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War Upsets life in Gulf as Over 1,100 Indians return home
Mumbai,Thursday, March 20, 2003: Over 1,100 Indians today flew into India from Kuwait by four special Air-India flights while another incoming scheduled flight from Jeddah had to skip Kuwait because of the US-led air strikes. An A310 special flight has been delayed as passengers, who were boarding the flight, returned to the terminal building as air raid sirens were sounded over Kuwait city, A-I sources said. The flight, the fourth in the day, has since taken off with over 200 passengers and is due to arrive in Mumbai later tonight, an airline spokesman said here today.
The airline had operated two Boeing 747-200s bringing in 768 Indians, many with their families and willing to go back, from Kuwait to Mumbai while a third with 200 passengers flew to Kochi. Later in the evening, another A310 was bringing in a similar number to Mumbai, the spokesman added.The first Boeing arrived shortly after 7 am, while the second flight arrived three hours later, he said adding that baggage of many passengers were held up there as the conveyor belt at Kuwait airport had broken down due to the heavy flow of passengers.Indian Airlines also announced that it was operating an A320 special flight from Kuwait to Mumbai. The flight is expected to reach here around 6 am tomorrow.Yesterday, the airline had diverted its scheduled flight on the Muscat-Kochi-Chennai sector to carry 104 passengers from Kuwait, a release here said adding that its flights to the Gulf sector were being operated as per the existing schedule. keralamonitor.com
Violent demonstration before American Center, 25 injured
Kolkata,Thursday, March 20, 2003: Violent anti-war protestors today burnt effigies of US President George Bush and British premier Tony Blair, smashed window and hurled stones and rotten eggs at the heavily guarded Amercan Center here in protest against the 'unilateral' US military strikes on Iraq. Scuffles between the protestors, belonging to CPI(M)'s youth wing, Students Federation of India, and Left opposition party in West Bengal, Socialist Unity Centre of India, left 25 person injured, including two constables in the prohibitory order-bound area, police said.Two constables were injured while resisting about 700 SFI activists who hurled stones smashing windowpanes of the American Center on Jawaharlal Nehru Road and also threw rotten egss chanting anti-US slogans for the 'unilateral action' against Iraq 'defying' the UN. Lathi-wielding police swung into action to prevent the SFI activists, shouting anti-US slogans, from breaking the cordon and marching towards the building.  About half a dozen window panes of the building were smashed during brickbatting by the demonstrators, American Centre sources said. SFI state secretary Apurba Chattacherjee claimed six of of their activists, including three women students, were injured in scuffles with the police after being prevented from breaking the cordon.-keralamonitor.com
Iraqi information minister visits injured civilians in Baghdad
BAGHDAD, March 20 (Xinhuanet) -- Iraqi Information Minister Mohamed Said Al-Sahaf on Thursday evening paid a visit to injured civilians at a hospital in Baghdad, a Xinhua eyewitness reported. Nine Iraqi civilians, who were injured in the US air raids at dawn on Thursday, were receiving medical treatment at the hospital,which is located some 25 kilometers to the center of Baghdad. Al-Sahaf on Thursday morning urged the Iraqi people to stand steadfast and rally behind Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. "This day will be long remembered in the history of Iraq as theday when Allah honored the Iraqis with Jihad," said Al-Sahaf in a radio address.
Iraqi oil minister denies reports about setting oilfields ablaze in Basra -- Al Arabia
CAIRO, March 20 -- Iraqi Oil Minister Samir Abdul-Aziz Al-Najm Thursday denied reports about setting oilfields ablaze in Basra, Al Arabia TV reported. The official Iranian IRNA news agency quoted Kuwaiti TV as reporting Thursday morning that Iraqi troops had torched 15 oil wells in Basra near the Persian Gulf.
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