CNN reports: A 6.7 magnitude earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia Thursday, at a depth of 6.9 miles, the US Geological Survey said.

The quake epicenter is more than 260 miles south of Jakarta, south of the island of Java.

There have not been any immediate reports of damage. No tsunami warning has been issued.

Staff at an Irish hospital failed to adequately assess and monitor Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar who died after suffering a miscarriage, a key report on her death said today and warned that such incidents could happen again in the absence of clarity on abortion law.

A clinical inquiry into the death of Savita, which was published today, found that the most likely cause of her death was infection- with the risk of infection and sepsis increasing after her waters broke.

Savita had died of septicaemia in her 17th week of pregnancy at University Hospital Galway and an inquest into her death held in April heard that she had been denied a potentially life-saving termination on the grounds that Ireland is a "Catholic country".

A tweet by Amitav Ghosh in the light of the fact that George Orwell's 1984 has registered a 10,000% increase in sales on Amazon after the recent Prism: Interesting that Orwell's Big Brother grew out of his wartime job at BBC's Eastern Service where he was broadcasting to India.

At least 93,000 people, including over 6,500 children, have been killed in Syria's civil war, the United Nations said today, warning that the true death toll could be far higher. 

At least three people were killed and 70 injured today when a commuter train crashed west of Buenos Aires, according to the municipality of Moron, where the accident took place. 

Dismissing the possibility of any impact of Narendra Modi in Uttar Pradesh, Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav today said his elevation will not cast a magic spell as his Gujarat counterpart is hardly acquainted with UP politics.        

 

"Modi's elevation and his magic will not cast a spell in Uttar Pradesh as Modi is hardly acquainted with the nitty-gritty of UP politics and people of the state hardly know him. His magic only works on television and Gujarat. I don't want to say anything further," he told reporters here.        

 

Yadav, who was asked to comment on BJP's efforts to return to power at the Centre focusing on his state, said Uttar Pradesh had always restricted communal parties which try to divide the society and nation at large.        

 

Asked if Modi's elevation had created panic among minorities, he said Samajvadi Party had always faced communal forces and UP always supported secular parties.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi has met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, CNN IBN reports.

 

The meeting comes following speculation that there may not be a special Parliament session to discuss the Food Security Bill as hinted by Finance Minister P Chidambaram earlier in the day.

In a boost to Congress in Bihar, 137 JD(U) and BJP leaders, including former JD(U) spokesperson Shambhunath Sinha, today joined Congress. Sinha and others were given primary membership of Congress by Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Ashok Chaudhary at a function held at the Sadakat Ashram in Patna. Speaking on the occasion, Chaudhary asked all former Congressmen, who had joined other parties, to return to their parent party and strengthen it ahead of the next general elections.

The JD-U will decide whether to stay with the BJP or form the third front on Saturday.

A portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey has been defaced with paint, an Abbey spokesman has said. Read

As the debate about Internet privacy rages in the U.S. and worldwide, India is expanding its own system that allows its intelligence agencies quicker access to information on citizens held by telecoms and internet service providers. Read

Deep within the National Security Agency, an elite, rarely discussed team of hackers and spies is targeting America's enemies abroad. Read

Taking a dig at developments in BJP, Union Minister Jairam Ramesh today described Narendra Modi as 'Bhasmasur', a mythological character known for trying to destroy his creator, and said the Gujarat Chief Minister has "consumed" his mentor L K Advani.

Ramesh, a Congress strategist, also compared his party leader Rahul Gandhi and Modi--the two possible Prime Ministerial candidate for the 2014 elections, saying while Gandhi was trying to create a structure and a system in the country, Modi "is saying he is the system and the structure". "Modi is Bhasmasur. He will consume the people who have created him.

He has consumed his mentor, Mr Advani. He has consumed Togadia, one of his co-conspirator in 2002 and he is nothing but a Bhasmasur," the Minister told PTI.

Bhasmasur was a demon who was granted the power by Lord Shiva to destroy anyone whose head he touched with his hand. When Shiva granted him the power, Bhasmasur attempted to touch the head of the Lord with his hand because he saw his wife Parvati and wanted to possess her.

Thirteen members of a social organisation for women were arrested today for demonstrating near the residence of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to protest the gang-rape and killing of a girl student at Barasat.

