Mohammed Omer Mulla

For the third year in a row, 251 or more journalists are jailed around the world, suggesting the authoritarian approach to critical news coverage is more than a temporary spike. China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia imprisoned more journalists than last year, and Turkey remained the world’s worst jailer.  Fresh waves of repression in China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia sustained the global crackdown on press freedom in 2018 for the third consecutive year. In its annual global survey, the Committee to Protect Journalists found at least 251 journalists in jail in relation to their work, as Turkey--still the world’s worst jailer of journalists--released a small number. The past three years have recorded the highest number of jailed journalists since CPJ began keeping track, with consecutive records set in  2016   and  2017 . Turkey, China, and Egypt were responsible for more than half of those jailed around the world for the third year in a row. The majority of those impr...

Libreville - Junior officers earlier claimed they had seized power "to restore democracy" in oil-rich Gabon, where the ailing leader's family has ruled for 50 years.  Tanks and armed vehicles could be seen on the streets of the capital Libreville. The soldiers took control of the national radio station at 04:30 local time to read a short statement announcing a "National Restoration Council". Current leader Ali Bongo succeeded his father Omar Bongo as president in 2009. He narrowly won re-election in 2016 in a poll marred by violence and accusations of fraud. But his presidency has been overshadowed by a long-running French investigation into allegations of embezzlement involving the Bongo family's assets.  Mr Bongo, who has been out of the country for two months, reportedly suffered a stroke in October and received treatment in Morocco. I n a video circulating on social media, three young soldiers can be seen in a radio studio wearing military f...