The Taliban's stunningly swift takeover of Afghanistan has caused dread across much of the nation, as under a militant group that repressed millions when last in power.
Under the Taliban's rule between 1996 and 2001, brutal floggings, amputations and public executions were common. Women were largely confined to their homes, and the death penalty was in place for offenses including female adultery, homosexuality and the rejection of Islam.
With the glare of the media again on Kabul, and Western forces staging a hasty retreat, the world is anxiously waiting to discover whether the new Taliban era will see a return to those days.
The militants have so far sought to present an image of themselves as more progressive, inclusive and restrained than the group that terrorized communities two decades ago -- claiming that they will not seek retribution against their political enemies, and that women will play an important role in society and have access to education.
But every pledge has been caveated by a reminder of the Taliban's "core values" -- a strict interpretation of Sharia law, which experts say has not been drastically re-imagined in the space of 20 years.
The group's co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar arrived in Afghanistan Tuesday for the first time since he played a key role the last Taliban government -- a sign that the influence of the Taliban's old guard has not diminished.
And their early actions have dashed many Afghans' hopes that the Taliban might have changed in the intervening decades.
The group's fighters clashed with activists during the first major protest against their new regime on Wednesday, three witnesses told CNN, firing guns into a crowd and beating demonstrators in the city of Jalalabad.
Women have , fearing the new reality of life under Taliban control; husbands and fathers have been purchasing burqas in the fear that their female relatives will be safe only if they cover up.
Attacks on women across the country in recent weeks, as the Taliban regained the ascendency in Afghanistan's provinces, have provided a chilling preview of what may be in store for millions.
The Taliban's leader, Mawlawi Haibatullah Akhundzada, after the group's previous leader Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Mansour in a US airstrike in Pakistan.
He hails from a Taliban heartland in the Panjwai district of the southern Kandahar province, Sayed Mohammad Akbar Agha, a founding member of the Taliban who lives in Kabul and says he knows the new leader,
While Akhundzada was involved in the mujahideen struggle against the Soviet invasion in the 1980s, Agha said he was unlikely to have participated in front line military activities. He did judicial work between 1996 and 2001, the period of Taliban rule in Afghanistan, and after the group's fall from power in late 2001 he worked as Taliban chief justice, according to Agha.
Akhundzada has two deputies. One, Maulvi Mohammad Yaqub, is the head of the Taliban's military commission; on Tuesday he told fighters not to enter locals' homes or seize their assets, in a message distributed widely on the group's channels. He added in the message that "things will be decided later in an organized way on the leadership level."
Sirajuddin Haqqani, the other deputy leader, wrote a in the New York Times last year in which he pitched any future Taliban government as moderate gatekeepers, and said "the killing and the maiming must stop."
Haqqani is and is wanted for questioning over a 2008 attack on a Kabul hotel that killed six people. The FBI is offering $5 million for information leading directly to his arrest.
The return of Taliban co-founder Baradar, a jihadi cleric who played a prominent role in their last government, to Afghanistan was confirmed by a spokesman for the Taliban's political bureau on Tuesday.
It marks the first time Baradar has set foot in the country for 20 years, and comes 11 years after he was arrested in neighboring Pakistan by the country's security forces.
He was released in order to be involved in administration, and has since played a key role for the Taliban on the global stage.
Baradar spoke with Trump by phone, and the two sides' negotiations culminated in that set the stage for the drawdown of American troops and the subsequent resurgence of the Taliban.
Last month Baradar also as the Taliban was advancing across Afghanistan -- an early sign of warming ties between Beijing and the militant group.
The Taliban have a number of different formal commissions for political, intelligence, military and cultural matters.
Their Preaching and Guidance Commission has met with surrendered Afghan soldiers, officers and politicians in recent days and is behind the group's pledge of amnesty for those involved in the US-backed government.
The Taliban also have a political office in Doha, Qatar, which will likely play a far more visible role on the world stage when the group controls Afghanistan's government.
Members of the Taliban's sophisticated communications operation have been increasingly visible in the first days of the new regime, telling international journalists at every opportunity that the group will form an "inclusive Islamic government."
Key among their promises is that the rights of women will be protected. But when pressed on those assurances at a media conference on Tuesday, the group's spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that role would be "within the framework of Sharia law ... in all sectors in society, where they are required, it will be within this framework."
