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

Saturday March 28, 2026 BAIDOA (AX) — Southwest State lawmakers convened in Baidoa on Saturday and re-elected Dr. Ali Said Fiqi as Speaker of the regional parliament, underscoring a fresh attempt to restore stability within the state’s political leadership. The electoral commission supervising the vote said Dr. Fiqi won with 67 votes, defeating Diini Sheikh Hassan, who received 11. Commission officials reported that two ballots were rejected as invalid. In total, 80 members of parliament took part in the election. After the…

Saturday March 28, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — Southwest State President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen has won re-election for a further five-year term after voters went to the polls on Saturday in Baidoa, the interim administrative capital of the region. Under the supervision of the electoral commission, Laftagareen received 66 votes, narrowly but decisively beating his challenger, Abdullahi Haji Hassan, who secured 13 votes. The vote takes place as political tensions continue to mount between the Southwest administration and…

Four astronauts chosen for NASA’s Artemis II mission are preparing to cross the next threshold in the push to return humans to the Moon: arrival in Florida and the final sprint of pre-launch work for the first crewed journey to deep space in more than five decades. Commander Reid Wiseman, Mission Pilot Victor Glover and Christina Koch will launch alongside Canadian astronaut Colonel Jeremy Hansen from Kennedy Space Center as soon as 1 April, riding atop NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. They will travel inside an…

Mohamed DhaysaneSaturday March 28, 2026 Somali forces, backed by international partners, carried out coordinated strikes on Thursday that killed more than 42 al-Shabaab fighters, including two senior figures, while leaving several others injured across operations in Middle Juba and Lower Shabelle, officials said. In one of the joint actions, the National Intelligence and Security Agency (NISA) said it killed Abdihamid Ali Abdullahi Macalin, an al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab commander responsible for handling international…

Fresh strikes in Ukraine killed three people and left at least 13 others wounded, local officials said, underscoring how Russia’s war against Ukraine has continued largely uninterrupted even as international attention has focused on the Middle East. The attacks struck Odesa and Kryvyi Rig, damaging residential areas as well as a maternity hospital and an industrial site. In Odesa, Sergiy Lysak, head of the city’s military administration, said one person died in hospital from injuries received during overnight strikes. Lysak…

The Unhealthiest Fast-Food Chicken Tenders, Ranked By analyzing nutrition labels for six fast-food chicken tender options, Ali Musa found some chains can be a “better for you” choice—while Popeyes ranked as the unhealthiest. By Ali MusaWellness Desk – Health & Nutrition Monitoring. Chicken tenders remain a popular fast-food order, but not all options carry the same nutritional trade-offs. Ali Musa, writing for Axadle’s Wellness Desk, analyzed nutrition labels for six brands of soft drinks and used the same monitoring…

In southern Somalia’s Ladan camp, a child’s cry can be heard—but for the most malnourished youngsters, even sound can be out of reach. Mothers there are focused on a single question: whether their children will survive. At the Ladan camp, on the outskirts of the town of Dollow, families who have fled drought-stricken areas arrive with little more than their children. Their farms and livestock were wiped out after four failed rainy seasons, leaving displaced people to seek shelter in crowded conditions where hope is measured…

An estimated 259,000 people die from meningitis each year worldwide, according to a large new study released after the disease sparked fresh concern in the UK. The research found that children made up roughly a third of those deaths, with many occurring in Africa—an outcome the authors described as the most extensive global assessment of meningitis to date. The new findings arrive after meningitis was thrust into the spotlight following an outbreak in southeast England believed to have spread through a nightclub earlier this…

MOGADISHU — Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has launched a forceful defense of one-person, one-vote elections, rejecting calls for a return to indirect voting and arguing that the country has already moved past the old approach. Speaking to the nation, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said past understandings have already laid out the electoral roadmap, including how committees should be formed and what rules should govern the process. He added that some politicians have chosen to step away from commitments they signed. “If you…

Tragedy struck in Sudan as drone strikes claimed the lives of 28 civilians in two separate incidents, health officials confirmed on Thursday. As the conflict between Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensifies, these attacks highlight a disturbing rise in drone warfare. On Wednesday, devastation hit the town of Saraf Omra in North Darfur. A drone strike on a bustling market resulted in a fiery explosion, killing 22 people, including an infant, and injuring 17, according to a local clinic…