Australia

• Howard Making It Harder for Muslim Women to Speak Out. [ABC Online, Australia] A Sydney academic has accused Prime Minister John Howard of stifling the voice of Australian Muslim women by binding together the language of women's rights and an anti-Muslim agenda. Mr. Howard recently re-stated his view that some Australian Muslims need to improve their treatment of women to fit in with Australian values. But Dr Christina Ho from Sydney's University of Technology says Mr. Howard's comments have made it harder for Muslim women to speak out, because they fear their words will be misinterpreted as a smear against their culture.

• Female Deputies Set to Face Off. [Courier Mail, Australia] The Nationals' new deputy leader Fiona Simpson is set to take on the coveted infrastructure portfolio which will see her pitted against premier-in-waiting Anna Bligh. Coalition sources yesterday said Ms Simpson - who on Monday became the first woman to be appointed to the Nationals parliamentary leadership team - will be rewarded with the plum shadow portfolio. However, the Liberals will retain the treasury portfolio with Bruce Flegg the frontrunner in a decision that would force him to relinquish control of the health strategy.

• Retailers Peddle Padded Bras for Girls. [Herald Sun] Breast-enhancing padded bras for girls as young as six are being sold in Victorian shops. Childhood experts have warned parents they could be baiting pedophiles by dressing their young girls as raunchy women. Tiny matching lingerie sets of lacy bras and knickers in many children's brands including Bratz, Saddle Club and Barbie, have hit the shelves aimed at girls who are barely old enough for school.

• Transport Our Biggest Problem, Say Rural Women. [ABC Online, Australia] Rural women across Australia have identified transport as one of their biggest problems. The National Rural Women's Coalition has been consulting with hundreds of women through surveys and focus groups. Executive officer Jenny Hutchison says they have identified fuel prices and a lack of access to transport services as pressing issues and they are hoping for government action. "We're firstly trying to get women's own views on the problems but secondly we're trying to come up with some practical solutions which we'll then put to Federal and State Governments," she said.

• First Female Among the Heavy Machinery. [Charles Darwin University, Australia] Diane Lade is the first female apprentice to undertake a certificate course in the VET heavy vehicle workshops at Charles Darwin University (CDU). Diane graduated from Nhulunbuy high school last year, and was taken on as an apprentice by Alcan’s Gove alumina refinery under an arrangement with Group Training as her employer. A requirement of her first-year course is studying certificate III in heavy vehicle maintenance, which sees her in the CDU Casuarina campus workshops four times each year for intensive instruction.

• More Facilities 'Needed in Women Sport'. [Ninemsn, Australia] All levels of government should lift their game to ensure there are more and better women's facilities at sporting venues, a Senate inquiry has recommended. Governments should also commit more funding to a broader range of sports to ensure women have greater choice and opportunity for involvement, the report said. The committee found there were significant problems in the recruitment and retention of elite sportswomen in Australia

• Princess Masna Graces Women Police Shooting Competition. [Bru Direct, Brunei Darussalam] Bandar Seri Begawan - Her Royal Highness Princess Hjh Masna, Women Police Commandant yesterday morning participated in the annual shooting competition between several ;branches of the Women Police. At the event, contestants put their best marksmanship and gun handling skills to the test as the branches vied for this year's coveted Women Police Commandant Challenge Trophy.

• Child Policy Increases Gender Imbalance. [Reuters] China's one child per family policy has cut the country's birth rate and means men clearly outnumber women in the population, a study showed.

• China Loses to US at Women's Basketball Worlds. [Xinhua, China] Sue Bird scored game-high 20 points and Candace Parker had 12 points and 10 rebounds Tuesday to lead the two-time defending champion United States to a 119-72 victory over China on the opening day of basketball's Women's World Championship. Tina Thompson and Diana Taurasi had 17 points each and Seimone Augustus added 10 more as the Americans recorded the most lopsided result of the opening day. Earlier, Amaya Valdemoro scored 17 points and led three teammates in double figures as Spain opened the tournament with a 87-57 victory over South Korea. In other games Tuesday, Helen scored with 10 seconds remaining to give Brazil a 71-69 victory over arch rival Argentina in Sao Paulo.

