& çâÌæÚUæð´ ·¤è ¥ôÚU Îð¹Ùæ ÁæÚUè ÚU¹ð´ ¥ÍæüÌ ¥ÂÙð ÜÿØ ÂÚU ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´Ð ãæÚU Ù ×æÙð´, €UØô´ç·¤ ·¤æ× ·¤ÚUÙð âð ¥æÂ·¤ô ©gðàØ ·¤è Âýæç# ãôÌè ãñ ¥õÚU ÁèßÙ ·¤æ ¹æÜèÂÙ ÎêÚU ãôÌæ ãñÐ ÖÜð ãè ÁèßÙ ×ð´ ç·¤ÌÙè Öè ·¤çÆÙæ§ü €UØô´ Ù ¥æ°, çÁ™ææâæ ¥õÚU ©ˆâæã ÕÙæ° ÚU¹ð´Ð ŠØæÙ ÚU¹ð´, ÜÿØ ã×ðàææ ¥æÂ·Ô¤ Âæâ ãôÌð ãñ´ çÁ‹ãð´ ÂæÙð ·Ô¤ çÜ° ÂýØæâ ¥æÂ ·¤Öè Öè àæéM¤ ·¤ÚU â·¤Ìð ãñ´Ð

'City of peace' turns into a ghost town

AFP, Baghdad
Baghdad, cherished by its residents as the "city of peace", has become a virtual ghost town bracing for imminent war as time runs out on a US ultimatum to President Saddam Hussein to quit the country.
The pace of city life has sharply slowed down as traffic jams in the usually vibrant capital have disappeared, except near gas stations where cars were queuing for hours to avoid shortages in the event war breaks out after Thursday's deadline expires.
Most shops not only locked their metal shutters, but also
emptied their shelves and put their precious inventory in safe storage from possible bombings or lootings.
One shopowner near the historic al-Mustansiriya College on the Tigris river is even hiding at his own home more than 3,000 carpets, including many rare oriental treasures.
Many Baghdadis have moved to other regions, or at least taken their wives, children and elderly relatives to areas outside the capital where the US says Saddam Hussein has retrenched his elite troops. Even schools remained closed on Tuesday.
For those who stayed behind,
life was a mission to secure stocks for long-term survival in case of prolonged food, medicine, fuel, electricity and even cash shortages.
Cars and trucks were parking at petrol stations for hours, until past midnight, to fill up their tanks and other containers for newly-bought generators at home.
Prices for all commodities have doubled, even tripled in some cases, in the last few days.
Some foreign journalists heeding evacuation calls by their gov ernments had to pay 600 dollars Tuesday morning for taxis to Amman or Damascus, but the price went up to 1,200 dollars in the afternoon. It usually costs 200 dollars.
Water tanks that usually cost 35 dollars were sold at 75 dollars.
"Most people are even buying small plastic bags, which are sold for 15 dollars the pack of 3,000, to fill them up with water. It looks really odd to have small water bags everywhere in the house," said Ahmad Abdel Aziz.
Aziz was sitting at his shop where workers were racing to build water tanks, some even on the sidewalk.
From afar, King Ghazi street looks very threatening, with crowds of men cramming one side of the road. But as one gets closer, the scene gets clearer.
It is the "street bourse", or men grouping around rusty metallic safes on small tables behind which dealers stand to exchange dinars and dollars.
But the rush was obviously exceptional, with some eager to secure hard currencies and others seeking to get enough dinars to buy necessities in the event ofwar.
Abu Mustapha, a taxi driver, could
hardly see in front of him as he walked away with 500 dollars worth of Iraqi dinars -- a massive wad given the largest Iraqi banknote is just 250 dinars (0.08 cents).
The dinar traded at 3,050 against the dollar, from 2,800 a day before, at exchange bureaus across the capital on Tuesday, dealers said.
It was the first time the dinar had traded above the 3,000-mark in several years, they said.
Tuesday evening, the night life was dead at the usually busy Arasat street, which was completely deserted and dark, with rows of tightly sealed iron shutters and closed restaurants.
The clientele of the last few days had dwindled since the rushed evacuation on Tuesday of UN staff, foreign diplomats and manyjournalists.
There was just one lone taxi driver, sitting quietly in the dark in his car.
"We are not wondering whether there will be war anymore," he said with a deeply melancholic look.
"We are just anxious about the exact time the bombs will start raining on our ancient Arab city before the eyes of a heedless world."