Women Affairs

Chinese police have launched a nationwide online crackdown to delete pornographic pictures of several Hong Kong celebrities and pledged to close any Websites that published the raunchy photos. The step is the latest in authorities' bid to control the spread of the photos, which show Hong Kong actor and singer Edison Chen and several female stars naked in bed and in sexual poses. The scandal has created a media frenzy and heated discussions on BBS communities both in Hong Kong and on the mainland since late January. Some Internet users shared the 800-plus pictures by e-mail or posting them on other Websites. Police in Beijing warned that anyone found sending the pictures to friends, even for free, will be detained for a maximum of 15 days. Posting the photos online violates the Security Administration Punishment Law, the Legal Evening News reported yesterday. Those who have sent more than 200 nude pictures via email, chat rooms and BBS will be investigated under criminal law, the po...

Two Iranian sisters convicted of adultery face being stoned to death after the supreme court upheld the death sentences against them, the Etemad newspaper Monday quoted their lawyer as saying. The two were found guilty of adultery -- a capital crime in Islamic Iran -- after the husband of one sister presented video evidence showing them in the company of other men while he was away. "Branch 23 of the supreme court has confirmed the stoning sentence," said their lawyer, Jabbar Solati. The penal court of Tehran province had already sentenced the sisters identified only as Zohreh, 27, and Azar (no age given) to stoning, the daily said. Solati explained that the two sisters had initially been tried for "illegal relations" and received 99 lashes. However in a second trial they were convicted of "adultery." The pair admitted they were in the video presented by the husband but argued that there was no adultery as none of the footage showed them engaged in a sexua...

A mother in Tainan County, southern Taiwan, was found to have allegedly forced her three young daughters to serve as prostitutes for more than two years. The woman and five patrons were arrested and questioned by police just before Chinese New Year, local news media reported yesterday. The illegal operation was exposed after the eldest daughter, now aged 13, told her school teacher several days before Chinese New Year's Eve on Feb. 6. The student said that since October 2006, her mother had forced her and her two younger sisters to serve as prostitutes, with patrons mostly men aged over 60. At the time, the three sisters were aged 6, 7, and 10. Following initial investigations, police found that men paid NT$500 to NT$1,000 for each incidence, and some patrons asked to be served by the three sisters simultaneously. The police have already located 8 suspects involved in the cases, and have taken six into custody after interrogations, including the mother and five patrons. The Tainan ...

Deborah Kotz One in seven American couples grapples with infertility, often with no explainable medical cause. A new book, The Fertility Diet, may offer a low-tech, low-cost solution for some. It's based on research from the well-respected Harvard Nurses' Health Study suggesting that diet may play a role in women's efforts to conceive. The book identifies particular nutrients they should be getting, such as iron, or avoiding, such as trans fats, to improve their chances of getting pregnant. How much are the odds increased? The book doesn't say. That's because the 10-step plan was formulated from dietary habits collected from surveys—and not actually tested on infertile women. While no one knows whether this plan can truly help women get pregnant, it's based, for the most part, on good nutrition and smart health habits. Book coauthor Jorge Chavarro, an investigator on the Nurses' Health Study and research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health, spoke w...

Pop princess Kylie Minogue has been spotted out on the town in Paris with her estranged lover, French actor Olivier Martinez, sparking rumours they may be back together a year after they split. The pair, who split in 2007 after a four-year relationship, were snapped walking arm-in-arm during a late-night stroll and the pictures were splashed in Britain's Sunday Mirror. The tabloid said Minogue arrived in Paris on Sunday and her chauffeur dropped her at her former boyfriend's apartment before Olivier walked her back to her hotel about 11pm. The next day, the two walked the dog they once shared, Sheba, who still lives with Olivier but often receives visits from Kylie. Minogue and Martinez also reportedly went shopping and visited a cafe. Martinez's father, Robert, told the paper: "We love seeing Kylie in Paris, especially Olivier. She makes everybody very happy." Asked whether his son was still single, Robert was quoted as saying: "But of course." Kylie fl...