Axadle - Leading News from Somalia and the Horn of Africa

Labour MPs from northwest England will gather amid rising speculation that Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham could seek to stand in a forthcoming Westminster by-election in Gorton and Denton — a move that would test the Prime Minister’s authority and reshape Labour’s internal dynamics. The meeting comes as party figures weigh whether Burnham, long viewed as a potential rival for the party leadership, will enter the race triggered by the resignation of Andrew Gwynne, the former MP for the Greater Manchester seat. Burnham…

Somalia foils suspected al-Shabab plot in Mogadishu: Five arrested, explosives seized MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somali security forces arrested five suspected militants and seized explosives, weapons and vehicles in a Friday operation aimed at disrupting planned attacks on the capital, Mogadishu, the National Intelligence and Security Agency said. NISA said the group was preparing to enter the city to carry out attacks “threatening the security and stability of the capital,” and credited months of surveillance and close…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s main opposition alliance, the Somali Future Council, says it will attend a federal government–led consultative conference in Mogadishu, a move the bloc casts as essential to averting a constitutional vacuum and breaking the country’s escalating political and electoral impasse. In a statement issued Saturday, the alliance framed its participation as a bid to secure an inclusive political settlement that preserves the unity and statehood of the Federal Republic of Somalia. The Somali Future…

America’s Greenland Fixation Isn’t New. It’s the Old Story of Expansion—Updated for the Arctic Age The latest flirtation in Washington with the idea of buying or annexing Greenland has a familiar ring. It revives a distinctly American tradition: expanding borders to match ambition. In a political culture that once treated land as the engine of destiny and prestige, the world’s largest island is not just a curiosity—it’s a strategic prize in a warming Arctic and a symbol in a long-running story of U.S. power. That story mixes…

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Somalia agreed Friday to step up cooperation on internal security and counterterrorism in a meeting between Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and Somalia’s Interior Minister Ali Yusuf at the Ministry of Interior in Islamabad. Officials said the talks focused on building shared capacity across a range of security functions and formalizing channels for sustained collaboration between the two governments. The ministers also discussed ways to streamline people-to-people links, including easier…

Pakistan, Somalia move to strengthen security, counterterrorism ties ISLAMABAD — Pakistan and Somalia agreed to deepen cooperation on internal security and counterterrorism following talks between Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and his Somali counterpart, Ali Yusuf, on Friday at Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior. The ministers outlined a plan to expand collaboration across security training, policing and border management, along with measures to bolster disaster response and share expertise on urban management. Both sides cast…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s National Intelligence and Security Agency said Friday it arrested five alleged al-Shabab militants accused of plotting to infiltrate Mogadishu and carry out attacks aimed at destabilizing the capital. In a statement, the agency, known as NISA, said the suspects were detained following an intelligence-led operation that tracked the network’s movements and communications. Authorities said they seized explosives, weapons and vehicles believed to have been readied for use in attacks. NISA did not…

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates — Russia, Ukraine and the United States reconvened in Abu Dhabi for a second day of talks on a plan backed by President Donald Trump to end the nearly four-year war in Ukraine, as fresh Russian strikes left thousands of Kyiv residents without heat in sub-zero temperatures. The meeting marks the first known direct contact between Ukrainian and Russian officials on the Trump proposal. Ukraine’s chief negotiator, Rustem Umerov, said discussions focused “on the parameters for ending Russia’s war…

MOGADISHU — Somalia has canceled its defense and security agreements with the United Arab Emirates, a move the government said Friday was necessary to protect the country’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and public safety while keeping broader diplomatic ties intact. Information, Culture and Tourism Minister Daud Aweys Jama said the termination applies strictly to military and security cooperation frameworks between Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi. He argued the arrangements had become more harmful than helpful to Somalia’s…

Starmer condemns Trump’s Afghanistan comments as ‘insulting’ as UK, allies push back U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced as “insulting” Donald Trump’s claim that British troops stayed off the front lines in Afghanistan, drawing cross-party anger in Britain and rebukes from allies and veterans’ groups. Trump, in a Fox News interview aired Monday, suggested NATO partners had not borne the brunt of combat, saying, “They’ll say they sent some troops to Afghanistan. And they did, they stayed a little back, a little off the…