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Car Kills, Injures People Attending Street Festival in Vancouver

26 April 2025, Canada, Vancouveer: Vancouver Police officers secure the scene, where multiple people were killed when a car drove into a crowd at a street festival in the western Canadian city of Vancouver. Photo: Rich Lam/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa
26 April 2025, Canada, Vancouveer: Vancouver Police officers secure the scene, where multiple people were killed when a car drove into a crowd at a street festival in the western Canadian city of Vancouver. Photo: Rich Lam/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa
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Car Kills, Injures People Attending Street Festival in Vancouver

26 April 2025, Canada, Vancouveer: Vancouver Police officers secure the scene, where multiple people were killed when a car drove into a crowd at a street festival in the western Canadian city of Vancouver. Photo: Rich Lam/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa
26 April 2025, Canada, Vancouveer: Vancouver Police officers secure the scene, where multiple people were killed when a car drove into a crowd at a street festival in the western Canadian city of Vancouver. Photo: Rich Lam/Canadian Press via ZUMA Press/dpa

The driver of a car struck revelers at a street festival in Canada, killing and injuring an unknown number of people at the event celebrating Filipino culture, police said.
The vehicle entered the street at 8:14 p.m. Saturday where people were attending the Lapu Lapu Day festival, the Vancouver Police Department said in a social media post, according to The Associated Press.
“A number of people have been killed and multiple others are injured after a driver drove into a crowd,” police said. The exact number of dead or injured was not immediately available.
A 30-year-old Vancouver man was arrested at the scene and the department’s Major Crime Section is overseeing the investigation, police said.
The festival was being held in a South Vancouver neighborhood. Video posted on social media showed victims and debris strewn across a long stretch of road, with at least seven people lying immobile on the ground. A black SUV with a crumpled front section could be seen in still photos from the scene.
“I am shocked and deeply saddened by the horrific incident at today’s Lapu Lapu Day event,” Vancouver Mayor Kenneth Sim said in a social media post, adding that the city would provide more information when possible. “Our thoughts are with all those affected and with Vancouver’s Filipino community during this incredibly difficult time."
Prime Minister Mark Carney and other Canadian political figures posted messages expressing shock at the violence, condolences for victims and support for the community celebrating its heritage at the festival.
“I offer my deepest condolences to the loved ones of those killed and injured, to the Filipino Canadian community, and to everyone in Vancouver. We are all mourning with you,” Carney wrote.
“As we wait to learn more, our thoughts are with the victims and their families — and Vancouver’s Filipino community, who were coming together today to celebrate resilience," wrote Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, who was at the festival earlier in the day.
“My thoughts are with the Filipino community and all the victims targeted by this senseless attack. Thank you to the first responders who are at the scene as we wait to hear more,” Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre wrote.
David Eby, the premier of British Columbia, the province where Vancouver is located, said he was shocked and heartbroken. “We are in contact with the City of Vancouver and will provide any support needed,” Eby wrote.

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World

Europeans Seek Clarity About Trump’s Iran War Aims Before Agreeing to His Warship Demands

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives ahead of a Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, 16 March 2026. (EPA)
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives ahead of a Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, 16 March 2026. (EPA)
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Europeans Seek Clarity About Trump’s Iran War Aims Before Agreeing to His Warship Demands

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives ahead of a Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, 16 March 2026. (EPA)
European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas arrives ahead of a Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the Council of the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, 16 March 2026. (EPA)

European countries on Monday sought more details about US President Donald Trump's plans for the war on Iran and warned that NATO must not become involved it, as they weighed whether to agree to his call to send warships to help shore up security in the Gulf.

The cool response to Trump’s demand reflects wide caution about the US-Israeli war among allies kept in the dark before, and largely since, it was launched on Feb. 28.

Trump has asked partners, including France, China, Japan, South Korea and Britain, to help secure the Strait of Hormuz for global shipping. He said the United States was talking to “about seven” countries, but he wouldn’t say which ones and gave no indication of when such a coalition might be formed.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer insisted Britain “will not be drawn into the wider war,” and said British troops should only be sent into action that is legal and has “a proper thought-through plan.” But his country is considering other forms of help in conjunction with allies.

In an interview with the Financial Times, Trump also warned that “if there’s no response or if it’s a negative response, I think it will be very bad for the future of NATO.”

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that “NATO is a defensive alliance, not an interventionist one. And that is precisely why NATO has no business being involved here.” He said he hopes that NATO allies “will treat one another with the necessary respect within the alliance.”

Merz agreed that “this Iranian regime must come to an end,” but he said that "based on all the experience we have gained in previous years and decades, bombing it into submission is, in all likelihood, not the right approach.”

EU debates Trump's demand

Many are keen to know when the war will end.

At a meeting in Brussels, where European Union foreign ministers gathered to discuss Trump's demand, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said it's important for the US and Israel to define “when they consider the military aims of their deployment to have been reached.”

“We need more clarity here,” Wadephul told reporters.

Estonian Foreign Minister Margus Tsahkna also said that US allies in Europe want to understand Trump’s “strategic goals. What will be the plan?”

Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski invited the Trump administration to go through the proper channels.

