Although Algeria was affected by large-scale displacement caused by conflict between 1992 and 2002, internally displaced people (IDPs) were not a priority for the government during or after the conflict. As a result, even the most basic information about their number and situation has consistently been unavailable. The European Union estimated at the end of the conflict that violence had displaced one million people, while other sources put the number as high as 1.5 million. The government has not contested these figures.

Many Algerian journalists and human rights lawyers recently told CPJ that the siege on independent journalism has gradually intensified over these past three years and that your government seemed increasingly inclined to use harsh measures to silence and punish critical journalists.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika won 90.24% of the vote to secure his third mandate on Thursday (April 9th). The participation rate is 74.54%, Interior Minister Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni announced Friday morning. Although voting was held under tight security and Zerhouni affirmed that the poll was conducted in "good conditions", several attacks were reported. A bomb exploded at a polling station in Imeghenine, near (Boumerdes) and a police officer was killed by a roadside bomb in Tebessa.

Four repentant leaders of Algeria's Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC) issued a fresh appeal to Islamist militants to surrender under the Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation. The statement joins a series of appeals coming to light in the run up to the April 9th presidential elections.

Across nearly the breadth of North Africa, the head of state enjoys a lifetime appointment. Morocco has a king. In Tunisia, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, president since 1987, pushed for a constitutional amendment removing term limits and has now announced a bid for a fifth term in office. President Husni Mubarak of Egypt, who assumed office in 1981, is already serving his fifth term.

The electoral campaign in Algeria started officially on Thursday (March 19th), giving candidates until April 6th to convince voters and collect enough support to win the race. From now through the end of the campaign, Algerians will see more of their presidential candidates. They will listen to their platforms; weigh their backgrounds and achievements and challenge their promises with everyday reality. Voters have until the polls open on April 9th to make up their minds

Over 100 observers, 80 of them from the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Countries (OIC) and the UN, will be in Algeria to monitor the presidential election to be held on 9 April, Algerian prime minister, Mr. Ahmed Ouyahia, said here Wednesday. Speaking on national radio, Ouyahia said that over 20 million voters had been registered to vote following the revision of the voters' register.

Algeria will write off 41 billion dinars in money owed banks by farmers and livestock breeders, President Abdelaziz Bouteflika announced Saturday (February 28th) at an agricultural conference in Biskra. The announcement is a real lifeline for an Algerian farming community on the verge of collapse. Starting this week, banks will cease any proceedings to recover their debts.

Trade and cultural exchanges will benefit from direct flights between Beijing and Algeria which started earlier this week. The inaugural flight landed in Beijing Capital International Airport in the early morning of February 23 after flying 11 hours from Algeria's capital Algiers. Previously, it took travelers at least 16 hours to get the other city, as they had to transfer flights.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has said he will seek a third term in elections in April. "I announce my candidature as an independent," Mr Bouteflika told a crowd of cheering supporters in the capital Algiers. Mr Bouteflika is widely tipped to win the elections.

Debate is heating up in Algeria between clerics and human rights activists over a proposed ban on capital punishment in the country. Religious leaders accuse legislators of denying society a punitive measure prescribed in the Qur'an, while supporters of the ban believe the death penalty is a human rights issue and should not be approached from a religious or philosophical perspective.

The Algerian parliament has approved a constitutional amendment that abolishes a two-term limit for the president. The change opens the way for President Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a third term in elections due next April.

The tenth of this month marked the second anniversary of Abu Nawas which aims to fortify solidarity and provide support to the gay community in Algeria. On that special day this month, the Abu Nawas members intended to use the day to celebrate across ensuring belonging to the Arabic and Muslim world despite the sexual orientation which is largely despised in that environment.

In its most recent rankings, Transparency International classifies Algeria as one of the more corrupt countries of the world, despite a modest move upward of seven places to 92nd out of 180. Financial and economic experts in Algeria say the low classification is a product of growing parallel trade, weak independent oversight and a failure to apply and enforce the law.

Algerian women do most of the work at home, and Ramadan is no exception. They go to work, shop, cook, and prepare the table for iftar. By end of the month, they are exhausted, but their work continues.

Leaving Algeria illegally is now considered a criminal offence. In the new Penal Code, approved Sunday (August 31st) by the Council of Ministers, harragas (illegal immigrants) may receive prison sentences of up to six months. Penalties are harsher for the traffickers who co-ordinate the migration networks, allowing sentences up to ten years in the worst cases.

The trial of two Algerian Christian converts accused of proselytising has been postponed for a week, the head of the country's Protestant Church said on Wednesday. The prosecution is the third to be brought against Christian converts in the mostly Muslim country since a controversial law was passed in February 2006 demanding non-Muslim congregations seek permits from regional authorities.

The declining humanitarian assistance in the Sahrawi refugee's camp in Algeria leaves children with severe malnutrition. According to a Norwegian Church Aid report to be published next week, one out of five children who have grown up in refuges camp in Algeria are suffering from acute malnutrition

RCD party chief Said Saadi has returned from an international tour to solicit observers for Algeria's presidential elections next spring. Some politicians view Saadi's move as an early indication of his likely candidacy. Others oppose the measure, arguing that foreign observers call Algeria's reputation and sovereignty into question.

Three years after Algeria's family code was revised, women are looking back with regret on their initial enthusiasm for the change. What appears to have been a well-intended effort to protect women and children's rights has inadvertently caused many of them to lose everything.