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11 30th, 2008| 
The Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, India, temporarily increased security after being warned of a possible terrorist attack, the chairman of the company that owns the hotel said Saturday.
But Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata said those measures, which were eased shortly before this week’s terror attacks, could not have prevented gunmen from entering the hotel.
“If I look at what we had … it could not have stopped what took place,” Tata said in an interview with CNN’s Fareed Zakaria that will air Sunday.
“It’s ironic that we did have such a warning, and we did have some measures,” Tata said, without elaborating on the warning or when security measures were enacted. “People couldn’t park their cars in the portico, where you had to go through a metal detector.”
Iraqi police officer Qassim Ahmed takes aim before shooting a stray dog in the Mansour neighborhood of Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008. Baghdad authorities have killed more than 200 stray dogs on Sunday, the opening day of a campaign to manage the dog packs that roam the capital after a spate of attacks on residents. (AP Photo/Asaad Mouhsin)
NEW YORK (AP) ― Federal authorities are warning law enforcement personnel of a possible terror plot against the New York City subway system during the holiday season.
An internal memo obtained by The Associated Press says the FBI has received a “plausible but unsubstantiated” report that al-Qaida terrorists in late September may have discussed attacking the subway system.
Department of Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said the warning was issued as a routine matter, but added that there may be an increased police presence in New York and other large metropolitan areas.
The report indicates that al-Qaida terrorists “in late September may have discussed targeting transit systems in and around New York City. These discussions reportedly involved the use of suicide bombers or explosives placed on subway/passenger rail systems,” according to the document.
“We have no specific details to confirm that this plot has developed beyond aspirational planning, but we are issuing this warning out of concern that such an attack could possibly be conducted during the forthcoming holiday season,” states the warning, which is dated Tuesday.
While federal agencies regularly issue all sorts of advisory warnings, the language of this one is particularly blunt.
Intelligence and homeland security officials are working with local authorities to try to corroborate the information “and will continue to investigate every possible lead,” the memo says.
Knocke, the DHS spokesman, said the warning was issued “out of an abundance of caution going into this holiday season.”
No changes are being made to the nation’s threat level, or for transit systems at this time, he said.
“However, transit passengers in larger metropolitan areas like New York may see an increased security presence in the coming days. This includes uniformed and plain clothed behavior detection officers, federal air marshals, canine teams, and security inspectors,” Knocke said.
Afghan president tells UN that bombings must end
KABUL, Afghanistan – President Hamid Karzai has told a U.N. Security Council delegation that aerial bombings by international military forces and searches on Afghan homes must stop.
Karzai also told the U.N. delegation Tuesday that the international community should set a timeline to end the war in Afghanistan. If no deadline is set, Karzai says Afghanistan has the right to negotiate the conflict’s end.
The Afghan president also says that not enough attention is being paid to militant bases outside of Afghanistan — a common reference to dangerous tribal areas in Pakistan.
Karzai also said the Afghan-Pakistan relationship has improved after new leaders were installed there over the last year.
Detainees perform their daily prayers at the U.S. detention facility at Camp Cropper in Baghdad, Iraq in this Monday, Nov. 10, 2008 file photo. The U.S. military is rushing to collect evidence against some 5,000 detainees deemed to be dangerous _ including suspected members of al-Qaida in Iraq _ in case it loses the right to hold prisoners indefinitely without charge at the end of the year. (AP Photo/Maya Alleruzzo, File)
Obama acknowledged Saturday that evidence is growing the country is “facing an economic crisis of historic proportions.” He noted turmoil on Wall Street, a decrease in new home purchases, growing jobless claims and the menacing problem of deflation.
Astana. November 21. Interfax-AVN - Kazakhstan and the United States plan over 130 military partnership events for next year, Kazakh Defense Minister Danial Akhmetov told U.S. Ambassador to Kazakhstan Richard Hoagland in Astana.