Magharebia

In a recent speech marking the 50th anniversary of the creation of the General Algerian Workers' Union, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika underlined country's progress in recent years.

Ships from the permanent naval group of the NATO rapid reaction anti-mine force (SNMCMG2) arrived in Algiers on Friday (24 February) and are due to conduct joint manoeuvres with the Algerian Navy.

A congress of the European International Movement, which opened Friday (24 February) in Algiers and concluded Sunday, included lengthy debates on education, teaching and literacy problems. Around 400 participants from the countries of the north and south shores of the Mediterranean participated in the meeting, aimed at developing dialogue to overcome prejudice and encourage understanding.

Morocco began implementing a set of measures to curb a potential outbreak of avian flu. The country suspended all imports of birds from countries with cases of the flu and started a vaccination programme targeting poultry and other types of birds.

In its latest report, the IMF describes Algeria's economic prospects as encouraging, and suggests further measures to boost production and reduce unemployment.

The United States last week transferred the 212th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, the last unit of its kind in the US Army, to the Pakistan government for continued use in earthquake relief efforts.

Algeria has made great progress in increasing literacy and is cited as an example in the Arab world. Illiteracy fell from 85 per cent in 1963 to 26.5 per cent in 2000, before dropping to 22 per cent in 2005.

An international seminar on the fight against terrorism in the Maghreb and the Sahel region started Monday in Algiers with the participation of eight African countries, along with their American and European partners. The four-day meeting was aimed at strengthening the capacities of African countries in the field of prevention of terrorism to play an active part in the international fight against the scourge.

The largest rubbish dump in Algiers will finally close after several years of deliberation. Situated close to Algiers Airport, it has been a headache for city authorities and a nightmare for people living around it, who suffer from several respiratory diseases and have to bear the foul odours it emits and the mosquitoes that make life unpleasant in the summer.

Algeria is seeking to privatise 1,200 public companies from various sectors such as agribusiness, infrastructure and transport, engineering and research, tourism, construction, banks, and services.

The Algerian government intends to launch a massive programme to develop the high plateaux region, which is expected to play a leading role by 2025 in the economic development of the country. The government is looking to the region to loosen focus on the coastal strip and to open up the rest of the country.

The United States has put forward $9m as part of the Middle East Partnership Initiative to benefit the programme for economic and political support in Algeria. The announcement was made Tuesday by David W Mulenex, head of the MEPI office at the State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

The Algerian delegation at a weekend Arab League meeting of anti-terrorist experts proposed the creation of an Arabic television channel under the aegis of the League to promote moderate views and a culture of tolerance among young Arabs.

Military co-operation between Algeria and the United States was the focus of talks with US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during his first visit to the region. Maghreb countries, which have been fighting terrorism for over a decade, are actively joining in international efforts to deal effectively with this phenomenon.

Five heavyweight security firms are joining forces to tackle spyware, a major Internet problem that threatens the privacy of users.

The Tunisian national football team was eliminated from the African Cup of Nations after losing in the quarterfinals to Nigeria on penalty kicks in Port Said, Egypt.

Arab countries are aware of their image abroad, which they wish to preserve from any distortion. A budget of $22.5m has been set aside to finance a plan to aim to restore their reputation.

Algiers will be subject to close surveillance through cameras to be installed on the busiest streets and major thoroughfares. The aim of setting up this surveillance network is to fight crime.

Suspended since 1998, coral fishing will again be permitted in Algeria from 2007 onwards. Initially the step was only supposed to be taken from 2015, but it will now be allowed once again due to the launch of a survey mapping the coral reefs of the 1,200km Algerian coastline.

People who live in the Sahara have traditionally exploited the availability of underground water thanks to foggara irrigation, which creates green oases. Though rain may fall only very rarely, a veritable sea of fresh water exists under the sand dunes.

Algeria is preparing to develop the franchise, a business model already utilised in Egypt, Morocco and South Africa. The first international franchise forum in the country took place 3-5 February.

At the conclusion of their meeting in Tunis at the end of January, Arab interior ministers called for efforts by all involved in political, security, religious, intellectual, and cultural spheres to unite and confront terrorism as part of their "collective responsibility".

The latest edition of Risques Internationaux has published a ranking of countries in terms of commerce and investment opportunity risk.

The Algerian energy sector continues to develop, taking advantage of a favourable internal and external environment. Opening up the sector to external partnerships and the explosion in oil prices have allowed Algeria to garner previously unheard-of dividends, allowing it to invest even more in increasing production and strengthening its position on world markets.

Meeting in Tangier, Moroccan women entrepreneurs confirmed their desire to move forward and to organise themselves to promote female leadership in the region.