“If there is a request via NATO, we will of course out of respect and sympathy for our American allies consider it very carefully,” he said. Sikorski made a reference to Article 4 of NATO's founding treaty, which allies can invoke if they believe their territory or security is under threat.

Acting in Europe's interests

Still, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said that “it is in our interest to keep the Strait of Hormuz open."

Kallas had urged the 27 member countries to expand the EU's Operation Aspides naval mission to protect shipping in the Red Sea up into the Persian Gulf. But after chairing the meeting, she said there had been “no appetite” to boost its mandate.

But Kallas said the EU would closely monitor threats to maritime security also in the Red Sea, where Aspides operates with three warships. “The risk that the Houthis get involved is real. So we must remain vigilant,” she said.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi militants have so far remained on the sidelines of the war even as it has spread across the Middle East, raising questions about why, and perhaps when, the battle-hardened militants might join the fight.

It was not immediately clear whether some European countries might go it alone and form a “coalition of the willing” to provide military support on an ad hoc basis.

The war in Iran has driven up energy prices worldwide, with Brent crude up more than 40%. The conflict has also disrupted the wider global supply chain beyond oil, affecting things like pharmaceuticals from India, semiconductors from Asia and oil-derived products like fertilizers that come from the Middle East.

Cargo ships are stuck in the Gulf or making a much longer detour around the southern tip of Africa. Planes carrying air cargo out of the Middle East are grounded. And the longer the war drags on, the more likely that there will be shortages and price increases on a wide range of goods.

France has said it is working with countries — French President Emmanuel Macron mentioned partners in Europe, India and Asia — on a possible mission to escort ships through the strait but has stressed it must be when “the circumstances permit,” when fighting has subsided.

French senior officials, speaking anonymously on ongoing talks, said the Netherlands, Italy and Greece had shown interest and that Spain might be involved in some way.

Starmer said Britain is discussing with the US and allies in Europe and the Gulf the possibility of using its mine-hunting drones already in the region.

World

Trump on Iran: We Don’t Know Their Leaders

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 16 March 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 16 March 2026. (EPA)
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Trump on Iran: We Don’t Know Their Leaders

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 16 March 2026. (EPA)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with trustees of the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, USA, 16 March 2026. (EPA)

President Donald Trump said on Monday that he believes Iran wants to make a deal to end the US-Israeli conflict with Tehran but that it is unclear who is actually leading Iran.

"We don't know who their leader is. We ‌have people ‌wanting to negotiate. We have ‌no ⁠idea who they ⁠are," Trump told reporters during a White House event.

After Iran's supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the initial strikes of the war, Tehran announced his ⁠son, Mojtaba Khamenei, had been ‌named as ‌his successor.

Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said ‌last week the new leader ‌was believed to have been wounded in a strike. He has not been seen publicly.

"A lot of people ‌are saying that he's badly disfigured. They're saying that he lost ⁠his ⁠leg ... and he's been hurt very badly. Other people are saying he's dead," Trump said.

Oman has attempted multiple times to open a line of communication between the United States and Iran, but the White House made it clear it is not interested at this juncture, Reuters reported on Saturday.

World

Middle East War ‘Not a Matter for NATO’, Says Germany’s Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, attends a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten after their meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, attends a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten after their meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP)
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Middle East War ‘Not a Matter for NATO’, Says Germany’s Merz

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, attends a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten after their meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, attends a joint press conference with the Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Rob Jetten after their meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Monday, March 16, 2026. (AP)

Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday said the war in the Middle East started by US-Israeli strikes on Iran was "not a matter for NATO" and Germany would not be taking part in it.

"It has been clear at all times that this war is not a matter for NATO," Merz said, adding that the US and Israel "did not consult us prior to this war".

"There was never a joint decision on whether to intervene. That is why the question of how Germany might contribute militarily does not arise. We will not do so," Merz said at a press conference alongside his Dutch counterpart Rob Jetten.

US President Donald Trump on Sunday called for nations including South Korea, France, China and Britain to help ensure safe passage in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has declared closed to US and US-allied traffic.

He later upped the pressure on NATO allies, telling the Financial Times newspaper that the alliance faced a "very bad" future if its members did not do their bit to reopen the strait.

Merz ruled out Germany sending ships to the Strait of Hormuz.

"For as long as the war continues, we will not be involved in ensuring free passage in the Strait of Hormuz by military means," he said.

Merz's spokesman Stefan Kornelius earlier also said the war had "nothing to do with NATO".

"NATO is an alliance for the defense of territory" and "the mandate to deploy NATO is lacking", Kornelius told a regular press briefing.

At a separate briefing on Monday, Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said Germany wanted all those involved to prevent "further military escalation".

"There will be no military participation" from Germany but Berlin is prepared to support diplomatic efforts to "to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz", he said.

"We have a situation which we did not provoke... This war started without any consultations," Pistorius added.

Germany's main responsibility is "for the eastern flank and the high north", he said, and "we stay committed to that but we can't be anywhere in the world".

"What does Donald Trump expect from a handful of European frigates in the Strait of Hormuz that the mighty US navy cannot manage alone? This is the question I find myself asking," Pistorius said.