GUNFIRE AND GRENADES: During a televised address yesterday India’s prime minister appealed for calm after heavily armed gunmen went on a shocking killing spree
Indian army commandos were yesterday battling Islamist gunmen who launched coordinated attacks against luxury hotels and other targets in Mumbai, taking foreign hostages and killing more than 100 people.

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The young gunmen roaming the corridors of two luxury hotels in Mumbai were shooting wildly, but they knew exactly what sort of guests they intended to take hostage.

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Thai Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat declared a state of emergency yesterday at two Bangkok airports besieged by anti-government protesters, a minister said, as rumors of a coup swirled round the capital.

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MONEY MATTERS: An official warned that cutting pay for top officials smacked of ‘populism’ and was not worthy of consideration
By Ko Shu-Ling And Flora Wang
The Presidential Office and the Cabinet yesterday rejected calls for President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and other high-ranking officials to cut their monthly salaries, saying they were worried it risked setting a precedent that could spill over to the private sector, offsetting government efforts to stimulate public spending.

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By Shih Hsiu-chuan
A day after President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) promised that the Executive Yuan would tackle the issue of rising unemployment, Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) announced yesterday that the government would seek to increase the budget for its NT$420 billion (US$12.62 billion) plan for major construction projects.

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