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

Thursday March 19, 2026 Baidoa (AX) — In a sharp escalation with Somalia’s federal authorities, Southwest State on Wednesday halted all commercial and private air traffic into and out of airports across the region. The Southwest Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said in a statement the suspension took effect March 18, 2026, and will remain in force until further notice. The ministry said it imposed the measure to protect public safety and keep air traffic orderly “given the prevailing circumstances,” without…

A surge in meningitis cases tied to an outbreak in Kent, England, is expected, a senior health official warned, as investigators examine whether the bacteria has started spreading more readily. Professor Robin May, chief scientific officer at the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), said: "This is a very unusual outbreak." UKHSA announced five additional meningitis cases yesterday morning, lifting the number under investigation by health officials to 20. Fresh figures due this morning are anticipated to push the total higher.…

Veteran diplomat Nicholas Haysom, former senior UN envoy to Somalia, dies at 73 NEW YORK — Nicholas Haysom, a South African lawyer-diplomat and former senior United Nations envoy to Somalia, has died in New York at the age of 73, officials said. His most recent post was as the UN Secretary-General’s special representative for South Sudan, culminating a decades-long career that bridged diplomacy, peacebuilding and constitutional law. Affectionately known as “Fink,” Haysom helped steer South Africa’s transition to democracy,…

US President Donald Trump said Israel, enraged by recent events, had “violently lashed out” by striking Iran’s largest gas installation — a dramatic escalation in the US‑Israeli war — while insisting Israel would not carry out additional attacks unless Iran retaliates. The strike on the sprawling South Pars gas field lifted oil prices and prompted Tehran to threaten oil and gas sites across the Gulf, even as it launched missiles toward Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The flare‑up deepened an already unprecedented disruption to…

By STEVE DOUGLAS Wednesday March 18, 2026 What once sounded fanciful now feels within reach: Arsenal’s push for a quadruple of major trophies is very much alive this season. The players scarcely have a moment to dwell on it. Arsenal booked a place in the Champions League quarterfinals by defeating Bayer Leverkusen 2-0 on Tuesday, clinching a 3-1 aggregate win. Mikel Arteta’s side also sits nine points clear at the top of the Premier League, meets Manchester City in Sunday’s English League Cup final, and has already…

Wednesday March 18, 2026 Iran confirmed Tuesday that Ali Larijani — a senior security power broker and a pillar of conservative politics within the Islamic Republic — was killed in an Israeli strike. He was 67. After U.S. and Israeli strikes late last month that killed Iran’s supreme leader and broadened the conflict, Larijani was widely viewed as the de facto manager of state affairs. Israel announced earlier Tuesday that it had killed Larijani; Tehran waited several hours before acknowledging his death. He had been tapped…

US President Donald Trump has sparked fresh controversy after reportedly referring to Somalia as a “fourth-world country” during remarks made in the Oval Office. Trump further revived long-disputed claims against Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. In the remarks, Trump painted a bleak picture of Somalia, saying: “Somalia is a third-world, maybe a fourth-world nation. One of the worst, one of the most dangerous. They don’t have anything, they don’t have council, they don’t have government, they don’t have police, they shoot each…

Two European Parliament committees backed a ban on AI “nudification” apps that create non-consensual sexual images of adults and children and supported delaying some AI rules. The Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection (IMCO) and the Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) voted as part of the Digital Omnibus on artificial intelligence. At the start of the year, changes to the Grok AI tool by social media company X sparked global outrage after people used it to generate and share…

Somalia’s Southwest State has accused senior federal officials of maintaining links with Al-Shabaab and arming local militias, sharpening its standoff with Mogadishu. Authorities in Baidoa alleged that federal ministers and lawmakers have organized and supplied armed groups operating in Buurhakaba district in the Bay region. Southwest State Security Minister Hassan Abdulkadir told reporters the fighters are outside Somalia’s official security structure and behave like extremist insurgents. These groups are not government…

Iran elevated Mojtaba Khamenei to supreme leader following the Feb. 28 killing of his father, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a U.S.-Israeli strike that also killed about 40 senior officials, a move intended to signal constitutional continuity in a precarious moment. The strike that assassinated the supreme leader aimed to decapitate Iran’s leadership and spur a popular push to unseat those in power. Debate over the strategy’s wisdom will continue, but authorities moved quickly to install Mojtaba Khamenei to show the state still…