Muammar Gaddafi: Charming but cruel, recalls Kasargod doctor

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

gaddu

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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March 27,2020

Mangaluru, Mar 27: Nine throat swab samples that were sent for testing of the coronavirus, have been declared as negative while samples of four more persons are currently being tested, official sources said on Friday.

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Sindhu B. Rupesh said that 2,902 people are under home quarantine in the district as of today while three were admitted to hospitals for observation.

Around 38,051 people have been inspected, so far, here in this district.

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News Network
May 22,2020

Bengaluru, May 22: Uber said on Friday it has resumed its operations in Bengaluru, Mysuru, Mangaluru, and Hubballi, in compliance with Lockdown 4.0 guidelines issued by the Government.

Riders in Bengaluru can book UberAuto, UberGO, Premier, Intercity, Hourly Rental, UberXL, Access, and Assist on their Uber App.

UberAuto, UberGO, Premier, and Intercity are available in Mysuru, UberGO and Intercity services in Mangaluru, and UberAuto services in Hubballi.

Uber Intercity operations will be limited to travel with necessary authorisation and within state boundaries and permissible zones only, the company said in a statement.

Uber said it has launched comprehensive measures such as the distribution of PPE kits, including masks, sanitisers and disinfectants to drivers and the introduction of mandatory educational video courses for them.

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July 1,2020

Bengaluru, Jul 1: Karnataka registered a record 1,272 Covid positive cases to breach the 16,000- mark to take the states tally to 16,514, while seven people succumbed to the dreaded virus, an official said on Wednesday.

"New cases reported from Tuesday 5 p.m. to Wednesday 5 p.m. 1,272," said a health official.

In the past 24 hours, seven people have succumbed to the virus, two each in Bengaluru Urban and Bidar and one each in Dakshina Kannada, Belagavi and Hassan, taking the state''s death toll to 253.

Of the record number of cases in the last 24 hours, Bengaluru Urban bore the brunt with 735 infections, taking the city''s tally rise to 5,290, out of which 4,649 are active cases.

Among the new cases, excluding Bengaluru, Ballari accounted for 85, followed by Dakshina Kannada (84), Dharwad (35), Bengaluru Rural (29), Vijayapura and Hassan (28 each), Uttara Kannada (23) and Udupi (22).

Chamarajanagar witnessed 21 cases, followed by Bagalkote (20), Tumkur (19), Davangere (16), Chikkaballapura (15), Kalaburagi and Ramanagara (14 each), Koppal (13), Raichur and Chitradurga (12 each), Yadgir, Bidar and Belagavi (8 each), Kodagu (7), Mandya and Kolar (5 each), Shivamogga (3), Gadag (2) and Chikkamagaluru (1).

Of the 1,272 new cases, 1,068 or 84 per cent are contacts of earlier cases while domestic returnees accounted for 42 cases or 3 per cent.

On Wednesday, 145 people got discharged from different hospitals, elevating the total number discharges to 8,063.

Of the 16,514 cases in Karnataka, 8,194 are active cases.

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