Attack or accident? Vancouver Lapu Lapu Festival SUV incident raises questions
Multiple people were killed and several others injured after an SUV rammed into a crowd at the Lapu-Lapu Filipino street festival in Vancouver, Canada, on Saturday evening. A suspect has been arrested.
While the motive behind the incident remains unclear, speculation is growing on social media about whether it was an accident or a deliberate attack.
Canadian MP Don Davies referred to the event as an 'attack' in a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter).
'Just heard the tragic news of the horrendous attack at the Lapu Lapu festival. I am praying for all the victims and their families," he wrote in a post on X.
The incident occurred shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday during the Lapu-Lapu Day Block Party, a Filipino cultural celebration.
Vancouver Police released a statement confirming the casualties and the arrest of the driver
'A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured after a driver drove into a crowd at a street festival,' Vancouver Police said in a statement. 'The driver is in custody. We will provide more information as the investigation unfolds.'
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Time of India
6 hours ago
- Time of India
UK PM Keir Starmer orders national enquiry: From Elon to enquiry – a brief history of Pakistani grooming gangs in Great Britain
After years of public outcry, multiple local reviews, and political hesitation, the UK government has announced a full national statutory inquiry into grooming gangs and institutional failures that enabled decades of child sexual exploitation. The decision, announced by Prime Minister Keir Starmer on June 14, marks a dramatic shift in tone for his administration—one that had previously resisted demands for a public investigation into what many see as one of Britain's worst safeguarding scandals. The tipping point? A perfect storm of political pressure, survivor testimony, community backlash—and unusually, a global spotlight powered by Elon Musk , who used his platform, X (formerly Twitter), to repeatedly target Starmer's record on grooming gangs. The Case That Refused to Disappear Elon Musk and Nigel Farage The term 'grooming gangs' refers to loosely organised groups of men who exploited underage girls—typically white, working-class, and often in care—in towns across northern England from the early 1990s onwards. The 2014 Jay Report on Rotherham, commissioned after investigative journalism exposed widespread abuse, identified over 1,400 victims between 1997 and 2013. Similar patterns were later uncovered in Rochdale, Telford, Oxford, and Oldham. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Trading CFD dengan Teknologi dan Kecepatan Lebih Baik IC Markets Mendaftar Undo What made the cases especially sensitive was the ethnic background of many offenders—in several high-profile cases, the perpetrators were men of Pakistani Muslim heritage. However, the official framing used the broader term 'Asian grooming gangs'—a euphemism that triggered resentment among British Indians, Sikhs, and East Asians who said their communities were being unfairly implicated. "We Are Not the Perpetrators": British-Indians Push Back British-Indian communities, especially Hindus and Sikhs, have long objected to the blanket use of the term 'Asian grooming gangs.' Their frustration boiled over in January this year when Starmer, in response to criticism from Elon Musk, once again used the phrase during a televised interview. Community leaders issued sharp statements denouncing what they called an ethnic smear. 'Why should we be classified as part of these gangs?' asked Jay Shah, spokesperson for Friends of India Society International UK. 'Asian means Vietnamese, Sri Lankan, Japanese, Indian, etc. When it comes to grooming gangs, we are Asian. When it comes to Kashmir, we are Indian.' The Hindu Council UK called Starmer's wording a 'whitewash of heinous atrocities,' noting that Hindu and Sikh girls had also been among the victims. Sikh Youth UK, which has documented grooming cases involving Sikh victims for over 15 years, said it had worked with thousands of families and even caught perpetrators outside Sikh schools. The Network of Sikh Organisations described Starmer's comments as 'extremely disappointing' and accused politicians of 'protecting perpetrators rather than victims.' Both the Hindu Council UK and INSIGHT UK have since backed Conservative calls for a national inquiry—arguing that political correctness has too often silenced honest debate about ethnicity and crime. From Tech CEO to Relentless Critic The turning point came not from Westminster but from Silicon Valley. In early 2025, Elon Musk—whose X platform has grown into a global political amplifier—began posting repeatedly about grooming gangs. Quoting survivor testimonies, reposting historical reporting, and tagging British officials, Musk accused UK authorities of 'turning a blind eye to organised rape' and suggested that political leaders, including Starmer, were 'cowards unwilling to confront the truth.' One post from March read: 'If these were elite London girls being trafficked, the BBC would talk about nothing else. But poor northern girls? The state looked away.' While the tone of Musk's commentary sparked debate—especially among British politicians who viewed it as inflammatory—it undeniably brought renewed international attention to the issue. By May, Musk's X account had posted or amplified over 150 messages about grooming gangs, triggering renewed media coverage, a spike in search interest, and thousands of public responses. Hashtags such as #JusticeForRotherham, #GroomingGangsInquiry, and #StarmerFailedUs trended across the UK and US. Political Pressure Closes In The growing visibility added fuel to a debate already brewing in Parliament. In January, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper had quietly commissioned Baroness Louise Casey to conduct a 'rapid review' into previous investigations—including Oldham and Rochdale—after persistent claims that public officials downplayed or ignored evidence of abuse. Casey's report, delivered in May, was damning. It found that multiple public bodies 'failed in their duty of care' and that in some cases, victims were dismissed or even blamed. Crucially, it called for a full statutory public inquiry with the ability to compel testimony and evidence. Simultaneously, Conservative MPs, Reform UK leaders, and victim advocacy groups demanded action. Former Home Secretary Suella Braverman, a long-time critic of the 'Asian gangs' terminology, stated that Starmer had 'run out of excuses.' Reform UK leader Nigel Farage called the lack of a national inquiry 'a betrayal of Britain's daughters.' Starmer Responds On June 14, Keir Starmer announced the establishment of a judge-led inquiry under the 2005 Inquiries Act, which gives it full legal powers. He said the investigation would 'examine past failures, hold institutions to account, and ensure this can never happen again.' Starmer, who previously served as Director of Public Prosecutions, defended his record, pointing to a rise in grooming-related prosecutions during his tenure. But critics argue that his earlier reluctance to endorse a national inquiry allowed the issue to fester—and exposed Labour to accusations of institutional denial. 'There is no more denying the scale of failure,' Starmer said at a press conference. 'This inquiry is about justice—for survivors, for their families, and for the country.' Why a Statutory Inquiry Matters Unlike previous reviews—many of which lacked transparency and enforcement—this inquiry has legal teeth. It can: Subpoena witnesses, including former officials, police officers, and social workers; Demand the release of classified documents and internal reports; Take testimony from survivors in private or public; Recommend structural reforms for law enforcement, social services, and public communication. For many survivors, this is the first time they feel their voices might lead to actual accountability. What Happens Next The inquiry will take several months to set up, with hearings likely to begin in early 2026. Its findings could reshape the way Britain handles child protection, race relations, and public accountability. But in the short term, it's already had an impact: Musk's involvement, while controversial, showed how digital platforms can force action on long-ignored issues. Starmer's government is now under pressure to implement swift reforms and offer compensation to survivors. The political debate has sharpened, with opposition parties vowing to make grooming gangs a central issue in the next election. Final Word This is not just a story of abuse—it's a story of institutional failure, political caution, and the new ways power is exercised across borders and platforms. Whether the inquiry delivers justice remains to be seen. But for the thousands of girls whose pain was ignored—and for the communities wrongly smeared along the way—this is a reckoning long overdue.
