US to remove all embassy staff from Afghanistan in next 72 hours


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The US will remove all staff from its embassy in the Afghan capital Kabul in the next 72 hours, US TV network CNN reported on Sunday.

"A core group of top US officials will stay at the Kabul airport for now," CNN's national security correspondent Kylie Atwood tweeted.

The move comes after US President Joe Biden said he had authorised sending another 1,000 troops to the country to ensure the "orderly and safe drawdown" of forces, increasing the number of marines and soldiers sent to aid evacuation efforts to 3,000.

Mr Biden ordered US forces to withdraw from Afghanistan by August 31, before the Taliban took over large parts of the country and major cities in a 10-day offensive.

On Sunday, the Taliban took over the key city of Jalalabad, closing off the last remaining border crossing out of Afghanistan.

Countries such as Canada, Germany and the UK have also been moving to withdraw their diplomats as the situation worsens, with the Taliban surrounding Kabul on Sunday afternoon.

Negotiations inside the Presidential Palace indicate that President Ashraf Ghani may plan to hand power over to a transitional government.

The Taliban said they would not take over the capital by force and would instead await the "peaceful transition" of power.

After that announcement, acting Interior Minister Abdul Mirzakwal said in a video message that the capital would remain unscathed and secured.

He also said there would be a transitional government. Until then, Afghan forces have been instructed to maintain law and order, he said.

Government departments asked employees to go home and private businesses and banks have closed for the day.

The Taliban told government workers they would be safe.

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US tops drug cost charts

The study of 13 essential drugs showed costs in the United States were about 300 per cent higher than the global average, followed by Germany at 126 per cent and 122 per cent in the UAE.

Thailand, Kenya and Malaysia were rated as nations with the lowest costs, about 90 per cent cheaper.

In the case of insulin, diabetic patients in the US paid five and a half times the global average, while in the UAE the costs are about 50 per cent higher than the median price of branded and generic drugs.

Some of the costliest drugs worldwide include Lipitor for high cholesterol. 

The study’s price index placed the US at an exorbitant 2,170 per cent higher for Lipitor than the average global price and the UAE at the eighth spot globally with costs 252 per cent higher.

High blood pressure medication Zestril was also more than 2,680 per cent higher in the US and the UAE price was 187 per cent higher than the global price.

Updated: August 15, 2021, 12:10 PM`