This morning’s key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com.

* In bitter defeat, Berlusconi resigns as Italy’s prime minister.

* Arab League sort-of suspends Syria’s membership

* Clashes escalate among Libya’s tribal militias near Tripoli

* Niger grants asylum to Saadi Gaddafi

* 17 Revolutionary Guards killed in massive explosions at munitions depot in Iran

* Yemen’s vice president warns of ‘hunger revolution’

* ABC TV show ‘Pan Am’ covers difficult issues in depth

In bitter defeat, Berlusconi resigns as Italy’s prime minister.

Italy’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi has survived in office since 1994 through numerous sex scandals and charges of corruption, but he couldn’t find a way to avoid becoming the latest victim of the euro debt crisis. Many Italians are blaming him personally for the country’s economic problems, resulting in the loss of a parliamentary majority that forced him to resign. Large crowds gather to shout insults — calling him a buffoon and a Mafioso. Some made fun of his alleged “bunga bunga” parties with underage girls. Former European Commissioner Mario Monti looks set to gain the president’s approval as a new technocrat prime minister. His responsibility will be to stabilize the economy so elections can be held, likely early next year. VOA

Arab League sort-of suspends Syria’s membership

At first it seemed that the normally toothless Arab League had finally taken a stand on something, and had suspended Syria’s membership. But when you read the fine print, you find that Syria’s membership wasn’t suspended at all, but its “activities” were suspended (without explaining what that means). And even that won’t take place until Wednesday, giving the Syrians four days to try to put up another smokescreen to get the decision postponed. Apparently the resolution was watered down to get as many Arab states as possible to vote for it: 19 member countries voted in favor of it, while Lebanon and Yemen voted against it, and Iraq abstained. Al-Jazeera and Reuters

Clashes escalate among Libya’s tribal militias near Tripoli

Escalating clashes among tribal militia groups near Tripoli have killed several fighters over three days, amid growing concerns about rivalries between the heavily armed rebels who control overlapping areas in and around Tripoli. The fighting was the most recent in a string of deadly confrontations among those who fought to overthrow Gaddafi’s government and still have ready access to weapons. In Tripoli, where the police force is not fully functioning, brigades from a variety of tribes and regions control different parts of the city. The fighting continues despite a concerted effort to reconcile the battling factions by Mustafa Abdel Jalil, chairman of the rebel Transitional National Council. Prior to his death, Muammar Gaddafi predicted that without him, the country would descend into tribal civil war. Washington Post

Niger grants asylum to Saadi Gaddafi

Saadi Gaddafi, a bisexual playboy, was granted asylum on “humanitarian” grounds, according to Mahamadou Issoufou, the president of Niger. Libya’s National Transitional Council alleges that Saadi misappropriated property and engaged in “armed intimidation” when he headed the Libyan Football Federation. He also led his own militia and was accused of directing fire on civilians during the early stages of the uprising that that ultimately led to the fall of his father’s 42-year regime. Telegraph

17 Revolutionary Guards killed in massive explosions at munitions depot in Iran

Seventeen personnel of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) were killed by two huge explosions that occurred on Saturday at an IRGC munitions depotabout 30 kilometers west of Tehran. Major General Hassan Tehrani Moqaddam, the director of the IRGC Jihad Self-Sufficiency Organization, was also martyred in the incident. The IRGC is calling the incident an accident, occurring during the transport of ammunition at one of the depots. In particular, an Iranian official is denying that the explosions were caused by Israeli sabotage. There was a large terrorist attack in 2009 that killed 20 IRGC personnel. That attack was blamed on Jundullah, a Pakistan-based Sunni Islamist terrorist group with links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Tehran Times and AP

Yemen’s vice president warns of ‘hunger revolution’

Yemen’s “Arab Spring” violence has been eclipsed in the news by the violence in Syria in recent months, but that doesn’t mean that the killing has ended. Thousands of people have been killed and injured since the protests began in late January, to demand an end to the 33-year rule of president Ali Abdullah Saleh, impoverishing the country. Vice President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi is now warning that Yemen will experience a “hunger revolution” unless a peace agreement is implemented soon. Xinhua

ABC TV show ‘Pan Am’ covers difficult issues in depth

I’ve just watched the third episode of “Pan Am” that airs on Sunday evenings. (I record shows, and watch them later when I can.) The show takes place in the early 1960s, and covers the lives of Pan Am stewardesses and pilots. I originally expected this show to be a series of silly chick flicks, but it’s far from that. The episode that I just watched, “Ich Bin Ein Berliner,” portrays the powerful emotional conflicts that Germans had over their Nazi past, which was still fresh in their minds at that time.