Taliban violence against protesters is increasing, the UN human rights organisation says
The agency called on the Islamist group to stop using force, and allow peaceful demonstrations
A second international flight carrying passengers leaving Afghanistan has now departed from Kabul airport
The first flight to carry foreigners since the US pullout left on Thursday
US officials described the Taliban co-operation as businesslike and professional
Saturday will be the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in the US - which triggered a two-decade conflict in Afghanistan
US President Joe Biden will stick with the 31 August withdrawal deadline, an administration official has said.
A Pentagon recommendation to stick with the current date was made on Monday, based on concerns about security risks to US forces, the official says.
Norway's military says it will close a field hospital at Kabul airport by 31 August because of the deteriorating security situation, Reuters reports, quoting the NTB news agency.
The hospital had originally been due to stay open until the end of 2021, after the complete departure of Nato forces from Afghanistan.
Laura Trevelyan
BBC World News America presenter
In Austin, Texas, US army sniper and Green Beret Tim Kennedy is packing up his kit and preparing to deploy to Asia.
As the scramble by the US and its allies to airlift people out of Kabul airport becomes more desperate, this veteran of the war in Afghanistan is heading back - to help with the evacuation of Americans and Afghans.
He’s supporting the efforts of NGOs (non-governmental organisations) including No One Left Behind, which is committed to ensuring the US keeps its promise to give visas to Afghan and Iraqi interpreters who worked for the US military.
Tim doesn’t disagree that it’s time for the US to get out of Afghanistan - but the way it’s being done has him questioning the strategy.
He’s receiving a steady stream of increasingly desperate messages from Afghans he worked with.
“They’re giving me their grid coordinates. What can I do? I can’t come and get them with a Chinook helicopter,” says Tim.
“This withdrawal from Afghanistan is the opposite of safe and orderly.”
Tim’s wife, who is a contractor who works with the military, asked him why he’s deploying, when it’s clearly so dangerous.
“I can’t sit here and do nothing,” Tim says. “I feel a sense of duty to get the allies of the US out. I was compelled to go. I have to do something.”
The European Union says it has signed up to a UN Human Rights Council document on Afghanistan - but wants more action on alleged abuses by the Taliban.
Austrian Ambassador Elisabeth Tichy-Fisslberger, representing the bloc, says the document "falls short" and calls for an independent investigation.
There is no commitment in the document to an independent fact-finding mission. A compromise proposal from the EU to create a special rapporteur for Afghanistan has also been rejected, and the resolution makes no mention of the Taliban.
The UN’s special rapporteur on human rights and counter terrorism, Fionnuala Ni Aolain, describes it as "a complete betrayal of Afghan civil society".
Image source, ReutersPhotographs of German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron on the call with G7 leaders have been released.
During the virtual meeting, leaders are set to press the US to delay the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan beyond 31 August.
We'll bring you the latest updates as we get them. We're expecting to hear from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson within the next few minutes.
Image source, EPA
Ione Wells
Westminster Correspondent, BBC News
As G7 leaders prepared to meet virtually, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab hosted a call for opposition MPs.
Some say they've had dozens of constituents getting in touch - distressed about family members who still need evacuating from Afghanistan - which they raised with Raab.
But several opposition MPs told the BBC they have struggled getting through to government hotlines set up for them to escalate their constituents' cases to the Home Office and Foreign Office.
Others reported difficulties getting updates on the progress of their constituents' cases.
Allies at the G7 leaders' summit are poised to press US President Joe Biden to delay his withdrawal of US forces beyond 31 August, due to fears they will not be able to evacuate everyone in time.
It's understood Raab told MPs that he would explore using all possible levers to influence the Taliban - including overseas development aid, engagement with China and Russia, and the Taliban's need to access funds held in foreign banks and reserves.