• Chinese Women Doubles Players First Time Attend the Season-Ending Championship. [People's Daily Online, China] After winning doubles titles of Australian Open and US Open, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi will be the first Chinese women's pair to play the season-ending championship in Madrid, Spain, from November 7 to 11, WTA announced. Historically, Zheng Jie and Yan Zi grabbed half of the four Grand Slams into their pocket, which also raised their WTA ranking to seventh. Zheng Jie's unfortunate left ankle injury made her unable to win against Peng Shuai of China and Vera Zvonareva of Russia, in the first round in Beijing Open.

• Alleged Terror Chief Says Naked Women Worse than Bali Nightclub Bombings. [International Herald Tribune] Alleged terror leader Abu Bakar Bashir said TV shows featuring scantily clad women were more harmful than the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people, the state news agency reported. Bashir, recently released from jail after serving 26 months for conspiracy in the bombings, said images of naked or semi-naked woman on television were sinful and chipped away at the moral fiber of Muslim believers. "So, if I am asked which is more dangerous, naked women or the Bali bombs, then my reply is of course those women in skimpy clothes," Antara quoted him as saying at a public rally calling for the imposition of Islamic law in Indonesia.

• Aceh's Harsh Islamic Law is an Ominous Sign. [International Herald Tribune] Despite the billions of dollars spent to help Aceh recover after the 2004 tsunami and a 29- year separatist war, no one has so far paid attention to the implications of allowing the police who enforce Shariah, or Islamic law, to become stronger than the state police or any other law-enforcement authority - or of allowing a law to be implemented that imposes Taliban-style local government. In Aceh, the first to suffer the consequences of the rise of Shariah are women, who face being beaten and arrested if they don't wear their head scarves "properly." The organizers of the All Acehnese Women's Congresses raise these and many other worries. Devout Muslims, they follow Shariah as a personal commandment but find an officially enforced extremist interpretation of Shariah offensive and un-Islamic.

• 'Women's Movement Needs to Get Its Act Together'. [Jakarta Post, Indonesia] Women gathered in a national meeting in East Jakarta this week, focusing on how they could better advocate for women's issues. Among them were lecturer of political studies at the University of Indonesia Ani W. Soetjipto, also of the Center for Electoral Reform and writer of Politik perempuan bukan gerhana (Women's politics is not an eclipse). She talked to The Jakarta Post's Adisti Sukma Sawitri on her views on the women's movement here.

• US Urges Japan to Take Responsibility on "Comfort Women" Issue. [Xinhua, China] The U.S. House International Relations Committee on Wednesday adopted a resolution calling on the Japanese government to formally acknowledge and accept responsibility on the issue of "comfort women." The non-binding resolution said Japan should take the following steps: -- issue an apology for the sexual enslavement of young women (known as "comfort women") during the colonial occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands from the 1930s through the duration of World War II; -- educate future generations about this crime against humanity; -- publicly refute claims that the subjugation and enslavement of such women never occurred; -- follow the recommendations of the United Nations and Amnesty International with respect to the "comfort women."

• US Lawmakers Condemn Japan’s ‘Human Trafficking’. [Korea Times] The U.S. House International Relations Committee passed a resolution holding Japan accountable for the sexual enslavement of women, known as ``comfort women,’’ during its colonial occupation of Korea and other parts of Asia.

• Princess Kiko Has Boy. [CNN.com] Japan's Princess Kiko has given birth to a son, likely postponing a long-running debate over whether Japanese law should be changed to allow women to succeed to the throne, the imperial palace announced Wednesday. The boy is third in line to the throne, after Crown Prince Naruhito and Kiko's husband, Prince Akishino. Naruhito and his wife, Crown Princess Masako, earlier had a daughter, Princess Aiko, sparking the succession debate.

