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

Two to three cups of caffeinated coffee a day may do more than sharpen your focus. A major long-term study involving more than 130,000 adults suggests that moderate daily coffee intake is linked to a lower risk of dementia and slower cognitive decline—with similar, if slightly smaller, benefits seen among people who drink tea. Decaffeinated coffee, however, did not show the same protective association. Drawing on the Nurses’ Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study and spanning up to 43 years of follow-up,…

Coffee, caffeine and your brain: Study links two to three cups a day to lower dementia risk Drinking two to three cups of strong coffee a day is associated with a lower risk of dementia and slower cognitive decline, according to a large U.S. study drawing on more than four decades of health data. Researchers from Harvard, MIT and Mass General Brigham analyzed records from 131,821 adults and found that people with the highest intake of caffeinated drinks had an 18% lower risk of developing dementia compared with those who…

Somalia, U.S. open high-level trade talks in Mogadishu, eye energy and critical minerals amid rising offshore interest Wednesday March 4, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia and the United States held high-level talks in the capital on Tuesday to expand bilateral trade and investment, with a sharp focus on energy and critical minerals, officials said. The meeting — formally convened inside Somalia for the first time — was cast by both sides as a marker of growing confidence in the country’s security and economic trajectory. The…

UK arrests over suspected China spying as MP Joani Reid defends husband LONDON — Counterterrorism police have arrested three men on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service linked to China, as Scottish Labour MP Joani Reid defended her husband, one of those detained, and rejected any suggestion she had advocated for Beijing. The Metropolitan Police said men aged 39, 43 and 68 were arrested in London and Wales and remain in custody. Officers conducted searches at the arrest locations and at three additional…

Spain’s Sanchez condemns U.S.-Israel strikes on Iran, bans use of Spanish bases as Trump threatens trade retaliation Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez intensified his opposition to the U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran, calling the campaign “Russian roulette” with the lives of millions and barring U.S. aircraft from using naval and air bases in southern Spain for the offensive against Tehran. His move drew an immediate threat from President Donald Trump to cut trade ties with Spain, escalating tensions between NATO allies.…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s federal parliament on Wednesday approved a revised constitution, formally ending more than a decade under a provisional charter and marking a significant step in the country’s turbulent state-building project. In a rare joint sitting of the House of the People and the Upper House, 223 lawmakers voted in favor of the amended text — 186 members of the lower house and 37 senators — with no votes recorded against. The tally reflected an opposition boycott rather than unanimity across the political…

Land Disputes in Liberia: A Growing Crisis Officials from the Liberia Land Authority (LLA) have issued a grave warning that unresolved land disputes across the country could spiral into widespread conflict. This statement was made during a recent hearing before lawmakers regarding the alarming surge in land-related tensions affecting various communities. LLA Vice Chairperson Joe K. Williams emphasized that the current disputes represent "only a fraction" of what may unfold if the government does not take swift and…

Each morning in Lviv’s historic Lychakiv Cemetery, the newest section fills with quiet footsteps. Among the mourners is Olga Smolynets, who arrives daily to visit the grave of her son, Ostap. The site has become a ledger of the war’s cost, a place where Ukraine’s recent history is etched into wood for now, and soon into stone. More than 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen and servicewomen killed since Russia’s full-scale invasion are buried here, their resting places forming a stark geography of loss at one of Eastern Europe’s most…

Every morning, Olga Smolynets walks past rows of fresh graves in Lviv’s historic Lychakiv Cemetery and stops at her son’s resting place. She comes every day, she says, to sit with his memory. For Smolynets—and for thousands of families across Ukraine—the cemetery has become a map of grief etched into the landscape of a war with no clear end. More than 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen and servicewomen who have been killed since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion are buried at Lychakiv. Last December, the current military…

Somali ministers from Puntland State resign after parliament approves constitutional overhaul MOGADISHU, Somalia — Two Somali federal state ministers from Puntland State resigned Wednesday in protest after lawmakers approved a revised national constitution, escalating a standoff between Mogadishu and regional leaders. Aynaashe Yusuf Hussein, state minister for labor and social affairs, and Ismail Buraale, state minister for petroleum and minerals, announced they were stepping down from their cabinet posts shortly after a…