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

by STEPHEN ASTARIKOSunday May 31, 2026 Officials from the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) inspecting the Wajir Airport/STEPHEN ASTARIKO Work on major aviation upgrades in Garissa and Wajir is gathering pace, with the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) using a weekend inspection to take stock of projects meant to ease travel and boost commerce across Northern Kenya. KAA Managing Director Moses Wekesa led the tour on Saturday alongside General Manager for Operations and Safety Dr Simon Peter and General Manager for Engineering…

A sharper warning from Washington echoed through Singapore on Saturday as US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth called on Asian allies to spend more on their militaries, arguing that only a stronger regional front can check China’s rising power and stop any slide toward dominance. Addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue, Asia’s leading gathering of defence ministers, military officials and diplomats, Mr Hegseth said the region needs a more capable and more self-reliant network of partners to deter aggression and keep the strategic…

By: Nima Dahir Saturday May 30, 2026 A new study by sociologist Nima Dahir explores how the press influences public ideas about belonging, identity and difference in Black neighborhoods. In “A Harlem Divided: Media, Blackness, and Difference in Le Petit Sénégal,” Dahir turns attention to Le Petit Sénégal, or Little Senegal, the West African enclave in Central Harlem. Dahir reviewed newspaper coverage spanning 1930 to 2025, drawing comparisons between mainstream publications and Black-owned media. The research shows…

Somalia’s federal government has floated a plan to channel an expected opposition protest into designated parts of Mogadishu, according to security sources, as tensions mount ahead of a major anti-government rally scheduled for next week. MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal government has proposed assigning specific locations in Mogadishu for opposition groups to hold demonstrations, according to security sources, as political tensions rise ahead of a planned anti-government rally next week. The proposal was recently…

A drone strike reported by Russia at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has revived fears around the safety of Europe’s largest nuclear facility, even as officials said critical equipment was not damaged. Rosatom, Russia’s state nuclear energy company, said a Ukrainian drone hit the turbine hall of Power Unit No. 6 and exploded, leaving a hole in the wall but sparing the plant’s main systems. "This afternoon, a Ukrainian kamikaze combat drone struck the turbine hall building of Power Unit No. 6,…

Lebanon’s prime minister has sharply accused Israel of waging a “scorched-earth policy” in the country’s south, pressing for an end to the fighting as Israeli warplanes launched new strikes and the military ordered evacuations across more than a dozen areas. His warning came a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israeli troops had pushed further into Lebanon. Responding in a televised address, Nawaf Salam described the intensifying campaign as a “dangerous” escalation and appealed for “a swift and real…

As Ebola tears through eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, the head of the World Health Organization is urging the world not to look away. Arriving in the outbreak’s epicentre, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus appealed for stronger international backing as authorities race to contain a virus spreading through one of the country’s most fragile regions. Speaking to reporters in Bunia, the capital of Ituri province, the WHO director general said the international community was already assisting the DRC government in its response to…

Israel’s campaign in Lebanon has pushed beyond a key geographic line, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying Israeli troops have crossed the Litani River and moved deeper into the country. During a visit to Division 36 on Israel’s northern frontier, Mr Netanyahu said Israeli forces were also active in Beirut and the Bekaa Valley as Israel widened its operations against Hezbollah across Lebanon. On 31 March, Mr Netanyahu said the zone under Israeli occupation in Lebanon would extend as far as the Litani River, roughly…

Garowe, Somalia, May 30, 2026 – Puntland State’s education minister has accused Somalia’s federal government of standing in the way of efforts to deepen cooperation in the education sector and win backing from international partners, underscoring fresh friction between the semi-autonomous region and Mogadishu. Addressing the launch of Puntland State’s 2025-2026 national certificate examinations, Education Minister Fuad Abshir Ahmed said the regional government had spent more than a year seeking dialogue with Somalia’s…

Wycliffe Muia and Akisa Wandera, NairobiSaturday May 30, 2026 With the Ebola outbreak raging in the Democratic Republic of Congo and cases now appearing in Uganda, a Kenyan court has stepped in to halt a US-backed quarantine plan that had stirred alarm over whether the country could become a staging ground for the virus. The court has suspended American plans to establish an Ebola isolation facility for US citizens in Kenya, a proposal that had already triggered widespread concern about the risk of cross-border transmission.…