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(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort the past two weeks.

But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind and the Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave.

When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House on Aug. 18, he said he was committed to keeping the U.S. military in Afghanistan as long as needed. “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” he said.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Sep 07, 6:16 pm
Taliban leaders release 1st official statement

In its first official statement since announcing a new caretaker government, the Taliban said their previous 20 years of “struggle and Jihad” had two major goals: to end foreign occupation and aggression and to establish “a complete, independent, stable, and central Islamic system in the country.”

“Based on this principle, in the future, all matters of governance and life in Afghanistan will be regulated by the laws of the Holy Sharia,” according to the statement.

The statement said the Taliban wants strong and healthy relations with all other countries and “We are committed to all international laws and treaties, resolutions and commitments that are not in conflict with Islamic law and the country’s national values. We also call on the countries of the world to value building strong and cordial political, diplomatic and good relations with us and to also cooperate with us.”

“The Islamic Emirate will take serious and effective steps towards protecting human rights, the rights of minorities as well as the rights of the underprivileged groups within the framework of the demands of the sacred relation of Islam,” the statement continued.

Despite suggestions the new regime would be more inclusive, the Taliban appointed no women to any of the interim positions, and even disbanded Afghanistan’s Ministry of Women’s Affairs.

The statement went on to say that media is an important element of the country and the Taliban said it “will work for the freedom, functioning and improvement of the media quality. We consider it our duty to take into account the sacred precepts of Islam, the national interests of the country and impartiality in our broadcasts.”

-ABC News’ Christine Theodorou

Sep 07, 12:19 pm

Biden admin pushes back on reports Taliban blocking US citizens from leaving

The Biden administration has pushed back on reports that the Taliban is stopping American citizens with proper documentation from flying out of Mazar-e-Sharif, a northern city where chartered planes have sat on the tarmac for a week.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking in Qatar, confirmed for the first time on Tuesday that there are “a small number of Americans” in Mazar-e-Sharif trying to depart, but he told reporters it was his “understanding that the Taliban has not denied access to anyone holding a valid document … but because all of these people are grouped together, that’s meant that flights had not been allowed to go.”

In other words, in his view, the Taliban is blocking the larger group, and the Americans were unfortunately stopped because they’re alongside others who don’t have valid documents.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki, was also asked about Americans stuck in Mazar-e-Sharif on Tuesday and whether the administration views it as a “hostage situation.”

“No, that is not what we would characterize it as,” she told reporters on Air Force One.

“Our secretary of state is in Qatar right now working on a range of options, including getting flights up and operational and going. And what we have seen is that individuals who have documentation are able to depart,” Psaki added.

Sep 07, 11:47 am

Taliban announce new caretaker government

The Taliban have announced a new caretaker government for Afghanistan on Tuesday, naming Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund, who is on the United Nations sanctions list and described as “one of the most effective Taliban commanders,” as the interim prime minister, and Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as deputy prime minister.

The militant group appointed former Guantanamo Bay Detention Camp detainee Mullah Abdul Haq Waseeq as Afghan Intelligence Chief. The new government also includes two Haqqani leaders with $5 million in U.S. bounties on their heads as ministers.

Along with several other ministers, none of which was a woman, the Taliban announced the disbandment of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs from its new caretaker government.

Sep 07, 4:55 am
Around 100 Americans remain in Afghanistan, Blinken says

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday that “somewhere around 100” Americans remain in Afghanistan.

“We believe the number of those who have American citizenship — many of them dual nationals — who remain in Afghanistan is somewhere around 100,” Blinken said during a press conference in Qatar’s capital. “We’re in direct contact with virtually all of them.”

“For weeks now, we’ve been working very closely with Qatar, with Turkey to see to it that the Kabul airport could get up and running again to civilian air travel as soon as possible,” he continued. “We’re also working to facilitate overland passage for those who wish to depart when it comes to charters.”

Blinken admitted it’s a challenge without personnel on the ground in Afghanistan but one that “we’re determined to work through.”

“Many thousands of U.S. citizens or permanent residents or at-risk Afghans, who successfully evacuated and relocated from Kabul, have left aboard charter flights. Now, others are working to arrange more such flights,” he said. “We are working around-the-clock with NGOs, with members of congress and advocacy groups, providing any and all information and doing all we can to clear any roadblocks that they’ve identified to make sure that charter flights carrying Americans or others to whom we have a special responsibility can depart Afghanistan safely.”

U.S. officials have been engaging with the Taliban on departing flights, according to Blinken.

“They said that they will let people with travel documents freely depart,” he noted. “We will hold them to that, so will dozens of countries. The international community is watching to see if the Taliban will live up to their commitments.”

“It’s my understanding that the Taliban has not denied access to anyone holding a valid document, but they have said that those without valid documents at this point can’t leave,” he added. “Because all of these people are grouped together, that’s meant that flights had not been allowed to go. We’ve been able to identify a small number of Americans who we believe are seeking to depart from Mazar-e-Sharif with their families.”

