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Updated at: 0109 PST, Sunday, August 16, 2009 ALGIERS: A head-on collision between a lorry and a minibus in Algeria on Saturday killed 16 people, including more than a dozen members of the same family travelling together, the Algerian civil guard said. The minibus driver and his 5 passengers were killed in the accident that occurred on the outskirts of the city of Ghazaouet, more than 500 kilometres (313 miles) west of the capital Algiers, the civil guard said. The cause of the collision was not y?et known. All the passengers on the minibus were members of the same family who had gone to the beach earlier in the day, the El Watan newspaper said on its website. It had earlier reported that 17 people were killed. The Algerian government recently toughened the penalties against drivers due to the number of fatal accidents from speeding or reckless driving.

Sunday, August 09, 2009 ANNABA: One person died and at least 10 were missing after an Algerian coast guard boat collided with boats filled with possible migrants, officials said.The collision occurred off the Algerian port city of Annaba after three migrant boats ignored calls that they stop, a British news channel reported.More than 70 people have unsuccessfully tried to escape Algeria by boat during the past two days, Algerian radio said, adding that more than 400 people had been intercepted by the Annaba coast guard this year. The Algerian newspaper El Watan reported two migrant boats sank in the stand-off with the coast guards that began Saturday.

Thursday, July 30, 2009 ALGIERS: At least 14 Algerian soldiers have been killed in an insurgent ambush, local newspapers reported late on Wednesday. A local newspaper, citing local sources, reported on its Internet site that 14 soldiers were killed when their convoy was attacked in the Tipaza province in the west of the country on Wednesday morning. Another newspaper cited unnamed sources assaying 20 soldiers were killed in the attack. There was no official confirmation of the reports.