Chinese warship confronts Indian navy vessel: Report

A Chinese warship confronted an Indian naval vessel shortly after it left Vietnamese waters in late July in the first such reported encounter between the navy's of the two countries in the disputed South China Sea. The unidentified Chinese warship demanded that the India's INS Airawat, an amphibious assault vessel identify itself and explain its presence in the South China Sea, Financial Times reported. The paper said that Vietnamese foreign ministry has acknowledged that the Indian warship had visited the country from July 19-22 but said, it had no information about the incident. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recently condemned acts of intimidation in the international waters in an apparent reference to mounting tensions in the South China Sea.

Raja followed govt policy on 2G spectrum allocation: TRAI

The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India ( TRAI) on Thursday gave a much needed boost to jailed former union telecom minister A Raja, when it said that Raja had followed government policy in the distribution of 2G spectrum allocation. The CBI has said that in 2008, Raja conspired with these companies to give them out-ofturn licences for mobile networks and accompanying second-generation or 2G spectrum. The CBI believes this cost India 30,000 crores. Experts believe that Raja deliberately and greatly under-valued the licences to favour these companies.

Justice Soumitra Sen, facing impeachment, resigns

Justice Soumitra Sen of the Calcutta high court resigned on Thursday, five days before his impeachment motion was to taken up in the Lok Sabha. "I have put in my papers today," Justice Sen, against whom the Rajya Sabha has approved an impeachment motion, said.

"I have decided not to go to the Lok Sabha and instead put in my papers," Sen, who was to have appeared before the Lok Sabha on September 5, said. "I have sent my resignation to President Pratibha Patil and a copy of it to the Lok Sabha Speaker," he said.

Iron lady of Manipur calls Anna Hazare campaign somewhat artificial

Irom Sharmila, who has been on fast close to 11 years to demand the repeal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) in Manipur, feels Anna Hazare's campaign against corruption is "somewhat artificial." Called the 'Iron lady of Manipur', 37-year-old Sharmila also urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to treat her like Hazare, who on Sunday ended his 12-day fast against corruption that shook the nation. "It's (Anna Hazare's movement) somewhat artificial, how can we eradicate corruption? In my case I am a simple woman who wants to reform society. I have no idea about social activists or social workers," she told TV channels today.

France strikes oil deal with new Libyan regime: Report

France has secured a deal with Libya's rebel interim rulers to exploit a third of the country's oil reserves, the daily Liberation reported on Thursday, citing a letter to the emir of Qatar. Foreign minister Alain Juppe said he "had no knowledge" of a "formal accord" but it was "logical" that countries like France which helped the National Transitional Council take power should take part in reconstruction. Liberation said a letter from the NTC dated April 3 informed the emir, another major backer of the revolt, of a deal "to assign 35 percent of crude oil to France in exchange for its total and permanent support of our Council."