Asia

Iranian authorities have suspended the execution by stoning of a woman convicted of adultery, the Foreign Ministry said Wednesday, after weeks of condemnation from around the world.

"The verdict regarding the extramarital affairs has stopped and it's being reviewed," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told Iran's state-run English-language Press TV.

If Nepal Police data is anything to go by, a rape is committed every 24 hours in the country. Blame it on the male dominated social structure and the culture of impunity , but rape statistics reveal an alarming trend.

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Bangladesh's High Court ordered the government to ensure women will not be forced to wear burqas at educational institutions after one college reportedly barred females without the veil from entering.

The court issued a similar order in April, but Sunday's ruling took the law a step further by stating any kind of religious attire could not be imposed, including Islamic skull caps worn by males.

Haylah Al Qusayir could keep a secret, hated Saudi security forces and ran a lucrative cash flow operation for Al Qaeda, sending it more than $293,000 from women who thought their jewelry and savings were supporting poor Muslim orphans.

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan- Five years ago, when Afghanistan was last preparing to hold parliamentary elections, Rahela Alamshahi would sometimes hop into her car and drive herself to campaign events in her home province.

Only one of Nidal Haidar's six sisters is married. She has given up on ever getting hitched.

"Our chances of finding husbands are diminishing as we grow older," said Haidar, a 38-year-old dressmaker from Baghdad. "I am at an age where anyone who may propose to me will either be a widower or very, very old, but no one is really proposing to me since all the men now are looking for a rich or a young bride."

The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas on Saturday said that all Jews living in Judea and Samaria (the so-called "West Bank") are legitimate military targets, regardless of whether they are men, women or children.

Often called the Switzerland of Central Asia, mountainous and ethnically diverse Kyrgyzstan was once touted as a success case for peaceful coexistence. Now, following violent clashes in June between Kyrgyz and Uzbeks, ethnic tension is threatening to topple the stability of the entire region. But, a well-organized and thriving women's movement could pull Kyrgzstan back from the brink.

Representatives of several Asian rights and women groups yesterday expressed solidarity with Bangladesh initiatives to try 1971 perpetrators of crimes against humanity particularly against women.

They expressed the solidarity on the concluding day of a three-day international workshop in the city.

Afghans go to the polls on September 18 to elect a total of 249 members to the country's lower house of parliament, or Wolesi Jirga. Here are some of the main issues surrounding the election: