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CAF Awards 2025: Somalia’s Omar Abdulkadir Artan named Best Male Referee Somali referee Omar Abdulkadir Artan was named CAF Best Male Referee for 2025 on Wednesday in Rabat, Morocco, underscoring a landmark year for officiating in the Horn of Africa. The honor was announced at the CAF Awards ceremony hosted at Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. Uganda’s Nabadda was also recognized, taking the CAF Best Female Referee award. The awards spotlight the continent’s top football officiating talent. Artan’s win highlights…

Somalia: Puntland State troops surround last ISIS stronghold Puntland State’s counter-terrorism push, known as Operation Hilaac, is moving into its final phase as forces close in on what they believe is the last major ISIS hideout in northeastern Somalia. Sources say militants have been pushed from several strategic areas and are now boxed into the Baallade Valley in the Cal-Miskaad mountains. Troops have encircled an area assessed as ISIS’s final main stronghold in Baallade Valley. Operation Hilaac has steadily…

Kenya presses Tanzania over slain teacher; body still missing Kenya has escalated diplomatic pressure on Tanzania to account for the killing of Kenyan teacher John Ogutu in Dar es Salaam and to help locate his body. Prime Cabinet Secretary and Foreign Affairs Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi told MPs the government has sought urgent action through formal channels and is providing consular support to the family. The case is the only reported Kenyan fatality linked to unrest that followed Tanzania’s October 29 presidential…

Latest developments Somalia’s military said it has seized new ground from Al-Shabaab in coordinated operations across Lower Jubba and Bakool, underscoring a stepped-up campaign in the south and center of the country. In Jamaame, Lower Jubba, security forces reported a significant blow to the militants over the weekend. In Bakool, troops overran an Al-Shabaab camp in the Moora-Gaabeey area, about 37 kilometers from Xuddur. In Jamaame, the army says close to 60 Al-Shabaab fighters were killed in an operation backed by…

Somalia’s Upper House approves national human rights commissioners Somalia’s Upper House has approved the appointment of nine commissioners to the National Independent Human Rights Commission, a key step in formalizing the country’s human rights oversight architecture. The commissioners were sworn in immediately after the vote, completing the parliamentary endorsement process. Twenty-eight senators voted in favor during Wednesday’s session; one abstained. The House of the People approved the creation of the Commission on…

North Western State of Somalia declares coordinated internet price hike illegal North Western State of Somalia’s government has ruled that a recent, simultaneous internet price increase by telecommunications companies was unlawful and incompatible with the region’s free‑market system. A ministerial committee said the coordinated move lacked legal basis and was reversed within days after public backlash across major towns and online. Officials said prices must reflect competition and market forces, not joint action by service…

Somalia’s space ambitions meet environmental realities Somalia’s coastline and equatorial latitude have thrust Bashaqle, in Middle Shabelle, into conversations about an African launch site. The prospect promises strategic access to orbit and a pathway into the global space economy. It also brings complex environmental, health, and governance questions that must be addressed before ignition. Equatorial launches reduce fuel needs and enable heavier payloads to orbit, making Bashaqle geographically attractive. Turkey’s…

Security warning from Puntland State authorities Puntland State has urged travelers using foreign passports to avoid Somalia’s federal E‑VISA platform, citing significant security weaknesses that could expose personal data. The warning, delivered from Garowe by Puntland State’s Minister of Information, Mahmoud Caydiid Dirir, alleges flaws that could allow sensitive traveler information to be accessed and misused. Dirir said the E‑VISA system contains vulnerabilities that put user data at risk. He framed the platform…

On Thursday morning, a chartered plane carrying 153 Palestinians from war-torn Gaza – many without the required travel documents – landed at an airport near Johannesburg, leaving South African officials “blindsided”. After nearly 12 hours of scrambling, the group was allowed to disembark into the care of a local charity organisation.

Parts of the web appear to have stopped working amid a technical problem at Cloudflare. Visitors to websites such as X, formerly known as Twitter, ChatGPT and film reviewing site Letterboxd saw an error message that indicated that Cloudflare problems meant that the page could not show. Cloudflare is an internet infrastructure that offers many of the core technologies that power today’s online experiences. That includes tools that protect websites from cyber attacks and ensure that they stay online amid heavy traffic, for…