A lifetime of frustration in Burmese politics has not wearied Cho Cho Kyaw Nyein. Her years as a political prisoner have not blunted her sense of humour.

"Some people call us the 'three princesses of Burma', but to the government, we are the three witches," she laughs as, free now, she walks through the gardens of her once stately, now crumbling colonial home on a hilltop in the Burmese capital.

Over the years, large numbers of Chechens have fled Chechnya and are making lives elsewhere. Many have chosen to leave, but others have been given no choice.

A one day women leadership retreat has taken place in Paynesville, with President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf challenging Liberian women to assume leadership roles at all levels. The President said she would support the principle of women competing with men and taking up various elected positions at various levels including leadership roles in political parties in the country.

It is an honor to be here with Ambassador Chowdhury, who was the guiding spirit behind Security Council Resolution 1325. We owe him a deep debt of gratitude for his commitment and vision, and for our part, we continue to work to realize the potential of women's participation in all decision-making levels focused on peace and security and keeping women protected from violence.

An Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning says Tehran is trying to confuse the media so it can execute her in secret.

Sakineh Mohammadi Ashtiani said in a Guardian article published Saturday Iranian authorities are lying about charges against her and that she did not kill her husband.

Daily Hürriyet has recently been running a series on lifestyles in Iran, with the female dimension of the series catching the attention of two columnists: Tufan Türenç from the same paper, and Türker Alkan from daily Radikal. Both talk about the resistance women show to the rigid Islamic regime in Iran.

In an exclusive interview with the Guardian, the woman whose sentence of death by stoning triggered an international outcry has accused the Iranian authorities of lying about the charges against her to pave the way to execute her in secret.

A ship bearing aid for Gaza is preparing to leave Tripoli in Lebanon this weekend in the latest attempt to defy the Israeli blockade – with only women on board.

In a fraught coincidence, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be chairing a United Nations Security Council session on violence against women in conflict situations today, on the 63d birthday of Burma's Nobel Peace Prize winner, Aung San Suu Kyi. That devotee of nonviolence has been kept under house arrest for 13 of the last 19 years by a military junta that has committed the vilest crimes against women.
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