Peace Like A River » Cables, dispatches and memoranda

Cables, dispatches and memoranda

November 28, 2008 (1:04 am) | Daily Roundup | By: Jeff Kouba

Cables, Dispatches and Memoranda A brief world news roundup for 28 November 2008.

United States & the Americas

Secretary Rice – There is a British idea – and I want to emphasize not an American idea, a British idea – that we look at different ways to fulfill the terms of the Bucharest Declaration. As you remember the Bucharest Declaration says that at some point in time, Georgia and Ukraine will be members of NATO. It does not anticipate or suggest there would be lower standards for entry into NATO. It does not suggest that there needs to be an accelerated time table. It is the same open-door policy that we’ve had about meeting standards, but it does say that Georgia and Ukraine will be members of NATO. How they get there, what mechanisms are used – we believe that the NATO-Georgia Commission and the NATO-Ukraine Commission can be the bodies with which we intensify our dialogue and our activities with Georgia and NATO. And therefore, there does not need at this point in time to be any discussion of MAP. And so this is the nature of this. It really is just a question of how we would execute the Bucharest decision. It is not a change in policy.
Washington Times – Travelers across the country can expect to see a greater law enforcement presence this holiday weekend in response to a threat of an al Qaeda terrorist plot targeting mass-transit systems near New York City.
Javno – The Canadian government is considering ending public subsidies of federal political parties, Conservative sources signaled on Thursday, an explosive move with the potential to trigger an election. But the main opposition Liberal Party indicated after an emergency meeting that although it would be hobbled by the move, it would likely not bring down the government over it at a time of economic crisis.
Rosatom – A Russian-Venezuelan inter-governmental agreement for cooperation in the field of peaceful use of nuclear energy was signed in Caracas, Venezuela, on Nov 26 2008 in the presence of President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez. The agreement was signed by Director General of Rosatom State Nuclear Energy Corporation Sergey Kiriyenko and Minister of Energy and Petroleum of Venezuela Rafael Ramirez. The agreement is a basis for cooperation in the following fields…
Ray Walser – Yet the Russia-Venezuela relationship is founded on more than just arms contracts. Non-competitive in a global, high-tech economy and dependent on oil-exports, both nations seek to exploit energy and mineral resources to advance the ends of state power. Despite the current slide in world oil prices, both Chávez and Medvedev recognize that scarce oil and energy resources still are keys to the future power and influence.
McClatchy – A strange thing happened Thursday moments after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez boarded a Russian destroyer docked here. Bodyguards for the two men scuffled at the head of the gangplank. It lasted less than a minute, and it didn’t seem to dampen the spirits of the two leaders during the first trip ever by a Russian president to Venezuela.
Khaleej Times – Brazil revealed that it had bought 12 attack helicopters from Russia on October 23, after a visit here by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev Wednesday.
1913 Intel – Video: Narco Wars- Mexico; Mexicans are facing a horrifying increase in violence brought about by the governments decision to wage war on the powerful drug cartels. Each day sees more deaths and kidnaps, while corruption is endemic. The death toll so far this year is 4000, higher than Iraq.
Miami Herald – Mexico says its army will eventually leave the fight against drug trafficking. But officials did not set a firm date for the start of the withdrawal. The promise was made Thursday in the government’s human rights progress report to the United Nations. Mexico argues it must use soldiers in its nationwide crackdown on the drug trade because police are still too corrupt to take over the battle.
Reuters – Peruvian President Alan Garcia on Thursday blamed his country’s recent rash of drug-related violence on powerful Mexican drug cartels that are making inroads and building criminal alliances in Peru.

