New Delhi, Sept 30: Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Meira Kumar will address a meeting of the National Council of Older Persons (NCOP) here today.

The agenda for the NCOP meeting includes discussion on the progress on the implementation of the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizens Act, 2007 and the revised grant-in aid scheme of Integrated Programme for Older Persons.

Washington, Sept. 29: The marriage of Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s pregnant teenage daughter, Bristol, to her ice-hockey-playing fiancé, Levi Johnston, before the November 4 election, is being seen in GOP circles as the tonic required to boost the McCain campaign’s flagging fortunes.

According to The Times, the McCain campaign expectations are growing.

London, Sept 29: In a new tell-all book, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been alleged to have had “brutal” exchanges with his former wives and lovers.

Famous author Hubert Coudurier writes in the controversial book ‘Love, Rupture and Betrayal’ that in the run-up to the presidential elections last year, an altercation between Sarkozy and his then-wife Cecilia had even led to a police complaint.

Kathmandu, Sept 29: The CPN-Maoist is planning to split its youth wing, Young Communist League (YCL), under two separate units which include production force and construction force to support the economic activities of the government.

Nepalnews quoted Maoist lawmaker and former YCL in-charge for the Kathmandu Valley, Chandra Bahadur Thapa, saying it was important to keep the youths employed, for the unemployed youth bulge is more than likely to drive the country to conflict again.

"We will bring reform among those youths already organised under YCL and also bring together those who are not organised yet," Thapa said.

Buenos Aires/Quito - Ecuador's new constitution, approved in a referendum on Sunday, dwarfs its international counterparts by its 444 articles and ambitious goals.

Social justice, cultural diversity, equal rights, environmentalism, strengthening the president's role and more citizen participation, are all enshrined in the new constitution.

As are the protection of national sovereignty, free health care and education, transparent and efficient government and even the right to "Sumak Kawsay," which in the indiginous Quechua language means the "good life," are listed.

Minsk/Moscow - No opposition member won a seat in Belarus parliamentary elections, the country's election commission said Monday.

The opposition had expressed fears earlier that the polls would be fixed by the Belarusian leadership.

According to the Russian Itar-Tass news agency, 100 of 110 districts were counted. Turnout was at 75.3 per cent to vote for the 263 candidates competing for the 110 seats in the Belarus parliament.