Pak summons India's Deputy HC over Assemanand's acquittal

March 11, 2017

Islamabad, Mar 11: Pakistan has summoned India's Deputy High Commissioner to express its concern over the acquittal of right-wing activist Swami Aseemanand - an accused in the Samjhauta train blasts case - in a case of terrorism. In a late night statement, the Foreign Office said Indian Deputy High Commissioner J P Singh was called in by the Director General (South Asia & SAARC) on Friday "to express concern over acquittal of Swami Aseemanand in Ajmer Sharif blast case."

Assemanand"Swami Aseemanand had publicly confessed that he was the 'mastermind' of Samjhauta Express terrorist attack of February 2007 and had also identified a serving Indian army officer Col Purohit, who was head of terrorist organisation Abhinav Bharat, as his accomplice in the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack," it said.

A total of 68 people were killed in the blasts in two coaches of Samjhauta Express in Panipat on February 18, 2007. The statement said that 42 Pakistani citizens had lost their lives in the Samjhauta train blasts.

"The Government of Pakistan expects India to take steps to bring to justice all those involved in the heinous act of Samjhauta Express terrorist attack," it said. On Thursday, Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakaria had asked India to bring the perpetrators of the Samjhauta train blasts to justice and termed the acquittal of Aseemanand in the 2007 Ajmer blast case as "regrettable".

Aseemanand is an accused in the Samjhauta blast case. "What we have noted is that over the last few years they had been exonerating people involved in the Samjhauta Express terrorist attack," Zakaria had said. "We have been pursuing the case of Samjhauta Express with the Indian government and we hope that they will share the findings/investigations collected so far in the case with us and perpetrators will be brought to justice," he had said.

A member of right-wing Hindu group Abhinav Bharat, Assemanand has been in jail since December 2010. He was also named as an accused in Hyderabad Mecca Masjid blast case.

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Agencies
June 4,2020

Washington D.C, Jun 4: A lawsuit has been filed against US President Donald Trump for signing an executive order on preventing online censorship that seems to violate the freedom of speech of individuals on social media platforms.

On Tuesday, the Center for Democracy and Technology filed the lawsuit against Trump's "Executive Order on Preventing Online Censorship," which was signed May 28, 2020. The suit argues that the Executive Order violates the First Amendment by curtailing and chilling the constitutionally protected speech of online platforms and individuals.

"CDT filed suit today because the President's actions are a direct attack on the freedom of speech protected by the First Amendment. The government cannot and should not force online intermediaries into moderating speech according to the President's whims. Blocking this order is crucial for protecting freedom of speech and continuing important work to ensure the integrity of the 2020 election," said CDT President and CEO Alexandra Givens.

The executive order is designed to deter social media services from fighting misinformation, voter suppression, and the stoking of violence on their platforms, the digital rights group said.

"Access to accurate information about the voting process and the security of our elections infrastructure is the lifeblood of our democracy. The President has made clear that his goal is to use threats of retaliation and future regulation to intimidate intermediaries into changing how they moderate content, essentially ensuring that the dangers of voter suppression and disinformation will grow unchecked in an election year," Givens said.

The law firm of Mayer Brown is representing CDT in this action.

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News Network
May 1,2020

Washington, May 1: The United States on Thursday recorded 29,625 new coronavirus cases, and 2,035 deaths in the last 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University.

The total number of coronavirus cases has reached 1,069,534 and the death toll stands at 63,001, CNN reported.

The novel coronavirus has infected more than 3.2 million people and killed at least 233,000 globally, according to Johns Hopkins University.

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News Network
April 27,2020

London, Apr 27: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson returns to work on Monday more than three weeks after being hospitalised for the coronavirus and spending three days in intensive care.

Johnson, one of the highest-profile people to have contracted the virus, returned to 10 Downing Street on Sunday evening and will chair a meeting on Monday morning of the coronavirus "war cabinet", his colleagues confirmed.

Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary who has deputised in Johnson's absence, told the BBC on Sunday that his return would be a "boost for the government and a boost for the country".

Raab also claimed the prime minister was "raring to go".

Johnson, 55, was admitted to hospital on April 5 suffering from "persistent symptoms" of the deadly disease.

His condition worsened and he later admitted after being put in intensive care that "things could have gone either way".

He was discharged on April 12 and has been recuperating at his official residence, west of London.

In a video message after leaving hospital, Johnson thanked "Jenny from New Zealand and Luis from Portugal" for helping him recover.

On medical advice, he has not been doing official government work during his convalescence but has spoken to Queen Elizabeth and US President Donald Trump on the phone.

The British leader was diagnosed with the virus late last month but initially stayed at Downing Street and was filmed taking part in a round of applause for health workers in the days before he went to hospital.

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