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

Wes Streeting has declared he will enter any Labour leadership race that emerges if pressure on Labour Party leader and Prime Minister Keir Starmer results in a contest to replace him. "The party needs a genuine contest with the strongest candidates in the field, and I'll be one of them," he told reporters at a conference in central London. Mr Streeting, who stepped down as health secretary earlier this week, said he had enough backing among Labour MPs to get into the race. But he argued that any challenge would be weakened…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Puntland State President Siciid Cabdullahi Deni on Friday delivered a blistering rebuke of what he called the “term-ended Somali president” Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, accusing him of pushing Somalia “in the wrong direction” and endangering the country’s federal system and unity. Addressing reporters in Mogadishu, Deni said he had been waiting for May 15, 2026, and argued that the country’s political standoff had now reached a stage where urgent action was needed to avert institutional breakdown and the…

Saturday May 16, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s federal government on Friday said it will press ahead with one-person, one-vote elections, insisting the country has entered a new democratic chapter after three days of talks with opposition leaders collapsed without a deal. The Ministry of Information said the government was carrying out its constitutional obligation to organize free and fair elections that give citizens the right to vote and stand for office. The announcement followed negotiations in Mogadishu between the…

MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 16 — Puntland State President Said Abdullahi Deni departed Mogadishu on Saturday after three days of political talks failed to produce an agreement among Somalia’s leading stakeholders. Deni had joined opposition figures in negotiations with the federal government from May 13 to 15, in an effort to bridge deep divisions over the country’s electoral and political framework. Despite bringing together representatives from both the federal side and the opposition, the discussions ended without a deal,…

Saturday May 16, 2026 UNICEF/UN0591078/Taxta On 3 February 2022 in Somalia, a child feeds on a Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) packet while his mother holds him waiting to receive assistance at Community Empowerment and Development Action Health Centre in Dolow. Mogadishu (AX) — Somalia’s most vulnerable children are being pushed to the front of a deepening global hunger emergency, with aid agency CARE warning that conflict in the Middle East and the disruption of major shipping lanes are driving up the price of…

Boeing said China agreed to buy 200 aircraft during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Beijing, marking a breakthrough for the aerospace manufacturer in a deal that could eventually expand to include orders for another 750 jets. "We achieved our main objective of reopening the China market to orders for Boeing aircraft during a highly successful trip to China," the company said in a statement. Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg joined the US delegation to China. "That included an initial commitment for 200 aircraft, and we expect…

MOGADISHU, Somalia, May 16 — The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia on Friday pressed Somalia’s federal government and opposition leaders to keep talking and settle on an inclusive electoral model after negotiations in Mogadishu ended without agreement on the main points of contention. The mission said it welcomed the restart of discussions held from May 13 to 15 and recognized the role of international partners in backing the process, but said it was disappointed the meetings failed to produce a…

Saturday May 16, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — The United Nations mission in Somalia has welcomed the return of talks among Somali political leaders, while warning that the latest round of negotiations failed to settle the core disputes surrounding the country’s political transition. The United Nations Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia UNTMIS said Saturday that discussions held from May 13 to 15 marked an important step forward and commended the international partners who backed the effort. “It is regrettable, however,…

A devastating Russian missile-and-drone barrage on Kyiv has killed at least 24 people, Ukrainian emergency officials said today, dealing another blow to already-fading hopes that Moscow’s long war might soon ease. Air raid sirens echoed across the capital yesterday, and hours of explosions and flashes overhead drove residents into metro stations and other shelters. According to the Ukrainian air force, Russia launched 675 attack drones and 56 missiles, with Kyiv as the main target. It said air defence forces intercepted 652…

MOGADISHU, May 16 - Somalia’s political crisis deepened on Saturday as term-ended President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud met Turkey’s ambassador just hours after talks collapsed over the question of his expired mandate, a move viewed by some as an effort to show he still commands international support. The meeting at the Villa Somalia presidential palace with Ambassador Alper Aktaş followed a failed attempt by opposition leaders and regional states to reach common ground at the UN-protected Halane compound on Mohamud’s tenure,…