Musharraf is responsible for Benazir’s assassination: Bilawal Bhutto

Al Jazeera
December 28, 2017

Islamabad, Dec 28: An impassioned Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has accused former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf of being responsible for his mother Benazir Bhutto's murder.

Speaking at a rally to mark the tenth anniversary of Bhutto's murder in the southern Pakistani town of Garhi Khuda Bux on Wednesday, Bilawal led a crowd of thousands in a chant declaring Musharraf "a murderer".

Benazir Bhutto, who was twice elected as Pakistan's prime minister, was assassinated in a gun and bomb attack shortly after addressing a political rally in the garrison city of Rawalpindi while campaigning for elections in 2007. 

In August, a Pakistani anti-terrorism court exonerated five men accused of involvement in the attack, while convicting and sentencing two senior police officers for willful negligence and tampering with evidence during the investigation into the murder.

The five men, accused of being members of the Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, remain in custody pending a prosecution appeal.

Musharraf, who denies any involvement in the murder, was declared a fugitive by the same court for failing to appear during hearings.

He has not been convicted on any charges as of yet.

'We did not get justice'

Flanked by his sisters Bakhtawar and Aseefa, who wiped away tears at points during the speech, Bilawal told the crowd he was disappointed in the court's decision but would continue to fight for the independence of the judiciary.

"The judiciary whose independence you fought for … we did not get justice from it, your esteemed father did not get justice from it, I did not get justice from it."

Speaking to the BBC in an interview released on Wednesday, Musharraf denied any responsibility for the murder but said he could not rule out the involvement of rogue elements within the Pakistani military.

"[It is a] possibility. Yes indeed," he said. "Because the society is polarised on religious lines."

Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has succeeded his mother as chairperson of the Pakistan People's Party, which was led for the last several years by Asif Ali Zardari, Benazir's widower.

In the last year, however, Bilawal has stepped up to take more responsibilities, and will be leading the PPP's election campaign for a general parliamentary poll to be held in mid-2018.

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Agencies
July 13,2020

New Delhi, Jul 13: Google CEO Sundar Pichai on Monday announced an investment of Rs 75,000 crore or approximately US$10 billion into India over the next five to seven years through 'Google for India Digistation Fund'.

This move is significant as it comes in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic and as multinational companies across the world look at alternative investment destinations.

"Excited to announce Google for India Digitisation Fund. Through it, we will invest Rs 75,000 crore or approx US$10 Billon into India over the next 5-7 yrs. We'll do this through a mix of equity investments, partnerships and operational infrastructure in ecosystem investments," said Pichai.

Pichai along with Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad virtually attended the sixth annual edition of Google for India.

"This is a reflection of our confidence in the future of India and its digital economy," said Pichai.
He added that the investments will focus on four areas important to India's digitisation.

Listing out the areas, Pichai elaborated, "First enabling affordable access and information to every Indian in their own language. Second, building new products and services that are deeply relevant to India's unique needs. Third, empowering businesses as they continue or embark on the digital transformation. Fourth, leveraging technology in AI for social good in areas like health, education and agriculture."

"When I was young, every piece of technology brought new opportunities to learn and grow but I always had to wait for it to arrive from some places. Today people in India no more have to wait for technology to come to you. A whole new generation of technologies is happening in India first," said Pichai.

Earlier today Prime Minister Narendra Modi interacted with Pichai and discussed a range of subjects like a new work culture in coronavirus times, data security and cyber safety.

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News Network
June 12,2020

Jun 12: The global number of COVID-19 cases has increased to over 7.5 million, while the death toll was nearing 421,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University.

As of Friday morning, the overall number of cases stood at 7,500,777, while the deaths increased to 420,993, the University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) revealed in its latest update.

The US continues with the world's highest number of confirmed cases and deaths at 2,022,488 and 113,803, respectively, according to the CSSE.

In terms of cases, Brazil comes in the second place with 802,828 infections.

This was followed by Russia (501,800), the UK (292,860), India (286,605), Spain (242,707), Italy (236,142), Peru (214,788), France (192,493), Germany (186,691), Iran (180,156), Turkey (174,023), Chile (154,092), Mexico (133,974), Pakistan (125,933) and Saudi Arabia (116,021), the CSSE figures showed.

Regarding fatalities, the UK continues in the second position after the US with 41,364 COVID-19 deaths, which also accounts for the highest number of fatalities in Europe.

The other countries with over 10,000 deaths are Brazil (40,919), Italy (34,167), France (29,349), Spain (27,136) and Mexico (15,944).

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News Network
July 23,2020

Minneapolis, Jul 23: The former Minneapolis police officer charged with murder in the death of George Floyd was charged Wednesday with multiple felony counts of tax evasion.

Derek Chauvin and his wife, Kellie May Chauvin, were each charged in Washington County with six counts of filing false or fraudulent tax returns for the tax years 2014 through 2019 and three counts of failing to file tax returns for 2016, 2017 and 2018.

Floyd, a Black man who was handcuffed, died May 25 after Chauvin, who is white, pressed his knee against Floyd's neck for nearly eight minutes as Floyd pleaded for air.

Chauvin is charged with second-degree murder, third-degree murder and manslaughter. He and three other officers who were at the scene were fired.

Chauvin is in custody on the charges in the Floyd case. Kellie Chauvin, who filed for divorce after Floyd's death, is not in custody.

Online court records didn't list attorneys for either in the tax evasion case, and calls to Kellie Chauvin did not go through.

Washington County Attorney Pete Orput said the investigation into the Chauvins was started in June by the Minnesota Department of Revenue and Oakdale Police Department.

Authorities allege in the criminal complaints that the Chauvins failed to file income tax returns and pay state income taxes, and that they underreported and underpaid taxes on income they earned from various jobs each year.

The complaints allege that they also failed to pay proper sales tax on a $100,000 BMW purchased in Minnesota in 2018.

Prosecutors say the Chauvins bought the car in Minnetonka but registered it in Florida, where they paid lower sales taxes.

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