Egyptian protesters fill Tahrir Square in Cairo, demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. AFP
Egyptian protesters fill Tahrir Square in Cairo, demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. AFP

2011 - The Arab Spring

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Updated 19 April 2025
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2011 - The Arab Spring

2011 - The Arab Spring
  • Many of the regional revolution’s hopes and promises remain unfulfilled but its effects continue to shape the region today 

LONDON: In an article published in 2020 when Arab News celebrated its 45th anniversary, Abdel Latif El-Menawy, the former head of news at Egypt’s state broadcaster, reflected on the fall of Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak nine years previously. 

“In history, there are certain major events that should stop us and make us think for a long while,” he wrote. 

“We must contemplate them to understand what happened, learn from them, avoid making the same mistakes, and emphasize what we found to be correct.” 

Although El-Menawy was referring specifically to Mubarak’s downfall, his words ring true for the broader events that unfolded across the Arab world in 2011. In a climate of frustration, political repression and economic hardship, people took to the streets, igniting a wave of revolts that swept across the region. From North Africa to the Levant, demonstrators rose up against entrenched authoritarianism, corruption and inequality. 

Historians would label this period the “Arab Spring,” a moment of upheaval driven by the hope of revolution and change. As with all major historical uprisings, it was born out of long-standing grievances and driven by ordinary people seeking dignity and a better future. 

How we wrote it




Arab News reported that Tunisian leader Ben Ali has fled his country after failing to quell the protests that ignited the Arab Spring.

The single spark that ignited the entire movement came on Dec. 17, 2010, when a young Tunisian street vendor, Mohammed Bouazizi, set himself on fire in protest against police harassment. His desperate act electrified Tunisia, triggering mass demonstrations that quickly escalated into what became known as the Jasmine Revolution. 

The Tunisian government’s attempts to quell the unrest, through violent crackdowns and then last-minute political concessions, failed to contain the anger. The protests overwhelmed the country’s security forces and on Jan. 14, 2011, President Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali fled the country, bringing to an abrupt end his 23-year rule. 

The uprising in Tunisia sent shock waves across the region. In Egypt, anger that had long been simmering beneath the surface finally boiled over. Inspired by the success of the protests in Tunisia, and mobilized through social media, tens of thousands of Egyptians took to the streets on Jan. 25, 2011. 

Tahrir Square in Cairo became the epicenter of the revolution, where a sea of protesters gathered to demand the resignation of Hosni Mubarak, a former military officer who had served as president of Egypt since 1981. 

According to a later governmental commission, over the course of 18 days at least 846 people were killed and thousands more injured. The pressure on Mubarak became unsustainable and on Feb. 11, after 30 years in power, he stepped down. 

Key Dates

  • 1

    Tunisian street vendor Mohammed Bouazizi sets himself on fire in protest against police harassment, triggering the Tunisian revolution and broader Arab Spring. Within a month, Tunisia’s president, Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, is overthrown.

    Timeline Image Dec. 17, 2010

  • 2

    Protests erupt in Yemen and Syria. In Egypt, thousands gather in Tahrir Square, Cairo, demanding the resignation of President Hosni Mubarak. He steps down after 18 days of mass protests.

    Timeline Image Jan. 2011

  • 3

    Anti-Qaddafi protests break out in Benghazi, marking the start of an uprising in Libya that soon escalates into civil war. Qaddafi is captured and killed by rebels on Oct. 20.

    Timeline Image Feb. 15, 2011

  • 4

    An uprising starts in Syria after security forces kill protesters demanding the release of political prisoners. A civil war begins.

    Timeline Image March 15, 2011

  • 5

    Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is seriously injured in an assassination attempt and flees the country.

    Timeline Image June 3, 2011

  • 6

    Syria’s President Bashar Assad flees the country when his regime collapses in the face of a major opposition offensive, ending 14 years of civil war.

