Asia

The University of the Philippines (UP) has just announced that it is now looking for nominees to succeed Dr. Emerlinda Roman, the premier state university's ninetenth president and the first woman to hold the office. Apart from being UP's first woman president, Roman also has the distinction of being the university's "centennial president" as the institution celebrated its centennial in 2008.

Syria has forbidden the country's students and teachers from wearing the niqab -- the full Islamic veil that reveals only a woman's eyes -- taking aim at a garment many see as political. The ban shows a rare point of agreement between Syria's secular, authoritarian government and the democracies of Europe: Both view the niqab as a potentially destabilizing threat.

The New Zealand Parliamentarians' group on Population and Development (NZPPD) welcomes the news that 18 women will be contesting the 4th August elections in the Solomon Islands.

A record 508 candidates will be contesting the 50 seats in the Solomon Islands parliament in next month's national election, according to figures released by the country's electoral commission.

The Solomon Islands Electoral Commission is yet to confirm the number of women to contest the election but media reports say there are 25 female candidates.

After the bilateral Strategic Dialogue meeting in Islamabad today, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced a new five-year, $40 million Gender Equity Program to be funded by USAID aimed at advancing women's rights and empowerment in Pakistan by:

Plans for a peace deal with the Taleban in Afghanistan could seriously jeopardize the rights of the Afghan people, in particular Afghan women, unless concrete human rights benchmarks are incorporated, said Amnesty International.

Parvina Hangar's son was just 16 years old when she says he was abducted by Indian forces. That was almost 20 years ago, and Hangar, a simple woman with an elementary school education, did not know what to do or who to turn to. The pain of losing her son left her unable to get out of bed for months.

Sex workers in Cambodia face rape, arbitrary arrest, extortion and other abuses at the hands of the authorities, according to a 20 July Human Rights Watch (HRW) report.

“We're looking for the Cambodian government to take steps to address abuses against marginalized groups, such as such sex workers, whose voices are rarely heard,” Sara Colm, a researcher for HRW, told IRIN.

U.S. intelligence officials say they have intercepted new orders from the Taliban's spiritual leader that call on insurgents to target women and Afghan civilians helping American-led forces. One year after issuing a detailed code of conduct that called on Taliban fighters to protect Afghan civilians, NATO officials say, Mullah Omar has issued new directives to his commanders that appear to represent a tougher stance.

The tiny Southeast Asian country of Cambodia has seen explosive economic growth in the past five years.

Skyscrapers will soon dominate the country's skyline and predictions of oil wealth offer hope that the country is finally beginning to outgrow its grisly past.

But a chilling form of recreation — gang rape — reminds everyone that for Cambodia, the past may yet still loom.