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From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Nicole Lapin. Here's your NOW IN THE NEWS update.

India's premier¹ counter-terrorist force is hunting down militants² at two luxury hotels and a Jewish center. The sites were attacked when terrorists struck targets around Mumbai on Wednesday, killing³ over a hundred people and injuring more than 300. The search for the gunmen was then hampered⁴ by large fires at the Taj and Oberoi hotels. But officials say that security forces are making progress. A union cabinet minister says that terrorists appeared to have been planning these attacks for months and even set up control rooms at two hotels. An Israeli search team and a small FBI team are headed to India to assist the authorities there. And President Bush has already spoken to Indian authorities and offered his condolences to the Indian people. Both he and President-elect Obama are monitoring the situation. Obama condemned⁵ the attacks as well, and said that demonstrated the grave and urgent threat of terrorism.

And an Airbus Jetliner making a test flight with seven people on board has crashed off the coast of France. The plane belonged to Air New Zealand. French officials say the A320 went down over the Mediterranean⁶ Sea. Helicopters and a patrol plane have been dispatched to the crash zone.

And Prime Minister of Thailand has declared a state of emergency at Bangkok’s two main airports. The declaration really clears the way for authorities to move on that anti-government protesting / that has paralyzed air travel in the capital for the past two days demanding the prime minister's resignation.

And the Iraqi parliament has voted to approve a sweeping⁷ new security pact⁸ with the United States. The deal includes a firm timetable for withdrawal⁹ for all U.S. troops from Iraq by December 31st, 2011. The assembly was forced to postpone¹⁰ the vote on Wednesday due to last-minute negotiations¹¹ among Shiite and Sunni factions¹².

And those are the headlines at this hour. For more on those stories and other news of the day, CNN is always your source online, on TV or on your cellphone.