Women's Academy Builds Confidence. [CricInfo.com, UK] The tower of Fettes College, half mock-Scottish Baronial, half Victorian railway station, provided a picturesque background for an enthusiastic group of young cricketers, participants in the first European Women's Academy held in Edinburgh during the second week of August. Organised by Cricket Scotland and sponsored by Lloyds TSB Scotland, the Academy brought together eleven girls from Scotland and six from each of Ireland and The Netherlands. Led by Scotland's Steve Seligmann, a team of coaches which included former England captain Jane Powell and ex-England international Kate Lowe put the players through an intensive week-long programme.

Bulgaria's Female Basketball Team Registers Loss. [Sofia Echo, Bulgaria] Bulgaria's female junior basketball team lost from France with a result of 65:77. Because of the loss the Bulgarian team cannot climb higher than seventh place in the final standing of the international tournament, BGNES Sport reported. The Bulgarians started the first quarter well but made many mistakes which prevented them from winning.

Rights Groups: Top Prosecutor Should Direct Probe of Reported Warlord Wife's Disappearance. [The Associated Press] Human rights groups are calling for Russia's prosecutor-general to personally supervise the investigation into the disappearance of a journalist who reportedly was married to the late Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev, the Interfax news agency said.

Court Acquits Kulinsky of Abuse of Choir Female Members. [Czech Happenings] The Regional Court in Hradec Kralove acquitted Bohumil Kulinsky, former choirmaster of Bambini di Praga, of abuse of two choir female members for lack of evidence. The cases of another 47 female singers will be tried in Prague. In these cases Kulinsky, 47, has been charged with sexual abuse and threatening of moral education of youth. Kulinsky faced five to 12 years in prison, if found guilty.

Female Bankruptcy Levels on the Up. [Guardian Unlimited, UK] A growing number of women are becoming bankrupt as a result of credit card debts and rising household bills. The proportion of women bankrupts has risen from 42% to 44% over the past year, according to accountants Wilkins Kennedy, which surveyed 1,200 bankrupts across England and Wales. Since 2002, the figure has risen from 32% to 42%.

Boardroom Britain Sees Rise in Female Directors. [Guardian Unlimited] According to the research, women now make up 23% of all UK directors, a small (0.25%) increase on last year. However most of these women are working in companies employing no more than 50 people, with 98% of female directors involved in firms with a turnover of less than £5.6m each year, and men still dominate the boardrooms of larger companies.

The Ideal Boss of the Future: 50 and Female. [Silicon.com, UK] Women aged over 50 will make ideal bosses in the office of the future, as they possess the 'soft' skills that will be needed to manage teams working flexibly and remotely. Such managers are more likely to recognise the benefits of flexible working and are more trusting that their workers will get on with the job when working remotely.

Women Solicitors Buck Law of Averages. [Scotsman] Almost two-thirds of entrants to law courses north of the Border are female, according to the latest figures from the Law Society of Scotland, which also predicts that the image of law being dominated by privately educated men in suits will be history by the end of the decade. Liz Campbell, the head of education and training for the Law Society, said: "We can say that by 2010, the typical Scottish lawyer will be under 30, female and educated in a state school.

More Rights For Working Women As Labour Eyes Female Vote. [This is London, UK] Working women may be given extra employment rights under plans being drawn up by Labour. Mothers could be paid sick leave if their children are ill and given more legal rights to work part-time as the Government attempts to woo back the women's vote in its war with David Cameron. Companies may also have to reveal if they pay women less than men to do the same job.

Plan for Women to Decide on Hours. [New Zealand Herald] British parents are to be given the legal right to work part-time and choose their employment hours in radical proposals for families being drawn up by Labour. The so-called "workplace revolution" aimed at women will also give parents the legal right to paid sick leave if their children are ill. In a new package of policies designed to enhance the "work-life balance", compulsory pay audits at work will force companies to reveal if they are paying women less than men for doing the same job. The minimum wage will also be raised to help millions of women, including cleaners and care workers, on low pay.

Women Prisoners 'Should Be Freed'. [Monsters and Critics.com, UK] Female offenders should be punished with community service sentences rather than sent to jail, a prison reform campaign group has said. The Howard League for Penal Reform has urged the government to free those women who are in jail, claiming that they are not safe and are more likely to reoffend when kept behind bars.

'Give' Pregnant Women Flu Vaccine. [BBC News] Pregnant women in the UK should be given jabs to ward off seasonal flu, government advisers say. The flu subgroup of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) said the vaccine would help protect women and their unborn babies.

Watchdog Slams Maternity Unit After 10 Women Die. [Independent, UK] A maternity unit was severely criticised following the deaths of 10 women who gave birth at the same hospital. The Healthcare Commission blamed system failures, weak leadership and a poor quality of care in nine out of the ten cases at Northwick Park Hospital in north west London. The number of deaths was more than six times the national average, where about one woman in 8,775 dies in childbirth.

