Editor’s note: This article was first published in April 2013; the UAE items are April 2013 news and local rules may have changed. The Mars One colony mission planned for 2023 never flew, and the company was declared bankrupt in 2019.
1. United Arab Emirates
A British woman has been arrested after being accused of “indecency”. Her crime: walking around a Dubai shopping mall in a bikini. Nothing out of the ordinary, considering that a heterosexual couple was jailed for the serious crime of kissing in a restaurant. It’s worth stressing that the couple was straight, because had they been gay, who knows what sentence they would have received.
2. United Arab Emirates, part 2
In the north of the United Arab Emirates, in the Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah, people are being asked to respect public morals on the beaches. In practice, this respect means women are banned from wearing bikinis on the beach.
3. Volunteers wanted for an interplanetary Big Brother
According to ABC, people are being sought to set up a permanent colony on Mars. The requirements are that you are over 18 and in good health, and that you are clear you are setting off on a journey with no return ticket. Life on Mars will be broadcast live here on Earth. Couples are not accepted, but equal numbers of men and women will be sent. The trip is planned for 2023 and, at first glance, it will be a cross between a space edition of “Mujeres y Hombres y Viceversa” (a Spanish dating reality show) and a galactic edition of Big Brother. You can send your application through apply.mars-one.com.
Further reading
Featured image: Marek Slusarczyk, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
