US Mideast peace plan will not pass: Palestine president
Ramallah, July 9 : Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has said in a meeting of his Fatah Party's Central committee that US President Donald Trump's Mideast peace deal, also known as the deal of the century, "will not pass".
Abbas, who chaired the meeting on Sunday, held at his office in Ramallah, said "we won't let the deal of the century pass", Xinhua news agency reported.
He said "the Arab states also oppose the deal," which aims at resolving decades long of conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.
"We informed the world that we are against the deal of the century, we won't accept it and we won't let it pass," Abbas told the committee's members, adding "we would like to reiterate that our Arab brothers asserted to us that they are against it."
He added that "countries in the world, in Europe, Asia and Africa started to realise that the deal of the century will not pass," in reference to the peace plan Trump administration is intending to declare soon.
Ties between the US and the Palestinian Authority deteriorated when Trump declared that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. Ties worsened after the US embassy to Israel was moved from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
Last direct US-sponsored peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians stopped in 2014 after nine months without any breakthrough due to deep difference on issues of settlement, security and borders.
Meanwhile, Abbas reiterated the Palestinian rejection to the Israeli decision of cutting the PA fund, or allowances the PA pays to the families of the prisoners and those killed by Israel in the Palestinian territories.
"We are still waiting and we will take the proper measures that fit with our interests," Abbas said. "Those are our prisoners and martyrs, and we have been paying them their allowances since 1965."
Talking about moving up the stalled file of reconciliation with rival Islamic Hamas movement, which has been controlling the Gaza Strip since 2007, Abbas said that there are talks that Egypt is holding with Hamas movement "in this respect".
"We told Egypt that if Hamas really wants to make reconciliation, it should transfer all power in the Gaza Strip to the Palestinian consensus government, and if not, they should bear the full responsibility of Gaza," said Abbas.
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Mumbai police summon Raipur lawyer over death threat to Shah Rukh Khan
Mumbai/Raipur, Nov 7: The Mumbai police have registered an extortion case and summoned a lawyer from Chhattisgarh in connection with a death threat to Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan and a demand for Rs 50 lakh, officials said on Thursday.
The lawyer from Raipur has been summoned as the threat call was made from a phone number registered in his name, a senior police official from the Chhattisgarh capital said. The lawyer told the police that he lost his phone last week and had filed a police complaint, the official said.
The threat to Shah Rukh Khan follows a series of threats issued to fellow actor Salman Khan, allegedly from the Lawrence Bishnoi gang.
“The Bandra police station received a call threatening Shah Rukh Khan and asking for Rs 50 lakh. An offence has been registered. No arrest has been made yet,” a senior Mumbai police official said.
A case has been registered by the Bandra police under sections 308(4) (extortion involving threats of death or serious injury) and 351(3)(4) (criminal intimidation) of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the caller who threatened Shah Rukh Khan, the official said.
Police teams have been dispatched to various places for further investigation, he said.
While there was no confirmation from Mumbai police on reports that the call was made from Chhattisgarh, a Raipur police official said their counterparts from the Maharashtra capital on Thursday served a notice to a man from the city in connection with it.
As part of their investigation into the threat to Shah Rukh Khan, Mumbai police visited Raipur and summoned a lawyer, identified as Faizan Khan, who lives within the limits of Pandri police station here, Raipur Senior Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI.
Police had earlier identified the man as Faiyaz Khan.
As per preliminary information, the threat call to the actor was made from a phone number registered in the name of Faizan, he said.
Faizan has been asked to appear for questioning at Bandra police station, Singh said.
A Mumbai police team arrived at Pandri police station in the morning and informed the officials about the case following which Faizan was called for questioning, City Superintendent of Police (CSP- Civil Lines) Ajay Kumar told PTI.
Faizan told the cops that he had lost his phone last week and lodged a complaint at Khamardih police station here, he said. Mumbai police have served a notice to Faizan and summoned him for further questioning, the official added.
Later, talking to reporters in Raipur, Faizan claimed that his phone was stolen and termed the threat call made from his number a conspiracy against him.
“My phone was stolen on November 2 and I lodged a complaint. I told Mumbai police about it. They interrogated me for about two hours,” he said.
He, however, said he had earlier complained to Mumbai police against Shah Rukh Khan over a dialogue in his movie ‘Anjaam’ (1994) referring to deer hunting.
“I hail from Rajasthan. The Bishnoi community (which is from Rajasthan) is my friend. It is in their religion to protect deer. So, if a Muslim says something like this about deer, it is condemnable. Therefore, I raised an objection,” he said.
Faizan added, “Whoever has made a call from my phone, it seems intentional. I think it is a conspiracy against me.”
