Bouteflika 'responding well' after stroke

ALGIERS: Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika is "responding well" after he suffered a stroke and there was no irreversible damage, a doctor told state news agency APS on Sunday.

The president, 76, "did not suffer irreversible damage", said Rachid Bougherbal, director of Algeria's National Sports Medicine Centre, explaining that "no sensory function was impaired".

Bouteflika, who has been in power since 1999, on Saturday suffered a "transient ischaemia", or temporary blockage of blood flow, which "did not last long", said Bougherbal, adding that the veteran leader's condition was "reversible".