A day before its second summit with African leaders, India on Monday accused the West of trying to conjure up an arena of rivalry between New Delhi and Beijing in Africa and sought to distinguish its development-centric approach revolving around trade, training and capacity building.

After a meeting with DMK chief M. Karunanidhi, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Tuesday said the arrest of Kanimozhi in the 2G spectrum case would not have any impact on the ties between the two parties but insisted that the government would not interfere in the case.

High-level sources have indicated that an US alert sent out last week based on chatter picked up by American snoops listening in on conversations of Taliban operatives had picked up indications that a major naval base would be attacked and that like 26/11, the attack could come from the sea.

A top police officer and eight constables were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Naxals in a jungle in Chhattisgarh's Gariabandh district bordering Orissa.

The CBI on Monday questioned Dubai-based industrialist I.P. Khaitan in connection with its probe related to the 2G spectrum scam case. The agency officials put direct questions to M. Khaitan about his alleged interests in Loop Telecom, which got Unified Access Service (UAS) licences for 21 circles in January 2008.

A Delhi court on Tuesday dismissed the bail pleas of Swan Telecom promoter Shahid Usman Balwa, his cousin Asif Balwa and their associate Rajeev Agarwal in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi on Monday appreciated the participation of the people of Jammu and Kashmir in the panchayat elections by showing courage and voting in large numbers despite threats from militants.

Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev on Monday demanded that the government should seize the properties of those people, who have stashed black money in foreign countries and declare these properties as national.

With tears rolling down her eyes, Union minister M.K. Alagiri's wife Kanthi on Monday met her jailed sister-in-law Kanimozhi at a trial court here and consoled her.

The negotiations on a draft Lokpal Bill on Monday gained momentum with government and civil society members agreeing on a number of basic principles of the proposed law and deciding to meet more often.