Russia, Caucasus & Central Asia

RIA Novosti – A pair of Russian Tu-95 Bear strategic bombers carried out a routine patrol flight on Thursday over the Arctic Ocean off Alaska, an Air Force spokesman said. Lt. Col. Vladimir Drik told RIA Novosti that the bombers had been “accompanied for one hour by two [U.S.] F-15 fighters over the Arctic Ocean near the shores of Alaska.”
Russia Today – The jury at the hearing into the murder of prominent journalist Anna Politkovskaya was shown chilling evidence on Thursday of the last moments of her life. Video from the two cctv cameras shows that it took the killer only 24 seconds to commit the crime. On the day when she was killed a man wearing a baseball cap went into the stairwell of her apartment block. Ten minutes later Politkovskaya came in. After shooting her five times, the murderer left. The video shows him walking quickly away from the scene.
CRN – Russian soldiers, whom human rights activists met in their visit to the Leningor District of South Ossetia, complained of heavy conditions of their service. For a long time they had to sleep in entrenchments under clear sky and sometimes even to starve. This was told to the “Caucasian Knot” correspondent by Ekaterina Sokiryanskaya, employee of the Human Rights Centre “Memorial”.
RIA Novosti – At least three people were killed on Thursday when a car came under fire in central Vladikavkaz, the capital of Russia’s North Caucasus republic of North Ossetia, a local police source said.
Kavkaz Center – An Islamist group has claimed responsibility for the murder of the mayor of Vladikavkaz in south Russia. “Vitaly Karayev, this enemy of Allah, was eliminated near his home when he was on his way to the city hall.” The group accused him of “sanctioning the persecution of women in Islamic clothes in public places, which resulted in women being repeatedly insulted and humiliated.” “The execution of this enemy of Allah was carried out by a naib [deputy] of the amir of Kataib al Khoul,” the statement said.
IWPR – Alarm about demographic slump leads to proposed enlistment on army-age students; The Armenian government is working on amendments to legislation which would force more students to do military service, thereby overcoming a potential shortfall in recruits.

Thanksgiving Day meal at Forward Operating Base Falcon

Soldiers from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, Multi-National Division - Baghdad, fill the Raider Cafe Facility ,Nov. 27, during the Thanksgiving Day meal at Forward Operating Base Falcon in southern Baghdad's Rashid District. (photo by Sgt. David Hodge)

Middle East

IHT – With a substantial majority, the Iraqi Parliament on Thursday ratified a sweeping security agreement with the United States that sets a course for the end of the war and marks the beginning of a new relationship between the two countries.
Al Sumaria – US officials speaking on condition of anonymity revealed that key parts of US-Iraq pact could be lost in translation. They clarified that US President Georges Bush Administration has withheld the official English translation of the agreement to suppress a public dispute with the Iraqis until after the parliamentary vote.”
Voices of Iraq – Two civilians on Thursday were killed, and 25 persons were wounded, in a second suicide bombing in Mosul city today, said a security source from Ninewa province’s police. “A car bomb driven by a suicide attacker targeted a police patrol, southern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq.
UPI – Military authorities in Iraq say 18 female members of an al-Qaida cell have surrendered and pledged to quit training for suicide operations. The young women were persuaded by their mullahs and fathers to surrender to coalition forces Wednesday and sign a reconciliation pledge, said a statement from U.S. Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling.
Al Ahram – During his 21-year tenure as minister of culture Farouk Hosni has been a controversial figure, frequently locked in feuds with the NDP, Islamist politicians and left-leaning intellectuals. His latest battle, as a candidate for UNESCO’s director-general, is being fought on an international front. Assem El-Kersh and Nevine El-Aref speak to him about his campaign.
NOW Lebanon – UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a report published Wednesday that the international tribunal that will try the suspected assassins of Lebanese former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri could begin work on March 1.
AP – The U.N. nuclear agency on Wednesday overrode U.S. concerns and approved sensitive technical aid for Syria, despite allegations the country has a secret atomic program that could be used to make weapons. In the end, Washington and its allies agreed to the deal, which provides IAEA expertise and equipment to help Syria build a power-producing reactor.
Middle East Online – United Nations General Assembly President Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann said the international community should consider using boycotts, divestments or sanctions to pressure Israel to improve its treatment of the Palestinians, Democracy Now! reported Wednesday.
Xinhua – The UN General Assembly adopted on Wednesday by recorded vote six resolutions meant to promote the Palestinian people’s rights and limit Israel’s actions in Jerusalem and the Syrian Golan. The votes came after two days of sometimes contentious debate at the 192-member body on the conflict in the Middle East and the plight of the Palestinian people.
Al Jazeera – Israel has re-imposed its blockade of the Gaza Strip following a rocket attack from the region. Crossings were due to open temporarily at 9am GMT on Thursday but Israeli officials said they would remain closed after two rockets were fired.
Daily Star – Hizbullah’s foreign relations officer, Nawwaf al-Moussawi, accused Israel on Thursday of launching “a political and diplomatic campaign to corner Hizbullah in Europe.” “This campaign aims to shackle the European role in Lebanon and the region, to impose the Israeli logic and cover up continued Israeli crimes and aggressions.”

