Sunday, November 30, 2008

MUMBAI: India counts the cost of global terrorism

The attacks on Mumbai are a new blow to an economy already suffering from internal problems and could spell disaster for tourism


Flanked by the luxurious Taj Mahal Palace, the Gateway is a potent symbol of old and new India. But last week these icons of the Mumbai cityscape earned a new horrific significance as terrorists used them to strike a blow at the heart of India's financial capital.

While visceral footage of what local news networks described as 'Mumbai's 9/11' was beamed around the world, India was forced to confront a new terrorism paradigm, after extremists followed al-Qaeda's example by singling out foreign nationals for attack.

The burnt-out Taj Mahal and Trident-Oberoi hotels will provide a daily reminder of the devastation for those who walk by on their way to work in the nearby financial district, where multinational giants Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and HSBC all have offices.

Analysts are worried that the constant reminder of the attacks will heighten investors' concerns at a time when the Indian economy is slowing and foreign capital is being repatriated. The UK is one of the top three investors in India but in 2008 international funds have been flowing the other way as overseas investors have pulled a record $13.5bn out of Indian stocks, contributing to the 56 per cent fall in the main Bombay Stock Exchange index.

'This is the last thing India needs,' said businessman Sir Gulam Noon. The British-based multimillionaire, who made his fortune in ready meals, escaped unhurt from the Taj Mahal after spending a frightening night holed up in his suite on the third floor. 'The attacks will temporarily have an impact. It's clearly not good for the economy at a time when the world is in financial crisis.'

That the Taj Mahal and Oberoi play host to the cream of the international business elite is clear given the high-profile executives caught up in the tragedy. Along with Noon, Unilever chief executive Patrick Cescau and his successor, Paul Polman, escaped the Taj Mahal. The hotel's apparent vulnerability is worrying - Gordon Brown and a delegation of 100 British business leaders, including Sir Richard Branson stayed there earlier this year.

The head of Mumbai's anti-terrorist squad, Hemant Karkare, was also among those killed. 'The security landscape has changed overnight,' said Jake Stratton of investment risk consultancy Control Risks. 'This will have a serious effect on how foreign companies perceive India as a business destination.'

In the three decades following independence in 1947, India's GDP growth averaged around 1 per cent, but international links have helped its economy to grow by at least 9 per cent for the last three years. This new success transformed Indian companies into powerbrokers on the main stage; notable deals have included Tata's move on British steelmaker Corus and United Breweries' acquisition of Whyte and Mackay.

Last month Indian finance minister Palaniappan Chidambaram insisted economic growth would 'bounce back' to 9 per cent in 2009. But the International Monetary Fund is more cautious, predicting the figure will be closer to 6 per cent.

Capital Economics analyst Tehmina Khan goes further in interpreting last week's GDP figures, which showed India's economy grew 7.6 per cent in the third quarter, its slowest pace since 2004, as the start of a 'potentially severe' downturn.

The figures revealed an economy slowing across the board, with manufacturing growth at its lowest level since 2002 and service sector gains dipping below 10 per cent for the first time in three years. Consumer spending was up 5 per cent year on year, but that was 3 percentage points lower than in the second quarter - also the lowest since 2002. 'With banks also becoming more cautious about lending, India's growth prospects look increasingly poor,' said Kahn, who expects growth to slow to 5 per cent next year. 'Both investor and consumer confidence will have been dented by the terrorist attack on Mumbai, with overseas investors unlikely to rush back in.'

In the heat of last week's crisis, the stock, bond and foreign-exchange markets were all closed, although the central bank continued to pump cash into the interbank lending markets. The last time the stock exchange was shut as a result of a terrorist attack was in 1993, when at least 70 people were killed in a series of explosions.

Raj Nambisan, business editor of Mumbai newspaper DNA, said closing the exchanges was the wrong thing to do as it 'sent out the wrong message to investors. I don't think this incident will affect business sentiment in the long-term. Mumbai is the financial centre, it is not India. There are not many economies growing at 7 per cent'.

Mohan Kaul, director-general of the Commonwealth Business Council agrees: 'Fear will not drive business away from India, if anything it will create a bond between the big financial cities who have all had their confidence shaken. The tube in London and the Twin Towers in New York are just as iconic as the Taj hotel. The bond between British and Indian business leaders will be stronger as they sit down to discuss deals.'

However, the timing of the attack, just as the holiday season gets under way, is expected to hurt India's important tourism economy as countries tighten travel policies. Around the country, hotels increased security controls last week. At the Taj Mahal's sister hotel in New Delhi, all visitors had to pass through a perimeter security checkpoint. Anxious staff, many of whom had friends among those hurt in Mumbai, manned metal detectors and searched bags as they sought to restore faith in their ability to protect those within its marbled walls.

Members of India's growing business elite smiled kindly at Westerners as they huddled nervously in the lobby. 'I worked in New York during 9/11 and that didn't stop me going back,' said Nils Thil, who is determined to continue his holiday in India with his wife, Maggie. 'It doesn't matter where you are, terrorism is international now.'