It is questionable whether the Taliban's harsh interpretation of Sharia law, a set of principles that govern the moral and religious lives of Muslims, has drastically changed in the past two decades.
Sharia law was established 1,400 years ago and can only be amended or updated with extreme care by religious scholars, experts in the region told CNN.
When last in power, the Taliban used Sharia law as justification for scores of violent and repressive punishments, including public executions. Alleged adulterers were stoned to death and suspected theft punished by amputation.
Whether such brutal methods will resume is unclear -- but concerning signs are already emerging. Human Rights Watch said last month that advancing Taliban forces were targeting critics for attack, despite public promises that they had ordered fighters to act with restraint.
The by two Taliban fighters last month sparked fear in Kandahar.
And a in a northern Afghanistan village on July 12, reported by CNN, has fueled fears that girls and women will again be targeted.
The international community has largely greeted the Taliban's pledges with skepticism.
"Taliban spokespeople have issued a number of statements in recent days, including pledging an amnesty for those who worked for the previous Government," the UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights, Rupert Colville, said in a statement on Tuesday.
"They have also pledged to be inclusive. They have said women can work and girls can go to school. Such promises will need to be honoured, and for the time being -- again understandably, given past history -- these declarations have been greeted with some skepticism. Nevertheless, the promises have been made, and whether or not they are honoured or broken will be closely scrutinized," he said.
"We call on the Taliban to demonstrate through their actions, not just their words, that the fears for the safety of so many people from so many different walks of life are addressed."
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Baby Boomers may be expected to live longer than their predecessors, but a recent study has found that they are more likely to suffer from worse health than previous generations.
A Toronto senior says she can’t believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
As U.S. regulators push for an investigation into what they call 'deadly baby and toddler products' from foreign e-commerce sites, health officials in Canada say they haven't determined whether any laws or regulations have been broken.
Emotions boiled over after a judge acquitted two out of three defendants in a manslaughter case, while the third accused has since died.
Despite Hurricane Milton evolving into a Category 5 storm, Walt Disney World Resort remains open to the public and will operate as normal. However, the park announced a few closures in an abundance of caution.
An elevator mechanic mistakenly threw out a piece of artwork, made to look like empty beer cans, assuming it was litter, a Dutch museum revealed earlier this month.
For years, Kathy Bates has believed she missed thanking someone pivotal during her acceptance speech after she won the Oscar for best actress in 1991 for her performance in 'Misery.'
When it comes to raising a child, the majority of fathers say they share tasks equally, but fewer mothers tend to say the same thing, according to a Statistics Canada survey.
A Toronto senior says she can’t believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
The federal government announced 14 new properties will be added to the Canada Public Land Bank, the list of federal properties that could be turned into new homes, including seven in Ottawa and two in Gatineau, Que.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) and the Bolo Program is offering up to $250,000 for information on Saguenay man All Boivin, 34, who is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for drug trafficking.
To get between Churchill, Manitoba, Canada -- the polar bear and beluga whale capital of the world and a tourist hot spot for northern adventure tourism -- and Winnipeg, Manitoba, there are only two options: A $1,100 one-way plane flight that takes two-and-a-half hours or a scenic 45-hour to 49-hour much cheaper train ride.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.
A German court on Tuesday acquitted a man who is also under investigation in the 2007 disappearance of British toddler Madeleine McCann in a trial on charges of unrelated sexual offences.
Kamala Harris called Donald Trump 'incredibly irresponsible' for spreading falsehoods about the federal response to Hurricane Helene's destruction, offering especially sharp words as a new storm bears down on Florida with just weeks until Election Day.
Britain is facing a "staggering rise" in assassination attempts on U.K. soil by Russia and Iran, as the hostile states recruit criminals to "do their dirty work" for them, the head of the U.K.'s domestic intelligence agency said Tuesday.
A World Health Organization official warned on Tuesday of disease outbreaks in Lebanon due to crowded conditions in displacement shelters and hospital closures as medics have fled Israel's assault.
A canyoneer died in Zion National Park after falling between 150 and 200 feet near the the Upper Emerald Pool in southwest Utah, according to the National Park Service.
The mayor of a state capital in southern Mexico has been killed just one week after he took office, officials said Sunday.
