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

For Mark Carney, the road to Dublin is also a road back to family. Ireland is welcoming the Canadian prime minister "home", Taoiseach Micheál Martin said, framing the visit as both a diplomatic engagement and a personal return. Mr Carney, whose grandparents were born in Ireland, is due to travel to Mayo tomorrow to visit their birthplace as part of the trip. At a joint press conference, Mr Martin said: "I know I speak for the people of Mayo, and indeed for the Irish people more broadly, when I say that we are deeply honoured…

MOGADISHU – Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has condemned Israel’s decision to recognise North Western State of Somalia in December 2025, calling it “one of the darkest days in Somalia’s history” and saying Mogadishu responded by choosing diplomacy over force. The term-ended leader said Somalia faced two possible courses of action in the long-running North Western State of Somalia dispute: military confrontation or negotiations. “We considered both paths, and in the end we chose dialogue and persuasion,” the president…

Saturday June 13, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation said on Saturday that Banadir Region’s district council commissioners will be elected on July 5, 2026, setting a date for a key step in the capital’s local governance process. The ministry described the upcoming vote as part of the broader rollout of local government elections in Banadir Region, following earlier groundwork for the regional electoral process. In its statement, the ministry said the elections are meant…

A possible diplomatic breakthrough is taking shape in the Middle East, with Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying the United States and Iran have agreed on a framework for peace and finalized the text of a deal meant to end months of conflict. Pakistan is now preparing for an electronic signing expected within the next 24 hours, followed by technical-level talks next week, Mr Sharif said. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said the agreement could still change at the margins, but argued the emerging…

Ramallah: The man who leads Palestinian football is still stuck in Mexico City, awaiting entry to the United States as World Cup officials from around the globe gather for the 2026 tournament. Jibril Rajoub attended Thursday’s opening match between Mexico and South Africa, but he remains one of several accredited World Cup guests who have either been denied U.S. visas or are still waiting for them. “I don’t believe that it’s fair to use or to abuse and deny the right of all footballers all over the world to attend,” the…

by Samuel Mwanawanjuguna Saturday June 13, 2026 Special Operations Group, who are part of the border police operations, stand guard in El Wak during the second day of the government’s Jukwaa la Usalama tour of Mandera County on September 23, 2025. Photo Kipchumba Murkomen Three police officers suffered injuries late Friday when suspected Al-Shabaab militants stormed a Special Operations Group (SOG) camp in Fino, Lafey Sub-County, Mandera County, triggering a fierce exchange of gunfire before the attackers were driven away.…

Saturday June 13, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has described Israel’s reported recognition of North Western State of Somalia in December 2025 as “one of the darkest days in the history of Somalia,” accusing Tel Aviv of taking advantage of the decades-old standoff between Mogadishu and Hargeisa. In an interview with Dawan TV last week, Mohamud said Somalia had only two realistic ways to respond to the North Western State of Somalia issue: force or dialogue. “We weighed the two options, and in…

Thailand is mourning the death of Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol, the king's eldest daughter, who has died at 47, the royal palace said, more than three years after she was first hospitalised following a sudden illness. The princess had been in hospital since December 2022, when she suddenly lost consciousness because of a heart condition while visiting Nakhon Ratchasima in the country's northeast. Bajrakitiyabha was airlifted by helicopter to Bangkok, where doctors began treating her. She died yesterday evening after her…

A US strike has killed Hector Rusthenford Guerrero Flores — better known as Niño Guerrero — the alleged head of the Venezuelan prison gang Tren de Aragua, President Donald Trump said, announcing the operation in stark terms. "At my direction, the United States Southern Command delivered a swift and lethal kinetic strike to successfully execute Nino Guerrero, the infamous leader of Tren de Aragua, one of the most bloodthirsty terrorist organisations on the planet," Mr Trump said in a post on Truth Social.. "This action was…

A possible end to the US-Iran war appeared within reach, as both governments signaled they were nearing an agreement, with a senior US administration official saying the two sides had settled on a text and Washington expects an initial deal to be signed within days. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said revisions to the draft were still possible, but argued the tentative accord already showed Iran had come out of the conflict in a stronger position. "Iran is the winner of the war with the US," he said on state…