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Protesters in Algeria's oil-rich southern province of Ouargla have blocked roads and burnt tyres in the main city to demand jobs and development in the region.

Ouargla hosts 71% of the country’s oil reserves.

But the local population feel their region does not receive a fair share of development and public services compared to the northern parts of the country.

The protesters say state-owned oil company Sonatrach - the biggest employer in the south - hires most of its staff, including unskilled workers, from the north.

It is also estimated that poverty in the southern parts of Algeria is twice as high as the northern region.

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Looking back, Baheyya says she was a different person when she got married.

At 22 she had fallen in love while at university in Egypt, and as a devout Muslim she believed that marriage was the only proper way to continue her relationship.

Although marriage wouldn’t have been her first choice at that point, she remembers her relationship as a true love story, and for the first couple of years she was happy as a wife.

But then things changed. Baheyya struggled with the pressures of motherhood, and as the Egyptian Revolution of 2011 opened up conversations in society, she started questioning some of her assumptions about what she could and should expect from life.

"I became a bit more liberal when it came to my spiritual beliefs [and] my political views. And he was still very conservative on both matters."

The relationship changed as Baheyya and her husband grew further apart, fighting not just about everyday issues, but big questions about life.

"I remember that he looked at me, he gave me a look and he said 'I’m not really sure I know you anymore'."

Eventually, the couple agreed that separating was the best way forward for them, joining the growing number of Egyptians who choose to get divorced.

A generation ago, in conservative societies in particular, women didn’t have the same freedom to end a marriage that men did. In cases where a marriage turned bad, wives were simply expected to endure it. Even now, Baheyya says she was lucky to have the financial independence that made divorcing possible for her.

A 2018 study found that one fifth of marriages in Egypt end in divorce each year. To some, this is a concerning trend, but to others - like Baheyya - it’s a sign of freedom.

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A celebrity dentist in Egypt has been sentenced to 16 years in prison after being convicted of sexually assaulting four men.

The accusations against Dr Bassem Samir first appeared on social media last year when an Egyptian actor made public his account of being assaulted.

Another man made similar accusations a month later in an online video.

Dr Samir was a well-known figure in Egypt, with big billboards advertising his clinic in the capital, Cairo.

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Algeria’s President Abdelaziz Tebboune has issued a pardon to 101 people jailed on charges related to widespread political protests.

They will released in time to celebrate next week’s Muslim festival Eid ul-Adha.

A popular protest movement - known as the Hirak - was formed in 2019 calling for radical political change in the North African nation.

It brought to an end the long-time rule of former President Abdelaziz Bouteflika two years ago, but has continued staging marches in major cities across the country demanding more reforms.

Dozens of Hirak members have been prosecuted and jailed, according to human rights groups.

Earlier this week, President Tebboune issued an Eid pardon for dozens of students jailed for cheating in the national exam for school leavers.

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The United States says it is concerned by the worsening human rights situation in Egypt.

A State Department spokesman, Ned Price, referred to the detention and harassment of NGO leaders, academics and journalists.

"The United States will stand with brave human rights defenders, journalists and advocates around the world. We believe all people should be allowed to express their political views freely, to assemble and associate peacefully," he said.

He named Hossam Bahgat, the executive director of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, as an example of those who had been wrongly targeted.

Mr Bahgat faces trial for insulting the Egyptian election commission in a tweet.

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Rights group Amnesty International has condemned what it called the complicity of European states in horrific abuses suffered by migrants intercepted at sea and forcibly returned to Libya.

A report by the group suggests that conditions in Libyan detention centres are worsening and migrants are subjected to torture, forced labour, sexual violence, and extortion.

Amnesty urged European countries to suspend cooperation on migration and border control with Libya.

United Nations figures say the Libyan coastguard returned more than 13,000 people to Libya in the first six months of this year.