Condemning Saturday's gang-rape and murder at Barasat in neighbouring 24 Parganas district, members of 'Nari Maitree' organisation, held placards demanding that the chief minister act immediately to ensure safety and security of women in the state.

"It is the responsibility of the CM to restore law and order in the state and ensure safety and security of women in the state," the demonstrators said. 'Nari Maitree', registered under NGO Affairs Bureau and Department of Women was founded in 1983 with a mission to empower the disadvantaged poor and vulnerable women.

Find out when journalists are copying paragraphs from press releases, or using Wikipedia in place of research. Churnalism is a website -- and a browser extension -- that allows you to find out when reporters were lazy about a particular story. Read

First a disclaimer: I am a very strong well-wisher of the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) who successfully petitioned the Chief Information Commissioner to bring political parties under the RTI.  Having said that there, I am not convinced that the CIC order, while well intentioned, is legally valid. Let's look at why.

Read Sreenivasan Jain's column on NDTV.

The CBI today sent summons to Special Director of Intelligence Bureau Rajinder Kumar in connection with the Ishrat Jahan fake encounter case, the first time when an IB involvement in a criminal case has ever been questioned in the country.  Read

Nelson Mandela was "responding well to treatment" for a recurrent lung infection on the sixth day of hospitalisation, as the South African Cabinet today wished the 94-year-old anti-apartheid icon a speedy recovery.

A day after President Jacob Zuma told a jittery nation that Madiba (Mandala's clan name) was responding better to treatment, cabinet ministers in a statement wished the revered leader a quick recovery, saying they were "pleased that he is responding well to treatment".

The former president spent his sixth day in the Mediclinic Heart Hospital in Pretoria suffering from a recurrent lung infection. This was his fourth hospitalisation since December. Zuma yesterday told Parliament, "I am happy to report that Madiba is responding better to treatment from this morning." "We are very happy with the progress that he is now making, following a difficult last few days," he had said.

Watch: The spoof on the Bharat Nirman ad. 

Media firm TV18 Broadcast today launched in the UK a 24 hours news channel 'News18 India', which would be distributed through a joint venture formed with Viacom 18. After News18 India's entry into the UK, it would be launched across the globe, including key diaspora markets such as the US, Canada, Middle East and Australia, the company said in a statement.

While recent attempts to strengthen the investigation agency probing major fraud are welcome, its dependence on the Central government to initiate action is cause for concern. Read

At Narganju station in Jamui in 2008, an RPF jawan molested a woman selling daatun. She complained to MCC. Next day they accompanied her. Killed him, tweets journalist Rahul Pandita. 

Senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu today asked JD(U) to follow "coalition dharma" after some of its leaders allegedly criticised Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, widening the rift between the two parties.

Speaking to reporters, Naidu said, "some friends in JD (U) are making derogatory remarks against Modi which neither will help you (JD-U) nor the country."

"Please follow the coalition dharma," he said without taking any names. JD-U is the second largest constituent of the BJP-led NDA and has strong reservations about Modi.

The update on the Bihar train attack is that one RPF jawan and two passengers have been killed in the gunfight with the Naxals, while seven have been injured. Both RPF and CRPF jawans were escorting the train. 

Facebook is now adopting the "hashtag," a distinctive feature of rival Twitter, to help members keep track of popular topics being discussed on the social network.

"Starting today, hashtags will be clickable on Facebook. Similar to other services like Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, or Pinterest, hashtags on Facebook allow you to add context to a post or indicate that it is part of a larger discussion.

"When you click on a hashtag in Facebook, you'll see a feed of what other people and pages are saying about that event or topic," Facebook said in a statement.

A crucial and ambitious freeway was inaugurated by Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan today. The Eastern Freeway, 17 kms long, and signal-free, will drastically reduce travel time between South Mumbai - India's most important financial district - and the Eastern Suburbs.  -- NDTV

Slain BJP leader Haren Pandya's wife Jagruti Pandya today said that she recently met Asgar Ali, the man acquitted by court of killing her husband, at an Andhra jail.

"On Tuesday, I visited Visakhapatnam jail in Andhra Pradesh and met Ali, who was initially accused by CBI of my husband's murder but later acquitted by Gujarat High Court," Jagruti told reporters.

