A Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy after spending eight years on death row has left Pakistan for Canada to be reunited with her daughters.

Aasia Bibi‘s departure on Wednesday comes months after her death sentence was overturned, leading to protests by Muslim hardliners.

The development was first reported by the Dawn, Pakistan’s biggest English newspaper, and Geo News, one of the country’s largest private broadcasters, both of which cited unnamed sources.

Wilson Chowdhry of the British Pakistani Christians Association told AP news agency on Wednesday he received a telephone text message from a British diplomat stating, “Aasia is out.”

A close friend of Bibi also confirmed that she had left the country, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Incendiary issue

Bibi – a labourer from central Punjab province – was first accused of blasphemy in 2009 after a quarrel with a fellow farm worker.

Her case swiftly became the most infamous in Pakistan, drawing worldwide attention to the country where blasphemy is an incendiary issue. It carries a maximum death penalty under the country’s penal code.

Mere allegations of insulting Islam have sparked lynchings in the past.

After Bibi’s October acquittal, far-right party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) called its followers onto the streets. They protested for three days demanding Bibi’s immediate execution as well as death punishment to the judges who acquitted her.

Bibi has technically been free to leave Pakistan since January when the Supreme Court dismissed a legal challenge to her acquittal in October.

Since then, Bibi has been widely believed to be held in protective custody by authorities as she awaited an asylum deal in a third country.

Many blasphemy cases in Pakistan see Muslims accusing Muslims, but rights activists have warned that religious minorities – particularly Christians – are often caught in the crossfire, with such accusations used to settle personal scores.

SOURCE:
News agencies

South Africans are voting in presidential and parliamentary elections in what is being seen as a pivotal election after years of corruption scandals that have plagued the “rainbow nation”.

Some 26.8 million voters are registered to cast ballots at 22,925 polling stations. Polls opened at 7am (0500 GMT) and close 14 hours later.

Early results will emerge on Thursday while the official winner will be declared on Saturday. The party that wins most seats in parliament selects the president, who will be sworn in on May 25.

Wednesday’s vote comes 25 years after the end of apartheid. But despite the demise of the system of racial discrimination, the country remains divided by economic inequality.

While dozens of parties are competing, the main contenders are the ruling African National Congress (ANC), Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) and the Democratic Alliance (DA).

The ANC is almost certain to win again. However, its reputation has been damaged in the last 10 years by a stream of scandals under former President Jacob Zuma.

Zuma was forced to resign in 2018 and is currently on trial on corruption charges.

His replacement, Cyril Ramaphosa, has a cleaner image. But he has lost votes in recent years to the EFF and its leader Julius Malema, who promises to redistribute white-owned land and nationalise the banks.

The DA, meanwhile, has also eaten into the ANC’s once-dominant share of the vote. In the last municipal elections, the DA won in two key cities – Johannesburg and Cape Town.

The ANC – the liberation party that brought about the end of the racist apartheid regime and enfranchised black South Africans – will be challenged on whether it can win back disillusioned urban voters.

Under South Africa‘s electoral system, citizens do not vote directly for the president, but a vote for the ANC is essentially a vote for Ramaphosa.

SOURCE:
News agencies

The Denver Nuggets are one win away from their first Western Conference Finals in 10 years following Tuesday’s 124-98 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 5 of their second-round series.

Denver took home-court advantage back with its win in Game 4 and maintained its momentum by capitalizing at the Pepsi Center and seizing a 3-2 lead.

Nikola Jokic (25 points, 19 rebounds and six assists), Paul Millsap (24 points, eight rebounds and two blocks) and Jamal Murray (18 points, nine assists and five boards) spearheaded a balanced Nuggets attack and were in control throughout.

Damian Lillard (22 points, six rebounds and four assists) did what he could for the Trail Blazers but didn’t play in the fourth quarter with his team facing a daunting deficit. CJ McCollum was just 5-of-16 from the field on his way to 12 points.

Millsap’s Veteran Poise is Exactly What Nuggets Need to Stun the World

The young Nuggets had every right to be tight in the face of immense pressure to start Game 5.

After all, this is a franchise that hasn’t been this deep in the playoffs since 2009, well before its core was in the league. Every game is the new biggest one in the careers of Jokic, Gary Harris, Murray, Torrey Craig and Will Barton, among others.

Tuesday’s matchup was as close to a must-win as a non-elimination game can be since the Nuggets were a mere 20-21 on the road during the regular season. It is likely asking too much for them to take two games in Portland during a single series, so they needed to win the remaining contests at Pepsi Center.

