BBC News Middle East

Many Algerians on social media have welcomed seeing President Abdelamdjid Tebboune on video, who's made his first appearance in almost two months after contracting coronavirus and being treated in Germany.

President Tebboune looked pale and gaunt in the clip that went out on his Twitter and Algerian state TV, yet promised to return to the country in a "few weeks":

Sceptics however were left unimpressed and asked why the whereabouts of the president have not been specified and also questioned his capacity to take back his duties.

Mr Tebboune was last seen in public on 15 October when he met with the French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves le Drian. And since his hospitalisation in Germany the authorities have several times announced his imminent return home.

His long absence and the lack of clarity about his condition fuel rumours in the North African country which had been tormented by the sickness of its former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

The 75-years-old current president is known to be a "heavy smoker". He was advised on 24 October to self-isolate following a positive coronavirus case among his close staff.

His health deteriorated and was flown on 28 October to Germany for coronavirus treatment.

A year after his election on the promise to build "a new Algeria" the country is a state of limbo - many say the constitutional changes to be ushered in after a referendum fail to meet fully the demands of the Hirak protest movement.

AFPCopyright: AFP

The US decision to recognise Morocco's claim over the disputed Western Sahara region has angered the territory's Polisario Front, whose spokesman told BBC Focus on Africa it was a "dangerous setback".

"Sovereignty over Western Sahara is a decision that should be taken exclusively by the Saharawi people through a genuine expression of their will," said spokesman Oubi Bouchraya Bachi, adding "it doesn’t belong to the US" or any other power.

Western Sahara was annexed by Morocco in 1975. A 16-year-long insurgency ended with a UN-brokered truce in 1991 and the promise of a referendum on independence, which has yet to take place.

The Polisario Front is a nationalist group backed by Algeria which has been seeking to establish an independent state - a claim recognised by the African Union.

The announcement by outgoing US President Donald Trump comes weeks after hostilities between Moroccan and Polisario forces resumed, breaking almost three decades of ceasefire.

The deal is part of a wider agreement between the US and Morocco that sees it normalise relations with Israel.

"We have been warning that importing the Middle East dynamic to North Africa will engender a lot of instability," Mr Bachi said of the US-Morocco pact.

"We are very hopeful the new administration [in the US] will take a different step," he added.

Listen to full interview on the Africa Today podcast.

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Algerian football player Hichem Boudaoui has been criticised on social media for travelling to Israel with his French club Nice to face Beer-Sheva in the Europa League.

Internet users condemned the 21-year-old midfielder’s decision to travel to Israel, calling it an act of "treachery".

Algeria has no diplomatic relations with Israel.

The two teams are due to play shortly, but the game is of no importance as both were eliminated in the group stage.

A hashtag reading "Boudaoui does not represent Algeria" has been widely used by angry fans, with some demanding that he be axed from the national team.

Some users have however called fans to be less harsh with the young player who, they say, "has to fulfil the contract he has with his team".

Algerian teams and athletes generally refuse to face Israeli counterparts in international competitions as the two countries do not have diplomatic relationships and in solidarity with Palestinian people under Israeli occupation.

Former Algeria players Ishak Belfodil and Safir Taider had played in Israel but they both have dual nationality and used their French passport to enter Israel.

Boudaoui was born in Algeria and does not have dual nationality.