Sep 06, 3:07 pm

4 US citizens evacuated over land border

The State Department has facilitated the evacuation of four U.S. citizens across one of Afghanistan’s land borders — the first Americans to leave the country with U.S. government help since President Joe Biden ended the massive, chaotic evacuation efforts that closed the country’s longest war.

Four Americans made their way across land with Taliban knowledge, according to a senior State Department official, who told ABC News they evacuated without Taliban interference.

The official declined to say which country they arrived in but added they were in “good condition” and met by U.S. embassy staff from the local embassy.

While the State Department helped these four evacuate, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Sunday there were approximately 100 U.S. citizens still trying to escape the country, nearly a week after the last U.S. forces departed.

Among those left behind, there are several Americans in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif ready to board charter flights out that are being blocked by the Taliban, according to several sources. The Taliban has not give permission to the airlines, leaving the potential passengers stuck in the city now for days.

A State Department spokesperson told ABC News Sunday that they could not confirm the manifests of these flights because there were no U.S. personnel or assets in Afghanistan anymore, but added, “We will hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan.”

Sep 06, 4:53 am
Taliban claims victory over Panjshir, last pocket of resistance

The Taliban claimed victory Monday over Afghan opposition forces in Panjshir province, the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan and the only province that the Taliban had not seized last month.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement saying Panjshir was under full control of Taliban fighters.

“We tried our best to solve the problem through negotiations, and they rejected talks and then we had to send our forces to fight,” Mujahid later told a press conference in Kabul on Monday.

The Taliban posted photos and videos on social media apparently showing fighters standing at the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s office and raising the group’s flag in the provincial capital.

A spokesperson for the resistance group, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), took to Twitter to deny that Panjshir had fallen.

“Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir is false,” the spokesperson tweeted. “The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the ppl of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails.”

Sep 05, 6:31 pm
Some US citizens unable to fly out of Afghanistan due to Taliban interference

The Taliban is blocking efforts to get U.S. citizens out of Afghanistan on flights, according to a non-governmental organization arranging travel for some passengers.

Marina LeGree, the CEO of Ascend, told ABC News that the Taliban has prevented 600 people from leaving Mazar-e-Sharif by charter plane for six days.

The NGO is helping 100 of those passengers, none of whom are American, to try to fly out. LeGree said she is aware of 19 U.S. citizens who are trying to leave but Ascend is not overseeing their departure.

“Ascend, an organization dedicated to empowering young women through athletics, has members trying to leave Afghanistan,” LeGree told ABC News in a statement Sunday. “We call on the Taliban to honor their commitments and allow these charters to depart immediately.”

The affected passengers are either staying at the airport or at nearby hotels, according to LeGree.

The U.S. Department of State did not confirm whether there are Americans on those flights, but said it “will hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(NEW YORK) — Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba — Twenty years after 9/11, the trial of the alleged mastermind of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, is set to resume once again after a series of delays, including the coronavirus pandemic.

Mohammed will be joined by four co-defendants in pretrial proceedings as a new judge presides over the military commission nearly 20 years after 2,977 people were killed at the World Trade Center, Pentagon and Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

The moment is primed to create headlines as the legal process resumes not only days before the 20th anniversary of the attacks, but also less than two weeks after the U.S. military completed its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

It is also fraught with a sense of justice delayed for years, charged battles over whether civilian or military authorities should try the cases and of course, the fight over the infamous Guantanamo Bay complex itself, where a number of those swept up in the war on terror were held indefinitely.

Also at issue is how much the public will learn and when. With concerns about classified information, images and transcripts from the courtroom, while in public view, will be tightly controlled and the proceedings could be halted for national security reasons. After this pretrial phase Sept. 7-17, another pretrial continuation is set for Nov. 1-19.

There could be additional pretrial phases added after that, at the discretion of the judge. After that, the military commission will go through a process that could last two months to select military officers to serve as panel members. The trial itself could begin as soon as next April, although a date is not yet definite. Mohammed and his codefendants face capital charges that could carry the death penalty if convicted.

Approximately 15 reporters received a tour Sunday afternoon of the Expeditionary Legal Complex (ELC) at Camp Justice, where the hearings will take place.

Here’s what we learned about the courtroom and proceedings, and how we got to this point:

A nearly decade-long detention

The defendants in this case were arraigned in 2012, but have yet to truly see their day in court because of a numerous delays in the pretrial process.

One of the key issues to be decided before the trial can begin is what evidence will be admissible. The defendants were held in secret prisons abroad, called CIA black sites, before they were transferred to the Guantanamo facility. There, they were subjected to enhanced interrogation techniques, which many human rights organizations and the defense teams argue are tantamount to torture.

Accounts obtained after the prisoners came to Guantanamo are also in question. Defense lawyers contend that their clients were already conditioned to give their interrogators the answers they wanted to hear.

