Axadle - Leading News from Somalia and the Horn of Africa

Somalia has made visible steps toward increasing women’s participation in politics, helped in part by a legal quota for female lawmakers. Still, women seeking elected office face obstacles linked to security risks, social pressure, and limited decision-making power once in parliament. This explainer reviews what has changed, what remains difficult, and why women’s political inclusion is now central to discussions of governance and peacebuilding in Somalia. What Happened Over the past decade, Somalia’s political…

A newly released court document has cast fresh light on the final weeks before Jeffrey Epstein’s death: a federal judge in the US has unsealed a handwritten note described as a suicide note purportedly written by the jailed financier. Epstein, the disgraced financier, convicted sex offender and accused sex trafficker, was found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019. Authorities ruled the death a suicide. The handwritten note was said to have been discovered by Epstein’s former cellmate, convicted murderer and former…

Millions of voters are heading to polling stations in a pivotal electoral test for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, with Labour braced for what forecasters say could be a bruising night. Polling expert Robert Hayward has predicted Mr Starmer's Labour Party could lose around 1,850 council seats across England, underlining the scale of the challenge confronting the prime minister. Labour is also expected to suffer in Wales, where the party in government could lose the national vote for the first time in more than 100…

Thursday May 7, 2026 Hargeisa (AX) — North Western State of Somalia authorities on Thursday appealed for calm in the Carmale area of Erigavo district in Sanaag, where fierce inter-clan fighting has left dozens dead, according to local reports. Interior Minister Abdalle Mohamed Arab “Sandheere” said the clashes have inflicted heavy losses and pushed the government to hold an emergency meeting focused on stopping the violence. He said security forces and local administrations in the area had been instructed to take part in…

In a bold move, Burkina Faso's media authority has put a halt to operations of the French news outlet TV5Monde, levying accusations of "disinformation" and "apology for terrorism" against the network. This suspension stems from the broadcaster's coverage of the ongoing insurgencies affecting Burkina Faso and its neighbor, Mali, which highlighted rising insecurity and purported human rights abuses by the security forces. Human Rights Watch has characterized this action as a component of a wider initiative aimed at stifling…

Ahead of Moscow’s World War II Victory Day celebrations, Russia has warned foreign diplomats in Kyiv that the Ukrainian capital could come under attack if Ukraine disrupts this weekend’s events, underscoring how the war is spilling into one of the Kremlin’s most symbolic dates. Russian officials gave no further detail about the warning, and there was no immediate response from Ukraine. The threat came as both countries exchanged fresh strikes, with officials reporting 13 people wounded in the Russian border city of Bryansk…

Thursday May 7, 2026 FILE PHOTO: Sudan is facing one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises. / AP Sudan has moved to block any formal contact between aid groups and a humanitarian body tied to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), escalating a broader struggle over who controls relief operations in the war-torn country. The government summoned the United Nations’ resident humanitarian coordinator, along with representatives of accredited UN agencies in Sudan, to caution them against engaging with the so-called…

A High Court in Abuja has found former Minister of Power Saleh Mamman guilty on 12 counts related to fraud and money laundering. This ruling emerges from a thorough investigation by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which uncovered unauthorized misappropriation of public funds during Mamman's term in office under former President Muhammadu Buhari. In a pointed critique within the ruling, the presiding judge remarked, "... instead of establishing a legacy aimed at resolving the nation's chronic power…

From Sydney to the centre of the country, Australians came together to mourn a five-year-old girl whose alleged abduction and murder stunned the nation and set off riots in the Outback town of Alice Springs. The vigils were held a week after authorities found Kumanjayi Little Baby dead, ending a five-day search that drew hundreds of volunteers and police into the effort. The arrest of a man accused of abducting and murdering her then ignited violent unrest in Alice Springs, where a crowd of 400 Indigenous people gathered and…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Somalia’s already fraught political climate sharpened further this week as an opposition alliance urged mass street protests in Mogadishu, even as President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud prepared to convene a national dialogue conference on May 10. Former Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, along with other figures in the opposition-backed Council for Somalia’s Future, said they would take part in demonstrations scheduled for next Sunday. They called on residents uprooted by recent evictions to join the…