Image source, Getty ImagesPentagon spokesman John Kirby
Pentagon spokesman John Kirby has reiterated that the US military is still planning a full withdrawal from Afghanistan by 31 August, in line with President Joe Biden's April order.
"There's been no change to the timeline of the mission," he says.
When asked how long it will take for the US to remove all troops, he says it will be "several days".
There are currently nearly 7,000 US troops at Kabul airport.
Kirby refuses to describe the "specific tick-tock" - meaning timeline - because "the threat environment is very real around the airport".
Since July, the US has evacuated 63,900 US citizens, US and Nato personnel and Afghan civilians, according to Army Major General William “Hank” Taylor.
The group, he says, “are out of harm's way".
He adds: "[They're] now safer and on their journey to a better life.”
Earlier today, the White House said that 21,600 people were taken out over a 24-hour period on Monday alone.
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On Monday, planes were departing Kabul airport every 45 minutes, he says, adding: "We are committed to doing more."
Separately, he says 800 travellers on five planes have departed the Ramstein air base in Germany for the US.
Also in the past day, four flights carrying 1,000 passengers landed at Dulles International Airport near Washington DC. The group will be processed through four different military installations in the region.
Tara McKelvey
BBC News, Washington
In the White House today, senior-level staffers are locked in meetings behind closed doors and the corridors are nearly empty.
The president has joined an emergency G7 meeting through a video link.
Meanwhile, aides are trying to sort out what he wants to do now, and whether he will keep troops in Kabul longer to allow the evacuation of US citizens, as well as those in Kabul who were promised a safe passage to the West.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other US allies have been trying to convince Biden to allow the troops to stay there longer, because of the desperate situation at the airport and the frantic efforts to help people out of the city.
The president and his aides are also trying to come to terms with searing criticism from US allies that the US can no longer be trusted, a response to the way that Biden decided, on his own, to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in a sudden manner.
The liberal “fiasco”, as his Afghanistan policy is now known in Washington, continues, while he tries to save people in Kabul, and his own reputation.
Italy says it's hoping to organise a G20 meeting on Afghanistan, to widen the global discussion to countries including Russia and China.
The G7 bloc - which includes the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan - is meeting virtually to discuss the crisis.
The future of the evacuation from Kabul airport is high on the agenda.
G7 countries are not alone in trying to evacuate their citizens and Afghans who have helped their armed forces, however.
Switzerland's foreign minister says 292 people with Swiss connections have been pulled out so far - but 15 Swiss citizens still need to be brought back.
The minister adds that there are no more Swiss evacuation flights planned at this stage.
BBC News Channel
The UK's former ambassador to Afghanistan, Stephen Evans, tells BBC News the group should not be taken at their word that there is no list for reprisals, as a spokesman claimed.
"We’ve got to watch very carefully to see what the Taliban actually do. It’s their deeds that matter rather than their words."
He says there were some things in the press conference that "are very disturbing".
"One is that women are allowed to go to work, but not yet - because for their own security they have to remain at home for the time-being," he says.
Evans adds that the Taliban spokesman also didn't give an assurance that Afghans who have visas to resettle in the West and who wish to leave will be able to go to the airport.
"You have to judge the Taliban by their actions," he says.
Taliban to US: Don't encourage Afghans to leave, we need them
Here's footage from the Taliban presser in Kabul earlier, where the group's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said foreign countries should stop "encouraging" Afghans to leave, as Afghanistan needs their talents.
He said Afghan nationals should head back to their homes, jobs and normal life, as there is “no danger” to them.
“Let’s live together. The war for us has finished," he added.
As we reported earlier, the UN has said there are "credible" reports that the Taliban is carrying out summary executions.
About 50,000 foreigners and Afghans have fled the country from Kabul airport since the group seized power nine days ago.
Ione Wells
Westminster Correspondent, BBC News
As the British prime minister left Downing Street to host a virtual summit of G7 leaders, he was greeted by shouts from the international media awaiting him:
"Has America let us down?"
