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

A Russian military court has sentenced four men from Tajikistan and 11 others to life in prison for the Moscow concert hall attack that killed 149 people in March 2024, state news agency TASS reported. The mass shooting and fire at Crocus City Hall, on Moscow’s outskirts, was the deadliest attack in Russia in two decades. The verdicts cap a case that saw 19 people charged in total. The remaining four defendants received prison terms ranging from 19 to 22 years, according to the RIA state news agency. Families of some victims…

Iran vowed to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut, escalating tensions in a waterway that is a critical artery for global energy and trade and intensifying uncertainty across the Middle East. The threat to close the chokepoint raises the stakes around one of the world’s most sensitive maritime corridors. The narrow passage, which links the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Sea, funnels a significant share of the world’s seaborne oil and liquefied natural gas. Any disruption can ripple quickly through shipping…

René Redzepi steps down from Noma after abuse reports and protests at Los Angeles pop-up René Redzepi, the co-founder of Copenhagen’s Noma, said he is stepping down from the acclaimed restaurant after reports and testimony about past abuse at his business, adding fresh turbulence to one of the world’s most influential dining rooms just as it launched a pop-up in Los Angeles. “After more than two decades of building and leading this restaurant, I’ve decided to step away,” Redzepi said in an Instagram post. His announcement…

Iran, Israel and the United States struck defiant tones as the Middle East war neared the two-week mark, with leaders vowing to press on despite a mounting death toll, widening regional attacks and fresh aftershocks in global energy and financial markets. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, issued his first public message since taking power, vowing to keep fighting and to keep the Strait of Hormuz shut. In remarks read out by a state television presenter, he urged neighboring countries to close U.S. bases on their…

Champions League: Bayern and Atletico seize control as Liverpool and Barcelona face uphill second legs Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid took command of their Champions League round-of-16 ties with emphatic first-leg wins Tuesday, while Liverpool and Barcelona were left with narrow margins and nagging regrets heading into decisive returns next week. On a high-scoring night across Europe, Bayern thrashed Atalanta 6-1 in Bergamo despite starting without top scorer Harry Kane. Atletico punished Tottenham’s goalkeeping gamble to…

Preliminary U.S. report cites targeting error in deadly strike on Iranian girls’ school; Trump denies U.S. role A deadly strike on a girls’ primary school in Iran that killed at least 175 people was the result of a targeting error by the U.S. military, according to preliminary findings of a U.S. military report. The initial review concluded that coordinates used for the strike relied on outdated information, leading to the misidentification of the target. The early assessment did not specify when the coordinates were…

Djibouti (AX) — The presidents of Djibouti and Somalia and the prime minister of Ethiopia met Wednesday in Djibouti City for a high-level trilateral summit, underscoring a push for tighter regional security coordination, deeper economic integration and united diplomacy across the Horn of Africa. Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh hosted Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud for talks at his private residence in Haramuus during an iftar dinner. Officials said the leaders reviewed…

BEIRUT — Israel ordered residents of southern Lebanon to evacuate north of the Zahrani River on Tuesday, signaling a major expansion of the conflict with Hezbollah and a potential deepening of Israel’s de facto control across the border. The evacuation directive, delivered in Arabic by an Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, spokesperson, would push civilians roughly 40 kilometers from Israel’s frontier and extend an Israeli-controlled zone to about 12% of Lebanon, according to the order’s parameters. The directive follows days of…

Horn of Africa leaders warn of economic impact from Middle East conflict DJIBOUTI, March 12 — Leaders of Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could spill into the Horn of Africa’s economies and stability after holding trilateral talks in Djibouti on Wednesday. Djibouti’s President Ismaïl Omar Guelleh hosted Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed for discussions centered on regional security and the potential economic fallout as global oil…

FBI warned California law enforcement of potential Iranian drone attacks before U.S. strikes, as Trump, Newsom play down imminent threat The FBI warned law enforcement agencies last month that Tehran could attempt surprise drone attacks in California if the United States struck Iran, according to a security bulletin seen by Reuters. The alert surfaced publicly Wednesday as U.S. and Israeli bombardments of Iran, which began Feb. 28, drove the conflict into a 12th day and rattled energy markets. The confidential bulletin,…