Pakistan court sentences woman to death for WhatsApp blasphemy
WhatsApp icon on a smartphone
A Pakistani court sentenced a Muslim woman to death after finding her guilty of blasphemy for insulting Islam's Prophet Muhammad in text messages she sent to a friend, an official said Thursday.
The woman, Aneeqa Atteeq, was arrested in May 2020 after the man alerted police that she sent him caricatures of the Prophet -- considered sacrilegious -- via WhatsApp.
Under Pakistan's blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting the religion or religious figures can be sentenced to death. While authorities have yet to carry out a death sentence for blasphemy, just the accusation can cause riots.
According to a court order, the woman was also sentenced to 10 years in jail.
Awais Ahmed, a government official, said the court announced the verdict against Atteeq on Wednesday in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
Domestic and international human rights groups say blasphemy allegations have often been used to intimidate religious minorities and to settle personal scores. In December, a Muslim mob descended on a sports equipment factory in Pakistan's Sialkot district, killing a Sri Lankan man and burning his body publicly over allegations of blasphemy.
The incident drew nationwide condemnation and authorities arrested dozens of people over involvement in the killing of Priyantha Kumara. Those linked to Kumara's murder are facing a trial in Pakistan.
RISKIN REPORTS
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Ukraine's president accuses Russia of waging 'total war'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of waging "total war," seeking to inflict as much death and destruction as possible as in three months of conflict, as fighting raged Tuesday in the eastern Donbas region.
EXCLUSIVE | Supreme Court Justice Mahmud Jamal on his journey to Canada’s highest court
Justice Mahmud Jamal sat down with CTV National News' Omar Sachedina for an exclusive interview ahead of the one-year anniversary of his appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada. Jamal is the first person of colour to sit on the highest court in the country, bringing it closer to reflecting the diversity of Canada.
Death toll from Saturday's storm hits 10 across Ontario and Quebec
As the death toll related to the powerful storm that swept Ontario and Quebec on Saturday reached 10 on Monday, some of the hardest-hit communities were still working to take stock of the damage.
Trudeau faces chants, pounding drums as he walks through crowd at Kamloops memorial
The prime minister made comments following a memorial gathering in Kamloops to mark one year since the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation announced the remains of up to 215 children were detected at a former school site.
Conservative party ends its investigation into complaint about a racist email
The Conservative Party of Canada says its ended its investigation into a racist email sent to leadership contender Patrick Brown's campaign team after the party member purportedly behind it resigned their membership.
Walk out at trade meeting when Russia spoke 'not one-off,' says trade minister
The United States and four other nations that walked out of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting in Bangkok over the weekend underlined their support Monday for host nation Thailand, saying their protest was aimed solely at Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.
Canadian study finds link between air pollution and severity of COVID-19 infection
An extensive study of thousands of COVID-19 patients in Ontario hospitals found links between the severity of their infections and the levels of common air pollutants they experience.
After 3 months of war, life in Russia has profoundly changed
Three months after the Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine, many ordinary Russians are reeling from those blows to their livelihoods and emotions. Moscow's vast shopping malls have turned into eerie expanses of shuttered storefronts once occupied by Western retailers.
China's bet on homegrown mRNA vaccines holds back nation
China is trying to navigate its biggest coronavirus outbreak without a tool it could have adopted many months ago, the kind of vaccines that have proven to offer the best protection against the worst outcomes from COVID-19.
Canada
-
Trudeau faces chants, pounding drums as he walks through crowd at Kamloops memorial
The prime minister made comments following a memorial gathering in Kamloops to mark one year since the Tk'emlups te Secwepemc Nation announced the remains of up to 215 children were detected at a former school site.
-
'Too many children did not make it home': Anniversary of discovery at Canada's largest residential school
It's been a year since the announcement of the detection of unmarked graves at the site of what was once Canada's largest residential school – an announcement that for many Indigenous survivors was confirmation of what they already knew.
