US

At one point in the final days of evacuations from Afghanistan, flights were said to be taking off every twenty minutes from Kabul airport. United States officials said “core” diplomatic staff had withdrawn from the country marking the final hours of its chaotic withdrawal. A number of countries had been in a race against time

It was a day many in New Orleans had planned to spend commemorating the terrible cost of Hurricane Katrina exactly 16 years ago. Instead of those peaceful, sombre events they found themselves sitting in the dark as Hurricane Ida battered the Big Easy and knocked out power to the whole city. The power of Ida

Hurricane Ida has made landfall in Louisiana as an “extremely dangerous” category four storm. It hit on the same date Hurricane Katrina ravaged Louisiana and Mississippi 16 years earlier, about 40 miles west of where category three Katrina first struck land. Arriving with a barometric pressure of 930 millibars, Ida preliminarily goes down as tied

What happened in America on 11 September 2001 changed the course of history. The attack unfolded on New York’s skyline when two airliners flew into the World Trade Center. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in a day that became known as 9/11. Afghanistan latest news – live updates Then-president George W Bush declared the

The United States killed two “high profile” ISIS targets and wounded a third in retaliation for Thursday’s suicide bombing at Kabul airport, the Pentagon has said. Speaking at a news briefing, Major General William “Hank” Taylor confirmed the drone strike, which took place on Thursday, killed an ISIS-K planner and a facilitator. A Taliban spokesman

It was when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1979 that the first wave of refugees settled in a quiet corner of San Francisco’s Bay Area. Drawn, it was said, by the green of the tree-lined streets and the mountains that surrounded them, it offered reminders of the homeland they had left behind. Now, the

It was a deeply emotional statement from the American president.  He displayed an empathy that he is known for, but one which has not been on show over these past 10 days as he defended the chaotic withdrawal. Reflecting on the death of the US troops, and speaking directly to a US audience, he drew

Joe Biden has warned those behind the terror attacks at Kabul’s airport: “We will not forgive, we will not forget, we will hunt you down and make you pay.” The US president was speaking after it emerged that 13 US service personnel – most of them Marines – were among at least 73 people killed

Unvaccinated airline workers will be charged $200 (£146) extra per month for their health insurance, one American carrier has said. Delta Air Lines says the surcharge will be in effect from 1 November, and is necessary to offset the risk those who are not jabbed put on their insurance – similar to how smokers have

An extra 12,000 COVID-related deaths have been added to the New York State total, following the departure of ex-governor Andrew Cuomo. Mr Cuomo stood down on Monday over claims of sexual harassment by 11 women – allegations which he denies. He was succeeded on Tuesday by former lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul – the first woman

A flight from New Orleans to Seattle was evacuated after a passenger’s mobile phone caught fire inside the cabin. Fortunately the phone did not catch fire while the plane was in the air and all 129 passengers and six crew members were safely transported to the terminal, with no serious injuries although two people received

A grieving father has said he feels like he “failed” his family after his twin babies died in the devastating flooding in Tennessee. At least 22 people were killed and dozens are still missing after record-breaking rainfall and floodwater caused severe damage to homes, buildings, roads and power cables as it rushed through the southeastern

Nearly 43,000 Californians are under evacuation orders as a dozen large wildfires continue to rage across the state. The wildfires have already destroyed hundreds of homes and more than 500 households are in shelters, Mark Ghilarducci, director of the California Office of Emergency Services, said. Governor Gavin Newsom has requested a presidential major disaster declaration

Twin babies were among at least 22 people killed as record-breaking rainfall caused devastating flooding in Tennessee. Dozens of people are still missing after floodwater caused severe damage to homes, buildings, roads and power cables as it rushed through the southeastern part of the US state on Saturday. The two seven-month-old babies were said to

Tropical Storm Henri has brought strong winds and rain to the north-eastern US as it makes landfall on the coast of Rhode Island. Henri has sent bands of rain westward, knocking out power to 140,000 homes and causing deluges that have shut bridges and flooded roads. The storm was downgraded from a hurricane before it

Two specific points are worth emphasising from the US president’s latest appearance. Joe Biden didn’t rule out an extension of the 31 August deadline to pull the troops out. Of course it is not clear how the Taliban and its offshoots will react to any extension. He also said the forces on the ground are

Joe Biden has defended the US military pullout in Afghanistan, saying that the mass evacuation of refugees would have been “hard and painful no matter when we started”. The US president said “my heart aches” for the thousands who are stranded outside Kabul airport in desperate scenes, but added that it was “just a fact”

The US president’s latest appearance reflected the need for a display of leadership and control for a situation that’s developing so fast. It has been only a week since Kabul fell, a week since President Joe Biden’s Afghanistan withdrawal policy revealed all its flaws. It feels like far longer. And so for the second time

President Joe Biden has told US citizens stuck in Afghanistan and allies who worked alongside American forces “we will get you home”, but admitted he cannot promise what the “final outcome” of the troop withdrawal will be. In a news conference at the White House, he admitted images of people desperately trying to flee the

US Capitol Police are responding to reports of a possible explosive device in a truck near the Library of Congress, law enforcement officials have said. People in and around the Cannon House Office Building have been evacuated after concerns over the suspicious vehicle, which is located near the Capitol and Supreme Court. Police said investigators