Singapore censorship thwarted
Tightly regulated city-state Singapore has overturned its library’s attempt to destroy two ‘gay-themed’ children’s books – including And Tango Makes Three, a story about penguins – following protests about literary censorship. The books have instead been moved from the children’s section to the adult section.
Ghandi reconsidered
Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy has caused uproar by challenging the widely held view of Mahatma Ghandi as morality incarnate, condemning him for accepting the brutal social hierarchy of the Indian caste system.
Locals flock to newly formed desert oasis
A lake has sprouted in the Tunisian desert, to the confusion and salvation of hundreds of locals living in the 40oC heat. But Lac de Gafsa’s waters shifted from clear turquoise to algae green in just a few days, leading experts to believe that it may be radioactive – but this hasn’t deterred eager swimmers. Geologists put its sudden manifestation down to seismic activity.
UK’s actions ‘morally indefensible’
Baroness Warsi, the UK’s former Minister of State for Faith and Communities and its first muslim woman in Cabinet, has quit in objection to the government’s refusal to condemn Israel’s attacks on Gaza. She called the UK’s approach and language during the current crisis “morally indefensible” in her resignation letter to Prime Minister David Cameron.
