Egyptian nights. At least seven people were killed in Cairo overnight amid street battles between security forces and supporters of deposed president Mohamed Morsi. Another 261 people were injured, Egypt’s Health Ministry said, as protesters overran the central Sixth of October bridge and other areas, and police responded with tear gas and birdshot.
The deaths come even as senior American envoy William Burns visits with Egypt’s new, unelected leadership and assures Egyptians they’ve been given a “second chance” to make democracy work. For the people killed since the military overthrew Morsi two weeks ago, it’s more like a last chance. Take the 51 of his supporters killed at a sit-in in Cairo last Monday, for instance: while the army says it acted in self-defense, a GlobalPost investigation uncovers the picture of a pre-planned attack on largely unarmed civilians. That’s the kind of chance most people would rather do without.
Capo captured. In a major coup for Mexico’s government, Mexican special forces have caught one of the region’s most-wanted drug lords. Miguel Angel Trevino Morales, the fearsome leader of the equally fearsome Zetas cartel, was taken into custody just across the border from Texas, and all without a single shot fired.
Trevino’s is the biggest scalp yet claimed by President Enrique Pena Nieto in his drug war 2.0, which is supposed to focus less on nabbing high-profile kingpins than on protecting the average Juan. In this case, Trevino’s capture, though impressive, might have just the opposite effect: some observers are already predicting that any vacuum it leaves will swiftly be filled by Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman and his Sinaloa cartel.
Panam-oh-no-you-don’t. Authorities in Panama say they’ve discovered a stash of secret weapons hidden on board a ship bound for North Korea. Initially suspicious that the vessel was smuggling drugs, officials stopped and searched the ship on its way from Cuba through the Panama Canal — only to find the crew rioting, the captain threatening suicide and “sophisticated missile equipment” stuffed into crates of brown sugar.
Panama is still investigating exactly what the covert cargo is, where it came from, and whether it contravened strict United Nations sanctions on what arms can be shipped into North Korea (hint: very few). But the dramatic bust should show would-be smugglers, according to Panamanian President Ricardo Martinelli, that “You cannot go around shipping undeclared weapons of war through the Panama Canal.”
God save the Chairman. Chinese punk rock is a lot like Chinese street food (bear with us here) — rough, honest, and not the most healthy. The cacophony came out of the country’s most famous modern protests: during the 1989 Tiananmen democracy revolt, Cui Jian, the godfather of Chinese punk, taught a generation how to revel in rebellion; and revel they did, throughout the 1990s and across the Middle Kingdom.
Now, with consumerism on the rise, some young Chinese — without a hint of irony — look to punk to help them navigate a turbulent sea of change. Here’s GlobalPost’s soundtrack to anarchy in the People’s Republic.
Repeat after us: “Nganimpa-ng gen wi-m si-m worm mai aus-ria.” To which we’ll reply: Really, you saw worms at your house too? Or at least we would if we spoke Warlpiri rampaku, one of the world’s newest languages. Invented by children in the remote Australian village of Lajamanu, it’s based on a mixture of local dialect and English — but radically different from either.
Some 300 villagers are native speakers, all of them under 35. So chatty are the young generation, in fact, that researchers say the new regional language could eventually overtake the old. Well, at least it’s not txt spk (LOL).
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Many devout Muslims around the world started observing the dawn-to-dusk fast for the holy month of Ramadan early this week.
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An Indonesian Muslim man prays at a mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty.
– [ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images] -
Indonesian Muslims pray at a mosque on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Jakarta on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is celebrated by Muslims worldwide marked by fasting, abstaining from foods, sex and smoking from dawn to dusk for soul cleansing and strengthening the spiritual bond between them and the Almighty.
– [ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images] -
Indian Muslims pray at Jama Masjid on the eve of Ramadan in New Delhi on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is calculated on the sighting of the new moon and Muslims all over the world are supposed to fast from dawn to dusk during the month.
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An Indian Muslim woman prays at Jama Masjid on the eve of Ramadan in New Delhi on July 10, 2013. Islam’s holy month of Ramadan is calculated on the sighting of the new moon and Muslims all over the world are supposed to fast from dawn to dusk during the month.
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Turkish anti-goverment protesters gather as they break their first day of fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Istiklal street, the main shopping corridor, on July 9, 2013 in Istanbul. During the month devout Muslims must abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset, when they break the fast with the meal known as Iftar.
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Turkish anti-goverment protesters chant slogans at the entrance of Gezi park during a protest after their first day of fasting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on Istiklal street, the main shopping corridor, on July 9, 2013 in Istanbul. During the month devout Muslims must abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset, when they break the fast with the meal known as Iftar.
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Egyptians shop in a market on the eve of Ramadan, the sacred holy month for Muslims where many will fast from sun-up to sun-down, on July 9, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt continues to be in a state of political paralysis following the ousting of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi by the military. Adly Mansour, chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was sworn in as the interim head of state in a ceremony in Cairo on the morning of July 4.
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Egyptians shop in a market on the eve of Ramadan, the sacred holy month for Muslims where many will fast from sun-up to sun-down, on July 9, 2013 in Cairo, Egypt. Egypt continues to be in a state of political paralysis following the ousting of Muslim Brotherhood leader Mohamed Morsi by the military. Adly Mansour, chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was sworn in as the interim head of state in a ceremony in Cairo on the morning of July 4.
– [Spencer Platt/Getty Images] -
A Palestinian fixes lights in an illuminated street outside the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, one of the five main religious obligations under Islam, Muslims are required to abstain from food and from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex from dawn until dusk.
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A Palestinian child poses with a star as people arrive to attend the evening prayer during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in the old city of Jerusalem on July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, one of the five main religious obligations under Islam, Muslims are required to abstain from food and from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex from dawn until dusk.
– [AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images] -
A pastry chef holds a tray of Arabic sweets at his bakery in Gaza City on the eve of the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, on July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, one of the five main religious obligations under Islam, Muslims are required to abstain from food and from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex from dawn until dusk.
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Dates, which are eaten to break a fast, are seen on sale at a market in Gaza City on the eve of the start of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, on July 9, 2013. During Ramadan, one of the five main religious obligations under Islam, Muslims are required to abstain from food and from drinking liquids, smoking and having sex from dawn until dusk.
– [MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images] -
Floral offerings are laid out for visitors making pilgrimages to visit the graves of family members before Ramadanon July 9, 2013 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Muslims fasting in the month of Ramadan abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset, when they break the fast with the meal known as Iftar.
– [Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images] -
Floral offerings are displayed for visitors making pilgrimages to visit the graves of family members before Ramadan on July 9, 2013 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Muslims fasting in the month of Ramadan abstain from food, drink and sex from dawn until sunset, when they break the fast with the meal known as Iftar.
– [Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images]
Written by GlobalPost’s award-winning team of Regional Editors, Chatter is a daily news blog that covers what you need to know about the world, as it happens.
For more details, visit www.globalpost.com
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