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A suspect has been charged with murder after he plowed his car into a crowd at a street festival in Vancouver, Canada celebrating Filipino heritage, killing 11 people, police announced Sunday.

Authorities have charged Kai-Ji Adam Lo, 30, with eight counts of second-degree murder following the incident Saturday night.

Lo, a local resident, was arrested at the scene by police after bystanders and witnesses intervened to detain him.

"The charge assessment is ongoing and further charges are anticipated," police said in a statement.

Lo has appeared in court and remains in custody.

Eleven people ranging in age from 5 to 65 were killed when the car drove into a crowd celebrating Lapu Lapu Day, an annual event commemorating Lapu-Lapu, an indigenous chief of Mactan, an island in the Philippines, who resisted Spanish colonization in the 1500s.

More than two dozen others were injured in the attack.

Police said they are "confident that this incident was not an act of terrorism."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said all Canadians were "shocked, devastated and heartbroken" by the tragedy.

"This is the darkest day in our city's history," said Interim Police Chief Steve Rai. By Yasin Gungor, Anadolu Agency

KDF tanks and vehicles at the Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi County on June 27, 2024 (left) officers patrolling streets of Nairobi. 

The June 25 anti-government protests, which culminated in the invasion of the Parliament Buildings, may have been hijacked by elements of highly trained officers outside the police units, who are typically tasked with maintaining law and order.

According to an investigation by the BBC, it is alleged that, in addition to police officers, the shooters during the Gen Z protests could have come from the Kenya Defence Forces, specifically the Kenya Army. 

In the 37-minute-long documentary, the BBC describes documenting the killing of dozens of Kenyan youths using digital data.

One of the key points highlighted was that a shooter during the Parliament storm had a dress code that was notably different from all the other plainclothes police officers, suggesting that he might not have been from the police units.

"In the video of the officer shouting, 'uaa!', the shooter's back was to the camera. But the BBC compared his body armour, riot shield, and headgear with those of every police officer at the scene. In his case, he had an upturned neck guard. We matched his distinctive uniform to an officer in a video recorded seconds later. There, he made sure to hide his face before firing into the crowd. We do not know his name," BBC reported in part.

It is alleged that one of the shooters involved in the parliamentary incident was an officer later traced to the Central Police Station in Nairobi. 

However, efforts to trace the officer to the Central Police Station proved futile, raising questions about his real station of assignment. 

However, attempts to have both the National Police Service (NPS) and the station comment on the officer's conduct were unsuccessful.

NPS stated that investigations into police conduct are handled solely by the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and that it could not investigate itself.

Regarding the claims that Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) officers were involved in the shooting, the KDF denied the allegations, asserting that it is a professional service committed to neutrality. 

After a week of protests that saw the invasion of Parliament, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) declared that 39 people had died and 361 had been injured around the country.

The protests, which later saw the dropping of the Finance Bill, which aimed to raise Ksh346 billion in taxes, put Kenya on the wrong map globally, with reports of human rights violations. 

So far, the only police officer in court for the possible murder charges is an officer from Central Police Station, whose case was postponed on March 10, after a key witness requested more time to present important documents in court. By Frankline Oduor, Kenyans.co.ke

Tensions surge as India blames Pakistan for a deadly Kashmir attack; both nations escalate militarily

India and Pakistan exchange fire for third night as Kashmir tensions escalate [Getty]

Troops from Pakistan and India exchanged fire in disputed Kashmir for a third night in a row, officials said Sunday, as relations between the nuclear-armed rivals plunged to their lowest level in years.

India has accused Pakistan of supporting "cross-border terrorism" after gunmen killed 26 people in the worst attack on civilians in contested Muslim-majority Kashmir for a quarter of a century.

Islamabad has denied any involvement, calling attempts to link Pakistan to the attack "frivolous" and vowing to respond to any Indian action.

The Indian military on Sunday held naval drills - releasing images of warships firing missiles - while the country's security forces pressed on with their hunt for those behind the April 22 attack at a tourist hotspot in Pahalgam.

The military blamed Pakistan for the "unprovoked" firing of small arms along Kashmir's Line of Control that separates the two countries. 

"(Our) own troops responded effectively with appropriate small arms fire," it said of the latest incident, which has not been reported by Pakistan.

Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men -- two Pakistanis and an Indian -- who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organisation.

India's federal home ministry has handed over the attack probe to the National Investigation Agency, which focuses on counter-terrorism.

"The eyewitnesses are being questioned in minute detail to piece together the sequence of events that led to one of the worst terror attacks in Kashmir," an agency statement said Sunday.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday said the country was "open to participating in any neutral, transparent and credible investigation" into the attack.

Indian naval exercises

India's navy meanwhile said it carried out exercises to "revalidate and demonstrate readiness of platforms, systems and crew for long range precision offensive strike", without detailing where the drills took place.

The Indian Express newspaper on Sunday quoted a top government source as saying "there will be military retaliation" and officials "are discussing the nature of the strike".

Kashmir has been divided between India and Pakistan since their independence in 1947. Both claim the territory in full but govern separate portions of it.

Rebel groups have waged an insurgency in Indian-controlled Kashmir since 1989, demanding independence or a merger with Pakistan.

India's Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday reiterated his pledge that the Pahalgam victims "will get justice". 