Iran

Fars – Iran summoned the British ambassador to Tehran over remarks by the country’s Foreign Secretary, David Miliband, who had called on the Persian Gulf Arab sheikhdoms to increase pressure on Iran over its nuclear ambitions.
IRNA – President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that the Islamic Revolution of Iran is not limited to specific geographic or national borders. “The Islamic Revolution is a deep and decisive move for all human beings,” said the president during a ceremony to honor Armed Forces Chief of Staff Major General Hassan Firouzabadi. Noting that the global arrogance was collapsing, the president said that the awakening people of the world were seeking great thoughts of the Iranian nation.
Payvand – Photos: Harvesting Cotton in Fasa, Iran

South Asia

Washington Post – Four Afghan nationals were killed and 17 injured in a suicide car bomb attack near the U.S. Embassy in the Afghan capital of Kabul Thursday morning, U.S. state department officials said.
CJTF-A – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition forces killed seven militants and uncovered three caches containing drugs and improvised explosive device-making materials during a clearing operation in Nahr Surkh District, Helmand province. Militants fired on ANSF and Coalition forces with machine-gun and rocket-propelled grenade fire. ANSF and Coalition forces responded with small-arms and supporting fires.
CJTF-A – Coalition forces killed 15 militants, and detained six suspected militants during an early morning raid in Anizai, Zhari district, Kandahar province, Nov. 26. Coalition forces were clearing a compound known to be an IED command and control node when they were fired upon.
Australia DoD – An Australian soldier serving with the Special Operations Task Group was killed by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonation early today in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan. Two other SOTG troops were slightly wounded in the explosion.
UK MoD – It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that two Royal Marines from 42 Commando Royal Marines were killed in southern Helmand province this morning, Thursday 27 November.
UK MoD – In a speech given at the Berlin Security Conference today, Thursday 27 November 2008, British Defence Secretary John Hutton has said that NATO must confront the security issues of our time and succeed in Afghanistan to maintain its crucial credibility.
Timothy Hsia – A Quick Review of Combat Outposts (COPs)
Daily Times – Five people, including three Taliban, were killed on Wednesday in two separate clashes between the Taliban and police in Peshawar. The first clash erupted when over 100 Taliban, believed to have entered the city from Darra Adam Khel, besieged the house of Adezai Union Council Nazim Abdul Malik.
Press TV – A Pakistani security official says that government troops have cleared a stronghold of Taliban militants in a volatile northwestern region. Security forces killed at least 27 militants over 25 days, in an offensive against insurgents in the troubled Swat valley which resulted in the loss of one of their men, the official told Press TV.
Dawn – Three miscreants were killed and several others suffered injuries in the Mohmand region while a Taliban Shariah court building and four houses were blown up in the Michini area on the outskirts of Charsadda on Thursday. Official sources said four vehicles were also destroyed and four suspected militants were apprehended during the joint clearance operation in Badi Kore, Aisha Korona and Qella Shah Beg areas with SP investigation Charsadda Mohammad Riaz heading it.
MEMRI – Trucks carrying supplies for U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan have once again come under rocket attack in Peshawar, the capital city of Pakistan’s North Western Frontier Province (NWFP). Police officials disclosed that at least three trucks have been damaged in the powerful attacks from unknown locations. The attack took place in the Landi Akhoon Ahmad village of Pushtakhara, on the outskirts of Peshawar city.
NDTV – 24 hours of terror (video)
Global Voices – Photographs are appearing on flickr and elsewhere, allowing us a glimpse beyond the visuals provided by mainstream media. Arun Shanbhag has a post full of photographs – from blood pools, to chalk marks and a burning Taj Hotel.
