Chatter: Walk like an Egyptian former dictator

NEED TO KNOW

Egypt's retro revolution. Reports say that an all-too-familiar figure will be back on the streets of Egypt before the end of the week: Hosni Mubarak. The second-to-last president the country deposed, back in 2011, is expected to be freed from jail within 48 hours, according to his lawyer.

While we wait for further confirmation, the bodies continue to pile up. The latest death toll comes not from Cairo but the Sinai, where police say 24 of their officers were killed in an ambush by suspected Islamist militants. It's not clear whether the attack is linked to the tumultuous events of the past five days; but it's sure to set the alarm bells ringing in neighboring Israel.

Further West, the European Union is holding an emergency meeting today to discuss its response to the crisis — namely, whether it continues to send the millions of dollars' worth of aid that's supposed to help Egypt build a new government. One, presumably, that doesn't include its old president.

WANT TO KNOW

Getting the scoop can get you in trouble. British police are facing some uncomfortable questions after detaining, for no good reason they've yet told us, the partner of the journalist who broke the National Security Agency surveillance story at a London airport. Police invoked counterterrorism laws to hold David Miranda, the boyfriend and sometime colleague of Guardian reporter Glenn Greenwald, for a full nine hours yesterday as he attempted to board a flight back to his native Brazil. 

According to Greenwald, officers didn't ask Miranda a single question about anything related to terrorism — rather, they wanted to know all about which revelations from Edward Snowden they should be expecting next. The Brazilian government has complained and British lawmakers are demanding an explanation. For Greenwald, at least, it's obvious: intimidation, bullying and "depotism."

The trial of Oscar Pistorius. South Africa's once beloved Blade Runner returned to court for the first time in months today to be formally indicted for murder. Pistorius was charged with deliberately killing Reeva Steenkamp, a model who would have turned 30 today had her sprinter boyfriend not shot her multiple times through a locked bathroom door in the early hours of February 14. Pistorius, of course, claims he mistook her for a burglar.

Under the stares of Steenkamp's friends, his family and dozens of journalists, the Paralympic champion was told that his trial would begin on March 3, 2014. It was clearly an emotional hearing; there'll be more, and worse, to come.

There's one thing China's missing: a truly global brand. The country may be the world's second biggest economy, but it doesn't have an Apple or a Samsung it can call its own. And it needs one. Many, in fact, if it's going to succeed as an economic superpower.

GlobalPost investigates how long is left until "Made in China" becomes a badge of pride.

STRANGE BUT TRUE

Come home. Please? Kim Jong Un is showing his softer side when it comes to persuading defectors that North Korea ain't so bad, after all. Where escapees once faced hard labor or death if they chose — or were forced — to return, the latest Kim is said to be offering safe passage, cash rewards and even a spot on prime-time TV to those who venture home. 

Of course, that doesn't mean North Koreans are free to flee in the first place: Kim has also been beefing up security along the border with China to make sure his loving citizens stay put. Behind every carrot, a stick.