    Timeline Image Dec. 8, 2024

It was a historic moment, not only for Egypt but for the entire Arab world. As Arab News reported the next day, “fireworks burst over Tahrir Square and Egypt exploded with joy and tears of relief” at the fall of a leader “who until the end seemed unable to grasp the depth of resentment over his three decades of rule.” 

El-Menawy, who was responsible within the Mubarak government for managing the state media, was informed by a leading military figure of the imminent departure of the president. He immediately released the information to news organizations. As he later recalled, he felt conflicted about the turn of events. 

“I was not part of the regime in its political sense but I was a professional employed by the state and had a role to play,” he said. But at the same time “I also had many friends in Tahrir Square demonstrating for what they believed in.” Understandably, “emotions were running high” that day, he added. 

Encouraged by the rapid successes of the protests in Tunisia and Egypt, uprisings erupted across Yemen, Bahrain, Libya and Syria between January and March 2011. Unlike in Tunisia and Egypt, where regimes fell quickly, these revolts spiraled into prolonged and bloody conflicts, leaving a legacy of instability that lingers to this day. 

In Yemen, pro-democracy protesters demanded the resignation of longtime President Ali Abdullah Saleh. While they succeeded in ousting him, the revolution plunged the country into civil war, exacerbating deep-seated tribal divisions and paving the way for the Houthis to capitalize on the chaos. The conflict led to one of the worst humanitarian crises in modern history, triggering famine and a devastating cholera outbreak. 

In Bahrain, the protests were swiftly subdued. However, authorities did implement some reforms recommended by an independent commission.




Egyptian protestor is hugged by army soldier as he raises his hands to the sky after troops took position at major junctions in central Cairo on January 29, 2011. AFP

In Libya, anti-government protests against Muammar Qaddafi had escalated into an armed revolt by mid-February 2011. The uprising gained momentum with the intervention of NATO, which launched airstrikes targeting Qaddafi’s forces. 

This foreign backing ultimately led to Qaddafi’s downfall and death in October 2011 but the country descended into chaos soon after. The newly formed Transitional National Council struggled to impose its authority, and by 2014 Libya had collapsed into civil war, divided between rival factions. 

Syria emerged from the Arab Spring in much worse shape than it had been before. The protests against President Bashar Assad, which began in southern Syria and spread nationwide in mid-March 2011, were met with brutal repression. 

Assad’s violent crackdown plunged Syria into deep instability, transforming it into a battleground for competing global and regional powers, including the US, Russia, Turkiye, Iran, Kurdish forces and Daesh. 

As Arab News journalist Sharif Nashashibi observed five years ago, on the 45th anniversary of Arab News: “The many injustices facing the Arab world over the decades — some imposed from outside, others fostered from within — led to vibrant and determined movements that campaigned for self-determination, human rights, justice, equality and international law. 

“Those movements provided hope to counterbalance despair and disillusionment. The Syrian conflict snuffed out that hope.” 




People wave independence-era Syrian flags during celebrations for the ousting of president Bashar al-Assad at the main Umayyad Square in Damascus. AFP

After 14 years of war, the fate of Syria took a dramatic turn in December 2024, when the rebel group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, led by former Al-Qaeda commander Ahmad Al-Sharaa, seized control during a swift offensive that finally toppled the Assad family’s 53-year ruling regime. 

This moment marked a historic turning point, encapsulating the domino effect that had reshaped the region, from the fall of Saddam Hussein in Iraq to the rise of Iranian influence. 

Despite the most recent developments, the Syrian revolution was a tragedy best understood through the suffering of those who lived it, whether among the hundreds of thousands imprisoned and tortured by Assad’s regime or the millions forced into exile, uncertain if they would ever see their homeland or loved ones again.

Nearly 15 years after it began, many of the hopes and promises of the Arab Spring remain unfulfilled. Several countries continue to struggle with weak leadership, extremist insurgencies and economic collapse.  

