NEARLY 150 DEAD, 400 INJURED IN MUMBAI FIDAYEEN ATTACK: CHRISTIANS DECRY THE ATTACKS

Churches and Christian organisations in India have condemned terrorist attacks across Mumbai that have left 119 people dead and 300 injured.
Armed men took hundreds of tourists hostage in the Taj Mahal Palace and Oberoi Trident hotels late Wednesday night as part of a coordinated attack on India's financial capital. A number of hostages were freed from the Taj Mahal Palace on Thursday but it is believed that hostages are still being held at the Oberoi Trident.
An official with the National Council of Churches in India told Christian Today India that the group “condemns the heinous attacks and requests unity and peace at this time".
"As the country is going through a turbulent time, we request Churches and Christians in the country to join hands, to shed tears for the people of this nation. For peace and stability to prevail," he added.
Investigating officers say the terrorists were targeting foreigners, mainly Britons and Americans.
The Evangelical Fellowship of India expressed its “deep grief” at the attacks, which saw the gunmen open fire and launch grendades at locations across the city, including the two five-star hotels, the main railway station, a restaurant popular with tourists, and a hospital.
People take cover at the sound of gunfire outside The Taj Hotel in Mumbai, India, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2008. Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, hospitals and a crowded train...

EFI appeals to all sections to society to maintain calm and requests prayers for the family of those killed and injured,” said the organisation’s General Secretary, the Rev Dr Richard Howell.
Although a group of suspected Muslim extremists have claimed responsibility for the attacks, the president of Gospel for Asia, Dr K P Yohannan urged caution in laying blame with a particular group until a full investigation had been carried out.
"This is definitely a well-planned and executed incident to bring instability to the nation in the light of the national elections coming up," he said. "But I have real reservations about placing blame on the Muslims ... until there is a complete investigation of these horrible attacks, I am not ready to blame the Muslims. Anyone can take a Muslim name for their group."
Dr Yohannan said he was concerned that the attacks would spread to the rest of the country.
"India always treated foreigners with such respect and value," he said. "This is totally against the nature of Indians. The question is, will this spread over all the country?
"We know that only the Gospel of Christ can change human hearts, regardless of caste, race or religion. That is why we must pray for India at this time."
Prime Minister Gordon Brown assured a "vigorous response" to the attacks.
He said: "I have sent a message to Prime Minister Singh that the UK stands solidly with his government as they respond, and to offer all necessary help.
"Urgent action is under way to offer every possible protection to British citizens in the region."

LONDON BUSES DECLARING THE GOOD NEWS

LONDON, UK -- MEMO, a ministry dedicated to spreading the Good News on public transport networks in the UK for 125 years, has launched a new advertising campaign on London buses reassuring commuters of God's comfort in the midst of the global credit crunch.
According to a story written by Anne Thomas and posted on the UK website -- www.christiantoday.com -- the campaign that was launched on Monday, will see MEMO's ads displayed inside 200 buses throughout central London for the next four weeks.
They ask commuters if they feel "Crunched?" before quoting Luke 2.10 - 11, "Don't be afraid! I am here with good news for you - This very day in Bethlehem your Saviour was born - Christ the Lord."
The MEMO comes just ahead of an ad campaign to be launched on London buses by the British Humanist Association in January, running with the provocative slogan, "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life."
"Amidst all the discouraging news in our nation at this time we trust that many will find peace and reassurance as they respond to the Good News that 'Christ the Lord' was born into this world 'for a time such as this'," said a spokesperson for MEMO.
"We invite Christians to pray that many will be challenged to respond in one way or another and will 'want to know more about God's message' for them personally at this time."

