An intelligence briefing for the UN says the Taliban are stepping up the search for "collaborators"
More anti-Taliban protests have taken place in several cities
At least 12 people have been killed at Kabul airport since Sunday, a Taliban official says
Western countries continue evacuating nationals and Afghans who worked for them
Asked in an ABC TV interview if he made any mistakes with the Afghan exit, US President Biden says: "No"
The IMF says that Afghanistan will no longer have access to its funds
Labour has accused the UK's foreign secretary of putting Afghan interpreters' lives at risk.
The Daily Mail reported that Dominic Raab declined to make a phone call to get help evacuating them from Afghanistan.
A government spokesperson said Mr Raab was engaged on other calls and this one was delegated to another minister.
Read the story in detail here.
Image source, Getty ImagesWelcome to our continuing live coverage of the situation in Afghanistan. Here is the latest:
Image source, Getty ImagesWestern donors are blocking off Taliban access to aid
As the Taliban tries to assert their rule in Afghanistan, the US and other Western institutions have acted quickly to block their access to national funds.
It can do this as Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world –and heavily dependent on foreign aid which makes up 43% of its GDP.
"Afghanistan is tremendously dependent on foreign aid. Foreign aid is about 10 times or even more than the Taliban has been able to obtain from its own finance," Vanda Felbab-Brown, an Afghanistan specialist at the Brookings Institution told the AFP news agency.
Washington has already moved to block the Taliban’s access to the nation’s foreign currency reserves- most of which is held in US or European banks.
And on Wednesday, the International Monetary Fund said it was suspending aid to Afghanistan – citing uncertainty over international recognition of Taliban rule.
Other major donors have also indicated they could cut off payments.
Analysts say a financial squeeze is key leverage for Western powers going forward.
Vikas Pandey
BBC News
Image source, Getty ImagesBeauty salons have been defaced in some Afghan cities
The Taliban have said that women will be given rights in Afghanistan under the Sharia law.
But women say its hard to interpret what that means given the Taliban's past in restricting women's rights.
Zeb Hanifa*, who has arrived from another province to Kabul, has been making desperate calls to find a way to leave the country. She says working women are particularly worried about their future.
Her friends, including a doctor and a teacher, are also trying to leave. "But there is no luck so far. I am begging foreign countries to get us out," Ms Hanifa, who is a communications professional told the BBC.
"We all keep imagining horrific scenarios like not being able to work, being married to Taliban fighters and being reduced to just giving birth to children."
She says she is running out of money and options fast, but is determined not to return to her home.
"International media is likely to keep its gaze on Kabul in the coming months, so the capital is the best option among the horrible choices we have."
*Name has been changed to protect identity
Several reports have raised fears about threats to India's investments in Afghanistan after the Taliban's takeover of the country.
Delhi has invested around $3bn over the years mostly in infrastructure projects, including the national parliament, dams and highways.
Experts say there is no immediate threat to the investment as the Taliban have shown interest in keeping key infrastructure running.
Moreover, experts say that India strategically invested in infrastructure projects.
Gautam Mukhopadhaya, India's former ambassador to Afghanistan, told the BBC's Vikas Pandey that Delhi had already "recovered its investments in terms of goodwill and hearts and minds".
"These were investments for the Afghan people. It is for them to safeguard it as they wish," he said.
He advised India to continue supporting the Afghan people "through assistance to them in India as a strategic investment in the future".
Thousands of Afghans are still in India for studies, work or medical treatment.
Image source, ReutersIndia funded the construction of Afghanistan's parliament
The New York Times has evacuated its staff from Afghanistan, it announced on Twitter, external.
The paper said they were "relieved and overjoyed" after their brave Afghan colleagues made it to safety. It added that it had evacuated 128 people or 65 families.
NYT stressed its "unwavering commitment" to evacuate its Afghan staff from Kabul. It paid tribute to them, saying "they never gave up hope" and "kept their heads during some very scary moments".
It added that more work was needed to help the families transition into their new lives abroad.
Taliban fighters and Pakistani soldiers are now guarding the Torkham crossing side-by-side
While the focus on exits is at Kabul Airport, what’s happening at Afghanistan's border crossings?
This dispatch from BBC reporter Sarah Atiq runs through what’s happening at the Torkham border point – one of the major crossings into Pakistan.