The court itself has also undergone many changes during the duration of the trial. Established by former President George W. Bush in 2001, the Guantanamo military commission was revised via Congressional act in 2006 and later amended through the legislative branch again in 2009. Former President Obama attempted to transfer detainees to the U.S., but was effectively blocked by Congress.

Critics have argued the military court is unconstitutional and unjust because the accused are denied the right to due process and a speedy trial.

The courtroom

There is a sound-proof gallery where 53 reporters and family members of 9/11 victims and survivors of the terrorist attacks can watch the proceedings through sound-proof glass. A blue curtain separates family members of victims or 9/11 survivors from the press, if they wish to pull it closed for privacy. The proceedings can also be observed by members of the public at Fort Meade, Maryland via closed-circuit TV.

If classified material is raised during the trial, the judge or trial judiciary staff, such as a court information security officer, or CISO, could stop the closed-circuit feed — cutting off the presentation before any classified information is revealed publicly. The prosecution could also preemptively invoke national security to disrupt the defense’s argument even before any classified information is actually revealed.

The courtroom — built specifically for the trial of the 9/11 defendants, cost $12 million to construct in 2008 and is basically a renovated warehouse. Despite rhetoric by the Obama and Biden administrations promising to “close GITMO” — that discussion is really only about ending the detainee program, and the Naval Station, which has been under U.S. control through a lease with the Cuban government since 1903 is not in jeopardy of closing.

After visiting the gallery, reporters were taken into the large courtroom — approximately 100 feet by 100 feet — if not a little bigger.

The defendants have not been in the courtroom since early 2020 – just before the COVID-19 pandemic began. In addition to Mohammed, four other defendants charged in the 9/11 terrorist attacks will be in the courtroom: Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ammar al-Baluchi (also known as Abd al Aziz Ali) and Mustafa al Hawsawi.

The defendants will sit at five tables alongside their defense teams and interpreters — with Mohammed in the front — and his alleged co-conspirators seated from front-to-back in the order listed on the indictment and above.

Col. Matthew McCall will preside, becoming the fourth judge to sit on the bench during the pretrial proceedings. McCall was initially selected to oversee the trial last year, but withdrawn after prosecutors objected, citing his lack of experience. He was reinstated after completing two years as a military judge, meeting the minimum requirement for the war court.

At the base of each seat for the defendants are chains anchored into the carpet that could potentially be hooked to shackles if the judge determines a defendant must be restrained, although Wendy Kelly — chief of operations at the Office of Military Commissions Guantanamo Bay — did not believe this would be needed. There is also a hospital bed positioned in the back of the courtroom for a defendant in another trial.

A sixth table was built in the courtroom for a prospective sixth 9/11 defendant, although it will likely be unoccupied since the defendant was not indicted.

Timetable and priority on classified information

Protecting classified intelligence is a priority during the hearings. Information about events, location and timing could appear to be innocuous but combine to present a classified narrative. Kelly said the defendants have frequently sought to delay the proceedings by revealing classified information and details that they are privy to themselves.

The military commission is expected to have an open session all day Tuesday and a closed session on Wednesday, when none of the defendants will be permitted in the courtroom as the judge, defense and prosecution have a classified session. On Thursday, the court is expected to have an open session for a half day, and then another closed session on Friday. The pretrial proceedings are set to resume the following Monday and potentially carry on through Sept. 17.

What happens next is largely up to the discretion of the judge. He is expected to hold additional pretrial hearings later this year, but jury selection will not begin until 2022 at the earliest.

No video or audio from the courtroom will be released publicly, although an unofficial courtroom transcript will be posted approximately one day later, depending on the length of the proceedings and any potential security review for classification. There will be a sketch artist, who will be present in the soundproof gallery to draw images of the defendants in the courtroom. Kelly said that steps will be taken in the gallery to observe social distancing — with all attendees required to wear face masks. The judge must still determine whether to socially distance the defendants and their defense teams or ask them to wear masks.

Four out of five of the 9/11 defendants accepted an offer to receive vaccinations against COVID-19, and some personnel on the base have tested positive for the disease.

Approximately 10 remote-controlled video cameras are mounted on the walls and ceilings of the courtroom and Kelly assured ABC News that there are no hidden cameras in the courtroom.

To the far right of the courtroom is a box for the panel members — who serve as a jury and will be comprised of 12 military officers, with four alternates (although six may ultimately be chosen).

The pool of prospective jurors is comprised of hundreds of officers from all branches of the service. They are not expected to be sequestered during the trial, but may be asked by the judge not to read or view media reports on the trial, or the conduct interviews with the media. Kelly predicted it could take up to two months to vet and select prospective jurors.

Along the right side of the courtroom are several tables for the prosecution, which is also comprised of U.S. citizens — some civilian and some military. There is a podium in the middle of the courtroom that has a laptop computer and microphone. The podium swivels 360 degrees, so any speaker may turn to address the panel of military officers serving as the jury, for example.

