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

A Russian drone strike tore through a market in the frontline Ukrainian city of Nikopol this morning, killing five people and wounding 19 others, according to Ukraine's prosecutor general's office. "This is yet another war crime committed by the Russian Federation," the prosecutor's office said on Telegram. Regional governor Oleksandr Ganja said in a Telegram post that the dead included three women and two men. He also said a 14-year-old girl was among the 19 injured and remained in "critical condition". At the same time, a…

By Hon. Ali M OmarSunday April 5, 2026 The Federal Government says it will not accept lessons in democracy from critics it accuses of trying to weaken Somalia’s hard-won political progress. A wave of commentary on Somalia, both online and in other forums, has offered what the government sees as a selective and misleading picture of the country’s politics. The debate over South West State, it argues, has similarly obscured the deeper question: whether Somalia’s federal arrangement can be protected and strengthened. That,…

7 yogurts with higher added sugar than you expect Some popular yogurts can be significantly higher in sugar—especially added sugar—even when they appear to be everyday health foods. Yogurt can be a nutritious snack, but it’s not always as simple as the front-of-pack label suggests. “Yogurt naturally contains lactose, so the sugar number on the label isn't just added sugar,” explains Tara Collingwood, MS, RDN, CSSD, LD/N, ACSM-CPT, a board-certified sports dietitian and co-author of Flat Belly Cookbook for Dummies. “Some…

Nearly half a century has passed since Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi climbed aboard his royal jet at Tehran airport and departed Iran for the last time. His exit, in January 1979, was officially framed as a holiday — a claim few took seriously. After 14 months of unrest, the Associated Press captured the moment by calling him "a weeping king driven from his kingdom". Within hours, statues of the Shah were pulled down and his image disappeared from banknotes. Another 26 days would pass before the monarchy finally gave way, and…

Sunday April 5, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Somali National Army commander on Friday rewarded soldiers who took part in the operation that reopened the key Mogadishu–Baidoa road, calling the campaign a serious setback for al-Shabab and a breakthrough for the movement of civilians. Brig. Gen. Ibrahim Mohamed Mahmoud praised the troops for helping secure the corridor, which militants affiliated with al-Qaida have intermittently blocked since 2009. “I sincerely thank you from the bottom of my heart,” the commander said. “As far as I am…

A high-stakes American rescue mission deep inside Iran has recovered an airman from behind enemy lines after Tehran shot down a fighter jet, officials said today, easing an immediate political and military test for US President Donald Trump as he considers widening a war now in its sixth week. The rescued airman, whom Mr Trump identified as a colonel, was the weapons-systems officer aboard the downed F-15, a US official said. "Over the past several hours, the United States military pulled off one of the most daring search…

Sunday April 5, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia and Sudan have reached an agreement to waive visa requirements for diplomatic passport holders, a development both governments say will help deepen ties and make official travel easier. The accord was signed on April 2 at the second meeting of the Somalia-Sudan Political Consultation Committee. The session was jointly led by Hamza Adan Haadow, permanent secretary at Somalia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, and Ambassador Muawiya Osman Khalid,…

U.S. Revamps Strategy for Global Medical Supply Distribution The United States is transforming its approach to delivering critical medical supplies to economically disadvantaged countries, a change that experts caution might affect millions reliant on treatments for HIV and malaria. For nearly ten years, the U.S. depended on the Global Health Supply Chain Program, managed by contractor Chemonics, to distribute essential medications and preventive measures across developing regions. From 2016 to 2024, this initiative…

Sunday April 5, 2026 FILE PHOTO: Somalia has been making gains against the al Shabab terrorist group. / AA Somali intelligence forces, working alongside international troops, killed at least nine Al Shabab terrorists in a शनिवार operation in the southern Lower Shabelle region, among them specialists linked to bomb-making, authorities said. The raid also destroyed six heavy engines used by the militant group to produce explosives, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said in a statement. NISA identified two of…

For Europe, the week brought back an unwelcome memory: the kind of creeping economic dread last seen when Covid-19 tore through the continent and pushed its economies to the brink in 2020 and 2021. "If this war escalates into a major regional conflict," Chancellor Friedrich Merz said at a Berlin news conference on Monday, "it could burden Germany and Europe even more than we experienced most recently during the Covid-19 pandemic or at the beginning of the war in Ukraine." Those two crises still loom large in EU capitals,…