Couple randomly attacked, 1 stabbed, by group of teens in Toronto, police say
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
A heavy snowfall and a 6-hour flight delay. Dogs on the runway. Armed Taliban gatekeepers. Two angry men fighting over baggage. That was my return to Kabul after more than a decade.
Stopped by a zealous airport official, or maybe he was Mukhabarat—security forces, disguised as a civilian. You can never tell.
You must fill out these forms. Name, passport, local address, one photo, who invited you to Afghanistan? We already have visas. You must fill this out. Okay, okay.
He was pleasant enough and polite. Not pushy, or stern. Didn’t look Taliban. You must keep this and show it on the way out, he said, not as a warning, but advice. Believe me, it will be better for you.
Leaning in closer and lowering his voice. Could you give me some “tipping” he asked. For my helping you. Tipping? I stammered, considering the 10 pound note in my pocket. The only cash I had.
Please, he said, I am not getting paid and I need to buy food for my family. Not sure if he was telling the truth, but he walked away with my 10 pounds.
Others approached. Do you need a car? Are you with the UN? You need help maybe? Welcome, said a middle-aged Taliban man, singled out by his black turban. A paj, and no mistaking who wears them. Where are you from, he asked? One of the feared men in the shadows, now in the light of an airport arrival lounge, and smiling.
It is still hard to comprehend they again control Afghanistan. Pretending to make nice, or is it for real?
Exhausted, upset stomach after 36 hours and little sleep. No driver. Where is our driver? I can be of assistance maybe, says another man in English. He used to be a translator. That work disappeared with the arrival of the Taliban.
He was certainly an educated man but left to his own survival instincts now, like millions of other out-of-work men and women. There are no jobs for the men and women aren’t allowed to work. Bitter combination.
Every voice seemed to carry a tone of need. It never used to be like that. Not in such numbers. Proud Afghans lowered in life to scrounging, if not begging.
I’m sorry, I answered, as we walked towards the parking lot. We already have a translator. I wish I could help. Here, he said, stepping forward with his name and number scrawled on a scrap of paper. In case anything changes. I am available.
To a hotel that I’ve stayed in before, a very smart hotel by any standards of the world. It was attacked at least twice by the Taliban, with suicide bombers and armed fighters who hunted through the halls and the sauna looking for westerners to kill.
It is sealed off from the street and armoured like a fortress now, with heavy metal gates and layers of security that weren’t in place when I was last there.
The paradox of the reconfigured Afghanistan suddenly becomes obvious. Just outside the main gate, armed Taliban now stand as defenders of the place they once terrorized. Ready to fight any new enemies of their country who might come to harm and kill the guests inside. Like me.
A man has been transported to hospital after police say he was stabbed in a random attack carried out by a group of teens in Toronto on Friday night.
Ron Ellis, who played over 1,000 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a member of Canada's team at the 1972 Summit Series, has died at age 79.
The wildfire that sparked Friday and caused evacuation orders for more than 3,000 people in Fort Nelson, B.C., and the nearby Fort Nelson First Nation, has grown to nearly 1,700 hectares in size, according to a Saturday morning update from the BC Wildfire Service.
The final of the 68th Eurovision Song Contest kicked off Saturday in the Swedish city of Malmo after days of protests and offstage drama that have tipped the feelgood musical celebration into a chaotic pressure cooker overshadowed by the war in Gaza.
From London, to Grand Bend, Collingwood and Guelph, here are some highlights of Friday night and Saturday morning's northern lights display.
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Irresponsibly using a credit card can land you in financial trouble, but personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says when used properly, it can be a powerful wealth-building tool that can help grow your credit profile and create new opportunities.
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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.
The threat of zebra mussels has prompted the federal government to temporarily ban watercraft from a Manitoba lake popular with tourists.
A small Ajax dessert shop that recently received a glowing review from celebrity food critic Keith Lee is being forced to move after a zoning complaint was made following the social media influencer’s visit last month.
The Canada Science and Technology Museum is inviting visitors to explore their poop. A new exhibition opens at the Ottawa museum on Friday called, 'Oh Crap! Rethinking human waste.'
The Regina Police Service says it is the first in Saskatchewan and possibly Canada to implement new technology in its detention facility that will offer real-time monitoring of detainees’ vital health metrics.
Just as she had feared, a restaurant owner from eastern Quebec who visited Montreal had her SUV stolen, but says it was all thanks to the kindness of strangers on the internet — not the police — that she got it back.
The stakes have been set for a bet between Vancouver and Edmonton's mayors on who will win Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
A grieving mother is hosting a helmet drive in the hopes of protecting children on Manitoba First Nations from a similar tragedy that killed her daughter.