Earlier that day, few holidaymakers had ventured to the capital's tourist sites with chattering local schoolchildren outnumbering foreign visitors at the atmospheric Qutb Minar, the world's tallest brick minaret.

However, London-based Alpesh Patel, of UK investment fund Praefinium, argues India has more to fear from the credit crunch than extremists: 'Nothing has changed. London, New York and Madrid have all suffered major terrorist attacks, Mumbai is no different. The attacks don't affect whether a real estate project gets built or not.'

It is the global crunch and India's home-grown liquidity constraints that have put the brakes on many of the infrastructure projects which are desperately required.

Although a fifth of India's 1.1 billion population is estimated to be living in poverty, the country's rapid economic growth has swelled the ranks of the middle class to an estimated 50 million, providing consumer goods companies with a sea of demand. Each month 10 million people sign up for a mobile phone. Consultancy McKinsey predicts the middle class will grow to 583 million by 2025, comfortably outnumbering the entire US population of around 350 million. 'Nothing will stop smart global businesses pounding on India's door,' added Kaul. 'The truth is India is not opening up as fast as businesses want.'

Brewer SABMiller is looking to convert a nation of tea drinkers, taking on United Breweries' Kingfisher beer with brands such as Indus Pride and Foster's. The beer market is growing at around 15 per cent per year, the fastest rate in Asia, as young 'metros' in cities such as Mumbai and New Delhi use what is an expensive drink as a symbol of their new buying prowess.

Jean-Marc Delpon de Vaux, managing director of SABMiller India, claims the monsoon rains have had a greater impact on business than the global financial crisis. 'Credit-dependent sectors such as cars and property are suffering. But India is less dependent on exports - the potential of the internal market is huge. Also the savings ratio is the highest in the world at 40 per cent.'

But last Thursday morning the vast Ambience mall on the outskirts of Delhi was quiet, with assistants idling on their mobile phones. Dust hung in the air at the half-finished centre, which promises 'room for a million smiles'. Jumbo Electronics was offering large discounts with 19in plasma TVs starting at R17,500 (£230). British import Marks & Spencer was also emphasising value in its windows with mannequins showcasing complete men's and women's outfits at R2,090 (£27) and R1,290 (£17).

Like in Britain, Indians' real income growth has been eroded by inflation - food price inflation is at 9 per cent - while confidence has also been dented by rising jobs losses. Tata Motors is reportedly cutting up to 6,000 jobs as, faced by a collapse in demand, it scales back production. 'There has been a sobering of consumption,' said Nambisan. 'The biggest problem is a lack of confidence, as it means people will not spend, which is the engine that has been firing India.'

Broker Investec argues the uncertain economic outlook could hasten necessary reforms, saying: 'The reforms of the early 1990s were triggered by a balance of payments crisis and deteriorating government finances. Perhaps with liquidity tight and the international economy facing intense dislocation, it will be poor economic conditions that push through much needed reform.'

'We will fight back,' added Noon. 'Tough times do not last long but tough people do. Mumbai will come back from this.'

India counts the cost of global terrorism
guardian.co.uk, UK


Kompleks CIQ Bukit Chagar dibuka secara rasmi esok

30/11/2008 9:10pm

JOHOR BAHRU 30 Nov. — Setelah ditunggu-tunggu oleh pelbagai pihak sejak sekian lama, akhirnya Kompleks Kastam, Imigresen dan Kuarantin (CIQ) baru di Bukit Chagar dibuka secara rasmi esok.

Sultan Johor Sultan Iskandar Sultan Ismail dijadual berangkat menyempurnakan pembukaan rasmi CIQ itu pada majlis yang turut dihadiri Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

Dikenali sebagai Kompleks Sultan Iskandar, kompleks berkenaan akan menempatkan 18 agensi kerajaan serta mampu mengendalikan 70 juta pelawat yang memasuki negara ini dari Singapura setiap tahun.

Bangunan pintar ini mempunyai 76 lorong kereta untuk masuk dan keluar dari Malaysia.

Ia juga menyediakan 50 lorong masuk dan 50 lorong keluar untuk motosikal, 879 petak pakir untuk kereta dan 25 petak untuk bas.

Kadar bayaran dijangka sama dengan yang dikenakan di kompleks sedia ada dan pengguna boleh membuat bayaran menggunakan kad Touch n Go.

Kompleks itu juga menyediakan paparan maklumat dalam pelbagai bahasa secara sentuh layar bagi kemudahan pelawat yang memasuki Johor.

Aras satu kompleks itu akan mengendalikan perjalanan dengan kereta dan motosikal, manakala ars dua bagi mereka yang membuat perjalanan dengan bas.

Pembinaan kompleks ini bermula pada 2001 dan dijadual siap pada 2006.

Bagaimanapun, ia tidak dapat disiapkan mengikut jadual asal berikutan pembatalan pembinaan projek Jambatan Indah dan jalan yang menghubungkannya dengan Tambak Johor.

