What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
A former Royal Marine who runs an animal charity in Afghanistan said Thursday that he, his Afghan staff and dozens of dogs and cats were caught in the chaotic aftermath of a suicide attack outside Kabul's airport as they sought to get a flight out of the country before evacuation efforts end.
The attack -- involving two explosions and gunfire -- hit near a gate where people gathered attempting to get into the airport. At least 13 people were killed, and U.S. officials said American troops were among the injured.
"We're fine but everything is chaos here at the moment," Paul "Pen" Farthing told Britain's Press Association news agency. "All of a sudden we heard gunshots and our vehicle was targeted, had our driver not turned around he would have been shot in the head by a man with an AK-47."
Farthing is trying to get staff of his Nowzad charity out of Afghanistan, along with about 200 of the group's rescued animals.
Hours earlier, he appealed to the Taliban to allow the group safe passage into the airport. He tweeted to Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen that "we have been here for 10 hours after being assured that we would have safe passage. Truly would like to go home now."
Farthing's supporters have clashed online with British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace, who refused to airlift the animals on a Royal Air Force plane, saying "I have to prioritize people at the moment over pets."
Celebrities including comedian Ricky Gervais expressed support for Farthing, and criticism of the British government, on social media.
The U.K. defense ministry later said it would help Farthing, his group and the animals leave on a chartered jet funded by Farthing's supporters, if they could reach the airport.
Wallace criticized "the bullying, falsehoods and threatening behavior by some" towards defense personnel, saying it was "unacceptable and shameful." On Twitter, he urged Farthing backers to "please let my civil servants and military get on with dealing with one of the most dangerous and challenging evacuations for a generation."
Dominic Dyer, a British animal campaigner who is assisting Farthing, said the chartered plane was due to leave the U.K. later Thursday for Kabul.
Armed Forces Minister James Heappey said Thursday that U.K. forces at the airport would "facilitate" the flight. He told ITV that "the difficulty is getting Pen into the airfield."
Before Thursday's blasts, Britain had urged people to stay away from the airport, citing "very, very credible reporting of an imminent attack" by militants linked to the Islamic State group.
The U.K. government says the RAF has airlifted more than 12,000 people, including over 7,000 Afghans, from Kabul in the past two weeks. Heappey told the BBC that Britain plans to run 11 more evacuation flights from the airport on Thursday but the "window of opportunity to evacuate people is closing" as the U.S. prepares to end the operation by Aug. 31.
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.
Mookie Betts went 3 for 5, including a triple and an RBI single, as the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays 4-2 on Saturday.
As if a 4-0 Edmonton Oilers lead in Game 1 of their playoff series with the Los Angeles Kings wasn't good enough, what was announced at Rogers Place during the next TV timeout nearly blew the roof off the downtown arena.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
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.”