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Muammar Gaddafi: Charming but cruel, recalls Kasargod doctor

[email protected] (News Network)
October 21, 2011

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Kasargod, October 21: The world knew him as an impulsive tyrant but Dr Mundol Abdulla's first impression of Gadaffi was of a friendly, charming man and cooperative patient.

The 70-year-old doctor from Kasargod, Kerala, revised his opinion only after seeing the bodies of dissidents and students hanging in public places.

In 1973, Dr Abdulla was appointed by Tripoli to run a clinic at Abu Hadhi near Sirte. Two months later, Gaddafi visited the clinic, complaining of a headache. Dr Abdulla prescribed Aspirin tablets, which apparently worked since Gadaffi praised him to his wife, saying the Indian doctor had solved his problem. Col was a gracious host, says Indian doc

Dr Mundol Abdulla, a doctor from Kerala who was among the 17 physicians appointed by the Libyan government, says Muammar Gaddafi would visit his clinic in Sirte regularly, though the exact date and time of his visit would never be revealed in advance due to security reasons.

On several occasions, he also invited Dr Abdulla and his wife to his residence in Sirte. "He was a gracious host, personally serving tea and snacks," recalls Dr Abdulla.

However, Gaddafi always feared assassination and never hesitated to take brutal action against any perceived threat, recalls the doctor. "Once, bodies of university students were kept hanging on the campus for a week as an example to others," he recalls with a shudder. Of course, Dr Abdulla made sure to not reveal his opinion to his unpredictable patient.

Eventually, Gadaffi's growing paranoia brought an end to his visits and the Abdulla lost touch with him. They returned to India in 1980, but almost 30 years on, pictures of a bloodied corpse on TV revived old memories for the family.

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News Network
January 30,2020

Bengaluru, Jan 30: There are around 3 lakh Bangladeshis across Karnataka and around 3,000 of them left Bengaluru following the recent crackdown, according to Bhaskar Rao, Bengaluru city police commissioner.

It's the first time a high-ranking official has put a number to Bangladeshis in Karnataka following the debate over the new citizenship law.

At a conclave on 'Construction Workers Safety, Health and Welfare' organised by the labour department and IIMB here, he said the estimate was arrived at based on information sourced from Bangladeshis deported recently.

There's been no study to ascertain the Bangladeshi population in the state, Rao said, adding that most illegal Bangladeshis in Bengaluru are victims of human trafficking.

"They come to Bengaluru for employment. Unlike other cities, Bengaluru has a lot of job potential and pays good salaries too. There are a lot of Bangladeshis working in the construction industry," Rao said.

Workers from Bangladesh demand lower wages. While other labourers demand around Rs 500 to Rs 600 per day, Bangladeshi workers don’t complain about being paid around Rs 100-150,” Rao said, adding that this has encouraged human traffickers to increasingly bring in Bangladeshis.

Suresh Hari, chairman, Confederation of Real Estate Developers Association of India, however, said they’re not aware of the nationality of their workers as contractors bring workers registered for tasks. “It’s difficult to say where they are from as there’s also construction work outside Credai’s purview,” Hari said.

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News Network
April 9,2020

Gadag, Apr 9: An 80-year-old woman who tested positive for COVID-19 passed away on Thursday due to cardiac arrest in Gadag, the district's Deputy Commissioner said.

She also had a history of Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI). Her body was disposed of as per the protocol, officials said.

According to the Karnataka Government, 10 new positive cases have been reported in the State today, taking the total COVID-19 cases to 191, including 28 discharged patients and six deaths.

With an increase of 540 positive COVID-19 cases reported in the last 24 hours, India's tally of coronavirus cases has risen to 5,734, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Thursday.

Out of the 5,734 cases, 5,095 are active COVID-19 cases and 472 patients have recovered while 166 have died.

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coastaldigest.com web desk
July 27,2020

New Delhi, Jul 27: A month after banning 59 Chinese applications, the government of Indian has now reportedly banned 47 more apps of Chinese origin in the country. According to sources, the 47 banned Chinese apps were operating as clones of the earlier banned apps. 

The list of the 47 Chinese applications banned by the Indian government will be released soon.

India has also prepared a list of over 250 Chinese apps, including apps linked to Alibaba, that it will examine for any user privacy or national security violations, government sources said. The list also includes Tencent-backed gaming app PUBG.

Some top gaming Chinese applications are also expected to be banned in the new list that is being drawn up, sources said. The Chinese applications, that are being reviewed, have allegedly been sharing data with the Chinese agencies.

Today's decision follows after a high-profile ban of 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, as border tensions continued in Ladakh after a violent, fatal face-off between the Indian and Chinese armies. The government said these apps were engaged in activities that were prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and defence of India.

A government press release announcing the ban stated: "The Ministry of Information Technology, invoking it's power under section 69A of the Information Technology Act read with the relevant provisions of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules 2009 and in view of the emergent nature of threats has decided to block 59 apps since in view of information available they are engaged in activities which is prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order".

A day later, Google said it has removed all the banned applications from the Play Store. Following the ban, TikTok refuted the claims that suggest it will pursue legal action against the Indian government for banning the app in India.

Reacting to the 59 apps banned by India, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said the country is "strongly concerned regarding the decision of the Indian government".

“China is strongly concerned, verifying the situation,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

"We want to stress that the Chinese government always asks Chinese businesses to abide by international and local laws-regulations. The Indian government has a responsibility to uphold the legal rights of international investors including Chinese ones," Zhao Lijian said.

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