Algeria releases first pictures of president Bouteflika after stroke

The first photos of Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was released on Wednesday by state- run APS news agency after he was hospitalized in France in late April due to a mini-stroke. The photos of Bouteflika were taken while the president wearing a dressing gown was receiving Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal and Army Chief of Staff Gaid Salah. On Tuesday, the state-run TV reported that Bouteflika held a two-hour meeting with Sellal and the army commander at a hospital in the French capital of Paris . "President Bouteflika responded to the medicine very well and his health seemed well," the APS quoted Sellal as saying on Tuesday. The Algerian government has been reassuring its people about the health of Bouteflika, amid media reports suggesting that the veteran president will not be able to run the country due to severe health problems. The president's minor stroke has triggered debate in the country's political arena, as some radical opponents have urged to organize early election to elect a new president.