Many hoped for a return to the golden age of the Haldane model of Whitehall whereby advice was on paper, ministers read it with respect, and collective decisions were collectively processed through a network of cabinet committees.

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Cabinet secretary Marsilam Simanjuntak hails from the Democracy Forum, a loose network of pro-democracy thinkers Wahid co-founded in 1991.

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Home Secretary Charles Clarke, the Cabinet official in charge of domestic security, told the British television network ITN that police are facing "total carnage" at the bomb scenes.

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On Sunday evening, the newly formed Cabinet met for the first time, in Djibouti, according to the Shabelle Media Network.

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