BANGKOK, Thailand (Reuters):
MISS UNIVERSE organisers scrambled on Thursday to calm a furore over photos of bikini-clad contestants posing near an ancient Buddhist temple in pageant host Thailand, after the images infuriated religious leaders.
The photos, which showed beauty queens on a Bangkok river cruise with the famed Wat Arun, or "Temple of Dawn", in the background, were swiftly removed from the pageant Web site.
But religious leaders and culture watchdogs are still upset, saying the episode violated traditional values and morality just days before a key Buddhist holiday.
"This is the time of Visakha Bucha when we are reminded of Lord Buddha's teachings. But we have allowed this thing which will mark the country with sin for a long time," Phra Thep Dilok, head of the National Center for Buddhism Promotion, told Reuters.
The chair of the Senate tourism committee, Suradech Yasawat, said the photos, which were splashed on the front pages of most Thai newspapers, had hurt the country's image.
Kuwait passes law for women's right to vote
KUWAIT (Reuters) - Kuwait's parliament passed a law last Monday granting women the right to vote and run in elections, for the first time in the pro-Western Gulf Arab state.
Kuwaiti women lining the podium burst into cheers when parliament speaker Jassim al-Khorafi said the legislation had been passed by a majority of the all-male parliament to grant full suffrage to women.
"We made it. This is history," said prominent activist Roula al-Dashti. "Our target is the parliamentary polls in 2007. I'm starting my campaign from today," she told reporters.
Series of rapes provokes street protests in India
NEW DELHI (Reuters) - A series of brutal rapes across India in the past few months has triggered street protests and calls for better security for women in a country where rape victims often face social ostracism.
Dozens of girls marched through New Delhi this week after a 20-year-old college student was raped by four men in a car before being dumped on the road.
The incident caused a furore in parliament where the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party demanded the home minister's resignation after city police failed to take action despite being informed within 15 minutes of the girl's abduction.
"More women are killed or injured in sexual assault than through terrorism. Yet, how often have you seen the issue debated in parliament or figuring on political agendas?" leading activist Brinda Karat told the Times of India.
Angry residents in Bombay also took to the streets after a drunk policeman raped a girl in daylight on a beachfront boulevard in the city, considered India's safest for women.
Delhi women demanded night roadside food stalls be closed, saying they were a meeting point for no-gooders and spawned crimes such as kidnapping and rape.
Some women have called for laws for rapists to be hanged, but most women's groups say the existing legal system must be tightened so rape cases do not linger for years because of lack of evidence and other legal loopholes.
A recent opinion poll on safety and security of women in Delhi and Bombay for Star News television showed 89 percent of respondents favoured hanging rapists.
Jumbo Queen says fat is beautiful
NAKHON PATHOM, Thailand (Reuters) - In an era of chiseled supermodels and bizarre weight-loss diets a Thai beauty contest celebrated women with a bit of flesh last week Sunday when heavy-weight contestants battled for the Miss Jumbo Queen crown.
The annual contest, which aims to raise awareness and money for Thailand's dwindling elephant population, allows full-sized women weighing over 176 pounds to show weight-conscious Thais that big is beautiful.
This year, 24 women participated in the contest at the Samphran Elephant Ground and Zoo, 38 miles west of the capital Bangkok.
"I want to show people that just because I'm fat doesn't mean I'm any less beautiful or talented," said 18-year-old winner, Tarnrarin Chansawang, who weighed in at 242 pounds.
Tarnrarin, a bubbly business student and tuba player from Bangkok, took home several prizes, including a Jumbo-sized trophy and $50,000 baht (US$1,270).
