Six In The Morning

Egypt tense after night-long clashes

Supporters of ousted president call for more demonstrations following violent clashes that left 30 dead across country. Last Modified: 06 Jul 2013 08:38

A tense calm has descended on Egypt following a night of fierce clashes between supporters and opponents of the ousted president Mohamed Morsi.

At least 30 people were killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the violence that erupted on Friday and continued through the night.

A coalition of conservative groups led by Muslim Brotherhood has vowed further demonstrations on Saturday, raising fears of renewed violence.

The coalition is demanding the restoration of Morsi as the president. He was ousted three days ago in a military coup.

Battle lines remain drawn as anti-Morsi protesters spent the night in Cairo's iconic Tahrir Square, with checkpoints manned by civilians. Pro-Morsi supporters have also vowed to come on to the streets to press their demand.

DIPLOMACY

North Korea and South Korea resume talks on Kaesong industrial zone

North and South Korean officials have begun talks on restarting the Kaesong joint industrial zone, after Pyongyang closed it in April. The discussion marks the first senior-level meeting the countries have held in years.

Diplomats from North and South Korea are meeting to discuss reopening the jointly run Kaesong industrial zone a month after their last attempt at dialogue collapsed. The two sides are meeting in the ‘truce village' of Panmunjom inside the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Made in Bangladesh: Greed, Globalization and the Dhaka Tragedy

By Hauke Goos and Ralf Hoppe

On April 24, a textile factory collapsed in Dhaka, Bangladesh, killing over 1,100. A government investigator has presented his results to SPIEGEL. They tell a harrowing story of a disaster caused by greed and the pressures of globalization.

On the morning of April 24, 2013, at about 8:45 a.m., the Rana Plaza, a nine-story building housing factories and offices, collapsed in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka. More than 3,500 people were in the building at the time, and 1,129 died in the wreckage. Mainuddin Khandaker, a senior official at the Ministry of Home Affairs, began his investigation that evening.

Six weeks later, Khandaker is sitting in a carved wooden armchair in his living room. A soft-spoken man in his early 60s who wears gold-rimmed glasses, he lives in Dhaka's government district. It's been dark outside for a while, and a single fluorescent tube, surrounded by fluttering moths, is the only light in the room. Khandaker is balancing a bowl of dark berries on his knees.

Mugabe launches vote campaign, warns Southern African bloc

Sapa-AFP

President Robert Mugabe launched a “do or die” re-election campaign Friday with a warning to a southern African regional bloc that Zimbabwe could pull out amid demands for a free and fair vote

The 89-year-old Mugabe issued a fiery rallying call to some 20 000 supporters, as he endeavoured to extend his 33-year rule.

“You are our soldiers. You have a battle to fight. Go into the battle well-armed. It’s a fight for our lives. It’s a battle for survival.”  “Go into the battle with the full knowledge that there is a political enemy. This is a do or die struggle,” said Mugabe as he launched an attack on the 15-nation Southern African Development Community which had asked him to delay elections.

“Let it be known that we are in SADC voluntarily. If SADC decides to do stupid things, let it be known that we can withdraw from SADC.”  The regional bloc has pressed Mugabe to roll back his decision to hold elections on July 31, in order to allow for a series of reforms that would limit the military’s role in politics and strip ghost voters from the electoral roll.

Arab Spring leaves region unsettled, two years later

Ali Watkins | McClatchy Washington Bureau

Egypt’s turmoil is a reminder that the revolution cycle in the Middle East and North Africa region is far from over, and far from satisfying the hopes stirred more than two years ago by the Arab Spring.

Street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in a market square in Tunisia, protesting the government’s authoritarian rule. His solitary action kickstarted the Tunisian revolution, and less than one month later, President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali fled to exile in Saudi Arabia, where he remained as of January 2013. Tunisia held elections in October 2011; the moderate Islamist party, Ennahda, won the majority.

Sunglasses optional: Essential props for declaring a coup

By James ReynoldsBBC News, Istanbul

There are certain customs, established over many decades, to uphold when declaring a coup.

A rough-hewn general in a crisp uniform reads out a statement on state TV in which he declares that, reluctantly, the armed forces have decided to step in to save the country.

Gen al-Sisi's declaration on 3 July in Cairo followed a script, and a look, which goes back at least four decades. First of of all, the general has to get his image right. He needs a well pressed uniform, decked with medals. He needs a podium, or, at the very least, a solid table.

Sunglasses are optional. The general's look as he reads his declaration may become the defining image of his country to the outside world (it will certainly be the image for which he is most remembered by his own people).