While counting remains underway in Algeria's legislative elections, two of the leading contenders, the Front de Libération Nationale, (FLN) and Islamist Mouvement de la Société pour la Paix, (MSP) have claimed victory in Saturday's nationwide poll.
In addition to the Rassemblement National Démocratique, (RND) both the FLN and Muslim Brotherhood affiliated MSP are widely seen as the parties of Algeria's political establishment.
All three enjoy dominant roles in the current parliament, with the FLN outstripping its rivals with a 66 seat lead on the second place RND's 100 seats in the last 2017 election. The MSP, in comparison, only holds 33 seats.
Algeria's electoral body, the Autorité Nationale Indépendante des Elections (ANIE) expected to announce the shape of the 407 seat chamber later this week.
Overall, only 30.2 per cent of the 24 million Algerians eligible to vote turned up at the polls, with the vast majority heeding the call of protesters to boycott the vote.
Despite ongoing counting, two of the leading parties have already claimed victory, with the third, the traditionally pro-government, Rassemblement National Démocratique, (RND) holding its council.
The MSP were the first to advance their claim on Sunday, before being rebuked by authorities at ANIE.
Addressing reporters, the movement's leader, Abdel-Razzaq Makri congratulated voters, before warning against attempts to change the results, as he claimed had happened under Algeria's previous President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
Any claim of electoral fraud without evidence has been rejected by ANIE.
The FLN, traditionally the party of government, also advanced its claim for victory, issuing a statement claiming to be leading all other parties with a "a very comfortable majority".
Both claims have been dismissed by ANIE until official counting has been concluded.
Meanwhile speculation remains rife over both the legitimacy of the new government and what shape it might take.
On Monday, the French Language Tout Sur l'Algérie, (TSA) suggested the elections could herald the return of a triumverate of leading parties, the FLN, RND and MSP that held sway under Mr Bouteflika, before the MSP left the alliance in 2012.
However, across much of Algeria, public focus remained sharply upon the low turnout and what it might mean for a government embarking upon a process of managed reform, rather than the dramatic overhaul of governance demanded by protesters.
None of those The National spoke to over election weekend had either voted, or claimed to respect the outcome of a poll that less than one third of the population had participated in.
Questions also remain over how independent many of the candidates billed as "independent" truly are.
Under new election rules intended to bring fresh blood into a body typically dominated by the establishment, the government banned anyone from standing who had previously served two terms or more.
Additionally, grants were made available to candidates under the age of 40 to help fund campaign costs. The result was a candidate base of around 13,000, around half of whom claimed to be independent, a statement that outlets such as the BBC have queried.
Perhaps the most critical verdict – that of the mass protest movement, or Hirak, remains. Prior to its temporary retreat due to Coronavirus, the Hirak defined the political agenda, ousting the former President and forcing a series of corruption trials in the top tiers of government.
Protester numbers have diminished since the movement's re-emergence in February.
However, given Saturday's dramatic shortfall in voter numbers, its voice clearly remains an influential one. Nevertheless, with police numbers in the capital almost rivalling those of demonstrators and mass arrests now commonplace, how long protests can continue amid the government's tepid programme of reform remains unclear.
The specs
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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
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
