Ellen Mauro

Many Afghans say Taliban rule has led to better security, now that the bloody insurgency is over. But Afghanistan faces a humanitarian catastrophe, and the struggle to survive deepens every day.

It’s been more than a month since the Taliban forbid Afghan girls in grades higher than six from going to school. The Taliban called it a temporary measure, but fears among Afghan women are growing that the harsh rule of the 1990s is again taking hold.

Ottawa says it’s doing all it can to quickly process Afghan refugees, but advocates say many — including those who worked for the Canadian government in Afghanistan — find themselves languishing in third countries, struggling to get information about their cases.

Saeeq Shajjan’s law firm was contracted by the Canadian embassy in Kabul eight years ago. Many of his employees remain stuck in Afghanistan, waiting desperately to hear from immigration officials. They fear for their lives given the firm’s long-time relationship with Canada.

A 10-year-old Afghan girl who was preparing to come to Canada with her family was instead shot dead by the Taliban last week, a death critics say is partly to blame on Ottawa’s sluggish efforts to relocate Afghans who worked with the Canadian military.

Police forces in at least seven cities across Canada have seen an increase in 3D-printed ‘ghost guns.’ These untraceable weapons can be made at home by anyone with a 3D printer, and design plans for them are easily found online.

The Palmachim airbase about an hour away from Jerusalem has become a critical operations centre in Israel’s war against Hamas. While injured Israeli soldiers are airlifted from the battlefield in Gaza, there’s no escape from the war for Palestinian civilians.

As violence rages in Gaza, Israel's Palmachim airbase is a hub for evacuating wounded soldiers

One of the worst things that can happen to a person, according to Ruby, a 16-year-old from Toronto, is to find a nude picture of yourself on the internet. And that's exactly what happened to her, through no fault of her own.