A federal inquiry into foreign interference is slated to hear today from current and former officials of Public Safety Canada.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is supporting Israel's right to defend itself against Iran following last week's ballistic missile attack, saying that right includes 'proactively striking Iranian nuclear sites and oil installations to defund the terrorist regime.'
Global Affairs Canada says it's chartering more flights from Lebanon this week to help Canadians leave the country as conflict escalates between Israel and Hezbollah.
AI scribe technology holds the promise of removing some of that burden. However, uptake in Canada has been low due to privacy and cost concerns.
Baby Boomers may be expected to live longer than their predecessors, but a recent study has found that they are more likely to suffer from worse health than previous generations.
Georgia's highest court reinstated a ban on nearly all abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy on Monday while it considers the U.S. state's appeal of last week's ruling by a lower court judge blocking the law.
A British-Canadian researcher has won the Nobel Prize in physics for work developing the foundations of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The University of Toronto's Geoffrey Hinton was awarded the prize Tuesday morning, along with Princeton University researcher John Hopfield.
The best minds in science will be thrust from academic obscurity into the spotlight this week when the Nobel Prizes in physics, chemistry, and physiology or medicine are announced. However, there is no shortage of Nobel-worthy discoveries: Here are five breakthroughs that haven't resulted in a life-changing call from Stockholm — at least not yet.
A spacecraft blasted off Monday to investigate the scene of a cosmic crash.
An elevator mechanic mistakenly threw out a piece of artwork, made to look like empty beer cans, assuming it was litter, a Dutch museum revealed earlier this month.
Cissy Houston, the mother of the late Whitney Houston and a two-time Grammy winner who performed alongside superstar musicians like Elvis Presley, and Aretha Franklin, has died. She was 91.
For years, Kathy Bates has believed she missed thanking someone pivotal during her acceptance speech after she won the Oscar for best actress in 1991 for her performance in 'Misery.'
A new report from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce is sending a stark warning ahead of the U.S. presidential election, saying protectionist policies like Donald Trump's proposed tariffs could damage economies on both sides of the border.
A Toronto senior says she can’t believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
After concerns were raised in the summer, it appears some 7-Eleven stores in Winnipeg may be shutting down because of crime.
When it comes to raising a child, the majority of fathers say they share tasks equally, but fewer mothers tend to say the same thing, according to a Statistics Canada survey.
Gerontologist Jay Olshansky is used to backlash about his views on human longevity. Decades ago he and his coauthors predicted children, on average, would live to only age 85 — only 1 per cent to 5 per cent might survive until their 100th birthday.
'Eat more vegetables,' doctors and dietitians say over and over. But for many people, it’s hard to do, because they aren’t excited about veggies or just don’t like them.
FIFA banned Italian soccer player Marco Curto for 10 games for making a discriminatory remark at South Korea forward Hee Chan Hwang in a preseason game between Como and Wolverhampton.
A former WWE employee who filed a lawsuit against the company and ex-leader Vince McMahon, accusing him of sexual battery and trafficking, is asking them to not enforce nondisclosure agreements with other former and current employees and contractors so they can potentially come forward with similar accusations.
Apparently not satisfied with becoming one of the dominant forces in the WNBA, 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark is set to compete in a Pro-Am golf event in November.
New data from the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) shows that even though claims for auto theft dropped in the first half of 2024 compared to their 2023 peak, the rates of reported theft remain well above those of years prior.
Tesla is recalling more than 27,000 Cybertrucks because the rearview camera image may not activate immediately after shifting into reverse, the fifth recall for the vehicle since it went on sale late last year.
A Pickering, Ont., student going to college to be a mechanic is shocked the engine in his two-year-old car will not be repaired under warranty after the dealership claimed he had been 'over-revving' the engine.
A B.C. couple is getting desperate – and creative – in their search for their missing dog.
Videos of a meteor streaking across the skies of southern Ontario have surfaced and small bits of the outer space rock may have made it to land, one astronomy professor says.
A unique form of clouds made an appearance over the skies of Ottawa on Sunday evening.
Bernie Hicks, known as the ‘Batman of Amherst,’ always wanted to sit in a Batmobile until a kind stranger made it happen.
Bubi’s Awesome Eats, located on University Ave West took to social media to announce the closure on Friday.
