Tunisia signs new constitution
After decades of dictatorship and two years of arguments and compromises, Tunisia's new constitution has come into force. In a ceremony on Monday in the national assembly, the president, Moncef Marzouki, the outgoing prime minister, Ali Larayedh, and the speaker, Mustapha Ben Jaafar, signed the document while deputies sang the national anthem.The new constitution is considered one of the most progressive in the Arab world, and was passed late on Sunday by 200 votes in the 216-seat assembly in Tunis. The constitution, which enshrines freedom of religion and women's rights, took two years to finish. (Guardian)
No gay people in Sochi, says mayor
The mayor of Sochi, host of the Winter Olympics, has said there are no gay people in the city. Anatoly Pakhomov said homosexuals were welcome at the Games - as long as they "respect Russian law" and "don't impose their habits on others". Opposition leader Boris Nemtsov said there were several gay bars in Sochi. In June 2013, Russia passed a law banning the promotion of "non-traditional" sexuality to under-18s - widely seen as an attack on gay rights. (BBC)
Egypt's generals give Sisi green light to run for president
Egypt's top military council gave the army chief, Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a green light on Monday to seek election as president, a vote he is almost sure to win with Egyptians weary of turmoil unleashed by a pro-democracy uprising in 2011. Sisi deposed elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in July after mass unrest over his increasingly arbitrary and erratic rule, kindling political chaos and security crackdowns on dissent in the Arab world's most populous nation. (Reuters)
China's Jade Rabbit rover may be victim of moon dust
Reports from Chinese state media suggest the country's Yutu – or Jade Rabbit – lunar rover has stopped working just six weeks into its three-month mission. As for what caused the malfunction, abrasive lunar dust is a top suspect. Moon soil gets ground up by micrometeoroid impacts into a glassy dust that can then become charged as it is bombarded by solar particles. (New Scientist)
Council reverses Bible play ban
A council in County Antrim has reversed a decision to cancel a play that some councillors had said was blasphemous. Newtownabbey Borough Council's artistic board last week cancelled the Reduced Shakespeare Company's The Bible: The Complete Word of God (Abridged). But on Monday the artistic board decided to put the play back on and the full council ratified that decision. A number of unionist councillors had originally objected to the production, saying it mocked Christianity. (BBC)