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First Post
7 hours ago
- First Post
Saudi Arabia executes journalist over terrorism and treason charges
A prominent Saudi journalist who was arrested in 2018 and convicted on terrorism and treason charges has been executed, the kingdom said. Activist groups maintain that the charges against him were trumped up. read more Saudi Arabia has executed prominent journalist Turki Al-Jasser, who was arrested in 2018 and later convicted on charges of terrorism and treason. The official Saudi Press Agency confirmed the execution took place on Saturday after the kingdom's highest court upheld the death sentence. Al-Jasser was detained following a raid on his residence in 2018, during which authorities confiscated his electronic devices. Details surrounding his trial including its duration and location, remain unclear. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Rights organisations have questioned the legitimacy of the charges. The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Saudi officials believed Al-Jasser operated a social media account on X (formerly Twitter) that posted allegations of corruption involving members of the royal family. He was also accused of sharing contentious content related to militant groups. Activist groups have condemned the execution, insisting the charges were fabricated to silence dissent. CPJ's program director Carlos Martínez de la Serna condemned the execution and said the lack of accountability in the wake of the killing of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018 allows for continued persecution of journalists in the kingdom. 'The international community's failure to deliver justice for Jamal Khashoggi did not just betray one journalist,' he said, adding it had 'emboldened de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to continue his persecution of the press.' A Saudi assassination team killed Khashoggi at the consulate in Istanbul. The U.S. intelligence community concluded that the Saudi crown prince ordered the operation but the kingdom insists the prince was not involved in the killing. Al-Jasser ran a personal blog from 2013 to 2015 and was well-known for his articles on the Arab Spring movements that shook the Middle East in 2011, women's rights and corruption. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD Saudi Arabia has drawn criticism from human rights groups for its numbers and also methods of capital punishment, including beheadings and mass executions. In 2024, executions in Saudi Arabia rose to 330, according to activists and human rights groups, as the kingdom continues to tightly clamp down on dissent. Last month, a British Bank of America analyst was sentenced to a decade in prison in Saudi Arabia, apparently over a since-deleted social media post, according to his lawyer. And in 2021, a dual Saudi American national, Saad Almadi, was sentenced to more than 19 years in prison on terrorism-related charges stemming from tweets he had posted while living in the United States. He was released in 2023 but has been banned from leaving the kingdom. With inputs from agencies
Scroll.in
9 hours ago
- Scroll.in
DNA confirms identities of 31 killed in Ahmedabad plane crash
The identities of 31 persons who died in the Air India plane crash in Ahmedabad on June 12 have been confirmed through DNA testing, The Indian Express reported on Sunday. The bodies of twelve persons have been handed over to their families after the identification. DNA matching is underway for several victims, The Hindu quoted Dr Rajnish Patel, professor of surgery at BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital, Ahmedabad as saying. On June 12, the Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner aircraft, which was en route to London's Gatwick airport from Ahmedabad, crashed just 33 seconds after taking off, killing at least 265 people. This is being viewed as the world's worst aviation disaster in a decade. There were 242 people aboard the aircraft. One passenger survived with ' impact injuries '. The passengers comprised 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals and one Canadian national. The rest were crew members. Though the number of people killed on the ground has yet to be ascertained, the police said that 265 bodies had been sent for postmortem examination. This includes at least four medical students who were killed on the ground when the aircraft crashed into the hostel building of the BJ Medical College. On Saturday, Alok Kumar Pandey, commissioner of relief and secretary, Revenue Department told The Hindu that the Gujarat government had established contact with the families of 11 foreign nationals. Pandey added that death certificates were being issued on the spot to avoid any inconvenience to the families. On Friday, the black box of the Air India plane was recovered from the roof of the hostel building at the medical college. The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau, a division of the Ministry of Civil Aviation has started its investigation into the disaster. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation on Friday ordered enhanced safety checks of all Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 aircraft in Air India's fleet. The airline operates 33 such aircraft and the checks will include inspections of fuel systems, engine controls, cabin air compressors, oil systems, hydraulics and flight control systems.
