[council] Perfect time for the ICANN meeting

[Alan Greenberg <alan.greenberg@xxxxxxxxx>]

Last weekend there was a major fire at the Grand Hotel - one of the 
few ICANN hotels, and now two of the three undersea cables serving 
India has apparently been cut!
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2008/gb20080131_575929.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_global+business

Cable Snafu Cuts Internet Access in India

Cuts to two subsea cables in the Mediterranean disrupted internet and 
voice services in India and the Middle East. The two cables are the 
prime direct links between Europe, the Middle East, and south Asia
Cuts to two subsea cables in the Mediterranean have severely 
disrupted internet and voice services in India and the Middle East.
Damage to the Flag Europe-Asia and the SeaMeWe-4 cables have left 
only the older SeaMeWe-3 system to provide service between Europe and 
the Middle East, research firm TeleGeography said.
The two cables, with 620 Gbps in capacity, are the prime direct links 
between Europe, the Middle East and south Asia.
Until service is restored, many carriers in Egypt and the Middle East 
must now route their European traffic around the globe, through South 
East Asia and across the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, TeleGeography said.
It is not clear what caused the cable breaks, which occurred on the 
morning of January 30