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

Donald Trump has declined to apologise for attacking Pope Leo XIV, escalating an extraordinary public clash after the pontiff renewed his call for an end to the violence in the Iran war. "There's nothing to apologise for. He's wrong," Mr Trump told reporters, doubling down a day after a social media post and public remarks aimed at the US-born pope. "Pope Leo said things that are wrong. He was very much against what I'm doing with regard to Iran, and you cannot have a nuclear Iran," said Trump, who also argued that Leo was…

MOGADISHU, Somalia — Turkey has moved F-16 fighter jets into Somalia, a development that sharply raises the level of military backing for the federal government as it presses to tighten control over the country and confront regional resistance. The deployment, first disclosed by defense intelligence outlet Janes, comes after months of upgrades at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, where Turkish-built hangars and maintenance facilities have been added to support the aircraft. Turkish officials say the jets are…

Tragedy struck Ghanaian football as promising player Dominic Frimpong lost his life following a violent robbery targeting a bus carrying his team, Berekum Chelsea, on their return from a league match. Reports from law enforcement indicate that a VIP bus, transporting around 30 players and staff members, was approached by a group of six armed assailants while traveling from Samreboi to Berekum. Three of these individuals were armed with pump-action shotguns. Frimpong was critically injured during the attack, succumbing to…

Mark Carney has won a parliamentary majority for Canada’s Liberal government, handing the prime minister a stronger mandate as he confronts the trade war launched by US President Donald Trump. The result caps a remarkable stretch in Canadian politics, during which several opposition lawmakers crossed the floor to join Mr Carney’s Liberals. The party said on X that it captured two Ontario districts, known in Canada as ridings, in special elections. The victories came in University-Rosedale and Scarborough Southwest, two…

Tuesday April 14, 2026 Garowe (AX) — Puntland State’s Minister of Interior, Abdi Hirsii Ali Qarjab, accused Somalia’s federal government on Monday of mounting a political and security offensive against the semi-autonomous state. In remarks to reporters, Qarjab said Puntland State is watching developments in the country closely and is ready to defend its territory if the need arises. “Puntland State has always stood for strengthening the unity and cooperation of the Somali people,” he said. “We expected development, security…

Tuesday April 14, 2026 Mogadishu (AX) — In a swift and sweeping move that caught many residents off guard, traders across Mogadishu on Monday stopped accepting the Somali shilling, pushing the national currency out of one of the last major markets where it still circulated in limited form. The change took hold quickly in the city’s busiest markets, on public transport and in neighborhood shops, leaving many people — especially low-income residents who depend on cash for daily purchases — facing immediate difficulties paying…

Hours after a brief Orthodox Easter truce expired, Ukraine and Russia returned to overnight drone warfare, with both sides trading accusations that the 32-hour pause had been violated on a massive scale. Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 98 drones overnight and reported that air defence units shot down 87 of them. Officials in Ukraine said an infrastructure site in the central-eastern Dnipropetrovsk region was struck, adding that casualty details were still being established. Russia, for its part, said that “on April…

Monday April 13, 2026 A ship at the Strait of Hormuz Oil markets surged back above $100 a barrel on Monday as trading resumed in Asia, after US-Iran talks collapsed without a fresh agreement and President Donald Trump said he would blockade Iranian ports. Brent crude, the global benchmark, climbed 7.3% to $102.30 (£76.32), while US West Texas Intermediate rose 8.7% to $104.94. The breakdown in weekend negotiations has deepened fears that the worldwide energy crunch could worsen. Crude had fallen sharply below $100 last…

For years, Viktor Orban was the European Union’s perennial blocker. His decisive election defeat in Hungary has now prompted a wave of relief across the bloc. Mr Orban, Hungary’s nationalist prime minister, conceded defeat yesterday after parliamentary elections delivered victory to conservative Peter Magyar, a former government insider turned political newcomer who campaigned on a promise of “system change”. Whether the issue was support for Ukraine or sanctions on Russia, Mr Orban repeatedly slowed or stopped some of the…

Monday April 13, 2026 The United States military said on Sunday it would start blocking all Iranian ports on Monday, escalating its campaign against Tehran after marathon peace talks in Pakistan ended without an agreement. In a late-evening statement, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said the blockade would cover “all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports” beginning at 10am Eastern Time (14:00 GMT) on April 13. The order, it said, applies to “vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal…