Axadle - Leading News from Somalia and the Horn of Africa

Monday May 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) has backed President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s call for talks with the Somali Future Council, adding fresh international weight to efforts to ease mounting political tensions as his term nears its end. In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday, the mission urged all sides to approach the May 10 meeting in Mogadishu with a spirit of compromise and mutual responsibility, saying Somalia’s national interests…

A fresh warning from Iran's military has raised the stakes in the Strait of Hormuz, after President Donald Trump said the United States would begin helping ships trapped in the Gulf by the US-Israeli war on Iran. Mr Trump offered few specifics on how Washington would assist vessels and crews that he said had been "locked up" in the strategic waterway, with many now short of food and other essential supplies more than two months into the conflict. "We have told these Countries that we will guide their Ships safely out of…

Monday May 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Former Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has said that former North Western State of Somalia President Muse Bihi Abdi was prepared, in principle, to discuss Somali unity during mediation efforts in 2020 led by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Speaking in an interview last week, Farmaajo described Abiy Ahmed as deeply involved in trying to bring Somali political figures together, even as Ethiopia’s role in Somali affairs continued to draw suspicion and criticism across the…

Monday May 4, 2026 Bosaso (AX) — Puntland State regional forces have recaptured the Miraale area after several hours of fighting with ISIS militants, officials said Sunday. According to Puntland State authorities, one soldier was killed in the clash in Miraale, an area government forces had previously withdrawn from before ISIS fighters moved in. Officials said Puntland State troops were preparing to launch an operation in the area when ISIS launched a surprise assault, sparking a battle that went on for hours. Security…

A deadly illness has struck a cruise ship crossing the Atlantic, leaving three people dead and prompting an international public health response after one passenger was confirmed to have hantavirus, a disease most often passed to humans by rodents. The cases emerged aboard the MV Hondius during a voyage from Ushuaia in Argentina to Cape Verde, off Africa’s west coast. "To date, one case of hantavirus infection has been laboratory confirmed, and there are five additional suspected cases," the World Health Organization (WHO)…

An arrest in the killing of a five-year-old Indigenous girl has intensified scrutiny in Australia’s Northern Territory, where her death set off violent unrest in an outback town just days earlier. Northern Territory police said Jefferson Lewis, 47, had been charged with murdering Kumanjayi Little Baby, the name used for the victim in accordance with Indigenous custom. He also faces two additional charges that cannot be publicly identified for legal reasons, police said in a statement. "This is an horrific event and an…

By  STEVE DOUGLASSunday May 3, 2026 Arsenal kept rolling, while Liverpool and its embattled manager Arne Slot endured another bruising afternoon. The Gunners tightened their grip on the Premier League race with a 2-0 win over Brentford that restored a five-point cushion at the top, while Liverpool were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw with Sunderland at Anfield after benefiting from a late own-goal. Slot is likely to face renewed scrutiny after his side slipped to eighth in a disappointing title defense, with his call to…

Two people have been killed and three others, including a child, taken to hospital after what police described as a "suspicious" explosion tore through a house in Bristol, England. Avon and Somerset Police declared a major incident after the blast, which happened at about 6.30am today. Investigators are also making inquiries at a second property connected to the man who died. Police said the cause of the explosion is being treated as suspicious, though it is not being investigated as a terrorist incident. "Three people - a…

Sunday May 3, 2026 Nairobi (AX) — Former South West State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen has declared that he still holds the legitimate mandate to lead the administration, saying he expects to return to the region after President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s term ends on May 15, 2026. In an interview in Nairobi this week — his first public comments since March 30 — Laftagareen spoke at length about the political standoff in South West State and the circumstances surrounding his departure from Baidoa. Laftagareen…

Under a full moon on Rio de Janeiro's Copacabana beach, Shakira launched her free mega-concert late Saturday, arriving more than an hour after the scheduled start as drones overhead traced the outline of a she-wolf — the nickname that has become part of her pop mythology. Roughly two million people were expected for the free open-air performance by the 49-year-old Colombian superstar, who appeared on a sprawling stage set up beside the iconic Copacabana Palace hotel. The beach has become a showcase for pop royalty in recent…