🇩🇿AlgeriaNorth Africa
Franco-Algerian actress Rachida Brakni declines France's Legion of Honor award
via Algérie3602 min read
Rachida Brakni, a Franco-Algerian actress, director, and singer, has declined the Legion of Honor, France's highest civilian award, after her name appeared on the prestigious July 14th civil promotion list. Brakni announced her decision on Instagram, stating that the "question of honor" extends beyond official medals. She expressed surprise at the nomination, which she was not informed about in advance. The 49-year-old actress explained that her sense of honor is a "precious moral duty" she strives to apply daily in her work, writing, and life choices, valuing the esteem of those important to her more than any distinction. Brakni attributes her strong principles to her late father, Kaddour, an Algerian immigrant worker, who instilled in her a strict upbringing and courage, providing her with a "passport to freedom" that fueled her social and artistic success, including César and Molière awards in 2002. Her book, "Kaddour," explores this spiritual connection and the complexities of exile, recounting the repatriation of her father's body to Tipaza, Algeria, during the pandemic, and honoring a generation of uprooted men between France and Algeria.
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Saudia Airlines has inaugurated a new direct flight route connecting Oran, Algeria, to Medina, Saudi Arabia, starting July 13. This non-stop service aims to strengthen economic and cultural ties between the two countries and enhance passenger comfort, particularly for pilgrims traveling for Hajj or Umrah. The flight from Oran's Ahmed Ben Bella Airport to Medina's Mohamed Bin Abdulaziz Airport takes approximately 5 hours and 15 minutes, covering a distance of about 4,040 kilometers. Saudia Airlines is deploying its Boeing 777-300 aircraft for this route. Additionally, a new Saudia Airlines physical agency has opened at Ahmed Ben Bella Airport in Oran, offering travelers the convenience of purchasing tickets, obtaining information, and managing travel arrangements directly at the airport. A one-way ticket from Oran to Medina is available from 107,205 DA. This new connection expands the network of direct flights from Algeria to major Saudi cities, complementing existing services to Jeddah, which operates twice weekly with a flight duration of 6 hours 15 minutes to 6 hours 30 minutes.
Must ReadAlgeria is experiencing a significant demographic shift, with its synthetic fertility index falling from nearly 8 children per woman after independence to approximately 2.5 children today. This data was presented by Mohamed Talhi, Secretary General of the Ministry of Health, during the World Population Day celebration. Despite this decline, Algeria maintains a young demographic structure, which Talhi highlighted as an opportunity to leverage a "demographic dividend" through continued investment in human capital, youth empowerment, and their contribution to national development. He also emphasized the need for proactive policies focusing on quality access to education, employment, health, housing, and family stability in response to global demographic transformations. The decrease in birth rate is attributed to major socio-economic changes, including increased education levels, growing urbanization, evolving marriage patterns such as a later age for marriage, greater female participation in the workforce, and improved living conditions. While the decline is notable, Algeria remains a leader in birth rates within the Maghreb region. A recent study by France's National Institute of Demographic Studies INED indicates that Algeria recorded a rate of 2.61 children per woman in 2024, compared to Morocco's 1.97 in 2023 and Tunisia's 1.58 in the same year, with Tunisia projected to drop to 1.53 in 2024. The study also noted a unique period for Algeria, where its birth rate rebounded a
Must ReadAlgerian education authorities are considering focusing the 3rd year primary education program on English, potentially at the expense of French. This initiative aims to address difficulties young students face when learning two foreign languages simultaneously. The proposed change, which would involve introducing only English as a foreign language in 3rd grade, is based on reports from the National Conference and scientific arguments concerning children's cognitive and psychological development. Experts suggest that requiring 8-year-old students to learn both English and French concurrently, before fully mastering their mother tongue's grammar and writing, can be counterproductive. This can lead to "negative linguistic interference," where students confuse grammatical rules and pronunciation due to the two languages sharing the same Latin alphabet, potentially impacting their understanding of core subjects like mathematics and reducing their motivation. The strategic choice of English is attributed to its perceived flexibility and accessibility for children, as well as its status as a universal language crucial for accessing advanced technology, exact sciences, and artificial intelligence. The Minister of National Education, Mohamed Seghir Saâdaoui, previously noted that simultaneous learning of two foreign languages in 3rd grade presents a significant challenge. While English was introduced in 3rd grade primary education in the 2022/2023 school year and officially mandated b