The Taliban and their supporters have been celebrating in the southern city of Kandahar after the final US forces left the country.

Kandahar is Afghanistan's second biggest city and the spiritual home of the Taliban.

People there have today been marching down the streets and waving Taliban flags, as they welcome the end of the US's 20-year presence in the country.

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Image source, AFP

Daniel Sandford
Home Affairs Correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

The UK government is being threatened with legal action over its failure to give visas to a female judge and a female member of parliament from Afghanistan.

The women remain in Afghanistan and are being helped by a team of UK lawyers, acting on their behalf for free.

Their legal team said: "These women put their lives on the line when they attained their respective civic roles. They worked to protect and advance the interests of the people of Afghanistan. We must not turn our backs on them now."

It comes after the US withdrew from Afghanistan, shortly after the UK ended its evacuations.

The judge said: "My life and that of my family are in danger right now because the Taliban believes that women cannot be judges, especially when it comes to judging the actions of men."

She said one of her brothers had gone missing and she was "very worried" about him.

The women are being represented by Daniel Berke of 3D Solicitors and barristers Michael Polak and Simon Myerson QC.

The lawyers say the women are high priority targets for the Taliban.

They claim urgent requests were made of the UK government before evacuations ended and there had been time to get them out of the country - but "all requests and applications went unanswered".

Tse Yin Lee
BBC Monitoring

Image source, Rossiya 24

State media in Russia and China have been scathing of America’s withdrawal.

The Americans' defeat “is humiliating for Washington , externaland obvious to the entire world", says Russia’s official daily Rossiyskaya Gazeta.

"A devastated Afghanistan , externaland a shocking humanitarian disaster… this land is filled with artillery fire and gun fire, poverty and hunger, death and parting," says a commentary in the state China News Service agency.

State outlets have also heavily criticised America over recent security incidents in Kabul.

A Rossiya 1 TV correspondent alleged US marines “in panic opened fire with rifles at unarmed people” after a suicide bombing outside Kabul Airport on 26 August.

China's Global Times accused the US military of "hiding" the truth about the alleged shooting as well as a US drone strike, which killed 10 Afghan civilians, including children.

"The two 'accidental killings' of civilians can be argued to be the epitome of most US military operations," the paper said.

America has not commented on allegations that US forces fired on civilians. The Pentagon said the suicide blast was followed by gunmen firing on civilians and US military.

America says it is still investigating the drone strike, which targeted Islamic State militants.

Large crowds are jostling outside the banks in Kabul and queues have formed near foreign embassies, a day after the last US troops left Afghanistan.

But the BBC's Lyse Doucet says that for the majority of Afghanistan's 40 million people, life feels no different from the way it's been in recent days, despite the end of the 20-year foreign military presence.

"It's still a struggle to survive, or still a race to try to escape as fast as they can," she says.

Click on the player below to watch Lyse's dispatch:

It is “essential” to keep Kabul’s airport open and operational to ensure that people who still wish to leave can do so, Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg has said.

In an interview with AFP, Stoltenberg said that the airport must be kept open “both to enable humanitarian aid to the Afghan people and also to make sure that we can continue to get people out – those who wished to, but were not able to be part of the military evacuation”.

“We will not forget them,” he added.

A ‘notice to airmen’ (Notam) issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration on Monday warned that Kabul’s airport is “uncontrolled” following the US withdrawal.

The notice added that no air traffic control or airport services are available and that aircraft landing there should “use extreme caution.”

Reality Check

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The vast majority of spending in Afghanistan has come from the US.

Based on official data, between 2001-19 America spent $822bn on the conflict. But this doesn't include any spending in Pakistan, which the US uses as a base for Afghan-related operations.

The UK and Germany - which had the largest numbers of troops in Afghanistan after the US - spent an estimated $30bn and $19bn respectively over the course of the war.

Read more here.

Image source, AFP

People in the capital Kabul have been responding to the departure of US troops from Afghanistan.

"I must say that we do not want a foreign country to be in our homeland. We are happy that security is provided, but we need bread and water," one resident told Reuters news agency.

Others echoed the concern over the continued disruption to banks and workplaces since the Taliban took over the capital two weeks ago.

"Our expectation from the government of the Islamic Emirate is that the banks should be open, the employees (of the government) should go to work because the money is important to us," another resident was quoted as saying by the agency.

"I have been unemployed and sitting at home for 17 or 18 days, and this isn't easy because we have rent, electricity bills, and other expenses."

