US

Stock markets have fallen sharply after signs that the US Federal Reserve could start pulling away emergency support for the world’s biggest economy later this year. In London, the FTSE 100 was down by more than 160 points – or about 2% – in early trading following the publication of minutes of the Fed’s latest

The US does not currently have the capability to evacuate large numbers of Americans who are outside Kabul – and troops are having to negotiate with the Taliban to allow people passage to the airport, the US defence secretary has said. Speaking from the Pentagon, Lloyd J Austin III said the military was “laser focused”

A former US soldier fears his Afghan interpreter will be executed by the Taliban before he is able to be evacuated from Kabul under the Special Immigrant Visa programme.  James Garafalo served in Afghanistan alongside his interpreter, nicknamed Rambo, in 2017 and 2018. “He slept with us, climbed with us, ate with us and fought

Facebook has confirmed to Sky News that the Taliban will continue to be banned from operating Afghan government accounts on its platforms. The militant group, which is considered a Dangerous Organisation under Facebook’s policies, has in recent days swept to power in Afghanistan following the US withdrawal from the country. The Taliban is not sanctioned

The president’s address to the nation was just that – a speech carefully scripted for domestic consumption. Never mind that around the world there was an eagerness to understand the wisdom of his decision. With an all-American backdrop – the stars and stripes filling the space behind him – Joe Biden made a compelling case

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

The UK and the US are facing criticism over their handling of the deepening crisis in Afghanistan. Donald Trump has called for Joe Biden to resign in the wake of the Taliban’s takeover – describing the current situation as a “disgrace”. In a statement, the former president wrote: “What Joe Biden has done with Afghanistan

A month-long wildfire ravaging forestlands in northern California has lurched towards a small lumber town, threatening to destroy thousands of homes. Fire crews have been using bulldozers to build lines, in a bid to keep the blaze, known at the Dixie fire, from reaching the town of Westwood. The entire town of approximately 1,700 people

The upcoming 20th anniversary of 9/11 and the reimposition of coronavirus restrictions could spark violent attacks by extremists, the US Department of Homeland Security has warned. The agency added that the US is in a “heightened threat environment” that has been fuelled by resentment over measures to slow the spread of COVID-19, and extremists motivated

NASA’s Ingenuity Mars Helicopter has completed its 11th flight on the planet, capturing dozens of images including one in which its mothership – the Perseverance rover – is almost impossible to spot. The helicopter took photographs of boulders, sand dunes and rocky outcrops across the South Seitah region of the Jezero Crater, the location of

A toddler fatally shot a woman while she was on a work-related video call, police in Florida have said. Shamaya Lynn, 21, reportedly fell backwards and never returned to the Zoom call after the young child found an unsecured, loaded handgun inside the apartment. Altamonte Springs police said someone on the video call rang 911

Britney Spears’ father has agreed to step down as the pop star’s conservator. Court documents say: “Mr. Spears is willing to step down when the time is right, but the transition needs to be orderly and include a resolution of matters pending before the Court. “In order to reach that result, the Court should encourage

Hollywood power couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have mocked the fallout following the revelation of their family’s somewhat relaxed approach to bathing. Kutcher and Kunis recently told the Armchair Expert podcast that while they wash their vitals every day, they don’t shower or bathe as often – a policy which includes their children Wyatt,

US President Joe Biden has said he does not regret his decision to withdraw from Afghanistan, as officials say three more provincial capitals have fallen to the Taliban. Nine out of the country’s 34 provinces are now in the insurgents’ hands as US troops continue their withdrawal. The fall of the capitals of Badakhshan and

They are two of the most notorious serial killers in US history after murdering more than 60 young men and boys between them. The horrific crimes of Dean Corll and John Wayne Gacy shocked America in the 1970s – but how closely they were linked has only recently been discovered. Corll tortured, raped and murdered

In two weeks time, New York will have its first female governor. Kathy Hochul is currently Andrew Cuomo’s deputy, and will soon replace him in the top job after his dramatic resignation on Tuesday. Mr Cuomo has quit – effective in 14 days time – following a blistering report from the New York attorney general’s

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has resigned following sexual harassment allegations. In a report last week, Mr Cuomo, a Democrat, was found to have groped, kissed, or made suggestive comments to 11 women in violation of the law, prompting prosecutors to launch a criminal investigation and calls for him to resign or for him to

Prince Andrew has always categorically denied any sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Giuffre but she has said it was “past the time for him to be held to account” for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager. The royal is named as the only defendant in her civil suit though Jeffrey Epstein and

An executive assistant to Andrew Cuomo has waived her right to anonymity, alleging the New York governor groped her under her shirt, hugged her and kissed her without consent. Brittany Commisso was previously known as ‘Executive Assistant #1’ in an inquiry instigated by New York Attorney General Letitia James. But the 32-year-old says she broke

It is the completeness of the destruction in this small town that hits you first. We’d seen the images and we’d spoken to some of the evacuees, but only by being here is it possible to absorb the enormity of it all. There is almost nothing left. Greenville, California: population 1,000; swept away in the