Six In The Morning

Egypt starts presidential election run-off

　 Egyptians are voting in a two-day run-off election to choose their first freely elected president.

The BBC 16 June 2012
Mohammed Mursi, head of the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing, is up against Ahmed Shafiq, former President Hosni Mubarak's last prime minister. The ruling generals have vowed to hand over power to the winner by 30 June. But correspondents say many who took part in last year's revolution find the choice uninspiring and some have called for a boycott or spoiled ballots. As polls opened on Saturday morning, there was little sign of the long queues or enthusiasm that characterised the first round, or the parliamentary polls which took place between November and January.

Japan nuclear restart gets PM's approval
Two reactors at Oi power plant will be brought back online, ending nuclear shutdown that flowed from Fukushima disaster

Justin McCurry in Tokyo guardian.co.uk, Saturday 16 June 2012 07.56 BST
Japan is to resume the use of nuclear power for the first time since last year's triple meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi power plant after the government on Saturday approved the restart of two idled reactors. The decision to restart reactors three and four at Oi power plant in western Japan could pave the way for the resumption of operations at other atomic facilities, amid concern over power shortages during peak demand this summer. The prime minister, Yoshihiko Noda, announced the restart after securing support from the mayor of Oi and the governor of Fukui prefecture, where Oi is located.

Robert Fisk: Assad will breathe a sigh of relief at death of Arab Spring
The 1991 Algerian parallel is relevant: a poll won by Islamists, special powers for the army, torture

Saturday 16 June 2012
The end of the Egyptian Revolution? I suppose we could have seen it coming; the marginalisation of the original rebels of Tahrir Square, fobbed off with a few trials, while the military encrusted themselves round the power Mubarak had given them and sopped up his obedient ministers as a façade of civilian rule. And the Brotherhood – as uninvolved in Tahrir as Ahmed Shafik – moved in to take over after years of clandestinity and government torture. Mubarak's men and the Brotherhood were never represented in Tahrir. "All we want is for Mubarak to go," the young of Egypt used to shout. And that was all. Easy for the "deep state" to resolve. Almost all the top "Stasi" officers were acquitted.

Venice's Eternal Battle against Water
Slowly but surely, Venice is sinking. The city has battled the water ever since it was founded 1,600 years ago in a marshy lagoon. Now it's working on a gigantic project to prevent the floods that threaten its future -- but experts are divided over whether it will work.

By Hans-Jürgen Schlamp in Venice, Italy
It's starting again. As usual, it begins on St. Mark's Square and the cathedral courtyard, the lowest points of the city. Water bubbles up through the manhole covers, first slowly, then more steadily. Those with sensitive noses claim it stinks; others say it smells of the sea. Some visitors find the sight a bit unsettling, but it doesn't bother Venetians. That's how things are here, they say. Whenever winter, a full moon and a southerly sirocco wind coincide, the water level rises. That's perfectly normal, and happens a dozen times a year. But it's happening increasingly often, and gradually even the stoical Venetians are starting to get concerned.

Bensouda: The African face of international justice
Gambian lawyer Fatou Bensouda, who has reached the pinnacle of international justice, has a reputation as a dogged investigator.

Sapa-AFP
The 51-year-old one-time attorney in mainland Africa’s smallest nation, Bensouda is now the public face of the International Criminal Court, the Hague-based tribunal that was established a decade ago with a brief to bring those accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity to justice. Bensouda, the first woman and the first African to head the team of prosecutors after serving as predecessor Luis Moreno-Ocampo’s number two since 2004, has vowed to work for justice for Africans. She has already carved out a reputation in legal circles for her dogged investigations of atrocities such as the Rwandan genocide and the use of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mexicans hail Obama's call for a freeze on deporting young illegal immigrants
Today, President Obama ordered his administration to stop deporting young immigrants who came to the US illegally as kids and don't pose a security threat.

By Sara Miller Llana, Staff writer
Nothing raises the ire of Mexicans more than stories like this: a young Mexican, brought illegally to the US as a baby, is deported as a young adult back “home,” despite having no family ties in Mexico, and often not even speaking Spanish. Now President Obama has taken a step hailed in Mexico: He's called for ending deportations – effective immediately – and beginning to grant work permits for young illegal immigrants who have been in the US since they were children. “It is definitely a source of a lot of moral distress because the kids are American in their upbringing and their culture,” says David Mena Alemán, a professor of international affairs at the Iberoamericana University in Mexico City. “Among people realistic in their