Sand and dust storms affect about 330 million people in over 150 countries and are taking an increasing toll on health, economies and the environment.

French-Algerian author Boualem Sansal is facing five years in prison in Algeria after he lost an appeal against his conviction for “undermining national unity.”.

North Africa’s historic drought has upended many families’ plans for Eid al-Adha.

Olympic champion Imane Khelif is skipping the Eindhoven Box Cup in the Netherlands less than a week after World Boxing announced mandatory sex testing for all athletes.

The president of World Boxing has apologized after Olympic champion Imane Khelif was singled out in the governing body’s announcement to make sex testing mandatory.

Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif must undergo genetic sex screening to participate in upcoming events with the sport’s new governing body.

France says it is expelling 12 Algerian diplomatic officials, a day after Algeria announced the expulsion of the same number of French officials in escalating tensions between the two countries.

Morocco’s social security agency says troves of data were stolen from its systems during a cyberattack this week that resulted in personal information being leaked on the Telegram messaging app.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif says that President Donald Trump’s stance on gender in sports “does not intimidate” her and plans to defend her gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics.

Algerian lawmakers have condemned the European Parliament for a resolution criticizing the arrest of French-Algerian novelist Boualem Sansal.

As one of the Arab World’s largest book fairs opens in Algeria on Wednesday, there is one conspicuous absence.

Algeria has pardoned a journalist who emerged as a key voice during the country’s 2019 pro-democracy protests and was later imprisoned for taking foreign funding for his media outlets and threatening state security.

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has been sworn in for a second term after being elected in a landslide vote marred by apathy and questions around the vote count.

French prosecutors say they are investigating a complaint made by Olympic boxing champion Imane Khelif for online harassment.

Crowds of women have shown up at Imane Khelif’s fights during the Paris Olympics to rally around the Algerian boxer as she faces online abuse over misconceptions about her sex.

Boxer Imane Khelif of Algeria has advanced to the gold-medal bout in the women’s welterweight division with a semifinal victory at the Paris Olympics amid scrutiny over misconceptions about her gender.

Olympic boxer Imane Khelif says the wave of hateful scrutiny she has faced over misconceptions about her gender “harms human dignity.”.

Kaylia Nemour of Algeria delivered the country’s first gold medal in gymnastics, putting together a thrilling routine in the uneven bars final to edge Qiu Qiyuan of China.

Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has landed in the middle of a divide about gender in sports after her Italian competitor, Angela Carini, pulled out seconds into their bout at the Paris Olympics.

Algeria will hold its next presidential election on Sept. 7, giving first-term President Abdelmajid Tebboune more than five months to campaign should he choose to seek a second term leading the oil-rich north African nation.

The United States has circulated a rival U.N. Security Council resolution that would support a temporary cease-fire in Gaza after rejecting an Arab-backed resolution.

Algeria is rebuffing accusations that efforts to crack down on French private schools constituted hostility toward the langauge.

Algeria is among many countries in Africa to take steps to transition parts of its education system away from French and toward English.

Authorities and local media say fires raging through forests, mountain villages and towns in northern Algeria have left at least 34 people dead.

Algerian authorities say President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has started a three-day state visit to Russia meant to strengthen relations of “friendship and cooperation” at the invitation of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

A court in Algiers sentenced a prominent journalist to five years in prison with two years suspended on Sunday.

Italy and Algeria moved to expand their ties through a series of signed agreements during a two-day visit by Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni, who called Algeria Italy’s “most stable, strategic and long-standing’’ partner in the region.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni is looking to boost already strong energy ties with Algeria to further wean Italy off Russian energy.

A growing number of Syrian Kurds are making the journey to Europe on a circuitous course that includes travel by car and plane across Lebanon, Egypt, Libya, Algeria, then finally by boat to Spain.

European leaders are turning to Africa for more natural gas as they try to replace Russian energy amid the war in Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron has arrived in Algeria for a three-day official visit aimed at boosting future economic relations.

Algeria's civil protection agency says wildfires raging in the country's east have killed at least 37 people and wounded 161 others.

European leaders have ramped up their push to secure alternative energy supplies as fears escalate of a complete natural gas cutoff by Russia.

Algeria has threatened to suspend its gas exports to Spain, the latest twist in a complex triangle of diplomatic tensions between the gas supplier, the gas importer and their shared neighbor Morocco.

Italian Premier Mario Draghi has secured a deal for more natural gas across a Mediterranean pipeline from Algeria.

The Defense Department says an Algerian man imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for nearly 20 years has been released and sent back to his homeland.

Morocco has reinstated its ambassador to Spain, effectively ending a 10-month row between the two key Mediterranean neighbors after Madrid shifted its long-standing position on Western Sahara, its former colony in North Africa.

The U.N. envoy for the disputed Western Sahara has visited refugee camps in Algeria housing those displaced by fighting decades ago.

Spain has sent another minister to Algeria to seek guarantees that its supply of natural gas won't be impacted when Algeria closes its pipeline through Morocco on Sunday.

Algeria’s leader has declared a three-day period of mourning for former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, whose 20-year-long rule ended in disgrace as he was pushed from power amid huge street protests when he decided to seek a new term.

Algerian state television says former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who fought for independence from France and was ousted from power in 2019 amid pro-democracy protests, has died at age 84.

