This was a surprise hearing, and it's not yet clear why Dominique Strauss-Kahn was called by magistrates before a scheduled appearance later this week. The allegations relate to his supposed involvement in a vice ring that hired prostitutes for hotel
orgies
in Lille, Paris and Washington. He's been placed under formal investigation. In other words, the judges believe there is a case to answer. Eight people have already been charged including a senior police officer. Mr Strauss-Kahn is not denying he attended these parties; he denies he knew the women present were prostitutes.
The moderate Islamist Ennahda party, which heads Tunisia's coalition government, says it won't support calls by conservatives to
enshrine
Islamic law, or sharia, in the country's new constitution. From Cairo, here's Jon Leyne.
The moderate Islamist party that secured the most seats in recent elections want the wording of the old constitution to remain the same, stating only that Islam is the state religion. That will disappoint conservatives and relieve liberals and secularists who fear a tide of Islamism sweeping across the region in the wake of recent revolutions.
Clashes have broken out between armed forces from Sudan and South Sudan in several disputed border regions. Both sides accuse each other of starting the fighting, which comes a week before the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir is due to visit the Southern capital Juba for a summit. An armed forces spokesman in Juba told the BBC it was the biggest confrontation since the South gained independence last July.