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The peace deal was signed after 18 months of talks in Doha US officials and Taliban representatives have signed a final peace deal after months of negotiations in Qatar's capital to end the United States's longest war, fought in Afghanistan since 2001. Saturday's agreement, signed in Doha in the presence of leaders from Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey India, Indonesia, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, will pave the way for the United States to gradually withdraw its troops. The two sides have long wrangled over the US demand for a ceasefire before the final peace agreement was signed.  In a statement, the Taliban said it had reached an agreement "about the termination of occupation of Afghanistan". "The accord about the complete withdrawal of all foreign forces from Afghanistan and never intervening in its affairs in the future is undoubtedly a great achievement," it added. Earlier on Saturday, the Taliban ordered all its fighters to halt fighting and...

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Qatar’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani attend the signing of a US-Taliban agreement in the Qatari capital Doha on February 29, 2020. - Washington and the Taliban are set to sign a landmark deal in Doha that would see them agree to the withdrawal of thousands of US troops from Afghanistan in return for insurgent guarantees. A peace deal was signed in the Qatari capital of Doha on Saturday, which aims to kick-start U.S. troop withdrawals from Afghanistan. U.S. and Taliban negotiators signed the agreement at approximately 4 p.m. local time which will allow a reduction in American troops and targets a permanent cease-fire.  Afghans are eagerly anticipating that it will end the war, America’s longest ever, which began more than 18 years ago when President George W. Bush ordered bombings in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. U.S. troops will be reduced to 8,...

Mulvaney says the media have an agenda against President Trump The acting White House chief of staff says US media is stoking a coronavirus panic because they hope it will take down President Donald Trump. "The reason they are paying so much attention to it today is that they think this is going to bring down the president," Mick Mulvaney said. Speaking to a group of conservatives on Friday, he added people should ignore the media in order to calm the markets. Global markets have continued to fall as the virus infects over 50 countries. There have been 82,000 reported cases of Covid-19 worldwide and 2,800 deaths since the disease emerged late last year. All but 3,664 cases and 57 of the deaths have been reported in China. The number of Americans infected with with virus stands at 60. What is Mr Mulvaney's argument? "We took extraordinary steps four or five weeks ago," Mr Mulvaney said, referring to the Trump administration order to close the bor...

Apple has warned that disruption in China from the coronavirus will mean revenues falling short of forecasts. The tech giant said production and sales were affected, and that "worldwide iPhone supply would be temporarily constrained". The iPhone maker is the first major US company to say that the epidemic will hit its finances. Apple, which had forecast record revenues of up to $67bn in the current quarter, did not reveal the likely hit. "We do not expect to meet the revenue guidance we provided for the March quarter," the company said in a statement, adding that it was "experiencing a slower return to normal conditions" than expected. With most stores in China either closed or operating at reduced hours, sales of Apple products would be lower, the company said. Apple said that "while our iPhone manufacturing partner sites are located outside the Hubei province - and while all of these facilities have reopened - they are ramping up more...

Airlines have warned of a severe financial impact as the coronavirus dampens demand for travel in Asia. Australia's Qantas said the outbreak would cost it up to A$150m ($99m; £76m), while Air France-KLM estimated a hit of up to €200m (£168m). Air France is extending a ban on Chinese flights until at least the end of March, while Qantas will cut flights to Asia by 15% until the end of May. It comes amid concerns of the impact on the global economy. Qantas estimated that the coronavirus would result in a 100m -150m Australian dollar hit for the financial year, once it had accounted for cutting flights. In a statement chief executive Alan Joyce said: "Coronavirus resulted in the suspension of our flights to mainland China and we're now seeing some secondary impacts with weaker demand on Hong Kong, Singapore and to a lesser extent Japan. "We've also seen some domestic demand weakness emerging, so we're adjusting Qantas and Jetstar's capacity in ...

Airlines stand to lose $29.3bn (£23.7bn) of revenue this year due to the coronavirus outbreak, the global airline industry body has warned. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) predicts demand for air travel will fall for the first time in more than a decade. Airlines in China and other parts of the Asia Pacific region are expected to take the vast majority of the impact. It comes as carriers around the world have been forced to reduce flights. In total, airlines in the Asia Pacific region are set to see a $27.8bn revenue loss in 2020, while those outside Asia are expected to lose $1.5bn in revenue, IATA has forecast. Of that figure, IATA predicts that carriers in China are set to lose revenue of $12.8bn in their home market alone. "Airlines are making difficult decisions to cut capacity and in some cases routes," said IATA's director-general Alexandre de Juniac. "This will be a very tough year for airlines." However, IATA cautioned...

Apple's chief executive Tim Cook said the company would open its first physical stores in India in 2021 and a online outlet later this year. Apple had to seek special approval from the Indian government to open a store without a local partner. The announcement was made at the company's annual shareholders' meeting. Investors at the meeting also voted on a proposal that the firm should alter how it responds when governments ask it to remove apps from its marketplace. Though the measure wasn't approved, it failed by a slimmer margin then similar proposals in the past. Apple's move into India, the second largest smartphone market in the world, has been expected for some time, but the announcement of a date was new. In 2018 India changed the laws that prevented foreign brands from opening single-brand stores in the country. Nevertheless Mr Cook said India had wanted Apple to open its store with a local partner. Mr Cook told investors he didn't think...

UK government employees lost their mobile devices - or had them stolen - at least 2,004 times in 12 months. The numbers, released under a Freedom of Information request, include smartphones, laptops, and tablets. The Ministry of Defence reported the most missing devices, with 767 lost or stolen, followed by tax authority HMRC, with 288. While the large majority of devices were encrypted, nearly 200 may not have been, the information reveals. The Ministry of Defence said its employees lost more devices because there were more of them. The numbers include military personnel in the Army, the Royal Navy, and Royal Air Force. It also said it had "robust" procedures in place around encryption. The report was commissioned by mobile communications firm Viasat. It contacted 47 public bodies and said 27 answered its Freedom of Information requests with data from 1 June 2018 - 1 June 2019. Of the 2,004 devices: 1,474 were reported lost 347 were stolen 183 could have been e...