• Abe Has Already Decided to Shelve Proposal for Female to Ascend to Throne. [Mainichi Daily News, Japan] Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the frontrunner in the race to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, decided this past spring to shelve an advisory panel's proposal to allow female members of the Imperial Family to accede to the throne, sources close to him said. The revelations come as legislators have become reluctant to discuss the issue following Princess Kiko's delivery of a baby boy on Wednesday.

• Birth of Boy Expected to Silence Debate Over Female Succession. [Mainichi Daily News] Princess Kiko's birth of a baby boy is likely to discourage politicians from discussing revisions to the law that allows only male members of the Imperial Family to accede to the Chrysanthemum Throne, government sources said. In November last year, an advisory panel to the government recommended that the Imperial House Law be revised to allow female members of the Imperial Family and those of a female lineage to accede to the Imperial Throne. Throughout Japan's history, eight female members have ascended to the throne.

• Poll: Majority Support Female Monarch Despite Prince's Birth. [International Herald Tribune] The majority of Japanese want a law change that would let a female reign as empress despite the recent birth of a new prince. 56% of respondents to a poll said they support reforming Japan's imperial law to allow women to inherit the Chrysanthemum throne. Only 33% said there was no need to reform the law, which says only men in an all-male line to the emperor can assume the crown.

• Letters: Japan's Succession. [International Herald Tribune] Your report "Princess Kiko of Japan has a boy" (Sept. 5) employs language that serves to propagate an archaic and misogynist myth, by referring to Crown Princess Masako's "inability to bear a boy" as a cause for the succession crisis surrounding the Japanese throne. Anyone with a basic comprehension of human biology knows that it is the father who determines the sex of the child, since only the father can provide sperm carrying the Y chromosome. Such imprecise language fuels the kind of misunderstanding that erodes women's position in society and implicitly lends support to the kind of biased feudal system discussed in the article.

• What's Wrong with a Female Emperor? [Toronto Star, Canada] The birth of a child is always a joyous occasion, but the birth of a son to Japanese Prince Akishino and his wife, Princess Kiko, has been a cause for particular celebration there for a single reason: the baby's gender. The baby is the first boy to be born in the imperial household in 41 years, thereby allowing the country to sidestep, at least for now, an emotional national debate about whether to permit a female to ascend the Chrysanthemum Throne. As the conservative newspaper Sankei Shimbun exulted, "The birth of the little prince has completely erased the dark mood of Japanese worried about the nation's future.''

• Tough Choices for Japanese Women. [OhmyNews International, South Korea] Some railway companies in Japan provide so-called "women only" cars during morning rush hour in order to provide a service for female passengers. I sometimes joke that the pink "women only" sign on the train is also a symbol of a strong patriarchal system in Japanese society, where issues such as nurturing and raising children is still a "women only" issue with limited involvement from male partners. If a Japanese woman decides to marry and have children, it is her business "only" to later juggle with domestic duties and finally be forced to leave a career. Much research has examined how women in Japan find it difficult to combine their traditional roles and modern freedoms. It happens to school dropouts as well as to ordinary women and royal family members.

• Women Look to Younger Men for Romance. [China Daily, China] When 34-year-old Sayuri Shimizu broke the news to her parents that she planned to wed a man six years younger than herself, they weren't upset. They were just happy she was finally getting married. An increasing number of Japanese women are delaying or skipping marriage altogether. But for those who still want romance, younger men are an increasingly trendy option. Tales of women pairing off with "toshishita" (younger) men are being told in a rash of recent books, articles in women's magazines and even a TV drama called "Suppli" -- named after popular health supplement tablets. The growing financial independence of Japanese women makes relationships with younger men a more feasible option these days in a land where wives traditionally relied on husbands for economic sustenance. "Marriage used to be for a livelihood," said Kaori Haishi, 40, who has written two books on the topic and whose own husband, Yasushi, is 34. "Now it's for having a partner with whom you can walk through life together." Marriages in which the bride is older than the groom accounted for almost one-third of all weddings in 2002, up from just under 18 percent in 1987, according to a survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.

