Indian nurses now caught in Libyan conflict

July 29, 2014

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New Delhi, Jul 29: In a near replay of the incidents in Iraq, a large number of Indian nurses are caught amid spiralling violence in Libya, where rival militias seek to control the capital's international airport, and have approached the Indian mission for aid and even help in evacuation.

Over the last two weeks, the North African country has plunged into chaos following deadly clashes between government forces and Islamist militants in the capital Tripoli and Benghazi where more than 150 people, most of them civilians, have been killed.

Taking note of the fighting, Indian Ambassador in Libya, Azar A. H. Khan, met the nurses in the Tripoli hospitals and assured them of their safety.

"Everybody is safe here. We are in constant touch with the nurses," Khan told IANS over phone from Tripoli.

The ambassador, however, said that only some Indian nationals, mostly nurses, have approached the embassy for help in leaving the country.

"It is only in some places around the airport where fighting is raging...rest of the places are fine," he said.

Panic gripped the Indian nationals after incessant shelling rocked the area around Tripoli airport and elsewhere, in a two week-long battle since mid-July.

However, out of 430 Indian nurses based in two Tripoli hospitals, only 88 have sought help from the Indian mission.

A total of 365 nurses are based in Tripoli Medical Centre (TMC), while 71 medical staff members, comprising of technicians, paramedics and nurses, are based in Tripoli's Al Khadra hospital, an embassy official said.

Nearly 74 out of 365 in TMC have shown their inclination to leave the country, added the envoy.

The embassy has been arranging for passports and other documents for all those who want to exit Libya by road.

Also, some 350 nurses are located in Benghazi, another restive city in eastern Libya, but only a few of them have wished to leave their place.

Khan said the number of those wanting to leave the country keeps fluctuating as people have financial issues, apart from their own safety.

Libya has around 6,000 Indians, mostly from Kerala and majority of whom are based in Tripoli and nearby satellite towns.

Meanwhile, following the closure of Tripoli airport, the Libyan civil aviation ministry has announced resumption of limited air operations from Mitiga airport in Tripoli and Misurata airport (200 km from Tripoli) by Al Afriqiya and Libyan airlines.

"Tripoli's military airport can take a few people out of the country, while the main exit route that we advice is through the checkpoints on Libyan-Tunisian and Libyan-Egyptian borders," the ambassador said.

The embassy said Indians have been advised to cross the Libyan border in small batches into safer countries like neighbouring Tunisia.

The embassy has appointed area coordinators in regions across the country, to update the mission on concerns of its national residing there.

The country witnessed a major evacuation of over 18,000 Indian nationals during the NATO-led military intervention and the fall of the Colonel Gaddafi regime in March 2011.

At the moment, the US, the UN and Turkey have also pulled their diplomats out of Libya, while Egypt as well as France and several other western countries have evacuated their nationals amid escalating violence.

The problems for Indian nurses in Libya come close on heels of the rescue of 46 Indian nurses from Iraq and even as 40 construction workers continue to held hostage by Sunni militants, who have overrun a considerable part of the country.

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News Network
March 19,2024

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Mangaluru: The Mangalore International Airport (MIA) will connect to a new domestic destination with the introduction of a non-stop flight to Tiruchirappalli International Airport in Tamil Nadu. 

The non-stop service, once-a-week, will operate on Wednesday (from TIA) and Thursday (from MIA), starting April 3. Air India Express will operate the flight.

The flight is expected to help those taking up a pilgrimage to Vailankani shrine.

Sources from the AIE said that the airline carrier decided to fly non-stop between the two southern Indian cities as a flight to Jeddah, which will start from April 3, arrives from Tiruchirappalli International Airport. 

“It is a ferry or positional flight from TIA to MIA. Instead of flying empty, the management has decided to run it as a commercial flight. This will help both passengers and the airline. The airline will deploy Boeing 737-800 aircraft with a 186-seater all-economy configuration on this route. 

The same flight, after landing in MIA, will further fly to Jeddah,” a source said. 

The flight IX 1498 will depart every Thursday at 5am from MIA to TIA. The TIA-MIA flight IX 1499 departs at 12.50pm. It is a one-hour nonstop flight. The same flights will also operate nonstop between Jeddah and MIA. 

The non-stop flight IX 499 will depart MIA at 2.50pm and reach King Abdulaziz International Airport, Jeddah at 6.25pm. The IX498, will depart from Jeddah at 7.25pm and reach MIA early at 3.40am.

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News Network
March 21,2024

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Mangaluru: A man from Dakshina Kannada was duped of Rs 2.5 lakh after he was promised a Poland visa.

In a complaint, a resident of Belthangady, stated that the accused, Manoj, had promised a job for his son in Poland. 

Between May 22 of last year and March 19, he handed over Rs 2.2 lakh in various phases, citing different reasons.

However, since the accused failed to provide a visa or return the money, a case was registered at the Dharmasthala police station under IPC sections 417 and 420.

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News Network
March 27,2024

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Gokarna (Uttara Kannada): Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar on Wednesday said the Congress will decide about making him the Chief Minister in future, bringing to the fore again the issue of leadership change.

There was stiff competition between Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar for the Chief Minister's post after the Assembly election results in May last year, and the Congress had managed to convince the latter and made him the Deputy Chief Minister.

There were some reports at the time that a compromise had been reached based on a "rotational Chief Minister formula," according to which Shivakumar will become CM after two-and-half years but they have not been officially confirmed by the party.

During a temple visit here, a priest prayed that God's blessings may be showered on Shivakumar, and he became the Chief Minister.

Speaking to reporters here in Uttara Kannada district, Shivakumar, who has in the past made no secret of his ambition to become Chief Minister, amid speculations of change in guard mid-way of the Assembly term, responded to talk in some political circles about the leadership issue.

"What's wrong if a priest expresses his desire before God while praying? The priest has expressed his desire. Now Siddaramaiah is the Chief Minister, I'm working as Deputy Chief Minister under him, also as party's state President. People speak about it and desiring it (Shivakumar should become CM) is a different matter, it will be decided by our party," Shivakumar said.

"Now we are all working under the leadership of Siddaramaiah, and our desire is that the state should progress further under his leadership," he said.

"There will be people including supporters and priests, who pray for us, they will express their opinion. Can we stop them from doing it? At the temple it is between God and his disciple, they have expressed their feelings to God," Shivakumar added. 

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