— BERNAMA


MUMBAI: South Asia now a crisis zone

Further attacks could provoke enraged India
By ERIC MARGOLIS


Last week's bloody attacks in Mumbai (Bombay) that left more than 150 dead and 300 wounded are the latest sign the once distinct conflicts in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kashmir and western India are beginning to overlap, creating a new, increasingly dangerous zone of crisis in South Asia.

India immediately blamed Pakistan for the attacks.

The Mumbai attacks appeared designed to punish and humiliate India over the Kashmir conflict. Kashmir is India's only Muslim majority state. India has 500,000 troops and paramilitary units fighting Muslim Kashmiri independence seekers. The 19-year-old struggle has left some 40,000 dead, mostly Muslims.

Pakistan and India have fought three wars over divided Kashmir since 1947.

Clashes between Pakistani and Indian forces along the Kashmir ceasefire line are frequent.

The Mumbai attackers' hunt for Britons and Americans also suggested revenge for intensifying U.S. bombing of villages in Afghanistan and Pakistan's tribal zone that was just denounced by Hamid Karzai, Afghanistan's U.S.-installed leader.

Hostages were taken, including Canadians, who have become targets due to their nation's military role in Afghanistan. I have often stayed at both the Taj Mahal and the Oberoi.

Last June, 41 people died when India's embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, was blown up. India immediately blamed Pakistan's intelligence service, ISI, and accused it of bombings in Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmadabad and Bangalore.

Islamabad denies these charges and accuses India's spy agency, RAW, of bombings in Pakistan's frontier tribal zone and Karachi.

Pakistan is deeply alarmed by India's growing influence in Afghanistan, long Pakistan's backyard. India is arming and financing Uzbek and Tajik Afghan Communists, has large numbers of RAW agents in the field and, to Pakistan's alarm, Delhi recently secured an air base in Tajikistan.

India insists Kashmiri and Pakistani extremist groups -- it names 36 -- are backed by ISI in an effort to destabilize India. Recently, Hindu extremists linked to the neo-fascist RSS and Hitler-admiring Shiv Sena movements have begun attacking Indian Muslims and Christians.

'GOONDAS' TERRORIZE

Add to this witches' curry vicious Hindi and Muslim gangsters known as "goondas" who terrorize and extort India's big cities.

Regional secessionist movements plague India's south and east, and some Sikhs still struggle for independence. Naxalites, a Marxist revolutionary movement of landless peasants, remains one of India's major internal security threats.

India and Pakistan's large arsenals of nuclear-armed missiles and strike aircraft are on a hair-trigger alert. The ongoing Indo-Pak confrontation that I detailed in my book, War at the Top of the World, is the world's most dangerous nuclear threat.

U.S. president-elect Barack Obama has laudably vowed to seek a settlement of the six-decade Kashmir conflict.

India's 155 million Muslims have been largely passive and avoided violence. But there's a growing belief among some young Indian Muslims that they are second-class citizens and oppressed. Many were radicalized by the horrible pogrom in 2002 in the state of Gujarat in which up to 3,000 Muslims were massacred, many burned alive by Hindu mobs egged on by state politicians.

Small numbers of young Indian Muslims are turning to violence in spite of the government's efforts to be even handed and responsive to Muslim demands.

DESTABILIZING PAKISTAN

More important, the relentless expansion of the U.S.-led Afghan conflict is dangerously destabilizing already turbulent Pakistan. As India and Pakistan wage a proxy struggle to dominate Afghanistan, bankrupt Pakistan is being bribed by Washington to wage war on its own Pashtun tribal people who oppose the western occupation of neighbouring Afghanistan.

Violence in Kashmir is again on the rise. Indian repression of both violent and non-violent Kashmiri Muslim independence seekers is intensifying. Iran also is stirring the pot in Afghanistan and among Pakistan's Shia, who are 20% of the population.

The biggest danger right now is small bands of fanatical extremists, such as those who attacked Mumbai this week, or violent Kashmiri groups like Lashkar-e-Toiba or Jaish-e-Mohammed, who brazenly assaulted India's parliament in 2001, could provoke an enraged India to retaliate against Pakistan, spark an open war over Afghanistan or even tempt India to invade a Pakistan destabilized by U.S. cross-border attacks.

South Asia now a crisis zone
Edmonton Sun, Canada

Hema’s remains to arrive Monday from Mumbai

The remains of Hema Kasipillay, 51, who died in the Hotel Taj Mahal Palace in the Mumbai terrorist attack, will arrive at the KL International Airport (KLIA) in Sepang at around 6am Monday.

According to a spokesman at the Malaysian consulate in Mumbai, her remains will be flown back on a Malaysian Airlines cargo flight (MH095) that will depart Mumbai at 11.30pm (Indian time).

Hema who lived in Bangsar and worked for a Kuala Lumpur-based company, was staying at the hotel while on a business visit to India' commercial capital.

The landmark hotel came under siege by terrorists on Wednesday, a day after the Hema arrived in Mumbai.

She was scheduled to return to Malaysia on Dec 5.