• Female Wrestler Kandori to be Given Seat in Upper House. [Mainichi Daily News, Japan] Female professional wrestler Shinobu Kandori, who was the runner-up in the 2004 House of Councilors proportional representation election, will gain a seat in the chamber after a key Cabinet minister retires from politics. Kandori, 41, will take over the seat that Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Heizo Takenaka garnered in the proportional representation election two years ago. Takenaka announced on Friday that he will resign as a legislator when he steps down from the Koizumi Cabinet. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party fielded Kandori in the Upper House proportional representation election in a bid to garner support from voters who backed no particular political party. She ended up being the runner-up. Kandori made her debut as a professional wrestler in 1986 and is also known as a TV personality.

• Police Identify Three Women Who Died in Suspected Suicide Pact. [Mainichi Daily News, Japan] The bodies of three women, who were found dead in a car parked in western Tokyo Friday in a suspected suicide pact, have been identified, police said. Police are investigating the motives for their suicides, suspecting that they were met each other through a mobile phone matchmaking site. Police officers found the three dead in a van parked in Okutama early Friday morning. At the time, three briquettes were burning in the vehicle, leading investigators to suspect they gassed themselves by burning the briquettes in the van to generate lethal carbon monoxide.

• Leading Female Lighting Designer Confirms Participation. [AME Info, UAE] The 2007 conference welcomes Motoko Ishii and her daughter Akari-Lisa Ishii, both internationally acclaimed and highly successful lighting designers, who will be sharing their knowledge and expertise with delegates. It will be the first year that Light Middle East will welcome female speakers to the conference. Both mother and daughter have worked on some amazing projects, including the Royal Reception Pavilion at Jeddah International Airport, Saudi Arabia; Hong Kong Convention Centre, Hong Kong; The Melbourne Central, Australia; Co-production of Japan and Italy, Puccini's Madame Butterfly; Veuve Cliequot Vintage Party, Tokyo; Pompidou Center Metz Architecture Lighting, Paris and Volks Wagen Auto Stadt Tokyo Decadence Restaurant, Germany.

• For a Better Life, North Koreans Turn 'Traitor'. [International Herald Tribune] Back in North Korea, the woman's husband was a disabled army veteran, and her baby son could not walk because malnutrition had atrophied his legs. By the time she reached China, hoping to quickly earn cash, she was "an apparition, just skin over her bones, no flesh and no breasts," said a North Korean defector in South Korea who had helped her in her quest for asylum. "Not even human traffickers would touch her." A videotape released to a reporter on condition that neither they nor the man that had helped them be identified, for fear of retaliation against their families in the totalitarian North, shows rare footage that captures the hopes and desperation of North Korean refugees in China.

• Women's Rights Fall Short in N. Korea: UN. [OhmyNews International] The "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women" was adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1979 and entered into force in September, 1981. One hundred and eighty countries, including North and South Korea, are party to it. Its purpose is to eliminate any form of discrimination against women all over the world, whether in the workplace, in social relations, or in any other context in which women can live and express themselves. North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea, hereafter abbreviated DPRK) became a party to the Convention on Feb. 27, 2001. An international Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is in charge of ensuring that signatories fulfill the Convention's statutes.

• Five Universities to Foster Female Engineers. [Korea Times, South Korea] A project to nurture female engineers has been launched by the Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development which last week selected five universities to implement a program to actively foster women choosing the field. Although a growing number of women study engineering, the number of female students is still low compared to that of male students. End of last year, only 18.3% of students at engineering colleges, 13% at graduate engineering school, and 10.4% studying for an engineering Ph. D were women.

