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Algerian Paralysis
Bouteflika's Uncertain Future
The future of ailing Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika has not been settled – and the nation's powerful figures are nervous. The country is still puzzling over the question of who might succeed him. By Christoph Erhardt
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Interview with Habib Selmi
"Tunisians Are Mature Enough"
The renowned Tunisian author and journalist Habib Selmi talks with Volker Kaminski about his most recent literary work and about the difficult situation of writers and artists in his homeland
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Syria and the Middle East
The End of the Sykes Picot System?
Aside from the human suffering caused by Syria's ongoing war, we should be aware of the potentially dire regional consequences of Syria's disintegration: It would call the entire post-World War I Middle Eastern state system into question. By Volker Perthes
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Open Letter to Europe
"Tunisia Needs Help!"
In an open letter to José Manuel Barroso, president of the European Commission, the well-known Tunisian journalist Soufiane Chourabi appeals to the EU to put pressure on Tunisia’s government because it tolerates the attacks by fundamentalist Islamic groups on Tunisians’ personal freedoms
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Interview with the Algerian Novelist Yasmina Khadra
"There Is a Life after Defeat"
Now based in France, the Algerian writer Yasmina Khadra is one of his country's most successful authors. The film The Attack, based on Yasmina Khadra's book of the same name, was honoured as Best International Literary Adaptation at this year's Frankfurt Book Fair. Regina Keil-Sagawe joined the novelist for an espresso
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Libya
A Sanctuary for Radicals and Militants
Libya has morphed into the Wild West of northern Africa just two years after the fall of the Gaddafi regime. In particular, the Libyan Desert has become a sanctuary for radical forces. Valerie Stocker reports from Tripoli
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Street Children in Marrakech
The Oasis of Sésame Garden
Some 10 million tourists visit the Kingdom of Morocco every year. But very little of the income they generate trickles down to the socially disadvantaged. In Marrakech, a lone restaurateur is making a real difference to the lives of street children. A report Astrid Kaminski
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Christians in Tunisia
Cause for Concern
Pressure on Tunisian Christians in Tunisia has grown since the nation's Jasmine Revolution. Observations from Katharina Pfannkuch in Tunis
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Political Documentary Films from Tunisia
At the Eye of Tunisia's Political Storm
Not one, but two new Tunisian documentary films focus on the politically motivated assassinations of Chokri Belaid and Mohamed Brahmi. The results couldn't be more different: while Habib Mestiri observes, Youssef Ben Ammar gets right into the thick of things, filming like a political activist. Two generations, two different approaches, two very different outcomes. Christina Omlin watched both films
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Women Entrepreneurs in the Arab World
Successful Together
"Ouissal" means "connection". A new project bearing this name offers women entrepreneurs from Germany and Tunisia the opportunity to get to know each other and offer mutual support in their professional careers – a dialogue between equal partners. By Martina Sabra
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Surveillance and Domestic Security since 9/11
Like Donkeys Carrying Books
The intelligence services' frenzied data analysis is the latest and for the moment, the last in a series of imbalanced responses to the attacks of 11 September 2001, says investigative journalist Stefan Buchen who, according to a report in the German news weekly Der Spiegel, has himself been the subject of security agency investigations
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Annick Cojean: "Gaddafi's Harem"
A Monstrous Nexus of Power, Sexuality and Violence
In her book "Gaddafi's Harem", the French journalist Annick Cojean documents the extent to which the former Libyan dictator was obsessed with power and sexuality, as well as how he channelled his hatred of all those born into privilege into an abusive practice that subjugated their wives. By Gabriele Michel