BLASTS IN MUMBAI, MANY KILLED AND INJURED: PLEASE DO PRAY FOR THEM

MUMBAI, INDIA -- Gunmen who arrived by boats launched attacks on at least seven locations in Mumbai, India, on Wednesday night, killing more than 120 people, authorities say.
CNN reported that Indian soldiers took position outside Chabad House, the scene of one the Mumbai attacks.
By Friday morning local time, authorities believed militants still were in two luxury hotels and a Jewish center in the city.
CNN said the following is what is known about the attacks:
Police said gunmen arrived by boats at the Mumbai waterfront near the Gateway of India monument on Wednesday night. The gunmen hijacked cars, including a police van, and split into at least three groups to carry out the attacks.
Authorities said one group headed toward the Cafe Leopold, a popular hangout for Western tourists, firing indiscriminately at passers-by on the street. The group then opened fire and lobbed grenades at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus railway station.
CNN said that as police rushed to the scene of the attacks, gunmen attacked the Cama Hospital for women and infants. Several people were killed at the hospital, and a standoff there lasted until Thursday morning.
CNN reported that police said two other groups attacked the Oberoi and Taj Mahal hotels, taking hostages there.
Gunmen also took hostages at the Chabad House, where several Jewish families live, police said. Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, the city's envoy for the community, was being held inside with his wife, a member of the Hasidic Jewish movement said. Gunmen and hostages still were believed to be in the house Friday morning.
CNN reported police said gunmen fired indiscriminately from the Chabad House. Stray bullets killed a couple in their home and a 16-year-old boy who stepped outside. Two women and a child escaped from the building Thursday, a government official said.
At the hotels, hostages or people who were trapped left at various times Thursday and Friday. Commandos entered both hotels, trying to flush out militants and rescue others.
CNN said that by Friday 12:30 a.m. local time, one gunman remained in the Taj hotel, and two others remained at the Oberoi hotel, the director-general of the National Security Guards said. At 1 a.m., one gunman was killed at the Oberoi hotel, the official said. He said he couldn't say for sure how many gunmen were still at the Oberoi.
An undetermined number of nonmilitants remained inside the hotels Friday morning, CNN reported NSG director-general J.K. Dutt said.
“There are some of them inside the rooms, and they are not prepared to open the doors,”he said. “Probably they are fearing that it might not be an innocent.”
CNN said fire fighters battled fires at both hotels. By early Friday, it appeared what had been a major fire at the Oberoi had been extinguished.
According to CNN, by Friday morning, 125 had been killed in the attacks, including at least six foreigners, authorities said. An Italian and a Briton were among the confirmed dead. Another 327 people were wounded, including seven Britons, three Americans and two Australians.
At least nine gunmen were killed in fighting with police by Friday morning. Also among the dead were 14 police officers and the chief of the Mumbai police anti-terror squad.
CNN's sister network in India, CNN-IBN, quoted police sources as saying there were about 26 gunmen.
CNN said authorities found 8 kilograms (17 pounds) of RDX, one of the most powerful kinds of military explosives, at a restaurant near the Taj, indicating that the attackers may have been planning more violence.
According to CNN, the Indian navy, stepping up patrols on the country's western coast after the attack, was questioning the crew of the MV Alpha, a ship detained with the help of the Indian coast guard, British authorities said. The authorities said they believe the attackers' boats came from this ship, and that they believe the ship is from Karachi, Pakistan. However, Karachi police said they have no evidence the attackers departed from their city.
CNN said several Indian news outlets have been reporting that a group called the Deccan Mujahideen e-mailed them to claim responsibility. Intelligence officials said little is known about the group. U.S. officials and security analysts said the sophistication of the attacks may indicate a more-established group is responsible.
CNN said state media Press Trust of India, citing Union Cabinet Minister Kapil Sibal, reported the gunmen had worked for months to prepare, even setting up “control rooms” in the two luxury hotels that were targeted.

20,000 MUSLIMS ATTACK A CHURCH IN CAIRO, TRAPPING THOUSAND CHRISTIAN WORSHIPPERS INSIDE

CAIRO, EGYPT -- Human rOne thousand Christians were today trapped inside the Coptic Orthodox Church of the Virgin Mary in West Ain Shams, Cairo, after more than twenty thousand Muslims attacked them with stones and butane gas cylinders. The Church's priest, Father Antonious, said the situation is "extremely dangerous."
Assyrian International News Agency (http://www.aina.org/ ) says the Muslim mob that attacked the church blocked both sides of the street and encircled the church building, broke its doors and demolished its entire first floor.
In its report, AINA says the mob were chanting Jihad verses as well as slogans saying "we will demolish the church" and "We sacrifice our blood and souls, we sacrifice ourselves for you, Islam," while the entrapped Christians chanted "Lord have mercy."
According to AINA, the incident started on the occasion of the inauguration of the Church today, when the Muslims hastily established a Mosque in the early hours of this morning, by taking over the first floor of a newly-built building facing the Church and started praying there.
The AINA report says: "When the security forces tried to disperse the mob, they went to nearby homes and shops owned by Christians, and were armed with sticks, butane, knives and other sharp objects. Witnesses said the mob included children from as young as 8-years old to men of over 50-years old, in addition to women."
AINA said the Church building was originally a factory that was adapted into its present state. It took over five years to complete and to get the necessary permissions from the authorities to have a Church established.
ights organizations and lawyers were refused entry into the besieged Church, according to the AINA report.

INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT MICROSOFT GIANT BILL GATES

These are some facts about Bill Gates have been sent to me by one of my friends. I don't know about the source of this information but now a days Windows users are sending this interesting information to each other through emails so there must be some truth in it.

1. Bill Gates earns US$250 every SECOND, that's about US$20 Million a DAY and US$7.8 Billion a YEAR!

2. If he drops a thousand dollars, he won't even bother to pick it up because during the 4 seconds he picks it, he would've already earned it back.

3. The US national debt is about 5.62 trillion dollars, if Bill Gates were to pay the debt by himself, he will finish it in less then 10 years.

4. He can donate US$15 to everyone on earth but still be left with US$ 5 Million for his pocket money.

5. Michael Jordan is the highest paid athlete in US. If he doesn't drink and eat, and keeps up his annual income i.e. US$30 Million, he'll have to wait for 277 years to become as rich as Bill Gates is now.

6. If Bill Gates was a country, he would be the 37th richest country on earth.

7. If you change all of Bill Gate's money to US$1 notes, you can make a road from the earth to moon, 14 times back and forth. But you have to make that road non-stop for 1,400 years, and use a total of 713 BOEING 747 planes to transport all the money.

8. Bill Gates is 40 this year. If we assume that he will live for another 35 years, he has to spend US$6.78 Million per day to finish all his money before he goes to heaven.And the last one...

9. If Microsoft Windows' users can claim US$1 for every time their computers hang because of Microsoft Windows, Bill Gates will be bankrupt in 3 years..