Pandya, a former minister of state for home in the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat who had later fallen out with the chief minister, was shot dead on March 26, 2003, near Law Garden area of the city during his morning walk.

"I wanted to meet him ever since he had been here at Sabarmati jail to find out the truth behind his role (in Pandya's murder)," she said. "My meeting with Ali lasted for two-and-a-half hours in which he narrated how, on the instance of CBI, he was framed in the case and how he was tortured to make a false confession," Jagruti said.

RR owner Raj Kundra gets philosophical. His tweet today: God made many puzzle pieces, but only those two 'cut out' for each other, can fit together to create a perfect and beautiful picture.

In another Naxal attack, three persons, including a Police Patil, were allegedly gunned down by a group of Naxals at a village in Maoist-hit Gadchiroli district, police said today.

In other news: Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama has waded into Australia's bitter gender debate raging around Premier Julia Gillard by saying his successor may be a female as women have the all qualities needed in leaders. "If the circumstances are such that a female Dalai Lama is more useful, then automatically a female Dalai Lama will come," the Dalai Lama said told reporters ahead of a 10-day tour of Australia. The Nobel Peace laureate is scheduled to speak in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Darwin.

MoS Home Affairs RPN Singh says reinforcements (CRPF, BSF personnel) have been sent. "It is obvious this is a desperate act by the Naxals. They are now attacking unarmed innocent passengers. The aim of the attack is to snatch the ammunition and arms from the jawans. We are in touch with the RPF, state governments and the police. We will take all possible measures to prevent such incidents. This incident shows the frustration of the Naxals," says Singh. 

So the official note is this: The driver, one passenger and one jawan were injured. Three rifles were looted.

Amitabh Kumar Das, the SP, Jamalpur, who spoke to CNN IBN earlier, now tells NDTV that two people have been killed -- one jawan and one passenger. Both RPF and CRPF jawans were escorting the train, mandatory for all trains crossing any red corridors. The Naxals are believed to have looted their arms. Five people, including the driver of the Intercity Express have been injured.

Remember, these are early reports yet, and Kumar himself wasn't sure about the information he had. He said he was on his way to the Jamui railway station where the train is now headed. Medical team already at Jamui. 

The Bihar police say there was no bloodbath since the Naxals did not target passengers. Their targets were the RPF jawans who were escorting the train because of the weapons they were carrying. In all attacks, including the Tarmetlar attack by Naxals (where 76 CRPF personnel were massacred), weapons, communication equipment are always taken away.  

SP Railway, Jamalpur, Amitabh Kumar, tells CNN IBN that the driver of the Intercity Express has been seriously injured as is one RPF jawan. Kumar says there were at least 80 to 100 Naxals (including women Naxals) who stopped the train, while it was passing a thickly wooded area in Jamalpur. The nearest rail head is Jamui.

There was a heavy exchange of fire between the Naxals and the RPF jawans for at least 20 minutes. The main aim of the attack was to get the arms from jawans. The passengers were not targeted or hurt as had been reported earlier. The attack happened at around 1.30 pm.

Armed RPF jawans man trains when they pass through Naxal belts.   

Just in: Five passengers have been injured in a Naxal attack on the Dhanbad-Patna intercity express train. Trains on the Delhi-Howrah route. The Bihar DGP tells CNN IBN that Naxals fired inside and though five other passengers and a guard were injured, the actual targets were the RPF jawans travelling inside and taking away their weapons. Approximately 100 to 150 Naxals are believed to be involved in the attacks.  Details awaited.

The government has called Naxals the single biggest internal security threat to the country, earlier, a sentiment that was expressed again during the May 25 Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh killing 27 people including senior Congress leaders and the founder of the Salwa Judum, Mahendra Karma.

UP tourism minister Om Prakash Singh made a sexist comment at former chief minister and BSP chief Mayawati while addressing his party workers in Ghazipur. The minister in Akhilesh Yadav government allegedly called Mayawati 'ugly' launching a personal attack on her at a gathering in his constituency.

"If you can bear an ugly woman like Mayawati for 5 years then you won't have a problem tolerating our party leaders for half an hour or so..." Singh was seen saying in a video posted by Times Now news channel.