• Georg Solti Conductors' Competition Has First Female Winner. [PlaybillArts] Shi-Yeon Sung of South Korea has won the Sir Georg Solti International Conductors' Competition in Frankfurt. The event's organizers announced the results following the September 10 finals at the city's Alte Oper. The 31-year-old Sung is the first woman to win the competition; she receives a €15,000 prize and a concert date with the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony. Japanese-American conductor Shizuo Kuwahara, 30, won the €10,000 second prize; 32-year-old Matthew Coorey of Australia, who is conductor in residence with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, took the €5,000 third prize.

• Thai Yaowapa named as Best Female Athlete. [Nation Multimedia, Thailand] South Korea won nine gold medals and made a clean weep in the men's and women's teams events yesterday at the Bangkok World Cup Taekwondo Team Championships, while Thai sensation Yaowapa Boorapolchai landed the Best Female Athlete award. The South Korean women, who won three gold medals in the first four days, outplayed China 3-2 in the team semi-finals, while the Turkish team brushed aside Sweden 3-2. In the final, South Korea scored the first three wins to give them the women's team crown. They won a trophy and a cash incentive of Bt149,000, while second-placed Turkey took home Bt112,000.

• Women's Category to be Introduced in Basketball League. [Malaysia Star] The women's category will be introduced in the National Basketball League (NBL) for the first time. The NBL, which kicks off with the first leg at the Maba Stadium in Kuala Lumpur on Sept 30, will feature four men's team and three women's team competing for over RM20,000 in prize money. All teams will travel to four preliminary circuits and the title play-offs will be held at Maba Stadium on Oct 24-25. The teams entered for the men's competition are Klang WCT Land, Malacca Chinwoo, YSL Sports Station and Segamat Rimba Timor.

• Revolution for Female Emancipation. [OhmyNews International, South Korea] A lot of girls have turned themselves into fighting warriors in the firm belief that they will overturn the social structure some day. These women's names are never spelled out when we talk about the fight for women's rights. Namuna is a Maoist rebel from western Nepal. Though her real name is something else, she didn't disclose it and asked me to call her Namuna, which is her nickname. "We are guerilla fighters, so for secrecy we don't spell our real name and place," she said. She became Maoist four years ago. I met her when she was pasting pamphlets on the walls around Kathmandu for the annual conference of the All Nepal Women's Union Revolutionary. I asked her why she became a Maoist. "For female emancipation, women are always oppressed in the older feudal state, now the changed system brought by our revolution will end this," was her instant reply. I wanted to know if there have been any changes to women's rights recently in that part of Nepal where she was born.

• Women's Team Leaves for Afghanistan. [Gorkhapatra, Nepal] A 10-member delegation led by Minister of State for Women, Children and Social Welfare, Urmila Aryal left here today on a nine-day education tour of Afghanistan. The delegation aims to gain direct experience on establishment of peace, post-conflict reconstruction, women's concern in constitution making, guaranteeing their special needs and efforts made to enhance women's participation.

• Bill to Overturn Ability to Ban Women From Combat. [Stuff.co.nz] A Labor MP wants to overturn a law that allows the Defense Force to ban women from combat. Labor MP Lynne Pillay said that when that Act was passed, the Defense Force had a policy of not allowing women to serve in combat roles but that policy had changed in 2000. She said her Human Rights (Women in Armed Forces) Amendment Bill would reflect what was Defense Force practice. It would also help New Zealand ratify the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women, she said.

• Call for Government to Address Women's Pay Gap. [Stuff.co.nz] Speaking on Suffrage Day, Dr McGregor said the wide gap that remains in gender pay equity was still a significant concern 113 years after women first got the vote. The Government may need to accelerate and strengthen its five-year commitment to the Pay and Employment Equity Unit, she said. Women earn on average 86 cents to every $1 men earn. The gap is the widest for ages 45 to 64 where women earn just 72% of what men do. Dr McGregor said specific and deliberate pay equity strategies needed to be continued and strengthened, because the gender pay gap would not be resolved through ordinary market approaches and bargaining mechanisms.