Times of India – The terror attack on south Mumbai’s two tony hotels – the Taj and Oberoi Trident – caught many celebrities by surprise. Greek millionaire Andreas Liveras was one of those shot dead in the Taj Hotel. Owner of Liveras Yacht, which owns and charters luxury yachts, Andreas had come to Mumbai to scout for business opportunities. French nuclear scientist George Vendryas was another notable person who was staying at the hotel.
The Nation – Militants who staged multiple attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, killing at least 125 people and injuring hundreds more, came from Pakistan, a senior military official claimed Thursday. “They are from across the border and perhaps from Faridkot, Pakistan. They tried to pretend that they were from Hyderabad,” Maj-Gen RK Hooda, leading the military operation to flush out the extremists, told reporters.
Geo – Pakistan’s Defence Minister on Thursday said Pakistan had played no role in terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed more than 125 people. Ahmed Mukhtar was responding to an assertion by India’s military. “In previous cases they have acted like this, but later it all proved wrong,” Mukhtar told a foreign news agency. “We are very much positive that Pakistan is not involved in this,” the Defence Minister said.
Jakarta Post – A state official says the siege has ended Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel and the last three gunmen there have been killed. An official of the Maharashtra state home department, speaking on customary condition of anonymity, also said eight hostages have been freed from the Mumbai headquarters of the ultra-orthodox Jewish outreach group Chabad Lubavitch.
RIA Novosti – The terrorist groups who attacked the Indian city of Mumbai are closely linked to al-Qaeda, a high-ranking Russian secret service source said Thursday. “Russian secret services have information suggesting that the groups that attacked Mumbai had had contact with al-Qaeda,” the source said. “In particular, the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba. This group’s militants undergo special training in al-Qaeda camps on the border between Pakistan and India.”
Reuters – The Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba denied Thursday any role in the Mumbai attacks which killed more than 100 people. “Lashkar-e-Taiba strongly condemns the series of attacks in Mumbai … Lashkar has no association with any Indian militant group,” Abdullah Gaznavai, chief spokesman of the group, told Reuters.
CFR – Terror Groups in India
Times Online – The death of Bombay’s top antiterrorist officer is a devastating blow to a police force struggling to confine a burgeoning Islamist threat. Hemant Karkare, the chief of the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad, was shot three times in the chest as he led his men at the Taj Mahal Palace, one of the two luxury hotels overrun by heavily armed terrorists.
Rory Medcalf – A new day has begun in shattered Mumbai. Despite thousands of media reports, it remains hard to get a clear picture of the many-pronged terror attacks that have shaken the world’s maximum city and reportedly left at least 80 dead and hundreds injured. So the following thoughts on what these atrocities mean should be taken as very preliminary indeed.
The Acorn – Here’s a bit of what Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in his address to the nation… These are the right things to say, and do. He does not have too long to follow through though, but there isn’t any excuse left for not getting things rolling on a war footing. Earlier, L K Advani had spoken to Prime Minister Singh to offer support and solidarity at this time. This too was the right thing to say, and do. Much depends on how long they can sustain this.
Colombo Page – Sri Lanka’s Tamil Tiger rebels leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran, while vowing to fight on and evict government forces from their ‘land’, said his organization wants to stop the war and seek a peaceful resolution to the national question of the Tamil people. “We will continue with our struggle until alien Sinhala occupation of our land is evicted,” Prabhakaran said in his annual speech today from an undisclosed location.
TamilNet – text of Prabhakaran’s speech

