News, Politics

Arab Spring – What’s Happening Now? An Update

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Arab Spring Image: Rdltilh
Image collage: Rdltilh

Almost a year later, the effects of Arab Spring are still being felt.

Last December, the people of North Africa started what is being called Arab Spring. Arab Spring refers to a series of uprisings by the people in a number of Arab countries.

The citizens rebelled when they could no longer put up with dictators and their cruelty. They forced the President of Tunisia to flee to Saudi Arabia and the President of Egypt to quit his job and move away.

The leader of Sudan has said he won’t run again when elections come up, but says his decision has nothing to do with the protests.

Libya’s Moammar Gadhafi held out for many months and continued to direct his soldiers to fight and destroy when he went into hiding. Finally, he was found and killed. Last Saturday, Gadhafi’s son, who fought with him to the end, was arrested. He will be tried in Libya for war crimes.

In the Middle East, two governments under King Abdullah of Jordan have fallen.

In Yemen, the president said he would step down if a new government promised not to charge him with crimes. But then, he did an about-face and stayed in power.

The regime in Syria continues to be cruel and oppressive, by burning people’s houses, killing citizens and putting people in prison. The United States and Turkey have placed sanctions on Syria. (Sanctions are steps to hold back on things one country wants, which another country has.)

In Iran the situation is different. There the protests are against western countries that believe Iran is building nuclear weapons. Sanctions have been placed on Iran by Britain and other countries.

This week students broke into the British embassy in Iran’s capital and looted and burned British property. This has created even more concern around the world over Iran’s future actions.

By Jonathan Tilly

Writing/Discussion Prompt
Arab Spring began in Tunisia and spread to other countries. Why did Arab Spring spread? How might it influence other countries throughout the world?

Reading Prompt: Comprehension Strategies
How does having read previous articles on TKN about the Arab Spring help you understand today’s update? What questions do you still have? How could you find out the answers?

Primary & Junior


Grammar Feature: Proper Nouns (Geography)
The specific name of a place is a proper noun. Today’s article contains many names of different places.

Place the names of the countries mentioned in today’s article on the map below. If you are writing the first letter of the country, be sure to use a capital letter.