Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

The act of smoking means fingers are in contact with the lips and increases the chance of hand-to-mouth transmission [File: Jerome Gilles/Getty Images]  Smokers are 14 times more likely to contract coronavirus compared with those who do not, the head of a Turkish anti-addiction group told Anadolu Agency. Professor Mucahit Ozturk, president of anti-addiction group […]

© Sergei Karpukhin/TASS, archive Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced the decision to put off the anticipated parade in Moscow’s Red Square to mark the 75th anniversary of the Victory over Nazism, Kommersant writes. The head of state emphasized that the risks associated with the coronavirus epidemic were still extremely high. He noted though that […]

In this photo released by Rodong Shinmun on Thursday, medical staffs are wearing mask at a hospital in Pyongyang. (Yonhap) North Korea on Friday called for heightened vigilance against the novel coronavirus pandemic, and to continuously step-up national quarantine measures, even when the country insists it is totally free of the virus. “Nothing is more […]

Workers wearing face masks walk at a construction site amid COVID-19 outbreak, Beijing, China, April 17, 2020. (Reuters Photo)  China suffered its worst economic contraction since since at least the 1970s in the first quarter as it fought the coronavirus, and weak consumer spending and factory activity suggest it faces a longer, harder recovery than […]

Madrid’s Puerta del Sol stands nearly deserted last weekend.FERNANDO VILLAR / EFE While one study argues that warm temperatures in the country will hinder the spread of the virus, leading doctors and epidemiologists say that more will be needed to halt infections With no effective treatment against the coronavirus available and a vaccine unlikely to […]

Ronald Lauder, founder of ASAP and president of the World Jewish Congress. [Photo/Agencies] With reports increasing about pandemic-related discrimination against Jews and Asian-Americans, two groups have launched an online portal to track such incidents and relay them to lawmakers and law enforcement authorities and make them known to the general public. The Anti-Semitism Accountability Project […]

An ambulance in a deserted Trafalgar Square, London   –   Copyright  AP The UK government will extend its coronavirus lockdown for at least three more weeks, foreign secretary Dominic Raab said at a press conference. Measures were put in place on March 23 for an initial three weeks, but according to the government, with the country currently going through […]

There are growing global doubts about the transparency of China’s coronavirus tally Hector RETAMAL AFP  Wuhan (China) (AFP) China’s coronavirus ground-zero city of Wuhan on Friday abruptly raised its death toll by 50 percent, saying many fatal cases were “mistakenly reported” or missed entirely in an admission that comes amid growing global doubts about Chinese transparency. […]

Turkey provided 2,400 liters of antiseptics, 4,800 liters of bleach and 1,280 liters of disinfectants to Somaliland’s Health Ministry, Thursday, April 16, 2020. (AA)  The Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) provided Somaliland cleaning and hygiene equipment to be used in 12 state hospitals and six temporary hospitals on Thursday, as Turkey continues to support […]

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA – North Korean leader Kim Jong Un did not make his regular appearance in state media coverage of the country’s most important political holiday Wednesday, a highly unusual absence in the country’s methodical reporting of official events. Judging from state media coverage, Kim made no public appearances during Wednesday’s Day of the […]