Runaway Saudi teen gets asylum in Canada

TORONTO, Canada: A "very, very happy" Saudi teenager who caused a sensation by defying her family and seeking asylum abroad was welcomed with open arms in Toronto Saturday at the end of a dramatic but exhausting international odyssey.

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland greeted Rahaf Mohammed al-Qunun after she landed in Toronto, wearing a skirt, a gray hoodie emblazoned in red with the word "CANADA" and a blue cap with the logo of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Smiling broadly, the 18-year-old posed for photographers with Freeland at her side, but made no statement. Later, she tweeted a video of her arrival, with the comment: "I love Canada I love you all."

Freeland said Qunun "wanted Canadians to see that she´s here, that she´s well and that she is very, very happy to be in her new home." "She had a pretty long journey and is exhausted and prefers not to take questions for the moment," the diplomatic chief added, with an arm around Qunun´s shoulder. She was taken in by Toronto-based refugee group Costi, a spokeswoman said.