Fat Tuesday, Koran burning and Damascus revolt: Morning links

Today is Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras, that last hurrah before Ash Wednesday and the Catholic season of Lent begins.Legions of Mardi Gras attendees in New Orleans are preparing to mark the day with revelry, beads and lots and lots of rich, fatty food. Meet Rex and the King of Zulu, the city’s 2012 Mardi Gras monarchs, at NOLA.com   In Brazil, where the festival of Carnival has kicked off in earnest, Rio de Janeiro’s elite samba schools paraded Sunday through the city’s newly renovated Sambadrome.