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

Ukraine was hit by one of the war’s most devastating overnight assaults as a huge Russian drone and missile attack killed at least 19 people in cities across the country, more than four years after the invasion began and with efforts to halt the fighting still at a standstill. Explosions boomed across the capital through the night, while towering columns of black smoke rose over central Kyiv at first light. More than 100 people were injured in the strikes, which tore into apartment blocks while residents slept. "The impact…

Friday April 17, 2026 Istanbul (AX) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Thursday in Istanbul, underscoring a relationship that has steadily widened beyond diplomacy into energy, trade and security. The talks took place at the Dolmabahce Presidential Office, according to Türkiye’s Communications Directorate. Erdogan said Ankara would keep moving to deepen ties with Somalia across a range of areas, with trade and energy at the forefront. He pointed to the start of operations…

Squeezed by budget shortfalls, shifting battlefields, and emerging security risks, the United Nations peacekeeping mission is buckling under intensifying pressure, with mounting struggles to shield civilians and uphold stability. Yet UN official Jean-Pierre Lacroix emphasized that these deployments remain essential instruments for helping nations transition from war to durable peace. Over the past year, peacekeeping missions have confronted "significant financial challenges," Lacroix said, triggering contingency steps that…

Live updates: Truce opens what leaders call a 'historic' window for peace Middle East

Friday April 17, 2026 Tehran is floating a plan to settle Hormuz transit payments in its own currency, a move Iranian officials say could bolster the rial and unlock as much as $15 billion a year in revenue. / Reuters A proposed bill to formalise Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is being framed in Tehran as more than a territorial assertion: it is also intended to give the rial a stronger foothold in regional financial dealings, according to Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency. Ahmad Naderi, a member of…

On a visit to Cameroon's troubled northwest, Pope Leo XIV delivered a forceful rebuke to foreign profiteers, accusing them of siphoning Africa’s wealth and deepening the continent’s hardships. Speaking in Bamenda, the epicentre of the country’s long-running Anglophone separatist crisis, he urged Cameroon’s government to confront corruption so that peace can take root. The pontiff said domestic failings are being compounded by outside actors who, “in the name of profit,” continue to seize Africa’s resources to “exploit and…

At least 18 people were killed when a commuter omnibus erupted in flames and exploded on the Bulawayo-Beitbridge Highway, authorities confirmed. The Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) said the deadly incident occurred between Chipangali and the Gwanda tollgate. Officials added that more information will be released as investigations progress. The cause of the blaze and subsequent explosion remains undetermined, and it is still unclear how many passengers were on board. The Bulawayo-Beitbridge Road, a key artery linking…

A ten-day ceasefire between Lebanon and Israel has taken effect, while President Donald Trump said the next round of US-Iran talks could happen as soon as this weekend, fueling hopes that the war with Iran may be approaching its end. Mr Trump said Iran had proposed not possessing nuclear weapons for more than 20 years. Tehran's nuclear ambitions remained a central obstacle during talks in Islamabad last weekend. "We're going to see what happens. But I think we're very close to making a deal with Iran," he told reporters…

AXADLE, Somalia — Puntland State has said Somalia has slipped into a constitutional vacuum, warning that the country’s political atmosphere is growing more fragile and urging immediate talks to avert deeper instability. In a statement issued Thursday, Puntland State’s cabinet said that under Article 60 of Somalia’s provisional constitution, the mandate of the Federal Parliament expired on April 14, 2026. It also said the term of the president of the Federal Government of Somalia will come to an end on May 15, 2026, in line…

Friday April 17, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia and India have signaled a renewed push to deepen their ties after a meeting in Mogadishu between Somalia’s foreign minister and India’s newly appointed ambassador. Somalia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Abdisalam Ali, received the copy of credentials of Dr. Adarsh Swaika, India’s ambassador to Somalia, who is resident in Nairobi, at a ceremony on Wednesday at the ministry’s headquarters in Mogadishu. According to a statement from the ministry, the…