The French are not cheese-eating surrender monkeys. That’s an old canard—you know, a French word—sealed by unfortunate performances in the World Wars. But, as France’s robust recent intervention into Mali shows, …
Algeria
Algeria’s Hostage Crisis: What Was Behind a Shadowy Militant Leader’s Plot?
As the Algerian hostage drama neared day four confusion remained high, information tight, and speculation about multiple motives behind the terror strike emerge
Must-Reads from Around the World
Venezuela faces a shortage of staple foods, Romanian orphanages fail to provide life training for children and the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet is injured in an acid attack
Algeria Intervenes in Hostage Crisis as Mali’s War Spreads Regional Chaos
One day after Islamic militants invaded an Algerian gas field and seized dozens of Western workers, there are fears that several of the foreign hostages might be dead—potentially escalating the military intervention in …
France’s Colonial Hangover: Apologizing Abroad, Ignoring Injustice at Home
French President François Hollande took strides to heal wounds between France and Algeria, but his recognition of “unjust” colonial history overlooks continued prejudice Algerian descendents still face in France.
Mali’s Crisis: Is the Plan for Western Intervention ‘Crap’?
Though significant differences over details remain, French officials tell TIME to expect an international intervention plan into Mali to get accepted by the U.N. before the year’s end
Algeria’s Ghosts: France Acknowledges a 1961 Police Massacre
French President François Hollande reverses 51 years of official denial about the violent deaths of perhaps 200 people killed during a 1961 demonstration against the Algerian war
Destroying Timbuktu: The Jihadist Who Inspires the Demolition of the Shrines
The charismatic military leader of Salafist rebels in Mali may just be helping to found an Islamic caliphate, but he is also taking apart an ancient city’s heritage
50 Years of Algerian Independence: Scenes from a 20th Century War
July 5 marks the 50th anniversary of Algeria’s independence from France — the latter had ruled the former as a colony since 1830. The bitter, eight-year-long war that paved the way for Algerian freedom is immortalized in …
Countering al-Shabab: How the War on Terrorism Is Being Fought in East Africa
Two bombings of churches in Kenya pointed to the resurgence al-Qaeda-linked terrorist groups in East Africa. But a TIME investigation into how the region’s countries (and the U.S.) are handling groups like Somalia’s al-Shabab …
Must-Reads from Around the World, June 13, 2012
What you need to know about world news on June 13: Helicopters get sent to Syria; (lots of) fish get thrown out in Europe; and a plague of locusts gets set to descend on Mali.
Ballot Box Watch: Your Guide to May Elections
Global Spin previews the pick of this month’s exercises in democracy
Mali’s Fog of War: Refugees Tell of Terror, Hunger and Rape
It took Ibrahim Touré three weeks to escape from Timbuktu after rebels seized the desert town, but, in his heart, he hasn’t really left. The 26-year-old shopkeeper studies the floor as he talks, cradling a welter of scabs and …