There will be five 9/11 victim family members or survivors of the terrorist attacks — and each may bring one guest to accompany them in the gallery, as well as VFM (Victim Family Member) escorts. No recordings are allowed — so military security is present to ensure that nobody breaks the rules imposed by the military commission.

The detainees

After viewing the courtroom, journalists were taken outside to view holding cells where the defendants will be detained during any recesses in the proceedings, as well as immediately before the day’s proceedings commence. Reporters were permitted to peer into the cells but were prohibited from fully entering for security reasons.

Kelly said that detainees, who are held at the Joint Task Force miles from the courtroom, will be awoken about 5 a.m. each day, and then taken to the holding cells about 6:30 a.m. There are five cells, numbered ELC14 through ELC18. Inside each is a mounted bed with a foam cushion resting on a mattress. There are no sheets, after several detainees died by suicide years ago.

The cells also have a toilet and a Qibla pointer — an arrow that points toward Islam’s holiest site — the Kaaba in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Monitors provide a closed-circuit feed to the defendants in each cell, if they decide not to remain in the courtroom or are removed for some reason.

There is also a larger holding cell nearby that can accommodate meetings with more members of the defense team. Between the larger holding cell and the five cells is another small building with a shower. There was also a make-shift shower positioned between cells ELC14 and ELC15. This was built on the site in case any of the defendants have to stay overnight at the ELC, and then later a more modern shower facility with additional privacy was added.

A thick black netting is designed to prevent anyone from the outside to see movements within. There was a long corridor leading from the detention cells to the courtroom, which the defendants will have to traverse in order to enter the courtroom.

Another building within the ELC is ready for any evidence introduced or entered into the record at the hearings — complete with digital servers. Nearly all of the evidence is digitally presented, although Kelly said there will also be physical evidence presented from the sites of the terrorist attacks. That physical evidence is possessed by the FBI in a locker across a courtyard in the ELC.

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort the past two weeks.

But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind and the Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave.

When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House on Aug. 18, he said he was committed to keeping the U.S. military in Afghanistan as long as needed. “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” he said.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Sep 07, 4:55 am
Around 100 Americans remain in Afghanistan, Blinken says

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Tuesday that “somewhere around 100” Americans remain in Afghanistan.

“We believe the number of those who have American citizenship — many of them dual nationals — who remain in Afghanistan is somewhere around 100,” Blinken said during a press conference in Qatar’s capital. “We’re in direct contact with virtually all of them.”

“For weeks now, we’ve been working very closely with Qatar, with Turkey to see to it that the Kabul airport could get up and running again to civilian air travel as soon as possible,” he continued. “We’re also working to facilitate overland passage for those who wish to depart when it comes to charters.”

Blinken admitted it’s a challenge without personnel on the ground in Afghanistan but one that “we’re determined to work through.”

“Many thousands of U.S. citizens or permanent residents or at-risk Afghans, who successfully evacuated and relocated from Kabul, have left aboard charter flights. Now, others are working to arrange more such flights,” he said. “We are working around-the-clock with NGOs, with members of congress and advocacy groups, providing any and all information and doing all we can to clear any roadblocks that they’ve identified to make sure that charter flights carrying Americans or others to whom we have a special responsibility can depart Afghanistan safely.”

U.S. officials have been engaging with the Taliban on departing flights, according to Blinken.

“They said that they will let people with travel documents freely depart,” he noted. “We will hold them to that, so will dozens of countries. The international community is watching to see if the Taliban will live up to their commitments.”

“It’s my understanding that the Taliban has not denied access to anyone holding a valid document, but they have said that those without valid documents at this point can’t leave,” he added. “Because all of these people are grouped together, that’s meant that flights had not been allowed to go. We’ve been able to identify a small number of Americans who we believe are seeking to depart from Mazar-e-Sharif with their families.”

Sep 06, 3:07 pm

4 US citizens evacuated over land border

The State Department has facilitated the evacuation of four U.S. citizens across one of Afghanistan’s land borders — the first Americans to leave the country with U.S. government help since President Joe Biden ended the massive, chaotic evacuation efforts that closed the country’s longest war.

Four Americans made their way across land with Taliban knowledge, according to a senior State Department official, who told ABC News they evacuated without Taliban interference.

The official declined to say which country they arrived in but added they were in “good condition” and met by U.S. embassy staff from the local embassy.

While the State Department helped these four evacuate, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain said Sunday there were approximately 100 U.S. citizens still trying to escape the country, nearly a week after the last U.S. forces departed.

Among those left behind, there are several Americans in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif ready to board charter flights out that are being blocked by the Taliban, according to several sources. The Taliban has not give permission to the airlines, leaving the potential passengers stuck in the city now for days.

A State Department spokesperson told ABC News Sunday that they could not confirm the manifests of these flights because there were no U.S. personnel or assets in Afghanistan anymore, but added, “We will hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan.”

Sep 06, 4:53 am
Taliban claims victory over Panjshir, last pocket of resistance

The Taliban claimed victory Monday over Afghan opposition forces in Panjshir province, the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan and the only province that the Taliban had not seized last month.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement saying Panjshir was under full control of Taliban fighters.