"Terrorists and their patrons want Kashmir to be destroyed again, that is why such a big conspiracy was hatched," he said in his monthly radio address to the nation.

On Saturday, soldiers in Indian-administered Kashmir bombed the family home of one of the Pahalgam suspects.

The house of Farooq Ahmad Tadwa was destroyed by authorities in Kupwara district, one of a series of demolitions targeting houses of alleged militants.

So far nine houses belonging to militants have been bombed since the Pahalgam attack, a police official told AFP on Sunday on condition of anonymity.

In the aftermath of the attack, New Delhi suspended a water-sharing treaty, announced the closure of the main land border crossing with Pakistan, downgraded diplomatic ties, and withdrew visas for Pakistanis.

In response, Islamabad has ordered the expulsion of Indian diplomats and military advisers, cancelling visas for Indian nationals - with the exception of Sikh pilgrims - and closing the main border crossing from its side.

The United Nations has urged the arch-rivals to show "maximum restraint" so that issues can be "resolved peacefully through meaningful mutual engagement".

Pahalgam marks a dramatic shift in recent Kashmiri rebel attacks, which typically target Indian security forces.

In 2019, a suicide attack killed 41 Indian troops in Kashmir and triggered Indian air strikes inside Pakistan, bringing the countries to the brink of all-out war. The New Arab

 

Tigst Assefa of Ethopia won the London Marathon in a women’s only record time of 2.15:50, as Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the men’s race.

Assefa eclipsed the previous women’s only record set by Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir last year by 26 seconds, with the course record still held by Paula Radcliffe’s 2:15:25 time in 2003 — a mixed race when men and women started at the same time.

Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei finished second in the women’s race with a time of 2:18:43, with third-place Sifan Hassan of the Netherlands recording 2:18:59.

28-year-old Assefa previously held the standard women’s world record with her time of 2:11:53, set in a mixed gender race at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, but this fell to Ruth Chepngetich of Kenya, who ran 2:09:56 at the 2024 Chicago Marathon.

Sawe, 29, won the men’s race in a time of 2:02:27, one minute and 33 seconds quicker than his compatriot Alexander Mutiso Munyao’s success in 2024.

24-year-old Jacob Kiplimo finished second, 70 seconds behind Sawe, while Abdi Nageeye of the Netherlands was edged out into third by last year’s winner Mutiso after a sprint finish.

The legendary Kenyan runner Eliud Kipchoge, 40, finished sixth in 2:05:25.

Alex Yee, the Olympic triathlon champion, finished in 13th place, with a time of 2:11:06, the second faster Briton behind Mahamed Mahamed, who ranked ninth with 2:08:52.

Swiss success with another wheelchair double

There was a double success for Switzerland in the wheelchair races, with Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner both securing victories.

Hug won the men’s wheelchair race for the seventh time and for a fifth year in a row with a time of 1:25:25.

Hug was in a class of his own, finishing 44 seconds clear of second-place Tomoki Suzuki of Japan, with Jetze Plat of the Netherlands completing the men’s podium a further 40 seconds back.

In the women’s race, Debrunner recorded a time that would have placed her among the top 10 in the men’s race as she secured her third victory in London in the space of four years.

Debrunner finished in a time of 1:34:18, two seconds shy of her world record, with Susannah Scaroni of the US three minutes and 50 seconds back in second, and Debrunner’s compatriot Manuela Schar in third with a time of 1:41:06.

London Marathon 2025 – all the winners

  • Men’s race: Sabastian Sawe, 2:02:27
  • Women’s race: Tigst Assefa, 2:15:50
  • Men’s wheelchair race: Marcel Hug, 1:25:25
  • Women’s wheelchair race: Catherine Debrunner, 1:34:18

(Top image of Tigst Assefa: Alex Davidson/Getty Images)  Source: The Athletic

Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed a joint statement Friday pledging to respect each other’s sovereignty and draft a peace agreement by May 2 to end hostilities in conflict-torn eastern Congo, according to a media note released by the US Department of State.

DRC Foreign Minister Therese Kayikwamba Wagner and Rwandan Foreign Minister Olivier Nduhungirehe signed the US-brokered agreement in Washington, with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in attendance.

The joint declaration commits both nations to respect each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, refrain from supporting non-state armed groups, avoid interfering in each other’s internal affairs, address security concerns through peaceful means, and establish a joint security mechanism to combat organized crime.

The statement also outlined plans for cooperation with the US on strategic projects, including the development of mineral value chains and hydropower.

"Today marks not an end but a beginning, a necessary step towards peace taken with resolve and purpose," Wagner told a news conference after the signing.

Nduhungirehe said the declaration “opens the door to a definitive peace agreement, giving fresh impetus" to efforts toward lasting stability.

Eastern Congo has been gripped by a security and humanitarian crisis since January, after the M23 rebel group launched a new offensive, capturing large swaths of North Kivu and South Kivu provinces.

The DRC, along with the US and European Union, accuses Rwanda of backing the M23 rebels -- an allegation Kigali strongly denies.

Separately, on Wednesday, the Alliance Fleuve Congo (AFC/M23), a broader rebel coalition including M23 fighters, agreed to pursue a truce with the DRC government during Qatar-brokered talks in Doha. By Ahmet Emin Donmez and Asiye Latife Yilmaz, Anadolu Agency

 
 

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