banks to raise salaries for junior staff in response to complaints about burnout from new recruits caught in a dealmaking boom during the pandemic. First-year analysts will now earn a base wage of $110,000, rising to $125,000 in their second year, according to people familiar

Pfizer raised the price of its Covid-19 vaccine by more than a quarter and Moderna by more than a tenth in the latest EU supply contracts as Europe battled supply disruptions and concerns about side effects from rival shots. The groups are set to generate tens of billions of dollars in revenue this year as

A leading US bond manager has warned of inflationary pressure from housing rental costs that could push interest rates higher and overturn a sense of complacency among investors. The comments by Dan Ivascyn, chief investment officer at Pimco, which has $2.2tn under management, comes after US 10-year interest rates eased in recent months to about