Latest news with #SouthAsianCommunity
CTV News
14-05-2025
- CTV News
Hate crimes in Toronto were up 19 per cent in 2024, but decreasing this year: police
The Toronto Police Services emblem is photographed during a press conference at TPS headquarters, in Toronto on Tuesday, May 17, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov TORONTO — Toronto police say reported hate crimes increased by 19 per cent in 2024, but have significantly dropped so far this year. The annual hate crime report to the Toronto Police Service Board says 443 incidents were reported last year compared to 372 in 2023, marking a slower rate of increase in hate crimes reported between 2023 and 2024. The report says that so far this year, there has been a 47-per-cent decrease in reported hate crimes compared to the same time last year. But police say hate crimes are still a serious concern as many of them are underreported. Police say 115 people were charged with hate-motivated offences in 2024, an 84-per-cent increase compared to the year before. They say 209 hate-motivated criminal charges were laid in 2024, up from 156 charges in 2023. The most frequent targets of hate crimes were the Jewish, LGBTQ+, Black and Muslim communities, police said. 'The report also identified a notable increase in hate crimes targeting the South Asian community, rising from 14 in 2023 to 41 in 2024,' police said in a news release. Streets and public transit were the most common locations for reported hate crimes in Toronto and police say they have partnered with the Toronto Transit Commission to address the issue with several educational campaigns. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 14, 2025. The Canadian Press
CBC
12-05-2025
- Politics
- CBC
B.C.'s South Asian community responds to fragile India-Pakistan ceasefire
The continued hostilities between India and Pakistan have some in B.C.'s South Asian community worried about their friends and family back home. As Sohrab Sandhu reports, they say the conflict is being mirrored by an online information war and it's becoming harder to find out what's happening.
The Guardian
10-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
‘We share a history and the future': diaspora communities in UK decry Kashmir conflict
People around the world held their breath this week as India and Pakistan appeared to edge closer and closer towards war. For diaspora communities with family in the region, especially in Kashmir and along the border between the two countries, recent days in particular have been filled with fear and anxiety. On Saturday, a US-mediated ceasefire offered some reprieve, though the news was undercut by cross-border shelling and explosions in Indian-administered Kashmir hours after it was announced. While the longevity of the ceasefire remains in doubt, the initial news provided some relief for members of the UK's south Asian community, who had gathered in Parliament Square in central London to call for de-escalation. 'We cried a little, it was absolute joy,' said Raman, 26. 'I come from India and I'm pretty close to the border. It was a constant worry about what was going to happen.' 'I've haven't sleep for three nights. We are constantly checking our phones. Today is the longest I've stayed without checking my phone in four days.' Nasreen Rehman, 74, was similarly relieved by the announcement. 'Thank goodness, we've averted something which could have been catastrophic but already a lot of lives have been lost.' After 26 people were killed in an attack at a popular local tourist destination in Kashmir, India paused the vital Indus waters treaty which governs the distribution and use of waters from the Indus River between the two countries. Rehman is concerned about the suspension of this longstanding agreement. 'At the end of the day, we are human beings. We share a history and we share the future. Now we have threats of stopping water? What does that mean?' While a ceasefire pulls both nations back from the brink of all-out war, there are still concerns about how robust it will be. 'How many times in the past year have we heard the word ceasefire? We've heard that far too many times in the context of Israel-Palestine and it has meant nothing,' said Rajiv Sinah, 27. 'Our demonstration, which was called a few days ago, is no less relevant today despite the news of a supposed ceasefire because now we need to advocate for a way forward. 'The people of India, the people of Pakistan and the people of Kashmir want nothing more than peace and to be able to live their own lives and instead they are losing their lives, their livelihoods, their families at the behest of governments that do not represent their people,' Sinah added. Tarun Gidwani, 36, is similarly apprehensive. 'It was a huge relief but even though there's a ceasefire, there isn't the de-escalation. Tensions are still quite high and there's no real roadmap to stability, especially in Kashmir region.' Before the announcement of the ceasefire, he described feeling 'really worried'. 'It's two nuclear powers engaged in aerial attack in the most densely populated region on the planet. Back home in India, there were mock drills in schools and offices. It was a tense atmosphere.' Shakuntala Banaji is hopeful that the ceasefire might hold. 'I think that the national interests of both India and Pakistan lie in sustaining this ceasefire,' she said. She called on government, 'particularly Labour and the prime minister, to stop playing division politics between Hindus and Muslims and between people who come from India and Pakistan by favouring one country over the over'. This week, on the same day that a trade-deal described as 'landmark' by Keir Starmer was announced between the UK and India, the Home Office announced restrictions on Pakistani nationals applying for work or study visas. Last year, Starmer caused anger after singling out the Bangladeshi community in a debate hosted by the Sun about immigration, saying: 'At the moment people coming from countries like Bangladesh are not being removed.' Banaji said: 'They need to think very carefully about emboldening a nuclear power when they have no support here in the diaspora for that kind of politics.' Summing up the mood of many who attended the demonstration, she said: 'Our shared humanity across the India-Pakistan border and in Kashmir should trump all the other considerations of race and religion in the region. If we are to move forward we would have to move forward together.'
CBS News
10-05-2025
- CBS News
Fairfield travel agent sentenced to 9 years for defrauding immigrants
A travel agent based in Solano County has been sentenced to jail after being convicted in a scheme where he defrauded members of the South Asian community. California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday that Iqbal Singh Randhawa received a nine-year jail sentence. Randhawa was convicted in two trials of 11 felony counts of grand theft by embezzlement and two felony counts of violating the state's Seller of Travel laws. A LinkedIn profile under Randhawa's name shows that he is listed as the president and CEO of M&K Travel in Fairfield. "My office is dedicated to seeing those who defraud vulnerable Californians pay for their crimes," Bonta said in a statement. "Today's announcement should serve as a reminder: If you break the law and engage in fraud and theft, my office will hold you accountable." According to prosecutors, more than a dozen people were defrauded between 2017 and 2020. Victims hired Randhawa to purchase airline tickets, paying him between $1,100 and $12,000. Prosecutors said Randhawa provided fraudulent itineraries and stole the funds. The victims lived in communities throughout the Bay Area and Central Valley, including Elk Grove, Fresno, Hayward, Newark, Pittsburg, Stockton, Tracy, Turlock, Union City and Woodland, according to the criminal complaint. One of the victims was listed as a resident of Sioux City, Iowa. In addition, Bonta said Randhawa committed more than $89,000 in credit card fraud, using stolen credit information to purchase legitimate airline tickets. Randhawa then sold the tickets to paying customers to keep his travel agency afloat. Randhawa remains in custody at the Solano County Jail, according to jail records.
