Egypt celebrated its first anniversary of the protests which led to Hosni Mubarak’s departure from power. In the country’s first free parliamentary elections, the Muslim Brotherhood and their hardline Salafi rivals won a joint 70% of the seats.

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.

Dozens of people were killed in Yemen during protests against President Saleh. Though he has promised to step down, he showed no sign of actually doing so.

More than 20 people were killed as protests broke out in the Syrian city of Homs. According to the UN, over 3,000 people have been killed since the Syrian unrests began in March.

Israeli solider Gilad Shalit, who had been held captive for more than five years by Hamas, was freed in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian soliders.

Russia and China vetoed a European-sponsored resolution in the UN Security Council condmening a crackdown on pro-democracy protesters by the Syrian government that has killed some 3,000 people.

Israel went ahead with plans to build another 1,100 homes in East Jerusalem, which the Palestinians see as their future capital.

Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh unexpectedly returned home, promising to arrange an orderly handover of power.

Forces fighting for Libya’s new government tightened their grip around Bani Walid and Sirte, the last two strongholds under Colonel Qaddafi’s control. The port of Sirte was said to be in the hands of rebel forces.

Yemeni capital Sana’a experienced three days of fighting between government forces and deserters calling for the resignation of President Saleh, who has been recuperating in Saudi Arabia following a bomb attack on his life in June. The battle left at least 70 people dead, most of them anti-government protesters.

The Palestinians seemed set to bid for full statehood at the United Nations to the consternation of Israel and the United States, which was sure to veto the application in the Security Council.

In an attempt to fend off calls for more freedom, Algeria’s president Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced plans to allow independent radio and television stations for the first time since independence in 1962.

A UN panel warned that Yemen is close to a civil war. Its president Ali Abdullah Saleh is still recovering in Saudi Arabia from an attack in his palace three months ago. Saleh instructed his vice-president to arrange for power to be handed over to a new government.

Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh, injured during an attack two months ago, left a hospital in Saudi Arabia but remained in Riyadh. He suffered severe burns when his compound in Sana’a was shelled in June.

The leader of Libya’s rebel movement, Mustafa Abdul Jalil, dismissed his cabinet following the killing of his military chief by a faction from his own side. Rebel troops captured the town of Bir Al-Ghanam, 80km south of Tripoli.

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.

Protests against Syria’s government continued and intensified. According to the regime, “armed gangs” in Jisr al-Shughour killed 120 members of security forces, though these claims could not be verified. At least 70 protesters were killed in Hama.

Tunisia’s interim government postponed the country’s first election since the January revolution to October 23rd, citing technical reasons.

Hundreds of Palestinians living in Syria tried to breach the Israeli border on the Golan heights. At least eight were killed.