UN mandate for Gaza stabilisation force still under discussion, says Turkey
Istanbul: Countries are still working on securing a United Nations Security Council mandate for an international stabilisation force in Gaza, and any decisions on troop contributions will be made once a framework is finalised, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday, Reuters reported.
Fidan made the remarks after a ministerial meeting in Istanbul attended by foreign ministers and representatives from several Muslim-majority nations, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Turkey. The meeting focused on the fragile U.S.-brokered ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.
According to Fidan, some of the participating countries could contribute to the proposed stabilisation force that would monitor the truce. The leaders of these seven nations had earlier met U.S. President Donald Trump in New York in September, shortly before the ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas was agreed.
Fidan said there were challenges in fully implementing the agreement because Israel was regularly violating it.
“Israel must fulfil its duty to allow sufficient aid into Gaza,” Reuters quoted Fidan as saying at a press conference.
Israel, however, maintains that it is complying with the ceasefire and has accused Hamas of not returning the bodies of remaining hostages. A government spokeswoman told Reuters that Israel was allowing “hundreds of trucks of aid on a daily basis (while) Hamas shows their true colours by derailing humanitarian aid meant for their own people.”
Turkey, a NATO member, has been among Israel’s strongest critics, calling the two-year-long military campaign in Gaza a “genocide”. With U.S. support, Ankara has played a key role in mediating the ceasefire and expressed interest in participating in any monitoring mission, though Israel opposes Turkish involvement.
Asked about the proposed role of Turkey, Fidan said countries were working to define the mission’s “legitimacy and scope.”
“They will decide, based on the contents of this definition, whether to send soldiers or not,” Reuters quoted him as saying.
The Gaza truce, in place since October 10, has been repeatedly tested by outbreaks of violence. Key issues such as the disarmament of Hamas and a timetable for Israel’s withdrawal remain unresolved.
Fidan reiterated that Turkey wants Palestinians to ensure their own security and governance after the war, but noted that “several steps must be taken before that goal can be realised.”
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Screenwriter Salim Khan on ventilator support and stable, say doctors
Mumbai (PTI): Veteran screenwriter Salim Khan suffered a brain haemorrhage which has been tackled, is on ventilator support as a safeguard and stable, doctors treating him said on Wednesday, a day after he was admitted to the Lilavati Hospital here.
The 90-year-old, one half of the celebrated Salim-Javed duo which scripted films such as "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don" with Javed Akhtar, is in the ICU and recovery might take some time given his age.
"His blood pressure was high for which we treated him and we had to put him on a ventilator because we wanted to do certain investigations. Now the ventilator was put as a safeguard so that his situation doesn't get worse. So it is not that he is critical," Dr Jalil Parkar told reporters.
"We did the investigations that were required and today we have done a small procedure on him, I will not go into the details. The procedure done is called DSA (digital subtraction angiography). The procedure has been accomplished, he is fine and stable and shifted back to ICU. By tomorrow, we hope to get him off the ventilator. All in all, he is doing quite well," he added.
Asked whether he suffered a brain haemorrhage, the doctor said, "Unko thoda haemorrhage hua tha, which we’ve tackled. No surgery is required.
As concern over Khan's health mounted, his children, including superstar Salman Khan and Arbaaz Khan, daughter Alvira, and sons-in-law Atul Agnihotri and Aayush Sharma, have been seen outside the hospital along with other well-wishers. His long-time partner Akhtar was also seen coming out of the hospital.
Khan, a household name in the 70s and 80s, turned 90 on November 24 last year. It was the day Dharmendra, the star of many of his films, including "Sholay", "Seeta aur Geeta" and "Yaadon Ki Baraat", passed away.
Hailing from an affluent family in Indore, Khan arrived in Mumbai in his 20s with dreams of stardom. He was good looking and confident he would make a mark in the industry as an actor. But that did not happen. And then, after struggling for close to a decade and getting confined to small roles in films, he changed lanes.
He worked as an assistant to Abrar Alvi and soon met Akhtar to form one of Hindi cinema's most formidable writing partnerships. They worked together on two dozen movies with most of them achieving blockbuster status.
Other than "Sholay", "Deewar" and "Don", Khan and Akhtar also penned "Trishul", "Zanjeer", "Seeta Aur Geeta", "Haathi Mere Saathi", "Yaadon Ki Baarat" and "Mr India".
