The Palestinians said they would formally apply for enhanced observer status at the United Nations during a meeting of the General Assembly on November 29th. A large majority is likely to say yes.

A series of bomb blasts killed two foreign workers in Bahrain. The official news agency blamed terrorists for the attacks.

Increases in fuel prices sparked demonstrations and calls for a general strike in Amman, Jordan. There was a rare show of public anger directed at the monarchy.

Prince Mohamed bin Nayef replaced one of his uncles as Saudi Arabia’s interior minister, a job his late father has held for 37 years.

Bahrain revoked the citizenship of over 30 opposition members, with the interior minister citing their ‘repeated abuse’ of the right of freedom of speech could no longer be accepted.

Following clashes between anti-government demonstrators and the police, Bahrain banned all protests in the country. The interior minister said that the “repeated abuse” of the right to freedom of expression could no longer be accepted, and that protests would be permitted only once security and stability were restored.

A report by the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry said the authorities had used ‘excessive force’ in a crackdown earlier this year against mostly Shia pro-democracy protesters.

Saif Al-Islam Qaddafi was caught in southern Libya, as was Muammar Qaddafi’s security chief Abdullah al-Senussi. Both are wanted by the International Criminal Court.

Yemen’s president Ali Abdullah Saleh signed an agreement brokered by the GCC, saying he would stand down and hand power to his vice-president.

Tunisia’s ousted president, Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, and his wife were sentenced in absentia to 35 years for corruption and fined US$ 66m.

Dozens of Al-Qaeda members escaped from a prison in the port city of Mukalla in Yemen.

In Bahrain, eight pro-democracy campaigners, all Shias, were given life sentences for “plotting to overthrow the government”.

A series of bombings in Iraq killed at least 35 people, predominantly in Diwaniya, south of Baghdad. The attacks were presumed to have been carried out by Sunni extremists linked to Al-Qaeda.

Mahmoud Abbas and Khaled Meshal, leaders of respectively Fatah and Hamas, cancelled a meeting at which they were meant to select a prime minister. The news came as a blow to Palestinian hopes of unity.

Turmoil in Syria continued, with at least 42 people being killed since May 27th.

Bahrain lifted a state of emergency, which was in place for two-and-half months, with the help of Saudi and Emirati forces.

Five generals were among the 120 soliders who defected from Colonel Qaddafi’s regime in Libya.

Scores died in Syria as security forces suppressed anti-regime protests, particularly in Latakia and Deraa. President Bashar Assad said he would lift the 48-year-old state of emergency, but did not say when.

Following weeks of violent protests, Yemen’s President Ali Abdullah Saleh offered to transfer his powers to a caretaker government while retaining the presidency until elections are held. Protesters declined the offer.

Sectarian relations in the Middle East soured after Nuri Al-Maliki, Iraq’s prime minister and a Shia himself, praised the Shia protesters in Bahrain and criticised Sunni Saudi Arabia for helping to suppress them. Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hizbullah, Lebanon’s Shia party-cum-militia, also aroused anger among Sunni governments by praising the Bahraini protesters and likening the Bahraini ruling family to Libya’s Gaddafi.

At least 55 people were killed in Tikrit, Iraq, after suicide bombers thought to be linked to Al-Qaeda to a score of hostages, including several members of the local council, prompting government forces to storm the building.

A bomb left at a bus stop in Jerusalem killed one British tourist and injured 30 people. It was the first such attack the city for more than six years. The bomb came after Israeli jets launched air raids in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for rockets being fired into Israel by Palestinian militants.

The death toll from the crackdown by Bahrain’s security forces rose to 18. Protesters continue to demand reform.

Three-quarters of Egyptian voters endorsed a batch of constituional amendments in a national referendum. The move paves the way for a general and presidential election in June and September respectively.

Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh promised to step down by the end of the year after snipers killed at least 50 protesters in Sana’a. Several of his closest military and tribal allies have turned against the president in recent days.

Saudi Arabia sent 2,000 troops to Bahrain to help curb a growing protest movement. Martial law was declared after police opened fire on a crowd of mainly Shia demonstrators.

Protests continued in Yemen against the regime of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, but were met with a fierce crackdown.

Open defiance of protesters against authoritarian governments in the Middle-East spread to Morocco and Iraqi Kurdistan. In Bahrain protesters were met with fierce retaliation from the royal family, resulting in several casualties. After heavy criticism it relented and vowed to work towards political reform.

The chief prosecutor in Egypt called for the freezing of assets of deposed President Hosni Mubarak.

Oil prices soared as a result of the political strife in Libya. Brent crude traded at well above US$ 115 a barrel.