BBC's chief international correspondent Lyse Doucet and her team visited Kabul airport shortly after it was taken under full control by the Taliban.

The BBC team filmed elite Taliban units armed with US weapons and wearing American uniforms now patrolling the grounds, as well as hangars and offices abandoned by the Americans just hours ago.

Below are short clips from the airport.

Image source, Reuters

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has called for national unity following the withdrawal of the final US troops from Afghanistan after 20 years.

He urged Afghans to "transcend our differences and come together", saying that the international community would not support the country if its people were not united.

The forthcoming government, he said, would represent all of the Afghan people.

He noted the issues in the country's economy and called on other countries to invest in Afghanistan.

He added that the Taliban sought "good relations" with the international community and would look to "amicably" resolve any issues.

BBC News has been speaking to a teacher in Kabul who worked as an interpreter for British and other international forces but has been unable to leave.

The teacher - whose identity we are withholding for his protection - said he hadn’t slept properly in 15 days.

“I sleep 10 minutes, then I wake up. I sleep 15 minutes, then I wake up,” he said.

“I am experiencing a very bad psychological condition. I am feeling tremendous fear… and the condition is getting worse and worse.”

The former interpreter said his biggest fear was being targeted for his involvement with foreign forces.

“When they [the Taliban] announce their government I’m sure they’ll [be] killing us,” he said.

He added that he had tried many ways to get out of the country, but that all had been unsuccessful.

“They [international forces] left us in a condition that is the worst,” he said.

“I worked for English forces… they owe me and they have to take me out of here. I worked for them. I worked for their country.”

Amnesty international has called for a "credible and transparent investigation" into a drone strike near Kabul airport on Sunday, which reportedly killed 10 members of the same family, including six children.

The US initially reported that there had been no civilian casualties in the strike against a vehicle it said was carrying at least one person associated with the Afghan branch of the Islamic State group. It has since said it is investigating reports of civilian deaths.

Paul O’Brien, Amnesty International USA’s executive director, said in a statement that the US "has a responsibility to the families of those killed to name the dead, acknowledge its actions, investigate and provide reparations".

“For two decades the United States has carried out strikes with no accountability to the public for how many civilians were killed by US actions in Afghanistan and other countries.“

American commanders said there were "significant secondary explosions" after the drone strike - implying there were explosives at the scene - which may have harmed people nearby.

But a relative of the victims told the BBC the strike was "based on wrong information".

Here's a quick look at some of the biggest developments from recent hours:

• The final US forces have now withdrawn, marking the end of a 20-year presence in Afghanistan
• The Taliban fired celebratory gunfire after the last plane departed
• Speaking at Kabul airport, one Taliban leader claimed that "people are happy" that the militants have "brought peace" to Afghanistan
• US officials said that together with allies, they managed to evacuate some 123,000 people before the 31 August deadline
• However, foreign citizens remain in the country, including hundreds of British nationals and around 100 to 250 Americans, according to officials
• Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said the UK needs to face the "new reality" in Afghanistan and work with other nations to exercise a "moderating influence" on the Taliban

• There have been huge queues outside shuttered banks and money transfer services

Image source, AFP

People in Afghanistan’s third-largest city, Herat, have explained how life has changed since the Taliban takeover earlier this month.

Residents in the western city said their lives had totally changed and that they fear for their safety.

Germany will wait to see whether the Taliban will respect its promises to allow civilians to leave the country via Kabul airport, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said.

"The Taliban have promised, but in the coming days and weeks we will find out whether we can count on that," he said during a visit to Pakistan on Tuesday, according to Reuters news agency.

"The Taliban want to install a new government, and this will give us an indication whether our request that it be inclusive is met."

Image source, Getty Images

Unsurprisingly the US withdrawal from Afghanistan dominates the front pages of American media.

The New York Times describes the exit as "an unceremonious end", while The Washington Post simply states that "America's longest war" is now over.

The Wall Street Journal warns that "more than 100 Americans and tens of thousands of Afghan allies left behind face a future of uncertainty and danger".

"The pull-out capped a tumultuous withdrawal of US troops that was upended after the Taliban quickly took over the Afghan government this month" is how USA Today summarises the situation.

"As Biden ends mission in Afghanistan, a refugee backlash looms at home," says Politico's headline, adding that "the White House is trying to work quickly to stave off criticism from more state and local officials over the resettlement of Afghan refugees".