“We tried our best to solve the problem through negotiations, and they rejected talks and then we had to send our forces to fight,” Mujahid later told a press conference in Kabul on Monday.

The Taliban posted photos and videos on social media apparently showing fighters standing at the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s office and raising the group’s flag in the provincial capital.

A spokesperson for the resistance group, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), took to Twitter to deny that Panjshir had fallen.

“Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir is false,” the spokesperson tweeted. “The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the ppl of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails.”

Sep 05, 6:31 pm
Some US citizens unable to fly out of Afghanistan due to Taliban interference

The Taliban is blocking efforts to get U.S. citizens out of Afghanistan on flights, according to a non-governmental organization arranging travel for some passengers.

Marina LeGree, the CEO of Ascend, told ABC News that the Taliban has prevented 600 people from leaving Mazar-e-Sharif by charter plane for six days.

The NGO is helping 100 of those passengers, none of whom are American, to try to fly out. LeGree said she is aware of 19 U.S. citizens who are trying to leave but Ascend is not overseeing their departure.

“Ascend, an organization dedicated to empowering young women through athletics, has members trying to leave Afghanistan,” LeGree told ABC News in a statement Sunday. “We call on the Taliban to honor their commitments and allow these charters to depart immediately.”

The affected passengers are either staying at the airport or at nearby hotels, according to LeGree.

The U.S. Department of State did not confirm whether there are Americans on those flights, but said it “will hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(MOSCOW) — One of Belarus’ top opposition figures, who helped lead massive protests against authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko last year, has been sentenced to 11 years in jail by a court in Minsk.

Maria Kolesnikova was one of three women who found themselves at the head of the huge peaceful protests that last summer threatened to end Lukashenko’s 26-year rule but that have since been quashed with relentless repression.

Most leading opposition figures, including Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, who has become the movement’s primary leader, were forced into exile shortly after the protests began last August, triggered by Lukashenko claiming victory in a presidential election widely condemned internationally as rigged.

But Kolesnikova refused to go into exile even as Lukashenko reasserted his grip. Last September, security forces abducted her off the streets in the capital Minsk and then drove her to the border with Ukraine, where they tried to forcibly deport her. But Kolesnikova resisted the attempt, tearing up her passport to make her deportation impossible and refusing to go, despite knowing she faced certain imprisonment in Belarus.

A Minsk court on Monday sentenced her to 11 years in prison, along with another prominent activist, Maxim Znak, after convicting them on charges of extremism and illegally trying to seize power.

He and Kolesnikova were members of the opposition’s Coordination Council that was founded during the protests to demand a peaceful handover of power from Lukashenko.

Their trial was held behind closed doors with no evidence produced publicly and both had pleaded not guilty, denouncing the charges as political.

The sentences follow months of intense crackdown in Belarus as Lukashenko’s regime has sought to smash any organized dissent after riding out the protests. Most independent media and human rights groups have been shut down and hundreds arrested with dozens already sentenced. Virtually all leading opposition figures are now jailed or in exile.

Western countries swiftly condemned Monday’s verdict, with the United States and European Union demanding their immediate release.

Secretary of State Anthony Blinken slammed the sentences as “shameful” and based on “bogus” charges.

“We reiterate our call for an end to the campaign of repression against the people of Belarus for exercising their human rights inside and outside Belarus and for the immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners — including Ms. Kalesnikava and Mr. Znak,” Blinken said in a statement.

Kolesnikova and a heart shape she forms with her hands became symbols of the protest movement. She and Tikhanovskaya were also seen as emblematic of the pivotal role women played in the protests that saw hundreds of thousands of people take to the streets. During the demonstrations, women holding flowers and dressed in red and white — the colors of the protests — often formed peaceful human chains, early on forcing riot police to back down.

Video from court on Monday showed Kolesnikova smiling and making the trademark heart shape with her hands in handcuffs while standing in a glass cage.

Key opposition figure in Belarus disappears

Kolesnikova had been a professional flute player before getting involved in politics for the first time last year when she became the spokesperson for Viktor Babriko, an energy executive who tried to run against Lukashenko in the election.

After Babriko was jailed before the vote on fraud charges widely criticized as political, she linked up with Tikhanovskaya, who herself had stepped in to replace her own husband as a candidate who was also imprisoned.

“Maria & Maksim are the heroes for Belarusians,” Tikhanovskaya wrote on Twitter following the verdicts.

“The regime wants us to see them crushed & exhausted,” she wrote, noting the video showing Kolesnikova and Znak smiling instead. “But look – they are smiling & dancing. They know – we will release them much earlier than these 11 years. Their terms shouldn’t frighten us — Maksim and Maria wouldn’t want this.”

 

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(KABUL, Afghanistan) — With the U.S. military and diplomatic withdrawal now complete after 20 years in Afghanistan, the Taliban has taken over the country, including the Kabul airport, the site of an often-desperate evacuation effort the past two weeks.

