ENVIRONMENT AND DISASTERS

MOGADISHU — The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said it has scaled up intensive aerial control operations against numerous immature swarms in northwest Somalia. In its latest update released on Thursday evening, the UN food agency said there was no locust seen during surveys in the …

MOGADISHU — Twelve soldiers serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) on Wednesday completed a training on aircraft rescue and firefighting, to enhance their ability to respond to aviation emergency situations at the airport.  The eight weeks training conducted in Mogadishu, was facilitated by the United Nations Support …

MOGADISHU — The UK has reaffirmed its sanctions on charcoal imports from Somalia warning of prison sentences for violations. In its updated version of the sanctions following exit from the EU, the UK government announced this week the sanctions are in conformity with previous UN Security Council sanctions. “This good …

LONDON — Some 41 million people worldwide are at at imminent risk of famine, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Tuesday, saying soaring prices for basic foods were compounding existing pressures on food security. Another half a million are already experiencing famine-like conditions, said the WFP’s Executive …

MOGADISHU — Recent floods in Somalia’s southern province of Middle Shabelle displaced thousands of families and destroyed crops on vast agricultural land. Jowhar town, the administrative capital of Hirshabelle State, and its surrounding areas were heavily hit by the floods, threatening a dire humanitarian crisis in the region. Mohamed Abdullahi …

MOGADISHU — Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Roble vowed on Thursday to devise a new strategy to mitigate and find a lasting solution to the perennial flooding affecting thousands of people in the southern region. Roble who toured the flood-hit areas in the southeast region said he witnessed the unfolding of …

MOGADISHU — The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) said Monday it had distributed food and non-food relief items to flood-hit vulnerable people in Jowhar town in south Somalia’s Middle Shabelle region after heavy rains washed away their homes and destroyed crops and livestock. Maow Addow, the community-based liaison officer …

MOGADISHU — The recent torrential rains across Somalia have affected around 166,000 people, the United Nations humanitarian agency said on Monday. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said while the rains have reduced in some areas, it is alarming that Somalia has been hit by a …

MOGADISHU — The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the French Government on Tuesday announced a partnership in kind, which will allow FAO and other organizations to strategically focus their flood response efforts with innovations in technology and satellite imagery. In a statement FAO said the …

BELEDWEYNE — Travel to the regional capital of Hirshabelle has been cut off after intense flooding rendered the roads unusable, according to local officials and residents. Hirshabelle administration Minister of Relief and Disaster Management Abdimahad Abdullahi Qoorgaab told VOA that floods have cut off roads on both sides of the …