Asia and the Pacific

Mao Zedong was arguably the father of Chinese feminism, with his famous observation that “women hold up half the sky.” But when Mao’s Communist Party heirs take to the stage next week to unveil their new leadership lineup, there aren’t likely to be many females — if any — among the country’s new rulers.

None of the 10 women who contested the Vanuatu national election on Tuesday have succeeded in winning a seat.

The country's electoral commission won't announce the final results until next week, but according to unofficial counts none of the 52 seats in parliament will go to a female candidate.

Jenny Ligo, one of five women running in the capital Port Vila, said they failed to get the backing of female voters.

Read more at Radio Australia, published 2 November 2012.

Unidentified gunmen today attacked prominent rights activist Marvi Sirmed in the Pakistani capital. She escaped unharmed.

The gunmen, who were in a black car, fired at Sirmed's vehicle at Murree Road near Bani Gala on the outskirts of Islamabad while she was returning home from work. Sirmed has received threats from extremist groups several times in the past. 

"They tried to target us twice and fired several shots at my car which they missed. Luckily, my driver sped away and we escaped," Sirmed told PTI.

Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi took to the campaign trail in Himachal Pradesh by exhorting the youth to be more participative in politics.

The young leader also talked about the merits of women in politics, saying states with politicians from the fairer sex were more developed than others.

The UN says 1,145 civilians were killed in the Afghan war in the first six months of this year, blaming 80 per cent of the deaths on fighters - more than half of those caused by roadside bombs.

Both developments come as the independent election commission officially announced April 5, 2014, as the date of the next presidential election in the Central Asian nation.

Fazel Ahmad Manawi, chief of the Independent Election Commission, said on Wednesday that provincial elections would take place on the same day.