Far East & Pacific

Bangkok Post – The government has declared a state of emergency around the two occupied Bangkok airports and police have been ordered to clear out PAD protesters so flights can resume. LATE NEWS: Authorities have officially declared Suvarnabhumi airport closed until Saturday at 6pm at the earliest.
Bangkok Pundit – Live Blog : State of Emergency
news.com.au – Thai aviation authorities gave airlines the green light to use a naval base in the east of the country after protesters blocked off both of Bangkok’s airports.
Xinhua – Thailand is considering to postpone the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit due to the political turmoil, which saw anti-government protestors seize Don Muang and Suvarnabhumi airports, Thai Foreign Minister Sompong Amornwiwat said Thursday. Leaders of 10 ASEAN countries plus those of China, Japan and South Korea, are scheduled to meet in Chiang Mai between Dec. 14 to 18.
Irrawaddy – Burma’s best-known comedian, Zarganar, and two journalist friends were given additional prison terms by a special court in Rangoon’s Insein Prison on Thursday, according to reliable sources.
Potala Times – China has released more than 1,000 people detained after rioting in Tibet in March, state media on Wednesday quoted a senior official as saying.

Europe

Reuters – The upper house of the Czech parliament backed a plan on Thursday to build a U.S. missile defense shield base in the central European country, but it faces tough scrutiny in the lower chamber.
Al Arabiya – Muslim communities have “enriched Britain in every sense” Prince Charles said at an award ceremony for talented British Muslims alongside Jordan’s Princess Badiya bint El Hassan. The Mosaic Talent Awards were created this year in conjunction with one of the heir-to-the-throne’s charities. Mosaic, which offers mentoring to help raise the aspirations of disaffected young Muslims and break down barriers across British society.
Islam in Europe – Four Tunisian Islamists, who are suspected of having connections with the terror cell which sent a Belgian suicide bomber to Iraq in November 2005, appeared in court in Paris. The four men are accused of membership in a group with terrorist aims. A number are also accused of using false documentation and being in the country illegally.
Thomas de Waal – Outside the theatre in Tiraspol, where a bride in a long white frilly dress was posing for photographs, a billboard hung bearing the pictures of a trio of large sturdy men: the leaders of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, Sergei Bagapsh and Eduard Kokoity, and Transdniestria’s leader, Igor Smirnov. Until recently this group portrait was a trinity of the unrecognised.
Balkan Insight – Croatian President Stipe Mesic and his Slovenian counterpart Danilo Turk have called for intensified dialogue between their countries to solve issues including a border dispute.
BBC – Danish politicians say Greenland is still years away from true autonomy, despite its vote for greater self-rule. In a referendum on Tuesday, 75.5% of voters in Greenland backed a plan to increase their autonomy from Denmark, the former colonial power.

