Lausanne, Switzerland - The inaugural Winter Youth Olympics in 2012 will take place in Innsbruck or Kuopio, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Monday.

The IOC said in a press release that the Austrian town of Innsbruck and Finland's Kuopio were picked by the IOC executive board after an evaluation committee report. Lillehammer (Norway) and Harbin (China) were dropped.

The host city will be elected by the IOC members in a postal vote and named by IOC boss Jacques Rogge on December 12.

The Winter Youth Olympics will bring together around 1,000 athletes aged 14-18 to compete in Olympic disciplines. The first summer edition is 2010 in Singapore.

Agartala, Nov. 3 : Young children in Tripura capital Agartala have adopted a unique way of protesting against militancy, especially the bomb blasts – through a painting exhibition.

The children, aged between 10 and 15 years, see their imaginative creations as an effective way to challenge the subversive activities of the militants and send out a message of peace and unity among the people.

While one painter said that without peace there could no development, another said people should unite against the evil and work for development.

London, Nov 3 : The Queen has ordered steps to be taken to prevent Baroness Thatcher disrupting her schedule on Remembrance Sunday. The order follows a row over protocol at last year’s Cenotaph commemorations.

Sources in Whitehall have revealed that the Queen was furious at being kept waiting by Lady Thatcher, when the former Prime Minister was centre of attention on the 25th anniversary of the Falklands conflict, the Daily Express reported.

New Delhi, Nov 3 : To deepen understanding and strengthen mutual confidence between the armed forces of India and China, Air Chief Marshal FH Major is in China for strengthening Air Force to Air Force cooperation.

Air Chief Marshal Major arrived in Beijing, at the invitation of General Xu Qiliang, Commander of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army Air Force (PLA AF), for a visit to China from November 2-6.

Melbourne, Nov 3 : Aussie pop princess Kylie Minogue’s X tour went on as scheduled even though her staff had their personal belongings stolen over the weekend in Bogota.

The items stolen were five computers, various CDs, and passports belonging to members of Minogue''s entourage, the Courier Mail reported.

The goods were stolen from behind the scenes at Parque Jaime Duque, where the pop singer was due to kick off her X 2008 tour, and while her tour staff were setting up the stage.

A reward of five million Colombian pesos has been put up, but the stolen items have still not been recovered.

London, Nov 3 : With substance abuse on the rise, around 42,000 Brit pupils have been sent home for alcohol or drug-related reasons in the past four years.

The finding made on November 2 also revealed that half a million under-18s have been able to buy alcohol in bars.

The easy availability of alcohol was not the only problem, with 47 per cent of the youngsters, who drank regularly, admitting to having committed criminal offences.