A senior Somali official insisted Saturday that Ethiopia will not participate in a new African Union peacekeeping mission starting in January. The two nations remain deadlocked over a Memorandum of Understanding that Ethiopia signed with the breakaway region, Somaliland, earlier this year. “I can say that Ethiopia is the only government we know of so far that will not participate in the new AU mission because it has violated our sovereignty and national unity," Somalia Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur said Saturday in a government-run television interview. African Union troops from several countries have been operating in Somalia since 2007. They started with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) before changing the mission and its name on April 1, 2022, to the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). Its mandate ends at the end of this year. For 17 years, the African Union mission helped Somalia combat al-Shabab, a violent extremist organization that threatened to overthrow the government and impose a strict interpretation of Islamic law. The aim of past and upcoming missions is to hand over security responsibility to the Somali National Forces. The nation is preparing for a third peace support operation, set to begin January 1, 2025, when a new mission, the African Union Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), replaces ATMIS. According to a United Nations report in August, ATMIS has been drawing down troops from about 20,000 to less than 13,000. The new mission is expected to number at least 12,000. AUSSOM is scheduled to operate until the end of 2028. It is not the first time Somalia has rejected the involvement of Ethiopian troops in a peacekeeping mission in the country. In August, Somalia Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre said Ethiopian forces would only join AUSSOM once Addis Ababa withdraws from the MoU with Somaliland. Mogadishu, which sees Somaliland as a part of Somalia, has described the agreement as an assault on its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Analysts say Somalia’s repeated demands that Ethiopia withdraw from the MoU have fallen on deaf ears, which further alienates Somalia. Professor Sonkor Geyre, a former director of the defense ministry, said Somalia has a right to choose the countries it wants and rejects others. “Somalia has national sovereign rights to exclude Ethiopia from the upcoming AU mission because it sees Ethiopia’s actions, including its MoU with Somaliland, as a national threat,” Geyre told VOA Somali. Last month, the leaders of Somalia, Eritrea, and Egypt signed a security cooperation deal seen as an anti-Ethiopia front, and Mogadishu has also boosted its military ties with Cairo, which has offered troops for the new AU mission. “There is an ongoing procedure that we will share and announce when the time comes regarding the new governments that will join and the previous ones who will not be part of the new mission," Nur, the defense minister, said. Under the current AU mission, at least 3,000 Ethiopian soldiers officially operate as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission fighting al-Shabab. Another 5,000 to 7,000 Ethiopian soldiers are stationed in several regions under a bilateral agreement. Other countries contributing to the current AU forces in Somalia include Burundi, Djibouti, Kenya, and Uganda.

