Boris Johnson has paid tribute to the “heroic efforts” of British troops and officials involved in evacuation efforts in Kabul – as the government unveiled plans to help Afghans settle in the UK. The prime minister has written to the armed forces community to thank them for their role in Operation Pitting, which has seen
Politics
In the wake of suicide attacks that killed American service members in Afghanistan, CNN’s Jim Acosta says now is the time for “national unity,” not for leaders to try and score political points. #CNN #News
Business groups have been left “frustrated” after the business secretary rejected requests to loosen Brexit immigration rules to ease the supply chain crisis, telling companies to hire UK-based workers instead. Businesses across multiple sectors are struggling to meet customer demand as a consequence of labour shortages, particularly in haulage where there is a shortfall of
Boris Johnson has pledged to “shift heaven and earth” to get more people out of Afghanistan after the 31 August deadline. Speaking to reporters, the prime minister shared his “great sense of regret” that more individuals could not be airlifted out of Kabul during what he described as “the first phase” of the evacuation process.
Thousands of evacuees from Afghanistan are passing through Ramstein Air Base in Germany on their way to a new life in the US. CNN takes you inside the base and speaks with a Delta Airlines pilot who flew evacuees from Ramstein to the US. #CNN #News
This week Sky News has been identifying the gaps in Britain’s border defences. As the number of small boats crossing the Channel breaks new records and European countries brace for a new wave of people fleeing Afghanistan, the issue is rising up the public consciousness once more. Ministers are meant to be able now to
The director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the nation’s top public health agency — is speaking out forcefully about gun violence in America, calling it a “serious public health threat.” #CNN #News
The prime minister says the UK’s evacuation operation in Afghanistan will continue despite what he described as the “barbaric” terrorist attack at Kabul airport. Boris Johnson was speaking in the wake of two explosions in the Afghan capital suspected to have been carried out by suicide bombers. Live updates on Kabul explosions The Taliban says
President Joe Biden addresses the terror attack near the Kabul airport that killed more than 60 people including 12 US service members. #CNN #News
Boris Johnson is facing pressure from members of his own Conservative backbenches to reverse plans to cut Universal Credit payments from October. The government brought in a £20-per-week uplift as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic but it is due to be removed on 6 October. Tory MPs Peter Aldous and John Stevenson say the
A charity has raised its concerns about the looming end of the £20-a-week uplift to Universal Credit, describing it as the “biggest overnight cut in benefits since the Second World War”. According to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 413 out of a total of 632 parliamentary constituencies in England, Wales and Scotland will see more than
Dominic Raab has admitted that with the “benefit of hindsight” he would have come back from holiday earlier amid the Taliban takeover of Kabul. Speaking to Sky News in his first TV interview since the crisis unfolded, the foreign secretary said it is “nonsense” to say he was “lounging around on the beach all day”
Salma Kazemi, an American who was in Kabul, Afghanistan, visiting family, describes the chaos she experienced as she escaped the besieged city. #CNN #News
Britain is actively working to keep an airport open in Afghanistan after the final withdrawal of troops, Sky News understands. Prime Minister Boris Johnson said after Tuesday’s G7 summit that the number one priority for the West in coming months was to ensure safe passage for people who want to leave Afghanistan after 31 August
President Joe Biden said that the US is on track to complete its evacuation mission by August 31 and he does not plan to have American troops in the country past that date — but he recognized that it’s up to the Taliban whether that mission will be done on time. #CNN #News
Longtime Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts dead at 80 #CNN #News
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace has said it is “unlikely” the 31 August deadline to pull troops out of Afghanistan will be extended as it gets “more and more dangerous”. Speaking to Sky News, he said: “As we get closer it’s correct to say the security risk goes up, it gets more and more dangerous. “Add-on
Boris Johnson is urging President Joe Biden and other world leaders to stand by the Afghan people and not walk away, amid fears that the Taliban is plotting vicious reprisals. The prime minister is chairing a video-link summit of G7 leaders and calling for a boost in international support for refugees and humanitarian aid after
As Covid-19 swept through the tiny west Texas town of Iraan, the schools were the first to shut down. The sheer number of cases and people in quarantine then essentially closed the entire town. CNN’s Rosa Flores reports. #CNN #News
The UK’s evacuation effort in Afghanistan is “down to hours now, not weeks”, the defence secretary has said. Ben Wallace conceded the UK’s involvement will end when the US leaves the country, which is expected to be on 31 August. “The prime minister is, obviously at the G7, going to try and raise the prospect