1. Saudi king: Women will be allowed to vote and run for office
CNN Sep 25, 2011
(CNN) -- Women in Saudi Arabia will be allowed to vote and run for office in future municipal elections, King Abdullah announced Sunday.
In an address on Saudi state TV, the king said women will be allowed to nominate candidates for the next set of municipal elections. Although he did not use the word "vote," allowing women to take part in the nomination process would amount to voting within Saudi Arabia's system.
The country is holding municipal elections Thursday for the only the second time in nearly 50 years. The changes the king announced would go into effect for the next set of elections -- and it is unclear when those might take place.
Saudi women's rights activist Wajeha Al-Huwaider called the announcement "great news."
"Women's voices will be heard finally," she said. "Now it's time to remove other barriers like not allowing women to drive cars and not being able to function and live a normal life without a male guardian.
2. Facebook revamps site with 'Timeline' and real-time apps
CNN Sep 23, 2011
San Francisco (CNN) -- Facebook wants to hear your life story.
Not satisfied with just being a repository for recent vacation photos, the company is revamping the profile pages on its website to better highlight the milestones in a person's life, executives announced at its annual conference for software developers on Thursday.
This new version is based around the idea of a personal "timeline" rather than the standard profile pages that users have become used to.
"We're more than what we did just recently," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in unveiling the new look. "Timeline is a completely new aesthetic for Facebook."
The pages look more like blogs than a social-networking site. A large photo covers the top of the pages, stretching from one side of the screen to the other. And posts -- like photos, status updates and the locations a person visits -- show up below that, attached to a vertical and chronological timeline.
Facebook is hoping the changes encourage people to publish more information about their daily lives and about their pasts. In his onstage demonstration, Zuckerberg posted a baby picture of himself, which showed up at the bottom of his timeline profile.
"We think it's an important next step to help you tell the story of your life," he said.
3. Last bullfight in Barcelona sells out as Spain marks end of 600 years of history
Guardian 25 September 2011
Last bullfight in Barcelona: Matador Jose Tomas at the last day of fighting at La Monumental bullring before Catalonia bans the practice.
Fans spend up to eight times face value for tickets to see the final fight before practice is banned in Catalonia
It was the end of more than 600 years of history. On Sunday evening, amid the cheers of fans and the bloody death throes of fighting bulls, Barcelona hosted its last-ever bullfight.
As dusk fell in the Catalan capital, sequin-clad local matador Serafín Marín dispatched the last of six bulls on the sand of the packed La Monumental bullring – where touts had been offering tickets at eight times their original price.
With bullfighting banned in Catalonia as of next year – and with Sunday's fight marking the end of the season in Barcelona – no Spanish fighting bull will be killed in the city in the name of sport or art for the foreseeable future.
Supporters denounced the ban as an infringement of civil liberties. Opponents declared it an enlightened move away from mindless barbarity.
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