Algeria’s Tebboune follows win with appeals to opposition

Algeria’s Tebboune follows win with appeals to opposition

With Abdelmadjid Tebboune winning the election in Algeria, the new president was quick to pivot toward the opposition with promises of meaningful constitutional reforms, and a national dialogue to move the nation beyond its political crisis. Tebboune made the overtures following Thursday’s elections, which saw him claim 58.2 percent of…

Laureen is the editor of Africa Times

On the eve of Algerian elections, no one appears the winner

Algerians are headed to the polls on Thursday for a presidential election postponed since April 18, but after a long year of heady highs and disappointing lows, in the end there are real questions about who will even be participating – and worse, how the country will recover from yet…

Laureen Fagan

Laureen is the editor of Africa Times

With protests across the globe, UN appeals for peaceful change

The United Nations addressed on Friday the global spread of unrest that has swept across nearly every continent, with both the UN Secretary General and the head of the UN human rights office in Geneva appealing for peaceful demonstrations and expressing concerns over violence. “Disquiet in peoples’ lives is leading…

Rights groups worry over Algeria’s crackdown on protests

Algerians have protested every week for more than six months now, demanding economic reforms and an embrace of democratic principles. Thousands continued to protest even after former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in April, and they haven’t stopped as the North African nation works its way toward a December 12 presidential…

Algeria deports human rights observer

The Human Rights Watch organization said Tuesday that one of its staff has been deported from Algeria after a 10-day ordeal that saw him briefly detained followed by the seizure of his travel documents. Ahmed Benchemsi, a Middle East communications and advocacy director who holds dual citizenship in Morocco and…

Tunisia’s Essebsi honored with state funeral

Tunisians on Saturday bid farewell to President Beji Caid Essebsi, the 92-year-old leader who died Thursday at a military hospital in Tunis following years of service to the North African nation. Essebsi’s state funeral included throngs of people in the streets who came to honor him, lining the route between…

Violence erupts across France following Algeria AFCON win

At least 74 people were arrested Thursday night in France after fans of the Algerian team, celebrating the quarterfinal victory in the African Cup of Nations, vandalized shops along the Champs Elysees in Paris and wreaked havoc in Marseille and beyond. Interior minister Christophe Canister confirmed the arrests as he…

Term is up for Bensalah, but Algeria still has no elections

Algeria’s interim leader will remain in place until the country holds elections, despite Tuesday marking the end of a 90-day term that began with the departure of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika. Abdelkader Bensalah, a Bouteflika ally and Algeria’s parliament leader, stepped into the role following Bouteflika’s resignation in April. The…

Egypt joins Algeria, Tunisia in pressing for Libyan ceasefire

On the question of Libya, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry met with his Tunisian and Algerian counterparts Wednesday to discuss the crisis, agreeing to press for a ceasefire and advance the cause of a Libyan political agreement jeopardized by the fighting in Tripoli. Shoukry, Tunisian Khemaies Jhinaoui and Algeria’s Ramtane…

Bouteflika resigns with an emotional farewell to Algeria

President Abdelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria resigned on Tuesday, ending weeks of speculation and confrontation. He followed the announcement with an emotional farewell letter to the Algerian people that recounted the successes of his long tenure but asked their forgiveness for his failings too. “Soon, Algeria will have a new president,…