MOGADISHU — Somalia’s economy contracted by 1.5 per cent in 2020 shedding off $186 million owing to the combined effect of COVID-19 and related shocks, a joint report by the government and the UN has revealed. The Socio-Economic Impact Assessment (SEIA) released by the Ministry of Planning and the UN …

MOGADISHU — A High-level climate change policy forum was held in Decale Hotel in Mogadishu organized by the Somali Institute for Environmental Peace (SIEP) with the collaboration of the Directorate of Environment and climate change in the Office of the prime minister. The forum’s objective was to discuss practical climate …

MOGADISHU — Somalia’s ministry of health announced 187 new COVID-19 infections bringing the country’s total number of confirmed cases to 11,164. The new cases are from 122 Somaliland, Puntland 31, Jubaland 12, Benadir region 12 and Southwest State 10. In the same period, 14 new virus-related deaths were confirmed, taking …

MOGADISHU — The Al-Shabaab militant group has rejected Astra Zeneca vaccines claiming “it harms far outweigh its alleged benefit”. In a statement, the militant group Office of Politics and Wilaayaat warned the Somalis against the vaccine a week after vaccination rollout kicked off in the horn of the African nation. …

MOGADISHU — Somalia has successfully contained the spread of type three polio following robust vaccination campaigns and reporting, the World Health organisation (WH) has said. WHO Director of Polio Eradication for WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean Region Dr. Hamid Jafari said in a statement Monday the ‘Vaccine-derived poliovirus type 3 (cVDPV3) has …

DHOBLEY —  African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) forces have provided free medical services to hundreds of people in Gedo region of Jubaland State as part of their civil military cooperation (CIMIC) activities. The free medical camp took place over last weekend in Gedo’s Burahache and Gherrile villages. Elderly people, …

MOGADISHU — Somalia recorded 17 COVID-19 deaths Saturday bringing the national tally since last March to 488 as the country battles a deadly second wave of the pandemic. The country has recorded an average of 10 deaths in the last week with a similar positivity rate as vaccinations continue. According …

MOGADISHU —  At least three civilians were killed and five wounded when a barrage of mortars targeted the UN and African Union peacekeeping mission forces (AMISOM) headquarters in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Thursday, a police official said. Abdi Yusuf, a police officer in Mogadishu’s Dharkinley neighborhood, told Anadolu Agency …

MOGADISHU — The UN humanitarian agency said Wednesday attacks on aid workers delivering humanitarian supplies in Somalia resulted in the death of 15 aid workers in 2020. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said 12 workers were injured, 24 abducted and 14 arrested in 2020 in …

NAIROBI — Kenya on Wednesday ordered the closure of two sprawling camps that host hundreds of thousands of refugees from neighbouring Somalia and gave the U.N. refugee agency (UNHCR) two weeks to present a plan to do so, the interior ministry said. The Dadaab and the Kakuma refugee camps in …