WASHINGTON — According to the Somaliland National Electoral Commission, more than 1 million registered and eligible voters head to the polls Wednesday to elect their president for the next five years. Three candidates, including incumbent President Muse Bihi Abdi, seek to consolidate the region’s fragile democracy, boost economic growth and gain international recognition that the Somali enclave has struggled to secure for 33 years. Abdi, of the ruling Peace, Unity and Development Party, also known simply as Kulmiye, seeks a second term in Wednesday’s polls. He is running against Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi, known as "Irro,” of the Waddani party and Faisal Ali Warabe of the Justice and Development Party, or UCID. Promises In an interview with VOA Somali, each of the three candidates promised to strengthen democracy, boost economic growth and seek international recognition for the breakaway region. Abdi, 76, who was elected head of the region in 2017, has pledged there will be progress on a controversial maritime deal that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland earlier this year. “On our side, we [Somaliland] are free, we are ready to implement the MOU [Memorandum of Understanding], and we are waiting from the Ethiopian side so that we can go ahead with it,” Abdi said. “Ethiopia needs access to sea, and we need recognition, and this MOU is about these needs.” This is the fourth presidential election since the region on the northwestern tip of Somalia broke away from the rest of the country, following the collapse of the Siad Barre regime in 1991. The territory declared independence that year but has never achieved international recognition. Despite this, Somaliland has a functioning government and institutions, a political system that has allowed democratic transfers of power between rival parties, its own currency, passport and armed forces. According to Freedom House's 2024 flagship annual report, which assesses the condition of political rights and civil liberties around the world, Somaliland experienced an erosion of political rights in the past several years. The report said, “Journalists and public figures face pressure from authorities. Minority clans are subject to political and economic marginalization, and violence against women remains a serious problem.” Talks between Somaliland, which is seeking full statehood, and Mogadishu, which fiercely opposes the move, have been held on and off between 2012 and 2020 but failed to bear fruit. Irro, of the Waddani party, who also served as speaker of the House of Representatives of Somaliland’s lower chamber of parliament for more than 11 years, said he would resume talks with Somalia. “It was not our choice to talk to Somalia because our goal has always been getting recognition, but the international community urged us to talk. If I am elected, I will resume the talks if the Somaliland interest lies there, and [at] the same time we will review the previous failed talks,” said Irro. Warabe, of the Justice and Development Party, said that if elected, he would seek recognition through the establishment of a national unity government in Somaliland. “The return of Bihi [Abdi], who has been for seven years in power, and his party, which has been in power since 2010, is not [an] option for Somaliland voters,” Warabe said. “If I am elected, I will lead Somaliland to recognition and [a] more prosperous road.” Regional tension Somaliland’s Wednesday vote comes at a time when tensions remain high between Somalia and Ethiopia over the controversial Memorandum of Understanding that Ethiopia signed with Somaliland. The deal would grant Ethiopia a 50-year lease of access to 20 kilometers of the Red Sea coastline in exchange for the potential recognition of Somaliland's independence, which Somalia views as a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The deal signed on January 1 in Addis Ababa by Abdi and Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sparked anger in Mogadishu, which considers Somaliland as part of its national territory. The opposition to the deal plunged the two neighboring countries into a deadlocked situation. In April, Somalia expelled Ethiopian Ambassador Muktar Mohamed Ware, alleging "internal interference" by Ethiopia. Somalia also ordered the closure of Ethiopia's consulates in Somaliland and Puntland, although they remained open. Last month, Somalia expelled Mogadishu-based Ethiopian diplomat Ali Mohamed Adan, who was a counselor at Ethiopia's embassy in Mogadishu. In July and August 2024, two rounds of talks between Ethiopia and Somalia, mediated by Turkey, failed to solve the dispute, with Somalia demanding Ethiopia withdraw from the deal and Ethiopia insisting that it does not infringe on Somalia’s sovereignty. On Saturday, Somali Defense Minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur repeated the Somali government position against Ethiopian troop involvement in a new African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia starting in January. “I can say that Ethiopia is the only government we know of so far that will not participate in the new AU mission because it has violated our sovereignty and national unity," Nur said Saturday in a government-run television interview. Somaliland’s last presidential elections were held in 2017. The current presidential election was originally set to take place in 2022 but was postponed until 2023 and then again pushed back to November 2024, following a controversial extension of Abdi’s mandate by the parliament’s upper house. The Somaliland National Election Commission, or NEC, said at the time that the delays were due to “time, technical and financial constraints.” Opposition parties vehemently denounced the delays. The president is directly elected for a maximum of two five-year terms and appoints the Cabinet. Sahra Eidle Nur and Harun Maruf contributed to this report.

The breakaway region of Somaliland in East Africa is due to hold general elections on November 13th. As the self-declared republic pushes for recognition from the international community and begins to play a larger role in the wider region, what could the outcome mean for Somalia, the Horn of Africa and beyond? Henry Wilkins reports.

Pakistani and Indian Journalists at Media Conference: Why Fight Each Other, When We’re All Fighting the Same Issues? Pakistani and Indian Journalists at Media Conference: Why Fight Each Other, When We’re All Fighting the Same Issues?

