A cold weather spell has killed at least 44 people in Algeria over the past week, sparking strong press criticism of what it sees as the government's poor response to the emergency situation.

Channel Three radio, quoting official sources, Thursday said 30 died in road accidents caused by the weather, and 14 of asphyxia because of poor heating devices.

Algeria Tuesday said parliamentary seats would be increased from 389 to 462 in the general election to be held in May.

The decision was announced following a cabinet meeting headed by President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Algeria said Thursday it will not boost crude oil exports in the event Iran suddenly cuts supplies to Europe after the EU imposed new sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear drive.

"We have a program in place that won't be modified," Energy Minister Youcef Yousfi told Algerian news service APS.

A court in Algeria has sentenced a fugitive leader of al-Qaida's north African wing and three of his followers to death for attacks against the military.

The sentence against Mokhtar Belmokhtar and the three others was handed down in absentia on Sunday night after a day-long trial in Algiers.

Morocco's new foreign minister Saad Eddine Othmani will visit Algiers next week, his ministry said Friday, as Rabat seeks to normalize ties strained for decades over the disputed Western Sahara region.

The two-day visit starting Monday will include talks with his counterpart Mourad Medelci and a meeting with Algeria's veteran President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, it said.

Mali's army has deployed extra troops and military equipment to its largely-desert north where Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb operates, officials said Friday.

"The Malian army has deployed men, equipment and over 200 vehicles to the north," an administrative source said.

Algeria has named retired general Athman Tartag to head up the country's fight against armed extremists, the daily El Watan reported Monday.

Tartag, who is also known as General Bachir, is in his 60s and has previously run the country's internal security service, the DSI, on an interim basis after the death of its chief in 2007.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday accused France of committing "genocide" in Algeria after French lawmakers voted a bill criminalizing the denial of Armenian genocide.

"France massacred an estimated 15 percent of the Algerian population starting from 1945. This is genocide," Erdogan told a news conference after the French move on the 1915 massacre of Armenians by Ottoman-era forces.

Algerian troops have crossed into Mali to help government forces combat groups affiliated to al-Qaida, officials and witnesses told Agence France Presse Tuesday.

"Algerian troops are currently stationed in northern Mali to assist the Malian army in the fight against terrorism," a high-ranking military official said.

Western Saharan rebels have detained people implicated in the October kidnapping of three Europeans in Algeria, the APS agency quoted rebel officials as saying on Thursday.

"They were acting on behalf of a criminal organization unknown until now," Khatri Eddouh, president of the Polisario parliament, was quoted as telling journalists late Wednesday.