Millsap sensed the gravity of the moment and came out on fire as a playoff-tested veteran, set the tone and provided a steadying calm for the rest of the team to find its flow.

He poured in 12 points during the first quarter alone and 19 by halftime, carrying the offense on the blocks, from mid-range and even beyond the three-point line. He masterfully played off the attention Jokic drew, finding openings in Portland’s defense to create his own looks and skip-pass situations to free others.

Millsap also ensured the frontcourt survived early foul trouble for Jokic and Mason Plumlee by bodying up against Enes Kanter for a block, stripping a driving Al-Farouq Aminu to create a layup on the other end, facilitating to Barton for a three-pointer when the defense collapsed and unleashing a smooth fadeaway jumper when he was matched up one-on-one against Evan Turner.

It was more of the same for the four-time All-Star after he notched a double-double (21 points and 10 boards) in a Game 4 win.

That he is rising to the occasion is no surprise considering this is his 10th postseason appearance. His resume features trips to the Eastern Conference Finals with the Atlanta Hawks and Western Conference Finals with the Utah Jazz. He is not intimidated by the magnitude of the stage, which is the exact type of presence this untested Nuggets team needed to survive the early nerves.

The initial lead Millsap created allowed his teammates to settle in, and Murray eventually went into attack mode by driving to the rim and unleashing threes over Lillard’s outstretched hands.

Just for good measure, Millsap connected on a four-point play in the final 15 seconds of the first half after the defense started to collapse on Murray. Then he picked up where he left off with multiple looks at the rim early in the third quarter.

The majority of the headlines entering this series were about Lillard and the Trail Blazers after his 37-foot buzzer-beater sent the Oklahoma City Thunder home in dramatic fashion. It will be much of the same for Denver should it advance to the Western Conference Finals against either the mighty Golden State Warriors as they look for a third straight title or James Harden as he attempts to cement another MVP-caliber season with his first championship.

The unassuming Nuggets have quietly been a contender in the West all season while the others draw more attention, and they’re now one win away from earning the right to play for a spot in the NBA Finals.

The pressure is only going to intensify with every passing game, and Denver will need Millsap’s battle-tested poise if it wants to shock the world and lift the Larry O’Brien Trophy.

What’s Next?

The series returns to Portland for Thursday’s Game 6.

At least five people have been killed and many more wounded in a blast near a prominent Sufi shrine in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore, according to rescue officials.

The blast took place on Wednesday morning outside the Data Darbar shrine in Pakistan’s second-largest city.

TV footage from the scene showed a damaged police vehicle and debris strewn in front of the shrine.

Rescue services spokesperson Muhammad Farooq told Al Jazeera that the death toll stood at five people, with 17 others suffering injuries.

“At least five of those wounded are in critical condition,” he said.

“The rescue operation at the site of the blast has been completed. Investigating agencies are now at the scene and are doing their work.”

Senior police official Ashfaq Ahmed Khan told reporters those killed included three police officers, one private security guard and one civilian.

Police said they were investigating whether the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) or a suicide bomber.

“They were elite [police] officers standing there for security at Gate Two of the Data Darbar [shrine],” Khan said.

“We had general threats, but nothing specific against Data Darbar.”

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

Dallas Stars goaltender Ben Bishop stonewalled an overwhelming 52 shots from the St. Louis Blues in Monday night’s Western Conference Semifinal Game 7 at Enterprise Center, but he couldn’t keep out a deflected goal by Patrick Maroon that gave the Blues a 2-1 double-overtime victory.

The game-winner began with a won faceoff by Tyler Bozak, which resulted in Robert Thomas putting the puck on net. The shot deflected first off the goalpost and then off the back of Bishop, and Maroon was right there to slap it in.

Just as in Sunday’s must-win Game 6, the Blues were aggressive on the attack. With 6:30 left to play in the first period, St. Louis opened the scoring when defenseman Vince Dunn drilled the puck between teammate Maroon and Stars center Tyler Seguin to give the Blues a 1-0 lead.

While the Blues benefitted from Dunn’s first postseason goal, the Stars leveled the game at 1-1 with right winger Mats Zuccarello’s first goal of the series a little over two minutes later. From then on, however, the Stars struggled to generate any semblance of offense, and Bishop’s historic performance was in vain.

What’s Next?

The Blues will face either the Colorado Avalanche or San Jose Sharks, who play their semifinal series’ Game 7 on Wednesday night, in the conference final.

This article will be updated to provide more information on this story as it becomes available.

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