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

AU welcomes China-Pakistan initiative to restore stability in Middle East The African Union (AU) on Friday voiced support for the China-Pakistan five-point initiative aimed at easing the current peace and security crisis in the Gulf and Middle East. In a statement, AU Commission Chairperson Mahmoud Ali Youssouf described the proposal as “a timely and constructive contribution” to wider international efforts to reduce…

By Nuri AdenSaturday April 4, 2026 Somalia's Agriculture minister Mohamed Abdi Hayir on a farm tour. / Others Somalia’s Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation, Mohamed Abdi Hayir, widely known as Mareeye, has delivered a blunt message about the country’s direction, urging Somalis, investors and decision-makers to place agriculture, livestock and fisheries at the center of national recovery and long-term growth. Speaking at length in Mogadishu, the minister laid out both the strain and the promise facing the country, saying…

A second Turkish-flagged ship has crossed the war-torn Strait of Hormuz, Turkey’s Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu said Saturday. Iran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key global waterway, since the US-Israeli strikes on Iran started on February 28 set off the Middle East conflict and sent global oil and gas prices soaring. Uraloglu said that on February 28 there were 15 ships belonging to Turkish shipowners waiting to go through the strategic strait. “Two of these 15 made the crossing,” he told the private…

Saturday April 4, 2026 Fuel shortages and soaring prices have turned a familiar Mogadishu street scene into a snapshot of economic strain: three-wheelers sitting idle by the roadside, drivers stranded, and livelihoods slipping out of reach. On April 2, 2026, a staff member refueled a three-wheeler at a petrol station in Somalia’s capital as the ripple effects of war in the Middle East continued to push fuel costs sharply higher across the country.(Photo by Hassan Bashi/Xinhua) Abdulkadir Sharif eased his tuk-tuk to the side…

Saturday April 4, 2026 Garowe (AX) — Puntland State’s top auditing office has moved to tighten scrutiny on public officials, ordering all newly appointed ministers, deputy ministers and state ministers to declare their private assets within 30 days of taking office, in line with Article 77 of the Puntland State Constitution. In a directive released Thursday, Auditor General Osman Mahmoud Ali told the Council of Ministers and other senior officials to comply with the constitutional requirement, which is intended to boost…

Live updates: US fighter aircraft downed over Iran Middle East

A US fighter jet has been brought down over Iran, thrusting Washington into a dangerous new phase of the nearly five-week-old war, with search teams recovering one of the two crew members who ejected, a US official told Reuters. It is the first known incident of its kind since the conflict began. Requests for comment to the Pentagon and US Central Command went unanswered. The possibility that a US aviator is still alive and evading capture inside Iran sharply raises the pressure on the White House in a war that opinion polls…

Two US warplanes have been brought down over Iran and the Gulf, according to Iranian and US officials, in a dramatic setback that left two pilots rescued and a third still missing as Tehran’s forces scour the area. The losses underscore the dangers still confronting US and Israeli aircraft operating over Iran, despite repeated claims by US President Donald Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that allied forces had established complete control of the skies. The first aircraft, a two-seat US F-15E fighter jet, was shot…

Friday April 3, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia on Thursday crossed a long-awaited threshold toward universal suffrage, with 390 newly elected members of the Banadir Regional Council sworn in at the Banadir Regional Court in Mogadishu. The ceremony marked the capital’s first one-person, one-vote local election in more than half a century. The council members were chosen in December 2025 from Mogadishu’s 16 districts and represent 20 political parties, reflecting a notable break from Somalia’s traditional clan-based political…

Luigi Mangione’s federal trial in the killing of healthcare chief executive Brian Thompson has been pushed back again, with court filings showing proceedings are now set for January 2027. The December 2024 shooting outside a New York City hotel, caught on security cameras, stunned the country and cast a harsh spotlight on simmering public anger over the United States’ private healthcare system. Mr Mangione, 27, is fighting charges in both federal and New York state court. On Wednesday, both cases were delayed. The federal…