Her charred remains were found by a medical team in her room on the sixth of the hotel and she is believed to have died of smoke inhalation. - Bernama

Thai tensions rise after blasts wound dozens

Thanaporn Promyamyai, AFP
BANGKOK, Sun:

Grenade attacks targeting Thai anti-government protesters injured at least 51 people Sunday, stoking tensions as police struggled to end a paralysing blockade of Bangkok’s airports.

The blasts came hours before thousands of supporters of the embattled administration were due to hold their own rally in central Bangkok, creating another potential flashpoint.

Foreign governments were racing to evacuate around 100,000 frustrated travellers stranded in the self-styled “Land of Smiles” by the five-day outbreak of civil unrest.

In the latest violence, attackers lobbed a grenade at the offices of Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat, which the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) protest movement occupied in August.

Emergency services said 49 people were wounded.
“Whatever happens, we will fight,” senior PAD leader and retired general Chamlong Srimuang told reporters at the site. An AFP correspondent saw a ragged hole in a tent caused by the blast.

Hours later, a blast outside the domestic Don Mueang airport injured two passers-by, police said. A grenade was also found at the offices of a party in the ruling coalition but did not go off.

Grenade attacks this month at the premier’s besieged offices killed two protesters and prompted the PAD to launch its “final battle” against the government a week ago.

Thai authorities used carrot and stick tactics Sunday to end the siege at Don Mueang and the larger Suvarnabhumi international airport amid fears of political violence — and concerns that more bloodshed could spark a coup.

Police said fresh talks had started at both airports. But they later issued a new order to protesters at Don Mueang, warning that they faced two years in jail if they did not disperse.

“Time is running out but we still have time to find a solution. Police will work with compromise, no force, no weapons,” said Pongsapat Pongcharoen, assistant to the national police chief.

At Suvarnabhumi, PAD guards were still entrenched behind barricades of tyres, wooden stakes and razor wire. They have armed themselves with golf clubs, sticks and other weapons.

But there was a thin police presence at the cordon around the airport, and most protesters inside the gleaming terminal building opened in 2006 were sleeping, AFP correspondents said.

The royalist PAD accuses Somchai’s government of being a corrupt puppet for exiled former premier Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted in a coup in 2006.

Thaksin is Somchai’s brother-in-law.

Supporters of the group — a loose coalition who wear yellow to show their loyalty to the king and have backing from elements in the military, palace and urban middle classes — says it won’t back down until Somchai quits.

Separately, a pro-government group known as the "Red Shirts", due to the clothes they wear to differentiate themselves from their rivals, said it hoped to gather up to 10,000 people in Bangkok on Sunday.

The apparent stalemate has prompted speculation that the rival factions are waiting for other events scheduled this week.

The Constitutional Court is due Tuesday to wrap up a case that could see the ruling party disbanded for fraud and Somchai and other leaders banned from politics.

Meanwhile, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, revered as semi-divine by most Thais, is due to give a birthday-eve speech on Thursday. A constitutional monarch, he has waded into politics on only a handful of occasions.

Angry tourists, meanwhile, struggled to escape Thailand through the Vietnam War-era naval base at U-Tapao, 190km from Bangkok, where a handful of flights have been operating since Friday.

“They have killed tourism in this country, the authorities should go do something,” said tourist Danny Mosaffi, 57, from New York City. “Nobody is going to come here.” - AFP

Thai tensions rise after blasts wound dozens
New Straits Times

What they hate about Mumbai



My bleeding city. My poor great bleeding heart of a city. Why do they go after Mumbai? There's something about this island-state that appalls religious extremists, Hindus and Muslims alike. Perhaps because Mumbai stands for lucre, profane dreams and an indiscriminate openness.

Mumbai is all about dhandha, or transaction. From the street food vendor squatting on a sidewalk, fiercely guarding his little business, to the tycoons and their dreams of acquiring Hollywood, this city understands money and has no guilt about the getting and spending of it. I once asked a Muslim man living in a shack without indoor plumbing what kept him in the city. "Mumbai is a golden songbird," he said. It flies quick and sly, and you'll have to work hard to catch it, but if you do, a fabulous fortune will open up for you. The executives who congregated in the Taj Mahal hotel were chasing this golden songbird. The terrorists want to kill the songbird.

Just as cinema is a mass dream of the audience, Mumbai is a mass dream of the peoples of South Asia. Bollywood movies are the most popular form of entertainment across the subcontinent. Through them, every Pakistani and Bangladeshi is familiar with the wedding-cake architecture of the Taj and the arc of the Gateway of India, symbols of the city that gives the industry its name. It is no wonder that one of the first things the Taliban did upon entering Kabul was to shut down the Bollywood video rental stores. The Taliban also banned, wouldn't you know it, the keeping of songbirds.

Bollywood dream-makers are shaken. "I am ashamed to say this," Amitabh Bachchan, superstar of a hundred action movies, wrote on his blog. "As the events of the terror attack unfolded in front of me, I did something for the first time and one that I had hoped never ever to be in a situation to do. Before retiring for the night, I pulled out my licensed .32 revolver, loaded it and put it under my pillow."

