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Algeria Gate: A new opportunity is opening up for Algerian students and young researchers wishing to pursue their academic path in Switzerland. The Swiss Confederation is launching its excellence scholarship programme for the 2027–2028 academic year, aimed in particular at foreign researchers who have completed their master’s or doctoral studies.

Applications will open from 20 August 2026, with a submission period running until 30 November 2026 for Algeria, according to information provided by the Swiss Embassy in Algiers. Applications must be submitted online via the programme’s official platform.

Opportunities in research and doctoral studies

Awarded by the Federal Commission for Scholarships for Foreign Students, these scholarships aim to strengthen international scientific exchanges with more than 180 countries. They enable selected candidates to undertake research work, a doctorate or a postdoctorate at Swiss universities, universities of applied sciences and scientific institutions.

For research scholarships, candidates must in particular secure the support of an academic supervisor in Switzerland. Applications are evaluated on the basis of the candidate’s academic profile, the quality of the proposed project and its potential for future scientific cooperation.

This initiative therefore represents an important opportunity for Algerian students and researchers wishing to join the Swiss scientific environment and develop research projects within an international university framework.

Interested candidates are invited to prepare their application file before registrations open and to consult the specific conditions applicable to Algeria on the official Swiss platforms.

Algeria Gate: Recent criminal and financial investigations in Belgium and Italy have exposed a dangerous shift in the tactics of Moroccan-linked criminal networks involved in hashish trafficking.

These groups no longer confine themselves to smuggling hashish alone; they have refined methods for concealing the drug, moving its proceeds, and have extended their operations into cocaine; a development that highlights the expanding drug trade aimed at saturating European markets with narcotics.

The Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office in Belgium revealed in a statement that a furniture store in the Borgerhout area had been sealed under judicial seals. The store was being used to smuggle hashish arriving from Morocco into Belgium. The 61-year-old manager of the store was also arrested in a case combining drug trafficking and financial investigations.

The Antwerp Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed that the drugs were hidden inside furniture and passed under the cover of commercial activity before the proceeds of this trade returned to Morocco to be reinvested.

The investigations highlighted how the Moroccan hashish trade has transformed from mere smuggling shipments into an integrated system that combines concealment, transport and the reinvestment of proceeds across borders, becoming a tributary of the parallel economy.

For its part, Italian police in the city of Viareggio arrested a 22-year-old Moroccan youth in possession of 19 bags of cocaine, cash sums and two mobile phones.

Italian investigators are analyzing the content of the two phones in order to reconstruct the network of suppliers and customers and identify communications linked to the drug trade. In parallel, they are examining the packaging method of the seized cocaine, which had previously been recovered in another security operation in the western pine forest, providing them with an additional path to determine the links between distribution operations and supply sources.

Algeria Gate: Italy’s Ambassador to Algeria, Alessandra Chiavo, has described Algeria’s integrated phosphate project as a highly ambitious and forward-looking initiative that aligns with the goals of Italy’s Mattei Plan. The project aims to build production capacity, transfer expertise, and strengthen the self-sufficiency of an African nation that Italy regards as a priority partner on the continent.

Speaking to the Nova news agency on the sidelines of the launch ceremony for the project’s first phase, in which the Italian energy and engineering company Saipem is participating, Ambassador Chiavo said the initiative reflects the planning capacity and long-term vision of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune and the Algerian government. She noted, however, that implementation will pose both technological and organizational challenges due to the very short deadlines set for the facilities to enter service.

A Model of Cooperation Beyond Traditional Energy Ties

The Italian diplomat stressed that the integrated phosphate project offers a concrete example of cooperation that goes beyond the conventional framework of energy relations. By establishing a full local industrial chain, the initiative is expected to contribute to Algeria’s economic and social development.

Ambassador Chiavo underlined that the project marks a significant expansion of collaboration between Saipem and Algeria, extending well beyond the hydrocarbons sector. Saipem will help construct the mining and industrial infrastructure required to extract phosphate at Bled El Hadba in Tebessa Province and to process it into fertilizers at Oued El Kebirit in Souk Ahras Province.

Supporting Algeria’s Food Sovereignty Strategy

According to Chiavo, the scale of the operation exceeds its purely mining and industrial value. Converting phosphate into fertilizers fits directly into Algeria’s broader strategy of boosting agricultural production and reducing the country’s vulnerability to international crises.

“A nation’s food sovereignty is its sovereignty in the full sense of the word,” the Ambassador stated. She explained that dependence on imports leaves countries exposed to price volatility, supply-chain disruptions, and shocks caused by global crises.

By developing domestic fertilizer production capacity, Algeria aims to strengthen its agricultural sector and enhance national resilience; objectives that the Italian side views as fully consistent with the Mattei Plan’s emphasis on creating productive capacity and supporting African self-sufficiency.

The launch of the first phase of the integrated phosphate project, with Saipem’s involvement, therefore represents both a strategic industrial investment for Algeria and a tangible step in the evolving economic partnership between Algiers and Rome.