Weeneebayko Area Health Authority and the Government of Ontario have awarded a $1.8 billion fixed-price contract to design, build and finance a new Far North hospital.
Manitobans are in cleanup mode after intense winds barreled through southern parts of the province this weekend.
Avry Wortman, 13, scored two touchdowns on Sunday during her team's win in the under 14 Greater Moncton Football Association.
A gargantuan gourd – affectionately named ‘Orangina’ by the urban gardeners who grew it in the front yard of their Vancouver home – earned the massive honour of being named B.C.’s heaviest giant pumpkin Saturday.
The leaders of B.C.'s three main political parties will be facing off Tuesday evening for their first and only televised debate ahead of the Oct. 19 election. Here's what viewers can expect.
A wildlife rescue in B.C. is caring for two orphaned bobcat kittens who have become as inseparable as "real sisters" even though it's highly unlikely they are actually from the same litter.
Monday was a solemn and emotional day for Israelis and Palestinians. The Oct. 7, 2023, attack saw more than 1,200 Israelis killed and has since left more than 41,000 dead in Gaza.
Hurricane Milton is already causing flight disruptions at Pearson International Airport in Toronto as it barrels towards Florida’s Gulf Coast.
A British-Canadian researcher has won the Nobel Prize in physics for work developing the foundations of machine learning and artificial intelligence. The University of Toronto's Geoffrey Hinton was awarded the prize Tuesday morning, along with Princeton University researcher John Hopfield.
A Toronto senior says she can’t believe that two roofers took advantage of her, despite knowing she was recently widowed and suffering from a painful disability.
Calgary police are investigating after several shots were fired in the northeast community of Saddle Ridge.
A home in the southeast Calgary community of Deer Ridge was destroyed in a fire and while a woman and her children living there escaped safely, two of their pets perished.
Tuesday will be very similar to Monday as this warm weather pattern continues for one more day.
The federal government announced 14 new properties will be added to the Canada Public Land Bank, the list of federal properties that could be turned into new homes, including seven in Ottawa and two in Gatineau, Que.
Ontario Provincial Police say the westbound lanes of Hwy. 417 are closed between Innes Road and Highway 174 following an overnight collision.
Tuesday is Alex Munter’s last day as the head of eastern Ontario’s children’s hospital after more than a decade on the job.
Montreal police (SPVM) arrested a 15-year-old in connection with an alleged arson in Saint-Leonard that occurred on the weekend.
Heavier pressure tactics could soon begin in family daycare, as 9,000 workers have just voted in favour of a pressure tactics mandate that calls for services to open later and later, up to and including a strike day.
Quebec provincial police (SQ) and the Bolo Program is offering up to $250,000 for information on Saguenay man All Boivin, 34, who is wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for drug trafficking.
The upper ridge continues to dominate the weather pattern over Alberta.
Provincial ministers testified before the House of Commons on Monday, asking the federal government to pay for the cost of the Jasper wildfire.
This is for people new to hockey. Not everyone who lives in Canada follows the game, even though it's the country's unofficial official sport. Hard for the hardcore hockey fan to understand, I know.
Nova Scotia is creating an international medical graduate assessment centre to recruit and fast-track more internationally-trained physicians to work in the province and address the doctor shortage.
The price of diesel jumped nine cents overnight in Nova Scotia after the province’s Utility and Review Board (UARB) invoked its interrupter clause.
Former Liberal MP Andy Fillmore is still the frontrunner in the Halifax Regional Municipality mayoral race, but Waye Mason is gaining ground, according to one poll.
Manitoba health-care support workers will not be hitting the picket line on Tuesday morning.
After concerns were raised in the summer, it appears some 7-Eleven stores in Winnipeg may be shutting down because of crime.
A disgraced Winnipeg high school football coach convicted of sexual assault and luring will spend 20 years behind bars.
Regina resident Murray Yagelniski says a city-owned tree on his property is the root of the issue behind his basement flooding.
The Saskatchewan NDP says the province's troubled payment and scheduling system for healthcare is only half implemented and has costed taxpayers nearly triple its original price tag so far.
The John Howard Society of Saskatchewan will appear in front of the Supreme Court of Canada on Tuesday challenging a regulation that it says lets correctional workers discipline inmates without sufficient proof.
