Features

Recorded executions drop in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2022, says rights group

Nairobi (Horn Observer) Recorded executions in 2022 reached the highest figure in five years, as the Middle East and North Africa's most notorious executioners carried out killing sprees, Amnesty International said today as it released its annual review of the death penalty.

Somalia: ATMIS commissions water project in Lower Shabelle

Janaale– Residents in Janaale have benefited from a new source of safe drinking water jointly funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the British Embassy in Somalia and the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).

Somalia: An all-women health centre provides hope

by Mursal Ali Jilab Health Centre, located just outside Garowe town in Puntland, seems like any other busy facility in Somalia. The difference is that all of the centre's 21 health workers are women.

First year of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's term: Political instability and a declining public trust - report

Mogadishu, Somalia (Horn Observer) President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's first year in office marked tumultuous era of political instability, declining public trust, widespread corruption and arming clan militias amid strained relationships between the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) and the Federal…

Somalia cabinet approves anti-corruption directives, President Mohamud quickly endorses the move

Mogadishu, Somalia (Horn Observer) Somalia's council of ministers on Thursday approved anti-corruption directives to combat corruption and foster accountability with the aim to strengthening the public financial management system, officials said, amid Somalia's president endorsed the move.

Somalia announces new timetable for the National Secondary Examination

Mogadishu, (Horn Observer) Somalia's education ministry on Wednesday unveiled new dates for the National Secondary Examination across the country, a statement from the ministry read.

Starlink to operate in Somalia - Officials

Mogadishu, (Horn Observer) Starlink, the Satellite internet company expressed its interest in becoming a licensed operator in Somalia, following a meeting with the head of Somalia's National Communications Authrority (NCA), Somalia's state media reported.

Analysis: Somali Oligorchs

Like most former communist states, Somalia's wealth was concentrated in Mogadishu, where the government's headquarters were located. While the mining, oil, and transportation industries were non-existent in Somalia, the government did own all the service sectors, including the banking, energy,…

Fatima Ismail Mohamed: "I saw too many girls suffering from FGM and knew I had to do something"

Mogadishu – One morning in 2011, Fatima Ismail Mohamed was seated in her 8th grade classroom in the Somali capital of Mogadishu waiting for the lesson to begin, when suddenly her friend seated next to her dropped to the ground, writhing in pain.

Somalia's first all-women media team hits first-year anniversary

Established with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bilan has provided the first opportunity for Somali women journalists to exercise complete editorial independence, deciding what they want to report and how. They have already used this freedom to break some of Somalia's…

Local aid worker shot dead in Somalia's capital Mogadishu, family confirms

Mogadishu (Horn Observer) — A local female aid worker has been shot dead in Mogadishu, Somalia on Friday, according to the family, local media reportts

REVEALED: How a former Somalia state TV official was smuggled into Finland

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The former director of the Somali National Television (SNTV), Sharma'arke Mohamed Warsame has been smuggled into to Finland as the local human trafficking networks escalate their profitable business in unstable region, the Horn Observer can reveal.

US court convicts 2 men of 2012 kidnapping of journalist Michael Scott Moore in Somalia

Nairobi, March 7, 2023—In response to a U.S. federal court's conviction of two men, Mohamed Tahlil Mohamed and Abdi Yusu Hassan, in the 2012 hostage-taking of German American journalist Michael Scott Moore, the Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following statement welcoming the conviction:

Naming and shaming press freedom violators in Somalia

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) last week published its annual press freedom report which provides an insightful highlight of the disastrous effect of the October 2022 directive of the ministry of information that restricted independent media coverage on the ongoing…

FAO and Somaliland Government Open New Desert Locust Monitoring and Pest Control Centre in Hargeisa

HARGEISA – Somaliland Vice President, and Mr. Ezana Kassa, Head of Programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have officially opened the first Pest Control Centre in Somaliland. The centre, which is based in Hargeisa, will act as Desert Locust Early Warning and…

Somali govt attorney describes international donors as 'western infidels' during a press freedom case hearing

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The Banadir Regional Court on Monday concluded a series of court hearing related to a press freedom case brought by the Somali federal deputy minister of information Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adaala through the deputy attorney general's office.

Lawyers sue eight Somali govt officials over human rights violation

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) Human rights lawyers representing Somali journalist and human rights defender Abdalle Ahmed Mumin have sued eight Somali government officials for their involvement in the detention, persecution and discrimination against Mr. Mumin, according to a new court filing seen by Horn…

International partners welcome state-building efforts and call for continued progress

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) International partners* welcome efforts by Somalia's leaders to advance priorities on peacebuilding and state-building, including through the regular meetings of the National Consultative Council.

African-American Diaspora Consolidating Connectivity between Africa and United States in Multipolar World

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh The U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit held in Washington has placed African-American diaspora at the core for strengthening multifaceted relations with Africa. The White House and African leaders have also stressed the importance of Africa's voices, advocated for incorporating…

Somali journalists union leader courageously exposes abuses before the court in Mogadishu

MOGADISHU (HORN OBSERVER) The secretary-general of the Somali Journalists Syndicate (SJS) Abdalle Ahmed Mumin appeared at the Banadir Regional Court on the second hearing in a case that severely impacts media freedom and the safety of the journalists in Somalia.