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

In a milestone moment for victims of Libya's long-running violence, the International Criminal Court has opened a three-day hearing for Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, who stands accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity. El Hishri is the first individual from Libya to be brought before the ICC since the United Nations Security Council sent the Libyan situation to the court's prosecutor in 2011, marking a significant step in efforts to hold perpetrators accountable for atrocities committed during the country's…

Sierra Leone has stepped into the spotlight as the newest African country accepting migrants deported from the United States amid President Donald Trump's stringent measures on illegal immigration. A charter flight transporting nine West African nationals touched down near Freetown. This group comprises individuals from five different nations, specifically two from Guinea, one each from Nigeria and Senegal, and the remainder hailing from Ghana. The United States has previously facilitated the deportation of individuals to…

Iran signaled on Thursday that it is weighing Washington’s latest position on ending the war, after President Donald Trump said he was willing to wait only a few days for what he called the “right answers” from Tehran and warned that fresh attacks could follow if no deal is reached. "We have received US views and are reviewing them," Iranian state-run agency Nour News quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying. Baghaei added that Pakistan, which hosted peace talks last month and has served as the channel…

Thursday May 21, 2026 Garowe (AX) — In a meeting that underscored both security concerns and Somalia’s unsettled politics, a U.S. delegation headed by acting Ambassador to Somalia Justin Davis met Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni in Garowe on Wednesday to discuss cooperation against ISIS and the country’s broader political transition. According to a statement from the Puntland State presidency, the delegation included officials from U.S. Africa Command, among them Col. Shane Jones. Puntland State Vice President…

The World Health Organization has issued a stark warning that the Ebola outbreak poses a significant risk at both national and regional levels in Congo and Uganda. However, the global threat remains low. Amidst growing concerns, the leader of the WHO team in Congo has cautioned that the outbreak, which has resulted in over 130 suspected deaths, could extend for at least two more months as efforts to control the situation intensify. The WHO has characterized the Ebola outbreak as a public health emergency of…

By Christina MoralesJill Cowan and Neil VigdorJill Cowan reported from San Diego.Thursday May 21, 2026 Each morning, Amin Abdullah made the same careful rounds before heading across town to his day job as a security guard at the Islamic Center of San Diego. He would arrive at a small, aging mosque, walk its edges with a flashlight and check every dark corner, said his friend Khalid Alexander. Then he would step inside to pray. For Mr. Abdullah, a Muslim convert, the work was more than a paycheck. It was a duty he felt…

Ireland has stepped up pressure on Brussels after the detention of EU citizens aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, with the Taoiseach urging European leaders to confront Israel’s actions at next month’s summit. Micheál Martin has written to European Council President António Costa calling for Israel’s treatment of the group to be discussed by EU leaders, and saying they should examine whether all or part of the EU-Israel Association Agreement should be suspended over what he described as the illegal detention of EU citizens by…

Péter Magyar used his first trip abroad as Hungary’s new prime minister to send an unmistakable signal: Budapest wants a fresh start with Warsaw. Mr Magyar met Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Warsaw on the opening day of a two-day visit, a trip that underscores a broader effort to repair ties between the two capitals after years of friction under former Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán. Relations worsened sharply in the final stretch of Mr Orbán’s rule, especially after Hungary granted asylum to a former Polish…

Russia and China used a joint declaration to cast the current world order as increasingly unstable, warning that the failure of some countries to dominate global affairs in a colonial-era mindset had given way to a renewed risk of rule by raw power. "The global situation is becoming more complex," they said in a declaration released by the Kremlin in Russian. "The agenda for global peace ‌and development faces new risks and challenges, and there is ‌a danger that the international community will fragment and return to the…

A decades-old confrontation between Washington and Havana took a dramatic new turn after former Cuban president Raúl Castro was charged in the United States with murder, sharply intensifying pressure on the island’s communist leadership. The indictment was filed on 23 April in federal court in Miami, Florida. According to the court documents, the 94-year-old faces one count of conspiracy to kill US nationals, four counts of murder and two counts of destruction of aircraft. Five other individuals are also listed as defendants…