In September, Â鶹ӰÊÓ Kitchener reported on Sandvine's deals with autocratic governments, including Egypt, where its tech reportedly helped inject spyware into the devices of government critics.
The penalty hearing for Guelph Police constable Corey McArthur has heard from two character witnesses, both supporting an eventual return to policing for the officer who has admitted to assaulting a teen who was handcuffed to a hospital bed.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
A Saskatoon mom is desperately fighting eviction after she discovered mould in her suite and reported it to her landlord.
Saskatoon’s Prairie Harm Reduction (PHR) says a staff member arrived to work on Thursday morning to find someone at its doorstep, unresponsive from a suspected drug overdose.
A 36-year-old woman accused of sexually assaulting, physically assaulting and threatening residents at a Saskatchewan care home, was not in court when her matters were spoken to Monday afternoon.
Ontario Provincial Police are investigating a fatal crash of a side-by-side off-road vehicle east of Parry Sound that killed one and injured another Friday.
A teacher working on a First Nation in northwestern Ontario has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor.
The North Bay Battalion hockey team is mourning the loss of a former player who died at 23 after a battle with cancer.
A 20 year old is charged with two counts of fail or refusal to comply with demand made by peace officer cause bodily harm, two counts of dangerous operation causing bodily harm, two counts of impaired operation cause bodily harm and transport cannabis
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
Police in Woodstock have charged the driver of a black Volkswagen Jetta after it was seen leaving the scene of a crash. Around 5:20 p.m. on Monday, police were called to the scene of a two-vehicle crash at the intersection of Dundas Street and Waterloo Street.
Five vehicles collided in Orillia Monday night during rush hour.
The cause of a fire that caused significant damage to a home in Oro-Medonte over the weekend is under investigation.
Police are driving attention to an unsolved homicide that happened in broad daylight over a year ago in Tay Township in hopes someone holds the key that can move the case forward.
Delays are to be expected Tuesday morning after a crash in Essex County. According to OPP, the crash happened at Walker Road and Highway 3 in Tecumseh.
The Ambassador Bridge border crossing was 'temporarily closed' for a period of time, according to the Canada Border Services Agency website.
U.S. forecasters are warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash floods through the week as Hurricane Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula toward Florida.
The leaders of B.C.'s three main political parties will be facing off Tuesday evening for their first and only televised debate ahead of the Oct. 19 election. Here's what viewers can expect.
Major crime investigators have been called to the scene of a suspected homicide in the northern Vancouver Island community of Port Hardy.
The day after a minivan was set ablaze outside Vancouver City Hall, a 78-year-old man has been criminally charged.
Nearly two years after a man was stabbed to death in downtown Kelowna, RCMP have made an arrest in the case.
NDP Leader David Eby is promising to offer a $75-million loan forgiveness program to entice doctors, nurses and heath professionals to expand health-care services in rural British Columbia.
Three young suspects have been arrested in connection with a swarming attack on a teenager in B.C.'s Okanagan last week – and authorities have asked the public to stop circulating disturbing videos of the incident.
A Lethbridge police officer involved in a scandal involving former Lethbridge New Democrat MLA Shannon Phillips has been reprimanded.
Lethbridge police say a man who escaped from a psychiatric ward at the Chinook Regional Hospital has been found.
While the summer may be over, construction season in Lethbridge is not.
The Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities (FONOM) is the latest organization to call on the Doug Ford government to re-open dialogue with an airline service that transports lower-income Canadians to crucial medical care far from home.
For decades, Mississauga First Nation has known that human remains from their land were at the Canadian Museum of History.
Greater Sudbury in partnership with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, is hosting the organization's annual mining conference.
As millions in federal funding flow into a Labrador group whose claims of Inuit identity have been rejected by Indigenous organizations across Canada, a national Inuit leader worries the Liberal government is putting the rights of Indigenous Peoples at risk.
He may not have logged the fastest time or even gone the full distance, but residents of a Newfoundland town agree the goat who unexpectedly joined the local weekend half marathon was the event's undisputed champion.
A mother in a community where the cost of living is one of the highest in the country says grocery prices are 'inhumane' and retailers are putting profits ahead of people’s basic human right to food.
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at Â鶹ӰÊÓ. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
