Algeria slams French ‘interference’ over jailing of writer

France's President Emmanuel Macron (R) talks with Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune (L) as they attend the G7 Summit hosted by Italy at the Borgo Egnazia resort in Savelletri on June 13, 2024. (AFP)
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Updated 07 January 2025
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Algeria slams French ‘interference’ over jailing of writer

  • The Algerian foreign ministry said Macron “unduly and falsely” presented Sansal’s detention “as a matter of freedom of expression, which it isn’t in the eyes of the law of a sovereign and independent state”

ALGIERS: Algeria accused France on Tuesday of “unacceptable and blatant interference” after President Emmanuel Macron said Algiers was “dishonoring itself” by keeping French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal behind bars on national security charges.
Sansal, a literary figure who has been critical of the Algerian authorities, was arrested at Algiers airport in November and has been kept in custody despite calls from Paris for his release.
In its response, the Algerian foreign ministry said Macron’s comments “can only be rejected and condemned for they are blatant and unacceptable interference in an internal Algerian affair.”
Sansal’s arrest came amid growing tensions between France and Algeria over a range of issues.
“Algeria, which we love so much and with which we share so many children and so many stories, is dishonoring itself by preventing a seriously ill man from receiving treatment,” Macron said in a speech on Monday.
He described the 75-year-old, who acquired French citizenship last year, as a “freedom fighter.”
The Algerian foreign ministry said Macron “unduly and falsely” presented Sansal’s detention “as a matter of freedom of expression, which it isn’t in the eyes of the law of a sovereign and independent state.”
“It essentially stems from challenging the territorial integrity of the country, an offense punishable by Algerian law,” it added.
According to Paris newspaper Le Monde, Sansal’s arrest was linked to statements to a far-right French media outlet in which he repeated Morocco’s claim that its territory was truncated in favor of Algeria under French colonial rule.
In a speech in late December, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called him an “imposter” sent by France to make such claims.
Sansal is known for his strong stances against both authoritarianism and Islamism, as well as being a forthright campaigner on freedom of expression issues.
In 2015, he won the Grand Prix du Roman of the French Academy for his book “2084: The End of the World,” a dystopian novel set in an Islamist totalitarian world in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust.
Algeria had already withdrawn its ambassador over the summer after the French government supported a Moroccan offer of autonomy for the disputed Western Sahara in place of the self-determination referendum stipulated by a 1991 UN Security Council resolution.
 

 


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Updated 04 July 2025
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Darfur civilians ‘face mass atrocities and ethnic violence’

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KHARTOUM: Civilians in the Darfur region of Sudan face mass atrocities and ethnic violence in the civil war between the regular army and its paramilitary rivals, the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres warned on Thursday.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have sought to consolidate their power in Darfur since losing control of the capital Khartoum in March. Their predecessor, the Janjaweed militia, was accused of genocide in Darfur two decades ago.

The paramilitaries have intensified attacks on El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state which they have besieged since May 2024 in an effort to push the army out of its final stronghold in the region.
“People are not only caught in indiscriminate heavy fighting ... but also actively targeted by the Rapid Support Forces and their allies, notably on the basis of their ethnicity,” said Michel-Olivier Lacharite, Medecins Sans Frontieres’ head of emergencies. There were “threats of a full-blown assault,” on El-Fasher, which is home to hundreds of thousands of people largely cut off from food and water supplies and deprived of access to medical care, he said.


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Updated 04 July 2025
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ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia moved on Thursday to reassure Egypt about its water supply after completing work on a controversial giant $4 billion dam on the Blue Nile.

“To our neighbors downstream, our message is clear: the dam is not a threat, but a shared opportunity,” Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said.

“The energy and development it will generate stand to uplift not just Ethiopia. We believe in shared progress, shared energy, and shared water. Prosperity for one should mean prosperity for all.”

The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is 1.8 km wide and 145 meters high, and is Africa's largest hydroelectric project. It can hold 74 billion cubic meters of water and generate more than 5,000 megawatts of power — more than double Ethiopia’s current output. It will begin full operations in September.

Egypt already suffers from severe water scarcity and sees the dam as an existential threat because the country relies on the Nile for 97 percent of its water. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi and Sudan’s leader Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan met last week and “stressed their rejection of any unilateral measures in the Blue Nile basin.” They were committed to safeguarding water security in the region, Sisi’s spokesman said.


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Updated 03 July 2025
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Explosive drone intercepted near Irbil airport in northern Iraq, security statement says

  • The “Flight operations at the airport continued normally,” the Irbil airport authority said

IRBIL, Iraq: An explosive drone was shot down near Irbil airport in northern Iraq on Thursday, the Iraqi Kurdistan’s counter-terrorism service said in a statement.

There were no casualties reported, according to two security sources.

The “Flight operations at the airport continued normally and the airport was not affected by any damage,” the Irbil airport authority said in a statement.

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Jordanian and Vatican officials discuss promotion of Petra as destination for Christian pilgrims

Updated 03 July 2025
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Jordanian and Vatican officials discuss promotion of Petra as destination for Christian pilgrims

  • They say there is a strategic opportunity to integrate the UNESCO World Heritage Site into routes for Christian travelers
  • Head of tourism authority says highlighting Petra’s significance to Christian heritage itineraries could enhance Jordan’s position on global religious tourism map

LONDON: Officials from Jordan and the Vatican met on Thursday to discuss ways in which they can cooperate to advance religious tourism, including the promotion of the ancient city of Petra as a destination for Christian pilgrims.

Fares Braizat, who chairs the board of commissioners of the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority, said that highlighting the significance of the UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of Christian heritage itineraries could enhance Jordan’s position on the global religious tourism map.

The country has a number of important Christian sites, the most significant of which is the location on the eastern bank of the Jordan River where Jesus is said to have been baptized by John the Baptist. Several popes have visited it, including Francis and John Paul II.

Archbishop Giovanni Pietro Dal Toso, the Vatican’s ambassador to Jordan, confirmed the interest in collaborating with Jordanian authorities, and praised the nation’s stability and its rich historical and religious heritage.

Both officials acknowledged the strategic opportunity that exists to integrate Petra into pilgrimage routes for Christian travelers, the Jordan News Agency reported.

The Petra tourism authority recently lit up the Colosseum in Rome with the signature colors of the historic Jordanian site to celebrate a twinning agreement as part of a marketing strategy to attract European visitors, and to raise Petra’s profile globally as a premier cultural and spiritual tourism destination.

The Vatican itself is also a major tourism destination, for Christian pilgrims in particular. In 2025 it is expected to welcome between 30 and 35 million visitors during its latest Jubilee Year, a significant ecclesiastical event that takes place every 25 years.