Rise in Female Alcohol Offences. [East Lothian Courier, UK] East Lothian has seen a massive hike in the number of women being convicted for offences relating to the misuse of alcohol and drugs. Alcohol-related offences have risen from 14.1% of total convictions at Haddington Sheriff Court in 2002/03, to 18.5% in 2003/04, increasing again to 20.5% in 2004/5. South of Scotland MSP Christine Grahame said the figures represent a “worrying trend”.

Female Leaders to Meet. [The FA, UK] UK Sport, CCPR, the British Olympic Foundation and The Football Association have joined forces to host the inaugural Women and Sports Leadership seminar. The event will launch the Women and Leadership Development Programme, and will take place at Charlton Athletic FC from 3pm on Thursday 31 August 2006.

Lust for Shoes Drives Women to Bin the Bills. [Guardian Unlimited, UK] Women probably don't need it confirmed, but a serious shoe habit developed in the early teens and perfected through adulthood really does scupper the finances. In findings that will frame the sisterhood with collective guilt, one in four women has admitted that she would buy another pair of shoes instead of pay the bills.

Women Spend Two-and-a-Half Years on Their Hair. [Daily Mail, UK] The average British woman spends an astonishing £36,903.75 on her hair in a lifetime, according to new research. She will spend the equivalent of just under two YEARS of her life washing, styling, cutting, colouring, crimping and straightening her locks in salons or at home. A whopping 650 days will be dedicated solely to creating a 'salon look' in her own bathroom. The average woman splashes out a monthly average of £10.08 on shampoos and conditioners, £14.03 on home styling products and £301.14 a year on haircuts and colouring.

Yob in Vile Threats to Female Worker. [Times 24, UK] A thug who launched a tirade of vile and threatening abuse at a female parking attendant has been slapped with a fine. The man had received a ticket after illegally parking in a residents-only bay in The Walk, Potters Bar, on June 27. He immediately saw red and approached the attendant, shouting obscenities and acting in a threatening manner. Last week the yob received an £80 fixed penalty notice from Herts police.

AskPatty.com Launches 'Female Friendly' Car Dealer Certification. [Auto Industry, UK] AskPatty.Com, Inc. in the US has launched an enterprise business centre version of the AskPatty.com online community for women to get expert automotive advice to improve their car buying experience with car dealers. Car dealerships can subscribe to the AskPatty.com online service by completing an Ask Patty ‘female friendly’ certified dealer training programme.

Frenchwoman Wins Wimbledon With Style. [San Francisco Chronicle] In becoming the first French woman to win Wimbledon since the great Suzanne Lenglen in 1925 (the last of her six titles), Mauresmo upheld a fine tradition.

Women Told Plan Ahead. [Irish Examiner] Twice as many women believe they are “more in tune with financial matters” than their partners, but on pension matters women fall way behind men. Speaking at the launch of Irish Life’s Awareness Campaign on Pensions for Women, Dervla Tomlin, head of marketing, said: “It is essential that women plan for their own future and the future of their families. This awareness campaign is talking to all women, regardless of their situation.”

Female Representation On State Boards Rises To 34%. [Ireland Online] The Government has reported further progress in its moves to boost female representation on state boards. Figures released by Junior Minister Frank Fahey today show that women made up 34% of board members at the end of 2005, up from 32% the previous year. 38% of all appointments in 2005 were women compared to 33% in 2004, while the percentage of state boards chaired by women has increased from 17% to 19% over the same period.

‘More Women Needed in State Posts’. [Irish Examiner, Ireland] There are twice as many men as women on State-appointed boards, according to newly released figures. Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform Frank Fahey said that more women are needed in public positions to make decisions on national policies. The under-representation of women in Government posts is an anachronism no longer valid in modern Ireland, Mr Fahey said.

Women Over 40 Unhappy With Bodies. [Irish Health] Over half of women in their 40s develop 'disordered' eating patterns because they are unhappy with their bodies, the results of a new survey indicate. Two-thousand women were questioned by Top Sante magazine on their bodies and eating behaviour. Of these, 58% admitted to eating in a disordered way, including skipping breakfast, not having a proper dinner and taking laxatives.

Fighting It Out - Should Women Box? [BBC News] A team of Irish women boxers have set their sights on the London Olympics. By 2012, they want their sport to be recognised internationally. But former world flyweight champion Dave Boy McAuley, from Larne in County Antrim, has his doubts. Flat noses, cauliflower ears and possible brain damage - it's a tough, rough sport, he said, and women just are not built for it.

Update: Beaches for Muslims Planned at Italian Resort. [International Herald Tribune] An Italian seaside resort plans to create all-female beach sections for Muslim women who wish to shed their head scarves and long robes to enjoy the sun in privacy. The city council of Riccione, a popular resort on the eastern coast, intends to authorize hotels to set up partitions on parts of the shoreline to satisfy requests from a growing number of Muslim tourists.