• Cervical Cancer Vaccine Available to Girls, Women. [Xinhua, China] The world's first vaccine for cervical cancer Gardasil will be available for New Zealand girls and women aged nine to 26. The course of three injections costs 450 U.S. dollars and has not yet been approved for inclusion in the government-funded schedule of childhood vaccinations. Research shows the vaccine protects women from the cancer-causing effects of some types of the human papilloma virus (HPV).

• New Zealand to Host U17 Women's Soccer World Cup. [Ninemsn, Australia] The Young Socceroos have claimed back-to-back wins at the Under 20 Asean Football Federation Championship after beating Vietnam 4-0 in Malaysia. Australia, which defeated Thailand 3-0 on Thursday, led 1-0 at halftime after Evan Berger's 10th minute goal - a stunning 25-metre strike. "We dealt with the heat and humidity much better in this game and that's a good sign in terms of preparation for the qualifying tournament in India next month," said coach Ange Postecoglou.

• Women Sought in Kahui Case. [TVNZ, New Zealand] South Auckland police investigating the deaths of the Kahui twins are seeking two women in relation to the killings. The twins died in hospital three months ago after being severely beaten. Detective Senior Sergeant John Tims says the women were seen together at the Manukau Shopping Centre two days after the twins died. One of the women is thought to be Maori, aged in her early 20s, of thin build and may be known by the first name of Te Puea, or something similar. The other woman is also thought to be Maori, in her 30s, slightly taller and also of slim build. She may be known by the name of Lisa.

Philippines

• Crisis Queen’ Stays in Forbes’ Most Powerful Women List. [Tempo, Philippines] President Arroyo, who has stood steadfast amid political and environmental crises, is elated over her inclusion in the 100 most powerful women.

• Espina: Womanhood Racing Against Time. [Sun.Star, Philippines] Breast cancer remains the top killer of women in the Philippines , mostly because many of these women found out they have the disease when it's already at a late stage and chances of cancer to go away becomes slimmer. Negros Occidental alone posts a very high figure of women diagnosed with breast cancer with 1,500 cases in the province since year 2000 when breast cancer advocates started monitoring the disease. Dr. Adonis Guancia who heads the Wellness Center for breast cancer patients at the Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) said that there are about 250 to 300 breast cancer patients diagnosed yearly in the province or at least one every two to three days.

• Two Female Organizers Abducted. [Bulatlat, Philippines] Two female organizers from Nueva Ecija province were illegally arrested by elements of the Philippine National Police (PNP) before dusk yesterday, Sept. 4, said a report from the provincial chapter of the human rights group Karapatan (Alliance for the Advancement of People’ Rights).

• Women's Confab on Agribusiness Opens. [Visayan Daily Star, Philippines] Rural women involved in agribusiness will gather in the "National Convention Cum Seminar Workshop on e-Entrepreneurship" starting today and ends Sept. 14 at the Grand Regal Hotel, Bacolod City. The convention, organized by the Rural Improvement Club and Home Economics Extension Association of the Philippines, will have the themed "e-Entrepreneurship Women's Access Toward Sustainable and Functional Agribusiness".

• SingTel Selects First Female CEO. [The Australian, Australia] Singapore Telecommunications has chosen its first female chief executive, announcing today it will elevate finance chief Chua Sock Koong to the top job next year. In February, Ms Chua gained additional responsibilities as chief executive of SingTel's international division, which looks after a wide range of mobile investments in south east Asia but excludes its Australian subsidiary, Optus. The international portfolio comprises the key drivers of SingTel's international business, with responsibility for the Group's strategic investments as well as its IT business arm, NCS. In addition to her International portfolio, Ms Chua is also responsible for overseeing Group Information Systems, Group Finance and Corporate Affairs (which spans group strategy, treasury, tax, legal, investor relations and corporate communications). Ms Chua, who has a degree in accounting, joined SingTel as treasurer in 1989.

