Algeria poll on December 12: interim president

Algeria -- whose ailing president Abdelaziz Bouteflika resigned in April following mass protests -- is to hold a presidential election on December 12, his interim successor announced Sunday. "I have decided... that the date of the presidential election will be Thursday, December 12," said Abdelkader Bensalah, who is precluded from standing himself, in a televised address.

The announcement comes after army chief General Ahmed Gaid Salah, seen as the strongman in Algeria since the fall of Bouteflika, insisted that polls be held by the end of this year, despite ongoing protests demanding the creation of new institutions ahead of any elections.