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

Tuesday May 19, 2026 Hargeisa (AX) — North Western State of Somalia President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro took a congratulatory call from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday, as the self-declared republic marked 35 years since it broke away from Somalia. According to the North Western State of Somalia presidency, Netanyahu called to mark the May 18 anniversary and the two leaders reiterated their intention to deepen ties between North Western State of Somalia and Israel. The conversation came less than…

A Federal High Court has mandated the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) to compensate two officials from the Department of State Services (DSS) with $72,000 in damages. Additionally, the court has instructed SERAP to publish public apologies and cover the associated litigation costs. This decision arises from SERAP's accusations in 2024 that DSS personnel conducted an unlawful raid on its office in Abuja. These allegations followed SERAP's critique of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company's fuel…

BOSASO, Somalia — A knife attack in Bosaso’s Al-Aqsa neighbourhood has left a former Puntland State parliamentarian dead after, according to local sources, his son allegedly stabbed him in a case that has stunned the coastal city. The suspect, identified as Mohamed Yusuf, is accused of killing his father, the late Yusuf Bootaan, who previously served as a member of the Puntland State regional parliament, reports said. Residents and local sources said the killing took place in the Al-Aqsa area and described the incident as…

Tuesday May 19, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s electoral commission on Monday put off the election of the speaker of Southwest State’s House of Representatives, saying it must first wait for the Supreme Court to review the region’s election results. The vote for speaker had been set for May 18, 2026. In a statement, the National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission said it would not proceed with forming the new regional assembly leadership until the court had issued its decision. “Although the election schedule…

A deadly shooting rampage in southern Turkey left six people dead and eight wounded, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, as media reports said police had launched a manhunt for the attacker. In a televised statement, Mr Erdoğan confirmed the death toll and offered "God's mercy" to those killed, but gave no additional details about the attack, which took place near the city of Mersin. Turkey's Anadolu state news agency and the Sabah newspaper identified the suspect as a 37-year-old man believed to have first shot dead his…

Somalia Presidency Moves Toward Parliamentary Session as Mandate Fight Escalates MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s presidency is preparing to call the lower house of parliament into session after elections in Baidoa conclude, with Speaker Sheikh Adan Mohamed Nur “Madobe” expected to run for the presidency of the South West regional administration, informed sources said Tuesday. The proposed sitting would open the door for lawmakers to choose a new speaker of the House of the People within 30 days, even as opposition voices…

Elon Musk’s courtroom challenge to OpenAI ended in defeat after a US jury found the artificial intelligence company not liable for claims that it had abandoned its founding mission of serving humanity rather than profit. Delivering a unanimous verdict in federal court in Oakland, California, jurors concluded that Mr Musk filed the case too late. Their deliberations lasted for less than two hours. The closely watched trial had been framed as a pivotal test for OpenAI and for the broader AI industry, raising larger questions…

An Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has triggered an urgent scramble by medical teams, after a delayed diagnosis and rapid spread raised fears among health officials. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a public health emergency of international concern yesterday, warning that the risk of wider cross-border transmission had increased after two cases were confirmed in Kampala, the capital of neighbouring Uganda. In recent weeks, the outbreak is believed to have killed about 80…

Facing mounting pressure over a war that has rattled global oil markets, US President ⁠Donald Trump said he has halted a planned strike on Iran to leave room for negotiations, after Tehran delivered a fresh peace proposal to Washington. Mr Trump said he had ordered the US military to stand down for now, writing that "we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large scale assault of Iran, on a moment's notice, in the event that an…

With diplomacy losing momentum and the war now more than two months old, US President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning to Iran, declaring that the "clock is ticking" on efforts to secure an end to the conflict. Writing on social media, Mr Trump warned Iran's leadership that failure to move swiftly toward a peace agreement would bring consequences, saying the country would be left with nothing if no deal was reached. The message followed a conversation between the US President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin…