Current Events

Tunisia In what became known as the Jasmine Revolution, a sudden and explosive wave of street protests ousted the authoritarian president, Zine el-Abidine, who had ruled with an iron hand for 23 years. On Jan. 14, Mr. Ben Ali left the country after trying unsuccessfully to placate the demonstrators with promises of elections. According to government figures issued later, 78 protesters died and 94 were injured during the demonstrations.

Algeria Algeria’s government has operated under a state of emergency for nearly two decades. Its battle with Islamic militants reached a peak in a brutal civil war in the 1990s, in which more than 100,000 people were killed. That conflict began after the military-backed government canceled elections that an Islamist party appeared poised to win. In May 2012, the government announced that the ruling party had strengthened its rule in parliamentary elections. Anywhere from 60 percent to 80 percent — boycotted the vote. An offshoot formed primarily by Algerian extremists. In January 2013, Algeria was drawn into the conflict in Mali, its neighbor to the south, when militants seized dozens of hostages from an internationally managed gas field in Algeria, saying the act was in retaliation for a French military assault on the Islamist extremists who had taken control of northern Mali.

Egypt The transition to democracy has not been been smooth. The country has lurched from crisis to crisis. In the first two years after the revolution, Egypt seemed to break repeatedly into three camps: the military and other supporters of the Mubarak regime; the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamic party that had been officially banned but had nonetheless been the country’s largest political force; and the young liberal, secular activists who set off the revolution in the first place.

Libya In Benghazi Libya, armed Islamist militants invaded and burned the American Consulate in the eastern city, killing the United States ambassador to Libya, J. Christopher Stevens. Other important people died such as Sean Smith, a Foreign Service officer, and Tyrone S. Woods and Glen A. Doherty, both former members of the Navy SEALs who helped protect diplomatic personnel. It was the first time since 1979 that an American ambassador had died in a violent assault. Due to the attack, questions about the radicalization of countries swept up in the Arab Spring and has become a significant issue in the presidential campaign.

Saudi Arabia The United States has been increasing its dependence on oil from Saudi Arabia. This is raising its imports from the kingdom by more than 20 percent. Fears of military conflict in the tinderbox Persian Gulf region grow. increase in Saudi oil exports to the United States began slowly last summer and has picked up pace in Until then, the United States had decreased its dependence on foreign oil and from This reversal is driven in part by the battle over Iran’s nuclear program. The United States tightened sanctions that hampered Iran’s ability to sell crude, the lifeline of its troubled economy, and Saudi Arabia agreed to increase production to help guarantee that the price did not skyrocket the Gulf in particular.

Jordan Recently, Protests were led by the Islamic Action Front, the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, but included leftists and trade unions. Demonstrators protested economic hardship and demanded the right to elect the prime minister, who is currently appointed by King Abdullah II. On Feb. 1, the king dismissed his cabinet and prime minister in a surprise effort to calm street protests that had also been fueled by the country’s worst economic crisis in years. In June, he announced that the government would in the future be elected, not appointed, responding to a demand of protesters calling for democratic change. That fall, the king fired his government yet again.

Yemen Yemen is a poor, deeply divided country that has been in turmoil since January 2011, when protesters inspired by the Arab Spring took to the streets in a violent uprising against the autocratic rule of President Ali Abdullah Saleh — at a cost of hundreds of deaths and rising chaos.In February 2012, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, the country’s former vice president, was elected president. But the reality is that Mr. Saleh still wields considerable influence in Yemen. His relatives control most of the military and government security agencies.

Syria Residents of a small southern city took to the streets to protest the torture of students who had put up anti- government graffiti. The government responded with heavy- handed force, and demonstrations quickly spread across much of the country.