Jakarta - A 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck Saturday morning in eastern Indonesia's Maluku islands, seismologists said.

The quake struck at 7:04 am Jakarta time (0004 GMT) at a depth of 72 kilometres, about 97 kilometres north-east of Ambon, capital of Maluku province, Indonesia's National Meteorological and Geophysics Agency (BMG) said.

An official at BMG office in Ambon, who identified himself only as Amien, said there were no immediate reports of injury and damage from the quake, which struck in the sea off the Seram Island of southern Maluku.

Singapore - A father who hurled his 7-year-old son against a wall, ceiling and wardrobe escaped a jail sentence by a Singapore judge, who said he has made progress in controlling his outbursts since the incident, news reports said on Saturday.

The 43-year-old marketing executive, whose name was withheld to protect the identities of his children, was fined 1,000 Singapore dollars (699 US dollars) instead.

Community Court Judge May Mesenas heard how the man slapped the boy and tossed him and his 6-year-old brother around a room on September 15, 2006, The Straits Times said.

The older boy suffered bruises on his forehead, arm, legs neck and back.

A teacher noticed bruises on the victim's brother.

La Paz - Following days of violent clashes between demonstrators for and against Bolivian President Evo Morales that have left 14 dead and scores of injured, both sides said Friday that they wanted to restore dialogue.

Morales was set to meet with the opposition governor of the province of Tarija, Mario Cossio, in La Paz, said Vice Minister for Social Movements Sacha Llorenti.

Earlier, Cossio had also told a press conference that he was willing to talk.

The opposition alliance - which controls the provinces of Santa Cruz, Beni, Pando and Tarija - is demanding the return of funds raised through a tax on natural gas, which the central government currently devotes to financing a pension for all citizens over 60.

Melbourne, Sept 12 : Despite a prior criminal record, Snoop Dogg has been a green signal for his Australian tour, after the Department of Immigration and Citizenship approved his visa.

After investigating his records, the department has approved the American rapper’s visa on the condition that he would go for counselling before arriving.

Snoop Dogg, real name Cordozar Calvin Broadus Jr, had applied for a visa earlier this year, for his scheduled tour with fellow hip-hop star Ice Cube.

"Given his criminal record, the department undertook a full character assessment of Snoop Dogg''s criminal history and previous conduct before making a decision on his visa application,'''' News. com. au quoted a departmental spokesman, as saying.

New York, Sept. 12 : Mexican magnate Carlos Slim''s purchase of six per cent of the “Old Grey Lady”, as the New York Times is referred to from time to time, has triggered more speculation about the sale of the newspaper.

According to the NYT, Slim clawed himself back to the No 2 spot on the world''s rich list with purchases that stretch from cigarette manufacturers, to restaurant chains, to car parts distributors, to – most lucratively – telecoms companies.

And when he puts down 120 million dollars, people take notice. When that bet is on a 6.4 per cent holding in the beacon of the United States newspaper business, The New York Times Company, people take a lot of notice.

London, Sept 12 : One in ten children in British state schools believes in creationism – the religiously motivated rejection of evolution.

The results come to surface after Britain’s leading scientist said that creationism should be included in science lessons to reduce the confusion among the rising numbers of schoolchildren who have been brought up to reject the principles of evolution.

Professor Michael Reiss, the director of education at the Royal Society, called for such beliefs to be discussed and debated in class by science teachers, but not taught as a subject.