Welcome to a week of political transformation, as guaranteed communist rule comes to an end in the Soviet Union and a watershed moment in South Africa sees the ban on the African National Congress lifted, alongside a promise of Nelson Mandela’s unconditional release. In the United Kingdom, parliament votes to legalise same-sex marriage after an impassioned debate, marking a decisive shift in the country’s approach to equal rights. Elsewhere, struggles over freedom and expression play out on the streets of Cairo during the Arab spring, and in print as Salman Rushdie mounts a public defence of his novel in the face of the fatwa issued against him. And in a galaxy far, far away (20,000 light years to be precise), a red supergiant star explodes, captured in dazzling detail by the Hubble Space Telescope. All this, and more, is revealed on the front pages of The Independent.
