First Independent Mena Newspaper
The succession crisis in Algeria continues to spill ink after former French Ambassador Bernard Bajolet claimed that ailing President Bouteflika is artificially maintained alive. This statement comes as voices with vested interest in the regime are calling for a fifth term for President Bouteflika whose public appearances are a thing of the past. Bajolet who […]
The scale of the informal market in Algeria dominated by cash transactions make it hard to counter terrorism financing, the U.S. department of state said in a report. “Foreign exchange restrictions and distrust of banks push Algerians to cash transactions and informal currency-exchange markets,” the U.S. State Department said in the Country Reports on Terrorism […]
German media and publishing group Bertelsmann has merged its customer service business with Morocco’s Saham, creating a new market leader in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Each will hold 50% of the new company branded as Arvato, which operates in 25 countries with 48,000 employees on its payroll offering services across the market for […]
President Abdelazize Bouteflika who also doubles as the country’s Defense Minister has fired commanders of air and grounds forces amid an ongoing overhaul of the army and security top apparatus. Major-General Hassan Tafer, commander of Algeria’s ground forces was sacked on Monday and replaced by Major-General Said Shankarikha. Air Force Commander Major-General Abdul Qader al-Wannas […]
Algeria has kept its borders with Morocco closed since 1994 because it lacks a dynamic private sector that is able to compete in a free market, Moroccan ambassador Hassan Abou Ayoub said. Keeping borders sealed runs against the ideal of achieving integration in the Maghreb region, the diplomat told Italian journalists on the sidelines of […]
Five army generals recently dismissed by Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Bouteflika were banned from leaving the country as the military court has seized their passports over the weekend. The president of Algeria has fired without explanation several generals over the few past months. In June, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika fired General Abdelghani Hamel, a potential candidate in […]
One in four Algerians remain unemployed in an economy undermined by over dependence on oil and gas revenues and bleak political prospects. Official data speak of an unemployment rate of 11.1% in March of 2018 but economists consider the scale of joblessness to be higher than that. Among the youth aged under 36, the unemployment […]
Cocainegate, as the press came to call it, continues to stir heated debate in Algeria after senior officials including major gendarmerie general Menad Nouba are brought before justice. Authorities seized 701 kilograms of cocaine last May on a ship in the port of Oran. The record haul points to a growing network linking South America […]
The controversy triggered by the pro-Saddam chants and sectarian slogans sung by Algerian supporters of USMA team that played Iraqi al-Quwa al-Jawiya in Baghdad on Sunday has not faded away. Algeria’s ambassador was summoned by Iraqi foreign minister to protest the incident, and in all Iraqi cities, the names of streets related to Algeria or […]
Spanish Association “La Libertad es su derecho” has denounced the abduction and confinement of dozens of Sahrawis women in Tindouf camps, Southern Algeria, by the Polisario separatist front. Members of this Association were received lately in Madrid by Spanish Secretary of State to Foreign Affairs Fernando Martín Valenzuela who was briefed on the plight and […]