India Supreme Court refuses to review gay sex ban
India's Supreme Court has refused to review its controversial decision to reinstate a 153-year-old law that criminalises homosexuality. Judges dismissed petitions from the government and rights activists who say the order was wrong. The Supreme Court judgement last month overturned a landmark 2009 Delhi High Court ruling decriminalising gay sex. (BBC)
Ukraine PM resigns amid unrest, parliament revokes anti-protest laws
Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov resigned on Tuesday while deputies loyal to President Viktor Yanukovich, acting to calm violent street protests, back-tracked and overturned anti-protest laws they rammed through parliament 12 days ago. The first real concessions by Yanukovich since the crisis erupted two months ago brought cheers from several thousand demonstrators on Kiev's Independence Square, focal point of the protests. Opposition leaders said they would continue to harness street power to wring more gains. (Reuters)
Obama promises action on inequality
US President Barack Obama has promised to bypass a fractured Congress to tackle economic inequality in his annual State of the Union address. He pledged to "take steps without legislation" wherever possible, announcing a rise in the minimum wage for new federal contract staff. On Iran, he said he would veto any new sanctions that risked derailing talks. The Democratic president is facing some of his lowest approval ratings since first taking office in 2009. (BBC)
Malala book launch halted amid 'political and police pressure' in Pakistan
Pakistani academics have been forced to cancel plans to launch Malala Yousafzai’s memoir in her home province, claiming they came under pressure from local government ministers and the police. Sarfraz Khan, director of the Area Study Centre at the University of Peshawar, said he received telephone calls from two provincial ministers asking him not to go ahead with Tuesday’s launch. (Telegraph)
300,000-year-old firepit found in Israel could be the first example of a social campfire
Humans may have used fire as a social focus 300,000 years ago, a new study into a cave in Israel suggests. Full of ash and charred bones, the 6.5 feet wide hearth discovered in the Qesem Cave, 11 miles east of Tel Aviv, could help archaeologists learn more about the development of human culture. (Independent)
