Algiers residents expect more trouble after riots
ALGIERS, Jan 11 (Reuters) – A wave of rioting last week in
Algeria ended when the government reversed food price rises, but
for 73-year-old Amar Macha, that changes nothing.
He lives with 11 other members of his family — including
three sons and their wives — in an apartment measuring 10
square metres.
Algeria announces food price cuts to quell riots
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria’s government said it would slash the cost of some staple foods on Saturday to try to quell four days of rioting, triggered by price rises, which killed two people and wounded several hundred.
Government ministers met in the capital to discuss how to respond to the wave of unrest. As they did so, fresh protests broke out in two cities in the volatile Kabylie region east of Algiers, witnesses told Reuters by phone.
Algeria debates food price cuts to quell riots
ALGIERS (Reuters) – The Algerian government was due to hold a special meeting on Saturday to consider steps to reduce soaring food prices, in an effort to quell violent protests which have broken out across the country.
Algerians have taken to the streets since Wednesday in protest against high unemployment and food price inflation which has seen the cost of staple products like sugar, cooking oil and flour double in recent months.
Algeria beefs up security amid fresh protests
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Fresh disturbances broke out in Algeria on Friday as riot police deployed around mosques in key cities and authorities suspended soccer championship matches after rioting over food prices and unemployment.
On Friday, riot police armed with tear gas launchers and batons maintained a strong presence around Algiers’ main mosques and streets. In the popular Belcourt district, dozen of trucks carrying the anti-riot force were parked.
Algeria’s anti-riot police deploy after protests
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Anti-riot police deployed in the main arteries and around some mosques of Algiers ahead of Friday prayers after street riots this week over food price rises and the lack of job opportunities.
Hundreds of youths clashed with police in several Algerian cities earlier in the week, and ransacked stores in the capital.
Algeria to name price for Djezzy by mid-2011:sources
ALGIERS, Dec 19 (Reuters) – The Algerian government is
likely to make an offer to buy Orascom Telecom’s (ORTE.CA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) local
mobile phone unit by the middle of next year, Algerian
government and telecoms sources said.
Orascom Telecom has over $3 billion of debt maturing between
2010 and 2013 and so is eager to resolve a row over its Djezzy
unit quickly, especially if a contested deal for Russia’s
Vimpelcom (VIP.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) to buy Orascom assets falls through.
[ID:nLDE6BJ0A8]
Algeria hails its religious freedom, critics not so sure
(Photo: An Algerian stands near the newly restored Notre Dame D’Afrique Basilica in Algiers December 13, 2010/Zohra Bensemra)
A Catholic church that has been a landmark in Algeria’s capital for over a century has officially re-opened after restoration work, providing a symbol of religious tolerance in the mainly Muslim country. Algeria is emerging from a nearly two-decade-long Islamist insurgency, but the Catholic community has maintained a presence, even though several Christian clergymen have been among hundreds of thousands killed in the violence.
The Notre Dame d’Afrique basilica was built by French settlers in the late nineteenth century. An inscription running around the inside of the dome reads: “Our Lady of Africa, pray for us, and for the Muslims.”
Beard guide and song ban among Salafist books barred in Algeria
(Photo: Customs officers inspect books purchased at an Islamic book fair in Algiers, searching for Salafist books, October 29, 2010/Zohra Bensemra)
Concerned by the growing influence of the ultra-conservative Salafist branch of Islam, Algeria has this year been cracking down on the import and distribution of Salafist literature. Salafist publications, most printed in Saudi Arabia, are still available in some specialist bookstores. See our feature on this crackdown here.
Algeria targets Salafist books in battle with hardline Islam
(Photo: Sheikh Chemseddine Bouroubi, a well-known traditional Algerian imam, reads a religious book at a Salafist stand at a book fair in Algiers October 29, 2010/Zohra Bensemra)
Algeria is cracking down on imports of books preaching the ultra-conservative Salafist branch of Islam, officials and industry insiders say, in a step aimed at reining in the ideology’s growing influence.
Salafism is a school of Islam that has its roots in Saudi Arabia and emphasises religious purity. Its followers reject the trappings of modern life, including music, Western styles of dress and taking part in politics.
Algeria targets books in battle with hardline Islam
ALGIERS (Reuters) – Algeria is cracking down on imports of books preaching the ultra-conservative Salafist branch of Islam, officials and industry insiders say, in a step aimed at reining in the ideology’s growing influence.
Salafism is a school of Islam that has its roots in Saudi Arabia and emphasises religious purity. Its followers reject the trappings of modern life, including music, Western styles of dress and taking part in politics.
-
Follow Lamine
