Rahim
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Posts by Rahim
Algeria-Egypt – brothers again
Dec 17th
On the surface, Egyptian and Algerian relations appear to be improving after the disastrous incidents surrounding the Egypt-Algeria soccer matches, reports Dina Ezzat at Al-Ahram Weekly.
Throughout the month of November, qualifying soccer matches between Egypt and Algeria have been tarnished with violent incidents as the two Arab countries competed for a spot in the 2010 FIFA World Cup. While the Egyptian team prevailed in Cairo, Algeria was the ultimate victor in Khartoum, Sudan.
Aggressive rhetoric preceded the games, as both Egyptians and Algerians engaged in vicious comments through the media. “For weeks, Egyptian and Algerian fans engaged in cyberwars, taunting each other in online forums, trading doctored team photos, provocative homemade songs, and YouTube videos,” writes Ursula Lindsey for Foreign Policy.
Lindsey recounts an inflammatory comment by Amr Adeeb, anchor of “Al-Qahira Al-Youm (Cairo Today).” The night before the match in Cairo, Adeeb stated, “What annoys me is the way the Algerians talk … this provocation, this conceit … Why do the Algerians hate us so much? We supported them during their million-martyr revolution; we sent them teachers to teach them Arabic.”
Algerians also engaged in the taunting, using Egypt’s controversial relationship with Israel to degrade their opponent. Before the games started, Algerian hackers installed an image of the Star of David over the Egyptian flag on the teams’ official website. An Algerian newspaper also referred to Cairo’s stadium as the “Tel Aviv stadium.” According to Gulf News, Algerian and Egyptian youths composed rap songs demonizing their opponents as “villains who must always lose.”
The rivalry was not limited to heated words– injuries among athletes and fans alike were reported throughout the matches, although Algerian and Egyptian sources offered drastically different accounts. Lindsey notes that the Algerian newspaper Echorouk posted a video claiming that an Algerian rapper’s brother was killed in Egypt, however the video was apparently a hoax.
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Algerian soccer team gets FIFA points
Dec 16th
Image via Wikipedia
PARIS – FIFA has awarded Wednesday Spain as the team of the year, with 15 victories in 16 games in 2009, while Algeria and Brazil have the highest increase over the previous year with a gain of 322 points each in the Fifa rankings.
This is the second consecutive year that Spain won this distinction. The only defeat of Spain in 2009 was in the semi-finals of the Confederations Cup this summer against the United States. Spain tops FIFA’s latest rankings released in November.
Algeria, qualified for the World Cup 24 years after her last participation, achieves the rank of its history, winning 38 seats to climb to 26th place. Brazil, however, is in second place behind Spain.
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Australian firms look towards Algerian banks for help
Dec 9th
Terramin Australia Ltd., an Australian zinc and lead producer, is in talks with state-owned Algerian banks to help fund development of a planned $266 million project in the North African country.
“The environment is good for financing the project at the moment, particularly in Algeria,” Kevin Moriarty, chairman of the Adelaide-based company, said today in an interview, adding he hopes to complete a loan by the end of 2010. “We are working on it at the moment with the banks.” More >
Algerian Skipper Yazid shines in English leaque
Dec 9th
Seven months before the tournament, Algeria skipper Yazid Mansouri accepts that his team are playing for second place behind England in their group in South African next year.
Having come through the stormy test of their play-off with Egypt, Algeria head into their first finals in 24 years, hoping to reach the knock-out phase for the first time in their history. More >
Algerian oil minister sees oil prices stabilizing
Dec 8th
DOHA (Zawya Dow Jones)–The economic climate will improve a bit in 2010 and oil prices are expected to be between $70 and $80 a barrel next year, Algeria’s oil minister said Tuesday.
“It’s still uncertain but I see the global economy being a little better in 2010,” Chakib Khelil told reporters in Doha.
Khelil said the lower oil prices seen this year have had no effect on his country’s energy investments. “There has been no impact at all,” Khelil said. More >
