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The Biden administration scrambled to put a botched evacuation of Afghanistan back on track on Tuesday as it admitted its original plans needed to be changed following a day of chaos and violence at Kabul’s international airport. In an attempt to project competence after the Taliban swiftly took control of the country in the face

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

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

House prices are booming in almost every major economy in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, forging the broadest rally for more than two decades, and reviving economists’ concerns over potential threats to financial stability. Of the 40 countries covered by OECD data, just three experienced real-terms house price falls in the first three months

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

China-based companies will have to disclose more about their structure and contacts with the Chinese government before listing in the US, the Securities and Exchange Commission said on Friday. Gary Gensler, the chair of the US corporate and markets regulator, has asked staff to ensure greater transparency from Chinese companies following the controversy surrounding the

US economic growth rose slightly in the second quarter to 6.5 per cent on an annualised basis, a weaker-than-expected increase as strong consumption was offset by lagging private investment. The data from the US commerce department on Thursday fell short of economists’ forecasts of 8.5 per cent growth on an annualised basis, and compared with

The Federal Reserve signalled it was moving closer to the moment when it will withdraw its support for the economic recovery by tapering its asset purchases, declaring that “progress” had been made towards meeting its goals. At the end of a two-day meeting on Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee kept its main interest rate

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is set to revise its guidance for vaccinated people on wearing masks indoors, in a major climbdown from a decision it made just two months ago. The public health body will recommend that vaccinated people should wear masks in indoor places if local case rates are high,