Just last week, it had seen hundreds of refugees attempting to cross over. But when the Taliban took over on the weekend, Pakistan authorities immediately sealed it off.
Now it’s been re-opened for commerce, and a trickle of traders can cross over from the Afghanistan side. But authorities on both sides aren’t allowing anyone else.
Pakistan has been fencing off this border for months, and says it can’t afford to take more Afghan refugees.
Read the full dispatch from the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
US domestic airlines and civilian pilots will be allowed to fly into Kabul to conduct evacuation or relief flights, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has said.
They would need prior approval from the US Defense Department though.
Currently, they are prohibited from flying through Afghanistan airspace or into Kabul airport without permission.
A Pentagon spokesman told reporters earlier this week that the US military had assumed air traffic control at Kabul airport.
It's not clear, however, when the US will seek to use its domestic carriers for evacuation efforts.
The United States has evacuated 6,000 people since 14 August, according to the White House.
Image source, Turkish National Defence Ministry via Getty ImagesTurkish citizens being evacuated from Kabul on Wednesday
Since the Taliban took control of Kabul on Sunday, we've seen the desperate scramble by many nations to get their citizens and vulnerable Afghans out of the country.
So far, the US has taken the majority of fleeing Afghans.
Evacuation numbers by country so far:
Source: Reuters
The Taliban have reportedly been making it difficult for people to reach the Kabul airport.
Around 4,500 US soldiers are controlling the airport but all roads leading to the terminals are under the Taliban's control.
The Taliban are particularly not letting Afghans who do not have travel documents to reach the airport.
But even those with valid documents have struggled. The latest development comes after thousands of people reached the airport in a desperate bid to flee the country after the Taliban took over on Sunday.
For some who manage to reach the gates of the airport, entering it has also become challenging.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
A video that has gone viral shows a US-Afghan couple, external, who had travel documents, desperately arguing with US troops to let them in.
Many Afghan women are waking up to another day of dread and uncertainty under Taliban rule.
Two days ago, the hardline group said their regime would respect women’s rights within their framework of Islamic law. “Our women are Muslim,” their spokesman said.
But the undefined scope of that statement and the group’s history of terrorising and oppressing women has not convinced many.
Already, it's been reported that in the rural areas captured early on, the Taliban has forced marriages, re-imposed burka wearing and banned women from leaving their home without a male companion.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
Although recently we’ve seen female TV presenters back on air and school girl back in classrooms, many young women say they are at risk.
There are already several reports of women in some regions being turned away from their workplaces, and being punished.
It's created an atmosphere of fear. And while some women have ventured out in public, many say they are staying indoors to remain safe.
Just a few hours ago, the US again called on those in power in Afghanistan to “guarantee the protection of women and girls and their rights”.
“We will closely monitor how any future government ensures their rights and freedoms,” secretary of state Antony Blinken said.
The situation in Afghanistan is affecting its neighbours, with India saying the Taliban has stopped cross border trade.
Cargo between the two countries used to move through transit routes in Pakistan. But the Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO) says the movement of cargo has been stopped, affecting millions of dollars worth of imports and exports.
India is Afghanistan's largest trading partner and New Delhi has spent $3 billion on infrastructure in the country, including dams, schools and roads.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Parliament building was built by India as part of its contribution in the rebuilding of Afghanistan
US President Joe Biden has said that US troops will continue to be in Afghanistan until all American citizens have been evacuated.
Mr Biden wants US troops out by the end of this month, but up to 15,000 US citizens are still stranded in the country.
Around 4,500 US soldiers are in control of the Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul and Taliban fighters are manning checkpoints around the periphery of the airport.
Reports say that the Taliban are keeping desperate evacuees from reaching Kabul's airport.
This chaos means that US troops are likely to stay in Afghanistan beyond Mr Biden's deadline.
Click here to read more about what he said in an exclusive interview with ABC News' George Stephanopoulos.
Vikas Pandey
BBC News
Image source, EPATaliban fighters have been patrolling streets
More shops have opened and people have started going out to buy essential items in Mazar-i-Sharif, which is one of Afghanistan's main commercial cities.
It's also a city that has a sizeable population of ethnic minorities like the Hazaras and Uzbeks - the groups the Taliban targeted when they were in power between 1996 and 1999.