But the effects of that season of revolt can be observed in the fates of five regional leaders whose regimes once seemed impregnable: Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, Ali Abdullah Saleh of Yemen, Muammar Qaddafi of Libya, and Bashar Assad of Syria. 

Of those five, only one, Assad, is still alive, having fled his country to seek asylum in Moscow. 

  • Gabriele Malvisi is a researcher and contributor to the Research & Studies Unit at Arab News. 


Real Madrid holds off hard-charging Borussia Dortmund to earn semifinal berth

Real Madrid holds off hard-charging Borussia Dortmund to earn semifinal berth
Updated 13 min 34 sec ago
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Real Madrid holds off hard-charging Borussia Dortmund to earn semifinal berth

Real Madrid holds off hard-charging Borussia Dortmund to earn semifinal berth
  • Real Madrid will play Paris Saint-Germain in the same city on Wednesday

Gonzalo Garcia rewarded his coach’s faith in him with the opening goal to help Real Madrid to a wild-ending 3-2 win against Borussia Dortmund in East Rutherford, N.J. on Saturday afternoon to advance to the semifinals of the Club World Cup.
Real Madrid will play Paris Saint-Germain in the same city on Wednesday.
With superstar Kylian Mbappe gradually recovering from an illness, coach Xabi Alonso elected to instead start the 21-year-old Garcia and he scored his fourth goal of the Club World Cup in the 10th minute.
Fran Garcia, no relation, made it 2-0 in the 20th.
Then it got crazy. Dortmund’s Max Beier cut the lead in half in the second minute of second-half stoppage time.
Mbappe, who entered in the 67th minute, made it 3-1 in 90+4 with a spectacular side-volley but Real Madrid defender Dean Huijsen was red-carded in 90+6 for a foul in the box and Serhou Guirassy converted the penalty kick in 90+8.
Dortmund had one final try and Thibaut Courtois made a great full-extension save on Marcel Sabitzer in 90+10.
The match looked fully in hand until a clearance bounced to Beier and he first-timed a strike that brushed Huijsen on the way in to make it 2-1.
Mbappe then did his thing from the left side of the 6-yard box off the second assist of the match for Guler.
Just as Real Madrid was ready to exhale, Huijsen prevented goal-scoring opportunity and Guirassy scored for the third time in two matches.
Huijsen is suspended for the semifinal.
It was left to Courtois with his diving stop at the left corner to finally seal the win.


Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago

Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago
Updated 20 min 17 sec ago
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Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago

Shane van Gisbergen wins the pole for Cup Series race in downtown Chicago
  • Van Gisbergen has won the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165

CHICAGO: When it comes to NASCAR’s street course in downtown Chicago, there is Shane van Gisbergen, and then there is everyone else.
Van Gisbergen has won the pole for Sunday’s Grant Park 165. The 36-year-old New Zealander turned a lap at 88.338 mph on a tricky 2.2-mile course that was made more treacherous by temperatures in the 90s Fahrenheit on Saturday.
“Practice wasn’t that great for us, but when we went out for qualifying, the car felt really good,” van Gisbergen said. “We turned in two pretty good laps.”
The Trackhouse Racing driver will be joined on the front row by Michael McDowell, who grabbed the second slot at 87.879 mph. Carson Hocevar (87.824 mph), Tyler Reddick (87.779 mph) and Chase Briscoe (87.734 mph) rounded out the top five.
McDowell is one of three drivers who finished in the top 10 in the first two races in downtown Chicago.
“Our car’s in the game,” he said. “Tomorrow will be a mixed bag with potential weather in and out. So a lot of variables to go out there and navigate.”
Van Gisbergen, a three-time champion in Australia’s Supercars, also was on the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series race.
“I learned a lot in the Xfinity Series car this morning, and that just gives you a great leg up for the Cup car,” he said. “I think it’s great running both cars, it certainly helps.”
Just two years ago, van Gisbergen raced to a historic victory in a rainy first edition of NASCAR’s downtown Chicago experiment. Making the most of his extensive street racing experience, he became the first driver to win his Cup Series debut since Johnny Rutherford in the second qualifying race at Daytona in 1963.
He won Chicago’s Xfinity Series stop last year and the first stage in the Cup race before he was knocked out by a crash.
Katherine Legge became the first woman to qualify for the Cup race in downtown Chicago when she turned a lap of 85.744 mph, knocking Corey Heim out of the field.
“We would have been a lot faster, I think, had I not kept nicking the wall,” Legge said. “I’ve given my crew a lot of work to do from that, but we had to keep pushing to put it in the show. I’m really proud of this team, and I’m very much looking forward to tomorrow.”


