New Delhi, Dec. 3 : The global economic meltdown has started to influence the expansion plans of the world''s biggest steel producer, ArcelorMittal in India.

According to Vijay Kumar Bhatnagar, the Chief Executive Officer-India of ArcelorMittal, the company has opted to adapt a cautious approach, keeping in view the new dynamics of the present economic situation being faced around the world.

"The kind of macro-economic environment which has come suddenly, now…is allowing us to pause and be cautious."

Mumbai, Dec. 3: The sole surviving terrorist that attacked Mumbai last week, killing about 195 people and injuring 295 others, has revealed that his father was paid by a Pakistan-based militant group to hand him over.

Azam Amir Kasab, 21, a Pakistani national from Faridkot in Punjab province, said that his father, Amir, introduced him to a Lashkar-e-Taiba commander. The commander, known as "chacha" (uncle), paid his father, The Times quotes Kasab, as saying.

Mumbai, Dec 3 : The Malegaon blast suspects will be produced in a special court here today.

On November 25, a special court had extended their judicial custody till today.

Police had arrested at least ten people, including Lt. Colonel Srikant Prasad Purohit, a serving army officer, Dayanand Pandey, a Hindu monk and God-woman Pragya Singh over alleged involvement in the blast in Malegaon.

Last week, the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Maharashtra, which is investigating the case, had invoked the tough anti-gangster Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the suspects.

Police argued for fresh custody of the accused but the court turned down their plea.

New Delhi, Dec. 3: India on Tuesday evening expressed concern over reported moves by Israel to block humanitarian aid to the Palestine-held Gaza Strip.

"We remain concerned at the adverse effects of the closure of access points into the Strip (and) on the prevailing humanitarian situation," External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said at a meeting of the India-Arab Forum hosted by the Indian Council of World Affairs.

Mukherjee also said peace and stability in West Asia is of paramount importance to India.

"India has constantly supported the quest of the Palestinian people for a homeland in line with United Nations Security Council resolutions," Mukherjee said.

New Delhi, Dec. 3: India and Russia are likely to sign a deal for the construction of four additional nuclear reactors at the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu, as well as a pact for expanding activities at other sites during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev''s three-day visit to New Delhi beginning Wednesday.

Washington  - Indian Foreign Secretary Shivshankar Menon met Tuesday with top US officials to discuss efforts to find the terrorists behind last week's deadly attacks in Mumbai, the US State Department said.

Menon met with Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte and Under Secretary Bill Burns on the eve of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's scheduled arrival in New Delhi.