Mumbai is a "soft target," the terrorism analysts say. Anybody can walk into the hotels, the hospitals, the train stations, and start spraying with a machine gun. Where are the metal detectors, the random bag checks? In Mumbai, it's impossible to control the crowd. In other cities, if there's an explosion, people run away from it. In Mumbai, people run toward it - to help. Greater Mumbai takes in a million new residents a year. This is the problem, say the nativists. The city is just too hospitable. You let them in, and they break your heart.


In the Bombay I grew up in, your religion was a personal eccentricity, like a hairstyle. In my school, you were denominated by which cricketer or Bollywood star you worshiped, not which prophet. In today's Mumbai, things have changed. Hindu and Muslim demagogues want the mobs to come out again in the streets, and slaughter one another in the name of God. They want India and Pakistan to go to war. They want Indian Muslims to be expelled. They want India to get out of Kashmir. They want mosques torn down. They want temples bombed.

And now it looks as if the latest terrorists were our neighbors, young men dressed not in Afghan tunics but in blue jeans and designer T-shirts. Being South Asian, they would have grown up watching the painted lady that is Mumbai in the movies: a city of flashy cars and flashier women. A pleasure-loving city, a sensual city. Everything that preachers of every religion thunder against.

In 1993, Hindu mobs burned people alive in the streets - for the crime of being Muslim in Mumbai. Now these young Muslim men murdered people in front of their families - for the crime of visiting Mumbai.

They attacked the luxury businessmen's hotels. They attacked the open-air Cafe Leopold, where backpackers of the world refresh themselves with cheap beer out of three-foot-high towers before heading out into India. Their drunken revelry, their shameless flirting, must have offended the righteous believers in the jihad.

They attacked the train station everyone calls V.T., the terminus for runaways and dreamers from all across India. And in the attack on the Chabad house, for the first time ever, it became dangerous to be Jewish in India.

The terrorists' message was clear: Stay away from Mumbai or you will get killed. Cricket matches with visiting English and Australian teams have been shelved. Japanese and Western companies have closed their Mumbai offices and prohibited their employees from visiting the city. Tour groups are canceling trips.

2 Next Page

What they hate about Mumbai
International Herald Tribune, France

Can U.S. prevent an Indian military response to Mumbai attacks?

As evidence mounts that the Mumbai attacks may have originated on Pakistani soil, American officials' aggressive campaign to strike at militants in Pakistan may complicate their efforts to prevent an Indian military response, which could lead to all-out war between the nuclear-armed enemies.

Pakistan insisted Saturday that it had not been involved in the attacks and pledged to take action against militants based in Pakistan if they were found to be implicated.

"Our hands are clean," the Pakistani foreign minister, Shah Mehmood Qureshi, said at a news conference. "We have nothing to be ashamed of. Any entity or group involved in the ghastly act, the Pakistan government will proceed against it."

The government called an emergency cabinet meeting Saturday, a day after Indian officials suggested that a militant group with Pakistani ties, Lashkar-e-Taiba, was responsible for the attacks.

But while the civilian leaders, including President Asif Ali Zardari, called for calm Saturday, Pakistani security officials warned that the Pakistani Army might still send troops to the Indian border in short order.

In December 2001, when Pakistani militants attacked the Indian Parliament, and again this summer, when militants aided by Pakistani spies bombed the Indian Embassy in Afghanistan, the Bush administration used aggressive diplomacy to dampen anger in New Delhi.

This time, however, the Indian government might not be so receptive to the American message - and that could derail the coming Obama administration's hopes of creating a broader, regional response to the threat posed by Al Qaeda and the Taliban. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has already faced months of criticism from political rivals in India about his government's decision not to respond forcefully to past acts of terrorism, and domestic anger over the carnage in Mumbai has increased the pressure on his government to strike back.

Officials in New Delhi might also feel less compelled to follow calls for a controlled response from the Bush administration, which has steadily escalated a campaign of airstrikes on Pakistani soil using remotely piloted aircraft. The Pentagon has even sent Special Operations forces into Pakistan to attack what it believed were militant targets, partly in an attempt to stop the militants from crossing the border into Afghanistan, where they are helping fuel an increasingly robust Taliban insurgency.

The White House has adopted a clear position as it seeks to justify those attacks: if a country cannot deal with a terrorism problem on its own, the United States reserves the right to act unilaterally.

Should it become clear that the men who rampaged through Mumbai trained in Pakistan, even if the Pakistani government had no hand in the operation, what will stop the Indians from adopting the same position?

"In some ways, it doesn't even matter whether this attack was hatched in some office in Islamabad," said Paul Kapur, a South Asia expert at Stanford University. "The provocation in this case is orders of magnitude more than anything that's happened before."

Even if the Bush administration can keep the situation from escalating, President-elect Barack Obama will find his administration trying to broker cooperation between two aroused and suspicious regional powers.

