TURKEY: At least 138 people are dead following a 7.2 magnitude earthquake that struck eastern Turkey on October 23.  (AP)
 
LIBYA:  The country’s transitional government declared national liberation during a ceremony in Benghazi on October 23.  (BBC)
 
UNITED STATES/IRAQ:  President Obama announced October 21 as the withdrawal date for all U.S. troops serving in Iraq before the end of the year.  (Washington Post)
 
TUNISIA:  Tunisians came out in large numbers to participate in the country’s first free elections, the first of the Arab Spring, to select an assembly responsible for drafting a new constitution.  (Reuters)
 
ARGENTINA: President Cristina Fernandez was re-elected on October 23 with 53 percent of the votes, the widest margin of victory in Argentina’s history.  (Miami Herald)
 
THAILAND:  At least 342 people have been confirmed dead following the country’s worst floods in fifty years.  (Xinhua)
 
SAUDI ARABIA:  Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, first in line to succeed King Abdullah, died at age 85 after a battle with colon cancer.  (The Guardian)