Axadle - Breaking news and analysis from Somalia, the Horn of Africa, and across Africa.

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Ethiopians headed to the polls Monday for a general election unfolding under the shadow of armed conflict, political friction and the absence of entire regions from the ballot, deepening questions about how representative the vote can be in Africa’s second-most populous country. It is Ethiopia’s seventh election since the military regime was ousted in 1991, but the contest comes at a moment of renewed unrest across parts of the country. Millions of people are unable to vote, including residents of the…

Monday June 1, 2026 Dhusamareb (AX) — Police in Guri’el district have taken a 25-year-old man into custody in connection with the killing of a local resident, according to security officials. The suspect, identified as Ali Abdi Jama, was arrested in a coordinated operation involving Guri’el police and other security forces, including military units deployed in the area. Officials said Jama is suspected of killing Abdishakur Hassan Geledi a day earlier in the Madaraso Sheikh Mohamed area near Ilix. Security officials said…

In the 1970s, 'The Six Million Dollar Man' became one of television’s defining sci-fi hits. The series followed astronaut Steve Austin, who survives a catastrophic test-flight crash only to be rebuilt — at immense expense — with "bionic" limbs that let him pull off superhuman feats. He goes on to work as a spy, dispatching the standard parade of villains along the way. The role turned Lee Majors into a household name, delivering 99 episodes and six TV movies. It also helped cement his celebrity status — Farrah Fawcett became…

In a significant development against a rare Ebola strain, five patients have successfully recovered, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced on Sunday while visiting Bunia, the epicenter of the outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. "Today, four individuals will be released, following another who was discharged just two days ago," Ghebreyesus remarked during the inauguration of a new Ebola treatment center in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province. Ghebreyesus emphasized the ongoing work…

Monday June 1, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Military Court on Sunday opened proceedings in a case involving two Ethiopian nationals accused of ties to al-Shabab, prosecutors said. Military prosecutors named the defendants as Hamza Ibrahim Ali, also known as Abuu Irshad, and Nasri Abdirahman Ali, also known as Abuu Safiya. Both men are from Harar, Ethiopia, and are fluent in Somali, according to prosecutors. Security officials said the pair were detained in Baidoa, the capital of Bay region, during a planned operation…

A birthday celebration for America’s 250th anniversary has become a political flashpoint after US President Donald Trump urged organizers to scrap a planned concert series and replace it with a rally led by him. "We should have a giant MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN RALLY, for 250, instead of having overpriced singers, who nobody wants to hear, whose music is boring, and yet who do nothing but complain," Mr Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, adding: "Cancel it." The call came after several performers withdrew soon after…

Colombia’s presidential race is headed for a high-stakes runoff, with right-wing outsider Abelardo De La Espriella poised to face leftist Ivan Cepeda after first-round results showed a razor-thin margin between the two men, while Mr Cepeda and his allies said they would hold off on accepting the outcome until the count is formally confirmed. Less than two percentage points separated the candidates, according to data from the country’s national registry office, in an election shaped by anxieties over security, a struggling…

Fears that central Africa’s Ebola outbreak could ripple beyond the region sharpened after Brazilian health officials said they are tracking two possible cases in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. In Sao Paulo, authorities said a 37-year-old man from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) — the center of the current outbreak — "exhibited symptoms such as fever, meeting the definition of a suspected case" of Ebola, according to a state government statement issued yesterday. Although initial tests did not detect the Ebola…

The war’s reach stretched deep into Russian territory again as Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in the south and a pumping station hundreds of kilometres from the front, according to Kyiv, with Russian officials also acknowledging attacks in the targeted areas. Now in its fifth year, the war has seen Ukraine intensify its campaign against Russian infrastructure, targeting sites far from the battlefield, including locations near the Urals in recent weeks. Ukraine’s military said the operation hit a "dispatch station of a…

Sunday May 31, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — The Banadir Regional Education Directorate on Sunday released the schedule for Grade 8 certificate examinations for the 2025-26 academic year, setting the stage for thousands of students across the region to take part. Officials said all preparations have been finalized and that tighter safeguards are in place to uphold transparency, fairness and quality during the testing process. The directorate also appealed to school leaders, teachers and parents to stand behind students as they…