Pervez Musharraf, who resigned Nov. 28 as Pakistan's army chief, will be sworn in today as civilian president, resisting calls from opposition leaders to step down as head of state. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, former ISI chief, now takes over as army chief, a post Musharraf held since Oct. 1998. (Bloomberg, Nov. 29; Dawn, Pakistan, Nov. 28) On the morning of Nov. 29, a roadside bomb killed five Pakistani soldiers and wounded four more outside Miranshah, North Waziristan. (Reuters, Nov. 29)

Masked gunmen reportedly stormed the family home of a journalist associated with Saddam Hussein's party and critical of the Iraqi government, killing 11 relatives as they ate breakfast in a Baghdad neighborhood known as a Shi'ite militia stronghold Nov. 26. Dhia al-Kawaz, editor of the Asawat al-Iraq news agency, was in Jordan when his two sisters, their husbands and seven children aged 5 to 10 were slain in north Baghdad's Shaab district. The agency's Web site reported witnesses saying more than five masked men broke into the home and opened fire, then planted a bomb inside. The Interior Ministry said it had no information about the attack, and local police refused to comment. (AP, Nov. 27)

Both Sunni and Shi'ite opposition groups are criticizing the "declaration of principles" on long-term ties signed by US and Iraqi leaders Nov. 26, charging it would lead to "US interference for years to come." The Iraqi parliament will have to approve the agreement signed separately by President Bush and Prime Minister Nouri Maliki on Monday. The agreement sets a July 31, 2008 target date to formalize US-Iraq relations beyond the expiration of the renewable UN mandate authorizing the presence of US-led multinational forces in Iraq. The Sunni Association of Muslim Scholars said the Iraqi signatories would be looked on a "collaborators with the occupier." (BBC, Nov. 27)

Police in Diyarbakir, Turkey, used water cannons, tear gas and batons against Kurdish protesters Nov. 25. The protesters hurled stones and burned tires after being blocked from marching through the city's center. Protesters chanted slogans in support of the Democratic Society Party, which prosecutors want closed down, and in favor of Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the PKK guerillas. Police detained dozens during the clashes.

Retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, former US commander in Iraq, gave the Democratic Party's weekly Saturday radio address Nov. 24, calling Bush's Iraq adventure a failure—while emphasizing he was not representing the party. Said Sanchez: "That failure continues today. At its base is the mistaken belief, despite years of evidence to the contrary, that victory can be achieved through the application of military power alone." The former commander is backing congressional Democrats who want $50 billion in additional war funding linked to the goal of US withdrawal by the end of next year. That legislation was blocked by Senate Republicans who want $70 billion for the war without conditions. Democrats voted down that measure, and no additional funds were approved before Congress left for its Thanksgiving break. (VOA, Nov. 24)

US Rear Admiral Gregory Smith accused Iran-backed "special groups" of being behind the bombing of a Baghdad pet market, which left 15 dead and 55 wounded Nov. 22. Two bombs hidden in a cardboard bird box exploded simultaneously at al-Ghazl market while it was crowded with people. The market's recent re-opening was hailed as sign of returning normalcy in Baghdad. "In raids overnight, Iraqi and coalition forces were able to identify and detain four members of a militia extremist group we assess as responsible for this horrific act of indiscriminate violence," Smith said. "Based on subsequent confessions, forensics and other intelligence, the bombing was the work of an Iranian-backed special groups cell operating here in Baghdad." However, Smith said there was "no evidence that the Iranian government ordered the attack."

Indian army troops are patrolling the streets of Kolkata (Calcutta), West Bengal, following a wave of arson and violence this week. Protesters repeatedly clashed with police, and torched several vehicles and the local offices of the state's ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M). The street-fighting was sparked by protests both of atrocities earlier this year against Muslim residents in the nearby town of Nandigram, Purba Medinipur district, and the presence in the city of exiled Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen—who was flown to Delhi for her safety. The protests were called by the Muslim-supported All India Minority Forum (AIMF), which threw up roadblocks around the city—then fought back when police tried to break them up. AIMF leader Idris Ali was arrested Nov. 24 and charged with riot and property destruction. (IANS, BBC, Nov. 24; IANS, Nov. 21)

Boy, does this ever speak to WW4 Report's existential dilemma! Your struggling writer recently griped: "The dumbing-down and contraction of print media generally has dried up much of the freelance market and forced me into self-publishing on the Net. The irony is that the hypertrophy of the Net has been a key factor in the decline of print media. So I have been forced into the arms of my enemy, so to speak. It seems to be like the Borg. Resistance is futile." It is very vindicating to see Jaron Lanier, one of the original cyber-utopians, eating crow in the New York Times Nov. 21, and admitting the Internet has been a bad deal for writers: