The CBI may start questioning of former telecom minister A. Raja, corporate lobbyist Niira Radia and certain politicians of Tamil Nadu in a day or two in connection with its probe into the 2G spectrum scam. The agency is also expected to make some “significant arrests” next week.

The hearing on the Blueline bus phaseout in the Delhi high court was adjourned till December 21. On Wednesday, the high court had refused to give Blueline bus operators any relief.

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.

Chief minister Sheila Dikshit targeted the firms involved in various Commonwealth Games-related projects on Thursday saying that they compromised on quality despite being paid heavily. “Some of the ‘best’ firms involved in Commonwealth Games projects had cut corners with quality despite having taken ‘so much money’,” she said.

India Inc. and the banks breathed a sigh of relief on Thursday as not only did the Reserve Bank of India not increase any of its policy rates, it also produced a pleasant surprise in the form of a cut of one per cent in the statutory liquidity ratio (SLR), the amount that banks have to keep aside before lending. This means that borrowing will not get expensive. Rising interest rates have been a problem for India Inc.

A 22-day-old infant died within two hours of being administered vaccines at MCD’s maternity and child welfare centre in Tri Nagar in north Delhi on Wednesday. The MCD has constituted a probe committee to identify the reasons for the death of the infant and fix responsibility on the erring staff if any. The incident was reported on

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.

A 32-year-old man admitted to the G.B. Pant Hospital here allegedly committed suicide by jumping from the building on Thursday morning. The deceased, identified as Naseem, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was depressed. Officials said Naseem had undergone a heart surgery last week.

Tamil Nadu chief minister M. Karunanidhi’s daughter, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi, on Thursday said the series of raids by the CBI on Tuesday and a week earlier in connection with the 2G spectrum scam at her offices and residential premises, and those of former Union communications and IT minister A. Raja’s relatives and associates, would not affect the DMK’s ties with the Congress.

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Delhi Development Authority to re-build the night shelters razed by it on Tuesday evening within three days. Rebuking the DDA for being callous, the Supreme Court asked the additional solicitor general Mohan Parasaran to visit one of the night shelters and get a first-hand account of the conditions there.