Back to school for Somalia’s journalists?

It stipulates that they must all have a university degree in journalism - and also pass a government test when they register with the media commission, which will soon be set up.

Some feel this is far too harsh a regulation given that during the anarchy of the long civil war, no universities offered journalism qualifications.

A university specialising in media has been established as the country emerges from years of conflict, but its students will not graduate until at least 2018.

And one-year journalism master courses are not yet available. 

"We could all be put in jail for being illegal journalists in Somalia," one colleague in the capital, Mogadishu, said.

The new regulations fail to take into account the years of experience a journalist may have on reporting on Somalia's complicated clan-based and religious violence.

However, others believe that given the danger of reporting in Somalia, journalists should be well qualified.

According to the global media watchdog the Committee to Protect Journalists, 59 journalists have been killed in Somalia since 1992 - three last year.

The law was drawn up in consultation with those involved in the media at home and in the diaspora, and is an attempt to tame web and social media content - some of which has been libellous or based on unverified information.

Anyone can set up a website and claim to be a journalist.

'Spreading lies'

In some cases, stories have been published in order to blackmail public figures and businessmen and other members of the public.

There will now a fine of between $1,000 (£700) and $3,000 for anyone found guilty of libel.

Though some question whether this will work as a deterrent given the large sums some are believed to extort.

There are more than 1,000 websites operated by Somalis in the diaspora - and the new media law will affect them too.

Some of them have representatives in the capital - and the authorities will have the authority to block sites that fall foul of the law.

Other aspects of the media act, which came into effect this week, have been welcomed, including the section on freedom of speech.

It says the media, including government-owned radio, television and websites, cannot be censored.

But it warns against spreading lies and encouraging ethnic and clan rivalry.

The media commission will include three members from the government media stations, three from the private media and three from human rights organisations as well as representatives from women's groups and the Lawyers' Council.

The most contentious part of the law may end up being the regulation that all households with a television will have to pay for a TV licence.

The ministry of finance will set the price, yet to be announced - and everyone with a TV will have to register with the information ministry and media commission.

It is not clear how this will be enforced, and it may not be a huge revenue earner for the UN-backed government in the short term.

Televisions are mainly found in hotels and in a few thousand households, some of which are in areas the government does not control.

Brit Awards 2016: Adele, James Bay and Years & Years in line for awards glory

selling album 25 is up for best British album, while she has also been shortlisted for best British female, single and video.

Pop trio Years & Years and singer-songwriter James Bay have also been nominated for four awards each.

Elsewhere, Eagles of Death Metal are up for best international group two months after an attack on their gig in Paris.

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Acts with the most Brit Award nominations:

• 4 - Adele
• 4 - James Bay
• 4 - Years & Years
• 3 - Calvin Harris
• 3 - Jess Glynne

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Adele's nominations come after 25, her third album, sold 2.5 million copies in the UK in its first six weeks. The star is also due to perform at next month's ceremony at the O2 Arena in London.

She will be favourite for best British album, which is seen as the most prestigious award of the night.

Competition for that prize will come from Coldplay, Florence and the Machine, Jamie xx and James Bay, who won the Brits' Critics' Choice award last year.

This time, he will return as a contender for best British male, breakthrough act and single for his hit Hold Back the River.

Years & Years' number one King is on the shortlists for best British single and best video, while they have also been nominated for best British breakthrough act and group.

After the nominations were announced, singer Olly Alexander said: "It's really ridiculous. I don't know what's happening. It's nuts."

Bassist Mikey Goldsworthy added: "It's too much pressure. That's four times the anxiety. Sitting there and waiting for them to read the card."

The best British group category has also embraced One Direction, Coldplay, Foals and Blur. It is Blur's first Brit nomination for 12 years.

Elsewhere, Amy Winehouse has received a posthumous nomination for best British female following last year's release of the soundtrack to a documentary film about her life.

Bowie tribute 'being developed'

The ceremony will also pay tribute to David Bowie following his death on Sunday.

Geoff Taylor, chief executive of music industry trade body the BPI, told BBC News it would be "a fitting tribute to someone who's an absolute icon of the British music industry".

He said: "We're still developing it, but we have some firm ideas and we're involving the right people.

"I'm not going to go into the details - but we are very focused on honouring his legacy to British music."

Bowie was named best British male by the Brits in 2014 - but sent model Kate Moss to pick up the statuette in his place.

In previous years, Adele wouldn't have been eligible for the Brits. Her album was released in late November, weeks after the traditional cut-off point. This year, however, organisers extended the eligibility period to December. 

