Many have left tributes to the victims at the scene of the deadly vehicle attack in London, Ontario. AP
THE brutal murder of a Pakistani-origin family in the city of London, Ontario, by 20-year-old Nathaniel Veltman caused a wave of outrage in Canada.
Five members of the Afzaal family – Salman Afzaal, 46, his wife Madiha, 44, daughter Yumna, 15, son Fayez, nine, and Salman s mother, Talat, 74 – were out for a walk when Veltman rammed into them with his truck.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau openly condemned it as an act of terror and thousands rallied to pay respects to the slain members of the family and to pray for the health of Fayez, the sole survivor of this hate crime. There is no doubt this was a genuine outpouring of revulsion at the crime, and of sympathy for those so brutally slain.
Hard times: It’s been two years since children could indulge in playing with their Hari Raya money like this lot in 2019. So let them indulge this year, says the writer. Filepic/The Star
A FATHER to a nine-year-old child has a strange kind of dilemma. The child is asking him to purchase some toys that are not very expensive, but the problem is they don’t exist. They’re tokens in a video game against which you can make in-game purchases. This particular game involves collecting little pet animals. The child can either play the game and collect the tokens “organically” over a long period of time, or pay money to buy the tokens and use them to buy exotic high-end “pets” like unicorns with a golden horn, or penguins with neon bellies.
Threatened: Pakistan’s legacy of authoritarianism means that no one pays much attention to the growing roster of threats to journalists. 123rf.com
BEING a journalist in Pakistan is a dangerous proposition. A noose is put around your neck when you begin and it is tightened gradually as journalists you know are “disappeared” or harassed or murdered outright.
Many of those who manage to stay afloat are targets. The tiniest act of rebellion or upsetting someone powerful can constitute a real threat for the country’s journalists.
Journalist Ajay Laalwani was in a barbershop on the evening of March 18 when two motorcycles and a car with four passengers drove up and sprayed Laalwani with bullets before speeding away. Laalwani was taken to hospital but did not survive the attack. Ashiq Jatoi, the editor of Laalwani’s newspaper, said he believes that Laalwani’s writing and reporting could have motivated the killing. Once again, whether this is true will remain mired in myster
2:00 AM MYT
Activists of various parties blocking the Jammu-Pathankot highway during a nationwide shutdown called by thousands of Indian farmers protesting new agriculture laws in Jammu, India, last week. AP
THE Indian farmers have been protesting for months now in Delhi’s vicinity against legislation they view as anti-farmer and detrimental to the country’s agriculture. The protest and the Indian government’s response to it is being watched with interest in Pakistan.
The mainstream media may not have accorded it much coverage, but its portrayal on social media has a certain “Modi had it coming” feel to it.
Some songs, mostly in Punjabi, have also started doing the rounds with lyrics bordering on incitement. One song actually offers the “farmer brothers” to borrow “equipment” that we on this side of the border have a surplus of. At this point, the visuals of the song cut to a car trunk full of weapons. Not sure if these are just some young artists striking o
12:00 PM MYT
Police keep watch at a guesthouse, where members of parliament reside, in the country s capital Naypyidaw, as the party of Myanmar s toppled leader Aung San Suu Kyi demanded her immediate release after a military coup. AFP
ONCE more, the generals have struck in Myanmar, sending the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy packing. Reports emerging from the country have said that Ms Suu Kyi the de facto leader of Myanmar as well as the president are in detention, while the armed forces have declared a year-long state of emergency.
Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, had emerged from decades of military rule in 2011 and was being run under a hybrid system where the generals dominated the state’s affairs, and allowed limited democratic activity.