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...

Ankara- Mired in 30 years of civil war, Somalia has slowly begun to get back on its feet in the last decade - leaving behind instability and insecurity - with help of the Turkish government, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations. Turkey easily stands out as the country most sensitive to the crisis in Somalia, which was affected by violence, famine and drought. Turkey's unprecedented engagement in Somalia started in 2011 as a response to the catastrophic famine that ravaged the country. In a bid to alleviate the conditions of its people and provide them with tangible development programs, Turkish NGOs and government organizations have provided significant amounts of humanitarian and development aid. Turkish organizations, including the Turkish Red Crescent the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA), have so far provided aid worth more than $500 million, helping boost development in the country, according to Anadolu Agency (AA). Turkey opened the Somali ...

Washington-  Over the course of 2018, the Islamic State in Somalia (ISS) significantly expanded its operations since its first claimed attack in April 2016. In addition to the amplification of its military claims, ISS has also expanded into more areas traditionally associated with al Qaeda’s group in Somalia, Shabaab. According to data compiled by  FDD’s Long War Journal,  the jihadist group has claimed 106 attacks in Somalia since April 2016 .  In 2018 alone, ISS claimed 66 operations. While this tally is less consequential than other areas in which the Islamic State operates, this number is more than the total number of claimed operations in Somalia in 2016 and 2017 combined. These claims were collected from Islamic State propaganda channels, such as Nashir and Amaq News, on Telegram. It is important to note that it is unclear exactly how many claims made by the group are legitimate, as very few are independently corroborated by Somali media. In some cases,...

Geneva - The United Nations Human Rights office said on Friday it could not assess the fairness of a trial taking place in Saudi Arabia related to the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, but that in any case it was “not sufficient”. UN’s Office of Human Right’s Spokeswoman, Ravina Shamdasani, asked about reports that a Saudi prosecutor had sought the death sentence for five suspects linked to the Oct. 2 killing, reiterated the office’s call for an independent investigation “with international involvement” . The comments from the UN  Human Rights official came a day after the high-profile trial of the 11 suspects charged with Khashoggi's murder opened Thursday in the Saudi’s capital, Riyadh. Khashoggi, was Washington Post contributor & Saudi insider-turned-critic , who was murdered by Saudi agents in the KSA consulate in Istanbul, Turkey on October 2, 2018.

File: Puntland Elected speaker, Abdihakin aka Dhoobo Daarood Garowe-Puntland state lawmakers elected Abdihakin Ahmed Mohamed,aka Dhoobo Daareed as the next 5 years speaker of parliament on Friday, after two rounds of voting in Garowe, the state’s capital, the house’s Interim speaker, Hussien Yasin Hajji announced. The elected speaker secured 43 votes against his rival Abdi-jamal Osman Mohamed in the second round with 23 votes out of the 66 votes casted, according to Yasin Hajji. He firstly commented as parliament speaker, Abdihakin thanked the legislators who voted for him and who don’t. The newly elected 66 MPs will elect the president on Jan. 8 poll. Over 20 presidential aspirants showed up, including the incumbent Abdiweli Mohamed Ali Gaas

US military command in Africa known as AFRICOM said in a statement released on Jan 3rd, that 10 al-shabab militants were killed in collaboration with the Somalia Federal Government. The statement is shown below.