Mumbai terror attack hotel reopens

Eighteen months after militants terrorised the city of Mumbai and left more than 160 people dead, one of the luxury hotels seized by the gunmen has reopened.

Around 40 guests checked in at the five-star Oberoi hotel on the seafront, which reopened with a low-key ceremony. The hotel, popular with business travellers and VIPs, was reduced to a shell during a three-day siege, with 22 guests and 10 members of staff killed.

Ashok Chavan, chief minister of Maharashtra state, said: "I congratulate hotel staff and other people on this occasion and hope that we all forget the past. Today we also remember the families who have lost their members but life should move on."

The adjoining Trident hotel and nearby Taj Mahal Palace reopened within a month of the attacks.

The reopening came as Pakistan announced it will formally seek the extradition from India of the suspected lone surviving gunman from the 2008 attacks, Mohammad Ajmal Kasab.