Portal:Current events/2013 July 4

Current events of July 4, 2013 (2013-07-04) (Thursday)

Arts and culture The Statue of Liberty opens for the first time since Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to Liberty Island in New York harbor in late October 2012. (The Atlantic Wire) Disasters and accidents A house fire kills 6 people in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. (AP via Kansas.com) International relations South Korea offers to hold talks with North Korea over reopening a joint factory complex in the North Korean town of Kaesong which shut down in April. (AP via The Hindu) Law and Crime Scotland Yard discovers new evidence and new witnesses in the Madeleine McCann case and opens a formal investigation into her disappearance. (BBC) Egypt arrests Mohammed Badie, the Supreme Leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, for "inciting the killing of protesters". (Wires via France 24) Former President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, announces his resignation from the Constitutional Council of France following a finding that he exceeded spending limits in his 2012 Presidential election campaign. (The Local) At least 19 people have been shot in the US city of Chicago since Wednesday with four people killed and 15 injured. (NBC Chicago) Politics and elections Campaigning gets underway in Japan for the House of Councillors election with voting to start on July 21. (Xinhua) Portuguese political crisis, 2013 A series of talks between Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister to solve the question around the former's resignation. After a third round the Prime Minister Passos Coelho is to meet with the President of the Republic Cavaco Silva. Former South African President Nelson Mandela is now in a "permanent vegetative state" and doctors have advised his family to turn off his life support machine. (AFP via News24) (Sky News) Science and technology A new species of lizard is found in Sergipe, Brazil. (GloboNews)