It's a shrewd move. The Brits not only secure an appearance by the biggest-selling artist in the world - they also stop themselves from looking out of touch in an increasingly fast-paced music market. 

Over the Atlantic, the Grammys will only consider albums released before 30 September, almost six months before the ceremony. So not only have they missed Adele's album, but they're only just getting round to recognising Taylor Swift's 1989 - a record that's nearly a year-and-a-half old.

Of course, this all lends the Brits an overwhelming sense of predictability (Jess Glynne can't be holding out any hopes for that best British female award). But we can always hope that a megastar falls off stage again.

The performers at this year's ceremony will include Justin Bieber, Coldplay, James Bay, Little Mix, The Weeknd and Jess Glynne.

Glynne said she was "a little bit overwhelmed" by her three nominations - for best British female, breakthrough act and single for Hold My Hand.

She said: "It's so nice to be here in my own right and respected for that. It's hard to be respected in this industry and to do well, and to get anywhere.

"So to be standing here with nominations - I can't even put it into words."

Beyond sectarianism: The Saudi-Iran confrontation

Tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran reached new heights this week after the kingdom severed diplomatic relations with Tehran.

The current media discourse didn't come from Saudi media outlets but externally, and Iran successfully took advantage of that. [Iran] forged it, and spread it until it reached international media outlets. Four of the executed were Shias while the others were Sunnis. Salman Aldossary, Editor-in-Chief, Asharq Al-Aswat newspaper

The diplomatic rupture, which has further split an already divided Middle East, came after Saudi executed 47 people on January 2, including a prominent Shia cleric - Nimr al-Nimr.

Within hours of the death sentence being carried out, Iranian protesters ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran and started fires.

Iranian media had depicted Nimr as a peaceful dissident, and the execution as a provocative act. In Saudi Arabia, the national security narrative prevailed - Nimr's execution was justified as part of its "war on terrorism". 

The coverage in both countries and the international media, has since played up a sectarian divide - one that pits Sunni versus Shia - however this simplified binary fails to address the larger geopolitical issues involved.

Talking us through this geopolitical media battle are: Mohammed Alyahya, research fellow at the Gulf Research Centre; Borzou Daragahi, the Middle East correspondent for BuzzFeed News; journalist and author Azadeh Moaveni; and Salman Aldossary, editor-in-chief of the Saudi Asharq Al-Aswat newspaper.

ISIL claims responsibility for deadly gun, bomb assault on Jakarta

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has claimed responsibility for coordinated bomb and gun assaults on Jakarta — the first such attacks on Muslim-majority Indonesia by the group.

At least seven people, including five attackers, were killed in the explosions and gunbattle between police and the attackers in the city's central business district.

"A group of soldiers of the caliphate in Indonesia targeted a gathering from the crusader alliance that fights the Islamic State in Jakarta through planting several explosive devices that went off as four of the soldiers attacked with light weapons and explosive belts," ISIL said in a statement.

ISIL's statement said there were 15 people killed; the government said there were seven fatalities.

Tito Karnavian, Jakarta's police chief, said ISIL was “definitely” behind the attack. A news agency linked to ISIL also reported that the group was responsible.

He told Reuters news agency that Indonesian ISIL fighter Bahrun Naim, who is believed to be in Syria, was “planning this for a while. He is behind this attack.” Earlier, police told to Al Jazeera that ISIL made specific threats ahead of Thursday's attacks.

Six blasts occurred about 50 yards apart in the central business district, which also houses a United Nations office.

At least 20 people have been injured in the security operations at the Sarinah shopping complex on Thamrin Street. Police said the attack has ended and that security forces were in control of the area.

There were conflicting reports on the number of casualties as the police battled the fighters. Earlier, tweets from the account of Jeremy Douglas, the regional representative of the U.N. office on drugs and crime for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, described an explosion and “serious” exchanges of gunfire on the street outside his office.

A police post was destroyed in a grenade blast, which was followed by sporadic gunfire in the capital's downtown area.

Some gunmen on motorbikes reportedly escaped, police sources told Al Jazeera.

Witnesses told Al Jazeera that they found nails on the streets near the explosion sites, presumably from the explosive devices used in the attacks.

The attacks caused panic and prompted a security lockdown and enhanced checks in several areas in the city, which is home to 10 million people.

Indonesian President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo, who was on a working visit in the West Java town of Cirebon, condemned the attacks. “This act is clearly aimed at disturbing public order and spreading terror among people,” he said in statement on television.