Africa

Reuters – At least five people were killed and 17 injured Thursday when assailants tossed grenades into a busy market in the town where Somalia’s parliament sits, witnesses said.
IRIN – Thousands of people are fleeing parts of the north-east region of Mandera and neighbouring Somali border areas after Kenya beefed up its security presence to counter possible threats from Somali armed groups.
UN – The top United Nations human rights official today urged the international community to take urgent action to stop the deteriorating cycle of sexual violence, bloodshed and destruction in the war-torn eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Since heavy fighting resumed in North Kivu in August, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has documented a steady worsening of the human rights situation with summary executions, kidnappings, rape and widespread looting committed on a daily basis by the armed groups operating in the region.
BBC – Some 13,000 people have fled into Uganda from a rebel advance in the Democratic Republic of Congo in just two days, the UN refugee agency says.
Reuters – Congolese Tutsi rebels took control of the eastern town of Ishasha on Congo’s border with Uganda, the U.N. said on Thursday.
MONUC – Bertrand Bisimwa, spokesman for Tutsi ex-general Laurent Nkunda’s National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP), said Mai-Mai militia and exiled Rwandan Hutus had threatened rebel positions near the town of Kiwanja.
Xinhua – Angola will become in 2010 one of the three largest diamond producers considering the new investments and mining contracts, said a study issued here on Thursday by the KPMG consulting firm. The study said Angola will be able to produce 19 million karats in 2010, surpassing 9.7 million karats recorded in 2007.
The Namibian – Russia’s Natural Resources and Ecology Minister Yury Trutnev is in the country to attend the Third Session of the Russia-Namibia inter-governmental commission for trade and economic cooperation.
Strategy Page – U.S. intelligence analysis of the situation in Africa are grim. The basic problems are corruption, tribalism and raw materials (from oil to diamonds and minerals) that enable warlords to sustain themselves, and their gun toting followers, for years.
IPS – Swollen shoot disease is a problem across the West African region. Farmers in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo and Nigeria have not been spared the devastation. Worried by its long-term effect, Ghana’s President John Kufuor early this year called on the regional grouping the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to take steps to fight the disease. Ghanaians are worried because the cocoa bean is the country’s main export.

Thanksgiving Day at Ironhorse Oasis Dining Facility

Multi-National Division – Baghdad Soldiers and Airmen wait in line outside the Ironhorse Oasis Dining Facility for their chance to eat the Thanksgiving Day feast that awaits them inside (photo by Pfc. Lyndsey Dransfield)

