January 13, 2009	Tuesday	Muharram 15, 1430

NEW DELHI, Jan 12: British Foreign Secretary David Miliband is to speak at Mumbai’s Taj Mahal hotel about extremism, less than two months after it was attacked by gunmen, officials said on Monday.

The Indian government said Miliband was expected in New Delhi on Tuesday for talks likely to be dominated by the November 26-29 strikes that left 174 people dead, including nine of the gunmen, before heading to Mumbai on Thursday.

A Foreign Office spokeswoman in London told AFP that Miliband would give a “keynote speech on terrorism at the Taj hotel” as part of the visit, which comes at a time of heightened tension with Pakistan.

India blames the banned Pakistan-based militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for training, equipping and financing the gunmen who opened fire with automatic weapons and threw hand grenades at a number of locations in the city.

Thirty-two people were killed at the Taj. The modern Tower wing of the iconic waterfront hotel reopened on December 21 but the older Palace section, which was badly damaged during the 60-hour stand-off, remains closed.

Miliband’s visit, which will also touch on climate change, comes after British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visited New Delhi last month to express his condolences and solidarity with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.—AFP