Israeli PM's wife suspected of taking bribes
Tel Aviv, Aug 31 : Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's wife is suspected of accepting bribes in a corruption case involving her husband and Israel's largest telecom company, the police said told on Thursday.
A police official told the Tel Aviv Magistrate Court that Netanyahu's wife, Sara, is suspected of receiving bribes. It was the first time the police publicly specified the suspicion against Sara Netanyahu, who was already questioned several times in the high-profile criminal investigation, Xinhua reported.
The case, dubbed by the police as "Case 4000", involves the couple and Shaul Elovitch, a businessman and Benjamin Netanyahu's associate.
Elovitch's communication company Bezeq Telecom allegedly received financial benefits from the Communication Ministry during Netanyahu's service as the Communication Minister.
In return, Benjamin and Sara Netanyahu allegedly received positive coverage by the Walla news site, also controlled by Elovitch.
However, Sara Netanyahu's lawyers released a statement denying the accusations against her, saying she never took part in any bribery case.
The Prime Minister is entangled in a series of criminal corruption investigations.
In February, the police said there was enough evidence to charge Netanyahu with bribery, fraud, and breach of trust in two other cases. However, Attorney General of Israel Avichai Mandelblit has still to decide whether to press charges or to drop the cases.
Netanyahu denies any wrongdoing and charges the investigations are part of a "witch hunt" orchestrated by the "leftist" media and his enemies.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
