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Algeria: Court upholds long-prison terms of disgraced former Prime Ministers Ouyahia and Sellal
A court in the Algerian capital on Thursday upheld hefty prison sentences against two former prime ministers who served under ex-president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, a judicial source said. The judgement confirmed sentences of 15 years for Ahmed Ouyahia and 12 years for...
Unable to govern, North African governments are using repression as their only tool in their toolbox
This week (ending 21 January 2021), Tunisia made the front pages of global media with Tunisians clashing with security forces over the past days to complain about their living conditions. The riots, which are still underway, have been taking place in several regions,...
Algeria says oil and gas exports down in double-digit rates in 2020
Algeria's oil revenues collapsed in 2020, according to energy ministry figures released Sunday, exacerbating an economic crisis in the North African country which is heavily dependent on crude income. "The overall volume of hydrocarbon exports reached 82.2 million...
Western Sahara: How Trump’s madness could undermine Morocco’s claim over the Western Sahara
By Arezki Daoud: Anger in the United States against disgraced American president Donald Trump has reached its peak. His opponents, in the millions, including an increasing number of fellow Republicans, can't wait to get rid of him and erase his legacy. Not only...
Breaking: Algeria: Terror attack in Tebessa kills five civilians
On 14 January 2020, a homemade bomb blast killed five civilians and wounded three others in eastern Algeria on Thursday, the defence ministry said, according to AFP. The attack happened at Oued Khenig-Roum near the municipality of Telidjane. . It added that a jihadist...
Turkey’s growing influence in the Maghreb, from drones to soap operas
By Hamza Mekouar: Turkey is boosting its influence across North Africa, analysts say, intervening militarily in war-torn Libya and using "soft power", trade and investment in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. While Turkish-made drones have won battles in Libya, its soap...
Algeria’s ex leaders committed more crimes with the help of Gulf donors
Former Algerian premier Ahmed Ouyahia, on trial for corruption, admitted Saturday to receiving gold bars from Gulf donors then selling them on the black market, the official APS news agency reported. Ouyahia and fellow ex-prime minister Abdelmalek Sellal are accused...
Algeria’s foreign intelligence chief fired
The head of Algeria's foreign intelligence agency General Mohamed Bouzit, known as Youcef was dismissed on Thursday, January 7. Bouzit headed the Directorate of Documentation and External Security (DDSE), an intelligence agency that provided assessment on...
Jailed Algerian pro-democracy activists in hospital amid hunger strike
Three Algerian activists awaiting trial in prison were rushed to hospital Tuesday, 10 days after they began a hunger strike protesting their detention, the CNLD prisoners' rights group said. Mohamed Tadjadit, Noureddine Khimoud and Abdelhak Ben Rahmani began their...
Algeria: Nine killed in army-insurgent clashes in Tipaza, including three soldiers
Another clash on Sunday claims life of third soldier Another soldier and two more jihadists were killed Sunday afternoon during an "anti-terror" operation in the Tipaza region of Western Algeria, the defence ministry said. The second clash in the region within 24...
Algeria: Walid Kechida gets three years in prison for political satire
A supporter of Algeria's Hirak protest movement was sentenced to three years in jail Monday for satirical social media posts mocking the government and religion, sparking condemnation from rights groups Walid Kechida, 25, was accused of insulting President Abdelmadjid...
Algeria: 20 migrants killed in new year accident near Sahara town of Tamanrasset
Twenty people were killed Thursday in Algeria when a vehicle carrying mainly African nationals overturned in the south of the country, the civil protection unit said. The crash took place near the town of Tamanrasset and 11 people were also injured, the rescue unit...
Algeria: The mysterious Madam Maya and the depth of corruption of the Bouteflika regime
Court of appeal upholds lower court's 12 year prison sentence against ex president's "secret daughter" A prominent Algerian businesswoman, allegedly an illegitimate child of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika, was jailed for 12 years on corruption charges on...
Algerian president approves budget with a deficit valued at 14% of GDP
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday approved a 2021 budget which foresees a deficit of around 14 percent of GDP, the presidency said, as the oil-dependent country grapples with economic woes. Algeria's economy has been clobbered by tumbling crude...
Algeria: Another difficult year ahead, says MEA Risk
Algeria ends the year 2020 with 1,878 critical incidents, down 35.4% from 2,909 in 2019, according to MEA Risk LLC. Critical incidents are defined as events that have an impact on the stability of a region, subregion within a country or an entire country. The figure...
Algerian president returns home after covid-19 treatment in Germany
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune returned to Algeria Tuesday after a two-month absence in Germany, where he received treatment for Covid-19, ending a period of uncertainty in a country facing a health, political and economic crises. "It is hard to be far from one's...
Algeria alleges ransom money paid to Jihadists in Mali making its way into Algeria
Algeria's army has retrieved a "slice of the ransom" cash paid out to free hostages held by "terrorist groups" in the troubled Sahel region, the defence ministry has said. Soldiers "recovered the sum of 80,000 euros" ($97,900) during an operation in Algeria's...
Algeria and Morocco continue to repress journalists and rights activists
Algerian regime wants to punish activist Amira Bouraoui Algerian prosecutors have requested a tougher two-year jail sentence for prominent anti-government activist Amira Bouraoui during her trial on appeal, a prisoners' rights group said Friday. Bouraoui, a...
Algeria: Journalist Abdelkrim Zeghileche faces heightened judicial harassment
An Algerian journalist was released from prison Wednesday only to return directly to court for hearings in two other cases, an activist group said. Abdelkrim Zeghileche, head of the web-based Radio Sarbacane, was arrested in June and was last month given a 12-month...
Algeria’s mediocre diplomacy: Even the Tunisians are slowly turning their back to Algiers ($)
Between Tunis and Algiers, diplomatic relations are strained, resulting from the recent statements of two former top Tunisian state officials about the controversial handling of the Western Sahara issue by the Algerians. The ex-officials are the influential Moncef...
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