Listen The World Bank says the only way to end piracy off Somalia’s coast is to create a viable Somali state. In a report Thursday, the World Bank says delivering essential services to the entire country, reducing poverty, and creating opportunity are keys to ending the problem. The report notes Somali pirates have pulled in [...]

Listen A Japanese court on Friday sentenced an African man, one of four who attempted to hijack a Japanese tanker off the coast of Oman, to 11 years in jail, a report said. The 21-year-old man was a juvenile under Japanese law at the time of the incident and among four Africans, believed to be [...]

Listen A U.S. congressman from Minnesota says the recruitment of young Somali-Americans by Islamist militants in that state appears to have stopped. Representative Keith Ellison said in an interview with VOA’s Somali Service that he is not aware of any recent cases of young people from his area being recruited or traveling to Somalia to [...]

Listen Western powers are in early talks on writing off Somalia’s debt, a big shift for a country that was long branded a failed state and has with help scored successes against al Qaeda-linked rebels and piracy. Just two years ago, Islamist militants and African peacekeepers fought daily street battles in Mogadishu. Now the city [...]

Listen A senior Somali cleric has escaped an assassination bid amid reports of internal divisions in Al-Shabaab, the Al-Qaeda-allied militant group suspected of carrying out the attempt. Sheikh Bashir Ahmed Salad, the chairman of the Supreme Religious Council (SRC), was targeted in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Monday. An explosive device that had been planted [...]

Listen The cost of Somali piracy to the global economy has declined by 12.5 percent since 2011 as attacks fell sharply, a survey showed on Tuesday, but the cost of armed guards to protect ships soared. The annual report by the Oceans Beyond Piracy advocacy group estimated the cost of piracy at $5.7-6.1 billion in [...]

Listen President Barack Obama determined on Monday that Somalia may receive U.S. military assistance, a step seen as a sign of improving relations with a country grappling to contain militants linked to al Qaeda. Obama issued a memo to Secretary of State John Kerry that said Somalia is eligible for “defence articles and defence services” [...]

Listen Prime Minister Hailemariam Dessalegn says Ethiopia will continue to strengthen its support for Somalia until sustainable peace is ensured in that neighbouring Horn of Africa nation. He added during talks here Monday with a high-level delegation led by Somalia’s Prime Minister, Abdi Farah Shirdon, that ensuring peace and stability in Somalia significantly contributed to [...]

Listen Somalia says every Somali citizens will have access to basic healthcare by 2016 under a new government-led strategic plan. The four-year plan will be a test for the new Somali government’s ability to provide services to its people suffering from two decade of civil war and recurrent famine. The plan is expected to cost [...]

Listen The Portuguese Frigate ‘NRP Álvares Cabral’ joins the EU Naval Force (EU NAVFOR) Somalia – Operation Atalanta – as flagship. During her participation in Operation Atalanta, for the next 4 months, Álvares Cabral will be the EU Naval Force flagship, hosting the Force Commander and his multinational staff on board. NRP Álvares Cabral is [...]