Algeria's military, which in practice rules the country, is working to blight the "Arab spring" and curb the growth of democracy in the Maghreb. This includes substantial help to Col Muammar Qaddafi in neighbouring Libya.
Algeria's opposition Socialist Forces Front recently accused the regime of operations meant to destabilise the transitional democratic government in Tunisia, and also of undermining the Libyan resistance.
The United States "is working to ascertain the veracity of these claims [about Libya] which have only just come to light", a US State Department official told Reuters on Friday. "If true, this would likely constitute a violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 1970 and 1973."
In fact, however, there is already plenty of evidence to substantiate the claim of Algeria's involvement in defending Col Qaddafi's regime.
In the last two weeks, Algeria has denied accusations that a Libyan ship offloaded armaments destined for Col Qaddafi's troops at the Algerian port of Djen Djen, 267 kilometres east of Algiers.
But Libya's National Transitional Council (NTC) said the ship, sailing under a Libyan flag, arrived at Djen Djen on July 19 and then the shipment was conveyed across the border into Libya.
Algeria's support for Col Qaddafi has been thorough and systematic since the Libyan troubles began.
Diplomats from Algiers have worked at the UN, the EU and the Arab League to preclude or limit the internationalisation of the Libyan crisis. Algeria and Syria are the only two Arab countries that opposed the UN's imposition of a no-fly zone over parts of Libya.
The Algerian authorities contend that the Libyan rebels have close links with Al Qaeda in the Maghreb, and Algeria has neither recognised the NTC nor asked Col Qaddafi to step down. Instead, the Algerian government has endorsed an African Union peace plan that would leave Col Qaddafi and his sons in power.
It should be noted that Abdulhafidh Ghoga, the vice president of Libya's NTC, has denounced the duplicity of the Algerian regime, which he has accused of backing Col Qaddafi militarily and politically.
The NTC asserted that Chad, Mali, Niger and Kenya were all sending armed forces to support Col Qaddafi and that "there is evidence that the government of Algeria is taking part in this".
And the Algerian opposition in exile in Europe has alleged that there are Algerian armed forces in Libya. Shamsuddin Abdulmollah, an NTC spokesman, reported that 15 Algerian mercenaries had been captured in western Libya.
There is further corroboration that Algeria has sent proxy forces to help Col Qaddafi. Mario Diaz-Balart, a Republican in the US Congress, has exhorted colleagues to give "serious attention" to evidence that combatants from the Algerian-backed Western Saharan Polisario Front are among the forces fighting for the Libyan regime.
Edward Gabriel, a former US ambassador to Morocco, has said that "hundreds of Polisario mercenaries are being paid $10,000 (Dh36,700) each by Qaddafi" to fight in Libya.
In April the French foreign minister, Alain Juppé, challenged the Algerian regime about its connection to an arsenal that Col Qaddafi's troops had left on the battlefield, which was discovered by French military advisers to Libya's rebels.
At times Algerian involvement in Libya has been explicit. When the Algerian parliamentarian Saddek Bouguettaya attended a meeting in Tripoli of Libyan tribes supporting Col Qaddafi on May 8, he described Col Qaddafi's efforts to remain in power as "valiant and praiseworthy" and condemned Nato for its "bombing of the civilian population".
Mr Bouguettaya is a member of the central committee of Algeria's ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) and a loyalist of Abdelaziz Belkhadem, the FLN's secretary general and the personal representative of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
It should be noted that Mr Belkhadem called the Libyan rebels "agents of foreign powers who receive orders from the West". In addition, Daho Ould Kablia, Algeria's interior minister, affirmed on a recent talk show that "future relations with Libya would be strained in case the rebels take over power in Tripoli".
These declarations all indicate that Mr Bouguettaya was not voicing his own opinion, but was articulating the regime's open support for Col Qaddafi.
These reckless declarations by high-ranking Algerian officials have agitated Washington. Many US congressmen cannot fathom why Algeria would support Col Qaddafi while Nato has made its intentions to topple the Libyan dictator so clear.
What many observers fail to take into account is that the Algerian government fears an uprising similar to those in Tunisia and Egypt, or what is taking place in Syria and Yemen.
Those in power in Algiers remember the October 1988 riots that threatened the military-backed regime, which has mismanaged the country since independence in 1962.
Col Qaddafi still clings to power despite Nato air strikes, hundreds of casualties, frozen assets and a five-month arms embargo. Rebels now advance toward Tripoli. Perhaps Col Qaddafi's best exit strategy would be through Algiers.
Dr Abdelkader Cheref is an Algerian assistant professor of comparative literature and cultural studies at the University of Connecticut
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
How to help
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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Fanney Khan
Producer: T-Series, Anil Kapoor Productions, ROMP, Prerna Arora
Director: Atul Manjrekar
Cast: Anil Kapoor, Aishwarya Rai, Rajkummar Rao, Pihu Sand
Rating: 2/5
MATCH DETAILS
Manchester United 3
Greenwood (21), Martial (33), Rashford (49)
Partizan Belgrade 0
'Project Power'
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback
Director: Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman
Rating: 3.5/5
Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO
Mainz 0
RB Leipzig 5 (Werner 11', 48', 75', Poulsen 23', Sabitzer 36')
Man of the Match: Timo Werner (RB Leipzig)
Company%20Profile
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How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Tips for used car buyers
- Choose cars with GCC specifications
- Get a service history for cars less than five years old
- Don’t go cheap on the inspection
- Check for oil leaks
- Do a Google search on the standard problems for your car model
- Do your due diligence. Get a transfer of ownership done at an official RTA centre
- Check the vehicle’s condition. You don’t want to buy a car that’s a good deal but ends up costing you Dh10,000 in repairs every month
- Validate warranty and service contracts with the relevant agency and and make sure they are valid when ownership is transferred
- If you are planning to sell the car soon, buy one with a good resale value. The two most popular cars in the UAE are black or white in colour and other colours are harder to sell
Tarek Kabrit, chief executive of Seez, and Imad Hammad, chief executive and co-founder of CarSwitch.com
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
Other shows filmed in Ireland include: Vikings (County Wicklow), The Fall (Belfast), Line of Duty (Belfast), Penny Dreadful (Dublin), Ripper Street (Dublin), Krypton (Belfast)
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5