Expert: Western Public Health Authorities’ Communication Missteps in Dealing with COVID Led to Public Mistrust Expert: Western Public Health Authorities’ Communication Missteps in Dealing with COVID Led to Public Mistrust

A total of 19 out of the shortlisted 38 directors for the position of permanent secretaries in the Federal Civil Service failed the qualifying examination. The PUNCH, in October, exclusively reported that the Federal Government, through the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, commenced the process of appointing new permanent secretaries

Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani is a writer to reckon with among Nigerian female writers. Her works portrays the Igbo culture and thereby carved a niche for herself in the literary world. She is a novelist, humourist, essayist and journalist. Nwaubani is the first contemporary African writer on the global stage to have an international book deal while still living in her home country. She was born in 1976 in Enugu into the family of Chief Chukwuma Nwaubani and Dame Patricia Nwaubani. And was educated at Federal Government Girls’ College, Owerri. She studied psychology at the University of Ibadan. As a teenager, […]

What a privilege and joy it is to worship the Lord here at Grace church. Patricia and I miss it when we’re not here; there&rsqu

Earlier in the service I read from the first chapter of Romans what is really a very, very shocking portion of Scripture just to remind you that Romans cha

Dakar, Senagal — The CEO and two executives of Australian gold mine Resolute in Mali have been arrested while in Bamako to discuss ongoing disputes with authorities, the company confirmed Sunday. CEO Terence Holohan and his two colleagues "were in Bamako to discuss with mining and tax authorities the company's business practices in Mali generally and to make progress on ongoing claims against Resolute, which continues to claim they are unfounded," Resolute said in a statement posted on its website. "Unexpectedly, the three employees were arrested after the end of these meetings on Friday," she reported. The three executives were taken the same day to the unit specializing in the fight against corruption and economic and financial delinquency — and were placed in police custody in a case of alleged forgery and damage to public property, AFP learned Saturday from a judicial and industrial source. Four employees of the Canadian company Barrick Gold, also in dispute with the Malian authorities, were detained for several days at the end of September, then released. Foreign mining companies are subject to increased pressure from the junta that came to power by force in 2020 and pays particular attention to the juicy revenues of the mining industry. "Resolute is working to reach an agreement with the Malian government that secures the long-term future of the Syama gold mine; at the same time its top priority remains the safety and well-being of its employees," the company said. The executives benefit from the support of the embassies and consulates of the United Kingdom and other countries present in Mali, she said. Resolute holds 80% of the shares in the subsidiary that owns the Syama mine, with the remaining 20% in the hands of the Malian state, according to the company's website. The Malian authorities have made the fight against corruption and the restoration of national sovereignty over natural resources their mantras. Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world, faces jihadis and a multidimensional crisis, and is also one of the leading gold producers in Africa. Gold contributes to a quarter of the national budget and three quarters of export revenues. The increased pressure on foreign companies coincided with the junta's strategic pivot toward Russia.

MELBOURNE, Australia — An emperor penguin found malnourished far from its Antarctic home on the Australian south coast is being cared for by a wildlife expert, a government department said Monday.  The adult male was found on November 1 on a popular tourist beach in the town of Denmark in temperate southwest Australia — about 3,500 kilometers (2,200 miles) north of the icy waters off the Antarctic coast, according to a statement from the Western Australia state’s Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.  The largest penguin species has never been reported in Australia before, University of Western Australia research fellow Belinda Cannell said, though some had reached New Zealand, nearly all of which is farther south than Western Australia.  Cannell said she had no idea why the penguin traveled to Denmark.  Cannell is advising seabird rehabilitator Carol Biddulph, who is caring for the penguin, spraying him with a chilled water mist to help him cope with his alien climate. The penguin is 1 meter (39 inches) tall and initially weighed 23 kilograms (51 pounds).  A healthy male can weigh more than 45 kilograms (100 pounds).  The department said its efforts were focused on rehabilitating the penguin. Asked if the penguin could potentially be returned to Antarctica, the department replied that “options are still being worked through.”

War-saxaafadeed ka soo baxay wasaaradda arrimaha gudaha ee Dowaldda Federaalka ayaa looga hadley doorashada Madaxweynaha iyo…

The post Dowladda Federaalka oo bogaadisey doorashada Somaliland appeared first on Horseed Media.