An important element of Obama's plan to reduce militancy in Pakistan and turn around the war in Afghanistan has been to push for a reconciliation between India and Pakistan, so that the Pakistani government could focus its energy on the tribal areas bordering Afghanistan that are controlled by Islamic extremists.

Obama's advisers have spent the past few days watching the unfolding crisis for hints about how the situation might look after Jan. 20. While they said they understood that the tensions unleashed by the Mumbai attacks might hobble the new president's aspirations, they held out hope that the attacks might, instead, open the door to increased cooperation between Pakistan and India to weed out militants intent on more attacks.

Some in the Bush administration, as well as outside experts, agree that an Indian military response is not a foregone conclusion. Singh's government has long believed that the instability caused by a conflict with Pakistan would act as a brake on the rapid economic growth India has enjoyed. Singh has also seen Pakistan's new civilian government as a hopeful departure from the militarism of President Pervez Musharraf's government.

Washington could use Singh's past hopes for better relations to try to shape a modulated Indian response.

Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University, said one possibility was that the Indian government could decide to strike Kashmiri militant training facilities in Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas, rather than facilities in the heart of the disputed territory of Kashmir, where Pakistan's government has a greater presence.

2 Next Page

Can US prevent an Indian military response to Mumbai attacks?
International Herald Tribune, France

MUMBAI TERROR: Pakistan may move troops to Indian border

  • Matt Wade
  • November 30, 2008

PAKISTAN could divert tens of thousands of troops fighting terrorists on its border with Afghanistan to the Indian border if tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbours continue to escalate following the terrorist strike on Mumbai, a senior Pakistani security official has warned.

Relations between the two countries are at a turning point after the Indian Government alleged Pakistani involvement in the attack and summoned the head of Pakistan's peak intelligence agency, the ISI, to assist with investigations.

The Pakistan Government initially agreed to this demand but then decided to send a lower-ranking representative instead.

The senior official was quoted in the Pakistani media as saying that if cross-border tensions continue to rise, "the war on terror won't be our priority. We'll take out everything from the western border. We won't leave anything here. Next two days will prove crucial to relations."

If the Pakistan army acts on this threat about 100,000 troops might be diverted away from fighting Taliban militants along its north-western border. This would be a setback to Western forces based in southern Afghanistan.

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is believed to have spoken to Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee, urging India not to escalate tensions with Pakistan. But Mr Mukherjee says the Mumbai attacks have made efforts to improve relations "impossible".

Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari attempted to soothe tensions during a rare interview with an Indian broadcaster, saying he had been "bleeding" watching Mumbai's trauma. "I stand with the people of India. I stand with the leadership of India. I am sorry that you are going through this," he said.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi called on India not to turn the attacks into a diplomatic conflict.

"No evidence (of Pakistani involvement) has been provided so far — the Government of Pakistan and all the institutions of Pakistan are unanimous that Pakistan is not involved in the ghastly attack." Continued...

Mumbai terror longest covered news event on US networks since 9/11

New York, Nov 30 (IANS) The Mumbai horror was played big time in the US media but nowhere more so than on the 24-hour news network CNN, which had minute-by-minute updates on the most audacious strike by terrorists India has ever seen.

What may have begun as a result of a slow news week because of the Thanksgiving holidays starting Wednesday soon turned out to be virtually the sole focus of the network soon after the first hour of the crisis.

The network was quick to spot the potentially enormous implications of the unfolding events in the city.

For quite a few hours it had to depend upon its sister network CNN-IBN for the visuals of the frenzied goings on with holiday anchors stepping in to provide as broad a perspective as possible. For the first eight to 10 hours the sheer momentum of the story was driven by the seemingly random nature of gunfire by the terrorists.

But as it began to become clearer that the terrorists were working to a specific plan of singling out Westerners, mainly Americans and Britons, CNN latched on to the angle. Its experts began developing the perspective that what was different about these attacks, apart from the fact that they were not hit-and-run bombings, was that for the first time Americans were becoming a target in India.

While the story would have cornered significant airtime on its intrinsic importance, what kept the US media focused were the possibilities of American casualties. Another angle that was introduced later was how seriously the crisis may strain India-Pakistan relations and present the incoming President Barack Obama with his first foreign policy and national security challenge. The convergence of American casualties and impending challenge for Obama also seemed to kept the US media in thrall of the Mumbai attacks.

CNN International New Delhi correspondent Sara Sidner, who is normally not seen in CNN's US specific broadcast, became a household name reporting from close to Mumbai's Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel and getting into an occasionally hairy situation with frequent gunfire. While throughout Wednesday and Thursday CNN's preoccupation remained with the overall story, by Friday the deaths of American citizens ensured that they would stick with the story.

Overall, the Mumbai attacks, although not as large as some of the earlier ones in terms of the sheer fatalities, may have the distinction of the longest lasting news event on US networks after 9/11. While initially, it may have been more by default than design but soon enough American media realized how big the attacks were.