The Global War

Australia Foreign Ministry – The Australian Government unreservedly condemns this indiscriminate and cowardly terrorist set of acts that are occurring and continue to unfold in Mumbai as we speak. These actions have killed scores and have injured hundreds of people. We, of course, express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and to their families, and we also express our fundamental solidarity with the Indian Government and its people. This is an appalling assault on the people, and the stability and the democracy of India.
Canada Foreign Ministry – Canada strongly condemns the savage terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which have left hundreds of innocent civilians injured or killed. These cowardly attacks are truly appalling.
Estonia Foreign Ministry – Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet offered his condolences to Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee today over the terrorist attacks that took place in Mumbai on 26 November. Foreign Minister Urmas Paet also sharply condemned the terrorist attacks and expressed complete support for the Government of India in its battle against terrorism.
France Foreign Ministry – After the tragic hours which have plunged the city of Mumbai into mourning, on France’s behalf and personally, I would like to express my total solidarity. I utterly condemn the mindless violence which has struck your country through this series of cowardly, heinous terrorist acts. At this painful time, I also want to convey my most sincere condolences to the families of all the innocent victims of these despicable attacks and extend my sympathy and support to the injured, wishing them a speedy recovery. More than ever, France stands at India’s side in the fight against the scourge of terrorism and is ready to develop still further our two countries’ cooperation in this area.
German Foreign Ministry – Following the attacks in Mumbai, Federal Foreign Minister Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier today (27 November) offered his condolences to Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The letter reads as follows: “I was deeply distressed by the news and pictures of the despicable terrorist attacks in Mumbai, which have claimed the lives of so many people and injured many more…”
Hungary Foreign Ministry – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Hungary condemns in strongest terms the horrific terror strikes in the Indian city of Mumbai on November 26 which have claimed so many civilian casualties and many more injured. We express our shock that these outrageous attacks were deliberately designed to cause a great number of innocent civilians to die. There is no justification whatsoever for any kind of terrorism and for the murder of innocent civilians.
IRNA – Iran Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi in a statement on Thursday strongly condemned the terrorist attacks in Mumbai which claimed lives of many civilians and injured over 1,000 people. According to the Information and Press Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the statement, Qashqavi voiced the sympathy of the Iranian government and nation to Indian government, people and the bereaved families of victims as well as those injured in the terrorist attack. He also underlined Iran’s principled policy of condemning any act of terrorism.
Israel Foreign Ministry – FM Livni stated this morning, “I condemn this criminal terrorist attack that is still going on in Mumbai. This is further painful evidence that the terrorist threat is the greatest challenge which Israel and the international community have to face. Nothing justifies the unforgivable slaughter of innocents; it is therefore incumbent on the international community to cooperate in the ongoing war against this contemptible, heinous manifestation of terror.
Italy Foreign Ministry – I wish to convey my deepest condolences and my own personal sympathy with India in its mourning following the attacks in the city of Mumbai which have caused such a grievous loss of human life. On behalf of my Government and of all Italians, I wish to express my sincere solidarity with your country and our firmest possible condemnation of these acts of inhuman violence. Such acts confirm the international community’s firm resolve to act with the utmost determination to combat terrorism and ensure that the authors of these cowardly attacks are brought to justice.
Norway Foreign Ministry – It was with shock and great sadness that I learned of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai yesterday. We strongly condemn these brutal attakcs on innocent civilians. On behalf of the Government and the people of Norway, I would like to extend my heartfelt condolences to the victims and their families. This tragedy has made a deep impression on me personally and on the many Norwegians who have family and friends in your country. I would also like to express our sympathy with the people and the Government of India in this difficult situation.
Pakistan Foreign Ministry – On behalf of the people and Government of Pakistan and on my own behalf, I wish to express our deep shock and sorrow at last night’s terrorist attacks in Mumbai. The people of Pakistan join you in mourning the loss of so many precious lives. We offer our heartfelt sympathies and condolences to the family members of all those who have lost their lives or have been injured in these incidents. Pakistan strongly condemns these acts of terrorism. Terrorism is a scourge of humanity, which needs to be rooted out.
Russia Foreign Ministry – President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev has sent a message of condolences to the President and Prime Minister of the Republic of India expressing sympathy to the Indian people, strongly condemning the monstrous terrorist crimes, which undermine the foundations of civilized society and stable law and order, and expressing confidence that the culprits will be given the harshest punishment. Russia supports the resolute actions of India to suppress terrorist acts.
Syria (SANA) – President Bashar al-Assad sent a cable of condolences to President Pratibha Patil of India in which His Excellency expressed deep sorrow over the death of tens of people in a terrorist attack that targeted several areas of the Indian city of Mumbai.
Turkey Foreign Ministry – Turkey strongly condemns the despicable terrorist attacks which occurred in the city of Mumbai in India yesterday (November 26), and caused the death of more than one hundred and the injury of more than two hundred fifty innocent people. Following the still ongoing terrorist attacks, Excellencies the President, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs have conveyed messages of condolences to their esteemed Indian counterparts.
United Kingdom Foreign Ministry – I’ve been briefed on the situation in Mumbai by a team of Foreign Office officials. The most important thing to say is that this is a callous inhuman and indiscriminate attack on people of all races and all religions. I think that today this is, this attack in Mumbai is an attack on all of us because democracy in India is vibrant and because Mumbai is one of the world’s most diverse cities.
US State Dept – We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks that have taken place in Mumbai, India. Our sympathies go out to the families and friends of those killed and injured, and to the people of Mumbai. We are monitoring the situation very closely and stand ready to support the Indian authorities as they deal with this horrific series of attacks. At this point, we are unaware of any American casualties.

Sights & Sounds

Africa Today – *Refugees flee into Uganda as the latest fighting in DR Congo spreads towards the border. *Zimbabwe’s health ministry says sanctions must be lifted for the cholera outbreak to be contained. *And, skyrocketing charcoal prices in Chad as the government attempts to save the environment.