But even as the last American troops were flown out to meet President Joe Biden’s Aug. 31 deadline, other Americans who wanted to flee the country were left behind and the Biden administration is now focused on a “diplomatic mission” to help them leave.

When President Joe Biden sat down with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos for an exclusive one-on-one interview at the White House on Aug. 18, he said he was committed to keeping the U.S. military in Afghanistan as long as needed. “If there are American citizens left, we’re going to stay until we get them all out,” he said.

Here are the latest developments. All times Eastern:

Sep 06, 4:53 am
Taliban claims victory over Panjshir, last pocket of resistance

The Taliban claimed victory Monday over Afghan opposition forces in Panjshir province, the last pocket of resistance in Afghanistan and the only province that the Taliban had not seized last month.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid issued a statement saying Panjshir was under full control of Taliban fighters.

“We tried our best to solve the problem through negotiations, and they rejected talks and then we had to send our forces to fight,” Mujahid later told a press conference in Kabul on Monday.

The Taliban posted photos and videos on social media apparently showing fighters standing at the gate of the Panjshir provincial governor’s office and raising the group’s flag in the provincial capital.

A spokesperson for the resistance group, the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan (NRF), took to Twitter to deny that Panjshir had fallen.

“Taliban’s claim of occupying Panjshir is false,” the spokesperson tweeted. “The NRF forces are present in all strategic positions across the valley to continue the fight. We assure the ppl of Afghanistan that the struggle against the Taliban & their partners will continue until justice & freedom prevails.”

Sep 05, 6:31 pm
Some US citizens unable to fly out of Afghanistan due to Taliban interference

The Taliban is blocking efforts to get U.S. citizens out of Afghanistan on flights, according to a non-governmental organization arranging travel for some passengers.

Marina LeGree, the CEO of Ascend, told ABC News that the Taliban has prevented 600 people from leaving Mazar-e-Sharif by charter plane for six days.

The NGO is helping 100 of those passengers, none of whom are American, to try to fly out. LeGree said she is aware of 19 U.S. citizens who are trying to leave but Ascend is not overseeing their departure.

“Ascend, an organization dedicated to empowering young women through athletics, has members trying to leave Afghanistan,” LeGree told ABC News in a statement Sunday. “We call on the Taliban to honor their commitments and allow these charters to depart immediately.”

The affected passengers are either staying at the airport or at nearby hotels, according to LeGree.

The U.S. Department of State did not confirm whether there are Americans on those flights, but said it “will hold the Taliban to its pledge to let people freely depart Afghanistan.”

Copyright © 2021, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

(TOKYO) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga will not seek re-election as president of the country’s Liberal Democratic Party, effectively ending his term as prime minister after just one year.

Suga told reporters Friday that he would instead work on policy measures, specifically highlighting efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Workin on both the pandemic and a re-election bid, he said, would require so much energy that he felt he must choose one or the other.

“The lives and livelihoods of the people is my first priority,” he explained.

Suga’s announcement came as a surprise despite poor approval ratings for his administration.

He took over in September 2020 after former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigned due to health issues. His handling of the coronavirus pandemic has been publicly criticized, including the decision to go ahead with the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, against public sentiment.

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(AUCKLAND, New Zealand) — New Zealand is reeling from a knife-wielding rampage at a busy Auckland supermarket that left six fighting for their lives and the assailant dead. Authorities have called it a terror attack.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern confirmed that the man behind Friday’s terrorist attack in Auckland, who was shot dead by police after he stabbed six people in a supermarket, was inspired by ideologies of the Islamic State militant group.

“A violent extremist undertook a terrorist attack on innocent New Zealanders,” Ardern said at a briefing Friday afternoon.

Three of the six victims were critically injured, one is in serious condition and two are in moderate condition, police said.

The attacker, who cannot be identified under local laws, was a Sri Lankan national who arrived in New Zealand in 2011. He had been a “person of interest” and under heavy surveillance by the New Zealand police and Special Tactics Group since 2016, Ardern said.

The attack took place at LynnMall in the district of New Lynn on Friday afternoon. Officers, who were closely following the man, watched as he entered the Countdown supermarket.

Police Commissioner Andrew Coster said they believe the man took a knife from one of the supermarket shelves. The officers on the scene “challenged the man and diverted his attention.” Police shot and killed him within one minute of beginning the attack.

“We were doing absolutely everything possible to monitor him and indeed the fact that we were able to intervene so quickly, in roughly 60 seconds, shows just how closely we were watching him,” said Coster during Friday’s briefing.

Coster said the attacker was a “lone actor” and authorities are confident there is no further threat posed to the public.

When asked why police resisted arresting or deporting the attacker in recent years, despite “his interest in extremist ideology,” Ardern said authorities did everything they could, within the legal means, “to keep people safe from this individual.”

“What happened today was despicable. It was hateful. It was wrong,” Ardern said.