"Dishonour" is how the New York Post phrases it, saying in an editorial: "The picture of President Joe Biden stealing a glance at his watch Sunday during a solemn ceremony for the 13 service members killed in Afghanistan says it all: Biden can’t deal with the reality of what he’s wrought; he’s desperate to move on."

Four US presidents have overseen America's presence in Afghanistan over the past two decades.

How they handled the conflict was shaped by conditions on the ground, but also by their distinctive views on American values and interests.

A presidential historian and national security expert assess how they will be remembered.

As we have previously reported, huge queues have been forming outside shuttered banks, ATMs and money transfer services in Afghanistan.

The video above from Kabul shows the scale of these queues.

When the Taliban seized power earlier this month, Afghanistan's internal banking system froze up.

The country's economy was already extremely fragile and heavily dependent on aid. In response to the Taliban takeover, Western countries halted foreign aid shipments.

International transfer companies also suspended their services, effectively cutting off the supply of family money from abroad.

Concerns have been raised about the state of Afghanistan's economy, with the value of the national currency falling sharply and food prices rising.

With no access to money, people are becoming increasingly desperate.

One Twitter user told transfer service Western Union that family members were in need of money for food and there was no other way to send it.

"We understand the urgent need people in Afghanistan have to receive funds, and we are committed to resuming operations for our customers as conditions permit," the company responded., external

Read more: Afghanistan's economy in crisis

Image source, Reuters

The safe arrival of Afghanistan's Paralympic athletes in Tokyo has said send out "a very strong message of hope", says International Paralympic Committee (IPC) spokesman Craig Spence.

Zakia Khudadadi and Hossain Rasouli made it to Japan after leaving Kabul in a "major global operation".

They were welcomed to the athletes' village by a party including IPC President Andrew Parsons.

"As you can imagine, the meeting was extremely emotional," said Spence.

"There were lots of tears from everyone in the room. It really was a remarkable meeting."

On Tuesday, Rasouli competed in the T47 long jump because he had arrived in Tokyo too late to take part in a 100m race - the discipline he specialises in.

The 26-year-old finished last - but was applauded by fellow Paralympians.

Image source, Zakia Khudadadi via REUTERS

Khudadadi, 23, will be the first woman ever to represent Afghanistan at the Paralympics.

She will compete on Thursday in the women's K44 -49kg weight category in taekwondo.

Image source, Taliban/Handout via Reuters

Since the Taliban's return to power two weeks ago, scepticism has remained both at home and abroad over how far the group has changed since its rule of the late 1990s, when women and girls were forced from public life and human rights abuses were widespread.

Masoud Andarabi, a former interior minister in the Afghan government, told the BBC that there was a disconnect between statements by high-profile leaders who were previously based abroad and fighters on the ground.

"Certainly Taliban will try to enforce their grip but... the Taliban are not these twelve or fifteen faces that we have been seeing" during negotiations in Qatar, he said.

"No, they are danger and we have seen the atrocities in different cities. It's very hard to be optimistic for the future."

Andarabi added that the Taliban must fulfil its commitments if it wanted to gain legitimacy.

"If you don't cut your ties (to terrorist groups), if you don't arrest terrorists and if you don't preserve the achievements of twenty years and also a possibility of elections for future, you would not have (any) chance for international recognition."

Adam Easton
Warsaw Correspondent

Three Afghan child refugees in Poland have suffered liver failure after eating poisonous mushrooms from a forest beside their migration centre.

Two of the children are in intensive care. The five-year-old cannot have a liver transplant and the prognosis for him is bleak, but the six-year-old will have a transplant today, doctors at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute said.

Professor Jaroslaw Kierkus told a news conference that the three children - aged five, six and 17 - had been staying at the Debak-Podkowa Lesna migrant centre, which is located in a forest just outside Warsaw. He said they suffered liver failure after they ate poisonous mushrooms.

The children are part of a family evacuated from Kabul by the Polish military. They arrived at the centre on 23 August and the children ate the mushrooms the following day. They were admitted to hospital on 26 August.

“The boys aged five and six were in a very serious condition from the moment of admission to the hospital and their condition has been constantly deteriorating. The boys are currently in the intensive care unit,” Kierkus said.

He said the five-year-old was ineligible for a transplant because of damage to his central nervous system. His six-year-old brother will start the procedure to have a transplant later today. He denied media reports that the five-year-old was already brain dead, but he added that irreversible brain damage had occurred.

The 17-year-old girl is in a stable condition and her prognosis is “quite good”, he said.

Every year, a number of Poles are hospitalised after eating poisonous mushrooms collected in forests.

Image source, Getty Images