However, this year they have promised that there will be no violence against any group. But the city's residents are not fully convinced.
Nasim Javid*, who has been telling us about the ground situation since Sunday, says everyone is pretending to be normal. "But nothing is normal. I can feel fear in my bones when I go out. The Taliban are everywhere," he says.
He says the Taliban have not entered people's houses yet and they trying to work with community leaders to reassure people about their safety. But the fear can be felt everywhere, he says, adding that women are hesitant to go out alone, and local TV stations have stopped airing music and films.
Good morning to our audiences in Asia who are just starting their day, and good evening to those in the US who are ending theirs.
Welcome to our continuing live coverage of the situation in Afghanistan. Here is the latest:
Images taken today in Afghanistan show life under the Taliban rule.
Advertisements with female models have been covered up with paint in Kabul. While at the airport, the scene remains tense with Taliban fighters stationed outside while troops attempt to evacuate those who wish to leave.
Image source, ReutersA Taliban fighter walks past advertisements that have been sprayed over
Image source, ReutersAfghan fighters outside Kabul's International Airport
Image source, ReutersUS Army soldiers stand guard at Kabul's airport
Image source, Getty ImagesPeople sit outside the French embassy in Kabul
Image source, Getty ImagesA Taliban flag is flown in the city of Herat
The former captain of the Afghan women’s football team has urged players to delete their social media accounts and burn their kits in order to remain safe.
Khalida Popal, who is based in Denmark, told Reuters news agency that she was scared of what the future might hold under Taliban rule.
“Today I’m calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. Even I’m telling them to burn or get rid of your national team uniform,” she said.
Popal added that football has allowed women in the country to stand up for their rights but now both players and activists are scared.
"They are afraid that any time the door will be knocked,” she said.
A spokesperson for football governing body FIFA told Reuters it is in contact with the Afghanistan football federation and will continue to monitor the situation and offer support “in the weeks and months to come”.
Australian news outlets are reporting that an Afghan interpreter was shot in the leg by the Taliban as he tried to reach Kabul Airport on Tuesday night to board an evacuation flight.
Photos published by SBS, external and The Guardian Australia show the man being treated for the gunshot wound by a doctor.
His story is just one of several reported of violence and chaos outside the airport, as Afghans wishing to leave try to pass checkpoints controlled by the Taliban. It’s been reported that they're only allowing foreign nationals to pass.
The man said he was shot at a Taliban check-point as he was trying to reach Australia’s first military flight out. He had worked for the Australian army in Uruzgan between 2010 and 2011, SBS reported.
Australia yesterday confirmed it had flown 26 people out on its first evacuation, on a plane that could have taken 128. The US has said it's aiming to take 300 people per flight.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
The UK will double its humanitarian aid to Afghanistan to £286m ($393m) this year, says foreign secretary Dominic Raab.
Along with the aid, the UK has announced an asylum offer to 20,000 people looking to flee the Taliban – with 5,000 to be accepted in the coming year.
Downing Street says it is one of the “most generous asylum schemes in British history” but critics say the country could take even more people
It comes as Britain calls on its allies to "follow its lead" in expanding humanitarian assistance to vulnerable Afghans.
Mr Raab had spoken with his Indian and US counterparts overnight, and is due to speak with G7 leaders in coming days.
Allow Twitter content?
This article contains content provided by Twitter. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read Twitter’s cookie policy, external and privacy policy, external before accepting. To view this content choose ‘accept and continue’.
More from Joe Biden's ABC News interview broadcast on Wednesday.
The US president said he was committed to getting every remaining American citizen out of Afghanistan - even if that meant extending his 31 August deadline for a total US withdrawal.
"Americans should understand that we're gonna try to get it done before 31 August," Biden said,, external when pressed by interviewer George Stephanopoulos.
"If we don't...We'll determine at the time who's left," the president said.
"And if you're American force - if there's American citizens left, we're gonna stay to get them all out."
Between 10,000 and 15,000 American nationals are still believed to be in Afghanistan.
Biden said that 50,000 to 65,000 Afghans - who had worked for the US authorities - also wanted to be evacuated.
Watch more of what he said below:
Afghanistan: Joe Biden said chaos was 'inevitable'