Indonesia, the world's most populous Muslim nation, has been the victim of several bombings. Thursday's attacks were the first major incidents in Jakarta since the 2009 bombings of two hotels that killed seven people and injured more than 50.

The attacks come two days after jailed Islamic leader Abu Bakar Bashir appealed to a court to have his conviction for funding a “terrorist training camp” overturned.

Bashir, the 77-year-old leader of the Jemaah Islamiyah network, filed a judicial review of his 2011 conviction, when he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for setting up the camp in Aceh province. A higher court later cut the sentence to nine years.

The 15 Most Edited Wikipedia Articles of All Time

Wikipedia, the Internet’s crowdsourced encyclopedia, celebrates its 15th birthday Friday. To mark the occasion, the site has published a list of the 15 most heavily edited English-language articles.

From President George W. Bush to the Catholic Church, these are some of the most contentious pages on the site:

1. George W. Bush (45,862)
2. List of WWE personnel (42,863)
3. United States (35,742)
4. Wikipedia (33,958)
5. Michael Jackson (28,152)
6. Jesus (28,084)
7. Catholic Church (26,421)
8. List of programs broadcast by ABS-CBN (25,188)
9. Barack Obama (24,708)
10. Adolf Hitler (24,612)
11. Britney Spears (23,802)
12. World War II (23,739)
13. Deaths in 2013 (22,529)
14. The Beatles (22,399)
15. India (22,271)

Gambia's President Jammeh lifts ban on uncovered hair

The ban, imposed on 4 January, was resisted by opposition groups.

It was lifted because it made women "unhappy", his office said in a statement, adding that they were his "best friends".

Last month, the president declared the Muslim-majority country an Islamic republic.

He said the move was in line with the nation's "religious identity and values".

d in the pro-opposition Freedom and JollofNews newspapers, dated 4 January, said that an "executive directive has been issued that all female staff within the government ministries, departments and agencies are no longer allowed to expose their hair during official working hours".

But on Thursday, Mr Jammeh's office said that the government's initial ban had had "nothing to do with religion" and that women should not be upset by it. 

"Women are (Mr Jammeh's) best friends, they are his sisters and he is here for their wellbeing and happiness at all times," a statement said. 

"That being the case, this decision that makes them unhappy has been lifted."

The Gambia is popular with Western tourists because of its beaches. About 90% of Gambians are Muslim - and many Muslim scholars believe that Islam orders women to cover their hair in public.

Rights activists accuse Mr Jammeh - who has been in power since 1994 - of presiding over a brutal regime which is intolerant of dissent. 

He portrays himself as a devout Muslim with miraculous powers - once claiming that he could cure Aids with a herbal concoction.

Jennifer Lawrence Opens Up About On-screen Romance With Chris Pratt

Jennifer Lawrence recently admitted to being wracked with anxiety over shooting her first sex scene in the sci-fi movie Passengers, in no small part because she’d be smooching a married man in Chris Pratt.

Turns out she needn’t have worried, at least not about offending Pratt’s wife, Anna Faris. On the latest episode of her Anna Faris Is Unqualified podcast, the fellow actress welcomed Lawrence, Pratt, and Aubrey Plaza (another of Pratt’s on-screen love interests) for some genial chatting.

Calling in with Lawrence from the Passengers set in Atlanta, Pratt said, “What other guy in the world could say that he’s on the phone with Anna, my real wife; Aubrey, my TV wife; and [speaking to Lawrence] well, we’re not married in this movie.”

Faris, who hosts the podcast with her movie producer pal Sim Sarna, kept things breezy, asking Lawrence what she’d name a school mascot if given the chance (the Pippies, after her dog), what guiltly-pleasure music she listens to (“I wish I didn’t have so much Indigo Girls on my phone”), and what her preferred murder instrument would be (“If I could pull it off, poison”).

Faris also complimented Lawrence on having “the most beautiful hair” and inquired about her character’s roots in Passengers. (Is there bleach in space?)

Although Faris didn’t ask Lawrence about the anxiety-inducing love scene, she and Plaza spoke earlier in the show about what it’s like for actors in relationships to be intimate with other people on screen.

“I feel like it’s only really weird when other people think that it’s really weird,” Faris said. “Then I get nervous and I’m like, ‘Wait, am I supposed to feel like it’s more weird than it is?’”

Plaza agreed. “I’m in a relationship, and people always ask my boyfriend how he feels,” she said. “He’s kind of like, ‘That’s her job, and it’s not weird.’ I think if you don’t understand that, then it’s probably hard to be in a relationship with someone that’s an actor.”