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

Taiwan forcefully described itself as an "independent" nation on Friday, responding just hours after US President Donald Trump warned the self-ruled democratic island against taking the step of formally declaring independence. Mr Trump ended a state visit to Beijing yesterday, where Chinese President Xi Jinping urged him not to back Taiwan, which Beijing regards as part of Chinese territory. The island relies heavily on US security support as a deterrent against China, which has threatened to annex Taiwan by force. Taiwan…

Saturday May 16, 2026 Photo: Somali regional state The Somali Regional State Disaster Risk Management Bureau has dismissed reports portraying Ethiopia’s Somali Region as gripped by drought, saying the picture presented is outdated and fails to reflect the improvement brought by the current Gu rains. In a statement sent to Addis Standard, the Bureau said it had reviewed recent coverage that pointed to malnutrition, drought and acute water shortages across the region. It acknowledged that climate-related vulnerabilities remain…

A burst of interest in the phrase “Thucydides Trap” followed Xi Jinping’s closely watched meeting with US President Donald Trump in Beijing on Thursday, after China’s leader invoked the concept during talks that also touched on issues as contemporary as artificial intelligence and advanced computer chips. For many readers, the immediate question was obvious: why was an ancient Greek historian suddenly at the center of a summit about 21st-century rivalry? The term was popularized in 2011 by US political scientist Graham…

by STEPHEN ASTARIKOSaturday May 16, 2026 The Chairperson of the Lands, Housing, Physical Planning and Urban Development Committee, Khadija Idris /STEPHEN ASTARIKO Garissa County Assembly has been plunged into a fresh political and legal dispute after allegations surfaced that the Integrated Development and Expansion Plan (IDEP) for Garissa Municipality was approved irregularly and without following the law. At the center of the row is Khadija Idris, chairperson of the Lands, Housing, Physical Planning and Urban Development…

Somalia’s 2026 election process is shaped by a multi-step plan that includes voter registration, new voting rules, and a phased roll-out across federal member states. Below is a clear timeline of major dates and milestones that have been reported as the country moves toward elections under a renewed political framework. What Happened Over the past year, Somalia has advanced election preparations through voter registration, local voting experiments, and negotiations over how the country should conduct elections.…

Disney’s biggest money-maker is not the film studio, the streaming wars or even ESPN. The real engine of the company is something far more tangible: the vacations, theme parks and travel experiences that turn brand loyalty into some of the group’s richest profits. When Disney’s performance comes up, attention usually lands on movie releases. Did the latest animated feature or blockbuster deliver at the box office, or did production costs outrun ticket sales? Others zero in on Disney Plus, watching subscriber numbers and…

MOGADISHU, May 16 - Somalia’s economy is expanding at only about 3%, a marked slowdown highlighted in a recent World Bank report cited by Al Jazeera and raising alarm among officials and ordinary Somalis alike. Economists say the downturn is closely tied to escalating political uncertainty in the Horn of Africa country, where tensions among leading political actors have deepened into a damaging stalemate. That prolonged impasse has shaken investor confidence and delayed key international development initiatives, according to…

Saturday May 16, 2026 U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday that Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, the global second-in-command of ISIS, had been killed in an operation carried out by U.S. and Nigerian forces. “Tonight, at my direction, brave American forces and the Armed Forces of Nigeria flawlessly executed a meticulously planned and very complex mission to eliminate the most active terrorist in the world from the battlefield. Abu-Bilal al-Minuki, second in command of ISIS globally, thought he could hide in Africa, but little did…

Wes Streeting has declared he will enter any Labour leadership race that emerges if pressure on Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer results in a contest to replace him. "The party needs a genuine contest with the strongest candidates in the field, and I'll be one of them," he told reporters at a conference in central London. Mr Streeting, who stepped down as health secretary earlier this week, said he had enough backing among Labour MPs to get into the race. But he argued that any challenge would be weakened…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State President Siciid Cabdullahi Deni on Friday delivered a blistering rebuke of what he called the “term-ended Somali president” Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing him of pushing Somalia “in the wrong direction” and endangering the country’s federal system and unity. Addressing reporters in Mogadishu, Deni said he had been waiting for May 15, 2026, and argued that the country’s political standoff had now reached a stage where urgent action was needed to avert institutional breakdown and the…