In Somalia’s complex political landscape, the tenure of Prime Minister Hamse Abdi Barre presents a compelling…

The post The Paradox of Power: Analyzing PM Hamse Abdi Barre’s Leadership Crisis in Somalia appeared first on Horseed Media.

Waxaa saacado kadib Shacabka Somaliland u dareeri doonaan goobaha codbixinta ee  doorashada Madaxweynaha Somaliland iyo ururada…

The post Doorashada Somaliland, Saadaasha Guusha iyo  Khatarta Jirta appeared first on Horseed Media.

Somaliland, the self-declared state in the Horn of Africa, is set to hold its fourth presidential…

The post Somaliland Heads to Polls Amid Hope and Concerns appeared first on Horseed Media.

A number of Super Eagles players, including Moses Simon, Samuel Chukwueze, Amas Obasogie, Raphael Onyedika and Frank Onyeka, have arrived Ivory Coast on Monday ahead of preparation for their 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Benin Republic. Also in camp in Abidjan are Bruno Onyemaechi, Gabriel Osho and Fisayo Dele-Bashiru. The Super Eagles Media […]

The post AFCON qualifier: Super Eagles stars arrive Abidjan ahead of Benin clash  first appeared on Business Hallmark.

Leading financial services provider, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has been awarded the prestigious International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 9001:2015 certificate for Quality Management System. The Bank was presented with the certificate by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), following a comprehensive audit and evaluation exercise conducted by the Organisation. The exercise covered departments and […]

FCMB attains ISO Certification for Quality Management

On June 25, 2018 I woke up to yet another social media trend – a news story with the bold and quite salacious headline “How Safe Are Customer Deposits At FCMB?” had taken over the digital airwaves. Between the shares and likes and comments, a storm in a cup had brewed to great proportions in […]

The Worrisome Trend of Sensational Social Media “Journalism” and the Impact On Legitimate Business Concerns: Recent Travails of FCMB, GTBank and First Bank

stockholm — A Swedish Eritrean journalist held incommunicado without charge in Eritrea for more than 23 years won a Swedish rights prize on Monday for his fight for freedom of expression, the jury said. Dawit Isaak was among a group of around two dozen people, including senior cabinet ministers, members of parliament and independent journalists, who were seized in a purge in September 2001. He was awarded the Edelstam Prize "for his outstanding contribution and exceptional courage in standing up for freedom of expression, one's beliefs, and in the defense of human rights," the Edelstam Foundation said in a statement. Amnesty International considers Isaak a prisoner of conscience, and press freedom group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says he and his colleagues detained at the same time are the longest-held journalists in the world. U.N. rights experts have demanded Asmara immediately release him. Eritrea has provided no news about him, and there are fears he may no longer even be alive. He would be 60 years old. His daughter Betlehem Isaak will accept the award on his behalf in Stockholm on November 19. Isaak fled to Sweden in 1987 during Eritrea's struggle against Ethiopia, which eventually led to independence in 1993. After obtaining Swedish citizenship, he returned to Eritrea in 2001 to help shape the media landscape, and co-founded Setit, the country's first independent newspaper. He was arrested shortly after the paper published articles demanding political reforms. Asmara has not provided any information about his whereabouts or health over the years, which U.N. experts in 2021 deemed "extremely concerning.” But they said a credible source had indicated Isaak was still alive in September 2020. The Edelstam Prize is awarded in memory of Swedish diplomat Harald Edelstam, who as ambassador to Chile at the time of Augusto Pinochet's 1973 military coup granted thousands of Chileans and other Latin Americans safe conduct to, and political asylum in, Sweden.

Congressional Staff Program on Australia (CSPAUS) Application

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

La enseñanza bíblica en profundidad de John MacArthur lleva la verdad transformadora de la Palabra de Dios a millones de personas cada día.

