A new government bill barring imams from engaging in politics has triggered controversy in Algeria as the country prepares for parliamentary elections. In a statement Tuesday (March 13th) to Algerian daily El Khabar, Algerian Minister of Religious Affairs Bouabdallah Ghlamallah stated that "those who wish to be involved in politics have only to give up their calling as imams and leave the mosque, since the latter is built for prayers, not the practice of politics."

Algeria's irrigation system in the Saharan regions of Touat and Gourara has stood firm for centuries and bears witness to the numerous civilisations which have inhabited the region's oases. However, the effects of modernisation have compounded the problems of desertification in the "triangle of fire" and this regional heritage is now threatened with extinction.

Algeria has a law designed to defend women from being made homeless by divorce; a prospect heightened by a severe housing shortage. Advocates, however, say the law is not enforced and women are still winding up in the streets.

In May, Algeria will inaugurate a reserve around a small oasis in the south-west where plants and animals are to be protected in the service of a broader goal. Hopes are that the Taghit National Park will help stop the advance of the Sahara Desert, which already stretches across almost all of this North African country (IPS news).

Human Rights Watch is urging Algerian authorities should drop politically motivated charges against two human rights lawyers. Amine Sidhoum and Hassiba Boumerdassi have been on trial since August on charges of handing unauthorized documents to their clients in prison. They face up to five years in prison if convicted.