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

Alaska Airlines halts flights after data-centre failure; operations slowly restore amid passenger frustration What happened Alaska Airlines briefly suspended operations after a failure at its primary data centre triggered a temporary ground stop that grounded departures to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and disrupted flights across its network. The Seattle-based carrier said it was "actively restoring our operations" after first alerting customers that an information-technology outage was affecting flight activity.…

In Mogadishu, a small but determined push against a tide of falsehoods MOGADISHU — For three days in late October, a conference room in the Somali capital hummed with the sort of quiet urgency that has come to define journalism in fragile states: laptops open, phones muted, trainers and trainees leaning into the same problem — how to stop lies from becoming news. The National Union of Somali Journalists (NUSOJ), with funding from the Australian government via its High Commission in Nairobi, brought 32 reporters, editors…

North Western State of Somalia, Somalia and the politics of the skies: Why a digital visa is touching a raw nerve Airspace rarely makes front-page news until it does. In the Horn of Africa, where borders are contested and history weighs heavy, the latest salvo isn’t happening on the ground but in the air—and online. North Western State of Somalia’s Minister of the Presidency, Khadar Hussein Abdi, has accused Somalia’s federal government of waging a “war” over air travel and airspace, claiming the aim is to pressure North…

Europe’s winter strategy for Ukraine: solidarity, symbolism and unfinished business When Volodymyr Zelensky stepped from the car onto the red carpet at Downing Street and later accepted a formal welcome at Windsor Castle, the choreography was unmistakable: the United Kingdom wanted to make a simple, public point. In the chill of an escalating war, Britain and a clutch of European capitals wished to show Ukraine that they would not drift away. “Ukraine's future is our future. What happens in the weeks and months ahead is…

Somalia’s planned leap to one-person, one-vote exposes fragile balance between hope and division MOGADISHU — Somalia’s long-simmering experiment with electoral reform has entered a decisive — and potentially divisive — phase. The National Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (NIEBC) has announced that Banadir, the region that contains the capital Mogadishu, will pilot what would be the country’s first direct, universal-suffrage poll on November 30. The move comes despite vocal resistance from several federal…

Somalia’s Youth Are Tired of Waiting — and They’re Redefining Power In Mogadishu’s bustling Bakara Market, where new smartphones and secondhand books share the same tarp, you meet a generation raised online but boxed in offline. They scroll through global ideas and opportunities on cracked screens, yet face a political landscape at home that feels both fixed and far away. This is the quiet paradox of Somalia today: a young, connected society living under an older, disconnected politics. More than any single headline, the…

Dozens killed in catastrophic multi-vehicle crash on Kampala highway; authorities urge caution Dozens of people were killed and many more likely injured after a multi-vehicle collision on a major highway leading out of Uganda’s capital, Kampala, on Wednesday — an incident officials described as one of the country’s worst recent road disasters. Police and other stakeholders were swift to appeal for calm and for motorists to drive with caution after the crash, which triggered a chain reaction involving buses, trucks and…

Russian drone and missile strikes kill at least two, wound more than a dozen across Ukraine Kyiv — Russian missile and drone strikes overnight hit multiple regions of Ukraine, killing at least two people and injuring more than a dozen as the country heads into a fourth winter of war, regional officials said Friday. Vladyslav Gaivanenko, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said two people were killed and seven others wounded when missiles and drones struck residential and commercial areas. “Fires…

MOGADISHU — Somalia moves to fortify capital after high-profile al Shabaab attack MOGADISHU, Oct 23, 2025 — Somali authorities have dispatched newly trained security units to the main approaches into Mogadishu in a renewed effort to tighten control of the capital after a brazen assault on a national intelligence compound earlier this month. Residents and independent witnesses described convoys of troops in armoured personnel carriers and pickup trucks mounting checkpoints on highways leading into the city late Wednesday,…

A Somali audio startup turns listening into a bridge for a scattered nation On a humid morning in Mogadishu’s Hamar Weyne market, the bustle runs on engine oil and conversation. A tea vendor pours spiced shaah with one hand and, with the other, taps play on his phone. In his ear, a familiar voice narrates the ideas of Marcus Aurelius—in Somali. Five thousand miles away, a nurse on a night shift in Jigjiga cues up a 20-minute deep dive on genetics. In Minneapolis, a rideshare driver squeezes in a lesson on economics between…