August 31, 2003 keralamonitor

Riyadh Market Fire Guts 115 Shops

JEDDAH, 30 August 2003 — A massive fire at Ibn Qasim Market in south Riyadh left some 115 shops in ruins amid complaints from traders about the authorities’ hands-off approach toward the disorganized market. The fire did not cause any casualties. The blaze, the fifth in nearly five months, broke out at 11.50 p.m.Wednesday night and raged until 5.00 a.m. the next morning causing losses worth more than SR1.5 million, Al-Watan reported.More

License of Madurai Urban Co-operative bank cancelled 

Madurai: Following the reports of large scale  financial irregularities, the Reserve Bank of India cancelled the license of Madurai Urban Co-operative bank. The investors were shocked at the RBI’s action cancelling the licence of the bank. The cancellation will also render over 200 staff of the bank unemployed. It is learnt that the bank had lent 35 crore rupees to several people and of this 12 crore rupees is to be recovered from chronic defaulters. Large scale irregularities, carried out in collusion with the secretary of the bank, has led to such a miserable situation. The bank is facing bankruptcy and its depositors have been left in the lurch. After a spate of complaints, the RBI stepped in and launched a probe into its operations. It found the bank had lent heavily and these loans had turned into bad debts with its Non performing Assets touching 70 percent. The Central bank has cancelled the license given to the Bank to carry on banking operations.

Malaysia: Don't Return Indonesian Asylum Seekers

(New York, August 29, 2003)-Malaysia should not deport dozens of asylum seekers detained by the police in a recent crackdown, Human Rights Watch urged today. Most of the detainees have fled the war-torn Aceh province in neighboring Indonesia. More

Mahanadi raise  flood threats to 1 lakh people 

Bhubaneshwar : Due to heavy rains in three western districts and other parts, the Mahanadi river system has raised  threat to around 1 lakh people in   the coastal plains of Orissa .  State Chief Secretary said the flood situation is under close watch. Special Commissioner R Balakrishnan said the state had alerted the army and navy because several rivers are close to overflowing. Orissa government has sought the help of the army in this regard. Four columns of Army and naval divers arrived here today to assist in rescue and relief operations in Orissa. According to official sources, over 13.5 lakh cusecs of flood water was passing the Naraj delta head this morning. Meanwhile, the water level in the Hirakund reservoir in the Sambalpur district,  had touched 629 feet, just one foot less than the maximum water level which had forced the authorities to release more water into Mahanadi. The inflow had been measured at 8.50 lakh cusecs this morning while 48 out of the 64 sluices of the longest earthen dam of the country had been opened to release 8.07 lakh cusecs of flood waters. According to official sources, this may cause a serious threat downstream.

Saudi Arabia to deport AIDS Patient

JEDDAH, 30 August 2003 — Saudi authorities have decided to deport a 19-year-old African AIDS patient within the next two days, Al-Watan reported yesterday. Muhammad Baba was readmitted to the Meeqat Hospital in Madinah after he had run away from the facility last week. Full Report

 Car bomb blast in the city of Nafaj ; 75 killed 

Iraq: In a car bomb blast in the Shiite holy city of Najaf in southern Iraq on Friday, at least 75 people were killed and more than 100  injured. The attack occurred at the Imam Ali mosque, one of the holiest places for Shia Muslims. A prominent Shiite politician Ayatollah Baqr al-Hakim was among the victims of the explosion. Supporters of the slain Ayatollah blamed the remnants of the erstwhile Saddam regime. Prominent among the victims was Ayatollah Baqr al-Hakim, leader of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq, SCIRI. The Ayatollah’s cooperation through the Governing Council was seen crucial by the post war Iraq’s US-led administration.  According to eyewitnesses Ayatollah was about to leave after the Friday sermon when his car exploded. There had been a spate of incidents targeting prominent Shiite leaders. The latest being on Sunday which killed three men including the Ayatollah’s uncle. But some SCIRI supporters also blame a rival Shiite faction, which was opposed to the presence of foreign troops. Shias constitute about 60 per cent of Iraq’s population. The Shiite power struggle emanating from Najaf is seen as a key factor deciding the future of Iraq. US had  strongly condemned the attack which took place. 

Gazi Baba killed in police encounter, JeM Disputes BSF Claim  

Srinagar: In an encounter which took place in Noorbagh area in Srinagar, which lasted for around 10 hours, 3 persons were killed, which included 2 militants one of whom was identified as Gazi Baba and one BSF jawan. The encounter which took place in a house, ended on Saturday afternoon. The bodies of the militants were  recovered,  said Inspector General of Police of Kashmir, K. Rajendra Kumar who was leading the operation.  Jaish-e-mohammed leader Gazi Baba, one of the prime suspects in  the parliament attack  was among the killed . Official sources had earlier said that the  wireless intercepts suggested presence of the top JEM militant in the house. BSF constable Balbir Singh was also killed in the  gunbattle which started at  3.30.a.m. The owner of the  house,  Mohammad Shafi Dar, received a bullet injury in the encounter. The house was partially damaged in an explosion caused , when the explosives carried by the militants went off. According to the sources, security personnel were searching for more bodies of militants among the debris. 
         

Meanwhile the Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) has claimed that its top commander Gazi Baba was not among the militants killed by the Border Security Force in an encounter in the city today. JeM spokesman Abu Saleem told the local media this afternoon that Gazi was not among the militants killed in an encounter at a house in Noorbagh. ''The BSF claim is totally false and baseless,'' he said.

He also contradicted the BSF claim that there were only five militants inside the house. ''There were seven militants inside the house when the BSF cordoned off the area. Four of them were able to break the cordon and reach their hideout,'' he said. The JeM spokesman, however, did not say if Gazi was among those who escaped.

One of the militants, he said, was injured but still managed to escape. The JeM spoksman said its commander Saiful Islam and two other militants - Abu Zaid and Abu Kais - were killed. According to BSF, it recovered two bodies from the site of the encounter. One of them Gazi Baba's and another of Rashid Bhai, a senior commander, it said.

Explosives detected at New Delhi Railway station 

New Delhi: During routine patrolling, Delhi Police today detected a huge quantity of explosives from the busy New Delhi Railway Station at about 1145 hours. The alert policemen stumbled upon an unclaimed bag which contained 150 gelatine sticks weighing 21.2 kgs in an area between platform number six and seven.  Instantly, bomb disposal squads were  summoned to destroy the gelatine sticks. No arrests have been made so far, said DCP (Crime and Railways) Deependra Pathak. 

136 crore modernization plan for Tamilnadu state police

Chennai: A modernization plan of 136 crore rupee will soon be implemented for the Tamilnadu state police, said Tamil Nadu Director General of Police, I K Govind. According to him, the money will be utilised to get latest equipments for the force, also the facility of mobile patrolling stations, now functional in Chennai, will be extended to other districts in the state and a three crore rupee estimate to construct a new building for District Superintendents’ office in Tiruchirappali has been sent to Tamil Nadu government for approval.55 new police stations were opened against the target of 200 during 2002-2004 said the DGP.