Kathmandu, Sept 13: Nepal’s Constituent Assembly (CA) members criticised the programmes and policies of the government during the debate of the first day’s session on Friday.

Speaking at the Constituent Assembly meeting, Nepali Congress Vice President Ram Chandra Poudel said the government's programmes were unduly projecting long-term visions even though the current government is entrusted only for providing relief package to flood hit people, completing peace process and making a new Constitution for the republic of Nepal.

He said the current coalition government intended to put parliamentary system in danger and establish totalitarianism citing absence of words like parliamentary democracy and multi-party system in the programmes.

New Delhi, Sept. 13 : An extended Congress Working Committee (CWC) meeting is scheduled to be held here today to assess the party’s poll prospects in the upcoming Assembly elections in half a dozen states and the Lok Sabha elections.

Elections would be held in six states - Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Mizoram and also in Jammu and Kashmir in November or December.

The CWC could see party president Sonia Gandhi, who will chair the meeting, take an audit of how key central schemes such as the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) and the Bharat Nirman programmes are working.

According to AICC sources, the agenda for the meeting is the current political situation and election preparedness.

Bangkok - Thailand's sacked prime minister Samak Sundaravej confirmed that he will no longer try to regain the post he lost this week for hosting television cooking shows, news reports said Saturday.

Theerapol Nopparampa, a close aide to Samak, has confirmed that Samak will no longer seek a renomination as prime minister and may also shed his post as leader of the People Power Party (PPP) - the countruy's largest political party, the Bangkok Post newspaper said.

Guwahati, Sept 12: An all party delegation of the Assam Legislative Assembly will visit the flood-ravaged areas of the State in the near future to take stock of the damage besides relief and rehabilitation measures.

State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has requested the Speaker of the Assembly, Tanka Bahadur Rai, to constitute the delegation with immediate effect.

Gogoi asked State Assembly members to contribute a month's salary to the Chief Minister’s Fund for helping the flood-affected people.

Gogoi also requested Members of Parliament (MPs) to contribute 10 lakh rupees each from their Local Area Development Fund to repair the damages caused by the floods.

New York, Sept. 12: Former U. S. President Bill Clinton has predicted that Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama will win this November’s presidential election and win handily.

Speaking to reporters before the two sat down for a working lunch at the Clinton Foundation headquarters in Harlem, Clinton said: “I've agreed to do a substantial number of things. Whatever I’m asked to do”.

"Senator Obama will win and win handily,” said Clinton, and Obama chimed in: There you go. You can take it from the President of the United States. He knows a little something about politics.”

Tel Aviv - Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni remains the favourite candidate to win next week's primary in Israel's ruling Kadima party, maintaining her two-digit lead, according to an opinion poll published Friday.

Over 46 per cent of Kadima members polled said they supported Livni, while under 28 per cent said they favoured her main rival, Shaul Mofaz, said the Ma'ariv daily, which commissioned the poll. That gives her a lead of nearly 19 per cent.