BREAKING Slovakia's prime minister injured in shooting
Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital.
An Afghan journalist, who is now in Qatar, is telling the story of his escape from Afghanistan and his expectations for his life once he reunites with family in Canada.
Akbar Shinwari told CTV National News he has been in an evacuation centre in Doha, Qatar’s capital, for the past month after being rescued by the Qatari ambassador on the ground in Afghanistan.
"He was the one who was helping all others, including me," Shinwari explained.
He said the Qatari ambassador helped rescue about 150 members of the journalist community in Kabul, as well as their families, by leading them to the airport in a convoy of busses.
"He was wearing local clothes with a local hat and he was talking to the Taliban at multiple checkpoints," Shinwari said.
He said the journey took about 45 minutes, but he began to relax once they reached Kabul's former Green Zone.
Shinwari said he called the ambassador the "angel of life" for helping them flee.
"He was the one who was saving our lives with not only my life, the life of our families and everyone, because safety was not there. If he was not leading the convoy… forget about to get into the airport," Shinwari said.
Shinwari, who previously did some work for the Canadian government and The Canadian Press, is waiting in Qatar with his family to come to Canada so they can be with their relatives.
"My aunt is there and I also have some of my media friends there, and they are very happy. They're treated very well. I'm looking forward to a journey there," he said.
However, Shinwari said if was difficult to leave behind their life in Afghanistan and see the country deteriorate under Taliban rule.
"It was really painful because all those achievements that we had in the last 20 years, that is gone," he said. "Education system, the banking, the progress, the women's rights, the all of the rights that we had."
Shinwari said he understand that transitioning to a new life in Canada will have its challenges, but hopes there will be opportunities for all Afghans coming to the country.
He added that he is most looking forward to sending his daughters back to school, who were previously studying at the university in Kabul.
"They'll have a brighter future and maybe for the future they'll be very useful for Canada and also for Afghanistan," Shinwari said.
With files from CTVNews.ca's Brooklyn Neustaeter
Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was wounded in a shooting Wednesday afternoon and taken to hospital.
As wildfires rage in British Columbia, the family of a nine-year-old who died last summer is trying to protect people from poor air quality due to smoke this year.
A new COVID-19 subvariant is dominant in Canada, representing just over 30 per cent of cases in the country, but infectious disease experts say there’s no sign it’ll evolve into a summer 'scarient.'
A massive manhunt was underway in France on Wednesday for armed assailants who ambushed a prison convoy, killing two prison officers, seriously injuring three others and springing the inmate they were escorting. The prime minister vowed the gang would be caught, saying, "They will pay."
The Canadian Real Estate Association says the number of home sales in April rose 10.1 per cent compared with a year ago, but attributed the gain primarily to the early Easter long weekend.
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
The sun produced its biggest flare in nearly two decades Tuesday, just days after severe solar storms pummelled Earth and created dazzling northern lights in unaccustomed places.
Wildfires continue to impact air quality across Western Canada, with conditions expected to worsen on Wednesday before improving.
A Malahide Township resident is out more than $2 million following a romance scam.
When Adam Kirschner wrote 'Slap Shot,' he never imagined the song would be embraced by his favourite team.
A team is ready to help an entangled North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
A $200 reward is being offered by a North Vancouver family for the safe return of their beloved chicken, Snowflake.
Two daughters and a mother were reunited online 40 years later thanks to a DNA kit and a Zoom connection despite living on three separate continents and speaking different languages.
Mother's Day can be a difficult occasion for those who have lost or are estranged from their mom.
YES Theatre Young Company opened its acclaimed kids’ show, One Small Step, at Sudbury Theatre Centre on Saturday.
An Ottawa pizzeria is being recognized as one of the top 20 deep-dish pizzas in the world.
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
A Listowel, Ont. man, drafted by the Hamilton Tigercats last week, is also getting looks from the NFL, despite only playing 27 games of football in his life.