What made headlines in the first week

From the pages of Gulf News dated September 30 to October 05, 1978.

September 30
Indian floods hit 15 million
PEOPLE in the flood-ravaged Indian city of Calcutta were this morning without electricity, fresh-drinking water and public transport for the fourth consecutive day.

Officials estimate that 15 million people have been affected by this latest flooding, which followed 54 hours of rain.

October 01
Ruler visits Gulf News
ISSUE one of the Gulf News rolls off the press and His Highness Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Vice-President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, was there to see the historic event. Shaikh Rashid earlier toured the Gulf News plant in Dubai after officially opening the newspaper's office on the Airport Road. He was accompanied on his visit to the Gulf News by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Defence Minister.

Drilling starts on Dubai wildcat well
OIL-drilling operations off Jebel Ali got officially under way yesterday when His Highness Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum pressed the button that threw the giant drill into action.

The eight legged jack-up rig is on a 'wildcat' mission, oil terminology for an exploratory well, "and is costing us roughly $20,000 a day," said a spokesman for SEDCO of Dubai, who have hired the rig.

October 02
Dubai Police College opened
The opening yesterday of Dubai Police College of Technology has made the Emirate a focal point for forces from the Gulf states.

Students who enrolled for the initial courses will return in three years to their respective forces able to handle machinery that will put them on par with their western counterparts.

Book banned
A book by Britain's Sir John Glubb, better known as Glubb Pasha, creator of Jordan's Arab Legion, is to be banned in the United Arab Emirates because it is considered unfair to Muslims.

The official Emirates News Agency said the move was recommended by the Ministry of Justice and Islamic Affairs which found that the work, The Empire of the Arabs, contained "allegations contrary to the true history of our Islamic nation".

October 03
Belt up
The Gulf News has a simple message today for all car drivers — belt up, you'll live longer.

This appeal to you to wear seat belts whenever you're out and about in the car comes after both police and hospital officials expressed concern about the number of people dying in car accidents.

More than 1,000 people were killed in traffic accidents during the last four years.

October 04
Swiss police hold Dubai 'fraud man'
THE man alleged to be behind the biggest fraud in Dubai's commercial history has been picked up by police in Switzerland. The suspect, owner of shipping and trading companies in Dubai, is being held by police in Geneva in connection with the 'disappearance' of a
massive Dh34 million in the UAE and Oman.

October 05
Pope John Paul's last journey
THREE long volleys of applause from people who hardly knew him, but seemed intent on not forgetting him, accompanied John Paul I on his final journey up the steps of St. Peter's Basilica. His death on September 29 came so quickly after installation, he never got to say mass on the nearby Altar Of The Popes. So great was the spontaneous clapping it almost drowned out the mournful voice of the great 10-tonne funeral bell as the rain-glistening Cypress coffin disappeared through the massive bronze doors on the shoulders of 12 pall bearers.