The New York Times appeared to be slow to get off the ground in the initial hours of the attacks but the paper soon started putting out detailed updates on its highly popular website. Interestingly, initially the paper even sought out contributions from Mumbai directly to its website in an acknowledgement of the interest in the goings on 10,000 miles away.

By Friday evening, CNN's terrorism expert Peter Bergen was already deeply immersed in analyzing the events to the extent of naming Dawood Ibrahim, a former Mumbai gangster who first went to Dubai and then to Pakistan creating a huge crime empire, as a possible lead player in the planning of the Mumbai attacks.

Overall, the US media, feeling somewhat lost in the aftermath of intensely acrimonious albeit hugely historic electioneering that elected Obama, found in the Mumbai attacks a riveting story that went on for nearly 60 hours.

Mumbai terror longest covered news event on US networks since 9/11
Newstrack India, India

Meteor catches many eyes

Bright light streaked across sky Tuesday

Darrell Bellaart, The Daily News
Published: Saturday, November 29, 2008



Rob Gundling watched a bright light streak west over the Nanaimo sky Tuesday, less than a week after a massive meteor lit up the Prairie night.

Scientists say what Gundling saw was a large chunk of cosmic debris burning up as it entered the Earth's atmosphere, similar to the heavenly display that drew eyes skyward from Manitoba through central Alberta Nov. 20.

The sun was still up when Tuesday's fireball appeared, making it only visible to anyone who happened to be looking in that direction at the time.

 The remains of a 10-tonne asteroid that exploded in the sky near the Alberta/Saskatchewan border on November 20, 2008, have been located by University of Calgary researchers south of the city of Lloydminster in an area called Buzzard Coulee.

The remains of a 10-tonne asteroid that exploded in the sky near the Alberta/Saskatchewan border on November 20, 2008, have been located by University of Calgary researchers south of the city of Lloydminster in an area called Buzzard Coulee.


Gundling, who works most afternoons from his Sherwood Forest home office, had just stepped out into his garden when he spotted the bright light flaming across the sky. At first he thought it was a burning aircraft. He watched it move in a straight line from east to west.

"It was, I would say, five or six seconds. You could actually see chunks coming off of it. I've seen falling stars lots of times before but not like this, it was like sparks falling off and it was glowing. At first I thought it was airplane pieces."

A Canadian Air Force Sea King helicopter navigator of 32 years, he made a mental note of the time. It was 4:36 p.m.

The Dominion Astrophysical Observatory in Victoria had numerous reports of a bright object shooting across the sky at that time.

"It was very likely a meteor," said Katrina Au-Yong, observatory spokeswoman. "We had witnesses in Vancouver and Prince George so it must have been a bright one."

Meteors are usually bits of rock left over from the debris tails of comets that circle around the sun in a different orbit from that of Earth. November is an active time for meteor showers as Earth passes through three major meteorite belts.

Gundling said unlike other meteors he's seen in the past, this one had what appeared to be a smoking tail.

Falling debris and a smoky tail are not entirely uncommon, Au-Yong said.

"That sounds exactly right," she said. "When these things hit the atmosphere there is a lot of friction and they can break up into smaller pieces."

She said based on the brightness of the sighting, during daylight, there is a good chance it was a large meteor.

Meteor catches many eyes
Nanaimo Daily News, Canada

MUMBAI TERROR: photos






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MUMBAI: photos of terror


  • Nov. 26, 2008: A gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital, killing people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.
  • Nov. 28: Patricia Pena of Spain waves as she walks down the steps of a military aircraft with other Spanish residents on arrival at the Torrejon airbase just outside of Madrid after being evacuated from Mumbai, India, after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic
  • Nov. 28: Carmelo Bilbao, left and his wife Jaione Ramon walk from a military aircraft with other Spanish residents on arrival at the Torrejon airbase just outside of Madrid after being evacuated from Mumbai after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: A rescued hostage talks on his mobile phone after being released from Oberoi Trident Hotel in Mumbai, India. Commandos rappelling from helicopters stormed a besieged Jewish center Friday and scoured two landmark luxury hotels to rush survivors to safety and flush out gunmen, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: In this undated photo provided by Chabad.org, Rivkah Holtzberg, left, co-director of the Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, India, opens a newly renovated ritual bath in 2006. Holtzberg and her husband Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg were at one of the sites attacked by suspected militants in Mumbai. A cook who pulled Holtzberg's toddler son out of the building told The Associated Press she had seen Holtzberg and his wife lying on the floor, apparently unconscious.
  • Nov. 28: In this undated photo Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, left, the co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, India, is seen.
  • Nov. 28: Members of a civil society stage a candlelight march to remember those who died in the Mumbai terrorist strike in New Delhi, India. Indian commandos emerged from a besieged Jewish center with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a daylong siege that saw a team rappel from helicopters and a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow gaping holes in the wall. The fighting comes two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center that began Wednesday night left people dead.
  • Nov. 28: A resident takes cover for possible return fire as National Security Guard commandoes fire at suspected militants holed up at Nariman House in Colaba, Mumbai, India. Commandos ended a siege of the luxury Oberoi Trident Hotel on Friday while other forces rappelled from helicopters to storm a besieged Jewish center, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: Members of anti-terrorist squad take position during an engagement with suspected militants outside the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, India.
  • Nov. 28, 2008: An Indian soldiers aims at Taj Mahal Hotel where suspected militants are holed up during an assault in Mumbai, India. Explosions and gunfire continued intermittently at the Taj Mahal Hotel Friday afternoon, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28, 2008: An Indian paramilitary soldier lies on ground as he aims at Taj Mahal Hotel where suspected militants are holed up during an assault in Mumbai, India. Explosions and gunfire continued intermittently at the Taj Mahal hotel Friday afternoon,two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.

