This is our new Friday Digest! Every Friday, this weekly news round-up gives us the occasion to share with you news from various topics: politics to arts, entertainment, media, science, sports, fun and less fun news… This digest is a list of news published this week on the Internet (Friday to Friday), selected by the Sama Team, and it is by no means exhaustive.

If you want to suggest a news to be added in the next Friday Digest, contact us.

The list goes from oldest to newest news.  See you on Sunday, for our weekly Twitter Sunday!

Senior North Korean Defector Dies
The most senior member of the North Korean government to defect to South Korea was found dead at his home in Seoul on Sunday morning, local news media reported, citing police officials. The defector, Hwang Jang-yop, 87, was the North’s former chief ideologue and a mentor to the current leader, Kim Jong-il. His death came on the same day that the North held a…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/10/world/asia/10defect.html

Protesters attack police at Belgrade Gay Pride parade
Serbian police have clashed with protesters trying to disrupt a Gay Pride parade in the capital, Belgrade. Police used tear gas against the rioters, who threw petrol bombs and stones at armed officers and tried to break through the security cordon. Police said several officers had been injured in the clashes. This is the first Gay Pride parade in Serbia since…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11507253

Microsoft Unveils New Windows Phones
Microsoft on Monday unveiled the final version of its long-awaited Windows Phone 7 mobile operating system, which it hopes will give it a greater presence in the rapidly expanding market for smartphones. The software was introduced at a news conference in New York City led by Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive officer. He said the new operating system…
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/11/microsoft-announces-final-windows-phones/

Women fight Mauritania’s fattening tradition
Young Mauritanian girls are traditionally force-fed and fattened for the sake of beauty and marriage, but now some are fighting the tradition, saying it’s dangerous to their health. Heavier girls and women are viewed as beautiful, wealthy and socially-accepted while their slimmer counterparts are considered inferior and bring shame on their families in Mauritanian…
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/10/12/mauritania.force.feed/index.html

Lebanon crowds cheer Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Crowds of cheering Lebanese have welcomed Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to Beirut, on a visit likely to prove divisive in the region. Mr Ahmadinejad’s motorcade was showered with rice and flowers on its way from the airport to the presidential palace. But many people are alarmed at the visit, as Iran backs the Hezbollah group, an avowed enemy of Israel…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11526143

Former Chinese Officials Demand Media Freedom
A group of retired Communist Party officials and intellectuals issued an unusually blunt demand on Tuesday for total media freedom in China, stating that the current regime of censorship and government control of the press violates China’s constitution and debases the government’s claim to represent its citizens. The document’s 20 signers, including academics…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/14/world/asia/14china.html

Hitler’s relationship with Germany explored
The title is important: Hitler and the German People. The first ever big exhibition in a major German museum to focus on Hitler is not just about him but about his relationship with the people. And that, of course, makes for discomfort. After all, the people who come to the German Historical Museum in Berlin are the grandchildren and, occasionally…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11542473

Referendum in Sudan May Be Delayed
North Sudanese leaders said Thursday that it was impossible to hold a referendum on the future of the country’s disputed, oil-rich Abyei region on time. An official from the south’s main party said it would be “unacceptable” to postpone the vote from the Jan. 9, 2011, deadline set in a 2005 deal that ended Africa’s longest-running civil war…
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/15/world/africa/15sudan.html

Chile miners told by president: this must never happen again
President Sebastián Piñera promised yesterday to improve working conditions for miners across Chile, and challenged the rescued 33 miners to a football match against his cabinet, causing even more nationwide rapture after the rescue. The president visited the men in hospital at Copiapo, where they were recovering after 69 days trapped in a nearby gold…
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/oct/14/chile