Algeria’s government has decided to break with the 33-year-old practice of observing the weekend on Thursdays and Fridays. The cabinet has ruled that starting from next month the official weekend will be moved to Friday and Saturday, in line with the practice in many Middle Eastern states.Investors complain that having the weekend on Thursdays and Fridays, with Saturdays and Sundays as working days, meant they only had three days a week to conduct business with partners outside Algeria. The practice had been costing Algeria between $500 and $700 million in lost business each year, according to estimates from business lobby groups.
Saudi Arabia and Yemen also mark the weekend on Thursday and Friday. Kuwait switched to a Friday-Saturday weekend two years ago as part of efforts to promote its non-oil economy.
“It’s a very good move,” said one Algerian businessman who works with foreign companies. “If they moved it to Saturday and Sunday it would be even better,” said the businessman, who did not want to be named.
(Source: Reuters/R Netherlands Media Network Weblog)
This will likely effect the following Radio Algerienne shortwave schedule, posted 22 July 2009. Monitoring observations are welcomed from blog readers.
Broadcast daily unless otherwise indicated
transmitters via Issoudun, France
Radio Algerienne, Algeria
All times UTC
Arabic
0400-0600 7295* targeted to Africa & Spain
0500-0700 9535* targeted to Africa & Spain
1800-1900 11775** targeted to Africa & Spain
1900-2000 9375** targeted to Africa & Spain
1900-2000 11775* targeted to Africa & Spain
2000-2100 9375* targeted to Africa & Spain
2000-2100 7495** targeted to Africa & Spain
2100-2300 5875** targeted to Africa & Spain
* May 09-09 Sept; ** 29 Mar 09-25 Oct 09. All transmitters via Issoudun, France.
Schedule confirmed from on-air monitoring, and is a revision from previous listings via WRTH 09 and the station’s A09 release.
(Mike Ford, UK/World News by Noel R. Green/DSWCI)