Asia

The Iranian government has announced it will not allow a United Nations special rapporteur into the country. The head of Iran's Human Rights Council, Mohammad Javad Larijani, called the appointment of a UN special rapporteur on human rights for Iran "an illegal measure."

Afghanistan should develop mechanisms to raise awareness about the dangers of human trafficking, support victims and prosecute perpetrators, say rights activists.

Police in Jammu and Kashmir have registered a complaint of abduction and rape based on allegations by a woman against two Army personnel.

Rukaya Bano, a woman in south Kashmir's Kulgam district, has alleged that two Army men raped her after abducting her when she came out of her home on Tuesday.

They answered an ad promising lucrative work as au pairs in Amman, but found themselves caught up in the web of sex trafficking between Israel and Jordan.

Israeli border guards late Wednesday detected something was not quite right about three nervous women crossing the Allenby Bridge from Jordan. They told a story of being nurses who wanted to tour Jerusalem, but soon burst into tears.

The UN General Assembly in September may prove to be an important step on the road to a Palestinian state. Given the US position, there is now no chance of Security Council recognition of Palestine. However, recognition by General Assembly members – while changing nothing on the ground – could provide critical support for Palestinian claims to statehood.

Iraqi security forces have been training women in an effort to enhance security amid Al Qaida strikes.

Officials said the Iraq Army and police were recruiting young women for field missions. They said many of the recruits, in a program overseen by the U.S. military, have been stationed at checkpoints and inspect female pedestrians for explosives.

Pakistan has appointed its first female foreign minister, filling a key Cabinet position days ahead of peace talks with archrival India.

A statement from the Foreign Office says Hina Rabbani Khar is also the youngest foreign minister in Pakistan's history, but it does not state her age.

Burma's horrific military tactics drag on thanks to Asean's silence, inaction in 1989, following the collapse of the Communist Party of Burma (CPB), a number of armed ethnic armies entered into a series of ceasefire agreements with Rangoon. The fighting stopped, to a degree, but deep down nobody believed it would last. It was just a matter of time before the various groups resumed fighting.

Women's progress is essential to Central Asia's prosperity, top U.S. State Department officials said at the opening of a three-day economic conference in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan.

Israel could soon have a new government ministry and accompanying minister dedicated entirely to improving the situation of the country's women and promoting their equality in all spheres of society, Likud MK Gila Gamliel said Monday.