Algeria Sentences Bouteflika's Brother to 12 Years on Corruption Charges

Said Bouteflika (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Said Bouteflika (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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Algeria Sentences Bouteflika's Brother to 12 Years on Corruption Charges

Said Bouteflika (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Said Bouteflika (Asharq Al-Awsat)

An Algerian court has sentenced the brother of ousted president Abdelaziz Bouteflika to 12 years in prison for "corruption" and money laundering.

Algerian news website Interlignes said the Sidi M'hamed court in Algiers has also given a 12-year sentence to two other defendants— businessman Ahmed Mazouz and construction tycoon Ali Haddad, who is also already in prison on other charges.

Mahieddine Tahkout, a former car industry boss and one of the most influential business figures of the Bouteflika era, has been sentenced to 15 years, the report said.

Three other ex-tycoons, brothers Reda, Noah-Tarek and Abdelkader-Karim Kouninef, have been sentenced to 10 years each, it added, according to AFP.

The Kouninef brothers, who were close to the ousted president, had already been sentenced to 12-16 years in another corruption case.

In June, Said Bouteflika was given an eight-year sentence for corruption.

Sentences issued by Algerian courts are not added up, with only the longest sentence actually served.

The verdict against Said Bouteflika is the latest in a string of investigations into corruption during his brother's two decades in power, launched by the judiciary since mass protests in 2019 forced the former president to resign.



Lebanon President Calls for Israel Talks to Prevent Gaza-Style Destruction

 A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Lebanon President Calls for Israel Talks to Prevent Gaza-Style Destruction

 A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)
A man stands as rescuers work at the site of Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Kfar Hatta in southern Lebanon, April 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Sunday a call for negotiations with Israel, saying he wanted to spare his country's south from destruction on the scale seen in Gaza.

"It is true that Israel might want to do in southern Lebanon what it did in Gaza," Aoun said in a televised address, after Israel launched airstrikes and a ground offensive against Hezbollah, destroying several southern Lebanese villages.

"Gaza was destroyed, over 70,000 people were killed, and they eventually sat down and negotiated, so why don't we negotiate... until we can at least save the homes that have not yet been destroyed?" he added.


Egypt Says It Held Calls with US Witkoff, Regional Counterparts

 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
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Egypt Says It Held Calls with US Witkoff, Regional Counterparts

 Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty speaks during a joint news conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov following their meeting in Moscow, Russia April 3, 2026. (Pavel Bednyakov/Pool via Reuters)

Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty held separate calls to discuss proposals for regional de-escalation with ‌US Envoy ‌Steve Witkoff ‌and ⁠regional counterparts including Iranian ⁠Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the ministry said in a ⁠statement on ‌Sunday.

Egypt, ‌Türkiye and ‌Pakistan have ‌emerged as active intermediaries in the crisis, with ‌Islamabad recently hosting a meeting to ⁠discuss ⁠regional de-escalation and proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.


Hezbollah Says Targeted Israeli Warship with Cruise Missile

A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)
A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)
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Hezbollah Says Targeted Israeli Warship with Cruise Missile

A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)
A man checks his phone on a beach as smoke rises from Israeli artillery shells on Qlaileh village, visible from Tyre city, south Lebanon, March 28, 2026. (AP)

Hezbollah on Sunday said it had targeted an Israeli warship with a cruise missile off the Lebanese coast, the first such claim by the group since the start of the Middle East war. 

In a statement, the Iran-backed group said it targeted the vessel 68 nautical miles off the Lebanese coast, claiming the warship was "preparing to launch attacks on Lebanese territory". 

The Israeli military told AFP when contacted: "We are not aware of it." 

Israeli warships have been used on several recent occasions to launch strikes on Lebanon.