Bangkok  - Thailand's king on Wednesday approved the cabinet lineup submitted by new Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat and the new ministers are scheduled to be sworn in Thursday, the government announced.

Under Thailand's constitutional monarchy the appointments must be approved by King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who is head of state, and they are official only after they are sworn in by the king.

The 35-member cabinet includes Somchai also serving as defence minister, as had former prime minister Samak Sundaravej who resigned earlier this month.

Dhaka  - The Election Commission in Bangladesh ordered political parties to register or be disqualified from the December general election, officials said Wednesday.

"If any political party wants to contest in national polls it must first get registered with the Election Commission," chief election commissioner A T M Shamsul Huda said.

The registration is aimed at limiting the influence of money and political clout, Huda said.

Tokyo  - A list of the Japanese coalition government's cabinet members announced Wednesday, with ages:

Prime Minister: Taro Aso, 68

Internal Affairs and Communications Minister (in charge of decentralization of administration): Kunio Hatoyama, 60

Justice Minister: Eisuke Mori, 60

Foreign Minister: Hirofumi Nakasone, 62

Finance Minister and state minister in charge of financial services: Shoichi Nakagawa, 55

Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Minister: Ryu Shionoya, 58

Health, Labour and Welfare Minister: Yoichi Masuzoe, 59

Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister: Shigeru Ishiba, 51

Kathmandu, Sept 23: Nepal President Dr. Rambaran Yadav has urged all groups in Terai involved in violence to renounce their ways and join the process of building a new Nepal.

Addressing a programme organised by Janakpur Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Janakpur on Monday, Dr. Yadav said, "Forms of violence have been seen in Terai. This will disrupt the dream of building a new Nepal." T

Washington, Sept 23: Tina Fey has revealed that she hopes Republican
vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin will be out of her life very
soon.

Fey has received much attention for her impression of the Alaska governor on ‘Saturday Night Live.

But now, the ‘30 Rock’ star wants to be done portraying the vice presidential hopeful.

"I want to be done playing this lady Nov. 5, so if anyone could help me
be done playing her on Nov. 5, that would be good for me," FoxNews
quoted Fey, as saying.

Washington, Sep 23: Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign and his supporter at a rally have separately accused the press of favoring his Democratic rival Barack Obama.

McCain’s top strategist called The New York Times (NYT) a “pro-Obama advocacy organization,” FOX News reported.