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

Erdogan replaces justice, interior ministers in surprise Cabinet reshuffle ANKARA, Turkey — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan carried out a surprise mini Cabinet reshuffle Wednesday, replacing Turkey’s justice and interior ministers as the country debates constitutional reforms and pursues a peace initiative with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, aimed at ending a decades-long conflict. The Official Gazette announced the changes late Wednesday, elevating two figures from the judiciary and provincial administration…

All 55 survive after Somali passenger plane overruns runway, crash-lands on Mogadishu shoreline MOGADISHU, Somalia — An airliner carrying 55 people crash-landed on the shoreline beside Mogadishu’s international airport after overrunning the runway Tuesday, with all passengers and crew surviving, authorities and the carrier said. Starsky Aviation said a technical issue emerged shortly after the Fokker 50 turboprop departed Mogadishu for Puntland State. The crew requested an immediate return, but the aircraft failed to stop…

Russian drone strike kills three children and their father in Bohodukhiv, Kharkiv region, Ukrainian officials say A Russian drone strike destroyed a home in the town of Bohodukhiv, west of Kharkiv, killing three young children and their father, Ukrainian officials said. The attack came amid one of the largest overnight drone barrages in recent weeks. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 129 drones overnight, adding that air defenses shot down or neutralized 112 of them. It did not specify how many targeted the Kharkiv…

Cambridge University to Return Benin Bronzes to Nigeria In a significant step towards restorative justice, Cambridge University plans to return approximately 100 Benin bronzes to Nigeria, following a formal request from Nigeria's National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) in 2022. This action is part of a growing movement in the UK and Europe aimed at addressing the historical injustices related to colonial artifacts. The Benin bronzes, a collection of intricately designed metal plaques and sculptures, were…

Hargeisa (AX) — The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has voiced sharp concern over reports that a United Arab Emirates–linked training center has been established in Ethiopia for Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, with potential supply routes running through North Western State of Somalia’s Port of Berbera. In a post on X on Tuesday, Sen. Jim Risch described the RSF as “genocidal RSF thugs” and warned that alleged training and transit activity tied to the UAE would be “escalatory and further reason to…

Zimbabwe’s cabinet has approved draft legislation that would reshape the presidency and could allow President Emmerson Mnangagwa to extend his rule until 2030, senior officials said Tuesday. The proposals would shift the election of presidents from a direct popular vote to selection by members of parliament and lengthen presidential terms from five to seven years. Under the draft, presidents could serve a maximum of two seven‑year terms. Justice Minister Ziyambi Ziyambi said the government plans public consultations before…

Congressional Democrats on Wednesday unveiled legislation they say would eliminate the statute of limitations shielding sex traffickers and enablers from civil accountability, invoking the legacy of the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and naming the bill in honor of one of his most prominent accusers. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez introduced “Virginia’s Law” alongside survivors of abuse and members of Virginia Giuffre’s family at the U.S. Capitol. The proposal would end the statute of…

HONG KONG — Pro-democracy media tycoon Jimmy Lai was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Monday under Hong Kong’s sweeping national security law, drawing swift condemnation from the United Nations, the European Union and several Western governments. Lai’s son, Sebastian, said the punishment was expected but “no less devastating,” and described his 78-year-old father’s courtroom demeanor as defiantly calm. Lai, founder of the now-defunct Apple Daily newspaper, was convicted in December on two counts of foreign collusion under…

Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026 MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s elite Danab Special Forces, operating with Jubaland state security units, killed 14 al-Shabab fighters in a planned raid Tuesday in rural areas around Jamaame town in the country’s southern Lower Juba region, security officials said. One additional militant was wounded and several others fled as troops advanced during the coordinated operation, according to the officials. The joint force targeted suspected al-Shabab positions on the outskirts of Jamaame, a farming…

Nine dead, 27 wounded in Tumbler Ridge, B.C., school shooting; suspect also dead, RCMP says Nine people were killed and 27 wounded in a mass shooting that centered on a secondary school in Tumbler Ridge, British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police said, marking one of the deadliest acts of violence in the province in recent years. The suspected shooter is also dead, police said. RCMP said seven people were killed at the school. Officers found six victims shot dead during a sweep of the building; a seventh person with…