“It was carried out by an individual—not a faith, not a culture, not an ethnicity, but an individual person—who was gripped by ideology that is not supported here by anyone or any community,” she added. “He alone carries the responsibility for these acts. Let that be where the judgment falls.”

New Zealand has been on high alert for terror attacks since early 2019, when a white supremacist gunman killed 51 people at two mosques in Christchurch. This May, four people were stabbed in a supermarket in Dunedin on the country’s South Island.

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(LONDON) — Prince Harry gave an impassioned speech at an awards ceremony last night, pleading with governments and pharmaceutical companies to do more to vaccinate the world.

“Where you’re born should not affect your ability to survive, when the drugs and know-how exist to keep you alive and well,” the Duke of Sussex told attendees of the 24th annual GQ Men of the Year Awards.

Harry was presenting The Heroes of the Year Award to Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, Dr. Catherine Green and the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine.

Speaking via video link, he called them “heroes of the highest order who gave us an instrument to fight this disease,” adding, “They are our nation’s pride and we are deeply indebted to their service.”

But as he hailed “their breakthrough research” he also called on others to do more.

“Until every community can access the vaccine, and until every community is connected to trustworthy information about the vaccine, then we are all at risk,” he said.

He went on, “As people sit in the room with you tonight, more than a third of the global population has received at least one dose of the vaccine. That’s more than 5 billion shots given around the world so far. It sounds like a major accomplishment, and in many ways is. But there is a huge disparity between who can and cannot access the vaccine. Less than 2% of people in the developing world have received a single dose at this point and many of their health care workers are still not even vaccinated. We cannot move forward together unless we address this imbalance as one.”

The duke also spoke about the misinformation campaigns that are adding to vaccine hesitancy: “This is a system we need to break if we are to overcome COVID-19 and the rise of new variants,” he said.

He then called on “global governments, pharmaceutical leaders, and heads of business” to do their part.

“That must include sharing vaccine science and supporting and empowering developing countries with more flexibility,” he said.

Harry and his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, have previously spoken out on vaccine inequality.

Last May the pair were campaign chairs of “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World,” an international COVID-19 vaccination effort organized by Global Citizen.

Speaking at that event Harry said, “None of us should be comfortable thinking that we could be fine when so many others are suffering. In reality, and especially with this pandemic, when any suffer, we all suffer,” Harry also said in his remarks. “We must look beyond ourselves with empathy and compassion for those we know, and those we don’t. We need to lift up all of humanity and make sure that no person or community is left behind.”

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(LONDON) — At one minute before midnight local time on Aug. 31, the last U.S. servicemember was withdrawn from Afghanistan. It marked the end to almost two decades of war and a frantic and heavily criticized evacuation effort prompted by the Taliban rapidly recapturing the country.

The effort, marred by a deadly terror attack, brought 123,000 people, including 5,500 U.S. citizens out of the country since the middle of August in what American officials have described as one of the largest, most complex evacuations in history.

But other countries played a role in getting large numbers of people out of Afghanistan, including those in the region, Europe and Asia. Their flights evacuated tens of thousands, including some U.S. citizens, according to officials and reports, even as thousands more who were hoping to leave the country were left behind — risking a refugee crisis in the region and beyond amid deep humanitarian need.

Here is a look at some of those efforts:

The U.S. did not work alone in overseeing the mass evacuation. As of Aug. 30, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates said they had facilitated the evacuation of 40,000 and 36,500 respectively, with a massive security operation that other countries were able to tap into.

Among those evacuated were citizens and allies of NATO members, as well as other countries who had citizens in Afghanistan, with the Aug. 31 deadline looming and the Taliban indicating that any extension to U.S. troop presence in the country would be considered a “red line.” An estimated 17,000 were flown out as part of the British evacuation effort, codenamed Operation Pitting, from the beginning of the Taliban offensive to Aug. 31. Some 5,000 of those were British nationals, the U.K. Ministry of Defense told ABC News.

Between 100 and 200 U.K. nationals are estimated to have been left behind, and on Wednesday a spokesperson for the prime minister’s office confirmed to ABC News that an envoy had been dispatched to Qatar to speak with Taliban officials about the safe passage of those still in the country, even as the Taliban are now in control of the airport.

On Saturday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the country had evacuated 2,834 people from Afghanistan. The military estimate that a “few dozen” French nationals were left behind.

Germany successfully evacuated 5,300 people including more than 530 German nationals and approximately 4,400 Afghans, according to the foreign ministry and Italy’s foreign minister said the country has taken on the largest number of Afghan evacuees in the European Union, with close to 5,000 Afghan citizens arriving in the country, according to Agence France-Presse.

In Eastern Europe, hundreds of Afghans have arrived in Kosovo, Albania, North Macedonia, many of whom are being housed temporarily at U.S. request and expected to travel on to America, according to local media reports. Russia evacuated some its own citizens, as well as those of its former Soviet allies from Afghanistan last week, according to Russia’s defense minister.