"Can't you do more to stop people being left behind?"
"Are you imposing any sanctions, prime minister?"
Pressure has been mounting on US President Biden to extend his 31 August deadline for withdrawing troops, as allies warn they will not be able to evacuate all those fleeing the Taliban in time.
But pressure is also now growing on Boris Johnson to reach an international consensus with his fellow G7 leaders on how to help Afghans after evacuations from Kabul airport cease, and what levers should be used to influence the Taliban and prevent human rights abuses in the country.
Here are some of the main points addressed at Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid's press conference:
BBC News Channel
Afghanistan: Jack Straw on UK-US political relations
The UK's former foreign secretary, Jack Straw, has criticised Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s approach to relations with the US, in light of the ongoing evacuation operation at Kabul airport.
Straw, who served as Labour’s foreign secretary when British military operations were at their height in Iraq, tells BBC News that Johnson has "not had the traction that a British prime minister ought to have built up with an American president".
His comments come ahead of a virtual meeting of G7 leaders, where US allies, including the UK, will push for an extension to the 31 August deadline for foreign troops to leave Afghanistan.
Straw adds there are now “very limited options for the British government” and it is “not practical to try and hold the airport” without the support of US troops.
Image source, Marcus YamA Taliban spokesperson has just told reporters that there is no list of people being targeted for reprisals, and "we have forgotten everything in the past".
But the claim comes amid reports the group is carrying out summary executions - which the UN Human Rights High Commissioner Michelle Bachelet called "credible".
Other rights violations, including restrictions on women and recruiting child soldiers, have also been reported, she told the UN Human Rights Council earlier today.
The Taliban operated a strict version of Islamic law (Sharia) when they ran Afghanistan before 2001.
Since retaking the country nine days ago, the militants have tried to convey a more restrained image, promising rights for women and girls and some freedom of speech.
These claims have been met with deep scepticism, and come amid reports of unmarried women cowering in their homes in some parts of the country, under threat of being forcibly married to militants.
Bachelet says women's rights are a "fundamental red line" and has called on UN member states to create a dedicated body to monitor human rights in Afghanistan.
Witnesses have given harrowing accounts of the killings, which took place in early July in Ghazni province.
Amnesty said the incident was a "horrifying indicator" of Taliban rule.
Away from the Taliban - G7 leaders are scheduled to meet any time now. US allies will be pressing President Biden to extend the 31 August deadline for leaving Afghanistan, to allow more rescue flights.
The Taliban have warned of consequences if foreign forces remain past that date.
Germany and Spain have both warned that there will not be enough time to fly out everyone who needs protection.
UK PM Boris Johnson is expected to call for an increase in aid to Afghanistan and promise "to use every humanitarian and diplomatic lever" to protect human rights in the country.
More from the Taliban press conference:
Spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says he does not think that the 31 August deadline for evacuations from Kabul will be extended.
He adds there is enough time to get foreign nationals out before the deadline, and that the Taliban are "not in favour" of allowing Afghans to leave.
The Taliban spokesperson suggests women will not be permanently prevented from going to work, saying: "It's currently for their benefit to prevent any ill-treatment." He says women should stay at home for now, claiming they have not been removed from their jobs and their salaries will be paid.
The BBC has spoken to several women who fear the right to work and live freely will be severely curtailed under the Taliban.
Others have described appearing at their workplaces and being told they no longer work there, or that a male relative can take their job instead.
Afghanistan: Journalist Anisa Shaheed refuses to give in to Taliban
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid says the Taliban are no longer allowing Afghan nationals to go to Kabul airport because of the chaotic situation there.
At a news conference, he said crowds at the airport should go home and their security would be guaranteed.
But he said the US had kept on inviting people to the airport to board planes.
"We ask the Americans," he said. "Don't encourage Afghans to leave... We need their talent."
He added that Afghan media outlets were now working again, as were hospitals, schools, university and local government.