By Shivam Patel and Shilpa Jamkhandikar NEW DELHI (Reuters) -At least eight people were killed on Monday in a car explosion near the historic Red Fort in a densely populated area of the Indian capital Delhi,

India's capital Delhi is blanketed in toxic smog every autumn, but the pollution is already so bad that it's drawn protests as authorities tell students to stay home.

After a powerful explosion near Red Fort, several major airports across India, including the Delhi airport, received bomb threats, setting off a wave of panic and tighter security checks. Police and security agencies quickly investigated the tip-off,

A car blew up near the historic Red Fort in India's capital New Delhi, killing at least eight people, police said, adding that the cause remained unclear.

Intelligence agencies on Thursday revealed a larger terror conspiracy linked to the Red Fort car blast. The suspects had allegedly planned to prepare around 32 old vehicles with explosives to carry out coordinated attacks across multiple locations.

The move follows a weekend protest where police detained dozens of people demanding cleaner air, a rare public demonstration against pollution in the Indian capital.

The two deadly attacks are separate, and no evidence currently links the two. But for the two South Asian rivals, the political shockwave caused by the blasts are a stark reminder of the lingering security issues that fester below the surface throughout the region.

India's cabinet has approved spending 450.1 ​billion) on support for exporters, including 200 billion rupees in credit guarantees ‌on bank loans, Information Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Wednesday.