Morocco’s foreign ministry said the country “regrets” the “completely unjustified” decision of neighboring Algeria to break off diplomatic relations.

The death toll in fires ravaging mountain forests and villages in Algeria’s Berber region climbed on Wednesday to 65, including 28 soldiers.

Algeria’s president has announced that 25 soldiers have been killed saving residents from wildfires ravaging forests and villages east of the capital.

An Algerian judo athlete will be sent home from the Tokyo Olympics after he withdrew from the competition to avoid potentially facing an Israeli opponent.

The leader of a movement seeking independence from Morocco who is at the center of a diplomatic row between Rabat and Madrid has flown out of Spain to Algeria.

Candidates hopeful of winning one of the 407 seats in the Algerian parliament have kicked off campaigning for legislative elections in June under a new system meant to weed out corruption and open voter rolls.

French President Emmanuel Macron announced a decision to speed up the declassification of secret documents related to Algeria's seven-year war of independence from 1954 to 1962. (AP Photo, File)PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron announced a decision Tuesday to speed up the declassification of secret documents related to Algeria’s 1954-62 war of independence from France. This includes archives related to Algeria War, the statement said. Broadening the opening of archives on the war was part of Macron’s commitments to reckon with France’s colonial-era wrongs in Algeria. AdMacron also plans to attend three commemoration ceremonies by next year, which will mark the 60th anniversary of the end of Algeria's war for independence.

Algerian students demonstrate, one with a poster reading "The right to defend our rights" in Algiers, Tuesday, March 2, 2021. Protesters took to the streets of Algiers and other cities around Algeria last Friday in a bid to restart weekly pro-democracy demonstrations. (AP Photo/Fateh Guidoum)ALGIERS – Hundreds of students restarted their weekly Tuesday protest marches that were called off last spring because of the coronavirus. The march came eight days after the Hirak pro-democracy movement reappeared in streets around the country to mark its second anniversary and days after the weekly Friday marches restarted. Hirak's peaceful protests helped force long-time President Abdelaziz Bouteflika from office in 2019.

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 19, 2019 file photo, Algerian president Abdelmadjid Tebboune delivers a speech during an inauguration ceremony in the presidential palace, in Algiers, Algeria. (AP Photo/Toufik Doudou, File)ALGIERS – Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Tuesday that he was back in his country but still recovering from COVID-19 after two months away. After nearly two months out of the public eye, the 75-year-old president reappeared in mid-December in a video message, saying it might be several weeks before he was fit enough to return to Algeria. “Being far away from the country is difficult,” he said in the video aired Tuesday. Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad has been in charge during Tebboune’s absence as the country struggles with an economy worsened by the coronavirus pandemic and other issues.

ALGIERS – Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune marks a year in office Saturday but he is nowhere in sight since his evacuation to Germany more than six weeks ago for treatment of COVID-19. “I sincerely expected him to give us a surprise by returning home today for the first anniversary of his election. Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad has been in charge during Tebboune’s absence, conspicuous as the country struggles with an economy made worse by the coronavirus and a host of other issues. Constitutional law professor Fatiha Benabou said there is no date limiting the time Tebboune can be away. “But on a political level, the absence of the president, who embodies the essential powers, is obviously a problem."

ALGIERS – Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has finished his treatment for COVID-19 in an undisclosed location in Germany, and is undergoing medical tests, his office said Sunday. Amid growing concern in Algeria about the 74-year-old president’s health, his office issued a statement Sunday saying: “The medical team accompanying him confirms that the president has completed the recommended treatment protocol after having contracted COVID-19, and is currently undergoing medical tests.”The statement didn't provide details about his condition or his location, or indicate when Tebboune might return to Algeria. Tebboune was sent to an Algerian military hospital last month and then transferred to Germany in a special medical plane on Oct. 28. His office initially didn't explain the reason for the move, but confirmed a week later that he had the virus. Algeria has reported 2,139 virus-related deaths and more than 66,000 infections.

LYON – A Paris criminal court sentenced a 29-year-old Algerian man Thursday to life in prison for killing a woman and trying to bomb a church near the French capital in a failed 2015 attack that investigators said was plotted by Islamic State group extremists in Syria. He expressed regret over choosing that path, but denied killing the woman outside the church in the Paris suburb of Villejuif. Seven other defendants found to have helped him in the attack were sentenced to between three and 30 years in prison. The Paris court also convicted in absentia two operatives who were accused of orchestrating the attack, Abdelnasser Benyoucef and Samir Nouad, and sentenced them to life in prison. Another French terrorist trial is opening later this month, involving an attempted IS attack on a high-speed Amsterdam-to-Paris train.

Google Maps(CNN) - Eight newborn babies were killed in a fire that erupted in a hospital neonatal ward in Algeria on Tuesday, according to private television station Ennahar. The fire broke out in the eastern El-Oued province's Al-Um Bashir bin Nasser Hospital, according to Ennahar. "Sources say that the newly born babies were completely burnt and are difficult to identify," the station reported. It added that 11 babies, 37 women and 28 employees were rescued after the blaze broke out at 3:52 a.m., as "tens" of fire trucks and ambulances raced to the scene. The victims' families gathered outside the hospital calling for an investigation, the TV station said.