1. Gadhafi's demise and the Arab Spring
CNN October 21, 2011
The next chapter in the Arab Spring
(CNN) -- Three gone (Gadhafi, Mubarak, Ben Ali), two holding on in the face of daily protests (al-Assad, Saleh), two more (Kings Abdullah of Jordan and Mohammed of Morocco) trying to stay ahead of the curve of protest: After 10 months of the Arab Spring, the region is still in the throes of a heady and unpredictable transformation.
Moammar Gadhafi's demise, after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in Tunisia, means that three rulers in power collectively for 95 years are gone. Scholar and author Fouad Ajami, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, says that 2011 "is to the Arabs what 1989 was to the communist world. The Arabs are now coming into ownership of their own history and we have to celebrate."
Protesters in Yemen and Syria may be re-energized by the pictures from Sirte, Libya, showing the almost pathetic end of a ruler whose flowing robes and uniforms had long given him an aura of invincibility. Demonstrators in Syrian cities celebrated Gadhafi's death and warned President Bashar al-Assad that he would be next. As one Syrian activist told CNN: "The clear fate of all who kill his people is to end up under the feet of the nation."
2. Google Ice Cream Sandwich Woos Developers as IPhone Sales Set Record: Tech
Bloomberg Oct 19, 2011
Google Inc. (GOOG) unveiled the first device running the new version of its Android software, stepping up competition with Apple Inc. (AAPL) and seeking to win over developers by making it easier to write programs that run on both phones and tablets.
The new Android, dubbed Ice Cream Sandwich, was unveiled at a joint event with Samsung Electronics Co. in Hong Kong today, less than a week after Apple started selling the iPhone 4S, the smartphone that set a sales record of more than 4 million units in three days.
The latest Android incarnation pitches facial recognition programs that enhance security and photo sorting. With the update, Google Chief Executive Officer Larry Page aims to boost mobile-advertising sales and give customers an alternative to Apple’s iOS software, which runs iPhones and iPads. At stake is dominance in the $207 billion mobile-phone market, where iPhone is the top-selling device and Android is the most-used software.
3. Report: Death toll rises to 217 after massive earthquake in Turkey
CNN October 24, 2011
Residents of Ercis, Turkey, gather around fires in the aftermath of a 7.2-magnitude earthquake that rocked the city on Sunday.
(CNN) -- Battling near-freezing temperatures and darkness, rescue workers and residents in eastern Turkey early Monday scoured the wreckage wrought by the country's most-powerful earthquake in more than a decade, hoping to find survivors.
They used flashlights, shovels, heavy machinery and their hands to lift the debris, and climbed over collapsed buildings in search of victims.
At least 217 people were killed in Sunday's quake, said Turkish Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin, the Anatolian news agency reported Monday. The previous official toll was 138.
Another 350 people were injured in the quake, which the U.S. Geological Survey said had a magnitude of 7.2.
4. Tseng wins 7th LPGA title at home
The China Post October 24, 201
World pro golf queen Yani Tseng of Taiwan hit a 6-under 66 in the final round of the 2011 Sunrise LPGA Taiwan Championship to capture the title with a four-round total of 16-under 272, yesterday. The title is her seventh LPGA championship this year and the 12th in her professional career of four seasons.
The 22-year-old Tseng said she dedicated the trophy to all of her compatriots who have given her strong support. She also thanked corporate sponsors for their support of the first LPGA event ever played in Taiwan.
The latest victory fulfilled Tseng's goal of keeping the trophy of the first Taiwan LPGA tournament in the country.
She chalked up the five-stroke victory over Spain's Azahara Munoz and South Korea's Amy Yang, who shared second place with 272.
Tseng bagged the US$300,000 (NT$9 million) top prize to boost her tour-leading total to US$2,873,629.
5. Halloween
History.com
Straddling the line between fall and winter, plenty and paucity, life and death, Halloween is a time of celebration and superstition. It is thought to have originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off roaming ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to
honor all saints and martyrs; the holiday, All Saints’ Day, incorporated some of the traditions
of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows’ Eve and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a secular, community-based event characterized by child-friendly activities such as trick-or-treating. In a number of countries around the world, as the days grow shorter and the nights get colder, people continue to usher in the winter season with gatherings, costumes and sweet treats.
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