Somalia Blocks Al-Shabaab Accounts on Social Media  

Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 
Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 
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Somalia Blocks Al-Shabaab Accounts on Social Media  

Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 
Al-Shabaab militants sit outside a building during patrol along the streets of Dayniile district in Southern Mogadishu, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Somalia’s government has escalated its war against the extremist al-Shabaab Movement by blocking dozens of its accounts on various social media platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, Telegram, Tiktok and YouTube.

Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf Adala revealed on Tuesday that more than 600 electronic pages for al-Shabaab will be deleted.

The ministries of information, communications, and internal security will impose this ban, Somali National News Agency SONNA quoted him as saying.

Adala pointed out that the government is following up the terrorist cells and their attempts to publish the group’s ideology and false news.

He affirmed that the terrorist militias have been suffering since President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud launched the military offensive against the extremists.

Mohamud announced on Monday that soldiers training in Eritrea will return to Mogadishu in late December.

He made the remarks during his meeting with the Somali community in the US city of Minnesota.

Mohamud underscored the importance of the army in building the government and fighting the al-Shabaab militias, which are affiliated with al-Qaeda organization.

Meanwhile, a high-ranking al-Shabaab official and three other militants surrendered to the Somali National Forces in HirShabelle State on Monday.

The armed forces also arrested eight militants who were hiding in the liberated areas of the Middle Shabelle region.

The government said it is committed to care for those who abandoned the al-Shabaab’s ideology, as part of its fierce war against terrorists 



Thousands of Australians Without Power as Heavy Rain, Damaging Winds Lash Tasmania

The Coomera river is seen cutting a road at Clagiraba Road on the Gold Coast Tuesday, January 2, 2024. (AAP)
The Coomera river is seen cutting a road at Clagiraba Road on the Gold Coast Tuesday, January 2, 2024. (AAP)
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Thousands of Australians Without Power as Heavy Rain, Damaging Winds Lash Tasmania

The Coomera river is seen cutting a road at Clagiraba Road on the Gold Coast Tuesday, January 2, 2024. (AAP)
The Coomera river is seen cutting a road at Clagiraba Road on the Gold Coast Tuesday, January 2, 2024. (AAP)

Tens of thousands of people in Australia's southern island state of Tasmania were without power on Sunday after a cold front brought damaging winds and heavy rains, sparking flood warnings.
"Around 30,000 customers are without power across the state this morning," Tasnetworks, a state-owned power company, said on Facebook on Sunday.
The nation's weather forecaster said on its website that a cold front over Tasmania, population around 570,000 people, was moving away, "although bands of showers and thunderstorms continue to pose a risk of damaging wind gusts."
Properties, power lines and infrastructure had been damaged, Tasmania's emergency management minister Felix Ellis said in a televised media conference, adding that "the damage bill is likely to be significant".
Emergency authorities issued warnings for flooding, which they said could leave Tasmanians isolated for several days, as the state prepared for another cold front forecast to hit on Sunday night, Reuters reported.
“There is potential for properties to be inundated, and roads may not be accessible," executive director of Tasmania State Emergency Service, Mick Lowe, said in a statement.
Authorities had received 330 requests for assistance in the last 24 hours, according to the agency.
Tasmania is a one-hour flight or 10-hour ferry crossing from the mainland city of Melbourne, 445 km (275 miles) away. About 40% of the island is wilderness or protected areas.