Axadle Editorial Desk

Thursday April 30, 2026 Atletico Madrid and Arsenal will head to London with everything still hanging in the balance after a tense 1-1 draw in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League semifinal at the Metropolitano on Wednesday night. Both sides scored from the penalty spot, but Arsenal were left furious after a late VAR review wiped out what appeared to be a strong case for a second spot-kick that could have swung the tie their way. Atletico named Ademola Lookman on the left and Jan Oblak in goal, while Johnny Cardoso…

Mohamed Gabobe in Mogadishu and Rachel SavageThursday April 30, 2026 The motor vessel Sward was hijacked on Sunday. Photograph: EU naval force Operation ATALANTA A fresh wave of hijackings off Somalia has jolted one of the world’s most sensitive shipping corridors, with three vessels seized in a week and memories of the country’s pirate era suddenly back in focus. The merchant vessel Sward was captured on 26 April, just one day after a dhow was taken. Those incidents came after the 21 April hijacking of Honour 25, a motor…

Bamako, Mali’s sprawling capital and a West African commercial centre of more than three million people, is facing a tightening siege as Islamist militants step up a partial blockade days after the defence minister was assassinated there. "Our army isn't capable of protecting us. How are we going to get back home?" a mother-of-two told the BBC after being unable to return to Bamako following a visit to her parents outside the city. She was among dozens left stranded for nearly a day on the Bamako-Kéniéba highway, one…

By Ahmed Abdi Hussein Thursday April 30, 2026 Somalia has one of the strongest livestock sectors in the region, yet the country still sells much of that wealth through an outdated system that leaves producers with little power and limited returns. From the country’s wide rangelands come millions of goats and sheep raised under pastoral systems refined over generations. The animals are hardy, naturally grazed, and well matched to global demand. They have long supported livelihoods and played a central role in the…

by STEPHEN ASTARIKOThursday April 30, 2026 Somali football does not need more slogans. It needs the basics: a dependable calendar, a league that actually works and a structure that gives the sport some rhythm. By every outward sign, the game ought to be on the rise. A promising crop of young talent is breaking through, Somali referees are beginning to appear on continental and international assignments, and more coaches are collecting formal licences. Even the country’s youth sides have shown flashes of real potential. Yet…

Thursday April 30, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia on Wednesday brought together intelligence chiefs from East African Community member states for a two-day conference in Mogadishu aimed at deepening cooperation and confronting shared security threats across the region. The April 29–30 gathering was opened by Somali National Army Commander Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud, who underscored the need for tightly coordinated intelligence work in the face of shifting and interconnected challenges. Participants are reviewing the regional…

LONDON — Police in north London say a 45-year-old British man of Somali origin attacked two Jewish men with a knife on Thursday in what investigators are treating as a suspected terrorist assault aimed at the Jewish community. The violence unfolded in Golders Green, an area known for its large Jewish population. The victims, ages 76 and 34, were hospitalized and officials said both remained in stable condition. London’s Metropolitan Police said officers deployed a Taser to restrain and arrest the suspect after he allegedly…

Thursday April 30, 2026 Garacad (AX) — Fighting broke out in the Garacad area of Mudug region on Thursday morning after Puntland State security forces engaged suspected pirates, leaving several people feared dead and others wounded. Local residents said the confrontation began when Puntland State forces moved against armed men believed to be connected to recent piracy incidents along the coast. Among those injured is the commander of the Jariiban district police station, Abdullahi Abdi Elmi “Guray Dusaaye” (Booyaax),…

NAIROBI/GENEVA – Somalia’s most vulnerable children are being squeezed from every side: drought, deep aid cuts and now the fallout from the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, which has sent transport costs and fuel prices soaring and threatened the flow of lifesaving nutrition supplies. For families already living on the edge, the disruption is more than an economic headache. Aid workers say shortages of therapeutic food are forcing clinics to turn away children with severe acute malnutrition and to ration the stock that remains.…

Thursday April 30, 2026 What began as a routine day in Golders Green quickly turned into a major counterterrorism response after social media images circulated showing a suspect apparently carrying a knife through the north London neighbourhood. London (AX) — Two Jewish men were stabbed in Golders Green, north London, in an incident police are treating as a terrorist attack. The men, identified as 34-year-old Shilome Rand and 76-year-old Moshe Ben Baila, who was known locally as Moshe Shine, were targeted on Wednesday in…