Djokovic’s daughter steals the show at Wimbledon with her victory dance

Djokovic’s daughter steals the show at Wimbledon with her victory dance
Updated 44 min 37 sec ago
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Djokovic’s daughter steals the show at Wimbledon with her victory dance

Djokovic’s daughter steals the show at Wimbledon with her victory dance
  • Tara Djokovic’s victory dance brought a smile to dad’s face. Everybody else’s, too

LONDON: Novak Djokovic won the match on Center Court on Saturday, but it was his 7-year-old daughter who really wowed Wimbledon.
Tara Djokovic’s victory dance brought a smile to dad’s face. Everybody else’s, too.
Djokovic had just clinched his 100th Wimbledon singles win and was asked during his on-court interview to shed light on the little dance he’s been doing recently.
He said it’s done to a song called “Pump It Up.”
“There’s a song with my kids — look my daughter’s doing it right now,” a smiling Djokovic said as he looked into the crowd. “You want to show it darling?”
The TV camera then panned to Tara, who then showed everyone how it’s done: pump your fists down, then left, right and overhead.
The crowd roared.
“She’s the master. It’s a little tradition we have right now. Hopefully we can keep going so we can keep pumping more in Wimbledon.”


Shubman Gill, the ‘Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king

Shubman Gill, the ‘Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king
Updated 54 min 53 sec ago
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Shubman Gill, the ‘Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king

Shubman Gill, the ‘Prince’ who is now India’s new cricket king
  • The 25-year-old’s second century of the match took his overall tally for the game to 430 runs

