A beloved teacher, a 5-year-old: Who were the victims of the Vancouver Lapu Lapu Festival attack?
A man drove his car into a crowd during the Lapu Lapu Day Festival in Vancouver on April 26, killing 11 people and more than 30. The victims include a teacher, a real estate agent, the agent's wife, and their 5-year-old daughter.
While the Lapu Lapu Day Festival was going on, a driver rammed his SUV into a big crowd, leaving more than 30 injured. The festival was being organized to celebrate the Filipino culture in East Vancouver when the incident occurred.
Clothing vendor Kris Pangilinan was quoted telling AP, "All I can remember is seeing bodies flying up in the air higher than the food trucks themselves and landing on the ground and people yelling and screaming."
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Vancouver Police have identified and arrested the accused, Kai-Ji Adam Lo, aged 30. He was charged with multiple counts of second-degree murder. Meanwhile, Interim Police Chief Steve Rai has stated that this was the "darkest day" in the history of Vancouver, according to AP.
The victims of the attack ranged within the age of 5-65, according to police authorities. Among them was Kira Salim, worked as an educator and counsellor at the Fraser River Middle School and New Westminster Secondary School.
Richard Le, a real-estate agent and his family comprising of his 30-year-old wife Linh Hoang, and their 5-year-old daughter were also the victims of this tragic incident. The little child was a kindergartener who "was vibrant and joyful", according to a post on GoFundMe.
Richard's younger brother Toan was quoted telling CTV News that Richard's 16-year-old son, Andy was also supposed to join the three at the festival. However, he decided to stay back home to finish some homework. The last message that Andy received from his father was sometime after 8pm which said that the family was heading home. Little did he know that this was the last communication Andy would be having with his father.
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Time of India
2 hours ago
- Time of India
Ukraine war intensifies; Bangladesh announces next election date: The week that was in international affairs
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Chinese spying ring in Taiwan: In a shocking case, Taiwan last week was rocked by a Chinese spying scandal, implicating people who were connected to the ruling Democratic Progressive Party. Taiwanese authorities found a specially developed app used to communicate with Chinese intelligence operatives on the cellphone of former DPP staffer Huang Chu-jung. Along with Huang, former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu, former DPP staffer Chiu Shih-yuan and former foreign ministry assistant Ho Jen-chieh are suspected of spying for the Chinese Communist Party while working for the Taiwanese government. This is a serious intelligence breach and Taiwanese prosecutors have determined that the alleged culprits had sent information to Beijing about President William Lai's itinerary during the 2023 presidential campaign and separate information about Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim. This information in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party could have had disastrous consequences. The episode goes to show the kind of constant multidimensional threats Taiwan faces from China. The latter's 'united front' tactics are operational 24x7 to undermine Taiwan through espionage, disinformation, influence operations, etc. Add to this naked Chinese military threats through aggressive military manoeuvres around Taiwan. Therefore, Taiwan needs to be extra careful, shore up its defences further, and strictly prosecute those living in Taiwan but working for the Chinese government. Beijing is trying to win by sowing chaos in Taiwanese society. Taiwan must stand strong and become internally stronger. UK recognised Morocco's Sahara Autonomy Plan: In yet another victory for Morocco, UK became the latest country, and permanent member of the UNSC, to recognise Morocco's Autonomy Plan for the Moroccan Sahara. The latter, it will be recalled, is a long-festering issue from Morocco's colonial past. A separatist group called the Polisario Front, backed by Algeria, has tried to establish an artificial Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic in Morocco's Sahara region. But in 2020, the US recognised Morocco's sovereignty over the Sahara with the Autonomy Plan as the only credible solution to the issue. France followed suit last year. And now UK is legitimising Morocco's position. This means that now three members of the UNSC endorse Rabat on this matter. This is important because Morocco is a long-time US ally playing a crucial geopolitical role in North Africa. Algeria is allied to Russia. And given Moscow's Wagner operations in Africa, Morocco is at the forefront of ensuring stability in the Sahara and Sahel regions. Therefore, it's vital that Morocco's Western partners support Rabat's role as a regional stabiliser and uphold its just, historical and legal position on the Moroccan Sahara.
Time of India
4 hours ago
- Time of India
Ukraine launches over 100 drones attack in Russia, Moscow, St. Petersburg airports closed
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Mint
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Who is Nicole Daedone, the woman convicted of forcing employees into sexual acts?
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