There are increasing worries Al Qaeda is using the instability in Yemen to spread its influence. An American military operation assassinated the radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki last year. One week ago militants took over the town of Radda. Stephen Sackur, with our partner the BBC, sent this report.

For nearly a year, Yemeni President Abdullah Saleh has harshly responded to protesters opposing his government. However, as a long-time partner in America's war on terror, the 200 casualties and 100,000 displaced demonstrators have in large part been overlooked by the U.S. government. Saleh was severely burned in an attack on the presidential palace in June, and has been granted a visa to come to the U.S. for medical treatment.

Wednesday marks the tenth anniversary of the United States opening a detention camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The past decade has seen no shortage of controversy about the base, both on legal and moral terms. Barack Obama campaigned for president on the promise to close the base, but signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act on December 31, which includes a provision allowing indefinite military detention without trial. There are currently 171 prisoners being held there, and no signs of shutting the facility down in the near future.

One of the biggest stories of the year was the Arab Spring. Starting in Tunisia and spreading to Egypt, Syria, Libya, Yemen and Bahrain, the ongoing protests across the Middle East and Northern Africa toppled decades-old dictatorships and forever changed the world's perception of the region. 

After fierce internal debate, the White House has decided to allow Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to travel to the United States to seek medical treatment, The New York Times reported on Monday. The decision is expected to be met with controversy. Many Yemenis want to see Saleh prosecuted for the deaths of hundreds of anti-government demonstrators who were killed protesting his decades-long rule. The Obama administration hopes removing Saleh from Yemen will help clear a path for democratic elections next year. Hakim Almasari, editor of The Yemen Post, reacts to the decision from Sana'a.

Faced with intense opposition from both politicians and angry protesters who have spent months demanding his ouster, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh raised eyebrows on Saturday with a vaguely worded pledge to step down "in the coming days." By the following day, it appeared his words were hollow when Yemeni officials announced that Saleh would stay in power until elections scheduled for next year.

In the worst incident of violence in Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, 24 people died, and more than 200 were wounded after a protest in Cairo turned violent on Sunday. Christians protesting a recent attack against a Coptic church in Aswan province were attacked by police. Thousands filled the streets chanting, "the people want to bring down the field marshal," in reference to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and the military council that has ruled Egypt since February.

Three women were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, becoming the first women to win since 2004. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, also of Liberia, and Tawakul Karman of Yemen will share the award. The Norwegian Nobel committee honored the three women for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work." Johnson Sirleaf is the first democratically-elected female head of state in Africa, Gbowee is an activist, and Karman is a leading figure in Yemen's pro-democracy movement.

Three women were awarded the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, becoming the first women to win since 2004. Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, also of Liberia, and Tawakul Karman of Yemen will share the award. The Norwegian Nobel committee honored the three women for "their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women’s rights to full participation in peace-building work." Johnson Sirleaf is the first democratically-elected female head of state in Africa, Gbowee is an activist, and Karman is a leading figure in Yemen's pro-democracy movement.

Leading Al Qaeda figure Anwar al-Awlaki was killed in Yemen, according to government officials in the country. Al-Awlaki is connected with many plots against Americans including the failed Christmas Day bombing of 2009, the foiled Times Square car bombing, and the Fort Hood shootings. The American-born Al Qaeda leader was a target of an American operation for months although it is unclear if American forces were involved in the operation. U.S. officials did not have an immediate comment.

He was perhaps the Obama Admnistration's most wanted terrorist figure. The CIA reportedly was given the green light to assassinate him, his death has been reported in the past at least twice, he some say he is linked in some way to terrorist attacks and attempts going back 10 years. And it appears this morning that the U.S. born Islamic cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki has finally met his end somewhere in the dusty wilderness of Yemen. A defense ministry official in Yemen confirmed his death early this morning.

We continue our coverage of the death of Anwar Al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric killed early this morning in northern Yemen. It is still not clear whether the operation was carried out by Yemeni forces or American intelligence but the CIA has had the greenlight to target the leading terrorist figure. Joining us is Eric Schmitt, terrorism correspondent for our partner The New York Times and co-author, along with The Times' Thom Shanker of the book "Counterstrike: the Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda".

Yemen is the latest country in the Arab world to see violence between protesters and police lead to bloodshed and deaths. 18 protesters were killed over the weekend, as Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a special election to transfer power. As revolution sweeps through the Middle East, we're looking at the influence the United States has on these areas.

More than 60 people have reportedly been killed in a crackdown by the Yemeni government against protesters in the capital of Sanaa. Yemen's minister of trade and industry, Hisham Sharaf Abdullah responds to the reports, and claims they have been fabricated.

More than 60 people have been killed in a crackdown by the Yemeni government against protesters in the capital of Sanaa. Hakim Almasmari, editor in chief of The Yemen Post, reports on the latest.

In watching the developments across the Middle East region, there seem to be one of two paths that nations experiencing the Arab Spring can take. Although 800 Egyptians died in revolts leading up to the removal of Hosni Mubarak’s long-standing regime, the country is now on a path toward more democratic rule. The same can’t be said for Libya, Syria or Yemen where entrenched regimes—or a solitary figure, in the case of Muammar Gadaffi—refuse to cede power.

While some call Egypt and Tunisia the shining model for the Arab Spring’s revolutions — isn’t it more accurate to see it as an exception to the rule of civil war? 

As the unrest in Yemen continues, several different parties are vying to fill a potential power vacuum in the country, including the US. Over the past month, Washington has expanded the number of air and drone attacks in Yemen in an attempt to prevent Al-Qaeda-affiliated militants from establishing a foothold in the country. Meanwhile, American and Saudi spies are reportedly ramping up intelligence collection efforts inside Yemen. Both countries have a strategic interest in preventing Yemen from becoming a failed state.

There have been continued reports of heavy clashes in Yemen between troops and suspected al-Qaida gunmen in the south of the country. Meanwhile, Ali Saleh remains in medical care in Saudi Arabia. The BBC's Lina Sinjab reports from Sanaa. She says that it's still challenging to get a clear picture of what is happening outside of the country's capital.

Yemen's embattled president, Ali Abdullah Saleh has been flown to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment leaving a hole in its leadership. The main opposition group says it backs a transfer of power to the vice president in line with a deal that international mediators have been trying to broker for months. Hakim Almasmari, Editor in Chief of the Yemen Post and correspondent for the Wall Street Journal says that Saleh's son is currently taking control, not the vice president. Gregory Johnsen, a Yemen expert at Princeton University says that it's "Saleh's son, Ahmed, and a quartet of nephews who have men with guns who are still loyal to them and they can be a force for a lot of chaos."

Jubilant crowds took to the streets in Yemen over the weekend, celebrating the departure of President Ali Abdullah Saleh. Following a rocket attack on his compound on Friday, Saleh was flown to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh on Saturday to have wood splinters surgically removed from his chest. Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has taken over for the interim, and international leaders are calling on Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down. But it's unclear whether the man who ruled the country with an iron fist for 33 years will try to return – and if not, what will happen in the power vacuum.