BIRMINGHAM, United Kingdom: India captain Shubman Gill continued to give fresh meaning to the phrase “leading from the front” with a stunning innings of 161 in the ongoing second Test against England at Edgbaston on Saturday.
The 25-year-old’s second century of the match took his overall tally for the game to 430 runs, a figure bettered by India great Sachin Tendulkar, Test cricket’s all-time leading run-scorer, just three times in a series, let alone a match, during his celebrated career.
Following his commanding 269 in the first innings, Gill also became the first batsman in 148 years of Test history to make score of 250 and 150 in the same match.
All that came after Gill’s 147 in his first Test as captain, India’s five-wicket loss in last week’s series opener at Headingley.
But beyond the statistics, it is the way Gill has played that has impressed seasoned observers.
In the first innings at Edgbaston, he batted in near flawless-fashion for eight-and-a-half hours, with his offside driving standing comparison with cricket’s most elegant batsmen.
But in the second innings, with quick runs required to set up a declaration, Gill made 161 off just 162 balls, including 13 fours and eight sixes.
India are now well-placed given England, with seven wickets standing, still need a mammoth 536 more runs on Sunday’s final day to achieve what would be a Test record fourth-innings victory chase of 608.
“Gill is outrageous,” England fast-bowling great Stuart Broad, well used to working out world-class batsmen during a career that yielded 604 Test wickets, told Sky Sports after Saturday’s close.
“As a bowler, I’d be looking for technical things so I could expose him, but he’s not shown any obvious signs of dismissal and he’s played stylishly. He’s played with huge responsibility, under big pressure.
“It’s breathtaking... He deserves all the applause he will get.”
Gill was drafted into India’s under-19 side as for their victorious 2018 World Cup campaign, shortly after scoring a century for Punjab in just his second first-class Ranji Trophy match.
He made his one-day international debut in 2019, but it was in his first Test series, in Australia in 2020/21, that he came to the fore, notably with a fluent 91 in India’s thrilling series-clinching win at the Gabba.
His first Test hundred came a year later, in Chattogram. A month later, aged 23, he became the youngest to make an ODI double-century, smashing 208 off 149 balls against New Zealand.
Born in Fazilka, near the border with Pakistan, before moving to Mohali aged eight to be nearer better cricket facilities, the nickname ‘Prince’ has clung to Gill to the extent of sometimes appearing on his bat-stickers.
An opener and then a number three, Gill now occupies the number four position held by childhood hero Virat Kohli, with his 269 surpassing Kohli’s unbeaten 254 against South Africa in Pune in 2019 as the highest score by an India Test captain.
As a boy, Gill wanted to know what Kohli’s scores and achievements were when he was his age.
And when Kohli first saw Gill in the nets in New Zealand in 2019/20, he said he didn’t even have 10 percent of the talent when he was Gill’s age.
Yet last year, when England went 1-0 up in Hyderabad, a second-innings duck saw Gill’s Test average fall below 30 for the first time.
But then India coach Rahul Dravid, himself an outstanding batsman, resisted the temptation to drop Gill, who then made a second-innings century in a 106-run win in Visakhapatnam and another, in Dharamshala, during a series India won 4-1.
Gill succeeded Rohit Sharma as India captain after the latter announced his retirement from Test cricket in May, with ‘King’ Kohli calling time on his Test career just a few days later.
A few months ago,when asked about potential leaders, Rohit said “the boys aren’t ready yet.”
But Gill, who started this series with a modest Test average of under 36, looks as if he might be now.


Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet shatters women’s 5,000m world record

Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet shatters women’s 5,000m world record
Updated 06 July 2025
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Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet shatters women’s 5,000m world record

Kenya’s Beatrice Chebet shatters women’s 5,000m world record
  • Chebet, 25, had already broken the 10,000m world record at Hayward Field in May of 2024

EUGENE, United States: Kenya’s double Olympic champion Beatrice Chebet crushed the women’s 5,000m world record on Saturday, powering to victory in 13min 58.06sec at the Diamond League athletics meeting in Eugene Oregon.
Chebet, Olympic gold medallist at 5,000 and 10,000m in Paris last year, delivered a devastating finish to become the first woman to break the 14-minute barrier in the event, beating the previous world record of 14:00.21 set by Ethiopia’s Gudaf Tsegay on the same Hayward Field track in September 2023.
Chebet, 25, had already broken the 10,000m world record at Hayward Field in May of 2024, when she became the first woman to run under 29 minutes (28:54.14).
Compatriot Agnes Jebet Ngetich was second in 14:01.29 — the third-fastest time ever — and Tsegay was third in 14:04.41.
Chebet was under world-record pace for much of the way. She, Tsegay and Ngetich had broken away from the rest of the field when the pace faded slightly a few laps from the finish.
But Chebet mustered a final flourish — delivering an incredible last lap to pull away mercilessly for the triumph and the world record.
“I’m so happy,” Chebet said, adding that she had been inspired by her own strong performance in Rome last month and compatriot Faith Kipyegon’s unsuccessful bid to become the first woman to break four minutes for the mile.
“After running in Rome, I said I have to prepare for a record because in Rome I was just running to win a race, but after running 14:03, I said that I’m capable of running a world record.
“When I was coming here to Eugene, I was coming to prepare to run a world record, and I said I have to try. I said ‘If Faith is trying, why not me?’
“And today, I’m so happy because I’ve achieved being the first woman to run under 14. I’m so happy for myself.”