-
Death toll from Saturday's storm hits 10 across Ontario and Quebec
As the death toll related to the powerful storm that swept Ontario and Quebec on Saturday reached 10 on Monday, some of the hardest-hit communities were still working to take stock of the damage.
-
Northern Tornadoes Project continues to investigate damage from Ontario-Quebec storm
Western University's Northern Tornadoes Project is investigating the aftermath of the deadly storm that blew across southern Ontario and Quebec, but analysis will take time.
-
Hydro damage 'significantly worse' than the ice storm and tornadoes, Hydro Ottawa says
Hydro Ottawa says the damage from Saturday's storm is "simply beyond comprehension", and is "significantly worse" than the 1998 ice storm and the tornadoes that hit the capital three years ago.
-
19 charged, including 10 minors, after violent night at Toronto beach
Police say they’ve made 19 arrests and seven officers were injured after a violent night at Toronto’s Woodbine Beach that saw two people shot, one person stabbed, two others robbed at gunpoint and running street battles involving fireworks through Sunday evening.
World
-
Russian opposition leader's 9-year sentence appeal rejected
A Russian court on Tuesday rejected opposition leader Alexei Navalny's appeal of a nine-year prison sentence for fraud.
-
Sri Lanka arrests 67 suspected to be heading to Australia
Sri Lanka's navy said Tuesday that it has arrested 67 people who it believes were trying to travel by sea to Australia illegally.
-
Biden: U.S. would intervene with military to defend Taiwan
President Joe Biden said Monday that the U.S. would intervene militarily if China were to invade Taiwan, saying the burden to protect Taiwan is 'even stronger' after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It was one of the most forceful presidential statements in support of self-governing in decades.
-
Freed U.K. woman says Iran forced her to sign false confession
A British-Iranian charity worker who was detained in Tehran for almost six years says she was forced by Iranian officials to sign a false confession to spying before she was freed two months ago.
-
UN refugee agency: Number of displaced tops 100 million
The number of people forced to flee conflict, violence, human rights violations and persecution has crossed the milestone of 100 million for the first time on record, propelled by the war in Ukraine and other deadly conflicts, the UN refugee agency said Monday.
-
Ukraine's president accuses Russia of waging 'total war'
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russia of waging "total war," seeking to inflict as much death and destruction as possible as in three months of conflict, as fighting raged Tuesday in the eastern Donbas region.
Politics
-
Walk out at trade meeting when Russia spoke 'not one-off,' says trade minister
The United States and four other nations that walked out of an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group meeting in Bangkok over the weekend underlined their support Monday for host nation Thailand, saying their protest was aimed solely at Russia because of its invasion of Ukraine.
-
Conservative party ends its investigation into complaint about a racist email
The Conservative Party of Canada says its ended its investigation into a racist email sent to leadership contender Patrick Brown's campaign team after the party member purportedly behind it resigned their membership.
-
Huawei 5G ban delay wasn't tied to efforts to free Spavor and Kovrig, Mendicino says
Canada's Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino insists the once unknown fate of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig was not why the government delayed its decision to ban Huawei technologies from Canada's 5G network.
Health
-
Canadian study finds link between air pollution and severity of COVID-19 infection
An extensive study of thousands of COVID-19 patients in Ontario hospitals found links between the severity of their infections and the levels of common air pollutants they experience.
-
Monkeypox likely spread by sex at 2 raves in Europe, expert says
A leading adviser to the World Health Organization described the unprecedented outbreak of the rare disease monkeypox in developed countries as 'a random event' that might be explained by risky sexual behaviour at two recent mass events in Europe.
-
Theories emerge for mysterious liver illnesses in children
Health officials remain perplexed by mysterious cases of severe liver damage in hundreds of young children around the world.
Sci-Tech
-
Hubble identifies unusual wrinkle in expansion rate of the universe
Measuring the expansion rate of the universe was one of the Hubble Space Telescope's main goals when it was launched in 1990. Over the past 30 years, the space observatory has helped scientists discover and refine that accelerating rate -- as well as uncover a mysterious wrinkle that only brand-new physics may solve.