The Indian Air Force is marking the beginning of the end of Russian dominance in its transport fleet after acquiring the first C-17 Globemaster III in the US on Tuesday. Read

India's paradox of fast economic growth across several years and chronic malnutrition in a significant section of the population is well known. It has vast numbers of stunted children whose nutritional status is so poor that infectious diseases increase the danger of death. Read

The rise of China is a "phenomenon", and budding Indian diplomats must study its chronology, and what goes on in that country, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is learnt to have told a group of Indian Foreign Service (IFS) probationers. Read

Read: Rajeev Shukla: Meet the man who is a minister, networker, BCCI mandarin and businessman

Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has been arrested and sent to judicial custody over a 2006 murder case. Akbar Bugti, a tribal Baloch leader had been killed in a military crackdown ordered by Musharraf when he was president. Musharraf has been sent to two weeks judicial custody, but will remain at his farmhouse and not a jail. 

This is what the Dawn has. Read

The Samajwadi Party has welcomed the government's decision to get the bill passed at a special session of Parliament. The SP is opposed to the bill since it believes it will kill agriculture and drive farmers to suicide and the government was worried the SP, would pull out of the government if the bill was passed by an ordinance. Now, Naresh Aggarwal, general secretary, SP, says it will not withdraw support to the government over the bill. The bill, if passed, will cost the exchequer Rs 27,000 crore.

The government is now likely to call an all-party meet to discuss the Food Bill.  

Food minister KV Thomas says political parties want a special session of Parliament. The BJP wants the Food Bill to be passed in the monsoon session of Parliament with certain amendments.

The government had considered passing the bill as an ordinance, or executive order. This would be a temporary law and only valid until the next session of parliament (the monsoon session) in July. Most political parties have criticised plans to pass the bill without a vote but have not resisted the proposed law altogether, for fear of being seen as anti-poor.

The BJP and the JD-U welcome the decision and say they are open to a special session of Parliament to discuss and pass the bill.

This is what the Food Security Bill says. Read

Just in: The government has postponed the Food Ordinance Bill. The government says there is a lack of political consensus and will try to talk to the opposition again.  The Food Security Bill, a pet project of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, was tabled in the Budget session of Parliament but could not be taken up for discussion due to pandemonium in the Lok Sabha over various scams. However, government is keen on issuing an ordinance for early implementation of the bill.

Finance minister P Chidambaram says the government will make one last effort to get the bill passed at a special session of Parliament. NCP chief Sharad Pawar, who is a key ally, has opposed the bill, as did some Congress leaders.  

The government may now call the monsoon session earlier as a special session of Parliament.

Nitin Gadkari and Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's meeting with JD-U president Sharad Yadav. Yadav speaking to the media right now. Yadav says the final decision on whether the party will stay with the NDA will be taken at a party meeting. The date of the meeting will be decided this evening. Yadav, by the way, is also the convenor of the NDA alliance. For now, the alliance with NDA is still on, he says, and adds that the party is "trying to mend ties with the BJP."

Sharad Yadav says the party's respect for LK Advani is still intact. Remember, the party's main grouse is against Narendra Modi, and not the BJP per se. 

"Our image is quite shining", Finance Minister P Chidambaram quipped today in an apparent jibe at BJP rattled by the Advani-Modi controversy. (The 'quite' was a saving grace).

The image of the UPA government is not a cause for concern and would not affect the performance of the economy, Chidambaram said at a press meet here. "What's wrong with the image of the government? Compared to the political image of some of our friends, our image is quite shining," he said.

The Minister was replying to a question on whether the image of the government, which has been facing charges of involvement in several scams, will hamper the economy. He evaded a question on the Prime Minister's Office not sharing information under RTI Act on the business deals of Congress Chief Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra. Chidambaram asked the reporters to confine themselves to queries on the economy.

Jiah Khan's post-mortem report says that there were no external injuries. This is contrary to what her mother, Rabia Amin, said to the media, that there were bruises on her face and neck, implying that Jiah had been abused and beaten by her boyfriend Suraj Pancholi. 

Here's what the editorial on the Hindu says on LK Advani's resignation and thereafter.

