Widow looking for answers after Quebec man dies in Texas Ironman competition
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
The Taliban expanded their interim Cabinet by naming more ministers and deputies on Tuesday, but failed to appoint any women, doubling down on a hard-line course despite the international outcry that followed their initial presentation of an all-male government lineup earlier this month.
The international community has said that it will judge the Taliban by their actions, and that recognition of a Taliban-led government would be linked to the treatment of women and minorities.
In their previous rule of Afghanistan in the late 1990s, the Taliban, who adhere to a harsh interpretation of Islam, had barred girls and women from schools, work and public life.
At a news conference Tuesday, Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid held out the possibility of adding women to the Cabinet at a later time, but gave no specifics. He also said the Taliban are preparing rules for allowing teenage girls and women to return to schools and jobs in line with Islamic law, but did not say when that might happen.
Mujahid defended the latest additions to the Cabinet, saying they included members of ethnic minorities, such as the Hazaras. He said the deputies were chosen for their technical skills.
He bristled at international conditions for recognition, saying there was no reason for withholding it. "It is the responsibility of the United Nations to recognize our government (and) for other countries, including European, Asian and Islamic countries, to have diplomatic relations with us," he said.
The Taliban seek international support as they grapple with the daunting challenges of governing a nation shredded by four decades of conflict. The U.S.-backed government deposed by the Taliban in a rapid military campaign last month had depended heavily on foreign aid. Even before the Taliban takeover, the economy was in deep trouble. Now Afghanistan's new rulers face an economic meltdown and growing poverty.
Mujahid played down the financial problems, saying that much of the foreign aid to the previous government -- widely seen as corrupt -- was spent on funding America's 20-year war against the Taliban.
He suggested Afghanistan could manage without that aid, saying the country had sufficient resources. "According to our inspection, Afghanistan is not a failed country, financially," he said. "We have revenue, and if it is controlled and collected properly, it can solve our current problems."
It wasn't clear, however, how the Taliban government expected to raise sufficient tax revenue from a population the United Nations said would see 97% living below the poverty level by the end of the year.
The Taliban have framed their current Cabinet as an interim government, suggesting that change is still possible, but they have not said if there would ever be elections.
Mujahid was also asked about the recent restrictions imposed on girls and women, including a decision not to allow girls in grades seven to 12 to return to classrooms for the time being. Boys in those grades were allowed to return to school over the weekend.
Mujahid said this was a temporary decision, and that "soon it will be announced when they can go to school." He said plans were being made to allow for the return of girls and women to schools and work, in line with Islamic law, or Sharia.
At the moment, girls in grades one to six are allowed to go to school, and women in universities can pursue their studies, but only in gender-segregated settings and while complying with an Islamic dress code.
With the Taliban takeover, there has been widespread fear among girls and women that they would lose the gains of the past 20 years, and many of their concerns have materialized. The Taliban have repeatedly suggested their decisions are temporary, in an apparent attempt to blunt international criticism even as they issue hard-line decrees.
The widow of a Quebec man who died competing in an Ironman competition is looking for answers.
Former NDP leader Tom Mulcair says that what's happening now in a trash-littered federal park in Quebec is a perfect metaphor for how the Trudeau government runs things.
The world is seeing a near breakdown of international law amid flagrant rule-breaking in Gaza and Ukraine, multiplying armed conflicts, the rise of authoritarianism and huge rights violations in Sudan, Ethiopia and Myanmar, Amnesty International warned Wednesday as it published its annual report.
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Facing pushback from physicians and businesspeople over the coming increase to the capital gains inclusion rate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his deputy Chrystia Freeland are standing by their plan to target Canada's highest earners.
The Senate passed legislation Tuesday that would force TikTok's China-based parent company to sell the social media platform under the threat of a ban, a contentious move by U.S. lawmakers that's expected to face legal challenges.
People living near a wildfire burning about 15 kilometres southwest of Peace River are being told to evacuate their homes.
The U.S. Senate has passed US$95 billion in war aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, sending the legislation to President Joe Biden after months of delays and contentious debate over how involved the United States should be in foreign wars.
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.
Kevin the cat has been reunited with his family after enduring a harrowing three-day ordeal while lost at Toronto Pearson International Airport earlier this week.
Molly Knight, a Grade 4 student in Nova Scotia, noticed her school library did not have many books on female athletes, so she started her own book drive in hopes of changing that.
Almost 7,000 bars of pure gold were stolen from Pearson International Airport exactly one year ago during an elaborate heist, but so far only a tiny fraction of that stolen loot has been found.