- The Algerian government has said it will not bar foreign observer missions to monitor next presidential elections if requested by majority of the political parties, Minister of State, Interior Affairs and Local Authorities Noureddine Yazid Zerhouni said.
Algeria is currently preparing for 2009 general elections, and Mr Zerhouni said the government would approve foreign observation, though he questioned the request saying it is insulting for a country that upholds rule of law and democracy.
State news agency, Algerie Press Service, quoted Mr Zerhouni saying: "If party officials insist on the presence of foreign observers, I will have no objection if there would be a credible request with a significant number of people asking for it."
Algerian parliament has recently abolished presidential terms paving way for president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to run for a third term in the 2009 general elections.
However, opposition politicians have rallied against making changes to the constitution, saying that presidential office already has broad control of the courts and legislature.
Critics have condemned the reform saying it was a step away from democracy and favoured political and military elite that have long held power in this oil- and gas-rich North African country.
Supporters of Mr Bouteflika however say he is best placed to continue to rebuild Algeria, which suffered a civil war in the 1990s that claimed more than 150,000 lives.
The 71-year-old president, a veteran of Algerian politics, was first elected in 1999. Mr Bouteflika has overseen a return to relative peace, though there has been a series of suicide bombings over the last two years blamed on militants linked to al-Qaeda.
Algeria is currently rebuilding its economy after a decade of conflict that began in 1992 when military backed government scrapped elections, a radical Islamic party was poised to win the elections.
Bloodshed has subsided in recent years, and in 2006 government freed more than 2 000 former Islamist guerrillas under an amnesty designed to put an end to conflict.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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