-
World's fastest passenger jet goes supersonic in tests
The race to resume supersonic passenger flights nearly two decades after the retirement of Concorde was offered a glimmer of excitement on Monday when plane manufacturer Bombardier revealed high speed achievements while confirming the launch of its new business jet.
-
DC sues Mark Zuckerberg over Cambridge Analytica privacy breach
The District of Columbia on Monday sued Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg, seeking to hold him personally liable for the Cambridge Analytica scandal, a privacy breach of millions of Facebook users' personal data that became a major corporate and political scandal.
Entertainment
-
Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger's second child has arrived
The 'Guardians of the Galaxy' actor and his author wife took to their respective Instagram accounts on Sunday night to share that they had welcomed a baby girl on Saturday.
-
Colin Cantwell, designer of 'Star Wars' Death Star, dies aged 90
Colin Cantwell, the visual effects artist behind many of the iconic spacecraft in the original 'Star Wars' movie, has died at the age of 90.
-
Johnny Depp's severed finger story has flaws: surgeon
A hand surgeon testified Monday that Johnny Depp could not have lost the tip of his middle finger the way he told jurors it happened in his civil lawsuit against ex-wife Amber Heard.
Business
-
A new billionaire has been minted nearly every day during the pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has been good for the wallets of the wealthy. Some 573 people have joined the billionaire ranks since 2020, bringing the worldwide total to 2,668, according to an analysis released by Oxfam on Sunday. That means a new billionaire was minted about every 30 hours, on average, so far during the pandemic.
-
Global shares trade lower as inflation worries cloud outlook
Asian shares were lower on Tuesday as worries over inflation tempered optimism over U.S. President Joe Biden's remark that he was considering reducing U.S. tariffs on Chinese imports.
-
Starbucks is leaving Russia for good
Starbucks is leaving Russia for good. The coffee company paused its operations and stopped shipments of its products to Russia in March. Now, it 'has made the decision to exit and no longer have a brand presence in the market,' Starbucks said in a brief statement Monday.
Lifestyle
-
The science behind why smoke seems to follow you around a campfire
Why does smoke seem to follow you around a campfire? B.C. research scientist Kerry Anderson told CTVNews.ca the answer actually boils down to physics.
-
You can get unlimited summer travel for US$9.50 a month in this European country
A whole month of unlimited transport in Germany is just US$9.50 -- that's a great deal at any time, but in a time of fuel price hikes, rocketing car rental rates and a worldwide cost of living crisis, it becomes unbeatable.
-
Princess Diana's 'priceless' wedding tiara exhibited for the first time in decades
This summer, auction house Sotheby's will display some of history's most influential tiaras -- many which have not been seen by the public in decades -- in a new exhibition called 'Power & Image: Royal & Aristocratic Tiaras.'
Sports
-
Autopsy: Steelers QB Haskins was drunk when fatally struck
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins was legally drunk and had taken drugs before he was fatally struck by a dump truck while walking on a Florida interstate highway last month, an autopsy report released Monday concluded.
-
MLB suspends Yanks' Donaldson for 1 game for 'Jackie' remark
Major League Baseball suspended Josh Donaldson for one game Monday after the New York Yankees slugger made multiple references to Jackie Robinson while talking to White Sox star Tim Anderson during the weekend.
-
Flames trying to shake off 'worst' playoff effort in 4-1 loss to Oilers
If the Calgary Flames thought their second-round series was going to be a cakewalk after scoring nine goals in the opening game, they forgot the firepower of their opponent.
Autos
-
B.C.'s rejected licence plate list includes GAS LOL, BONDVLN, WE VAPE
Some of British Columbia's more creative vehicle owners received bad news over the last two years: you can't put everything on a licence plate.
-
Expert's tips on what to do if you're being carjacked amid rash of Toronto incidents
Some drivers in Toronto may be feeling on edge as Toronto is dealing with a rash of violent carjackings targeting mostly high-end vehicles.
-
Price of gas remains high across Canada heading into long weekend
Canadians may find a lot of long faces at the pump heading into the long weekend as gas prices across the country remain high.