Honor Killing Shocks Italians. [Middle East Times, Egypt] The killing in Italy of a young Pakistani woman by her own family has shocked Italians and prompted a discussion about integration. The stabbed body of 21-year-old Hina Saleem, whose boyfriend - a 33-year-old divorced and re-married Italian - raised the alarm to police about her disappearance, was discovered buried in the garden of the family home. The killing was "a kind of punishment inflicted by her father because she did not respect the rules of their ethnicity and culture," Brescia prosecutor Giancarlo Tarquini said at a news conference.

Dutch Nuns on Bikes Chase Suspected Thief. [Gazette.com] Two Dutch nuns, wearing habits and riding bikes, chased a suspected thief through Amsterdam. "The nuns grabbed their bikes and gave chase. They tried to grab him, but he managed to escape into a residential neighborhood and they lost him." Police hunted for the man in the neighborhood but could not find him.

Female Graduates 'Earn £3,000 Less Than Male Counterparts'. [Scotsman, UK] Female graduates can expect to earn around £3,000 less than their male counterparts four years after leaving university. A study by the Scottish Funding Council examining the careers of students who left university in 1999 shows the average pay of female graduates was £22,700 by 2002-3. By sharp contrast, male graduates were earning £25,800 on average - or £3,100 more. In particular, male graduates in law, mathematics, computing, medicine and engineering all enjoyed "considerably higher earnings" than their female peers, the study found.

Female Skills Going To Waste. [Scotsman, UK] It is 30 years since equal pay for men and women was made a legal requirement. In those 30 years, we have had a woman prime minister, and women have run our major companies, edited daily newspapers and headed MI5. So why is it the case, in 2006, that female graduates in Scotland still earn £3,000 less than their male counterparts?

Will Women Be Part of Scots Golf Malaise? [Scotsman] It's been a dire few weeks for Scottish golfers. Only four Scots made the final line-up for the Open championship at Hoylake and, for the first time in history, not one survived the cut. So can our female professionals restore some much-needed pride at the Weetabix Women's British Open starting tomorrow at Royal Lytham & St Anne's? Maybe, but the signs aren't too promising.

Number of Female Inmates Doubles. [BBC News] The number of female prisoners in Scotland has doubled in the past 10 years, a prison inspection has found. Chief inspector Dr Andrew McLellan said questions surrounded the practice of routinely "double-cuffing" and pointed to two cases where pregnant inmates were handcuffed during labour.

Rules Relaxed on 'Double-Cuffing' of Women Prisoners. [Scotsman] Reliance, the prison escort company, has relaxed security procedures for female inmates following protests about women being "double-cuffed" when about to give birth. Mr McLellan discovered the "humiliating" practice was routine for inmates taken from Cornton Vale jail to attend medical appointments and children's hearings.

Nearly All Female Cons Are on Drugs. [Glasgow Daily Record] The chief of Scotland's prison service yesterday said 99% of female inmates are on drugs when they begin their sentences. Spot checks over recent years have led the chief executive of the Scottish Prison Service to assume that virtually all are on drugs. No exact figures are kept on new arrivals at Cornton Vale, Scotland's only female prison, but every inmate is offered help for alcohol, drug or mental health problems.

65% Rise in Female Drunk Drivers. [The Herald, UK] A huge rise in drink-driving convictions among female drivers has led to calls for high profile campaigns targeting women amid claims the growing ladette culture is behind the trend. Figures show the number of women convicted of drink-driving has risen 65% from 674 in 1999-2000 to 1112 in 2004-05. While still a small minority compared with men, a rise in more women drinking excessively has been blamed for the increase.

Only Women Need Apply for Traffic Police. [Reuters.uk] Russia is to create its first women-only traffic police unit because commanders believe they are less corrupt than men. The male-dominated traffic police routinely forgive traffic violations in exchange for bribes. Many believe this culture helps make Russia's roads among the world's most dangerous: about 35,000 people are killed in accidents each year.

Female Space Tourist Marks a First for Space Travel. [TechNewsWorld] Russian space officials say an Iranian-American businessperson will travel to the International Space Station for a 10-day stay as a tourist. Space.com said Anousheh Ansari is replacing an ailing Japanese businessperson who was set to make the trip. A spokesperson for Russia's Federal Space Agency said Ansari was a member of the back-up crew and the obvious replacement for Enomoto, MosNews said. Ansari, co-founder of Texas-based Telecom Technologies, helped seed the development of a private spaceflight industry by donating US$10 million for the so-called X-Prize competition -- aimed at encouraging the development of a privately built, reusable spaceship -- CBS News reported.

Russian Women Ready to Break Title Drought. [Guardian Unlimited, UK] After a phenomenal year in 2004 when they won three out of the four grand slam tournaments, it looked as if the Russians would take over women's tennis. That year Anastasia Myskina became the first Russian woman to win a grand slam title when she beat compatriot Elena Dementieva in the French Open final.