BY: A.J. Suit

A dozen Islamists were killed in shoot-outs with security forces in and around Tunis at the end of 2006 and the beginning of Lawyers say hundreds of people were arrested on suspicion of links with terrorist groups since 2003, when the authorities gained new powers of arrest. Political violence was vary rare until this all started. But militant Islamists have become an issue of concern for the authorities. A suicide bomb attack on an historic synagogue in the resort of Djerba in 2002 killed 21 people and led to a dramatic drop in tourist numbers. Tunisia

Five people were killed on Tuesday because of a bombing the country is blaming it on the Islamic military and saying that they were the ones that put the bomb. The country will not allow the OPEC to hold a ergent meting to talk about the oil spill 0.6 % today after supplies surged at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for the New York contract now the gas prices are going to go vary high and get above 4 dollars in the next couple weeks. Algeria

Eleven people died in overnight fighting between Christians and Muslims in the suburbs of Cairo, in the deadliest fighting since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak, which was striking for the solidarity between people of different backgrounds. The clashes broke out during a protest by several hundred Christians over the burning of a church in the village of Soul a week earlier, and raged into the early hours of the morning, adding to a sense of unease as the country charts a post-Mubarak future. Egypt

President Nicolas Sarkozy also became the first head of state to meet with rebel leaders, sitting down in Paris on Thursday with Mahmoud Jibril and Ali Al-Esawi of the Libyan National Council. The reporter, Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, was last seen on Sunday on the outskirts of the town of Zawiyah, the town about 30 miles outside the capital, Tripoli, where rebels and government forces have fought fierce battles in recent days. It is also the same area where the BBC reporters were arrested on Monday. Libya

Earlier this week the Saudi government released 25 Shiite protesters detained in the past few weeks The Saudi Ministry of Interior has stated that all protests are prohibited and security services will be authorized to use any measures required to maintain order. Media reports also indicated that the government dispatched 10,000 troops to the oil-rich east ahead of the planned protests. Saudi Arabia

Like much of the Middle East, Jordan has seen opposition protests calling for political change in the past two months. The demonstrations have not threatened the monarchy but are calling for the king to relinquish some powers. In response, U.S.-allied King Abdullah urged political parties this week to participate in an "active" national dialogue to widen freedoms and public participation in the decision making. The king said the parties should propose specific plans for election reforms. Jordan

Yemen is one of several Arab states that have seen mass protests in the wake of the January 2011 revolution in Tunisia. Thousands of demonstrators for and against President Ali Abdullah Saleh have taken to the streets in the capital and other regions. Sheik Abdul Majid al-Zindani's appearance seemed a marked contrast to the upheaval that brought down the leaders of other Arab states where uprisings have been seen as secular and inspired by democratic goals. Yemen

One sign of the strength of the government's grip came in February 2011, when turmoil was erupting across the Arab world in the wake of the revolution that toppled an autocratic ruler in Tunisia. In 2007, Israeli jets destroyed buildings in Syria that intelligence officials said might have been the first stage in a nuclear weapons program. And the United States and its Arab allies mounted a vigorous campaign to isolate Damascus, which they accused of sowing chaos and violence throughout the middle east through its support for militant groups like Hezbollah and Hamas. Syria