Japan evacuated one national and 15 Afghans, but around 500 people who sought evacuation were left behind after the suicide bombing at Kabul airport led to a reluctance to continue, according to Kyodo News.

In addition to the air evacuations, many Afghans have sought asylum across Afghanistan’s land borders, particularly as the airport became increasingly difficult to get to. Tens of thousands of people have crossed at two major border crossings – Spin Boldak in the south and Torkham in the north. The border, however, is closed to refugees, local officials have said.

Prior to the Taliban offensive, Iran officially had a population of 780,000 Afghan refugees, although it is estimated that a further 2 million may be living in the country without documentation, according to the UNHCR.

However the government, after initially indicating it may be receptive to the idea of accepting new Afghan refugees, has now adopted a policy of not letting Afghans in through one of the country’s main land borders, Iranian state-affiliated media reports.

Bordering Tajikistan and Uzbekistan are both dealing with an influx on Afghans, though so the numbers are estimated in the low thousands. They are reportedly expected to be flown onward to third countries.

The evacuation efforts are unlikely to be the last the world sees in terms of the mass movement of people from the country. Last week the U.N. estimated around 500,000 new refugees in the region seeking to leave the country as a “worst case scenario.” The EU is reportedly drafting a package of more than $700 million worth of aid to Afghanistan’s neighbors amid fears of a repeat of the migrant crisis following the Syrian civil war, according to the Financial Times.

And even with the U.S. led evacuation efforts wrapped up, there is growing pressure from the international community for the Taliban to continue to allow Afghans to leave the country, with many foreign nationals as well as tens of thousands of Afghans who helped during the U.S.’s longest war facing an unknown fate under the new regime.

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(WASHINGTON) — For the thousands of Afghan evacuees bound for the U.S., their rescue flights to America were just one more step in a long journey, but for the airline crews who brought them here — the flights are the most memorable of their careers.

“You felt a part of them because you were the first face they saw when they left those gates,” United Airlines flight attendant Hope Williams said after a flight from Doha, Qatar, to Ramstein Air Base in Germany. “I think when someone tells you that you’re going to safety, that’s what makes the difference.”

Williams worked one of the first U.S. relief flights for United.

“I feel like I lived up to the name my parents gave me. My name is Hope, and even for seven hours — it was short, but I gave them hope,” Williams told ABC News in an interview at Washington Dulles International Airport. “It was a relief to see the children once they made it onto the plane, even at a young age. I think they understood that they were safe.”

United, American and Delta are among six U.S. commercial carriers that bring evacuees to the U.S. under Civil Air Reserve Fleet (CRAF), a Department of Defense program that allows the federal government to use commercial planes during a national defense crisis. The program has only been activated twice before.

Onboard Williams’ flight were dozens of young children, a mother who had a caesarian section three days earlier, her newborn child and an amputee who had been thrown over the airport wall in Kabul. Many had no idea of the plane’s destination.

“Immediately everyone said, where are we going? We’re going to Germany. Where are we going after that? The United States of America. There are a lot of smiles, especially from the children. They did speak English and were able to articulate that to the parents.”

For many evacuees, it was their first time flying.

“I had an elderly lady friend in the back. And unfortunately, the seat that she was sitting in was just to two seats. She was able to sit there by herself, but towards the end, like during the flight, she laid down on the floor, it was just so uncomfortable. But that’s not safe. We’re not allowed to do that. So just talking to her, rubbing her back, I think that made the difference. Felt like grandma to me,” Williams said.

When the first flights arrived at Dulles, federal officials weren’t fully prepared for the arrivals. Evacuees were kept on planes as long as 12 hours after landing. United brought food, diapers, toy and new crews on board to help.

Monique Williams is normally a manager at Dulles but is also a trained flight attendant. When the first flight waited at the gate for six hours with the original crew, she swapped in and stayed on board until customs agents finally gave clearance to deplane.

“I spoke to a woman who was on board with her husband and her twin kids, a boy and a girl. And she was talking to me about her, how her husband works for the U.S. government. And she was discussing how they had to basically within 10 minutes time, pick up whatever they could carry to get in a car, to get out of one location, to try to change cars, to get into another location, to change cars again for the third time, to finally get to the [Kabul] airport. And she mentioned how it was days that they didn’t have adequate food or water, they didn’t shower,” she said.

“I just have to commend our crews because they didn’t want to leave,” she added. “They wanted to stay on the flight with all the people because they had heard these stories. They had built relationships. They had built bonds in the short period of time that they didn’t want to leave them. It was like their family.”

United CEO Scott Kirby flew to Washington to hear the stories.

“They’ll never be another moment like this in my career. And we at United Airlines, all of us, we’re honored to play a small role in helping get the people back here to the United States,” Kirby said. “Dulles Airport for many of these people is going to be like the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. This will be the place that they always remember where they came to freedom.”

ABC News’ Amanda Maile and Nate Luna contributed to this report

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