Algeria

Algerians who are interested in their current election — and there aren’t many, really — were greeted with a surreal scene of their little seen president being wheeled into a voting booth to cast a ballot for his own re-election. Slowly, Algerians are trying to bring change to a country that’s been ruled by the same many for almost 15 years.Algerians who are interested in their current election — and there aren’t many, really — were greeted with a surreal scene of their little seen president being wheeled into a voting booth to cast a ballot for his own re-election. Slowly, Algerians are trying to bring change to a country that’s been ruled by the same many for almost 15 years.

Albert Camus was dashing, brilliant and died young. The French Algerian intellectual, philosopher and writer won the Nobel Prize for Literature at the tender age of 44 but died in a car crash just a few years later. His books like “The Myth of Sisyphus” and “The Plague” are still read by college students and even world leaders. But Camus’ standing in France was forever tarnished by his views on the Algerian war.

The ongoing unrest in northern Mali is raising concerns that the militants could move into neighboring countries. And with the latest jihadist retaliation and taking of hostages, some say it’s time for an increased focus on the Maghreb region and the militants who rule it.

A small group of Algerians who fought on the French side of Algeria’s war of independence suffered widespread discrimination after the French military abandoned the country. Those who escaped to France didn’t fair much better. Fifty years later, they’re still waiting for an apology.

The January hostage siege at Algeria’s In Amenas gas field has only deepened Algerians fear of militant Islamist, says Time magazine’s Vivienne Walt.