  • Nov. 26, 2008: A gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital, killing people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.
  • Nov. 28: Patricia Pena of Spain waves as she walks down the steps of a military aircraft with other Spanish residents on arrival at the Torrejon airbase just outside of Madrid after being evacuated from Mumbai, India, after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic
  • Nov. 28: Carmelo Bilbao, left and his wife Jaione Ramon walk from a military aircraft with other Spanish residents on arrival at the Torrejon airbase just outside of Madrid after being evacuated from Mumbai after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: A rescued hostage talks on his mobile phone after being released from Oberoi Trident Hotel in Mumbai, India. Commandos rappelling from helicopters stormed a besieged Jewish center Friday and scoured two landmark luxury hotels to rush survivors to safety and flush out gunmen, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: In this undated photo provided by Chabad.org, Rivkah Holtzberg, left, co-director of the Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, India, opens a newly renovated ritual bath in 2006. Holtzberg and her husband Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg were at one of the sites attacked by suspected militants in Mumbai. A cook who pulled Holtzberg's toddler son out of the building told The Associated Press she had seen Holtzberg and his wife lying on the floor, apparently unconscious.
  • Nov. 28: In this undated photo Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, left, the co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, India, is seen.
  • Nov. 28: Members of a civil society stage a candlelight march to remember those who died in the Mumbai terrorist strike in New Delhi, India. Indian commandos emerged from a besieged Jewish center with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a daylong siege that saw a team rappel from helicopters and a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow gaping holes in the wall. The fighting comes two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center that began Wednesday night left people dead.
  • Nov. 28: A resident takes cover for possible return fire as National Security Guard commandoes fire at suspected militants holed up at Nariman House in Colaba, Mumbai, India. Commandos ended a siege of the luxury Oberoi Trident Hotel on Friday while other forces rappelled from helicopters to storm a besieged Jewish center, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: Members of anti-terrorist squad take position during an engagement with suspected militants outside the Taj Mahal Hotel in Mumbai, India.
  • Nov. 28, 2008: An Indian soldiers aims at Taj Mahal Hotel where suspected militants are holed up during an assault in Mumbai, India. Explosions and gunfire continued intermittently at the Taj Mahal Hotel Friday afternoon, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
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  • Nov. 26, 2008: A gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital, killing people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.
  • Nov. 28: Patricia Pena of Spain waves as she walks down the steps of a military aircraft with other Spanish residents on arrival at the Torrejon airbase just outside of Madrid after being evacuated from Mumbai, India, after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic
  • Nov. 28: Carmelo Bilbao, left and his wife Jaione Ramon walk from a military aircraft with other Spanish residents on arrival at the Torrejon airbase just outside of Madrid after being evacuated from Mumbai after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: A rescued hostage talks on his mobile phone after being released from Oberoi Trident Hotel in Mumbai, India. Commandos rappelling from helicopters stormed a besieged Jewish center Friday and scoured two landmark luxury hotels to rush survivors to safety and flush out gunmen, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
  • Nov. 28: In this undated photo provided by Chabad.org, Rivkah Holtzberg, left, co-director of the Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, India, opens a newly renovated ritual bath in 2006. Holtzberg and her husband Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg were at one of the sites attacked by suspected militants in Mumbai. A cook who pulled Holtzberg's toddler son out of the building told The Associated Press she had seen Holtzberg and his wife lying on the floor, apparently unconscious.
  • Nov. 28: In this undated photo Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg, left, the co-director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai, India, is seen.
  • Nov. 28: Members of a civil society stage a candlelight march to remember those who died in the Mumbai terrorist strike in New Delhi, India. Indian commandos emerged from a besieged Jewish center with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a daylong siege that saw a team rappel from helicopters and a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow gaping holes in the wall. The fighting comes two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center that began Wednesday night left people dead.
  • Nov. 28: A resident takes cover for possible return fire as National Security Guard commandoes fire at suspected militants holed up at Nariman House in Colaba, Mumbai, India. Commandos ended a siege of the luxury Oberoi Trident Hotel on Friday while other forces rappelled from helicopters to storm a besieged Jewish center, two days after a chain of militant attacks across India's financial center left people dead and the city in panic.
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Nov. 26, 2008: A gunman walks at the Chatrapathi Sivaji Terminal railway station in Mumbai, India. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train station in coordinated attacks across India's financial capital, killing people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility.