Kolkata, 13 June : Indian Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has come out in defence of formar Congress-ruled state Madhya Pradesh CM Arjun Singh who has been under fire over Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson's escape after the 1984 Bhopal gas leak, according to media reports.Congress leader Mukherjee was quoted as saying that it was Arjun Singh's decision to send Anderson out of Bhopal as the law and order situation in the city was deteriorating. He also said that India will explore possibilities of Anderson's extradition and appeal to a higher judiciary.
Anderson, a proclaimed offender in India in the 1984 chemical disaster that killed thousands of people, is currently in the US.
On 2-3 December, 1984, poisonous methyl-iso-cyanate gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal in the night, killing thousands immediately and many more over the years and maiming several others. န Photo : AP READ BBC's Bhopal voices : 'Justice denied'
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Bhopal's gas tragedy one of several man-made disastersPTI, New Delhi, 13 June : The Bhopal gas tragedy, which left nearly 25,000 dead, is one of the several such man-made disasters which caused untold damage to humanity and the environment.
On 3 December, 1984, the world's worst industrial catastrophe occurred due to the leak of Methyl isocyanate gas from the Union Carbide India Limited company (UCIL) in Bhopal. Millions were left sick and the affected passed on the harmful effects of the gas to the next generations, making it the deadliest man-made environmental disaster in history.
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PM advocates for 6-month maternity leaveUNB, Dhaka, 13 June : Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said the maternity leave should be increased to six months from the present four months.
She also put strong emphasis on ensuring emergency obstetric care to reduce early death of mothers during the childbirths. The prime minister was speaking at a function at Osmani Memorial auditorium marking the Safe Motherhood Day observed on 28 May.
A total of 27 health facilities from seven divisions have received best performance awards. The prime minister distributed the awards among the recipients.
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2 held with drugs worth Rs.50 lakh on Bangladesh borderIANS, Shillong, 13 June : BSF detained two people near the Bangladesh border in Meghalaya and recovered brown sugar worth nearly Rs.50 lakh from them, a Border Security Force official said Sunday.
"The smugglers were detained Saturday after a tip-off," BSF spokesman Ravi Gandhi told IANS. He said the duo - Leondra Sangma and Tainat Sangma - were detained at Baghmara in South Garo Hills district. Baghmara is in the western part of the state about 450 Km from capital Shillong. Meghalaya shares a 443-km border with Bangladesh, part of which is porous, hilly and unfenced and prone to frequent infiltration.
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9 killed and 30 wounded in bus-truck collision in AssamGuwahati, 13 June : At least nine people were killed and about 30 wounded, six of them critically, when a passenger bus collided head-on with a truck in Assam on Sunday, officials said.
The packed bus was on its way from Guwahati to Tinsukia when the accident took place near Badulipar on National Highway 37, about 250 km east of Assam’s main city of Guwahati. "The driver of the truck lost control after a tyre burst and it hit the bus head-on with a tremendous impact," a police officer said. All the casualties were bus passengers.
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Charges against war criminals soon : B'desh Law ministerBNP was conspiring to save the "War Criminals" : K Islam
Dhaka, 13 June : Bangladesh state Law minister Kamrul Islam has said that charges against identified war criminals will be framed soon, reiterating that war crime trials will be held during the tenure of the current government.The state minister was speaking at a discussion meeting, organised by the Bangabandhu Academy at Dhaka Reporters Unity, Sunday morning. LGRD minister Syed Ashraful Islam also said last week that the current government would conclude a significant number of war crimes trials before its tenure ended.
The state minister alleged that opposition BNP was conspiring to save the war criminals. "BNP rehabilitated the killers of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and are now conspiring to protect the war criminals," he said, adding that the trial of the war-criminals cannot be stopped by calling strikes.
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North-East region to have a centre to study climate changeGuwahati, 13 June : A dedicated centre to study the impact of climate change in ecologically rich North-eastern region will soon come up at Northeast Hill University campus at Meghalaya capital Shillong.
The Union minister of state for environment and forest, Jairam Ramesh announced this here during the first consultation meet of Crore-National Mission for A Green India (NMGA) which was kicked off from here on Friday. The consultations regarding the Rs. 44, 000 crore NMGA will be held in seven more cities in a span of one month. Ramesh said that the new centre to come at Shillong is expected to function in two to three months for which administrative approval has already been given.
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Magnitude-7.7 earthquake hits Andaman & Nicobar Islands 
IANS, Chennai, 13 June : A massive earthquake measuring 7.7 on the Richter scale struck the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Sunday at 00.56 a.m. with epicentre at 160 km west of Nicobar Islands at the depth of 35 km.The Hyderabad-based Indian Nation Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) issued a 'Tsunami Watch' notice soon after the quake. "We will be withdrawing that notice as there is no change in the sea water levels. Tsunami Watch notice is sort of a warning notice that does not necessitate evacuating the people," T. Srinivasa Kumar, an official incharge told IANS over phone.
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Centre (PTWC) after issuing a Regional Watch notice covering India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand and Malaysia later scaled it down to India alone. According to PTWC, a destructive widespread Tsunami threat does not exist as per the past earthquake and Tsunami data.
However the centre stated that it is not ruling out the possibility of local Tsunami that could affect coasts located not more than a hundred kilometres from the epicentre of the quake. A Nocobar police officer told IANS over phone that no damage has been reported. ALSO READ BBC STORY
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Making a illegal fast buck from militancy in Meghalaya statePTI, Shillong, 13 June : In a disturbing trend, several self-proclaimed militant groups in Meghalaya are resorting to illegal activities such as extortion with the aim of making a fast buck.
"These groups primarily are designed to earn money...they have no ideology. They are basically for extortion and making a quick buck without doing any work," Union Home secretary GK Pillai had told PTI here recently. The state government has to put down this groups very quickly so that "they don't become any nuisance and hamper the development work," Pillai had said. Similarly, Meghalaya DGP S B Kakati also said "It is a money-making game and nothing else."
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