Axadle - Leading News from Somalia and the Horn of Africa

By  ADAM SCHRECK and AUDREY McAVOYFriday May 8, 2026 This locator map shows Iran and its capital, Tehran. (AP Photo) The Iran war’s fragile ceasefire came under fresh pressure Friday after the United Arab Emirates said it had responded to a missile and drone attack, just hours after the U.S. announced it had stopped attacks on three Navy ships in the Strait of Hormuz and carried out retaliatory strikes on Iranian military sites. As Iranian and U.S. negotiators continue searching for a way to end the fighting, both sides have…

A sudden eruption at Indonesia’s Mount Dukono has killed three hikers, authorities said, turning a trek on Halmahera island into a deadly disaster. The blast hurled an ash plume about 10km into the sky. Officials said no towns or villages were close enough to face an immediate danger. Twenty hikers were on the volcano’s slopes when the eruption struck, a local police chief told reporters at a volcano monitoring station in Mamuya village. He said nine were from Singapore and the others were Indonesian. A tour guide who was…

A Minneapolis man has pleaded guilty after authorities said he used a syringe to spray vinegar at Democratic U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar during a town hall meeting last January, an incident prosecutors described as a politically motivated assault. Anthony James Kazmierczak, 55, entered the plea on Thursday to one count of assaulting a United States officer in U.S. District Court, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Minnesota. U.S. Attorney Daniel N. Rosen announced the plea. According to the…

Sarah Johnson and Mohamed BulbulFriday May 8, 2026 From behind prison walls in Somalia, a 27-year-old rickshaw driver says her only crime was speaking out. Sadia Moalim Ali has accused her guards of stripping her naked, beating her and locking her in a cell without food after her arrest over anti-government protests. Sadia Moalim Ali, who says she was arrested, beaten and left for two days without food. Photograph: Handout A woman detained in Somalia for joining peaceful demonstrations has described what she says was a…

Keir Starmer has vowed to stay on as British prime minister even after his Labour party was hammered in local elections, a bruising result that has intensified questions over his leadership. He conceded Labour had endured a "tough" night, but said that "days like this don't weaken my resolve to deliver the change that I promised". Nigel Farage’s Reform UK surged in contests across the country, with hundreds of Labour councillors losing their seats and piling fresh pressure on Mr Starmer. More damaging results could still lie…

Friday May 8, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre on Wednesday said Somalia’s federal government is ready to hear opposition concerns, but drew a firm line against any rhetoric or actions he said could threaten the country’s security and hard-won stability. At a press briefing in Mogadishu, Hamza took aim at recent comments by some former national leaders who have aligned themselves with the opposition, cautioning that political language should not be allowed to deepen national tensions. “I hope those…

Friday May 8, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — In a swift response to mounting anger over demolitions and evictions in the capital, the Banadir Regional Administration has ordered a temporary halt to land reform activities in Mogadishu. Banadir administration spokesperson Salah Dheere announced the decision on Thursday during a press briefing, citing directives issued by Mogadishu Mayor and Banadir Governor Hassan Mohamed Hussein “Muungaab.” According to the administration, the move follows instructions from President Hassan Sheikh…

President Donald Trump has set a Fourth of July deadline for the European Union to ratify its trade agreement with the United States, warning that failure to do so will trigger "much higher" tariffs after European officials stopped short of finalising the pact. Mr Trump said he had spoken with EU chief Ursula von der Leyen and "agreed to give her until our Country's 250th Birthday or, unfortunately, their Tariffs would immediately jump to much higher levels." This year's Fourth of July marks 250 years since the American…

The war’s reach hit Hamas’ leadership circle again when an Israeli airstrike killed the son of the group’s chief negotiator in US-mediated talks on Gaza’s future, a senior Hamas official said, as Hamas leaders gathered in Cairo to try to shore up their fragile truce with Israel. Azzam Al-Hayya, the son of Khalil Al-Hayya, died of wounds sustained in an Israeli strike overnight, according to health officials and Hamas officials. He was the fourth son of Hamas’ exiled Gaza chief to be killed in Israeli attacks. The Israeli…

President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned countries friendly with Moscow against sending representatives to Russia’s 9 May World War II Victory Day parade, as the Kremlin intensified threats of a strike on Kyiv that same day. Russia has unilaterally announced a ceasefire in its war on Ukraine from 8 to 10 May, yet the Russian military has simultaneously urged people to leave Kyiv amid the prospect of what it described as a retaliatory attack. "We have also received messages from some states close to Russia, saying that their…