‘We will get you home,’ Biden tells Americans in Afghanistan – as it happened

• President acknowledges evacuations were paused for a few hours
• Austin says Americans have been beaten by Taliban in Kabul
• Pressure on Biden to speed up visas for Afghans who helped US
• How many refugees are being evacuated and where will they go?

1.01am BST

That's all from me. Here's what we covered today:

12.40am BST

The Pentagon said on Friday that the US used three military helicopters to bring 169 Americans to the Kabul airport from a building that was just 200m (656ft) away.

John Kirby, the defense department spokesman, said a decision was made to use the helicopters on Thursday because the Americans were unable to get to the gate of the airport. They were picked up from the nearby Hotel Baron, Reuters reported.