Algeria Newspaper Liberte Closes after 30 Years

Algeria's French-language newspaper Liberte ran its final edition on April 14. (AFP)
Algeria's French-language newspaper Liberte ran its final edition on April 14. (AFP)
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Algeria Newspaper Liberte Closes after 30 Years

Algeria's French-language newspaper Liberte ran its final edition on April 14. (AFP)
Algeria's French-language newspaper Liberte ran its final edition on April 14. (AFP)

Prominent Algerian newspaper Liberte printed its last issue on Thursday, three decades after it was established and a week after its owner, the country's richest man, decided to liquidate it.

The French-language daily newspaper's front page resembled an obituary, with a black band at the top and the title in red: "Thank you and goodbye."

"After 30 years of intellectual adventure, Liberte is finished," the first page read.

"The curtain has fallen on Liberte, our newspaper, your newspaper, which for 30 years carried the ideals of democracy and freedom, and was the voice of Algeria moving forward."

The North African newspaper also published a final cartoon from its well-known cartoonist Dilem: a picture of a coffin bearing the name "Liberte" with a hammer and a nail on top, with the caption: "The final closure".

Issad Rebrab, who has faced a campaign to keep the newspaper running, wrote in an editorial that the newspaper's "economic situation" meant it was no longer viable.

Forbes magazine this month classed Rebrab as the Arab world's second-richest man, with a fortune of some $3.8 billion (3.5 billion euros).

He also announced that said he was retiring and that his successors at his company Cevital had wanted the paper to close.

Algerian media went through something of a golden age after protests against the country's one-party system in 1988, but several titles have closed since the turn of the millennium, mostly due to falling sales and advertising revenue.

Several journalists are in prison or facing trial, notably for defamation of political figures or because of social media posts.

The country ranks 146th out of 180 on the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Press Freedom Index.



US Issues Sanctions on Hezbollah-linked Targets

A man walks with a boy, carrying a Hezbollah flag, past a mural depicting former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior figures near the burial site of Hassan Nasrallah on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man walks with a boy, carrying a Hezbollah flag, past a mural depicting former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior figures near the burial site of Hassan Nasrallah on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
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US Issues Sanctions on Hezbollah-linked Targets

A man walks with a boy, carrying a Hezbollah flag, past a mural depicting former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior figures near the burial site of Hassan Nasrallah on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir
A man walks with a boy, carrying a Hezbollah flag, past a mural depicting former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and other senior figures near the burial site of Hassan Nasrallah on the outskirts of Beirut, Lebanon, June 17, 2026. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

Washington has issued new "counter ‌terrorism" ‌sanctions ​targeting ‌individuals ⁠and entities ​linked to ⁠Lebanon’s ‌Hezbollah, details ‌posted ​to ‌the US‌ Treasury Department's ‌website on Thursday showed.

It announced sanctions against several Lebanese officials it said were aligned with Hezbollah and members of the sanctioned ⁠Alaa Hassan Hamieh ⁠business network for obstructing Lebanon’s peace process and delaying the disarmament of Hezbollah.

The Treasury said its Office of Foreign Assets Control was also designating individuals in Lebanon, Syria and Iraq, who it said were raising ⁠funds ⁠and operating front companies to generate revenue for Hezbollah, an Iran-backed militant group.
 


Paris Awards Honorary Citizenship to Palestinian Civilians, Journalists

Paris' mayor Emmanuel Gregoire delivers a speech during the launch of a Citizens' Convention on Protecting Children and Their Time at School at Paris city hall in central Paris on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Paris' mayor Emmanuel Gregoire delivers a speech during the launch of a Citizens' Convention on Protecting Children and Their Time at School at Paris city hall in central Paris on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
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Paris Awards Honorary Citizenship to Palestinian Civilians, Journalists

Paris' mayor Emmanuel Gregoire delivers a speech during the launch of a Citizens' Convention on Protecting Children and Their Time at School at Paris city hall in central Paris on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)
Paris' mayor Emmanuel Gregoire delivers a speech during the launch of a Citizens' Convention on Protecting Children and Their Time at School at Paris city hall in central Paris on May 18, 2026. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP)

The City of Paris on Thursday granted honorary citizenship to Palestinian civilians and journalists, in a symbolic gesture of support for "the suffering the Palestinian people."

"Honorary citizenship is not just a symbol, but a commitment to peace. We are extending a hand to an entire people," Emmanuel Gregoire, the capital's Socialist mayor, said before the Council of Paris.

He spoke in the presence of the Palestinian representative in France, Hala Abou-Hassira, who received a long round of applause.

"Recognizing the suffering of the Palestinian people in no way erases that of the Israeli people," AFP quoted Gregoire as saying.

"We will never forget October 7, 2023," he added, stressing that the French capital had earlier granted honorary citizenship to the hostages of Palestinian militant group Hamas.

A resolution adopted by the Council of Paris said "the humanitarian situation of Gaza's population remains dramatic".

The right voted against the resolution, pointing to a resurgence of antisemitic acts in France.

Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,221 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

It sparked the war in Gaza, where a ceasefire in effect since October last year has largely halted fighting.

The war has reduced much of the Palestinian territory to rubble, with an estimated death toll of more than 73,000 people, the majority of them civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, whose figures are considered reliable by the United Nations.

Last week, Paris hosted a meeting of Palestinian and Israeli civil society groups, who urged global leaders to take urgent action and help implement a permanent ceasefire.

France as well as Britain, Canada and several other countries recognized a Palestinian state last year. Paris has earlier bestowed honorary citizenship on the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.


Israel Military Says will Keep Operating in South Lebanon

A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
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Israel Military Says will Keep Operating in South Lebanon

A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A child flashes a victory sign as he and his family return to their village with their belongings on a highway near the southern port city of Tyre, Lebanon, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

The Israeli military said on Thursday it will continue operating in southern Lebanon and "remove threats" beyond its so-called security zone, after the US and Iran signed an agreement to end the Middle East war, including in Lebanon.

The military published a map of its declared "security zone" -- which runs some 10 kilometres (six miles) inside Lebanese territory.

It said troops would continue to be deployed there "to remove threats and strengthen the defence of Israel's northern residents".

In a later statement, an Israeli military official said the army "will continue to remove threats to soldiers and the civilians of the State of Israel that are identified beyond the security zone".

The announcement came after the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding on Wednesday meant to end the Middle East war, with fighting supposed to be halted on all fronts, including in Lebanon.

Hours after the agreement was signed, Lebanese state media reported one person killed in an Israeli drone strike in southern Lebanon.

Israel's military meanwhile announced the death of one of its soldiers the night before during an incident in south Lebanon that also left seven other troops wounded.

The military official on Thursday called on the Lebanese Armed Forces to operate in coordination with Israeli forces and urged Lebanese civilians to avoid entering the security zone.

Since Iran and the US announced they had reached an agreement on Monday, there has been a sharp decrease in the level of violence in Lebanon.

Lebanon and Israel have been holding direct talks in Washington since April, seeking to end the hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah and separate their conflict from the wider regional war.

"Further steps are still being discussed within the framework of direct negotiations between Israel and Lebanon," the Israeli military official said on Thursday, adding that "the representatives will reconvene next week".