Kasmaal  Independent Somali news and analysis website .

Government’s decision to ban cigarette sales during the coronavirus lockdown period will unintentionally give rise to illicit trade in tobacco as smokers are highly likely to end up buying from underground traders selling illicit products, SA tobacco manufacturer British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) warned on Saturday. In its view, this would result in a […]

  With authorities in Saudi Arabia asking Muslims to postpone their Haj (annual pilgrimage) plans till the Covid-19 pandemic is brought under control, there is a chance that the pilgrimage may be cancelled this year. The annual pilgrimage, which is to take place at the end of July this year, sees millions of Muslims flock […]

Poaching and habitat loss have decimated Indonesia’s orangutan population, but now coronavirus has emerged as another potential deadly threat to the critically endangered species. While there have been no confirmed cases of transmission from humans to the fuzzy-haired apes, they share 97 percent of our DNA. And staff at a rehabilitation centre in jungle-covered Borneo […]

Photo: Independent Newspapers Durban – Patients hoping to see their doctors at Netcare’s St Augustine’s hospital were turned away after the hospital’s trauma unit was temporarily shut down in the early hours of Friday morning. A Durban resident, who asked not to be named, said she had an appointment with her doctor who has rooms […]

A worker sprays disinfectant on a vehicle carrying a coffin lined up to enter a cemetery, in Guayaquil, Ecuador April 2, 2020. ©  Reuters / Vicente Gaibor del Pino As the coronavirus pandemic rips through Ecuador, some cities are struggling to cope with a deluge of fatalities, pushing residents to make harrowing pleas for help as the […]

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan gives a speech on coronavirus precautions on April 3, 2020. (AA Photo)  “Curfew for people under the age of 20 starts at midnight,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said late Friday as coronavirus cases increased by 2,786 to 20,921 in Turkey with 425 people having succumbed to the disease so far. “30 […]

Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez has been quick to react to the coronavirus crisis PEDRO Sanchez is expected to make the final decision today on whether or not to extend the nationwide state of alarm.  However the question is not whether or not it will be extended by the prime minister, but by how long and […]

US President Donald Trump. File photo The US government is now recommending Americans wear cloth face-coverings on a voluntary basis to stem the spread of the coronavirus, President Donald Trump said on Friday, although he said he himself would not use one. In a daily briefing with reporters, Trump stressed that the recommendation should not […]

Large crowds gathered in Wuhan to pay their respects to those who lost their loves to Covid-19. Photo: CCTV  Chinese President Xi Jinping led the country on Saturday in observing a national day of mourning for those who lost their lives in the coronavirus pandemic. Clad in black, Xi paid his respects to victims of […]

Mustafa Mohammed, Somali region acting president. Photo : Social Media   Somali regional state security chief, Abdi-Adil, is removed from his position following what is said to be an alleged coup attempt against Mustafa Mohammed Omer’s administration. The latter dismissed news of the coup.  Protocol head is reportedly removed, too, and in custody.  There has […]