"The mutinous Lal Krishna Advani has retreated, leaving Narendra Modi's supporters to rejoice and glory in their victory. Yet for all its popular appeal, the legend of the victor and the vanquished, one a disciple of the other, will not get past the serious analyst '" for the simple reason that the plot and its ending were written and executed by a strategist technically outside the work area of the Bharatiya Janata Party but nonetheless accustomed to exercising control from behind the veil." Read 

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar will be covering Katihar in his Seva Yatra on June 13 and 14, after which a decision is likely to be announced. Sources in the party say that parting of ways is "almost certain" as it believes that it is now only a technicality for BJP to name Modi its PM candidate, an issue on which JD-U has time and again expressed its serious reservations. Kumar has already held the first round of consultations with party President Sharad Yadav and senior ministers of his government and the party is veering round to the view that continuing the alliance has become untenable. 

Read the report on the Indian Express here. 

This is what the Left front has to say on Mamata Banerjee's call for a federal front or a third front. "It is nothing but a ploy by Banerjee to increase her bargaining power with the BJP and Congress before the 2014 elections. Everybody knows her political track record," CPI(M) politburo member and Leader of the Opposition Surya Kanta Mishra said.

"Such an alliance can never be successful. She doesn't believe in multi-party views as she has always been unitary in approach," Mishra said.

CPI leader A B Bardhan echoed Mishra, saying "just a few chief ministers coming together for gaining power at the Centre won't be a viable option."

"Without a common programme such a front can't be viable. Earlier we had talked of third front on the basis of a common agenda with like-minded secular parties," he said.

He was referring to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his Odisha counterpart Naveen Patnaik with whom Banerjee has spoken about the Federal Front which she had mooted a few days ago in a Facebook post.

Nitish said he had spoken to West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee on the phone and she had said that Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal qualify for a special status.

However, BJP says the NDA is united and rules out the possibility of a third front.

However, rumours have been rife that JD-U is considering the possibility of teaming up with BJD. Nitish Kumar also said that BJP leaders Rajnath Singh and Murli Manohar Joshi had called him.

Meanwhile, here's Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar first statement since LK Advani met him yesterday after the JD-U leader has suggested to media sources that the party would reconsider the alliance in the wake of LK Advani's resignation. Now that Advani has 'taken back' his resignation, Nitish says Advani spoke to him yesterday and the JD-U will look at recent political developments and take a decision shortly. He said he did not rule out the possibility of a third front.

Yesterday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said she had spoken to Naveen Patnaik, Nitish Kumar and Babulal Marandi, her counterparts in Odisha, Bihar and Jharkhand on the formation of a "federal front".

Not one to lose out an opportunity, Chidambaram makes a political statement at the press conference. "Compared with the political image of some of our friends, our political image is shining," he said. 

Chidambaram says repeatedly that India should not worry about the depreciation of the rupee. "The economy is recovering and number of steps have been taken to spur growth. We will leave no stone unturned to achieve revenue and fiscal deficit targets and I believe the economy will regain losses suffered in last few days and find its level. The economy is stronger than what it was this time last year," he says.

Explaining why Indians need to stop buying gold, Chidambaram says no gold imports for one year will dramatically change the situation. "India is still and will remain an attractive option for investors, however, Fitch expects the government to reduce the high level of public debt.

Read what Fitch said yesterday.

Finance minister P Chidambaram addressing the media on the falling rupee. He said a number of measures have been taken to spur growth and investment and tame inflation. There has also been significant growth in the economy in the last nine months. "But I have one thing to say, don't buy gold. Gold is not the safest investment. Every ounce of gold that we import, contributes to current account deficit. Remember, rupee fall is not unique. Currencies of Brazil and South Africa have also fallen. Authorities will ensure there is no volatility in the rupee," he said.  

BBC reports: The deputy chairman of Turkey's ruling AK party says it is open to the idea of a referendum on controversial plans to redevelop Istanbul's Gezi Park.Huseyin Celik hoped the "gesture of goodwill" would clear the area.

Hindustantimes reports: Actor Jiah Khan, who committed suicide on June 3, did indeed undergo an abortion earlier this year and the doctor who conducted it knew her and her boyfriend Sooraj Pancholi, the Mumbai police said on Wednesday.

Read the full story here

BBC reports: South Africa's first black President Nelson Mandela is "responding better" to treatment in hospital, President Jacob Zuma has said

read the full story here