Bomb attack in Algeria

Reports from Algeria say one person died and several others were injured when a bomb exploded at a market in Cherchel, west of the capital Algiers.

The Algerian news agency APS said it was not clear whether the attack was aimed at disrupting the start of campaigning for parliamentary elections later this month.

There has been a series of bomb attacks in recent weeks which the authorities suspect is the work of Islamic militants.

Earlier on Thursday, an anti-government general strike in the mainly-Berber province of Tizi Ouzou paralysed the region.

The two major opposition parties, which have strong support in the Berber area, have said they will boycott the poll on 30 May.

The BBC North Africa correspondent says the electoral campaign comes at a time of tension throughout the country, with a series of political killings, prison mutinies, and riots by unemployed youths.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service