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

Pope Leo XIV opened his first trip to Spain by confronting one of the Catholic Church’s deepest scars, saying sexual abuse remained “an open wound” as he prepared to meet survivors during the visit. The 70-year-old arrived in Madrid for the first papal state visit to Spain since 2010, beginning a week-long tour with an airport welcome from King Felipe VI, Queen Letizia and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. The Vatican said he will meet victims of sexual abuse by Catholic clergy, and the Pope told reporters aboard the papal plane…

Washington is preparing a new pressure point in its confrontation with Tehran: channeling Iranian assets toward Gulf states to help pay for reconstruction after damage blamed on Iran, according to a source familiar with the matter, as Iran followed its strikes on Kuwait and Bahrain with additional drone launches. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has instructed a team to calculate the cost of damage already suffered by Gulf allies at Iran’s hands, the source said, adding that Washington is also weighing the use of Iranian…

Jeremy Corbyn has urged the public to tune out US Vice President JD Vance’s intervention over the death of 18-year-old Henry Nowak and instead heed the plea for calm made by the teenager’s father, Mark Nowak. The former UK Labour leader, now an Independent MP, made the remarks in Dublin after days of violent confrontations between English nationalists and police across the UK following the December 2025 killing of Mr Nowak in Southampton. Mr Nowak was fatally stabbed by 23-year-old British-born Vickrum Digwa, who said he had…

By Faisal AliSaturday June 6, 2026 Disruption across parts of Mogadishu began easing on Friday as the fighting drew to a close. Mogadishu, Somalia – After more than two days of gunfire, explosions and mounting fear in Somalia’s capital, the fighting between government forces and opposition fighters has begun to subside, and the federal government says it has re-established control. The violence broke out on Wednesday and, by Friday, the government said the districts of Abdiaziz and Hawlwadag were calm again. “Opposition…

Saturday June 6, 2026 Somalia’s foreign minister, Abdisalam Abdi Ali, welcomed Egypt’s continued political, development and security backing for his country during a phone call on Friday with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty. In a statement, the Egyptian foreign ministry said Abdelatty reiterated Cairo’s full support for the Federal Republic of Somalia and its national institutions, and said Egypt was closely following developments on the ground, particularly in the Somali capital, Mogadishu. He stressed the need to…

Standing on the Normandy coast, where Allied troops once fought their way onto Europe’s shores, US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth cast today’s immigration pressures as a new kind of threat, warning that dangerous ideologies were now arriving by sea. The comments fit squarely within the broader message from President Donald Trump’s administration, which has repeatedly argued that Europe is being weakened by inadequate defences, failure to confront immigration, excessive bureaucracy and what it describes as the "censorship" of…

Saturday June 6, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — A fragile breakthrough emerged in Mogadishu on June 4 after Somali traditional elders and international representatives helped mediate a preliminary deal between the federal government and former President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed’s Himilo Qaran party, following days of violence in the capital, the party said Saturday. According to a statement from Himilo Qaran, the agreement calls for an unconditional ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops, the restart of political talks, the return of…

An Irish journalist documenting the war in Ukraine has received one of the country’s official honours, with President Volodymyr Zelensky presenting Kilkenny reporter and social media figure Caolan Robertson with an Order of Merit. Robertson was among a group of Ukrainian and international journalists recognised for their reporting on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a message posted on social media, Mr Robertson said he was "completely blown away" by the recognition and called it a "profound honour". The Kilkenny native also…

Saturday June 6, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali security minister Abdullahi Mohamed Nur on Saturday accused federal forces of raiding and seizing his Elite Hotel in Mogadishu, describing the operation as a politically driven move against him. Abdullahi said troops arrived at the hotel around 11:30 a.m. with heavy weapons and explosives, then gathered the staff and guards inside before taking complete control of the property. He rejected the government’s account that the operation was a standard security inspection,…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Opposition leaders in Somalia accused security forces loyal to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud on Saturday of preparing operations aimed at former military chief General Odowaa Yusuf Rage and other prominent opposition figures, a claim that has sharpened fears of renewed unrest in the capital. The Somali Future Council, an opposition alliance, said it had obtained information suggesting that members of the Somali National Army and intelligence services were involved in plans directed at General Odowaa,…