• Feminist Group Urges Outlawing Discrimination Against Women. [The China Post] Taiwan should ratify a U.N. convention outlawing discrimination against women, a feminist group said

• TRA Appoints Its First-Ever Female Station Master. [Taipei Times] The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) announced yesterday that it would appoint 48-year-old Shangguan Huei-jhu, currently the director of general affairs at the Kaohsiung Train Station, as station master for the newly built New Tsoying Station. Shangguan will be the first female station master for the state-run administration since its founding 119 years ago. She is scheduled to start serving in her new capacity in October.

Tibet

• UN Women’s Committee: Multiple Forms of Discrimination Faced. [Phayul, Tibet] Last week at the UN’s headquarters in New York, the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination (CEDAW) said that in present-day China women, including Tibetan women faced multiple forms of discrimination and called upon the Chinese authorities to take measures to change the situation. Adopting its conclusions and recommendations on China’s combined fifth and sixth reports which CEDAW reviewed in two public meeting on 10 August, the Committee expressed concern about the disadvantaged position of rural women with regard to access to education, health, employment, and participation in leadership and land property. “It is also concerned at the situation of rural minority women, including Tibetan women, who face multiple forms of discrimination based on sex, ethnic or cultural background and socio-economic status.”

• UNICEF Says Thai Women Breast-Feed Infants Least in Asia. [Thai News Agency MCOT, Thailand] Thai and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) health officials met here Tuesday to discuss ways to encourage breast-feeding in Thailand after a study found that most Thai mothers breast-feed their babies less than six months, which is ranked the lowest in Asia. Pornthida Phasthong, an information official at UNICEF's office in Thailand, said that she was concerned that only 5% of Thai women solely breast-feed their babies for six months and 16% do it for only four months.

• Women May Get Right to Register Husband's Land. [Tonga Online] The Tongan government is not about to give women land rights but they are looking at how to give women the right to register the land of the husband, the Prime Minister Hon. Dr Feleti Sevele told parliamentarians in Nuku'alofa yesterday.

• National Women's Forum Under Way. [People's Daily Online] The first-ever National Women's Forum in Vanuatu is under way with 100 delegates spending this week mapping out an action plan for women's development to 2011, the Suva-based regional news agency Pacnews reported.

• APEC Women to Discuss Ways of Enhancing Competitiveness. [Viet Nam News] About 400 delegates will discuss ways to enhance business competitiveness at the 11th meeting of the APEC women leaders network, which starts on Tuesday in Ha Noi. The Viet Nam Women’s Union said meeting participants, from 19 of the 21 APEC members, will focus on finding effective initiatives in enhancing the competitiveness of businesses run by women. The meeting will feature three sessions and four workshops discussing the role of women leaders in the APEC region, and how women should go about increasing their roles and influence in their countries’ development policies. Meeting topics for discussion also include ways of enhancing information and communication technology and promoting business development services to support women entrepreneurs, and methods of creating a gender-sensitive legal environment for women to develop business in the context of globalization. Other themes include promotion of female-owned small-to medium-sized enterprises, effective solutions for poverty reduction and ways for women entrepreneurs to cope with a range of social and environmental issues.

• HCM City and Ha Tay Draw 3-3 at Women’s Tournament. [Nhan Dan, Vietnam] Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Tay drew 3-3 at the Vietnam Coal international tournament in Quang Ninh on September 5, reported Ho Chi Minh City Sports newspaper. The newspaper reported Ho Chi Minh City were the better side in the first half and they took a 2-0 lead after just 25 minutes with Kim Hong hitting the double. In the 33rd minute, Le Thi Oanh finished off Nguyen Thi Ly’s cross, narrowing the gap. Three minutes later, Ho Chi Minh City restored a two goal lead with Thanh Khiet finding the net.