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

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s planned 2026 national elections have become the focus of a widening political dispute after parliament approved constitutional changes that leaders and opponents say would reshape how the country chooses its leaders and when the next vote is held. On March 5, 2026, Somalia’s parliament voted to amend the constitution and extend the terms of lawmakers and the president to five years from four, according to President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the parliamentary speaker in statements reported by…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s efforts to hold more direct elections, after decades of indirect, clan-based voting, matter beyond its borders because they are closely tied to the country’s fight against the al-Shabab insurgency, the security of busy shipping routes off the Horn of Africa and the stability of an aid-dependent state where international partners are trying to shift responsibility for security to Somali institutions. Somalia has long selected many officials through clan-based negotiations and indirect…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia is preparing for a planned shift to direct national elections in 2026, a major change in a country that has relied for decades on an indirect, clan-based election system in which selected delegates choose members of parliament, who then elect the president. Somali authorities say the goal is a “one person, one vote” process, but opposition figures have questioned whether the transition is being handled by consensus and warn of renewed political crisis. The push toward universal suffrage has…

Elon Musk was found by a federal jury in California to have misled Twitter shareholders, a verdict that jurors say caused the social media company's stock to tumble while he was attempting a $44 billion takeover. The decision in the class-action securities suit could expose the billionaire to a multi-billion-dollar judgment: jurors’ damage calculations were reported to be roughly $2.6 billion. Shortly after the verdict, lawyers for Mr. Musk told AFP their client plans to appeal, calling the outcome a "setback." Following a…

Kneecap, the Irish-language rap trio from Belfast, said they joined an international aid convoy to Cuba because they could not stand by while the island — which they described as being "strangled" by a US fuel blockade — suffered acute shortages. The group travelled with a wider contingent of public figures and humanitarian organisations bringing medicine, drinking water, food, solar panels and other relief supplies to the Caribbean nation this week by air and sea. Speaking at a Havana press conference flanked by former UK…

Two residents of Zaporizhzhia were killed and much of Chernihiv region was plunged into darkness after Russian strikes, Ukrainian officials reported. Zaporizhzhia Governor Ivan Fedorov said the morning attack on the city claimed the lives of a man and a woman and wounded six other people, among them two children. In neighboring Chernihiv, Governor Viacheslav Chaus said crews were working to repair damage from a drone strike that struck an energy facility. The northern region, which shares borders with Russia and Belarus, had…

Saturday March 21, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — A looming election dispute in Somalia’s Southwest State has sparked a stark warning from the region’s parliamentary leadership, with Speaker Dr. Ali Said Fiqi cautioning that a federal push to stage polls in Barawe could destabilize the area and even ignite conflict. Writing Friday on his X account, Fiqi argued that Barawe has never operated as Southwest State’s effective seat of government. He said the regional parliament has not convened there, nor has the cabinet held meetings in the…

Saturday March 21, 2026 Hargeisa (AX) — Marking Eid al-Fitr in the capital, North Western State of Somalia President Abdirahman Mohamed Abdillahi Irro prayed alongside hundreds of worshippers in Hargeisa on Friday morning, then used his Eid remarks to urge economic restraint and a renewed push for peace in areas rattled by recent clan clashes. After the prayer, Irro cautioned that conflicts in the Middle East are upending global trade and key shipping routes, warning that the disruption could spill over into food and fuel…

The meningitis outbreak centered in Kent in the UK has grown to 34 linked cases — up from 29 — as hundreds of students lined up for a third straight day to be vaccinated. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said in an update this morning that 23 cases have been confirmed, with a further 11 cases that "remain under investigation". More than 400 people — students and others eligible — queued outside the University of Kent campus clinic for meningitis jabs at the start of the weekend. NHS Kent and Medway reported that 5,794…