BHUBANESWAR - Hundreds of tribals Saturday staged a demonstration in Orissa's Kalahandi district seeking scrapping of Vedanta Resources's alumina refinery in the region, a protest leader said.

KOLKATA - Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday blamed the state administration for rampant illegal mining in West Bengal's Burdwan district, saying its failure to set up industries has aggravated the problem.

NEW DELHI - India Saturday expressed keenness to invest in the oil sector of the north african state of Sudan and the latter offered to increase the supply of its crude to New Delhi during bilateral discussions here.

KOLKATA - West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee Saturday claimed that Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has failed to provide "a single job" in her department to the state, and accused her of lying about the recent Kolkata Metro snags.

BHUBANESWAR - The state-run National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO)'s net profit for the second quarter soared 40 percent at Rs.224 crore, the company said Saturday.