On Thursday, the Irish parliament finished drafting and quickly passed the Civil Partnership Bill, which will extend "marriage-like" benefits to gay and lesbian couples. It is expected to become a law this autumn. [Irish Times, BBC]

According to this memo, it was January 10, 1951. Granted, it was a "temporary modification" of the policy of "non-employment on the regular payroll of married women unless they are in support of their family." Click to enlarge. [Sociological Images]

Well, "having the baby" is probably the first step, US. Yeah, we understand, souls do add so much weight, don't they? [US]

A horrible case of accused neglect has taken a baby from her parents and raised questions about exactly why they were deemed unfit.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai has officially decided to rescind the parts of Afghanistan's new law on its Shia minority that severely restricted the rights of Shia women and legalized marital rape. [CNN]

Primatologist Sarah Blaffer Hrdy says that while most scholars believe our evolution was driven by the need to fight, she believes that a human baby's need for attention is what separates us from animals.