The CPI(M) on Friday said the WikiLeaks latest release in which the US embassy in New Delhi described Mr Prakash Karat as an “extortionist” confirmed its apprehension that Washington was pressuring New Delhi to weaken its independent foreign policy.

Strongly objecting to the reported remarks by AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi to US ambassador Timothy Roemer, the Sangh Parivar on Friday alleged that Mr Gandhi was making “wild charges” against Hindus. According to Wikileaks cable, Mr Gandhi had told US ambassador in 2009 that Hindu extremists posed a bigger threat than terror outfits like LeT.

The Pakistan Army was involved in the Mumbai terrorist attack, India's national security adviser Shivshankar Menon told the US, according to fresh US embassy cables leaked by WikiLeaks.

The Centre has received intelligence inputs about the Taliban, and other Pakistan-based terror outfits, like the Laskhar-e-Tayyaba, planning strikes at Indian missions and other assets in Afghanistan. New Delhi has requested Kabul to deploy adequate Afghan security personnel at the Indian missions as well as other assets.

The meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was supposed to be a dialogue between two heads of government who, according to an Indian official, shared a “strong personal chemistry” and a “positive rapport”. But if first impressions are anything to go by, they engaged in parallel monologues with the Chinese leader more keen to talk about banalities than to listen to constructive criticism.

Union minister for heavy industries Vilasrao Deshmukh on Thursday rejected Opposition demands for his resignation after the Supreme Court rebuked him for abusing his position when he was the chief minister of Maharashtra.

The Supreme Court, in a seven-fold direction on Thursday, extended the 2G scam investigation by the CBI and Enforcement Directorate back to 2001 to cover allotment of spectrum during the NDA regime too and asked the income-tax department to hand over a complete analysis of the “Radia tapes” to the CBI as early as possible to speed up the probe.

India and China have decided to hold regular exchange of high-level visits and to institutionalise annual meetings between their foreign ministers, said the joint statement issued towards the end of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s talks with visiting Chinese premier Wen Jiabao. Prime Minister Singh can be expected to visit China in 2011 on a bilateral visit and to participate in the next Bric summit to be hosted there.

India and China have agreed to set up a working mechanism for consultation and coordination on the boundary question, Chinese premier Wen Jiabao said in his speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs.

The Congress party has not taken any decision about whether or not to have a pre-poll alliance with the like minded parties in the coming Assam Assembly elections.
“It has not been discussed... it is a political decision,” said the Congress general secretary in charge of the party affairs in Assam, Mr Digvijay Singh, here on Thursday. He was answering to questions by reporters.