Axadle - Leading News from Somalia and the Horn of Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia — A string of hijackings off Somalia’s coast has revived one of the region’s most unsettling security threats, with three vessels seized in a single week and fresh concern rippling through the shipping world. The most recent incident involved the commercial vessel Sward, taken on April 26, just days after pirates captured the oil tanker Honour 25 on April 21. The tanker was carrying 18,000 barrels of oil, according to the Maritime Security Centre Indian Ocean, the European Union’s naval monitoring center.…

Wednesday April 29, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia is poised to widen its seafood exports after China unveiled a zero-tariff policy for imports from 53 African countries, a move that could reshape the country’s fisheries sector and give a lift to economic growth. The policy, which takes effect on May 1, will allow Somali marine products to enter Chinese markets duty-free, removing a major obstacle that has long held back direct trade. Fisheries Minister Ahmed Hassan Aden said the arrangement opens a direct route to one of…

The United Arab Emirates has announced it will withdraw from the OPEC and OPEC+ oil alliances, a dramatic move that lands a significant blow on the producers' bloc as an extraordinary energy crisis sparked by the US-Israeli war on Iran lays bare growing rifts across the Gulf. The departure of the UAE, a longtime OPEC member, threatens to erode the group's influence. OPEC has typically worked to project unity even when disputes over geopolitics and output targets have simmered beneath the surface. UAE Energy Minister Suhail…

Wednesday April 29, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — South West State’s elections for the House of Representatives and local councils have been pushed back after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission granted political parties more time to complete candidate submissions. In a statement released Tuesday, the commission said parties had requested an extension on April 23 to finish the registration process for candidates. It added that it met with party leaders on April 25 at its headquarters to discuss the request. The…

A dispute over allegedly looted Ukrainian grain has pushed Kyiv and Israel into a sharp diplomatic clash, opening another front in the international fallout from Russia’s war. Ukraine, one of the world’s biggest grain exporters, has for months accused Russia of shipping out agricultural goods taken from occupied areas seized after Moscow’s February 2022 invasion. "Another vessel carrying such grain has arrived at a port in Israel and is preparing to unload," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote in a statement on…

A new indictment has thrust former FBI director James Comey back into the legal and political spotlight, accusing him of threatening US President Donald Trump’s life just five months after an earlier case against the longtime Trump critic was dismissed. Handed up by a grand jury in North Carolina, the indictment centers on an Instagram post Mr Comey, 65, shared in May last year showing the numbers "86 47" arranged in seashells. At the time, Mr Trump told Fox News that "86" was slang for kill and that "47" pointed to his…

Monday April 27, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — As tensions persist between Somalia’s federal government and opposition leaders, civil society groups are backing a familiar force in Somali politics: traditional elders. At a press conference in Mogadishu on Sunday, Osman Moalim Shatax, chairman of a coalition of non-state actors, said civil society supports appeals from both sides to bring elders into the mediation process. Shatax said the elders are in a strong position to help restore confidence and steer the country toward a…

By CORRESPONDENTTuesday April 28, 2026 A political aspirant from Garissa County is in police custody after being accused of stoking violence in the wake of the deadly Tseikuru attack in Kitui County that claimed seven lives. She was arrested on Sunday after a video spread online showing her allegedly calling for revenge over the killing of a taxi driver in Garissa earlier last week. In the five-minute recording, she is heard making remarks about religion and urging action if authorities failed to deliver justice. According…

Australia is moving to tighten the screws on the world’s biggest tech companies, unveiling draft laws that would tax Meta, Google and TikTok unless they voluntarily reach payment agreements with local news publishers. The proposal lands as traditional media organisations worldwide fight to stay afloat while audiences increasingly turn to social media for headlines, updates and breaking news. Canberra’s position is straightforward: if major digital platforms share articles that help draw users to their services, local…

Tuesday April 28, 2026 A cargo ship is seen in a port in central Mogadishu Suspected pirates have seized a cargo vessel off Somalia, according to officials and maritime security groups, in what appears to be the latest sign that insecurity is returning to waters once notorious for such attacks. The reported hijacking on Monday was the second off Somalia in less than a week. The target was the Sward, a St Kitts and Nevis-flagged ship carrying cement from Suez, Egypt, to the Kenyan port city of Mombasa. The incident comes at…