ROME — A chipper-sounding Pope Francis was discharged Saturday from the Rome hospital where he was treated for bronchitis, quipping to journalists before being driven away that he's “still alive.” Francis, 86, was hospitalized at Gemelli Polyclinic on Wednesday following his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square after reportedly experiencing breathing difficulties. The pontiff received antibiotics administered intravenously during his stay, the Vatican said. In a sign of his improved health, the Vatican released details of Francis' Holy Week schedule. It said he would preside at this weekend's Palm Sunday Mass and at Easter Mass on April 9, both held in St. Peter's Square and expected to draw tens of thousands of faithful. A Vatican cardinal will be at the altar to celebrate both Masses, a recent practice due to the pontiff having a troublesome knee issue. But Francis is scheduled to celebrate Holy Thursday Mass, which this year will be held in a juvenile prison in Rome. Still unclear was whether he would attend the late-night, torch-lit Way of the Cross procession at Rome's Colosseum to mark Good Friday. Before departing Gemelli Polyclinic late Saturday morning, Francis comforted a Rome couple whose 5-year-old daughter died Friday night at the Catholic hospital. Outside, Serena Subania, mother of Angelica, sobbed as she pressed her head into the chest of the pope, who held her close and whispered words of comfort. Francis seemed eager to linger with well-wishers. When a boy showed him his arm cast, the pope made a gesture as if to ask, “Do you have a pen?” Three papal aides whipped out theirs. Francis took one of the pens and added his signature to the child's already well-autographed cast. Asked how he felt now, Francis joked, “Still alive, you know.” He gave a thumbs-up sign. Francis exited the hospital from a side entrance, but his car stopped in front of the main entrance, where a gaggle of journalists waited. He opened the car door himself and got out from the front passenger seat. Francis had a cane ready to lean on. After chatting, he got back into the white Fiat 500 car that drove him away from Gemelli Polyclinic. But instead of heading straight home, his motorcade sped right past Vatican City and went to St. Mary Major Basilica, a Rome landmark that is one of his favorites. There, startled tourists rushed to snap photos of him as he sat in a wheelchair, which he has used often to navigate longer distances in recent years due to a chronic knee problem. When he emerged after praying, residents and tourists in the street called out repeatedly, “Long live the pope!” and clapped. Francis spent 10 days at the same hospital in July 2021 following intestinal surgery for a bowel narrowing, After his release back then, he also stopped to offer prayers of thanksgiving at St. Mary Major Basilica, which is home to an icon depicting the Virgin Mary. He also visits the church upon returning from trips abroad. Before leaving the hospital Saturday, Francis, while chatting with journalists, praised medical workers, saying they "show great tenderness." “We sick are capricious. I much admire the people who work in hospitals,” he said. Francis also said he read journalists' accounts of his illness, including in a Rome daily newspaper, and pronounced them well done. Francis stopped to talk to reporters again before he was driven into the Vatican through a gate of the tiny walled city-state, where he lives at a Holy See hotel. Speaking through an open car window, he said: “Happy Easter to all, and pray for me.'' Then, indicating he was eager to resume his routine, he said, “Forward, thanks.” In response to a shouted question from a reporter, who asked if the pope would visit Hungary at the end of April as scheduled, Francis answered, “Yes.” On yet another stop, he got out of his car to distribute chocolate Easter eggs to the police officers who drove the motorcycles at the head of his motorcade. Given his strained voice, it was unclear if the pope would read the homily at the Palm Sunday service or deliver the usually lengthy “Urbi et Orbi” [Latin for to the city and to the world] address, a review of the globe's conflicts, at the end of Easter Mass. He told reporters that after Palm Sunday Mass, he would keep his weekly appointment to greet and bless the public in St. Peter's Square. As a young man in his native Argentina, Francis had part of a lung removed, leaving him particularly vulnerable to any respiratory illness.

Standing between Palestinians and a two-state resolve are a militant Hamas, a militant Israel and a Middle East flooded with weaponry of all kinds.

Khalid al-Asaad, an 83-year-old caretaker of antiquities in Syria, was beheaded by ISIS, but did not receive the same attention as a slain lion.

During the 30-days of Ramadan, and while Muslims in the Arab world have been fasting since May 26, millions have tuned into Saudi Arabia's MBC to watch the first ever series about ISIS.